Layer by Layer & Wind Turbines

I just have to share my excitement! I've lost a total of 22.8 lbs since deciding to be a healthier me (17.8 lbs since joining WW). Just over half of my goal.

I had my Weight Watchers meeting today and lost another 3.6 lbs. The most I've lost in a single week since joining! I was really excited and I'm having a hard time controlling it. I really feel amazing!! I had somewhat disappointing results the last couple weeks. Both losses but not really great ones. The first week Tom was out of town for business so I wasn't able to do too much and the second week was Halloween and that candy was just too tempting!!

I joined a gym a month ago and I really enjoy going. It's definitely helping to obtain my weight loss goal. It's also helped relieve stress and I feel so much healthier. I've been going in the evenings for 1-1.5 hours, 5-6 days a week. It's become my ME time. I think part of the reason I enjoy it so much is because all the cardio equipment have individual televisions so I'm able to enjoy my shows still and not worry about missing them. I'm a huge TV junkie!! But really it helps keep my mind off of the exercising part.

Thank you Tom for the email today! I really appreciate your words of encouragement and all the support you give to me.

As I was driving home from WW, I decided to drive up into the hills to get a closer look at the wind turbines above our house. Tom has taken the kids up there a couple times and Jayni loves it. I haven't been up there before and was a little curious so we made the drive.

Jayni didn't really want to get out of the car but Mason was all for some pictures so I was playing around with my camera and these are a few cute pictures.

The view from up there was amazing. This picture definitely doesn't do it justice.

Healthy Here I Come

I've always been a skinny girl. Growing up, through high school, even when I got married. In high school I was teased for having "chicken legs" and that my elbows were way too bony. Having children definitely changed that. I can't eat like I used to anymore. I never realized how fluffy I was getting until I got back from England and saw a picture of myself. I didn't feel like I looked - I'm tall and I felt I didn't look like I weighed too much and that my height helped balance things out. I've heard that people who have always been overweight and lose mass amounts of weight, still feel heavy. I have the opposite thought - I gained but still feel skinny.

I knew my body had changed after having kids, especially after Mason. I grew to measure 42 weeks pregnant in 22 weeks until they realized I had excess amniotic fluid. Let's say that expanding that quickly didn't help my stomach. I have mass amounts of stretch marks and after I had Mason I had excess saggy skin. I figured no big deal, I don't show my belly in public anyway. And it tucked right into my pants! Price of having babies, right? It was worth it!

Needless to say I gained about 30 lbs after having Mason. Being away from home in a different country was stressful, I was no longer working, and I was at home all day with the kids. I tended to eat! Every craving was satisfied!!

As you know I made a goal at the beginning of June to "Work It Out". Well the busyness of Summer didn't help and I didn't find myself staying very motivated. I knew I needed to change my eating habits too but I didn't know how. Like I said before, I used to be able to eat whatever and I never had to limit myself either. I tried talking Tom into letting me join Weight Watchers after knowing others around me who had success. Tom said he wanted me to show a commitment to exercising first because he didn't want it to be a waste of money if I really wasn't committed to changing. I could understand that - $40 a month is a lot for us right now. Well, I gave up and ended up gaining a little more and became the heaviest I've ever been, topping the scales at 206.6 lbs - 14 lbs more than when I was first back from England. That's about 52 lbs since the day I was married!

The last week of August I did what I could and was able to lose 5 lbs. Over Labor Day weekend we went to a lake cabin for Tom's family reunion and I found out that two family members were talking  about joining  Weight Watchers. I talked to Tom about it and on Tuesday, September 2nd I joined...

...along with two family members. I love it! It's giving me a new look at what I eat. I write down what I eat during the day and doing that makes me think about what I'm putting in my mouth. I still eat the things I love, I just have to pay attention to certain things and pay attention to the portion size. I thought I would feel hungry being on a "diet" but I really don't feel like it's been a diet. It's just thinking and paying attention to what I'm eating.

I'm not doing this to try to lose all the weight I've gained since being married. I really don't care if I weigh 180 lbs, I just want to feel like I'm doing all I can to be healthy so I don't die at an early age. I was borderline high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I needed to make a change.

I have also started being more active. I do a walk/run for an hour two days a week and I just started a Pilates class last Wednesday. I enjoy it and I feel less stress and I don't feel as depressed since I'm getting out of the house and doing something for me.

With the 5 lbs I lost the week before joining, and what I've lost since, I've lost a total of 12.8 lbs! I feel quite accomplished in a month's time!

I have great support and I feel comfortable talking about weight now. Tom has been very supportive and has made sure that I can have plenty of time to do my "activities" before it gets dark. He keeps telling me he's surprised at how dedicated I am. I guess he thinks I'm a quitter! HAHA!! I appreciate all the support I'm getting and thank you to those who are helping me and asking me how things are going. It helps me stay motivated!!!

Just for me and looking back someday I want to share a quick story about Jayni. My Mom, Jayni and I were standing in my Mom's kitchen. All of a sudden, Jayni came up and jabbing at my belly, said, "BOINK, BOINK". We died laughing. It really was quite amusing.

Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo

August 2008 Catch Up

On Saturday, August 16th the kick off to the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo began. They have the Grand Parade every year but did the 1st Annual 5k Rodeo Run which was before the parade. I decided I wanted to sign up but would only do it if my dear husband would. He agreed and we did it! It was the start of some changes in my life that I'll post more about later.

The last run I participated in was the Cherry Blossom Run in George, Washington on a 4th of July when I was 15 or 16. I took 1st in my division. Of course that was only because my cousin, Heather had placed 1st of all the participants and since she got a medal for that, I was fortunate enough to get the 1st place medal in my division.

I am a silent competitor. My only goal was to not finish last and I didn't! Tom pushed the kids in the stroller and let me go ahead. I wasn't that much quicker than him though and we ended up finishing at the same time. My most rewarding moment was when he took a shortcut down a street so he and the kids could cheer me on when I passed by. Jayni seemed so excited and it made me work harder.

Well the outcome wasn't as amazing as it had been 12 or so years ago but it was an accomplishment for me. In the 6+ years I've been married I've gained a little over 50 lbs. and I carried that junk to the finish line in 37 minutes 33 seconds. I thought that was pretty amazing to accomplish a little over 3 miles since I didn't practice beforehand! Here's Tom & I in all our glory afterwards waiting for the parade to start.

On Wednesday, August 20th I took the kids to the fair for Kid's Day even though it was raining and a little cold. I can handle that way more than a scorcher like the day we went to Grant County Fair. We were only there for a couple hours and the first thing we did was go to the library's booth and the kids both won books. By the booth was a stage that was about to perform a show with the help of children. Jayni was lucky enough to participate. She was so cute and I have a video of her whole two minute performance. Unfortunately it's too large to post! Boohoo!!

We finished out the day with watching some of the animals being judged (Jayni insisted), going through the animal barns, and having lunch. We then went home for naps!

On Saturday, August 23rd we returned to have family day. Jayni did the tractor pull again, saw our neighbor's pigs, and then got our wristbands for the rides. We're lucky enough that Tom's grandparents help with the fair because we were able to ride the rides free. Thank you Grandpa & Grandma Underwood!! We had a great time riding the rides.

I love this sequence of pictures. Whenever Mason's scared he covers his ears. It's so cute! I also love the look of terror on his face in the last one.

As you can see from these next pictures Mason was still a little scared but finally got a little more comfortable and the hands came down.

After the rides we took the kids home to have naps. We returned for the rodeo that night but didn't stay long because the close proximity with a can't-stay-still boy wasn't working. We walked around a bit more and then headed home. It was a fun day and created great memories!

Grant County Fair

August 2008 Catch Up

To kick off this year's county fair adventures, Jayni, Mason, and I headed to Moses Lake to spend time with my Mom and to watch my little sister, Kathryn clog. I also HAD to have a Grant County Fair Spaceburger! I hadn't had one for about 4 or 5 years and I was desperate this year to get one.

Well, it so happened that that day it was SO hot. It kinda took the desire for some yummy fair food away. We did seek out the sno-cone booth immediately and met up with my brother Milo, sister-in-law Melanie, and their kids and walked around enjoying those. Eventually we ended up eating dinner and a big drink and Spaceburger was about all I could handle. The kids wanted to do the tractor pull and so we waited for that to start.

Jayni

Dane

Kathryn & Nathan

We then watched Kathryn clog and I saw my little brother Jason and his new bride Cassie. We also caught up with Pop then too.

After clogging we took the kids around the animal barns. My past farming experiences caught up with me and I saved a cow. HAHA! It was tied up in the barn and it's leg was caught in the rope. When my Mom and I walked by she said she was too scared to help the cow and said she knew I could do it. There were others just standing there staring at the helpless cow so I "took the bull by the horns" and helped get the cow's leg untangled. The embarrassing part for me was my Mom clapping afterwards and the other people staring. My Mom said she couldn't believe I did it and I told her that I was surprised that someone who was there before us didn't help out first. I'm definitely not an animal lover but if I see they need something I'll make sure to help out.

We then met up with everyone one else and I'm not sure why we got separated but we finished going through the rest of the barns together. When we got to the goat barn there was a girl there holding a baby goat and letting the kids pet it. So here's Jayni doing the thing she loves - petting animals.

There was also a lady milking a goat and one of the kids asked if they could do it and she let them. Here's Jayni getting some milk from the goat.

Then Dane had a go while Kathryn and Jayni watched.

We stayed a little longer but since the heat was not fun to be in we left and the kids and I headed home after I bathed them and visited for awhile. Oh, and Milo and Melanie brought me a yummy funnel cake with chocolate that I enjoyed before leaving town. I hadn't had one before and it was quite delicious!