Life lately....

has been a bit hectic. Summer came and went, and now I am knee deep in school and work. In the midst of this, of course, WW has not been a priority. As much as I don't want to do this, here are the numbers:

Weight: 147 pounds
Pounds gained (since last blog post): +6.2
Total pounds lost: 15 pounds
Pounds to lose: 15 pounds

There are a number of reasons why my weight has trended up, most of which involve me not focusing on my weight loss and making poor food choices. It's crazy how I could get so close to 25 pounds lost, and just like that I can gain like 10 pounds of it back. That is the trouble with this journey, it is full of surprises. it's easy to get down when things are going this way and I'm too busy to refocus. But I have to find a way to do it. one change is I have altered by goal to lose 30 pounds. I'm not going to try to get to a certain weight, just get down 30 pounds. So with this in mind, i have changed my "pounds to lose" number, and it looks like I am halfway there.

In other news, my job is officially posted. This day has been coming for a while, but it is weird to think of interviewing and hiring someone to replace me. I've worked at this job longer than my other post-college jobs, and I finally feel like i have it figured out. There is a small part (a very small part) of me that imagines what things would be like if i were staying here and not teaching. It could be a very good life. But I am really looking forward to the life I am trying to build for myself as a teacher, and that means I have to make some changes.

Also, I have gotten a second job at Shelton State Community College, where I tutor people three nights a week. If all goes well, then I will have this job after Christmas, which will be a huge financial relief. I really like it so far. It's giving me some valuable experience working one on one with students.

So that's the news with me - until next time (which may be Christmas, for all I know!)

So I missed July completely...whoops?

Another entire month went by, and it appears that yest again, I am starting this post with some not-so-awesome WW news.

Weight: 140.8 pounds
Pounds gained (since last blog post): +.2
Total pounds lost: 21 pounds
Pounds to lose: 16 pounds

Although it is only up .2, that means in an entire month, all I have done is go up and down and up and down all to get back to being up again. WW has not been a big priority for me, and it shows. There were a few weeks lately when I got my ActiveLink weekly progress email it said something to the effect of "not enough activity was recorded to provide a report." And that is not good. Some of that is related to forgetting to wear the thing, but most of it is related to consistently under performing on my activity goal. Sigh.

This is usually the part where I insert some positive statement and say something about getting back on track, but the truth is, all I'm feeling right now is burned out. And tired. And unmotivated. And I suppose all of that is part of the process. I just have to remind myself that I still have made progress, and that is something to be proud of.

In other news, we have moved to a new rental place in Tuscaloosa. It will be our last dwelling here before the BIG MOVE next summer back down to Fairhope. The place is still not unpacked (we only got in this past weekend) and I feel like there is a mountain of stuff to do to make it livable. I would rather take a nap.

Until next time....

It's June already?

So I'm not feeling too great about WW, and debated posting about it. But I realize some component of this blog is about accountability, and I know it helps me to see that others make mistakes too. So here are the numbers:

Weight: 140.8 pounds
Pounds gained (since last blog post): +1.2
Total pounds lost: 21.2 pounds
Pounds to lose: 15.8 pounds

Full disclosure: I actually got down to 137.4 pounds, and was SOOO close to getting a star for 25 pounds lost, but alas life got in the way. With what you may ask? I'll tell you.


So at the end of May, I undertook an adventure with my sister: a road trip 2,800 miles across the country to move her to Portland, Oregon. It was four days in the car with her cat, but we made it there all in one piece. Here are some fun shots from the trip, all from her instagram:

Snacks in the car	Carmella the road warrior cat
Wind turbines in Texas	Colorado Rockies early in the morning
Lincoln statue in Wyoming	Snake River Canyon in Idaho
Sisters!	Entering Oregon
Car game	Last stop - Multnomah Falls
Highest point in Portland	International Rose Test Garden

It was certainly a long trip, but I'm glad we had the chance to have that experience together. I'm glad I got to see where she's starting her new exciting life, and I can't wait to visit for real. Will be flying next time for sure!

It's May! Hooray!

 So this week, I decided to experiment a little. Since I started WW, I have found myself drinking more diet soda than I ever did before. I think I was lured in by the fact that diet sodas are 0 points each. Although they are no points, all the sugar, sodium, etc. in them has been shown to make some people retain water. And let's be honest, it's probably not okay to put the same chemicals in your body that can take the rust off of metal. So I decided to forgo them this week in favor of water. And even though I was not a diligent tracker, I did lose weight!

Weight: 139.6 pounds
Pounds lost (since last blog post): -1.0
Total pounds lost: 22.4 pounds
Pounds to lose: 14.6 pounds

One of the big things they have been talking about for the last month is about activity. I know that I could stand to do a little more activity than I have been. I just don't make it a priority. So to jump start this, I got myself an ActiveLink, which is a WW activity monitor that will help me track my activity throughout the day. I think it will encourage me to be more aware and more diligent about activity. And ultimately, I hope it will show up on the scale. I've got less than 15 pounds to go, and I'd like to do that by December!

Finally, school is over for the semester. I came out with two A's. I get a whole summer with no classes - the first time since Fall 2009. I am not going to know what to do with myself! oh who am I kidding...I am my father's daughter, so I'm sure I will take on some projects in the meantime. =)

A small WW victory

Hi everyone,

Life has been pretty hectic this spring, so I haven't been doing much blogging. But I finally have a moment to clear my head, so I'd like to share.

In WW news, I weighed in today and got some good news: a loss!

Weight: 140.6 pounds
Pounds lost (since last blog post): -1.4
Total pounds lost: 21.4 pounds
Pounds to lose: 15.6 pounds

As has been the pattern in the past, as soon as I get to a milestone, in the weeks that follow it is difficult for me to maintain the progress. It happened at my 5%, 10 lbs, 10%, etc. So it was no surprise to me that once I got to 20 pounds, I went up and down quite a bit. Today was the first time I made it past that mark, so I am really happy about that.

I've been really consumed with work and school lately. With school, I had a pretty big decision to wrestle with. I had made plans to do my internship this fall, but due to the course offerings over the summer, it looked like I would be unable to complete all my course requirements (last two classes) in order to do my internship in the fall. At first I was a little upset, because I had already made mental plans and preparations for this to happen. I was looking forward to the prospect of being done. But in reality, this way is better for me. It means I can stay at my job longer, and finish out the year, which would help them. Also, finishing in the spring may be a better way to get a job. So after some unrest, I just went with it. So the plan now is to stick around Tuscaloosa until August 2014 and then move on down home to Fairhope.

Something big on the horizon is that my sister is moving to Portland, Oregon with her husband. This is a pretty significant move. We've never lived more than a few hours apart from each other, and I know I will miss her. But I also know that this could be a great opportunity for both of them. I've also agreed to help them move there next month - which means a 4 day road trip there and a 9 hour plane ride back. What have I gotten myself into?!

In general, life is going pretty well. The weather is nice again, and who knows - maybe I'll wear a bathing suit this summer?

20 pounds down!

Just a quick post to share the EXCITING news! I am down 20 pounds as off my weigh-in today! Here are the numbers:

Weight: 142 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1.4
Total pounds lost: 20 pounds
Pounds to lose: 17 pounds

It is even more exciting that the number left to lose is smaller than what I have lost! My next goal is still to get to the 3/4 mark by Spring Break. As long as I can lose 6.6 pounds by March 23 - I will be golden.

What goals have you reached this week?

Life keeps moving on, whether you're ready or not...

It seems appropriate to start this post with WW news, as I have been doing previously. Fortunately, it is good news! I have steadily been losing over the last few weeks. I can attribute it all to tracking my food, going to meetings, and exercising regularly. When you follow the plan, the weight comes off - what a novel concept, right? Here are the numbers:

Weight: 143.4 pounds
Pounds lost (since last post): -3.4
Total pounds lost: 18.6 pounds
Pounds to lose: 18.4 pounds

One of the reasons I've bee able to stay active is that I am back in karate again. It's good to be back. I really like challenging myself. This past weekend Jennings and I went to the annual winter camp in Fort Walton Beach. It was a good time, like always, but it was extra special this time. Jennings got his black belt!

We also both competed in self defense and ended up doing pretty good. Competing in the black belt division for the first time, Jennings got fourth place. I got third place in my division. Also, the most fun part of the weekend is always doing karate in the water:

Tuscaloosa dojo after karate in the water

Normally, I would be mortified to share this picture online (ok I am still a little mortified), but I am putting this on here to show my weight loss progress. This is our dojo last year:

I am not proud of how I was looking back then, but I am happy to say I am working on it. I hope next year I can show another picture and I will be at my goal weight!

In other news, I did complete the houndstooth cookie challenge some weeks back. Thanks to some help from my friend Nikki and a surprising amount of patience, I churned out 16 dozen of these:

My customer in Huntsville was very happy with them, and she told me that only 2 or 3 cookies broke in the shipping process, so that is great news. This whole experience marked the end of my etsy shop, Blue Bird Baskets. I sold off the rest of my basket inventory and closed it down. In some ways it is sad, but in other ways, it is a chance for me to focus on the many other exciting things going on in my life right now without this nagging feeling that I am being wasteful with all the stuff I'm not using.

So, in closing - what exciting things are going on in your life right now?

Winding down the week, gearing up for the weekend

Since I last wrote, I had another small gain, and then a loss, so I am approaching my 10 percent goal (again). It is a little frustrating to take one step forward and two steps back (literally), but I know that this whole thing is a journey and a process, and I am still learning it -  9 months into it. So here are the numbers:

Weight: 146.8 pounds
Pounds lost (since last post): -.4
Total pounds lost: 15.2 pounds
Pounds to lose: 21.8 pounds

Two things helped me with a loss this week: i actually tracked my food (even when it meant i went over my points) and I started back to karate. i had not been since September, so it was good to get back. I hope I can get myself in a position to where I can actually compete at winter camp and not be totally embarrassed. I plan to stick with karate and do some more activity, and I know as long as I stick to it, I should see the results at the scale.

In other news, this weekend I will be embarking on a little blast from the past adventure. Yes, I am resurrecting my houndstooth cookie skills and will be making 16 dozen of these babies for a nice lady in Huntsville:

I have enlisted some help this time, and have also discovered some new decorating techniques that should help me do some more of them more quickly. I have been in the process of shutting down blue Bird Baskets by selling off my supplies, and in the meantime I had an email from this lady who wanted some of these cookies for her son's bar mitzfah. I normally would have said no, but I thought - why not go out with a bang?

So this will be my official last order in the basket business. I hope they turn out the way i want them to and that they will be the hit of the party. I may take some photos of the process and do a final blog post on my other blog, bluebirdbaskets.wordpress.com, so stay tuned!

2013 is THE year

I am a little late, as usual, on a year-end post. But that's just how I roll.

So the quick and dirty WW story is that I gained after I got to my 10 percent. Am I surprised? No. I didn't track the week of Christmas. I did, however, go to a WW meeting two days after Christmas even though I did not want to. I figured I ought to face the music. So here are the numbers:

Weight: 147.2 pounds
Pounds lost this week: +1.8
Total pounds lost: 14.8 pounds
Pounds to lose: 22.2 pounds

This semester, I am going to get back into karate, which means that I will have change my WW meeting time once again. I am going to start going Wednesdays during lunchtime with one of my coworkers. I am hoping that by going with someone else, I will be motivated. Also the increase in activity level should get me back on track for success. Even though I am disappointed in a gain, I  know that I can try harder and lose again.

As I did last year, these are not resolutions, but rather a reflection on GOOD things from 2012:

1. I  lost 10 percent of my body weight on WW!
2. I completed two 5k races - The Color Run and the Crimson Couch to 5K.
3. I celebrated 5 years of being married to Jennings.
4. Watched my big sister get married in October.
5. Went to Hangout Fest with family and friends.
6. I went to karate summer camp and got first place in breaking competition.

And here's to many more good things in 2013!