Peanut Butter Pop Tarts and Bean and Sausage Yum.

Posted on September 7, 2013 by the2beths

So, my mom mentioned peanut butter pop tarts to me the other day, and they just didn’t sound good. To me, a true pop tart is the fruit filling ones, and my favorite is iced cherry. Well, because my mom and I have similar taste in foods, I decided to give them a go when I saw them on sale at the store.

Oh. em. gee.
Essentially, it tastes like eating a peanut butter cookie. And I wouldn’t quite consider it a pop tart, but they are DELICIOUS, and on the list of things I can NOT have in my house because I would eat them continuously until they were gone.
Luckily, (depending on how you look at it), I have burned 3 out of the 6 packs that came in the package.
Now they are gone.

Tonight I am having an old fashioned slumber party with my girlfriends. There are about 7 of us, I think. And we are gathering this afternoon in our comfy clothes, and every body is bringing snacks and/or drinks and we are going to graze and giggle and gossip and have cocktails.
I am taking the day off of Fitness Pal, ha ha!

I can NOT wait for the festivities to begin….
I have a zillion chores to do before, but it will be fine.

For dinner I am making spaghetti and this delicious bean and sausage thing that my Aunt Chris made this weekend at my parents’ boat naming party. I could not stop eating it because it was so delicious. I am going to share the recipe. I am not sure where it is from, so if I am stealing a copyrighted recipe, I apologize. It came to me in a barely readible Xerox copy of a cursive written recipe. I will share it after I make it so I can take pictures.

Have a good Saturday,
Beth

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Rashes are gross and disgusting.

Posted on September 4, 2013 by the2beths

And I have one.

See…

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That’s my arm.

Gross and disgusting, right?

Ho hum.

Last night, I noticed a welt like rash on my legs, mostly on the front of my thighs. I was kind of panicking. Especially when my dear husband said, “If your throat feels like it is closing up, please tell me so I can take you to the ER”

So, I took two benadryl and went to bed.
I woke up the next day and checked out my thighs and realized the rash had faded a bit. Good news!! Then I looked down to my ankles and they were COVERED in this rash.
So were my upper arms.
And as the day progressed…
My back.
My stomach.

And so, I made an appointment with my favorite doctor, who is also my friend, Dr. B. (Shout out to Dr. B!!) Actually, I felt so cliche, reaching out to a doctor who is my friend, saying,
“So..I’ve got this rash I need you to look at…”
My appointment was after school, and by that time, the rash on my ankles was nasty after standing most of the day, even though I tried to sit as often as possible today.

She thinks that it is an allergic reaction to something I ate (since it is all over my body) and prescribed some oral steroids. She is leaning toward the shrimp I ate for dinner last night, but we just can’t be sure.

Ugh. I hope that when I wake up it is much smaller, and not all over my face or something.

In other news, I am obsessed with Trader Joe’s lately.
Tonight we had one of their frozen bagged dinners, it was Gnocchi and Gorgonzola, like mac and cheese. I served it with pieces of chicken breast mixed in and roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts on the side. It was SOOO delicious.
Why have I never made gnocchi before??? Potato pasta. That is like heaven.

Well, I am on Benadryl right now, so I am practically seeing double, so I am outta here…

xoxoxo,
Beth WA

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Finding my joy.

Posted on September 2, 2013 by the2beths

This summer has been a journey in finding my joy again.
Infertility was winning and my spirit was being crushed.
Little by little.
Day by day.
I was losing hope by the hour.

Then, an angel reached out to me and changed the course of my journey.

My angel was Beth FS’s lovely mother. Beth FS’s mom is a kind, generous, caring woman. I’ve always known this about her. She goes out of her way to help people, and is always there to offer a reassuring word or gesture.
She reached out to me to see if I would like to try acupuncture. She had been going for a while, and had a very good friend who was an acupuncturist who had shared her successes with infertility.

Mrs. F’s acupuncturist was going to be out of town, so she referred us to another acupuncturist who she had heard great things about. Not only did Mrs. F schedule my first appointment, she came with me, and was by my side for the consultation, and waited outside the door while I was getting my treatment. When I was finished with my treatment, I asked the acupuncturist how much I owed for the appointment. And she said that Mrs. F had not only paid for that treatment, but for my first several treatments!
I bawled. Like a baby.
I am tearing up just writing about it now.

I was so overcome with gratitude in that moment.

The gratitude that I felt that day has only increased exponentially. First, I love my acupuncturist, Angie. Second, I love the way acupuncture makes me feel. That cycle was the first time in this whole infertility journey that I wasn’t lethargic and depressed during my two week wait. In fact, I have started exercising again, and I’ve been using My Fitness Pal for a few weeks, very successfully.
One day, I realized I wasn’t feeling anxious and depressed any more.
And the only thing I did differently was acupuncture.

I am so grateful to feel myself again. I feel like being social. I feel like doing stuff around the house.
And…I feel like blogging again.

Thank you, Mrs. F, for helping me find my joy.

xoxox,
Beth WA

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Coffee is hot.

Posted on July 19, 2013 by the2beths

Hey everybody! I just made a delicious coffee smoothie. You see, it has been super hot and humid here and I love my morning coffee, but it is just too damn not. So a week or so ago I purchased this:

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And I have been really enjoying it over ice. Also, it’s the same points as my coffee because of all of the cream I put in it.
Today, I thought I would jazz it up, because, well, just because.

I put the silk vanilla latte in the blender with ice and a weight watchers chocolate protein smoothie mix and a bunch of ice. It is delicious. Deeeeelllllliiiiissshhhooouuussss.

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Things have been moving along here. I just recently started back on the WW wagon after a month of feeling sorry for myself. I am actually feeling good. I am wondering if my thyroid medicine is kicking in. It said it would take 4-6 weeks and that is where I am now.
I am starting to feel a little more social, more motivated, and less sulky.

My 20 year reunion is in a few weeks! I can’t believe it. I am so excited because so many of my close friends will be there, and two of them are staying at my house!
Hooray!

Anybody else have any big reunions coming up?

Xoxox,
Beth WA

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July.

Posted on July 2, 2013 by the2beths

Man Alive!!! It is freakin’ July.
And Google Reader is no longer with us. Boo. I am seriously not happy about that whole thing. I switched my stuff to Feedly, but it is saying it is at capacity today and I can’t access my shit. Grr….

Anyway. First blog in weeks and I start off bitching. Ha ha.
It’s been a low key summer as far as vacations and fun, but it’s been busy in other respects.
My mom had hip replacement surgery on June 24th. She is currently in a nursing home/rehab place recovering. She is doing really well, and I anticipate a full recovery.
My niece, Ava is up visiting Ohio for 6 weeks, and I am really loving it, although I am getting a taste of motherhood, and, even with a really well behaved seven year old kid – it’s hard work. Ha ha. It’s also funny because I am so ready for her to go on excursions with her friends so I can have a break, but the minute she leaves – I miss her like crazy.

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Love this face and that hair!!

This is the card she got my mom –

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So hilarious.

I went to Trader Joes the other day after my doctor’s appointment. (My doctor is 45 minutes away, and that is where Trader Joe’s is located) and I got these delicious chocolate covered almonds. I highly recommend them if you are like me and like salty and sweet. I am not even a sophisticated dark chocolate lover. But these…oh my word…these are fantastic.

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Okay, I am off to do some reading. I found out online that my doctor wrote a book called Fertility Foods, so I am going to see what that is all about.

I hope you are all having a great summer…say a prayer for Beth FS and their family. They had to have their family dog put to sleep. It was really sad. Has name was Memphis and he was the friendliest, sweetest golden retriever with the most adorable under bite. RIP Memphee!!!

Xoxoxo,
Beth WA

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Eggs and Sausage

Posted on June 19, 2013 by the2beths

So, hello. I’ve missed you guys. : )

Summer break has been so relaxing and not at all busy, so I can’t offer up any excuses for not blogging. HA HA. Although, it is probably not a coincidence that I started blogging when I finally start an exercise routine, and am actually eating in my designated WW Points Plus.
Anyway, what I wanted to write about today is chicken sausage. I love it. Like, REALLY love it. My husband is rather “meh” about the whole thing, but too bad for him – I am usually the one grocery shopping and cooking. Actually, I try not to make it too often because that would just be not nice.

So, I was thrilled to find that they have morning/breakfast chicken sausage links that are maple apple. !!! This worked perfectly with me trying to cut down on the carbs I eat each day. I’ve been having eggs for breakfast, which is a HUGE change for me, and they taste delicious with this maple apple chicken sausage sliced and scrambled with my eggs and cheese. I also use a trick my Gramma Helman taught me to make the best scrambled eggs – use real butter in the pan, and a sprinkle of sugar. Yummmmm.

Here is a picture of the chicken sausage package…

Delicious Sausage

Delicious Sausage

It’s weird that I eat this for breakfast as I spent most of my life hating eggs and sausage.
Well, I am off to have another relaxing day of summer break….got my workout in this morning!! That’s always a good thing.

xoox,
Beth WA

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Catch up time.

Posted on June 2, 2013 by the2beths

Man Alive. I have missed blogging. Every day I am thinking of all of these things I want to blog. Then, the day gets away from me.
This past week was the last week of school, and to say it was busy is an understatement. You see, the last day of school was preceded by the death of my grandma. My very dear, very amazing, awesome Grandma Kerrigan. I am going to devote a post to Gramma K this week. She deserves her own post. Truly.
Updates:
School: So, I was out of school on Friday because of the funeral, and it was a 3 day weekend, and then Tuesday I was off because of a doctor’s appointment. So, I came back Wednesday and it was like I came back in the middle of a roller coaster ride, but in the middle of the down part of the biggest hill. I had to get awards, report cards, and the end of the year stuff all finished as soon as possible. But, alas, I got it done. HA HA. And now, I am in the first weekend of summer break. I have to go to school this week to finish things up and for a few meetings, but that is not stressful.

Weight Watchers: I completely jumped off the WW wagon the week I started my first cycle with the specialist. I have gained 4-5 lbs and started back on the wagon yesterday. I feel much better already. I was starting to feel like crap every single day, and the more I felt like crap, the more I fed myself crap. And the more crap I ate and felt like, I didn’t exercise at all. It’s a downward spiral for me, but what I’ve noticed now, is I am able to get back to it after only a few weeks and a few pounds, and not let it turn into a year and 20 lbs. I am hoping to undo that damage by the end of the week or the middle of next week.
I did a meal plan for the week, and went grocery shopping. I always spend way too much money at the grocery store. I need to work on that.
For real.

I am trying to cut down on my carbohydrates, as directed by my doctor and as I know I need to do. I was not cutting down on carbs the last few weeks, in fact, it was as if I was trying to set a world record for most carbs eaten. : )

Infertility: We are in the middle of our first monitored cycle with the specialist. Keep your fingers crossed. Interestingly enough, my blood tests revealed that while my thyroid is normal for regular life – for fertility it was a little lower than the doctor wanted. I am on a low dose of thyroid medicine. Also, he upped my Metformin because of my testing. These were all messages to me that I need to continue my WW journey, and eating lower carb, and healthfully. I know that most of my issues are related to my weight, and rather than just self loathe, I am working on making the necessary changes. Self Loathing does not get you any where, but eating healthy, and exercising gets you in a good place mentally and physically. Plus, clothes look much cuter and feel better. : )
So, keep your fingers crossed that this is the summer that baby Allman is created.

Life: Well, I still miss my brother and his family like crazy. They were here last week for a week, and this visit did not help matters. It just made me miss them more. I feel lucky that I got to spend a lot of time with them. It was really nice to see them. I was supposed to go to Houston for a week at the end of June, but with this whole infertility thing, I am land locked. It is really upsetting to me, but I know it will be worth it in the end. Well, the hopeful part of me knows that.
The good news is that Ava, my niece, is coming to Ohio on June 12th for SIX WEEKS!!! It’s going to be so great to be with her this summer and swim, hang out, go to the zoo, and do other fun things.
My mom is having hip replacement surgery on June 24th. It can not come soon enough. She is absolutely miserable. She can not walk without a walker, and is in constant pain that is only dulled by medication, but not eliminated. She was going to try to put the surgery off until August, but decided ASAP was better. I am so glad, because it is hard to see her so miserable.

And lastly, TODAY IS MY PARENTS’ 40th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!
FORTY.
YEARS.

We are celebrating tonight with a delicious dinner at a restaurant called Thai 9.

I have about 15 loads of laundry to do, so I am off to do that.
Have a good Sunday!!
xoxox,
Beth WA

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Hello.

Posted on May 28, 2013 by the2beths

I am here. And I have loads to write about.
Just have to get through the week- the last few days of school.

Hope all is well with all y’all.

Xoxox
Beth WA

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Just do it.

Posted on May 11, 2013 by the2beths

Just do it.

That is what I have been telling myself lately when it comes to walking on the treadmill. Eventually, I would like to add in other exercises, but I am going to continue walking until I get my first 30 pounds off, then add in other workouts, like videos.
Anyway, after school yesterday, I knew I needed to walk for at least 45 minutes. I needed the activity points to end the week in the positives. Last week I was negative 4 and I stayed the same on the scale. Well, I walked for 66 minutes, and got all my activity points, and ended the week with points to spare!! WOO HOO!! So, even after a day heavy in the points on Friday, my Saturday weigh in bared good news –

**I LOST TWO POUNDS THIS WEEK!!!****

And, I’ve been taking my blood pressure lately, because I notice a correlation between when I am exercising and eating right and my blood pressure going down. Anyway, my bp was 110 over 62!! That is good people!! Very good. My goal has always been to go off my blood pressure medicine and this has given me the hope I needed that this might be possible some day.

This weight loss this week is with a barbecue at my friends house last Saturday, where I indulged in desserts, and a first communion party on Sunday, where I exercised more constraint (because I was eating leftover desserts from said party on Saturday…ha ha ha) But, I tracked everything, and kept working out. I’ve been using all my points, even my activity points, and have still been losing. I always have the intention of not using my activity points, but then, I do. I guess it is ok until I quit using.

Here is a picture from the barbecue at my bff’s house. This is her daughter, Megan, and me. Her daughter was having the best time with the neighborhood kids, so we were cracking up at how dirty she is – because my friend, Liz, is the cleanest person I know.

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Some random pictures from my phone over the last few weeks.

Here is the lilac tree in our back yard – it smells SOOO good and is so beautiful.

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Here is a picture of a supplement that I have to take to help me get pregnant. My husband and I repeatedly joke about the name of it. Now, you can, too.

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And lastly, I will leave you with a picture of my dad in his stylin’ new shades.
We loved them because they were so out of character. (They are actually just try-outs from the optometrist.)

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Well, I am going to walk with a dear friend. I was so happy she texted me last night to walk this morning so I can get it out of the way, and actually “just do it” instead of torturing myself all day. HA HA..
Updated to say: I walked 5.1 miles with my friend!!! 100% of activity by 10:30 am. I will take it!
Peace out…xxoxoxoxo
Beth WA

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Just gotta blog…

Posted on May 8, 2013 by the2beths

I have been remiss in blogging because I have sooo freakin’s much to say, that it always seems overwhelming to sit down and write it. So, I just thought, I can just start writing and see what happens.

Usually when I am not writing, it is because things are not going well, but this time, it is quite the opposite.

Weight Watchers Update:
I have lost 9 lbs total, and am still losing. I have been tracking all of my food, and better yet, I have been walking. I have been walking a lot. And, it has been so good for me. I’ve walked on the treadmill, I’ve walked with friends I don’t normally walk with, and I’ve walked outside by myself. I have loved my Active Link, and have done so well with it, they’ve raised my goal for my challenge.

(In) Fertility Update:
While I won’t ever go into details with this, I will share that we went to a specialist, and he gave us something that I was beginning to lose – he gave us hope. He said he was “extremely hopeful” that we would be successful. He said that while my miscarriage was devastating, it was the greatest sign of hope that we *could* get pregnant. So, keep your fingers crossed.
One of the things the doctor recommended was to make sure I stayed within 200-300 carbs a day, and so being mindful of my carbs sure makes my points stretch further, and that along with a dosage increase in one of my medicines has really helped avoid the afternoon slump I had been experiencing.

School Update:
School is almost over – 15.5 days left. I am so ready this year. I feel like this year was a great year, but I also feel like I learned a lot with the transition to Common Core Standards, and am anxious to try the new things I’ve learned next year.

House Update: My husband got a tractor lawnmower, so he has mowed the lawn more in the last two weeks than all of last summer.
HA HA. I jest. I jest.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now.
I hope all is well with all y’all
xoxox
Beth WA

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