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| Kieran&Lola- his new sister |
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wordless Wednesday- Relay for Life
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| Mom supporting the pink ribbon- 20yr breast cancer survivor! |
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| Dad supporting the blue ribbon- 1yr intestinal cancer survivor! |
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
The skinny.
Most of you have no idea what I look like- which is just fine by me. But growing up I was always the short thin athletic one. I guess I always assumed that this would be fact. After college I really let my activity level drop. It happens. I still hiked with the dogs and did some bicycling but nothing major. One year ago I weighed 123 pounds. I realize that I was recovering from two major surgeries right on top of one another and that I may have lost weight in the months previous from those ordeals.
In early April I got on a scale and was horrified. Absolutely embarrassed with myself. I knew my body was changing and I wasn't happy with it but I hadn't realized that the number on the scale was going to be so frightening. 150. I had gained 27pounds in less than a year. I could attribute this weight gain to lots of little things- being comfortable in a relationship, not being as active as I used to be or making a real dinner every day since my boyfriend lives with me. But I really didn't think those things added up to 27.
I decided to go to the doctor to see if it was something medical causing my weight gain. Thyroid conditions run in my family. Maybe my thyroid was out of control and making me gain weight. My doctor noticed that I did indeed have an enlarged thyroid and sent me to get an ultra sound and some blood work. The results came in: I am perfectly healthy. I still find it odd that I do have an enlarged thyroid and am healthy but it is possible.
So when my work announced that they were doing a biggest loser competition I decided to join. I needed something to motivate me to lose all this extra baggage. The competition started May 14th and I weighed in at 150.2 pounds.
I decided to change up my lifestyle a bit. Nothing too drastic but definitely changed. I joined a website- everydayhealth so that I could monitor my calorie intake as well as my calories burned. Oh goodness! When I first joined I didn't have a plan to count calories. I figured that I would just increase my exercise and leave my diet alone. I was taking in nearly 2300calories a day and only burning about 300. I am not an exercise/weight loss genius here but I knew that couldn't be good. So I decided that until I get to my target weight(120 pounds is what I have it set at but the number isn't magic. I think it's more about how I feel looking at myself. If I like the way I look at 130 then I will maintain it. I would just like to be in a healthy weight range again.) I am going to account for everything that I put into my mouth. I have managed to bring my calorie intake down to about 1300calories a day. I thought I'd be hungry ALL THE TIME. But really, I'm not. I have chosen to take in healthy filling calories instead of empty ones. The only thing I really really miss is chocolate. So I allow myself to cheat once in a while. I figure that if I don't allow myself chocolate at all, ever, then I am always going to crave it and it will eventually be my downfall. Willpower is something I never thought I had much of. I am proving myself so wrong right now.
Portion control. I never paid much attention to the amount of food I ate. The portions I was eating before were often double and sometimes triple the normal size portion. I spent a little extra money and separated all my snack foods into portion sized bags. It's amusing because right next to my little portion bags are my boyfriends portion bags. His portions are triple the recommended serving size or more. He works manual labor and burns a ton of calories a day and needs to take in extra calories just to maintain his weight.
Exercise. Valkyrie is LOVING the new exercise plan. I take her for more walks than before and we are going out for longer periods of time. This is the perfect time of year for me to start losing weight. The weather is perfect for hiking with Valkyrie. I plan on getting a bike so that I can take Valkyrie biking with me. She enjoys running and I am not yet ready to start jogging. Hopefully in the next couple months I will feel physically ready for jogging... But not yet. I started going to the community center gym with my mother. I mostly use the elliptical but sometimes use the stationary bike. I push myself hard to do it and it does feel good. I also got a few workout videos to do at home(Jillian Micheals) for the days I can't find the time or energy to leave the house. My sister and I just signed up for a zumba class and I am ridiculously excited for those to start in a couple weeks.
So the results are in. With just a few adjustments to my lifestyle I am losing weight and feeling good.
May 14- 150.2
May 24- 143.2
May 28- 141.0
June 4- 139.0
I still have a long way to go to feel comfortable in my own skin again. But I am proud of myself and so much happier overall with the way my life is heading. I only need to lose another 4pounds(before August!) in order to have lost the 10% required to win the biggest prize for my works biggest loser competition. I definitely think this is doable. I am awesome.
In early April I got on a scale and was horrified. Absolutely embarrassed with myself. I knew my body was changing and I wasn't happy with it but I hadn't realized that the number on the scale was going to be so frightening. 150. I had gained 27pounds in less than a year. I could attribute this weight gain to lots of little things- being comfortable in a relationship, not being as active as I used to be or making a real dinner every day since my boyfriend lives with me. But I really didn't think those things added up to 27.
I decided to go to the doctor to see if it was something medical causing my weight gain. Thyroid conditions run in my family. Maybe my thyroid was out of control and making me gain weight. My doctor noticed that I did indeed have an enlarged thyroid and sent me to get an ultra sound and some blood work. The results came in: I am perfectly healthy. I still find it odd that I do have an enlarged thyroid and am healthy but it is possible.
So when my work announced that they were doing a biggest loser competition I decided to join. I needed something to motivate me to lose all this extra baggage. The competition started May 14th and I weighed in at 150.2 pounds.
I decided to change up my lifestyle a bit. Nothing too drastic but definitely changed. I joined a website- everydayhealth so that I could monitor my calorie intake as well as my calories burned. Oh goodness! When I first joined I didn't have a plan to count calories. I figured that I would just increase my exercise and leave my diet alone. I was taking in nearly 2300calories a day and only burning about 300. I am not an exercise/weight loss genius here but I knew that couldn't be good. So I decided that until I get to my target weight(120 pounds is what I have it set at but the number isn't magic. I think it's more about how I feel looking at myself. If I like the way I look at 130 then I will maintain it. I would just like to be in a healthy weight range again.) I am going to account for everything that I put into my mouth. I have managed to bring my calorie intake down to about 1300calories a day. I thought I'd be hungry ALL THE TIME. But really, I'm not. I have chosen to take in healthy filling calories instead of empty ones. The only thing I really really miss is chocolate. So I allow myself to cheat once in a while. I figure that if I don't allow myself chocolate at all, ever, then I am always going to crave it and it will eventually be my downfall. Willpower is something I never thought I had much of. I am proving myself so wrong right now.
Portion control. I never paid much attention to the amount of food I ate. The portions I was eating before were often double and sometimes triple the normal size portion. I spent a little extra money and separated all my snack foods into portion sized bags. It's amusing because right next to my little portion bags are my boyfriends portion bags. His portions are triple the recommended serving size or more. He works manual labor and burns a ton of calories a day and needs to take in extra calories just to maintain his weight.
Exercise. Valkyrie is LOVING the new exercise plan. I take her for more walks than before and we are going out for longer periods of time. This is the perfect time of year for me to start losing weight. The weather is perfect for hiking with Valkyrie. I plan on getting a bike so that I can take Valkyrie biking with me. She enjoys running and I am not yet ready to start jogging. Hopefully in the next couple months I will feel physically ready for jogging... But not yet. I started going to the community center gym with my mother. I mostly use the elliptical but sometimes use the stationary bike. I push myself hard to do it and it does feel good. I also got a few workout videos to do at home(Jillian Micheals) for the days I can't find the time or energy to leave the house. My sister and I just signed up for a zumba class and I am ridiculously excited for those to start in a couple weeks.
So the results are in. With just a few adjustments to my lifestyle I am losing weight and feeling good.
May 14- 150.2
May 24- 143.2
May 28- 141.0
June 4- 139.0
I still have a long way to go to feel comfortable in my own skin again. But I am proud of myself and so much happier overall with the way my life is heading. I only need to lose another 4pounds(before August!) in order to have lost the 10% required to win the biggest prize for my works biggest loser competition. I definitely think this is doable. I am awesome.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Trust
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| Valkyrie in the front yard. |
noun
1. reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
2. confident expectation of something; hope.
Trust is something to be earned. Valkyrie, at the age of ten, has earned some of my trust. I trust that she will beg if I have food. I trust that she will snuggle with me on the couch. I trust she will pee on the floor while I am at work. I trust that she will snark at me about having her nails done but will relent because there are cookies to be had. But these aren't the kind of trust situations I am talking about. I recently moved to a house without a fenced in yard. I did fence in a small part of the back yard so that I wouldn't have to always have Valkyrie on a leash- practicing agility on a leash is hard work. Today I was working in the front yard and Valkyrie really wanted to keep me company. So I decided to trust Valkyrie to be a good girl and stay with me in the front yard. My trust only goes so far though. She was on a 25foot leash because there is always a chance that something might cause Valkyrie to break my trust. But today she was such a good girl. I weeded and she lounged in the sun. I raked and she rolled in the grass. My neighbors dog ran around in their unfenced front yard and Valkyrie came over to me looking for a cookie(which of course I went and got for her!).
Not only do I trust Valkyrie- she trusts me. She trusts that I won't let anything bad happen to her. She trusts that I will always scratch the good spots. And she trusts that I will always have an endless supply of cookies.
I love that Valkyrie and I have built up this trusting relationship. It's taken years of hard work and patience on both of our parts. But the benefits of all that work is absolutely worth it.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Happy anniversary
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| Rick&Danielle's wedding |
Here is to many more happy years together.
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| Trish&Glen's wedding |
To my always- from your forever.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Double digits!!
Happy tenth birthday Valkyrie!!
Cause I am a slacker mom photos of the spoiled girl will be posted later.
Cause I am a slacker mom photos of the spoiled girl will be posted later.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Here's to 2012
I am in fact still alive. It's been a rough couple of months tho.
Kieran was adopted back in October- right after my last post here. I miss him terribly. Daily. I hope he is happy. But of course he is happy- he was happy even when he was on deaths door.
I moved into a new home on the same day Kieran was adopted. Lots of change all at once shocks the system.
Still don't have internet at my new house... Maybe soon. Maybe.
Christmas with my family was good but chaotic as normal.
New years- all those resolutions!
I already kept two of them! Ha! Better than most years.
Valkyrie and I stopped agility for a few months. She had surgery to remove six lumps. Thankfully all of them came back benign. We are back to agility training. She is just like a puppy! A well behaved puppy. I think the two of us are going to try and get out to compete this spring. Maybe even as early as the end of next month!
Valkyrie is much happier being an only child. It hurts sometimes but I know that her happiness comes first. I know that this whole mess of a situation was best for all involved.
I started exercising so that I could lose a little weight and to feel healthier. I love the way I feel after a good work out! I wish I would just start to lose a little weight already! I know- part of losing weight is to eat healthier. I'll get there. I promise.
The last couple years have been exceptionally hard on me and my family. I am completely expecting 2012 to be a relaxing breeze in comparison. Life is what you make of it and I am going to make the best of this year(and every year!) that I possibly can!
So here's to 2012!!
Kieran was adopted back in October- right after my last post here. I miss him terribly. Daily. I hope he is happy. But of course he is happy- he was happy even when he was on deaths door.
I moved into a new home on the same day Kieran was adopted. Lots of change all at once shocks the system.
Still don't have internet at my new house... Maybe soon. Maybe.
Christmas with my family was good but chaotic as normal.
New years- all those resolutions!
I already kept two of them! Ha! Better than most years.
Valkyrie and I stopped agility for a few months. She had surgery to remove six lumps. Thankfully all of them came back benign. We are back to agility training. She is just like a puppy! A well behaved puppy. I think the two of us are going to try and get out to compete this spring. Maybe even as early as the end of next month!
Valkyrie is much happier being an only child. It hurts sometimes but I know that her happiness comes first. I know that this whole mess of a situation was best for all involved.
I started exercising so that I could lose a little weight and to feel healthier. I love the way I feel after a good work out! I wish I would just start to lose a little weight already! I know- part of losing weight is to eat healthier. I'll get there. I promise.
The last couple years have been exceptionally hard on me and my family. I am completely expecting 2012 to be a relaxing breeze in comparison. Life is what you make of it and I am going to make the best of this year(and every year!) that I possibly can!
So here's to 2012!!
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