Happy Valentine's Day

Tomorrow is really the major holiday. It's 5o% off chocolate day!! What a bad day for dieters. I got plenty of exercise in today. A friend of mine bought a house and needed help moving today. It's a shame when someone says they "only" have a bed and some chairs and then you haul a HUGE trailer full of furniture. However, it's amazing how much of a house you can get for your money now a days.

I hope everyone has had a great week. I pray that you made good choices and when you didn't- you didn't beat yourself up you just made a U-turn.

I promise to have more profound posts soon!!

New pictures

Molly, Leanna and I were finally on in the same spot. This hasn't happened since before the blog was created so I felt like it was time to get a new picture for the top of the blog. Chris- I promise we'll get you in one of these soon!!

We were at Joann Fabric and it didn't seem like there was anyone who wanted to snap a picture for us. I didn't really have a camera with me but I did have my work blackberry with me which takes decent pictures. We decided to give it a whirl using the "self-portrait" method.

This one was inside the store and didn't come out the best. Again- there were plenty of people who were laughing at us..but no one willing to help take a picture.

Our first outside shot was so dark that you couldn't see our faces so Leanna had the bright idea to turn the other way. As you can see by the look on her face---it was a LITTLE sunny.

Leanna's second idea was to move into the shade but apparently my belly was too big so she was straining to get into the shot.

Molly decided to try holding the camera and taking the picture. I think that she thinks she has longer arms or something...anyway...she cut off Leanna's head in the picture but the 2 of us turned out great.

My favorite is the picture that has been added to the top of the blog. You can already see how much our looks are changing. To refresh your memory- here is the picture that WAS posted up there.

Have an AWESOME day

15 and counting

Today was a good exercise day for me. I walked for 30 minutes this afternoon. I have actually started adding small bursts of jogging into the middle of my walks just trying to get my heart rate up and expand my lungs. I then came home and did about 20 minutes on the Wii Fit. I did some yoga, some strength training and some yoga. I then sat on my rear and watched "The Biggest Loser". I just loooooove that show. I know that their weight loss totals are not realistic for those of us doing it in the "real world" but it has definitely helped me along the way. I remember last year when I had lost 75lbs. I was really having a hard time because while it sounded like a big number - I couldn't see it. I was watching "Biggest Loser" and they had all lost around the 75lb mark and I was noticing how different they looked..and I thought..I must look that different too. It helps to see it on others. It has also helped me on this trip down the weight loss path. I have said a million times that I can't run. I will never run. By watching the contestants and hearing the trainers I realized that I've never "really" tried. Jillian is always telling people that they can push themselves farther than they ever thought possible. That is motivating me. For those who might be concerned...I do realize that I am not under the watchful eye of a trainer who is going to make sure I don't push harder than I should..but it helps me to push a little.

Speaking of pushing a little- Leanna convinced me that after "The Biggest Loser" we needed to go to the hospital and climb some stairs. I walked up 1 flight to get to the south tower and then we walked from the 1st floor to the 7th floor- took the elevator down to the ground floor and went back up to the 7th floor- then another flight back to the car. Now..when I got to the top of the stairwell for the 2nd time...I was STRUGGLING. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest and I finally realized how people on the Biggest Loser push themselves until they puke. If I would have tried even 1 more stair..it wouldn't have been pretty. My legs were holding out okay but my lungs are NOT happy. It might have to do with the years of smoking 2 packs a day. Thank GOD that I gave those up 3 1/2 years ago. So..I just need to keep working. I have almost 4 weeks left to train. 2 weeks ago I just barely got up 7 floors so I figure I'm on the right track. I will take any suggestions on some good lung expanded- leg muscle building exercises. I will keep tackling the stairs as well, I just need variety.

Thank you all for walking this journey with me. Your support means the world to me.

It's Splurge Time

The good ol' tax refund came this week and we had huge discussions in the house at to what to do with the money. The adults felt like we had worked hard for our refunds and we deserved to splurge a little on ourselves. We also felt like we should do something "important" with our refunds. We decided to take the boys on a mission trip to La Croc, Mexico with Youthfront. I think that a lot of the kids of this generation cannot wrap their minds around how lucky they have it. The bible says Go Ye into all the world...we are the Ye!! I believe we are called to spread the love of Jesus with as many people as possible. So in June we will be headed to Mexico to build a house and run a vacation bible school.


So back to our splurges...


For those of you who know Leanna, you know that she is a READER!! She will often have to take 2 bags with her so that she can put 7 different books in there. She needs her bible, and a murder mystery, and a self help, and some poetry....she needs variety AT ALL TIMES. Her splurge was a Sony reader digital ebook. She can download a bunch of books on it and it's paper thin so she can put it in her everyday bag. She can put music on it and pictures and she's already downloaded 4 books. She is super duper excited about it.


As silly as it is..I wanted a Wii Fit. Well you can't just get the Fit...you gotta get the Wii too. This thing is pretty cool. It weighs you in (but you don't have to look at it if you don't want to), checks your BMI..you can set weight loss goals. It has a personal trainer who guides you through strength training exercises, aerobics, yoga and balance. It is amazing how the balance board can sense you and help you to engage the correct muscles to do the exercises. I have also learned that I am better at the hula hoop than I originally thought...and Josh is NOT so good. We had a great time just messing around with it tonight. I have to tell you that it will give you quite a workout.