Thanks to all!

My friends are so wonderful and encouraging! Thank you all. I love you, hookers! Your comments after my last post were so wonderful and sweet and motivating. Guess it's time for a good, long workout now. And a banana. I want a banana...

Weigh in Wednesday

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited this week to report a 0.9 pound loss. I don't know how that happened. I didn't work out as much as I did the previous 2-3 weeks. I ate more than I know I should have. I am feeling kinda bloated (sorry if this is TMI). I expected a slight gain. I was hoping to have maintained. Holy cow - this is awesome. I shouldn't brag too much, should I? That's just setting myself up to be jinxed next week, but I'll take what I can get right now! I weigh 134.2 pounds. Are you kidding me???

If you want to join in the fun, go check out the lovely ladies and gentleman over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.

You Capture

So, this week's theme for You Capture (which I haven't played in quite awhile), was "Love Around your Home". There was lots to love this week:

This is a new sign I got to remind me to be hopeful. And it's right next to a picture of me and Jerrod from our wedding. I love this picture. He's holding the train of my wedding dress as we're walking around taking pictures, so that it doesn't get dirty.

This dog L-O-V-E-S chewies!

Oh, my how good do fresh mandarins taste that were lovingly picked off my grandparents' tree and transported back from California?

We love our friends!

Kirsten's oldest two girls and hubby came out for a visit last weekend (see pics above and below). I love getting a chance to love on two of my favorite little girls in the whole, wide world!

So, what did you capture this week?

Weigh in Wednesday

It's time again for Weigh in Wednesday over at the Sisterhood. All my "sisters" are weighing in, so go check it out!

This week I weighed in at 135.1 pounds. That's down 1.1 pounds from last week and down a total of 1.6 pounds so far for this challenge. I can't remember the last time the scale said 135, so I'm pretty happy with that. And my goal was to lose 3 pounds in this 7 week challenge, so I'm over halfway there with over half the challenge left to go. Woo hoo!

Grocery Day

Okay, so it's not like I'm the bargain shopping queen. I've seen Brooke and my cousin Melissa come away with some smashing deals from the grocery store. But I was still pretty proud of myself today. I got all you see below for $36-and-some-change. That's a giant tub of name-brand cat litter, canned cat food, toothpaste, the expensive dishwasher detergent (which was on sale AND I had a $2.50 coupon for it), and a ton of produce. And to top it off, most of the produce is organic (which is the expensive stuff). I got a thing of bananas, a head of cauliflower, Fuji apples, celery hearts, and about a pound and a half of the cutest baby zucchini that I'd ever seen - all organic. In addition to that (because you just can't find a ton of organic produce this time of year), I also got a mango, an English cucumber, blood oranges, and 4 bright bell peppers. Okay, so it's not the best deal on the planet, but it's pretty darn good!

I'm planning...

It's Monday, and Kirsten and I are planning again. This week, I'm planning:

• to get my test results for my orange belt test for karate and...
• to (hopefully) get my orange belt!
• to buy paint for the guest room and office and maybe paint one of the two rooms
• to get a massage
• to go to this discount home goods store in town and look for a chair for the office
• to up my weekend "long walk" from 3 miles to 4 miles - gotta get ready for that 1/2 marathon in June!

So, what are you planning this week?

Anyone Wanna Play?

So, my dear friend Kirsten HATES Hungry, Hungry Hippos. She thinks it's entirely too noisy. When she still lived near me, I used to joke around with her girls whenever they were really hungry and tell them they were hungry, hungry hippos. They had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, so I went out and bought them the game. The only stipulation was that I had keep the game at MY house. Well, her oldest two were out here for the weekend with her hubby, so we decided to play a few rounds. I still can't believe she hates this game so much. It is so much fun! All our friends on Twitter have threatened to send her a game when she least expects it. Even her husband tonight was wanting to buy one just to torture her. Poor hippos. Such rejection!

Motivation

So, this week's Monday Project over at the Sisterhood was to make a motivational wall for ourselves. I am a day late getting this posted (it was due Friday), but at least I got it done, and I'm very happy with the way it came out.
In the middle is a quote I found that I love. There is one picture of me in a skinnier version of myself and one picture of this incredibly strong woman doing arm weights while holding a plank pose. I wrote my goals for this challenge on the 3 apple-shaped sticky notes at the right. "Goal #1: I will exercise 5 days a week. Goal #2: I will drink water before having a snack. Goal #3: I will lose 3 pounds (goal weight 133)." And scattered around, I put words that I cut out of a magazine that inspire me. "Special, Change, Life, Gorgeous!, Smarter, Loving, Ready, Stylish, Every Day Matters".

Random

Okay, so I'm bored and can't think of anything fun and exciting to post, so here are the random thoughts/facts about my life:

• I haven't done a single, blasted thing yet today. I can't seem to get motivated to get up off my butt!
• Tuesday it took me less than 2 hours to catch up online (including reading a week's worth of blogs). Today I've already been online for WAY longer than that, and I'm still not caught up. I'm gonna blame the slow computer, but I think I'm clicking more links. And I did actually try to clear some of the lingering stuff out of my email inbox. I can waste a million hours online, though, and not even bat an eyelash.
  
• I have a karate test tonight. If I don't completely turn into a blundering idiot, that means I'll be awarded my orange belt next Thursday.
• I am SO excited that American Idol is back on TV!
• Dog hair is taking over my life! I'm upstairs in my loft, sitting on my favorite chair, and it is totally covered in dog hair. I really need to clean more! :)
• I am now feeling a bit stressed at all that I have to do today.
• I refused to go to the cabin this weekend to hang out with the in-laws due to the fact that I am SO tired of going places and doing things and having to be SOCIAL and all that crap. Plus, I'm slightly annoyed at my SIL (okay, that's sort of an understatement) for inviting friends to our family trip to the cabin for Christmas. So then when she suggested we all go again as a family, I feel like saying, "Screw you!"
• As Brooke, so kindly just reminded me, I haven't done my motivation board for our Monday project over at the Sisterhood (it's due Friday). I guess I'd better get on that!
• I just made the bestest, yummiest chicken salad sandwich for lunch and some awesome veggie dip. Good times!

Okay, I think that's all for now!

New Haircut

What do you think?

Weigh in Wednesday

So, last week I was at 136. This week: 136.2. As my husband would say, .2 pounds is just a good poop, so I suppose that means I maintained. The sucky thing is that I FEEL skinnier. Go figure. We were visiting my family and eating a very different diet (including eating out) for 4 days, so I suppose that maintaining is good. I'll leave it at that. Wanna see more weight loss stories? Check out the Sisterhood.

I'm planning...

Okay, so it's time to plan the week out again. Actually, I should have already done this, but you know how these things go. This week I am planning to:

• Cut my hair OFF - it's driving me nuts!
• Renew my expired driver's license. Yes, expired. I didn't know this until the lady checking my ID at the airport pointed it out. Good to know.
• Take my next karate test, so I can get my orange belt.
• Schedule a massage for next week. I deserve one.
• Paint the guest room.
• Actually use my sewing machine for the first time in months!
• Make my husband take me on a date. I wanna see Avatar!

Wanna plan with us? Check out Kirsten's blog.

Finally Friday

So, this week for the Sisterhood, we were supposed to write out our story. My story? I'm not sure I really have one, but I'll try. See, I started out VERY skinny. Well, I was a thin kid, and then in junior high I grew a lot without gaining any weight. Then I was just skinny. Like 5 feet, 4 inches and only 95 pounds. Yes, that's skinny. I never could GAIN weight. I know, I know. Tough problem to have. I broke 100 pounds in high school and probably bounced between 102 and 108 in high school and college. I swear I couldn't have weighed more than 112 when I met my husband in 2000. So, I'm going to blame all the weight on him. He's a REALLY good cook. Kirsten can verify that. Just ask her. Anyway, I'm sure it was a combination of the good food, the comfort of a secure relationship, and just plain getting older. In my last year of college (I went back to school after we got married), I remember going to the gym with a friend between classes, and I only weighed 120. I loved that weight. I had never been able to weigh enough to feel that I didn't look too thin. I felt healthy at that weight and clothes fit nicely. Now I'm 5' 5", so yes that was still skinny, but it wasn't skeletal. I have a thin frame. I graduated from college in 2005. Some where along the way in the last 4 1/2 years, I managed to gain 20 pounds. I think part of it was being on Lexapro. I'm sure part of it was the hormones in those stinking fertility drugs. I'm gonna guess that part of it was passing that big 3-0. But I managed to get from 140 (well, at least 138), down to a consistent 136-ish since joining the Sisterhood. My goal now is 130. If I reach that, I might try for 125, but I think at my age that might be pushing it! :) the sad thing is that I don't think I even fully realized how much weight I'd gained. I was looking at some pictures the other day and actually SAW what I looked like 30 pounds ago, and it totally hit me over the head. I KNEW it, but it just didn't sink in until then. Also, the double-chin I'm starting to show in pictures now is oh-so-lovely. But that's another story. Anyway, I swear that this is it. I'm training for the 1/2 marathon, and I have a goal. I am going to complete it. 130 before June. Actually, I'm aiming for 130 before Hooker Retreat 2010 in April so I can show off! (hey, girls, I think we might need a website, so I can post a link to that - :) ) So, anyway, what's your story?

New Year, New Goals

So, everyone is either doing posts on the past year (or decade!) or posts on goals for this upcoming year. I have no desire to search through old photos for this post (and I spend enough time reviewing the past in my head anyway), but I always love setting goals.

This year, my husband and I have decided to stop consumer-ism in our home. We have too much stuff. Junk. Pure junk. Do we need it? No, to most of it. I mean, we need food and some basic stuff. And toothpaste and deodorant are really important. But new cameras? Wii games? Computers? Clothes? (And I mean clothes beyond the basic necessities...trust me, I have a LOT of clothes.) We don't need any of this stuff, but somehow we get sucked into the idea that we do. Society is fun like that, isn't it?

And it isn't even totally about the money. Well, it isn't to me. I'm sure that's half the reason to my hubby. But it's just about the waste. The environment can't handle all the junk. Our lives can't handle the clutter. Our attitudes can't handle the chaos.

I'm always saying that I want to simplify. There is a part of me that would love to live in a small apartment in New York with a very defined space where I had to fill every inch with clever storage ideas in order to accommodate the basics. That's the epitome of simplifying. The actual situation, however, is that I have a house that is WAY too big and thus is prone to accumulating stuff. So, we are going to buy less.

I am going to think about purchases first. I am going to ask myself if I really need it. When I do need something, I am going to try to buy local stuff (or made in the USA stuff, when I can find it). And when I don't need something, I am going to wait to get it. Don't get me wrong, I will not be refraining from all clothing purchases this year. But I will plan out what I need/want and will make a list and a budget and I. will. stick. to. it.

And, on a totally different note, I'm taking a cue from Lissa, and I'm going to be less cranky this year. I'm going to bitch at my husband less and make a concerted effort to get along. It just seems like we've been very snippy with each other lately, and it's stupid. It's never over anything important. I am going to stop being a brat and start being NICE!!!

So, anyone else have any lofty goals for this new year?

Weigh in Wednesday

Okay, it's time to weigh in over at the Sisterhood, and ..........


I'm DOWN 0.7 pounds to 136, even. (I thought I started at 136.8, but apparently the little bar on the Wii fit was at 136.7). I'll take it. Let's hope this is the start of a nice trend!

Okay, this Monday's challenge (yes, late again, I know) from the Sisterhood is to examine what we did good and bad in 2009. They gave us some questions to consider, so here goes:

What about 2009 (and beyond) did not work?
Let's see... It didn't work to not exercise or to eat in front of the TV.

What were my goals?
My goal was to lose 10-ish pounds and get down to 125. Now I'd be perfectly happy to be 130.

Did I fall short of achieving them? If so, why?
Yes, I fell short. I think exercise is my biggest problem. I don't like it. at. all. And then when I do lousy, I give up. But when I do well, I think that I can eat something special to reward myself. I know, I know. Silly, huh?

What were my biggest obstacles?
EXERCISE!!!

What were my patterns?
I do really well for 2-3 weeks and then I lose motivation.

What was my “rock bottom” moment?
Um, I think that was just the other day when I was looking at old photos and realized that I have gained more weight than I thought. I know, logically, in my head how many pounds I've gained and how different I look, but the old photos really drove that home. Kinda depressing, really.

What are my bad habits?
Eating in front of the TV, snacking, dessert, using any excuse NOT to exercise.

So, then what about 2009 DID work???
Well, I don't think this is a 2009 thing, though I did sign up in 2009, but getting ready for the 1/2 marathon is motivating me beyond belief. I need a goal and a deadline. A fitness goal that is going to push me. Hard. And a training schedule. I'm a type A, schedule-oriented, slightly *ahem* anal kinda person.

And, finally, what are my proposed solutions to the things that didn't work?
Remind my husband that we are supposed to eat dinner at the table. We keep trying this, but we seem to revert back to old habits. And maybe I need to clean off the dining room table, so we can actually use it. Follow my walking schedule (4-5 days a week). Use my Wii at least twice a week. Keep my butt in karate, even though I want to quit!

So, do YOU need some motivation??? Join our latest challenge and get started working toward a healthier new you in 2010!