Exciting News- I've lost 50 pounds!!!!

I can't believe it! I am at my 1/2 way point! In less than three months I have lost 50 POUNDS! I am so happy. It is amazing that I have been able to do it and I know it will take longer than three months to lose my last 50 pounds, but I am still really excited.

I looked back to one of my original posts. I was so excited that I had lost 30 pounds. Here is the picture that I posted on that post.I can hardly stand to look at the picture of me when I first started this diet. It was December 6, 2006 and I was 50 pounds heavier and had an extra 7 inches on my waist. Not to mention the extra inches elsewhere. I put on the same outfit today that I wore on 12/6/06. The pants that used to be so tight around the waist now hang on my hips. I can pull them up and down without even unfastening them. The shirt is so baggy I feel like I could fit another person in there. I tried to pull the pants out so that you could see what a difference it is. Not only are the pants really baggy, I can't help but notice my face. Not just that it is thinner, but in the picture on 12/6/06 I am smiling, but I don't look happy. In this picture taken today, I actually look happy. Of course I feel happy inside too and that makes such a difference. I was so miserable being so overweight. I just wasn't happy and I never felt good. Now, I feel great, I think I look great and I am smiling from within. What a difference. I know I will notice a more drastic difference when I compare the pictures I took today to when I am a total of 100 pounds less. I can't wait!

I knew that this shirt was baggy, but I can't believe how much extra material I was able to grab in my hand. This shirt used to stretch along the button line because it was getting so snug.

So, here I am in a profile view to show you the difference. I don't look 9 months pregnant anymore, that much is for sure! I still don't like the profile view of me now, but it is much better than the original picture taken.

Keep the compliments coming....

This past week has been super stressful for me. So many things have been going on and I have been so busy that I feel like I haven't even had time to stop and breathe. My biggest project last week was to finish writing a Policy & Procedure book for work. I have been wanting to finish this project for 1 1/2 years and something would always come up where I wasn't available to work on it. So, finally after much effort I was able to get some time in the office where I was able to focus and get this done! I can't even begin to count the number of hours I have spent on this. The bottom line is I was able to update and write 51 policies and procedures. I had a meeting with my employee's last night where I handed out the books and did a power point presentation. I had 100% attendance and a lot of good interaction from everyone. I have to say I am pleased beyond words.

So last night since I was finally "free" from this burden that has been on my shoulders for so long that I decided I would take the time to relax. I kicked back in bed and watched a movie. Then at about 10:00 p.m. when I should have been getting ready to go to sleep, I got the bright idea to post some more of my clothes on ebay. Little did I know that it would take me until 3:00 a.m. to do this. I posted about 25 more items and I hope they sell. I just feel like it is more work than what it is going to be worth. But oh well, at least I am giving it a shot.

So, that brings me to this morning. I woke up around 9:00 and checked my e-mail. I had about 12 e-mails from e-bay bidders with questions about what I had listed. Most of them were measurements for the bust, waist, hips ect. I didn't even think of putting any of those things in the description when I posted them, so then I had to spend another 2 hours getting the clothes back out and measuring them! Ahhhh! So much for relaxing. By the time I finished with that it was noon. Church starts at 1:00 and I didn't want to go. Kate was sick and was going to stay home from Church, so since I am such a nice "Auntie" I volunteered to stay home and watch her. Really, I just didn't want to go to Church. I was tired, burnt out, recovering from a stressful week and I just didn't want to have to go out of the house. Let alone go get ready. But George, being the good brother that he is, gently insisted on my going to Church. Of course I went kicking and screaming. I gave him a piece of my mind too... I mean, if I wasn't in the mood to go to Church, I knew I would sit there and stew while at Church and not get anything out of it anyway. Again, George is such a good brother, he gave me the major guilt trip and I ended up going. I took Sarah with me because Amy has to get there early to lead the music. Since George wasn't going, Sarah would have to sit on a bench by herself so I took her with me. I would have been on time, but I had to run Nathan to the singles ward and he was running late. Blah, Blah, Blah... So Sarah and I got to church in the middle of a hail storm. As soon as we pulled into the church parking lot it stopped and we both ran to the church building in case it decided to rain or pour again. I was grateful that I didn't get soaked, that would have really topped off the day. Anyway, we got there in the middle of the Sacrament and so we sat out in the foyer. I knew that once we could go into the chapel it would be packed, so I told Sarah we are just going to walk straight up to the front row and sit down. I knew it would be empty since that is where the deacons all sit. So we walked up to the front, so everyone in the entire ward got to see us walk in late. Sarah is so cute, she is such a happy girl that she has a little bounce to her walk. Half the time she skips, it is way cute. Anyway she bounced down the isle her blond hair bouncing back and forth and I couldn't help but smile. I mean who can be in a bad mood when you are around such cuteness. We sat down right in front of the bishopric and they all smiled and me and gave me the "nod". It wasn't that big of a deal and I thought to myself "This is where I need to be". I really wanted to stay in my foul mood, but the talks were so good that I couldn't even feel anything but "good". Even though I am stubborn and don't want to admit that I was wrong, I am glad George made me go to church today. Not just for the spiritual aspect of it, but I got so many compliments from people. I had either 5 or 6 people seek me out to tell me how good I looked. I really was happy about that. I have passed the 1/2 way mark on my weight loss and I know the next 50 pounds are going to be hard. So having all these people compliment me really got me pumped up. So, now it is nearly 6:00 p.m. I have yet to relax and I hope I can at least "VEG" out a little before I have to go to bed and get ready for another week.

Somewhere Between 47 and 50

Normally, today would have been my weigh in day. But to make a long story short, I had to reschedule and my weigh in appointment is next Wednesday. Which will be 3 weeks since my last weigh in. So I will update my blog with an official weight loss total next Wednesday. I hesitate to say how much I have lost because I want it to be official according to the scales at Dr. Hendricks. However, I do know I am somewhere between losing a total of 47 and 50 pounds total. It really depends what time of day I weigh myself. Of course I weighed myself this morning and I hit the 50 POUND MARK. Very exciting, but I just weighed myself tonight and I have only lost 47 pounds. I am not discouraged in any way at all, I am just happy that I am still losing. I can't wait until next Wednesday when I have my official weigh in and can share that with everyone.

These past few days have been so stressful for me with work. A lot has been going on and when I am stressed, I want to turn to food. Last night the desire was so strong, but I remained in control and didn't give in. I have to thank my niece Kate. She is so concerned that I don't eat chocolate. She wants me to stay on my diet. It is amazing how intense she is and I always say "Kate can I have some chocolate". And she gets so serious and will say "NO AUNTIE! YOU ARE ON A DIET. YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE SUMMER TO HAVE CHOCOLATE". She is so funny and it really does help me for her to keep me in line. The reason why she is focused on the summer is because when I started this diet there was a short period of time where she was totally traumatized that I couldn't have chocolate. In her little "3 year old" world that is devastating. Not being able to have chocolate. I used to tell her that once I lose weight I would be able to have a little bit of chocolate once in while. So everyday she would come up to me and say "Auntie, how much weight have you lost?" I would tell her and then she would say "Can you have some chocolate now?" I would say "No, not yet". After a few weeks of this happening daily, I finally said "Kate, I can't have any chocolate until the summer time". So now she associates summer time with Auntie being able to have chocolate. I have even explained to her that I will probably only have a very tiny bite of chocolate at that time because I don't want to get fat again. She is o.k. with that. It is just funny to me that it has become such a big deal. And quite frankly, I am not a huge chocolate fan. I don't like plain chocolate. For example, I like it if it is combined with something like nuts, coconut, or Carmel. Anyway, the past few days I have been craving chocolate because I know there is candy in the cupboard and I want it for emotional reasons. So anyway, I didn't mean to make this entire post about chocolate, but that is what it turned out to be...

Cleaning Out The Closet

Do you ever have those days were you look in your closet and say "I have nothing to wear". I do this all the time and yet my closet is jammed packed. I feel like even though I have a lot of clothes I pretty much wear the same thing over and over again. Before I started my diet I would wear things over and over mainly for comfort. I was so huge that a lot of my clothes just didn't fit and were no longer comfortable to wear. There have been a few things that I really liked and since I have lost weight I have been able to wear them again. But those days are now gone, I just have too many clothes that are too big. It is a good problem to have and it is a problem that I hope to continue to have seeing as I still want to achieve my goal of losing 100 pounds. So today I decided it was time to clean out my closet. I get most of my clothes dry cleaned and I just put in the closet without taking any of the poly bags off. Since several of my clothes I have not worn for a while my closet was starting to look like a storage unit for a dry cleaners. So, I took all the poly off and started making a pile on the floor. Here is a picture.

I decided to stand next to the poly so you could get an idea of how much of it there was. I still don't think the picture does it justice, but you get the point. So I started making my pile of clothes that I was going to give away. I looked at all the sizes and it felt good to say "2x is too big, 22, 20, 18 all too big" Before I knew it, my pile was as tall as me!

I guess I should have never said "I have nothing to wear". Believe it or not, I still have plenty of clothes in my closet. Some that I forgot about and am excited to wear again. I can't believe I posted a picture of me on here with out any make up or my hair done. In fact I haven't even taken a shower yet today, so here I am posing for a picture.... Anyway, George came into my room to see my pile of clothes and he said I should sell them on e-bay. At first I said "No" no one will want to buy them. I told George that Andrea suggested I sell them too, but I told her "No". Then I started looking at some things and realized a lot of what I am getting rid of is really nice and some things I have only worn a few times. Some things I have worn a ton of times, but George made a good point. Even if I only get $1 for each item, that is like an extra $150 bucks. Then I thought about all the new clothes I could buy with that money I earn off of e-bay. So I am going to give it a shot. I am dreading having to take pictures of everything and dreading even more trying to figure out how to list it. But I think it will be worth it. We'll see. Once I get it all posted I will put a link on my blog. One good thing is all the clothes have been dry cleaned so they are ready to wear in that respect. Only problem, I wish I would have decided to sell them on e-bay before I threw them all in a pile!!!! Hopefully I won't have to spend too much time ironing everything.

Out Of Control

Well, I went a little out of control at Macy's tonight. They were having another great sale. I am trying not to buy too many clothes because I only seem to be able to wear them for a few weeks. I set a limit of not spending more than $22 per item. I usually get everything on clearance at 50% off and then take an additional 40% off. I have got some pretty killer deals. Tonight, I did get some good deals, but did splurge a little too. I love shopping now when I can wear smaller sizes and everything I try on actually looks good on me. I know I still have a ways to go with losing weight, but I hate wearing clothes that are so baggy. I did just buy a bunch of things a few weeks ago, but even those are starting to hang. So here are some pictures of a few things I got.

Just want to give a quick disclaimer - This is after working for 9 hours and shopping so I probably should have touched up my make up and hair, but I didn't feel like it. So this is how I look after a long day at work :)



This dress was originally $69 and I got it for $22. The shoes I am wearing with it were originally $75 and I got them for $24. I just love the sales!

This dress I have been keeping my eye on for about 2 months. Waiting and waiting for it to go on sale. It was on sale for 25% off, but no additional :( Normally, I would have just got it, but I really have been trying to stick to my budget because I don't want to spend all this money on clothes and then only wear them a few times. But, I had to get it because there was only 1 dress left in my size. I didn't want to risk someone else buying it while I was waiting for it to go on sale at 50% off. Not to mention the fact that I have some really cute brown heals to match it, along with a cool brown necklace and earnings. Once I have everything accessorised it will be fabulous.

I am also happy to report that I am a 1x now and I am hoping with in a few weeks I will be able to move from the Plus Sizes to the regular Woman's sizes. YEAH!! This next picture is another splurge. It too was only 25% off, but again only 1 blouse in my size was left. I love the color and I have had my eye on this for about two months. So yes, I went a little out of control, but I can justify just about anything, so I figured "why not?". One other great buy... check out the earrings I am wearing. They are Diamond and Sapphire (fake of course). They were originally $40 and I got them on sale for $10. So that makes up for the the other items that were not quite marked down as much as I had hoped.

Walking Buddies

Well I can tell I am finally feeling better. This morning I did my Yoga workout and then this evening I went on my 4 mile walk with my walking buddies. We always have the girls put on their pajama's in hopes of them falling asleep on the walk. They usually stay awake the entire time, but every once in a while one of them falls asleep. Tonight it was Kate who fell asleep. This isn't the best picture of us, but figured I would share some pictures just for fun.

Everyone say "Cheese"

Now let's be goofy. Don't you love my double chin?

Cute picture of Sarah, I guess Kate still wants to be "goofy"

Well, this will have to do.... We need to get walking....

Yoga

I love doing Yoga. It has been a couple of years since I have done Yoga. I have a few Yoga DVD's and I have always enjoyed it when I have done it, but like many things I got out of the habit. I have one Yoga DVD that is geared towards weight loss. There are certain poses that you do to aid in digestion and also to burn maximum calories. I did this hour long work out on Wednesday and it felt so good to stretch my muscles. I am not super flexible but that will come with time. I am always amazed at how much of a work out I get doing Yoga. You really have to focus on the poses, and yet at the same time it is extremely relaxing. On Thursday I was so sore from my workout Wednesday. I did Yoga again this morning and once again I was amazed at the workout. I did break a sweat, but boy do I feel great! What a way to start out my day. If you haven't tried Yoga before, I highly recommend it. There are all kinds of DVD's that you can buy and you can do it in the privacy of your home. It is a great way to relieve tension and stress. If you go to http://www.gaiam.com/ you can see all types of products for Yoga. I prefer the Gaiam DVD's over others I have tried. You can purchase blocks, ropes, and Yoga mats at Target or any sporting goods store. In fact I purchased my first Gaiam DVD at Target. All I use is a mat. I don't have any other "tools" but I get a great workout regardless.

One of these days I am going to try Pilates. I tried it several years ago, but I just had too much abdominal fat to do a lot of the poses. Now I think I am about ready to give it a shot. If anyone has tried it let me know what you think.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!! I went into work today and saw some beautiful flowers on the counter. I thought someone sent them to my co-worker and I said "Who did you get the beautiful flowers from?" She smiled and said "They aren't for me, they are for you". I was so surprised. Ben and Mary (my employers) got me this arrangement for Valentine's Day. It was so nice of them and it really made my day.

I have never received flowers on Valentine's Day before so it was an extra special surprise.

I guess they were not the only one's thinking of surprises. I got off work at 7:00 tonight and stopped by Amy's parents house to get the girls. I am babysitting them because George and Amy are in Monterrey for a Valentine's Day getaway. Anyway, we got home and I got the girls bathed and all tucked in bed. I went to put the trash can out on the curb and when I turned around I saw the Garage covered in paper hearts.

Looks like Nathan and Gideon have some girlfriends.

George and Amy had some cute gifts for the girls. They each got a book and wanted me to take a picture of them holding it so that George and Amy could see them enjoying them.

An Answer To My Prayer

So it has been awhile since I had a post. I have been way too busy with work and have been fighting off some "sick bug". I haven't really had anything too exciting to report. Unfortunately since I haven't been feeling well, it has been hard to get my workout in. Usually, if I am really tired, I still workout and once I get going I am fine. But ever since last Friday I have been so achy. It is like I am coming down with the flu, but it hasn't hit. Only problem is, it has been almost 5 days and I still am achy. On Friday I worked a long physical day, so I figured my workout was work. On Saturday morning I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and couldn't fall back asleep, so at 6:30 I got up and decided to work out before work rather than after work. I got out of bed and my body ached, but I knew I needed to get moving. NO SLACKING if I am going to continue to meet my goal of 3.5 pounds a week in weight loss. It was pouring rain outside and I borrowed some of Georges rain gear and was out the door. Only problem, my legs weren't moving as fast as my brain. I couldn't do my normal walk :( I only made it around the block. But at least I made an attempt.

Sunday, I got up and felt a little nauseous. I went to church, but left early. I came home and took a nice long 4 hour nap. That night I forced myself to go walking. But instead of it taking me 45 min to go 4 miles, it took me 45 min to go 2 miles. Hey, at least I went and I was happy about that. Monday I worked yet another 12 hour day. I was so "achy" again and was getting discouraged. I felt like I hadn't been able to get a good work out in and I was feeling it. I was starting to feel "fat". Not a good thing. I didn't want to start in on the negative self talk. That is the worst thing I could do. In fact I think the negative self talk is worse than eating some ice cream. I know that negative self talk is nothing but destructive. I knew I wasn't feeling well, but I started to think that I was in a funk! No Fun!I went tanning after work. That is always a good thing for me because it forces me to actually lay still for 12 minutes. I can't get interrupted by a ton of people, the phone isn't ringing off the hook, I am not having a million things going on around me. I love tanning, it is seriously the only 12 minutes of the day that is all about me! Gosh I feel like a Mom who cherishes her time in the bathroom with the door locked :). Anyway, as I was tanning I was thinking about what I could do to get out of my funk. I wanted to workout but I physically was too tired. I got home and had my spinach salad. With in a few minutes I realized that "24" was starting! I was so excited because it was a special 2 hour episode. I actually watched in "live" rather than on the DVR. Usually I can't handle the suspense of waiting through the commercials, but somehow last night I survived. It was SOOOOOOOO GOOD! I love that show! After "24" I went straight to bed. I said a quick prayer and just basically said "help me to get over this funk". It was barely a prayer, but I was so exhausted. I seriously think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

This morning I woke up and faced another 12 hour work day. I got up after "snoozing" for about 1/2 hour. When I got to work I still didn't feel great. I was wearing my favorite "skinny" outfit and all my co-workers were complementing me. Asking if I had weighed in again and thinking I had lost another 10 pounds. I even think I said to a few co-workers that I felt "fat". One even responded "Amy, that is not like you to say something like that". That kind of gave me a slap in the face. I mean I realized that this negative self talk is creeping back in. I said to myself "I have to fight this. I am strong, I am doing what is right for my body, and I have to succeed" I just kept repeating this in my mind for the next hour or so. Little did I know, that within a few minutes, my prayer would be answered. One of my regular customers that I used to see all the time came walking in the door. He is one of the happiest people I know and is always smiling. I think the last time I saw him was before I started my diet! Anyway, right away he said "Amy, have you lost some serious weight?" I said that I had and told him what I was doing. He was so pleased and just couldn't get over how good I looked. I told him I was almost to my 1/2 way point and he couldn't believe I still need to lose another 55 pounds to meet my personal goal. It just felt so good to tell him that I still have a way to go. He said, "If you lose another 55 pounds, you will only weigh like 100 pounds. That can't be healthy". I had to laugh. I even shocked myself at what I said next. I flat out told him that I was 262 pounds when I started and now I am 220 (at last weigh in). He said he didn't believe I weigh over 200 pounds. But I do, and I am not ashamed of that. I feel great, I look great, and I can not believe I told a customer how much I weigh!!! AHHHHH! Random, but he is so nice and he is so impressed with what I have done that I just didn't care. I am proud of myself and I want everyone to know that. The thing is that he got me out of my funk. Here I was feeling so "fat" and letting the negative self talk take over my body. I just needed someone to get me back to reality. I know I hear it from my co-workers and I am thankful for that, but here came Mark, who hasn't seen me for a couple of months and was really amazed. I knew that my prayer was answered. Once again, I proved to myself that I can't do everything on my own. Often times I need help from my Heavenly Father and all he is doing is just waiting for me to ask.

Drumroll Please ....

Today I went to Dr. Hendricks for my weigh in appointment. I am happy to report that I have lost another 6.6 pounds in two weeks! Yeah! My goal is 7 pounds every two weeks so I almost made it. Close enough and I am happy. This brings my total weight loss to 42 pounds! I just can't believe it! I still am amazed at how successful I have been in losing weight. What is most exciting to me is that I am almost to the 1/2 way mark of my goal. I really hope that I will be able to lose 8 pounds by my next weigh in so I can jump for joy at getting to the 1/2 way mark. I just can't say how happy I am. I have stuck to the plan from day one and it is paying off big time. I updated my "Smokin Thermometer" that I have hanging on my mirror in my bedroom.

LEGS

I am totally laughing as I am writing this post. I hope that no one thinks I am too vain, but I am going to share some pictures of my legs. Today I was at work and I was wearing a dress that came just below my knees. I rarely wear any dress that isn't long and usually wear pants to work. So, I don't really show my legs too often. A customer came in this morning and as I went to the conveyor to get her clothes she said "Do you work out" I was so shocked that someone asked me that. I mean, being so heavy for so long no one would even think of asking me if I worked out. I said "I go walking and jog a little". Then she said "You have the most amazing calves I have ever seen". Then we continued to talk about how I try and walk 16-20 miles a week. So anyway I was thrilled with this compliment. I have been blessed with nice legs thanks to good genes, however now that I have started working out the muscle memory has come back and they are really tone. Can't wait until I start lifting weights and getting my muscle tone in my arms back :). Here are some more angels and please don't think I am insane for posting these pictures. I am just proud of myself and want to show off a little or a lot....

Here is a picture of the dress I was wearing. It is too big, but I am limited on what I can wear. Anyway, it is not the greatest picture of me. I am laughing because I had Gideon take the picture and before he took it I said "How does my hair look?" and he said "Not too good". So it just made me laugh and he snapped the picture.

43 Minutes & 43 Pounds

WISH ME LUCK! In honor of my goal that I want to lose a total of 43 pounds (8 pounds since my last weigh in on 1/24) by my weigh in on Wednesday, I decided I would do my walk/run in 43 minutes. The previous record I set was 45 minutes and I was thrilled with that. Tonight I went by myself. Everyone was gone watching the Superbowl at Amy's parents and I figured I should just go ahead on my own because they would most likely get home late. Since I have my goal in sight, I can't slack off even one day on my exercises. So, I got moving and boy was I moving. I was walking as fast as I could and jogged quite a bit. I just stayed focused, kept an eye on the time and had to sprint at the very end to make it in 43 minutes! It felt great!! I amazed myself. I can't believe how far I can run now. I don't want you to think that I am running a mile at a time, because I am so far away from that, but I am making progress each time I go.

60 Days Clean and Sober!

No I am not an alcoholic. I am however a recovering food addict and I can't believe it has been 60 days since I started my diet. I am so happy that my results have been so good. And I have

never been happier. It is amazing how much power I have gained. Power to overcome my temptations with food. Power to stick to my goals. Power to believe in myself. Power to motivate and inspire others. Power to be the best person I can be. It is amazing.

As I have thought about the past 60 days part of me wants to say it was easy. I think I just feel so relieved that I have come so far. But really, it has been challenging. When I set my goal to lose 100 pounds I was scared. I was scared of failure. I was scared of the disappointment I would feel if I didn't succeed. I think I came to the realization that failure was not an option. There are things in my life that I need to do and my weight has been preventing me from doing them. Not just physically, but emotionally. I wish I could find the words to explain what is in my mind, but they just aren't coming to me right now.

I have now lost a total of 6 inches off my waist. I did weigh myself today and I have lost more weight, but I don't want to get too excited until my official weigh in on Wednesday. George started with Dr. Hendricks on Saturday. He only has about 25-30 pounds to lose, but he is ready to DO IT! He said the reason why is because of me. He said I have inspired him to lose weight. I am so honored. Seriously, it made me so happy when he said that I inspired him. We are having a little friendly competition to see who can lose 25 pounds first. I hope I WIN! He will be tough competition that is for sure.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

This picture of Rebekah (red dress) has been famous in our family for years. She is so cute! She just would not smile for the photographer. She was just sitting there pouting and no matter what, she would not smile. They even gave her a little toy to hold, hoping to get her to smile, but no, this stubborn little angel was not going to give in. A few months ago Rebekah and Nya were visit me and Nya was showing me her "sad" face. I took this picture and it reminded me so much of Rebekah's picture. The only thing is Nya's eyes look so happy because she thinks it is funny that we are laughing at her. She sure does like to be the center of attention.

Opportunity Knocks - Go For A Walk

I love to go walking. I try and go 4-5 times a week. Sometimes, it is 8 or 9 at night before I am available to go walking. But I have set my goals and I have to accomplish them. I can't use the excuse that it is too late, I just have to go and DO IT!

Tonight, I really wanted to get to bed by nine. I have to work a 12 hour day tomorrow. 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. straight through. It is hard to work that long, especially when you are on your feet the entire time. I've worked these shifts plenty of times and yes, I am exhausted by the end of the day, but sometimes I have no choice. Tomorrow is one of those days, that I have no choice. Just part of my dedication to my job and really, the fact that I am the coolest boss ever and I am working that shift so that one of my employee's can have the day off to take care of some personal things. She only gave me one day notice, but she is such a great employee I couldn't say "No". Anyway, since I wanted to be in bed by nine I knew I needed to go for my walk around 6:00. I went and got ready and then walked into the family room and told George I was going to go on the walk. Kate, who has been home sick all day peeped up and said "Auntie, I really want to go with you". I figured she had been cooped up all day and could use the fresh air. I told her I would go get the jogging stroller ready, but she said "No, I want to walk myself". Well seeing as it was 6:00 p.m. and she was still in her pajama's I knew it would be an ordeal to have her change out of them. I knew she was so sick and wouldn't walk far. So I told her to put a coat and her shoes on and I would wait for her. Well, being the bright 3 year old that she is, she said "No Auntie, I am not wearing a coat. You are not wearing a coat. You are wearing a sweatshirt so I am going to wear a sweatshirt". I was like "whatever" lets just get going. So she got ready and we went on a walk. Well, my instincts were correct. We walked about 4 houses down the street and then she said she wanted to go back home. I was surprised she didn't ask me to carry her, she has been so sick, but she walked the 4 houses back. When I walked in the door my cell phone was ringing. It was one of my employee's who was closing one of the stores and he told me he left his key at home. I live about a mile from the store and I could have easily hopped in my car and been there with in minutes. But I figured, the store doesn't close for another 45 minutes so I will just walk down there. Well it doesn't take me 45 minutes to walk a mile so I did a portion of our usual walk and then walked down to the store. I actually did my walk, jog, walk, jog routine. It was the best night so far of doing this routine. Each time I was able to run a little further and the time in between each jog became shorter and shorter. It actually is starting to feel really good to go jogging. I just can't believe it. I mean for years I have sworn off running. And here I am jogging and loving it. I still can't go very far. But I am trying and I know if I keep practicing then I will be able to do it longer. So I made it to the store with 15 minutes to spare. I was surprised I made it there so quickly, but I do jog a lot faster than I walk. I hung out for the 15 minutes, locked up the store and then took the long way home. I continued my walk, jog, walk, jog routine and it felt great! So I am going to continue to look for opportunities to walk. If I have the time I am going to choose to walk places rather than drive. Another tip is to park far away from your destination. For example, at the grocery store I park as far away as possible. Same thing at the mall. It never hurts to get those extra steps in.

So here it is 10:30 p.m. and I am typing away on my blog. This is my third post tonight and I could go on and on and on. But I seriously do need to get to bed. Sleep is very important in overall health and everyone in my house has been sick except for me. So, I need to get my rest so I am not worn out and unable to fight off all the sick germs!!

Just 6 more days until my next weigh in! I can't wait. My appointment is Wednesday 2/7 and I can't wait to update my "Smokin Hot Thermometer".

Goodnight!!!

The Best "Worst Day Ever"

Yesterday was one of those days that I thought to myself "This is the worst day ever". It started out great. I got up at 5:30 and got ready for work. It just so happened that my hair turned out perfectly (like I just stepped out of a salon - ha ha), my make up looked good. I easily fastened a pair of pants that I bought 2 weeks ago that are starting to get loose. I put on a beautiful turquoise silk blouse and shiny silver earrings and off I went to work. Feeling great and ready for the day. I got to work at 6:45 a.m. and opened the store by 7:00. It was going to be a good day.

There is a homeless guy that sleeps right outside the store. He isn't seen by customers or anything because he is at the side of the store so the only people that really see him are the employee's. He actually is blocking our employee entrance half the time and we all just kind of step over him. He has been around for years, is perfectly harmless, and in a way I think of him as our personal security guard. Several mornings a week I have to wake him up to move because we have to move racks in and out of that door. I open the store at 7:00, but usually let him sleep until 8 or so until I go out to wake him up. I usually have to say "Reggie, Reggie, it's just me, but I need access to the door now". Half the time I scare him even though it is the same routine every week. This past month we have had some unusually cold weather for Sacramento. Some nights it has been in the 20's. I feel so sorry for Reggie. He seems like such a bright individual and he never begs or causes any problems. I feel bad that he is out in the cold and has to sleep on the hard ground. I have on several occasions been tempted to give him money. But I am always worried that homeless people will go spend it on alcohol or something that isn't good for them. It's like I want to help, but I want to control what they do with my help. Well for the past 1 1/2 months I have really felt like I need to do something for him. I have ignored this feeling and still it keeps coming back. Yesterday, as I saw him sleeping on the cold cement I got the feeling again. "Go give him some money". I went to my purse and honestly didn't think I had much cash on me, if any. I opened up my wallet and in between some receipts I found a $20 bill. I knew this had to be for Reggie. I went outside and he was already packing up. His back was turned to me and I as opened the door he didn't turn around. He just went about his business packing up. I said "Good Morning Reggie", He replied "Good Morning Mam" I walked up to him and said "I have something for you Reggie" I held out the $20 bill. His eyes got really big and he got a big smile on his face and said "Thank you so much". I smiled back and said "Reggie I want you to have this because you are such a good person. You are special and you deserve a good meal, a hot cup of coffee, or whatever you want to use it for. I just want you to have this".

I felt really good doing that for him because I have been wanting to for so long. Again, it was going to be a good day. In fact as the day went on things went about as smooth as they possibly could. I made my rounds to all the stores and at 3:00 I had to go to one of the stores where I had an interview. I was hoping to pop in and do the interview and be home by 4:00 p.m. Well, I did do the interview, but due to a series of events, I ended up not getting off work until 10:00 p.m. That isn't what made my day so bad! It was the fact that I think every crazy customer in the world decided to come in and pick on me! I had one guy use the "F" word on the phone twice and it didn't get much better than that. Seriously, it was just one problem after another. I was beat by the time I got home at 10:20 p.m. I felt defeated, worn down, depressed, angry, frustrated, and the list just goes on and on. I came home and said to George and Gideon, "I had the worst day ever!" I walked into the kitchen and I said "I just want to have ice cream and chocolate and cookies and soda and everything I am not supposed to have" then I paused and said "but I am not going to. Because all those people that were so awful today do not deserve to be my downfall. I am not going to give any of them the satisfaction of getting me down". So instead, I had some yummy chicken that George made for dinner and a protein shake. George and Gideon listened to me vent about my day and then they went to bed.

By this time it was after midnight. It had been such a busy week that I haven't even had the chance to watch Monday nights episode of "24". So I curled up on the couch and watched it. It was awesome! I love that show. Anyway, after the show ended I reflected on my day. It started out as the "Best Day" and by the end of the day I felt it was the "Worst Day Ever". It really wasn't the worst day I had ever had. So many good things happened, especially my experience with Reggie. I started thinking about all the good things. I woke up in a nice comfortable bed, I took a hot shower, I had electricity to blow dry my hair, and I had a refrigerator to get cold water to make my protein shake. I went and got in my nice car with my heated seats and cruise control and pulled out of my garage. I have a good full-time job that I get to go to. I have a family that love me and support me in every aspect of my life. I have all my fingers and toes, and am improving my health each day. I have a strong testimony of the Church and the blessings that come from that. I have a lot of things to be thankful for. It turned out that what I thought was the "Worst Day Ever" turned out to be one of the "Best" because I am so lucky to have the things that I do.

You Can Do It Jamie

This blog is dedicated to one of my best friends Jamie. She is just beautiful inside and out! She lives in San Diego and I really miss her. Tonight we were talking on the phone and she was telling me what an inspiration I have been to her. We talked for almost an hour and it was so good to get caught up, but most of the time we talked about weight loss. She wants to lose weight but is having a hard time getting motivated. I certainly can understand that. When I lived in San Diego we used to go walking all the time. She would drive 45 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic to get to my house so we could go walking. We usually did 3-4 miles and had a great time talking as we exercised. She was telling me how much she missed our walks. It really made me think about how important it is to have a good support system. I have talked about that a lot in other posts. I am so lucky to have such a great support system. Even from San Diego I have Jamie cheering me on. I am cheering her on too! Our big motivation is that I am going to fly down to San Diego at the end of April and we are going to an LDS Single Adult Conference in Huntington Beach. We are really excited to be able to hang out again. We are just going to have a blast and we know we will feel even better if we lose more weight. One of the activities that we signed up for at the conference is bike riding on beach cruisers along the beach. So all the more motivation for both of us to keep working out. We want our legs looking really good as we are peddling those bikes :). Anyway Jamie, I love you to death and I just want you to know you can reach your goal! I am going to be checking up on you and I know you are going to be checking up on me! We will do it!!!