Category: Photos

It’s hard to believe the day has come: my 17 year-old, my Guinea Pig, my first born has graduated high school!!

I still remember holding him in my arms as a tiny baby, in disbelief that I grew this little butterball of a human in my belly, and thinking, “I’ll be 35 when he graduates, 36 when he’s 18! That’s still so young!” And it seemed like it would be eons till that time would come–but really, it went by in the blink of an eye 😥 .

He’s accomplishing so much, which makes me even more proud because I know how his social anxiety and just his anxiety in general can immensely overwhelm him sometimes.

He got his permit to drive:

And I’ve taken him driving a few times. We’ve realized that Anxiety+Anxiety=OMGWTFBBQ!!!

Case in point:

It’s crazy how nervous I get, seeing as how I not only taught myself how to drive, but John, too! But I need to suck it up and make time to take him more often. Maybe drink some calming tea beforehand 😆 !

He took his tests for college and passed them all! Was even exempt from a couple due to doing so well. He was in a group photo with other seniors my workplace had awarded scholarships to. He looked nervous, and awkward, but he didn’t complain about going. And once he overcame that obstacle, he was on to graduation.

The girls sat with their dad, since they were at his house and they were expecting a large party, but Jaylen came over to sit with Jorge and I.

Mom sat away from us because she wasn’t about to hassle with stairs LOL.

I was ready, I had both my phone and camera out so I could catch Eenan walking in….And then Jorge says, “Isn’t that Eenan??” And I totally missed it and caught his back only. Durrr.

And then they called his name and I got all teary 😥 . But I held it together!

And then they were done and it was total CHAOS trying to find your kid. It was like ants trying to find their way after someone disrupts their neat little line; just crazy. It didn’t help that another graduation was happening THAT MINUTE and people were trying to get in, while others were trying to get out. We were on the phone with Eenan, driving him crazy, no doubt; Mary, Mario, me. Then Mary and Jaylen went to find him, Jorge’s anxiety was through the roof due to people rubbing up on him so he went to the car, Mario was waiting near his car and poor Mom was tired AF since we had to walk all around the darn parking lot. Finally, we found him, and finally it was time for photos with the graduate!

As I mentioned on social media: no matter what, in spite of everything, I’m glad we can all come together to celebrate the kids’ accomplishments,  no matter how big or small. That’s what’s important!

He overcame another anxiety-inducing moment by attending a luncheon honoring him and the other scholarship recipients. He did well, even when he had to stand up, introduce himself and state his university and major.

So proud of my guy and all he’s accompmished! Can’t wait to see what he does next. And we’ll be there every step of the way!

(Ok, I’m not sure what the mobile version of WordPress did, but I can’t seem to resize photos and now they look all wonky. My apologies 🙄 .)

I feel a lot better than I did my previous post. I’m almost embarrassed that I puked my heart and soul into that post and almost deleted it, but as they say: better out than in!

Anyway. I’ve focused a lot of my energy since then into things that I do have control over now, at the moment: the kids, of course, and Jorge take priority, but I’ve also started really watching what I’m eating and SOMEWHAT started exercising again. I even used some of the birthday/Mother’s Day money mom gave me to buy some cute work-out tees! (In typical Mom fashion, the rest was put towards bills 🙄 !)

These were on clearance at Walmart, for $3.00 and $3.15! Too bad I couldn’t get any good deals on work out pants! THAT’S what I really need! 😕 I have lots of size 0-2, but it’s been a while since those fit comfortably! 😆

So I started on the Keto diet again on April 30, 2017. The last time I did this “diet” was in 2013 and I lost about 12-13 lbs. and looked much better than I had in a while at the time. It was before I had my breast reduction, of course, but being on Keto was the only time I EVER in my life went down a bra size. Even when I was religiously doing P90X daily and Taekwondo 3x a week in 2010, I didn’t loose boobage. In 2013, on Keto, I went from DD to D. I was shocked! 😆

The girls started selling Girl Scout cookies early 2014…and I DID NOT ease back into eating carbs–I literally shoveled a box of cookies a day 😳 . So naturally, I gained weight AND when I went for my routine check-up on February 7, 2014, I stupidly got my labs done at 3pm…right after consuming 4 Thin Mints. Of course my cholesterol came back off the charts (394, something like that??) and I was put on a Statin STAT because of my family’s medical history. They sat me down and I got a stern talking-to about what to eat and what not to eat. I was pretty bummed.

So I’m going into this venture once again, but wary and aware of the risks. I’m still trying to figure out how much a lipid panel (to check my cholesterol levels) would be, since I already got my routine check-up done and my levels were slightly elevated then. I don’t want to end up having a stroke or heart attack for the sake of vanity!

Speaking of, other reasons I’m getting back on the Keto train–besides obviously losing weight–is 1) Jorge got back on it a few weeks ago and it’s much easier for me to come up with dinners when I’m cooking for both of us (because, let’s face it: sometimes I have to make an extra meal for my picky girls 🙄 ). A third meal would be ridiculous!

2) Since getting off birth control in February-ish of this year (had gotten on it again around August 2016 to help regulate my monthly visitor), my acne has been out of control, mainly on the chin area, which reflects hormones out of whack and/or stress (and I have a bad habit of touching my face, so I’m sure that doesn’t help!). So I’m hoping steering clear of sugar and carbs will help. I’ve been reading articles on Dietdoctor.com, and a piece on acne states:

…modern studies show a probable connection between high-glycemic (high-carb) diets and acne.This may be caused by the effect on growth hormones like insulin and IGF.

To improve acne, your best bet is a fairly strict low-carb diet – ideally one that is also low in dairy products.

I’m willing to try anything to clear this embarrassing problem. The only thing that makes me nervous about Keto is the amount of cheese you could possibly eat–and I’m lactose intolerant (and also, the cholesterol!)! I think being lactose intolerant is another sign my body’s giving me to lay off the sugar and give my face a break, so I’m going to try to use as little as possible, as much as I love it 🙁 .

I’m actually much more excited about cooking than I had been in a long time. Here are a few meals I’ve made:

You can find the recipe for those awesome Keto Krepes here.

We’ve cut our eating out a LOT, but when we have it’s been easy to make substitutions:

I’ve also lost 3 lbs.! Just weighed in this morning and it’s the little boost of motivation I needed to keep going. Now, if I could just find the time to do P90X again! Or at least the 40 minutes I need to get to the park to run! Emily has her GT Project due and we need to finish it TODAY.
[edited to add:] Emily finished her project at school and all I had to help her with was flash cards for questions and finding her prizes to give her classmates as she quizzes them, so we got to go walking/running![/edit]

Changing gears: my poor Gramma hasn’t been doing too well 🙁 . She was in the hospital on Sunday due to possible signs of suffering a mini-stroke. Ugh. Long story. Let’s just say I had to BITCH and threaten a lawsuit in order to get those idiots at the nursing home to move their asses and get her to the hospital! She may have Bells Palsy, which they will correct with medication but only to a certain extent 🙁 . Mom and I waited in the lobby while Aunt Nora stayed with Gramma and we got hungry, so we went to the gift shop. There was a beautiful, almost heavenly glow coming from the snack area. There were muffins, and cookies, and chips, oh my!! It took all my willpower to only purchase these:

I shared the almonds and pickle with Mom and I was proud of myself for sticking with it. Mom, on the other hand, got Fritos -_-.

Gramma is doing as well as possible. I feel so bad that she’s in any discomfort.

I’ve been posting less on my regular social media and focusing a lot of attention on my food and health Instagram account. If you’d like to see meal ideas or just what I’m up to, the link is: @yaya_goes_keto (formerly, @yayastartsover). I’ve documented most of my ups/downs/tries/fails . When I started up again in June 2016 after all the complications I had with the breast reduction from February 2016-June 2016, I was tracking on MyFitnessPal and working out (P90X). I went from 123 lbs. to 119 lbs., but that was quickly short-lived thanks to the last complication I had, and then I’m pretty sure I had some weird trauma/mental block that was keeping me from working out since it seemed like every time I got into a routine, I ended up at the doctor’s office again. But I hope I’m successful this time and can keep up with my “diet” (or Way of Eating) and workouts, even though I know I won’t be able to workout every day. I have to admit, eating this way has been pretty easy so far!

I’ve been rather…uncreative with dinner lately. The girls wanted spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight, but since Jorge is low-carbing again I had to make something different for us. In light of Taco Tuesday, and having meatballs and veggies on hand, I threw together the easiest soup, ever! The beauty of this recipe is that you can coarsely chop your veggies and just toss everything in a pot of broth! I, of course, was missing a few ingredients since this was an impromptu recipe, but I’ll write it up the way it should be 😉 .

You’ll Need:

1 48 oz. carton of chicken broth
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/2 a green pepper, chopped
1/2 a tomato, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup of frozen broccoli (this one’s optional; I tossed some in!)
1 cup (or 1/2 a 15 oz. can) of crushed tomatoes
meatballs (I like H-E-B meatballs or you can use this receipe
1 tblsp. Chobani Meze Dip Chili Lime flavor (optional)
a few dashes of sea salt
a few dashes of pepper

Toppings:
1 whole Haas avocado, sliced
chopped cilantro
queso fresco

Directions:

Bake your meatballs while you put the carton of chicken broth to boil. Chop up your veggies and toss the veggies and frozen broccoli into the pot (remember, broccoli is optional; I put it in for more texture). Add your crushed tomatoes and lower heat to a simmer once the veggies are soft. Toss your cooked meatballs into the mixture and stir in the Chobani dip (this is optional as well; it gave it a good kick and slight creaminess).

Toss in a few dashes of freshly cracked sea salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with avocado, cilantro and queso freso. Obviously, I was missing the queso fresco and cilantro, but you’re welcome.