Steak As My Snack

Hola compadres!

Thanks for even more of your comments about my arms. Ha, Ha!! I think that is so funny. I was going to do a push-up workout today, but didn't "feel" like it. So, I will be doing it tomorrow.

Don't you guys love that my dad comments on my blog as anonymous? My parents are in Florida right now, and he still finds time to read my blog.

"Hi, dad! Don't do any push-ups either!"

My dad has to be careful not to stress his heart and when he sees me going crazy with push-ups he wants to join in. And that's a no-no!


And, yes, Sarah, when you get back from Germany, you can visit me for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'll even take you out to Dairy Queen. Ha. Had to get that in.

I'm glad I can give you guys food ideas even though I feel like my menu at present isn't that exciting. If you have any ideas to spice up what I already make, feel free to let me know. And, yes, Amy, I will be trying that mango/gGreek yogurt ice cream idea.

SunshineMeg also gave me a good idea about wrapping taco stuff in a lettuce wrap. I may just try that since tacos are on the menu this week.

Other than that, how did everyone's Wednesday go? I got a nap today, so mine went better than yesterday when I didn't get in a nap. I was so tired yesterday that by last night it felt painful.

Here are some food pictures:

After I ate breakfast around 8:30 a.m. today, I ate some of that leftover steak and potatoes at around 10:30 a.m. Lately I've been eating my meat with this Mr. Dash Zesty Garlic Herb Marinade. It's salt free and msg free. This particular sauce has a tangy almost fruity flavor, yet it also has some definite zest!

More red potato topped with Newman's own organic olive oil.

A little while later around 12:30 p.m., I had lunch with this salad...

...and this chicken and sweet potato and more Mrs. Dash marinade.
I had all this to eat, besides my breakfast, before my nap today.
After my nap I had another snack similar to the above picture.
I actually had more calories than I wanted to today...
probably close to 2,000.
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Oh, I should mention that it hit 75 degrees here today. I was actually walking around in shorts and a t-shirt outside. All our children were running around outside in bare feet getting filthy dirty.
I should also mention that looking good and feeling comfortable in a pair of shorts in nice weather like this was one of my goals for this coming spring. I'm glad to say that I do feel like I look pretty good in shorts...
and in a tank top.
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Well, I need to hit the sack soon.
Thank you all for visiting.
Hope your Thursday goes well!

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

Good evening everyone!

Thanks for all your wonderful comments about my "smokin' guns"...hee, hee Jules said that. Of course I'd give you guys free tickets to my gun show, Kyle...And as soon as I can do another 100 push-ups on video...you all will be the first to see it.

But I really did enjoy your enthusiasm. Look at what this diet blog has me doing. I never even heard of the push-up challenge until I read SunshineMeg talking about it on her blog.

Sarah said she would run from me in a dark alley...which hopefully I won't be hanging out in any dark alleys. Maybe if I could find a way, however, to visit her in Germany that would be fun. The only thing is there is no Dairy Queen in Germany. We'd have to find some equivalent of it then.

But my favorite comment was from Mari who said I was "insane" in a "good way". Ha. Ha. I really just love it. Because if you stop and think about it for a second, she's totally right. I am insane. I'm almost 11 weeks pregnant and I just got done doing 100 consecutive push-ups and almost 400 altogether.

Who does that, really?

But from my estimations, I do believe my shoulders have gotten noticeably bigger since I started the push-ups challenge. And just to prove it, I'm going to see about digging up some before and after pictures. I've been preparing and working toward 100 push-ups now since...10 to 12 weeks. I should look it up.

I also liked that Nicole from Let them Eat Lettuce thought I was "one ripped mama."
I used a new oatmeal recipe today that she posted on her blog last week.

I mixed together: 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup soy milk (I just used regular milk), a small banana cut up, 1/2 tbl of peanut butter, 1 tbl of agave juice.

This is what it looked like mixed together. Then I put it in the fridge overnight.

This morning my husband shared it with the kids.
You're suppose to serve it cold.
I had a few bites too.

I liked it. He liked it. The kids liked it.
But he would prefer warm oatmeal.
Nicole said she liked it because it was cold and she preferred cold type cereals over warm ones.
So...it was definitely tasty...but I think I also prefer warm oatmeal.

For mid-morning snack I scrambled up some potato and egg whites.

Here's the finished version.

I was thinking next time I'd like to scramble up potatoes without egg whites to get a crispier edge to see how that tastes.

Ever since that steak last weekend, I've been craving steak.

So, my husband went out tonight and got both of these 8 ouncers for $7 total.
I split mine in half (right) and will have some left for tomorrow.

It tasted great!! I ate it with sweet potato and red potato topped with olive oil.

It hit the spot.

I was introduced to Blueberry tea while at my friend's house last weekend.

I had it with a teaspoon of honey.

Fabulous!

I would highly recommend it.

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So, that's about it for today.

I still have to hit the gym for an arm work-out tonight.

I already ran some sprints.

I also got into that darn bag of pretzels again today.

I did gain a little on the scale this morning like 8/10 of a pound.

I don't think I'm getting in enough water, so I need to work on that.

Again...I've been really tired. It's really a struggle to make myself go do my work-outs.

Last night during my work-out, I just felt tired.

However, once I got started on my sprints today...I felt rejuvenated and re-energized.

I know eventually this fatigue will let up and I won't be so tired.

Just like the rest of you, I need to keep pressing on.

You're all doing a great job.

I know that if I weren't working out, I would be feeling way sicker.

In fact, I barely feel sick in this pregnancy.

I recall in my other pregnancies that the nausea would last two or three weeks past the first trimester. And in this pregnancy, besides the fatigue, I feel like myself.

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Have a nice night y'all!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

SUNSHINE MAMA NAILS 100 PUSH UPS!!!!!!!!!

Good evening everyone!

It's a good day here in God's country. Besides it being a beautiful day where the kids played outside barefoot, Sunshine Mama managed to nail 100 consecutive push ups today!

It'd been two days since I last did a boatload of push ups, so I had a few days rest for my arms. If you recall last Monday when I'd had a few days rest, I was able to push out 90 push-ups. So, today I knew that I would be going for 100 and if I got close I was going to go for it.

Well, I started out with eight sets of 36, 36, 43, 43, 36, 36, 32, 32 which is a total of 294 push-ups. Then, I'll set you up with the scene at home as I got ready to do my ninth set. Our five year old daughter was in the naughty corner behind me, and my two and and four year old boys were a few feet away watching. Everyone was told to be quiet.

I started up. I remember hitting 50 thinking I'm half way there, and maybe this is too far away. I hit 70 and I was starting to feel tired, but before I knew it I was at 80. I started getting excited at 80 because I could feel that I was going to break 90. I remember hitting 89 and thinking, this is it, I'm going for 100...there is absolutely no stopping now...

But my arms were starting to get really fatigued at 95. The last five were slow and arduous and the 100th one was the hardest and most fought for one of them all. It took like what seemed five seconds for the last one because I was giving it all I had left to push myself all the way up. I had absolutely no gas left after that 100th push-up. But I was so happy when I was done, and the kids couldn't really figure out why.

So, that's the story. I've included a picture of my arms.

It only seemed appropriate to show the big guns that finally got the job done.

So, Altogether I did 394 push-ups today. The most I've ever done.

I still plan on continuing to up my push-ups so that eventually I can video tape myself doing it for the rest of you to witness it.

Other than that...I had a good breakfast again.

In addition to two chopped Brazilian nuts, I added one sliced strawberry.
I mixed in stevia and cinnamon while cooking this 1/3 cup portion of oatmeal.

I had a delicious salad today.

I've been into red potatoes lately topped with olive oil.

Just loved it. Don't know why I haven't been eating more of this.

This is five ounces of potato with four ounces of chicken breast.

Last night I fried up four ounces of sliced red potatoes in olive oil with five egg whites.

Then, added a little more olive oil with salt and pepper.

This was pure delight too!

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Remember the two pounds I gained Saturday morning after eating all that popcorn on Friday night?

Well, I re-lost those two pounds and I've been keeping on track with my eating today except tonight I did eat some Newman's Own Organics pretzels.

I've had about 1,800 calories today.

Besides the push-ups, I worked my legs in the gym tonight with some abdominals as well.

I've actually felt pretty tired today. I wonder if I'm still tired from the trip.

Also, it seemed like I was feeling a little nausea at the gym tonight which is weird because I've literally been almost nausea free for this entire pregnancy, which I attribute to all the exercise and healthy eating.

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Well, Monday's almost over. Hope you all are doing well and have a great Tuesday!

Keep it up! You're doing better than you think!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

Good Food...Good Trip

Good evening everyone!

Hope you had a good weekend. Thanks for your well-wishes on my long drive. I was feeling pretty anxious about it before going on it because my husband usually does all the driving and I'm afraid I'll fall asleep or something.

It ended up being not so bad once I got on the road. Although, about two hours in I had to sit on my jacket because I was getting tired from sitting for all that time.

I went to the home of a very good friend, who served us steak and sweet potatoes.

This was such a surprise and treat to me. I was so happy to have steak.

And the sweet potatoes were awesome too when topped with olive oil.

It tasted wonderful, Dawn!

We also made up a fruit salad.

Not pictured is a salad that was also eaten.

For breakfast I brought my own grapefruit.
But our friends let me cook up some organic egg whites.
They, then, cooked up steel cut oats.
This is the first time I've ever had them, and I absolutely love them.
I can't believe that they are actually crunchy.
I can not wait to make some myself.
Also pictured is a cup of coffee in a cozy ceramic mug.

Here's a close-up of steel cut oats with Brazilian nuts, sliced almonds, cinnamon and honey.

They also fried up some bacon purchased from a meat place that cuts their own meats.

I had a teeny, tiny bite.

It tasted salty and delicious.

Our friend had a few interesting looking coffee mugs, so I took a few pictures.

I really like this home-grown look.

If any one wants to get me something...

you can't go wrong with unusual mugs like this.

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Other than that, I didn't weigh myself this morning.

But when I weighed myself yesterday morning after I ate all that popcorn from the night before, I had gained two pounds.

Yikes!

I feel much thinner today, though

Probably because my eating is on track.

After driving back today, I took a nap, but I am still tired and am looking forward to hitting the sack soon so I will awaken tomorrow feeling refreshed.

Thank you for visiting, and I'll talk to you all tomorrow!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

Pretzel Play...And One Pound Gained Overall

Hi everyone!

Friday did finally come and tomorrow is the weekend. Unfortunately I won't be relaxing. I will be driving someplace far, staying over night and returning the next day. Ugg.

So, I probably won't blog again until Sunday.

However, I did snap a picture of our 7-year-old son with two Newman's Own Organics pretzel nuggets stuck to himself. Take note if you have kids...or...well, if you just like to play with your food.

You first lick it...

And then stick it!

Hey, that rhymed!

I've been using Newman's Own Organics olive oil on my brown rice and my sweet potatoes.

Good stuff. Love it.

They also sent me some balsamic vinegar to mix.

My husband loves it, but it's a little strong for me.

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Other than that, I'm exhausted.

I worked my butt off today with 379 push-ups, ten sprints, then, an hour in the gym with an arm work-out and abdominals...

I over ate too. I had some Newman's Own Organics popcorn with olive oil tonight.

I'll probably see that on the scale tomorrow.

The scale actually had me down a pound this morning...

Actually my weight has been fluctuating between being up two pounds and then down two pounds and everything in between. One thing for certain, though, is that I am definitely up at least one pound since I found out I was pregnant.
This is consistent with when I got my body fat checked this week, and I have remained the same body fat as three weeks ago, but have gained exactly one pound.

What that means, is that I haven't gained any fat "yeah!!", but have gained muscle

or....

baby.

Ha, Ha!

Isn't that great?

Of course part of that one pound gain is baby,

but I'm also leaning toward the strong possibility that part of it could be muscle as well.
*smile*
After all, I am a body builder...

Just a pregnant one!

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Well, it's almost midnight here and I have to get up early to drive a bunch of miles.

Maybe I'll take some pictures of where I'm going to post on Sunday.

In the meantime...make sure you all have a GREAT weekend!

Relax, have fun and eat sensibly.

I'll see ya Sunday!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

A Moody Sunshine Mama

Good afternoon on this beautiful Thursday folks!

I can tell I'm pregnant because when I went to post last night...I sat there...thought about a couple things I could say...even tried out a few pictures...and then finally decided that I didn't "feel" like posting. So, I didn't. Instead, I went to visit a few of your blogs.

I've also come to the conclusion that I'm a "slow commenter". I can't check blogs, read them at the speed of light and whip out comments in two seconds. I like to hang out for awhile.

So, I'm posting this morning...and may very well post again tonight.

This is a picture of my cup of coffee that I had this morning. If you look close you can still see the steam escaping. As much as I've tried to resist this guy, I've just decided that I can't right now.

I'm so tired in the morning...that I can't get going to get basic things done...like laundry, cleaning, phone calls, mailing things out... BUT...when I have a coffee...I can. However, if I limit it to one coffee first thing in the morning, then I'm usually ready to nap by the afternoon. So, that's what I did yesterday and will do today...very soon actually.

Here's breakfast this morning. I can't say enough good things about grapefruit. Maybe I should write a poem just for grapefruit. Ha. Ha.

*Ten Weeks Today: Oh! I'm ten weeks along today! I might get my picture taken, but don't hold your breath.

Push-ups: I did a boatload of push-ups again last night at the gym. I did 36, 36, 43, 43, 36, 36, 32, 32, 85. For a total of 379. The most thus far. I really wanted to break that last set past 90 but was really fatigued at 85. Maybe after this weekend when I take a two day break, I can hit a 100 on my last set. And, then, if I do that, I want to keep doing it so that I can actually tape myself doing it so you all can see this accomplishment for yourselves.

Blizzard Reward: Oh, I've officially decided that I want to reward myself with a blizzard sometime around my first trimester as a treat for eating healthy for all these weeks. All this talk of blizzards has really got me dreaming about them. Wait...it was the dream that got me thinking about them. Oh well.

Suit update: Also, wanted to let you know that I did get my phone fitting done. It happened on Monday. It was very interesting. I actually am also ordering a second suit in black velvet. The reason being...is that I've decided that I will be entering body building competitions instead of figure competitions. According to the professional body building gal whose class I attended last weekend, I have a high degree of muscularity and would be well suited for body building. And, honestly, I really enjoyed the type of posing that is done for body building.

Although you don't need two suits for body building, many people will chose to wear two suits because it allows them to wear a "glitzier" type of suit in the night show as compared to rules that don't allow you to wear a glitzy type of suit during the pre-judging part of the competition during the day.

Remember my glitzy suit will be in dark blue velvet and adorned with crystals that edge the inside line of the bust area, the hip area, and the front and back straps.

The suits are scheduled to arrive in about a week. Yes, you will see a picture of it...maybe not me in it, but definitely a picture of it.

Calories/calcium update: I had about 1,700 calories last yesterday. I've been doing some research on calcium to try to educate myself. In the little three ring binder that I was given from the hospital, they talked about not drinking dairy products in the first trimester if it causes nausea. Also, I found out that the baby really starts taking calcium out of you in the last trimester because that's when it starts laying down calcium for his/her bones. Also, I think there are calcium supplements available. All these things I will be talking to the nutritionist about.

Well, I think that's it for now...I got some kids to take care of. Maybe I'll write something tonight.

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

A Healthy Blizzard Sunshine Mama/Meg Style...

Hi, Everyone! Glad you're here tonight. It's already the middle of week by the time this posts.

After thinking about what I posted yesterday, I decided that it really isn't fair of me to post all those blizzard pictures yesterday without at least offering you all a simple healthy alternative... an alternative that is full of calcium at that. However, I will admit that I did enjoy reading about all of your favorite Blizzard mix-ins. I'm glad that you can all feel my pain when it comes to craving a blizzard.

But the comment that SunshineMeg left yesterday about freezing yogurt and mixing in toppings got me thinking about some of the ingredients that I already had at home that I could try using to put a frozen concoction together.

Allow me to introduce to you Sunshine Mama's Pineapple, Greek Yogurt Delight:

You take a pineapple, plain Greek yogurt, Stevia to mix in (cause I heard that Greek yogurt tastes bad) and some Dixie cups from the bathroom.

You cut up the pineapple. Fill the Dixie cup 2/3 full of yogurt. Mix in some Stevia.
Then mix in the cut up pineapple pieces.

See...looking good so far.

I did taste it at this stage and was surprised at the sweet fruity taste.

The stevia was working its magic.

Then, quick decide to make a bunch to freeze to surprise the family with for dessert.

Cover and freeze in the deep freeze.

Serve to kids after dinner. I actually pulled them out too soon and they weren't frozen at this point. But they still tasted great. Just really, really cold.

But a few that weren't eaten yet, froze perfectly enough for me to pull the sides of the Dixie cup down and eat like an ice cream cone. A Dixie cup will hold 1/3 cup of contents. So..this whole treat in here is about 35 to 40 calories. Plus...it only took me literally ten minutes to put together.

So...Thanks SunshineMeg for the idea and making me try out the Greek yogurt that I've had sitting in my fridge unopened for the past three weeks cause I thought it might taste gross.

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I also took some pictures of my cinnamon and stevia oatmeal topped with slivered almonds...

The grapefruit was looking especially tantalizing this morning...

I cooked up a 4 oz of sweet potato with 1 teaspoon of olive oil for something different.

It was WONDERFUL!

I felt lazy with the salad and just topped with some strawberries.

So...that's it for pictures.

There has been a lot going on here at the homestead today, hence, the reason for an after midnight posting. I tried laying down for a nap today, and almost fell asleep, but didn't quite make it there.

I ate way too many calories today...like 2,220. I know some of you are probably going..."Yes, she needs to be fattened up," and, indeed, most of those calories came from peanut butter and slivered almonds. Which is why I have resisted buying nuts of any sort, because I will have a tendency to eat them like candy. And sure enough...look what I did today.

Maybe I need to put those up too.

Because of the late hour, I'm not posting my food diary...but I did have three of those pineapple Greek yogurt Delight's because our two-year-old didn't eat his, and my husband didn't eat his.

So, I obliged.

Well, I hope you're all having a great Wednesday! Remember to stay focused...You can do it!

Now this pregnant woman must get to bed...

Goodnight!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

Will A Blizzard Help My Calcium...I Did 90 Push-ups

Hi folks!!

How was your Monday? Good I hope. Thanks for stopping by and for being so happy for Sarah at Mom on the Run for her winning the kittin caboodle of goodies from my Newman's Own Organics Give-a-Way. I know you all really wanted to win that yourself. But as I mentioned before...I still have a bunch of chocolate that I've gotten from Newman's Own Organics that I can't eat and am thinking that I will also give that away as well as soon as I can decide how I want to do it.

So, yes, basically stay tuned. But you all already are tuned in anyway so that won't be too hard. And, no, Lindsey there is no do-over on the drawing, but there is more chocolate so don't give up.

Anyway you are all probably wondering why I have pictures of blizzards on my blog today.

Well, that's because I woke up this morning dreaming about blizzards... thinking about all the different toppings that I could have mixed in them. I really like cookie dough, snickers, peanut butter cups, Reese's pieces...

So, I woke up and was thinking about that and then I checked my blog and see that a few people are concerned about my calcium intake. Because... well, I don't take in any calcium at this moment and because I'm pregnant...what will happen as the baby grows and needs calcium to make it's own bones, is he/she will take calcium from my bones...if I'm not giving myself enough calcium.

So...naturally since I was already thinking about blizzards I thought...hey...blizzard are made of milk...calcium is in milk...Maybe I could get calcium and my blizzard fix all in one shot.

No, I won't do that...but it made me chuckle. So, I thought I'd go out to see what kind of blizzard pictures I could find. For March Dairy Queen has a mint special...and then for Spring they have this chocolate truffle flavored blizzard. The big picture is the one with peanut butter. I must say these blizzard pictures may just be making my cravings worse.

But...seriously...I know you are all concerned about me and my calcium intake. Just today I made an appointment next week to consult with a nutritionist about my diet and I will be talking with her about all these things. Because....believe me, the last thing I want happening is Sunshine Mama's teeth falling out. And, honestly, it didn't occur to me till a few days ago that I should figure out a way to get in more calcium...So, I bought some cottage cheese at the grocery store tonight.

Now on to a very exciting thing....

Today I did 90 Consecutive Push-ups

As I have mentioned before, since I have graduated out of the six weeks to a 100 push-up challenge and still have not been able to do 100 push-ups, I have been improvising my own push-up work-outs to build to 100 push-ups. I will do eight sets of push-ups and then use the ninth set to crank out as many as I can. Today I was aiming for 80 push-ups for the ninth set, because my best before that was 75....

Well...I was going along...hit 80...still had some gas left...not much...but some and kept slowing cranking them out and was euphoric when I hit 90. OMG! That's only ten away from 100. Wow, I think that I might actually do these 100 push-ups after all.

I think Lindsey was right. She said I should just do a few hundred beforehand to warm up for the final set. I did 270 push-ups before the last set. My sets were as follows: 34, 34, 41, 41, 34, 34, 30, 30 and 90 for a total of 368 push-ups!

I think it may have also helped having plenty of rest in between sets...I was at home so...one time inbetween sets, I swept some dirt off the floor, another time I answered the phone and talked for a minute or two, and another time I changed a poopy diaper...But I did all these push-ups within the space of about 25 minutes. I also hadn't done any push-ups since Thursday.

So...enough for tonight...here's my food diary, and, no, there's no calcium yet.

Food Diary:

1/3 cup of oatmeal: 100

6 egg whites: 96

1/2 grapefruit: 40

total: 236

1/2 cup of brown rice: 50

1 tsp of olive oil: 50

5 oz can of tuna: 120

total: 270

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running total: 506

spinach:10

strawberries: 30

6 egg whites: 96

1/4 cup of brown rice: 50

1/2 tsp of olive oil: 25

total: 211

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running total: 717

1/2 grapefruit: 40

1/3 cup of brown rice: 35

6 egg whites: 96

1/4 tsp of olive oil:15

Newman's Own Organics honey pretzels: 150

total: 346

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running total: 1,063

1/2 serving of chocolate protein shake: 55

2 oz chicken breast: 40

1/2 cup of brown rice: 100

Newman's Own Organics honey pretzels: 150

total: 345

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running total: 1,408

4 oz banana: 100

chocolate protein shake: 110

total: 210

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running total: 1,618

Fitness:

*368 push-ups

* five minute warm-up run, then ten x 36 second sprints ran at 75% with pulse kept at 160 beats per minute. One minute rests in between.

*Weight lifting leg work-out

* abdominals

Today's challenge: I was really, really tired this morning and feeling down...having crazy blizzard cravings..

Today's victory: Took a nap...had a little black tea and felt better...did 90 consecutive push-ups...did NOT go out and get a blizzard.

Extra: I told my husband about my blizzard cravings and he says, "Would you like me to go get you one?"

Ahh...just the thought that he would go out and do that for me...was just so nice...it almost took the cravings away.

Well, time to turn in folks!

Keep up the good work and have a good day tomorrow!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

And The Winner Is...

The winner of the Newman's Own Organics Give-a-way is Sarah from Mom on the Run.

Congratulations Sarah! E-mail me your address and we'll send you out this box of goodies from Newman's Own Organics.

For those who did not win, sorry Lindsey, it wasn't you, don't give up.

I still have a bunch of organic chocolate laying around the house that I can't eat.

I'd like to put it together for another give-a-way soon.

But, in the mean time, this is how we picked the winner.

I wrote all your names down on paper, cut them up and folded them up and put them in this nifty little box.

I know... you are all impressed with the technology that I used.

But even more impressive...is that I actually have video footage of the drawing. I decided to have Daddy Rainmaker pick out the winner.

Can you believe that Blogger actually uploaded this while I was gone on my five mile run tonight? Miracles still do happen.

Speaking of that run...I fell and got my left leg and left elbow a little bloody. They still sting a little. I swear I just don't pick up my feet high enough sometimes when I run and then I trip on stupid things. I think that when I start showing more... I'm going to stop running. The last thing I want to do is fall while I'm far along. I'll probably walk or do the elliptical at the gym.

Other than that, I'm fine.

Also, I think my feet were sore from wearing those five inch heels for two hours straight yesterday.

Anyway...there's not much going on here today. When I weighed myself this morning, I gained 1 4/10 of a pound, which didn't make any sense. So, I'm curious what it says tomorrow.

I was also very, very tired today...so I took a nap.

Well, I hope your Sunday was good. Have a great day tomorrow.

Here's my food diary for today.

Food Diary:

4 oz banana: 100

1 tbl of peanut butter: 100

total: 200

1/3 cup of oatmeal: 100

6 egg whites: 96

1/2 grapefruit: 40

total: 236

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running total: 436

8 oz banana: 200

1 1/ 2 tbl of peanut butter: 150

4 oz chicken breast: 80

total: 430

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running total: 866

4 oz chicken breast: 80

4 oz banana: 100

1 tbl of peanut butter: 100

total: 280

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running total: 1,146

4 oz chicken breast: 80

1/3 cup of oatmeal: 100

bite of whole wheat pancake: 30

total:210

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running total: 1,356

post run:

chocolate protein shake: 110

4 oz banana: 100

2 strawberries: 10

total: 220

running total:1,576

water intake: 1/4 a gallon

fitness: 5 mile run

Today's challenge: was feeling extremely tired and unmotivated today

Today's victory: Got in my run despite not feeling like doing it.

Talk later, Folks!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

About Your Comments...About My Outfit...

Good evening all! Thank you for visiting.

This is a picture of the sun setting on our way home from the posing class that my husband and I traveled to attend today. Unfortunately it's the only picture for this post. I should have had my husband take some pictures of me in my posing class...but there's a reason for that...

First...I just really wanted to say that I got such a kick out of all your comments today when I came back from what seemed like a long, long hard day of flexing my muscles. Ha, Ha.

I know...I have a tough life..

I have five kids...one on the way...

And I spend my free time traveling around learning how to show off my muscles.

Ok... so why did that seem funny to me?

Anyway...I loved your comments about the suit bottom and shoes...

especially Dawns which was "speechless"

Amy "about fell out of her chair" because she thought I was talking about wearing a "business" suit"

And Amy from "They Call Me Mommy" thought I was "brave".

You guys are all so right in your reactions...believe me.

But Lindsey asked a very good question. Even though you would think that "less" would show more of what you don't want people to see...the cut of the suit and they way it is worn actually can enhance your figure and the symmetry of your body.

That is one of the reasons I was so shocked when I tried it on. The deep V combined with the higher ride on the hips created a slimmer, voluptuous image.

And, Lindsey. I don't see why you couldn't apply that to yourself.

And, just for the heck of it, SunshineMeg asked if I still crave some of my old favorite foods like chocolate covered cream filled bismarks, and nutty bars.

No, SunshineMeg, but thanks for making me think of them...they are all sounding really good right now.

Actually, I was really noticing milkshakes today and how good they looked.

But she did ask if I have any new favorite foods with my new diet.

I love grapefruit.

I splurged tonight, and had a second one for the night.

Lately I haven't been cooking up anything exciting because I'm just kind of tired and if I start making those protein cookies and protein waffles...I'll not want to stop eating them.

But, anyway...About the posing class today...

The class was divided up into three different classes.

One hour was spent in teaching the poses for a figure competition.

The second hour was spent in teaching the poses for the "fit body" category of competition,

And the third hour was spent in teaching the poses for the "body building" category of competition.

The difference in each competition class has to do with the woman's level of muscularity.

So, for example, the body building class is for women who have basically "big muscles" and who are just very muscular.

"Fit body" is for women who have nice muscles but not as big as in body building...

And "figure" is for women who are really toned, but who don't have a lot of big muscles and striations popping out of their body.

I attended all three classes so that I could get an idea of what I might do well in.

So...yes, I spent three hours flexing my muscles which is basically what you do in posing.

Would you all like to see me strike a few different poses?

Ha, Maybe I should do that for my early pregnancy pictures.

But, anyway, two of those three hours was spent practicing my poses in those new five inch heels that I just got in the mail...

SunshineMeg...by the end of those two hours, my feet were dying...plus I was just so tired from all that flexing and tensing and holding my muscles...

And there was so much to learn and remember.

I did, however, get some good feedback about what category of competition I am best suited for.

Can you guess?

Well, it's not figure competition.

With my level of muscularity, and the ease and comfort with which I executed the moves, I am best suited for body building.

I can also do "fit body" too, but may even be too muscular for that too.

Are you surprised?

I think it may be all those push-ups I've been doing.

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I hope I'm not confusing everyone with all this new information on these types of competitions, but I thought it may be interesting to some of you. All of it is very new to me, especially working on all these poses which I will spend time practicing so that I can be more comfortable executing them for when I do a show.

Drawing tomorrow?

I think I will have one of our children pull a name from a hat tomorrow.

Sorry to be leaving you in all this suspense, Lindsey,

I know you like to know about things immediately.

Why I don't have pictures of me posing?

I was going to ask my husband to take some shots of me practicing in my heels and just some shorts and a tank...but, quite frankly, I was too exhausted and focused during the class and forgot.

A note on my calories:

Remember me talking yesterday about increasing my calories on double work-out days?

The gal who taught this class said I should also increase them on single work-out days too.

So, I will be shooting for 1,600-1,700 calories a day for work-out days.

I only got in 1,300 calories today because I was off, but I maybe should have had more because of all that flexing...because that was tiring.

Sunshine, expressed concern about the possibility of my low caloric intake "short changing" my growing baby.

So, I called a nurse yesterday. I actually had even researched this a little before I cut my calories...but...

She said, the baby will be fine because it will take whatever it needs from my body

A lot of times, pregnant women will not eat very much in the trimester

(I know I was never one of those kinds of women)

But some will lose weight because they are nauseous, so the baby just takes what it needs.

In all my reading, after the first trimester, you will want to begin increasing your calories by 200 to 300 calories a day.

Which I will do.

Also, I wanted to add that previous to three days ago...for the past five weeks, I have been taking in abundant amounts of calories like between 1,700 to 2,200 calories a day.

Remember the day I had a whole 8 oz of heavy whipping cream?

Which reminds me...the gal who taught this class said heavy whipping cream isn't a good fat because it has too much saturated fat in it.

The reason I thought it was a good fat was because I had read that some people who were training for shows would use it as one of their fat sources.

Sorry, for misleading you on that one.

Now...if you're still reading this and haven't fallen asleep...

Here's my food diary:

Food Diary:

1/3 cup of oatmeal: 100

6 egg whites: 96

1/2 grapefruit: 40

1 tbl of heavy whipping cream (before I found out it was bad...bummer): 45

total: 281

spinach salad:10

strawberries: 30

carrots: 7

cucumbers:4

radishes: 5

total:55

4 oz chicken breast: 80

total:135

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running total:416

1/4 cup of brown rice:45

4 oz chicken breast: 80

total:125

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running total:541

1/4 cup of brown rice: 45

4 oz chicken breast: 80

total: 125

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running total: 666

4 oz banana: 100

salad (same as earlier):55

4 oz chicken breast:80

total:235

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running total: 901

sips of husband's mocha (shame on me, but oh so good!): 20

1/3 cup of oatmeal: 100

6 egg whites: 96

1 tbl of natural peanut butter:100

1/4 grapefruit: 40

5 oz of strawberries: 45

total:381

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running total: 1,302

Today's challenge: Are you kidding? All that posing!

Today's victory: Making it through all that posing and figuring out that I really, really liked doing the body building posing. Plus...with body building posing, you do it barefoot. No high heeled shoes.

Fitness: 3 hours of posing...I have no idea of how many calories that burned.

I've got a challenge for you folks...Just to get an idea, try flexing your bicep muscles in the mirror...as hard as you can for up to 30 seconds...Tell me how it feels...Then flex you leg muscles (like your quads) and hold it for 30 seconds.

Do this for a while...15 minutes, 20 minutes...um three hours and see how tired you get...

Ha, Ha...

But enough for tonight...I need to visit some blogs and see how you are all doing.

Good night!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama