I can't believe that it has been nearly 8 months since I posted. I gained a bit of weight since April, but I am working on getting back on track. I went from being 127-130lbs to 137-140lbs. Did my second year appointment and the doctor assures me that this weight gain is okay but if I want to lose the weight, I just have to go back to eating 900-1000 calories a day instead of the 1100-1500 calories I am currently eating.

With all of my food allergies, it is hard to restrict my calories further but I will be working on it. Getting a healthier protein bar is my first step. I generally eat 4 protein bars a day and every bar is 190 calories and 10 g of protein. That is 760 calories and 40g of protein in 4 meals. I eat 6 meals a day. When I am in school, I eat 2 yogurts. I recently switched to Siggi which has less sugar than other yogurts. It has 100 calories and 14g protein. To get used to the flavor change, I eat this yogurt with a little bit of fruit (either a handful of grapes or a cutie) adding an additional 30-40 calories. To help with my allergies, I have a travel mug of tea with lemon and honey which ends up being 128 calories. Therefore on the "good" days I am taking in 1148-1168 calories and 68g protein.

When I am not at school, I eat differently. Today I had a tea, a protein bar for breakfast, leftover beef with noodles for lunch, another protein bar, homemade taco salad for dinner, a fruit tart for dessert, and a coffee. I missed a meal today and I did not eat right. I ended up with 1152 calories and 65g protein. Not as good but still decent.

I am trying to figure out how to cut approximately 200 calories from my diet. I'm not sure how that is going to look, but I know it is going to look more like my clean eating days than it did today. If I swap out 2 protein bars with cottage cheese and tomato, that will cut some calories too.

This semester ends 12/18/15. I have completed one class entirely, have one assignment left in one class, a final and one assignment left in a third class, and the other two I am still working on completing. I have five classes between two professors and both professors are nit-picky. One worse than the other. Despite my irritation over their pettiness on assignments, I appreciate being held to high standards.

Next semester starts 1/11/15 and it is my very last semester of classes! I will have 6 classes and then a year of student teaching. I graduate May 2017 and so far I have been maintaining a 4.0 despite my hectic lifestyle.

Since I last posted, I have given up the nursery at the church. I may or may not be working at the writing center as a tutor next semester and I will be talking to PESG about whether or not I need to give up substitute teaching.

My stress level hit an all time high and I experienced some health issues (vertigo, confusion, and migraines). To have some fun this summer, I will be attending a 2-day seminar with one of my professors to learn about incorporating drama to assist students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. I am currently assisting with a children's play that will be performing in February. The last of the auditions will be Thursday and practice starts in January.

As a recap of the summer, the girls did go to Bambi camp. Zach and I had a wonderful week of one-on-one time. I taught VBS. We spent a week in GA without my husband - the longest round trip ever!!!! Stuck in the car with three children for a 14 hour one way trip was NOT what I would call a vacation. We took a vacation with my husband to MI adventures and the kids spent a week up north with my father. Additionally, we redid the girls' room and I rearranged the furniture in the house. The house is still not clean, but is better than it was.

I am hopeful that I will have time to clean the house after the semester is over. We have company coming to town Friday - hoping that my husband and children will make a dent for the company coming.