Looking For The Positive

Hi folks!

Its almost 11:00 p.m. here. Today was long but very productive.

I lost another pound this morning, so Ive lost 6.8 pounds in nine days. So, thats basically seven pounds.

I have to be honest with you. Im a little surprised that eating clean seems to be making the weight drop faster than it usually does when I start my ten week diet. Im still waiting for several days to go by where I dont lose any weight. Maybe that will happen soon.

Oddly enough, as quickly as the weight seems to be leaving me, I still feel like I still have forever to go yet before I reach my goals. Like I look in the mirror still and see the negative.

Its good that the negative is still motivating me, but I am also trying to look at the positive in the negative. For example, because Im carrying extra fat, Im not as cold this winter when I run to the gym. Im just not as cold period. I never thought that that would be a positive to a negative. Ha!

Heck, by the time I get to the weight where I start feeling colder (because of carrying less body fat), it will be April. So, Im basically sweating it out during the short cold days of winter.

The positive is that Im now twenty pounds and ten weeks out from fitting into that black vintage suit.

So, if youre there with me feeling like your goals are still a long way off, try to find the positive in the situation.

Tomorrow I get to photograph Mr. Lovely as he will be ten weeks old. My how time flies. In the last few days hes been trying out sucking his thumb. As cute as it is, Im trying to discourage it before it forms into a habit.

Hope your all having a good one!
The weekend is almost here.

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

Oh, I ran 2 1/2 miles today, did sit-ups, did four sets of 15 push-ups ( the first two were girl and the second two were boy style), did a 35 minute chest and triceps work-out. My calories came in at 1,750. I felt better with the increased calories.

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Happy Thursday!! The Smile Weve Waited For

Hi everyone!

We gave Mr. Lovely his bath this morning in preparation for his weekly Thursday photo shoot. Up until this point we see what we think are smiles...but we arent really sure if they are the real thing.

Well, he is six weeks old today and these are snippets of his photo shoot in order as I post the photos.

So, this is the first photo where we have to ask ourselves... "Doesnt this look like a smile?"

We see a smile in his eyes here?

Kind-of a smile here...definitely a happy baby...

Lets try a sitting position.

a stomach position...I think I see a little something here, dont you?

ok, on the back again...hes after that fist like hes hungry.

Took off some clothes to see some feet...

and what have we got here...

Is that not a smile?

A different shot...a bit closer...

Look at that...you can see he wants to smile!

Ahhh....Haaa!!!

Proof Positive Baby...

This Baby is definitely smiling!!!!

A little blurry...but that is the real deal!!!

A little leftover smile...

Then get this...an open-mouthed smile.

It has to be...

His eyes are happy, this is only two seconds after the first real smile.

Now hes got a little mischievous look.

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I also weighed him this morning and he was 10. 4 pounds which is 6/10 more than last Thursday.

So, six weeks ago he weighed 6 pounds, 4.4 ounces. That means hes gained four pounds in six weeks.

I talked to a doctor tonight at the gym and he said that that means I am burning 500-700 calories a day in just breast feeding Mr. Lovely. And I honestly believe it because I went to the gym last night...ate 2,500 calories yesterday and lost one pound.
Can you believe it?

Oh, and you heard me right folks, I have returned to the gym this week.

I hit my legs last night for the first time in six weeks and thought I was going to die.

Then, I hit my biceps and back tonight.

Tomorrow I plan to hit my chest and triceps.

My plan is to get to the gym three times a week for three straight weeks and then hit if five times a week on the fourth week.

Im playing the calorie game one day at a time, but Im definitely back to counting.

I want to make sure I take in enough for Mr. Lovely.

Well, thats it for now.

I hope youre all doing well.

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

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Boba Tea Drinking a break or breaking for a drink

To my boba ladies - SN, SH, HK

I need a break.  Its always at the end of the year - the months of May and June where I feel my tension rise at rapid rates and the desire to scream comes far more often than it should.  Its the season of schedule changes, camp signups, changes in students, preparation for vacation, and all in all the complete mish mash of tasks that I have before me.  (Im not counting the regular stuff that still needs to get done in all this.)

I admit that I easily get overwhelmed at this time and find myself wanting to crawl somewhere to try and catch my breath - as if that would even be possible.  But still.  I think about it.  I dont often do it, but I do think about it.

Ive found, however, that making boba tea helps me.  Its kind of counterintuitive as Im amping my body full of caffeine and sugar and carbs, but something in the process helps me calm down.  I dont know if its the kind of precise detail required in making boba, or if its the fragrance of the tea, or perhaps its simply that the kids start getting mellow when they learn that Ill be making them boba.  Whatever the case, boba making calms me down and its an excuse to have friends over to drink and chew with me.

In case youre unfamiliar boba or bubble tea, Ill simply just say its like drinking something and having something to chew while you drink.  Some of my non-boba fans have described the texture of the tapioca pearls, or boba, as being similar to gummy bears.  One even mentioned it was like drinking tea while chewing flavorless gummy bears.  Ill assure you its way better than that, although some people may  take some time to getting used to it.  

These days, it seems that bubble tea shops or boba tea shops are popping up everywhere, with lines that go out the door.  Ill admit, in the early days of my quest to do this boba thing at home, I was frustrated and I thought to myself that having boba made by someone else was well worth it.  I feel much less that way now, as Ive been working on my boba tea practice and method and Ive gotten it down to a pretty decent science, at least a science that works for me.  I find my home method offers me more flexibility in tea flavors, a freedom from artificially flavored syrups with their artificial colors, and an ability to control the sweetness level and how its sweetened.  I can use higher quality cream (like organic cream instead of non dairy creamer) and I can reduce the amount of waste in that I use glass mason jars instead of disposable plastic cups.  The straws I still havent figured out how to get around, but I think glass jars are a dramatic improvement.

I divide the work of boba tea into two tasks - make boba and make tea.  I like to focus on one and do the other afterwards.  Boba requires time, an hour of it, and its important to time this hour well.  Tea requires precision of time - oversteep your tea, and no matter how much sugar you try and add to fix your error, you cant.  I know this from experience.  

Making the Tapioca Pearls
The most important element of this is finding THE RIGHT PEARLS.  My own personal struggle to source these darn cassava root balls (you read that correctly - cassava root) has led me down several roads of extreme frustration.  I couldnt find them in a search of 7 Asian grocery stores in the Bay Area, so I turned to online sources.  There are plenty of online sources, but the shipping tends to be fairly hefty unless you luck out and find one on Amazon prime, which is what Ive been able to do a couple of times.  However, brands that are reputable and have a following (despite their lower rating on Amazon) are:

Tea Zone Boba (which is used at some of the tea shops around the nation)

Bolle Boba - Ive heard that some Asian markets on the east coast sell this.

Possmei - this is the brand Ive been using, and I snatch it up when its available on Amazon Prime.

Do not bother with "instant" boba pearls (ones that take 5 minutes or less) because quite simply, they arent the same thing at all.  Those have other starches in them (namely potato) and they wont give you the springy proper boba texture you are looking for.  A great blog post which basically goes through all the boba brands you shouldnt be buying is this one.

This process takes 60 minutes.  Not 55 or less.  60 minutes.  Ive heard of rice cooker methods and microwave methods, but I think the best method is boiling.

How to make boba pearls
2 cups of uncooked boba pearls
12 cups of water
1/3 cup of honey

The nature of these boba pearls is that they crumble easily.  Take time to sift out some of the crushed pearls powder so that the cooking liquid doesnt become too thick.

In a large pot, bring 12 cups of water to a rolling boil.  Once water is boiling, add all at once 2 cups of boba pearls.  Gently, with a spatula or wooden spoon, give a slow stir to help the boba not all stick to the bottom.  Within a 20 seconds, most of the boba should float up to the top.  I know youre thinking that these brown balls dont look like the black boba that youre used to, but they will be transformed in their hot water bath.

Once the water begins to boil again, reduce heat to a low boil and allow boba to cook for 30 minutes. Stir every 8 minutes or so, to make sure the boba isnt sticking to the side.  

Once boba has cooked for 30 minutes, turn off the heat, and allow the boba to sit in the hot water for another 30 minutes.

After boba has soaked in hot water, drain boba and give it a super quick rinse with water.

Place boba in a large bowl and pour honey over.  The heat of the boba should help make the honey loosen so that it can coat all the boba.  Add more honey if you like things sweeter.  The boba should be good, for about 5 hours at room temperature.  The longer they sit, the harder and less jewel like they become, so I find that cooking the boba and using them within a few hours the best.  (This is why boba places have to continuously make their boba.)

Isnt it gorgeous?  Now youre ready to make your tea!

Making Tea
My favorite thing about making boba at home is being able to custom make my teas.  With large mason jars, you actually have a ton of flexibility in making individual boba flavors.  Ive made large pitchers of tea and used tea bags in the proper proportion to make large amounts of tea, but the mason jars open up your boba tea flavors to a ton of possibilities.

Because mason jars can handle variations in heat, you can just steep tea for the appropriate number of minutes and sweeten with honey (or your choice of sweetener) and boba and your ice.  Ever notice that the boba tea you drink is never SUPER icy cold?  Its because boba doesnt react well to super cold.  Generally speaking ice is added to the top and then you shouldnt mix your drink up, otherwise your boba will lose texture.

The last few times I had some friends over for boba tea, I allowed them to select their tea options.  I poured honey in the bottom (about a tablespoon) and got the tea bags ready.  If you are going to add cream to your tea, I recommend doing a double bag of tea, but if youre going to go with a lighter version without cream, I think a single bag is fine.  My current favorite is the Stash double bergamot earl grey finished with honey, cream and boba.  WOWZA!!!  Without cream, my favorite is Tazo Green Ginger.  For the kids, Ive tried this  with herbal versions of tea (no cream) and they love it!

I pour hot water into the mason jars (about 3/4 full) and allow it to steep for the appropriate amount of time.  DO NOT OVER STEEP.  I actually set timers because Im always oversteeping.

Then I remove the tea bags, give a quick stir.

When Im ready to serve, I drop a few good heaping spoonfuls of cooked boba and they sink to the bottom.  On top I add ice.

If anyone wants cream (particularly with the chai, early grey, and English breakfast cream is great) I can add that as a finish.

Pop a straw.  Drink.  It.  All.  (Im kind of a poet.)  Be creative and have a ball!

As a final suggestion, boba isnt just for tea.  It can be for smoothies as well.  My kids love their water melon juice with some boba at the bottom.  The main drawback of this is that super chilled watermelon changes the texture of the boba much more quickly than the tea does.  But if you drink it fast, you wont even notice it.

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Green Goddess Dressing For all the strong goddesses I know

To all my fellow women who fight the good fight for their children and families - you are amazing.

Its been a tough week for the women in my life these past few months.  I have a friend in hospice after a short but frenzied battle with cancer.  She lives for two young children who will soon suffer an anguish that is like no other.  She battles on to spend any additional day with her kids.

I have another friend who fights to get the best education for her autistic child, who is currently not being served in his school.  She battles daily to get what her child needs, often times being defeated by the system, but she herself, never gives up fighting for more.

Still another friend deals with a child recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  This means that for the immediate future, every carbohydrate, every bit of food has to be measured, calculated, and balanced with insulin. There is an incredible amount of math involved in every single meal (mostly addition and division) and nothing food wise is just picked up and consumed on a whim.  The entire family is on standby and she still calculates, measures, weighs all the food that will go into her child.

There are those moms who daily battle with food allergies.  Im currently trying to figure out how to keep #2 safe in a classroom where no one seems to have gotten the memo that she is allergic to peanuts without offended or upsetting anyone elses food choices.

There are my friends who have to take care of aging parents while taking care of young children.  They do it with a smile on their face, sweat on their brow, while the burden of two generations weighs on their shoulder.

I have dozens more stories of the amazing women in my immediate circle who are going through great lengths for their families.  They sacrifice and push themselves for they can.  They are the better for it on the other side of the challenge, but the road through the challenge is not easy.

Women - we are doing it all.  We are doing the best we can.  The road has been hard and the battle has been unpredictable.  But we still go at it, strong, fierce and determined to do what needs to be done.  And for these women, Im so very proud to be their friend and to be a fellow woman.

These women, these goddesses if you will, I offer salad.  Delicious salad with a dressing aptly named - green goddess.  The dressing is creamy, sophisticated, vibrant and fresh.  It enhances almost anything it touches.  (Im partial to it with carrot sticks and cucumbers.)  The dressing is almost as good as a good woman.

Green Goddess Dressing

Serves 6 

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (7 or 8  scallions)

1 ½  cups chopped fresh basil leaves

½ cup chopped Italian parsley

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)

2 teaspoons anchovy paste (near the canned meat section of your local grocery store)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup sour cream

Method

In a blender add all ingredients except sour cream.  Blend until just smooth.  Add sour cream and blend just a bit more.  Use immediately over salad your choice of salad (I like romaine with cucumbers and tomatoes), or refrigerate if not using immediately.  

Printable recipe

With cucumbers, tomatoes and romaine, the perfect salad to go with any meal.

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Kimchi Mac and Cheese Contest PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!

The folks over at Golden Grain Pasta asked me to join their "Taste of Home" contest and I agreed, if only to submit my Kimchi Mac and Cheese dish to their competition. I know, its not everyones idea of home, but for many kimchi lovers, the idea of kimchi and mac and cheese make sense and sound phenomenal together.  If you need convincing, I understand and the only way I can think of to convince you is to have you MAKE IT and EAT IT.  A few bites, and youll understand what the genius is behind this dish.

Now, Im LOSING in the votes to a very delicious looking Zesty Mexican Lasagne, so Im calling on my loyal voters to PLEASE VOTE FOR ME.  Voting for me automatically enters YOU to win $250, which incidentally is more than my $100 prize, should I win this contest, so there is a benefit for you as well.

 
Come on - doesnt all that kimchi with the pasta just look good enough to eat right now!  Im actually feeling a bit hungry, and its one of those days I wish technology has come further than it has where I can actually eat whats on the screen.

Anyways - if you have time, please vote for me on Facebook via this link.  Leave a comment if youd like as well. (My opponent has 27 comments and I only have 11.)  As always, I appreciate my community of support from my readers!  Thank you!

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Fast Weight Loss For Men The Solution

Are you sick of feeling overweight and unattractive? Do you hate the way your body looks in the mirror? Do you feel exposed when you take off your shirt at the beach? If any of these things apply to you, then I have the solution you are looking for. You see, I was just like you once. Overweight and unhappy. I hated the way my body looked. I felt fat and ugly but deep down inside, I knew that I wasn’t meant to be this way forever. I knew that if I could lose the weight, my life would improve dramatically.

I started my mission to improve myself by searching for diets to lose weight quickly. I read hundreds of articles about all sorts of diets – from low carb diets, to high protein, to soup diets, and even an “ice” diet (where you were supposed to fill yourself up by eating ice!). None of them really appealed to me or even had any proof that they worked. After all, I had tried variations of them before like Atkins and Weight Watchers, but they all failed me and didn’t allow me to shed the pounds that I so desperately wanted to lose. I haven’t always been the most athletic person, so strenuous exercise and hours in the gym didn’t appeal to me at all. I knew I had to find something else.

One day I was reading an article about a professional UFC fighter. In it, he described how before each fight, he would lose rapid amounts of fat so he could qualify for the lighter weight fights. He even said he was able to lose up to 20 pounds using his method. I couldn’t believe it. If I could lose 20 pounds in just a few weeks, all my problems would be solved. So, I did some digging and I found out who this UFC fighter’s personal trainer was. He was based in Los Angeles, so I called the trainer up and pretended that I was interested in being his client. He obviously charged a lot of money and I couldn’t exactly afford to pay huge amounts of money for training, but to my surprise, he invited me to come to a free personal introductory training session.

So, I turned up at this fancy LA gym and met with the trainer. He was this good looking, handsome kind of guy that was in perfect shape. He certainly was practicing what he preached. Anyway, we talked about my weight loss goals and what I wanted to achieve and he explained that he would definitely be able to help me. He said he knew a secret diet that he’d be teaching celebrities and professional athletes for years where they can lose over 10 pounds a week on it. The bad news was though, if I wanted to learn it from him, I would have to enroll in his 10-session course, which would cost me $500 a session. That’s $5000 all up. There was no way I could afford that.

Just as I was getting up to leave, I noticed a business card sticking out of the personal trainer’s workout logbook. It had three words on it, and those three words would change my life forever. They were ‘3 Week Diet’. I said my goodbyes to the trainer and let him know that I could not afford his classes. I knew I had hit gold. The website, created by this nutritionist and scientist explained how it was possible to lose mass amounts of body fat in as little as 3 weeks. This was the exact same diet the UFC fighter I read about was on. And it was the same diet the personal trainer was trying to sell me for thousands of dollars! There it was. Revealed in all its glory. The secret to losing weight quickly.

I started the diet immediately. It wasn’t that much of an adjustment. The diet didn’t involve starving myself or doing any sort of tiresome exercise. In fact, I barely noticed that I was even on a diet! On the first day alone, I lost 2 lbs. I knew from right then that this was going to work. I followed the diet to a T and in the first week I lost a total of 10 lbs. I couldn’t believe it. Never in my whole life had I lost that much weight so rapidly. My jeans felt slimmer and I had so much more energy and vibrancy to my personality. I continued The 3 Week Diet until the end of the 21 days, and when I stepped on the scales for the last day, I nearly had a heart attack. 25 pounds. 25 FREAKIN’ POUNDS! I had lost that much weight in only 3 weeks. I could barely believe it. I looked in the mirror, and sure enough my face was slimmer, my jaw was more prominent, my stomach was flatter, my arms didn’t have saggy skin. I was actually somewhat good-looking!

I lost 25 pounds in only 20 days. Before starting The 3 Week Diet, I wouldn’t have thought that it was possible. But now, seeing how I look in the mirror, seeing how I can now wear any clothing item I want, and how people treat me so much better, I know it is possible! If you are in the same situation as I was in before I started the diet, take action now! Don’t waste your time with stupid diets that just don’t work, and even if they do – they take months and even years. I stopped the 3 Week Diet over a month ago; I haven’t put on any weight since. I’ve been able to keep the weight off for good. You can do it too!

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Lego Birthday Party for Sons 5th Birthday Low key fun

The cruddy thing about having your birthday in December, as Son does, is that it smashes up against other holidays which means that this momma has a hard time thinking and planning it in a manner that she normally might.   But Son, in all of his wisdom of age 4-and-turning 5 figured out that hed better start laying out his demands for what he thought his birthday should look like early.  And he did.  Just that.

"Mom.  I want a lego birthday party.  I want my friends to come, sit down and build a big lego project and take the lego project home."

"Huh?" I responded, in the midst of reviewing college essays.

"My friends.  My birthday.  Legos and lots of them."

I looked up and said, "Okay.  Thats fine.  But if that is the birthday youre going to have, you can only invite 5 kids."

Son looked dismayed and said, "WHY?"

"Bigger lego kits cost more money - so if that is what you want, you cant have as many boys.  Think about it."  Secretly I actually hoped that hed go this route because that would just mean a lot less chaos for me.

"Okay.  Five boys.  I can decide which five boys?"

"Yes."

And so it was.  I figured five boys, six bigger lego sets (the ones that cost $9-$10), some simple treats, and bam - Id have a party with minimal fuss, which was what I really wanted.  I managed to find a great deal on the size lego set I wanted (buy one, get one 50% off) and bought a couple of varieties.  The lego sets would be their project during the party and their party favor.  Simple streamlined and exactly what the Son ordered.

However, a week before the party, Son entered the party space and casually remarked, "The girls always get some nice decorations.  How come I dont have any?"

"Uh...you need decorations too?"

"Yes.  I just want something that goes from here to there," and he pointed to wall where he wanted his decorations.  My heart sank.  What was I going to do?

Turns out - I was going to make legos.  I had cardstock, in all the appropriate colors and the only thing I needed to buy were foam squares to help raise the circles off the cardstock.  And thats all I did.

Activity
Each child followed the instruction booklet inside their lego kit and built their own.  I was lucky and I recruited my nephew, two of my students, and Daughters (all great lego builders) to all be assistants for my young lego builders.  My nephew in particular, who is a young lego master, was extremely helpful as he was able to troubleshoot when a couple of the builders ran into trouble.  If youre going to go this route, I definitely think having people who are experienced with legos helping out.  (Im good at building too, but I didnt want all the stress. :) )

I used half pan sheets (I borrowed some from my friend) to keep the legos from individual kits in one place and to help organize the children.   Its definitely a worthwhile idea.

I purchased sets similar to this one at a brick and mortar store.  I bought a selection of sets (more than I needed) - three different kinds all similarly priced, so that kids could choose the one they wanted and I simply returned all the extras.  After the kids choose, hide the rest so no one is tempted to change their mind.
.

The half sheet pans which are super nice to use.


Decorations
I did not plan to do decorations, because I figured it wouldnt be all that important to Son.  I thought wrong.  At the last minute, I was inspired by a picture I saw which created lego shapes with paper, and decided to do the same.  I had to come up with my own dimensions however, and these are the ones I came up with using 8.5x11in cardstock.

Square (2 x 2 legos) - 4.5 x 4.5 inches
Rectangle (3 x 2 legos) - 6.5 x 4.5 inches
Mini lego (1 x 2 legos) - 2.25 x 4.5 inches
Large rectangle (2 x 4 legos) - 8.75 x 4.5 inches

I basically cut my 8.5x11 sheets of paper, down the length, into a 4.5 inch strip and a 4 inch strip.  The 4.5 inch strip I cut into the various sizes for the blocks, and the 4 inch side, I used to cut the 2 inch circles.  If you have a 1.5 inch or a smaller punch, by all means just use it.  (I go for the modern representation, and my legos are NOT to scale.)

2 inch circle punch which I just used it to punch away.


These foam stickers allow you to create some height from the circles and lift the circles off the cardstock, giving the illusion of legos.


I made a bunch of different blocks in a variety of colors, and made a garland with some, a mobile with some others, and then a randomly hung some strings of them....

Menu
Since Son spends all the birthday parties he goes to surrounded by food he cannot touch, I wanted to have a birthday party for him FULL of food he could eat.  In years past, I always made a cupcake that he could have in conjunction with a dairy and egg rich cupcake for the guests, but this year, I decided that he should have a birthday with his friends only full of food that he enjoys.  I kept it simple, as it was only going to be a snack and not a full blown meal and he told me what he really wanted to have.

Dairy and Egg Free Banana Muffins
Mango Rice Crispy Pops (I just substituted freeze dried mango for the strawberry)
Fruit Salad
Hummus, pita chips, and carrot sticks
Water, in mini water bottles

Son loved his birthday, and at the end of the day, gave me a huge hug and said thank you.  He also sat in the middle of the living room for about 4 hours straight opening various lego birthday presents and didnt budge from his spot building, rebuilding and playing with all of his toys.  It was a lovely, quiet (SOOOO QUIET) birthday party, its one Id like to recreate for each Daughter.

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