Been a Loooong Time

Alright, so it has been a very long time since I posted. So much has happened so here is a very Cliff's Notes version...

1. I got married in Oct! It was fun and fast...just went to the JP's office! :)

2. I dropped out of Weight Watchers...but I'm back! I rejoined last week after realizing pounds were sloooowly creeping back on. Boy, that freaked me out! So I rejoined and am loving the new PointsPlus program. In fact, I lost 3.4 lbs the first week!

3. And...my fire has died out. Yep, my beloved TurboFire and I drifted apart. But I'm rekindling that relationship and getting back into it! Working out is the key to weight loss and health. I'm keeping my eye on the prize: a fit and healthy body, regardless of my age and how many kids I've had (because don't women tend to make that excuse numero uno?)

Told it would be the short version! So starting today I'm reclaiming my body, my mind, and my motivation. Yippeee!

Been awhile...

Hey, invisible followers lol. I'm back. Yes, I abandoned my blog. I knew that would eventually happen. School started, and it has been a wild, busy, crazy few weeks. BUT I love my classes! I have a student teacher though, and that is a challenge. She is wonderful, but losing some of the control I so covet is not easy. Fortuntely, she is a great teacher. Otherwise? Gray hair early? Yikes!

Also getting closer to wedding bells. Not really, there will be no bells because there will probably be no wedding. Gavel smacks? Maybe that's what you hear in a good ol-fashioned courthouse wedding. Either way, I have picked a stunning ring worthy of a princess, Joe has picked a gorgeous band, and here we go...soon. As for a date? Still up in the air!

I was also baptized last night!!! You don't know life until you know Christ. That is the ultimate understatement. Even in hard times (and things are very hard in the checkbook), life is easier, burdens lighten, and security holding when Jesus is your Savior.

A Letter to Myself

Dear Amy,

I know you are stressed. Who isn't? This back-to-school stuff is always full of rushing, worrying, preparing, spending, and, of course, food. Snacks, mini chocolate bars, cookies, chips, you name it! And yes, everyone is happily eating them, and they have been placed right in front of you, begging you to partake. All of this is true.

BUT... you have goals, important goals. You are seeking a better body, better health, and size 8 not for the moment, but for life. Maybe the size 8 thing is not so important, but you get the point. Saying no, resisting temptation strengthens your ability to continue to say no. And it feels good, better than eating whatever menacing morsel is calling your name. Is it worth it to eat and later feel guilt and then feel that full, fattish feeling around the middle. Heavens, no! Does it feel good to say no, to see the scale numbers get smaller and smaller, clothes to get looser and looser? Oh, that feels wonderful!!! Grab that feeling and hang on!

Keep that picture in your head, the one of you at your final goal, looking and feeling great. You're so close. So don't give up, especially not over junk. You're better than that. God is with you. Call on Him, and He will help you. He has goals for you too, and you must be healthy and happy to move forward with your missions. What about your kids? They deserve health too. You are their role model, the one they follow. Be a good leader and set that good example, especially for Megan. Joe... he loves you no matter what, and that is fantastic, but he deserves a wife who will be there by his side, healthy and happy. And he will be so proud if you just keep hanging on and working hard. He believes you can do it, and you should believe you can too.

SO go forth today with your eye and mind on the prize, not on the goodies everyone else feels so cool with throwing down the ol hatch. It just isn't for you. You're worth too much. Now have a wonderful day that centers around learning and preparing for your next challenge in the classroom. :)

Sparks Not Flying

I've lost my spark, my energy, my drive. I'm usually a little ball of energy, twisting and turning and making me look like a five year old who just snarfed a jumbo snocone. But not this morning. I've been a preetty foolish eater the past few days, didn't get in my TF yesterday, and this morning it hits me... I have so much to do and only two days to get it in. School is officially back  on Monday, so party time (relaxation time) is over! boohooohoooooooooo

Then there is the goodish but kinda badish stuff. (yes, I made those words up). The good is that we may be going this weekend somewhere to enjoy our last 3 day weekend together, Joe and I. The bad is the I'm broke as a joke (and I think that is pretty ridiculously broke), and it is also just another "excuse" to eat like a maniacal fool.

I really want new clothes for school (I'm such a kid), but I also want those clothes to be smaller. I need to quite playing around and "git-r-done."

Monday Meals

It really is amazing how you can eat healthy, delicious meals when you plan. Just to show you, I'll jot down today's meal plan.

Breakfast: coffee with fat free creamer (dry); Apricot Vanilla shake with cinnamon using Weight Watchers smoothies (appx 4 pts)

Snack: Quakes (2 points)

Lunch: Black pepper lemon tilapia, smashed sweet taters, and multi-grain bread with country crock (5-6 pts)

Snack: Cookies and Cream Skinny Cow sandwich (2 pts)

Dinner: Italian Chicken Skillet (3 pts) and spaghetti squash (0 pts) and spring salad with feta, croutons, vinagrette, tomato, cucumber and red onion (3pts)

Late nite treat: grape salad with ww cream cheese (3 pts)

Ooops. I Did It Again

What did I do? Besides bring up a really bad song that will probably get stuck in your head and cause you to temporarily dislike me?

I went on a stress-eating collision course which ended last night with me throwing down a few plates of Chinese. Really. Oh, you thought I was perfect? Awww, that's sweet. But untrue.
Cookies, several. A bahama bucks smoothie, lite but does that matter? Let's see. Lots of blts...bites, licks and tastes. And then, of course, the chinese food. That fluffy, puffy middle lets me know how wrong and stupid of me it was to get so out of control.


And I knew I would be sorry. We always know, don't we? But we do it anyway? Because at that very moment when we reach for the cookies, the ice cream, the cinnabon or whatever it is that we want to hig with our taste buds, we claim to not care. We know we are going to care later when they pants are tighter or scale jumps a few digits. But we see stress, we see fury, we see despair, and we see a food that might (but not really) make it all go away. So we eat. We eat. We eat. Then later we see the error of our ways. And what a sad, pathetic time that is.




I'll deal with my monsterous mess the only way I know how. That is to just pick myself up from amongst the crumbs, dust myself off, and grab a pen and paper. It is meal-planning time. I'll try to eat healthy and with sense, workout, and hope I can quickly overcome this "ooops."

It's Over...and the Results are In...

So my 5-Day Inferno is over. Drumroll. I said, drumroll! Ok, that's better. Gotta feel some love here!

I've lost 4.5 pounds in 5 days!!!!

I did not follow Chalene's meal plan, but I did try to stay within my Weight Watcher's (WW) points, which, by the way, is 23 a day. I worked out as shown in the schedule, and I had a great time! Today I'll do HIIT 15 and Fire 45. Then tomorrow I'll  start my week 1. I'm doing it this way so Sunday is my day of rest, rather than Wednesday.

I need to start meal-planning with my points in mind. I did not do that yesterday, and I ended up using 17 of my beloved 35 optional points. On what? Freakin' spaghetti and ummm.... feeling guilty here... a slice of sara lee cheesecake which was actually not even that good. Kicking self. But that's ok. Just a minor setback.

Here Comes the Bride (up the courthouse steps)

Bet that title got your attention, right? Don't go getting yourself in a tizzy thinking it's time to throw down wedding cake and wondering how many calories will be in it. Sorry to disappoint, but there won't be a wedding. Heck, there hasn't been a proposal. And there may not be. It might just be "hey, let's get married next week." :)

Anyhoo, I went through the thoughts of dresses, flowers, cake, blah blah blah. I'm a girl. That's what we do. I'm not talking about going overboard with expensive, fancy invitations or anything. I was thinking simple but nice. But really... is that necessary? Not like this is the first and only time for marriage for either of us. And it will be special no matter what because it is finally right for us both. And that is as special as anything can get!

I have a plan though. It is to trot up the courthouse steps with my best friend, Joe, and get married. It isn't about papers, guests, color coordinating, or whatever. It's about making that final committment to each other and with our Lord's blessing. Our friends, few that we have, do mean something, and family is very important too, so I'm thinking that maybe a month after the "big day"--whenever that may be-- we could have a reception/party. Again, simple and fun. Just a celebration of life and love.

Sound good? Guess I had better run this by Joe, huh? lol. Just sharing some thoughts with my readers. All 2 of you. :)

Pen, Meet Paper

Reality. The reality is that I MUST write everything down. I've had this incredible week, losing alot of that vacation weight. My new WW week starts today. Starting fresh. BUT if I want to get this off and reach my goal (and I'm so so so close), I need to write everything down. I need to keep saying no to the junk and gunk. Tomorrow is weigh in, and I know I will show a gain from my pre-vacation weigh in, but I've done great. I can do this. I can lose the rest and be in the condition I want to be in!

Pen meets paper, my fingers meet the keyboard to do my online tracking, and my Turbo Fire dvd shall meet the dvd player because I'm not failing. A candy bar is not worth it, a chicken strip is not worth it, a pair of size 10 pants is not worth it. I want better, and I want more. I want health, strength, energy, and pride in myself.

"Don't get tired doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time." Galatians 6:9

God is great, He is everything. He is with me everyday. He has plans for me... and those plans are for me to be the best daughter I can be, inside and out. My body is a temple, and I must treat it with respect and honor myself.

Garden of the Gods

Melancholy... this time last week I was preparing to get on Squints, a beautiful horse at the Academy Riding Stables in Colorado Springs. The plan was for Squints, my faithful steed, to carry my fat hide through the beautiful Garden of the Gods. There was a horse mix-up, and I ended up on Sioux. He and I never really bonded, but the journey through the amazing rock formations was still splendid. I wish I were doing it again now... I think I would enjoy it even more!

Never got a pic of me, but I snapped one of Joe on his beloved Cotton (they bonded instantly. gag). I want a horse...

HIIT me, baby!

So yesterday was Day 3 of the Inferno. And I wimped out. I had some sugar and crap in my diet prior to working out, and I truly think it zapped me. I made it through 30 min of the Fire 55, but I knew I needed to suck it up and get more in, so I did the Scuplt 30. I love strength and toning stuff, and I felt much better afterwards. Today is Fire 45 and HIIT 20. Yowzah!!!!!

Oh! And results! I think I mentioned my pre-vacation weight was 149.8. Well, I came back from awesome Colorado Springs weighing 155.5. I was miserable. I weighed in this morning at 150.5. I've been working out like a mad woman and watching what I eat... lots of water, veggies and fruits. My body needed that after the high fat crappola I had given it for a week!

Oh...shoes. I love athletic shoes. But they are so darned expensive! My Asics are wonderful but getting old. I've had em a year and worked em hard, and now they are stretched and loose. I went to Academy and tried on numerous pairs. I settled for some, but I got home and realized they just aren't right. Guess I'm taking them back and forking over more dough for another pair of Asics. *sigh* I'm broke though! But I want to protect my joints, especially doing an intense, physical workout. What to do...

Inferno Infatuation!

So here's the deal: Turbo Fire is incredible! I mean it! I knew it would be kick-butt cool and all, but I'm only on Day 3 of the 5-Day Inferno and seeing results. Most importantly, I'm feeling the power. :) I love power.

I've long been a fan of Chalene Johnson's Turbo Jam. I started jammin' years ago and twisted and kicked off the weight of a child from my rumpus and thighs. I plan to get Chalean Extreme, but Turbo Fire came out, and I just had to have it. So I sold almost all of my other workout dvds (expect my beloved TJ of course), and my Turbo  Fire (TF) came in Friday! I read over everything like I was reading a steamy romance novel. I was already in love.

So I got back from vacation Friday night. Stepped on the scale. Yikes! Gained 6 pounds on vacation (trust me, it's possible. I loved food way more than it loved me on this trip lol). This morning I weighed in at 151.5. Heck yeah! Almost back to my pre-vacation weight of 149.8. That's from my last Weight Watcher's meeting. Tf is intense and demanding...it ain't a joke! But it feels great, and I'm thrilled to say...

I can bring my all to class. I can crush it. I am a machine. (love Chalene's quotes!)

Check out each of the programs I mentioned at http://www.beachbody.com. Google it. Go to YouTube and check out some videos on Turbo Fire. You're gonna want to burn too!