Fab Five Favs

Another month down. Wow summer is here! I can't believe it.

Here are this month's Fab Five Favs:

1) Plain Greek Yogurt

 I bought the plain flavor by mistake last month. I thought it was Vanilla but when I took a spoonful, I about spit it out because I thought it was sour cream. Then I had an idea! I love sour cream and dips so I thought if I could replace the sour cream in most of my recipes with this stuff it would be much better. 2 tablespoons of regular sour cream has about 60 calories in it but if you replace it with 2 tablespoons of low fat plain Greek Yogurt it's only about 15 calories! Also the Greek yogurt has protein in it along with the good bacteria. You can also use Greek yogurt to replace mayonnaise. I made a coleslaw recipe the other day without mayo but used yogurt (hubby can't stand mayo) and he loved the coleslaw!


2) Kirkland Sliced Fruit-dried

These are really good when you want a quick snack and not a lot of calories. The apple cinnamon ones are so good. I really don't care for the dried banana chips/strawberry one but D eats those for me. I haven't tried putting them in my oatmeal like they suggest but I think it would be good.

3) Caloriecount.com 

I have been trying really hard this last week to keep track of everything I put in my mouth. I have no idea where I got "off track" but apparently my body felt that when I worked out like crazy I could eat more and more and more. I am just hungry all the time or maybe I was just eating to eat...who knows? But I do love food, it just doesn't love me. Anyways now that I have started keeping an online journal of what I am eating it makes me more aware of things and that I need to focus on which is better snacks. And if I have to log the calories then it makes me think twice before I reach for that impulse item. I now stop to think "do I really want to waste my calorie allotment on that?" I think this site is available via an App but I don't have a Smart Phone...I have a Stupid Phone so I have to log onto the computer several times a day, instead.


4) Aveeno Tinted Moisturizer

This stuff is great because I don't really like to wear a lot of make-up. But yet I don't want to look like death when I am at the gym or out shopping. Yes I wear make-up (sort of) to the gym....besides it's really a lotion. My face doesn't sweat so it's not like it drips off  and half the time when I go to the gym it's before I go do many other things. I like that this lotion  has SPF 30 in it too. Most of my other make-ups would only have about 15 so this one gives much better protection from those harmful rays.


5)  Aquasphere Kaimen Swim Goggles

I cannot thank my brother enough for telling me about these! This last year I have gone through at least 5 or 6 pairs of goggles and hated every single one. I just got to the point in my last race that I had to decide "do I wear the ones that leak or do I wear the ones that give me a headache?" And those were the better of the 6 pairs! Swim goggles just don't fit my face until I discovered these. I asked my brother (Mr. Ironman) and apparently both he and Mrs. Ironman wear these. Now I see why! These are so incredibly comfortable and they don't give me a headache maybe because they do not press on my sinuses.  I wore these for about an hour in the water today and never once had to take them off to adjust or clear the water out. They don't leak and they don't fog up. Worth every penny!

School's Out for the Summer!

Wow. I no longer have a child in Kindergarten. How in the world did the school year go so incredibly fast?

Congratulations Big T! We are so proud of you this year. You can now call yourself a Big First Grader!

We love you very much.

Se Habla Espanol?

In preparation of the Cancun trip I have been teaching T a little Spanish. He thinks it's cool that I can speak another language.


Today he tells me: "Mom you really should come into my class and teach a Spanish lesson to the kids."


Little does he know that my Spanish really only consists of the following phrases:


"Yo Quiero Taco Bell."


"Mas cerveza por favor."


and 

"Donde esta el baño?"

I really don't think this constitutes teaching a Spanish lesson to some Kindergartners but it's still neat to think that my son thinks I am cool because I speak Spanish.

Luna Chix blog

Just fyi...

I added a button on the right side of this blog that will connect directly to my weekly Luna Chix blog posts. It's the image that says "Team Luna Chix" just click and it will take you to the website.

Just makes it easier to follow along each week!

Thanks so much for the love and support I have received so far. I have also received some great feedback from Luna and they can tell that people are interested in the 4 bloggers this season and there are lots of readers.

Please continue to read, comment and eat Luna bars!

Have you tried these yet? They should be on the shelves soon. The strawberry peanut butter one is delicious!

Cancun!

In one week we will be hanging out poolside at this place: Westin Cancun

I am getting more and more excited about the trip. But to be honest traveling with kids is extremely stressful. I worry about the plane ride, their routines, what they will eat all week, and of course how they will behave. But I know once we get there and I head down to the swim-up bar and order my first Margarita...my worries will all go away! 

Millie

My thoughts are with my parents tonight. Their Golden Retriever Millie was in terrible pain yesterday and could hardly walk. They took her to the vet to find out that she has severe arthritis in both her knees. This is the same dog who as a puppy was bitten on the front leg by a rattlesnake. Back in 2007 she heard a sound in the bushes and went to "paw" at it and it bit her pretty severe in the leg. She went through 4 rounds of anti-venom to save her life (and they did) but they couldn't save the leg. She still has a leg but only uses the 3 good ones. The dead leg just basically hangs there and gives her a small amount of balance.

Over the years she has compensated with her back legs so in turn this has most likely led to early arthritis. Unfortunately she is going to have surgery in both her legs. I know some of you would gawk at the thought of doing all this for a dog but in our family dogs mean the world to us and we think of them as one of our children. She is still young and in very good shape so she has a great chance of recovery and should be back to her old 3-legged self in no time!

Lots of hugs for my sweet Millie (White Dog's Aunt).

To the Mamas

Happy Mother's Day

I am hoping today my children will:

• let me sleep past 7:00 am
• cook breakfast for me
• D will wake and be instantly potty-trained
• play nice together and not ask for a single thing
• pool their money together and pay to have a housecleaner come for the next 6 months

Well a girl can dream, right?

We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves. 

                     -Henry Ward Beecher

P.S. I love you Mom, Mom (Betty) and GG.

Athleta Race Report

The weekend in Las Vegas (for the Athleta Iron Girl) was a blast. You can find all the details here:

http://teamlunachix.com/chixlife/chix_journal_entry/viva_lake_las_vegas/AmandaChix

Cheers!

Athleta Iron Girl Vegas

I am off to Vegas in just a few days for Athleta Iron Girl Vegas. My dear friend GinaMarie will be joining me for a long weekend and she will doing the sprint triathlon with me.

I am a little nervous about the swim in Lake Las Vegas. I had every intention of trying to get a lake swim in before this tri but it just didn't happen. My last lake swim was Pumpkinman . That was also the last time I wore my wetsuit, crap I better dust it off and see if it fits! Actually I will probably wear the new one my brother got me for Christmas. It's an Xterra sleeveless so it should be much more comfortable that the other one I used last year. I think he got it for me because he saw me frantically cutting the arms of the other one the night before Pumpkinman.

As I was last time, I am anxious about seeing fish during the swim. Hopefully I won't be the first group of swimmers and by the time I get in the fish will all have swam away. Wishful thinking, I know.

It will be weird to not have my family there to cheer me on at the finish-line but I needed a "Mommy Break" and requested that this just be a girls only trip. My wonderful husband has graciously obliged and Grandma will be flying out to help to care for the boys.

I love that every finisher gets this sweet looking piece of bling! Viva Las Vegas!