Only 19 More Pounds To Go!

I only have 19 more pounds to go until I meet my weight loss goal. I started this diet/exercise program on 12/6/06 and really wanted to lose 100 pounds in one year. I have lost 81 pounds so far and I am very proud of myself. I am going to keep going strong until I make my goal. It is always the last little bit that is so hard to shed.

25 Things I Am Thankful For

1. My family: Mom, Dad, Ana, Andrea, Jason, Eli, Jonah, Emma, Anna, Lily, Jack, Rebekah, Matt, Nya, George, Amy Michelle, Sarah, Kate, Juliette, Jethro, Staci, Katya, Cali (coming Dec 1st), Gideon, and Nathan.
2. My Religion
3. The Atonement
4. My Faith
5. Living in Utah, even though I am sure most of my posts will complain about driving in the snow!
6. My Friends
7. My Jobs
8. Living with Rebekah
9. The beauty of this earth and the mountains that surround me.
10. Dr. Hendricks - helping me lose 75 pounds (still have 25 more to go)
11. All the medical professionals that have helped me over the past month.
12. The smiles on my nieces and nephews faces when they see me.
13. That I taught Katya to point to her head. She will even use both hands and smile and laugh when we all say "YEAH" She will even put her hands on her head whenever you say "where is your..." because that is what she relates the word "where" with. She will also put her hands on her head whenever she sees me because she knows she will get praise from her "auntie".
14. I am thankful for Daisy (Bekah's black lab) even though she ran in front of me when I was carrying a bunch of stuff down the stairs and made me fall down the last three stairs. Thank goodness for carpeting, a good cry, and that I didn't break any bones. Daisy is a great hiking companion and has been on a ton of hikes with me.
15. I am thankful for strong bones. I am 32 years old and have never had a broken bone. And I even hate milk and refuse to drink it. Therefore, I am also thankful for other sources of calcium- I love cheese and can't live without it.
16. I am thankful for blogging. It has been a great way for all of our family to keep in touch and updated about what is going on and I love all the pictures. Thanks Andrea for getting us all on board in the blogging world.
17. I am thankful for all my extended family - don't think I forgot about you!! Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparent's. I love you all!
18. I am thankful I made it home in one piece my first night driving in the snow. (here come the snow complaints) I am thankful I made it safely though.
19. I am thankful for medical insurance - random I know, but two weeks in the hospital can really make you think about a lot of things, and a minute didn't go by that I was thinking about how glad I was I had insurance.
20. I am thankful I finally got my apartment rented out and sold some of my things. It will be a bummer when I am able to be on my own again and have to buy a lot of things, but I had to downsize major!
21. I am thankful for Nya and the joy she brings into my life each day I see her. I'm not playing favorites with Nya and Katya, they are just who I am around most often now. Kind of like how I used to always post about Sarah and Kate when I lived with them. Anyway, just a cute Nya story. So when I fell down the stairs I thought for sure Nya would be concerned about me, ,but she wasn't. She was more concerned about the fact that I had locked Daisy in her crate. All morning long I was carrying things down the stairs to put in my room. Daisy kept dancing around my feet and I knew something was going to happen. Of course before long Daisy tripped me and down I went. She just gets so excited when I am around because she thinks I am going to take her hiking. Well, I had Daisy go in her crate for safety reasons. First of all I didn't want to get tripped again, and second I didn't want Daisy to get hurt by me stepping or falling on her. It is hard to see when you are carrying boxes. Anyway, Nya was so upset with me that I put Daisy in the crate. She said "Auntie, let Daisy out of her crate right now", then she continued to yell at me in her little two year old voice "Daisy is my dog and I love her and she is not in trouble! I want you to move back to your apartment" I tried not to laugh because it was so funny, but I explained to Nya the reason why I put Daisy in the crate. She didn't care what my reasoning was, she just wanted me to let Daisy out. Then I showed Nya my knee and the rug burn I had on it, and it didn't even phase Nya. She wanted her dog FREE!!!
22. I am thankful for this day and age that I live in. Yes, I love my cell phone and the Internet, and I don't know how we ever survived without them.
23. I am thankful each night I make it to midnight at work. It is hard working that late sometimes when the phone calls slow down and you are tired.
24. I am thankful for peanut M&M's. Not on my diet of course, but the best choice if I am going to choose a type of candy and sometimes my sweat tooth gets the best of me.
25. I am thankful for the opportunity I had to reflect of these things I am thankful for. It really brings a spirit of gratitude at a very difficult time in my life. I realize there are many other "small" day to day things I am thankful for. Sometimes we just need to take a break from our lives and take the time to stop, breathe, and thank our Heavenly Father for all he has given to us.

Leaves Change Color in the Fall...

This year, so does my hair color. I have been blond for such a long time and decided it was time to go back to my natural color. I didn't want to spend the money to have a professional hairstylist do it, and Staci has been coloring her own hair for years. So I asked her to do mine. We went and picked out a color that we thought was closest to my original color. I think we did pretty good. I love it and think she did a great job. I know we will probably have to do it a few more times just as my hair grows out to get rid of all the blond.

I'm Still Around....

I realized that it has been just over two months since my last blog post. So I am still around. I have had a lot going on the past two months including a two week stay in the hospital (the reason of which I would like to keep private). I gained 12 pounds while in the hospital. It is so hard to lose weight and yet so easy to put it back on. Anyway, I hope to do better about my blogging and my diet so I can reach my goal of losing 100 pounds. I started my diet on 12/6/06 so my goal is to reach the 100 pound mark by 12/6/07. I have about 30 more pounds to go now, so wish me luck!!!!

It snowed here yesterday and I had my first experience driving in the snow. I hated every minute of it. Everyone told me to just go slow, which I did. I drove about 35-40 m.p.h. on the freeway with my hazard lights flashing and everyone blazing past me. Even got a few people honking, but oh well I wanted to make it home alive and not wreck my car or anyone else's for that matter. It was after midnight (that is when I get off work) and I was surprised at how much traffic there was. Probably because I am usually the one going 70 m.p.h. and I usually stick with the same few cars. So, since people were actually passing me I think I was more aware. Anyway, I made it home safe and sound and was so thankful I made it home safe. The entire time I was driving I wondered "Now, why did I decide to move to Utah?" Anyway, I know I will do better once I get used to it.

Joys of getting a 2 yr old to pose

It is always a challenge to get kids to give the perfect smile in a picture. I had to bribe Nya today to even sit down and take a picture with me. She gave it a good effort. At first we couldn't get her to smile.
Then she smiled too hard and her eyes were all squinted! She sure has saying "cheese" down.
Finally, a very cute natural smile. I love being with Nya and I really love it when she looks at me with her big blue eye's and says "I love you Auntie"

It's a GIRL!!!

I am so happy to welcome my newest niece. Congrats to George and Amy! Her name is Juliette and she was born this morning at 12:06. She was 6 lbs 14 oz and 19.5 inches long. Check out George and Amy's blog for adorable pics!

http://4keepingupwiththejoneses.blogspot.com/

Has it really been a month?

I can't believe it has been an entire month since I made a post on my blog. I have been really busy and just finished a long work day. So I am going to have to keep this short... I worked both my jobs today so I have been gone from 5:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow for work and why I am sitting here typing away is crazy, but no surprise to anyone who knows me. I seem to always burn the candle at both ends. And yet I wonder why I come down with migraine's. Anyway, Rebekah, Nya, and I went hiking up Little Cottonwood Canyon last night. We had a great time and Nya just loved every minute of it.
Nya ran most of the way and after a while she got tired so Rebekah and I switched off carrying her on our back. It didn't take Nya long to get her energy back and she was off running again.

This bridge overlooks the river. This is the cutest little pose that Nya did. She is so funny and likes to "goof around" when having her picture taken. She thought she was being funny here but really it turned out to be one of the cutest pictures of her. Notice has she has her little legs crossed at her feet. So dainty!
This is a picture of the river from standing on the bridge. It is beautiful.

I love living so close to the mountains and I love being able to enjoy all the beauty that they have to offer. It is even better when I get to share it with someone. So often I go hiking by myself and see so many beautiful places that I always wish someone was with me to enjoy it. I am glad Rebekah and Nya got to come along on this hike with me.