CAKE

So as you all may know, I'm a big girl. And I LOVE cake. Well, a friend gave me this recipe and I've made it a few times, but I think I have a new favorite. It's a weight watchers recipe (YAY!) so it's not TOO fattening, and it's SUPER easy. All you do is mix a can of pie filling and a box of angel food cake mix. Seriously. That's it.
So tonight for dessert I made it using mixed berry pie filling, apparently a limited edition pie filling. Should have gotten a few more while I was buying, because this is AWESOME!!! Here's a photo to tantalize you:

I think it's fantastic. Unfortunately it's NOT gluten free, so my toddler can't have it, but I'm sure the rest of us will gobble it up fast enough without his help!!!

Do you have any go-to HEALTHY recipes? I'd love it if you would share with me, I'm always on the lookout for a good new recipe!!!

A Random Post: Things I Like!

Well, sorry folks, this blog is starting to head in a new direction. There's not really anything going on as far as surrogacy goes (other than my first surrobabe getting even bigger and even cuter--I didn't think that was possible!!!) so the gigantic weight loss journey is going to be my main focus right now. That and things I like. I belong to a parenting group on babycenter.com called the "crafty sewing mamas". Every month they have a thread to show off the projects everyone finishes. And every month they all put me to shame. No surprise there! Anyway, one of the moms on there is Tori of toriska bags on etsy. Well, I've also liked her on Facebook, purely so I can drool over her amazing bags that I would overfill with all of my mommy junk and that my kids would ruin throwing it into a mud puddle or pile of poo (yes, that would happen). Today she posted about a giveaway!!! Over at The Giveaway Diva they're giving away one of Tori's bgs!!! I'M SUPER STOKED, DUDES. So if I blog about it, you guys get in on the giveaway!! (Me getting extra entries has NOTHING to do with it, I SWEAR!) So here's the link to the post about it. Go ahead and visit it. And hey, guess what. If one of my readers (yes, one of the 3 of you) wins, I'll congratulate you personally on my blog! Of course if I win, I'll thank you all profusely and pray that my fancy schmancy new bag doesn't get thrown in a mud puddle or pile of poo.
On the weight loss front, I hit 37.5 lbs lost yesterday. That's almost 40 lbs. which is my halfway point. I think that when I hit 40 lbs, I need to celebrate. Maybe we'll take the boys bowling. :D Or hire a sitter and go on a DATE! Hmmm...such decisions!!! Have a wonderful rest of the weekend, folks!!!

Another Journey

This journey is not a surro journey. It's a weight loss journey. I weighed in on August 11th at a very unhealthy weight. That was almost 2 weeks after giving birth. To date, I started eating healthy and working out. Managed to stick with that for about 2 months. Also managed to lose 15 lbs that way! Then, at the beginning of October, I started using Herbalife. It's meal replacement shake and supplements. Since then I have lost 20 lbs, for a grand total of 35 lbs lost (at my last weigh-in). I have also been using my fitness pal, both online and the mobile app. I have to say, I really likeit. It's super detailed with logging what you eat and once you take the time to set up your meals (things you eat often) you can just punch in the whole meal, rather than each item by itself. It's a whole community, as well. You can invite your friends and share your weight loss victories there, as well as ask questions and support others. I even have a ticker on there:

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Anyway, enough about MFP. It's helpful, as is the NEW support of my hubby joining me!!! He just started using Herbalife with me on Saturday. He's lost 5 lbs already!!! I'm so proud of him!!! He wants to lose a total of about 80 lbs (also my total goal) and obviously is making a good go of it!
Alright, that's the latest update, sorry nothing to do with surrogacy, but neither of us is ready to think about that yet again. (though I would like to do at least 1 or 2 more journeys before I retire) Hope everyone had a fantastic New Years and a wonderful Christmas. Have a blessed 2012!!!

4 months!!

Well, baby dorothy is now 4 months old. She is growing wonderfully and developing well. She had her first taste of mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, I guess she was a little unsure of it LOL!!

On the weight loss front, I'm closing in on 30 lbs lost since August 11. Thanksgiving was not so great on my diet, and rather than the 27.5 lbs I HAD lost, I'm now back up to only 26 lbs lost :/ Not thrilled about that...

And since it's officially the holiday season and I'm not surrogating (is that a word? LOL) currently, I found another great way to share somethig special with others. Check out http://thetoysociety.blogspot.com and you'll see what it's all about!! I plan to involve at least my 6 year old in this, the 2 year old MIGHT get involved, but he's not as easy to help make things as his big brother is.

So happy holidays everyone, Hopefully it won't be another 3 months before I update again!!!

Frustrating...

Blogland is starting to frustrate me. I've tried and tried to comment on blogs, even my own, and I'm continuously being told my profile doesn't have clearance to do that, or something to that effect. Any suggestions???

Well, I'm still working on the whole fun of weight loss...yippee. Since the 13th, I've lost about 10 lbs. It hasn't been easy, I've been working out A LOT, sort of doing the c25k program (you can find it here) and using our elliptical. I need to update the upbeat music in my mp3 player, it's pretty old and pretty nonexistant as far as keeping it up goes. Maybe that's what I'll do today to finish off naptime. I'm also following a blog about starting a workout routine and keeping it going.

I'm also starting a new job on Monday. I'll be temping at a company in Fairfield (about 45 minutes from my house) and getting some more clerical experience to add to my resumee. I'm hoping to have a permanent job before the little man's birthday in October, but let's be honest, the job market isn't that great right now. For anybody.

Tomorrow Baby Dorothy will be 4 whole weeks old!! She's doing well, can still fit some newborn clothes, and is growing and eating well. She's up to 4 oz at each feeding and it sounds like she is sleeping pretty well for a 4 week old. Of course, she's still GORGEOUS, I asked if all that dark hair was changing color or getting thinner, her mama said it's getting a tiny bit lighter but is still very thick. Looks and sounds like they're loving their new little family.

And it seems that's all I have for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Yep, it's official...

I had my first "what happened to the baby?" conversation the other day and I've been thinking about it ever since. Chuckling. It went something like this:

Hey, I thought you had 3?
HECK NO!!!
Oh, well then...
Yeah, the third pregnancy was a surrogacy.
(significant silence) Meaning what?
Meaning I grew a baby for other people.
Oh. Wow. Are you friends with them? (HA!One of my favorite questions!)
Well, I am now. Wasn't before I met them as prospective IPs.
Oh. Well, that's nice of you.

It was a very interesting conversation, with a man in my small town who's son I went to school with. Very interesting, indeed. And I thought it was all over town! And today while walking a bit uptown a lady gave me a funny look when she asked where the baby was and I said Kentucky...I love those reactions! I just let her puzzle on it though. Why ruin my fun? I don't see her very often anyway. Aren't I mean??? Hehe!

Not that people asking about Dorothy and her parents bothers me or annoys me (most of the time), but really, do you think I grew them a baby because I DON'T like them??? And do you think they'd entrust me with doing that for them and NOT somewhat get to know me and have fairly constant contact with me for something like 9ish months?? HA!! I'd be ALL OVER some chick if she was doing it for me!! Heck, I'd probably try to get her to move to my town so I could be on top of her 24/7! People entertain me. I love it!

Attempting to lose weight...I think I'd rather just give birth again!

Yes, losing baby weight has always been hard for me. I'm sure there are a few of you out there who have the same problem. I'm REALLY good at gaining weight! I don't eat as healthy as I should, and I'm not all that fond of fresh fruits and veggies (unless they're fried or sauteed in tons of butter), so obviously that's a bit of an issue. I've been walking quite a bit, using the elliptical we have in our basement, and I just started the c25k program last week. It's an 8 or 9 week program called couch to 5K. You're supposed to be able to go from a sedentary lifestyle (my lifestyle) to running a 5K at the end...it's a pretty neat FREE program with FREE podcasts of music, the idea is walk, jog, walk, jog, etc. for 30 mins. The podcasts have a notification to tell you when to switch and you're supposed to match your steps to the beat of the music. Not a bad plan. I did it last night on the track at the school and was thrilled to discover that you're jogging maybe 1/4 of the way around the track at a time. Not bad. And I managed to jog all of the bits I was supposed to jog on with the exception of the last 5 minutes. Each week you download a new podcast track with new music on it, and you're supposed to do it 3 times that week. I think I'll probably end up doing the first week twice, because I am too much of a fatty to do all the jogging I'm supposed to do, and I don't want to continue on until I master this track. I'm very determined this time to lose as much of the weight as I can before Christmas. I'll be able to think about another surrogacy in February, and I'd like to be able to pass most of the clinic's BMI qualifications. Anyway, this is probably what this blog is going to consist of for the next while, weight loss. Because it's important to surrogacy #2.
Baby Dorothy is doing very well, her mama and daddy have been quite busy loving on her and caring for her. She seems to be growing well and her doctor says she is gaining weight nicely. At her 2 week checkup she had gained an entire pound!! And of course, she's still gorgeous. But would I really expect any less??
I'm also on the job hunt. Let's just say the weight loss is going better than the job hunt. :S I despise job hunting. I've filled out a TON of applications, but I've gotten 2 rejection letters and a lot of no replys thus far. UGH. Keep your fingers crossed for me on both the job and the weight loss. And that I'll be able to continue working out and losing weight after I find a job. I know that's going to be a challenge.