A Whole Lot of Nothing

The Blog is Updated!!!

2009-12-04T08:26:00.002-06:00

Alright, alright...I am updating the blog for all of those out there that have been getting on me to do so. I know that the last post was probably not the best to end on. Of course everyone I know now knows that Riley has safely arrived and is doing great!!

Ok, about this blog thing...it is so hard to keep up FB and blogging. How do people do it? I feel like I get trapped for hours on the computer with just FB but I am now going to give it my best effort to blog and keep up with FB. We'll see how it goes!!!

A Scary Friday...but God Was There!!!

2009-01-28T19:06:00.004-06:00

Chad and I were running around town doing last minute errands before our trip to Hawaii. Chad had just dropped off the dog at the dog sitters house and we were going to meet up at LaHacienda to grab a quick bite (since we had cleaned out the house of groceries) and then go home, finish packing and get in the bed. We were to be ready to go to the airport at 6am on Saturday morning.

While at LaHa, we encountered a very scary moment that made us think we could be losing the baby. I won't go into details to spare the guys out there, but I will say it was an intense time and one that had my dr send me to the emergency room. Everything with the baby and me are fine, I just have to take it easy until I go back to the dr next week.

Chad and I both were extremely anxious about what was going on, not just for the baby's health, but my health also. Friday night was one of those moments in life when you know God is literally holding your hand. Chad was doing about 80 mph on the interstate while praying out loud for the situation and we could just feel God's presence in our car immediately!!! Still being upset, there was this incredible peace over me and all I could say was, "God's got this, God's got this," over and over. I didn't know what we would find at the hospital, and to be real honest I was truly expecting to find that I had miscarried. Even with those thoughts, there was still that peace. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew that no matter what, God would be there for us and would bring us out of that situation having experienced Him more deeply.

Friday night ended up being an incredible "God" experience for me. Not only was my husband turning straight to Him in a time of crisis (as one friend said and I agree, that is what a REAL knight in shining armor looks like), but God showed up on our behalf. It was evident that He loves us and already loves this little baby. I have had few times of crisis in my life and hope to keep it that way, but it was pretty awesome to experience God during a time of crisis so that I can have this experience to fall back on during the next crisis. Or to even use this to be reminded of God's incredible love for us. He is amazing and is ALWAYS right there when you need Him!! What an incredible God!!!!

By the way, as you would imagine, the Hawaii trip was cancelled for us, Chad's parents still went, but we got to come home with a healthy baby and look forward to meeting him/her one day!!!

Hurry Up Week

2009-01-20T12:32:00.002-06:00

I don't usually wish my time away and maybe I shouldn't be this week but I just can't help it. We leave for Hawaii on Saturday!!!! While I can't stand this miserably cold weather we are having, I just keep telling myself that it will make me all the more thankful to be in Hawaii.

Today is the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama. I have been reading others' blogs and facebooks and I agree that we definitely need to be praying for our President. We need for God's intervention on Obama's heart first of all and on his mind and actions next. The Bible does not tell us who we are to vote for, but it does tell us we are to submit to those in authority since they have been placed in authority by God, Romans 13. Obama has some scary agendas he is going to begin moving fast on and I earnestly pray that God will intervene. I just keep reminding myself that God is bigger than the White House and bigger than the President of this incredible country. I get chills at the prospect of God getting a hold of Obama's heart and changing it radically!!! Can you imagine what an impact for this country if our President seeks the Word for his wisdom and leadership??? If he operates with the heart of God and is not ashamed to admit where his wisdom comes from. His testimony would be one that would be heard all over the world!! How incredible for the kingdom!!!

I pray God comes into the White House and starts a revival!!! I pray that HE transforms the lives of those making decisions for our country. I pray that HE gets the glory when the economy turns around, when wars cease and when people come together. I know there will always be those that reject God, but for goodness sake, can we, believers, out number them and show them incredible love that points them to God. We need to at least present the opportunity for them to meet the REAL God. I pray God provides us those opportunities.

We are never going to have a perfect world, but are to never stop praying for lost souls and for God's actions. I pray for you and your family President Obama and I pray specifically that a revival be ignited in your hearts. Go God!!!!

Hanging in There

2009-01-14T13:31:00.003-06:00

It has been a ridiculously long time since I last blogged. For those 2 of you that check the blog regularly I bet you will be glad to see the fornicating reindeer pic gone.

Things in our world have been moving along well. I am in my 12th week of pregnancy and we have heard the heartbeat now 3 times. All 3 times the dr said it sounded perfect and that everything looks great. My sickness is FINALLY starting to go away!!! I have had a good week and a half without any major sickness showing up. Hopefully my body read the books and knows that by the end of my first trimester the sickness should be gone.

We are getting ready to head to Hawaii in a little over a week!!! I am so excited about that trip I can't hardly stand it. I have already talked to my dr and he said I could take Tylenol PM or Benadryl to knock me out on the plane. I also have my nausea meds and some seabands to help fight nausea. Whatever I have to do I will to make sure we have a wonderful time on the trip!

Looking forward to church tonight and the beginning of new small groups. I'm eager to meet new women and learn from them and their walk with Christ. What incredible women we have at church that love God with ALL of their heart!!

Funny Christmas Story Part II

2008-12-29T08:06:00.004-06:00

On Christmas Eve, my mom was telling one of her friends, Vicki, about the reindeer incident. Well of course Vicki thought it was hilarious like the rest of us. Fast forward a few hours.....we, myself, Chad and my parents, head to a Christmas Eve service (I was really missing New Hope by the way) and then we return home. While at the service we realize that we have yet to watch "Christmas Vacation." This is a tradition in our home to watch this movie each year prior to Christmas. Seeing that we were about 5 hours away from Christmas, we were cutting it pretty close this year. We eat some yummy taco soup and then settle in around the living room for our movie. It is about 11 pm when the movie is over and we all start to head to bed. My mom goes in her bedroom for a brief moment and then comes flying back out yelling, "They did it again, they did it again. The deer are (doing something not nice) to each other." Well we of course all get up and go look out of the window. I had been saying that it would be a lot funnier to see the deer doing this with them lit up. Well, I got my wish.

At first we thought it was the same neighborhood kids that were doing it, but something just wasn't adding up. We were sitting right there with the blinds open watching the movie and not only did they mess with the deer, but they also unplugged one of the snowmen and brought it up to the front porch. They plugged it in on the porch and had it facing the front door. We thought that if it were the same kids, they were awful brave. At any moment we could have turned around and seen them.

Dad goes out and fixes things back to the way they were. Later, he also said, "You see why I haven't wanted to put up decorations outside." I thought that was pretty funny.

The next day, Christmas, my mom and dad's friends come over for Christmas dinner. These friends would include Vicki, her husband Doug and their three boys (2 of which are teenagers and one that is almost a teenager). We already had our suspicions that they were involved, but didn't know for sure. We found out that night that while they did not mess with the deer the first time, it was indeed them that messed with it the second time. Not only was it them, but Vicki (the mom) was the one that thought it up. Her husband drove the getaway car while her and the boys had their fun. My favorite part is how they choose to let my mom know they had done it. One of my mom's gifts from Vicki was a picture of the indecent reindeer, in a Christmas frame and wrapped up all nice!! We all got a good laugh out of that and now I pity Vicki and her family. My dad does not let pranks go unnoticed!!

By the way, the picture posted above is from the first time. I don't have a copy of the reindeer at night with the lights on yet, but I will!!!

Oh yeah, sorry about the shadow in the pic, my dad couldn't find a way to get a picture without the shadow.

Funny Christmas Story

2008-12-23T07:47:00.003-06:00

My parents usually don't decorate the outside of their home for Christmas. As a kid I would beg and beg for them to decorate and they (mainly my dad) didn't want to fool with the hassle. I guess my dad knew that most of the decorating would fall on his shoulders. Well this year they have apparently gone all out. Side note....this is yet another fun thing they are doing now that they have moved away. First they get a pool and now they decorate the outside of their house. Anyway, not bitter!

Back to the story, there are all kinds of things in their front yard this year such as a santa on a motorcycle (prank on my dad from a few years ago), reindeer, Christmas trees, and honestly I don't know what all else.

My mom calls this morning and said that she was SO mad! Let me just say, there are many times in my mom's life when something makes her mad that I think it's funny. This would be another one of those times. She told me that some neighborhood kids came through and did something inappropriate with her reindeer. I won't go into details, but let's just say there may be some baby reindeer in the yard next year. Needless to say, I have been laughing about that all morning! What a clever joke to play!! Her reindeer were not the only ones exploited, the neighbors' reindeer were as well. Kids, cover your eyes if you are driving through my parents' neighborhood. This might be a lesson your parents aren't ready to teach you about yet!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

WOOOHOOO Michelle!!!

2008-12-17T16:46:00.003-06:00

I am so excited that Michelle won the Biggest Loser last night! I am usually not like this, but I may be even more excited that Vicky didn't win. While it's a little bit of a bummer that Heba won anything. I would much rather her get the $100,000 and not the grand prize or the recognition for that matter. Heba not being chosen by a "landslide" to be part of the final 3 was incredible. Chad and I both voted our hearts out for Ed. We never vote on these shows, but we knew that Heba had whined and complained to have Ed try to give his votes to her. We are adamant not to let that happen and apparently America felt the same way.

Enough about the bad, Michelle worked really hard and played the entire game with integrity. I am very proud of her and she is an inspiration to many I am sure. Not only an inspiration on how to lose weight, but also in how to walk out forgiveness for someone you love. Go Michelle!!!

Want some cheese with that whine?

2008-12-15T13:08:00.002-06:00

Well last night was yet another night of me not feeling so well and starting to complain about it more. I think that the pregnancy sickness is finally settling in. I am going on 5 days of not feeling so great. Anyway, last night I asked Chad to get me my nausea medicine (or magic pills that I am now calling them) which he did so sweetly. After bringing me my medicine I then asked if he could get me something to drink, this he also did sweetly. After bringing me my drink he then went back into the kitchen. He came walking out holding a piece of cheese and asked if I wanted it. I said, "what?" He then said would you like some cheese to go with the whine????? ha ha ha.

Oh well, I am sure I will be offered more cheese before it is all said and done. Chad really is a great hubby and has been SUPER helpful while I have not been feeling well. Needless to say, the cheese comment did make me laugh and forget about being sick for a few minutes.

It's A Baby...just one!!

2008-12-10T09:13:00.003-06:00

So I know most people will not give a flip about this picture, but as a proud mama I had to post the very first pics of our baby!! Our dr's appt went really well yesterday. There is only 1 baby, he/she is measuring really well and the ultrasound tech said the heartbeat sounded perfect! You can't get a much better report than that. We are very thankful God is giving us a healthy baby. Our due date is still July 27th.

Chad and I were talking last night at how we have never experienced God's love in this way before, but let me tell you...it's incredible! To know that He trusts us enough to place His child in our care is phenomenal. It is a responsibility that we will not take lightly and is reason enough for us to give this child back to God....it's His to begin with!

Enough with the serious stuff.....I haven't yet watched the Biggest Loser from last night. We went to the Preds game and I came home and went straight to bed. I will watch it tonight and post my thoughts tomorrow. According to the previews last week, the bottom two at the weigh-in will be voted between to see who makes the final. I think that Michelle is safe which ever way it goes for her. If she stays above the yellow line then great for her. If she falls below she will be going against all yucky blue team members and I really don't think America will vote to keep a blue team over a black team member. I just hope Michelle takes it all!!!

Just catching you up...

2008-12-04T08:08:00.003-06:00

Not much is going on in our world which is weird to say since our lives will be turned upside down next summer by the arrival of our little one. At this point in the process there is not much to say about it other than I am pregnant and I am out growing my clothes (which is making me a little nervous that we are having twins or a REALLY large child). I am only 6 weeks along, but I can't button any of my pants anymore. My eating habits haven't changed that much so it is hard for me to believe that I would just be gaining weight at a rapid pace. My pants fit me when I weighed 20 lbs heavier and I haven't gained 20 lbs yet. Needless to say, something is going on!! We go to the dr next week for an ultrasound. We are pretty excited about this....we get to at least see the heartbeat!!!

Other than that, life is just moving along at a nice pace. We had a great time with my parents during Thanksgiving and enjoyed an extended weekend off work. We are gearing up for Christmas and all the festivities that go along with that which will include some great parties I am sure!

YAY!!! It's Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T08:46:00.002-06:00

I get so excited around Thanksgiving and Christmas. The thought of families coming together and making time for each other unlike any other time in the year warms my heart. Now that my parents have moved away this brings special meaning into my life. We no longer can see each other whenever we want, we have to plan and travel to see each other. This brings a whole new appreciation to family gatherings.

It has been awhile since I last blogged. Things are going well in our life and are going to be very different now that we are going to have a baby. My doctor's appt went well and my second round of bloodwork came back higher than normal which is a good thing. Mine and Chad's parents are so excited they can hardly contain themselves! It is fun to watch them already transitioning into 'grandparent' mode. My dad wants to be called Papaw like his dad was and my mom wants to be called Gigi (her name starts with a G and I think Gigi is adorable)! The verdict is still out on what Chad's parents want to be called, but I assure you they are thinking about it.

After the Preds game last night, we came home and just had to watch the Biggest Loser. I didn't comment last week, but that was the dumbest move of the whole season fro Amy C. not to vote off Vicki. In fact, I don't even feel that bad for Amy C. because she really kind of did herself in last night for keeping Vicki around. I really like Amy C. I think she is adorable, but naive and should have kept the mentality of thinking for herself. O well, Amy looks fantastic and there is still another week for Vicki to go home and not be in contention for the grand prize. Let's hope that is the case.

I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving and the time with your families and friends. Travel safe and don't forget to make some good memories with your loved ones!!

Bye Bye Brady

2008-11-12T09:01:00.003-06:00

I totally missed not being able to watch the Biggest Loser last week. I guess something as important as electing a new president will bump a reality show off the schedule pretty quickly. Well last night completely made up for it!!!

Let me begin my "Biggest Loser" story by telling you that I had taken 2 pink pills (Benadryl) around 6 pm since my allergies decided to act up. After a wonderful dinner at my in-law's house (where I fell asleep from the pink pills) Chad and I headed home. I was so torn. We had recorded the BL and I wanted soooo bad to watch it but I also wanted soooo bad to just go to bed. I decided to watch it because I knew that I would some how find out what happened today. My jammies were on and I was curled up on the couch under my favorite blanket ready to watch. I really was so out of it last night it is almost like the BL was a dream, but I was with it enough to know that Brady is finally gone and I am now looking for the fall of Vicky and Heba!!! I can't believe that those 3 are so mean. Personally, I don't think Phil has earned the treatment he has received and as Chad pointed out last night, we just wish that America could vote for a couple of weeks and get rid of those bad people.

Next week will not be pretty for Amy C. I think she made a very wise decision and I think she was able to stick it to Heba at just the right time for splitting up her and her mom. You know that blue team thought they had this game won. That nothing could stop them now. They actually eluded to this several times last night. I wonder how mouthy Vicky will be now that Brady is not there to take up for her. Anyway, I like all of the black team and Amy C. I am ok if any of them win. Down with Vicky, Heba, & Ed!!!

Enough of my ranting, on a much more serious note, Chad's dad will be going in tomorrow to have a stint put in for his heart. He found out yesterday that he has 70% blockage in at least one artery and there could be more. We are praying that they will not have to perform a more serious surgery and that the stint will take care of everything!!

Election Thoughts

2008-11-05T07:49:00.002-06:00

Whether you like it or not, Obama is our new president. From what I am hearing, most people are simply glad the election is over. Personally I am still praying for our country and praying for Obama's heart. In Romans, God says that we are to submit to our government authority since He is the one that put them in place. As believers we are to be obedient to our God and if He has allowed Obama to be elected then we are to submit to this choice which is ultimately submitting to God. I am scared for where our country may be headed and the lives that are in danger, both born and unborn. Jesus can still get a hold of Obama's heart! Just because Obama is the president doesn't mean he is immune to the power of Jesus and that Jesus can't get a hold of his heart and make him a changed man. This is my prayer! Jesus can change anyone!!!

This is what obedience looks like.....

2008-10-30T08:28:00.003-05:00

For those of you that were at church on Sunday you heard me challenge myself in front of the entire church (I shared in both services) that I would witness to 2 girls that I work with and that I would do it this week. Beginning Monday morning I started praying that I would have a ride into work this week with each of them by myself. We usually all 3 ride together. First thing Monday morning one lady called and said that she would need to just meet us at work so I immediately got excited because I thought God was answering my prayer super fast. Then a few minutes later the other lady called and said that she would need to meet us at work as well which meant I would be driving in by myself. Obviously God did not answer my prayer that day. In fact, I was looking at it as a victory for satan. I kept praying that God would work it out for me to have alone time with each lady in the car. By the way, I was praying specifically for the car since I knew that we would have sufficient time to talk and not be interrupted at work. So on Tuesday we ALL rode to work together like one big happy work family. I began praying even harder because it was looking to be a little more difficult to be able to manage the rides as I had hoped.

Well, let me just tell you......God answers prayer!!!! Things worked out for me to ride to work alone with one lady and ride home alone with the other ON THE SAME DAY!! I then began praying for boldness and for God to use my words for His purpose. There are many times in life when you should not be prideful, but I've got to tell ya, I am pretty proud of myself in being obedient to our Holy God. Through His strength I was able to talk to both ladies. One of them is not saved and I did present the plan of salvation to her. She seemed to really be listening and now I am praying for this seed to be cultivated. The other lady is saved but has gotten away from God and I don't think that her family is saved. My prayer for her is that she would return to our Father and bring her family along.

Praise be to God for answered prayer and boldness in Him. I had thoughts of chickening out and waiting for another moment, but I knew God had ordained these moments and that I needed to be obedient. For goodness sake, we are talking about the salvation of their souls, this is not the time to be a chicken. God provided....no chicken!

Finally Updated

2008-10-29T08:28:00.002-05:00

I know that I have been a pathetic blogger lately! Most of the time I say that there is no excuse as to why I haven't been blogging, but this time I do have excuses. For the past couple of weeks work has been insanely busy. I get to work early everyday and hit the ground running (my early time is when I used to blog). Before, if I didn't get to blog in the morning then I would try to find time later. Since I am even working through lunch most days there is no time later in the day either. At night is out of the question. On the nights I am actually at home the last thing I want to do is get on the computer after sitting in front of one all day long. On top of all of this, I just haven't felt like blogging. I have been pretty down on myself lately and haven't felt there was anything worth blogging about which made it even more difficult to set aside time.

Anyways, here I am now and feeling good, taking the time to blog. There is something therapeutic about the blogging experience. I may be weird, but it makes me feel connected to people. We make little time to sit down with each other and really find out how they are doing. We usually ask the "How are you?" question and the typical response is "good" which then means that we can wipe our brow in appreciation that there is not a problem to be solved at that moment. This is not how we should be and even more importantly it does not portray our love for each other. Take time to really talk to someone you love and really find out how they are doing. You may learn something you never knew about that person.

Enough of my sunday school lesson for the day. As for me personally like I wrote earlier, I have been struggling. Since my weigh in (almost a month ago) I have REALLY been struggling with working out and eating healthy. Quite honestly I haven't wanted to do either and most of the time the thought of living that lifestyle would just make me mad. Yesterday was a turning point for me. I am in desperate need of some new clothes and tried to do a little shopping yesterday on my lunch break. I didn't even try anything on, but instead analyzed the clothes and convinced myself that they would not look good on me and that I should just give up. Luckily I immediately realized this was stupid, put the clothes down and walked out of the store. While I knew this was stupid it still didn't feel good. By the time I got to the car I had given up again and went to Sonic. Spent an insane amount of money for lunch (I think it's insane to spend that much money) and didn't even enjoy the meal. In fact, I was embarrassed that I had purchased it and wanted to eat it fast before anyone else saw me. I went online and began reading weight loss success stories since I knew that I was spiraling out of control. After reading several of the stories I realized again the lies that I was being told. At that very moment I decided to stop it!!!! I threw away my half eaten Reese's Sonic Blast and made a declaration that I am done! Food is only for nourishment and not entertainment and I am letting satan get a foothold in my life through food. No more satan! Me and God are doing this and you WILL lose!!! This morning while out running I prayed my way down the street and back. It was amazing how energized I felt and even cooler how close to God I felt. Whatever you are struggling with right now I pray that you tell satan that you and God got this and that he will lose. He has made me feel so terrible about myself for the past several weeks and I have missed living in the love and grace of my heavenly father. Enough satan, in the mighty name of Jesus get back!!!

Ok so I am really not a preacher, but revealing these struggles feels really good. I have been bogged down by them for awhile now. Today's a good day because I am a child of God!

You are a thief of joy!

2008-10-10T08:45:00.003-05:00

Sooooo, I have been a very bad girl this week with my eating and with NOT working out. In fact, there has not been one single day where I have made it through the entire day eating healthy and there has only been one day that I have worked out. Bad girl!!!! I don't know the reason for this other than I am still a little upset about my weigh-in Monday and that I have been extremely exhausted this week. Of course, I have also thought that my exhaustion could be due to the fact that I have not been eating well and working out, but I could have also not been eating well and working out because I have been so exhausted. Either way, this has not been a fantastic week. Even with going to bed early every night except for Monday, it has been difficult to will myself out of bed in the mornings.

While the week overall has not been that great, today, I feel so much better. I went to bed at 8:30 last night and slept right on through to 6:30 this morning. I didn't even set my alarm to pretend that I would get up and work out. I still could have slept longer, but I was able to start the day without feeling exhausted. As of now, 9:00am, I am full of energy and looking forward to a wonderful weekend!! I pray this energy keeps up all day!! Of course, my diet coke this morning seems to be helping with some of that energy :)!

TV recap for the week......The Biggest Loser was again wonderful. How fantastic did Ed look at the end. I was able to relate to Shellay in that so many other people/things are put ahead of herself and then there leaves little time for her. I often feel guilty if I take time for me and someone else is needing something. I am slowly learning that I am not responsible for everyone else and that if I don't take care of me then I will not have anything to give to others. Back to BL...I can't imagine thinking that I was going to go through something like that with Chad by my side and then him have to be sent away. Grant it, Ed didn't lose any weight and that is the nature of the game, but that doesn't make that decision any easier. I was sad to watch Heba and Ed have to make that decision, but once again, amazed at Ed's weight loss.

Also on my own weight loss front, I am realizing that while I am working for this not to become an idol in my life, it still is to an extent. When I wake up in the mornings, if I don't have time to workout and do my quiet time, I always choose working out. I realized this earlier this week and it broke my heart. In fact, I often don't have time to do both unless I get up at 4am so God has been frequently pushed aside. This HAS to change! I am no longer going to be working out in the mornings and will only be getting up to spend time with my Jesus. I have a new rule, I can't workout until I have had my quiet time each day. If this means that I don't lose anymore weight and that I gain 100lbs then so be it. I want and desire to be in right relationship with Christ and refuse to let working out become a stumbling block. Help hold me accountable on this. Jesus first!!!

On a less serious note, much less serious note, the Office last night did not disappoint again! My favorite line of the entire night was when Michael told Dwight that he was a "thief of joy." My favorite part of the show was when Jim was recording Dwight's time and talking about Battlestar Galactica(sp?). Funny stuff!!! Poor Dwight. Can't wait for Pam to return and I hope that it is soon.

I hope you all have a great weekend and get outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. I plan on doing some more bike riding (after my quiet time of course) and may be getting in a good walk. We will wrap up Saturday night with the Predators home opener. Very excited about this!!! Chad is excited about getting a free t-shirt because he needs more t-shirts. The 500 he has now is just simply not enough! Love you honey!!!

Back on Track

2008-10-07T08:42:00.003-05:00

This morning I got up and worked out a little. I am exhausted, but I knew that today was pivotal in my commitment to continue to workout and lose weight. If I stayed off the workout horse for too long it would just get harder and harder to get back on. I am also back to eating healthy. I wander if my eating yesterday is contributing to how blah I feel today. I hardly have the desire to walk, my body just feels so tired. Oh well, I did enjoy my ice cream yesterday, but today I am regaining my focus on this journey.

Big debate tonight! It is crazy to watch our town become transformed, but exciting to get the attention. I look forward to watching the debate tonight and wish that I could stay home all day and watch all the media coverage surrounding the debate. Nerdish I know....but sadly true!

Update about "Sad Day"

2008-10-06T12:57:00.003-05:00

After speaking with Chad, Jacob and Tracy, I realized that I indeed am seeing results and that I need to appreciate those. Though the scale may not be reflecting the results I want, there are other ways that I am seeing results.

I talked with Jacob and told him about my eating habits and my workout routines. He says that my workouts are good, but that I am not eating enough which will cause my metabolism to slow down. He said that I need to eat more especially in the morning and that I should see better results. I am going to try this, but for now I am going to finish my Reese's blast and enjoy my day of not worrying about weight loss.

Sad Day

2008-10-06T08:28:00.002-05:00

Today was my weigh in day. It has been one month since I stepped on a scale and I have been working really hard to reach my goal. Since I was not allowed to work out one week out of this month I knew that I probably wouldn't reach my goal, but I sure wanted to try hard to. The past 3 weeks I have been exercising regularly and eating much, much better than usual. I had already prayed for my attitude to stay positive even if I had only lost a couple of pounds. Like I have been saying, it seems to me like I have been losing weight since my clothes are fitting better and I can see changes in my body. With that being said I thought I would have at least lost 2 lbs. Welp, I only lost 0.7 lbs. NOT EVEN A FULL POUND!!!! At first I was sooooooo angry, then I turned to being extremely sad and disappointed due to all the hard work I had put in. For goodness sake, I met some girls from church for breakfast at Cracker Barrel saturday morning and ALL I ate was an apple bran muffin with water. Biscuits sitting right in front of me and I didn't touch one of them. See, this is what makes me mad. Oh and I didn't even tell you that I went on a fairly long bike ride before I even went to meet to girls for breakfast. See....anger!!

Anyway, after fussing about it I then shed a few tears, and still could shed a few more that I have never worked this hard at losing weight in my life and there is little to show for it. Yes, I did lose, but after a month I would have thought that I could have lost more than 0.7 lbs. Just very disappointing, that's all.

I am not going to give up. I am however choosing to take today off and rest. I am eating what I want and not exercising at all....not even during lunch. I am not going to focus on losing weight at all today. Tomorrow I will pick back up and try again to reach my goal for next month. If for nothing else, this made me realize that I HAVE to continue to work hard. The results that I can see (toning of my muscles, clothes fitting better, feeling better, and having a desire to stay active) are worth the work that I have been doing. Just pray that I can stay strong and push past this. Right now I feel like I can, but I can't make that same promise if next month produces the same results.

Go Preds!!

2008-10-02T08:15:00.002-05:00

Tonight is our first Preds game of the season. I am sooooo excited. I wore my Preds shirt to work (it is a long sleeve polo shirt, not a jersey or anything) and have my jeans in the car ready to go cheer on the Preds. In the past couple of years I have managed to make it to several games in a season while Chad has had season tickets with a guy from work. Well, going to those few games has created a hockey fan that really wanted her own ticket this year. I asked Chad's permission to join the guys for the games this season and with his and Hamby's (the guy from work) approval I now have my own season ticket. WOOHOO!!! I was a little apprehensive about ruining the guy's night for Chad and Hamby but since Chad knows that when I go to sporting events I am less like a woman and more like a guy I think he thought I would fit right in. And yes, I really do act like a dude...I yell, cheer, stand up when things are close, heckle the other team, fuss at the refs, ya know all that good stuff!!! GO PREDS!!!!

Well Done Jerry

2008-10-01T08:51:00.003-05:00

It was sad to see Jerry leave The Biggest Loser, but awesome to see that he is sticking with his weight loss and becoming healthy. I so love this show!!! Have I mentioned that before? Each week I am inspired by their weight loss and the work they put in to lose the weight. I particularly liked that the trainers focused on working out without a gym. Since I am not a member of a gym at the moment, all of my workouts are done at home, work, or wherever I can get a workout in. I got some good ideas of things I can do at home so that I can keep changing up my workouts. Lately my workout philosophy has been to just get moving. Whatever you can do, whenever you can do it, just move!! This philosophy has been working really well for me. I am seeing fantastic results and feeling amazing!!! Not only am I moving more, but am eating more healthy. I figure if I am going to focus on moving I don't need to do it in vain and ruin the results of working out with eating bad. Don't get me wrong, I will have periodic meals that are not fantastic, but overall my eating is much improved!!

Crazy Walkers

2008-09-30T13:11:00.002-05:00

It seems as though I have rubbed off on some people that work in the same area as I do. When I began walking during my lunch break I was the ONLY person out walking. Now, there are about 10 people that I regularly see out walking or running during lunch time. It is awesome to see these people out exercising and trying to lose weight. There are 2 guys that you can tell are learning how to run and they have been sticking with it for several days now. There are 2 ladies that walk together almost everyday and talk and talk and talk. They burn calories just by using their hands so much to talk! :) I do the same thing so who am I to pick on them.

Anyway, it just felt good while I was out walking today that maybe, in some small way, I have influenced someone's life for the better. This also adds responsibility for me to keep walking so that I continue to set a good example. Which, I did walk yesterday, but I went to a near by park just for a change.

The temperature is fantastic today!!! Get out and enjoy it.

Jim and Pam

2008-09-26T08:35:00.002-05:00

If you haven't watched The Office yet then you shouldn't read this blog. I am totally going to discuss what happened on the show last night.

Let me start with how much I enjoyed last nights episode. Some of my questions were answered, but many are still lingering. It looks to be another great season especially since Jim and Pam are finally engaged!! That is AWESOME!!! Dwight was absolutely hilarious as usual and Michael was still himself in most ways like when he insults people and doesn't mean to. When it comes to Holly, Michael is listening to Jim's advice and just trying to be a friend, as best he can. All the characters were back in their true form and I can't wait to see what this season brings.

Since staying up to watch The Office last night (I had Bible Study first and then came home about 10:15) I decided to sleep in again this morning. Once again, it felt really nice. I will not be walking during lunch today due to lunch plans I have with a friend, but I do plan on going to the Greenway tomorrow and getting in a good walk. I also need to make a promise to eat healthy at lunch today. I am not sure what is for dinner, but I may not do as well with that meal. We usually go out on Friday nights and tonight we are getting together with my in-laws. I look forward to a great weekend!!!

The Office!!!!!

2008-09-25T08:33:00.002-05:00

Tonight is the season premier of The Office and I am so excited I can hardly stand it! There are so many questions I need answered so hopefully tonight I will get the answers I am looking for. If one of those answers isn't Jim and Pam getting married then I think...no, I am pretty sure, I will yell at the tv. I'm sure that whatever the answers are that the show will be GREAT!!!

I went for my walk during lunch yesterday and plan on doing it again today. It feels really good to go for those walks and clear my head in the middle of the day. I didn't get up and workout this morning. I was sleeping so well and I decided to continue to sleep. There is really no other excuse than that. I feel really rested which is awesome!!!

I ate really well yesterday...........until it came time for dinner. Chad was not feeling well yesterday so I left it up to him to tell me what he felt like eating. He said that for some strange reason a roast beef sandwich and chicken tenders sounded good. The only place I know where I can get both is Arby's. I headed to Arby's with a VERY empty stomach. Once I got there I ordered Chad's food and didn't really see much that was healthy so I just ordered the chicken bacon swiss sandwich and let me tell you, it was delicious. I ate it all!! (Side note, I am not a very happy, nice person when I am that hungry nor do I make good decisions. My goal when I am that hungry is to simply get food in my belly no matter what it is.) While that was not a good decision, I didn't feel bad about it either. Honestly, I have not been counting calories or fat or anything. I am just watching my portions and making sure that I eat healthy foods. If you don't eat enough calories your body will actually begin to slow down to conserve the calories you do eat and thus no weight loss takes place. I think that I am eating enough calories, but am not sure. Last night, I decided to let the Arby's dinner be a "calorie make-up" dinner. Anyway, this morning, I still think I look like I am losing weight which is what I want. I plan on eating healthy all day today to make up for the dinner last night! I will let you know how I do.

WORKOUT MACHINE...not really, but it sounds cool!

2008-09-24T08:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a day full of exercise for me. I spent time on the Wii Fit before work, then walked 30 min during my lunch, and THEN met a friend after work and walked 3 miles with her. I felt really good while doing all of that and I think that it has boosted my confidence and excitement about my continuing journey to lose weight and be healthy. Again this morning I spent time on the Wii and plan to walk during lunch again today. It is so beautiful outside! I love that I am taking advantage of it and enjoying God's beautiful earth He put here for us. How awesome is He!!! I encourage each of you to find time to get outside today!!

Just another note about the Wii Fit....for those of you that may not think you can get a valid workout using the Wii Fit, let me just tell you from experience, anything that increases your heart rate, makes you sweat, and makes your legs and arms feel like jello when you are finished makes it a good workout in my book. I still thoroughly enjoy my workouts on the Wii and look forward to my next weigh-in on Oct. 6th.

Biggest Loser comments - Again, I love this show!! I thought that the water slide challenge was really crazy (and funny to watch). There definitely needed to be something more to catch those poor people sliding all over the grass. That made me hurt to watch them. The Brown team's tactics to throw the competition was ridiculous. That right there made me not like them anymore. They didn't help that all through the show they kept talking about how everything they did was for the game. I know that this is a game, but for these people this "game" could be what saves their lives. In my opinion, having your life saved is worth a lot more than $250,000. Besides, if you just work hard and do what you are supposed to do, you are much more likely to end up in the finale. I hope the Brown team gets that straightened out. Of course, my favorite part was the end when it showed the transformations. I was a little nervous for the Grey team to go home so early, but it was AWESOME to see that they are sticking with it and I hope that they can keep going. Very inspiring!!!

Yay Wii

2008-09-23T08:37:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I did go for a 30 minute walk during lunch and then ate 1/2 a turkey sandwich with some almonds. I ate really well all day yesterday....that includes a treat that I had. I usually drink a glass of fat free milk with dinner each night. This helps me to feel fuller faster and then I don't eat as much. Anyway, Chad had bought me some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (my all time favorite). I calculated the calories and there are the same amount of calories for 2 Reese's that are in my glass of milk. Therefore, I drank water with dinner and then ate my yummy Reese's. While I fully understand the total nutritional package is better with the milk, the Reese's sure did taste good and they were well worth the substitute.

Chad and I both got up this morning and worked out. He rode his bike for several miles and I did the Wii Fit. I have missed the Wii during the last week when I couldn't workout. It was really difficult to get up early this morning after sleeping in all last week, but we did and I feel great right now. In fact, I am having another "I feel skinnier day" today...yesterday I had a day like that as well. Since I am not weighing myself, it is good to at least feel skinnier. I hope to finish out the week eating well and continuing to workout.

Go Titans....Boo Vols

2008-09-22T08:43:00.002-05:00

Football is a priority at our home on Saturdays and Sundays!! I made my first pot of chili on Saturday to help usher in fall (I love fall!!) as we watched the Vols get their behinds handed to them by Florida. While Tennessee was not able to execute plays well, I also thought there was some very poor coaching and ole' Phil (and some others) maybe be needing to get their resumes out there. I am still a fan and even wore my UT shirt Saturday to continue to show my support, but was very disappointed in the game.

The Titans played and excellent game on Sunday, which Chad got to watch from the front row while I sat at home and watched on tv!! :( I really was happy he was able to go to the game with a friend and have such great seats. It was a lot of fun for him, and for me it was kind of nice to have some alone time. While I don't necessarily like when Chad is gone, it is nice to miss him and then be excited to see him when he returns. It is also good for us to have our own activities with our own friends. Back to the Titans.....I think Collins has himself a job for a little while and Young better be getting his act together fast if he is going to make it in this league. I am actually not convinced that he wants to make it. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Well, after my "Bad Girl" post on Thursday I thought that I should let you know how I did on Friday. I did eat a bowl of cereal for dinner Thursday night and then ate healthy all day Friday until dinner. Chad and I had a date night at Chili's and I had planned ahead of time that I would enjoy that meal and eat what I wanted. I wasn't able to eat all of it, but it was very good. Friday, during my lunch time, I did walk 30 minutes prior to eating lunch. It was beautiful outside and it felt good to get in a good walk. I brought my sneakers with me today to walk again at lunch. There is a good sidewalk area around my office that is perfect for walking. I hope to make this a daily habit.

Bad Girl

2008-09-18T08:32:00.006-05:00

Wellllll, I did good last night but today is a totally different story. I have been sitting at my desk all morning long craving me some Sonic. I have tried to eat my healthy snacks to curb my appetite, but that didn't work. The healthy snacks were tasting nasty to me and the thought of eating my apple or orange made me want to puke. I tried praying for the craving to go away, yes praying! This did not work. I don't know if God is trying to toughen me up with my eating habits but He quickly realized that this soldier is not ready for that intense of a battle yet.

Soooo, not only did I take an early lunch, but I choose to go to Sonic and somehow convinced myself that this was a treat for eating so well last night. Ridiculous, I know. Why can't my treat be something like buying new clothes in a smaller size or taking an enjoyable bike ride? I'll tell you why, I couldn't reward myself with those things immediately, I needed my reward now or I was going to be in an ill mood. Goodness knows my co-workers need to be spared from my ill moods.

Now, I have eaten a yummy Sonic sandwich with tots and am trying to finish off a SMALL Sonic blast with Reese's but I am so full I can hardly sit comfortably and I didn't even finish my sandwich or tots and have eaten less than 1/4 of the Blast. I guess it is a good thing that I couldn't finish them, maybe it means my stomach is shrinking. I did quit when I was getting full which is a small improvement.

All of that to say, I am in a very good mood and really enjoyed my reward. I don't feel guilty yet, but may later. I have decided to counter the large, unhealthy lunch with simply a bowl of cereal for dinner. I am also going to try and walk a lot around the office to burn some of this off.

I'll let you know if guilt sets in!! For now, this Sonic Blast is DELICIOUS!!!!

Good Girl

2008-09-18T08:32:00.003-05:00

I kept my promise last night. I had grilled chicken with rice and a side salad. I only ate half the rice and half of the salad (with low fat dressing and I still did the whole dip your fork in the dressing thing). I was really hungry when I got to the restaurant and I didn't want to eat healthy but I had to keep my promise. It felt good to eat healthy and I hope this will become habit for me.

I'm Inspired!!!

2008-09-17T08:24:00.003-05:00

I am completely hooked, yet again, to the Biggest Loser. It is awesome to watch the families support each other and go from enablers to encouragers. I love watching how they lose the weight each week and watching them compete in the challenges, but I think my favorite part is at the end when they give the update on the team that has just been voted off. The couple voted off last night look phenomenal and totally made me believe that I can do that too.

How about the older dad, Jerry. I have never seen it where someone's workout time has been limited. His health is really scary and I hope that he is able to stay on the show for awhile. It was awesome to watch his daughter win immunity for him last night so that he will at least have another week. I don't really have favorites on the show, I like to see everyone lose, but Jerry's health is by far the worst and I would hate for his life to be cut short due to his weight. Go Jerry!!!

There are some things I am trying to put into place so that I can be more successful with my weight loss. One of those is that I asked Chad to get in my face, so to speak, about what I eat at home. There is not much that is unhealthy in our house, but I want him to help me with my portions and to help when we go out to eat. He said that he would help me and I promised not to get mad at him.

Speaking of going out to eat, I am meeting some friends tonight for dinner. I am going to make a promise to those of you in blog land that I will make healthy choices tonight at the restaurant. I will post tomorrow what I ate.

Giving Thanks and The Biggest Loser

2008-09-16T12:39:00.004-05:00

What a crazy week it has been. I apologize for not blogging lately. There really is no excuse and I promise to try and do better.

Instead of listing all the things that have taken place in the last week, I am going to list all the things I am thankful to have in my life while walking through the last week.

I am first of all thankful for my relationship with Christ. I am taking part in a study that is focusing on talking with God and oh boy have I been talking to Him. I have been asking Him questions, asking Him to do things for me, thanking Him for providing in many ways, and simply praising Him for who He is. What peace fills my heart when I am speaking with my sweet Jesus.

I am thankful for my super, wonderful, fantastic husband that is always there by my side to hold my hand through everything. I am thankful for my parents, my dad who was willing to do without my mom for a few days and my mom who was willing to fly to be with me. My brother and sister-in-law for providing good company the past few days and my in-laws for taking care of our dog and being the best in-laws a girl could ask for. I am thankful I have such great friends that really pray for you when they say they are going to and then follow-up to see how you are doing.

I am thankful for food, clothes, my house, my car (I love my car), good movies, good books, comfy couch, restful bed, and really too many things to keep listing.

This may seem a bit bizarre that I am listing all of these things, but when everything around you seems to be going a million different directions, it is nice to come back to what you know and be thankful. I guess all of this comes from the fact that I got some sad news today about my cousin's husband. His name is Jason and has been severely burned in an accident. They have 3 small children and he is being treated at a burn unit 3 hours from his home. It is unclear what his condition is at the moment, but scary non-the-less. Please pray for them. Again, something else to be thankful for, a healthy husband and family.

I hope you all take a moment to think about or write down what you are thankful for.

On a lighter note (no pun intended), the Biggest Loser begins again tonight. I absolutely love that show as it is extremely inspiring. To watch the struggles and victories makes you feel like you can achieve whatever goals you may have. It also helps to motivate me to keep on my path of a healthier lifestyle. By the way, I have not weighed in since the last time I blogged about it and have been eating fairly healthy. My clothes are indicating that I am maybe losing a little which is exciting. I am not able to workout this week, but will get back to it next week and plan on even working out while watching the Biggest Loser. I encourage you all to watch at least one episode of the Biggest Loser and be inspired to achieve your goals no matter what they are. In fact, if you are wanting to get inspired to lose weight you can check out the Biggest Loser website and read their success stories. http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/

I will blog tomorrow with my thoughts about the show.

Ahhhhh....the Beach

2008-09-04T08:53:00.004-05:00

We had a fantastic time in SC this past weekend. We swam in my parents' pool all day Saturday and then got up Sunday morning and went to a church at the beach. It was a great church and one that my parents would love to attend if it weren't an hour and a half away. My parents have attended this church before and through a bizarre series of events, we found out that the preacher is related to my sister-in-law...what a small world! After church we went to a restaurant called "Drunken Jacks." We thought it appropriate to go to church and then go to a place called "Drunken Jacks." The food was great and don't worry, we didn't get drunk.

After eating we went to Surfside Beach to enjoy some beach time. I so miss the beach and so loved being able to get pounded by some pretty good waves. There were a couple of times we were flipped around pretty good. The water felt amazing and the beach wasn't that crowded which is surprising since it was Labor Day weekend. We hung out at the beach for a few hours, went geo-caching and then headed back to my parents' house. Once we got back to their house we got to watch a fantastic summer storm come up. We sat out on the screened in deck and ate dinner while a couple of inches of rain fell. I have not seen a storm like that in awhile. After the storm, we jumped back in the pool for a little bit until it started lightening again.

I really could have stayed for many more days down there. We always have a great time with my parents and it really feels like a mini vacation every time we go. I can't wait to go back!!! Love you mom and dad!!!

SC Here We Come

2008-08-29T08:52:00.002-05:00

This afternoon we, including my in-laws, are heading to SC to visit my parents. We are going down to enjoy their new pool and go to the beach!!! I am so excited. It is hard to have my parents living away now and not being able to see them all the time. We always have a great time when we go to visit them.

This week has been absolutely crazy. I have had something every night of the week and have not been getting home until after 9:00 each night. It will be nice to get away and relax for the weekend.

As you may have noticed, I have not been blogging about weight loss recently. Well, the truth is I have been battling it a little. Not the losing weight part, I have actually maintained over the past couple of weeks while being sick, but battling weight loss becoming an idol in my life. Satan will use whatever he can to put as a wedge between us and God even something positive such as weight loss. I had gotten to where I would be really hard on myself if I ate something unhealthy and would have negative thoughts as a result. I was also becoming addicted to the scale. In fact, Chad is going to hide the scale from me so that I will not be tempted to get on it every 5 minutes. I weighed this morning for the first time in over a week which is good. I plan on trying to go for at least 2 weeks and would like to go for a month without weighing again. I will keep you guys posted on how I am doing with that. Pray for me and that I will focus on Christ and not weight so that even in this area He is changing me.

Enjoy this Labor Day weekend!!!

Go Girls!!

2008-08-22T08:06:00.002-05:00

While I really enjoyed watching Michael Phelps win his gold medals, I loved watching Misty May-Treanor and Carrie Walsh completely dominate in beach volleyball. They are insane!! I especially liked the match for the gold. I was glad that it was a close game to make it interesting to watch. Some of the saves they would make were unbelievable and ones that I just knew they weren't going to get. They are phenomenal athletes with great attitudes!! GO USA!!!

Sept 25th Cannot Come Soon Enough

2008-08-18T08:25:00.002-05:00

I am completely in love with The Office. This weekend I completed season 4 and cannot wait for season 5 to begin on Sept 25th!!! I NEED to know what happens with Jim and Pam and quite frankly I am a little upset they left me hanging.

The writing and acting on this show is brilliant! There are few shows that make me laugh this hard and keep me interested on what is going to happen next.....what stupid thing is Michael going to say is really what I am waiting for. Well that and the whole Jim and Pam thing.

Two Years Tomorrow

2008-08-11T12:47:00.002-05:00

Chad and I will have been married 2 years tomorrow, August 12th!! What a great 2 years it has been! Here is a recap of a few things that have happened.....

Sold a condo, bought a house, changed jobs, brother got married, parents moved out of state, traveled to Mexico, Disneyland & the Wilson County Fair (you know that's awesome) on our honeymoon, went on a cruise, painted our house, bought a car, watched a ton of movies (one of our favorite things to do), joined a bowling league, got a dog, and as cheesy as it may sound....have had a ton of laughs.

I have truly felt blessed these last 2 years with the best husband in the world! He may kill me for telling to whole world how wonderful I think he is, but he won't be able to do too much since it is our anniversary! :)

He really is amazing and I know that God placed us together. It is so nice to have your best friend around you all the time. Someone that can see you laugh and cry, see your good and your bad, and even endure being fussed at and continue to love me more and more each day. I believe marital relationships model the love and grace Christ has for us more than any other earthly relationship. I even think this trumps parental relationships for the simple fact that we choose our mate just like we choose Christ, parental relationships are not chosen by us. However, I lucked out with the best parents in the world!! Chad sees all that I am at all times of the day and looks at me with nothing but love and maybe sometimes bewilderment. Other than his relationship with Christ, this is what I love the most about him. I get to be myself and be loved!! What a great life I live with a great man!!

I love you babe and I look forward to many, many, many more years with you!! I hope that I am able to show you as much love as you have shown me.

And yes, for those of you that know me, I am crying as I type this.....shocking!

Good Ole' Smokey Mountains

2008-08-04T08:59:00.002-05:00

We had a great time this weekend in the mountains. It is always good to go back to the town where my mom grew up and where most of my family lives. In fact, I believe we are related, in one way or another, to everyone in the town. When I went into the motel office (which is actually the owner's living room) to check-in and all I said was hello and this man (who I later learned we were related to) asked if I wanted to get my mom's room key too. Now I know it is a small town, but I sometimes forget how small and that can be a little freaky when you have spent most of your life in the city.

I had tried to warn Chad and my sister-in-law Denise what these motel rooms were going to look like. Until they saw them I don't think they could have fully understood. The motel is always exceptionally clean however, there is still paneling on most of the walls, green carpet (the 60's kind), and orange formica (sp?) counter tops. It's awesome!!! Chad and I had an extra feature in our room....we got a room with one queen size bed but there were two headboards. That's right, they had removed one of the beds at some point but decided to leave the headboard attached to the wall in it's original place. Again, awesome! It did provide us with some great room to play the Wii!

Speaking of the Wii, it came in really handy this weekend. My family loved it and I think 2 of them are going to buy them one as soon as they can find one. One of those people is my uncle, that is quite large and is having some major health issues due to his weight. He loved the bowling and the golf. I hope that he can find a Wii soon and get active. Anything will help.

Since my family was playing on the Wii so much this weekend I didn't really get a chance to. This morning I was on it for over an hour working out. I used to think that I might not get as good of a workout on it, but my legs were shaky this morning when I had finished and my abs have been sore. We will see what kind of results I can really get out of this thing!

Wii Fit junkie

2008-07-31T11:20:00.003-05:00

Technically I am still under dr's orders to not workout for another week, but my arm is rapidly improving and I just can't stand it anymore. I am not doing anything to put pressure on my arm, but I am not keeping it straight either. I have noticed that if I just wear my brace at night my arm feels pretty good the next day.

Since I have become so restless I decided to pull out the Wii Fit again and try a few exercises. Well, I am addicted. I have been getting up in the mornings and using it and then using it again before I go to bed. It is just so fun and I really enjoy my little workouts. According to my measurements on the Wii I have lost 4.2 lbs in the last 12 days and my BMI keeps going down as a result. Anyway, it is a nice alternative to just getting on a treadmill or elliptical several times a week not to mention that I can save money in gas by working out at home a few days a week.

Our lives have been pretty crazy the past few weeks. It seems that there is something going on every evening after work and then this weekend we are going out of town. I am actually looking forward to our trip because cell phones don't work in the mountains all that well. When we go up there it really feels like you are getting away and that is AWESOME!! We are also going to see some family that we haven't seen in awhile which is always interesting.

Just so ya know, the Wii Fit is going to the mountains with us!!!!

Workouts Halted :(

2008-07-24T15:51:00.002-05:00

On Monday I somehow messed up a nerve in my left arm doing my upper body weights. My ring finger and pinky finger on my left hand go numb when any pressure at all is applied to the left side of my forearm. I went to the dr about it yesterday and he said that surgery may be needed to move the nerve, but first we are trying a few things to get the nerve to move on its own. For now, I keep my arm straight, when possible, using a brace and avoid applying any pressure to it. This means that most of the exercises I do when I workout are off limits. The elliptical is one that I love and it is off limits due to the arm bars. The dr said I could walk on the treadmill as long as I keep my arm straight. The really sad part is that he said no Wii Fit!!! While this is all sad information, I only have to follow these rules for 2 weeks in the hopes that my arm will heal. We are definitely praying for healing within the next 2 weeks.....NO SURGERY!!!

Wii Fit

2008-07-21T08:44:00.002-05:00

I was finally able to get a Wii Fit this weekend thanks to my good friend Angie!! Thanks Ang!!!! I am totally loving it. I have been on it everyday and look forward to seeing how my results change. This is not replacing the gym, it is in addition to my gym workouts. The yoga is very relaxing and it is helping me to sleep better at night. I have never done yoga before, but it is pretty awesome.

4:30 came early this morning and I almost went back to bed even after I already had my workout clothes on. I didn't though and made it to the gym by 5. I had a good workout and am feeling more awake now. I hope I can get some rest tonight and be more eager to go to the gym tomorrow. I look forward to a good workout week especially with the Wii!!!

Chuck is 6 ft under

2008-07-18T08:15:00.002-05:00

I am speaking of Chuck Norris. My sweet husband was able to get his hands on life sized cutouts of Chuck Norris from work. They were going to be thrown away and he just couldn't let that happen. We have been using Chuck to scare my mom for months now. She has wanted the destruction of Chuck for quite some time now. Her wish has finally come true.

My parents are having a pool put in hoping that we will come visit more often. During our visit we were discussing the fact that we needed to bury something under the pool that would be there forever. The idea came to me that we should bury Chuck. Mom wanted rid of him and he had been a family staple for awhile. What better could we bury in their backyard. As you can see, Chuck is literally 6 ft. under. Poor Chuck, but I know mom is happy. And don't worry, we have more Chucks floating around.

I was able to get to the gym this morning and had a great workout. I will probably take the weekend off and get back to it on Monday.

Those Crazy Pink Pills

2008-07-17T12:01:00.002-05:00

My mother-in-law calls Benadryl "pink pills" for the obvious reason that they are pink. I have now begun calling them that and I realize to most that they have no idea what I am talking about.

I took 2 pink pills last night to help me with some allergy stuff. They completely knocked me out!! I slept like a baby. In fact, when my alarm went off at 4:30 this morning I thought that I was dreaming and somehow managed to completely turn off my alarm and did not wake up until Chad got up for work. Needless to say I missed my workout this morning. I didn't think the pink pills would affect me that much especially since I went to bed at 8:30 last night. Oh well, I will take a good nights sleep and give up working out today. I have Bible study tonight so there will not be time for me to get anything in before then. Maybe I will do a little something when I get home tonight!

I Know, I Know and I'm Sorry

2008-07-16T08:30:00.002-05:00

It has been a while since I last blogged and several people have reminded me of this. To be honest, it just hasn't been a priority lately. While I was at my parents I just didn't take the time and now that I am back at work there is little time during the day for me to get on the internet. I am going to try a blog a little each morning so that I can keep up.

Here is a summary of what all has been going on the past couple of weeks.

I had a great time with my family and it was hard to say goodbye. My parents are having a pool put in so I am sure we will be seeing them more often!! It was a great visit and we didn't do much but just hang out together, it was a nice, relaxing time!

I did exercise a few days while I was there and it felt good to not lose my momentum. I am now back to regularly working out. I got up at 4:30 am the past 2 days and had great workouts at the gym. I decided to take the day off today and will go back tomorrow. My trainer is leaving my gym and I am now going to have to find a new trainer. That really stinks, but I can't blame her. Hopefully I can get a trainer as good as she was.

Well, back to work I go. I will TRY and blog in the morning and let you know if I was successful in getting up to work out.

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

We leave tonight to go see my parents and I am so exited!!! Hopefully there will not be much traffic and we can have a great, quick trip, well as quick as 8 hours can be. I may not be posting much while down there due to having so much fun but I will be sure to fill you in at some point.

I do plan to workout while I am down there. I packed my workout clothes and have a couple of workout options already in place so that I will not be stuck on what I should do. My parents workout so it will be easy to join them. I think I can get into their gym for $10 so I may do that a day or two. There is no promise as to what I will be eating while I'm gone, but I do promise to watch my portion sizes. You know how it is, there are just certain things only your mom can make and when you don't get to eat those things often you forget about your diet and enjoy yourself. I will keep you updated on how my eating and working out is going.

As for this week, I have not been so diligent on working out this week. I guess the only reason is that it has been a busy week. I told you about working out Monday and Tuesday so I really just need to fill you in on yesterday and today. Yesterday I had to get up early and take the dog to the groomers before work and then I needed to get to work early at that. I over slept by about 15 minutes and that threw my whole morning off. Needless to say I did not get in a workout yesterday. This morning I took Chad to work (so that we can just pick him up this afternoon on our way out) and then drove to work myself. Chad has to be at work at 7 so we left the house at 6:30. He works 20 miles from our house going one way and I work 20 miles from our house in the complete opposite direction. Therefore, I had to drive straight from his office to mine which took about 45 minutes. So, no workout today, but I do plan to get up in the morning at my parents and at least get in a good walk. My eating has been pretty good this week. In fact, I have eaten really well except for the Mexican we had last night.

I hope everyone has a great and safe 4th of July!!! Enjoy celebrating our freedom and remember to thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on our country. Try not to burn anything down with fireworks either!!! :)

So Much To Say

2008-07-01T14:39:00.004-05:00

I haven't been very good at blogging lately. With VBS last week my schedule got all out of whack. Not to mention that after doing nothing for weeks prior to VBS the work of VBS would wear me out each day. It was worth it though. I had missed working at VBS the past couple of years and the kids are AWESOME!!!!

My summer is now over!! :( Back to work I go. My former boss called me last week and asked me to come back to work for him. We came to an agreement and back to work I go. Even though it is sad that my summer is now over, I am excited to be back at the office. I enjoyed working there and the people are fantastic. The pace of the work is great and there is a lot of interaction with the customers. There are some new business ventures my boss is setting out on and he has asked that I help him with those. They sound really fun and challenging. I think that I will be very busy which will be good.

I leave this week to go to my parents and while Chad, my brother and sister-in-law head back home, I will be staying to visit with my parents for a few days. This is going to be a great time!! I miss them so much and it will be nice to spend some good quality time with them. Not to mention, there will be beach time involved!!!! I guess I still have a little summer left.

Chad and I just finished trimming the trees and bushes in our yard. We have never done this before and it was kind of fun. The trees may die, but they look better. We now wait for the pick up service in our area to come pick up the limbs. We have tried to hide them as much as possible so our neighbors won't be embarrassed, but there are a ton of them. We are going to try to get rid of them soon but we weren't sure what to do. We could either leave the trees as they were with branches touching the ground and completely covering up our house or we could cut them and 'hide' them on the side of our house. The limbs are still in our yard, but maybe the rearrangement looks better.

Working out......I didn't do so well last week and I am blaming VBS! I worked out 2 days and that was it. Needless to say, my weight did not decrease. I maintained so I am happy that at least I didn't gain. I seem to have hit a little plateau and am needing to change things up a little. My eating habits are what I need to watch the most. I have been doing well yesterday and today. I ate healthy all day and worked out. Well, yesterday I worked out twice, once in the morning and then again yesterday afternoon with my trainer. Today I didn't go to the gym, but I did pick up, haul, and throw a lot of limbs into a pile. I'm pretty sure I burned some good calories. Due to scheduling conflicts I will have to workout at home tomorrow. Between needing to get the dog to the groomers before work and then come home to get ready for our trip there will not be the time for me to go to the gym. There will barely be enough time to work out at home. I will already be getting up at 4:30am!! Yes, 4:30! That is my new wake up time since I am now working again. It is far better for me to workout in the mornings rather than the evenings. I am usually ready to get home after work and that makes it difficult to stay motivated for the gym. Be praying for me to be able to maintain this schedule. I am super excited about my results thus far in my weight training. I am able to tell a big difference in my clothes even if the scale isn't reflecting much. Honestly, I don't care what number the scale gives me, I just want to look hot...I mean get healthy! ;) As far as the scale issue goes, it is fixed at the gym, but my trainer and I completely forgot to weigh me before we started the workout. Apparently after your workout you cannot get an accurate reading of your weight. I won't be able to meet with her next week, so I will be sure and weigh when I go back. I did weigh at home which is how I know I didn't lose any last week.

Now that this post is insanely long I will stop. I will try to do better with more frequent posts. I make no promises on that though!!

1st Day of VBS

2008-06-23T16:05:00.003-05:00

Today was the first day of VBS at my church and I am able to teach this year. I am in the baby room and it is fantastic!! Those babies are soooo cute and were surprisingly quiet. I hope tomorrow produces the same. My friend Shana is in the one yr old room just next door and my goodness she has her hands full. At one point there were 10 one yr olds in that little room and so many were unhappy for one reason or another.....pray for Shana!! Poor little thing!

I got up at 4:30 this morning so that I could get a good workout in before VBS started. I had a feeling that I may be exhausted after VBS and would not want to go workout. That I am seeing is a wise choice. I was exhausted after caring for babies for 4 hours. I plan on working out before VBS each day, we will see if I can keep it up. It looks as though I will not be able to meet with my trainer this week since most of her appointments are in the morning. I promise that even though I am not having the accountability of my trainer that I will keep up the pace and stay on track. You will be kept informed of my progress!

Scale Broken

2008-06-19T07:29:00.003-05:00

I worked out with my trainer yesterday and I was supposed to weigh in but the scale at the gym was broken. I feel bad for the person that broke it.....that is never good to say that you broke the scale.

My workout was fantastic even though I was sweating like a man. I did over 100 lunges carrying weights in each hand and then several other leg exercises after that. It felt good, but I was exhausted when I was done. To help flush out the lactic acid that builds up in your body while working out I went and walked on the treadmill for 25 minutes before heading home. The lactic acid is what makes you have sore muscles and you know from my previous experience I don't want sore muscles to that extreme ever again!!!!! This morning I am a little sore, but it is not too bad and I am able to walk around just fine. To be honest with you I like feeling a little sore because then I know that I am affecting my muscles. I am going to take an easy walk around my neighborhood today to help loosen those muscles up and to just get in a little cardio.

Tomorrow I have an interview at a child care center for a new position as a Literacy Coach for 3-5 yr olds to prepare them for kindergarten. My former principal called me and said that she had recommended me for this position and that I should seriously check it out. I have been looking forward to working from home until I started doing it this summer and then I realized how much I miss people. I don't want to get a job just to make money, I want to enjoy my work. This position does sound fantastic and I am praying that God will work things out if this is a position I need to take and shut doors if not. Please be praying for me tomorrow and more than anything that God's direction will be clear.

As for now, I am waiting for Judson to arrive. We are spending another day together playing and hanging out. He is such a great baby and is a lot of fun to watch. I am sure we will have another great day!!!

Not Much to Say

2008-06-16T17:45:00.003-05:00

So with today's post you will see why my blog is titled, 'A Whole Lot of Nothing.' I really don't have much to talk about but I haven't posted in a week and it is time I do so.

Not a whole lot has been going on in my life. I am babysitting often for some great friends which is a lot of fun for me. I am keeping children from 6 months old to 9 yrs old....not at the same time. It is a blast to play outside with them and go on Miss Christa field trips. I am really enjoying my summer so far and being able to spend some time with these kids makes it even more fun.

Regarding my weight loss journey, last week I worked out really well, but did not eat as well as I did the week before. If you notice, I didn't make any promises last week on the food aspect of things and that apparently is something I need to do. I did weigh myself (don't tell my trainer) and I was maintaining. It was a little discouraging but I also knew that I was not doing my best and I can't expect great results if I am not doing my best. I should weigh with my trainer this week and find out 'officially' how much weight I have lost. I am actually looking forward to that. I need to know if what I am doing/eating is working or if I need to make some adjustments. I will let you know the results!!

A Fun Day

2008-06-09T21:35:00.006-05:00

I hung out with the Folsom boys all day today and it was awesome!! We went to Charlie Daniels park, played the Wii at my house, ate McDonalds (yes, Miss Christa ate McDonalds and I will fess up later), Winston took a nap, Jonah played Guitar Hero and computer games, we went to a park close to their house and then came back and ate strawberries! What a busy, fun day. The boys are amazingly smart, funny, and well behaved. That is the recipe for some good fun. There is a link to the Folsom blog on the right of my page. On their blog Jonah tells his account of our day....it is really cute!

Alright, about the McDonalds......I ate a happy meal chicken nuggets with french fries and MELLO YELLO!!! It was delicious! Mello Yello is my all time favorite drink and there is was today staring me in the face. After being so thirsty from playing outside and starving by the time we ate lunch, I had absolutely no will power. I will say my stomach was mildly upset with me for putting that stuff in my body.....but it was so worth it. You know from earlier blogs my love of french fries and that combined with Mello Yello was simply irresistible.

To make up for my lunch I did a lot of cardio today and burned at least 700 calories. An hour on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the treadmill. This does not take into account all the playing I did outside with Jonah and Winston. I will weigh in the morning and see how bad the effects of lunch were. Since I didn't snack much today and I ate a light dinner I am hoping I at least broke even. If not, then of well, that Mello Yello was worth it and I will workout as hard tomorrow!

So you know how I am not supposed to be weighing myself but every 4 weeks.....well, I just can't help it. I did so well last week and let me tell you that I lost...are you ready.....6.2 lbs last week!!!! It was incredible! I know that may fluctuate some, but it still feels good. Like I always say, I am looking forward to another great week (well, forgetting the McDonalds today)!

What a good day!!

2008-06-07T14:24:00.002-05:00

I know that I am not supposed to be weighing myself but I just had to after the great week that I have had and........I have lost 21 lbs!!!! I have been wanting to reach the 20 lb mark for awhile and I finally got there. I was so excited about it this morning. In fact, I celebrated by going to workout!! I have such an appetite for working out now and being active. It feels so good. Chad went with me this morning and it was fun to work out with him. He joined the gym today and is also looking forward to becoming healthier.

Yesterday I went for a 5 mile walk with my friend Danielle and it felt great. Hot but good! I also ate very well which has been such a huge accomplishment for me this week. Tonight I am going to be going to Red Robin and I have already made up my mind that I am going to get a Turkey burger with no mayo but I am going to eat some fries. I love fries and their fries in particular. I figure this is a way I can reward myself for eating well all week. I need a treat every once and awhile. I will probably take a little walk afterwards to burn some of the calories off! :)

I Have A Witness

2008-06-06T07:14:00.003-05:00

That's right, Sullivan is my witness that I kept my promise yesterday to eat healthy. Well, his mom Tracy was also my witness and she is the one that can give the better testimony!

We went to a little restaurant in Franklin and I ate grilled pork loin, baked apples, and roasted potatoes, and one little, itty-bitty, mini muffin with no butter. One the way out the door there was a bowl of M&Ms (one of my all time favorite candies) and I only ate 1 M&M. You heard me, only one.....Tracy saw it!

Anyway, I am having a very successful week with my eating and working out. I will be going on a long walk today with my friend Danielle and then head to the gym to do my weight training. For the first time in my life I am looking forward to weighing in with my trainer in a couple of weeks. I pray that I can keep going the way that I have been.

There are so many of my friends that are supporting and encouraging me and I truly thank you for that!! That is a large part of what keeps me motivated!

Oh How I Love Nashville Humidity.....

2008-06-05T07:41:00.003-05:00

If you can't hear the sarcasm in the title then let me tell you that it is there!!! I went out for an hour walk at 6:30 this morning and when I came back home I was sweating like I had been running for hours. My poor dog is still panting and has now fallen beside me on the floor.

I guess I should quit complaining and count the blessings that I have a great neighborhood to walk in, it is not raining, and I have the energy to get up early and go for a walk. Today is supposed to be a rest day for me so I didn't push it too hard, but I was really wanting to get some cardio in today. I am having so much fun working out now, I don't want to lose that!

Today I am going on a field trip with my friend Tracy and her son Sullivan. We will be going out to eat for lunch and I want to make the same promise today that I did on Tuesday. I promise to eat healthy today!! That really worked for me on Tuesday....I don't want to be known for breaking promises so I figure if I take it one day at a time and make little promises I will be able to keep them. Just so you know, I am good on promises that don't involve food, that is why a food promise is a really big commitment for me.

So far this week I have worked out everyday and I have not eaten anything that I shouldn't!! I am very proud of this accomplishment and I truly thank God because He is helping me with this. I will let you know how I do at lunch today!! I am expecting the same results I had on Tuesday!!!

I kept my promise

2008-06-03T15:54:00.003-05:00

I went to Cracker Barrel to eat today and I ordered a grilled chicken salad with fat free dressing on the side!!! I drank water and there was not one biscuit that hit our table!! Chad and I are grilling tonight. I will be eating one lean hamburger and a few baked french fries (I watch the portion sizes on those). I wasn't able to get to the gym today because I didn't have a car so Max (our dog) and I went for a long walk around our neighborhood instead. It felt great to be outside this morning and it helped to loosen my legs up after my training session yesterday.

I forgot to put something on the blog this morning....I have been posting from time to time how much weight I have lost. To date I have lost 18 lbs! I was talking to my trainer yesterday and she said that I only need to weigh about every 4 weeks to get a truly accurate reading. In two more weeks I will let you know what the progress is that I have made. Chad and I are going to the beach for our anniversary in August and I would like to lose an additional 20 lbs by then. Help keep me accountable!!

I'm Lovin' Life

2008-06-03T06:43:00.002-05:00

This is my second week staying at home and it is AWESOME!!! I am studying for a certification course that I am taking online and just hanging out. I won't lie....there have been a few naps sprinkled in there too!

One of the things that I love the most is that I get to workout and not have to rush so that I can get to work or so that I can get home to get dinner ready. It is nice to workout at my pace and I am able to workout longer. I met with my trainer again yesterday and again it was fantastic. She isn't easy and I have to push myself, but I feel better after our sessions. My legs are a little sore this morning, but it is not like when I hurt my legs. I don't feel pain, I just feel like my legs were worked out really well. I am excited to continue training with her and I look forward to the results.

I am doing better working out than I am with my eating. Most of the week I eat healthy but when it comes to the weekends and we go out to eat, I don't do so well. This is what I am going to be focusing on. Chad and I don't eat out much anymore so when we do it is special and I don't want to just get a salad (with light dressing on the side) or grilled chicken. I am having to retrain my mind that there are other perks to going out to eat other than the food. Hopefully by focusing more on the conversation and company at dinner with Chad or other friends I can take my mind off of the food. I just like it so darn much!!! :-)

Today I am going to eat with a good friend of mine and I am going to promise you (the two people who read this blog) that I will make healthy choices. I will tell you exactly what I eat so that I can be held accountable. I expect today to be a healthy day!!!

Going Pretty Good

2008-05-29T16:53:00.002-05:00

This week is going well so far. I have worked out everyday since Tuesday and have lost a total of 2.6 lbs so far this week. After working out with my new trainer my legs are still doing well so I must be healed!!! I will work out again tomorrow and then will take the weekend off. I am very excited about my progress so far this week.

I love my new trainer!!

2008-05-27T15:22:00.002-05:00

I met with my new trainer this morning and my workout was awesome. I felt like she had pushed me really hard yet I did not feel like dying. Come to find out you are not supposed to feel like you are dying when you are finished working out. With the other trainer I felt like that after each session and I just thought I was more out of shape than I realized.

Today was the first time I worked out since I was hurt last week. I did 45 minutes of cardio and then a 30 minute session with the trainer. My legs felt really good and I am looking forward to working out the rest of the week!!!

Praise Jesus!!!

2008-05-24T06:57:00.002-05:00

I am better!!!! I don't know if I am 100% healed, but it sure feels like it. I was able to get out of the bed this morning and walk normally with NO PAIN!!!! Yesterday I was able to walk upright, but was still moving a little slow and it was hurting a little, but I could do it. So far this morning there has been no pain. I may even try to go to the gym later today and do some light cardio to see how I am feeling.

As for my trainer, I spoke with his boss and he said that my trainer should have absolutely not had me doing those weight repetitions. I have changed trainers and will be meeting my new trainer, Erin, on Tuesday. I am very exciting about starting over. I just pray that I can fully trust them when they are telling me things to do. I am going to go into it trusting, but I tell ya, if I hurt like that again I don't know that I will ever step foot in a gym again. :-)

I really am praising Jesus for my healing!!!! I hurt so bad that I thought it would take many days to recover from it and it ended up only taking 2 days. I have to give Jesus all the credit on this one because I couldn't take any muscle relaxers since Chad and I are trying to have a baby. The only thing I could do was take 2 Tylenol twice a day and sit on a heating pad. Well, it worked!!! There are many times in my life I unconsciously forget to give God the credit He is due because that credit can be explained away for one reason or another. This time there was nothing else I could give the credit to, my healing just had to be answered prayers of me, my awesome family, and my awesome friends!!!! So I say it again.......PRAISE JESUS!!!!!

Pain is here!

2008-05-22T07:16:00.001-05:00

So I am really not kidding when I say that pain is here and I am not being dramatic either. In fact, I am going to the dr today to see why it is that I cannot straighten out either one of my legs. My feeling is that my trainer had me do too much and my muscles are just really wound up. I am afraid however that there may be some damage. I have never had pain like this before. I asked my brother, who is also a personal trainer, about it and told him what all my trainer had me do and he said that it was entirely too much and that I should find another trainer. Well, you better believe I am going to find another trainer. I can handle being pushed and can even handle being sore over the next few days, but I think intense pain is a little much.

Needless to say, I did not go to workout yesterday and will not be going today either. Hopefully I will go to the dr and he will give me fantastic drugs and I will forget this whole thing!!!! I will keep you updated as to what the dr says. If you do not see an update over the next few days, just assume that the drugs have kicked in and I am far away in dreamland!

Wow Wow Wow

2008-05-21T08:23:00.002-05:00

I met my trainer yesterday and WOW he really pushes me!! I have never been to the point where I had to really think about walking to keep from falling over. I went to the grocery store after my workout and I was literally praying and asking God to not let me pass out. I am really not being dramatic about that....I really did pray that!

I did 30 minutes of cardio before my workout and as a result I lost another pound yesterday. So far this week I have lost 2 lbs!!!! I hope to keep up the momentum this week and have a great week of weight loss. I am planning on doing an hour and a half of cardio today so we will see how that goes.

Good Girl

2008-05-20T08:13:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a fantastic day!!! I ate really well and did not eat anything that I shouldn't have. I also did an hour and a half of cardio and pushed myself really hard. I weighed this morning and I had lost 1 lb since yesterday morning!!! I look forward to another day like this. I will be meeting my trainer this afternoon so pray that I don't die.....last week was really tough!!

Wow...I have been bad at posting

2008-05-19T07:47:00.002-05:00

I did not realize that it had been over 10 days since I last posted anything. I worked out with my trainer last week and for days I felt like I had been in a car wreck! It is exactly what I need though.....he really pushes me to my absolute limits.

I have not been doing so well with the eating. I didn't lose much weight this last week, but there was a small weight loss. I will be going to the gym today and only doing cardio. I have been doing an hour of cardio and today I am going to try and do an hour and a half. I will let you know tomorrow how that goes. I am also going to try and eat much better than I have been. I hope to have a good week posting, eating, and exercising!!! My trainer would like for me to lose 15 lbs this month. That is going to be tough, but I am going to give it my best!!!

This is my last week of school so I am really looking forward to having a good week!!!!!!!

I hurt so bad!!!

2008-05-08T08:25:00.002-05:00

I met with my new personal trainer last night for the first time and oh my goodness, I can barely walk today. I ended up doing 60 squats before we were finished with my workout. The workout was really fun though. I look forward to our weekly meetings.

My goals have also changed. I am no longer trying to lose 5 lbs in a week......there are several areas I will be working on. I will be lowering my body fat percentage and increasing my lean muscle mass by 10 lbs. I am excited about the new goals and they now seem attainable. Before long I will be on my way to looking thinner and healthier!!! Y'all keep me accountable!!

Pumpin' Iron

2008-05-07T14:40:00.002-05:00

I meet today with the personal trainer at the gym I joined this week. I worked out yesterday morning and it was good, but I am ready to be put on a schedule that includes cardio and weight training. I am afraid I am going to be hurting tomorrow, but it will be good!!

I am having a little bit of a hard time adjusting back into my eating routines after last week being so crazy. I have already done much better today than I did yesterday and I hope to just continue to improve over the week. It is hard to be patient with myself!! I will be let you know how this afternoon goes tomorrow!!

What a week!

2008-05-06T08:16:00.002-05:00

Last week was not a good week for me eating and exercising wise. We ate out a lot and I only worked out once. It showed on the scale too! I am off to a better start this week eating and I also joined a gym yesterday.

I have all of my healthy food packed for school today and I got up at 4:30 this morning to go workout. I am meeting with the trainer tomorrow and we will see what kind of schedule he gives me. I am excited about having a place to workout now.

Again, I am shooting for the goal of losing 5 lbs this week. Pray for me!!!

I got some french fries!!!

2008-04-28T07:35:00.002-05:00

Well, I got my french fries and I paid for it! I was having great weight loss last week and then the weekend came. Chad and I went out to eat with his parents at Cock of the Walk (a great place to eat) where most of the food is fried. I did order broiled chicken, however there were also fried pickles, FRENCH FRIES and delicious cornbread!!! I didn't stuff myself and felt like I did pretty well to have that food just sitting in front of me. Then on Saturday I was watching some kids for friends of mine and I took the little boy to Burger King. I split a meal with him and that was where I again got me some french fries. I will say that Turner liked the french fries the best so he actually ate most of them. Then on Saturday night we went with my parents to Fulins (a delicious Chinese restaurant) and I only ate half of my plate. The other half is in my fridge right now. I once again was very proud with that portion control. Just a side note, I didn't go across the way to Marble Slab and get ice cream either, that is a huge feat for me!! Then, yesterday I ate my usual mexican food and my mom made some of her chili which I just had to have a bowl of.

So, at the end of the week, I still had weight loss, but not as I had hoped. I lost 1.6 lbs last week. I must do much better this week. I hope to workout more and to eat better. I make no promises though since I will be attending a wedding this weekend in NC.

My goal this week is to lose 5 lbs. I am setting this goal again because I know that if I work hard I can reach it. It is a big goal and I want to achieve it. Hopefully this will be the week!!!!

I WANT SOME FRENCH FRIES!!!

2008-04-24T13:31:00.002-05:00

I told you in the beginning that I would be open and honest with you and I am telling you now that I am wanting some fast food french fries!!! I haven't had fast food in weeks and for some reason, I am now craving it!! I was driving around town and wanted to stop soooo bad and get some....I didn't and went straight home. I ate a little of my dinner, but it just wasn't hitting the spot. I was wanting fattening foods and I was wanting them bad. I did ok until I saw a commercial on tv for Pizza Hut. I have a husband that loves me so much and he won't always stand up to me when I am being ridiculous. This resulted in me ordering a pizza at 8 pm last night.

Two things are wrong with that.....the first is that it is pizza that I was ordering and the second is that you are not supposed to eat late at night when you are losing weight. Well anyway, I ate it and it was DELICIOUS!!! It hit the spot!!

I was scared to death to step on the scale this morning. I was afraid I would have gained all of my weight back that I had lost this week. I did it anyway and........I STILL LOST .4 LBS!!! I am not taking this that I can eat pizza and still lose weight all the time, but I did praise my Jesus for the weight loss. Hopefully I will not have another night like last night. Pray that the cravings will be gone!! I was not looking forward to this posting. I hope to be able to post better tomorrow!!!

Run Forrest Run

2008-04-23T12:06:00.002-05:00

Well, I told you that I was going to be running and I have been!! Yesterday I exercised for 50 minutes without even a water break. I would walk 5 min and run 10 min. I completed 3 cycles of this and then finished with a 5 min cool down. I plan on doing this again today. It felt great to accomplish that.

I also ate fantastically well yesterday. Chad even tried to tempt me with a Reese's cup and I didn't eat it. That is huge!!! I usually never turn those away.

So far this week I have already lost 2 lbs. I am setting a goal to lose 5 lbs this week. I know that is hard to do, but if I stay focused I think that I can hit that this week. I have been reading about the Biggest Loser contestants and they are able to reach goals like this once they are back home by eating healthy and exercising. Of course, you will know if I hit my goal or not!!!

A New Scale

2008-04-21T07:45:00.002-05:00

I bought a new, digital scale yesterday!!! I finally got rid of my old scale and this scale seems to be a little more accurate. I don't know exactly how much weight I lost last week since I did change scales, but it looks like I lost another pound or two.

I am looking forward to this week being a great week. The weather is going to be beautiful and I look forward to a week full of running!! I will let you know how it works out.

It's Fabulous Friday

2008-04-18T07:42:00.001-05:00

WOOOHOOO.....It's Friday!!!! I am just going to have a fun day with my class today. They have worked really hard this week and I could use a little down time to just sit and play with them for awhile. I am excited about today.

I didn't eat quite as well as I have been yesterday. My assistant teacher brought me in some hot chicken and wanted me to try it. I like hot chicken, but my goodness, this chicken was hot. I was wiping my tongue with a paper towel to try and get it to stop burning. It was good though and I did finish the chicken. Next time, I will get a piece of bread to eat with eat to lessen the blow. Then, at our faculty meeting yesterday afternoon, someone brought in fresh, chocolate covered, Krispy Kreme doughnuts!!! Yummm! I ate ONE of them and yes, I did stop at just one.

I have tried on several occasions to run and to like running, but I have never seemed to master it. I am going to begin trying again today to run. I will be posting my progress. I will not be running that much at first, but I am really going to be working on building up to running. I am excited to give this another shot.

School is starting......time to go have some fun!!!!

Ya Know.....

2008-04-17T14:49:00.002-05:00

I have been sick for a couple of days and I did not get on my computer at all yesterday. That is rare for me.

I have been eating fairly healthy this week so far. While I was sick I did eat some ice cream to help my throat but I tried to keep it in moderation. Worked out Monday afternoon but have not since then due to not feeling well. I hope to workout tomorrow afternoon and again Saturday morning.

I don't want to go to school today

2008-04-14T08:21:00.002-05:00

It is a dreary, cold Monday and I would have loved to stay home in the bed all day. I did not and I am at school and the kids are CRAZY again, but like my daddy always says, "make it a good one, it's up to ya." I'm gonna make it a good one!!!

I lost 2 lbs this last week!!!! I hoping for another week of weight loss this week. This week is going to be a little different since we have a revival at church this week which will prevent me from going to my exercise classes. I already have a plan in place of workouts I can do at home so that I can stay on track. I am looking forward to this week!!!

Another Good Day

2008-04-10T08:42:00.002-05:00

I ate really well again yesterday and even worked out at home until I literally couldn't stand anymore. It felt good though. This week has not been that much of a struggle with food and working out. It is good!!!! I have already lost a few pounds but I will wait to post how many until my weekly weigh in on Monday.

Lady Vols Take It Again

2008-04-09T08:40:00.001-05:00

Go Vols!! The ladies won their 2nd consecutive National Championship!!!

Yesterday I did really, really well with eating and exercising!!! I am planning for another good day of eating and I am going to be working out at home this afternoon.

I want to list a prayer concern for the Pardee family. Little Sullivan just cannot catch a break. His eyes are doing much better but now he has had to have some scans done on his brain. The doctors found something that they are needing to check into a little further. Sullivan will be having an MRI next week.

Pray that the first scan was simply an imperfect scan and that nothing is really wrong. Also pray for Tracy and Tyson as they care for this little guy!!

Go Lady Vols

2008-04-08T12:21:00.002-05:00

The Lady Vols play tonight for the National Championship!!! Let's hope they can bring home two in a row!

I ate well yesterday and did not even snack as much as I have been. I think my body is finally adjusting to being back from the cruise and not having food available 24/7 (which I took part in).

As usual, I spoke too soon yesterday. I had said that I should be able to make all my exercise classes this week and wouldn't you know it.....I missed yesterday's class. Chad and I have been re-decorating our den and we were moving new furniture in and old out and hanging curtains all kids of stuff. There was just too much do to for me to leave to go to class. I did, however, get a pretty good workout running up and down our steps moving stuff!! I should be able to make it to class tonight. I am planning on it anyway.

Spring is here!!!!

2008-04-07T12:58:00.002-05:00

It is beautiful outside today. The sun is shining and it is in the mid 70s. Just the way I like it!!!!

I ate better this weekend than I think I ever have on a weekend. Chad and I only ate out once (which is huge for us) and I enjoyed cooking at home the rest of the time. I just maintained my weight last week and didn't lose any, but I was also only able to workout 2 days last week. I am looking forward to a much better week. I should be able to workout everyday that I have planned!!!

If you can, get out and enjoy the beautiful weather!!!! It is good for the soul!

Rain, Rain Go Away

2008-04-04T07:42:00.002-05:00

I know that our area really needs the rain, but I can't take my class outside and THEY ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!! :-) It's Friday though and next week we should have some beautiful weather.

Yesterday I did fairly well eating. I did go out to eat last night with Chad and I didn't make the best choice, but I didn't eat all of it either. The thing I hate about yesterday is that I was not able to work out. I was at the hospital with some friends of mine and then was stuck in traffic and would have been really rushed to get to my class. After an exhausting day, the last thing I wanted was to rush around town all evening. After class I would have to rush to Bible study. Instead of doing all that, I opted for a nice dinner with my sweet husband.

I WILL workout tomorrow morning!!!

"You look like ya mama just stole ya purse"

2008-04-03T11:41:00.003-05:00

A little boy in my class said this to my assistant yesterday while she was dealing with a terrible headache. I was crying from laughing so hard!!! You gotta love these little darlings.....they are so honest. Somewhere he has seen that look on someone's face and apparently her mama had stolen her purse so he just put two and two together.

I did really well yesterday. I did not eat any unhealthy snacks and used good portion control while eating mexican last night for dinner. So far I have done well again and expect to finish out the day well. My exercise class will meet again tonight and I am looking forward to that!!

Day After April Fools Day

2008-04-02T08:22:00.002-05:00

My assistant, Mrs. Tia, loves April Fools Day!!! She was foolin' people all day long......even the kids in our class. She made it a really fun day but I sure do feel for her because of all the people that are wanting to get her back.

I am not going to make any excuses for a snack I had yesterday afternoon. It was bad! I will say that I felt sick afterwards and did not want to go to my exercise class. I went to class anyway and I think that it was a lot harder since I had eaten such a heavy snack. I felt sick all night and it taught me that my body is not used to junk food anymore and I need to stay on the healthy track to feel good. That junk food is now out of the house and I will not be purchasing it anymore!!!

Today is my workout day off. I bruised my foot the other day and it hurt a little last night at class. It will be good to have a day off for it to heal. I am expecting myself to have a great day eating wise.

Day 7

2008-04-01T07:36:00.000-05:00

I ate fairly well yesterday with the exception of one snack. I was really hungry and in a very weak moment I made a bad choice. One thing that I am learning is that when I make these poor choices, I don't need to beat myself up I just need to move on and make better choices. Today should be a much better day!!

I am going out to eat tonight with a friend of mine and I have already made up my mind that I am going to eat one bowl of soup. When I post tomorrow I will let you know if I followed through.

There was not time for me to go to my exercise class yesterday due to a meeting I had to attend, but I was able to get in a good walk. It was beautiful yesterday afternoon!! I took our little dog and absolutely wore him out. When we got back home he just plopped down on the sofa and didn't move for awhile. I will be going to my class tonight and look forward to another good butt whoopin!!!

Well......

2008-03-31T07:17:00.002-05:00

This weekend went a little as planned. I ate ok but not great by any stretch. I did go to my exercise class Saturday morning and was made to workout really hard. When I got to class the instructor said, "be ready, this morning we are going to be pushing ourselves really hard." I was not excited to hear this at 8:30 in the morning but I did it and I kept up with her!!!

I did not lose any additional weight this weekend, but for the week overall I lost 3 lbs!!!! For me, any loss is a great loss!!!! I look forward to seeing what this week brings about.

Day 3

2008-03-28T08:15:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I ate all healthy food except for a little chocolate I had last night! ;-) I also went to my exercise class and worked really hard. So far this week I have lost 3 lbs!!! Weekends can be tough sometimes so I hope that I will make good decisions this weekend and maybe lose a few more pounds.

It's not cute when fat people stack

2008-03-27T08:12:00.003-05:00

Just so you know, the title was posted at the request of my dear friend Tracy. We were at dinner last night and we were talking about the cruise Chad and I just returned from. I was telling her about the waiting in line to get back on the shuttle in Key West to take us back to the ship. It had been a long day and Chad found a place to sit by a tree. He patted his knee for me to come sit on so that I could rest too. He is so sweet and thoughtful all the time!!!! I love you honey! Anyway, there were all kinds of skinny, cute, young college students standing around and the first thought that ran through my mind is that...it is not cute when fat people stack. It does look adorable when two skinny people are sitting together, but I just thought that I might look awful silly sitting on his lap with my big rump sticking out. Thankfully the line moved fast and I didn't have to wait but a few minutes. So at the request of Tracy this story is now posted on the blog!

About my weight loss, I did as I suspected I would last night. I ate my favorite, fattening dish at Chili's and it was DELICIOUS!!!! I will have to workout extra hard today to work off that meal but it was worth it. We were not able to eat until about 8 pm which is much later than I usually eat and I was starving. I have learned that it is not good for me to get extremely hungry because then I make poor eating decisions. This is something that I still need to work on. I was not able to workout yesterday even though I had initially scheduled some time to do that. There were several errands that came up and took up my workout time, but like I said, I will make up for it today. I am looking forward to making great choices today!!

Day 1

2008-03-26T14:38:00.002-05:00

Okay, so yesterday was a good day! I did not eat anything that I wasn't supposed to and I went to my exercise class. I am finding it difficult to get back on my eating routine since getting back from the cruise last week. I was hungry a lot yesterday but I only ate my healthy snacks!!

Today may not be that good of a day. I have already had a few pieces of chocolate and it looks like I may be going to Chili's tonight. My favorite thing at Chili's is not healthy at all and I have been looking forward to eating it for awhile now. I have been in debate all day as to whether or not eat healthy at Chili's and as of now, I am going for my favorite dish!!! We will see what happens though. I am not planning on eating out the rest of the week so I should be eating all healthy stuff. I guess I should just make sure that I work out tonight if I do go for the unhealthy!

Blogging because.....

2008-03-25T13:40:00.000-05:00

While this blog is going to be for the use of myself and Chad, I am mainly going to be posting about my weight loss journey. I am needing more accountability and what better way to get that than to post on the internet what I am eating and how I am exercising!!!

I have been "dieting" for years off and on and am now on a journey to change my lifestyle in order to lose weight and improve my overall health. Since November I have been on this journey and at this point I have lost 10 lbs. I am ready to kick it into high gear and lose this weight. I will be posting daily what I have eaten and how I exercised the previous day. I promise to be raw and honest with you and list everything I am or am not doing.