New Year's Resolutions.

It is that time of year again when my head swims with hopes for the new year. I have a lot of hopes for 2012 and plenty of goals.

     1. Lose weight - this goal is very important to me. I lost a lot of weight this last year, but it wasn't enough to get me where I want to be. For my height my ideal weight is approximately 150 lbs. I would really like to reach that weight this year and feel pretty good about being able to do so.

     2. Buy a car - I have not had my own car since getting married over 8 years ago. The car that we are currently using is working okay, but I wouldn't consider it to be "reliable." It is very important to me to have reliable transportation of my own. I have never been able to just go visit family and friends because of not having my own car. I home school so it would be nice to take the kids on field trips or trips to visit family. We don't go visiting as is because of my husband's work hours and me not having a car. Plus if we have another baby it is extremely important to me to be able to have reliable transportation for our family (and for me to be able to go somewhere without relying totally on my husband.

     3. Have a third baby - This is something I've wanted for a few years now. I can't afford to wait until I am in my 30's because of my high risk factor. Our finances haven't been good enough and my health hasn't been good enough previously. There have also been some rather serious issues in our marriage that has provided obstacles for having a baby. If I have a good used car and am healthy then this will probably be the best year to have another baby. I figure that if I can manage to lose about 2 lbs a week I will be able to think about getting pregnant in June or July. I have also figured that this would put the birth of the baby after the tax return for next year. The tax return wouldn't cover all the expenses, (a cesarean was in the ball park of $10,000 last I knew) but it would really help. There would still be a lot of preparing that would need to be done, like creating a nursery space. I won't need to be buying too many toys or baby equipment since I didn't use most of that stuff the last two times. Besides the birth costs our only real expenses with a baby would be a new car seat and Dr visits. Diapers depend on whether we go disposable like previously or if we use cloth.

     4. Start designing knitwear - This is something I've been thinking about on and off this past year. I think 2012 would be a good time to get into designing. My ultimate goal would be to create patterns for knitwear that I could sell for a small profit (perhaps to feed my knitting obsession). I have noticed that I have a very hard time finding patterns for wearable clothes that are more on the simple and causal side while still being interesting and stylish. I have also noticed that many patterns I find and love are pretty hard to actually acquire. Every time I find a pattern I love on Ravelry.com it is something that is out of print, requires the purchase of a $15+ book, or isn't even available in this country. I don't hope to ever get published in anything, but it would be cool if I could learn enough about designing patterns to create nice clothing for my family and maybe make enough money to buy some yarn on the side. I'm not sure where I will be able to take this, but I still want to dabble and try my hand at it.

     5. Start dressing nicer - I have not been very fashionably dressed for a long time. After getting married we didn't have the money for clothes, then I had babies and got fat, money issues continued, depression got in the way and I just gave up somewhere along the way. I don't expect to have heaps of cash for going shopping this next year, but I do hope to make more of an effort to dress more modernly. I do many things to keep my depression at bay, including knitting. I hope to be able to knit some nice things to update my wardrobe. I don't mind wearing cheap clothes and really don't care about the brand at all so long as it fits and looks okay. I hope to be able to cheaply acquire a few outfits that I can mix and match and complement my knitted items.

     6. Have more "me" time - Time to myself isn't really something I've had much of. My life is all about being a home educator and mother for my children and being a house wife. I have had very little time to myself since getting married and it is something I am really in need of. I hope to get more chances to take a relaxing bath or go shopping by myself. It would be great if my husband would take the children out of the house so I could take a nap or do something in peace and quiet. Right now the only alone time I get is after the kids go to bed at night, and that just isn't much of a break. I am really hoping that if all goes well and I do get pregnant after June 2012 that I will have time to rest and relax some. I have had hard pregnancies in the past, and my husband has promised to step up more this third time and really help me have time to take care of myself.

     7. Better intimacy in the marriage - As is, I don't really get time with my husband. He works long hours and by the end of the day we are both exhausted. I am not talking about physical intimacy so much as emotional. We don't really talk to each other anymore, and when we do it is about the budget, parenting, or other busy stuff. We don't talk about our marriage or what is emotionally important to us. I hate the distance and would like to make more time to just be together. We were initially drawn together because of how easily we got a long and how easy it was to talk to each other, but that has been lost over the years of stress, conflict, and work load. It would be nice to have some intimacy back again.

There are many things that I hope to improve or change during this next year, but those are the big ones.

This year for weight loss I will try to stick to weight updates on the 1st of every month as well as what I have been doing well or poor on and what I'm doing differently. I did finally decide to order a scale, which arrived today. I weighed myself and was pretty dismayed at the number that came up. I had expected I had gained some weight over the holidays. I thought I was probably around 205-210 because my clothes aren't really fitting any differently. Oh heck no! I weighed in at 219 lbs!!!!!! I am not happy about that as it adds more time to my weight loss and will effect when I can start trying for a baby. This means I will have about 69 lbs to lose or 11.5 lbs each month. It is doable, but doesn't leave me much wiggle room.

I will do my official first weigh in of the year tomorrow. I hope to go over my eating plan some and what I plan to do regarding my diet and how to control bad food choices.

I have been reading in "Good Calories, Bad Calories" again tonight. I needed to give my hands a break from knitting and seeing as how tomorrow is the New Year it seemed appropriate. I am over 50% done with the book and running into very interesting stuff. I just read a section talking about the similarities between fasting and a low-carb diet. They both affect the metabolism the same way. If you are fasting after a couple days the hunger goes away and your body pulls the needed energy from your fat and muscle. If on a low-carb diet your body does the same thing only instead of pulling all the energy from your body it is using what you are eating and there is no hunger just like when fasting. You can go from fasting to eating low carb and suffer no ill effects and your metabolism doesn't suffer. If you are eating 800 calories per day in fat and protein you won't be hungry or tired, but if you add 400 calories of vegetables and fruit (or any carbs) to it so you are eating 1200 calories per day you will become hungry (ravenously so) and tired and experience mood changes. There are some very interesting points made and some very compelling evidence. It agrees with my personal experience, but it is interesting to have it validated through scientific research even if it hasn't been paid any attention in the medical community. I remember how terrible I felt on a low fat/low calorie diet and how much better I felt on a low-carb/high/fat and unrestricted calorie diet.

My latest worries.

I am uneasy right now. I have had a Mirena IUD (also called an IUC) for a little over 5 years. I thought it worked good and I was happy with the light (although sometimes long or random) periods and being able to not worry about remembering to take a pill every day. I think now that having that chunk of plastic inside of me was a huge mistake.

I started doing research online about the removal process for the Mirena. I wanted to know how much pain and bother was involved. I honestly never expected to run across so much negativity surrounding the device. I wasn't really aware of all the side effects before I got the Mirena. My Dr told me it was lower doses of hormones than a pill and that it was highly convenient. The pamphlet I got didn't really say anything about side effects besides that in very rare cases some women have developed PID. No where did I see anything about all the other stuff.

One of the things I am most concerned with is the effect it has on mood. Supposedly (I read about it, but didn't go research it myself) in Canada they recommend women with any history of depression not use Mirena. I never heard anything about this, and I have a history of constant low grade depression that can become dangerous (suicidal) when/if it gets really bad. Several people in my family have a history of depression. If I would have know that was one of the common side effects I never would have used it. I have had unshakable depression this whole time, but never thought it could be because of my birth control. I have also had very common migraines this whole time as well. By common I am talking about an average of 5 days a week, every week, for 5 years. Headaches and migraines are another side effect that seems to affect a lot of women who use the Mirena. The whole thing is scary and worrisome. I have an appointment on the 4th to have it removed.

My husband and I would like to have another child, but there are so many things that need to be done first. First of all I need to lose weight. I nearly died during both previous births, so I would like to be as healthy as possible for next time. We need to get a new vehicle (a very reliable one and so that both of us have transportation), which is what this tax return is supposed to go towards. We want to get the most reliable used vehicle we can for our money (that will hold three children) with the tax return. We would need to get the basement in better order. There is a bedroom down there that we were working (slowly) on converting into a school room, but that may end up as a nursery instead. Then of course we would need to have the money to pay for the pregnancy and delivery.

We were thinking that I would work on losing the weight this year, we would get the car this year, then we would try to get pregnant so the baby would be born after next tax return so we could pay the hospital bills. If we are going to have another baby, I really don't want to wait very long. I don't want to have the increased risks that come with age. If we haven't had another baby by the time I am 30, I will forget about the whole thing because the risks would just be too high for me (seeing as how I am already considered high risk).

I have been thinking about my New Years resolutions. I have thought of a few, but I need to actually make a list. I really hope this is the last time I will be writing "lose weight" on there. Seems like my resolutions are always the same. This year there won't be much of a celebration for New Years. My husband will be working that night, so maybe we will try to celebrate earlier or the next day. We don't usually do much for the holiday, being such homebodies, but this will be the first time he hasn't been home for it. Maybe me and the girls will find something fun to do together.

I am not really looking forward to this week ending. I have been enjoying the Christmas break. The girls are ready to start school again, but I'm not so sure I am. It has been nice to have a break and get to do other things and have time to relax. We have been doing some reading during holiday break. I think my mother is right and I need to just give up on the reading part of school being so analytical. We are not reading the "read alouds" as part of school anymore, but have been reading them before bedtime. I don't look up the questions anymore, but just sit and talk about it with them instead. I guess if we read it apart from school and they don't see me look up the questions, then it is fun and not "boring and horrid school books." I really don't understand them sometimes. They really enjoy working out of workbooks and lesson books, but they don't like listening to me read to them during school. I don't see the difference, but if somehow the books being bedtime stories makes it more fun, than so be it. So long as they are listening and thinking about the stories, I'm happy.

I have written plenty for now. I do need to get to work on my knitting. I will post again once I have made my New Years resolution list and/or decided what to do about buying a scale.

XMAS STRESS!!!

Christmas is so stressful this year. We still don't have out tree decorated, the house needs cleaned, the gifts need wrapped, and I am so far behind in my knitted gifts! I am really pushing myself to get one present completed by Christmas, but I feel horrible that I have 3 other gifts that will not get done on time :( It makes me sad.

On a good note, we were able to get a few nice gifts for our children. We got a Monster High doll and bed set (Clawdeen, the werewolf girl) for our youngest and a Moxie Gilrz horse for the older girl. We also bought them some clothes. From Santa the oldest girl asked for a BFC Ink doll (a pose-able 18" doll). Those dolls are super expensive right now. They regularly sell for $29.99 but they are sold out everywhere but being sold for double price by scalpers (jerks more like it). I was not going to pay $60 for a $30 doll, but I found a doll with similar hair and eyes to my daughter. She is a summer fun type of doll, so she comes with a swim suit and beach stuff. I still only spent about $37 for the doll and an extra outfit for here, so I felt I did okay. My younger daughter wanted another Monster High doll. She doesn't know what we got here for Christmas, but she bought a "Dead Tired" Cleo De Nile doll with her allowance and tooth fairy money recently. She wanted to ask Santa for the "fish girl," and we actually managed to find a Laguna Blue doll at the local Target store (another toy that is sold out almost everywhere, Monster High dolls are really hard to find online right now).

I have nothing for my husband. Every time I think of something I want to get for him he goes and ticks me off. I can't seem to make myself get a gift for him when I feel so angry at him. I was going to get him a set of pens for writing in his journal (so he doesn't steal mine) but I haven't gotten any yet. He did tell me I could buy some yarn, so I guess that is my gift from him. I picked out two colorways of the same chunky yarn. One is a hand painted pink, so it is bright pinks, purples, and berry colors. The other color is also hand painted, but it is a softer pastel yarn with very light blues and lavenders. I am hoping to make two colors of the same outfit. I have my eye on a sweater tunic (I hope to make it a touch longer so it is more dress like) that I want to try to recreate without a pattern but just from looking at the picture. I am excited about it, and hopefully at some point I actually get the time to make them, lol

I keep thinking about getting a scale, but just haven't yet. I am curious what I weigh. My size 14 jeans slide down a bit, but the 12's are still a bit uncomfortable. I will probably gain a couple pounds over Christmas anyway.

I wanted to pick up a bottle of Bailey's as a super special Christmas treat (as in I would only have some at Christmas time and not during the rest of the year). Bailey's is expensive though, so we tried a different brand from Sam's Club. I guess it is okay, but it is no where near as good as Bailey's. It isn't as smooth or creamy textured but has a weird artificial thickness to it that is kinda gross. I love Bailey's in coffee (there is no yummier creamer in my opinion) but this Irish Cream just doesn't taste that good in coffee (which sucks, because that what why I wanted it in the first place). Oh how I wish we wouldn't have tried to save $10 and would have just got the good stuff. I have been considering asking my husband to pick up a bottle of Bailey's but I don't really want to spend the extra money after he bought all that yarn for me and we have been skimping on money to buy gifts for the kids.

Alcohol is a weird thing in our house. I really like to have a drink once in awhile, don't drink to excess, never lose control of myself, and know when I need to stop. But we can't have alcohol in the house because of my husband. He has ZERO self control. He gets drunk quickly, and won't stop drinking even when he is so drunk he is walking into door frames. I know I shouldn't resent him over it, but I do sometimes. It is not hard for me to control myself with alcohol so I don't really understand why he can't. If we buy a bottle of wine for a meal, I have one glass and my husband drinks the rest of it (regardless of whether we had planned to save it for another meal). He doesn't listen to me at all and it's like he doesn't even care about how he looks or how he acts. We have young children, so a drink or two (after they are to bed) then going to bed is fine. Drinking until you can't stand up or speak correctly is absolutely not okay. It seems strange to me that two people who have so much in common can still be opposite in so many other areas. It does feel unfair to me that I can't have a mixed drink once or twice a month because my husband won't bother to control himself. It isn't a huge problem, just annoying.

I sort of went off there...oops! Anyway I should get back to my knitting. I have a lot of knitting to do and little time to do it in, so I'd better get crackin' :)

Scale death, and HFCS rant.

As the title states, my scale is dead. I went to use it recently and one of the leg things was broken clean off. I have no idea how it got broke (and no, I didn't do it in a fit of rage, I just found it that way). I am bummed out about it and relieved at the same time. I have the fear that I've put on about 5 lbs and I wanted to check.

I have been shopping for a new scale, but am not really looking too seriously. It probably isn't good to have a scale and stress out over it every week, but on the other hand it is nice to be able to check when I want to. I have one in my wish list on Amazon.com, but I don't know how I feel about spending $35 and up on a bathroom (albeit nice) scale.

I should just spend the money on healthy food. Stupid convenient carbs have been getting to me. Why is it that all the easy and fast meals are loaded with more carbs than I would like to ingest in a whole week? I am so sick of eggs, bleh :( Meatloaf takes forever, I don't really like cooking bacon, roasts are expensive, and hamburger patties get boring after awhile. I need to put more effort in and make my own frozen meals, but again, that is more work than sounds tolerable at the moment.

Speaking of carbs, there has been a ton of adds endorsing corn syrup lately. I find it insulting and ludicrous honestly. Most everybody acknowledges that HFCSs are horribly bad for people, and is often listed as the number one food additive to avoid. There are two commercials that I've seen and they both say something along the lines of "whether it's from corn or cane, your body can't tell the difference; sugar is sugar." It is an absolute and complete lie.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (or even corn syrup) is not like sugar. Sugar is refined yes, but no matter how hard you squish, squeeze, or smash corn you don't get syrup (or oil as far as that is concerned). Corn syrup is chemically extracted, and High Fructose Corn Syrup is purposefully made to be extra sweet. Regular cane sugar is 50% glucose and 50% fructose, well HFCS is 45% glucose and 55% fructose. Fructose tells your liver to produce fat like nobody's business (that is super simplified, of course) and just that 5% increase will pack on several pounds compared with consumption of regular sugar. It is horrible to think that there may be people out there who listen to these adds and are actually convinced what they are saying is true.

The Corn Refiners Association (the people who pay for these adds, naturally) must feel very threatened if they are having to push these adds so badly. Over last weekend ABC Family was running a Harry Potter weekend marathon, during which these adds showed up 1 or 2 times during every commercial break. Sugar is bad enough for people, but corn syrup is even worse. "Sugar is sugar," is about as true as "a calorie is a calorie" because of course eating 400 calories worth of chocolate cake is the same nutritionally as eating 400 calories worth of meats and vegetables...NOT!

I have been wondering if a vacuum food saver would be a good idea or just stupid. I have always heard people being disappointed by vacuumed sealed food savers, but the idea behind it is nice. I much prefer buying meats at Sam's Club because the prices are far better than what I can find at grocery stores, but it is hard going through all the meat before it spoils. It sounds smart to buy a few different meats and freeze them in smaller groups, but how well do those vacuum sealer machines work? Do they protect against freezer burn any better than Ziploc bags? The infomercials say they are awesome of course, but who trusts infomercials? I need to do some research into this and look at reviews on different machines. I also need to look into getting a good set of food storage containers so I can make and freeze meals for when I can't stand actually cooking. I don't mind eating low-carb, but cooking low-carb is a lot of work. My weight requires I do something about this soon, if I actually want to lose anymore weight and not just hang around 205-210 forever. Maybe I will look into getting a vacuum food storage machine for our family for Christmas...because that's what every husband and child wishes for, right ? :D

Anyways, enough ranting and rambling, I need to go knit now.

Here is one of the videos I was referring to.

What I've been doing lately.

My beauty efforts have stopped, nearly completely. I think it has something to do with the season honestly. I have been in a funk lately which hasn't helped, and it seems to be seasonal depression. It isn't severe or anything, just annoying more than anything.

I have only weighed myself once since last time I posted my weight, and I am staying the same. I am both glad and disappointed that my weight hasn't changed. It would have been great if I had lost weight, but I am honestly very surprised that I didn't gain weight. I have not exactly been perfect with sticking to my diet. I have had zero sugar (because I know how rotten I would feel if I did) but I have had a tiny bit of starchy stuff. My fish soup had a little bit of brown rice in it to bulk it up some, and there have been a couple times I have eaten a slice of bread or a burger with the bun. I haven't been doing that regularly, but way more than I should. I also have not been getting my fat consumption as high as it should be, and have noticed that I haven't been feeling quite as good.

I have not been doing my hair or putting on makeup, haven't really been doing anything special for skin care either. I have been spending nearly all of my free time knitting Christmas gifts for family, and haven't really had the time for much else. Using the derma roller is pretty time consuming, and putting on lotion almost seems like torture when it is so cold. I guess right now I just care more about other things and am not putting much (if any) effort into taking care of myself. I haven't even been shaving my legs more than once every 2-3 weeks. I do still shower however :P

I know that I need to take care of myself, especially since I am getting depressed. I need to be doing fun things and trying to lift my spirits, but dang, that seems like a lot of work most of the time. I will probably hate myself come spring. I have had a fair amount of time to make progress with my skin and hair but my slacking has wasted all that time. First things first I suppose. I need to get a handle on my blue mood first. Getting a few needed improvements done to the house would definitely help with that. I should also maybe try to lose a bit more weight, I know that would make me feel better. Maybe I will take a shower and then paint my nails for a little pick-me-up now. What would really make me feel better would be to buy a new bra, as worn-out bras do nothing but hurt and make me look even more frumpy than usual. Goodness, I can't wait until the tax return. After getting a new-to-us car maybe there will be enough money for a few new things, like bras. I am rambling pretty severely now, gotta stop. Maybe I will force myself to do something positive to blog about.

"Hoofmaker"

My horsey lotion arrived yesterday, hooray! I used it a few times throughout the day after washing my hands and I can already see a difference in the condition of my skin today. My skin is soft enough my 5-year-old daughter told me that my hands feel nice and soft. I am impressed by it so far.

The husband tried the lotion last night and said he liked it. The man is rather picky about these sorts of things, but he stated that it soaked in fast and he liked that. I hope he sticks to using it. Lizard hands aren't so lovely or romantic, lol Last winter he was using Aquaphor lotion and it was so greasy that he had to wear gloves over it. It was sort of weird waking up in the morning next to a man wearing Mickey Mouse gloves.

I give "Hoofmaker" two thumbs up!

I was hoping some of my other Amazon purchases would arrive today, but no such luck. Being shipped via USPS it shouldn't take longer than 3 days after they are shipped for them to get here. Hopefully the rest of my stuff comes tomorrow.

This is sort of beauty related, but I got a good deal on coconut oil from Amazon. There was a sale on a subscribe and save item, so I ended up getting 2 15 ounce tubs of coconut oil for $13.23. I got the Nutiva brand. I really like coconut oil for pan frying vegetables in. It is just cool stuff and a very good alternative to regular vegetable oils that contain soy. I need to experiment using it for hair conditioning, as I believe I used too much previously. I have had better luck using olive oil to deep condition my hair, but you know how olive oil smells... it is sort of yucky to have your hair smell that way.

Some day I need to actually put on some makeup and take a new picture for this blog. The current picture is really annoying me. It used to fit in its allotted space, but now it is too big and is sticking off the side in a horridly un-neat sort of way! I do need to take a more recent picture, as that one is about 25-30 lbs ago.

It is really obnoxious not having many hot things to drink in cool weather. I have tried to drink tea a few times and have just decided that I don't really like tea more than a couple times per year. I used to like hot tea, not sure why I no longer enjoy it. I am getting tired of coffee (been drinking decaf). I really need to break down and just buy some spiced chai tea bags and try to have somewhat healthy chai tea latte that I use my own sweetener and cream in. I have been craving spiced chai latte tea, but it is so expensive to buy the mix and not available in a low carb variety locally. This town is NOT low carb friendly.

I am rambling. I have better things to do, I just need to go do them...sigh, what I wouldn't give for a mug of hot chocolate heaped with marshmallows! Oh well, one more cup of decaf coffee with a little too much cream coming up! Now all that remains is what to watch; Star Trek again or some random anime? I don't remember Next Generations being so funny when I was younger. Guess that answers that. Coffee, Star Trek, and sock knitting... Engage!

Bueaty order from Amazon.

Yep, another amazon order. I found some pretty cool things though. I have been pretty down lately, so part of the purpose of the order is something fun to look forward to, and hey, who doesn't like getting packages in the mail? :)

The only shampoo and conditioner that I seem to like is the "Mane 'N Tail" stuff for horses from Straight Arrow. That sounds so weird that I like horsey shampoo, lol Most shampoos and conditioners I have used over the years haven't really done it for me. After having children my hair got much worse and became quite frizzy and uncontrollable. I strive to not damage my hair, and I trim off the split ends often (individually, I don't trim all my hair more than every 4 months or so, and then just an inch or less). I am careful with my hair, but it is still frizzed and crazy. "Mane 'N Tail" has been the only thing that has made my hair stronger, shinier, less frizzy (still pretty darn frizzy though) and grow faster. Really the only way for me to tame the frizz is to use a flat iron. Using heat on my hair is something I try to avoid, so it isn't something I do very often (special occasions only, same with using a curling iron or blow drier).

I am hopeful that I may have found a product that will help my frizzy hair. It is also "Mane 'N Tail" so I have high hopes for it. It is a leave-in spray that is supposed to strengthen and moisturize hair. Link to product on Amazon.com here. Reviews for the product are very good, so I am hoping for decent results at least.

The second product I ordered is also a "Mane 'N Tail" product, called "Hoofmaker." Doesn't that sound like an awesome product? lol It is basically hook lotion for horses, but has very good reviews for human use as well. It is supposed to be very effective for dry hands (better than bag balm even (I grew up on a ranch, can you tell? lol)) and it is supposed to strengthen nails and make them grow faster.

I am having pretty good success with my nails from using the GNC Hair, Nails, and Skin pills I've been purchasing from Sam's Club. They are much harder now, they aren't peeling or splitting and I've noticed the surface of my nails are a lot smoother and nicer looking. My nails are still breaking however. I believe this is due to them getting too dry. I use a moisturizing undercoat to try to help with this, but it doesn't seem to be enough. I am hoping that the "Hoofmaker" will help with this. I am also hoping it helps my husband's hands. He is a laborer and very rough on his hands. It is common place for his hands to be rough and scaly, and in the winter time they crack and bleed. We have found a couple lotions that are helpful with preventing his hands from splitting as badly, but I am hoping this will prevent them from splitting at all. I am not sure I would know what to do with a husband who didn't have lizard hands, lol Anyways, I hope the whole family uses it, because I ordered a 2 lb tub of the stuff, lol

The third thing I ordered was a nail polish. It is by O.P.I. from the Burlesque collection in the color "Take the Stage." It is a very glamorous rusty orange color that has a foil look to it. It should be perfect for fall and is so pretty looking. I got this just as something fun and pretty. Many of the colors in this collection are very pretty, but I liked this color the best from photos online. I am hoping to buy a couple more in the future. A note about the movie Burlesque: it wasn't that bad of a movie. It sort of had a "Coyote Ugly" vibe to it, but it wasn't nearly as risque as I was expecting. Some of the costumes were fun and the singing was actually quite enjoyable. I liked it enough to watch it twice. It is more of a feel-good type movie than I thought it would be. The only reason I watched it was because I was surprised it was rated PG-13 and not R, and I had been curious about it but assumed it was filled with, you know, burlesque type stuff, lol Cher's songs in it were great, and I really enjoyed Christina Aguilera's songs as well (strange, because I've never been a fan of hers).

The fourth thing I ordered was another bottle of Bio Oil. I am going to try to commit to using the derma roller more. I haven't used it in a few weeks and am not keeping up with it at all. I would really like to actually use it and lessen some of my scars. After I use up this bottle, I may try using Emu oil the next time. I want to try emu oil for hair and skin conditioning anyway, and it is supposed to help skin heal and fade scars. It seems to be fairly similar in price as well.

The last thing I ordered isn't exciting at all. It is a pair of thermal underwear for my husband, lol If they work really well and keep him warmer this winter, it will help me in a sense as maybe I won't have to listen to him complain so much.

I have not been paying attention to my weight at all. I am eating moderate portion sizes and have been avoiding all bread and grains except for flax meal bread, and I limit that to one serving a day. I have stopped eating "treat" type items and have been working on cutting down my consumption of sweeteners and cheeses. I have switched from regular coffee to decaf, seeing as how caffeine can interfere with weight-loss and I drink coffee for the taste only. I have really slowed down on the iced tea since the weather has gotten cooler. I want to hunt down a good spiced chai tea that I can add my own sweetener and cream to. Spiced chai latte is one of my favorite winter-time treats, but it is super high in carbs. I am also a bit loath about not being able to have Baileys Irish cream anymore. I could make my own that would be low carb, but not sure I want to spend a day doing that. Why don't more companies make low-carb alternatives? It seems like gluten-free diets are on the rise, so that helps some, but more low-carb choices would be great.

I wore a crochet sweater a couple days ago. It felt pretty good to put it on and see what a difference it was from when I had made it at the end of April. It fits so much better now, and it is much more flattering looking. I was pretty pleased with how much nicer it looked compared to spring time. Little boosts like that are helpful. Like when I got down into my size 12 jeans, that felt pretty good :)

I suppose I should be done with this and get back to my knitting. I knit to relax and rid myself of stress. Knitting is probably one of the things I feel the most pride over. It is always nice feeling to complete a project and have it look nice. There aren't many things that I do which have any reward to them. Being a mother and wife is pretty darn thankless and often times just plain difficult and frustrating, so it is nice to have something that I actually get a tangible pay off from. I am working on Christmas gifts at the moment. I think I have done a decent job picking out things that people will like. I do hope that when I give people knitted gifts they don't scoff at it or think it is cheap. It actually takes a fair amount of work to complete even small gifts, and yarn certainly isn't free. I like to think that when I spend over 100 hours making a gift for someone that they have some concept of how much effort and time was put into it, just special for them. I nearly have the gift for my brother complete. I am really looking forward to working with another yarn and starting a new project.

One last note (after this I really will stop, I swears it!). I just finished watching season 3 of Merlin on Netflix instant streaming. It was a strange show at first, but now I am hooked and can't wait to start watching season 4. I believe it is airing on BBC currently, but I need to find out if it is on syfy yet, as we actually get that channel. I think I will set the dvr up to record it, if I can find it available anywhere to actually do that. Not so impressed with how the dvr works, I thought it would be better :( Oh well, that's cable for ya! See, I'm done now :) Gonna go watch some Star Trek, knit and drink some warm coffee...life ain't so bad sometimes :D

Weigh in.

Okay, weigh ins are actually depressing me, and I am not keeping up with my updates at all like I wanted to. I won't be updating every week anymore. I will try to update once a month on my weight. I did not lose any weight last week. In fact the scale said I had gained 9 lbs, even though I have went down to a size 12 jean from size 14 and my wrists are noticeably thinner. Weighing myself is just becoming too frustrating to be worth it. I will continue to eat right and lose weight, but I am not going to weigh anymore than once a month for awhile. I am just too stressed out from everyday life, and I really don't need the added stress from an evil scale.

If anything awesome happens I will of course blog about it, but I think less thinking about the weight right now is what I need to do. I have slacked off on the derma roller and stopped using the Bio Oil. Honestly, it is very hard to find time to use the derma roller, and when I do find the time I am generally too stressed out to feel like using it. The Bio Oil is a bit expensive, and remembering to do it is a bit of a hassle right now. There is just too much stress and junk going on to worry about this stuff so much at the moment. Better luck in a couple of months I say. Until next time, Sayonara!

September 25th weigh in.

I am posting this late. I have just been really frustrated and pretty busy. Anyways, I am going to keep this short. I weighed in at 204.5, which is 1.5 lbs lost last week. That's all, I don't really feel like writing much :)

It's been a good week for weight-loss!

My slump is apparently over. This week I lost 5.5 pounds! I now weigh 206.5 lbs.

I am not sure if it really took over a month to recover from eating birthday cake, or if it was other changes I made to my diet...or possibly both. I stopped using packet and granular Splenda. I now use Stevia (Stevia in the Raw brand, though I would like to try Sweet Leaf brand as well). I use liquid sucralose (EzSweetz brand) for baking and cooking and for the rare cup of coffee. The Stevia had a leaf-ish kind of taste the first time I tried it, though I didn't notice the reportedly bitter taste. I use as little of it as I can to sweeten my tea (half a packet or a whole packet if I am craving something sweeter) and now notice no weird aftertaste or bitterness. I have been liking it, though I've noticed my husband much prefers the liquid sucralose drop. I have seen flavored Stevia drops that I would like to try. I am curious if it is flavorful enough that when added to club soda would make a nice (once-in-awhile) replacement for pop (that's what we call Soda up here in the far north).

Another change I made was cutting my caffeine intake way down. I was having blended coffee drinks a couple times during the day. Now I have a cup of coffee maybe once per week. I have been drinking a good deal of iced tea, but tea doesn't have nearly as much caffeine as does coffee. I may try some new teas after my current supply runs out, and I will probably look at getting some green tea as well. I also cut back the amount of dairy foods I was eating as well. I try not to have cheese and cream in the same day.

It feels good to be doing so well losing weight again. Hopefully I can keep it up and lose 2 or more lbs every week. I am so excited to be under 210 and working towards getting out of the 200's. Getting below 200 lbs is a huge milestone for me, so it is really great to be getting so close! I am only 6.5 lbs away! It is so hard to believe that I have lost 40.5 lbs! That is a lot of weight! I can't wait to keep going and lose even more. I just need to remember that sugar is the devil, and absolutely will derail me for a whole month. Next birthday, I will be making a cheesecake, lol

I am still using the derma roller. I use it about once a week though, so not as frequently as I had planned on. I also cut back my use of the BioOil. I am out of it now, and had cut back to using it once a day instead of twice per day. It still has not lasted very long, and it is $15 for a little bottle. I do think it is helping the condition of my skin, but I know I won't always be able to buy as much of it as needed. Supposedly you have to use it for 3 months before seeing results. That seems like a long time to be buying it just to find out if it works or not. I don't really see any results from using the derma roller yet either, though I have been using it lightly and only once per week. I will keep it up though, since I know it is something that doesn't happen over night.

Nothing else to comment on really. I am hoping for another successful week!

September 11th weigh in.

This past weeks weight loss was pretty pathetic. I only lost half a pound this week, putting me at 212 lbs. I am having a hard time convincing myself that half a pound is progress.

It is really difficult to stay motivated. There is so much crap going on in my life right now that is making losing weight seem impossible. There is so much stress and upset, it is no surprise really that I am not losing like I wanted to. I have not been getting the time to use the derma roller. I don't have the motivation to use the Bio Oil. I usually just feel like giving up. What I wouldn't give for one peaceful day.

The depression keeps getting worse, and I don't feel like writing any more. Hopefully this week I'll be able to find time to use the derma roller.

September 4th weigh in.

I am late posting this, but at least it's here. Not much to say (and oh so tired). My weight fell from 216 lbs to 212.5 lbs. Even though I am still not back down to my 209, it is progress finally.

That is all, now it's time for sweet sleep :)

Finally Updating.

I haven't updated in awhile. My Sunday updates went out the window when my weight loss stopped and I started having trouble with depression. I am still pretty depressed and really that is all I am currently trying to fix. I haven't been weighing myself, I have been using the derma roller but it is way too soon to see any difference. I am journaling and reading a lot and just trying to stay positive.

Using the derma roller is pretty painless and simple. The only place it causes discomfort for me is on my upper chest and neck area, so that is better than I expected. It does take me a long time to use it though. It was taking me over an hour to do my whole body (besides my back of course). Using the Bio Oil is the same story. It takes awhile to apply it, must be done both morning and night, and it isn't lasting very long. I was hoping since it was oil, the 4 oz bottle would last me at least a month, but my skin sucks it up. I will have to purchase a 4 oz bottle about every 2 weeks. I have noticed that my skin has vastly improved in softness since using the Bio Oil, so I expect it to work well with continued use.

I won't be weighing myself this week at all. I will do a regular update next Sunday. Hopefully by then I will have lost some weight, but if not then no-sweat. Reading more about the benefits of going low-carb makes it very worthwhile, even if I never lost another pound (though I really hope I lose more!, lol).

I broke down and bought a few things for fun. I bought some gel pens to make journaling more fun and colorful (silly how that is so mood boosting) and an ice-tea brewer. I have 4 unopened boxes of lose tea that need using. I really love iced-tea, but really suck at making it. I always used the Lipton's instant, but it seems like they don't even make it anymore. The Nestea instant is disgusting, and I can't seem to get bagged or lose tea to come out strong enough but not biter (no matter the amount of tea I use or the length of the brewing time). I am hoping the tea brewer solves this problem, but if not I will start looking at finding a better brand of tea. I am beginning to think that Lipton is the Folgers of the tea world (that is, utter crap unless it's the only thing you've ever tried).

That's all for now. Maybe there will be another post during the week, but I will for sure post my next Sunday update.

Ordered My Derma Roller Today.

The title says it all. I just completed my order on Amazon.com for a 1 mm derma roller and a 4 oz bottle of Bio Oil. I ordered K-Cups for the Keurig too, but that's a whole other topic thread! By the way, links are to the actual products that I ordered (same for the coffee brewer, that's the model my family owns). My order should get here Tuesday :D

I have considered buying a derma roller and Bio Oil for nearly a year. What finally pushed me into ordering today is my lack of progress with the weight loss arena. My weight seems stuck around the 215 lbs mark. I have been eating pretty decently this week, although not stellar. I will admit that a couple of days I had a "low carb" bun (there were 15 grams of carbs in the whole thing). I haven't been having hardly any cream since I found out the carb count listed on the carton is a bald-faced lie. I try to use it sparingly and barely had any cream at all this week. I have been having more cheese than I should. Stupid cheese crisps are so yummy and only take a minute and a half in the microwave to make, so I have been eating them as snacks lately. I haven't really been getting many carbs though.

I weighed myself today, and I am down half a pound since Sunday! I was so mad I felt like throwing the scale in the garbage. I have eaten conservatively today so far. I am going to try to restrict my diet more during next week to see if that helps my weight loss pick up again. I am planning to cutting back to only one serving of cheese per day, no caffeine, more water, more salad, more fat, less protein, and no cream. If I don't lose weight next week I just may go bonkers! lol I am just frustrated that I am not moving forward. That 6 lb gain last week felt like a slap in the face.

To be honest, the weight gain has really taken a toll on me emotionally. I feel sort of blue this week and can feel the nasty fingers of depression digging in my brain and spirit. I have been watching a lot of TV to distract myself and have been craving extra attention and comfort from my husband. I am trying so hard to not let this set back discourage me, but it feels like I am losing that fight. Part of my fight is to find positive ways to make progress in my life. I have been journaling, I am doing extra cleaning in the basement even though I hate it so, and I am going to attempt to improve my skin quality.

I am excited about getting the derma roller. It is a huge experiment for me, and could potentially rid me of most of my horrid skin issues. My hormones may be out of whack from my aging IUD (I need to get it removed in a month or two as that's when the 5 year mark is up). I have been breaking out on my face especially bad, but it is also on my chest, arms, and back. I am also having a flare up of ingrown hairs on my chin. I feel like my skin just exploded this last week. I know it's not THAT bad, but I am still reminded of the Baron Harkonnen from Dune...Acne is suppose to improve with a derma roller's use, as is scarring, loss of elasticity, wrinkles, discolorization, and so on and so forth.

I will be taking photos of each area I plan to use the derma roller. I hope to get rid of acne scars and slight wrinkles on my face, scarring and stretch marks on my legs, arms, abdomen, and chest, as well as loose skin on my abdomen. So basically, I will be taking pictures of my entire body, lol not quite, but nearly. I won't be posting my "before" pictures until I have some "after" pictures to go along with them. I plan on taking pictures at one month intervals. Each month I will post my previous picture alongside my current picture, then a comparison between current and "before."

As far as actual use goes, I plan on using the derma roller along with Bio Oil. I will use the roller lightly 2 or 3 times a week. The Bio Oil I am planning on using every day, including immediately after every derma roller use. I am starting with a 1 mm needle length and will stick with that size for 6 months. After the 6 months are up I plan on using a 2mm size on areas that are more deeply damaged such as my loose skin and the deep stretch marks. I may buy a .5mm size for using on my face, but haven't decided for sure or not yet.

I didn't think my husband would use a derma roller and minoxidil (generic rogaine basically) on a daily basis, so I didn't order those for him. I told him I had ordered a couple things from Amazon, and he was getting all excited that I had ordered a derma roller for him. Bad communication, bad! lol So I made another order for him. I got a .5mm size derma roller for him, as that is the size recommended for treatment of hair loss. I have my doubts that he will use it like he is supposed to, but here's hoping it's not a total waste of money! He will need to use the derma roller lightly every morning, followed by an application of minoxidil as well as another application of minoxidil every night. He hasn't even been taking his pills everyday, so I'm not sure how it will go with poking holes in his head. Hopefully he cares about going bald enough to stick with it.

I will be taking photos and tracking my husbands progress with treating his thinning and receding hair. Hopefully I end up with impressive "after" photos for both of us! I do believe I will be a bit impatient to see the results. I am trying to talk myself into lowering my expectations, but it isn't working. I really don't want to end up disappointed, especially since I am using this as a coping method for my lack of recent weight loss. Even if my scars don't fade drastically, any improvement would be nice.

That is all for now. Hopefully I manage to lose a bit more weight by Sunday, but I'm not going to be holding my breath. At least Tuesday will be an exciting day!

August 14th weigh in.

What a horrible week :( Well okay, the week itself wasn't so bad, but my weight loss was. We had a birthday this week and I caved and had some cake. To be exact I had two small pieces of cake and two servings of sugar free ice cream (some cake and ice cream twice during the week). Otherwise I was very good on my diet. Those two days of a little splurge killed my weight loss. Looking back, the cake was absolutely not worth it. I felt horrible from the cake. I had terrible stomach cramps and not so fun bathroom time.

I really don't want to list my weight. I felt so disappointed when I stepped on the scale this morning and saw that +6 lbs. It seems unreal to me that I would gain 6 lbs from two little pieces of cake. I have been having such a hard time not giving in to the discouragement. It would be so easy to just go binge on fast food right now, and it is tempting except for the fact that I know I would feel way worse for it. I am trying to remind myself that this is a temporary set back, and most likely some little oddity. There is no way that those 6 lbs are fat. Most likely it is water weight and bloating from the carbs, possibly some constipation too (gross yes, but still a possibility).

So much for my great progress last weigh in, but I am trying hard to stay positive. I am not going to think about the weight loss this week if I can help it. I am going to just try to enjoy the week, relax, and eat tasty food that fits my diet. We'll see what next Sunday holds in store for me.

August 7th weigh in.

I would say that this last week was a big success as far as shedding pounds. During last week I lost 4.5 lbs! Hooray, I say! I am very pleased with that large of a number. I had been losing very slowly in the month of July, so starting August off with a 4.5 pound loss is thrilling! I haven't lost so much weight in one week since I started doing low-carb this last time. During the first month I was losing 5 lbs each week. I'm not sure if this past week was a fluke, or if my weight loss will be a little faster this month. Either way, I am at 209 lbs now.

Since I am under 210, it's time for another reward! I get a reward for every 10 lbs that I lose, so my next reward will be when I get under 200 lbs. I am really looking forward to getting below 200, but I am pleased to be under 210. I have been thinking of trying to get into art a little more. When I was younger I enjoyed drawing, but never had any lessons. So since it is something I have been wanting to do for awhile, I decided to spend $20 on some drawing stuff. I bought a pencil and charcoal set and a beginners lesson book for drawing and sketching. I have some old sketch paper that I'll use for the early basic stuff, then buy better paper later on. It isn't beauty related at all, but it should be a source of relaxation and stress relief, so perhaps it is a tiny bit beauty related :D

I do notice that I am getting thinner. I think my jeans are getting a bit looser, though not by much. My husband said I looked like I had lost weight, but who knows if he really meant it, or was just trying to be nice. I will need to buy a new pair of pajama pants soon. I had gotten them before losing weight. 40 lbs lost and they no longer stay up. I do wish I would lose fat from allover my body at the same rate. I feel like I've lost the most off my face and stomach, yet not much off my upper arms. I've always hated my upper-arm fat, but I feel like it is becoming more noticeable as the rest of my body shrinks. I suppose it will all even out eventually, I just really don't like the way it looks now, lol

There isn't really anything besides my weight loss to talk about. My skin condition has stayed the same, so has my hair and nails. My nails and hair do seem stronger than they did before taking the omega 3 and biotin pills, but I haven't really seen additional improvement in the past couple weeks. I am hopping to see more results after a couple months total have passed. After all, I just opened the second bottle of the biotin pills last night, so I've only gone through one month using them. I have read that it can take around 3-4 months to see the full benefit, so it's not like I really even expected any results yet.

Speaking of pills, I didn't take mine a couple days last week. This is the first time I have missed any of my pills. Our schedule was all messed up because of my husband working ridiculously long hours for a few days in a row. I always stay up until he gets home so we can spend a couple minutes talking before bed. There were a couple nights that we didn't get to bed until after 2 or 3 in the morning, and I kept forgetting my pills. Hopefully I do better this week with taking my pills morning and night every day.

Another 4.5 lbs lost this week would be awesome, but I am just hopping for the 2lbs per week. Right now I am 3 lbs ahead of schedule. If I follow my 2 lbs each week goal, I will be at 170 by Christmas. It would be really great it I could lose a bit more and be a few lbs lighter by the then. I don't want to get my expectations too high though. Whether the weight is lost quickly or slowly, I'll be happy when it's finally gone!

July's progress.

The end of July is here and a new month starts tomorrow. I don't really feel like I've lost much weight over this past month, but I've made progress nonetheless.

My weigh in today showed me at 213.5. That is 1.5 lbs lost since last Sunday. For the month's progress I've lost 5.5 lbs. On my bust I lost .5 inches, waist -1, hips -1, -1 off each thigh, and -1 off each arm. I didn't lose much weight, but I feel like my measurements were good.

I am hoping to lose more weight in August than I did in July. I do believe that the Splenda was a problem for me, as I was over-indulging a bit. One packet of Splenda is listed as no calories and less than one carb. I do not believe that though. The ingredients are Dextrose, Maltodextrin, and Sucralose. How can it be less than one carb (let alone zero calories) if the very fist ingredient is Dextrose? I have no idea why I didn't check the ingredients before, but I really wish I would have. The whole point of a low carb diet is to limit blood sugar, control insulin levels, and burn fat for fuel instead of simple carbs. The first ingredient is exactly what I've been trying to avoid, the evil glucose.

Because of the issue with Splenda, I need to find a different sweetener to use. I suppose if I was really good I just wouldn't use sweetener at all any more, but I'm not sure I could handle that, lol I've been doing some research on Stevia. I have avoided it to date because of hearing that it causes sterility, especially in men and unborn baby boys. My research hasn't been very reassuring, besides I have found articles stating for a man to achieve the same results as the lab rats tested, he would need to eat at least 3 pounds of it per day. There seems to be a lot of debate over it, so we need to weigh the risks and benefits against other sweeteners.

Speaking of sweeteners, I came across something rather shocking that I was completely unaware of. I've been reading about aspartame and the host of negative effects it has on many people. Aspartame is very widely used in sugar-free processed food and diet pop. There was a while where I was having muscle twitches and couldn't figure out why. At the time I was drinking 2-4 cans of diet pop each day. I started having problems with my eye lid twitching. It happened off and on lasting part of a day or a few days, the worst case lasted up to a week. As time went on it was happening more often, only my check started to twitch too. After a few months I was having problems with my thumb, index finger, and middle finger on my right hand twitching. At that point I was getting pretty concerned, but we had no money to go to the doctor. I guess it was a good thing that we ran out of money for extras, because that meant we had to stop buying pop. It didn't take more than a week and all my twitching had stopped and has yet to happen again. I can have diet pop on my diet, but have been severely limiting it because the book "Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It" by Gary Taubes suggested to stay away from it because it can alter the ph level of your body and slow weight loss. I was shocked to read that headache, twitching, and blindness are all reported dangers of eating foods that contain aspartame. At least now I know what was making me sick and can avoid it.

There really isn't much to report on with my hair, skin, or nails besides to say that several of my nails broke last week for aparently no reason. My nails are thicker, stronger, and harder, so I was perplexed as to why they broke. Anyway, that is all I have to comment on at the moment.

Here's to another week of weight loss!!

July 24th weigh in.

Well, progress has been made! I didn't get my goal of 2 lbs lost this week, but 1.5 is darn close. I now weigh 215 lbs, which is 4 lbs lost so far this month. I am losing much slower than I did the first month, but I have had a couple set backs so that's understandable. I was getting into drinking sweetened blended coffee drinks too much, especially after I discovered local stores carry the Hershey's sugar free chocolate syrup. I am not drinking those anymore because we ran out of coffee and syrup. I am making slushies with regular Kool-aid packets and packet Splenda (a shallow teaspoon makes a good full 12 oz slushy). I am trying to have two or less each day, since I think overdoing the Splenda was a bit of an issue before.

I haven't lost much weight these past couple weeks, however I think I am seeing a difference in the way I look. My neck looks a little slimmer and my stomach is not protruding as much. I am excited to measure myself at the end of the month (next Sunday!) and hopefully see a reduction in size on the tape measure.

Besides my weigh in, there really isn't much to comment on as nothing else has changed. Here's hoping that I lose more this week!

July 17th weigh in.

Ack! Another Sunday already! This past week went be very quickly for me, which is strange considering I was oftly hormonal and suffered from some weird mood swings. I sort of lost weight, though who knows how much. Remember last week that my scale was going all funky on me? Well, I counted the lowest weight it gave me even though I knew it was not accurate. 215.5 last week, and the most consistent number I got this time was 216.5. So while it appears that I gained 1 pound from last week I am confident that I lost some and last weeks' number was just wrong (I already figured that, like I stated previously). I am at 3 lbs lost for the month so far, and while 1.5 lbs lost each week is below my goal of 2 lbs, it is still close enough for me. My scale is still not giving accurate readings, I actually got 209.5 several times, but I was pretty sure that I didn't lose that much weight during the week!

I'm not really sure how I feel about my weight loss so far. I know I lost a lot last month, and I am making good steady progress. For some reason though, I have this weird feeling that I am not losing fast enough or working hard enough on losing weight. It is so weird to know in my head that I am doing good, yet on an emotional level feel like I am failing. It is frustrating to say the least! I know that it doesn't help that I've seen a rather noticeable change in my husband's body shape (particularly his gut). He has lost weight much more quickly than me, and for some reason I feel some weird sense of shame and disgust that I am heavier than he is. I know that men in general lose weight faster than women, but for some reason it still really bothers me. I catch him cheating a lot too. He eats more cheese than he by rights should, he drinks way too much coffee, uses too many condiments, doesn't drink enough water and occasionally will eat something very starchy, yet he still loses weight faster than me. It feels so unfair! lol I am happy for him, but envious too.

I am not seeing a difference in the mirror and am really longing to look thinner. I do want to be healthier, but not feeling attractive is really damaging on my self esteem. My husband doesn't really give compliments or notice how I look very often, and when he does it is more lewd than flattering. I pretty much have to go based on what I see and how I feel. I still feel pretty darn fat, even if it is better than it used to be, and I still think I look pretty darn fat, even though I have lost over 30 lbs since November. My jeans fit pretty much the same as they have been for a few weeks now, and I haven't noticed any other clothing fitting better either. That is a bit discouraging, because I am impatient in wanting to lose weight.

A big reason why I want to lose weight is so I can starting thinking about having another baby. I had serious complications with my first baby, and the second baby was in pretty serious condition for 6 hours after birth. I think if I was much healthier, then the pregnancy and baby would both stand a much better chance of going smoothly/being healthier. I have two little girls, and I would really like to try for a baby boy. I always wanted two of each gender, though I would be plenty happy with one little boy. I would be happy if I had another little girl honestly, but the hope would be for a boy this next time. Family is very important to me, and before getting married my husband and I agreed that we would aim for 4 kids (originally he wanted 3 and I wanted 6, so we compromised). Emergency cesarean may have complicated my having 4 babies, but I still want to try for a 3rd. I have to get my health in order first, so it does frustrate me enormously when I feel like I am not losing weight quickly enough.

I have been taking the GNC Hair, Skin, and Nails pills faithfully for two weeks now. I do believe I'm seeing a difference in my nails already. I wasn't expecting to see any results for another week at least, so this is exciting! A nail broke last night, and a bit disappointed about it I went about clipping my nails. My nails are usually pretty weak, they peal, split and are soft. I was surprised when it was difficult to clip through my finger nails! All my nails were harder, especially my thumb nails. My right thumb nail was down right a pain in the butt to get clipped, I have never encountered that problem before! I am very happy that the pills are making a difference in my nails, and am excited to see what they do for my hair eventually. My husband is taking the pills too, but hasn't made any comments to me if he has noticed a difference (not that he would).

I deep conditioned my hair with coconut oil for the second time. Even though I used less oil and left it in for 40 minutes instead of 60 it still wouldn't rinse out with warm water as claimed. I had to use a bit of shampoo to get most of the oil out, and even then is has a bit of a greasy feel to it in spots. Next time I will use even less oil. I do think it works wells, but I just need to find the perfect amount to use for my hair type and length.

A not so fun side effect of low-carb living can be bowel issues. Both my husband and myself have been having problems with constipation this past week. Constipation is usually thought to be because the person isn't getting enough fiber, but seeing as how starches aren't allowed, you can't really have lots of fiber on a low-carb diet/lifestyle. You would have to eat way more vegetables than are allowed to get the fiber content as well. After a bit of research on the internet I found that the issue is not enough fat and/or water in the diet, NOT a lack of fiber. I never really thought about it before, but that makes a lot of sense. Fat in the diet coats the intestine and works as a lubricant, and when you are dehydrated your body sucks all the moisture it can out of your food, leaving you with pebble poop.

Thinking about how fiber causes you to have loose stool, made me realize that it honestly doesn't seem like a great idea. Fiber is not digestible, so it goes straight through your body causing your stool to pass more quickly. Why would you purposefully eat something that your body has no use for (like cereal that looks like little hay bales, lol)? At least with the fat and the water you know that your body actually uses it. Sugar alcohols can also act like a laxative much like fiber does. They are metabolized like alcohol (yup, in the liver) and so have little to no effect on your blood glucose, but they go straight through you and can cause diarrhea. Sugar alcohol can cause horrible stomach cramping and diarrhea if you eat too much of it, especially if you are sensitive to it. I don't think it makes a very good laxative because of the stomach pain, gas, and bloating that can come with it. I try to avoid sugar alcohols in general, but some of those Atkins bars are pretty darn tasty for a once-in-a-while treat :D The coconut ones are pretty much like Mounds candy bars and are my favorite of the ones I've tried so far (they are expensive though at more than $6 for a box of 5 bars).

Here's hoping for a better week! :)

July 10th weigh in.

Today is the day to record my weight-loss, oh, if only I knew! I weighed myself multiple times this morning, and I have no clue what my weight is! The first weight was 223, then 215.5, then 219.5. The problem is I tried repeatedly and got each of these numbers 3 to 4 times each! There is one thing for certain though, my scale is a piece of crud :(

Of course I am frustrated now. How do I decide which one is accurate? Did I gain 4 lbs, lose 3.5, or stay the same? I don't think I gained 4 lbs, or at least if I did, I sure don't feel like it. I felt like I've lost something, but I'm not sure I lost 3.5 lbs. I either stayed the same or lost up to 3.5 lbs. My goal loss is 2 lbs each week, so I could just count that. Ah heck, I'll just cheat and take advantage of the scale. I'll mark down 3.5 lbs lost, and see if it effects next week's lbs lost.

Besides the scale going haywire, there really isn't much to remark on. My hair is a little shinier because of the coconut oil, but there is no dramatic change. My nails are still about the same as before, though I did have one breakage this past week. My skin is still the same, though I've had no new breakouts. Hopefully within the next week or two my Biotin pills will start making a difference.

Beef, Bacon, and Pepper Skillet Dinner Recipe.

I made something this week that tasted really good, so heck, why not post it on my blog!

This Beef, Bacon, and Pepper skillet diner is easy to make, has few ingredients but has a nice sweet and salty flavor with yummy bacon, and best of all, it's low-carb!

Ingredients:

3 large bell peppers, chopped or sliced as prefered
4 green onions, chopped
1 lb ground beef, fully cooked
6 strips of bacon
1/4 cup soy sauce, adjust to preference
Ground pepper to taste

In a large skillet cook the bacon until crispy, then set aside on a plate or paper towel to cool. Add the peppers to the hot bacon grease in the skillet, and stirring frequently, cook at medium or medium-low heat until starting to become tender. Add the Soy Sauce, then stir in the beef. Turn heat down to low and continue to cook until beef has soaked up most of the liquids in the skillet. Add the green onions then crumple or chop the bacon and add it. Add ground pepper as desired, and let the dish simmer for a couple minutes to cook the green onion and for the juices to really marry together well.

Entire dish is approximately 23 carbs, with a generous 1/4 of that being a large bowl-full and only 5.75 carbs.


When I made this I used a cast-iron skillet which is well seasoned and used primarily for cooking breakfast meats (like bacon, lol). My beef was actually left over burger patties (80% lean) from the previous day that I chopped up. Any color of bell pepper works just as well as any other, but the red, orange, and yellow looked very pretty and colorful! I am trying to use more salt in cooking because my husband keeps forgetting to drink broth, adding the soy sauce sounds weird and I wouldn't have added it otherwise, but it made the flavor really pop and complemented the bacon and peppers very well. I used about 1/4 of a cup, but it is always a good idea to start low, then add more if needed.

My husband loved this dish, as did my oldest daughter and myself. The only one who didn't like it is my 4 year old, but she turns her nose up at nearly everything that isn't a chicken nugget or pizza, so that doesn't mean much, lol This is definitely something I'll be making again soon :)

Coconut oil update.

I had this strange idea that using coconut oil to deep condition my hair would work out well...not sure why I held that odd belief, but whatever. I used it like I stated, and let it set for pretty exact to 60 minutes. I rinsed my hair for several minutes, towel dried and let it air dry. I am not kidding, it looked (and felt, eww) like I had took a dip in an oil spill. My hair was very greasy feeling. I washed my hair with shampoo, no conditioner, and let it air dry again. My hair was less oily, but still pretty darn oily. That was the extent of my trying yesterday and I honestly was just sick of washing my hair.

Today I washed my hair without the use of conditioner again, and my hair is finally relatively free of greasy looking strands. I am thinking that I should have used less coconut oil, and probably left it in less than the recommend 60 minutes. I didn't not expect it to be so difficult to get out of my hair.

The big question is did it make a difference? Sure, somewhat. My hair looks shinier, feels softer, and weirdly enough has more volume, but it did nothing for the fly-aways and friz once I got the excess greasiness gone. Is the benefit worth the effort? Not if it is this difficult to rinse out every time. I will try again in a week or so, and try using less and leaving it in for 40 minutes instead of 60.

Speaking of hair frizz, is there any product that takes the frizz and fly-aways down to where they belong? I have fought with my fine hair for years now. I have tried lots of different "tamer" and anti-frizz serums, shampoos and conditioners, and mayo and raw egg (which did help, but was a bit beyond my threshold for grossness) but the only thing that really helps is to use a flat iron, and even that is short lived. I avoid using hot tools in general, so I will continue to experiment with products. I am really hoping that taking the Biotin will help here in a couple weeks (I have taken it faithfully thus far).

A bit of an update about my diet and weight this week. Something fruity is going on with my weight. The scale (yes I've been weighing myself when I know I should wait until Sunday) says I am 2.5 lbs heavier yesterday, and 2 lbs heavier today. What the heck! I am pretty sure it isn't water weight or bloating, as that just doesn't seem to be an issue when eating low-carb. I haven't eaten anything weird really, so I'm guessing it is the fake sugar.

Between my husband and myself, we drank two 2 Liter bottles of Diet Pepsi the first part of this week. I use my magic bullet blender to turn half a carton (little paper can?) of chocolate Atkins shake, a bit of cream, water, instant coffee, and DaVinci Sugar free syrup to make a blended mocha drink. I have two of those a day instead of drinking any hot coffee and use them as snacks or part of breakfast (along with eggs and sometimes bacon). There was the ice cream experiment that didn't go so great, that used a lot of cream (GOOD FAT!!) and rather large amounts splenda/sugar free syrup. I don't think it was the large-ish amount of cream, since eating a whole crust-less cheesecake (2 packages of cream cheese) didn't effect my weight loss in the past (yes, you read that right, I ate a whole cheesecake by myself. It's not so bad though because I made it, it was very low carb, and I was still struggling to get over my carb cravings, so I was oftly weak at the time, lol).

I don't expect to lose any weight this Sunday because of this. If I am lucky I will be at the same weight I was last weigh-in. I am still working on cutting back my splenda usage. I only had one blended drink today, and used less syrup than usual. We are out of cream right now, so it won't be hard cutting back on that just in case that did have some effect on me.

Rewards, and an oily head.

Rewards first, then I'll explain the oily-head bit ;)

Since I now weigh under 220 lbs, I got myself a reward. I decided against getting a beauty product and instead bought Gary Taubes' "Good Calories, Bad Calories" for my Kindle. I really enjoyed reading the sample and loathed not having the spare money to purchase it previously. So excited that I was finally able to get it! I am about 50 pages into it so far and am loving it. I'll admit sometimes I have to read a paragraph twice to make sure I understand it, but really once you get past the medical terminology it isn't so difficult to read or understand.

I said rewards not reward, and perhaps the second item is more of a gift and not truly a reward, but it was something I had wanted as a reward. When shopping, my husband called to ask if there was anything I wanted. I wanted a box of Breyers low-carb ice cream bars, but they were sold out :( So instead he bought a bottle of Sally Hansen Insti-Dri for me. That was nice of him, and it allowed me to finally do my severely past-due manicure. Of course I will be in need of a new bottle of white if I plan on doing any french tips, lol I am always out of something!

A note on the ice cream; digging around on the internet lead me to discover such a thing as ice cream with ZERO carbs! (though it is a good idea to count sugar substitutes as 1 gram per serving, though I don't) Now I would have to make it myself, but basically you just use heavy cream, Splenda (or DaVinci no sugar flavored Syrups, which are awesome! Sam's Club has them for under $5 a bottle!) and some sort of flavoring (unless of course you use flavored syrup). Cocoa can be added to make chocolate, sugar free preserves, nuts, fruit, pretty much anything you want. I don't have an ice cream maker, so decided to try the "Ziploc method" which sounds easy, but I didn't get mine to turn out solid enough. Ziploc method is this: put the ingredients in a sandwich Ziploc bag, then put that bag into a gallon sized bag and fill it with ice. After shaking said bag for 5 or so minutes you should have ice cream. Mine tasted really great, but was more of a cross between soft serve and a milk shake. I had plenty of ice and did everything supposedly correctly, but it still didn't turn out quite right. I would really like to invest in an ice cream maker now though!

I will explain the oily head thing now. I am out of Mane 'N Tale conditioner, and while the Aussie Sydney Smooth is okay, it just doesn't compare. I was trying to think of something I could use instead, and thought of that jar of coconut oil sitting in my pantry. Now I really love coconut oil and the flavor it gives to vegetables when cooked in the cast iron, but I just haven't been using it much lately. It is warm enough that the contents of the jar are mostly melted, and we've had it awhile so I figured I may as well try it on my hair! There are directions on the jar for using it this way, so I just followed those. After shampooing and rinsing your hair you are supposed to towel dry until slightly damp. Work the coconut oil in your hands to melt it (mine was already melted, so I skipped this step) then work in into your hair. You are supposed to cover with a plastic shower cap and leave it set for an hour. I've got about 30 minutes left until I rinse it out. Hopefully this helps some, and if not it wasn't like a wasted anything trying it out. I will update when my hair is all done and dry.

June's Progress.

Today is weigh-in day. The scale says I am 219 lbs, that is a 3 pound loss since last Sunday! My goal is 2 lbs per week, so I am very very happy with a loss of 3. That makes 15 lbs lost in the Month of June, and 29 lbs lost since I was at my heaviest of 248 lbs. I know that I've been losing weight along the way, but it is still shocking to me that I've lost 15 lbs in just one month. I don't expect my loss to be so great every month, but this is certainly a nice kick off to a renewed effort at losing weight.

I did not measure myself before getting back on the low-carb wagon, but I did manage to find some measurements from the month of March. I weighed 229 lbs then and since taking those measurements I've lost 1" from my bust, 2" from my waist, 2" off my hips, and 1" off each thigh. I know those were taken a while ago, but it is sufficient for now. I haven't tried on a size 12 jean yet, as I don't want to severely depress myself, lol My 14's are fitting much better, and are getting looser, but I don't want to push it and start wearing a smaller pant size unless it honestly does fit. Getting into a smaller size is exhilarating, but I want to be comfortable too!

I purchased the hair, skin, and nails pills. I paid just under $20.00 for 240 pills at Sam's club, but at GNC's website they want the same amount for only 60 pills, lol I love shopping at Sam's Club sometimes! They are twice-a-day, so I took my first one with breakfast this morning. We'll see after a few weeks if there is a noticeable difference in any of the 3 areas the pills are made to improve. I expect to see the most improvement in my nails and hair, and would be very surprised if I saw an improvement in my skin. My husband is taking these pills too, hopefully they help his hair issues some as well.

That's all for now. I might post when I pick out my reward for getting under 220 lbs.

Dangerous Early Weigh-ins.

Weighing in early can be, and often is, a dangerous thing to do. It is best to check your weight once a week, or everyday then average out the weights. Weight fluctuates quite a bit day to day, and it can be tough emotionally to suffer set-backs during the week that may not count at all by the end. I try to adhere to the once-a-week rule, but it isn't easy sometimes. It is only Tuesday, but I weighed myself anyway because I felt thinner last night (lol, yes I know that sounds weird, but my wedding ring has gotten rather sloppy. Also, my husband said I looked like I'd lost weight without it being solicited!) and I wanted to see if I really had lost weight or was just going crazy. I got on the scale before my shower this morning, and lo and behold 220.5 lbs! That is down 1.5 lbs in two days, and my weekly goal is 2 lbs.

Not only my weight on the scale, but I could see a difference in the mirror as well. It looked like my breasts were smaller (yes, yes, TMI, I know) and I wasn't imaging it either because my bra that has been overstuffed for months is now visibly getting slightly baggy in the cups. That is really great and bad at the same time. It is nice to be losing so much weight, and being a 34 GG I don't mind losing size there. The bad part of it is that I don't have the money to buy new bras right now, lol Best website (or store period) I've found for buying bras is figleaves.com, however while they have good sales and sell a huge range of sizes, their bras tend to be on the pricey side. The average price for a good bra is around $50 to $60. If you have the money it is really worth it though, as the bras I've bought from them have lasted forever and been far superior in build than what you can find at retail or department stores (this includes Victoria Secret) in my area.

We are having a bit of an issue with finances right now, and that is putting a bit of a cramp on the whole loosing weight thing. We have to cut our food budget down for the next 3 weeks (like in half, which is drastic because our food budget is pretty moderate to begin with). Part of the idea with this low-carb high-fat diet is to not limit your food intake but to eat as much fat and meat as you want. We won't be buying much meat for a couple weeks, probably mostly eggs. I am going to be so sick of eggs, lol

I allow myself to buy some small frivolous thing as a reward for each ten lbs lost, but probably won't have the money for that either. I will most assuredly reach 220 by the end of this week, but won't have much money for a reward. I usually buy pretty small things. Once I bought a pair of pajamas that I wanted that were about $10, other times I've bought manicure supplies, or Nicole by OPI nail polish at Wal-Mart. I try to keep it at or under $10. I have some more expensive items I want for when I reach big goals (e.g. 200 lbs, 175 lbs and at my goal weight of 150 lbs.). The Tria is one, and a Sedu Revolution flat iron is another. When I reach my final goal of 150 lbs, I want to get Lasik, but that involves major cost. If I can scrounge up enough change I will buy myself a new bottle of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat, as that is something I really need and isn't very expensive.

Since I was feeling good about losing a pound and a half, I decided to make myself wear a dress today. I almost never wear dresses (or anything that shows my legs really). I think I need to stop being so hard on myself for the way my legs look. Yeah I'm still gonna try to get rid of as much scarring as I can with a derma roller, but I think it would be good if I stopped hating my legs before then. I am going to try to wear a skirt, dress, or shorts twice a week. This doesn't mean I'll be wearing anything but jeans outside the house though.

I trimmed my bangs today. They were getting pretty long and I was wearing them swept to the side a lot, so I trimmed them up so they look better. They are a tad bit shorter than usual, as I was hoping to get a little more time between trims this time. I am working on growing some out so they aren't quite so thick, but it's gonna take awhile. I need to trim the tips on my hair too, but didn't feel like doing that today. Heck, it's hot enough today that I don't feel like doing much of anything. Good day to get some reading done :)

What It's All About.

This is going to be a place for me to discuss beauty stuff. More accurately, this is where I am going to chronicle my struggles, and hopefully successful, attempts at improving my looks and self-image (lets not forget health!). I hope to post a weekly update on every Sunday; tracking my progress in the four major areas I plan to work on. In order of importance to me, things I struggle with are: 1. Weight, 2. Skin, 3. Hair, 4. Nails.

Number 1. Weight.

Yes I am fat. I have been fat (technically I qualify as obese, though I purposefully forgot my bmi some time ago) for over 6 years now. When I got married at the age of 18, my 5'8" frame carried approximately 160 lbs. By the time I got pregnant 7 months later I had packed on another 20 pounds bringing me up to 180lbs. Then came the pre-Eclampsia which padded on 60 lbs during the course of my pregnancy. By the time I had my second child I had settled into an average weight of around 215 lbs. Since then I've struggled with my weight off and on. I diet, have some success, then spiral into a depression and gain it all back plus some.

Late last year I was tipping the scale way too close to 250 for my comfort. The highest I've ever weighed in at was 248 lbs. My size 18 jeans were no longer fitting me (read; I couldn't even button them up). I was wearing extra-large lounge pants that were quickly becoming too tight. I freaked out and decided this yo-yo dieting had to stop. Dieting was really hard, but I was just gonna have to suck it up and find the willpower somewhere. So I started the Dr. Phil diet, felt terrible and was hungry all the time, but I did lose some weight. By January of this year I was able to fit into my size 18 jeans comfortably again, even if I was irritable and constantly in a blue mood.

By some weird chance I came across the documentary "Fat Head" on Netflix, and curious, I watched it. I had always considered low-carb eating to be a dangerous fad, but that documentary got me really thinking about it. I bought an Atkins book ("New Atkins, for a New You") and started following the diet laid out in it. I lost a good amount of weight rather quickly, but it didn't last. There was a problem in my marriage and the stress levels went through the roof and my depression slammed back with enough force to knock me on my ass. I had lost enough weight I was down to 223 lbs and a size 14 jean, but the depression-fueled eating (cake and anything with large amounts of evil sugar in it) brought me back up to 234 lbs.

On June 5th (4 days before my 27th birthday) I decided to make another attempt at low-carb living. I had read the first half (am done now) of Gary Taubes' "Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It." It really empowered me to cut out starch and sugar from my diet. I started with a new hope and real faith that it would work for me. That first 4 days I lost 7.5 lbs. I splurged on my birthday and ate two buns (with burgers in them of course) and a couple slices of store bought (sugar-filled) cheesecake. From my birthday I gained back a few pounds and ended out the week with a 5 lbs total loss. Next week was 5 lbs lost again, and this last week I lost 2 lbs. As of yesterday I weigh 222 lbs, and my goal weight is 150 lbs, (so I've got 72 lbs left, and am 26 lbs lighter than my highest weight of 248 lbs). I am still in size 14 jeans, but they fit much better, my bloating is gone, my mood is much more sunny, and I allover feel pretty good.

Currently I am taking a women's multi-vitamin, and 1000 iu vitamin D once daily, and 1000 mg fish oil twice daily. I am keeping my carbs around 20 grams per day, eating mostly fatty meats and vegetables. Broth twice a day for sodium replenishment. I am active when I want to be, but am not exercising.

I hope to add another pill to the mix soon. I want to start taking Biotin, or a "Hair, Skin, and Nails" pill that has Biotin, plus usually gelatin and collagen. Once my weight is down closer to my goal weight (probably around 160 or 170 depending on how I feel) I want to start doing strength training to tone up and gain strength and stamina. I've read the sample of "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, but would like to buy and read the entire book.

Number 2. Skin.

Skin is a huge problem for me and is multifaceted. There is the scarring, the sagging loose skin, the acne, and the dryness.

The scarring has been a problem since I was a teen. I had some small injuries as a child that left scars on my leg and my arms. There are the scars from acne on my face, arms, chest and back. There are the horrible stretch marks from my first pregnancy that cover my upper arms, chest, entire abdomen, rear-end, thighs, and the backs of my upper calves. Then lastly there are the scars covering my legs from all the ingrown hairs. After pregnancy I became hyper-prone to ingrown hairs, and no amount of exfoliating seems to discourage them. Every ingrown hair scars of course, and I've had plenty of them over the years. I am so embarrassed of my legs that I never show them in public. If I ever wear a skirt, it is only around the house. I hate for my husband to see my legs even.

The sagging loose skin *sigh* how I wish it would disappear. My tummy area got very stretched with my first pregnancy (the second one wasn't nearly so harsh on my body). My inner thighs are also a lot more jiggly than I'd like, but the main area I don't like is my belly. The boobs are also a problem, seeing as how I've nursed two children and they have migrated southward despite my relative youth.

Acne used to be vicious, but has gotten better recently (I can't help but think it has to do with the increase in fat in my diet, majorly the omega 3). I still get occasional acne on my face, back, chest, and upper arms. I can cover it pretty well with makeup, however I want to avoid more scarring.

I also have problems with dry skin, except for my face with is combination oily. It isn't a huge problem for me, but I would like my skin to feel softer and be healthier in general.

I hope to improve my skin condition using something called a micro-needling using a derma roller. It is basically a wheel on a handle, but the wheel has hundreds of little needles that pierce your skin. The idea is that it forces your skin to repair itself, including collagen regeneration, and thus elasticity. Pictures of it on the internet seem quite promising, and it is relatively inexpensive. I want to use one in conjunction with Bio Oil (a scar treatment oil very popular in the UK and a major competitor to Mederma here in the States) to reduce my scarring and firm up my skin. My husband also wants to use one for balding (correcting it, NOT causing it). I would also like to use different products for moisturizing my skin to find something that works really well. Emu oil is on my list of things I want to try, as I could also use it for my hair.

Like I listed above, I would also like to start taking a Biotin pill (or combination pill) as I've read it is good for skin quality as well as hair.

Number 3. Hair.    

Hair consists of two categories: hair on my head that I want to improve, and hair on my body that I want to eliminate. 

The hair on my head is in better condition than it was a few years ago, but still not quite what I want yet. My hair is quite long (just to the small of my back) and I cut and trim it myself. I try to trim it every couple months to keep split ends at bay. I use Mane and Tail shampoo and conditioner about once every 3 days. I let it air dry, curl sometimes with no heat, and very rarely use a flat iron (if I had a better flat iron, I would straighten my hair much more often). I don't color my hair, though I used to about 5 years ago. I don't have any grey hairs yet, but I will start coloring when I do get them.

I think taking Biotin (the omega 3 fish oil I have been taking seems to be helping some so far) would help the condition of my hair quite a bit. My hair is quite fine, and my biggest problem with my hair now is frizzy flyaways. I had good luck with a mayo and egg treatment once a week, but it was gross enough that I had to stop, lol I think using emu oil once or twice a week would be more manageable and probably give me similar (if not better) results. I would also like to purchase a better flat iron at some point.

Body hair, yuck! I have thick coarse black hair, and my skin is fair; it is not a pretty combination! I have tried many things to get rid of or manage my hair problems. I tried at-home electrolysis, which took forever and did nothing (yes I used it correctly, and tried several treatments). The creams that eat away hair, don't seem to work very well on my coarse leg hair and most of them burn my skin. I've used an electric epilator, which hurts like hell and causes ingrown hairs like crazy. I have waxed, which hurts, leaves weird periods of waiting for hair to regrow to wax again, and didn't seem worth the pain or cost. Shaving leaves my legs smooth for the better part of a day, and that's it. To have smooth legs with shaving, I would have to shave every single day...which causes me to break out.

I have a plan for destroying my body hair, it is a thing called a Tria. The Tria is an at-home hair-removal laser. It seems to work well according to my research (so long as you have dark hair and fair skin, which I do), and while very expensive, it is cheaper than getting professional laser treatments. The Tria has been on the market for a few years now, and it is about half the price it was when it debuted. $400 is still very costly at my family's income level (that's more than our monthly budget for food) and would be the kind of thing I would have to save up for. I doubt I will be able to buy a Tria before the year is up, so in the mean-time I will continue to shave once or twice a week...I don't wear shorts or skirts remember, lol

Number 4. Nails. 

My nails used to be a huge problem for me, and I've long considered investing in a home gel nails kit. I think I've changed my mind though. I've always struggled with thin weak nails that peal and break easily. I guess it's the change in the diet or the omega 3 I've been taking (most likely a combination of both) but my nails have improved significantly. They don't peal anymore and breakage is far less common. My nails are still softer and thinner than I'd like, but I do think they are improving to the point I will not be doing gel nails. I use strengthening base coats, and try to keep my nails covered in a couple layers of polish and a good protective top coat.

To further improve my nails I'd like to start taking more gelatin (I sometimes put dissolved gelatin in blended coffee drinks to thicken it up and help with ice suspension). I also want to to take a supplement. There is a hair, skin, and nails supplement that I saw at Sam's Club that is 240 pills for around $20. Of things that I will do for my beauty regime, buying those pills is at the top of my list (and within reach).

So there is my list of what I'm currently doing and what I plan to do in the future. My weight loss is ongoing, and I will post monthly progress pictures. I am on week 4 currently, so I will find a suitable "before" picture and then post a progress picture on the 3rd of July.   Before I start using a derma roller (or anything major) I will take photos, then post weekly and monthly updates with photos. I may post in addition to my updates. If I find a product I really like, I will most likely write about it. I may on occasion write about my struggles or victories with weight loss (or any of the big 4 really). For example if I discover one day that I fit into a smaller size of jeans, I'm not going to wait until the Sunday update to blog about it!

My husband's balding is fairly rapid and a big issue for him (he is 28, by the way). I cut his hair last evening, and the whole top of his head is showing noticeable thinning. Before he was thin on his crown and his hair had started to recede and thin in the front, so the amount of thinning on top surprised me. I looked at different products and decided the best route would be a .5mm derma roller and a bottle of minoxidil (men's hair growth product). A six month supply (including a new derma roller every six months) would cost us $60. I think $10 each month is pretty affordable. It might be a few weeks until we buy the supplies to start his treatments, but I will take photos and record his success if there is any.