Back, and just in TIME (warp)!

So I have, regrettably, fallen off the face of the planet for a few weeks, but for good reason! I have been so busy with real life that virtual life didn't make it into my priority list. But Hurrah!- I am here to update you anyway.

First: I am knee deep in my methods block this semester, and I have been teaching at Northridge High School about 3 days a week. I am learning SO MUCH about what it is really like to be a teacher. I have the same feeling I did about making the transition from a college newspaper to a real-life newspaper. You just can't know what your strengths/weaknesses are until you get thrown out there on your own. So far it has been a great experience, and both my supervising teacher and my professor have given me lots of good feedback. Also, looks like I will be done with school a semester early (out of necessity - grad school is expensive!) and should be an official certified teacher by December 2013. Whoop whoop!

Second: My big sister got married! Even though there was quite a bit of last minute, behind-the-scenes work going on, her wedding ended up being quite a success. Everything worked out, lots of people came to see them on their special day, which means I got to see them too!

I need to take a moment to brag on the photographer Katie used, because she did such an amazing job:

Isn't she the prettiest?

So if you ever happen to be in the market for a great photographer, please check out Camille Moenkhaus, the photographer behind mille.me. You won't be disappointed!

Third: It's almost Halloween, and around these parts that means it's Rocky Horror Picture Show time! This will be the FOURTH year Jennings and I have been a part of the Pink Box Burlesque's shadowcast, and this is our second year to be "Head Transylvanians." I am excited about the show this year, because I have done a little bit of a re-do of my costume. I will actually be dressing up like a specific Transylvanian from the show instead of just a random Transylvanian, as in year's past. So if you are in Tuscaloosa and are not going to the Mississippi State game, join us:

2012 Shadowcast Photo by Robert Sutton

And last, but not least..The WW story.

Well, the story is that I have fallen off the wagon a bit with WW. I have been going to meetings, but have not tracked in about 2-3 weeks - which is not good! I have gained just a bit, and will share the ugly details sometime in another post. But I am not giving up - just giving myself a chance to do better. Normally I would give myself such a guilt trip over this, but the fact that I have still lost 14-16 pounds is enough to let me lighten up on myself a bit. This is just a little bump in the road, and tomorrow is always an opportunity to do better. =)

The Color Run!

Hi everyone,

As promised, here are photos from The Color Run this past Saturday in Tuscaloosa. If any of you are looking to take the leap to doing a 5k, this one is definitely the one to start with. Dubbed "the happiest 5k on earth," the race was less about what your time was and more about having a good time. Originally I was slated to be on the Pink Box Burlesque team, but unfortunately several of the members had to drop out because they got food poisoning - yuck! (They are all ok now, fortunately.) But we still ended up having a pretty good group.

Here is "before" shot - all clean and white and pretty:

Then, 5k later, and "colorfied":

Here's some more of the group we ran with:

At the end of the race, everyone gets their own color packet and throws them up in the air together in a big cloud of color. They did it a few times for the late stragglers. This was probably my favorite part:

So that's how I spent my Saturday this weekend, how did your spend yours?

Speed bump

So I am a little sad to report that for the first time in nine weeks, I gained instead of lost. It was only a small gain, but that was all I needed to see that I had not been really sticking to my WW plan. here are the (regrettable) numbers:

Weight: 147.8 pounds
Pounds lost this week: +1.4
Total pounds lost: 14.2 pounds
Pounds to lose: 22.8 pounds

Also, due to my incredibly hectic work and school schedule this semester,I have decided to take a hiatus from karate. I am a little sad about this, because I was just about to test for my brown belt (it would have been today, actually). But, if I did not make any changes, I was headed toward a mental break down for sure.

So the only thing I can try harder. People always use the expression "one day at a time," and I would always just sort of nod and go on about life, but I am one of those people who is totally guilty of getting bogged down in either the past or planning for the future. So I am trying to do this one day at a time. Most days that's all I have the energy for.

Tomorrow is another weigh-in. I have switched to Thursdays, and I still don't really know how I feel about having the weekend all at the beginning of my week. I think I was more successful with it at the end of the week. But this is how things will be for now.

Also, Saturday, I am doing a 5k, called the Color Run. Have you heard of these? I think it will be really fun: Hopefully I'll get some cool pictures to share =)

 

Down 15 pounds! Can't beleive it!

So yesterday at WW, I got to get a little 5 pound sticker and everyone clapped. it was AWESOME. Here are the numbers:

Weight: 146.4 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1
Total pounds lost: 15.6 pounds
Pounds to lose: 21.4 pounds

You'll notice that the "pounds to lose" number has shrunk significantly. That's not because I have been making outstanding progress, it's because I have revised my goal weight. I had originally thought I'd want to get down to 120, but now I'm thinking a more reasonable goal is 125. Healthy weight would just be 130, so 125 is in that range. I realize that the last time I was 120, I had a significantly smaller chest and almost no muscles (sorry, TMI), so I'm ok with changing my goal number.

In other news, school is driving me crazy and work is incredibly hectic. When I have another moment to breathe, I may update about that. But for now, I just wanted to share this happy moment.

Finally getting my head above water

Hi all,

Since I last posted life has gotten pretty busy, as I expected. But I just wanted to take this time to come back an update y'all (mostly myself) on progress. First things first - still on the WW train. Again, there have been some moments of not so good food choices, but there has still been a slow creep toward my weight loss goal. I've combined the progress from when I last posted:

Weight: 148 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1.6
Total pounds lost: 14 pounds
Pounds to lose: 28 pounds

There are two big milestones around the corner, and if I can get myself motivated, perhaps they can happen at one weigh-in instead of two. The first is a 15 pound lost. that's pretty serious. To give you some context (because this helps me realize how far I've come) my cat Penny weighs about 7.5 pounds, so I will have lost two of my Penny =) Also she's cute:

The second milestone would be reaching my 10 percent goal, which is 16 pounds. So perhaps if I sit down and make a plan for the next week, I can make it work.

In other news, school is in full swing and i have started my placement at Northridge High School. It's 10th and 11th grade, and right now I think I am just feeling out the teacher and the students. So far, though, I have a pretty good feeling about it and I think i will end up being a good experience for me. the only thing that is a struggle is me taking off time from work to do this placement. So i leave the school feeling pretty good about the day and then I rush back to work and immediately feel behind on everything. It's been hard to juggle and I have 12 more weeks to go! I guess at this point, I really should just take it one day at a time.

So that is all for now. I am hoping to be posting again on a regular basis, but we'll see how that goes. In the meantime - everybody enjoy the promise of fall around the corner!

A small loss and a BIG freak out...

So this week was my last time to visit the Monday WW meeting for the semester, because starting next Monday, I will have a class at the time of the meeting. Boo. It was sad to think about not getting to see the same people each week and check in on their progress. It's amazing, after 16 weeks, you really get to know people's stories and struggles. They have also helped me with my own struggles. There is a girl there who started just a few weeks after me, and her name is Kelli (with an 'i' just like me!) and we have really bonded. She wasn't at last night's meeting, so I didn't really get to say good bye to her. I did tell our leader to tell her I'd miss her for a while, though. So I'll be weighing in Mondays still, but going to meetings on Thursdays. I hope I can start going back to Monday meetings once school is over. One good thing about going to Thursday meetings is my friend Nikki goes to the Thursday meeting. I hope we can really encourage each other to keep up the progress. So here are the numbers:


Weight: 149.6 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -.2
Total pounds lost: 12.4 pounds
Pounds to lose: 29.6 pounds

It's just a very small loss, but still a loss. I am hoping to get down just a few more pounds before Labor Day. I had set a goal at one of the early summer meetings to be down to 143 by Labor Day (that would have been a pound a week) but I know that won't happen. So my new reasonable goal will be to get to 147-148. And that would be awesome.

In other life news, classes officially start tomorrow and I am completely panicked about my schedule. I keep trying to figure out how I can prepare for this, but I know that in the end, there is nothing I can do except try my best and just get through it.

Lots of people started school yesterday, and I have a surprising number of friends who were teachers. On Facebook people were either posting pictures of their kids starting school again, or pictures of their classrooms all ready to start the year. It made me a little sentimental, somehow. I really am looking forward to being a teacher. I know I complain about school right now, and my job gets me down. But I know that I am working toward a goal, and God willing and the Creek don't rise*, I will get there.

*FUN FACT* This is one of my favorite phrases. The "Creek" is thought to refer to the Creek Indians during the late 18th century when the U.S. government was trying to reclaim parts of their land, but some believe its etymology came before that. It's also the name of one of my favorite Ray LeMontagne albums.

A surprising loss!

So after getting my sister to join WW, I was pretty pumped. But this week, unfortunately, I did not do as well in the activity department. Despite being aware that I needed to do some activity to compensate for the lack of karate this week, I was pretty lazy until this weekend. Jennings and I did some major yard work, and I was surprised at how winded I got. I think it was because of the heat, too. But, another surprise is that I lost weight! I was so expecting to stay the same or gain.

Here are the numbers:

Weight: 149.8 pounds
Pounds lost this week: -1.4
Total pounds lost: 12.2 pounds
Pounds to lose: 29.8 pounds

Also when classes start (in only 8 days! Yikes!) I won't be able to go to the Monday meetings anymore, and that makes me sad. I have really enjoyed getting to know those folks. I'm going to have to start going to the Thursday meeting, which means I will miss one day a week of karate. I hate that my schedule is going to be so jam packed, but that is life sometimes.

I'm already stressing about hard this semester is going to be, and I need to quit that, because it makes me want to just go home, get under a blanket and eat popcorn and ice cream all afternoon and sulk.

But I'm not going to do that. I'm going to refocus, and do better.