Back At It!

I'm back at the gym and feeling great about it! It felt so good to be back! 

I went for the first time yesterday and it was a little awkward! It was like I was new at it, I'd forgotten a few things. But when I went today it was like I'd never left! Except of course I did everything at a lower level. I did the elliptical for a half hour but only on level 5, whereas I used to do it on like 13 or 14. Yesterday I only got to upper body weight machines in before Clint needed me to come home, and today I got to do 7 machines! I'm doing everything with less weight than I used to. Not that I really remember how much I used to do, but I'm just starting low and getting a feel for it all again. 

What's gonna suck is that I can't go every day. I can go on Clint's days off for sure. But to go on the days he works I'll either have to take Zane with me, take him to daycare for an hour, or go when Clint's home. When Clint's on nights I might be able to get him to agree to let me go around the time he's supposed to wake up. When he's on days, I could go when he gets home, or after dinner, but after dinner I'll be full and it'll be late and that's just no fun. So we'll see.

I'm not gonna worry about the diet yet. I've been maintaining eating the way I've been eating, so I'm just adding the exercise in for now and we'll see how that goes. I can't count calories anyway since I'm breastfeeding. I have no idea how many more calories I need, and everything I read says it varies woman to woman and baby to baby. 

But I am using my MFP app again to log exercise and weight changes! 

I'm just really excited to be at this again, and really happy that it felt good instead of awful. I feel like I can get back to where I was if I keep at it! 

I am doing something I didn't do last time... sharing my progress pictures! Eeeeek!! I even set up the tripod in our bedroom (kinky, eh?) to get decent pix this time. I regret the crappy mirror cell phone pix from last time!

So here's today's starter pic:

Ick!! I didn't know I looked like that from behind! Well,m that's why I don't wear super tight shirts in public. lol. 

I did do measurements today. Not sure if I did them exactly like I did last time, and really I never knew if I was doing them "right."

But here they are anyway:

Weight: 236.25

"Belly" (I think hips technically): 53.25"

Arm: 13.5"

Thigh: 28"

Bust: 48.5"

Chest: 40.25"

Torso (narrowest part): 44"

Should have measured my butt- maybe next time!

I think that's it! I don't know how often I'll update with weight loss, but I'll try to do it at least a couple times a month, maybe bi-weekly? We'll see!   

Me vs. Me *Image Heavy*

I'm pregnant. Thrilled about it. And I know that it means I'll gain weight. 

But damnit! Here I am last summer:

"OW!" If I do say so myself. Best I've ever looked in my entire life. EVER. 

This is me the summer before last (2011):

(both photos credit to Jennifer Rice Photography)

It's not the best picture to show how much heavier I was, but I was much heavier, as you know if you've been following my blog very long. 

About 80lbs heavier. 

Here's a side by side of two more pictures from the two shoots:

Where I'm going with this is that I look at pictures of me last summer, not just these awesome professional ones, but any picture of me last summer, and I feel like I looked so good and I'm okay with not looking that good this summer, obviously, because I'm pregnant. I'm gonna get super big and then the baby's gonna come and I'm still gonna have some extra weight on (a LOT extra if I don't change my ways soon), but my fear is that I'll never look that good again. 

Ever. 

And it really only lasted a few months. 

I'm trying to motivate myself. 

I never shared these pictures on my blog or on FB.

This is my first "progress" pic. I think I was about 15 lbs down when I realized I should be taking pictures:

So gross. 

This is one of the last progress pictures I took:

(Same shirt)

So much better!

So all these pictures are my motivation.

What I don't want to become again vs. what I do want to become again.

I'm not gonna be so optimistic and say that I just KNOW I can do it!

Because I don't know that.

All I can really say is that I HOPE I can do it.
I hope I can find that motivation that I found before and get even lower than my lowest weight of 193. 

I hope that 175 is in my future. 

I know it will take a while.

I know it will take dedication and a lot of hard work.

So I hope I can do it. 

After baby comes, of course!

Here's some more motivational pictures for me... 

I don't even recognize myself in some of them.

^^ Look at that belly and those dimples in my leg!! ^^

^^ That round face and fat neck! ^^

^^ My shoulders seem so broad. ^^

 In all these pictures of my past, I was happy. I knew I was fat, obese. But it didn't bother me. It was who I was and I still loved myself, I didn't hate what I saw when I looked in the mirror. 

I knew I didn't look hot, but I didn't hate it.

I've always viewed that as a good quality that I have.

But then I look at these pictures now and wonder how I let it get so bad, and how I was okay with being so big. 

I weighed 275lbs. 

That's not ok!

Hopefully once the baby comes I can pull up this post, look at these pictures and rededicate myself to weight loss. 

Hopefully someday I'll see that 175 on the scale. 

And hopefully...

I'll never ever ever see 275 again. 

Like, ever! 

I think that's all. 

Have a nice day! :)

1st Update of 2012

We're about a week into the new year and so far so good! Nothing to complain about, anyway.

I am doing pretty good with the resolutions. I haven't had a soda all year and I've definitely cut back on the sugar. I've gone back to only having a chocolate treat once a day, generally after dinner. My afternoon snacks are healthier. Like yesterday I made a veggie soup and that's gonna be my afternoon snack and/or side dishes for a few days. Or I'll have fruit. I keep meaning to make hard boiled eggs, but keep forgetting. Anywy, definitely doing better and not really having a hard time with it after the first few days. I guess I do kinda cheat and have a chocolate calcium chew or two throughout the day to make me feel like I had chocolate. My other resolution was to crank up the gym routine. Well, I tried. But the routine I had detailed in my last entry left me exhausted the rest of the day. :( I felt fine while working out, but after the shower and relaxing for a minute, my body just felt limp and so tired. I guess I don't really need to burn over 600 calories at the gym everyday. So I went back to my old routine (eliptical, half weights, treadmill (rotating which weights I do daily) and I've added 5 minutes to my treadmill time. So far I've only had one day of that. But I think that will be okay. And I burn like 570 calories doing that so that's plenty. I keep meaning to look up how many calories you burn with daily activities like housework and sleeping. Just to see.

I've also started counting calories again with My Fitness Pal. It really does help! I forgot how much I liked to see the end of the day prediction. "If everyday were like today, you'd weigh xxx in 5 weeks." It gives extra motivation and something to work toward. And when you have a bad food day it makes you realize how much of an impact it would have if you always had bad food days!

I was pretty proud of myself on Friday, grocery shopping day. Had a normal breakfast. Then lunch at Red Robin where I got a salad (love thier salads). Yes I had ranch and the foccacia bread they serve with it but I don't think that's too terrible. Then instead of the 100 calorie pack of brownies I had in my purse, I had a banana on the way home. While the evil Robin ate Reese's. Mmmm. But I did good, so I'm proud!!

I guess I should talk about the doctors appt I had on the third. My blood sugar is still high (actually a point higher than last time) at 6.0. I gotta keep in mind, though, if I remember correctly, that the A1c test is your blood sugar over the last 3 months, like that's how long it stays in your system or something. I'm not a scientist or a doctor. Anyway. If that's the case, this test had October, November and most of December. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas cookies (I did it right before Christmas). So that's a bad three months! Hopefully the next one wil be better. I think it'll be in March so it will have probably the end of December, January, February and early March. I'm sure I'll do some poor eating on Super Bowl Sunday and there's probably some poor eating leftoever in December. But the rest of it should be okay! No other special eating occasions that I know of! My doctor did tell me that I should be eating like a diabetic. I don't really know how diabetics eat. But I'm gonna try to learn. For now I'm just doing like I said and cutting way back on sugars and carbs. That veggie soup I mentioned earlier didn't have potatoes or noodles and only had half the corn it called for. I'm trying.. baby steps. If the next draw is still as high or close then I will try to make more changes.

Also at my appt, we talked about me getting off the pill and TTC again soon. Dr. O said I can get off the pill whenever we're ready (yay!), but warned us to be ready to get pregnant right away. Apparently when you have PCOS, the birth control gets the PCOS in check and makes you more fertile. It takes a few months for the PCOS to kick back in so therefore I'm most fertile the first few months. Exciting, but kind of scary!! With the miscarriage in 2010 of course I am nervous about being pregnant again. I know that I'm a million times healthier now though. But I am also a star candidate for gestational diabetes which I read up on yesterday. Early in the pregnancy it can cause birth defects (commonly in the heart in brain :( ) and miscarriage (possibly why I miscarried last time). Later in the pregnancy, it can cause a big baby, resulting in C section. And as soon as the baby is born he/she has to be tested and possibly treated for low blood sugar. I feel like it's a big risk to take. But I also know that lots of women get gestational diabetes and give birth to healthy babies. But it does scare me and even makes me feel a little guilty for wanting to have a baby that could possibly have birth defects and other problems. But I know that it's a risk we have to take. I'll always have blood sugar problems. Anyway, we have an idea of when we plan to get off the pill, but I don't think I'm telling! :p I think I'll let it be a surprise when I get pregnant. Although I will probably have to vent about something TTC related and blow my cover. Well for now our plans will remain a mystery! Bwahahahaha!

Now it's time for weight talk! Well on New Years Eve I guess I pigged out a little and gained 3 lbs by Jan 2 (gym close on the first). So that put me back up around 211. Yesterday I was back down to 207 even! Woohoo! Almost back to my pre-Christmas weight! LOL. And the way I've been eating and exercising, I expect to see some good loss again! Like how it was in May, hopefully!

I did measurements on January 5th, at 207.25 lbs. Some slight changes for the better...
Waist: 48" (same)
Thigh: 24" (-1/2")
Torso: 39.5" (-1/4")
Chest: 37.5" (-1/4")
Bust: 44.5" (-1/4")
Arm: 13.25" (same)

I tried on a pair of 14 jeans, same brand as the 16s I got before Christmas. No dice! LOL. I was thinking these 16s are perfect in the waist but kinda loose in the thigh and butt (I always have this problem), so I thought maybe a pair of 14s would fit well in the thighs and butt, and I would be able to fake button them with a rubberband. But no. Not that close yet, but I'll get there darnit!

So what else.. New Years Eve I did end up playing Wii with Robin and Ellie. We all had fun. :) I brought over my noise makers that were my moms when she was a kid (about age 12) so they are ancient and super cool! Ellie sure liked them! LOL.

I guess that's it since it hasn't been that long since I last updated. Hope everyone is doing well!

Goodbye 2011

(I typed this up yesterday, forgot to post it...)

Well tomorrow is New Year's Eve and for once I have some resolutions!

1. Add an extra half hour a day at the gym, making a total of 2 hours. I plan to do elliptical for 30 minutes, half weights, treadmill for 22 minutes, half weights, then stationary bike for 10-25 minutes. I'll probably work my way up with time on the bike like I did with the other cardio.

2. Drop soda again. At least for a few months!

3. Cut back on sugar. I've little by little allowed more sugar back into my diet and I need to cut it back out. I plan to do it gradually because it seems so much harder this time! I think last time, in April, it was easier because I had this fear of diabetes and knew that I needed to make serious changes. This time I feel and look great so it doesn't seem so scary. However, my latest blood work showed my blood sugar (A1c) went up to 6.0 from 5.9 in August. Which sucks!! So that should be good motivation! I need to get that back down and the only way to do that is to eat less sugar!

If I can stick to all that for a while, I think I'll start seeing the weight come off faster again! And I'll be in prime baby-making shape in no time! I am thinking 2012 will be a great year for us! Here's hoping anyway!

I really have learned SO MUCH this year. Like with my blood sugar going up. I wasn't too worried about it because I assumed since I was still losing weight, that must mean that my blood sugar was good. Even though I was eating so much more sugar. But I guess I just thought I was getting everything in check and regulated and my body was processing sugar right for a change and so it would be okay. I'm glad I got a blood draw when I did so that I can take steps to make it better again! This wasn't Dr ordered blood work, this was me wanting to know how I was doing before my appt next month. Which was supposed to be in November. LOL But it's just a little check up, weight and such. So I am wondering if Dr. O thinks that I've stopped losing since my blood sugar went up. Maybe he will be happily surprised!

Also talking about sugar, I have realized that I can't eat it like I used to anyway. On Christmas, all day long I was snacking on sugary treats. Fudge, cookies, sweet nuts, chocolate covered pretzels. Then a HUGE dinner and then some pie. That night I had a slice of sugar cream pie. Something new I tried, pretty good! Anyway, I woke up at midnight sick. :( Sugar NEVER used to effect me like that. I could eat all the sugar I wanted with no side effects. Even the next day, a hefty slice of apple pie was too much sugar and made me feel weird and jittery. It's kinda sad to me that I can't eat like that any more, even on special occasions. But I know that it's a good thing. My body is simply not used to it any more and it is rejecting it. That's a good thing. It's just kinda sad! Because I love me some apple pie! So next year I'm gonna make less pies. Possibly just the pecan pies that Clint and his dad love. And they are yummy enough so I can just have some of that. Or maybe I'll try a lower sugar apple pie or something. But we always waste so much pie so I want to make less anyway. We'll see. But somethings gotta change.

So onto the weight.. The Thursday before Christmas I weighed 206.75 I believe. I didn't go to the gym Friday-Sunday and on Monday I weighed 212.5!!! HOLY COW! That's a LOT of gain for 4 days! I have never had a spike like that! More proof that I just can't eat like I used to. But it's Friday now and I am back down to 208. I love that whenever I have a rapid gain, I also have a rapid loss. I'll be back to my 206 in no time. Which is good because I want to be as close to 200 as I can by my appt! I just know my Dr. will be so proud of my weight loss!

Everyone knows this by now, but I bought a pair of size 16 jeans!! Haven't worn 16s since high school. It feels amazing! And actually I think I am pretty close to a 14. My body is so annoying though. If something fits in the waist, it's always loose around the thighs. So I think a 14 wouldn't be buttonable at this time, but it would look great everywhere else. I will try some on sometime. If I get them I can wear them with a looser, long enough shirt and no one will know they're unbuttoned. I used to do this all the time when I was growing out of clothes. It's the rubber band trick! ;)

Oh so here are my most recent measurements:
December 21
207.25 lbs
Waist: 48"
Thigh: 24.5"
Torso: 39.75"
Chest: 37.75"
Bust: 44.75"
Arm: 13.25"
Lost an inch on my waist! Woot! And quite a bit off my bust. :( Bad measuring maybe? LOL

So we had a nice Christmas! Clint's parents stayed with us, which was nice! We had a family party over here on Christmas Eve. Clint made steak and shrimp and it was soooo yummy! And he had gotten the garage all fixed up so we partied out there, dancing to country music. :) It was a great night. Christmas was spent at Kallie's and everyone, especially the kids, had a great time opening presents! Then that big dinner I mentioned earlier. The next day was pretty relaxed, and the in-laws went home on Tuesday.

New Years Eve will be pretty uneventful. Clint's on nights (3rd year in a row! :/ ) and I don't think I'm babysitting (haha!) so I will either hang out at home alone, go to the bar alone (So not likely!) or go over to Robin's if her and Logan didn't decide to go out. I'm liking option number 3 the best. We can play Wii and have a few drinks and just hang out.

Okay well it looks like I have babbled quite enough! I think I will end this now!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!! I hope 2012 brings happiness, miracles and joy to all!

IDK what to name this, so.. 11-15-11

It's been a little while since I've updated! Whoopsie!

Well I skipped a Measure Me Wednesday because I had GAINED weight and was 2 lbs heavier than the previous measurements. Halloween candy was bad for me! But since then I have gotten back on track. I measured last Wednesday and here are the results:

November 9
214lbs
waist: 49.5"
thigh: 25"
torso: 40.25"
chest: 37"
bust: 46.5"
arm: 13.3"

Some of the measurements actually got bigger which had me confused. But I'm gonna assume (for my own sanity) that it's because my body is changing due to muscle. I'm hoping to be going down in inches with all measurements next time, which I think will be tomorow since I think we will already be out of town for Thanksgiving by next Wednesday. Of course, it would be interesting to get pre and post Thanksgiving stats... :p

Today I weighed in at 211.75!! So I am having another good week! I've changed up my routine for the last 2 1/2 weeks though. For starters I am working my way up to 30 instead of 25 minutes on the elliptical. This week I'm doing 29, next week will be 30. I haven't changed the level of intensity yet, but once I get comfortable doing it for 30 minutes, I'll start moving up the level again. Then I am only doing half the weights each day (rotating which machines I do each day), and then I am doing the treadmill for 22 minutes. I don't have a set speed or elevation on the treadmill, really. It's kinda my cool down and I just do what I feel comfortable. I keep the speed between 2.5 and 3 and I start the elevation at 5 or 6 and move it up to 10 for at least a couple minutes.

I think this new routine is helping shed the pounds. Doing half the weights, I'm gaining less muscle (but still working my muscles!) and therefore losing faster. It feels good to be losing again!! I think I really needed this boost to make me feel like it wasn't gonna take forever to hit 200lbs! I haven't increased the weight that I lift on any of the machines in a while. I think after Thanksgiving I'll increase the ones that I feel comfortable. I really want to lose as much as I can by Thanksgiving, since I know I'll be gaining a few back! My MIL said she would set up the treadmill for me so at least I'll be able to get some exercise during our Thanksgiving visit! :)

Maybe after Christmas I'll start doing more weights again. Or maybe after I hit 200 lbs. Or maybe I'll do that by Christmas? :)

In other news, Clint's knee is healing well. He has physical therapy twice a week and is doing good with that, I guess. His next appt with the surgeon is Dec 5th, and at that time he'll decide if he's ready to go back to work or not. Fingers and toes crossed that he gets approval!! The black Friday check will be the first check with no worked hours on it. NOT looking forward to it. But hoping it's not as bad as I think it will be.

I would be lying if I said that I haven't been pretty stressed out lately with him not working, but we'll get through it!

On a positive note, we haven't been driving each other crazy!! He has adapted to my routine. I get the Tv in the morning till I go to the gym and usually when I have lunch and most evenings whenever I have shows on. He gets in the rest of the time. :) It works out pretty well! :) We don't spend a ton of time together, we just each do our own thing.

UGH! MY PHONE!! For a couple days it was freezing up constantly and driving me nuts!! Yesterday I finally did a factory reset on it. So now its running well again. But I've only had this refurbished phone for like 2 1/2 months. It shouldn't be acting up already, and if this becomes a habit, Verizon will be hearing from me! LOL I sound so tough, huh?

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving. We are probably gonna spend a full week in Safford since Clint isn't working. We should have a few days just us and his parents, which is always nice. His mom is gonna do Christmas pictures for us too, so yay! And the food!! Can't wait!! I'll be making my pies and nuts, all of which are pretty darn delicious! And of course turkey and taters and YAMS... MMMMMM!!! So cannot wait!! BTW, we are celebrating on Satruday because that's how we roll. :)

I will try to update again before we head out of town.

Measure Me!

Alright the challenge was fun, but I guess it's about time for a real update!

Most importantly, Clint is having knee surgery on Tuesday. This is an old injury (like 6 years old) that he never got taken care of. A couple times a year his left knee pops and swells up and after a few days it's back to normal. It did it again a few weeks ago and was more sowllen than I've ever seen it. It didn't get better as fast and he finally decided to do something about it! So we went to the local dr, who sent him to get an MRI and referred him to an orthopedic surgeon. He has a pretty bad "bucket handle" tear on his meniscus. It's pretty gnarly lookin'. Its definitely something that's gotten worse ove there years, and was probably just a simple tear initially. But there's no telling really. So he can either deal with it or have surgery. Obviously we chose surgery. It's scheduled for Tuesday morning. He gets to "go under" for the first time! The doctor says he'll be off for 4-6 weeks but Clint doesn't think it will take that long. I'm afraid he'll go back to work too soon and hurt himself. But I guess the doctor won't clear him to go back until he thinks its okay. We have short term disability coverage and we can supplement with his vacation that he hasn't used, so we should be okay money wise. Not great, but we won't be losing any vehicles or anything. LOL. I'm kinda excited for him to get it fixed and not have to worry about it so much anymore! I am hoping he'll feel like he'll be able to do more things. Like whenever I mention going skiing or something, he brings up his knee. So I'm hoping he'll feel more comfortable with something like that. Not that we ever do anything like that anyway. LOL
Oh I guess I should mention it's a pretty simple, out patient surgery. :)

As for me, I'm doing good. Still losing weight, but more slowly than before. HOWEVER, I am realizing that the weight isn't as important anymore. I'm gaining muscle so it's making me lose pounds more slowly. I'm still losing fat just fine, I think. So it's making it harder to guage how I'm really doing. So I've started doing measurements every other Wednesday (IDK why I chose Wednesday). I'm trying real hard to make sure I measure the exact same way each time. I think I'll just go for full disclosure and post my inches (*blush*):

[b]October 6:[/b]
Weight: 218
Waist: 49.75
Chest: 38.5
Bust: 45.5
Torso*: 41
Thigh: 25.5
Arm: 14.5

*Torso is at the smallest part of my torso, just for shits and giggles. :)

[b]OCtober 19[/b]
Weight: 216
Waist: 49
Chest: 38.5
Bust: 45.5
Torso: 39.25
Thigh: 25.5
Arm: 13.5

So only 2 lbs lost in 2 weeks BUT as you can see I lost 3/4 of an inch in my waist and my torso and an inch in my arm. I find it interesting that the wasit and torso seem to go at the same pace, and that my chest and bust do as well. I wonder if they will always be like that.

On [b]June 22[/b], I did some measurements. I'm not sure that I measured the same way I do now, but let's see anyway...
Weight: 257.25
Waist: 54
Bust: 49

So I think I'm making good progress! I wish I would have measured back in April when this all started!

So anyway. I really didn't intend to do all that. What I was gonna say is that with the muscle gain, I'm not sure what I want my ending weight to be. Pounds aren't important anymore. So I'm not sure what matters. I guess just being happy with my body, getting out of plus sizes. I still for sure want to get under 200 (15.6 lbs away). So I don't know. We'll see how I feel I guess!

So speaking of all that muscle mass I've gained. I LOVE finding new muscles!! Obviously I know where to flex to see my arm muscles. And I can make my boobs move with my chest muscles (hehe) but I found my torso muscles.. I guess that's my obliques... I put my hands on my torso and lean one way or the other and I can clearly feel muscle that I've never felt before. So yesterday I tried to feel my abs and I have to squeeze my hand into the fat real hard and thrust (it looks pretty dirty, good thing I'm not a guy!) and I can totally feel my abs! It's oddly exciting!

Today I went through all my clothes again. This time I included winter clothes. I've been wondering what I have in the way of winter clothes, and guess what... I'm set! All my sweaters that I bought when I worked at Lane Bryant (2006) fit great. And I've got a couple long sleeve shirts. Woot woot! So I (almost) filled a bin with "fat" clothes (and swimwear), but I've still got a bunch of stuff hanging in my cloest that's really too big. Why? Because I just wear them around the house and they're comfy and well I guess I might as well get my use out of them! I'll add them to the "fat" bin when they get annoyingly big. And no, I'm not getting rid of the stuff in that bin just yet. I don't know how long I'll hang onto it. But that doesn't mean I think I'll go back to being that big. I really DON'T believe that I'll ever get that big again. But its just hard to let go of, and some of it will make good maternity and post-baby clothes. So there's my justification. :p

I hate that all I seem to talk about anymore is my body! But it's what I've got going on right now, so deal with it! ;-p

One more thing... If you ever find yourself on a weight loss journey... TAKE PICTURES!! I LOVE looking at my first picture (which I plan to share at the end of all this). I was so fat! And comparing it to my most recent picture is just awesome and fills me with pride! :)

Okay I'll stop babbling now. I think I've said all I've got to say...

Till next time...

Well it's been almost a month so I guess it's time for some kind of update from me!

As of this morning I am 53 lbs down. That's good, but last week I was 55 lbs down! I had a bad food/exercise weekend! I don't beat myself up about it too much because I'm learning. I'm learning how important exercise is. I ate badly too but I feel like it's the lack of exercise that makes me gain. I didn't go Friday because I never go on payday (its a busy day) and I didn't go Sunday because they're closed. I could have gone for a walk Sunday night though! But Sunday night we were at my sister in laws house till after dark and I didn't even think about it anyway. I know that I'll be back on track this week at lose at least those 2 lbs back.

As far as my exercise routine goes, I'm getting lazier. I haven't done the treadmill or gone for a walk in a while. And I don't always do all the weights. I always do some, and usually do most, but I skip around more. On a positive note, I have upped the weight on some of the machines by 5 lbs! So that shows progress.

As for food.... eh. I'm not eating nearly enough fruits and veggies anymore. But I'm still not eating terribly. Still no mac and cheese and very little potato. I guess where I used to do fruits and veggies I do 100 calorie packs. I still have veggies as a side as much as I did (which really isn't enough). And for breakfast instead of fruit I'm having oatmeal (low sugar maple & brown sugar) or cereal (whole grain cheerios, stawberry yogurt burst). But a girl can only eat so many apples! But I have cut out soda again!

And clothes! Well I am fitting into all my smallest stuff. Well I haven't gone through winter clothes yet, but they should be the same size as everything I'm wearing. I have a coulpe pairs of jeans that fit and a handful of shirts, but all the shirts are summery. So as fall is approaching (I'm in AZ, it's not here yet!), I'm really gonna need to buy a few "in between" size shirts that are more seasonally appropriate. I actually have bought a couple that are a size too small. That way I have something to shrink into. I think I'll do that little by little so that I'm more prepared. I'm not looking forward to buying "in between" jeans because I have a hard time finding jeans that are long enough, and usually get them at Lane Bryant, which isn't cheap and I hate to spend $40 on jeans that will only last a few months. And yes, the next size down is still shoppable at Lane Bryant, but after that I have to find a new store. I just realized that. Weird. Kinda exciting to think about too!
Is it weird that I plan to hang most of my "fat" clothes for a while. It's not that I plan to have to wear them again, but some of them could potentially be maternity clothes, or after baby comes clothes. I guess I'm nervous about it. I'm confident that I'll be able to keep the weight off, but I just feel like I need to hang onto them for a while.

Speaking of having a baby, I'm pretty sure I've decided that 200 lbs isn't small enough for me... I want to get to 175 now before getting pregnant. I know I know.. I just keep putting it off. But I have "thin" within my reach, and I feel like I need to go for it. I've never been thin. And I'm sure I've said it before, but the healthier I am, the easier it'll be to get pregnant, and it'll be a healthier pregnancy. And I'll have a cute baby bump instead of a "is she pregnant or fat?" bump. LOL. And I'll feel really good about myself, and be able to do things I haven't been able to do. Like get hit on but something other then old men! LOL JK JK I really meant like doing something athletic! Not sure what but I want to try something athletic once I get below 200. Or hiking. Something.

I really should just call this a weight loss blog.

But onto the non-weight loss stuff....

My phone died 2 Saturdays ago and it was devastating!! LOL Seriously! Clint was on nights and I was all alone and had no connection to the world. That totally weirds me out! Thankfully, my awesome hubby let me borrow his until my replacement came. It was a pain in the butt getting it back to how my old one was, but it's good now! :)

Well I think that's it! I'm gonna leave you with a link to a video that you've got to watch! My my awesome talented brother! :)

Click Here!!

Amping It Up!

Lately I've been amping up my workout routine! I don't want to plateau and I don't want to be flabby! For starters, IO'm doing a higher level and faster speed on the elliptical. And I've started doing the dreaded weigtht training. For the first week or so I was doing it kinda half assed... not pushing myself, and not really keeping track of how much I was doing in terms of weight or reps. But I did a little reading online and talked to a friend who knows what she's doing better then I do. And now I've been pushing myself. Here's what I've started doing (so far only done it twice.. I'm gonna do every other day because I get so sore!):

Machine..............................................lbs
Arm Curl.............................................30
Tricep Extension..............................40
Shoulder Press................................20
Back Extension................................85
Rotary Torso, 40*, both ways....50
Hip Abduction.................................55
Hip Abduction2..............................55
Leg Press..........................................85
Leg Extension.................................55
Seated Leg Curl..............................55
Seated Row.....................................55
Chest Press.....................................25
Lateral Pull......................................55
Rear Delt/Fly..................................55

I do three reps of 10 on each one. There are some that I could do a little heavier, like the leg extension. There are a few that I'm totally embarrassed at how little I can handle. Like the chest press is SO hard for me! But I know that I'll see improvement before too long. I already feel like I'm getting stronger, but it might just be that I'm lighter. Like (and I'm about to make myself sound like a lard ass) it's easier to get up off the couch. LOL. But seriously. If you've ever been overweight, you will understand. And if you haven't... well you're lucky! But anyway, I look forward to getting strong! I've never been strong and it will be nice to feel like I could kick some butt if I needed to. I wish Bagdad had classes to offer... there's someone that does Zumba but it's just the videos which I could do at home. I would love an aerobics class or eventually a kickboxing class or something.

Oh, also as part of my amped up workout routine, I've been trying to go for walks at least a few times a week. It's hard to do when Clint is on days because it's still too hot before he gets home, and after dinner it's dark. I can go in the dark I just prefer not to. I'd like to start doing a 2 mile walk most evenings but it hasn't happened yet. I know the route I want to take I just haven't done it yet. I will when Clint goes back to nights next week though!

I am about 5 lbs away from the 50 pound mark. HOLY COW!! I'm hoping to get there in two weeks (fingers crossed!) because I'm spending a night in Prescott with my friends and we're going out to dinner to celebrate Melissa's upcoming wedding and I'd like to be 5 lbs lighter. Not that it's gonna make much difference in how I look.. maybe just so I can tell them I've lost 50 lbs. I saw Jessica yesterday but I haven't seen the others in about 30 lbs so I'm excited! :D

I don't think I've blogged about my missing iPod yet... so sad!! It's been about a month. I think someone must have stolen it out of my truck, in my driveway. I always leave it in the truck and when I take it out it's at the gym where it stays on my body the whole time. Makes no sense! I have been missing my iTunes purchases so whenever I'm in the office/craft room (like now), I listen to my iTunes. But I think I'm gonna get a cheapy 2gb iPod soon. It's a pain in the butt listening to music on my phone at the gym because the headphone thing is kinda messed up and if you bump it it disconnects. So annoying. But I guess I am just glad I can listen to music on my phone! It would suck to not have music!

I recently discovered the Notepad app, which is how I'm typing this. I'm able to type on my desktop, put it on my phone, and copy and paste to my blog. It's nice to not have to type all this on my phone! There really is an app for everything! There's nothing I can't do from my phone. At least not that I've found yet!

Well I guess I have babbled enough for one post. Till next time...

Appointment Update

I had my appointment on Tuesday but there's really not much to say. Dr. O didn't give me the baby making goo ahead. He, too, wants me to get to 200 lbs. I can't help but think he is just pushing me because I am doing so well and he doesn't want to see me stop yet. Which isn't totally fair but since I wanted to wait till 200 anyway, I'll go along with it. However, once I get there, we will be TTC! By then my A1c should be in the normal range too. My insulin already is! :) he was very impressed and proud of me though! And since my insulin was good, he didn't have to raise the dosage of metformin which is nice! I don't feel side effects from it, but I thought I might if I was taking twice as much. I did ask if I will have to be taking the met forever and it depends. Once I get to a healthy weight (he says 160, I'm saying 175... 160 seems way too little for me), I will stop taking it for a while and do some tests and see how I do. If my insulin and weight stay good, then I can stay off. But if not, it will probably be a lifelong thing. Which I'm totally okay with if it keeps me from getting fat again!

All this time I've been losing weight, I've been thinking about just getting to 200, so still being heavy. But the closer I get the more I realize, I really would like to be thin. Not skinny, not honey, but skin. Flat stomach, maybe. But I have never been thin so it seems so weird to even think about! LOL. I asked Clint how he would feel about it, and he says he is happy if I'm happy. I sas afraid maybe he liked heavy girls! LOL. And I wonder if he will be less okay with me having a girls night out if I get "hot!" LOL. He says he wont get insecure. But we will just have to wait and see!

Okay well my melatonin is kicking in and its good old grocery shopping day tomorrow. Clint (and likely Zoey) are going too, so it should be interesting. Long day ahead! Good night Blogosphere!

PS- Either someone is crying/wailing next door or there's a cat dying out there or something. Wtf?

Doing Good!

I have been saying that I'm gonna update but it just hasn't happened till now. I should probably wait till after Tuesday's appointment, but, eh, I better do it while I'm in the mood!

We cancelled our internet a few weeks ago, so its a PITA to blog from my phone. So bear with me!

So I am a whopping 41 lbs down! That deserves a happy dance! Its hard to believe I'm 34 lbs from 200! That's nothing! I mean its a lot, but its so close! Of course the closer I get, the more I think I'm gonna want to get to 175, but we'll burn that bridge when we get there!

I feel great! It seems like just about every day I notice some new place that its noticeable. Obviously my waist line. Shorts that I couldn't button in April fit perfect, if not loosely. There's extra room in my bras (which I'm not thrilled about, but it happens). Those are the obvious places. I've realized that its noticeable in my thighs and even my calves (which Clint pointed out) and my face! Clint pulled up a pic on his phone from April and pointed out the difference. I LOVE when he points things out to me. I have mostly been wearing the same shirts this whole time, and I'm realizing that they're looser. It all just feels great!

The other day I went through allllllllll my clothes. There were a few things that I was hoping I hadn't gotten rid of, but found that I have, which is a bummer. But I still have a bunch of old shirts that either fit well again now, or will soon! It was a lot of fun trying everything on. I didn't mess with winter clothes because they don't matter yet anyway. And it gives me something to look forward to! ;)

So I got my blood drawn last payday and the nurse called a few days later with results. Good news!! My A1c, which is my long term blood sugar, went from 6.3 to 5.9, which I think is really good! Pre diabetic range starts at 5.7, so I'm almost there! My insulin went from 17 to 8 too which is good! I will know more about what the numbers mean at Tuesdays appointment, but I was happy to know they went down! Yahoo! I may be mistaken, but I believe they just like the A1c to be below 6 before getting pregnant, so I think maybe we will get the go ahead at this appt. However, I still plan to wait till I reach 200 lbs. Which will be hard to do once we get drs approval, but I still feel like its the right thing. Then I'll get off the pill and continue to lose weight while we TTC.

So that's that!

I haven't scrapbooked in probably a month. I just got burn out... I hope to get back into it soon though! Not scrapping has made my days much more boring.

I think that's all there is to talk about.....

I'll try to update after Tuesday if I learn anything interesting at my appt!

Random Babbling

So I guess it's about time for a real update. But there's not much to say! I am currently 28.5 lbs down. Looking forward to that 30 lb mark! One of my best friends is getting married at the end of September (sorry if I've mentioned this already) and I want to lose another 30 by then! I have a dress that I've only worn once and only Clint has seen me in. It's nothing fancy or special. Just something that's practically new! But I believe I was about 220 when I wore it. So it's really just over 25 that I need to lose by then. Assuming I lose weight in the same places that I gained it. LOL. I think it's an achievable goal. But I won't be too disappointed if I don't reach it. I know that the second 30 lbs will be harder to lose than the first 30. And I'm sure I will have something else that I'll be able to wear if I have to. I hope that I don't have to buy anything new because I just don't want to shop until I get very close to by goal weight!

I scheduled a drs appointment for August 2 (Robin has one that day too, yay for going together!) and I'll get blood work right before that so I am excited to see how much my A1c drops! I'm also excited to see how proud my doctor will be of my weight loss! Even if I don't lose any more weight by then, he'll be proud (I've doubled since my last appt). But I hope to lose another 10 lbs by then. Fingers crossed!

I have been acting up a little though. I may have already blogged about this, heck, I can't remember! Oh I know I blogged about adding in small amounts of soda. I've also started sweetening my tea again (half a packet of sweet & low). Also one my lower calorie days, I often "reward" myself with a handful of chocolate chips. That's bad, right? It's still not coming close to putting me over my calorie goal for the day, but it doesn't make it good! Also I'm having more bread. I get so tired of just ham steak & an egg for breakfast, putting it on toast makes it so much more enjoyable. I know an 80 calorie slice of bread isn't gonna kill me, but I just hate that I'm starting to add things back in. I almost bought juice too! But I was able to resist that. I always want to buy candy bars when I'm at a checkout, but all I have to do is look at the 300+ calories and I don't do it. HOWEVER, Skinny Cow now makes candy bars, and they are sooooo good! I haven't seen them at checkouts yet, but I did buy a box. I don't eat a whole package at a time (the one I got is little clusters, 5 in a package). But that's not what I need to be snacking on, I need to go back to snacking on fruits and veggies and hard boiled eggs. I hope I can get back on track. Again, I know that even with all that, I'm still doing good. Still losing weight, and still staying under my calorie goal every day. But still. It's not the right thing for me to be doing.

HA! And I said that I didn't have much to say!

The last few weeks I've been Netflixing the series Life Unexpected. It only lasted 2 seasons, and only 26 episodes. I watched the last disc yesterday. It was such a good show, I can't believe it didn't last! In case you don't know, it's about a girl who was put up for adoption as a baby, spent her life in foster care, and found her birth parents when she was 16 and the judge put her in their care. Her parents had her at 16, so of course they weren't together, which led to some awesome, dramatic complications. But also a lot of wonderful emotional moments. So I was really disappointed that it didn't last. But I was so happy with the way they ended it. I was afraid it was gonna be a giant cliffhanger like so many shows that get cancelled too early, but it ended with closure for the viewers.

Okay, I'm done. But I want to share some of my favorite pictures that Jenn at Jennifer Rice Photography took of me the weekend of my birthday. I don't think I've ever felt like I look so pretty, except maybe at my wedding. She did a great job! (I may not have resized them perfectly. I forgot to do it in Photbucket, so I freehanded it.)

25lbs Down

I am so excited to say that I hit the 25 lb mark today!! I actually teared up a little on the scale when I realized that I hit that milestone. I am a very proud 250 lbs now!! And still going, of course!

That's really all I wanted to say. My husband, who doesn't seem nearly as impressed as I want him to be, asked what we're doing to celebrate (since I mentioned a 25 lb reward the other day) and so I guess I'll make cookies. He definitely wants some. I think he misses the wife that used to bake on a very regular basis. I feel like I should start buying cookies and stuff again so that he has snacks like that. But I know I'll get into them more than I should. He likes my skinny cow ice creams. Maybe I'll just buy more of those, or some 100 calorie packs. I've thought about getting some 100 calorie pack cookies for me anyway. A while back Walgreens was selling Skinny Cow candy bars, and I got one and it was delicious! I should see if I can find those as a special treat from time to time.

Oh well I guess I can talk about something non-diet related. My brother is no longer engaged. I didn't get any details, but it was definitely his doing. He is just never satisfied. I don't want him to settle or be unhappily married, but I so badly want him to settle down and be married and maybe hav more kids. I hate to think that he'll be a bachelor forever, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happens. But I guess as long as he's happy, right? Well at least I hadn't started making their invitations yet. Anyway, I'm bummed. Cuz I really liked Cheristy from what I knew of her. Obviously we'd never met, but I've talked to her on the phone and on Facebook. I just want him to find a good girl and hang onto her! Okay, mini-rant over.

I've been working on getting my scrap room/office cleaned. Almost done. But I realized there's a bunch of mini projects that I want to do, that I'll work on once I'm done with the basic cleaning. I need to organize all my pictures, go through some really old papers of mine, see if its anything I need to keep, burn the rest. I of course also plan to reorganize my scrapbook paper. But I'll start scrapping again at Robin's before I get into all the extra organizing. And when I'm home instead of scrapping, I'll organize. It'll all get done eventually. Not like I'm in a hurry.

I guess that's it from me!


PS- Hey, if you know any dietters, send them to my blog. Maybe I'll be some kind of inspiration. And I need more followers. :)

Time flies!

This month is really going by fast so far!

I can't believe it's already almost payday again. I love payday, but hate grocery shopping day. I need to learn to shop for a month instead of two weeks. Of course that would take a whole paycheck! LOL
So tomorrow I have to make the menu, take inventory, and make the list. Ohhh but I think I'll try out my new grocery shopping app! Always a bright side! :)

Well I can't get very far into a post these days without talking about my body. I am over the 20 pound hump! That was so exciting! Even more exciting is that in just a few pounds, I'll be under 250, which means I won't have to move that bottom thing on the to 250. That's an accomplishment for me. :)

I'm really starting to notice the difference! The other day I realized that I was down to wedding weight. No, I didn't try on my wedding dress. But I did try on (and wear!) a skirt that I was wearing around that time. It fit snug then (like I wasn't buttoning it kinda snug) and it fit the same way now. But the point is it fit, and I had stopped wearing it because it got to wear I couldn't wear it without buttoning it. It has to almost be able to button to get away with wearing it. Am I the only one that uses this trick? Also, last summer my Mother-in-law gave me two identical pairs of shorts. They were a size too small. I could wear them, but not comfortably.. again, I used the no buttoning trick. I could button them, but they were really uncomfortable and didn't look good at all. I've always worn them around the house a lot. Well I've realized that they're much more comfortable when buttoned lately. I still unbutton them a lot, mostly when I'm sitting. But they fit so much better!

But I am so so sick of Lean Cuisines & Healthy Choice meals its not even funny!! I have got to find something new to do for lunch. I just don't even want to eat anymore. It's terrible. Yesterday to spice it up I actually drank 5 hours of diet Pepsi. And with breakfast I've been adding a slice of toast to my egg. It makes it more enjoyable, and I know these things aren't gonna kill my diet, but I do think they can slow my progress. If I keep adding in these little things, eventually I will be back to all my old habits. And I can't have that. So I need to find another way to make my meals more enjoyable. Or just get over it, I guess.

I've added a new snack to my life: Celery and PB. Yep, Kindergarten style. I eat too much fruit and fruit has sugar so I'm trying to find more veggie snacks. Yesterday I didn't love it but today it didn't seem so bad. So I guess it'll work.

I think I want to make a veggie soup sometime. That might be a good lunch. I also wanna add kabobs to our dinner menu. I can load mine up with chicken and veggies, and he can have, like chicken and potatoes I guess. Maybe I'll even try some new veggies that I don't normally love like zuccini.

Nothing to update about my gym trips, still going. Oh except I started going at 11:30 ish instead of 1:30 ish. It leaves my day more open, and it's nice. But the TV at that time of day sucks! I often end up watching Saved By The Bell. LOL

The pool is finally open!! I haven't gone yet, but happy it's open. :)

Well it seems like I had more to say, but I can't remember any of it now. So I'll end this. Later taters! :)

No More Bullshit!

That's something my nephew used to like to say, and as I type it I say it in little kid voice... more like "No Mo Booshit."

But I've decided with my blog, where my weight loss is concerned.. No more bullshit! You may notice that my goal on my ticker has jumped to 75lbs. You may also notice that my ticker has my BMI on there too. It is a little sad that my goal BMI is still in the overweight range. As I get closer, I may decide to shoot for a full 100lbs. But I'll decide on that later. It's been soooo long since I've been there (lik, high school) that I can't even picture what I'd look like. I can't imagine myself being skinny.

I'm also not gonna be beating around the weight bush. I started this journey in mid-April at 175lbs. That's the most I've ever weighed. This morning I weighed in at 257.25lbs. My goal is to weight 200lbs. I believe when I met Clint (5 1/2 years ago) I was about 210. When we got married I was about 250. When I stopped working is when I put on the rest of the weight, pretty much. Once I get down to close to 200 lbs, I may decide that I should get to 175 or 180. I can't imagine weighing any less than 175. And that's at the high end of healthy weight for my height. I can deal with that. But for now I would just love to be at 200 lbs. I think about how I looked back then, and of course at that time I wasn't happy with myself. In fact I have much more self confidence now than I ever did back then! But that's because I've grown comfortable with my body. It wasn't something that I had the drive to change, so I had to accept that that's how I was. I learned to accept my body and be happy with it. And Clint has never made me feel like he wasn't happy with how I looked. He has always encouraged me to lose weight and is supportive of my diet. But he's never made me feel bad about myself like so many husbands do. For that, I'm very lucky!

I have made a decision that has been in the back of my mind for weeks now, but I never wanted to admit to myself that that's the decision I wanted to make. I've decided that I don't want to start trying for a baby again until I'm at least 200lbs. Even if/when Dr. O gives me the go-ahead (which should happen before I get there!). I feel like if I get pregnant before I reach that weight goal, I won't be able to get back on the ball after the baby comes. It will only be harder with a baby in the house. Who is gonna babysit so I can go to the gym every day? Its hard for me to admit that I'm putting myself first. I feel like it's the right thing to do though. As much as I hate to think that it will be so. long. before I get to hold my own baby in my arms, even though I'm tearing up as I type this because it's making it seem more real, I beleve in my heart that it's the right thing to do. We've still got some good baby making years ahead of us. I need to do this now. And the healthier I am, the healthier my pregnancy will be, and the healthier my child will be. And isn't that what matters most?

I can't predict how long it will take for me to reach my 75lb goal. At this rate, I'm losing about 10 a month. So if I keep it up at this rate, maybe by Christmas? But if I plateau (and surely I will eventually), who knows how long it will be. Could be next summer. I hope it's at least by spring. That would be a year from when I started.

I do have a good feeling about it. I feel like once I get down to a healthier weight, it will be easier to convieve, and hopefully less likely to miscarry. If we have to take fertility drugs again, that's fine. Of course my big fear is wasted time. What if I'm being selfish, and "wasting" all this time trying to lose weight. Every month we don't try is one less fertile month. It's one less chance at conception. What if when we start trying again, we don't get pregnant after a few months, and we find out that there's a bigger problem? Something that we could have been working on while I was losing weight? That thought terrifies me. Then we would have to wait even LONGER. We may be getting thinner, but we're not getting any younger! What if we find out that we can't have kids at all and now they won't let us adopt because we are too old? There are so many fears that go along with this. But I have to have faith in my decision. I have to trust that this is the right thing to do. And I do. I just hope I don't get proven wrong.

So enough of that. Last time I posted, I expressed that I was afraid I didn't lose any weight over the long, birthday/holiday/MIL in town weekend. Well, I did! 1.5 lbs! So yay! And today at the gym, I did a 40 minute workout (instead of my normal 25-30) and had a higher resistance, burned 480 calories. Hopefully I can keep up with that kind of workout at least this week to make up for last week a little. :)

Well its time for me to end this super long post. Time to get scrappy! :)

Halfway There!!

This week, I've been weighing myself everyday, just for shits and giggles. I want to see if I notice a day to day difference. It's gone up and down just a smidge, but nothing reportable. I was starting to think I've plataued since I hadn't lost any all week. I'm gonna blame it on Aunt Flow... because now that she's gone, today I was 1.75 lbs lighter!! Yahhooo! Which puts me just over halfway to my first goal of 25 lbs!! HALF WAY!! I'm so excited for my appointment on Monday now. Dr. O better be proud of me! :) Hopefully I'm real lucky and the second half comes off just as easily. Then I can set me new goal of another 25lbs. :) I've lost weight before, but I feel like this is really different. I'm not just trying to drop a few pounds, I'm trying to change my lifestyle, trying to achieve our dream of parenthood, trying to safe myself (and in turn, our children) from diabetes. It's all worth it.

Today I found a picture of me from 2007. It was at a time that I had been dietting and lost about 15lbs. So I know how much I weighed in that picture. I looked so good! Not skinny, of course, but not so fat either! If I can get there again, I'll be thrilled! That's currently over 50 lbs away. That picture is my new inspiration!

Time for an update on Zoey! It's hard to say. She seems to have more energy, and she has drank on her own a few times now. She still isn't excited to see me when I get home from the gym and stuff, but she is excited to see Clint when he gets home from work (I try not to let it hurt my feelings.. lol). She still hasn't eaten any of her food, and sometimes denies treats. But we have been feeding her so much people food, so why would she need to eat hers? She still sleeps almost all day. But then I gotta think, how different is that than normal when Clint's on nights? She would normally spend most of the day in bed with him anyway. She still isn't playful though. So I'm really not sure. We are still keeping a close eye on her, and probably overanylyzing every little thing.

Justin is hosting SNL tonight! Yay!! TMZ showed pictures of him and Andy (Adam?) Samburg dressed in the getup that they wore in their "Dick in a Box" and "Mother Lover" videos, so I'm sooo excited to see what they do now! :)

Well that's all. It's almost 8 and I still want to get some scrapping done tonight!

Check The Ticker!

Yeah, that's right, 9lbs already, as of yesterday!! I'd say I'm moving along nicely! I'm so proud of myself! :D Tomorrow is my real weigh day but I don't expect it to have changed. Then again, you never know! :)

Needless to say, I'm still doing good with my new healthier lifestyle! I even went on the first day of my period, which was yesterday. And that's my way of saying that it finally came (not that I mentioned on here that it was late... didn't want to get any hopes up), and that I finally got to start my birth control... yay? It still feels weird to be taking birth control. But I guess I gotta do what I gotta do. My doctors appointment is on the 24th, I believe. He'll weigh me (yay!) and check my BP and all that. And if it looks like the bc isn't screwing with me, he'll perscribe me the Metformin, which will suck but will probably... hopefully be worth it! But I'll talk more about that once I actually start taking it, which I don't plan to do till May 30 at the earliest. My birthday is on the 29th and I don't want to be dealing with a new medication on my birthday, darnit! :)

The big 2-7.. Whoopdidoo. I'm only looking forward to it because I'm going to Prescott on the 27th for an overnighter and we're gonna go out and do karaoke... after Jessica's passion party, that is! :) It will be the first time I've celebrated my birthday with my friends since my 23rd, so I'm excited and it should be fun! Here, since Clint's mom will be in town, I'm hoping we can all have dinner together. Either at a house or a restaurant, I don't care. But if for some reason we can't all be together, hopefully Clint & I will go out.

It sucks having my birthday so close to our anniversary though. It all comes out of the same paycheck. :( We are really wanting to go to another Diamondbacks game for our anniversary, but Clint will have to take a vacation day, so we'll see.

Robin & I have been scrapbooking together and it has been GREAT!! I have gotten so much done in the 3 days (one full day and two afternoons)! 10 full pages and one that's almost done. Plus one I did yesterday by myself. At this rate I'll have the album that I'm doing done in time for when I need it for! Can't say! :D

I guess that's all I've got to say! Oh, I was thinking that I'll start doing once a month picture posts. Since I never post pix, and would like to, but it's a pain in the ass. Maybe if I do it all at once. So at the end of the month I think I'll post a bunch of pictures!

Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Monday Weigh Day

I have decided that Monday is my weigh day. The gy is closed Sunday so it's easier to remember to do it Mondays, my first day back. So I weighed myself today and I am happy to say that I lost 2 1/2 lbs since last weight day (which was Tuesday since I wasn't around Monday)!!! 2 1/2 lbs is damn good, I think! I know that generally the first few weeks of the diet are the most successful. But if I could lose 2 lbs a week, I'll be allowed to get pregnant in just 10 weeks! How's that for motivation? So I left the gym in a great mood today!

Also, I wanted to say that the gym is getting easier for me! Saturday and today were really good workout days. I feel like I have more tolerance, so I neeed to start pushing myself more.

Doing a happy dance as I end this...