Is this some kind of joke?

Because frankly, Haagen Dazs, it isn't funny.

Here I am, strolling through the ice cream aisle (shut up) and I spot you. Calling out my name. Taunting me.

You were the right price.

And I thought to myself, "Self, this is the kind of serving that I can sit down and inhale enjoy without feeling too guilty."

Right?

Wrong.

For a scoop of chocolate ice creamy goodness that very easily fit in my palm, it cost me 260 calories and 17g of fat. It's official...Haagen Dazs, I'm breaking up with you.

Trust me. This will be MUCH harder on me than you.

Sigh.

"Trim the Fat" Thursday

Wow, what a difference a week makes! (Warning, this is going to be a LONG post, so if you're just looking for results and link up info, please scroll to the bottom. Thanks!)

As evidenced by my pitiful posting for the past few weeks, I had fallen off the wagon big time and needed to make some big changes...and quickly. I finally purchased the book "The Flat Belly Diet" that my dr recommended and decided that enough is enough. I took their shopping list, purchased a whole lot of stuff that I never eat and set out on a journey that I'm hoping will be the first step of a new way of life.

I also knew that just fixing my diet wasn't going to solve the problem. I had to get my tail into the gym regularly if I have any hope of getting this massive amount of weight off. In stepped my friend Diana, who asked me to join her in a cardio/strength training class 2 mornings a week. At 5 a.m. no less. Geesh. Last year, when I was attending boot camp workouts 5 mornings a week, I took off 30 lbs. I knew that Diana's proposal might be the answer to keeping my motivation high with exercise.

And so, Monday morning came and I worked myself almost to vomiting during class. Then I came home and proceeded to eat my first breakfast in AGES. Not only was I not happy about having to eat that early, but also what I had to eat. I am a self-professed PICKY EATER. I like what I like and I'm in a generally pissy mood when I'm not allowed to eat it. And let me take this moment to tell you more about this diet. It's broken up into 2 parts. The first 4 days are called the "Jumpstart". I like to refer to this as "Hellstart". Today marks the 4th and (hallelujah) final day of the jumpstart and frankly, I'm stunned I survived it. You are VERY limited on what you can eat and you have to drink a special concoction of water that was nauseating to me. (I'm a purist when it comes to my water. No lemons please.) Thankfully, when the actual diet starts on Friday, my food choices are wide and normal and I'm going to be working lots of new dishes into my routine that I think will be great! And so, let's review the results since last week.

I wanted to get in 3 workouts. I got in 2 really awesome workouts and am now on pace to work out at least 3 days a week. That's progress!

I wanted to do the 4 day jumpstart. Like I said, today is the 4th day and I'm so glad it's almost over. I'm looking forward to starting the "real" part of the diet tomorrow!

And as a side note, I weighed myself Sunday night, to get a starting point on this journey. In 3 days, I've dropped 2.6 lbs. Now I'm finally starting to feel like all this work is paying off. Yay!!

My goals for next week are:
1) Maintain the new diet
2) Get in 3 workouts
3) Not have any ice cream (did I mention that chocolate is allowed on this diet? SCORE!)

So, how are you doing? Wanna jump on the Flat Belly Diet bandwagon with me? Link up here and let's support each other!

Paula Deen Giveaway Winner

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my giveaway! Random.org chose comment #10 as the winner and that comment belongs to....BRANDY at Not Your Average Soccer Mom. Congratulations!!

I will be announcing a string of giveaways beginning Thursday, August 13th in conjunction with the countdown to my birthday! So make sure you come back to get in on the goodies!

"Wreck This Journal" Wednesday

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This is a new feature that we're launching this week that will hopefully be appealing to you creative thinkers out there. And I say "we" because this weekly post is going to be co-hosted by my new friend, Tonya! Tonya was one of my swap partners in the Christmas in July swap and she gave me this really cool book called "Wreck This Journal". It's a journal like no other!

This journal is an experiment. It's a chance to show your creative side. An opportunity to express yourself in a journal like you never have before!

And so Tonya & I really hope that at least a few of you will pick up a copy of this journal and join in this experiment with us. Let's unleash the creativity!

Each Wednesday, one of us will post here about what we've done in our journal that week and talk about how that experience affected our lives. It's going to be an interesting journey! So, pick up a copy of the journal, work on a page or 4 and be ready to link up your entry next week. Let's learn about each other together!

The Tuesday Entertainment Roundup

Another week that was heavy on movies. Good grief, I'll be glad when the Fall t.v. schedules kick into gear. Here's the skinny!

The International - Clive Owen stars as an Interpol agent who is trying to take down a crooked bank. The story was interesting, but I felt it dragged on a bit. Hubby liked it more than I did. I did NOT like the ending. My assessment...MEH.

Smart People - I've never seen Dennis Quaid looking quite so homely as he does in this role. He plays a pompous college professor who is working on all of the key relationships in his life. The cast is full of talent and there is some great writing in this film. It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful. Definitely an indie film.

Passengers - This movie stars Anne Hathaway as a psychiatrist who is helping a group of airplane crash survivors. Patrick Wilson (love him!) is one her patients who just isn't what he seems. This movie wasn't fantastic, but I would say overall that I enjoyed it. Any movie that can illicit tears from me has to be somewhat good.

New in Town - I had a feeling when I rented this one that it was going to be dud. It had a few heartwarming moments and a couple of laughs, but this one lacked a whole lot of something. Renee Zellweger's performance was just flat. Harry Connick Jr. (who I normally adore) was forgettable. Save your money on this one folks.

Next week should be an interesting (and possibly very lean) report because I've started working out at 5am every morning, which is putting a real damper on my late night tv/movie viewing habit. Maybe the answer is more books? Yes!

Monday Morning Eye Candy

Welcome back to Monday Morning Eye Candy! This week is an abbreviated post because I'm exhausted from a 5am workout and frankly can't think. So, I went with an approach that I've never used before.

Some of you might already be readers of Cosmopolitan magazine, which means that you've probably seen the annual Hottest Eligible Bachelors issue. They choose a hot guy from each of the 50 states. It's a great issue.

Here's a group shot from one of the more recent years.

And these are just a few of the cute ones that I found on a quick search. I don't know names, but they're pretty darn cute. Enjoy and Happy Monday!

Polite Dinner Conversation

Many of you have commented on how much you enjoy the stuff that I post about conversations with my kids. All I can say is, be careful what you wish for. This was our dinner conversation a few nights ago.

{Hubby, the 2 kids & I were sitting around out kitchen table eating dinner}

Little A: I poo poo'd in the potty today! (yelling at hubby just in case he couldn't hear her from the 3 ft away that he was sitting)

Hubby: Oh that's great honey!

Little A: And I have My Little Pony undies on!

Hubby: Wow!

Little A: Wanna see?

{And then she pulled her pants down. At the dinner table.}

I'm just glad it happened at home because we had gone out to dinner the night before this little peep show.