Ok so Ive come up with a couple recipes while trying  secretly get my daughter to eat vegetables. They actually turned out pretty good! Although she is still not fooled, atleast I can share them with you. Its 2 unique tomato sauces.

--------->Cannelini beans, garlic, artichoke, tomato sauce

• So basically all I did was empty a can of drained cannelini beans, a can of artichoke hearts(NOT the ones in oil), a few cloves of garlic, and grape tomatoes as well as a can of unseasoned tomato puree into the blender and a little olive oil and let her rip. Just serve on top of any pasta.

---------->Roasted red pepper, caper, garlic tomato sauce

• Same thing, for this one i drained a few roasted red peppers and about a tablespoon and a half of capers and threw them in the blender. I also added a few garlic cloves, some beefsteak tomatoes and a can of pureed tomatoes and olive oil. Threw it on some angel hair and it was actually quite good!

If anyone tries any of these please let me know!!!! Id love to hear all about it.

<3 Also I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Honesty is my strength but some people may view it as a weakness. Even my horoscope, Libra, notes that I need to let all of my stresses out, shock you or bore you as it may, but that is how I try and cope. These past two years ive discovered something groundbreaking about myself. I DONT CARE. Yep, you heard(read) right. I dont care what people think of me anymore. I need to express myself and not hold back. Im honestIf theres one thing good thats come out of this anxiety struggle, its that realization right there, and most of all,the fact that I am NOT ashamed. Marilyn Monroe once said, If you dont like me at my worst, You sure as hell dont deserve me at my best. Words that I live by every single day. These are the cards I was dealt. Its my life, and im proud of the strength that ive gained. Sometimes things get really hard(like today), when my hands are shaking and my body and mind are racing and wont calm down, and it can be really difficult to endure. But sometimes im also really really happy, like when I come home from work and my beautiful, beautiful daughter RUNS into my arms with a huge smile on her face because she is just so happy to see me. Or when we go to sleep at night and I wake up to find that her face is nuzzled right into mine, and her hands are on my cheeks, despite my monstrous snoring! I believe every single day that we were meant to be. Despite anyones negative generalization of a young, unmarried single mom. I just dont CARE.  I love her more than anything on this planet, or any planet, or universe.
                                       

Hi! How was everyones weekend?!! Hopefully good! I was able to get outside a bunch, it was gorgeous weather. This week I was able to really see how great my 2 best friends are. We always come together in one of our times of need. Its such a special thing. Its pretty awesome when both of your best friends are best friends as well. They are both such doting aunts to my daughter. When everyone else faded away when I went through my car accident recovery, they were the only 2 there. When I got pregnant, there they were. When I had a new baby at home, still there. Almost 4 years later, weve been through so many different challenges in our lives. Heartache, depression-anxiety, success, grief, joy, and love. Our bond is unbreakable, the proof is right there. If theres one thing in life that I can count on, its them.
Thanks girls. You know who you are. :)

Dressing Room Depression, "DRD," has plagued me yet again. But this time its different. When the blouse doesnt fit, (because most of the time they dont) I stare into all 3 mirrors that surround me. Looking at every part of me that is extra. Shaking the arm fat( WHY do we do this), pulling at the double chin while looking side to side in each mirror. Looking at the way my thighs touch as if they are one big one. Its been so long since Ive been thin. But when I was thin, I still didnt feel it, or like the way I looked in these same mirrors. I sit down on the dressing room bench and think. I realize that the problem is not that im overweight. Being overweight is a result of the problem. Cause and Effect. Cause-Anxiety. Effect-Gain weight. The real problem is that for years ive spent every single day burying the same problem. Instead of dealing with it and facing it head on, I ran, I ate, I distracted. I swept it away because I was terrified.  I swept it away because I was scared. Scared SHITLESS. Being traumatized by something is serious. No matter what it is. It takes a huge toll on your health, body, and most of all, brain. Im proud to say that ive come a LONG way in just one year since ive started cognitive behavioral therapy. It literally saved me. So many things have happened in my life and I never dealt with any of it. How can I heal from one issue when another one just crashed into my life that I need to run away from too. Answer-i cant.
Control is something I always needed. When i didnt have it, I kinda lost myself. It changed me, without a doubt. Fears were uncontrollable and I just wanted control back over my body, my self. The truth is, ive always had it, I was just afraid I didnt. Its a struggle. But im getting stronger, every SINGLE day..
thanks for reading :)

OK. After searching endlessly online for inspiring pictures of "60 lb weight loss," I FINALLY found something incredible. Mama Laughlin!!! If anyone hasnt checked out her blog yet, Do so immediately! Lady, you are super inspiring and deserve a freaking medal!!!!
Heres my story-
I was always the girl with a BIG appetite. I spent my whole childhood chubby. Up until I became sick and didnt know why. I would become debilitated when I ate anything at all, to the point where I couldnt walk and would have to take a bath submerged in water without moving a muscle or the pain would start again. So, what did I do? I stopped eating. Literally. The only time in my life ive had self control. DAMN I would give anything for some of that self control NOW. Anyway, I became super skinny, although not healthy. But no one seemed to notice I wasnt healthy, or EATING. They just thought "I looked good!!!" But about a year later I was getting pain and finally went to the doctor. They did a sonogram, and as it turns out, I had multiple gallstones for years without knowing. FINALLY, a reasoN for the pain. AMEN. No mom, It wasnt just "STRESS" as you liked to call the reason for my pain. After the surgery it was alllll downhill. I didnt gain all the weight back immediately but I did finally start getting some meat on my bones. A couple years later, I was in a bad car accident. Broken Leg & Pelvis which left me sitting all day everyday for 6 months, except during physical therapy.So what happens when you cant walk? You gain weight. And that i did. 20 pounds worth. About 6 months after I was walking, I got pregnant. SURPRISE. And I gained a whopping 50 lbs!!!! Whatever. My baby was healthy and thats ALL that mattered. That following year I had serious self esteem problems. I Hate that we live in a society that thinks its alright to judge someone by the size of their jeans. I lost the 50 lbs I gained while pregnant, but still thought I was fat. Nothing could change what I was seeing myself as in the mirror. So a year later, a broken engagement to a man I loved more than words, BAD anxiety, depressed, and 55 lbs GAINED BACK. Since then Ive lost 20 of it, But its taken me a long time and a LOT of yo-yoing. So im finally sick of it. Im ready to start the journey of losing this weight and gaining a new positive me.
Im Getting my Ass in Gear!