The Sunday Skinny

I've been a major slacker with my weight loss posts over the last 2 months.  Ok, maybe 3 months.  The good news is that I'm in the same size clothes that I was in during my last post.  The bad news is that the good news is simply miraculous because I've fallen into some old (i.e. horrible) eating habits and my exercise level isn't where it needs to be.  So, I'm getting back on the blogging bandwagon to hopefully give me some accountability.  However, I'm changing things up just a bit.

In an effort to avoid becoming even more obsessive about the number on the scale, I'm taking a break from recording my weight.  I've felt for quite a while that if my clothing size continues to move down, then I'm happy.  I keep reminding myself that last summer, I was wearing a size 20 shorts.  This summer I'm wearing a size 14.  That's fabulous!

So, my goals for this week are:

1. Work out 3 mornings

2. Don't drink more than 2 carbonated drinks

3. Make a conscious effort to eat healthy snacks instead of junk food

My new hobby is a winner

I've been an absent blogger here lately.  I wish I could say it's because I've been overwhelmingly busy, but that's not the case.  I have been doing stuff, but I'm the type of person that if I don't have a million things on my plate, then my productivity comes to a screeching halt.  I found a couple of summer jobs (thank goodness) and I've tried to keep busy with the kids, but alas, I have spent a LOT of time clearing stuff off the DVR and taking up a new hobby.

My friend Kat's husband is an avid online sweepstakes player.  He enters lots of sweeps and he wins some great prizes.  Inspired by his success, I decided to get my feet wet and see what kind of luck I would have with the world of online sweeps.  My ultimate goal is to win a Disney vacation for my family, so I enter all of those sweeps that I can find, but I'm now entering lots of smaller blog hosted sweeps that offer some great prizes too.  I can't tell you how excited I was when I got an email the day after I started entering sweeps that said I was a winner!

Tara from A Spectacled Owl, was hosting a giveaway of adorable hand made owl items from Sabrina at Daisy Dew and Tutu and the package arrived yesterday!  My many thanks to Tara for hosting the giveaway and to Sabrina for making the most adorable owl items I have ever seen!  My 7 yr old has been wearing the necklace nonstop and she put the keychain on her brand new backpack.  (She's excited about her friends seeing her new bling at school next month!)  My 6 yr old almost cried when I gave her the bow holder and new hairbow.  All of the items are beautifully made!

So, stay tuned to see the news about my other win that I found out about this week.  I'm waiting for the items to be in hand before I blog about them.

Do you enter online sweepstakes?  Have you won any prizes that you were really excited about?

Happy Father's Day 2012

Every day is a day that I should really take a moment to reflect on just how lucky my girls are to have such a fantastic daddy.  I did a fabulous job picking him, if I do say so myself!

He's not afraid to be silly and loves to make us laugh.

He is a disciplinarian, but fair & compassionate.

He is the best dad that I could possibly hope for my girls!

Happy Father's Day to my honey!

101 Things in 1,001 Days: Update 10

When I started this list in April 2010, I had grand hopes of knocking out this list without much issue. While I'm pleased with the progress that I've made so far this year, I am a little disappointed that I haven't accomplished more of these items yet. However, I have managed to knock off the 2 largest (and most expensive) items, so there's that. My most recent updates are in BLUE.


12. Read 100 books - In April, I read “Mockingjay” & “Fifty Shades of Grey”.  In May, I read “Fifty Shades Darker”, “The Magic Room”,  “Jeneration X”, “Stories I Only Tell My Friends”, & “Confessions of a Scary Mommy”.  (2012 book count - 10; Overall book count - 28)


14. Read all of the Harry Potter books - I have finished books 1 through 4 and am currently reading book 5.

36. Exercise 5 days a week for a month - I did this in April 2012 and feel so much better!

38. Treat myself to a massage after losing 30lbs total - I did this in April 2012!


49. Eat 5 things that I've never tried before - I tried guacamole in October of 2010.  I tried zucchini for the first time in August 2011 and it was ok.  I tried asparagus in February of 2012 and I liken it to eating weeds.  Bleh.  I ate broccoli (raw & cooked) in April 2012.  I like it raw!

50. Go camping - My husband & Girl Scout co-leader talked me into taking my Daisy scouts camping in April 2012 and I’m very surprised to say that I enjoyed it!  This was my first time camping since I was about 12 years old.  Yay, me!

So, I've completed 43 of 101 tasks in 24 months and made progress on another 3 tasks. I'm really trying to make some serious progress this summer, so we'll see how it goes!

The Sunday Skinny

Happy Easter! I'm hopping with excitement this morning!

First, I need to make an adjustment to my stats this week. Since I'm on the home stretch of my Blue Sky program, I needed to make accountability a little easier for me once my weekly weigh ins with them are done. The weight they started me at was higher than what my Wii showed (plus there was a time discrepancy between the 2). So, it's going to affect my overall loss, but not my weekly loss. This will be much easier to keep up with going forward. Anyway, let's see this week's progress!

Starting Weight: 229.2 lbs

Last Week's Weight: 200.0 lbs

This Week's Weight: 198.6 lbs

+Gain/-Loss This Week: -1.4 lbs

+Gain/-Loss Overall: -30.6 lbs

This was a FANTASTIC week for a few reasons! First, this is the first time in 5 years that I've been under 200 lbs and so help me, I will NEVER see a weight beginning with a 2 ever again! Second, I began a hardcore exercise program this week that is already giving me some confidence back. I work out 5 mornings a week with a program called Scenic City Boot Camp. The 2 owner/trainers are incredibly supportive and give us a different (and very effective) workout every day. I love it and can't wait to see how my body transforms over the coming months! Third, this week marks my goal of losing 1/3 of the total weight that I want to lose with this journey. That's a huge goal for me and I'm so proud of myself! And finally, while seeing a number on the scale is rewarding, there is nothing quite as great as fitting into that next size of jeans. This week marks me saying goodbye to size 16 jeans and hello to size 14!

This week, I'm working starches back into my diet and trying to get a handle on not having them at every meal. I'm planning to work out another 5 days this week and hopefully lose at least 1 lb by next week. I know that with adding starches back in, it's likely going to slow down my loss, but if I can continue to lose 1 lb per week, that's at least progress! As always, thanks for the support!

101 Things in 1,001 Days: Update 9

In April 2010, I came up with a list of 101 things that I want to accomplish in 1,001 days. I’m trying really hard to knock out some things on this list since I only have until the end of this year to wrap it up. My most recent updates are in BLUE.

12. Read 100 books - In January, I read “Room”. In March, I read “The Hunger Games” & “Catching Fire”. (2012 book count - 3; Overall book count - 21)

14. Read all of the Harry Potter books - I have finished books 1 through 4 and am currently reading book 5.

23. Finish the cross stitch piece I started for my wedding - I finished it!!! February 2012

24. Enroll in a pottery class - My high school alma mater started offering fun classes for alums and I signed up to take pottery classes every Thursday in April 2012!

49. Eat 5 things that I've never tried before - I tried guacamole in October of 2010. I tried zucchini for the first time in August 2011 and it was ok. I tried asparagus in February of 2012 and I liken it to eating weeds. Bleh.

79. Get the interview with my grandparents converted to DVD - I finally did this and picked up the DVD’s in January 2012! This means a lot to me because this is the only video that my family has of my grandparents. My grandfather passed away more than a decade ago and I’m glad that I now have something to show my girls what a great person he was.

95. Buy myself a Dooney & Bourke or Coach purse - To reward myself for surviving Week 1 of this new diet, I bought myself a Coach purse that I’ve had my eye on for 2 years!

So, I've completed 41 of 101 tasks in 24 months and made progress on another 3 tasks. I’m 41% complete with the rest of this year to make some serious headway. This year is off to a great start!

The Sunday Skinny

The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy and I have had so many food challenges, it's been ridiculous. Let's see if my efforts to get back on track are paying off.

Starting Weight: 218.7 lbs

Last Week's Weight: 201.9 lbs

This Week's Weight: 200.0 ls

+Gain/-Loss This Week: -1.9 lbs

+Gain/-Loss Overall: -18.7 lbs

I am in week 8 of my Blue Sky program and in order to hit my goal with that program, I have to lose an average of 4.2 lbs each week. Yeah, that's not gonna happen. So, I'm backing up and revising my goal with the hopes of losing 3.2 lbs each week. I've been working hard on my eating habits again and starting tomorrow, I'll be doing an hour of bootcamp every day. Wahoo! It's going to be tough but I've got such a good start to this journey and I'll be damned if I'm going to throw it away now. I will be thin & in amazing shape by the end of this year!