Official

It's official. I'm now a member of Weight Watchers Online. I'm hoping that this is what's going to help get the weight off a bit easier. So far, today anyways, i've done quite well. I had a hard time staying full for the first two meals but dinner i ended up super full and still had a few points to spare. I can see this is going to take a bit more of planning meals ahead of time but i think it may work out great. I'm actually looking forward to weigh-in next week to see how much i loose. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's in the negitive direction.

Stubborn Stubborn little man and a weightloss thoughts

First off..... i'm sure Sam is not going to appreciate this too much when he gets older. But.... meh......

Sam by far is my hardest to pottytrain. He is stubborn. To the fullest. I've got people on both sides saying that he's, both, not ready or why isn't he trained yet. Truth be told... i'm a bit lazy. I'm not in such a rush to potty train him. I think that, maybe, if i put it off, and he's ready.... it'll be easy-peasy. So... i've put my big girl pants on and decided to stop being so lazy and get to it. And... he's ready, he really is. He lets us know when he's wet, when he's gone, and he does't like to sit in wet/dirty diapers. But the fact that i thought i'd be easy with him when he was ready was so far from the truth. The boy is STUBBORN!!!!!!! He's killing me! I guess i expected a few days tops but, *sigh* not so. Right now we (i) are trying the naked approach. Sorry for all those who come to visit me in this stage.... Sam now answers the door in the nude (or at the very most, a shirt since is IS winter).

It's worked well, that is until today. In which he proceeded to make a mess of things while i was otherwise occupied in the other room. I guess it was a bit my fault. I'm not feeling the best right now... a bit green and currently hoping i dont' have a stomach bug. I knew he needed to go potty, and he wanted me to stay and keep him company. But my stomach had other ideas and being the person i am, i didn't want to loose my breakfast in front of him. Needless to say, when i come out, he decided the kitchen floor was a great place. I know, i know... not a good a good visual at all. But for the record... i AM trying. I'm determined to get rid of diapers. Not only are we so incredibly tired of buying diapers, we've decided that diapers are just way too expensive and are eating away at the slowing income coming in. I realize Sam doesn't understand that but it's motivation enough for us to be serious about it now.

Next Samuel project? loosing the binkie!!!

_______________________________

As for the weightloss adventures... it's VERY slow going. Almost 2 weeks from my public admition and i'm down only 3 lbs.... which yo-yo throughout the day. I swear if i weight myself tonight, i would have gained those 3lbs back. At one time, i was even down a full 4 lbs. I totally thought that the weight would start coming off and regularly. Especially when i got serious about what was going in my mouth. Things like totally kicking the Mt. Dew, started drinking water (96ozs... every day without fail, well... except for today maybe), taking out the yummy white bread/products and replacing it with multi-grain (and still quite yummy, yet i still CRAVE white bread) bread/products every time i can. A biggie right now is me moving a lot more every day. There aren't many days when i haven't hit the treadmill for at least a 30 minute brisk walk. And the Wii Fit is a biggie right now too. It's been 26 days and i've only missed 5 days. Needless to say, this is going to be a lot harder than i thought. I'm not giving up hope though. I'm determined to loose the weight. I've got great info (i totally suggest Bob Greene's Best Life Diet book. It's a bit of a different approach to weight loss but great info) and good motivation. But to step it up a bit, I've decided that i'll be joining Weight Watchers Online. I'm hoping that will give me a bit more of the bump i need.

It was a heck of a game!

The boys played a kick butt game of basketball last night. It was the championship game between the two best team in the 5th-6th grade division of Jr. Jazz. Those boys put up one heck of a fight and they....

WON!!!!!!!!!!

(we're #1, we're #1, we're #1)

It was a tight game through the whole game. I'm incredibly proud of all those boys.

Daylon played the whole complete first half and then sat out most of the 2nd half (as usual. Normally, i think it would bother me, but it doesn't bother Daylon in the least bit. He's tickled pink that he gets to play at all. And truthfully, so sad to admit, he is the one on the team who doesn't know how to play).

and as predicted, he had a jab session throughout the game. I had to laugh because it was with a girl, but this particular girl happens to be one of his best friends.

so now that they've won the championship...

what's next?

a great big pizza movie night courtesy of his coaches!

i think that may be Daylon's favorite part. He's my social bug.

YAY!!!!!!!!!! off to the championships!

The boys won their single elimination game on Saturday and now they move onto the championship game on Thursday. They have never won against this team so I'm sure it'll be another loss for them but it should be a really good game.

Daylon gets to play against a few of his buddies so I'm sure it'll just be a chat session for him but the rest of his team is going to work their hardest I'm sure (have i mentioned that Daylon just isn't the best in sports?).
Daylon's team, minus one kid.
... and the tall one in the middle... he totally kicks some basketball butt!
that kid is GOOD!
And the coach.......... is the woman! how cool is that?
Her hubby is the assistant coach but takes the reins when he's able to make it to the games.
They are GREAT coaches!

I'm excited about Shimelle's new class. Take a look here ----> free mini class. I've always liked her style of scrapbooking. Now is my chance to take a class of hers! Join me if you want!

169.6

Yes, i just did do that. I'm going to make myself accountable. I'm completely serious about doing this. Because, seriously, i'm tied at my highest weight EVER. That even includes every time i was pregnant (but, i'm thinking that doesn't really count since pregnancy and i don't get along very well. Pregnancy always seems to kill my body). But... there it is. And i just want to put it out there, that this isn't just about loosing the weight. I realize it isn't all about how much i weight, but it's about how i feel. But somehow, the two seem to go hand in hand don't they.

I've been at it "seriously" for two weeks straight (not being serious about it, i've been at it for a few months). That means doing some kind of something to get me moving and getting my heart rate up (love that Wii fit! Although i feel a bit retarted sometimes not being able to do the strengh training. I am that out of shape). I've been eating with the right mind frame(although at times not all good foods go into my mouth). I've been drinking water. LOTS of water.

Today i went out and purchased me a scale that actually works (thus the title of my post). It was getting frustrating seeing my weight jump all over the place with my old scales, and that's just from stepping off and getting right back on. That, and i KNEW that my bathroom scales were just plain off. The proof is in the difference between my scales and the doctors office scales. Sure, i know there will be a slight difference, but 7-10lbs is just crazy. I decided that if i'm going to do this right, i'm going to do it right all the way around.

So now that it's out for the world, i'm hoping that this is going to be a great for motivation. Hopefully there'll be enough people out there calling me out on it.

apparently, i need all the help i can get

Since Kim is my girl, my support person. The person who i check in with regularly. I thought i'd copy this from her blog to here to see how i do.

… About Small Eating Changes
1. Water, water, water, water. (Your skin will look great, too!)
*i'm up to at least 96oz a day. Sometimes more, never less.
2. Order half portions at restaurants, or share a full portion with somebody. Or ask for a "to-go" container when you order your food, and pack up half the portion before you even start eating.
*ughh. we rarely eat out now. But when we do, i usually can't eat a full plate anyways and have a take home box
3. Cut back on butter and mayo.
*i REALLY need to do this. I LOVE my mayo and butter... but so does the rest of my family. I think DarRell would kill me if i cut back on these. Even going to low/no fat, i just might be disowned. I got to figure out a way to work for me and still make everyone happy.
4. Limit fried foods to once or twice per week.
*HUGE downfall for me. The greasier the better. I didn't realize this until i thought back on the past two weeks of meals..... NOT GOOD.
5. Use less or no sugar in your coffee or tea.
*no biggie there...... don't drink either (although the tea is good sometimes)
6. Replace ground beef with meatless products or ground turkey.
*sigh..... no ground beef? Meatless? those veggi boca burgers aren't too bad sometimes.
7. Try at least one new food every week. If you're bored with what you're eating, you're more likely to give up.
*it's worth a try. I just get tired of wasting food cause i have to cook for 5 and 3 are picky.
8. Eat fresh, raw veggies with sandwiches instead of chips.
*working on that RIGHT now! yayay me! although those darn Cheetos are the death of me.
9. Measure your portions until you're sure you know what a cup, a half-cup, and a tablespoon look like. This will help you practice portion control, an essential key to weight-loss success.
*working on this with the easier things like cereal and stuff i can control.
10. Try not to drink high-calorie beverages.
*did i mention that Mt. Dew is also the death of me?
11. Dip your fork in a side of salad dressing before each bite instead of pouring it directly on your salad. You'll find that you are satisfied with much less than you usually put on.
*ya... i've tried this. it works when i do it. Otherwise, i just eat too much.
12. Find healthy alternatives to all your favorite foods.
*is there a healthy alternative? gotta find them
13. If you don't really love it, don't eat it.
*definatly a problem. I eat it if its sitting there. Doesn't matter if it's not my favorite.
14. Never eat out of a bag or box. Take out a measured/counted quantity of food and put it in a bowl. This way, you know exactly how much you're having.
*Cheetos again...... gotta get rid of them apparently
15. Always eat something for breakfast.
*YAYAYAY for me! i'm actually doing this!!!!!
16. Read food labels. Check serving sizes.
*got to get better at this but i am aware and do check occasionally
17. Add vegetables to everything.
*working on this too. Just gotta find the right veggies to make me and the rest of us happy
18. Plan meals in advance; use that information to make out a complete shopping list.
*doing it right! Only way to do it when you get paid only once a month
19. Give food to guests to take home.
*or make only enough for the 5 of us..... it works
20. Write down everything you eat and drink, without fail.
*i gues i'm chicken. But it'd sure be an eye opener wouldn't it. Something to get on my to-do list.
21. Plan ahead for special occasions by accounting for higher-calorie foods before you eat them.…
*it's sitting in the back on my mind... always

About Small Exercise Changes
1. Take the stairs every single time they're an option. No more elevators or escalators.
*i use the upstairs bathroom everytime i'm downstairs and the downstairs bathroom whenever i'm upstairs. And with all the water i'm drinking....... it's often
2. Make exercise a priority, not an inconvenience.
*working on it. That's where Kim comes into play ;-)
3. Park far from your destination so you're forced to walk. This works at the supermarket, the mall, wherever. (This also helps you waste less time looking for a parking space!)
*being in a small town, this isn't very easy. Especially since, well..... i don't really go anywhere
4. View tiring chores (shoveling snow, cleaning the house, weeding the garden, taking the garbage out, grocery shopping) as a chance to get in some activity.
*good idea.....
5. Take the grocery cart back to the store when you're done loading your bags into your car.
*i do when i'm kidless. Never thought of it with the kids...... do i really want to go there?
6. If you take public transportation, get off one stop early.
*N/A
7. Work out with a buddy.
*thank you Kim... even if you are a million states away.

Hopefully the little things will add up. Apparently i need all the help i can get.

new item for my wish list...

The Gurgle Pot

Isn't it the cutest thing ever???
and it gurgles when water is poured out of it.

Someday, i'll have this.

needing some SERIOUS tune-age

Since i'm REALLY getting serious about this getting into shape thing (AKA loosing the million lbs of fat hanging on to dear life to me), i've been using my MP3 player a LOT more now. Problem is... my music isn't really motivating.

I need suggestions. I need to know what music is going to lift me off my sorry butt and get me moving. Honestly, with the sorry music i have on my player, i slow down to a slow crawl and i know that isn't going to get me anywhere fast (or maybe even at all).

So, give me some suggestions. I need them!

Have you ever?

1. Started your own blog duh!
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity may be part of #15 someday
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child someday in one form or another
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied working on this one
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant bought? no. But given one when i worked at a resturanunt
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie does a commercial count?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class someday
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching looked for whales but not really there for whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma unfortunataely i can't :-( but have received many times from those generous people
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check would have bounced if not for overdraft protection
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job no but i've quit several so i'm going to count it cause i don't belive that living is being fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating buffalo, deer (wait, i haven't killed a deer yet), antilope
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life if only for a short time
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake swam? no ew! ew! ew! but totally been there and waded
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Project 365

if you are any part of the online scrap world, i'm sure you have run across some reference to the 365 project. I've jumped on the bandwagon and decided to do it too. I'm super excited about this whole concept. Unfortunately, I'm not really known to see projects from start to finish and i'm really worried about setting myself for failure. So, in an effort to fight back the fears, i've made myself a deal. I'm not going to stress so much on taking a picture EVERY day of the year. Instead i'm going to focus one week at a time. If i happen to take that picture every, that'll be an extra bonus.

For those interested in joining in, you can learn more about the 365 project here ---> Project 365 (yes, unfortunately the kit is sold out but that doesn't mean you can't do this. MANY people are using different means of getting the same concept down)

here's a few links to get you started
* top 10 reasons why you want to do this!
* 365 day, 365 ideas for photos

Resolution revisitied...

I keep telling myself that I'm not a really big fan of new year resolutions, and every year I commit to not making any. But deep down inside I ALWAYS make them. Those typical ones that i always choose like loosing weight, getting rid of debt and being a better mother and wife. And every year, it's the same. I never make it to those resolutions and i call myself a looser for not having any self control and structure for those stupid resolutions that i really never even made in the first place (out loud anyways).

Last year was different. Last year I did this. Last year i chose the word Manage. I resolved to manage a few areas in my life. Most of it was my typical resolutions, but i had a few others in mind. Like getting serious about getting my rosasia under control (which also meant finding some way to juggle around bills and such to come up with enough money to see the dermatologist on a regular basis and the $$ i needed to keep me in stock with the meds i needed to take for it). And for the first 6-7 months of the year, i treated it like it was any other stupid new years resolution and failed miserably at it. Then by about mid July to early August something just hit me, i got back into gear. I not only sat down and worked out a budget that showed me how soon i could pay off my debt if i just stuck to it, but i showed it to DarRell and together we tweaked it a bit more. I went and saw my dermatologist and got my Rosasia under control for a while. I totally have slacked off on it because my dermatologist was killed in a freak airplane accident. As far as i know, he was the only dermatologist here and he was only here twice a month. I realize that i can go to my GP, but after the advise i got last time from him, I'm not too savvy on going back for it. And although i don't look like I'm loosing weight. I'm not gaining either. This is after the huge gain i had over the last 2 years so its going to take a lot to get it off again. But I've managed to keep my binging under control especially during the holiday season. And apparently it's worked cause over the last 3 months I've lost 5 lbs. It might only be 5 measly pounds that doesn't even show but it's a start, and for right now, that's all that counts.

So, going back to what i was saying earlier... This one little word this seems to be working better than anything else I've done so far. This year I've decided to do it again. I want to keep my old word because i still have a LOT of managing to do this year. But i needed to refresh my take on it again. So this year I've chosen ReThink. It's time to re-think things over again. I need to rethink all my choices so that i make. I'm determined to make better choices for me and those around me. So far, it's working. I still have all my previous resolutions hanging over me that I'm still plugging along with and i am making progress with them. And perhaps i will find more along the way later this year, but for now, I'm happy with my old resolutions. I still want to loose weight, i still want to get out of debt, i still want to be a better mother/wife and i still want to get my Rosacia under control. Of course it's only the 5th and things are still new and shiny. But I'm proud to say that I'm still feeling motivated from the progress i made during the latter part of last year.

So here's to the old (Manage) and to the new (ReThink) and may it be a year of change!