Southern girl...at heart

 

     Those that know me well, know that I do not like to drive in snow and I do not like to be cold.  Sure, snow is beautiful as it's falling lightly on Christmas day or a Saturday when you can stay in the house, curled up on the couch reading a book.   The fact that I do not like to be cold became more clear to me after losing 85 pounds.  I do not have the extra "coats" to help keep me warm.  Since losing weight, my body seems to have forgotten how to regulate my body temperature, which simply means....I'm almost always cold.  Summer was a piece of cake this year. Not literally, of course.
     Last summer we took a family vacation and stayed a week in Clearwater, Florida.  The day after we got home, Jason and I were both online looking at houses in Florida on Realtor.com.  But, having a son who had just graduated and was waiting for his call from the Air Force to leave, a daughter who had her senior year in high school left (not to mention a steady boyfriend) and another son who still had 6 years until graduating high school, we put the house search on the back burner and tried to get on with our daily lives dreaming of the day we could seriously think about moving to what we feel is paradise.
     Then, a few weeks ago, a little over a year after our family vacation, a training course came up for Jason's job....in Fort Myers, Florida.  He booked his flight with his company and I booked my flight myself and off we went for a week in the sun....in NOVEMBER. 
     As I stepped off the plane (I flew a different airline than Jason since he booked his flight through work) I could smell the wonderful smell of salt water in the air.  The Ocean!  I took a deep breath in and then smiled.  I was home.  If only for a week.  The very next day as we were taking a drive up the coast and walking hand-in-hand on the beach, the topic came up again.  We want to live here.  Wake up to that ocean air every morning.  Hear the waves crashing against the fine sand on the beach.  Wear flip flops all year.  But then, reality hit and we decided it was still not the right time for us.  But this didn't stop us from visiting an open house of a home right on the canal and looking at the homes on realtor.com, once again. 
     This week, as Jason and his co-worker went off to their class each morning, I thought of what I was going to do for the day.  If you knew me 15 years ago, you know that I was an extremely shy person who hardly ever left the house alone.  And now, I was alone in my hotel room deciding whether I wanted to take a bike ride (alone), head to the beach (alone) on a water taxi (alone), or sit by the pool (alone).  When deciding whether I should come with Jason on this trip, he expressed that he was concerned I'd get bored.  Boy was he wrong!  We stayed at a beautiful resort with three swimming pools, bikes to borrow, a wonderful workout room (again...if you knew me even three years ago I would have walked my overweight self right by the workout room and sneered at those people sweating and EXERCISING!) I have spent my days doing all of those things I mentioned (alone) and have enjoyed every second of it.
     As I lay on the beach, surrounded by all the people, the sound of the waves rolling in, and the feel of the warm sand beneath my feet, I put together in my mind reasons why I love this tropical paradise.

                          So here is my top five reasons why, some day, we WILL live in Florida:

1.  There are all types of people here.  Sizes, colors, speaking different languages, young, old, etc.  As I sat eating my lunch on the beach I watched all these people going about their own lives...I was amazed and blessed to see the couple in their 80's, both in their very skimpy swimwear with their skin hanging, the woman's swimsuit having no straps, walking hand-in-hand on the beach.  And the two (not-so-tiny) women sitting next to me in their two piece swimsuits completely comfortable in their own skin.  And the young couple with two small girls who were probably getting to see the ocean for their first time.  And the couple in their 50's sitting in their beach chairs on the other side of me speaking in another language that I did not understand.  All these people of different sizes, shapes and ages, in their swimwear walking around doing their thing...not worrying about who was judging them. This actually brought a tear to my eye as I sat amazed by this sight.  I was completely blessed by this sight and realized this is what we need more of in this world!  I do not think I can find this freedom at the pool in our neighborhood back home in Colorado. 

2. The weather.  I love warm weather.  The coolest, average temp here in the middle of winter....50's, and that only lasts a few days before it warms up again.  Yep, I can handle that.  I even like the hot, humid weather in the summer. 

3. The amazing beauty of the ocean.  The feel of the fine sand between your toes on the beaches.  The seashells, like the people, of all sizes, shapes and colors.  The majestic sound of the waves rolling in.  The brilliant colors of the sunset in the cool evening breeze coming off the gulf waters. 

4. The relaxed, yet active, lifestyle of those that are either visiting or call this place home.  Everywhere you look their are people walking, biking, jogging, etc. But then, you look again and see the people lying on the beach or all the outdoor patios of restaurants where people are relaxing, enjoying outdoors with the many sights, smells, sounds and tastes.

5. Never-ending sightseeing opportunities.  Their are swamp lands, islands, endless beaches, big cities, quaint little towns, amusement parks, etc.  So much to see and do and enjoy!

When we tell people that we want to live in Florida some day, most peoples' reaction is:  "what about hurricanes?"  Yes, there are hurricanes.  That's when you board up your house and head north for a week's vacation and then head home when it's gone.  We've lived in the south, and have endured our share of hurricanes.  If we lose our home in a hurricane, then we rebuild and move on.  It's all material things that we will only have on this earth. 
             
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21



Beautiful People!

 

It's all His!  Thank you God for your abundant blessings of beauty!
             

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth Genesis 1:1

American Soldier

On my way to work this morning, Toby Keith's, American Soldier came on the radio.  As I drove and listened to the lyrics, my eyes filled with tears.  It got me thinking about how military members aren't given the credit they deserve. 

Yes, we thank those that have just arrived back after serving over-seas.  Or thank someone in uniform in the store occasionally, but do we truly know what it means to serve in the United States military.  It doesn't matter which branch.  One is no better than the other.  They all serve a purpose and without them, we would not be free. 

I remember Jason saying when he was in the Air Force that he felt like his job wasn't as important since he worked in an office in a military hospital.  But there were sacrifices he (and we as a family) made because he signed his name on a dotted line to serve.  Just like our bodies, each part is important to make the body work.

After making that choice to join the military, that person's life is not really their own any more.  From that moment on, until they sign their discharge papers, they are told when, where and how.  They aren't allowed to just take vacation when they choose.  They have to get permission.  And if they have gotten permission, that could change at the last minute if their superior chooses.  Just watch an episode of Army Wives and you will see that this is true.  I know, Army Wives is on television, but they did a great job showing how military families have to live.  Don't get me wrong, military life can be wonderful.  I miss it a lot.  But there are definitely sacrifices and we as Americans need to be aware and grateful to those who serve.

My son is now serving in the United States Air Force and I could not be more PROUD of my boy for making that choice.  It's hard.  For him.  For us.  For his girlfriend.  My heart aches daily knowing that I can't hug him when I want. He's been gone for almost a year and has not been allowed to take leave to come home.  For so many young people his age, they are going to college and get to spend the summer at home.  Or at least visit for holidays.  It's hard knowing he won't be coming home whenever you wants.  We look forward to Christmas when, HOPEFULLY, he will get to come home for a few weeks. 

Military life is a wonderful life!  Let's remember their sacrifice and thank a United States military member for the choice they have made for our freedom.  Even if they are working in an office in a military hospital or a crew chief on the flight line.  They will be there when and if the call comes for them to go and fight for our freedom.  As Toby sings:

You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door,
Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core,
And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price,
I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice,
Oh, and I don't want to die for you,
But if dying's asked of me,
I'll bear that cross with an honor,
'Cause freedom don't come free

THANK YOU to all those military men and women who have served, who are serving, and those who will choose in the future!  THANK YOU to my amazing husband, to my wonderful son, to my sister-in-law, to all our other friends and family who have, are or will serve!!!! 

AMERICAN SOLDIER
I'm just trying to be a father,
Raise a daughter and a son,
Be a lover to their mother,
Everything to everyone.
Up and at 'em bright and early,
I'm all business in my suit,
Yeah, I'm dressed for success from my head down to my boots,
I don't do it for money, there's still bills that I can't pay,
I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway,
Providing for our future's my responsibility,
Yeah I'm real good under pressure, being all that I can be,
And I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekends been to strong,
I just work straight through the holidays,
And sometimes all night long.
You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door,
Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core,
And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price,
I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice,
Oh, and I don't want to die for you,
But if dying's asked of me,
I'll bear that cross with an honor,
'Cause freedom don't come free.
I'm an American soldier, an American,
Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand,
When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right,
I'm out here on the front lines, so sleep in peace tonight.
American soldier, I'm an American,
An American,
An American Soldier 

God Spoke

This morning I woke up feeling pretty OK about the day.  I didn't have to work, I got 9 hours of sleep (which I needed since I haven't slept well in over a week), and I had the day to myself.  I made a mental To-Do list in my mind as I made the bed and headed downstairs. 
First, I need to fix my breakfast.  You see, I have reached 81 pounds lost....with only 10 to go to reach my lowest goal weight.  They say the last 10 is the hardest to lose so they (the counselors at Slimgenics) have put me on a week long plateau breaker to speed up and revamp my weight loss.  One of the most important things is to eat my protein (which in my case is 2 eggs) within 30 minutes of waking up.  But, today is my weigh-in day and I don't like to eat or drink anything before I weigh.  So I cooked up my eggs, poured myself a giant bottle of water, and headed out to go weigh...taking my eggs in a Pyrex bowl to eat as soon as I was finished weighing. 
I weighed.  I gained 1/4 lb.  I wasn't overly shocked considering I had just spent a wonderful weekend on a couples' retreat and had to eat whatever was served...which was "eggs" smothered in greasy cheese, French toast smothered in cinnamon and sugar, bacon, etc, and this was just breakfast.  Needless to say, I didn't eat my healthy food that I'm used to eating. 
As I walked out the doors of Slimgenics and headed to run a few errands; and eat my eggs,  I could feel my mood plummet.  Amazing what a 1/4 pound weight gain can do to my day!  So I finished my errands in a funk and headed home...straight to the couch.  As I sat on the couch pouting and looking through Pinterest at all the wonderful ideas for weight loss and fitness, God shook me and said,
     "Jenni, why are you pouting?  Are you going to let 1/4 pound defeat you?  Have you forgotten that you have lost 81 pounds and went from a size 18/20 to a size 6?  Have you forgotten that you have worked hard to get where you are and that it isn't all about the scale?  Get off the couch and do something positive for yourself instead of sitting there sulking!"
"WOW!  OK God.  You got my attention."  I immediately went upstairs, put on my cute little workout shorts and tennis shoes, turned on my XBox Kinect and got a great Zumba workout in.  But that still wasn't good enough and I knew the weather was about to change outside to cold and snow so, since I was already warm, I grabbed my iPod and headed out the door.  I found my worship songs play list and off I went, determined to lose this lousy mood.  There is NOTHING like taking a good, long power walk with Jesus as my workout partner! 
So now I am home, with a renewed energy and willpower to get through this week, with His strength and power leading me! 
Moral of the story:  If you are ever having a bad day, there is nothing like a kick ass workout (pardon my French), and a good long walk with our Savior to brighten a gloomy day! 
As I type this, the clouds are rolling in and I can see the snow moving across the mountain tops heading our way.  But I WILL NOT let the gloominess outside ruin my sunny mood! 
Thank you Jesus for the "gentle" nudge and wonderful chat this morning!

Proud Moments

Today has been filled with such wonderful, proud moments. I'm bursting!  What a blessing it has been.

Our son, Cody joined the US Air Force 8 1/2 weeks ago.  There were some challenging times in his teenage years and we had some struggles and wondered if we were doing things right as parents.  This morning, we got up at 5:30 am and stood on the side of a road at Lackland AFB in the drizzly fog waiting to see a glimpse of our "man" as the squadrons and flights ran past us yelling cadence.  What a proud, proud moment when I first saw him running past.  He spotted us, smiled and gave us the Hawaiian hang loose, or what's up sign as he ran past us.  Ugh, the pride that filled us is unexplainable!  That was SO Cody to do that!!!  But we still were unable to hug him or talk to him.

Next was the coin ceremony.  This ceremony symbolizes these young men and women going from Airmen Basic (trainees) to Airmen.  Anybody who is, and was in the US Air Force are considered Airmen.  Including my handsome hubby!  This is a huge accomplishment for these Trainees.  The ceremony was very touching and wonderful to watch.  At the end, the spectators (mostly parents, grandparents, wives and girlfriends) were dismissed to Tap Out our Airmen.  This is where they stand at attention, and we get to walk up to them and tap them on the shoulder so they can relax.  Yea, there was NO tapping on the shoulder.  It was mostly mom's bawling and yelling and hugging and sobbing.  Another amazingly proud moment for us as parents.  To walk up to your son, while he is standing at attention and getting to hug him for the first time in 8 1/2 weeks is one of the most amazing feelings in the world. 

Since he left, I have been working really hard to lose as much weight as possible.  As we were walking to the car, I was walking ahead of him and he said, "dang Mom, what do you weigh now.  You are like anorexic."  It was an exaggeration, but I took it as a huge compliment.  :)

Another proud moment:  We were driving in the car, just talking and listening to him tell us stories of his time at Basic Military Training or BMT.  He said, "I haven't told you this before, but I have to tell you now.  THANK YOU for raising me the way you did and teaching me to have manners and have respect.  There are guys here that you can tell didn't have the parenting they needed.  Even teaching me and making me do laundry and stuff."  WOW!  What a proud moment that was.  All the struggles and questioning as parents these past years was just answered in those two words.  THANK YOU. 

That smile on his face.  Our son in a USAF uniform.  The respectful way he talks to those around him.  Hearing him say, "I love you Mom!"  I am just bursting with pride at this young man, this hero God has blessed us with, and allowed us to raise.  Thank you, GOD for these three amazing children you allowed us to have and raise.  ONE VERY PROUD MAMA!

AMEN!

2013~ Here's to a great year!

It is now 2013!  Wow!  I look back and reflect on 2012 and all that happened. 
Some highlights:
Our oldest son graduated from high school in the spring of 2012. 
Our daughter got her first job working at a day care.
She is also officially legal to drive by herself!
Our youngest son got to play baseball and football.  He is Mr. Sports so we all had a blast with this!
I got a job.
I finally got into a size 12 jeans.  Then they became too big....into a size 10, then they became too big.  Now, HELLO size 8!
We bought a new car.
Our oldest son left for Air Force basic training on Nov. 27th. 

Let's start with the last highlight. 
Our son is gone!  I think that was the hardest thing I've gone through in my life!  Throughout his middle school and high school years we had our struggles. To watch him swear in as an Airman of the United States Air Force, as a man, made both Jason and I SO proud of who he has become.  The caring, loving, sweet man that I have loved for over 19 years!  We have said that he is a turtle....Hard on on the outside, but soft and squishy on the inside.  :) 
Christmas was really tough this year with him gone.  I tried as hard as I could to be the happy person I usually am, but could not find my "happy place".  I was really depressed over the holidays and am happy they are over.  Now, only 17 days until Jason and I travel to San Antonio to hug our airman!
Oh, our sweet daughter is growing up also.  She got her license and is now driving herself to work and school.  As nerve racking as that was, I know (because the bible tells me so) that worrying does me no good so I am trusting God to keep her safe in her travels.  It's actually been really nice to not have to go get her from school and work! 
Our youngest son.  He is just full of spunk and personality.  He keeps us laughing all the time.  When did my baby get so big?  He'll be 12 in April! 
So, now it's 2013!  I have officially lost 77 pounds.  I'm feeling great and am only 10-15 pounds from my goal.  (I have a goal that I KNOW I can reach and a goal I WANT to reach, which explains the 5 pound difference)  :) 
Things to look forward to in 2013:
Seeing my son in 17 days in his Air Force uniform and giving him a hug after 8.5 weeks away from him!  Spending 4 whole days with him.
Our daughter will become a senior, and our youngest will enter middle school. 
Wow, when did this all happen?
To those young people out there, BELIEVE it and DO IT when OLD people tell you to enjoy life because it'll pass before your eyes!  It's the truth!
THANK YOU JESUS for the blessings of 2012 and the blessings You already have in store for us in 2013! 

Dashing through the....Holidays.

My THIRD holiday season that I've been on some kind of weight loss/control program.  It's getting old, but will all be worth it in the end. 
Halloween candy.  Had just a few pieces of taffy that night.  Otherwise, didn't touch the stuff! 
Thanksgiving is next.  Pumpkin pie, gooey sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, oh my.  I have already decided that since I'm cooking it all, I can tweak the recipes a little and make them all a little healthier this year.  Am I supposed to be eating most of it while on my "plan"?  No.  Am I going to eat it, YES! 
What I'm learning through all of this.  Life is not about food.  In fact, I really hate food.  I wish I didn't ever have to eat.  Life would be so much easier.  I hate the fact that we HAVE to eat every day, and to make the choices of what to eat every day.  If I had my way, I'd never eat.  I know, I'm totally opposite of the majority of people.  I listen to friends talk about their food addictions and I just don't understand.  This is one of the many reasons I love Slimgenics.  They tell me what I have to eat each day, and each day I check them each off.  No, they don't give me specific foods to eat, but I get to pick from a list.  I like this!  Makes eating a little less of a chore. 
As of now, I am officially down another 15 pounds....65 total from two years ago at this time.  Two years ago if you would have asked me if I thought I'd ever be in a size 10 jeans, I would have laughed and said it was not likely.   Now, as I sit here in my loose size 10's, looking at the BMI calculator I realize for the first time in years, I'm officially out of the OBESE category.  (Not sure who makes these calculators, BTW).  Yes, it's been worth the struggles and frustrations.  It's been worth passing up on the goodies. 
On a totally different subject:  My baby (who will be 19 on the 20th) will leave us on the 27th.  Reality is setting in, and as the days get nearer, I get sadder.  I can't believe my son is leaving, and will most likely never come back for more than just a quick visit.  Not exactly sure how I am going to deal with this when it comes.  :(
BRING ON THE HOLIDAYS and NEVER forget the true meaning of Christmas!  Jesus IS the reason for the season.  Thank you Jesus, for with you, ALL things are possible! (including diets and grieving) ;)

Up I Climb

I'm climbing this mountain, one step at a time.  There are challenges along the way, but I'm working hard and defeating them.  I have lost over 6 pounds so far (I haven't weighed in today).  I'm so excited and never before did I imagine that I could weigh less than I did in high school.  I am officially 10 pounds away from what I weighed on our wedding day.  If when I make my goal, I will weigh what I did in Grade school.  I also was able to buy a size of jeans that I haven't been able to fit into since grade school!  And they fit!  I just want to turn my jeans inside-out and wear them like that so everyone can see the size. 
I have been watching the "pounds lost" graph on Spark People that I get to update (almost daily) and it is rapidly moving downward.  How exciting!  I also made the board TWICE at my weight loss clinic for losing over 3# in a week and hitting my 5# mark.
A new challenge.  I'm leaving for a week to do a little travelling with my mom.  Travelling = restaurants and not so healthy foods.  If you read my previous post, I'm a planner.  So, as best I could, I have researched restaurants and their foods and have made a plan of the kinds of foods I can eat and which ones I should stay away from.  I am taking lots of my snacks, sweeteners, and other things to help me along also. 
I can do this! 

Can't wait to come back after the week and weigh in....or maybe I can wait.  :(  I just need to never lose focus on God's strength! 

The Organized One~I Love Binders!

It's been four days since I started my new weight loss plan.  Yesterday was HORRIBLE!  (just ask my family!  I promise I didn't yell at them.  I just didn't say anything, to anyone.  I just wanted to cry.)  Not because I was hungry.  Not because I hadn't lost any weight yet.  I realize now, after getting a really horrible night's sleep, but waking up to wonderful rain, that it's because I am OBSESSED with being organized and being a planner.  I was overwhelmed with information last night after my informational class. (duh?) I was frustrated that I was not given the "plan" details right away when I started this and then given them last minute and I hadn't planned my meal for the next day so had to run to the grocery store last night to pick up some things.  I was in panic mode. 

I spent the entire evening with all the paper work sprawled out in front of me, my laptop opened right beside all the paperwork and me sitting in front of it all trying to wrap my brain around the whole thing.  I was also angry at myself for having to pay lots of money to lose weight and be healthy.  I prayed a lot.

This morning was a fresh start.  I got myself a binder (I LOVE BINDERS!) and organized all my paperwork.  I wrote out my menu for the day, divided up all my daily supplements, snacks, etc and then I was ready to take on they day.  I even spent a few hours in our bedroom cleaning, putting things away, ironing, organizing, etc.  (where did that energy come from!!!??) 

I went and weighed in then.  Down 3 pounds!  Life Is Not Easy.  Nothing about it.  If it were, you wouldn't need God's help, right?  But if you work hard at it, with God's strength (see previous post) you can do anything.  (see Eph 4:13)

Thank you God for your strength, and for binders!

Making a Change, with God's strength

I decided to make a change...again.  Thank goodness for His new mercies every morning!

As I sat reading over our new bible study and preparing to facilitate this coming Tuesday, I realized several things. 
First of all, I am NOT a teacher.  I don't like to teach, I don't want to teach.  I already knew this, but was just reminded again.  I will bake you cookies any day of the week, but I will not teach.  Unless, of course, I'm asked.  Which I was.  So, here I am, preparing to "teach" our new bible study.  Teach really isn't the right word though.  I like to think of it as facilitating.  Merriam-Webster defines it as:  to make easier.  to help bring about.  I define it as:  reading the questions and letting others answer.  :)  I can read.  I can do this...with God's strength!  Moses is my best friend through this.  I keep remembering his words in Exodus 4:10-12
But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
THAT, my friends, is comforting to me!

I have also started a new weight loss program to hopefully get me off this ginormous plateau I've been walking on for the past two years.  I have taken my doctor's suggestion and finally bit the bullet and paid lots of money for someone to tell me what I'm doing wrong.  Not really what I wanted to do, but I wanted answers, so here I am.

I sat praying this morning, and one of my favorite verses kept creeping into my mind.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  Phil 4:13 

It got me thinking about God's strength.  When I think of strength, I think of someone flexing their arm muscles, because this is what I was taught in Sunday school, and I've watched it being taught in vacation bible school and Sunday school since.  But there is so much more we can take from this one verse and God's strength. 

For me, I am praying for both His physical strength and His spiritual strength.
I need His physical strength to help keep me on my weight loss journey and to guide me when I want to stray.  To give me the energy I need to be physically active.  To give me the strength I need when I want to give up. 
I need His spiritual strength to help me grow closer to Him.  To search for Him in all I do.  To learn the things He wants me to learn and to open my eyes so that I will see all these things.  He is working in our lives every day, every hour, every minute, but do we stop and realize that this is all from Him?  I know I don't. 

So, today my prayer is for strength that only comes from Him.  To do the things He wants me to do.  To learn the things He wants me to learn.  To slow down and really listen to what He wants for me. To become more like Him. 

As I was thinking of God's strength, I did a search on it in the bible and came across more of these wonderful verses about his strength:

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  1 Peter 5:10


  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:10


...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:31

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26

May you find a "word" or an attribute of God's that gives you comfort this week also!

A new beginning...again!

I feel like I just keep repeating the cycle. 
Fall. 
A new beginning. 
     The kids start back to school.  The leaves begin to turn to beautiful colors, new bible studies begin, the evenings begin getting cooler and cooler as the days go buy.  The thought of holidays fill my mind.  But the biggest change that seems to be repeating each fall, is the fact that I really need to focus on my health.  Eating healthy.  Getting my fitness minutes in.  And, if I'm lucky, losing weight.  Luckily, over the summer I did not gain any weight, but I didn't really lose any either.  (I really don't consider 2 pounds losing weight). 
     Now that the kids have been in school for several weeks and I've gotten into a semi-routine, it's time for me to be dedicated to getting my workouts in.  Not that I haven't exercised this summer.  It's just been in different forms.  Hiking, walking outside, running errands all day with kids, swimming, etc.  So now to decide if I want to do one of my MANY workout dvds, one of my workouts on our Xbox Kinect, or have a visit with my trusty friend downstairs, Henry (the treadmill).  I guess I will decide in the morning. 
     Still so frustrated at the fact that I have logged 5884 minutes of exercise for the year and my goal was 2700 for the entire year and I haven't been losing any more weight.
     Let the "new beginning" begin.

May = CRAZY MONTH!

OH, so much going on in May it's making my head spin trying to get it all under control.  Softball, baseball, end of school, parties, company coming, meetings, graduation, doctor appointments, commitments at church, yard work, driving kids here and there, snacks for this, snacks for that, vacation planning, etc.  (not to mention our every day daily to dos.....I can feel our budget flying by me...heading for the window) 
Our family calendar looks like an ink pen exploded on it since it's so full of to-dos, appointments, etc.

With all that is going on, I'm still finding time to fit my workouts in.  I am now officially at 3663 fitness minutes for the year.  Have I lost any weight?  NOPE!  Really, really wish I new what was going on.  I've tried so many things to try to break this plateau and it's just not budging.  Really frustrating.  This is how anal I've become about my food intake and exercise:  I had a little heartburn last night so I decided I needed to take a few Tums.  Before I put them in my mouth though....I checked to see how many calories were in them and if I had enough calories left for the day to take them.  Wow!  Stupid, I know.

I guess I better go start checking a few things off of today's to-do list.
mow back yard
make snacks for small group
make sure baseball uniform is clean
clean kitchen
make graduation cards
make an early dinner before the crazy evening starts of picking up kids, taking kids to practice and then small group
fold laundry

Whew, I'm worn out just looking at our calendar and thinking about getting it all done. 

This Week's Happenings in our Happy Abode

What a crazy past two weeks, and I don't think things will slow down until at least after Memorial Weekend. 

Our oldest, Cody, decided to join the Air Force. So last week I took him to downtown Denver to the MEPS office so he could take his ASVAB and do his physical the following day.  He passed both and has been sworn in as an E1 Airman!  So exciting, but yet so sad for his mom.  Not sure I'm ready for my kids to be old enough to leave home.  (I guess I'll need to be when they call him and tell him it's time for him to leave).

 I passed my exercise goal of 2700 minutes and as of today, I have 3154 minutes for the year, and it's only the end of April.  I guess I can't say I'm not trying, even though I'm not losing.

Graduation is less than a month away, along with the end of school for the other two kids.  I have already started preparing for the party, company, etc.  So much to think about and do. 

I've been wanting new counter tops in our kitchen since the day we moved in.  With graduation and a family vacation to Florida within the next few months granite just wasn't in the budget.  I found this product called Giani Granite.  It's a paint for your counter tops.  I did lots of research on this product and didn't find any bad feedback; and so many positive reviews.  So what could I lose?  I went and purchased the product and now I have a whole new kitchen!  It was so easy and quick and what a difference it made to my kitchen.  My daughter even said, "it looks like a fancy kitchen".  YEAH!
Here are the before and afters of my kitchen redo:

Before - The ugly white counter tops

Step 1 - the primer

Half way done. 



All done!  My beautiful new kitchen!

 It's been a little difficult not having the use of my counter tops...and can't use them for 3 days, but it's all worth it. 

Now to go scan some pictures and then get my craft on and make some invitations for the youth high school senior dinner.  Whew!  Gotta love this busy time of year!

What I Learned from David

Our small group is studying King David.  I have, what I believe to be, a learning disability in that I cannot retain the information that I read for more than...oh, a half second.  I get frustrated reading any book, because I lose track of who's who and what happened 20 seconds ago.  This is also true when I read the bible.  I can read a book in the bible and forget what happened or who did what, when.  So in my frustration, I quit.  Well, I've really been trying to learn more about David....and so many other fascinating characters in 1 Samuel. 

A week ago a friend and I had coffee and were discussing King David, our small group, and the Bible.  I told her my frustrations and that I just wasn't getting it.  I went so far as to tell her I just don't get why we need to study the Old Testament at all, it just confuses me and is just a bunch of stories of people who follow God for a while, fall away, follow God, fall away, etc.  Which is true of people then, and people now.  So why study it.  (this is all coming from the fact that I have a hard time with remembering what I read)

So, this morning, determined to dig in so that I might participate (or at least understand a LITTLE of what was being said at small group tonight) I opened up to 1 Samuel 17 and began to read the wonderful "Sunday school story" of David and Goliath.  I took notes....LOTS of notes.  Reread when I didn't comprehend the first time.  Made diagrams.  Looked up some things.  Reread.  Looked back over my notes.  And then something happened.  I was learning so much more about this story!  God, through David, taught me several lessons in all of this that I have missed so many times before by just hearing this "Sunday school" story.  Encouraging lessons!

This past week I've been struggling with why I haven't been losing weight.  Because of this, I've been feeling like I'm not important.  I'm just a stay-at-home mom who is trying to lose weight and nobody even notices how hard I'm trying,  picks up after people, cleans up after people, cooks, washes, vacuums, etc with hardly anyone noticing the things that I'm doing.  (or so it seems)  Isn't that where David was before "the big show"?  He was just a little brother, who tended to get picked on and ignored while his brothers were fighting in battles.  He was just a shephard boy taking care of sheep.  BUT....by being a shephard, he learned to defend his sheep by keeping the lions and bears away.  Little did he know, he was preparing to fight the giant! 

Later on in chapter 18, as David played his harp for Saul, Saul flung a couple of spears at David trying to kill him!  But David dodged the spears twice!  A reminder that bad things can, and do, happen to people who are just trying to do good.  When people are doing good things for God, Satan likes to interfere and tries to ruin it. 

I wonder what "giant" God is preparing for me to battle?  I sure hope I'm ready. 

Let's show Satan who is in charge!  With God on our side, Satan doesn't have a chance!

Looking for answers

And the journey continues.....

I finally went to the doctor today.  I have been working out faithfully (3-5 times a week) for over a year now, eating just the right amount of calories I've been told to eat and I haven't lost a single pound!!!  Yeah, I lose a pound or two here, and then gain a pound or two there...but really I stay within 2 pounds of where I left off after losing my original 50 pounds.  Frustrating?  Very!

I finally decided I needed to find out if there was some medical reason for my VERY LONG plateau.  So the doctor suggested several things for me to try to change things up a little bit, most of which cost way too much money that I don't have.  Some of which include:  Metabolic Research Center, Weight Watchers, and to hire a personal trainer.  Needless to say, those three suggestions got put on the back shelf of my brain to only use when we win the lottery.  (we don't play, so I guess the dust will collect on those suggestions).  Other suggestions were to lift weights, run, and train for a 5K.  Those I can do.  We have a treadmill and a bowflex in our "workout room" in our basement that I can easily utilize.  Another thought the doctor had was that my thyroid is not working correctly.  Both my mom and my grandma have dealt with this so it would not be a surprise if this was a problem I have to deal with as well.  So I got to have my blood drawn and will find out in a few days if that is an issue.  Until then.....Jenni. will. run.

I dusted off poor, poor Henry (my treadmill) whom I hadn't visited since we got the Kinect for our Xbox and also dusted off the Bowflex.  I ran/walked 2 miles and did 20 minutes of strength training.  Will this curve ball in my fitness routine be enough to break my plateau? 

To be continued.....

Goals

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter holiday and celebrated our Risen Savior!  After all, that IS what Easter is all about. 

We had a great church service and then headed to the in-laws where we had a wonderful meal prepared by my mother-in-law.  Then a nice relaxing day spent talking and remembering years past. 

What I have realized in the past week:  that I'm OBSESSED with being healthy and being accountable to myself.  I'm my biggest accountability partner. 

Several days ago I asked Jason if he wanted to do the Biggest Loser workout with me so we were preparing to get started when the phone rang.  He was so excited for the distraction and the excuse to not workout.  I was mad.  He hung up the phone and we began our workout.  He stayed with it for the most part.  Then I asked him if he wanted to do a little Zumba.  He not-so-eagerly agreed.  So we were half way through and the phone rang again.  Again, he was excited for the excuse to walk away.  Well, let's just explain a little why this frustrated me.  We have an XBox Kinect.  We were doing Zumba on our Kinect and any time a player walks away from the screen, it stops the game.  Yep.  Right in the middle of the workout, he walked "off the screen" and that was the end of our Zumba time.  You are allowed to pause the game, but he did not wait for me to do this before walking away.  I was not happy the rest of the night.  OBSESSED.  (or maybe this is just very important to me?)

Although the food was amazing yesterday, I was thinking the entire time about how many calories were on my plate and how long I was going to have to workout to lose those pounds I was about to gain.  OBSESSED!  (or...maybe this is just very important to me?)

The frustrating part:  I have struggled all my life with being the "fat girl".  My husband is fairly skinny and can eat whatever he wants and sits around playing video games or watching TV.  He has no idea how hard I am trying to get healthy and look better.  He just doesn't understand.  He tells me he loves me no matter what.  Which is wonderful, but I want this!  So as I struggle, sweat, and watch everything I put in my mouth, thinking about it constantly, he is oblivious.  I am NOT bashing my husband.  If I were skinny and never had to worry about my weight like him, I'd be oblivious too.  I've tried to explain it, but he just doesn't completely understand.  This is why I was frustrated when he walked away from MY exercise time.


On a brighter note:
I shared a while back about my fitness goals and how I made my goal last year.  Well, to my surprise, I have almost met my goal of this year, AND it's only April!!!  I hadn't really been paying much attention to my goal number, although it's displayed right on the side of my SparkPeople page every day.  I happened to glance at it this morning and was shocked how close I am already!  For the past three months, I have exceeded my monthly fitness goals and have way over 500 minutes/month. 

My yearly goal is 2700 fitness minutes.  At www.sparkpeople.com you can input your weight and how much you want to lose and it designs a program for you with set fitness minutes. (I bumped it up from last year thinking it would be a challenge)  As of today, I am at 2473.  I can't wait to blow right by that 2700!

Note to self:  I'm doing this for me.  Workout on your own.  Worry about doing it for ME!

Our health always seems much more valuable after we lose it. – Unknown


Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. - JimRohn

I would rather say "I did it!" than "I gave up."


KEEP MOVING!

A word of encouragement

If you are someone that is trying to lose weight, I highly recommend you take a before picture, an in between picture, and if you make it to your goal, an after picture.  I was not very good about this as I didn't want my picture taken when I was 228 pounds.  I would delete them as soon as I saw them.  Although I do have a few.  But seeing the difference your hard work is making definitely keeps you motivated.  It does me anyway.. 

I have watched shows on obesity, weight loss, etc for years.  After a person loses weight, I have heard many times on tv, they end up having something like a "fat syndrome".  Meaning, they still see themselves as being overweight, or in the clothes sizes they were in when they started losing their weight.  I definitely suffer from this.  I still find myself going to the "big girls'" clothing section in stores, and when I am in the ladies' clothing section, I have a hard time holding my size up and imagining that that smaller size actually fits me.  So I usually end up in the fitting room with three different sizes and am shocked that that smaller size that looked so small actually fits. 

I wanted to share my pics with you, as an encouragement and to show you how important this step is in the weight loss journey.


This is me January 2008 at 228 pounds



This is me January 2011 at 190 pounds



And this is me now March 2012



Proof that hard work and determination can pay off.  And pictures really can tell a story. 

Moving down the path....

Oh the frustrations of trying to lose weight.  I've said it before, I am one of those weird people who actually enjoy working out.  I workout at least 4 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes, and on the other days I usually try to get some type of exercise in, even if it's heading to the mall and window shopping for a few hours. 

The frustrating part is that I have been stuck on a plateau for nearly a year.  I got on my fitness message boards recently and explained my frustration.  A personal trainer told me I probably wasn't eating enough calories. I usually try to stay around 1200, but she said since I do exercise as much as I do, I need more food to fuel my body.  Makes sense, but hard to grasp and put my mind around it as so many people think eating less = lose weight.

So for the past two days I bumped up my calorie intake.  I do not plan to weight myself for a week or so just so I don't get frustrated. 

My 2012 fitness minutes goal is 2700...and I am officially at 1473.  I do believe I will make my goal.  With that said, as frustrating as it is that I am not seeing the numbers on the scale go down, I DO KNOW that I feel better, and I am exercising which is good for my body and keeps me healthy.  I will NOT give up!

The Seventh Commandment

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be a fly on someone's wall?  Not literally, but to be able to listen and see what happens inside the walls of some families.  I have often said that I'd like to be a fly on my friend's wall.  The conversations she and her husband have crack me up.  (or should I say, the conversations she tells me they have)  Well, tonight's conversation within the walls of our home made me wonder what someone would think if they could hear the conversation we had this evening. 

Some of you know that I have named my treadmill Henry.  I also recently started doing the Biggest Loser workouts on our Xbox Kinnect so I often say, "I had a date with Bob today".  (Bob Harper is one of the personal trainers on The Biggest Loser.)  Also, I am a fan of Chip Ingram (http://www.lote.org/) and often listen to his sermons on my ipod while working out.  Do you see where this is going???

After dinner tonight I went upstairs to put my workout clothes on.  I came downstairs and made the announcement:  "I'm going downstairs to have a date with Henry.  He's been a little lonely since Bob came into my life".  Both Sam and Jason knew exactly what I was talking about and didn't blink an eye.  Although, Sam did say to Jason, "Dad, looks like you've got some competition".  We all laughed. 

I have also been known to say, "I'm going to bed with Chip.  Goodnight all!".  When what I really meant was, I was going upstairs to lay in bed and listen to Chip's sermons. 

So, to listen in on these conversations would lead someone to believe I was breaking the seventh commandment.  See Exodus 20:14 

A little glimpse inside the walls of our home. 
    ~ Oh if you could hear some of our other conversations.  ;)  ~

An Annual Trip

This past weekend we took a much needed trip to Estes Park.  It was President's Day weekend so the kids had Monday off of school.  We left Saturday morning and came home late Monday afternoon.  Whenever we take trips or do something like this, I usually have two things on my mind.  How much weight am I going to gain and how much money are we going to spend.  I believe I can say we did pretty good on both of those topics. 

We cooked all our food at the condo, not eating out once.  Which helped with both subjects.  Most of the time everyone did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.  Took naps, played games, sat in the hot tub, ate snacks, watched tv, etc.  We also went sledding up in Rocky Mountain National Park twice on Sunday.  Once in the morning and once later in the afternoon.  We did some window shopping in Estes in between sledding and Doug and Peyton got their picture taken at one of those old time photo places.  It was fun to watch.  Then we went back to the sledding hill.  It started snowing on us when we were there in the afternoon and it was so pretty.  We were the last to leave the sledding hill as it started getting dark.  We drove home in the dark while it was snowing.  It was actually quite pretty, coming from someone who doesn't like to drive in snow.

Monday morning we got up and had breakfast. Then got our snow gear on and headed into town to get our snowshoes.  We drove up into the park (Rocky Mountain) and found a good snowshoeing trail near a lake.  The wind was blowing really hard, which was blowing all the fresh snow around, and it was about 14 degrees out.  But once we got into the trees it wasn't quite as bad.  We had so much fun and it was the first time any of us had been snowshoeing.  We snowshoed for over two hours!   It's been on my "Bucket List" for a long time...and now I can cross it off...although I'd love to do it more often. 

Between the sledding, walking around down town, Jason and me taking morning walks, and our snowshoing...I didn't gain weight.  And the only money we really spent besides the condo was on Doug and Peyton's photo shoot and renting snowshoes!  I think this weekend was a success. 

We had a great time and are now home to get back to "normal".  The kids are back in school, Jason is off to work, and I'm home putting the house back together and getting laundry done.  Right where I wanna be. 

Life is good!

Popcorn and PJs

Recently we had a popcorn and pjs night at church. We had attended a Women's Ministry meeting where the idea was talked about so my friend, Stephanie, and I both started planning it and things just fell into place.  We decided to start with a pink and black theme and we went from there.  Since we held the event in January when many have just started working on their New Year's Resolution, we decided also on offering healthy snacks. 
Comfort
Health
Relax
FUN!
We showed the movie, A VOW TO CHERISH.  The women began showing up, all in their PJs or comfy sweats.  We had been making popcorn in the authentic popcorn machine (a mini machine, just like at the movie theater) before the ladies arrived.  All stood around, snacking and chatting in their jammies and then the movie began.  What a wonderful evening.  Ladies wrapped up in their blankets, feet propped on the chairs in front of them that Stephanie and I strategically arranged for their comfort, munching on their popcorn.  Tissue boxes were placed all around the room.  Then the movie was over.  And the ladies lingered.  Sitting in groups of two to five or so, relaxed and just wanting to stay and chat.  I do believe the night was a success.  We've been asked by many when the next movie night will be. 

....TO BE CONTINUED

Stephanie making sure everything is in it's place

Our fruit kabobs placed in vases

Veggie sticks in clear cups with ranch dressing in the bottom

and the movie begins....