Tuning Up in June

I've been floundering all year. Looking for ways to lose weight, exercise consistently, eat right, etc. It just hasn't been happening...all I know is I truly want to do right but "something" hasn't clicked for me and I haven't done it.

I am determined that June is gonna be my month. I am on medication to help my thyroid levels. I am taking a vitamin D supplement to help my levels on that too. Medically speaking there is no reason I can't get my act together so now it's time to get busy with the weight loss. The year is half over and I don't want to waste the whole year, continuing to gain weight.

Cue, The Shrinking Jeans ladies!! They always know when to start a new challenge and get my booty moving again! So I'm participating in the June Tune Up with the Sisterhood and I'm gonna give this body a tune up! And with all good challenges they are even offering ways to get my exercise in with 3 exercises to do most every day of the month!

This particular challenge is a partners challenge...meaning we team up with someone and we tackle this booger together! My partner is Jen and I'm so excited to be doing this with her! We have been chatting a lot and are becoming great friends but we both need to lose some weight and stop making excuses! Together we are gonna tackle this challenge with all the gusto we can muster...

Our team name is the Kick A$$ WIPs (cuz we are both a Work in Progress). I even have goals for this challenge....GO ME!!

1) EXERCISE EVERY DAY!! Between the June Tone Up, and the beginning of the Komen 3 Day training

and using the Wii and XBox I think I have this one under control.

2) NO SODAS!! 'nuff said...

3) TRACK MY FOOD EVERY DAY, EVERY BITE!! I've been pretty hit and miss with this and I'm sure it has hurt me. I'm on MyFitnessPal with an app on my phone so really I should not have any excuses!

4) EAT A SALAD EVERY DAY!! I'm not a big veggie eater so salads are about the only veggies I normally eat but they have been sporatic. This must change....(I had a salad for dinner!! And WATER!)

That takes care of my goals for the month...as Jen said it's only 30 days! I can do it!! I can't wait to see the changes that happen in these 30 days!

btw, my starting weight for this challenge: 207
Not something I'm proud of but honestly I'm not shocked. More like pissed!!

San Diego Zoo

We went to the zoo today and had a great time! Dallas and Ft. Worth both have great zoos but this zoo was amazing! We took a guided tour bus tour of the zoo shortly after we arrived. It was a double decker bus and of course we had to ride on the upper deck! The zoo was HUGE! I didn't wear a pedometer but based on how tired my legs and feet are I would guess we walked somewhere around 5 miles!

We saw Koala bears, Panda bears, Polar bears, Mongo Camel- all new to us! The Elephants have a fabulous facility that is unusual, at least to us!

We are having a great time in San Diego and the next 2 days are going to be even better! We get to see My Marine tomorrow and hang out with him on base for 5 hours! Then Friday is graduation! It is so hard to believe it is almost here!

Adah is a wonderful host...mellow, down to earth; exactly what we needed this week! And her hubby is very patient with all of That Other Kids talking!

For some reason pictures are not posting so check out Facebook and hopefully I can post them there!

30 Days of Thankfulness

I missed yesterday's Thankful post because by the time I got around to writing my post I was too tired to sit down and do it! So today you get a two-fer!

Yesterday That Other Kid and I ventured out to the mall to visit with Santa, hang out with a good friend and do a bit of shopping! This is something we do EVERY year! It kind of kicks off our Christmas season! Although That Other Kid doesn't believe in Santa he still likes to "talk to Santa", listen to the story he tells and spend time enjoying all the holiday festivities.

Yesterday, after Santa was done talking to That Other Kid and he was about to see his next little ones Santa asked if he knew why we celebrate Christmas. I'm not sure if Santa asks every child this or not but I loved That Other Kid's response - "We celebrate Christmas because it's Jesus' birthday!" That warmed my heart and made me thankful for the privilege of being his mom! Indeed Jesus is the reason for the Season!

And although this picture makes him look like a little alien and some sort of demon child (which sometimes is true!) I love him like nothing else!

Today I am thankful that it is the last day of November!

That may seem strange to most of you, but I am so happy to see December come up on my calendar! December means that I get a mini-vacation because of the generosity of friends! December means "My Marine" comes home from boot camp! December means I get to meet Adah! December means Christmas time and 20 days with "My Marine". December means That Other Kid turns 8! December means 1 year since my friend, Glenna discovered her breast cancer....and now she is 100% cancer free!

December is going to be a great month!

I am also thankful that during the month of November I found plenty of things to be thankful for! Yes, I truly am blessed with family, friends and plenty of other blessings! I'm so glad I took this month to reflect on so many of them!

Happy December! Only 15 days till I see my first born! What a day that will be!

New Challenge

Over at the 'hood they want us to stay active all year round -- even through the holiday time! So they are starting a new challenge today 10KaDay! Meaning walk 10,000 steps a day! I know what you are thinking - that that is a lot of steps a day, right?! Well it is but we all need to move our bodies a little more. We all need to push ourselves to do our best! So I'm accepting their challenge and I'm going to push myself to walk 10,000 steps every day, between now and the end of 2011! Did you see that there are only 5 weeks left in this YEAR??? How did that happen?

Anyway...I'm going to move my body and push myself to take 10,000 steps a day! I definitely know I need to do this right now! I've gained weight and gotten lazy over the past couple of weeks....that's gotta change!

In just 22 days I get to see My Marine and I don't want to be looking like a slob when I see my kiddo!

And in just 20 days I get to meet Adah!! Whooohooo! Gotta love the internet!

Thankful for Friends!!

6 months ago I didn't know a single one of these wonderful Angels! Today I call them my friends and I am truly thankful that I can! Without these wonderful men and women (some of which have fought the breast cancer fight) I would never have had the opportunity to say, "I just finished walking 60 miles in 3 Days!"

I will never forget them and I can hardly wait to start training walks again for next year's 3 Day!

Doing the Impossible...

This past weekend I walked the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure. I can honestly say it ranks as one of best 5 things I have ever done! This was truly an experience that made me feel like I was more than a wife and mother. It gave me a purpose other than preparing meals, doing laundry and teaching That Other Kid (all worthwhile for our family but very mundane!)

This is Glenna...the reason I decided this was the year to "put your words into action" and walk the 3 Day for the Cure that I have been wanting to do for years! My grandmother died of breast cancer more than 10 years ago and I had always thought I wanted to do something grand like the 3 Day but once Glenna got breast cancer I knew it had to happen now!! She came down to join me for lunch on Saturday - the roughest day of the weekend for me! I'm so blessed to have her in my life and I'm so glad she didn't let cancer beat her!

As a wife and mother I usually devote my attention to caring for my family. Rarely do I do something just because I want to make a difference in someone else's life, but this weekend that's what I did. Rarely do I do something purely for me. This weekend I did. Rarely do I do something that I have such a strong commitment to that I feel good about when I'm done. This weekend I did.

Like most Americans I usually don't follow through on things that I start doing. This weekend I followed through on the commitment that I made in July to walk the Komen 3 Day. Not only did I train for this event, but I raised more than $2300 to help find a cure for breast cancer. Then I followed up by walking 60 miles in 3 days!

Now that the Komen 3 Day is over for the year, I'm experiencing many emotions that I wasn't prepared for. I was so exhilarated while I was walking. I felt on top of the world; like I could do anything I set my mind (and feet to). I felt as if I couldn't be stopped.

I saw so many people this weekend with the same goal in mind - finding a cure for breast cancer. I walked with a woman on my team who was diagnosed with breast cancer last October and has gone through chemo, radiation, surgery, etc ALL while training TO WALK THE 3 DAY! She walked all 60 miles and was smiling, laughing and SERVING several other women on my team along the way!

Definitely applies here!

The lady on the far left is Yvette! She's one of my heros..the lady on my team I just mentioned!

All along the route people came out to cheer us on throughout our 60 miles. Many of these people spent the whole weekend following our route and setting up cheering stations and supporting us. Many of these people have a very personal reason for supporting us.

In case you can't tell the top of her head says thank you! This one brought me to instant tears!

Some just wanted to say thank you for making a difference.

There were times when I cried because there were so many people at a cheering station. There were times when we were walking that I was so physically and mentally exhausted I cried. There were times when I was in pain and wanted to cry, but I knew the discomfort I was in was NOTHING compared to the pain of breast cancer and all that goes with it. There were a few times I thought I could go on forever and there were times I didn't think I could take another step!

There were times when the signs I saw posted along the route kept me going - "It's kind of fun to do the impossible" really spoke to me!

I managed to walk all 60 miles and was encouraged to keep going by my wonderful friends who sent tweets, emails, letters and texts throughout the weekend.

Through this experience I have gained more than I could have ever imagined possible. I have gained lifetime friendships and a feeling of "I can do anything"! and I'm already planning to do it again next year!

The entire weekend was an experience I will never forget and I owe a huge thank you to many of my friends who donated money to help me raise the $2300 necessary to walk this event. Without your financial support and constant motivation I would not have been able to do this.

Now that the walk for this year is over I am going to apply what I have learned to my weight loss journey. If I can train in the heat of summer and get up at 4 a.m. on the weekends to do so, raise money, and walk 60 miles in 3 days I can do what most people consider the impossible - lose 40 or 50 more pounds! I have learned that I can do anything I set out to do! All I have to do is put my whole self into it! And I intend to do just that - the impossible really is possible when you want it bad enough!

Thankfulness - Days 4, 5, 6, and 7!

Yes, I'm a bit behind....but at least I have a good excuse, right? In case you haven't figured it out I walked the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure this past weekend; that's 60 miles in 3 Days! Let me tell you that's a lot of freaking miles!

I walked from Plano, TX down to Farmers Branch, then all around north Dallas, Farmers Branch, and Addison and then I turned around and walked down to Fair Park in Dallas. If you are not from the Dallas area, you need to google map this and see just how far I traveled! If you are from the area then you already know this is a long way!!

So...here are the things I am thankful for from this weekend and today!

From Friday the 4th - I am thankful for the Angels for the Cure team that I joined back in July! Without this team I would never have been able to walk the 3 Days. From the very first training walk I joined in on with these wonderful people I felt that these women were special and really cared about me. They made getting up at 4 am on the weekends something I kind of looked forward to! They made fundraising not look so scary to me. They made me feel like I was a part of something bigger than myself! Because of this wonderful team I not only MET my goal of raising $2300 but I exceeded it! I am waiting for "matching funds" to come in so it doesn't look like I'm quite there yet, but I am! I owe a special thank you to our team leader Debby Rich! She is an inspiration and a wonderful leader! Out of this team I have gained another group of friends that I will treasure forever!

From Saturday the 5th - I am thankful for my legs and feet that carried me through a really rough day! Typically from what I was told Saturday is the hardest day of the weekend so I was prepared mentally for it and even wore the appropriate shirt for the day! I have often complained that my legs and calves are huge and that my feet are ugly but on this day, I was thankful that they were so muscular. They carried me over rough sidewalks for somewhere in the area of 25 miles over a time span of somewhere in the area of 9 hours. Most of those miles were done AFTER I had tripped over a crappy sidewalk and fallen early in the day. I wasn't hurt AT ALL for which I am thankful to God for...except as I was falling I tried to catch myself and tightened up my calf muscle. From that point on I had a charley horse that wouldn't go away! Do you realize how far 20 miles is when you are walking with a charley horse??? My feet carried me EVERY MILE on Saturday without a single problem! Yes, they were tired but they didn't hurt because of blisters or other issues! I owe most of that to the people that produced HikeGoo. I made it through Saturday without blisters whereas a lot of my team mates came out of Saturday with blisters and were in pain on their feet. Blisters make walking really hard, in case you didn't know that! lol

From Sunday the 6th - I am thankful for my family and friends that have supported me while I have been training and fundraising. They also came out to support me this weekend as I was walking. Hubby and That Other Kid came out several times to cheer me on while I was walking. I even had a couple of friends "walk with me" for a while. Glenna (my best friend who underwent breast cancer this year) came out and sat and watched me eat lunch Saturday and encouraged me to keep going!

Without my family, friends and the constant encouragement from everyone I don't think I would have been able to keep going during the training and then the actual walk, so THANK YOU! I received numerous letters from family and friends this weekend also and I can't express how special it was to read letters and notes from all of my friends and from my parents who each sent me a card telling me how proud they were of me! A HUGE THANKS goes to all my Sisterhood friends! Without the financial support and continual encouragement of all of you I would not have met my goal.

From today, Monday the 7th - I am thankful that I didn't have to do much of anything! I sat around a lot, soaking my weary feet in epsom salt water and caught up on emails and facebook and snuggling with That Other Kid as much as he wanted! I did have a few things to do; like laundry, changing sandboxes, unloading and reloading the dishwasher and a quick run to Target. But..for the most part I sat and vegged out today! I didn't even have to cook...For that I am MOST thankful! Tomorrow morning I get to go get a massage, so I can assure you I will be thankful for that!

A Month of Giving Thanks (With a little confession mixed in)

This is the first day of November. The month that most Americans set aside a time to reflect on the things they are thankful for. I'm going to attempt to do this on the 'ol blog. I'm pretty sure I will miss some days but I will try to keep that to a minimum!

For the first day of November I am Thankful for my family and friends - both the IRL friends and the online friends that I have "met" over the past 4 years of blogging!
I would not be the person I am without all of you!

Now....for the confessions!

I've pretty much decided that the only thing I am concentrating on this week is preparing for the Komen 3 Day. I have packing to do, costumes to make, bags to pack and all kinds of "little" details in order to prepare for the weekend away from home. I need to prepare foods that are easy to heat and eat for the hubby and That Other Kid. I need to make sure the house is in order, laundry clean and folded and all manner of things like that. Since I still have so much to do to get ready the eating and exercising are kind of taking a back seat to everything else. I got my "short" walks done this weekend and I walked for about 15 minutes this afternoon but that's pretty much it. I feel like I need to do more but I'm pretty distracted and can't seem to focus on much else.

I had WAY more than the 2 "fun sized" pieces of candy yesterday that was the mini-challenge for the Sisterhood. I tried to not eat any candy last night but then they put some toostie rolls in That Other Kid's bucket. Being the good mom that I am I didn't want him to have them around so I helped him out by eating them! (He's allergic to dairy and can't have chocolate!) Then I saw some candy bars and I decided to keep those from him, too! Ain't I a good mom?? I'm looking out for his health, right?

I need to really bump up the water over the next couple of days. I usually drink 100 ounces a day but the past couple of days I have been under that and I really need to boost it OVER that. I don't want to have dehydration issues on the walk.

If you are in the Dallas area this weekend I would love to have you come out to a cheering station and cheer me on! 60 miles is gonna be a lot of walking...but I am prepared! You can check out the cheering stations here. Let me know if you will be out so I can look for you! I will be dressed in angel wings and a halo and tutu!

Chapter 1 is Complete

This morning my team and I finished our final official training walk before the Komen 3 Day in just 5 short days! It was "just 8 miles" so we got to the IHOP before the Sunday morning crowd got there, and we had our server take our picture. This group of women (and a bunch more that couldn't make it to breakfast for multiple reasons) have made training for the 3 Day very memorable. I can only imagine what next weekend will be like!

When I decided to sign up to walk this event I had a couple of concerns. The first being would I be able to find a team to train with and be a part of? The second (and even more daunting) would I be able to raise $2300? At the "Get Started Meeting" I was told if I found a team to train with I would be prepared both physically and financially. So I went home and found "Angels for the Cure" and started training and participating in fundraisers. I was gung-ho and ready to work my tail off to meet my goals of raising $2300 and walking 60 miles in 3 Days. The coach at the get started meeting was right!

I am ready! The training is complete. The fundraising is complete (as soon as I get some matching funds deposited in my account) and all I need to do is the finishing touches of my tutu and pack up!

I owe it all to my friends who have listened to me talk non-stop about the Komen 3 Day for the Cure for the past 5 months and my team mates and new friends who have helped me fundraise and pushed me to keep walking during the hottest, longest summer Dallas has ever had.

I am so blessed to have found them! 5 days till I embark on the weekend of a lifetime! I am so ready!

If you are in the Dallas area and can come out to a cheering station I would love to say hi for a few minutes! I will be wearing Angel wings, a halo and a tutu with all my donor's names on it! If you want to "walk" with me just donate here and I will add your name to my tutu!

Shrinkvivor and Other Random Stuff!

Ok...before we get down to the ugliness business of Shrinkvivor can I just say I have the BEST ONLINE FRIENDS IN THE WORLD!! I received donation after donation after donation yesterday for the Komen 3 Day Walk and every one of these donations came from women that I have NEVER met in real life (with the exception of Christy cuz I got to meet her this past spring!) I am so grateful for the community of women (and men) that I have met online! Y'all have enriched my life greatly!!


On with the business of the day! This is Wednesday which means it is weigh in day! I didn't really know what to expect. I walked over 30 miles during the weekend and ate a lot of food to keep me going! Not all of which was good for me, obviously by the number on the scale. Sorry the picture is sideways! I don't know how to fix it! :(( since I am technically challenged!

Anyways, as you can see this is right back where I started from one the beginning day of the challenge! Back to 200.8 is not where I wanted to be but it is what it is!
Nothing I can do about it now. Just gotta work harder this coming week and make the number go back down.

I did log a respectible number of minutes of exercise -- 755 minutes -- so I'm hoping it is enough to give us immunity!! We lost Roo last week and that made me very sad but it doesn't mean she's not PINK still! We still love her and as far as we are concerned she is still on our tribe!

We were supposed to make sure we got at least 7 hours of sleep a night last week for our mini-challenge. I did good except over the weekend when I only got about 4 or 5 hours a night! It's hard for a night owl to get enough sleep when she has to get up at 4 am to walk for training!

this week's mini-challenge is EAT YOUR GREENS! Honestly this is one of my most difficult areas! I'm not a veggie eater. Salad is about the only veggies I eat and I have a hard time eating them on a regular basis but I am trying! I did buy salad yesterday at the store and we had a salad last night so I will just need to make sure I fix one every night!

Before I say goodbye I want to remind you that I have a $75 Target giftcard giveaway going on. Check it out over here. I will have That Other Kid help me choose a winner Sunday afternoon since I will be out walking Sunday morning.

Oh I almost forgot! Go give Bari some love this weekend as she is running her first MARATHON! Go give Thea some love, too! Cuz she is running her FIRST HALF-MARATHON!! These women are all kinds of inspirational to me and they definitely deserve some lovin'! They are both gonna rock their races and I can't wait to hear how awesome they do on them!

Feeling Overwhelmed Confessions

Right now is the first time I've even sat down at my computer long enough to even THINK about writing a post since last week for the Shrinkvivor post! I've been busier than a "one armed paper hanger" and I'm ready for some down time!

But....I'm not really going to get it for another few weeks. I will just take care of business as soon as possible and move on!

I WALKED 20.5 miles on Saturday! Oh my goodness how good I felt for accomplishing such a wonderful goal! That is 1/3 of what I will be walking in a matter of 3 1/2 weeks. I felt so good...our training walk that day was 18 miles but our wonderful training leader wanted to allow us to walk those extra 2 miles "to show we can"!! I can't tell you how good it felt!

I know that there are marathoners out there that are RUNNING OVER 20 miles but for me this was such a wonderful accomplishment!

Then on Sunday we were supposed to walk 15 miles! I bailed at just over 9 miles! My allergies were making me sick! I was dizzy, weak, and exhausted! I felt worse walking those 9 miles than I did walking the 20, so I went home, and got in bed for 2 hours and SLEPT! I felt a bit better - not great but better. Since then I have been having some serious allergy issues so I am going to go to the doctor to get some antibiotics to prevent a sinus infection. I know most people love fall and I do love the cooler weather BUT my allergies and I are NOT loving fall!

I had a bake sale to raise money for the Komen 3 Day
on Friday night (and spent 6 hours Thursday baking for it!) and raised $150 in just a few hours! I was very happy!

I'm also giving away a $75 Target giftcard on Saturday to one of my donators! All you have to do is donate at least $5 and leave me a comment on this post! Sometime Sunday That Other Kid and I will choose a winner for the giftcard! So far the odds are pretty good -- Brooke, Roo, and Alison are the only ones who have donated.

All proceeds go directly to help find a cure for breast cancer! Donate here before Saturday night and I will enter you into the drawing!!

Yesterday I went to hang out with my friend Glenna, whom I am doing all this walking, baking, and fundraising for! It was the first time in what seemed like forever that we have done anything by ourselves! It was soooooo nice! We walked the mall, went to see a movie (7 Days in Utopia - a great clean movie, btw) and walked the mall some more and ate dinner at Chilis! We talked till we barely had voices! It was a great way to spend the day/evening!

But...I missed SisterChat and that made me sad:(

Today I have been cleaning and trying to get a handle on the disorganized clutter and mess that has been taking over my house! How do y'all tackle the clutter? Do you have a "cleaning schedule"? Do you do a little every day or all day cleaning? Inquiring minds NEED to know! I'm tired of the house being a mess! Storage is limited and space is even more limited so I need to figure it out!

My eating has been so-so this week, exercise has been good considering I walked over 29 miles this past weekend! lol Hopefully, I will have another good loss tomorrow.

What do you have to confess this week?

Thankful Thursday...Friends

Brooke and Bari have been doing a "Thankful Thursday" post for a while now and just this week I thought about how much of my blog is used for moaning and complaining or talking about my weight loss journey (that isn't happening right now) and I need to branch out a little and do something different. So...here is my first Thankful Thursday post. I'm hoping that I will make it a regular part of the ol' blog!

The first thing I am thankful for (and hopefully it won't sound corny) is all my online friends. Women I have met online and have truly become great friends with. All of these women have picked me up when I am down, celebrated with me when I am up and helped cheer me on when a cheer is appropriate! Some of you have kicked me in the booty when I needed that too! I have always been a pretty social person but since I'm not your usual gal I have had difficulties making true, lasting friendships. However, with all of y'all the miles that seperate us don't seem to matter. There is always someone available to "be a friend" when a friend is needed.

The second thing I am thankful for is having the "in real life" friends that are here in the "here and now" that I can phone, text or drop by and see whenever I need a personal and up close friend. These are the people that know the ins and outs of my life and see me when I am at my highest and my lowest. These are the women that are here to just be there when necessary. I also know them the same way, which is kind of nice!

Proverbs 18:24 says, "One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." I can definitely say I don't have unreliable friends and I am so thankful for all of them but I am even more thankful for the best friend of all - Jesus!

Komen 3 Day Walk For Breast Cancer Awareness

I'm finally doing it!! Thanks HUBBY!!

For years now I have wanted to participate in the Komen 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer but for one reason or another it has never been possible for me to do so. This year it took on even more significance and I wanted to do it even more than ever before. I got information on it a couple of months ago when my best friend was in the hospital for her breast cancer surgery. However, I never got around to asking my hubby about doing it UNTIL tonight. I finally decided it was time to ask and sign up if I was going to do it.

You've heard the bible verse that says, "Ask and you shall receive", right? Well I did and I received permission to do this!! YAY!! I explained that this would be a 3 day - 60 mile walk and it was in November so I still have plenty of time to prepare. HE SAID YES!! I get to finally do one of my "bucket list" things!! I will be walking November 4-6 here in the Dallas area to raise $2300 for Breast Cancer awareness! That amount of money is mind boggling to me...but I know that it is possible to raise. I have several months to raise the money and I know that I can do it with the help of my friends and family!! So PLEASE help me raise this money to support Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer is a disease that is VERY close to me. At Christmas my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer...she went through chemo, and surgery this year. She is doing VERY well and we Thank God daily for her coming through this. One of my grandmother's had breast cancer and died as a result of NOT getting the care she needed, so I know that this disease is a KILLER! I also know that with prompt care and attention women can live through this and can be SURVIVORS! I want to do my part..Will you do your part, too? Please help by donating here if you can support me in my 3 Day Walk, k??

So Much To Be Thankful For

I'm staying up far too late once again....although I am tired I have much on my mind. Tonight I am thankful for my oldest son, who is right now down in Houston. He drove down there today to visit a friend of his who was admitted into a mental institution on Thursday because he threatened suicide. It really shook That Kid up and seemed to shock him tremendously. He had just talked to him a couple of days before and he seemed to be just fine. I texted him tonight and asked how his friend was and his reply was "Not good. He's in a really bad ward. They are hoping to move him somewhere else soon." This is very sad to me. Here is a young man in his early 20's who feels he has nothing to live for. From what I understand he comes from a typical middle class family. He went to a private Christian college (that's where my son knows him from) so he obviously has a Christian background or he wouldn't have attended this school.

I think what concerns me the most about this situation is that there are young men and women out there that are in their early 20's that don't feel they have anything to live for. They perceive their lifes worthless. They maybe don't know what they want to do with their life. They don't have a goal. They don't see themselves in college but know they have to do something to get an education to start a career to start being a grown up and living in the real world. College is not for everyone but most people (myself included) feel that you need a college education in order to get into a decent career these days. Unless you just stumble into something you need to start your career and build up before you start making enough money to support yourself and (later) a family.

I haven't talked much about this lately but That Kid dropped out of college. He went to college for 3 semesters then decided he didn't want to continue "wasting" money and time for a college education right now. He has always hated school. never really been a "book learning" kind of kid. I homeschooled him and he made good grades but I geared his education toward that of a non-book learning kind of education as much as I felt I could. Knowing what I have learned over the past 5 years I could have done better but....hind-site is always better right??

Anyway, That Kid has decided that for now, the best option for him is to join the military. This scares the ba-jeebers out of me. When he first mentioned it I freaked out! I couldn't believe MY KID wanted to be a Marine. Now that I have had 8 months to mentally prepare myself for this I know that it is the best thing he could do for himself. Right now he doesn't really know what he wants to do for a career. He doesn't really feel like he has a direction to go. He doesn't really know what makes him tick. All he knows is that he HATES college and he HAS to do something with his life! He is about to turn 21 and I am having a hard time with this fact too. My baby is not a baby anymore. He is a MAN who is about to tackle the most difficult task of his life. He is about to join the toughest branch of the military and become of the most respected people in this country. He has decided to take matters into his own hands and do something with himself and become someONE!

Thinking about the situation with his friend makes me sad. BUT...thinking about the fact that that could be my son makes me even more sad. Thinking about how he has decided to not just sit around feeling like he can't do anything to better himself and has decided to join the military makes me PROUD of him. Although him joining the military freaks me out on a daily basis still I have come to accept that this is the best thing he could do for himself right now. It gives him direction, purpose, and something to do not only for himself but for our country. He will be a fine Marine and I will be praying for his safety daily.

I pray that my son's friend will recover fully and find a purpose to his life soon. Will you join me in this prayer??

**PS Sorry if this post is disjointed and makes no sense. I am tired but felt it necessary to get it written and posted. Hopefully it makes enough sense that you will understand what I was trying to say.

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!!

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!

Confession -- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

It's Confession time again over at the Sisterhood and I'm feeling the need to do some confessin'.

I've been in a slump the past few months and over the past month I have just helped to feed it by not doing much of anything other than sit here in front of my computer and the basics to keep the household running. I've definitely been in a state of "depression" although I hate using that word. There are people out in the world who suffer from true depression and the only way to pull out of it is from medication. I'm not suffering from that kind of depression....mine is more of a "I'm sick of the way my life is going" kind of depression, ya know?

I KNOW what it will take to pull out of it -- exercise and eating better and a some money to pay the bills and buy some little extras would help, too so I've had a "come to Jesus meetin'" this week and I'm starting to get control of myself again! I decided that tracking things on the Ipod Touch is too time consuming for me right now so I'm using the Livestrong/MyDailyPlate tools online. They have a HUGE database of foods already listed and I'm finding it pretty easy to use.

Yesterday was my first time to truly use it and I went over my calorie count, but mainly because I didn't get in any exercise AGAIN!! I had a cup (yes, literally 1 cup) of chocolate milk last night cuz I'm having a real craving for chocolate lately. I also decided I really wanted to start drinking OJ again...I know lots of people say you shouldn't drink your calories but I LOVE OJ and it's good for me (I buy the kind with calcium added) so I'm getting lots of added nutrients! Those 2 drinks took me over my calorie count so I don't feel bad about them...although I know if I would have just done some exercise all would have been good.

My Zooma 5k is this Saturday and I'm more than excited! Not so much for the actual race but because I will get to meet Christy and Lisa and I get to have a girls weekend!! NO responsibility for anyone BUT ME! I don't remember the last time I've had that kind of weekend...The 5k is the part of the weekend that I don't feel ready for but as I was telling my brother Sunday, I know I can run a few minutes at a time and walk a few minutes at a time so that is what I plan to do. I would like to do it in 45 minutes or so but since I haven't really prepared for it, I'll be happy to be crossing the finished line running (wogging).

I spent this weekend digging through file boxes of receipts so I can start working on our taxes for the year...yes, I know that it is April 12th, but I still have a few days to get them done! That Other Kid got to help out by running receipts and paper through the shredder!! Gosh I wish I could have that much fun just shredding paper!!

I get to go get my hair cut/colored this afternoon and I am so excited!! It's been months since I have had it done and it is LONG overdo! I always feel so pampered and pretty when I leave the hair salon!

My friend with breast cancer is having surgery soon (probably next week) to remove the remaining cancer cells and her afflicted breast. It was supposed to be this week but they have moved it to *hopefully* next week (pending insurance and dr schedules). Please keep her family in your prayers. (Me too cuz this is so hard on me emotionally!)

Well that's it for me...hope you are having a good week!

Just a Few Confessions....

It's True Confessions time over at the Sisterhood and I wanted to get some things settled right here before my friends. So no delaying it with needless information and wordy explanations here are my confessions for this week.

The past 2 weeks I have been faithfully tracking my food and exercise on my LoseIt program on hubby's Ipod touch that he loaned/gave me. I have managed to burn off most of my excess calories. I think I only have 2 or 3 days where I really bonbed it. Some days I even fell well under "calories allotted" BEFORE I exercised! those were really good days, but the next day I felt like I was STARVING.ALL.DAY.LONG!! I have been faithfully logging everything I put in my mouth and have exercised 24 days in a row!!

Saturday and yesterday I did some heavy duty cleaning that I counted as my exercise for those 2 days. I consider moving furniture and scrubbing bathtubs, stoves and cabinets exercise!! I also wiped down walls and baseboards and washed windows...so lots of movement and muscle use for thesse 2 days! Saturday I took care of my house - at least some of it...I still have the living room (which will probably take a weekend all by itself) and my closet to do and I need to find the floor to That Other Kid's closet and get rid of some of the toys he never plays with but that will probably have to wait till this weekend. I can only cram so much into a week, ya know!!??

Yesterday, I went over to help my friend (with newly diagnosed breast cancer) thoroughly clean her master bedroom. Her mom and I are wanting to keep her as healthy as possible while she is going through the chemo treatments and having a thoroughly clean house will certainly help her breathe! She repeatedly told me how much she appreciated it. My only response to her was that helping her clean was something I could PHYSICALLY DO to help her. I NEED to DO something! and this sure beat EATING uncontrollably which is what I keep "wanting" to do because I am having a really hard time dealing with my best friend having breast cancer!! I have been doing pretty well with the stress of this, I think. Everytime I start "thinking" I want to eat something 'just because' I start cleaning or exercising!!

Apparently I am really serious about not letting this stress get the best of me this time!!

Additional confession of the day...I haven't seen That Kid in over 2 weeks (since he moved out of our place into his own with friends). I know he is 20 years old and about to be sent off for Marine boot camp but I miss him!! Maybe I miss him even more knowing that soon I won't be able to see him anytime I want cuz he will be out of state or out of the country!! I don't know....but I do think for the most part I am handling his absence in our family pretty well. Sometimes when I really am missing him I just start texting him random questions...hoping that I will get to "talk" to him in whatever way possible!! I invited him home for dinner tonight, so hopefully he will come eat with us so I can talk to him in person!! Of course, his brother will probably monopolize his time here but at least I will see him!!

My hubby asked me last night where I would like to go on a vacation if I could go ANYWHERE I WANTED. Um....I thought about it for a while and decided a 2 week vacation to Hawaii sounds like a perfect vacation. I want to hike, bike, sitesee and sit on the beach and be a bum (occasionally!) He said to plan on it within 18 months so I definitely want to be in tip top shape by then...don't want to be fat and out of shape for a trip like that!!

Ok...enough for today...just wanted to let ya'll know I am having a pretty successful (in my opinion) couple of weeks. We will see what the scales say tomorrow! Until then...hope ya'll have a good day!

It's Officially Christmas Eve....

and we are just hours away from leaving town for a "quick" weekend trip to see family. Just days ago we had not decided what we were doing and now we not only know what we are doing but we are packed and ready to go! All we need to do is pack the toiletry bag, take showers, grab the snacks and head out the door!

I am so excited!! Probably more so than the boys! For some reason it was very important to me to spend Christmas with the family. Maybe because we didn't get to last year. Maybe because this year has been so hard. Maybe because we don't know where That Kid will be next year at this time. But whatever the reason, I am glad that it is happening!! I will also get to spend some time with a bunch of my high school friends this weekend and I am beyond excited at this possibility! Several of them I haven't seen in YEARS...but through the wonders of technology and FaceBook we discovered we will all be in the same town on the same weekend and so we are working on plans!! Don't worry the camera is packed so pictures will follow next week!! One of my childhood friends is now a musician who plays with many different acts in Branson so that will be fun to hang with my friend "the star"!!

Ok..enough of this talk...I need to get some sleep so I can go all weekend with as little sleep as possible so I can cram as much family and friends into the trip as possible! I hope your Christmas is filled with family and friends and all the joy of the Christmas season!!


Recent picture of That Kid and That Other Kid...for our family pictures!

Merry Christmas!!

Thanks For Your Support

Well today was the day for the Ultimate Shrinkvivor announcement. I knew I was going to be gone most of the day so I got up and looked right away to see if they put the announcement of the winner -- to no avail. They posted a great recipe, but not the announcement I was waiting for, so I left with That Other Kid and my phone fully charged so I could CONSTANTLY check for the announcement I knew would soon be coming.

Would I be the Ultimate Shrinkvivor?? It was anyone's guess at this point and I was anxious to find out!

We went to see MegaMind with some friends and then went to lunch. The movie was great so I was distracted enough with the movie that I didn't check my email or the Shrinking Jeans website till after the movie. Still no announcement and it was nearly 1 p.m.!! UGH!! When will they get the winner posted??!! We went to lunch and I check a couple of times during lunch...still nothing! After lunch we went to the park and I had planned to run for my C25K training. It was cool (only 58 degrees) and windy but I needed a distraction and I really didn't want to run on the treadmill again today, so I left That Other Kid at the park in my friend's care and took off with my Ipod, my pedometer, my heart rate monitor and my bottle of water!

I did my run around the neighborhood (which happens to be my OLD neighborhood) and got back to the park where I sat down on the sidewalk to stretch. I took my phone out of my phone carrier (also known as the holder of the "girls"--where do ya'll keep your phones while you run??) and checked my email! Lo and behold, Melissa had just sent an email telling us the link was up! I was so excited...I tried to click the link but because it was a video I couldn't get it to pull up! I was sooooo bummed but I thought "hum, I wonder if Lissa is still online? She just got the link and email sent, maybe she is still there!" I emailed her and told her I couldn't pull it up on my phone...who won??!! It was truly my lucky day...she was still online and replied right away!! She told me Mary had won the Ultimate Shrinkvivor and that Sam had won Exile Island! I was momentarily bummed that I had not won, but it literally only lasted a moment, because I was sooooo happy for her. She really did work hard and lost a lot of weight. Plus once I realized who Mary was I really didn't think I had a chance. I mean come on now, Beth is her daughter! Beth is how I found out about Shrinking Jeans and I KNOW her network is HUGE! Not only did Mary have Beth supporting her but she has several other adult children and even grandchildren and extended family to support her! She's one very fortunate woman to have all of this love and support!

Anyway, I really appreciate all of you that voted for me and cheered me on during this challenge. I would not have been able to stay so focused without the support I got from everyone. I really appreciate all the support I got from the Green Tribe, too! We really did do amazing things during the past 7 weeks and I am so proud of all of us ladies. Not only did I lose 13 pounds but I met some wonderful women to share this journey of weight loss with! I know that the bonds we started building over the past 7 weeks will continue to grow because we are all in this together!

There are other challenges coming up soon so if you are in need of a wonderful support system to drop some pounds, no matter how many or how few pounds, you need to check the ladies of the Sisterhood out! You won't be sorry, and who knows what you will gain out of the experience? I do know one thing you will gain out of joining the Sisterhood....FRIENDSHIP!!

**C25K training update -- I ran/walked almost 2.5 miles today on my run! and I did it in 31 minutes!! I was soooo excited when I saw how far I had gone! I may actually be able to do my next race in a reasonable amount of time!!