1. It’s spacious – Like I said in my earlier post – it fits my family of five quite nicely. Two adults, three kids and three car seats and no mini-van or station wagon? Definitely worth the money.

2. It’s Sturdy – Six years and no major repairs. A minor fix here or there, but nothing that cost hundreds of dollars. It’s running smoothly, as good as new actually. What more could you ask for from a six year old car? When most cars are breaking down, my Toyota Corolla is still kicking.

3. It’s a smooth ride – If you’re looking to buy a Toyota Corolla, you’re not looking for fancy, but reliable. And the Corolla delivers. The ride is smooth and quiet and it’s easy to handle. Just what you want from a small economy car.

4. Can we say “fuel efficient” – Gas has been all over the place the past few years. And while everyone has experienced some pain at the pump, as a Corolla owner my pain has been a lot less severe. This isn’t a gas guzzler. With a Toyota Corolla you can rest easy knowing your gas budget will be reasonable.

5. It’s cute – Yes I know that’s subjective…but it is cute. The Toyota Corolla is a small, cute car in a land of behemoths. Now if they just made them in cotton candy pink, it would be perfect.

Simply put there are a lot of us. When we purchased the Corolla back in 2004 the biggest concern was affordability and safety, both of which the Corolla ranked well for. The other major consideration was longevity. Toyota’s have a repetition for being long lasting cars, that will need minimal repairs as the years past. And this has held true for our Corolla. Six years later it is still going strong and hasn’t needed any major repairs.

With all of those great qualities that is not why I love our Corolla. I love our Corolla because it has managed to seat three children under the age of 10 comfortably and with virtually no whining from the little ones we’re transporting. Six years ago we had a newborn, a two year old and a three year old. Three carseats a baby and two toddlers and two adults had to fit in our new Toyota Corolla. Anyone who has small children knows if they are not seated comfortably, with enough space, a short and simple ride can turn into a nightmare. Well, that was never an issue and anyone who has owned a Corolla knows it’s not the biggest of cars, but it fit everyone comfortably and with little issue.

And six years later, with bigger kids and even bigger attitudes…we’re still going strong! I love my Corolla and wouldn’t trade it in for the world…well…maybe another Corolla.

Hello All!!

Has it really been two months?!?  Yep it has, and Ms. Tracy has missed you all so much!  I have been between a rock and a hard place with this whole weight loss thing and whether or not to continue….

When we last got together, I was in the middle of an almost debilitating setback.   Over the holidays (from November to February!!) I went on an out of control eating binge that undid months of hard work.  I gained back 45 of the 94 pounds that I had lost since September of 08.  A sugar and carb overload triggered a complete shutdown of my neurotransmitters and a very deep depression had set in.  Add to this about 50 feet of snow, below freezing temps, and a bad case of SAD.  Ms. Tracy could not get any lower.   I entertained thoughts of getting a treadmill or some gym equipment to make up for not being able to go outside, but by that time I had gone back into my self-made prison and closed and locked the door.

I must not have hit a total bottom, because I still weighed in and tried to at least get to a Weight Watchers meeting.  But the more the scale went up, the tighter my clothes stared getting, and the worse I started to feel (hellooo female problems) the more I retreated back into my little cell.  Truthfully, I don’t think that I can blame depression totally – I was ashamed that I had fallen AGAIN.  Even tho I was still ahead of the game ( I was still more than forty pounds less than I was when I started)  the person that I had carefully cultivated with diet and exercise was gone.  And the person that I hated (yes – hated!) was back.  Bloated face, bleary eyes, chunky middle……all came back with a vengeance.

I was going to do what I did the last time I fell from grace….give up and disappear.  From the looks of things in the blogosphere, everyone does it.  Just quietly go, don’t answer the emails from Ms. Johnson or Katrina , my leader atWW,  and have another chocolate sundae beer float.  Accept the “fact” that this is what I am supposed to be, how I am supposed to feel, and how am supposed to live.   Give.  Up.

My 44th birthday was in February, and I celebrated like I usually do – all out blast with the girls, Chippendale dancer (Actually, it was more like a Chip in Hell dancer – how you gonna be try to be sexxy with a belly roll and back fat?  AND a thong…ewww).  The next day, I went shopping for my “gift to myself” and remembered that I still had the $300 Macy gift card that WW had sent me last year.   I won that prize for being an “Inspiration” – didn’t quite feel like one, tho.  I didn’t want to buy any clothes in a bigger size – too depressing.  Already had a shoe and boot collection that would put Imelda Marcos to shame, and this years styles looked like something a hooker would wear (open toed BOOTS?!  No, Kimora, just no….)….and it would be the nail in the coffin of defeat if I spent it all in the Godiva chocolate section…

So, I decided to get a nice piece of jewelry, something to keep and to remind me of what my hard work got me.   I was going to go with a pair of earrings, but I decided on a really cute heart shaped Amethyst and diamond ring.  I usually have to send my jewelry away to get sized, or do the pinky ring thing, but surprisingly, this ring fit snugly and securely on my ring finger.  Hmm, well I wasn’t where I wanted to be , weight wise, but I wasn’t where I started either.   I decided to make this ring my promise ring to myself.  I promised myself that no matter what setback, no matter what excuse I could dream up for not being where I should be – I would not give up.  I am not a quitter, I will not go back to LaneBryant and buy new clothes when I have a closet full of 10-12′s ( and one 8, boo hoo!!) to get into, I will not abandon my goals, I will not let the weather stop me from my new passion, running!  I WILL NOT GIVE UP!!

So, for the last two months, I have weathered the snow (walking poles !!),  the rain, and the nice weather (finally!!) and started pounding the pavement again.  I have also returned to Weight Watchers.  This combo – nothing like it in the world. The heart pounding , the sore knees, the flushing of your skin – yep that first WW meeting weigh in was a bitch!  The running was a lot easier….

So far, since I have be back on track, I have lost 20 pounds .  But I can do that in my sleep.  In fact, I am back in my element of losing weight, the easy part, the fun and exciting part.

I have also been doing lots of research as to the whats and why’s of falling off of the wagon, fat acceptance, doctors, aging and lots of other cool stuff.   I will be sharing all of this with you in the coming weeks along with my progress. 

Lovely to be back y’all – We Can Do It!

The recipe for a Breakfast Smoothie seems like a good breakfast alternative. And if you have the ingredients prepped and ready to blend it seems like a pretty quick recipe as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients

* 1 banana
* 1/2 apple
* 1 kiwi, peeled
* 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
* 1 cup orange juice
* 1/2 cup soy milk
* 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
* 1/2 cup tofu
* 3 tablespoons unsalted natural peanut butter
* 2 tablespoons aloe vera juice
* 2 tablespoons flaxseed oil
* 1 teaspoon barley grass powder (optional)

Directions

1 In a blender, combine banana, apple, kiwi, mixed berries and orange juice. Blend until smooth. Add soy milk, yogurt, tofu, peanut butter…Keep reading.

In this final installment of our sexy arms series we’re going to look at how do we get those deltoids in tip top shape. Yes i know deltoids are technically shoulder muscles, but since we’ve worked on the biceps and triceps we can’t have our deltoids looking all shabby.

Once again we turn to YouTube for a little instruction:

1. Alternating Dumbbell Raises

2. Alternating Lateral Dumbbell Raises

3. Cable Lateral Raises

4. Ball Push-Ups

Well, when I was looking for a soup recipe I came across this recipe for African Sweet Potato Stew and it seemed like a good fit for obvious reasons. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 cups chopped cabbage (to save time, use packaged slaw mix)
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 18-ounce can sweet potatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can tomato wedges or diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 1/2 cups tomato juice
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 1 to 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cups frozen cut green beans
• 1/3 cup natural peanutbutter

Directions

1. Heal oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion; Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Mix in cabbage and garlic; Cook, stirring, until cabbage is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tomato juice, apple juice, ginger, and red pepper flakes….Keep reading.

In part one of our “Sexy Arms” series we showed you how to get those triceps in shape. However it doesn’t do you any good to have sexy triceps if your biceps are lacking. So this week we’re going to turn to YouTube once again to demonstrate the bes biceps exercises for women:

1. Barbell Curls

2. Dumbbell Curl

3. Cable Curls

4. EZ Bar Curls

Weekends are the time to add a little fun to the diet. If you try to eat really well during the week then there’s no reason you can’t relax a bit on the weekends. Here’s a recipe for Chocolate Chip Muffins from Mr. Breakfast. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

(12 servings) Printable Version

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup light-brown sugar
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2/3 cup milk
* 1/2 cup butter — melted and cooled
* 2 eggs – beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 package (12 oz) chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans — chopped

Preheat oven to 400 F. and grease up twelve muffin cups…Keep reading.

Here’s a great sandwich alternative from the Food Network. I would use whole wheat tortillas and perhaps spinach instead of lettuce as a way to get in some veggies and whole grains, but other than that the recipe seems really tasty. If anyone tries it let me know.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• Four 10-inch flour tortillas
• 8 to 12 trimmed leaves of green or red leaf lettuce, washed and dried
• 12 ounces sliced cooked turkey breast
• 12 slices apple-wood smoked bacon, cooked
• 1 vine-ripened tomato, cored and cut into 16 wedges
• 1 ripe Hass avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 16 slices tossed with 2 teaspoons lime juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup arugula or watercress, washed and dried
• 1/2 recipe Ranch dressing, recipe follows

Directions

Wrap tortillas in barely damp, doubled layers of paper towels and microwave on high for 45 to 60 seconds. Alternatively, heat the tortillas individually in an un-greased large skillet over medium heat.

Lay the tortillas on a cutting board and start to layer the ingredients. Fan the leaf lettuce on the top three-quarters of each tortilla then lay the turkey slices on top, followed by the bacon, tomato, and avocado. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with the arugula and some of the dressing. Fold up the bottom quarter of the tortilla and then start to roll each sandwich into a cone shape. Secure the tortilla with a toothpick...Keep reading.

I’m all about having sexy, sleek arms. Once upon a time in my life (definitely not now) I had sleek, toned arms. Not too muscular. No waving flags. They were just right. So today we’re going to look at the best triceps exercises for women and we’re going to use YouTube to show you how they’re done:

1. Triceps Dips

2. Dumbbell Triceps Extensions

3. The Skull Crusher

4. Close Grip Push Ups