20 oz bottle Arizona Green Tea with ginseng and honey and 2.25 oz of Emerald  Tropical Blend Trail Mix. 471 Calories

Ruby Tuesday Turkey Avocado Burger 1,130 calories

Two cups cereal and one cup of fat free milk 560 calories

These were some of my favorite things during my last pregnancy, in fact the top of the fridge looked like the cereal isle. I easily justified buying fruity pebbles for the first time in 10 years. The serving sizes on cereal boxes range from 1/2 cup to 1 cup. Most people eat double that or more. Switching to a serving of oatmeal with 1/2 of a banana or pear and a splash of milk, I cut my breakfast calories down by 300 calories. Nuts and dried fruit contain nutrients and fiber, but hey are calorie dense. Oversized over sweet drinks should be avoided too. A turkey burger isn’t always lower in calories than a beef burger. It depends on the meat’s fat content and the weight of the patty. My new inspiration is creating delicious calories controlled meals that leave me satisfied. Viewing and choosing foods through a healthy calorie lens results in fresh real food being served at home and on the go.

Try to ID the 400 calorie meals at prevention.com/popquiz

In my unprofessional opinion my due date is December 27, 2010. I was very lucky with my last pregnancy, not having even a minute of sickness and hoping that holds true for the this one as well. I have had butterflies in my stomach since I found out and I’m pretty sure that excitement wont go away. I now have a reason to set up the nursery furniture in the new house : ) I am excited that my new healthy lifestyle has arrived just in time! I have lost 9 1/2 lbs since I started counting calories 3 weeks ago and Brian has lost 10! I am going to meet with the Dr. this week to see what his recommendation for calorie in take is. More than anything I have adopted a new better way of eating real food!

Here is the house for those of you that haven’t seen it. We close May 21st and have a lot of work to do. Painting (I get to tape not paint) new floors, new tub for the master bath and update the kitchen. Pictures of before and after will be coming soon! Hoping not to come down off this cloud…ever!

Little Blue and my Summer Garden Quilt are ready to get packed up for their new owner, a newborn baby girl. I can’t wait to finish what Im working on now and get it up on Etsy. My current embroidery project is rather large…. Hope to post pics SOON!

The only attempt at weight loss that was successful for me was an intense exercise routine. I am currently succeeding at weight loss with Lose It! The first week was a challenge becuase I needed to change our diets a bit. I have replaced my morning cereal with oatmeal and replaced brians morning pop tart with a Vitatop. I have also replaced our sandwich bread with the 100 calories sandwich rounds. I have changed the way I cook, limiting the starch involved.  One of my recent favorites was 1 cup smart taste pasta, dry pesto mix, 1 campari tomato, 1 piece grilled chicken 2 cups brussel sprouts. 

I am really enjoying watching the calories I eat and as a result eating better. I have a goal of 1 1/2 lbs a week and am on track and starting my third week. 

The iphone application (I think you can do this on Loseit.com and Lance Armstrong allows you to do it on Livestrong)sets goals and establishes a daily calorie budget that enables me to meet them. It helps you stay on track each day by recording your food and exercise (with a searchable database or you can create the item) and quickly reenter your favorite things

My girlfriend and I headed over to Joann Fabrics this morning to check out their Pre-Easter sale. Simplicity patterns are on sale for $.99! We even did our homework and checked out Simplicity Patterns Online first, so we didn’t have to try to read pattern books with two toddlers tearing down the store. I spent $3.18 on $45 worth of patterns and Alyson spent $20 on $92 worth of patterns and other sale items in the store. The sale goes on through this Saturday the 3rd. They had some great home decor stuff including this nursery decor pattern pictured above.

I have been pretty busy this weekend finalizing some sewing projects and getting my Etsy shop up and running! I am so excited to be a stay at home Etsyian! I’d like to thank Ashley for creating my custom logo design, I just LOVE it! and a big thanks to all my friends and family with all of the encouraging words along the way. Lastly, thanks Mom for giving me the sewing bug!

Heres a Sneak Peak:

I haven’t really been hiding, just preoccupied. The best kind of preoccupation possible, spending time with family and the needle and thread. Jason and I headed down to Miami ahead of Brian the week before last to celebrate My Mom’s birthday. He met up with us over the weekend. As always we had a great time. It makes me so happy that he knows and loves his grandparents. I consider us very lucky to be able to see them as frequently as we do. Jason started hugging on Nanna and saying cheese (above) and I of course went for the camera. The two were “winding down” for bed time. We totally spoiled him, allowing him to watch an hours worth of movies in bed AFTER bed time and things have not gone smoothly since then. The time change doesn’t help either.

Since we’ve been back I’ve been spending all my free time embroidering my last piece for the etsy store. I’ve decided to launch without it. Tonight, I meet with Ashley (Lemon and Lavender on my blog roll on the bottom left) for drinks and logo design. Shes been working on stationary design, invitations and announcements and I’ve just expanded her work into logo design. Stay tuned…were getting close!

I hope that you find what your searching for. If you’re lucky enough to already have it, hang on tight.

We’re just waiting for Jason to wake up to head over to hang out with some friends and family. I have cupcakes, wings and potato skins all packed up and waiting for my sleeping prince.  I must admit that I didn’t know who was playing until I went to Publix this morning and saw all the balloons and after discussing it with Brian, GO SAINTS!

Here are some fun Superbowl XLIV Coloring Pages. They have a ton of teams in addition to the Colts and Saints. I printed out the Bucs and the Dolphins too. And for the adults…here is a fun drinking game.

BOA is helping us save our nickels and dimes by giving away general admission to participating museums, zoos, science centers, botanical gardens and more on the first full weekend of each month. Just by presenting any Bank of America Card. Just visit Museums on Us for more details.

We are BOA users, but the closest thing to us is St. Pete. Luckily we will be headed to Miami on the first weekend in March for my Momma’s birthday and hope to take the troops over to the Miami Children’s Museum.