I didn't get to walk today. I will make sure I walk tomorrow. I ordered a pedometer so I can keep up with how much I walk and track improvement. I doubt I will be able to be as dedicated with my walking and tracking as my friend Susan is with her running, but at least I will have a tool to help me.
I have to say I had a great new years eve tonight. Spending New Years at home with my husband and my best friends is my idea of a pretty good way to celebrate. I wanted to get a picture of me and Susan, but didn't get the chance. I go over to other peoples homes and see pictures of them and their friends doing various things and I don't have pictures up like that so that's one of my goals for 2008. Live more and have photographic evidence! So.. Susan.. keep that in mind when we plan our travels for this upcoming year!!!
Tomorrow begins the process of Britt saying "D, Christmas is over.. don't you think you should take the tree down?" I love Christmas decorations, but I know they need to come down soon. I guess January 2nd will be my day to take down Christmas stuff. yuck.
Happy New Year!
Silly Me
Okay.. I did something totally out of character for me this evening. We went to dinner at a new restaurant in town.. Famous Daves. I got a salad - and it was okay. It is a bit expensive for a bbq joint though. Anyway.. After we ate, we were going to make a trip to Kroger to get pizza fixings for a little New Years Eve pizza get together tomorrow night. I decided that I would walk to Kroger.. It's not far, really - but definitely in a different a parking lot. After we finished our shopping at Kroger, I asked Britt if he would mind if I started walking home while he checked out with the groceries.. I didn't get far, but I did manage to get out of the parking lot and up the hill before he picked me up. When we got home I helped Britt unload the groceries, grabbed my iPod, and headed back out. I managed to get in a good 25 minutes today - with a hill included! I know it may not sound like much, but it's day two of walking for me.. lots more than I have done in a long time and it feels like a great start. It feels good to be doing something. Tomorrow I will be cleaning house but if the weather is nice, I am going to put on my shoes and do 30 minutes around the track..
Happy New Year!
Walking
I finally got off my rear and went for a walk. I walked for 30 minutes today. We have a track right across the street from our house and it's wonderful for walking. The only problem with it is that it's not lit and it's tucked in the woods a bit so I don't feel comfortable walking over there when I don't have daylight. That is limiting.
I LOVE my new ipod. I have wanted to learn Spanish for a while now so I downloaded a spanish lesson podcast! Each lesson is about 15 minutes in length so I listened to two of them while on my walk. I am glad I was on the track by myself because I must have looked like an idiot walking around the track repeating elementary spanish words to myself!! ha!
Ready, Set, Go.
Okay.. tomorrow I am going to sit down and make out my menu for the next two weeks. Weight Watchers Style! Britt and I were listing all the things we want to work on for the upcoming year and it's all so overwhelming! I think our health and finances are so important though and need to be made priority.
I think I am about to be looking for a job that will allow me to work the bulk of my hours in three days and preferably on weekends. Elijah is getting ready to start radiation soon and still wont be able to attend school for quite some time. I would like to go back to my job at UAMS but I don't see how it's possible without hiring a full time nanny - which is DEFINITELY not in the budget nor is it something I would ever want to do.
I am ready for January 1st to be here, truthfully.
Wonderful Holiday
I have to say that I think this is one of the best ever. I got everything that I asked for this year.. I wanted nail polish, a sleep mask, an iPod, and some perfume.. got every bit of it! I feel so spoiled! My sister was here, we had a great meal, we spent time with friends and family and it was just wonderful. Santa brought the kids a Wii so they have had a great time playing with that. Hannah is getting ready to go to Dallas for a few days to spend some time with my sister. My sister will be back next week so it will be good to see her again.
Weight Watchers will start back day after tomorrow. Tomorrow I will shop and get a few things to get back on the wagon. I need to be walking too. The weather has been perfect for it. I just am not a morning person and by the time Britt gets home. it's dark out. Excuses, excuses. I need to do something.
I am so glad we have good water to drink here in Central Arkansas. We went to visit my sister and her water was gross in Dallas. The water and the ice both. Yuck. I think we take things like that for granted.
I will be searching for good podcasts to listen to on my new iPod. :)
Much Love, Many Blessings, and great things to come...
I can still see the wagon!
Our 9th anniversary is coming up on February 4th. I think for the first time ever, Britt and I are going to try to get away for our anniversary. My former boss has a lake house in Hot Springs that he lets us use so I think we might try to go down there for the weekend - just the two of us. We probably won't know how to act, it's been so long since we have gone away alone! We will probably do crazy stuff like watch stuff on tv other than Disney Channel and prepare meals that aren't kid friendly.. Talk about adventure!
Dread
I will just say that I am dreading the weigh in this week! We have been in Dallas all weekend for my sisters graduation from UNT. We had a couple of family dinners that were arranged and paid for by others, so we didn't have much say so in the food selection! Britt and I decided that we would just make the best choices we could with the menus provided.. The first dinner was a barbecue restaurant and the second was a mexican restaurant!!! oh, this was hard! We were so tempted to just eat what we wanted all weekend, but we were smart.. I really think we made the best possible choices and tried to be careful of portion sizes. We avoided desserts and snacking for the most part. Still, I really feel like I overdid it. The water in Dallas is gross so I didn't drink much water - even the ice tastes funny to me.
We are nearly done with Christmas shopping, thank goodness. I say year after year "next year, I am going to save money and get this done early" but it never works out that way. Maybe this will be the year that it actually happens. I would love to have a bunch of money stashed away and then just order everything online.. ha!
Party #1
As far as food goes, I did really well at our first holiday gathering. We had fajitas and I had two with no cheese and that was it.. I also had a few chips and salsa.. the drinks are what is going to hurt me, I am sure. I had three coctails. They were small, mind you.. but coctails none the less. The upside is I had used very few points throughout the day so I am sure I will be okay. I have looked at the two restaurants that my sister wants to eat at while we are in Dallas and have come up with what I think I will chose - to avoid making a hasty decision and ordering something fried and smothered with cheese!! ha!
Drumroll Please...
Six and a half pounds!!! That's right.. I lost six and a half pounds!!! I was so stoked! Normally I would have celebrated by eating - but not this time. I immediately started plotting how much I plan to lose next week, came home, and started making a weight watchers recipe for supper and had a snack. I feel positive about how well I have done on the program this week and plan to keep it up next week. This weekend will be a challenge since we will be in Dallas and have to dine out twice. At least I will have Britt with me to help keep me in line!! Next week I hope to have lost at least two pounds..
Sunday...
Tomorrow is day 6 and it's still going really well! I can't tell you how much it has helped me to stay motivated having Britt do this with me. If I sound like a broken record, I apologize. He has just been so great. He will lose the weight he wants to lose long before I lose all of mine, but I know he will continue to support me and eat wisely. We are both getting way too close to 40 to backtrack now. We would love to lead active, healthy lives.
Elijah said something to me yesterday that once again - has stuck with me. I was coming down the stairs and he was sitting on the couch with his back to me. He said "hi mom" without turning around and then asked if I knew how he could tell it was me. I said "how?" - he told me he could tell because i was the only one in the family whose knees crackle when I walk up and down the stairs.. OUCH! It's true though.. my knees are awful and I know they would be in such better condition if I could lose this weight.
The weekend is over. Britt will go back to work tomorrow.. We did a bit of Christmas shopping this weekend but are really trying not to overdo it this year. We have a little tree in the dining room that we put ornaments on that the kids made and Eli's nativity ornaments that he got from his chemo angel last year. We will put a real tree downstairs soon but i think we might look in to a prelit tree after Christmas for next years use.
Friday we will be traveling to Dallas for my sisters graduation. We are just going for one night and then coming back on Saturday right after graduation. I think it will be good to get away, even if just for one night. Elijah was going to stay with Britt's mom and dad, but he is still on tpn so we will take him with us. He will have fun..
Tuesday is my weigh in - I plan to be a loser!!! ha ha
Still Going
Today is day 4 of WW. I really thought I had blown it last night. We decided to take Hannah to Cracker Barrel for her Birthday. We all ordered breakfast. I thought I had really done it, but when we got home and i looked everything up, I was okay! I had to use a few flex points for the week, but still have some left over; not a lot, but still a few! I have done the big no no and have weighed myself a couple of times this week. I really should have just waited until the meeting on Tuesday - BUT, the scale says that I am losing so it's motivation to keep it up. I will leave the final judgement for this weeks weight loss up to the Weight Watchers scale on Tuesday.
As if we didn't have enough going on, Hannah's father decided to seperate from his wife - on Hannah's birthday of all days. Needless to say, she is upset and her birthday ruined. I thought it was rather selfish of them to do it today - they have been married for several years, what would one more day hurt? It is sad though. I am thankful that I have a good marriage for her to have as an example of what stable married life is.
Day 2
Still going strong! Today was a great day. I stayed within my alloted points and discovered that one of my favorite snacks (1/2 pita with hummus) is only 2pts! woo hoo!! It's the small victories, right? I am so thankful that Britt is doing this with me. It makes it so much easier for me to stay on track. AND.. he made the best chicken salad yesterday! It was great and a WW recipe. Now I need to get some exercise going. I need to start getting up before Elijah and doing something in the living room.
I have started teaching Elijah at home and I am really enjoying it. I don't think I would enjoy teaching other people's children, but I love the fact that he is learning things from me. I like the cirriculum we are using too. He seems to be challenged by most of it - which is good.
Next week is a week of testing for him so my nerves will be a mess - moreso than they already are.. YIPES! I am trying to really put it in God's hands and trust that He will provide me with the reassurance that I need that Elijah will be okay.
I miss going to church right now with it being so close to the Holidays. It's sad that we can't go to church. I want for Elijah to know more about Jesus and to have a stronger sense of assurance.
Ah.. the crazy thoughts that run through my head. The thoughts that keep me up at night.. The thank you cards that need to be sent, the housework that needs to be done, what to fix for supper, gifts that need to be purchased, we still need to get Christmas decorations put up, Hannah is going to be 15 Saturday (man, I feel old), other kids fighting cancer, Elijah's battle, Elijah's school work, did I ask Britt to make my car payment?, do I think anyone would be offended if I used plastic plates at Christmas dinner?, It's insane - the things that keep me up at night. Maybe since I put a few of them down on here, I will be able to get to sleep tonight - it's already past midnight..
sigh
maybe I will write a few more thank you notes..
Day One
It's gone well today. I have stayed within my points and have been very good today. I really need to get busy planning some meals or I will fall off the wagon in a hurry. That's where my problems are - planning. YUCK. Organization is NOT one of my strong suits. I am thinking that Holiday eating is going to be a problem - but only on a few different occasions. My plan is to enjoy the events, but not overeat - which is what I normally do - and then to exercise to offset what bad I do.
I did it
The picture above was taken about 10 years ago by my friend John after a hike around pinnacle mountain. It serves as a reminder that not only was I thin, but I was fit and physically active. If I was, I can be again.
today
Today is the day. I am going to my first WW meeting at 6pm tonight. I am excited and nervous. I don't know why I am nervous, but I am. Susan, thanks for sending me Tory's website. I thank you for your continuous motivation and support. Britt said something to me the other day that has really stuck with me.. We were talking about the signs that Chasen made for Susan for the marathon and how funny they were. Britt made reference to "when HE makes signs like that" - and I added, "yeah, for when I run in a race.. ha ha ha".. Britt said - "hey.. it could happen. Look at how much Susan has accomplished".. It stuck. Don't get me wrong.. I am not talking about training for marathons- ha ha ha
Record Breaker
Goals for this week: join WW; come up with a menu; walk for 30 minutes at least three times.