May Your Way

Let's get right to the facts today: Starting challenge weight: 201.0
Last week's weight: 194.4
Today's weight: 195.2

Not a good weigh in for me today 195.2....I got on the scales 3 different times this morning trying to get that number to change but it was set right on 195.2 - didn't even vacilate the way it usually does when I first get on the scale!! Not a happy momma today but I'm not making excuses. I'm admitting the errors of my way.

I was stressed out this weekend and didn't move my body enough. I made brownies one night cuz the guys wanted a treat...they didn't like them...um, I'm guessing you know they didn't get thrown away, huh? No, I ate more than I should have.

I also fixed nachos last night for dinner...I piled mine high with grilled chicken and veggies but there was also a fair amount of cheese and salty chips!! Then I didn't flush my system enough with drinking water last night. I justified it by saying I had already had plenty of water for the day....um, apparently not enough to get rid of all the salt!!

I have been sticking to the low glycemic index diet pretty well (except for the brownies, of course) and I have been eating lots of fruits and veggies (my 5 a day!).
Overall I just feel that this weigh in is a little glitch in the system but I am going to be very careful over the next 5 days because I still want to see how much I can lose this month! My original goal was to be at (or below) 190 by the end of the month. With this gain I don't know if that is likely but I can certainly give it a shot, right??

As for the SisterSays challenge for this past week: We were supposed to look in the mirror and say something good about ourselves...this is very hard for me to do but I managed to do it everyday. I even wrote them down in my notes so I could remember them! So here are my nice to me compliments: I have nice lips, I could wear a pair of MEDIUM yoga pants at Target, I have strong arms (strong enough to carry 2 full 5 gallon water jugs), I have nice eyes, my legs are strong, my hair is healthy, and for being nearly 46 I don't have very many wrinkles. Looking at these compliments really do show me that I have a lot of good things going for me! So thanks Sisterhood for making me look deeper!

For this week for the SisterSays challenge we are supposed to try something new. This is always a challenge for me but that's what makes it more fun!! I'll ave to think about what I can do but I will do something new --hopefully something that will burn a lot of calories!! lol

I have been doing well with tracking my food in My Daily Plate (even my indulging brownies and nachos) and I have been getting my exercise in. I did miss one night because by the time I got around to it it was past time to go to bed. Last week I had decided that I needed more sleep so I made a decision to be in bed by 1 am and not up till at least 9 am. I did pretty well on this one. The only nights this didn't happen was when the hubby needed my help with some work stuff and so I stayed up with him. I did manage to sleep in a little later to ensure I got enough sleep though so it all worked out.

I started out trying to do the #tworkout last night and then DFW got hit with a round of tornados and thunderstorms. Everyone on twitter told me to get in shelter and not to worry about the #Tworkout and since I've lived through enough tornados to know when to take cover we hid out in the bathroom and I tweeted some with my phone just to keep everyone in the loop! WE were safe but others in the area got hit pretty hard. The tornados went all around us. Really strange how that worked, but it did and I am greatful! Thanks for caring ladies!! I did do the #tworkout after I got That Other Kid in bed and the storms passed through the area so all was not lost! But...this all happened right in the middle of Biggest Loser so I didn't get to watch so I'm staying off Facebook and Twitter till I can watch later today!!

Overall I am feeling good about my goals and my accomplishments. This week is the last week of this challenge and I'm planning to adhere to my goals strictly and come as close to my goal of 190 as I can! Eating a low glycemic index plan will definitely assist me in reaching my goal. So will eating lots of fruits and veggies and moving my body!!

So how are you doing this week? Hope May is going Your Way!!

Confessions Time

It is confession time over at the Sisterhood so here I am!

It hasn't been that bad of a week but I did sit around WAAAAYYYY too much this weekend watching the twitter stream of all my friends that were at FitBloggin. It was rainy, hot and humid this weekend so I didn't really feel like venturing outside much so I just sat around on my computer!! Not a very good way to show my support of my friends but it is what it is, huh??

As far as eating goes this week I have been doing good.

I did bake a batch of brownies the other night for the guys and I just couldn't stay away from them. In fact I ate more of them than they did! They thought they tasted funny! Apparently I didn't cuz I managed to devour them! I used Olive Oil and my hubby thinks that messed up the taste of them! I did track each and every brownie in MyDailyPlate though so I knew just what they were costing me. I still stayed within a reasonable limit of calories so that I was able to burn the calories with exercise, so I'm happy about that!

I have had a nice big salad every night with dinner so I've been getting my fruits and veggies in. Drinking plenty of water doesn't seem to problem for me so that is good!! I've been looking at myself in the mirror every day and finding something good to say about myself. I have been writing them down too so tomorrow I will give you a full report on my weigh in post!

All in all it's been a good week and I'm looking forward to getting on the scale tomorrow to see how the numbers are looking!

So what do you have to confess?? Go ahead and get it off your conscience! You'll feel better!

Sister Spotlight

I'm the featured Sister over at the Sisterhood today. Go check it out, k??

In other ramblings it has been humid and rainy for the past 5 days and I'm already sick of summer and it's not even June yet!! It hasn't really been that hot yet but it feels absolutely miserable outside. I've tried having the windows open to get some fresh air but the air is stifling so I close it back up within a few minutes.

I have been following some of the twitter conversations that have been floating around about #FitBloggin and it makes me wish I could have gone even more. I'm hoping that next year will be my year to get to go. Wonder where it will be?? I asked Roni on Twitter...so I hope I get an answer soon. If you got to go this year PLEASE let me live vicariously through you and post full reports on your blog and let me know, k??

Have a good Sunday and if you are having fab weather, please go enjoy it for me!!

May Your Way Weigh In -- Going My Way!!

The "May Your Way" Challenge over at the Sisterhood has definitely been going my way!! I am happy to report that I once again lost weight!! And not just some piddly amount!!

Starting challenge weight: 201.0

Last week's weight: 196.6

This week's weight: 194.4

Did you hear me squeal with delight about 9:45 CT this morning??? I'm shocked if you say no! I am indeed one happy lady. It's been a long time since I could safely say I have been happy with my efforts at losing weight. But this month apparently something inside me just clicked and I am actually doing what it takes to lose this stupid weight!! In just 17 days I have lost 6.6 pounds!! That's more than I have lost this whole YEAR!!

What have I done different you ask??? Thanks for asking.
I have logged my food (every chip, coke, fruit, vegetable, glass of orange juice) into My Daily Plate/Livestrong and paid attention to the calories of foods that I am eating (and not eating), I have consistently drank 100 ounces of water, I have gotten off my hiney and exercised (not as much as I want to but apparently it's enough for now) and I have been following my Low Glycemic Index eating plan that was set up for me nearly 2 years ago.

I have met my goals in this challenge and that makes it even more special to me. I have decided to add something to my list of "things to accomplish" the rest of this month. I have been going to bed WAAAAYYYY too late and waking up even earlier than normal over the past couple of weeks and it seems to have gotten even worst since That Kid moved back home. This needs to change...so starting tonight I am going to make sure I get in bed early enough to get 7-8 hrs of GOOD sleep! This means I will be in bed no later than 1 am. I will have to plan my evening a little better to accomplish this and I will have to make sure exercise doesn't get pushed off till too late in the night and I don't read for 45 minutes before bed unless I start at midnight!

This weeks Sister Says challenge is to "say nice things to yourself in the mirror" every day. This will will be an even bigger challenge for me than the fruits and veggies one but I accomplished that so I can do this too! I know that I need to be nicer to myself when I look in the mirror and this will certainly push me in that direction!

Ok...enough from me today. I just want to let ya'll know that if you get to be at FitBloggin I will certainly miss you, but hopefully next year I will get to attend too! Take lots of pictures, learn lots of great stuff to pass on to me and hug all the Sisters that you meet there!! Much love and hugs being sent from Texas!!

Confessions of A Former Ice Cream Junkie!!

Today is confession day at the Sisterhood and I'm happy to report that its been a good week for me.

Note the title of this post?? I have been passing up ice cream now for the past week!! This is big people, big I tell ya! I am a huge fan of ice cream...it doesn't matter if it is fancy Haagen Daz ice cream or cheap McDonalds ice cream...I love it ALL! But I have been turning down opportunities for ice cream ALL WEEK LONG!! And last night over at the 'hood during SisterChat someone started talking about Fried Ice Cream and I didn't even have the intense need to go get ice cream last night!! How cool is that?? I had an opportunity to get ice cream again last night and I passed on it...and ate a banana instead! I think following this Low Glycemic Index Plan is really helping me take that intense need for sugary snacks away!

Tracking calories in My Daily Plate/Livestrong is really helping too because I can see right there in front of me how many calories I have eaten and how many calories I can eat if I want a snack after dinner!

I've done great on my fruits and veggies this week thanks to the push from the Sisterhood to eat 5 servings!! I am happy to report I have had my 5 servings every day! It's been great and I can't wait to see how it has helped me on the scale tomorrow morning!

That Other Kid and I went to a local nature preserve on Sunday afternoon and it was so nice to get outside and enjoy nature for a while!! We will be doing that again...Who would have thought in the middle of all this concrete and buildings there would be a nature preserve just 15 minutes from my house??

Hope ya'll are having a great week!!

600 Very Important Words (My 600th Post!!)

600 posts ago I started this blog as a means to feel connected with the outside world. My purpose in this blog was to connect with the outside world and to use it as a way of journaling about the day to day activities of my life.

(This is me and That Other Kid about the time I started this blog....and this is how I spent a good part of my days! Sad!!)


I was a homeschooling mom of a teenage boy and a preschool aged boy. Now I am a homeschooling mom of a 7 year old hockey playing, martial arts, lego building little boy who hates to do anything where he has to sit more than 15 minutes and a soon to be 21 year old Marine! I didn’t have a lot of friends and I was feeling out of touch with the world. Now I have many friends and there are days when I feel so connected to the outside world I wonder how I functioned before the internet! I had started reading blogs as a means of feeling like I wasn’t alone in this journey of motherhood. I continue reading blogs because I LOVE feeling like I’m not alone in every aspect of my life!!

Since August, 2007 my basic purpose has stayed the same….to connect with others but it has branched out to be a weight loss and health/fitness journal more than anything else. I do sometimes blog about the general happenings of my family; including homeschooling, life as a mom of a soon to be Marine, my 7 year old son, and lots of random babblings. (Taking advantage of beautiful day in Texas)


I have connected with women (and even a few men) who are trying to make it in this world….homeschooling moms, single women, married women who would love to have kids but can’t, women who sometimes wonder why they are moms, and women who have yet to become moms. Most of my online friends have become such good friends I “talk” to them more often than my “real life friends”. These friends have prayed for me, cried with me, and let me vent and then put some perspective into my life when it was desperately needed. These women have truly become the best friends a girl could have. Through the support and friendship I have received through blogging I have been able to lose more than 30 pounds, and I have learned about the world of running, exercise, health and fitness and found out just how important it is to live a healthy, fit lifestyle. I have also found great resources for becoming a better homeschooling teacher/mom. I have discovered the world of Twitter, Facebook, DailyMile, and numerous apps for my brand new IPhone (that I probably wouldn’t feel worthy of owning without the support of all my online friends).

(This is me and That Other Kid today!! Right after a hike!)

Through blogging I have discovered that “I CAN DO IT”….whatever “IT IS”. I have become a woman who is starting to feel comfortable in her own skin. I have “Exposed” myself, supported charities that I probably never would have ever heard of, and participated in activities I never would have dreamed possible (running 5K’s). I have learned better ways to take care of myself and my family. I have found an online family that is always there for me when I need it (whether I know I need the help or not).

(Right after the Zooma 5K where I got to meet Christy, Lisa and Amanda!)

I have found an outlet to my need for friendship. I have found an outlet for my need for support in my journey to weight loss. I have found support in my homeschooling journey (even though I have done it FOREVER, it’s still nice to have support!)

Through blogging I have found exactly what I needed!! Friendship, support, and a place to be!!

May My Way - Weigh In Week 2

It's Wednesday so that means it is weigh in day for the Sisterhood. This month's challenge is very cool for me, since I am only focusing on myself and what I need to do, and I have to admit it has been going well for me! It's about time, don't you think?

Anywho, here are the stats:

Started challenge weight: 201.0
Last week's weight: 199.0

This week's weight: 196.6

Whooohhoooo!! I am so excited to see these numbers going down at such a good pace!! It has been a while since I have had success with my weight loss and I have to say I am thrilled that my constant contact with Livestrong/MyDailyPlate is paying off!!
This means in 11 days I have lost almost 4 1/2 pounds!! Whooohhoooo!! Reaching my goal of weighing 190 or less by the end of the month looks like it COULD happen!!

As I mentioned in my confessions post yesterday I have been really busy and have been trying to get in my 30 minutes of exercise however I can! Did you know that pushing a wheelchair with an adult woman in it is just like a workout for your legs and arms?? Trust me it is!!

I participated in SisterSays which was getting at least 64 oz of water in daily...this one was a easy one for me. I drink around 100 oz of water everyday and if I don't my legs cramp up and let me know I didn't. Not to mention I feel so dehydrated by the end of the day and don't sleep well!

This week's SisterSays will be a bit of a challenge for me: to eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies every day! I love fruit but not so much on the veggies (don't hate me Karena) but getting 5 servings always seems to be a challenge. I will do my best....besides I KNOW it will be good for me!

I got to participate in some of the SisterChat on Monday night and that was a lot of fun! It was kind of like a big party with a bunch of women all trying to join in the conversation at the same time and trying to keep up! I had fun with it but fell wayyyyy behind! Kind of hard to keep up with all these speedy typist and get That Other Kid ready for bed at the same time! But I will definitely be back next week!

Last night's Tworkout was kind of choppy for me....Twitter was acting weird, That Kid came home in the middle of it and started talking and moving about and of course doing the #tworkout with That Other Kid is always a test of my patience. I'm glad he wants to do it with me BUT he's 7 and thinks he is 20!! If you know any 7 year olds I'm sure you understand that!!

Well I need to get off the computer and accomplish some stuff so I gotta cut this off now...hope you are doing well with the May Challenge. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about head over to the Sisterhood and check it out!

btw, my next post will be my 600th post! I'm trying to come up with something special for the post....so keep checking back. Hopefully I will get it up by the weekend!

A Crazy Busy Confession

Today is Tuesday, and that means Confession time over at the Sisterhood. I have had a pretty good week, although sometimes during this past week I haven't known whether I am coming or going!

Mother's Day weekend is always crazy for me. The annual homeschool bookfair is on Friday and Saturday of Mother's Day weekend and so that means I am gone most of the day on Friday and Saturday...It also means eating out most every meal and some of my choices were not the best, but to my benefit I do ALOT of walking during this weekend! I tried to make good choices but sometimes there were NO good choices! I did log all my food into Livestrong/MyDaily Plate so at least I saw what my choices cost me!

For our Mother's Day dinner/celebration we went to Outback Steakhouse! It was soooooo yummy and I don't feel I ate poorly. I had a yummy steak, a salad w/o dressing and a baked potato w/cheese only! and of course bread!! Have you had their bread?? It is the BEST bread!! That Other Kid even ate it and he is soooo picky he rarely eats anything that he isn't used to! That Kid ate a couple of loafs of it by himself!!

I did manage to drink my water all weekend long, which is hard when you are out and about all day looking at books!

For my Mother's Day present -- I got to use my hubby's cell phone upgrade and get MYSELF a new IPHONE!! I have been drooling over one for nearly 6 months and my contract wasn't up till July so I thought I would have to wait, but hubby said he didn't want a new one yet so I could use HIS!! Money has been so tight for so long that I haven't felt I could spend money on anything extra and certainly not something frivilous like an IPhone but business has picked up over the past month and a half for hubby and we are finally caught up enough that I don't feel guilty over buying something that I have wanted for some time, that will help not only me but the whole family! I'm a happy momma!! I have downloaded a number of apps but I haven't really had time to play with them or the phone much yet! Like I said I've been super busy!!

I have been getting my 30 minutes of exercise in daily but not really in the conventional sense of working out. I've been doing things like pushing a wheel chair around (with my best friend) for an hr yesterday while we took care of some errands for her, walking around a huge convention center carrying 20 pounds of books on my back/shoulder Friday and Saturday for 6 hrs, kicking my hubby's back to relief the stress in his muscles....things that you wouldn't really think of as "exercise" but let me assure you that I have been moving my body and that is the point of "exercise", right??

I have really had a hard time keeping up with the housework over the past few weeks and it's been frustrating me. My house is a disaster and I hate it! How do women do EVERYTHING?? oh yeah they dont and they are usually frustrated like I am!

That Kid is moving back home this week so he can get out of his lease of the apartment he has been sharing with a bunch of deadbeats. He will only be here a short time (probably a month or 2) before he goes off to Marine bootcamp but that means one more person in the already too small apartment! But I'm not gonna complain I get to spend time with my son before he goes off for 13 weeks for boot camp! Fortunately he doesn't have a lot of stuff and most of it will go into storage or in the office/bedroom.

Ok one last thing before I get off here and try to accomplish a few more things off my "do it (tomorrow)" app that Kirsten told me about (Thanks, Kirsten! Hubby even laughed at the name of that app and it applies to me a little too well!)

As I have mentioned a few million times money has been tight for a while for us (and I know it has been for a lot of you, too!) but I just wanted to remind you that there are some in this world who don't even have clean water to drink (and I can't even stand to drink tap water can you?? but Lissa and her family are running for clean water and I wanted to do my part, so I donated this morning. Can you help, too? Even if its just a few dollars it will help them to reach their goal and they aren't even close to it yet! Please help if you can. Thanks so much!! Lissa is an awesome woman/wife/mother/friend and she is raising some great kids who think of something other than themselves! You can't ask for anything better than that in this day and age! Donate to their page here and show Lissa how much you appreciate her!

May Your Way - Week 1

It's Wednesday and I'm doing my weigh-in with the Sisterhood and so far May has been a good month for me!

I started this challenge on Sunday, and I weighed 201.0. I wasn't happy about that, but it was what it was.
Today I weighed in at 199.0 so I felt pretty good. It was great seeing that number this morning, cuz after only a few days I have managed to lose 2 pounds. That is amazing for me!

Here are my goals and progress:

1) Follow a Low Glycemic Index diet (as much as possible). I've been doing pretty good on this. Eating out the couple of times that I have done this week has been the most difficult part of following this. Not drinking soda, having fruit or salads instead of fries and chips have certainly kept my glycemic index in line and are obviously helping me to lose some weight. I'm calling this a success!

2) Exercise a MINIMUM of 30 minutes a day. Sunday night was a real stretch (pun intended) but Monday and Tuesday I did ab work, lunges, bicep/tricep work and more stretching. Today (so far) I went to the gym and did 15 minutes on the elliptical and I'm planning to head back later tonight and do 15 minutes either on the elliptical or maybe the bike to get my full 30 minutes today.

3) Track food and exercise on MyFitness Pal/Livestrong. Good on this one! I have tracked every day since Sunday and it is kind of nice to "see" how I am doing.

4) I'm also wanting to bust through this plateau that I have been on for the past 6 months. I want to weigh in at or below 190 by the end of this challenge, which is only 31 days! Well I lost 2 pounds since Sunday so I would say so far I am having great success on this one, too. Only time will tell on this one!

I'm glad that I am having success so far and it just helps to motivate me further to keep up what I am doing.

So how is May going for you??

R U In the 'Hood???

May Your Way- Challenge

Today is the first day of May and also the beginning a new Sisterhood Challenge. I didn't participate in the last challenge over at the Sisterhood and I kind of lost my oooompp. I was stressed out and unfocused so I knew even before the Challenge was announced I needed to get back into it and participate full force!

So here I am!! I'm MORE than ready. This challenge is all about focusing on MY GOALS, ME and how to make things happen for ME - however that is!

Here are my goals for the challenge -

1) Follow a Low Glycemic Index diet (as much as possible)

2) Exercise a MINIMUM of 30 minutes a day

3) Track food and exercise on MyFitness Pal/Livestrong

4) I'm also wanting to bust through this plateau that I have been on for the past 6 months. I want to weigh in at or below 190 by the end of this challenge, which is only 31 days! That's kind of a lofty goal considering I weighed in at 201 this morning but I'm tired of seeing the numbers hovering in the 190's and Im going to put in the effort necessary to MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

As for ways of accomplishing these goals - I'm not going to let the stress of my life get the best of me. When I'm stressed out I'm going to workout harder or talk to friends! NO eating junk to TRY to make me feel better...it doesn't work anyway and I'm completely aware of that! I'm going to make sure I move my body every day and really push myself so that I'm getting sweaty and burning calories! I'm also going to make sure I keep CLOSE track of my calories from My Fitness Pal, and if I'm close to hitting my calorie goal I'm going to make sure I either don't eat anything else or BURN some extra calories!!

Dedication and will power will make this happen!! I'm BACK and I'm gonna make this happen!!