My Challenge-Week 4

Well, as you all know, I haven't been doing so well since I became so inspired by my sister. Certainly not as well as she has done, but as everyone knows, you should never compare yourself to others, it just doesn't work. Everyone is different, with different strengths and weaknesses. But, today's weigh-in was great. I have lost 4.6 pounds this week! All that hard work paid off, or maybe it was the crying in the bathroom. Either way, I am doing well.

On a sadder note, I studied all day on Thursday for a quiz in Business Law. ALL DAY!! When I went to take it, I felt fairly confident that I would do well, but I scored a 44%. Not even kidding. My jaw literally dropped to the floor. Our teacher warned us that the average score on these quizzes was around 50%, but since I had gotten 88% on the first one, I felt like the smartest person in the world! Second quiz...not so much. It didn't help that the whole hour I was taking the quiz, the computer kept freezing on me, so the 50 minutes I was allotted only actually was about 35, plus two teenage boys were sitting at the computer across from me laughing and talking loudly the last 1/2 hour. I finally asked them to please be quiet, and they said, sorry, then went right back to being loud! I don't do well on tests in loud rooms. Ironically, we were in the library, and no one said anything to them. So frustrating. I vow that the next quiz will be much better, but at the same time, I sometimes feel like I might be taking on too much. My kids needed me that day, but I kept shooing them away because I was trying to study. Then, I got that crappy score and felt like my efforts weren't worth it. On a happier note, I scored 105% on my Spanish test. Now, that's more like it! =)

My Kick in the Pants

Well, I have to be honest. That's always what I teach my kids, so I have to be an example. And, if I am being honest and following in my big sis' footsteps at reporting how I am doing every week, well, bleh. That's all I can really say. I did HORRIBLY this week. There's all kinds of excuses I could throw out there: I was lifting weights, so I put on some poundage; I started my period; I was stressed out because of school...But, really, what it boils down to is this: I binged. I don't know what my deal is. Am I trying to subconsciously sabotage myself? Maybe. Do I really want to gain every week as I have been since I started this blog? No. I went to Weight Watchers on Saturday morning, bright and early with two of my best buddies, Carina and Kim. Thank goodness they were there, because if Kim hadn't coaxed me out of the bathroom, I would have stayed in there the whole meeting crying into my soggy piece of toilet paper! As I mentioned, I gained, but the REAL kick in the pants was that I am back over 200. I am at 200.2. When I told this to Mike, he snickered a little and said one good poo would put me back under 200! He's right, but the point is that there was a "2" in front of my number again, which I promised myself would never happen! You have to understand that when I ran my half-marathon in October, I was right around 186. Maybe it's the winter blahs, maybe it's the crap that I ate over the holidays, who knows. I do know that seeing that 2 in front of my weight really gave me a reality check. Tears were shed, and resolutions were made, and I am proud to say that so far, I have kept those resolutions. I know, I know, I am only two days into it, but that number really affected me. It's so complicated, weight loss. Caradon, I think you are truly the only person who can really know what I mean, especially in regards to the pressure we get from ourselves and other individuals who are important in our lives. One thing I can say positive out of all this, is I realized just how supportive my husband is, after he tried to comfort me with visions of large...deposits...in said bathrooms. HE. RAN. FIVE. MILES. WITH. ME! Who out there can say that they ran five miles in just under an hour, laughing, and talking with their husband, enjoying the fresh morning air, sun peeking out from behind the clouds? I can! And, I think it ranks up there really high with some of the best moments of my life. At the end, he wasn't complaining; in fact, he said how much fun he had and how we need to do this every Saturday. I love that man!! So, now that I have had my kick in the pants, I will be proud to report in next week!! Now, is there any wood around here for me to knock on? Just in case? ;)

My First Week Ended

Well, if I have to be honest, I will tell you all that I am extremely disappointed in myself. Instead of losing a pound and a half this week, I gained two. I really don't know what happened! Either I didn't keep careful enough track of my intake or something, but whatever it was, it has made me feel horrible. So, this week I need to lose 3 in order to get back to where I need to be! I have done it before and I know that I can do it again, but it might be hard. I made myself a poster that has a whole bunch of pictures and positive sayings on it that I hung in my room. Hopefully, it will serve as some inspiration.

On a more positive note, Mike and I celebrated 12 years of wedded mostly-bliss. I can't believe that we have been married that long! We've been a couple for 14!! And, even after all that time, I still love him just as much as I did when we first met and my heart still jumps a little when he walks into a room. It's nice to be married to your best friend. Plus, he's given me the four most beautiful and sweet children in the world as a bonus!! I sure do love that boy. I can't wait to spend a week with him on a cruise to the Carribbean in August!! It will be wonderful!!

My Snuggle Date

Last night I had an awesome date. It wasn't with Mikey (although of course that would have been awesome) and it wasn't with some other studly man. Well, okay, maybe it was...but he wasn't the only one!! I had two amazing women with me as well! Claire fell asleep pretty early, and so did Mikey since he had to go to work so early this morning, so I got to have a snuggle date with Dallin, Emma, and Audrey. Now, I call it a snuggle date because Audrey claimed that I really don't snuggle her much. Kids have such picky memories, don't they? In my mind, my snuggle time with my kids is quite a lot considering how I don't really snuggle. But, I decided to show her, so I popped some popcorn and we sat in our HUGE armchair (it really is huge--it holds me AND Mike!) and we SNUGGLED! Emma and Dallin sat on the couch and we all flipped through Netflix. Anyone who doesn't have this, I would highly recommend it. I am hooked. It is only ten dollars a month, DVDs come in the mail and we can watch instant movies through our Wii which we just got for Christmas. Yes, we are finally joining the 21st century after a decade of actually being in it. Anyway, I decided to show them what funny, mindless entertainment really is, so we turned on Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Anyone who was alive in 1986 knows how popular Pee-Wee Herman was back then, and I am glad to say that he still entertains five-through-ten-year-olds as much today as he did back in 1986. Anyway, they loved it and Audrey and I snuggled like no one has ever snuggled before. Sam, you are jealous. Let's hope this snuggle date stays in Audrey's memory bank this time!

My Inspirations

Hello all,

I have been inspired by my wonderful sister, Caradon, to write this blog. She has taken a highly courageous step on her blog. She has posted pictures of herself, her weight, her measurements and everything as a starting point for a year-long journey she is going to take. She is going to try to lose 104 pounds in a year. That is a huge deal! I am so proud of her. Can I also take a moment to tell you, Caradon, that being your sister has always made me feel like I was on top of the world? I can remember many times throughout my school years bragging that I was your sister to my teachers or friends. In college, I loved being able to walk over to your apartment to hang out with my cool sister and her cool friends! When I met Mike, you were the first person I wanted to tell. When I got pregnant with my children, you were the first person I told (after Mike of course). I want you to know that I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS!! Don't ever tell yourself you can't. I never would have thought a year ago that I would be able to run a half marathon without stopping to walk even once. Yet, I did it. I am so excited that you are possibly going to do it with me this year. It will be the best day of my life. I will have my husband, my beautiful sister, my awesome brother, my wonderful sister-in-law, and one of my dearest friends, Becky, join me.

So, to continue this blog after that tearful little interlude, I want to tell everyone that Caradon, along with countless other friends and family, have inspired me to get to where I am now. But, I have so much more to go. I will take your initiative, Caradon, and I will post my own weight, meaurements and story for the world to see. So, here it goes.

At my highest weight (excluding having just given birth, or being a nursing mother) I weighed 246 pounds, not much less than Caradon does now. Sadly, though, I don't have the lucky height that Caradon has, so I was quite a bit more portly. I will show you what I mean. This is me in December of 2005. Since this time, I have lost 50 pounds, which puts me at 196. Yay for me that I am under 200 pounds finally, but I do have a lot longer to go. I still want to lose 46 more pounds. So, I am using Caradon as my inspiration, as I have countless other times in my life, and I am going to take on this challenge for myself that she has made for herself! Except, I have a bit of a shorter time frame. I would like to lose my 46 pounds before August 14th, 2011. That is the day Mike and I will (hopefully) leave for a cruise to the Caribbean! We never had a honeymoon and we are celebrating 12 years of marriage on January 15th, so we figure it's about time we do something nice for ourselves.

Now, anyone who knows me at all, knows that I am a math and numbers girl. So, if you do the math, you will see that this gives me 31 weeks to fulfill my goal. 46 divided by 31 is 1.48 pounds per week. Even numbers are a good thing, so the goal will be to lose 1.5 pounds per week and I WILL be at my goal by August 14th. My measurements are as follows: Chest 43", Waist 39", Hips 45", Thighs 24", Arms 12". Here is a recent picture of me:

Some might think these pictures aren't too bad, and compared to the picture up above, they really aren't too bad. But, I am excited to see what I look like as I progress. I will post a written blog every week to keep everyone up on my progress, and I will post more pictures every two months. I know we can do this, Caradon!! We WILL be successful and we will be triumphant! I love you. Wish me luck, everyone!!
P.S. Anyone know how to delete pictures after I have posted them on my blog? If you can let me know, that'd be awesome!! ;)

My Lack of Motivation

Hello All,
Sorry it has been so long since I last wrote. Things have been busy. Christmas was extra hectic this year because we hosted a week-long reunion with all of Mike's siblings, their families, and Mike's parents. It was crazy, but we had a lot of fun. Things definitely seem empty and quiet around here now and Audrey has observed many times how "plain" the house looks now that we no longer have our decorations up.

On a better note, the kids are back in school, my house is mostly recovered, I still have my hair, and I have re-lost five of the ten pounds I gained while Mike's family was here. I thought that with the new year would come a new and resounded motivation for me to get back on track. But, alas, it has not yet arrived. I have done everything in my power to get it to come to me, but I just can't seem to convince myself that to stop eating so many sweets is actually a good thing! I will get there, though. 2011 is my year, I can feel it! There is a slim chance that Mike and I might be able to go on a cruise through Jamaica and the Carribbean for a week in August, so I will use that for my motivation. It may be a pipe dream at this point, but I will cling to it with all my might. Maybe the thought of me lounging on the beach with my honey looking like a large member of the ocean life, (rather than the svelte, sexy woman that is in there just dying to come out) will be enough of a push to find my motivation. In the meantime, the mirror will have to do! Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2011 brings with it everything wonderful for you and your families!!