What's up...or down?

I figured it's time to let the world in on how my little weight loss journey is going. To be honest, I'm happy...er. I've lost a total of 13 pound so far, and really, that's not a whole lot, but to me it feels like a whole lot. I lost 13 pounds by just eating better. No working out or anything of the sort...and then in December, I let the holidays take over and I gained about 4 pounds back. OUCH! I couldn't believe I let myself do that again, but I've lost it yet again. SO, when New Year's rolled around I set my first resolution in probably 8 years. It was a simple one, lose 5 pounds every month until I'm at my goal weight. And to help with the incentive, Neil's work has an amazing deal through Gold's Gym that I just couldn't pass up. A 6 month membership for $50 and if you go at least once a week you will be reimbursed until your membership is free. Ummm...yes, please.

So I have my plan, and it isn't much of a plan. But I still eat better, and everyday I'm learning new things to help me with that. And I go to Gold's Gym (which is literally only 1 mile away from our house) and work out 3 days a week. 3 days a week really isn't a whole lot, but with Neil going to school full time and working full time, and 3 kids it's plenty for right now. When things calm down I will start going more often.

Then came my next battle, what to do at the gym. I loathe running, and I really don't know how to use any of the machines. I'm getting the hang of the machines, I just basically watch what others do and imitate them. What has really helped me with running is an amazing free app called "Get Running". It is a couch to 5k program, it goes slow enough for the out of shape people like myself, but it also pushes me to the point when sometimes I'm not sure if I can keep going. But then I tell myself I can do anything for 30 more seconds (that feel like hell). I've actually really enjoyed going to the gym, it's my "me" time. I get anyway from the kids and clear my mind...it's fun.

Another app that has greatly helped me when trying to eat better is called, "My Fitness Pal". Again, it's free and it helps you keep track of everything your eating throughout the day, letting you know if you've gone over your calorie goal, and how many calories you have left for the day. It also (and this is really nice for people, like myself, that need a visual aide) shows you in graph form how much weight you have lost...it's extremely nice to see that line slowly dipping downward.

But now that I've actually put all this time, effort, and thought into how I'm going to lose this weight...my body and me and stuck in a battle. I haven't lost any weight in over a week. By body's telling me that it like where's it's at...this is where we've been for a while and it's nice. But I'm trying to tell my body that, while this is a lot better than where we were, imagine how much better we would be if we lost ever MORE weight....I think I'll eventually win, but for the time being it's a tad bit discouraging.

Whew...a novel to say the least. I'm chugging along and liking (hopefully loving soon) working out and the results I'm getting from it (even though the scale says I'm not getting any....yet). Life is great. Oh, and did you see the pictures Neil snuck on here a while back? Yeah, either did I, but aren't my kids the cutest things in the while flipping world! They are my world and I love them to death! And a huge shout out and thank you to our fabulous neighbor Christa Cox, from Chrissy Ann Photography for taking such stellar pictures, and on such short notice. That's how I roll. It was a week before Christmas and I couldn't figure out what to get Neil's or my grandparents, so I figured we'd get nice pictures taken and frame them...so Christa did those amazing pictures AND edited them in like 3 days...she rocks. If you need any pictures taken, I would recommend her.

I'm out. Peace.

Picture Time!

The Important Lessons in Life

Lately I've been one proud mamma. My baby girl (who isn't a baby anymore), who happens to go to Kindergarten sure has proved to have learned one of the most important lessons in life. What lesson is that? Why, it's treat others kindly.

Let me start by saying that Emma's been having a hard time lately, and I honestly don't know what it is. She has decided that listening to Neil or I is completely out of the question, lying is the funnest thing in the world to do, and back-talking is a-okay. I have been struggling every day with her, I try to tell myself that she is only 5 and will eventually learn, but I thought she had already learned these lessons. Whatever the reason, this too shall pass.

THEN, in the thick of this craziness that has taken over my child, and when I didn't know what to do anymore, we were summoned to her SEP conference. As we drove to meet Emma's teacher, I started running through my mind everything she could say about Emma, "She's smart, but doesn't take direction," "She has a hard time listening to authority," etc. We sat down and her teacher starts showing me Emma's work and the words, "She's so smart" pop out of her teacher's mouth. And I'm terrified of what the next words were going to be...but they weren't bad! She kept talking about how smart Emma was and how much she has already improved. I was relieved! The last thing she touched on what Emma's character...here we go. But Emma's teacher informed me what a great helper Emma was. That she always is trying her hardest to help, and she does anything she's asked to do. What the WHAT?!

And lastly, the part that makes me more proud than any other mamma...she's kind to others. Her teacher informed me that she has sat Emma next to a child in their class that has ADHD and just really struggles because Emma is kind, patient, helpful, and calms him down. I honestly almost started to cry. She gets it people, she really gets it, And she's only 5 years old.

As a mother, you worry if you're teaching your children everything they need to know to go out in the real world. For me, and with Emma, I never have worried for a second about her intellect. I know Emma is an extremely smart girl, she doesn't have to do homework for an extended period of time to get it, she actually is done within a few short minutes. So I knew I had that one in the bag. But, I naturally worry about her treatment of others. Every time I have witnessed her around others kids her age, she has seemed to be kind to them, but I worried that when she wasn't around me and there was peer-pressure to mock and make-fun of others that she might give in to that.

But what I have learned is that Emma has learned to treat others kindly (and I hope I had something to do with that knowledge). She is really a good girl,. Even though I struggle, I know she will grow up to be something special. I have had several people tell me that this girl of mine is going to change the world, I hope I can continue to teach her all she needs to know in order to do so. Emma Girl...got get 'em!

Where the Wild Things Are...

This is what I live for...