Here I sit......part 1.

Wow, its been a while. Time sure flies when you're having, well umm.... I wouldn't really call it fun.

Let's see, where did I leave everyone hanging? Oh, training for the 3 Day and my first good size gain - that was my last real post in May. Gosh, SO much has happened since then.

To make a long story short, the end of 2010 was totally a year to remember but not for good reasons. I will touch quickly on the events, though each could easily take an entire blog post.

It got to the point where maintaining a house hold of nine (remember, my brother in law and kids were living with us) on one income was not feasible any longer and we became a statistic. Our house went into foreclosure in July and we moved in August. In the mean time, my brother in law gained custody of his kids, moved out on his own and got married. We were so happy and proud for him.

Shortly after moving into our new house, Mistee was let go from her job. She had been with the company for almost seven years and planned on retiring with the company.

September was the month of Doodle's second birthday. Through weeks of planning and discussions with his parents, it was decided he would go home after his second birthday. We had the baby and cared for him solely from the time he was 5 months old. It was a very very hard decision to make, though we felt it was the best decision for all involved. His parents came down from Va and we celebrated his birthday with his many friends and family. We then packed him up into their car and sent him on to his next journey.

The next couple of weeks were full of walking and training for the 3 Day walk, along with trying to find some type of normalcy in a new house with out Doodle.

On October 28th, I received the phone call that will forever change my life. My aunt, whom I had lost contact with, was calling to tell me that my mother had passed away early that morning. A couple of weeks prior, she had fallen and broke her ankle. She needed several screws to repair the damage. The day after having her cast removed, she became ill and passed the next morning. A blood clot had released from her leg which traveled to her lung, causing a pulmonary embolism. My mother and I had a rocky relationship for many years. However, we were both relieved that it was improving and were both excited for what the future would bring. October 28th was also my fathers birthday, who passed when I was young. It also was the day that one of my dearest friends had her first baby.

The very next day we found out that Mistee's father was ill. On November 2nd he became critical and Mistee left for Oklahoma. November 2 was also the day my mother was memorialized. November 2nd is also my birthday.

I was in the middle of a very large mental crunch regarding the 3 Day walk. I spent several months training physically and raising the needed funds. However, participating in the walk would prevent me from attending my mom's memorial. For many reasons, including financial and to honor my mother, I did the walk.

The 3 Day walk was AMAZING! Though honestly, I was mentally not there for most of the time. I physically was not able to complete the full 60 miles though I did do 48 of them. On the last day, November 7th, I had exactly 5 miles left to finish the weekend and Mistee called. Her father passed away just a few minutes prior. That led to a whole other level of emotions. Sadness that Skip passed, guilt for not being there to support Mistee and anger that all of these situations were happening to us all with in weeks of each other. I finished the walk with no one to cheer me on and with no one at the finish line or closing ceremonies. I know its not the fault of anyone involved. However, it was the best physical accomplishment of my life and also one of the saddest moments because no one was there to share it with me.

The next weekend, the boys and I packed up and headed to Oklahoma for Skip's memorial. When we returned home, we found that someone had broken into our house. The only thing that was missing was the boys' "Mickey Bucket", the change jar they save money in for our next Disney vacation. While I'm grateful they did not take more, I wish they had not taken something that belonged to my children.

Needless to say, these "issues" among others - refrigerator going out, unemployment issues, etc did more than set back my weight loss efforts. Nutrition and staying active all went to the way side. Honestly, on more than one occasion my boys had cereal or pop tarts for dinner. I just didn't have the mental capacity to do much more.

The scale this morning said 228.3 exactly 25 pounds higher than my lowest weight this year.

Am I disappointed in this? Yes. However, do I blame or judge myself for the weight gain? Uh, no. I'm actually pretty surprised that I didn't have more of an overall gain. I am still 32 pounds lighter than my highest weight.

New Blog and Tracee's Giveaway!!

So much for me trying to maintain my weight loss blog and keep up with all my 3 Day stuff at the same time huh??

As far as weight loss goes - I'm still maintaining what Ive lost Im sitting firm at 213. Not great but at least Im not gaining. Working out has become non existent for me - that is hard core Jillian style work outs. However, through training for the 3 Day Im walking long distances at least three times a week. Sunday we did 5 miles and Ill go for 6 tonight. Ive bumped my calories up to between 1500 and 1600 vs the 1200-1300 I was doing before. That with the lack of hard work outs - Im sure that's why I'm not dropping weight more. Im totally ok with this. Of course, Id like to have it come off quicker but Im really trying to teach myself to have a better relationship with food. We all go through periods of time in our lives that are more stressful, we have things going on, etc. I want this to be a life long change. If I can have a large weight loss over a few months, then maintain for a few months Im totally good. I would hate to drop all the weight and then not know how to maintain it - only to gain it all back.
So, that's where Im sitting.


Ive decided to start a new blog. Im reading so many 3 Day blogs, Id like to write on that subject as well. However, I know the readers I have are here because of my weight loss journey. So, Ill spare you guys the talks about hydration (though we all know how important that is!), blisters, little pink tents and boobs! Im working on the layout and first post of the new blog now - Blisters for Sisters. Don't expect to not hear about breast cancer on Ramblings of a fat girl at all, cause its gonna happen. This is an important topic people. We should all be concerned. Think - really seriously think of eight women - give them names. Who did you think of? Your mother? Sister? Daughter? Best friend?

Here's my eight:
Mistee, my best friend, team mate and partner.
Jessica one of my closest friends and team mate.
Jennifer a team mate and also a good friend.
Buffy - my boys God mother, a great friend and team mate.
Cheryl - my soon to be sister in law and team mate.
Peggy - my mother.
MaKayla - my niece who's 7.
Ms. Jean - one of my gremlins who's 19 months old and a light in my eye.

There's my eight. They all have names and are all very close in my heart. What's the point to this, you ask? Statically, one of them will be personally diagnosed with breast cancer. You and I both know that my list and your list of women (or future women) could have been much much longer. Not only do I not want these women to be affected by this disease personally, I dont want them to be affected by it at all. Ms Jean is only a toddler and God willing, may never be diagnosed with breast cancer, but she may lose a mother, aunt, grand mother or close friend. I dont want to see Ms Jean hurt - physically or emotionally. Thats why I walk. And that's why I do my part to help find an end to this disease - for my list of eight, their list of eight and their list of eight and all the future lists of eight.

Who's your list of eight?

On a lighter note -- let me introduce all of you to Tracee. Tracee is a wonderful woman and parent. She is the only human on the planet I trusted to keep Monkey on a regular basis when I worked out side of my home. Some days I wish shed take him now! :)
She has a great blog, Mothering in a Shoe and posted a fantastic giveaway she today! She's giving away a DaVinci Bracelet and three beads. Ive never gotten hooked on Pandora beads however, I can so see these becoming an addiction! They're cute, customizable and wont cost a fortune! So, with or with out winning her give away - I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to ask for for my birthday (on top of the New Balance walking shoes Ive been drooling over).




Thats all for today folks! Toon in later - same bat time, same bat channel!

Weight loss updates.....

Last weekend I had my first gain - like 6 pounds in a matter of three days! I was pissed to say the least! However, I'm really thinking its mostly due to sodium/water. I haven't been drinking water like I should be and I can feel it.

Last weekend was our first team training session for our 3 Day walk in November. We got up early, rubbing our eyes. The coffee drinkers grabbed a cup and we were on our way! Right now were walking on the ACU trail. Its two miles around, paved and really pretty. We'll stay there for a couple of weeks, then move to other locations to acclimate ourselves to different walking areas, hills and curbs. Sunday, we walked 4 miles then went for breakfast. As we were eating, one of the other girls and I decided to go back and walk another 4 miles. Fun!
So far this week, Ive clocked in 17 miles.

Because Ive been so busy with fund raising, planning and researching for the team - my eating habits have been horrible! But totally not in the way you'd expect. Im not eating enough! For example, yesterday I ate 2 eggo waffles with syrup for breakfast. At 6:30 last night it occured to me I had ONLY eaten those two waffles - all day. We had Taco Bell for dinner. I didnt go over my calories for the day but of course went way over on sodium.

My 6 pound gain is gone and I'm back to where I was before. Im sitting at 213 as of this morning. I have two months to get down to onderland to make the goal I set for myself. I would really like to think that will happen. If it doesn't Im going to be not a happy camper! However, I am totally aware of how my priorities are shifted right now. I'm not putting EVERYTHING into getting this weight off. While it is still top on my list - I am team leader of 7 other girls (we got a new walker!). These girls are all looking forward to this walk and I want us to be successful. I will not let them down and I will not let myself down!

I figure the weight loss will come hand in hand with the training were doing. I just have to continue to watch what I put into my mouth. But isnt that the whole point of a life change?

I know I havent been around much and Im sorry - I appreciate all of the support from everyone!

Im still here!!

Hi guys!! I received a comment from Jessica at CBGBlog a couple of days ago asking if I was ok.

First of all, how stinkin sweet is she??


Yes, I am still here! I'm trying to stay caught up on everyone's postings but it is becoming difficult for me. No, I haven't fallen off of the wagon. I'm still eating well and am working out - in my mind. Who am I kidding? Since we've been back from our vacation - I haven't worked out but maybe five times total.

As of Wednesday - I am clocking in at 215. A total of 45 pounds gone. I'm almost halfway to my goal! Whoot!


So, let me explain why I've been pulled into 15 different directions --

Ive talked some about my walk in this years Susan G Komen 3 Day for the Cure in Dallas this coming November. Well, my little adventure has since turned into a seven man team. And I'm talking to three other girls about walking with us too.
Each person who commits to walking this walk - also commits to raising $2,300. That's a total of $16,100 so far for the team to raise. These numbers are insane for a new team full of first time walkers.

Look what is happening here --- my little personal goal of losing weight, becoming healthy and walking 60 miles (as my own personal fitness goal) has turned into raising over SIXTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS for a fantastic cause!! I could not be more proud of what is happening here - right in front of my eyes.

I get phone calls and texts every day from team members who get donations. "I got $20!" "I just got one for $50!" This morning, one of my best friend IMd me saying "I just got at $200 donation!" The team is all so excited and encouraged by what we are going - its amazing.

Right now, my fund raising account sits at $475.91. That money has been raised in only TEN donations. I'm absolutely overwhelmed at the support we are getting from friends and family members. Ive also been absolutely overwhelmed by the information I have learned about my friends and family members. I have learned that some of them have lost friends, aunts, cousins, and sisters to this horrible disease. Ive also learned that a few have dealt with this disease themselves.

Do you guys know

Over 1.3 million women are diagnosed globally through out a year.
Somewhere in the world, a woman dies from breast cancer every 68 seconds.

These numbers are insane to me.

Susan G Komen died from this disease in 1980. She was 36 years old. She passed only 3 years after her diagnosis. In 1980, the five year survival rate for breast cancer was 78%. Since then, through the help and funding from the Susan G Komen Organization, that number is now 98%.

98%

Read it again - 98% and yet STILL someone dies every 68 seconds.

If that doesn't drive you to want to change things, nothing will. I know of four women who have personally been affected by this disease - one of which has had a double mastectomy. Another had a single mastectomy and is now having issues with her other breast. She will be having a biopsy next week. I have no doubt, none at all, that one if not all of these women would be dead now, if it weren't for this organization.

How would your children survive with out their mother? How would you survive with out your mother, best friend, sister? How would you survive if, God forbid, you had to bury your daughter.

ONE in EIGHT women will be diagnosed with this disease. Look around you. How many family members do you have? How many friends do you have? How many blogs do you follow? I follow 59 blogs. Statistically, at least 7 of the bloggers I follow will receive this diagnosis. Jack Sh*t, you are not immune - roughly 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone.

So, that's why Ive been missing the last week or so. I'm becoming passionate about this cause and I haven't even walked my first walk.

My first walk -- TOMORROW! The Komen Organization has 5Ks all over the country. If 60 miles is too much for you - find a 5K. I know there will be two in Dallas this year alone. Were getting up at 4:30 to drive the tree hours to attend this event. Bubba is so excited!

Speaking of Bubba - he has volunteered to do anything and everything the team needs to do to help the team raise money. With his birthday money he bought two spools of pink ribbon to make into the classic pink ribbon pins. He's walking the 5K and has even volunteered to wear a bra on the outside of his clothes and a pink wig during our fund raising events. He is disappointed he can not walk in the 3 Day but I have no doubt this will not be my only year to walk. He only has 6 years to wait.

We have several fund raisers planned - we dont have a Krispy Kreme down here so they sell like hot cakes. They have a great fund raising program so we'll do a few donut sales. We'll also be doing a few car washes, a flamingo flocking project and bake sales in front of Walmart. I have a meeting with my church's board to discuss a spaghetti dinner and pancake dinner. A friend of mine has offered her Scentsy business as a fund raiser. The team will get 25% of the profit sales for three weeks. We will start that next week. So, if you know of Scentsy and would like to place an order - just let me know. I'll pay for the shipping to save you money. And if you'd like to help us sell -- I can send you the order forms - and again, I will pay for the shipping to get the items to you. If you dont know what Scentsy is, you don't know what your missing!

If you'd like to help me by donating, please follow this link. All donations are completely tax deductible. If an individual or company donation is made in the amount of $500 or more, the name of the company or individual is printed on the back of our team shirts. Also, my personal dedication is that anyone who makes a donation of any dollar amount, who has a loved one lost or fighting this disease I will personally write their loved ones name on the shirt I will wear to walk my 60 miles.

Guess What I Got!!

We have a local Yahoo! group named Abilene Garage Sales. The whole idea is if you have something to sell or looking to buy - you post an email to the group. If someone wants what your selling, they email you directly. Its like Craigs list - only on a smaller level and with out the rapes and murder. I dont know about you but to me, that's a good thing!

Anyway, a couple of days ago a guy posted that he was selling an Exerspy. I had no clue what it was and deleted the email. But for some reason, I went back and actually read the post. Holey personal trainer in a box!!

The armband records calories burned, moderate and intense physical activity, sleep times , sleep efficiency and steps taken. The software (you pay a monthly fee for this) gives you the ability to track calories in, weight and measurements. There are tons of resources available on information like performance, muscle gain, weight loss, women's health, pain relief, supplements etc

I bought the spy from the guy for $50. The online program is $10 a month. When I brought it home - it didn't work right out of the box. I received an error message when trying to connect it to the pc through the usb cord. That night I emailed tech support. Less than 24 hours later, I received an email back from Chad in the tech office. He knew exactly what the problem was and gave me great detailed info on how to fix it. Ten minutes later I was up and running! I also received a comment on a post I made on the companies Facebook. Wow! Customer service rocks!

So far, I love the program! The one and only small downfall is that I'm having to manually input almost all of my food. Their data base just doesn't have the amount of food as what Sparkpeople has. However, the small amount of time it takes to input the nutritional counts of the food I eat is WAY worth it. I love having the ability to plug the little gadget into the computer and look at all of my stats for the day. I can tell you that I burn more calories when I'm up cleaning my house vs sitting on my butt all day. Duh - I know, but its great to see it right in front of your face. I like being able to log into it and see the little graph go up after Ive done something like laundry or playing with the kids. I'm excited to see what its going to do when I get a real work out in. The armband is comfortable though if my arm were much bigger, Id need a bigger arm strap. Ive worn it to bed the last two nights and have had no problem sleeping with it on and it doesn't slip out of position. The only time the arm band can not be worn is when showing or in the pool. But the system tracks when the arm band is not on. You can however, input what you were doing at that time - so you're not out on burned calories for that time frame.

So far I love this program! I'm excited to see what all it has to offer as I learn more about it. I will definitely let you all know how it goes!

My first 5K!!

Last week I saw a commercial for The Mayors 5K. Its a race here in Abilene, downtown. In several of your blogs, I read where you're training for one, are doing one or have done one. "What the hell? Why not?" I thought. I didn't know anyone who was doing it but was willing to even go by myself. However, I got the great idea to talk to Bubba about it. Im SO glad I did. He wanted to do it and was super excited. Saturday was his birthday - what a great way to start it!

We got up early that morning and headed down there. Wow! What fun! We found a couple of girls that go to our church and walked with them. We finished in just a little over 51 minutes. Our time could have been much better - but we were chit chatting and having fun with it. Bubba asked me to run several times but I just wasn't up for it. Not yet. Plus, I had a back pack on that was real floppy and not comfortable. I wouldn't have been able to run if I wanted to.

After the 5K there was a little 1 mile fun run. We were already there so we did that one too - just walked it though. Right before that started - look who we saw!

Melissa is not my favorite on the show but was really nice in person. You never know what someone is edited to be like on a reality show.

So, Bubba and I have a new hobby!! Our second one is this weekend - at the Ft Worth Zoo. I want our time to be at least 45 minutes, if not less. We also have one planned for the 24th - the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. YAY!! Who knows what other races we'll do. Weve also looked at a couple of half marathons. I think he's nuts but he says we can do it.

We also have a plan - Next year at the Mayors 5K - we will run. Not only will we run the entire race but we will metal. We have a year to train. We can do it!

Ive been registered to walk the Susan Komen 3 Day for the Cure for several months now but Bubba can not participate in that one. He's too young by their standards. Plus, I really feel that's a lot for him physically - 60 miles is a heck of a lot. And once you get started there's no turning back. Well, there IS but - I don't want to have to turn back with him.

Me registering for the 3Day was the start of my transformation. I really felt the desire to do it but knew there was no way I could complete it in the condition I was in. That's when I broke out the treadmill and actually GOT ON IT. 40 pounds down and a whole lot more energy later -- I still am not ready to walk 60 miles. But I'm getting there.

I don't have breast cancer and can thankfully say I have no personal connections to it. But I STRONGLY believe that this 60 mile walk has saved my life - before I even walked it. I will walk it - EVERY. DAMN. MILE. Because I can. There are so many women who can't walk. They cant walk because of the chemo - others can't walk because they've lost their battle. So, I will because I can.

I started a team with some friends of mine. There are 5 of us total going to walk this walk. None of us have done it before.

In order to take the first step in this walk - we have to raise $2,300 each. No ifs, ands or buts. No fund raising - no walking.

There's a link on my side bar to my personal fund raising page. If you have it in you - $5, $10, $20, $100 or $500. What ever you can - Ill take it! For donations of $50 - Ill honor a loved one with their name on the shirt Ill wear or the flag Ill wave when I walk. Also, the adds on my page are all AdSense - I get paid when you follow the links. You don't have to buy a thing - just click, click, CLICK. All that I get from the AdSense goes directly to my walk fund.

If you want, and will - write a post on your blog about my walk - spread the word - link your friends to me - **Would LOVE if J*ck Sh*t got the word and spread it, hint hint. :) **

Let them all know what I'm doing, what the cause is and how they can help. If I have to hawk my youngest child to get the funds to walk this walk - I will. Though that would suck. So, PLEASE for the love of Monkey - help me!!

FOURTY pounds gone and photo comparison challenge

This morning I weighed in at 220.6.

What does that mean???

2.2 pounds gone this week so far - my "official" weigh in day is Sunday

11.8 pounds gone in a month (from 3-9 to today)


FOURTY pounds gone total!!

Whoot!! You couldn't beat that with a sharp stick!



A couple of days ago I told you guys about Jessica's photo comparison challenge.


Here's the results of my challenge!

My Before pic, taken January of 2010:


And my After pic, taken Easter day 2010:


Look!! I have a neck!! I have one chin instead of three. You can see a defined jaw line and cheek bones. You probably don't know by just looking but my smile is very forced in the first picture. I was trying to be a good mom by riding the ride with Monkey but I was not happy about it. I was stuffed into the seat and very uncomfortable. Though we haven't been there since, I know that I will fit into the seat much better. The biggest difference? Notice I said in the before pic I was TRYING to be a good mom. In the after pic, I had just gotten done putting up the 20 ft pool for the boys - Ive never actually participated in putting up a pool before. Ive only watched. I'm not trying to be a good mom anymore - I AM a good mom!

Boobs

Dear Boobs,

Why did you have to be the first to go? There were many who could have easily taken your place - butt, hips thighs, love handles, chin number 2, 3, or 4. But, while some are gone others still hang around where they are not wanted or needed. But you, YOU were loved and YOU were needed! I have always appreciated you and have shown you off **sometimes, shown more of you then I needed to - damn tequila** However, I understand that your leaving is for the greater good. No amount of stuffing or tube socks can fix you now. However, I have promised myself that once my goals are met I will find you again - even better than you were before!


Our last great night together.....


So, dear boobs - I will remember you fondly. Our good times were many and our bad times were few and far between.

Until we surgically meet again,

A couple of challenges and one of my own - are you in???

I have been WAY behind on many items in my life since our vacation. I haven't worked out - not one stinkin time - since we got back, which was on the 22nd - that was TWO weeks ago. I made it a goal for the week to #1 get on track with working out, #2 get the rest of my trip pics edited (only 120 left to go, out of 1200!), #3 get my blog updated and #4 get caught up on my blog reading.

Yesterday, I accomplished #4 all in one day. Mind you, I follow 60 blogs, so three weeks worth of 60 blogs is ALOT of reading. In doing this, I discovered several dead blogs and some I just need to clean out of my list. Its not that I don't enjoy the blogs - I just don't have enough time to fit all of them in. Yall know how it goes, I'm sure.

Im SO glad I caught up on reading, instead of just punking out and start my reading at today. I found lots of encouragement, goals met, fallen bloggers who are now back on track and lots of fun challenges.

Here's a couple of the challenges I found that I decided to jump on - and a little ditty I came up with all on my own!

Tammy's Summer Challenge
Tammy (as the challenge name implies- duh), at From Fat to Fab, came up with this GREAT idea! She and the hubster are leaving on May 1st for a vacation to Panama Beach. The one and only goal for this challenge is to lose 10 pounds by April 30th. That's it. The prize - a souvenir from Panama Beach! How stinkin awesome is that?? She asks for everyone to check in and post how theyre doing every Friday. She doesn't care how its done or what other goals are linked to the 10 pounds. Just get the 10 pounds off and she'll send you a little trinket! She didn't say I couldn't cut my own arm off to get the 10 pound loss..... Hmmmm, something to ponder!

Seriously, I totally LOVE this idea! I really wish she would have come up with it sooner - I could have stolen the idea and brought everyone back a tacky set of Mickey ears for meeting their goal! Oh well, there's always next year!

Photo Comparison Challenge


This idea came from Jessica, at CBGBlog.
First of all, I totally <3 this chicka! She has a great heart and busts her hump to get her goals accomplished. So, here's her plan: Find a pic of yourself. Either a "before" pic or one from when you weren't as healthy as you are now. Take a pic of yourself today. Not from yesterday, or last week. Today - like NOW. **Ok, really Jessica, can I PLEASE shower first?? Pretty please?** She wants a blog post showing both pics and wants to see you compliment your changing body. Not on what the scale says, or how you were able to not eat the cookie last night **though those are both great as well** but on the physical changes that are taking place in your body. **Do my bat wings and shrinking boobs count?** Ok, POSITIVE changes that are taking place in your body! Once your post is posted, she then wants to know - so post a comment on her page linking your photo comparison. That way she and all of her readers can look, comment on and make comparisons of their own. FABULOUS idea!! Some people are fantastic about taking pictures of themselves for comparison **Keelie** but I just am not. I feel strange taking pics of myself. Do I smile, not smile? How do I stand? What do I do? BUT, in the pics I have of myself lately, I see a difference in my body. So, I do need to make a habit of taking more pics of myself. So, after my shower - I'm breaking out the Canon, baby! :)

Now, on to my idea--

Help Me Help You!


Ok, so this isn't really a challenge but more of an idea of another way we can help each other. I have the book, Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. This book is full of great information and I'd like to send it to someone, anyone. If you'd like to read it, just let me know and I'll send it out tomorrow. No challenge, no weigh in and no link to my blog **however, that would be great seeing as I only have 23 readers** I just want someone to get the information that I got.
BUT, there is one catch! Whoever gets the book is not allowed to keep it. When you're done with it, post that you have it and put it up for grabs for someone else. So, if you have alot going on and would take 6 months to read the book - maybe let someone else get it first, who can read it quicker. I plan on getting a few more things - books, dvds, cookbooks etc. Stuff that ships well and is fairly inexpensive to ship. The only "challenge" part to this is that I'd like to encourage everyone to pick up a few things to add to the Help Me Help You pot. There will be no governing agency making sure people pay the items forward. It will all be done using the honor method.
I think this will be a great way to pass on the things that we are using in our journey. With money being tight, I know Id love to be able to read a book or try out a work out dvd before I buy it. So, here's a way we can do that! Let me know what you guys think of the idea! If it blows, I wont put the effort into it. Also, if you know someone or are someone who can make a tag for this - Id love you long time! Something cute and bright would be awesome!


So, here's a run down of a couple of awesome challenges and my plan. Check em out!

Disney World Trip Report - part 1 finally!!

My gosh! I didn't think this day would ever come! I just finished editing all of the tons and tons of pics I took. So, the first thing on the agenda now - to tell ya'll about the trip!

Friday afternoon before heading out, we had to make a stop by the bank first. The boys had been saving all of the change in the house in the Mickey bucket. It was time to cash it in! They made $227! We surprised them by letting them have all of the money for their own spending money. They were pretty stoked.
The drive was 21 hours and needless to say - sucked, with a capital S!
We stayed at the All Star Movies Resort, which was super cute. Here's a few pics of the hotel:
The first night we met a friend of mine who lives in Oklahoma and I hadn't seen since high school and her daughter for dinner at Mickeys Backyard BBQ. As we were walking into the BBQ area, Monkey fell. Not just a regular fall but a running down a gravel slope kind of fall. So the rest of the entire trip was filled with both a wrapped arm and knee. But, the BBQ was alot of fun.
The next morning was our breakfast reservation at Cinderella Castle. Our reservation was for 7:30 and wake up call was for 6:00. Early, but no big deal right? Wrong! Not only did I not take into consideration the time change from Texas to Florida but that night just happened to be Spring forward time change. Yea, our bodies were saying "It's 4am! Why are we getting up at 4am??" On the monorail headed to Magic Kingdom:
The first view of the castle looked like this: If you've never been there, the Castle is totally awe inspiring. Ive seen it many many times - different times of year and different times of day. At night, it changes colors - pics of that later. But, this was the most beautiful Ive ever seen it. I was so tickled to be there, I cried. Yes, I'm a bawl bag like that. Hey, a princess is allowed to cry when she sees her castle, right?
Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table was a highlight of the trip, to say the least. Monkey was more excited about having breakfast with his girlfriend than anything else. The inside of the castle is amazing. The staff and food were amazing. It was just a fun experience. During the meal, they do a wishing ceremony. Each kiddo is given a "wishing star" and either a sword or wand. During the ceremony, the kids wave their sword over their star and make a wish.


Then it was time for the princesses to come out!

After a couple of hours running around Magic Kingdom, we headed over to The Pirates League for the boys' makeovers. They actually had more fun with that than we though they would!

My sweet little boys before:



And the little pirates after:


Here's more pics of our first day at MK.


The next day - we had a character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. We met several characters including Alice, the Mad Hatter, Tigger and Pooh. After a great breakfast, we spent the day in Epcot. We were there during the International Flower and Garden Festival. The gardens and topiarys were amazing! Here's pics of the day:



During the trip Bubba and I had tons of fun looking for Hidden Mickeys. Here's a couple:

Don't see the last one? Look on the right door - the plates. Cool huh?

Couple of more pics from Epcot:



He didn't believe me when I said that Time Outs even happen at Disney World! :)

Ok guys - so this trip report is going to end up being at least three posts. I have at least one, maybe two posts to finish showing pics **cause this one only shows two days** and I plan on doing one full post of just food pics. It was all too good and too pretty not to share! I hope you like what you've seen so far!

Why didn't I do this years ago???

First off - Im sorry!! I have not been around in forever (it feels like)! After we got back from our vacation, I just felt like I couldn't get caught up on anything. Laundry, sleep, getting the kitchen restocked, etc. I really felt like I needed a vacation from the vacation!!

I have every intention of writing a trip report - full of pics from our vacation. However, I took just shy of 1200 pics! Ive been working to get them edited and ready for posting, as well as printing for a scrapbook but gosh - 1200 pics take FOREVER to get edited! We got some scrapbook supplies while on our trip and several tons more this past weekend. I'm very crafty but have never done a scrapbook. Im kind of excited about it! It should be fun!

This past weekend, we didn't do much - just bee bopped around town, hit some garage sales and picked up bunches of stuff for the scrapbook. We stopped at Old Navy to see what they had for the boys. I love ON but rarely get anything for myself because I usually cant find anything to fit. BUT - oh, how this trip was different! I had arm loads of clothes to try on and was SO loving it! At one point Mistee said "Umm, this could be a problem!" I only walked away with a white summer time top and the cutest wrap around espadrilles! They both complimented perfectly with a pair of shorts Mistee bought me last week.

So, Sunday I put on my new outfit, did my hair and make up (which I never do - just to run around town). I felt FAN flippin TASTIC! The weather was great, I looked cute and felt wonderful. All I kept thinking to myself was "Damn, why didn't I do this years ago?" Ive lived my life feeling like crap for so many years - its a great change to feel confident. I will NEVER go back to where I came from.

This morning the scale said 242.6 - that's a SIX pound loss from last Monday! However, we had just gotten back from our trip last week Monday. I had a three pound loss over night - the scale last week Tuesday read 227.2 after saying 230.6 the day before. I know alot of it was because of water weight change. I posted before about how extremely bloated I was. But dang, SIX pounds? One week? And did I mention - no, I mean NO working out? I don't know why it happened (though it could be that my body is catching up to all the walking we did on the trip) but Ill take what ever I can get!

So, Im at a 36 pound loss now. In January, I was in a size 24 pants. At ON on Saturday I put on a size 16. They didn't look good and I didn't buy them. But I got them on, they buttoned and zipped with ease (Ok, maybe I had to suck in just a tad). Just too much muffin top for me to actually get them. BUT THEY WERE ON! A size 16! Can you believe it?

My next goal is to get into Onderland buy July 4th. I need 25 pounds off to be there. So, that's just a little over two pounds a week. I think I can... I think I can.... WAIT - no, I KNOW I can..... I KNOW I can!!!

Were home!!

Good morning!

We are finally home from our trip. It was an amazingly good time! We laughed, played with Mickey Mouse, ate GREAT food and spent a lot of money. After a 21 hour drive, we made it home Sunday early evening.

Weight wise -- I posted before we left that I was very nervous at how I would handle myself with all of the wonderful food around all the time. In looking at the overall trip, I think I did very well! I made good choices, didn't feel deprived and even at desert at almost every meal! I tracked my food everyday in my notebook and logged it all into Sparkpeople.com yesterday. The first few days of the trip I ate between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. Towards the end, my calorie intake increased to just over 1500 a day.
I wore a pedometer on everyday to see what my mileage per day was. We walked anywhere from 9 to 12 miles a day! On average, it was a 1400 calorie burn a day! So, eating 1500 calories a day was really ok. Three days into the trip I started getting famished by every meal. I knew my body needed the calories and I was more than willing to find some! However, the majority of my calories came from protein, fruits and veggies. I did get desserts but would eat a bite or maybe two. Ok, maybe on the pineapple upside down cake, I ate almost the entire thing - but it was WONDERFUL!

During the trip I drank orange juice with breakfast, had 6 ounces of vanilla coke with lunch one day and one alcoholic drink. Other than that, water, only water, and LOTS of it. However, during the drives I couldn't drink much because I did not want to have to make pit stops. Because of that, I knew I would be dehydrated when we got home. But I didn't know how badly dehydrated I would be. My feet and hands were horribly swollen and I had a hard time wearing any button pants or shorts. So, I gave myself yesterday off to not only get rested and unpacked but to rehydrate as well.

Before I tell you what the scale said this morning - Ill let you know that of the clothes I bought for the trip - two pair of shorts and a pair of capri pants - the all fit great! Even the capris, that I really didn't think I would wear because of my love handles hanging over the sides, fit fairly well. While there, I bought a pair of shorts and several shirts. The shorts are an XL from the women department. This was the largest size they carried in that department. I would not have been able to get the shorts with out losing the weight first. They are SO cute! So, I was excited about that. I also got a hoodie sweatshirt that's a size L. There's no X or number in front of the L! I honestly can't remember the last time I was able to wear a Large anything!

Ok! Ok! Get to the point Lindsey - What did the scale say???


227.2

Yup! A 3.4 pound loss while on vacation!! :0)

I'm working on a post now with tons of pics from the trip. I took tons of pics! I also plan on spending the day getting caught up on everyone's blogs. I have several I follow, so this could take a while.

I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks so much for the encouragement and well wishes - you guys are amazing!

To quote Dora....

Remember my goal of wanting to lose 30 pounds before we left for our trip??

I DID IT!!

Here's the scale just a few minutes ago!



Boy, that scale is dirty. Maybe I should take better care of him - so he'll be nice to me!

So, technically I still have .6 pounds to go to exactly reach my 30 pound loss. Yes, its more than a half of a pound. But - all I wanted was to see 230 on the scale before we left. And there it is! Am I going to stress over the .6? Uhhh - no.

Next goal????
I will NOT be over 235 when we get back from our trip. However, I'm really really reeeaaallllyyy wanting to maintain at 230 while were gone.

Regardless if I maintain or not on the trip. I want to hit Onderland by July 4th. I lost this first 30 in 10 weeks. July 4th is in 16 weeks, so I think this is an achievable goal.


Like Dora says " I did it! I did it! I did it! Horray!"

Twenty Questions

Kenz, over at All the Weigh posted a list of twenty questions she answered about herself. She asked for others to answer the questions as well, so we can all know more about each other. Great idea! So, here's my twenty questions....

1. What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?
I love Saturdays in the spring time! After a good breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and fruit we like to all pack up and go search out good garage sales or go to the park for the afternoon to feed the ducks, walk or play on the playground!

2. List your three favorite tv shows.
I'm really not much of a tv watcher. My days are filled with the Disney Channel and Yo Gabba Gabba. My favorite show right now is Private Practice. I'm really looking forward to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

3. Would you rather be in pictures or take them?
I actually wrote about this here. Normally, I wouldn't be caught dead in front of a camera, though I love photography and consider myself an amateur/professional photographer. However, this changed when I realized how few pictures there are of me and my kids together. I have more of myself from the last week than I have for the last two months combined!

4. Why do you blog?
I started blogging as a way to journal my experiences. However, it has really turned into more than that for me. I don't hunt for more readers - probably why I don't have very many - but I love the ones I have! I love the little community of support we all have together.

5. Share five websites you visit everyday.
I'm a Facebook junkie. I can always be found there. Other than that - reading blogs, and looking for anything Disney World to help plan our trip. We leave tomorrow!!

6. If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list, who would it be?
Twitter is one thing I haven't really gotten into. I know! I know! tisk tisk
BUT - Jillian Micheals is on my twitter list - so obviously her!

7. List a few of your favorite snacks.....
I always grab a Special K granola bar or a Cutie clementine.

8. Do you have a pet? If so, what kind?
We have two dogs and two cats. This number is really good for us! We've been known to have a small zoo in our house, including ferrets, pet rats, we had four aquariums -two saltwater- at one point. The dogs we have now are Peaches, the basset hound and Peyton Manning, the weenie dog. Cats are Tinkerbelle and T-Bone. Here's Peaches, my old girl. She's the best dog on the planet.


9. Which three material possessions would you struggle to live with out?
My laptop, for sure!! It is my life line - I would DIE with out it! Yes, I'm taking it on vacation too. My cell would be another one. Mostly, because I use it to get online too. The third would be my camera. I am totally a camera whore. I take it everywhere and take tons and tons of pics!

10. What's your favorite drink?
Are we talking alcoholic or non? Non is sweet tea, though I haven't had any in probably a month! Its all about water - lots and lots of water these days! I know, boring right. Alcoholic, I love Jamaican Cowboy margaritas! Its a margarita with a sweet and tangy twist. Yum!

11. Do you enjoy cooking?
I LOVE to cook! And I'm damn good at it too! Hey, I've earned my butt!

12. Do you have children?
You obviously have not been paying attention to my blog! Since, other than my weight, that's all I talk about! I have three boys aged 22, 9 and 3. The 9 and 3 year old both have birthdays in April. We also have an 18 month old grand baby. And I do home child care for two other kiddos right now - one turned 2 this past November and the other is 16 months old. Ive kept both of them for over a year and love them like they were my own. I also have a 9 year old nephew and a 7 year old niece, who until recently lived with us too. AND - were planning on starting to try to have one more here in the next couple of months. Do I love kids? Uhh, what do you think? :)

13. What are your favorite hobbies?
Photography is my favorite. But I also love to read, cook, and sew, cross stitch etc.

14. Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing?
Uhhh - is both an answer? I'm pretty outgoing and love to laugh. But, I have a hard time making close friends because I have a real hard time opening up. I'm overall not very trusting and feel like people think I'm stupid, immature, a geek etc. (Though I know I'm not.) I was raised in an adult environment so was always considered mature for my age. However, as a result I had a very hard time relating with my peers. Now that I'm older and am supposed to be more mature - I find myself being silly. Its almost like I'm going backwards.

15. If you could change one thing about yourself what would you change?
Two things that kind of go hand in hand are my trust in people and the fact that I hold grudges. I try not too - but its always there in the back of my mind. I'm working on these though.

16. Who is your favorite actor/actress?
I think Kathy Bates is amazing. I haven't seen of her work that I haven't loved. I'm also a Tom Hanks and Robin Williams fan.

17. What is the silliest thing you've done this week?
Just this morning I ran away from a Vietnamese man who was chasing me with an electric drill! Seriously, I went to tan and parked in a parking spot labeled for the nail salon next door. I made a point to look and make sure the nail salon was not open - they didn't open for two more hours so I thought it would be OK. Well, when I went to leave, a Vietnamese man, who I'm assuming is the owner of the nail salon, was hanging a banner outside. He jumped down from his ladder and started chasing me, yelling and waving his electric drill in the air! I just smiled and waved, acting like I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I figure that's how he looks at me when he's doing my toes - now he knows how it feels. Guess I wont be having him do my toes anymore. Time to look for a new nail salon.....

18. Do you live near your family or far from them?
I have a very small family. My father passed when I was young. I have no contact with that side of my family. My mother lives in Anchorage, Ak and I have an aunt and two cousins in Oklahoma. So, yea - not so close.

19. List three of your talents....
Photography (have I mentioned I like photography?), Humor, and I can decorate a mean cake.
This one I made for Doodle's first birthday.


20. What is your greatest attribute?
Compassion. I am very compassionate and do not judge anyone. If I have not walked in someone's shoes or lived their life - I am in no position to make judgment calls on their life or the way they live it. The only exception I have to that rule is in the treatment of children. They are empty slates and are all perfect at birth. They deserve nothing less that to be treated fairly, with respect and love.


So, there you have it. My answers to the twenty questions. Who's next??

Pics - New hair and sweat!

I'm really trying to follow in Keelie's footsteps some. She takes tons of pictures of herself so she can see her progress. I just feel silly taking pictures of myself in the mirror. Do I smile? Not smile? Pose or no? I dont know. Just strange to me.

First, I found a couple of before pics. These were taken at Mistee and I's 10th anniversary surprise party. Our friends are amazing and went to a lot of trouble to show us they care.


Ive had a couple of people ask about my new haircut. So, I decided to take some pics of it. I had kind of a hard time with these. The lights above my vanity are hot so I was sweating like a sinner in church. But you'll get the idea. I'm going to color it tonight. I'm naturally blond, dark but blond. I need to be blond. Some people need chocolate. I need my hair to be blond. Other colors just don't work for me.



Just a warning that these next pics are FUN-KEY! I decided to jump on the treadmill for a half an hour Monday night. But when my half hour was up - I decided to go for another. Boy was I pooped when I was done. If you haven't noticed - Ive kind of given up on my 4/1. I feel like I can get more done if I don't throw running into the mix. I can walk at an extremely fast pace and keep it up for ages but when you throw running into it - I can't keep at it for long. I know I should be pushing myself but I just feel like I get a better work out I don't run. Anyway, here's what I accomplished with my hour on the treadmill.



If you remember, Ive been really nervous about next weeks trip. I decided to be proactive about the situation and looked up the menus for all of the restaurants we have reservations for. I bought myself a notebook last week to log my meals in. So after looking up all of the menus I made notes on what my options could be. That way I wont feel like I'm scrambling around while sitting at the table - Ill already have a plan of action. I'm pretty excited about that. It really helped put my mind at ease some. I also made the deal with Mistee and Duppy that instead of stopping to eat while on the road, we would pack a small cooler. Its cheaper, saves time and saves me calories! Yay!
I'm still hoping to reach my goal Friday before we leave. I wanted 30 pounds gone before we left. Yesterday, the scale said 232.4 That means I have 2.4 pounds to go. I didn't weigh today. So, we'll just see what happens!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week! Thanks so much to everyone for your support on my last, kind of frumpy, post. Ive come to understand that we all have ups and downs with this journey. Ill have to take the good points with the bad both mental and physical. I want this - so I'm willing to take what ever I can get.
Oh, and I bought another pair of shorts and a pair of capris last night. Both size 18! The shorts are good but the capris have a pretty good muffin top. I can hide it with a new baggie shirt I got - also size 18. Ill take them on the trip - but I don't know if Ill wear them. It'll just depend on my mood at the time I guess!

Oh, and by the way -- I've renamed sweat. It will now be known as MELTED FAT! :)