Steppin' It Up!

To answer Kelli's previous comment....I am not really sure what I am going to do to step up my exercising.  I am increasing my crunches and leg lifts.  I want to walk a little more since I do enjoy that!  While I am in AZ helping Kelli, I get to use her neighbor (Brenda ☺)'s treadmill.  And yes, I will do it on an incline.  (I don't have A.D.D. and I know I am talking about exercising, but while I am on the subject of being in AZ I will just say I am so looking forward to being with Matilyn, Ethan and Londyn for a couple weeks!!)  Back to the exercise....Kelli has a dvd for cardio and is basically challenging me to do that.  We'll see how that goes!  It is chilly outside and too windy to walk so my guess is today there will be a little slacking off with getting the cardio workout in.  I am not one for weigh lifting, jogging or regular aerobics.  I used to take a slimnastics class which I loved and it helped so much.  Once I have the car back during the day, I may check into that type of class at one of the places here in San Diego.  I also love water aerobics but I don't know of anywhere that offers it here.  Anyone in my area that knows of someplace that has the water aerobics, please let me know.

MahJong

All I am saying is Mahjong on Thursday!  Yes!

Refocus!

Although I have (over the past week) stayed almost exactly the same in weight, I decided today that I need to boost things a little.  Whether it is really watching how I eat and/or adding extra exercise to kick it up a notch.  I am still thrilled with the accomplishments I have made, but I want to do more.  I feel so much better than I did 3 months ago and I know I can feel even better with doing more for myself. So, I am going to step it up and continue to be a better me in 2010!

Home Again!!

Home again!!! I am pretty sure I have said that before!  Just recently in fact!  We are back from AZ and it feels wonderful to be home.  It was such a fast weekend but the drive home today seemed to last longer than our visit!  Instead of coming straight back to San Diego from Gilbert, we took Bob's son Ryan home to Tucson.  We left at 8:00 this morning and got home at 5:16 this evening.  Long, long day!!  It was nice to walk in to a very clean house.  I am so glad I took care of the lawn, mopped, vacuumed, etc before we went to AZ.  I will be flying to AZ again on April 8th to help Kelli for a couple of weeks.

Great Weather In AZ Right Now Too!

We are in AZ and the weather today is beautiful.  Zach's baptism was very good and we are so proud of him.  There was a lunch at the Kevin and Corina's home afterwards and the food was delicious.  (Thank you Kevin and Corina).  There was shredded pork, refried beans, great flour tortillas (and all the trimmings) and awesome burritos were made!!  Great chips and salso too!!  And of course....a birthday cake for Zach!

We'll be heading back to San Diego in the morning and will be ready for a new week!

Heading for AZ

I'll be leaving in a few minutes to get Bob from the airport then we'll be on our way to AZ for Zach's baptism.  Such a quick trip but it will be worth it.  Any time we have the opportunity to see family, we try to make it work. We have someone watching our house for us and the car is packed with snacks and "real" food.  Hopefully there will only be one stop in Yuma to put gas in the car and let Sadie out to "do her duty."  (Yes, we carry little bags with us to pick up her poo.)  I am hoping to be able to post on my blog tomorrow but I know it will be a busy day.  Even though the posts aren't too interesting, I still need to do it as the follow up to the challenge....journal or write it down daily.

New Favorite Song

I know this is no big deal to anyone but yesterday I was listening to the radio while I was driving.  This in itself is something because I never like to listen to anything while I am driving. (Ok...unless someone is in the car with me talking, then I do listen.)  Anyway...I heard a song I had never heard before and loved it.  When I got home I googled some of the words from the song and found out it is "Losing My Religion" by REM.  I love the music!!!  It has the greatest beat and if I was at a dance it would be a blast to dance to!!  (Dancing is also good exercise!)  I tried to copy and paste it to the blog but wasn't able to.  Go to youtube.com and pull it up.  Let me know if you like it!

Perfect weather again today.  I took Sadie for a walk and  I'll be mowing the backyard in a few minutes!!  More good exercise!!

Love The Yardwork!!

Once again, a beautiful day in San Diego!!  In just a few minutes I'll be headed out to mow the lawn.  We have really got to get some fertilizer though and green it up!!

Denver had quite the snow storm last night and this morning.  Bob flew into Denver early this morning and I was thrilled to know that he arrived safely and got to spend a little time with Kimberly and Colton!!  I am so glad he has now seen Colton in person and has been able to hold him!! We're heading to AZ Friday night for the weekend so I guess this is the week of travel!

More Of The Same

Today Sadie and I walked once again.  The weather is still gorgeous!  I pulled more weeds and grass and have much more to do...although less than I did!

I weighed (after breakfast) and lost another 4 ounces!! I am still very excited about my progress!!!

Have a great day!

Unwanted Visitors!!

Since we have had all the rain, we have also had the pleasure of an enormous amount of weeds visiting us in the backyard.  Over the past few days, I have helped those visitors leave the premises!  This morning I was out there again pulling them by hand to "literally get to the root of the problem."  It looks so much better but I need to go through now and pull all the small weeds and strands of grass.  Eventually we will redo the surrounding area of the yard with new bark.  It was nice the house came with landscaping, but the builder was certainly cheap on the quality of things. 

The weather has been beautiful and I am still walking.  Today Bob was at work so Sadie got the pleasure of walking with me.  She loves going for walks and "checking for messages" every few feet.  She is a very good dog and because she is small, it makes for an easier walk.

Have a great week!!!

A Walk On The Beach!!

I think a walk on the beach is just what everyone needs once in awhile!  There was an early church meeting so around 2:00 we headed to Oceanside to walk on the beach!  It was a little overcast but it was still great.  We just missed having Kelli's kids with us.  They love the beach and walking on the pier! It is so peaceful and just what we needed to recharge for the week.  And this will be a crazy week!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!!
(Now about the NCAA brackets:  Bob has 2 entries and his standing right now on one is 157,136th place and on the other he is in 200,911 place.  As for my entry (drum roll please...) I am ranked 39,421!!  Will I win?  Oh I definitely doubt it but I am in a pretty good place right now!

A Special Gift

Today I received a wonderful  gift from a friend of mine.  She read how I had been doing on the 10 week challenge and the accomplishments I have made.  In today's mail I received a beautiful diamond star necklace in white gold.  She told me as she followed my progress she would comment to herself that I was a star and she felt the star necklace would be a perfect gift for me.  I absolutely ♥ it!  I never expected any type of gift or reward from anyone and the challenge was never about that.  But, thank you, thank you for my gift.  It means so much to me.  I will continue on my "journey" and continue to accomplish what I set out to do.

It's Friday!!

I am glad today is Friday.  The weather was beautiful today and I am hoping for more of the same tomorrow.  I love that I can say "I think we may go to the beach tomorrow!"  Just looking at the ocean and listening to the sound of the waves is just so peaceful!!  Love it!

I have continued with the "no eating" after 7pm.  I am still walking, doing crunches and a couple other floor exercises.  The weight seems to be staying about the same the last few days but at the same time I am still seeing changes in how my body looks so I think I am still on the right track.

Looking forward to a great weekend.  If anyone reads this, I hope you have a great weekend also!!

March Madness Is Here!

I ♥ March Madness!  A few years ago I filled out a couple of the college basketball brackets to see how well I could do in the tournament.  Bob and I both signed up at 3.00 a shot along with approximately 300 others.  I did so much better than Bob and alot of the other guys.  When updates were posted in the early stages, there were positive comments made that "a girl was showing up the guys." (Seriously, it made me proud!)  I had picked a lot of the teams because I liked the sound of the school; such as Villanova, Gonzaga and Xavier.  Some teams I picked because I had been in that town or state before.  I know!  Crazy reasons for picking a winner!  I knew nothing about how the teams had played throughout the regular season.  Of course as it got farther into the tournament, my luck started running out and I did not win anything or even come close!  But....I had a lot of fun and really got into the games!  (That's what counts, right?)  This year we got in on the free entry on Fox Sports (sponsored by Hooters).  I decided not to go with the "sound" of the name but rather with my gut feeling.  You can call me crazy now but I chose W. Virginia and Ohio St. to go to the final.  I chose Ohio State to take the championship.  I kept thinking I wanted to go with Texas A&M beating W. Virginia so Texas A&M would play against Ohio State, but I just couldn't bring myself to put that on paper.  So....watch March Madness!  Cheer on Ohio State....maybe my luck will be back with me this year!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Things are continuing to go well.  I didn't realize so many different people were following my blog and were inspired by it.  Thank you.  In the past couple of days, I have gotten some facebook messages and emails letting me know how I have touched others.  I had hoped I could have a positive affect on someone and this just makes me smile!  To anyone who has anything at all in their life they would like to change or improve on, take the challenge (or make your own challenge) and do something about it.  If you have already started working on something, I wish you the best of luck!  The end results will be well worth the effort you put into it.  I am amazed at the outcome from the 10 week challenge but I know I will continue to change and improve over the next few months and beyond.  Thanks to everyone for helping me reach the goals I set by your words of encouragement.  I always believed I had the best friends and family....now I know it! ♥

Reviewing My Posts

Yesterday I spent quite a while reading over all the posts I have put on my blog so far (along with the comments that were made), starting with the first day.  Reading each one gave me more encouragement and motivation to stay focused in my day to day life.  I am not just more focused on the goals I have set for myself, but with everything.  So many things can change in our lives without notice.  Depending on what our mindset is,  it will ultimately help us in how we can handle those situations when they happen.  I realize there are many things I can never prepare myself for, but I am hoping if I continue to have a positive outlook on things, it can help me be stronger, no matter what the situation is.  The last 10 1/2 months seemed to have dragged on forever, yet at the same time it seems like the weeks and months went by so fast.  I am glad we stayed positive although some days were a little tougher than others.  I am thankful Bob and I have the kind of relationship that we can help build and inspire each other.  There is no one else I would rather go through life with.

Home Alone

So today Bob started back to work.  I did not realize how quiet the house would seem with him not here.  Not that it is noisy when he is here by any means, but I am sure most of you understand what I mean by the "quiet."  Bob was given a company vehicle with the last employer he was with.  Of course when he was let go, we had to "let go" of the vehicle, so we have had only our Equinox over the last 10 1/2 months.  This weekend Bob commented to me, "Starting Monday you get your castle back." My response was, "Yeah, but my chariot won't be here!"  Eventually he will get a vehicle and I will have my car back again.  I have gone 2 years before without a car during the day so I know I can handle this!  We are so thankful and feel so blessed that he has been given this opportunity with TEPA.  I know Bob was very excited this morning when he left for Aliso Viejo.  We did not find out until 10:00 last night he would need to drive up there today, but we know he will not have to make that 1 1/2 hour drive (each way) everyday.  It feels so good knowing that we will eventually be back into a routine again and we will continue to take nothing for granted!

Even though our 10 week challenge has ended, I have posted on my blog that I will continue on my own.  Yesterday after church, Bob and I went for our walk on the trail.  I did not eat anything after 7pm...(I made sure I had just a little bit of my Thrifty chocolate chip ice cream at 6:35).  I had been in bed last night for only a minute or two when I said out loud, "aagghh...I didn't do crunches today!"  I hopped out of bed and hit the floor to do my crunches.  (I am doing the crunches this morning so there will not be a repeat of last night.)

It is going to be a great week!!  I can feel it!
UPDATE:  This week Bob will work from home Tues, Wed, & Thur.  He will drive up to Aliso Viejo again  on Friday.

This Is It!!

This is it!  (At least for the 10 week challenge.)  I lost another 11oz!  I told that to Bob and he said, "that's almost a pound!"  I am not complaining by any means.  After all...we went to Fatburger on Tuesday with a friend (and had yummy Thrifty ice cream afterwards) and yesterday it was Applebees.  I also lost another 1/4" in each thigh and 1/2" in my waist...I missed losing 14 pounds by only 2 ounces.  My goal was to lose at least 10 pounds so I am very proud of myself.   I have lost 21" overall.  Very happy!  I realize if I would have given up certain foods I could have lost even more.  I will not give up foods I like.  I am not dieting.  I eat what I want and have realized I just don't need to eat as much.  I do eat slower and I stop eating when I am full.  I am also conscientious of the portions.  Sometimes a little more of something sounds good, but I have built up my willpower and I can drink water to finish off the  need  "want"  for more.  Over the next few weeks and months I will continue posting my successes and defeats on my blog.  Knowing people are reading it and following my progress still continues to motivate me.  I have not lost any of my enthusiasm that I had at the beginning of the 10 week challenge.  Knowing I can accomplish the smaller goals makes it even more real to me that I can accomplish whatever I put my heart into!  This was a great challenge and from it I will take so many things that will help me to continue to better myself.

Last Day Of Our 10 Week Challenge....How Will I Reward Myself??

Today is the very last day of our 10 week challenge.  This is very sad to me for some reason.  Although I know I can continue to do these things on my own, it just is not  the same.  The topic for today's journaling challenge is to write down how we will reward ourself if we accomplish our goals.  I have copied and pasted what I wrote on my blog back on January 9th:

"I want to get a new outfit consisting of a pair of jeans (or really cute Capri pants) and a cute top to go with it. (Of course I would only do this if we have a regular paycheck again.) Totally awesome reward!"

It is funny that at the beginning of the challenge this reward sounded so good.  Now I think it is not a big deal.  I was talking to a friend of mine today and we were discussing different aspects of this challenge and what we have learned from it.  There are things that I have learned that I would never have thought I would learn or even think about.  Rewarding myself doesn't even matter to me.  Would I like a new outfit?  Sure!  But I do not want it because I have accomplished my goals.  I have totally been rewarded in so many ways over the past 10 weeks.  The way I look at myself...the way I look at others and how I think of others has changed so much.  This has been such an eye opening experience and I cannot explain it.  What I thought would just be a physical challenge for me, has turned out to be not only physical, but mental, spiritual and emotional too.  I have grown in so many ways.  I think it was in my original post that I said I hoped I could affect just one person through my blog.  I have done that and it means so much to me!  I went into this challenge with a purpose! I also stayed focused and had determination.  I stayed true to myself, which was another goal of mine.  It honestly is sad and emotional for me to write this last journal entry involving our weekly challenges.  I know tomorrow I will blog about my total weight loss and inches I have lost and I am very proud of myself for that;  but I cannot express how deep this challenge has affected me. It is all positive and I am so very glad and thankful that I accepted the challenge.  It truly has been a life changing experience for me!

How Did I Do??

Today's challenge in our "write it down this week" is how we all did in this challenge.  Did we meet our goals?  What did we accomplish?  I am extremely happy to say I exceeded my goal of losing at least 10 pounds.  It is amazing how different clothes fit and look.  It is amazing how much better I feel.  It is amazing that my stomach/abdomen is showing just a hint of definition now.  I love walking and I know between that and other minimal exercising, I have improved my life.  I like myself so much better now.  I like who I am becoming.  Even though this 10 week challenge ends tomorrow night, I have come too far to go backwards.  I think my latest goal of not eating anything after 7pm has helped tremendously also.  I have also learned I do not drink near enough water!  For anyone who watches The Biggest Loser, you will understand when I say tomorrow is my "last chance workout."  I really do not know what I will do differently, but it is my final chance to possibly lose an extra ounce or two before I do my final weight and measurement for the challenge.  I will post the results on Sunday! (PS:  As I was leaving the house today, Bob was walking behind me and told me I didn't have much of a bottom anymore....I just said, "that's good!")

On a different topic althogether and really it is the most important:  Bob got the call this morning.....he is on the payroll beginning Monday!!!! Drug testing, alochol testing, background testing....all good!  He still doesn't know for sure where he is going or what he will be doing, but the main thing is he will be on the payroll!!!!!!!

1,2,3 Days Left!

On my blog today, I  only want to say that I am a true believer in some form of exercise.  I was horrible about doing anything that could even remotely be classified as exercise.  During this challenge, I realize everytime I walk, how much better I feel and how good just getting out and doing something feels!  (Especially since we found the trail....we love walking that!)  Not only has exercising made a difference in how I look but I have not felt this good in a long, long time!!

What I have Learned From The 10 Week Challenge

Seriously, thinking about what I have learned over the last 9 1/2 weeks  makes me somewhat emotional.  That may sound crazy to some, but this has truly been life changing for me.  I have realized if I have the willpower and determination, I can acheive anything I want.  I know I would only want to acheive things that mean the most to me.  Kelli mentioned in her post that something she has learned is "money doesn't buy or guarantee a better quality of life."  I know she already knew that.  I already knew that.  But it is funny how this challenge "re-opened" my eyes to that way of thinking again.  What I have been given in my life, what I have earned in my life and what I will get in the future depends on who I am.  My 3 goals (as a recap) in the beginning of this challenge were:

1.  Be honest with myself

2.  Lose at least 10 pounds in this 10 week challenge

3.  Feel good about myself

I have kept these 3 goals taped under my mirror in the bathroom over the past 9 1/2 weeks.  I planned on keeping the list there until the challenge was over.  But, I see it everyday and it helps keep me focused on what I want out of life so it will stay there.  I never thought this challenge would go so deep but it has become so much more than losing weight and exercising.  It has taught me how important life itself is.  That may also have to do with losing both my aunt and uncle in the same month, but I know how important I am and how important the people I love are.  In wanting to be honest with myself and feeling good about myself, I have learned how to look at others differently.  We all have our own stories and why we do what we do.  I accept that.  Life is too short to worry about insignificant things.  Our true happiness, I believe, comes from within us.  I can make my life any way I choose to make it.  I choose happiness!

Week 10...Day 3

Today I needed to write down EVERYTHING I ate and drank for today.  EVERYTHING! It would be totally boring to put it on my blog, so I emailed it all to Kelli since she is the ring-leader of this challenge.  I did push myself on drinking water today and made it to 64oz.....in hopes of drinking at least 16oz more before going to bed.  I have noticed I have not been drinking as much water as I should.  (Note to self:  drink more H20!) 

We have 4 days left to this challenge.  I have learned so much from this challenge, but that is the journaling topic for tomorrow (per Kelli) so I will blog about that later.  It has been great fun but it is sad that a few people dropped out along the way.  I hope they reached the goals they had set for themselves because it truly has been worth the work!

Back To Basics....My Nutritional Goals

In the first week of our challenge we needed to choose 3 nutritional goals for ourselves. The following are the goals I wanted to work on. Today's challenge is to re-visit those goals and see how each of us are doing on our own individual goals. The following are the 3 I chose to work on to help me reach the overall goals I set for myself in this 10 week challenge:

1. Start reading the nutritional value on labels (without going overboard.)

2. Try to eat only the actual serving size suggested (or close to it...I don't want to set myself up for failure.)

3. To eat less junk food and eat more of what is good for me.

I am happy to report I have done quite well with the nutritional goals I set. I do not read the labels on everything but I do when it is a food I have not bought before and do not use very often. I will admit that sometimes it can help me decide if I want to buy it and sometimes if the food just looks good, I will buy it. :o) I have reduced the size of my portions in pretty much everything I eat. Honestly I have learned that when I fix a sandwich, 1/2 sandwich is enough by time I drink something with it and eat my serving or even less than one serving of the Lay's Stax.

The biggest plus is I definitely eat less junk food. I have found that I just do not want it like I used to. The cravings are no longer there. If I am hungry for something specific, I will eat it; but it will be much less than I used to eat. The other night I did want something sweet and I broke off 3 squares of dark chocolate and it was plenty. And I am pretty sure dark chocolate is good for you!

It is quite sad we only have 5 more days of this challenge to go!

On To Week 10....Our Final Week Of The Challenge

I went back to the first blog post I wrote. It was interesting to read what I had written and how focused, excited and positive I was about this challenge. I am happy to say I have remained focused, excited and positive throughout the past 9 weeks and I know I will not let up before this challenge is over. It has become a quest for me because it is something I have wanted to accomplish for so long! I have become so much better because of this challenge and have met and exceeded the goals I have set. Thanks Kelli for a great 9 weeks and thank you in advance for this last week of the challenge!

Something I did not expect to change is how I write. Journaling (or blogging in this case) has helped me in what words I choose to write and also how I read other's words. Once I post on my blog, I always go back and re-read it. It is amazing that I have gotten to the point when I see that I have written a contraction, I usually change it to the two words it should be. It sounds so much better to me. I know that is a small thing,(possibly crazy to others), but it truly was eye opening for me! I still talk using contractions and write using some, but during these past few weeks I have found the word "I've" does not sound near as good as "I have" or "it's" does not sound as good as "it is." Just now, when I re-read that sentence, I had to change "doesn't" to "does not." I did not expect to learn an English lesson in this challenge!!

PUSH!!

I am very happy with what I have done so far, but I woke up this morning and decided I was going to push myself a little. I will still continue to eat whatever I want (thank goodness I have learned portion control), but I want to at least double the amount of floor exercises I am doing....crunches, leg lifts, etc. I realize we are just about down to the last week, but I have already told Bob I am continuing with most everything from this challenge. I have come too far to let things fall apart now. For one, I realize how important exercise is. I know I have thanked Kelli before, more than once, and I am sure I will thank her again, more than once in the future, for starting this challenge....but THANK YOU, KELLI!!

I'm "Weigh" Happy With How Things Are "Measuring" Up (or down)

First I need to clarify something from my last post. I realize a size Large shirt in a different style other than the one I tried on may have fit me. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of size Large shirts that would still fit.

On my happy note for today. I weighed and measured and am posting the results. Since I started this challenge (Jan. 3rd), I have lost 13.3 pounds. I have lost 2.3/4" in each thigh, 3.1/2" in my waist, 3.1/2" in my hips, 2" in each upper arm and 3.1/2" in my bust.....(I am OK with the bust measurement because I know I am losing inches across my back). We have just over 1 week left for this 10 week challenge so I will weigh and measure one more time in 9 days. This has been so good for me and I know I am becoming healthier!!

Weigh In Tomorrow

Tomorrow I get to weigh and measure again. I'm very excited. Even better than that.....I was at WalMart today (Kohls is right next door but I stayed out of there for now). Just for fun I looked at some shirts that I thought were really cute. I actually (for the first time in probably years) tried on shirts from the Jr. section and they fit! And they weren't even the largest sizes! I tried on one shirt from misses and the Large was too big. I am waiting until we have a steady income before I buy anything new! I am feeling so much better! Seriously....bending over to tie my shoes is effortless now!!!

A New Job!

Things are going well. Bob printed out all 19 forms we needed to fill out and send back to his new employer. That sounds so good doesn't it???? New employer!!! We're thrilled to know Bob has a job again. It will be nice to (every once in a while) go out to eat somewhere besides a fast food place. We have made sure we have no debt except for the house and my car and we are truly blessed by that. I can only imagine how things could have been over the last few months had we been deeply in debt. This experience has certainly taught us a few things and we will do all we can to build up that savings account. We were also very blessed to receive a tax refund that of course went straight to the mortgage but we are glad we had the money to pay it. We know everything happens for a reason. Do we know why we were given this trial? Nope! But we do know we will keep focused and remain positive and support each other 100%.

Possible Plateau???

Could it be I have reached a plateau for a while?? I'm not complaining at all and I have revved up my exercises a bit in hopes of helping. I am weighing the same as I did a few days ago and my thoughts are if I exercise a little more, it may start changing again. I am still feeling good about myself and I'm definitely not getting frustrated.

Oh....the good news is Bob got an offer letter today!!!!

Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out....John Wooden

Keeping Up On The Challenge

We walked the trail today. I carried a rock that Bob said weighed about 6 pounds! Seriously, why does carrying a weight or weights wear you out faster!!! I just think it is ironic that I am striving to lose weight, but have to add more for my cardio. We walked for 39 minutes....Bob added some extra areas for a longer walk so "we could get a good workout!" I will be doing some floor exercises along with my crunches later today. I certainly see the differences in my body and I am liking what I see. I am also liking what I "don't see."