Lazy Sunday

Last Sunday Art was down and out the entire day with a sore back. He spent most of Saturday working on the front yard. He felt comfortable laying on the hard floor. Sammy wasn't too thrilled he had to share his fly chasing space with Art. lol

All American Hunk

The little man came to visit Grandpa and Mimi last Saturday. He was so happy and was giggling away most of the day. He has realized when he comes to Grandpa and Mimi house nap time shouldn't happened because there is way too much excitement going on. 

I need to make him a tshirt that says Mimi is the best, but this one will do for now. =)

He lets these glasses stay on his face for about 10 seconds then he is grabbing at them. He gets very excited when I put sunglasses on him. His arms start flying around, kicking his feet and then he grabs them. 

Kaleb is now 6 months old. He is starting to sit up, ticklish, laughs, rolls all over, eats food, babbles, first tooth has poked in and tries to sing. He was singing to the tv on Saturday. It was SUPER cute! Typical little kid he likes to do things until I pull out the phone to record him. lol

OOTD: Last Week

Sweater: Nordstrom Rack

White Shirt: Thrift Store

Pants: Marshalls

Shoes: Gap

Scarf: Loft

Earrings: Target

Cardigan: NY & CO

Tshirt: J Crew Factor

Pants: Old Navy

Shoes: Bass

Tshirt: Old Navy

Pants: Target

Shoes: Bass

Cardigan: NY & CO

Tank: Banana Republic

Jeans: Old Navy

Shoes: Target

Tshirt & Jacket: Target

Skirt: NY & CO

Necklace: a gift from Art for Christmas - I think he bought it on Amazon

I have seen the necklace at J Crew recently. 

Bart Happenings

It is not wise to fall asleep on the Bart train because your picture could end up on the blog!

Wordless Wednesday

Recent Haul

I have been on a spending freeze for awhile. I was shopping way too much. Well I decided I can do "some" shopping each month, but I have to stay within budget. I went shopping with my friend a couple weekends back. Here are some of the items I bought. 

Items above I purchased from Oldnavy.com

I am still debating if I am going to keep everything or any of it. 

Banana Republic purchases.
The cardigan was $15 and the tank was $20

I LOVE the cardigan and wish they had it in other colors. I already went to other stores to see if they had my size in black, but they didn't. :(

The tank is kelly green and navy. Now I feel like I need a navy skirt or crop pants. I can wear it with white, khaki and denim for now. 

Gap purchases

I bought each shirt for $12 plus a pair of black capris (no pictures)

TJ Maxx: black & white striped shirt $16.99

J Crew Factory: Anchor tshirt $17

I did really good at the outlets. I am trying to add some nice blouses or tanks to my wardrobe. I seem to wear a lot of solid colors and I want some pattern tops. I also had cleaned out my closet a few hours before I went shopping, so I knew I had plenty of room for new stuff. =)

Menu Monday

I can eat again!!!! Last Tuesday was the first day I was able to increase my calories. I am making Art pretty much the same dinners that I am eating. I have been adding some carbs to his meals. Either a potato or bread. He has requested I not give him any broccoli. I guess I made him too much broccoli over the past couple weeks. 

Here is the menu for this week.

Cuban Pork Chops
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Chicken Thighs
Fair Food
Tacos with Cauliflower Tortillas

What is on your menu for this week? 

Happy Saturday!

We are enjoying our Saturday with the grandson. Lots of giggles and snuggles! 

Purging

We are having a garage sale on June 29 at the in laws. Last Saturday I wanted to go through the garage because there is a lot of stuff out there we need to get rid of. Art suggested I go through my closet while he ran to Lowe's. He is very nervous to leave me alone in the garage. I honestly don't know why because I haven't ever thrown his stuff away. I told him it wasn't necessary for me to go through my closet because I didn't have anything to get rid of. Well see the picture below for the small pile of stuff I found. 

I found a pile of clothes that no longer fit. I don't know why I have been hanging onto some of this stuff. I found distressed capris in 3 different sizes. Everything I got rid of is all too big. I found a few purses to get rid of too. Some of them are just not my style anymore and it will be a very long time before they come back into style. 

I also went through the spare bedrooms. I bought a lot of decorating stuff at the thrift stores, garage sales and stuff I got on freecycle. It is now time to declutter the closets. No reason to hold on to this stuff.

Be Your Own Advocate!

Taking charge of your health is so very challenging. When I was diagnosed with Medullary Thyroid Cancer I thought I would be referred to a doctor with experience. What a shock I was in for! At this point I haven't been able to find a doctor in my HMO with any experience. My endocrinologist hasn't seen anyone with MTC in her 30 years. I am the first patient for 4+ doctors with MTC. 

I am on the hunt because SOMEONE has to have some experience. I am also requesting to be referred out for a consultation by doctors that deal with MTC frequently. I have to go through a process with my HMO for a referral, so I am going through the very slow process. Luckily right now I have time to go through the motions. 

I have been educating myself the best I can on MTC. I didn't think there would be a time in my life I would know more about my cancer than my doctors. I am sure my doctors are getting sick and tired of hearing from me. When I get something in my head I don't stop. I rally all of them up until they realize I KNOW what I am talking about. Luckily they are very good about listening to me and talking to each other. I am sure there are times they are banging their head on their desk. I won't stop though! I will continue to push for what I think is best for ME. 

It is almost time for a CT scan again. There has been arguing about how the scan should be performed - with contract, without contrast, just chest scan, full body scan, etc. One doctor thinks I need just a CT scan of my check, another doctor things I need a PET scan and the 3rd is like yeah whatever the other ones want. Well I think I need a full body scan NOW for the future. I need a scan for the doctors to look at down the 5-10 years to verify there is no cancer anywhere else. I had an ultrasound and it showed my liver was clear. What if a spot was missed that could show up on a PET scan? Contrast works for some cancer, but not always for MTC. Should they expose me to the radiation and if so how often. A

In July 2011 I decided it was time to lose weight. I recently some negative feedback about the HCG diet and how it wasn't good for you. I learned after round 1 it was the right diet for my body. It worked! I had never experience that type of success with any other type of diet. I also learned about my body through the entire experience. I learned the good foods to eat, how to maintain my weight, started exercising and how I really feel sugar is the devil. Sugar is in almost every single thing in your fridge and cupboards. It is unnecessary to have that sugar in everything. 

I also think when I was going through the HCG diet back in 2011 my body was starting to tell me there were problems. At the time I just didn't know it. I thought my body was reacting to the diet. I had a lot of stomach issues which I thought were from the HCG drops or all the veggies. I do not believe that now. 

It is important for each of us to be aware of what we think is going on with our bodies. Talk to our doctors and push for the answers we need. If I hadn't of pushed that something was wrong my cancer could have continued to grow. My mom always said if I would use my stubbornness in a good way I could go a long way in life. My advice to you is if you think something isn't right with your health push for your doctor to listen to you. Ask them to order tests. If the doctor won't switch doctors! Do not ignore health issues. Go get any issues handled right away. You are never too busy to take a day off for a test. Putting off a test because of a busy schedule could lead to you being off for a lot more than 1 day. You are your best advocate for your health! 

Bart Happenings

Ignore the chick in the yellow skinnie pants. Check out the hootchie that got on Bart missing one thing....her bra. What in the world! 

Wordless Wednesday

Lacey's Little Luxuries

Lacey's little luxuries is a home based small business. Started with candles, now I cant stop soap, salts, bath bombs and scrubs made with love by me for you!!!! You can find lacey's little luxuries on Etsy and Facebook. 

Where is Menu Monday?

Menu Monday will return next week. Tomorrow I can start eating more food. I am tempted to go until Saturday with the limited calories and food. We will see by the end of today how I feel about extending it a few more days. Eating more variations of food is VERY tempting at this point. 

One thing I am excited to eat again is Mexican food. I LOVE Mexican food and could eat it every single day of the week. Usually on Sunday after church Art and I go out to eat for Mexican food as a place close to our house. At this point I have gone 20+ days without Mexican food. I am ddddyyyyyiiinnnnngggg!!!! 

Well I ran across this food blog called Slim Palate which lots of gluten free, Paleo and grain free recipes. There is a recipe on the blog for cauliflower tortillas.  I am NOT a fan of cauliflower AT ALL. I can't stand it cooked period! There are very few foods I do not like, but cooked cauliflower, lentils and black olives are at the top of my list. I will eat cauliflower raw with some ranch dressing. At this point I want Mexican food so bad I am going to try out cauliflower tortillas. They actually look really good. 

I have been dairy free for the past 21 days and my goal is to continue to stay dairy free. If I have cheese it will be goat cheese. I had switched to coconut milk this year. I just like coconut milk for my chai lattes. 

Prior to doing the HCG diet I was trying not to eat carbs and sugar. I was failing miserably. Every day I would eat chocolate and carbs. I just couldn't stay away from the stuff.  It has really helped my cravings for carbs and sugar, since I went hard core. I would crave all the things I shouldn't eat all day long. I had no self control, so what better way to get yourself in check then to eliminate all of it from my diet. 

I will go back to having my veggie/fruit smoothies for breakfast each day. Lunches will continue to be a salad and something sensible for dinner. I can't have carbs or sugar until sometime in July during phase 3 of the HCG diet.  I am going to try to stay away from carbs and sugar until we go on our cruise in August. There is a lot of controversy regarding sugar and cancer. Sugar simply isn't good for people and it is in almost every single thing people each day. 

Next week I will have a carb & sugar free menu! 

June Photo Challenge

I am trying to do the June Photo Challenge each day on Instagram. You can follow me HERE. Some days I am late and post the picture a couple days later. I am trying!

Wordless Wednesday!

OOTD from Last Week

Here are my outfits from last week. I finally got the lighting right in our bedroom, so I can take full length pictures before I leave in the morning. Now I need to work on finding a new place for my mirror because you can see our messy bed. My grandma's and mom would not be happy with the fact I do not make our bed daily. I do brush my teeth, shower daily and wear clean clothes every day, but I do not make our bed. 

Top & Sandals: Target

Cardigan: NY & CO

Capris: Old Navy

My hair is a little funky in the picture above. I do not brush my hair out until I get to work. When I get to work I run my fingers through my hair and separate the curls. My hair seems to last all day when I do it that way. I guess it sets for an hour while I commute to work. 

Tshirt, Nacklace & Jacket: Target

Skinnies: Old Navy

Shoes: Bass

Tank Top & Skinnies: Old Navy

Cardigan: Gap

Bracelets: Sears Outlet

Sandals: Target

Scarf: Amazon

Tshirt & Skirt: Gap

Jacket: Old Navy

Bubbles: Ebay

I usually post my OOTD on Instagram. Follow Me!

HCG Diet Update

I started the HCG diet 14 days ago. As of yesterday (day 13) I was down 14.5 pounds. I have finally lost all the weight I gained since surgery. I can't even tell you how fabulous it feels to finally be down to where I started and for my clothes to fit again. My clothes have been fitting, but they were tight. My skirts were tight across my stomach which hiked them up. Those 14 pounds sure make a big difference. Finally one thing is back to normal. The rest of my body is a long ways from getting back to where it use to be, but at least my weight is under control. My goal is to lose another 8 pounds. Hopefully I will be able to do that in the next 7 days. 

Last weekend I went to Costco to buy some new sunglasses. Costco now accepts VSP, so I was able to use my VSP benefits. Why is it as soon as I found a pair and checked out the sales people start bringing out new styles. They had a super cute pair with a bow. Next round I am getting the bow pair. 

In the picture below you can see my scar. I have been putting vitamin E on it each night and rubbing the scar in a circular motion. Around the scar use to be all raised and half of that is gone. The skin is smooth and is fading a little. I have been very diligent with making sure my scar is always covered when I am outside. I have been wearing a scarf 98% of the time. The other 2% I have used my hair to cover my scar when I am outside. I have decided not to cut my hair. I need to keep it long, so it will cover my scar until it fades. 

T-shirt & Cardigan: The Loft

Skirt: NY & CO

Shoes: Sears

Necklace: Etsy

Sunnies: Costco

Happy Sunday!

If we say that we have no sin, we receive ourslves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I John 1:8 & 9

Round 4 HCG Diet

In January prior to find out I had cancer I was planning to do another round of the HCG Diet to lose the last 20 pounds to make it to the 100 pound lost mark. Well this pesky little thing called cancer happened and every plan I had for 2013 was thrown out the window. I have been struggling since surgery to regulate my thyroid. It has been a HUGE challenge. I became hyperthyroid. Oh boy was that a trip! Every side effect there is I had EXCEPT losing weight. I was one of the rare ones to gain weight. On one of the websites I was reading symptoms about it said in rare occasions people will gain weight. Well yep I am a rare one!

I have been battling to try to keep my weight under control. There have been plenty of days I have been in tears trying to find an outfit. Usually it is Sunday mornings I am in the closet crying because my skirts are getting too tight. Clothes are flying out of the closet, screaming, numerous outfits tried on and Art is rushing me along because we are running late for church which just adds more fuel to the fire.

I decided around Memorial Weekend that was IT I was going to do a round of the HCG diet because I HAVE to get some of this weight off. I REFUSE to buy new clothes. I have a HUGE closet FULL. Well I bought all the food I needed and set my mind to do the HCG diet again. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to hear negativity. Art wasn't so sure I should do it because my body is still healing. I understood his concerns and assured him I wouldn't take any health risks.

I started the Tuesday after Memorial Day. When I arrived at work with my boiled chicken and salad I was reminded we were having pizza. UGH! Well I decided not to put it off because I don't have time to waste here people. Normally the first few days are AWFUL! I am starving, screaming and ready to eat every.single.thing that is near me. Well the first 3 days I was barely even hungry. I would get cranky when it was nearing my meal time. The first week I lost 7 pounds. I need to lose another 6 pounds to be back to where I was prior to surgery. It is very frustrating to me that I have to take off weight I have already lost.

I remembered some things about the previous 3 rounds. I had major stomach issues the 3 previous rounds. I usually made my food pretty spicy while on the HCG diet. This round I am not having any stomach issues. Spicy foods are known to increase the calcitonin levels in your body. I think 2 years ago my body was trying to tell me something was wrong with my body. I thought it was the way I was eating and HCG drops. Now I think it was because my calcitonin levels were rising.

My goal is to go 23-25 days on the diet this round. I want to do phase 2 until June 22 and start phase 3 June 23. Art will be gone a few days in June, so my goal is to return to normal eating around the time he returns. See how thoughtful I am of my husband! It is bad enough he has put up with my thyroid issues and now a dieting wife. I am not sure what is worse a wife on a diet or a wife pmsing. lol

My eating schedule this round has been a lot different then round 1-3.

• Take my drops as I am running out the door to work
• I drink a cup of coffee for breakfast and 50 ounces of water by 11am
• I don't eat any food until lunch time around 12:00-12:30
• Lunch is usually a large salad - chicken breast, 4 cups of salad, 1 tomato and a little onion with apple cider vinegar mustard dressing I mix up the night before
• Snack happens around 530 when I eat my 2 melba toasts and a piece of fruit while I prepare dinner
• Dinner is usually beef or fish. I try not to eat anymore chicken for dinner because boiled chicken is VERY boring. I also like to eat one hot meal and one cold meal each day. I have been eating a lot of zucchini and kale. Shrimp is really good cooked in liquid aminos.
• After dinner I eat my last piece of fruit
• Right before bed I take my last set of drops. I am only taking drops twice a day. I take 15 drops each time. It just doesn't work well for me to take them 3 times a day. This round I have had very good success, so I don't see a problem with how I have altered things

I am very pleased with how things are going this round. I had one day that set me back for whatever reason. One of my friends reminded me this is a marathon not a sprint! That statement REALLY helped get me through my bad day.

My goal for 2013 is just to cross off the weight journey off my resolution list. I won't be able to cross the 100 miles or finish school and that is ok with me. Once in awhile things happen in life and your priorities change.

Welcome Emilio!

I was in LA a couple weeks ago for work and while I was there I was able to visit Krystal after she gave birth to baby #2. It was a little boy Emilio. The plan was for Nami and I meet to visit Krystal. We didn't tell Krystal our friend Elisa would be flying into town to also visit! It was a very exciting night!

Elisa, Krystal, me, Elena, Emilio and Nami

Little Emilio was very hungry and wasn't amused by the fact we wanted to look at him. lol

Besties!

Top 2 pictures are from April 2012 when Elena was born

Bottom 2 pictures are from May 2013 when Emilio was born

Congratulations again to Eric and Krystal on little Cupcake! I can't wait to go back to So Cal to visit Cookie and Cupcake!

Wordless Wednesday

OOTD

Here are my outfits over the past 2 weeks.

Scarf: Amazon

Tshirt: Gap

Jacket: Old Navy

Necklace: Sears Outlet

Tshirt: Gap

Jacket: Target

Scarf: J Crew

Tshirt: Target

Jacket: Old Navy

Jeans: Forever 21

Flip Flops: Target

Scarf: Amazon

Jacket & Skirt: Old Navy

Tshirt: Target

Necklace & Tank: Target

Cardigan: NY & CO

Skirt: Gap

Shoes: Payless

Bubble Necklace: Ebay

Shirt & Skirt: Old Navy

Necklace: Banana Republic

Tshirt: Target

Cardigan & Jeans: Old Navy

Bracelets: All gifts!