Proud

I am proud of myself.

I could make a thousand excuses as to why/ how I put on so much weight over the years. The most frustrating thing to me is that I am stuck in the same 5 pound range! I can be lazy and eat anything and be 5 pounds heavier, or I can watch every bite and work out and i only get down to the bottom of that 5 pound range.

After trying several things with limited success, my latest endeavor has been running.

Now, I must say that NEVER in my life have I run. I just do not like it at all. I get winded and I can't breath and it makes me feel even worse. But, lately I see friends losing weight and firming up- by running. I kept reading about it, and decided to give it a try.

I read up on the Couch to 5K, which seems to be very popular with a lot of people. So, I did a lot of Google research. After reading, the concept seemed great. The program is designed for a beginner, and meant to slowly ease you into running. The first week workout is a 5 minute brisk walk, followed by 8 intervals, 60 second run, followed by 90 second recovery (brisk walk). The biggest problem I had with that was the thought of HOW was I going to know when to switch from walk to run? It will not work for me to continually watch the timer on the treadmill!

Then I found (hear the ringing bells!) a podcast! All 9 weeks of the program are available for download.

Since I was out of excuses, I downloaded the podcast for week 1, and dusted off the treadmill.

The first day I did it, I made it about 20 minutes in. Then I promptly threw up. I have never felt so horrid in my life from working out. I was ready to give up, but then something happened, I became even more motivated to do it. I tried for a second time. I made it through 5 of the 8 intervals.

By this point I had convinced Mr Rocks to do it too. He of course finished the first time no problem, but he was sore the next day.

Then I felt bad again.

BUT- I realized I was doing this all wrong. I am putting too much pressure to run and get through the work out! It took me 10 years to get this fat and out of shape, It wasn't going to get better in a few workouts! So I decided to make my walk a little slower and run at a slower pace. Guess what? It worked!!! I finished the whole workout!! I was so proud of myself! I can not wait till the day I can run an entire 5k! I WILL do it!

I have decided that I have a plan. I am working gradually to get into shape. I am still on week one of the plan, and I probably will be for this whole week again. But it is OK. Next week we are getting a wii, so I think that I may try the fit work outs on my resting days from running. In another few weeks, I want to add in weights.

I also want to start to track my calories again. The eating aspect has been hard because I have felt soooo hungry since starting to run. I have really tried to limit portions, but trying is as far as I have gotten so far.

I am hoping that putting this out there, that I will become accountable and I will keep it up!

A 5 year old Wedding.

The other day, G came down and informed me that she is getting married! This provoked one of the best conversations EVER!

G is going to marry Johnny 5 (yes, they have been watching Short Circuit). They met at the pizza shop where they both work and they fell in love. This all happened last week. Johnny 5 takes her on lots of dates because he has 10 hundred dollars. He has taken her to get ice cream and all of her favorite places to eat.

Johnny is in a rock band. He knows all of her favorite songs and sings them to her. He is an excellent singer and this makes G very happy.

Johnny is in Hawaii right now. He was only gone for the day. I didn't have the heart to ask how he got to Hawaii and back in one day. I am pretty sure the flight to Hawaii is probably close to 10 to 12 hours.

G has also told me that she is having a baby since they are married. Ashley will be born tomorrow, after she gets home from school.

The best part of all of this is that G told me that no one else can see Johnny 5 because he is too handsome.

I love this age!

I made it Monday

I had a few browning bananas last week and two bored girls, so we made Banana bread.

Someone gave me THIS recipe a few years ago. It is great because it is almost fat free and very easy to make with kids!

I have made a few changes to the recipe, based on reviews.

The ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar (I used BROWN sugar instead)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
1 cup banana, mashed (I used 3 bananas)
1/4 cup applesauce (I used 1/2 cup, UNSWEETENED applesauce- regular applesauce has High fructose corn syrup and we don't eat that here)

Mix all the dry ingredients. Mash the banana's. You will get this:

Add the applesauce, egg whites, and mashed bananas. Stir just until all the ingredients are blended.

It will look like this:

Bake in the oven at 350 for 50 to 55 min in a greased loaf pan.

When it is done it will look like this:

Banana bread is one of those classic things that everyone in the Rocks house loves. Everyone had fun making it too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the best pic I could get of the whole gang. I am hoping this gets better soon! I would really like a good picture of all of them!

I hope you have a good valentines day! I am not a big fan of valentines day, mostly because Mr Rocks never was. I have given up on the idea. I have faced the fact that I am not married to a sappy romantic. Maybe in my next life....

Enjoy your chocolate and roses, if you got them. I am enjoying the candy from the kids school parties!

I Made It! Cheesecake

Many years ago, Mr Rocks told me that he wanted a cheesecake. Mr Rocks is VERY picky. He would NOT have been happy with an instant box variety.

I started looking, and asking around. Everyone warned me that it was so hard, it takes practice. I decided that I was going to do it. I read this tutorial on Allrecipes. I found this recipe that looked simple and I tried it. I have now made this many, many times. Through my experiences I have found many tricks that have made my cheesecake legendary (at least among my small circle!)

If you are watching your calories, DO NOT read the nutrition info on Allrecipes. It is a gazillion calories. Eat a small piece and run a half hour extra or do an extra lap.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt (not pictured- oops!)
2 cups sour cream

Rocks tip- get the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs out a few hours before you plan to cook. They should be room temperature when you start mixing.

The first thing you do is line your spring form pan with foil on the outside.

Then make the crust-

mix the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and 3 tablespoons sugar. Melt the margarine, and mix into the crumb mix. Press into the pan, making sure that you get it up onto the sides.

Rocks tips- put a baggie on your hand to help on this part. I like it because with the baggie, it doesn't stick to my hands and it makes it much easier!

Variation- Mr Rocks had me try vanilla wafers for the crust. He liked it, but I am a traditionalist.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Draw a bath for your cheesecake! Confused? I was! The big secret to making a cheesecake that doesn't crack is a water bath. You need to get a pan, making sure that it is big enough that your spring form pan can fit in it. Put a towel or dishrag (clean of course) in the bottom and put about an half inch of water in the pan. It will look like this-

To make the filling you want to beat the cream cheese and sugar, VERY WELL, until it is SMOOTH and creamy. Then add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each egg. Then take the bowl off the mixer and STIR in the vanilla, and salt. Finally, fold in the sour cream, again making sure it is smooth and creamy and no bumps are visible. This is where it is important that the sour cream is room temp. If it isn't it will be bumpy. Trust me, it happened to me!

Once the filling is nice and smooth, pour it into the crust. Then put the pan into the bath- like this-

Bake in the oven for 1 hour. After the hour is up, turn off the oven and walk away. You may peek in the window, but do not open the oven. After a half hour, crack the oven door. Leave it in for at least another half hour, maybe even a whole hour. You must let it cool gradually, so it doesn't crack.

After cooling in the oven, move the cheesecake to the fridge. Leave it in there at least overnight. If you can resist the temptation, it tastes better if you let it sit in there for a few days.

When you finally get it out and cut your self a piece, eat it slow and enjoy every fat filled bite! It is totally worth it!

It's been a rough month!

One of the Rocks children has been sick since New Years! We had the stomach virus. Then A got strep with scarlet fever. It took 2 rounds of antibiotics to get rid of it. While that was going on, everyone got a really bad cold. 4 days after A finished the second round of antibiotics, he got an ear infection. All four of the kids have been sick, and Mr Rocks is also sick. I think everyone knows that husbands are worse than kids!

I am tired. I am tired of going to the Dr's office.

Anyway, in case you were wondering that is where I was.

I have plenty to share! I made cheesecake. I had an awesome girls weekend. I am going to start couch to 5k. I am going to share it all with you.

Stay tuned....