It's A New Year - 2012

It's a new year and I'm ready to make the most of it! The Sisterhood wants us to start it off right so they are offering a great new challenge to start 2012 off with a bang!



I'm excited and ready to see what I can do when I pour myself into it 100% and that's exactly what I'm planning to do! In fact I already started, by getting up this morning and changing clothes, putting my contacts in and EXERCISING! Yes, that's right I've decided that I need to exercise first thing in the morning so I have no excuses to NOT do it!

For the month of January I have decided to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred! Yes, I know January has 31 days but I figure I can start February a day early since it only has 29 days in it! Since Jillian's workout is only about 20 minutes (plus about 4 minutes of warmup and cool down I decided to some sort of ab workout to bring my minumum total of workout to 30 minutes. Today I pulled up Netflix's Target Toning and I did the 10 minute Ab workout. Normally I would say that this workout would not be a good enough workout for me but after Jillian it was enough! I feel like I'm starting over with my fitness and this was a great start!

As for my starting weight for this challenge: Sadly it was 205.0 and honestly I was surprised it wasn't more. Over the past couple of months I have basically not had any exercise and I have been eating and drinking way more than I know I should! This challenge lasts 8 weeks and goes till the end of February. That gives us plenty of time to make some good changes and a great start to meeting our goals for 2012!

At the end March of 2009 I started my journey of weight loss and I weighed in at 226.8, so over the course of 2 years and 9 months I have lost and maintained a loss of 21 pounds. For that I am happy. For that I am grateful. BUT I really want and NEED to get the rest of this weight off. It's for my health! It's for my sons! It's something I need to do for ME! So here I am again at the beginning of a new year saying one of my goals for the year is to lose weight. I really believe that if I follow the Low Glycemic Index Diet Plan (that the doctor told me to follow nearly 3 years ago) I will meet my goal of 150 - 155 pounds by the time my birthday shows up on the calendar in late July.

So...how will I ensure that I follow the diet and exercise plan I KNOW will work for me? I will hold myself accountable. I will beg my friends to help me! I will make sure that I don't buy junk that I will be tempted to eat! I will focus on the things that help me do what I know I need to do. I will also make sure I exercise EARLY in the day so that I'm not "too tired" to exercise! Just an excuse really since I don't EVER go to bed early but it was an excuse I used for the past couple of months!

So...my goals for the month of January?

** Workout with Jillian every morning as well as an additional 10 minutes of ab work! (My abs will thank me!) for a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise a day.
** Follow along with the challenges that the Sisterhood throws out there!
** Follow along with the "small changes" that Christy will share with us on the 'hood!
** Follow the Low Glycemic Index Diet Plan! If it's not on the plan it's not going into my mouth this month! (I'm not planning to be this strict the whole year but I really think my body needs some "detoxing" and this is a great way to do it!)
** Weigh in at the end of January at 195!

If I do everything I have set out to do I know I can meet this goal! Yes, it will be challenging. Yes, it will be hard. Yes, I'm gonna need my friends to help me out sometimes. BUT....I know in my head and heart that I am worth the effort!

So are you participating in the new challenge? It's gonna rock!! Let me know what your hopes and dreams are for the new year so I can encourage and help you meet them!

Happy New Year friends!

Just A Few More Hours!

2011 will be over in less than 10 hours! This has been kind of a "stand -still" year. So many things were just "there". Nothing special, nothing much to discuss, the kind of year that just was! I didn't lose weight this year, in fact I've gained. I haven't gotten organized like I wanted. I didn't complete the Christmas stocking that I started for That Other Kid 8 years ago. I did a lot of stressing out over my son being in boot camp. I just kind of let the year slip me by. I don't want that to happen again!

There were a couple of significant things that happened this year that will forever change my life (and that of my family and friends). First of all my best friend, Glenna went through breast cancer treatments, surgeries and recoveries. I watched her deal with this and helped as much as I could. She has tackled it head on and has had a recovery that is amazing!

Through her cancer diagnosis I decided that it was time to follow through with something I have wanted to do for years! The Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure Walk- 60 miles in 3 days! It truly was an experience I will never forget! I'm already signed up for 2012's walk and I'm gearing up to start training and fundraising again. I loved it! Except for the blisters while training and the cramped calf muscle during day 2 of the walk! Lol

The third thing that happened this year that is worth taking note of is that my oldest son went from being "that kid" to My Marine! He left in September for Marine bootcamp and graduated December 16th! I am now the proud mom of a United States Marine Private! I couldn't be more proud to say that my son is a Marine! He gets to be home on leave till January 16th and so I'm enjoying having him home for this month since I don't know when he will be home again.

These are all very significant things that have made me the person I am at the end of 2011 BUT they don't come close to meeting the goals I had for the year. So I have been reflecting on a lot of things I want for 2012 and have decided to break them down week by week and month by month into smaller goals that will help me reach my bigger goals.

Honestly, I'm still working them out but here are a few of my goals, in no particular order.

Christy threw out a great challenge of following 52 small healthy living goals to make us healthier by the end of 2012 so I'm going to follow along with this.

Another thing I'm implementing first thing tomorrow is a Low Glycemic Index Diet Plan. When I follow it it works amazingly well! There's just that big IF so I'm making it a priority for January and eating only from the plan! Will power will be necessary but I know I can do it!

Another thing I'm going to implement is moving my body a MINUMUM of 30 minutes every day! I have video games, DVD's, apps on my phone, Netflix instant! So many options, all I have to do is DO IT! I'm starting with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. It will give me a great benchmark for starting over!

A couple of other things I'm wanting to do is start consistently reading my Bible, getting organized and rid of clutter! I love to read but lately I just haven't taken the time to do much. This will be another area I'm going to work on.

And probably my most challenging goal that I have decided I want to work toward is "less frivolous computer time"! This means not checking emails, Facebook, twitter, words with friends, etc a million times a day! I'm going to give myself time limits and designated time during the day and that's it! I've wasted far too much time goofing off on the computer (or phone) so that has to stop!

Consistently is gonna be a big key to my success this year! Wish me luck!

Btw, if you want to get another quick tax deduction I have started my fundraising for my 2012 3 Day for the Cure Walk! Once again I need to raise $2300 and I would love to have your support! You can donate here

Thanks bunches for all your support and love and virtual butt kickings you have given me this year! I hope you have a wonderful 2012! Xoxoxo

Almost the End

It's nearly the end of 2011; in case you have been living in a hole somewhere and are unaware of the date, it is December 28th! That means there are only 3 days left to take advantage of 2011 and all it has to offer!

As for me I am looking forward to 2012 already! This year has been a very emotional year for me....lots of ups and downs. I'm ready to move on to 2012 so I can push through the things I have struggled with and hopefully move forward to a better year.

There have been great things that happened this year; namely the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure Walk and My Marine going through Marine Corp bootcamp and the graduation ceremony. He's home now on leave and it is so wonderful to have him home!

But, there have been downers too. I haven't lost weight this year. In fact (if I'm honest here) I've gained weight this year and this depresses me greatly. This must change!

Whatever it takes I must make 2012 the year I lose enough weight to hit my goal!

I have committed to walking the Komen 3 Day for the Cure again for 2012, but I also promised my husband I would lose weight before that time. It's for my health and necessary to make sure I am around for many years to come.

So I'm trying to come up with some workable plans. Something that will enable me to train for the walk AND lose weight! Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated!

I've started my fundraising efforts for the 2012 Walk for the Cure. If you donate this week you can still get a tax donation for your 2011 taxes!
Go here to donate!

Birthday Time!

Today was That Other Kid's 8th birthday! I can hardly believe it has been 8 years since he came into this world! He has been a rambunctious, active boy since the very beginning and today was no different.

He woke up about 6am saying "I had a nightmare, I need to sleep with you!" so he climbed into bed, wiggled , squirmed and finally went back to sleep till about 8:15. At that time he determined it was time to get up and OPEN PRESENTS! We made him wait till about 10:30 which apparently was cruel! Lol

But it was all worth the wait apparently because he was VERY excited to get several "cool" gifts that he had wanted for a long time.

Traditionally we go to the birthday person's restaurant of choice, so he chose to go to Red Robin! He loves the fries and the arcade games there!

He aged very quickly!

His favorite game; a car racing game!

We came home and played a VERY short game of Star Wars monopoly! He won, which made the birthday even more special!

He had a great birthday!

Happy birthday to my baby! So glad you are That Other Kid!

Graduation Day

Today was graduation day! A wonderful day to be sure. It's late and I'm exhausted so it's just pictures tonight. My son is back home and I'm still in San Diego, but we are leaving very early so I need to get to bed.

I will write more after I get a chance to relax tomorrow night with all 4 of us under the same roof again!

Today In Pictures

Today was Family Day- the day before graduation and the day we got to spend 4 glorious hours with My Marine! It was a wonderful day!
I loved seeing how changed he was, and just watching h interact with his peers and That Other Kid was wonderful.

Today was a very emotional day for me. Pride, excitement, joy, shock are just a few of the emotions that I experienced. Unless you have watched your child grow from an infant into a United States Marine you can probably not relate. There is nothing like this feeling. No words can adequately describe it, so I won't try! People always say pictures tell a story better so I'm sharing some of the pictures from today. It was a very bright, sunny day so there is a lot of glare on these but that's ok. They all are pictures of My Marine and I'm happy to say that I am the mother of a United States Marine!

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!