Week 28

Weight Loss- (29 to go)    I lost two pounds this week :)

 

Recipes- (16 to go) Nothing new this week.

Movies- (1 to go) We saw Tammy at the movies this week.  It was pretty funny, but I feel like if you've seen one Melissa McCarthy movie, you've seen them all.  I love her, and think she is very funny.  I just wish she didn't play the same character in all of her movies.  Having said that it was still pretty funny. 

Books- (18 to go)  This week I finished two books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days and The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet.  I'm starting to get a little bored with both of these series, but am committed to finishing them this summer.

Week 27

Weight Loss- (31 to go)    I lost three pounds this week.  It would have been more, but yesterday was a holiday, so you know how that goes.  I also signed up for a race.  The race is in August, so I have one month to get ready for that.

 

Recipes- (16 to go) I made shoestring tuna salad this week.  My aunt has always made it for her cookouts, so I thought I would give it a try.  It turned out pretty good.  Recipe is on my Pinterest wall.

Movies- (2 to go) I saw two movies this week, which puts me only two away from one of my 34 goals.  I saw Enemy with Jake Gyllenhaal.  It was OK.  It was one of those movies that at the end you turn to the person next to you and say, "OK what just happened?"  I also went to the movies this week with my mom and saw Jersey Boys.  I wanted to see it because I saw the stage version.  It was once again just OK.  It started off slow, but started to pick up about halfway through.  Warning, the songs will be in your head for days to follow. 

Books- (20 to go)  This week I finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Last Straw.  You would think based on that title, it would be the last book in the series.  Nope there are still a few more.  My reading has slowed down since vacation.  Hopefully, it will pick up again now that vacation and the holiday are over.

Week 26

Weight Loss- (34 to go)    I gained all my weight back on vacation, so that's good :(

 

Recipes- (17 to go) Vacation

Movies- (4 to go) We saw A Million Ways to Die in the West before we left for vacation.  It was pretty terrible. 

Books- (21 to go)  Vacation

Week 25

Weight Loss- (28 to go)    I walked 9.65 miles this week.  I ate at home more this week until yesterday rolled around when I hung out with the relatives all day and we ate out twice.  I still don't have much willpower when going out to eat.

 

Recipes- (17 to go) This week I tried my hand at apple pie for the first time.  It wasn't perfect.  I got the recipe out of a diner cookbook.  I am going to play with the recipe to try and make it my own.  I also made cheesy potato casserole (potatoes, mayo, sour cream, cheese, onions, bacon).  It was cheap, easy, and delicious.  Now that's my kind of cooking!

Movies- (5 to go) Nothing new this week. 

Books- (21 to go)  I finished two books this week.  I finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid Roddrick Rules (book 2 in the series) and The Secret of the Fortune Wookie (book 3 of the Origami Yoda Series).  Like I said after I finished the first book, I see why the Wimpy Kid series is so popular with 4th graders.  The books are funny, quick reads.  The Origami Yoda series is similar to Wimpy kid in that it is written in the form of a journal with drawings.  It is not as funny, but still good, and a lot of the references will be lost on kids who are not into Star Wars.  Fortune Wookie was my favorite of the first three.  What am I reading now?  That's right, the next books in both of these series.

Week 24

Weight Loss- (28 to go)    This week was kind of mixed.  The food eating was terrible.  We had a party on Wednesday and have been eating the leftovers ever since.  I have also gotten into the habit of going out for lunch which needs to stop.  I got in some walking.  I didn't walk every day because it was very rainy this week.  Yesterday I walked for over 6 miles which is the farthest I have ever gone.

 

Recipes- (19 to go) On Monday I tried making pulled pork in the slow cooker (see recipe on my Pinterest wall).  It was pretty good and it made a lot.  I will try it again some day. 

Movies- (5 to go) I am almost at my movie goal.  I knew this would be the first one I hit, because I watch movies a lot, not as much as I used to, but probably still more than the average person.  This week I watched two.  The first was Jobs, which is about Steve Jobs, the creator of Apple computers.  I had low expectations because it stars Ashton Kutcher and it is hard to take him seriously, but it was surprisingly good.  The second movie was 12 Years a Slave.  It was pretty interesting, and hard to watch in some parts.  I liked it, but it is not the type of movie I would buy to watch over and over again.

Books- (23 to go)  I finally read the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book this week.  As a fourth grade teacher for 8 years, I of course have known all about these books for years, but have never picked one up to see what the big deal is.  I now see it.  These books are really funny.  I think these would be good for trying to get a reluctant reader into reading.  How the book is set up makes it a fast read and obviously they are not too deep, so it would be easy for a weaker reader to follow, but still good enough for a strong reader to enjoy.  I also can see where a teacher could use this book to launch many writing assignments.  Great book for kids 9-12 years old. 

Week 23

Weight Loss- (28 to go)    Kicked my summer vacation off to a good start this morning.  I went on a 5.11 mile walk.

 

Recipes- (20 to go) Nothing new this week. 

Movies- (7 to go) This week I saw The Last Samurai.  I liked it more than I though considering I do not like Tom Cruise.  I also watched The City of Ember with my class.  It wasn't that great.  It didn't follow the book, and it wasn't that they cut stuff out (all movies do that), but they changed stuff just to change it which drives me crazy.

Books- (24 to go)  I finished City of Ember this week.  It's about an underground city and two kids who are trying to discover if there is a world outside of their city.  It was really good.  My students enjoyed it too.  I recommend it to 4th-6th graders. 

Week 22

Weight Loss- (28 to go)   If you look at the last few weeks of this blog, you can see that I haven't been very dedicated to my goals lately.  I have still been posting to stay in the habit, but I haven't been doing anything to meet my goals.  I am ready to get refocused.  Next week is the last week of school before summer vacation.  I need to get it into my head that making these goals is my "job" this summer.  As far as weight loss, I have gained a couple of the pounds that I have lost back, but on a positive, Brian and I have been going for more walks lately.

 

Recipes- (20 to go) On Monday I made fried pickles.  The recipe can be found on my Pintrest wall.  They were delicious, but obviously something that I won't make too often do to the high fat content :) 

Movies- (9 to go) Nothing New

Books- (25 to go)  This morning I finished the kid's book I Funny by James Patterson.  I loved this book, and think it is perfect for boys from about 10-14 years old.  It's about a kid in a wheelchair who is trying to be a stand up comedian.  The chapters were short, and there were a lot of illustrations, so it went by fast.  I am also reading City of Ember (I'm about half way done) and I just checked a Jodi Picoult book out of the library the other day (I figure now that summer is here, it is time to read some adult books).