My Journey Week 1

Last Wedneday was my weigh in and I lost 1.4 pounds.  I have to admit, I was hoping for at least a 2 pound loss. but hey a loss is a loss.  As long as that scale keeps going down and STAYS down.

In the past week I have been very proud of my accomplishments and have noticed a significant difference in the way I feel.

My accomplishments were:

Sticking to my points plus value with Weight Watchers
No Cokes or candy during the week
Started actually training for a 5K and enjoying training

During this week I noticed a lot of things (things that so many people have tried to tell me and I wouldn't listen) like: 

Now that I'm eating lots of fruits and veggies, I feel so much better.  I'm not as lethargic as I was.  Just two weeks ago I would literally fall into bed as soon as I got home from work.  If it was a night my girls had an activity then I would take a quick nap, go to their activity, and go to bed.

I don't miss drinking Cokes.  All of you know I'm a Coke (or recovering Coke) junkie.  I had one bad headache right after I stopped and that was it.  I know I'm the exception to the rule.  I'm the one who smoked for 3 years and just one day quit with do withdrawals.

I really do enjoy walking/running.  Now when I'm doing it, I want it to be over, but once I'm done and I see that I have accomplishment a longer distance in the same amount of time, I feel proud of myself and want to go at it again.  I've tried running in the past and hated every minute of it (and this was when I was in great shape), but I think the key for me is the Run 5K app that I use on my phone.

I have a great support system.  Geek Boy has gone with me on every run and walk this week (except the 5:45 am one) and he has been a great motivator.  That first run was tough and thank God he was there because I would've had to have been picked up off the side of the road.  We are looking at schedules to run our first 5K together and I'm excited.

In addition to Geek Boy, I have 4 WONDERFUL motivators who I check in with daily.  Jenn has been wonderful.  I call her my Out of State trainer.  When I need great advice on running and what to do next, she's the one I text.  So far she has been spot on.  Most important thing when running-good running shoes.  Joyce, Christina, and Keri---you guys ROCK.  Thank you so much for all your support this last week.  I can't wait to see what the 4 of us accomplish this year.

Well, the family just got up so my blogging time has come to an end.

Have a great day everyone.

Goodbye 2012...Hello 2013...

So it's been about 8 months since I've blogged.  A lot has happened over those 8 months but I won't bore you with all the details because frankly I don't want to relive the last 8 months.

Last year was a rough year for me emotionally.  Lots of changes at work.  Changes with my daughter's extracurriculer activities.  Changes financially.  I was in a deep depression most of the year.  During one week last year I was going to file for divorce, I tried quit my job, I was going to move to Florida, and when non of that happened I was going to go buy a new house.  Sounds pretty funny now, but it wasn't funny at the time.  I was not in a good place and it was scary. Only those close to me knew how bad I really was and I thank them now for saving me.  Took a lot of tears and tough love to make me open my eyes.  I went to my wonderful doctor  who I cried to for about 30 minutes and he changed my medication.  He told me to call him if the new medicine didn't work and said he would work with me and help me get through this.  He assured me I wasn't crazy (which is still debatable) but that I was just like every working mom with 2 teenage daughters. The medicine has seemed to help a lot, but I'm still not 100% there.

This year I'm taking control of myself and getting myself back on track. 4 years and 9 months ago, I joined Weight Watchers and lost about 20 pounds.  I worked out some but it was mainly watching my portion controls and choosing healthier foods to eat.  I was looking GOOD!!!  I could go into anystore and wear the cute little clothes and people noticed my weight loss.  Well I got cocky and stopped  Weight Watchrs, thinking I could do it on my own.  Well 4 years and 9 months later I have gained all that weight back plus 30 pounds.

Last Wednesday I joined Weight Watchers again and I am determined to make this lifestyle change.  Most of you know that my youngest is a gymnast.  She trains 4 days a week 3 hours a night.  Plus is at school and has gym time there.  During competition season she is working out 5 days a week (that's including competition days).  I watch her diet very closely and make sure she gets all of her fruits and veggies in for the day.  As well as LOTS of protein during work out days.  It hit me the other day while I was making her lunch, "Why am I not doing this for myself?  Why can't I just make the same lunch for me as I'm making for her?  DUH!!!"  She has been a great motivator and helping me stay on track when it comes to food.  It really hasn't been that hard.  First few days I was pretty hungry and had a caffeine headache, but I don't miss the Cokes and I still get my chocolate in every day.

I also started walking.  My daughter wants to do a 5k with me and I'm thinking about registering us for the Cowtown 5k at the end of February.  I did this 5k a few years ago and walked it most of the time but loved it.  Long term goal is to do a half maration in December in Dallas with 3 GREAT friends who are coming down from Washington State and one of my best friends from South Carolina.

Short term goal is to lose some pounds by the time I go to Washington in February and be able to walk/run enough to go running with some of by besties in Washington. 

I'm hoping to spend more time blogging this year.  Please come back and visit every so often.

Yummy Chicken and Wild Rice Recipe

Wanted to share this recipe with all my friends and family who read my blogs.  This recipe was given to me by a friend and it has been a HIT in our house.

Chicken and Wild Rice
1 box Uncle Ben's Wild & Long Grain Rice (prepared as directed)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can water or milk (I use milk)
2 cups chicken cooked and chopped
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese grated

Mix cooked rice, soup chicken, milk and one up cheese and place in 13x9 dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

My kids beg me to make this dish all the time.  ENJOY!!!

Basket of Love

I put together this Valentine's Day basket for my daughter's elementary school.  They are having a silent auction this weekend and I thought it would be neat to donate some of my product (and perhaps drum up some new business).

This is the first basket I've done and I thought it turned out quite nice (once I discovered glue dots).  Look forward to doing some other baskets in the future for various events.

Rut

I'm in a rut and not sure how to get out.  A friend of mine summed it up best when she told me she feels like she is failing at everything.  That's kind of how I feel right now.  I go through the motions of work, go pick up the kids, take them to their activities and fall into bed.  The only pure enjoyment I have is working my Scentsy business and snuggling in bed with my Kindle.  I feel like a total failure as a mother probably because my oldest is constantly making me feel like a shitty mother.  I feel like I am constantly trying to make her happy and no matter what I do, she is never satisfied and always wanting more.

I feel overworked and underappreciated.  Yes, I am 99% of the population and that's why I feel so silly even posting this.  But the fact is that I just don't give a rat's ass about anything anymore.  That is not like me.  My mom always told me that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing 100%.  I try to live with that motto but man am I failing at it lately.

Don't care what happens at work.  Don't really care what happens at home.  Don't really care about how the girls are doing in school.  Don't care if we have food in the house (there's always Jack in the Box down the street).  I am just going through the motions.  I sat at a recent PTA meeting and just stared off into space.  Didn't have anything of value to add and I just sat there because a seat needed to be filled.

The last few days I keep telling myself something is missing in my life, but I can't figure out what it is.  I feel unsettled.  Would a new job help?  Probably not because that just adds more stress and I don't want to learn another job.  Would a new car help?  Probably not because then I would be pissed off about a new car payment.  Would new children help?  Probably not because I don't want to go through the infant stage again.  Even though my children drive me crazy to no end, we're halfway to getting them out of the house so why would I want to start over?  Would a new house help?  I have been really giving this a lot of thought lately.  But then just thinking of the daunting task of getting our house ready to sell and trying to find that dream home just sends me back to bed and into my reading hole.  Would me staying at home trying to expand my Scentsy business help?  I think I would be happier if I could stay home and do this, but I was a stay at home mom several years ago and it financially ruined us.  I would hope that if I decided to stay home, that I learned a lesson and at least worked part time to supplement my income.  But then that just adds stress to me and some guilt on my part because I don't want Geek Boy to feel like he has to take on the financial burden.

So there you have it....If you are texting me, emailing me, Facebooking me and I'm not responding it's probably because I don't feel like socializing.  The only time I feel like doing any of the above is when I'm working on Scentsy.  So unless you're wanting to place an order, host a party, or join my team I probably won't get back with you...LOL

I Did It!!!!!!!

I set several goals for 2011-  Lose weight, adopt a boy, become a Stay at Home Diva, become debt free, get my children under control, read 52 books.

I was debt free for two months until Geek Boy's car decided to catch on fire.  So technically the only goal  I accomplished was reading 52 books in 2011!!!!  Perhaps if I wouldn't have been reading so much, I could've lost weight, and I could've gotten my children under control.  The adoption goal didn't work out simply because we were not willing to change our lifestyle according to the state's mandates.  Still working on the Stay at Home Diva thing, but I've been working on that for 6 years so who knows when or if it will happen.

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  In September I was on a roll and was ahead by 8 books.  But then I just stopped reading.  I couldn't figure out a genre to read.  My reading drought came to an end at the beginning of December.  I was determined to reach this goal.

Here's a list of books that I read:

1.  Lineage of Grace
2.  Blood Orange
3.  After
4.  Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World
5.  Into the Wild
6.  I'd Know You Anywhere
7.  Room
8.  Water for Elephants
9.  Mudshark
10.All Stations Distress
11.Redeeming Love
12.The Weight of Silence
13.Calvin Coconut
14.The Condition
15.Medical Error
16.Crossing Oceans
17.Sing You Home
18.The Atonement Child
19.I Know This Much is True
20.Night Road
21.Heart of the Matter
22.The Murderer's Daughter
23.The Virgin Suicides
24.Saving Max
25.Inconceivable
26.Her Last Letter
27.Look Again
28.These Things Hidden
29.Messanger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs
30.Indian Killer
31.Story of Beautiful Girl
32.The Notebook
33.The Rose Killer
34.Red Tent
35.Hunger Games
36.Catching Fire
37.Mockingjay
38.Stuck in the Middle
39.Shiver
40.Linger
41.Forever
42.Turtle in Paradise
43.Still Missing
44.Daniel's Gift
45.The Case of the Mistaken Identity
46.Never Knowing
47.Wild Times at the Bed and Biscuit
48.Silent Run
49.Sarah's Key
50.The Midwife's Confession
51.Pearl in the Sand
52.The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven

The book that had the most impact for me was Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.  I read it early in the year and I still have not found a book that tops this story.  IT IS A MUST READ!! I have yet to find anyone who did not like this book.

The most emotional book that I read was Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes.  I cried so much while reading.  My kids thought I had absolutely lost my mind.  I warned several friends to not read the book at work during their lunch hour, but they didn't listen to me and I got a lot of "I should've listened to you" comments on my Facebook.

The best series I read was the Hunger Games Trilogy.  Really didn't think I could get into the series but for whatever reason, the timing must've been just right because I was sucked into the books instantly.  Can't wait for the movie to come out in March.

The weirdest book I read was Room.  It was very different but well worth the read.

The longest book I read was I Know This Much is True.  I tried reading this about 13 years ago, when Oprah originally told me to, but I was busy taking care of a newborn and just didn't have the time to read.  I think the size of the actual book was intimidating to me, but this time around I read it on my Kindle.

My favorite non fiction book was Inconceivable.  This family has incredible strength and faith.  Not sure that I could've done what they did.  Actually I know I could've but I know it would've been an emotional nightmare.

Not sure what my 2012 goal will be but I'm sure it will be over 52 books.  Reading truly relaxes me and it something I must do to unwind from a busy day.  To follow what I'm reading go to www.goodreads.com and search my name.  We can be friends on this website.  I get a lot of book ideas from this website.  Books that I normally wouldn't read, I have found on this website and for the most part have enjoyed all of them.  I love to see what others are reading.

155 of 365...An Apple A Day

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but a Coke a day keeps the bitch away...