transitioning...

My goal throughout this cleanse was really to lose the 10 lbs I had gained from the time I had my baby until now. Well, I reached that goal a few days ago and rather than continuing the strict cleanse for the last week. I've been transitioning into how I'll be eating after the cleanse. More brown rice and grilled chicken, less eating out and better choices when I do. I also need to find a way to get more workouts in. The types of food I'll be including back in include regular fish, chicken and meats, eggs, a little bit of dairy and some healthy carbs such  as whole wheat pita pockets.

I have had a weight problem my entire life. Even as a toddler I was a chunky chunky kid. So I really have to watch what I eat all of the time and I'll have to do this for the rest of my life. I love food, but I love life more and if I have to give up some junk food to be around for my honey and kids a lot longer, then so be it.

The types of lunches and dinners I've been having these last few days have included items not recommended on the cleanse, but still healthy options.

Total weight loss

-10 lbs

GOAL MET!

Cleanse- Last week & mom struggles

This is the last week of my cleanse!
It has definitely been much more difficult to maintain my drive and stay on track now that I'm a mom as opposed to when I have done this cleanse in the past. I can't plan out my day because I have to follow this kids lead. I definitely try to keep a schedule with her, but in reality if she wakes up 20 minutes into her 2 hour nap, I can't force her to go back to sleep. My day is kind of thrown out of whack and I there go a few chores I could have done if she were asleep. I COULD let her cry it out and just do what I need to do, but 1. we live in apartments and she's my kid, not my neighbors, so they shouldn't have to deal with her crying. and 2. She's a baby and today is the tiniest she's ever gonna be again. I need to enjoy holding her in my arms as much as I can while I still can. I don't want to regret it later.

One part of the schedule we do have down is bedtime! Come 6pm we get the bath ready, have a fun swimmy, soapy, bubbly time. Then we've got to get ready for bed; lotion, pajamas, hair brushing (she gets lots of knots already!) and all that fun stuff. After that we read a book to her and then it's bottle and bed time. We do this EVERY night and she's definitely come to expect it. We don't bathe her because she's dirty every night, but because we want to establish a routine. A good hour to wind her down and for her to know it's time to end the day. She's asleep by 7-7:30 every night and (aside from a little whining every 3 hours to eat) she's asleep until 6 to 7 am the next morning.

Come 8pm honey takes over and it's me time. By "me" time I mean gym time! I've only been in Tucson about a month and a half and we're moving to Dallas in 5 weeks, so signing up at a gym is not an option. I've been using the small onsite community gym and this is my routine.

• 10 minute warm up
• 30-40 minute weight circuit
• 30-45 minute cardio
• 10 minute stretching/cool down

I'm a spin class girl, so this is killing me, but with the right play list (thanks to Amazon Prime) it is tolerable. Haha! I'm looking forward to finishing this cleanse and continuing with healthy choices. I had terrible self esteem problems growing up and I don't want to pass that down to my daughter. I want to raise her with an active healthy lifestyle. A lifestyle I wasn't aware of until I ventured out on my own.

Total weight loss
-10 lbs

Day 10 & Fitbit

I'm getting lost in the days. I came into this cleanse with the best of intentions but my aunt is visiting for the week (aunt flow...TMI?) and I want chocolate covered potato chips. That mixed in with the exhaustion of caring for a teething infant through the night and living off of 2 to 3 hours of solid sleep is really messing with my head. I had a little help from Whole Foods this week and their prepared salad for lunch.

And of course this kid can't watch me eat anything without yelling at me like someone's about to murder her because she wants some. Yes I know I'm not supposed to be feeding a 5 month old strawberries but seriously, this kid eats almost everything we eat. The big thing we stay away from is dairy (because I have a dairy allergy. It gives me strep throat).

I do have to mention that besides the cleanse itself I also have a backup motivator/tool in this, and that is my Fitbit! I really only take it off to shower but besides that, it tracks me all day, so I know when I'm being a little too lazy. However, with a toddler, it's hard NOT to reach my steps goal. I've got it synced up with my phone and online, and I track my food on it as well. I've set a goal and it kinda guides me through the day. I highly recommend it!

Total weight lost:

5 lbs

Day 8

I'm still on it! Just been spending time with the family, finally unpacking from the holidays, and cleaning. Also CHEATING on my cleanse!! Well, just for one day one meal. We went out with our roommate to a delicious little morning restaurant that's going to be featured on Food Network CA, so we thought we'd try it out before it got crazy and also try it out  before we move! It's called Baja Cafe

and it did not disappoint! 

Outdoor experiences were never a part of my childhood and nor were they a part of my honey's chidhoood. We want to be good healthy role models for our children, so we want to build a good foundation and although she's too small to remember, we're laying down the stones to a solid family structure. Family time this week consisted of a little hiking in the mountains! I never thought I'd see snow and cacti at the same time. It was a beautiful hike!

We have also been informed that my honeys work will be sending us to Dallas for the next 6 months, so we'll be moving in about 6 weeks. YIIIKES! So I've also been spending lots of time apartment searching. Finding an apartment for my little family is number one priority right now. Needless to say, I haven't been dedicating as much attention as I'd like to the cleanse but I have not given in or given up yet! Still sticking to the plan and as of this morning...

Total weight loss

- 4.8 lbs

Days 3 & 4

I have never needed as much patience as I have the last few days. I have a teething 5 month old and she is driving me bananas! She's my first, so I'm not exactly sure how teething works but this kid will not let me put her down. I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom because I can't imagine a day care facility having the patience for this. So as you may imagine, being on a cleanse with a teething babe is not the most ideal of situations.

For the past two days I have had very little time for myself, let alone to attempt to cook. However, I did not want to allow this cleanse to just go down the toilet. I have had a tough time with my weight my entire life, but I know this cleanse works and I know it will put me on the right path to healthfulness once again. So instead of giving into my cravings for that leftover bag of chocolate potato chips in the pantry or the frozen pizza in the freezer, I opted to switch things up and drink 2 shakes with a meal for lunch one day and a salad as my  meal for lunch the next. Day 3 baby bear miraculously took a 1hr nap in which time I was able to cook lunch for dad who was joining us today. I thought I might be starving with the two shakes, but I have been good and full of  energy. A crying baby is probably a good distraction from feeling hungry as well. My willpower is so amazingly strong and I am superwoman, right? HA! I have to confess that although the crying baby, no time to cook or even to shower thing didn't put me off track, tradition did.

Yesterday was Three Kings Day and in my Hispanic tradition we get together with family and make coffee or hot chocolate and sit around eating a sweet giant doughy donut-ish pastry filled with plastic baby Jesus' called a rosca. Well, I'm about 7 hours away from my family but it's the first Three Kings Day with my little baby and I bought a tiny rosca from a Starbucks in Tijuana while I was there for Christmas. So we made ourselves a pot of coffee and I had a bite (okay, like 3) of the rosca and my coffee. That was my cheat for the day. Today baby bear wouldn't let me put her down without an ear popping serenade, so my honey brought me a salad for lunch and I had another shake for dinner. I'm so thankful for that man!  Tomorrow's a new day! I hope those teeth pop out soon so I can take a little breather! Haha!

Day 3:

Breakfast

Coffee and a shake

Lunch

Chicken, veggies, brown rice, and salad with no dressing

Dinner 

Shake

Day 4

Breakfast

Coffee and a shake

Lunch

A salad my honey brought me

Dinner

Shake

and our traditional rosca! 

Total weight lost, 

- 3.4 lbs

Day 2

I thought today was going to be the hardest day of them as far as willpower, but I surprised myself. I did have cravings for a bag of lemon flavored potato chips that's hanging out next to the bed and going through Pinterest doesn't make things any easier. But I managed to get through without cheating! Well...unless you count my morning coffee, which I DON'T! By the way, why are there so many incredible looking recipes on Pinterest? Would I ever venture out into actually MAKING them? No. But it's like looking at food porn. I want it and I convince myself that if I wasn't on this cleanse I would totally make it. I got so lazy yesterday that I didn't even make myself dinner. I just opted for a second shake. Haha!

So yesterday was DEFINITELY a low energy day. Low energy plus a baby who is super fussy because she's trying to get back to her normal routine after our holiday travels is a bad recipe. I literally only did the bare minimum and caved in to hold my baby whenever she cried. I just couldn't handle it yesterday. I knew that there are a few days of feeling crappy when you begin the cleanse, so I'm just staying hopeful for the days to come. I've been told the reason for this is because your body is getting rid of toxins and blah blah blah. I think my body wants all that fat and sugar it's used to, but the toxins thing sounds so much better, so let's go with that.

I usually drink Garden of Life Raw Protein but it has a texture you have to get used to. It's like you're drinking the desert and a flood all at the same time. Sandy wet texture. But, once you drink it for a little bit you get used to it and kind of miss it when you try another shake. Well, I haven't had it in a while and I was not feeling the texture, so I've switched and stole my honeys protein shake (he's not drinking it anyways, he's on a protein bar thing). I have a dairy allergy, not lactose intolerance, an allergy. I'm a strep carrier and break out in strep throat when I have too much dairy, so I can only tolerate vegan protein. So my honeys protein is Vega Protein & Greens which is much smoother and creamier and easier to mix with different flavors so I can change up my shake every day. 

Day 2 breakdown:

Breakfast:

8 oz lemon water

Coffee

Shake

Lunch:

This hot mess

Dinner:

Shake 

Coffee ( I mean we have to test out our Nespresso machine)

Total weight lost,

-2.4 lbs

Day 1

I am so glad the first (and hardest) day is over.

I have to say I did great and made it through, even declined a delicious cup of tea from my honey because it was sweetened. Uhhh it smelled so delicious! What did I eat all day? I'll lay it out...

Breakfast:
Protein shake

 Lunch:
This stuff

Snack:

An apple

Dinner:

This concoction 

I was also going to have an evening cup of tea, but... my honey forgot NO SWEETNERS. *tear*

At the end of the day I didn't feel great or awesome or amazing. It could be because I'm getting over a cold or because I'm not getting as much of the sugar and caffeine that I've grown accustomed to, or a little of both. I'm starting day 2 today and I have a feeling it's going to be tougher than yesterday. Wish me luck!

-1.5 lbs

Getting back to ME in 2016

This year I've decided to be a little selfish and work on ME! After delivering my baby in August of 2015 I moved to Las Vegas to take care of my mother who was placed in hospice care. She was, unfortunately, losing a battle to cancer and wanted to spend her last days at home so I was there with her. I have such a wonderful partner who gave up the first few months with our baby so that I could spend that time with her. He was embarking on a new adventure and starting off his career in Tucson and I felt so terrible that I couldn't be there to support him. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful and understanding man by my side. It was not even a question to him as to where I needed to be.

Living in a home that is not your own (especially with a new baby) has always made me feel like an intruder. I didn't want to take over anyone's space, but I did need to set my newborn up on some sort of routine. It was difficult and uncomfortable and needless to say, I did not take care of myself or even remotely attempt to eat healthy. After my mothers passing I moved to Arizona with my wonderful partner. I've been in Tucson for about a month now. My little girl is 4 months old and we are just feeling settled.

Today is our first day back from a 10 day holiday trip visiting family and although people are put off by new year resolutions I am going to make a few. I need to get back to ME. During my pregnancy I went to spin class until the 8th month and I gained a total of 13 lbs. I was back to my pre-baby weight a week later. After these tough 4 months however, I have gained 10 lbs!!! Almost as much as when I was pregnant and it is NOT okay (with me)!

Today I'm going to start a cleanse. I have done it in the past and have been very happy with the results. I felt better, had tons of energy and gave myself a reboot on eating healthy. I am not recommending or promoting it at all, just documenting my experience through it. I received the information from a manager of mine a few years back whose sister is a nutritionist. I follow the cleanse very strictly aside from adding coffee. I drink it black during the cleanse (which reduces my intake of it anyway). This is a 3 week cleanse, so I really have to mentally prepare myself and my willpower for it, but the first time I finished it I lost 11 lbs, so I have that to look forward to as motivation. This is supposed to be a medically supervised cleanse, but since I have done it in the past I feel comfortable doing it on my own and will be modifying it if I feel like I need to.

I may drink 2 shakes and eat one meal or drink 1 shake and eat 2 meals. I'm doing two meals and following these guidelines.

Aside from following the guidelines and drinking one shake a day I will also be starting off my day with a glass of room temperature lemon water. 

Today is day 1. 

A Little Baby Primping

We recently registered for our little Olive and due to space decided to go with the Contours Classique 3- in- 1 bassinet. We currently live in a spacey one bedroom but definitely not spacey enough for a full crib. Well, I was soooo excited when it arrived last week that I stayed up and decided to put it together all by myself. Not that I don't usually put furniture together on my own, but a little piece of me was telling me daddy and I should put it together as a couple. THAT little voice was quickly pushed aside by my impatient one. This is what the "stock bassinet" looked like...

Certainly not an adorable cozy place I'd like to set my first little baby into. Then, it came with these weird half frill things that didn't really do much to gussy it up. After putting those on it looked like...

Mmm...a little better but still kind of funky, right?

My style is very plain, simple, and classic. So it wasn't the colors that bothered me. I actually would rather have everything be very neutral so that I can save most items for baby #2. This however, was just not special looking at all. After a quick (haha...quick) Pinterest search of bassinets I scoured my home looking for anything I could use to spruce this guy up a bit. I found two king size pillow cases that we had never used or would ever use and got to pinning and sewing. I decided to use the existing bumper thing since it already had velcro attached and just sew it over the funky drop cloth half flap. I am SO happy with the way it turned out! 

Finished product! 

I cannot wait to place my little baby Olive into her little bassinet now! I am SO excited! I might just add a little mobile, but besides that I'd say this is EXACTLY what I envisioned. 

So, all I needed for this little makeover:

• a little imagination
• Some unused pillow cases
• and a straight stitch on my sewing machine

Painted T-Shirts

I'm kind of at that pregnancy stage where my bump is showing but no one will ask me because I might just be a little pudgy in the middle. I'm five and a half months pregnant and just got back into the gym after breaking my toe. I take spin classes about 5-6 times a week and I felt a little funny going up to the instructors to let them know I'm pregnant (they tell you to do this on all these pregnancy websites), so I've been looking for some t-shirts with cute pregnancy designs aaaand...no. I'm not going to pay that much money for a t-shirt I'm gonna go get sweaty in. I don't even think I've paid that much more than a handful of times for a nice blouse, so no. That's bananas!

I was lucky enough to run across some CLEARANCE wohooo! Who doesn't love clearance? I found non maternity 1X sized t-shirts at Target for $3 a pop. I figure they're roomy enough to be comfy and long enough to cover the bump when it gets bigger. $3 a t-shirt? That's the kind of money I'll spend on a shirt I'm gonna get all sweaty in at the gym. I already had craft paint at home, so alls I needed was some fabric medium to mix it with.

Also, little tip... I get really lazy when it comes to clean up. So, if i'm using a non disposable bowl for painting, I like to cover it in plastic wrap and when I leave the paint in the bowl for a week cause I forgot about it I just remove the plastic wrap and toss it!

So I mixed my paint and textile medium and then I got my Silhouette out, chose my font and typed my word in. I like to use contact paper to do any kind of stencil. This is only because I have TONS of contact paper, however I have heard that freezer paper works very well for stencils as well.

Once I had my stencil cut out I placed a plain brown paper bag in the t-shirt to keep any paint from bleeding through.

I added my contact paper stencil. I didn't do a very good job of it, but it was late and I was tired and hey, I'm gonna be using this shirt at the gym anyways, right?

After the first layer of paint, I let it dry for about 30 minutes then added a second coat and allowed that to dry overnight. 

The placement of the word could have been better but I was too lazy to move the stencil and it's going to be my gym shirt anyways. I'm really happy with the results and after a few washings the lettering still looks great!

My DIY Gender Announcement

This is my first pregnancy and like most mommies out there, I am trying to document every part of it as best I can. However...I am also a cheapo! I hate paying full price for anything and wait for sales at any chance I get. This usually is true for services as well. I am absolutely in love with all of these gender announcements I see all over the place, but I just CANNOT afford to pay a photographer for every single milestone I want to capture. I'd rather save a little money so that I can get that photographer once my little one has arrived. So when my honey and I found out what we were having I was extremely anxious to announce it in a unique way and without breaking the bank.

I searched Pinterest for ideas and was inspired by this photograph. How stinking cute are they?

Just my luck, I found out I was having a girl on February 19th. So  a few days later I hit the Target Valentines Day clearance isle looking for some pink candy. It didn't even have to be cotton candy, but just my luck...a bucket on pink cotton candy for $.99! I scored some pink tissue paper and after work I rushed home, opened up all the blinds in my living room to get in as much light as possible, pulled the comforter off my bed and laid it in front of a bare wall, made a quick cone out of copy paper for my cotton candy and a tissue paper pouff. I was in my casual Friday work outfit, so the T-Shirt worked out perfectly.

And here's my finished product.

I could have probably cleaned up the edges a bit and done a little editing, BUT I'm pregnant and lazy and they look pretty gosh darn good. My baby daddy is wasting his time on his Electrical Engineering degree. I think he's found his true calling in photography. I love the way they came out and I only spent $2. OBVIOUSLY, photographers are AMAZING and I am not attempting to put down their craft at all, but for when you just can't afford it and still want to capture precious memories at home, no one is stopping you from getting a little creative! 

To all the mamas out there...you're AMAZING!

I'm usually working on a few projects at a time, but since this little bun started baking I am running on empty. Not only does this little guy (or girl) suck up all my energy but the energy I do have is taken up by the fact that I'm limping around everywhere because of my broken toe.

 Oh, did I mention how much clumsier I've been too? Well, clumsy enough to break my toe good enough to have to have a pin drilled in there. And when you're pregnant you are lucky enough to be awake for the entire procedure! I might have never known what the inside of an operating room looks like otherwise. OR gotten to experience the feeling of a drill penetrating your bone...long lasting memories.(Did you catch a little sarcasm there?)

Big ups to all the mamas out there getting everything done even when you're just not feeling it because for me, getting dressed for work in the morning is an accomplishment right now!

DIY "Lucite" Tray

I have been out of the game for a while, but with a new apartment, a new city and what feels like a new life, I'm more inspired than ever!

I need to decorate and set the details for the new apartment and I'm starting with my DIY version of the ZGallerie gold and white Lucite tray. I've searched high and low and have not been able to find it for purchase. I am OBSESSED with it! Naturally, since I can't purchase it, my little crafty brain goes "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!".

My obsession:

1. I got myself to Michael's and purchased this acrylic picture frame for $14.99. Of course I saved my 50% off coupon for this. So these frames are pretty much just a hollow plastic shell, which makes them PERFECT to use as a tray. You just turn them around, and VOILA!

2. Cover the outside of your tray with contact paper. You know, the stuff you use to line your kitchen shelving. You want to make sure you work with the outside of the tray so that when you turn it around after it is painted you have a nice, glossy, protected surface. Make sure to work out all of the bubbles. Then you measure and mark your frame at every 1" all the way around. I also drew a line a bit off center straight down the frame and marked it at every 1". Then, you begin connecting your marks!

3. Once it is all mapped out, carefully cut out your lines using your x-acto knife. You want to make sure to leave exposed what will be the gold pattern in your tray.

 

 4.  Once your pattern is mapped out, you want to make sure you tape your edges. I forgot to mention that I did not remove the insert from the frame until I was done. I did this to protect the inside from any excess paint over spray.

5. SPRAY AWAY! I used a satin finish gold metallic spray paint. It is NOT specified for plastic, but it has worked out JUST FINE! I did about 5 very thin layers, allowing about 10 minutes of dry time in between.

6. Once you've gotten the right amount of coverage from your gold spray paint and allowed to dry, go ahead and peel off your contact paper. DO NOT remove the blue edging.

7.  After this you're ready to spray on your white layer. I also did about five layers of white, with 10 minutes of drying time in between. I used Krylon spray paint in Satin finish.

8. Peel off the protective edging tape and take out the cardboard insert it came in. VOILA! I'm in love!
After about a week of using the tray I haven't run into any hiccups. I did, however, go back and add a few layers of Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear to protect from minor scratches.

Looks amazing with my other obsession... my Birchbox!!