Week One

It's always amazing how exercising changes so many things on top of your physical appearance. I have faithfully completed week one of Jillian Micheals, "Get ripped in 30" and heres what I've noticed. 

I'm happier.

I have more energy

I want to eat better

I'm more productive

The house is cleaner

I feel better about my body

I'm stronger

The DVD comes with a meal plan to follow but I decided that I didn't want to. I have never, never ever been good at dieting. When ever I "cut" something out of my diet, I just crave it ALL THE TIME and end up eating it more then I would have in the first place. SO I focus on the good things I put in my body and I naturally lean towards skipping the brownies. Not that I always skip brownies but you know....


Here are a few healthy recipes that we had this week and a tip  I try to follow, if you are into following my health kick.


Water, water and more water. It's all I drink. If you can commit to drinking a glass of water BEFORE you eat you will loose weight. "They" did a study that showed those who followed this rule lost on average 5 extra pounds then those who don't.  Just another reason to love water. Also, herbal teas count as a glass of water... If your not into having a water bottle at your side 24/7 like myself.


Breakfast:


Steal cut oats with honey and cinnamon (top with berries of any kind). To me it is SO much better then oat meal because it's less mushy and I once heard Dr. Oz say that it was the ideal breakfast. It keeps me full for longer then any cereal could.


Oatmeal Pancakes (biggest loser recipe). These are thinner then your normal pancakes and you use a blender to cut the oatmeal so you can't even tell that you didn't use flour. Click here for the recipe.


Fat free yogurt with pumpkin and flax granola. I love this breakfast and eat it all the time. My favorite is with strawberries or raspberries on top.  I try and find yogurt sweetened with honey and the cereal I get is Natures Path Organic. Costco has by far the best price :)



 Lunch/Dinner 


Ok truth be told lunch is not my favorite time of day. For some reason I just hate making lunches so I try to make a larger dinner and have leftovers. It works for me.


White bean turkey chili. This meal is a staple in our house because it is super quick,easy and healthy.


1 lb of lean ground turkey
1 onion
1 bell pepper (green)
1 tsp oregano 
1 tsp basil
2 cloves garlic
1 cup corn
1 can white kidney beans
1 can stewed tomatoes 
1 can tomato sauce
Delish! and obviously we eat it with tortilla chips and a bit of cheese on top. But you can easily cut that out if you want to cut calories.


I have been trying to have one vegetarian meal a week. I love meat but over all as north americans I think we eat too much of it. Also, it's a great way to cut back on your grocery bill. Matt usually complains about not being full without meat.  I think it goes against his upbringing but sometimes I don't mention it and he doesn't notice... Bah ha ha. This week we tried a great recipe...


Stuffed peppers. I used quinoa instead of rice. I'm on a quinoa kick!!  Recipe here I also cook my stuffed peppers in the crock pot so I don't have to pre boil the peppers. It's just a lazy trait I guess.


Quinoa BBQ chicken salad. Recipe here I successfully fed Matt a salad for dinner without complaint. He loved it in fact. It has taken me years to get to this point :)


Anyway here are just a few ideas for some healthy eats. If you have some favorites PLEASE pass them on. I would love to try them.

Mush

With our anniversary coming up in May, I just can't help remembering one of the best days. EVER.

I don't understand why this video wouldn't upload on to my blog but if you would like to watch a video click here 

Life is never easy (it wasn't designed to be so) but it's sure sweet with Matthew by my side.

Just Another Saturday Night

Last night was a typical night at the Vickery's...

A seductive photo shoot.

Fresh out of the tub and in his dinosaur towel Nanny and Grandad gave him.

Smizing with all his might.

Exploring his angles and use of space. Tyra would be so proud.

Another rice cereal fail...

And a bed time story with dad...

Wait, is that a Companies Coming cookie cookbook? 

Yes.

William went to bed programed with tales of butter and sugar.

Matt entered the kitchen and made me cookies.

Good man. 

Mr March

Eat your heart out ladies

You could crack a nut on those cheeks 

William vs Pterodactyl

 Is there anything cuter then baby sounds?

Well...lately they have become less cute and more pterodactyl-ish

Apparently screaming at the top of your lungs is the coolest. I might need hearing aids in 3 months but William seems to be having a blast. 

I am saving you from a video of this. Just imagine ear piercing screams and then a smile because he is please with himself.

So to final the score..

Cuteness- William

Speed- Pterodactyl

Drool-William

Talons- Pterodactyl

Stink-William

Ability to fly-Pterodactyl

Screeching- Identical

Not extinct- William

Winner- William

Firsts

It is so much fun watching William's days fill with firsts. Here are some recent first.

Rice Cereal. I had originally figured I would introduce this when he turned 5 months (the end of this month) but he has been consuming considerably more milk lately and has to double up in order to have a solid nap - longer then 45 mins. If I have learned anything about my son, it's DON'T mess with his naps. He takes 4 a day and is SO cranky without them. I haven't decided if it's just a male trait or if he gets his need of sleep from his father.

So the task of keeping this growing boys tummy full is of utmost importance.

Love those tummy rolls...
why do they stop being cute?

He seemed to think it was a cool idea at first but now the novelty has worn off and he wont really eat  without spiting it out and getting frustrated. I think I'll try again in a few weeks (mom's is that what you do?). I tried some myself and don't really blame him... So for now I will continue to double up on milk. 

Another first came today. 

William sits!

He's still a little tipsy but can hold himself up for a few minutes as long as he is still and uses his hands to support himself.

 And he still folds over when trying to grab a toy.

But still, it's pretty cool in my books. Up until yesterday he could only "sit" when he was on my lap and had my legs/stomach to help keep balanced.

I'm pretty proud of my little guy, I can't help it.

So bring it on firsts

Get Ripped

With summer around the corner who doesn't want to look like a hottie in their suit? Well, I have been thinking about my not-so-hottie-after-baby-body and have become determined to change it. Lets get real, I am not going to be entering to be on the cover of sports illustrated this year...after turning them down continuously they just stopped asking...  BUT, I know that getting into a work out routine always makes me feel great and thats the result I am looking for.

I thought about joining a gym. I LOVE going to the gym. There is something about other people working out around me that makes me competitive and push myself even further then I would normally. The last gym Matt and I joined had a "cardio cinema" and man did I run fast while watching 007. No one could convince me that I wasn't James Bond in those moments. Getting to the gym now is a different story. Any time where I could get out of the house without William, Matt is at school studying... So I thought I would try the whole new world of at home fitness.

I have herd that Jillian Michaels has some sweet workouts and lets face it- a rockin' bod. So I am giving it a try. Yesterday I bought

It's always been a dream of mine to be ripped. For now I am going to work on successfully completing one male push-up. Baby steps right? Anyway I am asking for someone who wants to do this with me. I need motivation and accountability. Its a 20 min time commitment each day for 30 days. I did it this morning and have decided I might need to stretch out the week one exercises for the first two weeks because I am incredibly out of shape. So any takers?? I need a work out buddy! Preferably someone who has zero upper body strength like myself ;)

JUMP

Just incase you thought our small(understatement)apartment wasn't already covered with baby cloths/toys/blankets/diapers/chairs... we've added a jumberoo. 

His feet barely touch...

But that doesn't stop the party

Oh so crafty

I received a diaper cake for my baby shower and thought it was the cutest. Here is my attempt to create one for a friend.

I made burp cloths (can never have too many... unfortunately)and used them as the cake topper, then added baby boy shoes to finish it. I had so much fun making this. The hot glue gun always makes me happier then my sewing machine. The burp cloths are made from cloth diapers and then you just add a cute strip of fabric to them. Easy, fun and cute! 

Snoop Dogg

Without any disrespect to snoop dogg...  My pre-teen self loved you with Dr Dre. In fact still D R E is the only song I know how to play on the piano.

Proof

What? don't you rap about your country on its birthday after decorating flag cookies? cause the Vickery's do. 

It has become rather concerning to me that I catch Matthew singing snoops lasted hit. "Young and wild and free" with Wiz Khalifa. I have chosen to leave the song out of this posting... but here is the chorus:

So what we get drunk

So what we smoke weed

We're just having fun

We don't care who sees

So what we go out

Thats how it's supposed to be

Living young and wild and free

There are so many things wrong about my husband singing these lyrics (although he is wearing 501's as the song suggests). 

I knew I had to say something when he started singing, "Roll one. Smoke one" in front of our child. 

Picture of snoop dogg

Picture of my husband

Can you see the problem?

Unrelated to the song but probably my favorite clip of Snoop, way to make pig-tails masculine.

Passports

If you are anything like me, there is a secret hatred in your heart for people who take good drivers license or pass-port pictures. These pictures mug shots follow you around and haunt you for years! 
Well now we all have someone else to be jealous of.

William's first passport photo, preparing him to see Nanny and Grandad in May.

Salt Lake City

There is a common joke among "law wives," that we are all single parents or widows. I thought at first, this was an exaggeration but after Matt's first week at law school I realized there is truth to this statement. I don't know how Matthew keeps up the stamina or energy to be in class and study 10-12 hours a day but he does. Often his studying spills over into the weekends or late nights so days spent with Matt and William together are a treasure. With this mentioned it might be less of a surprise at how excited I am for this summer to be approaching. No class, No readings, No ace tutor sessions, no meetings... I get giddy thinking about it. 

Matt had applied to many internships this summer in Vancouver, Washington, California and Utah but got rejected again and again. It seems companies are less then excited to take on a first year law student and pay them for their time. With summer getting closer and closer we were getting a little anxious. 

Then yesterday happened. 

We are headed to Salt Lake. What a relief to know where we will be living in 2 1/2 months! It seems this opportunity couldn't be more perfect with the type of law Matt would like to get into(water law.) Although Salt Lake is not the ideal location for us to end up permanently, we are thrilled to be closer to family and lets face it... I cried with joy knowing I will be going to the bombay house and the cheese cake factory every night for dinner. 

Although I HATE moving I think the indian food and cheese cake are sweetening the deal. 

Let the preparations begin.