Thursday, December 31, 2009

Some Goals To Rethink My Shrink.....

Today's assignment for the Sisterhood is to set up 3 goals. I can't say I'll try! I have to COMMIT!! This is very difficult for me! I'm putting myself on the line...I'm saying "I WILL" and since I'm posting it on my blog, I'm putting it out there for the whole world to see....even my dh and oldest son!! AGH!!

I've taken a good part of today to think about what I want my goals to be over the next 7 weeks. I want them to be attainable, but challenging enough that I have to work at.

I'm also supposed to decide on a reward for myself. My reward for this 7 weeks will be some new workout clothes! I'm really going to need them if I make my goals. Some of my clothes are really start to BAG OFF from me!! I haven't bought any new workout clothes since I started working out and I've lost around 35 pounds!!

So...Here are my 3 goals...

1) I WILL lose at least 10 pounds --

2) I WILL eat at least 5 servings of fruits/veggies a day, EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!!

3) I WILL clean something up EVERY DAY!! Now...you may think that's a pretty goofy goal and totally unrelated to my weight loss journey, but you would be wrong! There are times when my house is so cluttered I CAN'T focus on anything but the clutter and messes! We are now living in a much smaller place and I HAVE TO BE ORGANIZED or it's really hard to move around!

So...there you have it, my goals and my reward! Can't wait to hear what your goals are!!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New Challenge -- Time to "Rethink Your Shrink"

Rethink Your Shrink!

If you've been reading my blog for very long you know that I have been on a weight loss journey for A LONG stinkin' time!! I have been faithfully losing weight since March 25th when my Endocronologist told me, "Lose weight, or you will be looking at Type 2 Diabetes." I left the doctor's office saying, "thanks, but no thanks!!" From that day on I have been working out and eating better (still have a ways to go on this one!). I have lost about 35 pounds since then but still have at least 40 pounds to go! 2010 will be my year!

When the ladies over at the Sisterhood started talking about the next new challenge I started getting real excited about it. They were dropping hints about the challenge but not giving out details. The hints they were dropping were intriguing to me; like changing the way we think, refocus on the "ME", etc. I just got done checking out the new challenge (which starts TODAY) and I AM EXCITED!! It's just what I need to get 'er done!! I am sooooo much better than I was back in March but I still have a long way to go. I believe this will help me get there!

So my first weigh in of this challenge is: 192.2.

Unfortuantely, that is up from the end of the last challenge, but not so much that I can't regroup and get it off again quickly! The weekly "projects" will help me and I know they will help YOU!! So join in and find out what is on the inside of YOU!!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Crazy Holiday Time

Let me just start off by saying this has been one of the craziest Christmas seasons I have ever experienced! We live in North Texas and it RARELY snows, but guess what it did Christmas Eve!! It SNOWED!! So much so that they closed the highway going to my mil's house. We were stranded on the highway within 50 miles of her house for over an hour when we found out that the highway was closed and that they were not sure when it would reopen, so we found the nearest exit (about 1/2 mile from where we were) and floored it through the grassy/snowy median and turned around. It then took us about 4 hours to get home!! The whole trip to her house should have taken about 3 hours....we were in the car about 9 hours and we didn't even get to celebrate Christmas with the family! Oh well, we made it home safely and we opened Christmas presents on Christmas eve (after our all day car ride, That Other Kid was in amazingly good and I felt he deserved some FUN!).





Christmas morning we got up, and checked the weather and discovered that the road to dh's step-mom's house was iced over and closed, so we spent Christmas at home! I managed to pull together a pretty decent Christmas dinner with just what I had on hand. It's amazing what you can find in your home to eat when you want to!! It was peaceful and kind of nice to "just be home". No obligations and no place to go....By the middle of the day on Christmas the roads around here were clear and most of the snow was gone so we didn't get to enjoy it much, which is a bummer but it allowed That Kid to go spend some time with his girlfriend.

On the 26th That Other Kid got to be in a fun "Holiday Hockey Festival". The kids got to play 3 short hockey games, get their face painted, and other fun things. It was a great way to end the Christmas season for us. He chose to have his face painted like a lion!! And he thought I was incredibly mean for making him bathe that night!!





Sunday and yesterday were spent just regrouping and beginning to clean up after the holiday. I still need to hang photos on the walls, get the Christmas decorations down and put away and find a way to "hide away" the game systems that are just laying on the hearth of the fireplace!! The month has flown by so fast I haven't had time to do much of what I had planned, but we have managed to have some fun and enjoy the season of Jesus' birth!! We will start back with homeschooling on Monday, the 4th just like all the other kids around here, so I need to spend some time over the next few days getting organized and ready for that.

I also will need to regroup with the weightloss journey that I have been on over the past 9 months. I haven't been real dedicated to it the past couple of weeks but I have been conscience of what I've been doing, so that's at least better than previous years. The Sisterhood has a great new challenge starting TOMORROW!! Today they are giving away a $25 ITunes gift card! (As a sidenote - I have won numerous things through the Sisters and I can tell you this group of ladies are VERY generous with their giveaways!!) I'm planning to be onboard with this new challenge. I really need to get refocused and get back on track....I hope you will be too!! The Sisterhood is such an awesome support system I know that you will get some great support. It has been proven that people that have a "support system" will lose weight faster and keep it off better....and that is the ultimate goal, right??

Hope you will join us in our new challenge and you had a wonderful Christmas!! I also pray that your 2010 is a blessed and prosperous year!!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Today's Weigh In -- Not Impressive

Today's weigh in was a big disappointment for me. But I should have known it was coming. Maybe it would have been better to just ignore it...No, it definitely would have been worse to ignore it. Ignoring my weight is what got me in the trouble I have been in for the past 10 years. I chose to NOT IGNORE the UGLY TRUTH. This week has been incredibly stressful and I have succumbed to the stress by eating JUNK! I'm paying for it now, though. I WILL get back on track and get these pounds and MORE off by the end of the year! This is my commitment to myself and my Sisters

Last week's weigh in: 189.4

Today's weigh in: 194.0

I told ya it was ugly....that's nearly 5 pounds in one week. When I got on the scale this morning and saw those numbers I asked myself, "how do you gain almost 5 pounds in one week?" However, I was able to answer myself immediately. Um....let's see numerous meals out with lots of chips and queso. Numerous cokes. Numerous dessert items including a large plate of chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream. Very little in the area of exercise. It's pretty easy to see how I gained that much weight. In fact, looking at all that food it's a wonder I didn't gain even more weight!

Tomorrow turns over a new leaf for me -- again! I will eat every 3 hours! I will eat healthy foods! I will enjoy Christmas eve and Christmas Day meals -- but I will use the discipline that I have learned over the past 9 months and make the best choices and not STUFF myself to sickness while eating it! I will get SOME kind of exercise...even if it's just taking a little walk around the neighborhood or down to the lake.

I will not let the stress that is in my life right now WIN!! I am victorious over stress and I will continue on this journey to weight loss!

I pray that ya'll have a Merry Christmas...I'll see you on the 26th with stories of Christmas, victorious eating and hopefully, pictures of my boys opening their gifts!!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Accountability Counts

First of all I wanted to let ya'll know that yesterday I did my first "guest" post over here. It was fun and challenging! It was also a novel so if you are limited on time wait for a while and then go back and read it! lol Basically, the whole post talks about the great game of Wii EA Sports More Active and the challenges and successes I have had over the past few weeks amid abnormal challenges that I would normally just say forget it!! But I now have a new "normal" and I love it!

Secondly, I just want to let ya'll know that if you are trying to lose weight -- get in a group of people that you can be accountable with. Yesterday afternoon, we were only going to be home about an hour before we had to leave again, but I knew I needed to eat something. I'm still trying to eat every 3 hours according to the Game On Diet Plan....hey, it works so I'm sticking with it! I was about to grab some chips and queso...it just sounded good. Not good for me, but good tasting, ya know? Anywho, as I was getting into the fridge to get the queso out I checked emails on my phone (great modern convenience, btw that I am addicted to!) There were a couple of emails from my Game On friends so I read them. They were both talking about how well they were doing even though we are "officially" done with the game. They were still eating frequently and the right amounts of the right foods (for the most part) and here I was about to eat chips and queso...um, I don't think that fits in with healthy eating! So instead I ate a greek yogurt (you can get it at Walmart or any grocery store around here), with an apple and some almonds in it! Lean protein, good carb, and a healthy fat! There, I ate healthy snack instead of junk! Accountability counts!!

Then this morning I had to get up to take dh to work after only having about 4 hours of sleep. He decided he wanted to stop at the donut store and get some sausage rolls. I was tempted to have him pick me up some donuts too, but then I remembered one of my other Game On Diet friends who mentioned earlier in the week that if you spell donuts the way the English do and you think about it you probably won't eat those D-O-"U-G-H"-N-U-T-S because as you can see they will make you feel UGH!!

So as you can tell accountability has kept me from goofing up 2 times and none of my friends knew they were doing it, they were just talking about things going on in their life! Tonight we will be celebrating the end of the game at a great Mexican restuarant. I am looking forward to it. I haven't seen one of them in the 6 weeks since we started and I haven't seen the rest since the first week of the game. It will be nice to sit and enjoy a meal with some great women who have helped me on this journey to weightloss!

Bottom line -- accountability helps!!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Another Weigh-In - Shrink-a-versary Ending

Today is the final weigh-in over at the Sisterhood for the Shrink-a-versary. It has lasted 7 weeks, during Thanksgiving and the beginning of December. This one has been a mixed bag for me. I started and ended the Game On Diet with friends, got the flu, moved to another home and started preparing for Christmas! Wow!! Just typing that and knowing I accomplished it all in 7 weeks time makes me tired! but happily this time is over!

I have had a lot of success for the stresses that I endured during this time. In times past I would have left all caution go and just ate whatever, whenever and drank lots of COKE and NO WATER!! This time I did pretty well with eating, and I drank at least 3 liters of water MOST every day. I did have an occasional coke, but I did not go overboard!! I'm calling this challenge a success! I lost weight and that is what matters most, right?

Today's weigh-in: 188.4!!
That's 1 pound less than last Wednesday and about 1 and half pounds since Monday when I did the final weigh in for my Game On Diet!

When we started this challenge I weighed 197.9! I lost almost 10 pounds during this challenge -- and I hit my 30 pounds lost mark!! I've also by-passed that ugly 190 barrier!!

So I'm calling this challenge a success and I'm happy to report that I am still losing weight even though it's the one time of the year most people EXPECT you to gain weight!! Not me, this year!! I'm losing!! My goal is to weigh 185 by the end of 2009~~!!

How'd ya'll do??

Monday, December 14, 2009

Wow!!

I can't believe it has been 5 days since I have written anything here. Time is just slip, slipping away from me. Things have been busy and fun in preparation for Christmas and I guess I just let time get away from me. That Other Kid and I went to the mall on Thursday to see Santa. We don't really "do" Santa (I know I'm evil for spoiling all the fun of childhood), but we do allow him to have fun with the season. He told "Santa" what he wanted for Christmas and I took his picture. We also went and saw the Miniature display of trains (amazing!!)and a couple of puppet shows. It was a great way to get ME in the Christmas spirit. It seems like I am just too busy this year to give it a whole lot of thought...but that doesn't mean I'm not getting into Christmas this year. It's just taking me a little longer!

This weekend we also had a hockey game for That Other Kid and he got to play goalie! He was super excited about it, and played a great game.




I have been playing the Game On Diet with some friends. Friday night we will have our celebration dinner and I think we are all looking forward to it. Today we decided that since "the other team" won (meaning the team I wasn't on) we would not count points this week, so basically yesterday was the end of the game for us. We all had success and lost weight which was the whole point of it. I lost about 8 pounds during this 5 week period which included Thanksgiving, the flu, our move and all the stresses involved in these things. My exercise routine got completely disrupted during this time as well as my "normal" eating schedule. I feel like I could have done better had I done this at a different time, but was still successful at busting past some of my nasty habits and a plateau I had been stuck on for several months. I'm not pleased with my point count, but I am pleased with what I did accomplish. I'm also happy that my friends asked me to join in and participate with them in this. I really didn't want to (at first), but am glad I did! I don't really plan to change the way I am eating now, because I saw success, but I am glad I don't have to count my points anymore! I bumped my exercise up last night and today I am sore, which tells me I need to keep it up...

Oh and I won again over at the Sisterhood. This time I won one of the 12 Weight Watchers Chocolate Pecan Clusters that they were giving away yesterday! What a yummy treat I will receive in January!



If you want a chance to win some yummy Weight Watcher products check in over at the Sisterhood, because they are giving away product EVERY day till Christmas! Great presents for us from Weight Watchers and the Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans!

Well I gotta go fold some laundry and clean a bathroom and finish loading the dishwasher then get That Other Kid to bed....ya know just normal mom stuff!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Sisterhood Weigh-In

It's Wednesday so that means it's weigh-in day over at the Sisterhood. On Monday I weighed in for the Game On Diet Plan with my friends and I was disappointed because I had gained from last Wednesday's weigh in so I didn't know what to expect from today. However, I have eaten well this week so I decided just to hop on and give it my best shot!

Last week my weigh-in: 189.6
This week my weigh-in: 189.4

So for the week my official loss is .2 and really I am ok with that because as Thea said today during her post a loss is a loss! I also know that I am down about 2 pounds since MONDAY! And I'm still UNDER 190!!

In other news it is STINKIN' COLD in Texas and we are not accustomed to such weather. How do you people in the northern climates deal with all this cold weather? I am not used to having to wearing a coat and gloves and multiple layers of clothing! In fact I believe that I gave away my gloves a few weeks ago because I never wore them. Today I need to run to the store and buy myself a pair of gloves because I have to go and organize the storage unit and get our Christmas decorations out. The new place is mostly organized and I am ready to start thinking about Christmas. I have to take a few things to the storage unit that we don't ABSOLUTELY need here, like the rocking chair and ottoman that I bought for nursing That Kid (about 19 1/2 years ago) that I can't bear to get rid of.

So after a cold day at the storage unit I will take That Other Kid to karate and watch him do his stuff then come home and decorate our tree. Hopefully, there will be some good Christmas shows on to watch as we are decorating!

Hope ya'll are having a wonderful Christmas season...with successful weight loss!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Tiny Talk Tuesday - Moving is Tough




Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.


Over the past couple of weeks we have been in the midst of moving. We are finally moved in but over the past couple of weeks we have had some interesting conversations with That Other Kid! Here are just a few of them:

"Why do we have to move away from this house? Can't the "landlords" just let us live here forever?"
My response was, "No, they need to let someone else live in the house for a while. We have lived here for 6 years and it's someone else's turn."

"But can't I just take my room with us? It is my room!!"

"What about karate? Are they moving too? I don't want to miss out on karate!"
"No, karate isn't moving, but you still get to attend! We will just drive over there once a week and see all your other friends!"

Then I reminded him of all the benefits of living in the new place...being close to two of his friends, being close to the ice rink, being close to great parks and having his tv in his room....which he has never had. He still wasn't too sure about this move but he has adapted well this week. He is even spending time in his room!! This is a great thing to me, since he HATES to be alone!!

Moving is tough for all of us, but I love how kids are so resilient!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Trying To Establish New Routine

We are finally offically all moved in. I am down to unloading 5 boxes and getting the bookcases and cabinets organized. Those things will hopefully happen this week! Today is the first day I have been home since last Tuesday. It seems this time of year gets even busier than my normal! I am usually home on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but this week that schedule didn't happen. I'm hoping that I can be home a bit more for the rest of the month. I have to make sure we are completely organized and situated by the first of January when we need to hit the books again for school.

The first week of November I decided homeschooling and preparing for a move just were not a smart combination so I decided we would take some time off for the holidays and the move, but by the time January rolls around I think we will both be ready to establish a routine of doing school! Already he is starting to get a little bored, since it is sooooo stinkin' cold right now and we don't have a place for him to just run and play, but I think he's adapting pretty well. Moving for kids is really difficult and I think last week was his most challenging. He was moody, and angry about various things. Today he has seemed more "normal" playing hockey in the living room and playing with his toys in his room.

I need to establish some new routines for myself, too since I am having a hard time exercising at night now. Bedtime seems to be getting later and later for both dh and That Other Kid, so by the time the house is quiet and ready for me to exercise it is after 10:30 and I'm ready to go to sleep myself! So when do you exercise? How do you manage to do it with kiddos in the house? I can't even imagine doing it with more than 1 rugrat and I know there are many of you that have more, so tell me your secrets, k?

Well it's time for me to get off my duff and get some more boxes unpacked, laundry folded and the kitchen cleaned up! I have spent far too much time on the computer catching up with everyone today...now it's time to get busy! Hope ya'll are having a good Monday!!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Blowing Past the 190's!!!!

This morning was weigh in day over at the Sisterhood and I was actually excited to jump on those scales!! The past couple of weeks have been challenging with the "eating right" and "exercise" but as busy as I was with moving I knew that I had burned a bunch of calories. The eating too much wasn't really a problem....more than anything I had a hard time eating at all -- when I am really busy I just don't do much eating. This is especially true when I don't feel well and have to keep going like last week.

So, as I was saying, I was excited to see what would show up on the scale....and WOW!! I was a happy camper!

Last week's weigh in -- 191.8
This week's weigh in -- 189.6!!!!


I just blew past 190 and I cannot tell you how happy I am to be past that decade!! I am so done with those numbers!!

Officially I have lost a little more than 36 pounds since I started seriously losing weight on March 25. My original goal was to be at 150 by Christmas. I know that isn't going to happen but I do believe I can be at 180 by then -- maybe even less! So that is my new goal, at or below 180 by Christmas!!

I finally got unpacked enough yesterday to get the Wii connected (kind of) so I did my Wii Active - More Workout (Day #2) last night. I really just wanted to go to bed, but I wanted to exercise more!! Can you believe I just said that?? Yes, it's true I LOVE exercising and I really miss it now when it doesn't happen. Anyway, I did the easy setting and need to do the medium intensity at least, it just wasn't really enough for me, but I didn't want to bump it up last night because of how tired I was. Hopefully tonight I will be able to bump it up to medium and really start getting into it. These games are so much fun, it just doesn't seem like I am really exercising, although my heart and body can tell that I am!!

Hope ya'll are having a good day!

Monday, November 30, 2009

I'm Almost Back!!!

The past week I have been moving from a house that we have lived in for the past 6 years, while dealing with the FLU!!! Fun -- NOT!! I went to the doctor and got Tamiflu!! Thank you, God!! They gave it to me so I could knock it faster....but I still had to MOVE!!! So needless to say I am and have been EXHAUSTED!! I am almost back to normal, health wise. We are completely moved in the new place, and completely moved out of the old one (including turning in the keys). Now to start unpacking....I have the kitchen (mostly done) and now to start on the rest of the house. Tomorrow I am going to get the video games set up and That Other Kid's room done. I need to find the AC adapter for my computer and get the Wii hooked up! I haven't FORMALLY exercised in a week and I am missing it. I'm ready to get back to it, but I just wanted to let everyone know I am moved and ready to get back to my 'normal'!! Last week as I was moving Christy sent me this link -- and I wanted to get it up on my blog!! I gained a couple of pounds this week, but I'm still down my 30 pounds so I get to keep the badge!!

Thanks, Christy!! It made me cry....



Ann is a ROCKSTAR!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I'm So EXCITED!!!

On March 25th of this year -- so approximately 8 months ago -- I went to the Endocronologist for a check up. I started seeing him last fall for various issues that I knew needed to be "fixed". He started treating me for all of these issues one step at a time. First Sleep Apnea, second Thyroid meds needed changed up, thirdly Vitamin D needed increased. All along he told me "You really need to start losing weight. What can I do to assist you?" My response was, "I will take care of it. I know what to do." He said, ok....do it.

I left the doctors office vowing to "change my eating habits, exercise more and basically, 'take care of it'." I didn't do anything about it except occasionally exercise. One day I found a website via Beth . It was a new website designed to help women (and men) on their journey to weight loss. I went over to it cuz I thought the name was catchy and I thought "what the heck". What was the website you might ask? The Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans -- See catchy right? Ever since then I have been a faithful reader and follower of this site, but until March 25 I didn't really do much with it.

On March 25th I went to the doctor and he told me, "Ann, do you want to become diabetic?" My response was, "UH...no! Who wants to be a diabetic?" His response, "Well no one really wants it, but if you don't become serious about losing this weight that is where you will be."

HELLO!! I did not want to be a diabetic at 43 or 44 years old....so I left the office, went to the nearest QT and bought myself a 32 ounce coke, drank it in the 30 minutes it took me to get home and then wowed right then and there that "I will get this weight off - no matter what." That was the last coke I had for nearly 2 months. It was my vice! It was how I got through each and every day. It was my "drug" of choice.

On March 25th I weighed in at 226.8 pounds at the doctor's office. I decided that I would get serious with the Sisterhood that day too, because these ladies were a great support system for me. On March 30 they started a new Challenge. It was a WiiFit Hula Challenge. I did a weigh in that morning, and weighed 225.8 so that was my starting weight for "getting serious". *See stopping those cokes allowed me to lose 1 pound in just 4 days...that really told me something!! I started doing the Hula with the girls and at first I was PATHETIC, but I persisted. I started off only being able to do 2 or 3 and by the end of the week was doing pretty decent. I thought wow this is fun! I'm having fun and "Look at me I'm losing weight!"

Every day I went on the website and commented on how I had done. Every day I got the same response from the girls. "You are doing GREAT", "Keep up the good work"! Wow!! That was a great motivator for me. Someone who just said, "Good Job" "Keep at it"!! It was just what the doctor ordered -- me exercising and losing weight! I kept at it every night. And before I knew it I was really losing weight. In 6 weeks time I had lost a decent amount of weight and I knew if I kept at it I would keep losing.

I continued to check in daily with the Sisterhood and continued to get the support I was finding necessary to keep me going. Knowing that I had a small boy at home depending on me for sooooooo many things didn't hurt either. I knew that if I didn't take care of myself, I wouldn't be able to take care of him.

All through this summer and early fall I continued to lose weight when it seemed I had hit a plateau. I had done well and had even hit that all important weight of 200!! but I was pretty much fluctuating from 198 to 202, depending on the time of month. I was beginning to get frustrated with myself and beginning to feel like I would NEVER get this weight off. I have so much to lose, what is my problem, etc., etc. I'm sure you have had these thoughts, too. Am I right???

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when a group of homeschooling moms told me about this great diet/healthy living book they were reading. It was changing the way they thought about food and they were seeing results with the little bit they were doing with it. They asked me to join in and I thought, "No, I am too busy. I am getting ready to move, I don't have time to do anything else." But one of my friends is VERY PERSISTENT (and I love her for it!!) and she said, "Come on, try it with us. It'll be GREAT!!" So I listened to her talk about it and said, "Sure, why not. What can it hurt, right?" I went to the start up meeting and started getting excited about it. I went to the bookstore that night and bought the book. I started reading it immediately and we joined teams and got started. We started last Monday, the 9th and we are going 6 weeks instead of the suggested 4 weeks. We want to see the results we can have in just 6 weeks time!

Let me tell you this has had a tremendous boost to my metabolism and I have finally knocked my plateau right out of the water! On Monday the 9th my weigh in was 197.8. Two days later, on Wednesday I had lost nearly a pound and a half to 196.2. That was last week...and

Today I am happy to report my weigh in was 195.4!!!!

Yes!! That means I have officially lost 30.4 pounds with the support of the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans!! And I am Shrinking my Jeans!! I was wearing a tight size 18 8 months ago. Now I am wearing a sort of snug 14 and I expect by the time by 6 weeks are done with this Game On Diet I will either wearing a 12 or a very loose 14. I am excited! It is exactly what the "doctor" ordered! I am losing weight and I am having fun while I am doing it!!

CAN YOU TELL I AM EXCITED?????!!!!!

Let me tell you .... if you are trying to do anything and you are struggling with it GET A SUPPORT SYSTEM in place!! Your success could depend on it! Mine did and still does!! Thanks from the bottom of my heart everyone!!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tiny Tot -- Sickness




Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.


Today I decided to waste a little more time on the computer and actually write a post! I know, I know....I'm busy with packing and stuff but it's gonna be short, and I want to share the joys of illness with the world! Yesterday afternoon That Other Kid was pretty normal -- skating around the house, playing legos, watching movies, begging me to play games with him (which I did while signing up for phone/internet/cable service online)!! Gott love modern technology!

Fast forward to 6 p.m.-- That Other Kid says his "allergies" are bothering him and he's tired. He actually asked me if it was time for bed!!?? Ok, that should have been the first signal that he didn't feel good, but I was on the computer dealing with moving stuff! Next thing I know he's being quiet and I look over and he's curled up in the rocking chair ASLEEP!! Oh man!! What is up with that?? At 6:40 p.m. he's still asleep so I move him to his bed. He doesn't wake up and he's BURNING with fever! Oh no!! It's gonna be a long night (and it was!). At 8 p.m. he woke up thinking it was MORNING time...before he could even walk out of his room he vomits on the bedroom floor (carpet of course). I guess the good thing is we are leaving this house in 1 week so I won't have to clean it!! The landlords need to replace carpet so, whatever!

After calming him down he proceeds to tell me he "got sicks on him". I took him to the bathroom, had him pee, changed his clothes into jammies, then let him come out to the living room. I gave him some Zyrtec, and some Tylenol and let him have a piece of bread. I got him back to bed and asleep about 9:30 p.m. Not bad, if I do say so myself!

About 11:30 he woke up again and "got sicks" but this time he made it to the bathroom! He wanted to sleep in bed with me, but I wasn't ready for bed yet, so made him sleep in his own bed and promised I would stay with him till he went to sleep.
About 2:30 a.m. he woke up again and this time I let him sleep with me -- for about an hour when he "got sickies" again -- this time in my bedroom floor! See a pattern here?? Getting out of bed seems to be bad for my floors!

I told him I would sleep with him if he wanted company and he informed me "that you are too big to sleep in my bed, but when you get skinny maybe you can!!" Wow!! That's definitely a good reason to get "skinny"!

Got him back to his bed until about 6 a.m. when he "got sickies" again....bathroom again! He slept with me till 8:30 when he declared it was "time to get up"!! He got up and laid on the couch until about 15 minutes ago...(1 p.m.)he hasn't vomited anymore but the fever is still there! UGH!! Not what I need 1 week to move time!

Well I gotta go...gotta get some more packing done and try to get That Other Kid healthy again! So much to do, so little time!!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Real Life -- You Capture




This week over at Beth's she wants us to take pictures of "real life" at our house. I assure you there is nothing exciting about these "real life" pictures. I am smack dab in the middle of preparing for a move...so what you see is pretty ugly for real life!

Boxes, boxes, boxes! and empty bookcases!! and piles of laundry!! That's my real life!


I'm trying to keep them contained and mostly neat, cuz our landlords are showing the house every couple of days and I don't want them to trip over boxes!!




Real life is also about a big pile of laundry I need to fold and put away so we can sit, but that's not happening right now because I have to go play legos with That Other Kid!!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Week 2 Shrink-a-versary Weigh In

OK...I gotta make this fast! I'm just now getting on my computer for the first time today and it's past 10 p.m. It's been a crazy busy day, but I wouldn't want to let anyone (including myself) down so first thing this morning I hopped on the scales to see what would appear before my very blurry eyes!!

On Monday morning I weighed in for the Game On Diet game that I'm playing with my friends and found that I was up about a pound and a half from last week so I didn't really know what to expect this morning, but I got on and was pleased (somewhat)!

I weighed in at 196.2 this morning so that's a .2 gain from last week. Not something I really wanted to see, but I'm ok with it....I mean come on -- .2 is not really that much and the way the weeks are kind of rolling one on top of the next I can understand some fluctuation like that.

So...I will try again for next week and work a bit harder to get those numbers to go back down!

As far as my walking for the challenge...I didn't get any miles in today...so far this week I have logged 4 1/2 miles...just too crazy and I'm not exercising tonight either, so I'm bad and I'm ok with that. I'm wasted and need my sleep more than anything tonight....

So...I'm going to iron dh's clothes for work tomorrow, fix his breakfast, finish taking the garbage out and go to bed. I'm hoping to be in bed and asleep by 11 p.m.

Wish me luck!!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Lots of Random Stuff

Ok...there are so many things going on in my life right now and I've been incredibly limited on "spare time". So I'm just going to fill everyone in with some quick (or not so quick) bullet points!

** We are moving in 2 weeks to an apartment 30 minutes away. We are going from a 1800 sq. ft. house with a garage to a 1300 sq ft apartment without a garage! Can you say downsize?? We are selling or have sold everything that we think we can get rid of so that we can rent the smallest possible storage space. Some stuff just won't fit! Like boxes and boxes of sentimental stuff that I just can't seem to part with no matter that they have sat in boxes for nearly 2 decades! Lots of stuff still needs to be packed into boxes and yet here I am typing out a blog post and not schooling That Other Kid! Priorities, right??!!

** A group of my homeschoolng friends decided to try the Game On Diet Plan. You can read a short overview of it here. I think it is going to be a lot of fun and it is already challenging me on a couple of different fronts! The main thing that I am struggling with on day 2 of it is eating all 5 of my small meals with plenty of VEGGIES! I'm more of a 2 meals and a decent size snack kind of girl. And can you say "no veggies"??? Yesterday was the first time I had ANY veggies in I don't know how long! Not with this game/diet though. I lose points if I don't eat right and I don't want to let my team down! So I've been eating my 5 meals and eating my veggies....for example SALAD for lunch, thankyouverymuch. Now I've got to pause a minute and get my meal number 3 -- some lowfat cheese, almonds, hard boiled egg white and some carrots. Be right back...

Ok I'm back...but I'm eating so this may take a minute...so what's going on with you?? I haven't had much time to check my favorite blogs lately, so tell me what's going on with your life!!

** A few months back we brought home a stray cat that some friends found. That Other Kid had been wanting a pet for FOREVER and we thought ok, why not?? Last week we took him to the vet (Sammy the cat, not That Other Kid) and found out that he has cat Luekemia and is fading fast. Since we got home with him last week he has eaten very little and has now starting vomiting, so tomorrow we have to take him to the vet and have him put to sleep. That Other Kid is beginning to put 2 and 2 together becasue I keep telling him that Sammy is very sick and we have to take him to the vet to "get better". I don't want to lie to him, but I don't really want to tell him "the whole truth" either. When I called the vet this morning she seemed a little upset that I wanted to schedule this appointment and then not tell That Other Kid exactly what was going to happen. Keep in mind he's just under 6 years old, but he is smart as all get out. What would you do in this situation?

Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans
** Over at the Sisterhood we started a new challenge yesterday. This one nearly anyone can participate in -- WALKING and Logging your miles! So yesterday I packed up my liter of water and walked to the park that is about 3/4 mile from my house. Then while That Other Kid was playing and skating around the track, I walked some more. All in all I logged 1 1/2 miles yesterday. Today I decided to take it 1 step further so we walked to the library and back. This made about a 3 mile walk round trip, and on the return trip I was carrying a backpack full of library books and VHS movies.

Little side note here -- why do libraries still carry VHS movies? Don't they know that most people watch DVD's now? And why is my local library so lacking in DVD movies for kids? I could understand this if I lived in a less affluent town or the community was "low on funds" but I live in a very affluent small town. Most of the homes in this town start at $250,000. What is up with this??

** Speaking of the Sisterhood there is a new group in town that is designed for chatting about everything under the sun and is a lot of fun to get to know the Sisters on a more personal note. If you are interested and haven't joined yet you should check it out! You can find out more about the 'hood by clicking on the link. We are having such a good time getting to know everyone and having discussions that you might not see on the normal Shrinking Jeans blog!

Shrink-a-Versary Challenge with the Sisterhood!

** Speaking of the Sisterhood, and I do that alot, huh? November is their anniversary month and they are giving away tons of stuff all month long!! How cool is that?? This is their anniversary and we win stuff!! Cool stuff, too! Check them out...but don't bother leaving a comment, I'm trying to win some stuff and if you leave a comment you might win what I could have! ya know??? Just joking of course...cuz I know you would share with me, right??!!

Anywhoo...I've been sitting here long enough and as I've said I have too much to do, so I gotta get busy...

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Weigh-In with New Scales

So...I can't guarantee accuracy, but I am pleased to report that my weight this morning with my new scales shows a loss!!

Last week my weigh-in was 197.9 at the gym. I no longer have my membership so yesterday I went shopping and bought myself a new scale. I asked the girls over at the 'hood what they recommended and didn't really get a definite "gotta get this one!" so I went to Target and bought this one.

This morning my weigh-in was 196.0!!! Woohooo!! I haven't seen that number show up on my scales in quiet some time!! That only leaves me with 1/2 pound to get to my 30 pounds loss goal. Of course, my real goal is to weigh 142 so I still have a long way to go, but each pound is another one closer to that ultimate goal.

I can't really credit it to my "good eating habits" this week, because there weren't a whole lot of them. I can't really credit it to drinking plenty of water this week either, because there were a couple of days I probably didn't even drink 30 ounces of water the whole day. There have been several days this week that I DID NOT eat even though I "felt" hungry. However, there were a couple of times that I DID eat when I wasn't hungry.There were even several nights I didn't get my exercising done, either.

So, I guess bottom line is I didn't blow it as much as I thought I had or these scales are off from the ones at the gym. I'm going to pretend that I didn't blow it!! Please don't burst my over-inflated bubble, k??

Monday, November 2, 2009

True Confessions

Monday's are True Confession time over at the Sisterhood and I have a few confessions this week I want to just get out there in the open...

1) I was out trying to teach That Other Kid to ride his bike without training wheels and I was winded after going up and down the sidewalk in front of my house 3 times! I thought I was in pretty decent shape, but I obviously have a long way to go! I guess I better beef up my cardio!

2) I didn't indulge in candy for halloween (we didn't do t-o-t) but last night instead of working out I sat in front of my computer and ate Teddy Grahams!

3) I was tired and felt like going to bed early and knew I wouldn't manage to do that if I exercised, but because I got hooked on the computer I didn't really go to bed early. It was about an hour earlier than normal, though so that's not as bad as it could have been!

4) I walked to Sonic and back today for lunch (it's almost a mile one way)--- I ate a corndog and fries. I DID NOT drink a COKE...I drank a Diet Cherry Limeade! So I walked 2 miles which is not too shabby!

5) I have been exercising NEARLY every night for 40 minutes. I have been doing the WiiFit and have enjoyed it thoroughly, but don't feel like I'm working hard enough. Need to do something else with it....maybe WiiActive or Jillian's Shred. Decisions, decisions!!

That is all....thank you.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween Belt Test

Presenting my Little Blue Belt! This morning we got up bright and early and went to That Other Kid's karate belt test! This was the "Blue Belt" level where he went from a "green belt" to a "blue belt"....and yes, he can kick some serious butt! As long as it's a short butt....I mean come on he's only 44 inches tall!! He can kick past his "belt" which is what their goal is...in fact I believe if you look carefully you can see he is kicking "chest level" on a lot of his kicks! I'd say that is pretty good for someone who's legs are less than 2 feet long!!





Anyway, "Belt Test day" is always a lot of fun and excitement. He only has 3 more levels to through before he gets to go to the "Beginner's Level" Karate class. These classes are designed for ages 7 or older, so he is pretty excited about that possibility coming up.

So this was the excitement of our day! Tonight we will turn all the lights off and sit in the dark and watch a movie and eat UNBUTTERED popcorn together! (Dairy allergies really suck at holiday time or bascally any day of the week time!) After the movie he will go to bed and I will exercise all those popcorn calories away, cuz you gotta know just because he can't have butter doesn't mean I can't!! We are full of excitement at our house, huh??!!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

You Capture -- Autumn

Over at Beth's today she is hosting a "Autumn" You Capture. I haven't been over yet but I can hardly wait to see all the different takes on Autumn. Here in North Texas we don't have the traditional kind of autumn where the leaves turn beautiful hues of reds, oranges, and yellows. Instead we celebrate autumn a little differently! We have constant RAIN!or at least we do this year...we've had well over 8 inches of rain this month and guess what?? It's not done yet! UGH....soooo tired of rain! Anywhoooo, since seeing pictures of constant rain usually doesn't excite too many people (unless you are suffering from a severe drought, and if you are I'm sorry) I decided to shoot a different kind of Autumn perspective for you!

Yesterday we (meaning That Other Kid and I) went to the big American Airlines Center facility in downtown Dallas and we were given a tour of the facility and all that goes into preparing for a HOCKEY GAME! and let me tell you for a little boy that lives and breathes hockey he was in HEAVEN! We got to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs practice and stand up against the glass...some of them even banged into the glass for the kids! He was one happy boy!



We got to see the Zamboni up close and personal -- he tried to touch it but they caught him just in time to stop him from doing that!

Here are a few shots of the kids during the tour...of course That Other Kid was being hammy for the camera. His friends were none too excited to have their pictures taken -- oh well at least there is proof that they were there too, right??!!





After the tour we went outside and had a picnic lunch (or at least tried to before it started raining again). While we were getting set up for our picnic the local news station was ending their broadcast and so they took a flash shot of him and some of the others that participated in the tour! My kid was on tv, folks! and my friend caught it in this flash on the 50' Platinum screen out in the AT&T Plaza with her camera!! so this shot is courtesy of my friend. That Other Kid is the little one the far right and her son is right next to him! What a great way to end the morning field trip!



This is what my attempt at getting that same shot got me!! Good thing my friend's camera is better than mine!



Then last night we got to go back to the AAC and watch the Stars play the Maple Leafs. That Other Kid was in HEAVEN again! His friend had never been to a hockey game and was very enthralled by it all! It was even more exciting because the Stars won the game in Overtime --
4-3!! YEAH...Go Stars!! What a great way to end a very exciting day of Autumn Fun!!

Yesterday's Weigh In and New Challenge!

Shrink-a-Versary Challenge with the Sisterhood!

Ok...first of all let me just start by saying over at the Sisterhood we are starting a new challenge to celebrate their 1 year anniversary! I'm so excited about this because this is a challenge that EVERYONE can participate in! All you have to do is WALK, and log your miles and report in everyday! And we can even win prizes!! How cool is that? We win on their anniversary!! Usually the person celebrating the anniversary gets a gift, but not with these girls (and don't forget Brian)....the people participating WINS!! There will be other challenges going on during this time, too so if you get bored with just doing the same thing jump on the bandwagon and do some of the other challenges, too!

Anywhooo, yesterday was a crazy, busy day where I left my house at 9 a.m. and didn't walk back into it until 11 p.m. More about that later today or if I get busy tomorrow. I did manage to squeeze in my weigh in because it's important to me! So...
although it's not what I had hoped I managed to not get disappointed after looking at the numbers, and I logged them into my handy, dandy phone so I wouldn't forget cuz I knew it was gonna be that kind of day!

Weigh in for the beginning of this challenge : 197.9

That's .5 pounds up from last week, but I have been pretty bad and have indulged in a number of cokes! So...back off the cokes, girl and get those numbers down!

My goal for this challenge that ends on December 16 (perfect timing if you ask me) is to knock past that 30 pounds lost (2.1 pounds left to get there) and get down below 190! My original goal for Christmas time was 150 pounds, but that obviously was an unrealistic goal! I have to keep reminding myself that I didn't put this weight on overnight and if I want it to truly be gone it won't come off that way either!

I have a lot going on during this challenge -- another moving sale (next weekend if the weather will cooperate!), packing up the house we have lived in for the past 6 years and then moving to another community 30 minutes away! I also have to try to squeeze in some homeschooling for That Other Kid and all the other day to day "stuff" that a mom and wife does. BUT I have to remember I am important too....so I'm going to make sure I exercise every night, too. I really do love that "me" time -- although there are some nights I just want to sit down and "veg out" in front of a movie or a good book, those days will have to wait a while longer. My health needs to come first and that can't happen while watching a movie or reading a book!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Tiny Talk Tuesday



Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.


Today is Tuesday and I'm finally getting a chance to sit down at my computer (thanks to dh's monitor) and type out a Tiny Talk dialogue! There have been many discussions going on around here about moving, since we are moving out of the only house That Other Kid has ever known (or lived in) in just a few short weeks. Thanksgiving Week to be exact! Nothing like moving over the holidays to reduce this already stressful time, right?!!

Anywhoooo, first discussion was about packing all our stuff into boxes.

"Mom why do we have to put all our stuff in boxes? Why can't we just put everything in the truck and carry it over to the new house like that?"
Uh, yeah can you just picture that one? Let's just load up all those thousands of little lego pieces and toss them in the truck and see how many we end up with in the new place!

Next funny happened the afternoon we went over to actually look at the apartment unit we are going to live in. We went over to measure some things and just take a look at the actual unit. Of course it's empty right now, so appearances are deceiving! "Mom, this place IS HUGE!!!! We'll have PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ALL MY STUFF and all your stuff too!"

Now the funny thing about this statement is we are moving out of a 1800+ square ft home into a 1300 sq. ft. apartment! Yeah....we'll have lots of room, huh?!! (Thus the reason we are selling most everything we don't use on a regular basis!!

The final thing before leaving the apartment That Other Kid said was the thing that cracked me up and still makes me laugh everytime I think about it. He opened the sliding glass door and said, "Where's the BACKYARD?? Where will I play?"
I told him, there is no backyard but we can set the basketball goal/net up on the patio (about 2" x 6") and play there! I also told him there is a park nearby and a couple of good friends to play with so we will adapt and have close friends!!

That seemed to make him happy! Friends always make a new place seem more special!

Monday, October 26, 2009

True Confessions Again!

Today is True Confessions Day over at the Sisterhood and boy do I have some confessions to make! So I'll just jump right in...

1) Saturday morning I woke up HUNGRY and ate and ate and ate! All day long I felt FAMISHED!! I tried to eat fruit, drink lots of water and stay away from the kitchen! I was totally unsuccessful! I baked myself 8 chocolate chip cookies and ate ALL 8 of them, within a 30 minute time period! They tasted yummy! but my digestive tract did not appreciate all that fat and sugar! I spent some time in the bathroom "paying" for those cookies....so not worth it!

2) I didn't really want to eat after that, though so that's a good thing!

3) In the Big D we are used to sunny, warm weather for most of the year. Sometimes we have periods of "downright HOT" -- like the 4 months of summer! Other times we have periods of rain, and occasionally in the dead of winter (like January or February) we will get a cold, ice storm. But USUALLY we are blessed with "nice" weather. However, over the past 2 months we have had soooooo much rain and cloud cover it's starting to really get "OLD"! How do the people of Seattle deal with this year in and year out?? There is no way I could live like this long term...Anyway, my point is that I'm so stinkin' tired of rain and clouds! we haven't been able to play outside, take walks, or anything requiring the "great outdoors" because of the constant RAIN!! I don't know how much we have had but there is a lake out in my backyard!! UGH!!

4) I NEED SUNSHINE!!! PLEASE!!! and a bit warmer weather than 55 degrees would be 'swell' too! Remember this is Texas??!! It's supposed to be WARM!! I have had to turn the heat on in our house nearly every day for the past week or two and this is not something I am accustomed to doing till mid November! and I can't remember a time when it has had to run periodically throughout the day until DECEMBER!!

5) I'm thinking all this cloudy and rainy weather is causing me to be a hormonal mess! I'm usually pretty even tempered but lately 'I'm a mess'!!

6) Instead of packing boxes and preparing for our move that occurs in 4 weeks I'm sitting in here reading blog posts, and typing up my own.

7) I also just sat down to a 'healthy' lunch of chips and queso! That outta help me meet my goal of only weighing 195.8 this Wednesday, dontcha think?? But at least I didn't drink the coke sitting in the cabinet, right? I drank water!!

8) Well I can't think of anything else...just didn't want to be "odd" and stop at 7!!

Go check out the other "Confessions" over at the Sisterhood! You'll be glad you did!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Updating My Life

That's what I feel like I'm doing today, so that's my title!

Here is what's going on with me and mine ---

1) I took my computer into the "geek squad" and they told me that my backlight is definitely out on my laptop. All I have to do is backup all my stuff on an external hard drive (which I don't have) bring it in and they will send it in to Dell who will charge me a small fee of $300 to $400 to fix my backlight! HELLO!! Oh and btw, I would need to buy a external hard drive and they would be happy to download it all for me...that will only cost me $100 and the hard drive thingy will be about $70 to $100 depending on the size! HELLO..that's $500 to $600 to fix a 2 1/2 year old computer...If I had that kind of money laying around I could go buy myself a brand new laptop with a bigger hard drive! Instead I had dh hook my laptop up to his monitor (who knew you could do that?? Not me!) Only problem is -- his monitor is big and heavy and in the bedroom/office...not the living room where That Other Kid lives and breathes....this limits my time on the computer, which I'm not liking one little bit, but at least I can use my computer again!! YEAH!!

2) We are preparing to move out of this house (the one we have lived in since 1 month before That Other Kid was born) and into a smaller place. The main problem with this move is that we have TONS of stuff that we need to get rid of to make room for "what we have to have"! Did you know that most Americans have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF?? I am definitely included in this group of people. I went and looked at a storage unit facility today to figure out how big of a space we will need to rent to store all out "extra stuff" -- you know the sentimental stuff that I'm not parting with under any circumstance?? While I was there I saw some people and they had two 20' x 20' storage units and for the most part they were FULL! That's a lot of "extra" stuff! It made me think...do we really need this much "stuff"? As Americans we waste an amazing amount and we also tend to accumulate an amazing amount of "things" that we either don't need or don't really have a reason for. We just get them because we CAN!

Deep stuff for "just a move", right??!!

3) Yesterday I spent the day cleaning and preparing for our landlords to come over to show the house to a potential renter they have for after we move out next month. Now granted I'm not the best housekeeper in the universe, but I'm not the worse either. I would say I'm somewhere in the middle. On the surface, things are pretty clean, but when you get right down to it I should spend more time doing some "deep cleaning" more often than "when someone 'important' is coming over. Anyway, I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the tile floor when That Kid came home from working a game and he sees me and says, "Why are you cleaning the floor?" It made me think do I clean so infrequently that he thinks there is something going on before I will clean the floor? Apparently so! It's made me think ever since...that maybe I should spend more time cleaning!

4) I have been working out most every night for 40 minutes with my WiiFit! I am absolutely in 'luv' with my WiiFit! It's so much fun and before I know it I have been exercising for 40 minutes! I have been trying out new exercises and perfecting some that I had only tried a time or two previously. Go me!!

5) This past Tuesday I went shopping with a friend and tried on a pair of size 14 jeans with elastic waist. I didn't buy them cuz I didn't want to spend $20 for a pair of pants I wasn't crazy about. BUT...I have 2 pair of size 14 jeans sitting in my closet, THAT DON'T have elastic waistbands. TODAY I am wearing 1 of them!!! YEAH!! They are tight, I had to squish my flabby tummy into them, but I AM WEARING THEM!! and I can breathe in them....I can hardly believe that I am finally losing enough weight to be in "regular" size clothes again! This just motivates me even more to watch what I am eating and to make sure I exercise every night. I know that while I am busy preparing for this move it will be hard to stay consistent but being able to squeeze into these 14's is a great motivator!!

6) I guess that's really all I have...just wanted to fill you in on the happenings of my life! Thanks for playing along! You know it's always an adventure here!

Picture of "My Cans"!!




Ok...I finally have my computer up and running (sort of) so her is my picture that I took for the last challenge for the "Lose For Good" Campaign. This is really 10 pounds of food....which in my estimation what I should have lost in the time period alloted so...instead of only donating my little more than 5 pounds of food the food banks will get 2 times that!

Just wanted to get that out there...

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Weigh-n and Parade of Cans

Well todays the day we Sisters are supposed to show off our cans for the Lose For Good Campaign. I was very excited to do this because its for such a great cause. So many people are out of work or underemployed right now that the area food banks are really hurting so any food that can be donated will be greatly appreciated by those in need. Our family has been hit hard this year, as well but we are so much better off than many others. DH has work, and we have enough to eat and shelter our head. Many others can't say that, so for that I am grateful. Anyway, I wanted to show you "my cans" but I'm having to use my phone to type this so I don't know if I'll be able to load my picture. (Hopefully I will figure it out!)

I went over to the gym this morning for my weigh in and I have had no change since Saturday - still 197.4. But I did go to Kohl's with afriend yesterday and I tried on another pair of size 14's. I was happy that the p-r I had on last week was not a fluke! I didn't buy them, because I decided I didn't want to spend $20 for a pair of pants that I won't wear for long and I didn't really like the way they looked on me. Maybe I was just being critical of myself but I thought they made me look fat and I'm tired of looking fat, ya know?? I still have my poochy stomach that makes me look pregnant in most clothes unless the clothes squish it in so that needs to be a target area for me to work on.

Anyone know of some good "stomach flattening" exercises?? I need to hit them hard!

In other news, I have been doing my 40 minutes of exercise every night since Saturday and after taking 5 days off it feels great! I really do love the way exercising makes me feel - both on the inside and the outside! I am more physically fit than I have been in years even though I still have much weight to lose. I have good muscle ton and can lift more than most people would think! It feels good to lose this weight the RIGHT WAY!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

i Feel Lost

When I was shutting down my computer last night something weird happened but I didn't think much about it. It was late and I was tired so I just turned it off and went to bed. But this morning when I went to turn it on it botted up like it always does, but I had no images on the screen! What's up with that, I thought to myself, so I started pressing buttons and trying to figure out what was wrong. After doing everything I knew to do(which wasn't much) I called Dell tech supportn who told me, "uh sorry its not under warranty any more but if you will give us your credit card number I'll be happy to transfer you to someone who can help you!"

UGH!!! So I hung up and did what any technically challenged wife would do - texted dh and whined that my computer screen isn't working! HELP!!!

Since he can't see it, he can't help till he gets home tonight. So I've been without my computer all day! I think if I didn't have my handy dandy little Blackberry to check emails with and get on Facebook with, I might actually start having the shakes! I feel so lost without access to my computer.

You would think that since I can't waste hours of time with my computer I could actually get something done around here, but NO! That would be too logical and such a good use of my time! No, instead I continually restart my computer, check emails from my phone and sit around feeling LOST!!

You think maybe I should get a life or something?? Maybe clean house, load the dishwasher, start packing for our move next month?! Or how about clean the house so when the landlord comes over this weekend to show it I don't die of embarrassment from the way the house looks! No, I'll wait till Friday night to worry about that! It'll just get dirty again, right?!!

So here I am lost without my computer but grateful for my Blackberry and for all my online friends to listen to my woes!!


So how do you react to "no computer use"?? Apparently I kinda freak out!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Final Weigh In -- Shrink For Good/Lose For Good

Shrink for Good with the Sisterhood!

Today is the final weigh in for the Shrink for Good/Lose For Good Challenge over at the Sisterhood. This is for such a good cause and I had the BEST OF INTENTIONS, but sometimes life kinda gets in the way of GOOD INTENTIONS! No, I didn't fail, but I didn't do as well as I wanted to. During this challenge we teamed up with Weight Watchers and are donating food to area food banks. I know that Texas is not hurting like a lot of other states as far as the economy goes but there are people everywhere hurting right now...and lots of them can be helped by just giving them some food.

So...this was a great cause and I'm happy to report that I will be donating 5 pounds 6 ounces (or more) of food to this very worthy cause!!!Yes, during this challenge lasting 6 weeks I lost 5 pounds 6 ounces!! I'm pleased with this in one way, but disappointed that it wasn't more.

Today's weigh in was: 197.4
I started this challenge at 199.9, bounced up to 202.10 then back down again!
I have stayed under 200 pounds for 3 weeks now!! I think I can say "GOODBYE" to those numbers!

The past 6 weeks have been hard for me on the exercise area. I had such a great rhythm going, but when our family's routine got messed up mine did too. I'm working to get it back, and I think I have got it figured out. We are moving into a smaller place (thus the reason for the before mentioned garage sale) in about 5 weeks so things are going to be pretty hectic for a while, but I am determined to EXERCISE and not BLOW IT. I've worked too hard to give it all up now!

I'm only 2 pounds away from losing 30 pounds (since I started on March 25)and Christy said she'd make me a special button if I do it, so over the next couple of weeks I'm going to work REALLY HARD to keep on track. A lady came to my garage sale this weekend and bought some of my clothes that NO LONGER FIT!! She commented about how I must have lost a lot of weight if these were my clothes!! I can't tell you how good that felt!! OMG, I just wanted to go hug her (and no, I didn't know her)!!

So....get ready Christy those last 2 pounds are coming off SOON!!

For WeightWatchers and the Lose for Good Campaign I get to donate 5 pounds 6 ounces of food!! Go WeightWatchers! Go ME!!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Garage Sale

I'm sitting out in my garage on a nice cool fall morning in North Texas playing on my Blackberry phone that dh graciously bought me this summer. I didn't really "need" it but really "wanted" it. Now that I've had it for a few months I am hopelessly addicted to the convenience of it. As I said I'm sitting in garage watching over my garage sale and playing on my phone! Doing facebook, blogging, and checking emails are just some of the wonders of technology that I'm blessed with. People are coming and going and buying things and I'm enjoying the pleasure of taking their money for what I perceive as my "junk". None of it is really junk but I don't need it and they can use it or they wouldn't buy it, or would they? The neighbor behind us (age 9) came by yesterday with $20 from the "tooth fairy" and bought $10 of stuff. The day before he spent another $10 on stuff. Did this 9 year old really need $20 of my stuff? I think not? Why did he buy it then? Because he could is my guess.

Something the past few months have taught me is that we can live with a whole lot less "stuff" than we think we can. As I was going through the house preparing for this sale I continually asked myself, "do I need this? Have I used it recently? Is there a benefit to keeping it?" If I answered no, then it is now sitting in my driveway or garage waiting for someone else to take ownership of it. I hope it doesn't just sit in their house collecting dust! I hope they are buying it because they truly want it!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Weigh In- Lose For Good Challenge





Ok...first things first...See these pictures...the picture of me wearing the black pants! Guess what??? They are a SIZE 14!! I haven't worn a size 14 since I first found out I was pregnant with my almost 6 year old!! I know I still have a long way to go as is evidenced by my weigh in today, but I am making progress in the right direction....I'm so excited to be back down into a size 14! I'm having a garage sale this weekend and I'm getting rid of all my "fat pants"!! The other 2 pictures are my progress pictures. I'm having a hard time telling the difference in this month's pictures and last month's except that I am definitely having to tighten up the drawstring on those pants,(but you can't see that, can you?) so I'm just leaving it at this...

It's been a tough month for me. I'm having a hard time squeezing in exercise every night, and I have not been eating great and not drinking my water is hurtin me in more ways than one. But I am getting better. Once the garage sale is over this weekend I will have a bit more "free time" and maybe I can get my "groove back".
Over the past five nights I have managed to exercise 3 of them for my assigned 40 minutes. My goal is do it every night....that seems to keep me focused, if I am doing it every night.

Anywhoooo, my weigh in results:

Last week: 198.8
This week: 198.0

So that's a loss of .8 or 1/2 pound. Since my original weigh in at the beginning of the Lose For Good challenge I have gone from 199.9 to 202.10 and then back down to 198.0. So I'll be donating at least 4 pounds 10 ounces of food and I'll shoot for even more by Saturday's final weigh in. I would really like to get to 195.8 but that's not likely to happen by Saturday, so I'll just do my best. That's all anyone can ask, right?

Friday, October 9, 2009

OK...I Did It!! and other news!!

Yesterday was a flop in the exercise department. By the time I got everyone to bed it was 11 p.m. and I still had to do some sewing for That Kid before he had to leave for Tulsa this morning, so I didn't get to exercise. I was determined it was going to happen tonight, though. I managed to get everyone to sleep and settled by 10 p.m. and I was ready to go!!

I already had the WiiFit set up so all I had to do was turn it back on and go. I got right to it and did the Yoga, then moved onto Hula. At this point I was at 23 minutes on it and didn't really feel like doing Jillian tonight so....I kept doing different things on the WiiFit. I tried several new things; like boxing, strength exercises, balance games and I even RAN -- can you believe it??!! Of course, it's really running in place and it's mostly moving your arms and such, but I did RUN the short run!!

I did all 40 minutes on the WiiFit....and it was so FUN!! What I like about this new challenge that Lissa started was that we can do "whatever" as long as we are moving for 40 minutes. Now I know that 40 minutes is A LONG TIME, but when I am working out with the Wii and WiiFit it doesn't really seem like very long at all...now that's what I call a good way to exercise!

Ok...here's something weird. I'm already thinking about what I can do tomorrow night to exercise for my 40 minutes!! I think I have a sickness or something!!

On to other news...
I'm having a garage/moving sale next weekend to help clear out a lot of excess stuff we have. In about 5 weeks we are moving into a smaller place and we are not going to have room for most of the stuff we have. We are going to have to rent a storage unit to store a lot of sentimental stuff but we want to get the smallest unit we can. As I am preparing for this sale I am looking around and finding that we have ALOT of EXTRA STUFF around here! By nature I tend to be a packrat, but I think it has really gotten out of control. When we moved into this house nearly 6 years ago, I was 8 months pregnant and was unable to lift anything over 5 pounds. Needless to say, most everything just got thrown into boxes and packed, then moved to this house. Nothing got thrown out or given away. Once we got moved in, I was dealing with a high maintenace baby, who nursed pretty much ALL DAY LONG...Things are finally to the point where I can and have to purge...NOW EVERYTHING MUST GO!! If we don't use it NOW...it's going to be SOLD!! We are praying for 1)great weather and 2) everything to be SOLD.

We have everything from a treadmill to an old "teacher's desk", old refrigerator and freezer to small kitchen appliances. We are selling some of our furniture that won't fit in the new place, too. We also have hockey gear that That Kid outgrew,as well as things a pre-teen and teenager would like but a almost 6 year old won't be interested in for years!! As you can tell we have a wide range of STUFF.

So if you live in the DFW area and need STUFF -- email me and I'll give you the details!! Friends and family get first dibs on everything!!

And if you aren't in the area...could you pray for the BEST SALE POSSIBLE?? We need this sale to be a major success!!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

WeighIn Week 6 - Shrink For Good Challenge

I don't seem to be "getting this" Shrink for Good means SHRINKING not gaining weight every other week, right?? I went to the gym this morning - even before eating and jumped on the scales. I wasn't expecting much; exercising has been pretty sporatic and I've had some rough bouts with "gotta have chocolate!" So as I said I really didn't much...soooo

Today's weigh in -- 198.8
Last week's weigh in -- 197.7

So that's up 1 pound 1 ounce this week! I'm bummed but not surprised. This week will be better. I have a game plan. I'm going to be exercising for 40 MINUTES so that will definitely be a step in the right direction. DH suggested I start food journaling again so I'm going to start that. Anyone know of a good FREE site?? Thanks...

Overall I have gone from 199.9 up to 202.10 then back down to 198.8 so I've really only lost 1 pound 1 ounce, but since I went up to 202.10 I will be donating food for those pounds too! I'm really going to try to get down to 195 by the end of this challenge, so I can donate 6 pounds of food and I can be down 30 pounds in 6 months!!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Missed Weigh In....

I missed the weigh in today with the Sisterhood because I couldn't make it over to the gym till late and I figured, why bother? I can just go tomorrow morning so that's what I'm going to do. This is already week 6 of the Shrink For Good -- Lose For Good Challenge...wow where is the time going??

There's a new challenge going on over at Shrinking Jeans, but it is a running challenge and my knees....not gonna do it...so I have been debating what I can do to continue with my loss and still get the support from these wonderful ladies. Not that I "have" to participate in a challenge to be supported by them, but I feel like I'm a part of something productive, ya know? Anyway, Lissa and I were chatting via emails and she's not able to run right now either, so we have decided to do our own little challenge -- EXERCISE (any kind -- Wii, DVD's, walking, whatever) 40 MINUTES EVERY DAY!!! Read about it here. That oughta kick some weightloss butt, right??

So I told her, "yes, I am in"...then I went to get started and did 26 minutes on the WiiFit and sat down because I remembered I needed to write a quick email about getting my windshield wiper fixed and here I am 1 hour and 15 minutes later...still on the computer!! What's up with that?? So from now on...ABSOLUTELY NO COMPUTER TILL I HAVE EXERCISED FOR MY 40 MINUTES!! I can't get this weight off if I sit around on my computer, can I?? I don't think typing and checking emails, blogs, and facebook are going to burn very many calories, do you??

So...tomorrow is a new day. I'm going to go weigh myself, I'm going to clean and organize and prepare for a huge garage/moving sale I'm having next weekend, and I'm going to exercise NO LESS than 40 minutes!!

So ... now that I have wasted an hour and a half, I think it's time to go to bed...night all!!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Entertaining Tiny Talk Tuesday



Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.



This morning in the "Big D" is foggy and rainy and dreary and blah!! So I'm movin' even slower than I normally do in the mornin' time. I just HATE dreary days....they really grate on my nerves....anywhoooo...

As I sit here watching That Other Kid play Mario Kart on the Wii I'm listening to his rambling conversations with himself and trying really hard not to laugh out loud! He is so comical without even trying.

So here are some of the things he is saying as he plays his favorite video game of the day:

That Other Kid -- "Get ahead, boy! You don't want to lose, do you?"
"B-b-b-b-b I know what starts with "B"! The word bed! and I think I know how to spell it too...B-E-D !!

Me -- "That's right, bed is spelled B-E-D! What else starts with "B"?

That Other Kid -- "Bell starts with "b", too! and so does boy!"

I love how he will just sit and play and try to figure out what letter the words he would normally say, start with! It makes me realize that I am doing something right with my little boy!

It also makes me realize that "all the time is learning time" not just when we have a designated "school time"!!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Having Problems

Today is Confessions Monday over at the Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans and it's also the beginning of a new challenge. I'm not participating in this one -- it is a 5K run and I just know myself well enough to know, I'm not gonna run! So I have to find a new "challenge" for myself to keep myself going with the exercising every night.

Herein lies my confessions for the week --

1)Since the WiiActive Challenge ended Wednesday night I have only exercised 1 time.

2)I'm tired and depressed and exercising at the end of the day is difficult when I am so tired. Thereby creating more depression...ya know the vicious cycle, right?

3)I fixed a "comfort food" dinner tonight and I ATE IT!! Not only did I eat it, I ate a bit more than my "normal" serving.

4)Then I went to the pharmacy by way of the local Culver's ice cream store and bought myself a nice big (actually it was their "short") Concrete Mixer with Heath Bars. I ate it in about 10 minutes....while driving home so I could throw the cup away before coming inside to be spotted by the children! (That Kid is home from college this week on Fall Break!)

I need to get back on track and find "my groove" again....but I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight. Maybe I just need some sleep.

I have a lot to do over the next couple of weeks and I think I'm starting to feel overwhelmed by it all. So...I'm going to prepare for bed at the most unreasonable time of 10:30 and hopefully I'll be asleep by 11:00 p.m.!! Wow!! That would be something for me!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Bad Night

Yesterday started out as a typical (for now) Friday. Got up at 5:30 a.m. fixed dh breakfast, cleaned up a bit, took dh to the office he's working at, stopped at dry cleaners, came home, fell back to sleep with That Other Kid for about a hour and a half. When we got up about 9 a.m. I did my usual stuff. You know, check emails, check bank account, check favorite blogs and websites, showered and ate breakfast. I also started laundry, and all those exciting types of things.

We had a scheduled field trip at a nearby Nature Preserve where That other Kid learned all kinds of interesting facts about insects. They even took a short hike to look and try to catch insects. He actually caught a grasshopper, but before I could get the camera ready the grasshopper escaped from the net...bummer!

After leaving the Nature Preserve we ran to the grocery store for a quick, "we gotta have these things" run. Those trips are always fun with a 5 1/2 year old, don't you think?! Immediately after dropping the groceries off, we went to HOCKEY PRACTICE!! Going to hockey practice was the highlight of the day for That Other Kid, since he hasn't been on the ice in about a month! He could hardly wait to leave for practice! That Kid is home from college this week because of "fall break" (yeah for fall break!!) so he tagged along to watch practice. After practice we went and picked dh up from the office and went home.

I got That Other Kid ready for bed and was ready to CRASH and CRASH hard. I got dh situated for bed (he goes to bed really early now that he gets up at 5 a.m.) and I went to the living room to exercise. Here comes the really BAD part!!

By this time it is 10:30p.m. and I just didn't have it in me to exercise and I was HUNGRY!! Can you guess what happened here?? Oh come on...take a wild guess...I know you want to....

Any guesses??

Ok, I'll just tell you...I SAT ON THE COUCH AND ATE HALF A BAG OF CHIPS AND VEGGED OUT WITH MY COMPUTER till 11:45 p.m.!! Yes, that's right instead of going to bed at 10:30 like I could have (and should have) I sat in the dark living room by myself and ATE a BIG BAG OF CHIPS for an HOUR!!

Ok...so now that's over...You are supposed to confess your sins, right??!! So I've done that and today is a new day. I'm going to make the most of it...I have a big pile of laundry to fold and put away and I need to run to Wally world to pick up some toiletry items. I also need to load the dishwasher and start going through some of our stuff to try to sell in our garage sale that I'm going to have in a couple of weeks. No time to waste and certainly no time to sit around here feeling like a failure for last night -- not that I ever would do a goofy thing like that, ya know?

Hope ya'll have a good weekend!!!!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Homeschooling Questions....

Go here if you are looking for new ways to respond to the "age old" questions of "Why do you homeschool?"

There are some wonderful responses and I whole-heartedly agree with them!!

We homeschool because "we want to"!!

Can I get an "amen"??

Thanks, Melissa for the link!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Weigh In - End of WiiActive Challenge

Today is Weigh In Day over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans so this morning AFTER breakfast (yes, I always weigh myself after breakfast, but with lightweight clothes and flip flops on)I went over to the gym to weigh myself. I wasn't real sure what my numbers were going to be this morning. I have been pretty stressed out, but I have been pretty consistent with the exercising and pretty good with the food with the exception of the brownie smidges I have been grabbing every morning...ya know chocolate helps the day get started....right???

I started this Shrink For Good -- Lose for Good weighing in at 199.9, moved up to 202.10 then back down. So what was today going to show me??

I jumped on the scale and read the numbers and was very PLEASED -- 197.7!!
OMG, those numbers are finally coming down!! I have 2 more pounds to go before I am officially at 30 pounds lost! and maybe by then I can really squeeze into a size 14...please??!!

I have been working out with the other women with the Wii Active and tonight is my Day 30. This has been fun and challenging. Some days are more challenging and some days not so bad. It has been good for me, cuz it has offered some flexibility and this past month I have really needed that flexibility.

I have also added in the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, although I really haven't been able to be very consistent with it. I started the Level 3 on Monday night so I'm about 7 days behind on it. I'm going to go ahead and work with it to the end. I have found that I really have improved ALOT! I'm doing alot more of the exercises with NATALIE!! I still can't do "full blown sit-ups" so I have just been doing crunches.

Anyway -- because of my weight gain during week 2 I am calling my weight loss 4.4 pounds for this challenge, so far. My goal is to lose AT LEAST 2 more pounds so that by the end of the Lose for Good challenge I can be at a total of 30 pounds lost since March 25!

Hope ya'll are having a good week!!