The Countdown is over!!!

Woot Woot!!! The countdown is over, the day is finally here..well pretty much! We are leaving in the morning for Florida so we can hop aboard the Carnival Inspiration on Saturday!! I am sooooo excited! Seems like time has gone by so fast, I can't believe it's already here....so I guess I can update everyone on life the past month or so since I've slacked big time in the blogging department....
Ummm...ok, #1: Weight Loss: Since my last post about my weight loss I have dropped another 16 lbs! A grand total of 36 lbs since January and about 75 lbs in about a year . Exciting right?! I'm pretty happy. I had a goal weight in mind, and I did not make it though :( I am about 5 lbs away from it, not too far, so I am still stoked and proud of myself. How did I drop the last 16 lbs? No, it was not exercise and sensible diet...I felt a time crunch and resorted in a drastic diet. I did the HCG diet, for those of you who are familiar...WOW, it is rough. Not sure I would do it again. I know it works, i dropped not only 16 lbs but about 11 inches off of my body. It really works, but it is the most mentally challenging diet I have ever done. I thought 500 calories a day would be the hard part, but I almost NEVER ate the full 500 calories...was it because I wasn't hungry?? NO, it was because I was SOOOO tired of dry chicken and gross veggies...ugh, the thought of cucumbers makes me dry heave! BLAH! LOL. I'm glad I did it, it made swim suit shopping much more fun and I actually bought shorts! Yes, I said it, SHORTS...I haven't worn shorts in 6 years!!! I wear them now and don't think twice about it. I'm not skinny by any means, but I'm more comfortable in my own skin and that's what matters. I'm crossing my fingers I don't gain much back while on the cruise with all the food I can eat 24 hours a day...guess we'll see.
ok...ummm #2: the rest of my life :) Not much extremely exciting has been going on. Life has been busy with work, soccer and just having 3 small kids. In March I had the opportunity to travel to San Francisco for work. It was awesome. I've never been flown somewhere for work before. I felt like such a grown up LOL. I only got to catch a glimpse of all that San Fran has to offer and it has definitely made me want to go back with Spencer and the family. I may be travelling to North Carolina for work in the near future since the position I hold at work has me working with teams in that location and my boss is there also, I'll finally get to meet my boss.
We(me, Spencer and my mom) all just had our birthdays in the past week and a half...nothing too exciting there....not near as exciting as it was when I was a kid :) But that's ok, Lexy will be turning 1 in 2 weeks!!! Can you believe that? Where has the past year gone? I have her birthday party all planned out, just a BBQ at our house and she has the cutest lil outfit she'll be wearing....I will have plenty of pics!Everything else that has gone on the past few months kind of blends in, nothing too exciting sticks out....
So we will be back from paradise in a week, I will be sure to post PLENTY of pics! And Lexy's birthday party is in 2 weeks and I will also have TONS of pics of her cute lil outfit :)

Check out this website!!

Hey everyone! So a new friend of mine began doing my nails and showed me her wedding pics and I fell in LOVE with them! They are amazing and I am dying to have these people take my family pictures! So I thought I'd share with everyone the name of the studio and direct you to their site to check it out for yourself! I'm also attempting to win a free mini session...so not only am I helpin you out by showing you who to call the next time you want some wonderful pics taken...but I'm tryin to help myself out a little :)
So...it's Clique Photography and here is their site: http://www.clique-photography.com/ their blog is also on my friend list...check em out!!!

I'll be back soon with some more posts...I broke my camera a while back so I really don't have any pics to post and I know that's all anyone cares to see anyways! :) But as soon as I get some time I'll update everyone on life and Easter and everything else going on at the Mataele household!!!

Update...continued

***UPDATE***
Ok, so due to your requests, I have taken a pic of my current self. It's not the greatest since it's in my bathroom with my telephone LOL. And also..I HATE taking pics of myself...I feel like an idiot..none the less...here is a current pic.

An update...

Well we are down to something like 60 days before we cruise and I have been workin hard to get my body bikini ready...unfortunately I still have a ways to go but I am happy to report my progress so far! Since having Lexy on May 31, 2009 I have lost about 60 lbs!!! It's crazy to me to think I have dropped that much weight, but at the same time, it's depressing to know I still have about 20 lbs to go before I'm at a healthy weight and it's also sad to think that I let myself get that big in the first place. Granted, I've been pregnant like 30 months out of the last 4 1/2 years, but still...Either way, I'm working hard and trying my best to drop another 20 lbs in 60 days. I'm not sure if it will happen, but I will definitely keep trying!
So you may wonder how I've lost my weight...well it's a combination of a few things....most important- my diet! YES! I have cut out my beloved Diet Coke! After 20+ years of drinking at least 20 oz a day, I can say that I no longer depend on my daily dose to keep me going. I can't say I haven't had any, but I probably can count on one hand how many times I've had one in the last 3 months. I am now a water only person. I may have an occasional french vanilla cappuccino but that's very rare.
Also, I have cut out my trips to the vending machine for the afternoon boredom munchies. I make sure I eat every 2-3 hours and keep my daily calorie intake under 1200 calories. Now, this does not mean I haven't had french fries or pizza...it just means I have cut that WAY down and hold myself accountable for it. If I really want 700 calories worth of pizza, then that means the rest of my day will probably consist of fruit and water. LOL.

Just as important as my diet, I have gotten my butt up and started exercising! At first I wasn't exercising at all and still dropping weight, then it all came to a halt. I quickly realized that diet and exercise go hand in hand and results will nly happen if you are doing both. So I began doing work out videos at home since it's pretty much impossible to get to the gym working full time and taking care of my three babies at night. So the last few weeks I have been doing a Jillian Michaels work out...WOW, she kicks my butt EVERY time. So since January, I have lost almost 20 lbs!! I am happy, but like I said earlier...still have a ways to go and time is ticking! I won't let myself buy any summer clothes or a swim suit until May. I did go shopping over the weekend for some work clothes...I am happy to say I officially wear 1-2 sizes smaller than I did in January! Shopping isn't so bad after all...hopefully I will enjoy it more in May!
So I don't have before and after pics or even a full body pic of me right now, but here is a glimpse of me right now....my face is always the first place to show my weight....loss and gain...so have a peek....I'll post plenty of pics of myself from the cruise in 2 months LOL

The countdown is on...

Well....we've talked about doing this for a few years now and something else always comes up. But this time, we have FINALLY done it! We have booked and paid for a cruise to the Western Caribbean! I cannot tell you how excited we are! And to top it off, my best friend that I haven't seen in 10 years will be joining us and staying in the room next to us with her boyfriend! How crazy is that??? It will be our first cruise! It has been all I can think about or talk about since we booked it! We will set for Tampa, FL on May 21 and set sail on May 22. We will head to Cozumel Mexico and The Cayman Islands, we will be out to see for 5 days! Of course, the only hesitation I have is leaving my babies....I have yet to leave them for 24 hours....it will be hard I'm sure...but it's much needed! Luckily I have the best sister in law ever and she is going to be watching them the whole time and I know they will be in good hands and having a blast with their cousins!
So now I've hit the diet and exercise even harder than before, in the last month and a half I have lost over 10 lbs! I have about 25 or so more to go before I will be ready to sport that swim suit in May! But I know I'll get there! 93 days to go!

Trying to keep up!

Well I don't really have a lot going on these days. Just working as usual, taking care of 3 kids which I try to tell myself it's getting easier, clean my house and do laundry...both things that are never ending! After all of that, it leaves little time to do anything else...but occasionally we are able to get out on a weekend and have some fun with our friends....I got to go out with Rose minus the husband and kids, it was a first in I don't know how long and it was so much fun. In fact, so much fun that we are now planning a weekend in San Diego for a concert...again, no husbands or kids!That's about all I've got so the rest of this will be random pics that I have taken recently. I broke my camera in my drunken stupor so I only caught a few pics...oh and I never really posted pics from Christmas so those will be on here too...better late than never, right?

Another year is over and a new one begins...

So 2009 has come and gone. Amazing, how fast time flies. This year was a great one for us! We bought our first house, welcomed sweet Lexy to the family, I got a promotion at work and we all made it through happy and healthy. I'm looking forward to 2010 and anxious to see the changes and challenges it will bring. So I found this little survey on Air's blog and decided it would be fun to do since I haven't posted a new blog in a while...so enjoy :)

What was the best part of last year? Buying our first home...it is such an amazing house and our family is so happy and comfortable in it. Never thought our first home would be so amazing!

What was the worst part of last year? Nothing really comes to mind. We really did have a great year.

What was the biggest surprise of last year? Is it horrible that I have already forgotten so much of 2009? I can't think of any surprises.

What are you most looking forward to next year? I am hoping Spencer's hard work will pay off and he will be promoted this year! I'm looking forward to the warm weather, camping trips with the family. Emaya starting kindergarten. Getting Jaxyn potty trained...So many things to look forward to.

Is there anything you are not looking forward to next year? Not really. I know we will have our ups and downs, i'm hoping we can get through everything with minor damage :)

Which new years resolutions did you keep last year? Pretty sure I didn't stick to anything...but I really don't remember what my resolution was...or if I even had one.

Which new years resolutions did you break last year? umm, read the last answer :)

What will be your new years resolutions next year? I've got a couple... I really really really want Spencer and I to stop being such procrastinators. We really need to kick that, it has kicked us in the butt a lot over the years, and I'm hoping we can finally change that! Also, of course, I'm really really trying to lose weight again. This time it will happen, I know it! You know how I know this??? Because I WILL NOT being getting pregnant this year lol. 3 babies in 4 years has left it's mark on my body and I'm definitely going to fix it this year! And finally...I need to manage my money better. Spencer and I both enjoy spending money more than we should and I need to learn to budget and be smart with our money...that will be a tough one.

Which resolution are you most likely to break? ugh, why answer this, it's like giving up before trying. I will work hard to keep true to these resolutions.

Which resolution are you most likely to keep? I KNOW I will lose all the baby weight this year! I just know I will.

What will you be doing on new years eve? We hung out at home with Mark, Tiff and the girls this year. The kids and Spencer were under the weather which kind of sucked, but it was nice to hang out at home, eat junk food and play Rockband.

Who do you want to kiss to see the new year in? None other than my wonderful hubby!

What was the best song of last year? Wow, I have no idea. I used to listen to music all the time and LOVED it so much, but I haven't really kept up to date with all that stuff.

What was the best TV show of last year? So I got into The Real Housewives....that's a guilty pleasure of mine. And as a family, we fell in love with the Food Network...there were days our tv didn't change the channel. I can't believe Spencer even loves it haha. Oh and of course, Spencer and I DVR'd House and watched it together on his days off. LOVE that show!

What was the best book you read last year? I read books for the first time since High School. I never thought I would pick up a book but I read the entire Twilight series after everyone told me I had to read it...I'm not into it like all those other rabid fans out there, but I did enjoy the books and they got me to enjoy reading again. I also ready My Sister's Keeper, it was a pretty good book, didn't care for the movie since the book had a better ending.

What was the best film of last year? Hmm we loved "Up" that was a fun movie for the whole family.

What change would you like to make to your life next year? I want to be healthier and pass that trait to my kids. I want to manage my money better. I want to stop letting the stress of keeping a clean house interfere with my attitude and mood with my family.


So here is to a happy and healthy 2010 for everyone. I am looking forward to another year and all the changes it may bring.