Friday-Saturday recap and a couple tangents.

The boys have been outta control for the last couple days so we have tried to be out of the house as much as possible to keep them occupied. The kids go batty when they're in the house for too long, and getting them out ANYWHERE is a quick cure for that. So Friday was spent doing our regular routine of grocery and Target shopping.

For the last month, I've tried a new approach to tackling our grocery bill. Babydaddy and I have inherited his mom's shopping technique of going in and getting whatever we need without looking at prices or using a list. Using that technique, we were spending an average of $120-150 a week. I took a census, and that's typical for a family of 4. But still, that $600 a month pricetag was getting to me, so 2 weeks ago, I printed out a 2-week meal planner with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack slots and used it to plan our meals as well as our grocery list. Using it, we spent $135 (at the commissary) for TWO WEEKS worth of food! I was so freaking impressed with ourselves! So, this go 'round I did the same thing, and whaddyaknow, we ended up spending $132! YAHOO! Can you imagine if I started to clip coupons?! I just love saving money. :)

Anyway, Friday was spent grocery shopping and we also made a Target run. We picked up a few things, including Jillian Michael's Making the Cut book and The Biggest Loser Complete Calorie Counter.

Since being on this new eating plan, it has taught me a lot about portion size, serving size and calories. I was doing some research of my favorite comfort meals and I was SHOCKED to see how many calories ONE meal had! For example, my all-time favorite Chick-Fil-A meal has a WHOPPING 1070 calories!!!!!!! Hello, that's 1 day's worth of calories! And my go-to Starbucks drink has 470 calories! Ok people, do the math...THAT's why I wasn't losing any weight! You'd think its simple: eat healthy, work out, lose weight, but when you're NOT counting calories and when you're eating out a lot, you don't know what's going in your body! I am also learning that I CAN eat out and enjoy myself while trying to eat healthy, I just need to make better choices. So instead of having the fried chicken sandwich, the large fries and the large sweet tea at Chick-Fil-A, I can have a chrgrilled chicken sandwich (230 calories), a medium fruit cup or side salad (approx. 50-70 calories) and a diet lemonade (50 calories) for a total of 350 calories. MUCH better than 1070 calories! I cringe every time I think about that!

ANYWAY (that was tangent #2, folks), we bought the Calorie Counter book so that we can gauge what we're eating and how many calories we're putting into our bodies. I think I am really on my way to making this lifestyle change. :)

So after our usual Friday activities I posted on my Facebook page that I was "bored in Milton." Seriously, this place has NOTHING to do! Thank goodness my family provides me enough entertainment to keep me occupied most days. :) Anyhow, one of my friends saw status, and thankfully called me to invite Babydaddy & I out...we quickly took them up on the offer since our lovely friend also has a lovely daughter who is a certifed babysitter. :) Yes, people, Babydaddy and I had a BABYSITTER for a Friday night...something we have NEVER done! (Before moving to FL, our parents used to watch Noah for us, but rarely at night!). So Babydaddy & I, along with our Milton BFFs had a night out "on the town!" We hit up Milton's Mainstreet Cafe & Courtyard Bar, not even 10 minutes away from where we live. :)
It was "live music" night...the guy was actually pretty good...he sang some country, but even threw in a couple Better Than Ezra songs. A plus, since Babydaddy and I are huuuuge BTE fans. :)My drink of choice: MG 64...only 64 calories! I nursed it most of the night and had water too...

It was an awesome Friday night...we love our Milton BFFs! :) We decided Saturday would be a Foley outlet day...we just love those Foley outlets. I had a 20% off coupon for the Coach Factory, but would you believe it if I said I walked out empty-handed?! I know, blasphemy! Nothing jumped out at me...oh well.

Since we were out, we had to have lunch, so we stopped by Zaxby's and I had their House Zalad with grilled chicken and lite ranch. It was delish, and of course I came home and looked up its nutritional value...freaking 604 calories!!!!! Note to self: just because its a salad doesn't mean its low-cal. :P
Saturday night's dinner was 1 serving of chili and beans (approx. 230 calories) and a bowl of greens with 3 tbsp. fat-free Italian dressing.

I also had a little bit of cantelope...yummo. :)

After Caleb went to bed, Babydaddy and I did Jillian's No More Trouble Zones dvd and boy was it a doozy! I was dripping sweat and got a really good workout! In 50 minutes, I burned almost 400 calories! Jillian rocks!

I'm not sure what today (Sunday) will bring...Caleb's naps have been sporadic and off-schedule for almost a week, so I think we're going to lay low and let him rest up today. It looks like rain anyway. For breakfast I had 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and 4 strawberries...

It was delicious! Definitely a new favorite of mine. :) I also had a granola bar and some coffee...

Wow, this was a long one! :) 'Til next time...