10 Day Blog Challenge - 7 Wants (in photo)

In an effort to spice up my 10 Day Chellenge, I decided to share my 7 Wants via pictures! Enjoy!

10 Day Blog Challenge - 8 Fears

Eeeeek!! Here we go:

1) Loss. More times than I'd like, I think of how I'd handle losing loved ones. Most times I can get over it, but sometimes it really bugs me. And now having a little boy, I'm constantly praying for his safety. Sometimes I even question whether I want another child because then it would be another little person that steals my heart and causes me to worry. But I think the joy they bring outweighs the worry, so scratch that - more babies please!!!! :)

2) Regrets. Sometimes I get frustrated with the feeling of not really experiencing much in my life on my own. I lived with my mom until I was 25, then got married and moved in with my husband. I've never lived on my own, never traveled on my own, never made decisions without having to explain to someone why I'm doing it. (I think maybe that's why I got a nose ring this year - my very own personal rebellion) And sometimes I regret not doing more by myself, but then feel guilty because of course I love my family. I go back and forth!

3) Insects. The End.

4) Not having career happiness. I went to school for 8 years, been working in the Mental Health field forever, and have busted my patoot to keep moving forward in this field, but it's a lot harder than I expected. And sometimes I worry that I'm losing track of why I really wanted to be in the field in the first place due to the stress, long hours, low pay, etc. ::sigh::

5) No weight loss. I'm nervous that I'll never lose the 40 lbs that I need to lose, and instead get pregnant again, then gain more, then continue to balloon into a massive beast. I've never lost a huge amount of weight at once, and it feels overwhelming, and sometimes I worry that I don't have what it takes to do it. But I'll keep trying.

6) Being broke. I've never had this fear until I got married, and was now in charge of our family's finances. Prior to marriage, I paid my mom $200 to help out monthly, and paid 2 bills - car payment and cell phone bill. My mom paid for everything else. So now that my mom doesn't pay for everything, it dawned on my that we don't have a money tree in the backyard. GASP! So now, I sometimes get very tight-fisted with our money.

7) Cancer. My hubby and I both say often. "I hate Cancer." Duh, we all hate cancer, but we just say that every so often because of how many lives Cancer has touched (and taken) in both of our families. Now it's almost a given that if you live long enough, you'll get Cancer. Cancer you SUCK!!

8) Car accidents. This is a recent fear. My mom told me that last week one of her co-workers died in a car accident on her way to work. It was the same road that my mom drives every morning around the same time. This particular accident wasn't even that poor lady's fault. This fed-ex driver had a seizure while driving and hit her head on. I'm petrified that something like that will happen to me or someone I love. It doesn't matter how careful you are on the road, someone else's mistake can take your life and it's such a shame.

10 Day Blog Challenge - 9 Loves

So it's Day 2 of the 10 Day Blog Challenge, and today is about 9 loves. So here goes:

1) I love spas. Yesssss. I love being pampered - massages, facials, pedicures, the works. I actually am working on having my very own "spa day" at my house where I make a bunch of homemade spa treatments and pamper myself. Calgon take me away...

2) I love hugs and kisses from my little boy. He's at an age (22 months) where he voluntarily will hug and kiss me when he desires. Nevermind the fact that sometimes he chooses to kiss me after doing something naughty. And then smiles sweetly. Cunning lil chap.

3) I love sleep. I've always been this way. I can sleep 10 straight hours without giving it a second thought. So you can imagine the shell shock that I experienced when I realized that most babies don't sleep through the night.. oh and some toddlers still have trouble with it (Mikey raise ur hand).

4) I love my husband's foot rubs, and scalp massages. Why, you ask? See Love #1.

5) I love cruises. I've been to a few, and they are amazing. I love the all inclusive eating and activities. I love the excursions, and the ability to see a few different countries at once. Love love love!

6) I love my iphone. I honestly don't see myself with any other phone for the rest of my life. I plan on just buying upgraded versions right into my 80's.. touching the screen and playing apps with my gnarled, veiny, fingers.

7) I love eating out at restaurants. Maybe a little too much, considering I'm always on a diet. Oops. But it's not just about the yummy food, it's the ambiance. It's the company. It's the conversation. It's wonderful!

8) I love snuggling with my cats. One of them, Sophie, is a big mush. She used to terrorize me as a kitten and I HATED her. But now that she's 4, she loves to hop into our bed , crawl under the covers and lean her round furry body up against me. Cozy!

9) I love reading. I read fiction, non-fiction, self-help, you name it. And thanks to my hubby, I have my very own Kindle Fire! (Which should have it's own Love # cuz it's completely awesome.) I think I've read 15 books this year. Probably more. I put up a list of some of the best ones on the side of my blog, so check it out! ----> ok, you'll have to scroll up a little, then ----> :)

10 Day Blog Challenge - 10 secrets

I found this great 10 Day Blog Challenge online that helps writers get their creativity juices flowing, and increase their blog posts. Each day you have to write about one of the topics next to the numbers. Wanna join me? Come on! Today is SECRETS. Here are 10 secrets (or more like random facts) that you may not know about me:

1) Tomatoes make me gag.

2) My shoe size is 11.

3) I sometimes check (and re-check) the stove knobs before I leave the house.

4) I'm left-handed.

5) I have a pretty good singing voice but only my husband and son are allowed to hear it.

6) My favorite place to hang out is on my lovely toilet w/ my cell phone or kindle fire, spending sometimes 30 minutes (or more) on my porcelain masterpiece.

7) I work evenings, and HATE it. My current job has me coming home at sometimes 10pm. On the train. From the Bronx. Need I say more?

8) I've already planned out my 2nd career path - when I retire I would like to be a painter/photographer, and have my very own art show one day.

9) I once wanted to try out for America's Next Top Model (5 years ago), but I got married and gained 40 lbs instead. Go me!

10) My favorite movie is "Rain Man", and is actually one of the things that got me interested in working in the Mental Health field.

Day 1 - Mini Meals (meal plan/exercise)

Today, my total calorie intake ended up being 1625 because I walked a mile that added 124 calories to my allowable amount. I did have some challenges because we ended up going to Friendly's and I couldn't find 300 calorie foods on the menu (big surprise) So I had to eat half of my order, then bring the rest home for another time. Here is my meal plan for the day:

Exercise - 1 mile walk (slow pace) - burned 124 calories

Meal 1 (9am)- Total 310
- Boiled Egg - 80
- 1 Tbsp Mayo - 90
- Whole Wheat Ritz - 70
- Coffee w/ Creamer - 70

Meal 2 (12pm) - Total 410
- 1/2 Friendly's Cape Cod Supermelt - 410
- Diet Coke - 0

Meal 3 (3pm) - 425
- 10 Friendly's Mini Mozzarella Sticks - 340
- 1/4 Friendly's french fries - 85

Meal 4 (6pm) - 310
- 1 cup penne pasta - 210
- 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce - 80
- 2 Tbsp Parmesian Cheese - 20

Meal 5 (9pm) - 170
- Vanilla Pudding - 120
- Small green apple - 50

Not bad for the first day. Tomorrow my goal is to stick to the 300 calories more exactly, since I may not have time to exercise.

My Latest Diet Conquest - Mini Meals

That's right guys. I'm trying yet another diet style. I know many of you can agree that none of us plan on stopping until we reach our goals. For me, it's to lose 40 lbs. I absolutely HAVE to lose 40 lbs by June 28th. Why? Well, for many reasons:

1) I'm dangerously starting to weigh what I weighed while pregnant with little M, and that is RIDICULOUS - seeing as I'm only pregnant with bread, pasta, french fries, and cookies.

2) June 28th is when I turn.... 30! {GASP} And I do not want to enter a new chapter in my life feeling like the same old tired self that I feel right now.

3) My dad offered as incentive to give me $500 for my 30th birthday IF AND ONLY IF I lose the 40 lbs that I'm desperate to lose. (Okay I don't know if he's being helpful or offensive. Either way I took the challenge.)

4) The end of this year/beginning of next, we MAY be trying for #2, and there is no way I can be this heavy going into another pregnancy. Heck no.

5) My hubby wants to throw me a huge 30th birthday bash and my dream is to walk into my extravaganza 40 lbs thinner and wearing a strapless, form fitting, WHITE dress. That's right. WHITE. I've avoided white for years to avoid being mistaken for a beached whale. As a matter of fact, I haven't worn a white dress since my wedding (almost 5 years ago). Sinced then, black has been my bestest friend. But not on my 30th! I want to be in white, and with all eyes on me!

So now you can see why it's IMPERATIVE for me to lose the weight. Of course, there are the additional common reasons of health, looking good for hubby, energy, etc. And how am I going to accomplish this great feat? Glad you asked!

THE MINI MEAL DIET

I'm sure you all have heard of it. Basically you eat 5 small meals of 300 calories each per day, as opposed to 3 huge meals. The science behind it says that eating 5 smaller meals stabilizes your blood sugar, and increases your metabolism.

From what I read, each meal you eat, your body breaks down as much as it can, and then the rest gets converted to fat. So the bigger the meal, the more gets converted to fat, even if you only eat twice a day. By eating 5 small meals, the body burns up the small meal very easily, and not as much gets stored as fat - plus you have a better chance of burning the calories you just ate throughout the day.

It's also a calorie counting thing. Eating 5 small meals of 300 calories each equates to 1500 calories per day. So even though it'll feel like you're constantly eating, you're actually consuming LESS calories, than what you usually would by having your average 3 huge meals.

I'm really excited to start! I'm actually setting a timer on my iphone to remind me when to eat. So my schedule will be 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm. You can make your schedule any way you want, as long as you can space out the meals to about every 3 hours. I happen to work evenings, and don't get home until like 8:30pm, so my last meal of the day always ends up being around that time. I will write another blog post later tonight with my whole day's eating plan, as well as my thoughts on how it went. See you then! [NOTE:] The above picture does not accurately represent a 300 calorie meal, before you guys pull out your hair!

p.s., if you'd like to see a BEFORE picture of me - CLICK HERE and visually add 20 lbs to that. Yup. No words.