Frenzy!

This is a super short post...it's crazy right now! But I have started blogging for Woman's Day now for the Slimdown Challenge...follow my posts here:

http://www.womansday.com/slimdown

I'll update more soon, I promise!!

Overwhelmed!

Wow...I am getting a crash course in home buying. I had no idea what all was involved in buying a house, but it's a LOT! I am trying hard to schedule our home inspection, but having to coordinate my schedule, David's schedule, the inspector's schedule and our realtor's schedule is a challenge. I spent time last night starting to pack things. We have a lot of stuff, and that's just in the kitchen!!! The rest of the apartment is going to take a while. We have a lot of work ahead of us. All good, though! Hopefully there won't be any snags or major problems with the house. Those could be deal breakers. I am reacting differently to the stress...I don't have much of an appetite and my stomach has been twisted in knots. It's all good, but I'm going to be glad to get moved and settled.

I am also getting ramped up for the national magazine weight loss challenge I have been selected for. There is a LOT happening right now! Once my first blog posts on their website I will post a link so you can follow me there, too. I'll be posting several times a week for them about my weight loss experiences. I am going to be following a new weight loss plan, which seems like a really good one. We'll see...the diet part begins August 16th, which is the week we close. STRESS!!!

Please pray for us...we have a lot on our plate!!

Big News

So I am finally able to reveal my big news...David and I about to be home owners!!!!! We put in an offer on Monday and after a counter offer that was pretty good, we ironed out some final details and now we are under contract on a house! And yes, I think it might just be the house we've always wanted! :) I am so excited I can hardly stand it! There is much to do, and we currently have a closing date of August 20th. (Hopefully that won't change!) We will actually get the house on Sunday August 22 at 6pm, as the seller asked for an additional 48 hours after closing. And of course, that's not a problem. So now we will be living here:

Yup! Our own little oasis! This is such an exciting and very stressful time for us, but we couldn't be more excited! What a big year this is for us...who knew? Please pray for us as we start the next chapter in our lives!

So that's what's up in my world. Nothing much, right? LOL!

Wow!

So I lost 3 pounds at WW last week! So far, this week is off to a shaky start, but it's going to be a good one. :) It's a little stressful right now with school and stuff, but it's all good. Three more weeks of class. And then a quick break, and then the fall semester begins...sigh. At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

We got some bad news about David's Uncle Jerry. We thought he had beaten his cancer, but it is coming back with a vengeance, and the prognosis is not good. We're very glad we were out there last month to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with Aunt Jane. It was a special time and we all had such a good visit. I think David took the news a little hard, and of course I did too. They are lovely people. I can't imagine what they must be going through together right now.

We have other news on the horizon but we don't want to jinx it. I'll share soon, but I would like to ask for prayers of wisdom and good decision making. (Don't worry...this is going to be good, but we're not ready to go totally public yet. And just to quell any rumors, no one is pregnant.) This is good stuff, but like I said, we just don't want to jinx anything. :)

So prayers, please! I'll disclose this week, I promise!

Have a wonderful evening, all!

Carrie Bradshaw's Wisdom

In the SATC episode "A Woman's Right to Shoes," Carrie ends the episode by saying "It's really hard to walk in a single woman's shoes -- that's why you sometimes need really special ones." And having been that single girl, I couldn't agree more. But in this instance, and I am going to take out the word "single" and substitute "fabulous" because today, I feel fabulous! (And as far as I'm concerned, every woman I know should feel fabulous, too!) I did an early morning session with my trainer, and I feel great! I have made some good food choices, I'm working hard to get myself in the right direction, and now I feel like I'm well on my way...so yes, I feel fabulous! Which will now parlay itself into a new pair of shoes I think.

I have a long journey ahead of me...shouldn't my feet look as fabulous as I feel? :)

Holy Cow!

So I got an email I've been hoping for...a national magazine has selected me to be one of their participants in a weight loss challenge!! It's not a competition or contest, just a very cool thing to be part of! I'll be getting my own personal weight loss coach that I'll be on contact with weekly, I'll be responsible for blogging weekly on their magazine website, and I'll be getting a personalized nutritional plan for me to follow. I don't know how many other people are part of this, but I am VERY excited! This process began back in May I think...it's been a while. But it all worked out and now I have a unique and wonderful opportunity to work hard and make this happen. My trainer just about passed out excitement! I emailed her and I got a call back with her in tears of joy...it feels good to know she believes in me!

So I am about to embark on a very exciting and very public journey. The hard part is knowing the weight number they will be publishing. But that's ok. I'm going to suck it up and be brave...maybe there's a girl out there just like me who needs to know she's not alone. I hope maybe my journey can give someone else just the courage they need to get themselves healthy, too.

So wish me luck! It all begins mid-August!!

Hanging On To My Sanity

Well, I'm trying anyhow. It feels so crazy right now, and I am so tired. Between work, school, and just life in general I am beat. Poor David and his back...he's on the mend, but it's taking some time and I won't let him lift anything. Or bend over to do things like scoop the litter box. So basically keeping the house in order in falling solely on me. Which is okay, but I am just so tired right now. School is going well, but I am working really hard at it. Just so you know, I hear myself whining about the same things all the time. I know how repetitive I sound. But it's just true. I'm exhausted. When the semester ends on August 12th, I am going to cherish the short time between semesters dearly! We're going to go up to the lake house and meet Chris and Charlie and the babies to celebrate, and I am really looking forward to that. :)

I am still waiting to hear about my participation in the magazine weight loss challenge. I hope no news is good news! I really do want this to work out, and so I am crossing my fingers. I've been doing okay back on WW...slow week last week and this week has been really tough because I have been so stressed out. But it's coming together, it just takes time. I've had many conversations with my friend Chris about this. She and I have shared the very same weight struggles since we were young. We met when we were 12, and even then we both struggled with weight. We've shared success and failure, and this time we're both determined to make this happen. But we both agree that weight loss is difficult and can be such a frustrating and often daunting task to take on. She and I share high blood pressure and wacky thyroid, too, so we're hoping to at least knock out the blood pressure meds. Although both of us have parents who had it so it may hereditary. But Chris is wanting to get pregnant again, so that is helping fuel her desire to get healthy, too. For me, I want to fight off the possibility of diabetes. See? It's more than just looking good, it's about being healthy. So I am a lucky girl to have a community of friends who support me. :)

So I have WW on Saturday, but I don't know how it will go. I've done okay but eaten foods with higher sodium, and we all know what that means...water retention. Ugh. So that may show up on the scale this week. Either way, I'm going and facing the music. I'm all about taking this head-on, so I'll report in on Saturday and let you know!

Have a good Thursday!

Talking Turkey

So I made turkey tacos last night and they were wonderful! I simply used very lean ground turkey rather than ground beef, and ta-da! Healthier tacos! And I totally enjoyed them! I dearly love Tex-Mex and this was so tasty!! I highly recommend it!

I've been working like crazy to get my first psych paper finished. I am happy to report that I just sent it off to my professor. Now to study for tomorrow's quiz! (a student's work is never done!) I also need to drive David out to show him where to go for jury duty tomorrow. Poor guy...his back is a mess! He is having trouble with his sciatic nerve, and could hardly walk yesterday. He went to the doctor and got a massage and is doing much better today. However, his pain pills knock him out so I am going to call him sleeping beauty! :)

Not much else to report. Things are good, just very hectic with school. I have decided to lighten my fall load from 14 hours to 11. I need to keep my sanity! While I wanted to keep what I had registered for, I figured State and Local Government could wait until the spring.

I hope everyone had a good Tuesday!

Stress!!!!

So I started my next class last night. lots of papers to write and my fair share of quizzes. I honestly feel like I am having to work really hard to tread water right now. I think I will really enjoy the week I get between summer school and the regular semester at the end of August. Tonight, rather than getting to spend time with David or do something fun, I will eat dinner and then get to work on my first paper. It hardly seems fair. But it's the price I am paying to get this d@mn education. (Which I am grateful for and really want...I'm just tired right now.)

I am going to WW tomorrow morning. If we can all think back, I joined back on 19, but haven't been able to get to a meeting because I have been out of town every weekend since then. I am going to step on the scale at the gym here in a few minutes...not sure how its going to go. But you know what? I am happy to go tomorrow. I like the meetings. They really help. And I get to spend some time with my friend Wendy at the meeting, so it's all good! After that I am headed out of town overnight (yes, again). Oh, and that half marathon? Yeah, its coming up and I'm really not ready. I don't think I'll be able to finish, but I'm going to give it my very best effort. That's what counts, right? Of course, both ways on the plane I will have to be working on homework. I can't begin to tell you how ready I am to get through school. I'm just exhausted right now.

But over all, things are really good. I know I'm whining about being tired and all, but it will pass. This degree is something I want, and I am glad to have a chance to get an education. I just want a break, too!!

Have a good Friday, everyone!

Done!

I finished my Biology class last night and made a B for the semester. I am perfectly fine with this! I'm just happy to have it completed. This also means that I am now a senior! (Yay!!) I thought I was going to have a homework-free weekend, but my professor for my History and Systems of Psychology class has already posted everything online for Monday's class, and with all there is to do it would just be advantageous to get started now. *sigh* So Anne is coming over tonight (she's taking it as well) and we're going to get moving on this stuff. Only four more weeks and I'll have this knocked out, too. :)

Monday was kind of a bittersweet day. It marked the one year anniversary of sending my precious Cleo to the Rainbow Bridge. We got home from the lake and I walked over to her little box on the mantle and just cried. I don't think there could ever be another cat like her, and I still think of her almost every day. I know many of you might think I'm a little crazy, but she was such a wonderful companion. She road tripped with me, so flew to Seattle when I moved up there, and during the loneliest days she was my best friend. She saw me through breakups and when she met David, that grumpy old girl loved him immediately. It was so hard to say goodbye to her, but I know it was her time.

So that's it for today. Just thinking about my girl, Cleo. If there is a warm fuzzy friend in your life, be sure to hug them every day. They bring a special kind of joy to our lives and they're so much more than just a "pet".

Have a good Thursday, friends!

No More Pigs, Please

So in my lab practical last night, my professor brought out the dissected pigs and we had to label the parts for our test. Did I mention I ate pork ribs before going to lab? Yeah, that was nasty. I may be off pork for a little while.

Tonight is my lecture final. I was excited to have a homework-free weekend ahead of me, but my psych professor has already posted assignments online and it's going to be a busy 4 weeks. No better time than now to get started. So I am meeting Anne at the TWU library tomorrow after work to get started. I want an A in this class, and I'm going to get it! (Also, the extra credit assignments are already posted, so I'm going to knock that out now!)

I am having a rough day. My head is killing me in spite of the Tylenol I have taken. I think looking at my monitor all day isn't helping, either. I may try and go home early...we'll see. Everything else is okay...just feeling under the weather.

That's it for now. Feel free to send good vibes for my lecture exam tonight!!

It's Been A While!

Whew! It's been busy! I managed to get through the pig dissection, which was really gross. Thankfully I had a deer hunter as a lab partner and he had no problem doing all the cutting. After lab David and I met our friends Brian and Kristin out for Eclipse. I enjoyed it! The movies keep getting better, and that was lots of fun.

Friday morning we headed out to Lake Eufaula to meet up with Chris and Charlie and the twins for a wonderful weekend! We had a blast, and spent all day on the 4th out on the boat. Yes, I got some sun! We grilled out each night, lit sparklers and just had a riot! We watched silly movies and just giggled ourselves silly. It was much needed!

This week, I have an exam tomorrow in my lab, an exam on Wednesday in my lecture class, and then I am done for the 1st half of summer! Summer 2 begins on the 12th, and that's my online History and Systems of Psychology class. Anne and I are both doing it online so we'll be meeting weekly to hold our own class to study together. I think it's a really good idea, and it should help us do well. We always do well when we study together. :)

So that's it in a nutshell. Now that I am home from the lake I need to hit the books! (sad, isn't it?)

Quick Update

Hope everyone is well! I'm pretty much just poking my head in to say hello. California was absolutely wonderful - we had a great time! I am busy getting my Biology homework done before we leave town again Friday to head up to the lake house to meet Chris and Charlie and the girls, and tonight I am hanging out with David's BFF, Brian. His gf is meeting some friends for dinner, and since Brian had his accident and can't do much for himself at the moment, I volunteered to come and hang out with him. I don't mind at all...it's nice to be there when friends need help, and this isn't just any friend, it's David's best friend and he's a good friend to me, too. I know if I needed something I could count on him. Well, if he could walk! (LOL!) But seriously, I don't mind one bit.

Tomorrow night's lab is pig dissection. I am REALLY dreading this lab, but it's the last one and I'm going to be brave and get it over with. But I am really having to work to get all my lecture stuff done before we leave...I'll be doing that during my lunches the next two days and definitely before and after going to Brian's. But it will get done!! (It has to...there's no choice about it!)

So I hope everyone is hanging in there...I am a finalist in the magazine weight loss challenge, so hopefully I'll know something next week. Cross your fingers!

Good News and a Birthday Recap

So I got a notification yesterday that I am a finalist for the magazine weight loss challenge! This is cool stuff! So I've spent my morning filling out the questionnaire and writing what would be my first blog post for them. (I would blog 3-4 times each week.) So I am hopeful. I have to submit it and 4 pictures of myself by July 1st, so it will be a little longer before I know anything for sure. But this is very exciting!

I had an awesome birthday yesterday! David gave me a Sony Reader, and now I can join Kim in the world of e-books! I am already addicted to this thing...and I think he wants one too. I bought three books already for it, and already have a 4th I want to download. This will be perfect on the plane to California on Friday!

I am so ready to have a mini-vacation this weekend! I love David's California family...they are tons of fun! So I am looking forward to spending time in 75 degree weather. I'll be taking my walking shoes and enjoying the weather immensely!

I think that's it for now. My eating has been good except for the 2 pieces of cake I ate yesterday. But it was my birthday and I'm not sorry I ate it!!

Working On Myself

I did it! Iwent back to WW this morning AND I got on the scale. It was ugly. Really ugly. But you know what? I was brave and I did it. I and I have a lot of work to do, but I feel ready for it. I'm tired of the food free-for-all, the feeling full, the feeling heavy...I am done! I'm ready to feel energized and healthy and proud! So I finally did what I wish I had done years ago: I am stopping the madness. Empowerment is a good thing, and I am feeling very empowered right now.

So that's my big news of the day. Mom's eye is healing well from her surgery, and she is seeing a difference already! Yay!!

I hope everyone has a good weekend and a wonderful Father's Day!

Buried

I feel like I am buried up to my neck...homework, laundry, you name it. It's piling up! But I did get to celebrate Mom's birthday yesterday! :) And I am so glad...we had a lot of fun. We ate dinner, Mom opened her gifts, and we ate cake. Oh, and then we watched the new Betty White sitcom, Hot in Cleveland. That has got to be my new favorite show! All the actresses on there are hilarious, and I hope this show is a big success! At least it was with me...I was laughing like a crazy woman!

I am so tired this morning. This week hasn't been good sleeping for me. I've been up way too late every night, and feeling like I'm just not getting anything done. I hate that feeling.

Oh, and I am dragging my sorry tail to WW on Saturday. I haven't been going. I've wanted to go, but I've had a horrible mental block against going. So I decided to try a totally different meeting location so it feels like a fresh start. My dear friend Wendy is coming, too, so now I have a buddy to go with and she WON'T let me weasel out of going on those days when I don't want to. This is a good thing, trust me. So while I already know I won't like what the scale says, after Saturday it will only get better. Of course, for the two following Saturdays I will be out of town, but that's okay. I'm ready to start and I didn't want to wait until I got back. So here we go again...sucking it up and going to face the scale. But it's not the scale that's my enemy. I'm not sure what really IS my enemy, but I'm going to figure it out. The scale is just the messenger, and we all know we're not supposed to shoot the messenger, right? So now I need to sort out why this is so hard for me. Weight loss is very mental for me...and I'm going to figure all this out somehow.

So here we go. Again.

Biology...the Ruiner of Summertime Fun

So I didn't do as well as I would have liked on my test. Didn't bomb it but I wish I had done better. It was HARD!! Next time I know I'll need to be prepared with way more detail. But it's done, and I've done some extra credit work, so hopefully that will help. And I'm doing well in my lab, and that's 30% of my grade as well, so I am thinking it will all balance out.

So now I am hungry and it's bedtime. This means a fruit smoothie for dinner and then on to bed.

Wow...what a fun summer I'm having!!

Long Day

Mom had her eye surgery today. (Corneal transplant) I didn't realize how worried I was until I started getting antsy about not having heard from Dad. While Mom's surgery is not uncommon, it's still not necessarily the norm and I was ready to know she was good. Now we wait for a few months to really know if it took. (For those who do not know, my mother has Fuch's Dystrophy...it's worth Googling just to get a better idea of what it is...too much info for me to go into here.) She's had one eye done already, and we are hoping this one does well. The surgeon says things went well. She has a follow up this morning, so I am praying that the result is good so far. We are also praying for the family of the person who donated the corneal tissue. While we celebrate my mother's sight improving, another family is feeling the pain of losing a loved one. But that is part of the beauty of organ/tissue donation...someone you love can continue to give selflessly even after they are gone. I have a good friend who was a quadruple organ donation recipient. Someones loss and selfless act saved Robbyn's life. I will always be grateful to that family, too.

I also had an eye appointment yesterday to get more contact lenses. It's nice to not be wearing my glasses again! I had been out of contacts for a few weeks, and I am glad to have them again. I always put off going to the eye doctor because it just doesn't cross my mind. That, and it takes a while. But it's good to check your eye health, everyone!

I am so glad it's Friday, although I will be spending the weekend studying again. Why am I working this hard for a 4-hour class? Between the lecture and the lab, I am swamped! The second half of summer will feel like a vacation even though it's going to be a senior level psychology class! I'm looking forward to that one, too. Anne and I are both taking it online and will be getting together a lot to make sure we are successful in there. Oh, and I will officially be a senior at the end of my Biology class, so I am almost there!!! Yay!

I think that's it for now. I hope everyone has a great Friday!!

Choices

I thought a lot about choices tonight. About how the choices we make affect more than we think they do. What made me think this? Watching "Losing It With Jillian Michaels" tonight. I should already know all this, but I got a great reminder this evening about how the decisions we make can make long term changes. I've chosen to go to school and work and these are choices I am glad I made. I have also chosen (in the past) to be lazy and eat things that have been terrible choices. Well here I am making new choices. I am choosing to be more active and to eat healthy. I am choosing to be a new me...one who isn't afraid to try things that seem scary (insert 1/2 marathon here). But most importantly, I am choosing the me I really want to be. I want to be the girl whose friends think she's off her rocker for trying to finish a race, or to one day climb a rock wall on a cruise ship or go rollerblading. I've never done any of those things. (Mostly because being overweight makes them very difficult.) But I'm going to do them!

But I also have to take this one step at a time. I have heard some dialogue in my head lately that I need to clean out. Somewhere I had decided that the only success in this 1/2 marathon is if I cross the finish line. I don't think that's so true any more. I think the success is stepping on the starting line and giving it my best. My best may run out at about 6 miles, but guess what? That's going to be okay. It means that I tried my hardest and 6 miles is what I could give. But trust me, I am going to be digging deep to try and finish. I really want to be able to cross that finish line and know I completed it. But if I don't I will know that I can try again next time. And be stronger and maybe even a little faster!

So tonight I have decided to choose something different...I choose to be positive when I talk to myself. I choose to allow myself to celebrate whatever my very best looks like...be it 6 miles, or only 1 pound this week, or whatever shape or form it is. My best IS good enough. And I know whatever I do, I will make sure I give my very best.

Maybe This Time...

So after so many posts about how I'm all refocused and on track, I think this time it's really happening. I've worked out hard, eaten carefully, and I'm down 4 pounds since Friday! All of this is good news! Now, it's 4 pounds I had put back on, so I am working to get back to where I was. But I'm not worried about that...I think I'm going to get there! :)

So I had to take off from the gym yesterday because my muscles were so fatigued. I've given them a good beating, and they just needed a break. Wise choice, as I woke up today feeling much better and ready to hit the treadmill again. I love it when I make smart decisions!

So I don't have any news today...Biology lab tonight. Meh.

Everyone have a great Tuesday!