A funny thing

Well not really funny haha but kind of ironic none-the-less. I had been feeling down as I had seriously thought I'd gained back a chunk of the weight I'd recently lost. I stepped on the scale last week for my weekly weigh in and was actually down the 1.2 lbs I had gained the previous week. Great ! So why was I looking at myself in the mirror and seeing bulges that weren't there before??? I had no idea UNTIL I realized my pants were just too big on me and really should be given away pronto. I have been wearing my size 10's and felt decent in them, I knew they were a little baggy in the tushy area but after 8 months of climbing 10-20 flights of stairs a day and following the Weight Watchers plan my butt is no longer as wide as it was and my pants just hang there...no more wearing my bigger/older clothes with a belt. It just won't cut it! My work out pants which I LOVED, which were very flattering (IMO) up till now look ridiculous and make me look wider than they should...time to let them go too!!! I have a pile of dresses I can't let go of and will be taking them to get altered ASAP!! Since they are mostly big in the chest but still fit in the waste and hips I hope there won't be any problem altering them to fit again! and now I have an excuse to buy a few new thing!
Off to do some shopping I must go!

Bye-bye summer sad to see you go but...

Summer is obviously coming to an end. The mornings are getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. There is more need to bring a sweater than ever before.
This summer the fashion trends were quite varied but a lot of them leaned towards the super short shorts. I will not be sorry to see these go. So many girls have been sporting this style when really they should think about wearing their shorts just a wee bit longer. I really don't think everybody needs to see your almost bikini line or the hem of your panties peaking out from under the shorts. Then there is the too heavy girl wearing the too revealing shorts... i won't even go there, no need to create such an unpleasant picture in your mind on that one!

The next summer trend I'll be happy to go is the sandal boot. I just don't like them. I did try a pair or two on out of curiosity but really they do nothing for your foot/leg and I really don't think they look good with short, or skirts. Maybe, just maybe they are okay with capris and more okay with long pants-but so many people don't wear them with capris or longs... please ladies take a really good look in the mirror before you head out the door in these sandal/boots! UGH.

The gladiator sandal is another summer foot trend I just didn't get into. I like the beaded sandals and the ones with stones but ones with straps half way up the leg or too much leather on the top are just not my style (and honestly I have yet to see a woman pull this off looking chique and stylish)

Of course there were a lot of fashion trends this summer I will be sad to see go.
I love peasant tops. They are so cool and breezy, come in so many colors and fits- i had 2 which I really loved wearing with capris or jeans.
Printed t-shirts. I love all the butterfly and floral prints I found this year. I just hope they are trendy again next summer as I'd hate to only get one seasons wear from them!

Sundresses. These do come back from summer to summer and usually the styles are pretty similar so I'm sure that next year I'll be able to sport the ones I bought this year without much thought. I was never into dresses before but became somewhat addicted to them this year. I bought 4 summer dresses and wore them as much as I could. I have even purchased a little shrug I hope to wear over them when the weather gets cooler but still warm enough to wear skirts without hose/tights.
Dresses with leggings. I love this look but could never actually find one that suited me. Of course I only tried on one or two and then gave up... perhaps if i'd searched harder!

Can't wait to see what becomes all the rage this fall! I did notice some fall clothes in the store windows this morning...maybe i'll take a peak to see what i can find!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I used to LOVE cutting out recipes and trying them. I keep them in a binder and must have hundreds of them which look/looked good to me but I have never made. Yesterday my little guy wanted to bake a cake with me. I thought that was a great idea but couldn't find a suitable recipe for which I had all the ingrediants. Then I found this gem which was cut out of a Post Bran Flakes box in 1995!!!! (Yup you read that right. I had this recipe in my possession for 15 years and just NOW made it for the first time!!! )
Anyway here is the recipe:

2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup bran flakes
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

• in a large bowl combine eggs, honey, oil, banana, peanut butter and vanilla
• combine flour, cereal, baking powder, baking soda and salt
• add dry ingrediants to wet mixture and stir until flour is just dampened. Spoon in 12 greased muffin tins, filling 3/4 full.
• bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan and cool on rack.
  Makes 12 muffins

Nutritional Info

1 muffin: 278 cal, 5.7g protein, 15.6 g fat, 31.7 carbohydrate, 2.1g dietary fibre

They came out really fluffy and light. I did throw in a handful of chocolate chips in half the batter. They are quite high in fat and calories, equaling about 6 points each on WW. Next time I try these I would replace the oil with applesause for added flavour and to reduce the fat/calories. Since they don't have any sugar they aren't very sweet but my kids still ate 2 each!

My first run

in a really really long time.
A few nights ago I went for my first run in probably 7 years. I was inspired by Fansy Pantsy and since she asked if I wanted to meet up and join her for a run, I thought it couldn't hurt! Well I did about 3 k and felt really good about it. I know 3k isn't that much but I did that without any stopping or "wind sprinting" (running 1 minute, walking 3 etc)
Running is something I could definitely see myself doing regularly. It is so freeing and easy (not the actually running but the fact that you can put your shoes on and go-no driving to the gym, no hopiong something good is on TV while you pound it out on the elliptical) You just put your shoes on and off you go! Wonderful!
My legs were quite sore the next day and had a fairly hard time going up my 5 flights of stairs so opted for the elevator once or twice rather than kill myself. Today (Friday) my legs and butt muscles are kind of sore but I'm not sure if that is the running or the Zumba class I did last night!

A quick review

I had been eyeing these Skechers sandals for some time and when the went on sale recently (and I had an additional %10 off coupon) I decided to make the investment. Well they are supposed to help tone and shape your legs while you do the regular walking you do daily.
So far I have been very impressed with how comfortable they are. The souls of my feet don't hurt, in fact they are cushioned so well and almost feel like i'm walking on air. The toe thong isn't quite at comfortable as it should be but I think I need to brake them in a little more ( I often wear sandals with toe thongs but these just fit a little differently than the ones I normally wear)

They look great with jeans, capris and even some skirts...so shiny and lovely bling-perfect for our upcoming cruise!

I'm not sure my calves are really getting any more toned from wearing them but really I'm not overly concerned. All the stair climbing I do should certainly do that for me!

flashback to the past

This weekend we went all retro. Our computer was in the shop being debugged, our phone line had been accidently cut and niether of us have an i-phone, blackberry or any other method of checking email. We were forced to spend quality time together without all the luxeries of modern day communications. It was really nice!!! Since our computer is currently in the family room someone is often sitting there with their back to the room looking at the screen rather than talking and communicating with the others. I didn't realize how anti-social this was until we no longer had that option.
I am hoping to use this experience to change my internet-usage habits and spend more time talking, playing and getting down on the floor with the kids (and hubby too:)

Happy Anniversary

after months and months of talking and debating Gav and I decided that a much need vacation was in order. We then debated and discussed to DEATH where to go. Cuba and Mexico are both fairly reasonably priced but have reputations for sometimes being kind of -eh (and the food at the all inclusive resorts are often really blech) Jamaica and Dominican were also contenders but we couldn't find a resort that had a kids club for those aged 2+, most kids clubs only start at age 4. That just wouldn't work as I just know as soon as we left our big boy there the little girl would freak out and want to stay with her big brother (and frankly i don't think i'd want to leave him there without her- what is the point really?) So we opted for a Carnival Cruise. They have "Carnival Camp" for kids aged 2-11 and it is open from 9 am till 3am!! (Not that we'd ever leave the kids there for that long nor that late but it's available if need be!)
The cruise stops at a whole array of awesome places and we have choices of so many excursions to go on. I cannot wait!!!
and this is of course just another motivator to keep my hand out of the chocolate chips!
AND the absolute best part...the ship sets sail on our 6th anniverary- what a way to celebrate!!