Sandra

Week 2 Weight Loss Update

January 24, 2011 by Sandra 2 Comments

Well this week’s loss wasn’t as great as last week’s, but still something which is what I’m going for. My weigh-in day is Sunday morning, and I was 222.5 lbs. so I lost one pound. Altogether, I’ve lost 6 pounds in two weeks. That’s a pretty good start. But I didn’t exercise at all last week! I just haven’t been motivated to get back to the workout video. Ruben helped me out this morning, though. He woke up early with me, and we both worked out to the dvd. What a nice guy…

I was planning on working out at school over the weekend, but when we got there on Saturday (water in hand and ready for a workout), it was closed! I had forgotten that the fitness center closes early on Saturdays. For sure, though, I’m going to make it there two days this week. I have to get started so that I don’t fall behind in my visits. I need to log 30 visits per fitness class that I’m enrolled in to get an “A” for each class.

I’m looking forward to using the time I spend in the fitness center to read the assigned chapters I’ll have each week for my online PHP class (PHP is a programming language). Fun! No really, I want to learn PHP, and I’m thankful to be able to use my workouts as bonus time to be able to read, too. I’m going to alternate reading my PHP book one day (I should gain muscle simply carrying that book back and forth! It’s rather thick.) and a book from my Bookin’ It list on the other day. I plan on working out in the fitness center two days a week for around 1 hour and 40 minutes each time I’m there.

I’ll read while I use the bike or the leg weight machines. I’m not skilled enough be to able to read with using the elliptical machine!

Anyway, I’m hoping with the added exercise that I’ll be able to boost my weight loss to two pounds next week. We’ll see!

Oh, and I will post a picture next week, too! 🙂

Thankful

January 23, 2011 by Sandra 1 Comment

I’m thankful to the Lord to be able to home school our children while at the same time going to school myself. Breanna is happily working on her homework in the picture. We use a curriculum called Switched-On Schoolhouse which is a computer-based home schooling program.

The program does all the lesson planning which includes scheduling all their lessons, tests, and quizzes. The lessons themselves are excellent. The kids are learning all the necessary requirements as well as many other interesting things. Their spelling and reading skills have greatly improved as well. I can’t say enough about this program.

But just because the program does all the planning for us doesn’t mean the kids never need help. While they are able to do most of the work on their own, they still ask for help on a regular basis. Ruben and I can then walk them through or help them with the question they’re struggling with.

Nathan has really been thriving with this program. He’s a visual learner, and because everything is right before his eyes, he is doing well learning with Switched-On Schoolhouse. Breanna enjoys the program as well, but she recently asked if we could go back to the “old” way we used to home school where I was the teacher. I let her know that I’d think about it and maybe we could change things a bit with her once I begin home schooling Isaac next year (That’s going to be an adventure! :-)).

For now, we’re staying with this program, and I’m grateful for it.

Super Savings Saturday: Walgreens & Target

January 22, 2011 by Sandra 4 Comments

I stopped by Target this week and picked up some nice clearance items. The blue bowl, gerber sippy cups, and nursing cover were all 75% off.

Target Trip

Here’s the rundown of what I paid for each item:

larger Gerber sippy cups $1.44

smaller Gerber sippy cups $1.34

Saucer plate (very nice and sturdy) $1.18

Nursing Cover $4.14 (I really debated whether I should get this or not because I’m not currently pregnant, but we don’t know whether or not the Lord will bless us with another child and if He does….there’s a slim chance of finding a nursing cover so cheap. I paid around $8.00 for the one I used with David, and it wasn’t as nice as this one and definitely lower quality. I’m just going to hang on to it for now, but I may give it away, too.)

Kashi Go Lean Crisp cereal (I just remembered that I actually got this at Jewel) $0.29 after $3.00 Vocalpoint coupon that I got in the mail

All totaled, I paid $7.99 plus tax for everything pictured. I saved around $0.40 for using my Target card to pay for my purchase there since they take off an extra 5% whenever you use it. I do pay that card off at the end of each month and only use it for the discount.

Someone was thrilled with their new sippy cups…

We also made more than one trip to Walgreens this week. We’ve decided to switch to fluoride-free toothpaste after learning about how bad fluoride actually is for our bodies, so, I was excited to see that the Tom’s of Maine was only $0.99 after Register Reward this week! I ended up having to go to a few different Walgreens that weren’t by us because someone really hits our local store when there are good Register Reward deals. The shelves are often cleared. 🙁 My favorite cashier told me that one day a woman came in and bought 93 body washes that were on Register Reward that week. No wonder there were none left when I got there.

Anyway, here’s what we did get:

Walgreens Trip

Breathe Right strips were free with free product coupons that had printed out a few weeks ago.

Sandwich bags $0.99 w/in-ad coupon

Gillette Razor $0.99 after $4.00 manufacturer’s coupons and $5.00 Register Reward

Poise pads were $3.89, but I got them for free with a $4.00 manufacturer’s coupon good only at Walgreens that printed a while back

Tom’s of Maine Deodorant $0.99 after $3.00 Register Reward

Centrum Multivitamins $0.99 after $1.00 manufacturer’s coupon (these were on clearance for $1.99)

Family Calendar $2.50 (this was supposed to be $1.00, but it rang up wrong and I didn’t check until after I had left the store)

All totaled, I paid $6.64 out of pocket for everything pictured because I used a few Register Rewards that I already had. I got back $11.00 in Register Rewards to use on future purchases.

While we were out another day, we stopped at a few different Walgreens stores that were on the way to where we were going. We picked up fluoride-free toothpaste, more aluminum-free deodorant, (We made the switch to aluminum-free deodorant months ago. Aluminum in your deodorant isn’t good for you.) mouthwash, and the free after Register Reward ThermaCare heat patches. I only got one of the children’s toothpaste because after I bought it, I realized that it has fluoride.

All the Tom’s of Maine were $0.99 after Register Reward and the ThermaCare was Free after Register Reward.

I’m happy with all the deals we got this week. Did you find any awesome deals?

Thursday’s Meals

January 21, 2011 by Sandra Leave a Comment

Before I give you the rundown of what I ate yesterday, I have to say, knowing that I will have to write down what I eat throughout the day for you to see is great accountability! I may have to keep this up past this week.

Anyway, here’s the rundown…

Breakfast: a banana and a blueberry smoothie

Lunch: Annie’s organic mac-n-cheese

Snacks: nuts, goji berries, strawberry banana fruit smoothie, a few bananas, and an orange

Dinner: organic pasta with grass-fed ground beef and a piece of wheat bread

Drinks: water and the smoothies (I’m still having a hard time drinking enough water, and this is an area I really need to discipline myself in.)

I have slowed down in losing weight this week, but that is to be expected. My goal is to lose 1-2 pounds per week to accomplish my goal of losing 50 pounds this year. I’m well on my way there for the first time in a long time!

Sandra

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