Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I'd say, SURPRISE, but I probably don't have to.
I hope this post finds you all well and looking forward to what 2020 will bring.  I'm excited for this new decade, but a bit overwhelmed by where I find myself...  Nicky will be heading back to the University of Arizona on Jan.10 to have a mini RA training before the residents arrive on Jan.13th. He'll be starting the 2nd semester of his Junior year as an electrical and computer engineering major and will continue applying for summer internship opportunities and DJing his weekly radio show. Lyndzi just turned 18 a few weeks ago,and is finishing up her last college application as she prepares for the second semester of her senior year in High school. She's juggling being the Varsity Soccer goalie and one of the captains, along with finishing additional works for her portfolio, volunteering at the Sun City Thrift Shop, and mastering her classes. Kelsie turned Sweet 16 a week before Lyndzi turned 18. She is prepping for her upcoming role in "Mulan"at Peoria High School, as well as playing Varsity soccer, volunteering and taking honors classes.  I'm just dumbfounded at how quickly the years have passed, in addition to how long it's been since I actually pursued my own dream of becoming a writer. As a mom and wife, I prioritized everyone else's needs and goals before mine. I was a cheerleader, a chauffeur, a consultant, a collaborator, a DJ, an emcee, an event coordinator, and a fundraiser; and though I loved (almost) every minute of it; my dream took a backseat. PLEASE don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely NOT complaining, I'm just making an observation; because, ya know - THAT'S what I do.

Being a mom is the most satisfying, gratifying, and exciting experience that I've ever had and If I think about how old my kids were and what they were doing when I first started writing "The Bumpy Ride" and where we are now, it feels like it's all transpired in the blink of an eye. I wouldn't change a minute of the time I've spent helping them become who they are but I'm hoping that in this New Year, I will encourage (OK, push) myself the same way I do my kids.

As I sat home relaxing  today (something that I'm not really good at), I thought to myself that it would be a great day to take a stab at resurrecting my blog. I didn't really have anything witty or profound to share, so I re-read a few of my old posts. I wasn't surprised to find that I had mentioned my desire to get back to the gym, several times, and yes, that 100 plus pounds is still yearning to be lost; but just as I took a chance and tried to compose this post, I'm going to make my best effort to get back to the gym. For extra inspiration, I perused some quotes about getting started and because I'm all about the greater good, i'll share some of my favorites with you, just in case you need a lil New Year's encouragement as well.

So, with these words of wisdom in hand, I welcome 2020 and all that it will bring. We have a lot of wonderful things to look forward to and I plan to enjoy them as my best me.  I wish the same for you as well.

Till next time...
Paige

(43-119) I FEEL GOOD

When I posted "A Helping Hand," on Sunday; I told you that I had made my long, overdue return to the gym, and that I was planning to go back the next day... and indeed I did.  I went today as well, so if you're counting that's three days in a row, and although three days isn't much; it's three days more than I had gone in a long, long time; and I AM very proud of myself.

I am so grateful that Lesa G suggested that we go to the gym the other day.  I KNEW that I needed to get there; and yet I just kept standing in my own way.  Now that I've gone back, and I've been reminded of how good it feels; I believe that I'm going to stick with it.  After all, once upon a time I wrote post 43-3; and look at me now.  I'm already up to post  43-119; so before you know it, I'll be telling you that I made my 119th visit to the gym; and HOPEFULLY by then, I will have lost at least 20 lbs.  It's good to have goals.  Of course I need to lose a lot more than 20 lbs; because if you recall, in "100 MORE Random Things About Me;" I shared that I need to lose 100 lbs.  I'm going to approach my weight loss just as I am this blog; and I'm going to set small goals for myself; so that I can enjoy success along the way. 

I was talking to my friend Dawn earlier today, and she was telling me that she was very happy and proud of me for getting back to the gym.  Dawn suggested that I try a Zumba class; but I explained that I go to a no frills kinda gym and they don't offer any classes; they just have treadmills, stair climbers, ellipticals, circuit training machines and free weights.  Not even a shower; but that's OK because you get what you pay for; and I really don't pay very much at all.  I must say that although a class would be nice; I enjoy going to Fitness 19 because there are all kinds of people, all kinds of shapes and all kinds of ages; so where I had always thought that I'd feel self-conscious at a gym; that has NEVER been the case here.

It's only three days in; but I can honestly say that I FEEL GOOD; and when I'm saying that, I'm hearing James Brown in my head of course.  I'm not the biggest James Brown fan, but somehow it seems unavoidable. Dadda Dadda Dadda Da!

I don't want to get ahead of myself; but the promise of what can be, is extremely exciting.  I want to look like the picture on the side of my blog again, the picture on my Facebook avatar, and NOT the woman in the pictures that my friend Tiffany posted on Facebook yesterday.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Facebook; if a friend posts a picture and you're in it; they "tag" you so that the picture is associated with your account as well. This morning I actually removed my tags from my friend's pictures because I didn't want any of my other friend's attention being called to them.  SO SAD, I know.  I emailed Tiff and explained why I'd removed my tags; and I NEVER want to have to do so again.  This is it!!!                       

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-44) Friend Or Foe

I am off track; I am DEFINITELY OFF TRACK!  My weight has been an issue for me, hmmm, well my ENTIRE life; and if you've been following "The Bumpy Ride" for a while or you've known me for more than 2 years; then you know that about 2 years ago I was actively going to the gym, I wasn't eating carbs at dinner and I had lost about 30 lbs.  The picture in my profile was taken during the height of my weight loss; and I can honestly say that I thought I looked good.  I was pleased with my appearance and I had every reason to believe that I was going to continue losing weight.
WELL, life happens; and although my weight loss was a priority; other priorities superseded it.  With Luis working a second job, I found that I had less time to go to the gym, but I continued to avoid carbs at dinner; UNTIL I went on vacation to Puerto Vallarta in May.

Now when I'm disciplined, I'M DISCIPLINED; so the fact that I was going on vacation in and of itself, was not a reason for me to disregard my diet; but I hadn't been eating carbs at dinner for over 2 years; and I wanted to allow myself some time off.  To quote Julia Roberts in "Prettty Woman;" "BIG mistake; HUGE!"  Although I don't think that I gained weight in Vallarta, eating carbs at dinner there was certainly the beginning of my end.
Upon our return home, slowly but surely carbs worked their way back into my dinner menus.  In the 2 years where carbs were absent from my dinners, I continued to make them for my kids, (and didn't eat them) but once I'd hate a taste of my forbidden fruit, as addicting as carbs can be; I was hooked once again.  I haven't stepped on a scale in months, but I'm sad to say that I'm probably very close to being right back where I started from.

I had thought that once my kids went back to school, I would go back to the gym.  But then I found several reasons (OK, EXCUSES) for prolonging my return.  My diet has completely gone to hell with itself; and as I said in the beginning of this post, I am off track; I am DEFINITELY OFF TRACK!

I don't think that I've ever met a carb that I didn't like.  Pasta, rice, breads, potatoes, desserts, I'm an equal opportunity carb eater.  In fact, I'd have to say that carbs are my favorite food group; however, today I overdid it; I DEFINITELY overdid it.  I typically  go in to my office on Thursday's and I customarily stop and pick up a bagel on my way in; and that's exactly what I did today.  At lunch time I had a child's size personal pizza, and I'll admit that as much as I love carbs; shortly thereafter consuming my second meal of the day, I knew that I had made a mistake.  I became more tired than I remember being in quite some time, and my body felt disgusting.  I wasn't sick to my stomach but I could tell that my body felt overwhelmed.  It was then that I knew that enough was enough; that the carbs I adored were not my friends, but truly my foe.

It is time!  I am ready to get back on track.  I do want to lose the hundred pounds that I mentioned in my "To Do" post and I've got to start somewhere.  Am I ready to go back to the gym?  Now that I'm still not sure about.  But the carbs at dinner; starting Monday, that's my plan! 

It's just like I wrote yesterday, in "New Beginnings," "It's never too late to start over.  I'm re-committing myself and I'm up for the challenge.  Between writing my blog every day, exploring my religion and losing weight, I think I've  got a full plate; and carbs won't have any room there; ESPECIALLY at dinner time.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

My New Weight Loss Plan

I haven't written about my weight loss in quite some time; because much to my dismay there hasn't been any news to share. Oh, don't get me wrong; I'm still going to the gym and I'm still sticking to my no carbs during dinner or after ,(for the most part) and for the most part I mean when no sadistic restaurant is introducing menu items such as "The brownoli." Oh yes, you've guessed it, 2 of my weaknesses combined into one dessert. Yes it's the brownie stuffed with cannoli cream - OY! This is while I'll NEVER be thin. Now don't get me wrong; when I went to the newly opened Meatballz; one of the reasons that I agreed to go was because my friend Shelly told me that in addition to being able to order a hero (sub) or an entree with pasta, you could also order an entree with salad. And then of course the second reason was that she told me about the brownoli. I just had to try it; so I ordered one (I mean I could have saved it for the next day; that's permissible,) but then what do you think happened? The place was packed so we decided that we would get our food to go. It was just over an hour when I finally got my order and was told that they had run out of bread (and of course Luis had decided to cheat on his diet and order the hero) and the guy wanted to know what I wanted him to do about it. YES, that's what he said, and I quote "I'm sorry, we've run out of bread; what do you want me to do about it?" To which, (after I gave a New York raised sigh of disgust,) I said "well what are my options?" And he actually replied "Well, I could give you your money back, or you can have anything else on the menu." Give me my money back, did I hear that right? I had waited for over an hour with not so much as a free cup for water and the guy thought that I might choose to leave WITHOUT food? Now, I'm sounding a lot more outraged here then I let on to him, which must be why he decided to reward me with an extra brownoli; but in the long run, they were so busy that they must not have been paying real close attention to my order because when I unpacked my order at Shelly's, I found THREE orders of brownoli. Maybe that's an indication of how they ran out of bread. Anyway, I still have brownoli in my fridge. I'll just say the idea of it, actually sounds better than what it is ~ at least these. So see, I really do have a bit of self control, and I have been trying to exercise it all over the place, since I can't seem to find the time to exercise IT, at the gym.
Now when I say that I'm still going to the gym; I should clarify and say that when I began my weight loss plan, I was religiously going to the gym 5 times a week; and then soccer season hit and in addition to that, my work load was enormous, (and I usually take a break from work to go to the gym;) so given these two factors, my attendance slowed down to 3 or 4 times a week. I know that these sound like excuses, but wait; I'll gice you more. The next thing I knew it was December, and I had extra things to do because of the girl's birthdays and leaving for Puerto Vallarta; so I was convinced that I would start the year off like gangbusters and get back to my 5 time a week routine ~ yah, but in the long run; not so much. Kelsie came down with pneumonia, Lyndzi's asthma was out of control and then she got RSV, and since you can't take sick kids to the gym, again I had to miss a few more days than I should have.

Every Sunday, my friend Lesa and I try to plan our out at least 3 or 4 days that we can meet up at the gym during the upcoming week. We then call each other Monday morning to check in and make sure that no one has stayed home from school. Lesa also works from home, and so there are days that she bails on me; but I STILL go; because it really is important to me, and even though it's more fun with her there; in the long run, I'm really no there for fun.
Fast forward to 2 weeks ago; spring break, and Lyndzi had strep; so again I had to stay out of the gym. So last week, I went by myself on Monday; got one day under my belt and was feeling optimistic about making a fresh start. Then Tuesday morning, Nicky woke up with a fever and sore throat, so that was another day gone. Wednesday morning; same deal, and Wednesday night, along came the double pink eye (for Nicky.)
Come Monday, I again went to the gym alone. Lesa joined me on Tuesday, and it was then that we realized that we should be filming a YouTube show from the gym, because this is where we have our very INTENSE discussions about important things like who we think is going to be leaving "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars." Lesa wasn't able to stay that long, because she had a haircut appointment, but I pressed on. I wound up having a REALLY good workout ; probably the best that I'd had in quite some time. And later that day I called Lesa and said "If I bought it for you; would you wear the men's cologne of my choice, to the gym?" She gave a hearty laugh and said a very loud "WHAT?" So I explained, that a few minutes after she left, a semi-good looking guy (who I'd never seen there before,) got on the treadmill that she had been on; and he smelled TERRIFIC! I think he was wearing Fahrenheit, or some cologne that I really like, and he smelled so good, that I actually added time to my treadmill; TWICE! We both laughed ourselves silly; and though she thought it was a good idea, she couldn't comply due to allergies; so I'm actually considering putting some cologne on my workout towel. Never underestimate the power of smell. With this new plan of action, I just may take off those additional hundred pounds within the next 2 years; or at least I'll be happy trying.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

A New, New look

I know that many of you don't really SEE "The Bumpy Ride," because you just read your feed when it is emailed to you; but IF you happen to check it out; you will see that once again it has a new look. I am DEE-LIGHTED with it's current appearance, and though I am typically the Queen of CHANGING MY MIND (about little trivial things;) I am now THOROUGHLY satisfied, and anticipate this being "TBR" ("The Bumpy Ride") from here on out. To go along with the NEW, NEW look I have also changed my picture. I know my profile pic is tiny; so I am going to include some recent photos, so you can check out MY New, New look.

A couple of weeks ago I took my girls to get their hair cut. Well, Kelsie came out looking like a member of a male, 80's rock band; and Lyndzi's bangs were WAY too short; not to mention that although my instruction was to cut off whatever wasn't healthy; I think the lady cut off far too much. OK, so it's hair, and it will grow; but after these descriptions, a sane person might wonder why I decided to get my haircut there, the same afternoon. LOL Well, I'll tell ya. For EVER I had long hair, and then almost 2 years ago I got my hair cut a little shorter than shoulder length, and then a little shorter, and a little shorter. I had gained a considerable amount of weight at the time, and I think that cutting my hair was the only thing that I felt like I could control about my appearance; so I kept cutting it. So now, were up to present day and my hair was starting to grow to it's original (first cut) length, and I was actually on the fence about what to do with it. It wasn't looking bad, I just hadn't decided if I was going to let it grow or not. So when I took the girls that day, the lady who was cutting Lyndzi's hair, made a comment that people with curly hair should either have it long, or very short (so of course, Queen of INSECURITY that I am; thought she was directing that comment to me.) I asked her if she had an idea for my hair, and she did, so yah, I let her cut it; and you know what? The response has been PHENOMENAL. I think this is the best haircut, hairdo I have EVER had. People who didn't expect to like it when I described it, see it and LOVE it; even my bosses, (all guys) RAVED about it. The only one who didn't like it... was Luis. As a matter of fact he HATED it. BUT, after a few days of hearing all the other people say how terrific it was, he said "I think it's growing on me." No; actually it's growing on me - hahaha Thank you very much; I'm here all week. OK, I couldn't resist. Anyway, My friends Lori and Jessica have developed this little ritual that they call "Drunk Hair Friday." Apparently they get together, have some cocktails and color each others hair. So of course Michelle (...K) and I wanted to get in on the act. Luis was actually PRO- Drunk hair Friday (I think he SECRETLY wants me to become a blond) but hey, I'm a proud red head. Remember; RED, it's not just a color, it's an attitude. But with some blond streaks - hmm, there are definite possibilities. So Michelle (... K) and I went to Drunk Hair Friday with our pals Lori and Jess and we had A BLAST. Jessica did my hair PERFECTLY (and she's not even a licensed hairdresser; but 5 people in her family are;) and Lori blew me. Well, my hair. Michelle went blonder, Lori got some more highlights and Jess did her roots. We had some shots, and some cocktails; and a good time was had by all. ( THANKS LADIES!!) So, now without further ado, here are some more pix (as taken by Michelle today - when we were attempting to make a You Tube Video - story for another time.) I'm now down 30 lbs (I know that was my last report, but I'm working on it) Have MUCH shorter hair; and blond streaks. Check me out!
Till Next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

Diet Coke Chocolate Cake

Welcome to my 51st blog!! It hardly seems possible. I actually had no idea that I had reached such a mile stone, or should I say 'Mild" stone; (I mean in the world of blogging, 51 is probably not even a drop in the bucket, but for me Queen of Less and Less Free Time Lately, I think 51 is impressive.) Anyway, I logged on just to put this little and I do mean "little" post and there it was, my profile, and it said 50 posts - who knew?? SO yay Queen of writing a blog once and a while !! Happy 51st blog, and may it not take me another 15 months to post 50 more - LOL

Anyway, on to my little post...
Earlier tonight I sent an email to many of my friends, so most of you are probably going to feel REALLY cheated right now; because all I'm going to write about is the Diet Coke Chocolate Cake. Sorry for the tease friends; but on the off chance that anyone who reads "The Bumpy Ride" isn't on my personal email list; I want them to know about this AMAZING cake; cause you know me, I'm ALL ABOUT the GREATER GOOD.

OK, so yesterday I ran into my friend Mari in the Super Walmart parking lot. She mentioned my previous blog, or should I say mine & Michelle (.....K's) previous blog, and we were talking about weight loss. Mari told me that she's been doing Weight Watchers for 2 weeks and she had made this Chocolate cake with Diet Coke, and it was D-Licious. I was fascinated and since I was heading into the Super Walmart I felt compelled to buy the ingredients.

It really couldn't be any easier. All you do is get a Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix (she specified Duncan Hines, so I bought Duncan Hines; if you want to try something else; let me know how it works - see again there's that Queen of Following the Rules thing in full effect. Anyway, you add 1 can of Diet Coke (and yah, I don't know, I asked if it had to be DIET COKE per se, and Mari couldn't really say one way or another - and so of course I had Luis buy 1 can of Diet Coke - you know why. ) I personally prefer Diet Dr.Pepper; which actually might be pretty tasty in the cake; Diet Pepsi or Coke Zero, but for the purpose of this cake I put in the can of DIET COKE; and that's it. No eggs, no oil, just stir the cake mix with the Diet Coke and bake as per the instructions on the box. Serve it with some Cool Whip Free and I swear to you it tastes like a Hostess cupcake. Mari had told me exactly that and by golly she was right - a Hostess, Friggin cupcake.

Now, make no mistake, of course there's still sugar, and there's still carbs, but it's a lot less fattening and moist as can be. I recommend eating it before your last meal of the day, because about 2 months ago I stopped eating carbs and dessert during my last meal of the day and or after; and I attribute MOST of my weight loss thus far to this; even though I'm still going to the gym 5 times a week. (I have the metabolism of a snail and it is difficult for me to lose pounds, but this practice really has seemed to help - AGAIN , information being shared for the purpose of the GREATER GOOD.)

Well, as promised; just a "little" blog. I just wanted to share this CRAZY recipe with you; and or affirm that this recipe DOES WORK (if you happen to have seen it before.) Now with my luck there's probably some study out there showing how baking the carbonation of the Diet Coke into the cake has actually proved harmful. But now I've done it; I've gone and posted a blog about how great it is; so be prepared for me to recant my recommendation at any time; cause you know, sometimes I'm just the Queen of being The LAST To Know. Hahaha BUT in case it really is safe; I'm told there is a yellow cake recipe with Diet 7 up or Diet Orange or Diet Mountain Dew (a lot less restrictive than the DIET COKE I guess;) and for some reason lately lemon EVERYTHING has been sounding great to me, so I'll keep you posted.

Alrighty, I've said enough. I hope you try and enjoy this treat as much as me and my family did.

Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING