Mel's Box of Chocolates

I have just about the cleanest plate that I have had in a long time!! I am happy to share that I am all caught up on master's class' work and am now free to begin prepping for vacation. I typed my heart out yesterday and got all my late assignments finished. I now only have current projects and honestly they are not too bad. I do have a mid term, but nothing that I can't do in a 14 hour drive to Florida!! I am going to play hooky from class this Tuesday night to get a pedicure/manicure for spring break since it is the only night that Dave is home to watch the kids while I go. In other life matters, today the day started with a very successful garage sale...YEAH! We got rid of a lot of junk and made some pretty good money too. Then, I went shopping all day for kid's clothes...this is one of my favorite past times . Since we live in a beach resort area we have outlets about 20 minutes away and they just happen to have Osh Kosh , Gap, and Children's Place all within...

Last week after my Weight Watcher's Weigh In, I set the goal of being in the 150's before our Florida vacation. Well I am happy to report that this morning I was down 2 more pounds and have 1.5 pounds to lose before Thursday to say that I am in the 150's!!! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...come on chant with me!!! So I will be watching what I am eating and walking on my treadmill every night (starting tomorrow though because today was quite the day and I am exhausted!!) So send good food vibes my way this week and I will keep you all posted! * On a good note tomorrow I am going shopping for my vacation clothes in a new smaller size...I cannot wait!!! WEEK 11 / -2 / 24lb. poof! Goal - 159.5 by Thursday! I WILL eat my veggies, I WILL eat my fruits, I WILL drink all my water, and by golly I WILL walk at least a mile every night on my treadmill!!

So I am not a male basher by any stretch of the imagination, but honestly sometimes they can be just plain stupid... As you all know I am on Weight Watchers and doing great if I say so myself. Now it does take some discipline and one area that I had to adjust was my Starbucks. NOOOOOOO I did not give it up (shudder at the thought), but I do now get a "FAT FREE" Peppermint Mocha Latte for a grand total of 4 points. So enter the Starbucks man... Him: What can I get for you today? Me: I would like a Fat Free Peppermint Mocha Latte, please Him: Sure thing (he begins making my drink and I can smell the espresso and mint and my mouth begins to water...) Him: Peppermint Mocha Latte right here, would you like whip cream and chocolate shavings on that??? Me: Uh, no thanks cause that would kind of defeat the purpose of my fat free drink. Thanks for the latte! (walk out the door and proceed to call my bestest friend and share with her the stupidity of men -at least on some occa...

Yes, Yes, there is light at the end of this tunnel I am in! Woohoo ...I finished that huge master's project after taking Tuesday off work and closing myself inside on the warmest day we have had so far. BUT the project is done, turned in, and just waiting to be graded. Not only that, but as of tonight I have my garage sale set up, priced and ready to go for Saturday morning. Both of these things have just been hanging over my head and it is so good to be free off them. Spring Break begins next Thursday for us as we head to Florida and I haven't been able to enjoy anticipating going there because I have been so darn concerned with all that I have to get done. I still have two papers to write, a powerpoint to put together, and a mid-term exam before Tuesday, but there is at least that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel and for now that is all I need!!

This morning was my weekly weigh in so I stepped on thinking it may not be too great because this is the week that I want to eat every salty and sweet thing in front of me, but to my surprise I was down another pound and a half! Yeah for me!! I even went over my weekly allowance by 2 points although there were a couple days that I did not use all of them so maybe that helped to balance it out. I can't remember if I told you all or not, but I also bought a treadmill a couple weeks ago and am using that regularly now. I have been trying to walk a mile at night as I ease into it with my hurt knee. I think it has been helping though and probably definitely made a difference this week as I ate chocolate and pizza all week!! So here's to a better week... WEEK 10/ -1.5 / 22lb GONE!! This week's goal...eat those fruits and veggies!!! Two week goal...Lose 3 more pounds to get into the 150's before our Florida Vacation. (I can't remember the last time I saw them!!)...

As a mom, I automatically get bragging rights on anything my adorable cherubs do. This time I want to brag about my smartie of a son! As you all know, he entered Kindergarten this year and is having a blast learning all sorts of things. His teacher is absolutely amazing and as a teacher I am thrilled to see him enjoying school. Dylan has always been interested in books and would often, even as a toddler, pick up a book and read the pictures or make up his own story. In December I really noticed him reading isolated words more and more and he would often read the high frequency words in books that I was reading aloud to him. He became a better reader everyday and lately has been reading these Step 1 and 2 books that I found in WalMart . He has amazed me with some of the words he can read by sounding them out or using his picture clues. Well the other day he came bounding off the bus and shooting towards me, jumping up and down with excitement. He had been invited to attend reading c...

This morning... Zoe came in my room as I had just finished getting dressed for work. As she came over and hugged my leg she looked up at me with her big, beautiful, blue eyes and said, "Momma you are gorgeous"!!!! It's going to be a fantastic day!!!!

This morning was weigh in and guess what...I made my 10% goal! That means that I have lost 10% of my body weight so far. In celebration of this exciting milestone, I decided to go shopping for a new outfit since hubby and I are going to an adult function tomorrow night. It was the best shopping trip ever! I got to buy things almost 2 sizes smaller. So I ended up with one pair of pants, 2 shirts, and of course a new pair of shoes. It felt awesome to finally be able to see the fruits of my labor in the new clothes. I was very proud of myself and what I accomplished and just wanted to share the good news with all of you. Thank you all for your encouragement it helps to have such a great support team behind me! Week 9 / -2.5 / -20.5 Over 5 bags of potatoes have fallen off this body!

After last week's 1 pound gain I was a bit discouraged, but I am happy to report that this week I lost that pound PLUS an extra pound! After last weekends indulgence of chocolate covered rice krispy treats and chocolate covered pretzels I was skeptical about this week. By the time Monday rolled around I only had 13 weekly points left and knew that we were going to a friend's for dinner on Friday (last night) so was determined to save every one of those points for then. So I was careful throughout the week and successfully saved the points using them on a mini burger, cheesy potatoes, pretzel salad, and hot fudge brownie sundae...as Rachel Ray would say "YUM-O"! Of course weigh in was this morning, so I crossed my fingers and was pleasantly surprised at my 2lb loss. So I am happy to report that my spirits are lifted and I am ready for another good week. Only 1/2 pound to go and I will have lost 10% of my body weight!!! YEAH!! Week 8 / -2 lb / -18 This wee...

Baby, it's cold outside...but we don't care because SCHOOL'S CLOSED!! So while the roads were bad enough for schools to be closed they didn't stop us from heading over to the only hill in Sussex County which just happens to be in Grampy and Gramma Tuttle's yard! Hold on tight... It's always much more fun to go DOWN the hill than to walk back UP! It is easier to come back up the hill with Gramma holding your hand! What an angel!!! I'm beginning to enjoy these snow days!

Did that announcement just say school is CLOSING EARLY? Ooooohhhh yeah!! Put on your snowboots , it's time for fun!! We had a great surprise yesterday when it started snowing around 9 a.m. and didn't stop until about 8:30 p.m. In all we probably got around 3-4 inches which was just about perfect!! So once I got out of school, I grabbed the kids from daycare, we trekked home, got all bundled up, and headed out into our little blizzard... So it took us about 20 minutes to gather the hats, gloves, boots, and put them all on. It took Zoe about 1 minute to decide that it was too darn cold and she wanted back inside! I am convinced that Delaware does not create snow that can make good snowmen. Our intention was to make a snowman to welcome daddy home, but we couldn't get it going. Dylan didn't mind though he had fun building "castles", "ships", "dinosaurs" and other snow sculptures. When Dave got home he asked me where our snow shovel was so h...

Talk about a yucky piece.. Usually I am gung ho with telling you all about my week with Weight Watchers considering I have averaged losing about 2lb a week since I started, but this week was not so hot. As you know I was sick at the beginning of last week with the delightful stomach bug so I really did not eat anything on Saturday or Sunday. By the end of the week there were three days that I didn't eat all my daily points and had almost all of my weekly allowance points left. (For those of you who don't know much about Weight Watchers they have a flex plan where you get so many points a day and then you track how many points are in the food you eat trying to eat all of the points. You also get 35 allowance points that you can use any way you choose...in one meal, a few points a day, etc.) So you can imagine how I felt when I got on the scale and did not only not lose, but GAINED a pound. Now I know from everything I have read that you MUST use all your daily points to kee...

If you have read my 100 list or checked out my goals for this year you may have noticed that I have had a great desire to find a church to attend. A little background: Growing up we always went to church...meaning you had to be dying before my dad would let you stay home. My family actually helped begin a church in Maryland when I was about 4 and I was raised in a very religious home where God took center stage. When I was 7 I gave my life to the Lord and was very involved in children's church, youth groups, and when I got older helped to teach the little kiddos during Sunday School. Through the church I also had some really great friends...some of whom I still talk to today! However, when I was 11 my family had a falling out with the pastor and we left the church. I was devastated...mostly because my church friends were basically my family. Since I was homeschooled they were the only people my age who I had contact with regularly so severing those ties during my pre -teen years ...

In celebration of the blog party that 5minutesformom is hosting I have decided to introduce myself through my very first 100 things about me ! For my new blogging friends this will all be new and for my oldie, but goodie, friends and family hopefully you will find something that makes you stop and say, "I never knew that about her!" So take a minute and enjoy reading about all the pieces that fill my own "box of chocolates"! 1) I believe that God is awesome and I am one of His works in progress!! 2) God has blessed me with close to a “perfect” marriage with my wonderful hubby Dave 3) My husband is my best friend 4) My kids, Dylan (6), and Zoe (2), are my pride and joy 5) I live in a small town in Delaware 6) I’m a beach bum and live only about a mile away from the Atlantic Ocean 7) Orange is my favorite color 8) My two front teach are crooked and I hate them 9) When I feel like a failure I remember that my kids still t...

Last week was full of "one of those days". As I mentioned in an earlier post, Dylan had his vomiting episode on Friday in the truck and was sick all day. Then on Sunday darn if Zoe didn't have a vomiting episode too, in the truck AGAIN! As we were getting back on track and catching up on sleep my hubby got it and was out of work for two days. Of course during this whole week I was washing my hands constantly, drinking orange juice by the gallons, and eating multi -vitamins like they were Hershey kisses, in hopes that the nasty bug would take pity on me and pass me by. My girlfriends and I had our girl's night planned for last Friday night and since I had missed January's there was not anything that was going to keep me away from our night out. One of those days - part 1 So after making it through the week, Friday morning rolls around and of course my stomach begins gurgling and my temperature begins rising. Being the dedicated teacher that I am I still packed u...