Back on the bandwagon

Well hello there!  So the last time I was on here I was explaining how I was getting back on the bandwagon with eating right, exercising, and cleaning my house.  Well....it is going good so far!  I had a minor set back last week when I wasn't feeling so great but I am back at it!  I will document my weight and measurements at the end of this post.

This weekend I ran in the Diva Dask 5K!  I was stoked to do this again because last year I was so close to running the whole thing without stopping but walked about .10 miles of it.  :( Sad day!  But...this time I had the knowledge that I can run a full 5K without stopping so I thought yes!  I have this one down for sure....not the case.  I don't know what it is about Diva Dash that I can't finish the thing without walking.  I know part of it was due to me not feeling very well this week and not being able to get my runs in but...dang!  I was really hoping to run the whole thing without walking any of it.  My best friend Jaci ran it (and walked it) with me.  She was such a trooper.  This was her first 5K and she stayed with me the whole time rather than running the whole thing and running it at her pace.  That is my friend y'all.  We are the only ones that would claim each other but we don't know what we'd do without each other either!  I love her to death!

I have also decided to try this push up challenge I found on Pinterest.  At the end you are supposed to be able to do 40 push ups.  Now...this isn't the barely bent arm push ups...these are the full on, lay a meter stick across your shoulders, push ups.  So....we will just have to see about this!

On another note, I was able to cook again this last week!  I got to make a new recipe!  It was a Pioneer Woman's recipe.  Now let me just tell you....I LOVE THE PIONEER WOMAN!  I kinda want her life!  Hahahaha! Married to a handsome cattle rancher, living on a ranch, and getting paid to cook!  What's up?!  Here is a picture of the dish that I made.  I substituted chicken for ham.  And here is the link to that recipe as well: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2014/03/tortellini-primavera/   Now let me just say....I was definitely NOT able to eat very much of this because it is NOT Weigh Watchers approved.....BUT I was able to share with my coworker and roommates!

I was also able to make this Skinny Cake Batter Ice Cream that the lovely lady from church, that I have talked about before, gave me all the ingredients for.  It was soooo good!  And all you use is half of a diet soda cake (box of confetti cake mix mixed with 12 oz of diet sprite or 7 up and baked to box directions), 1 small tub of cool whip free, and a can of fat free sweetened condensed milk.  Mix together and freeze, and it actually tastes like cake batter ice cream!

Speaking of sweet ladies at church....I just want to publicly say how thankful I am for my church and church family.  We have recently had some tough events occur at church and yet everyone has responded so Biblically!  It is incredibly encouraging and wonderful to know that you are in a Bible believing and Bible teaching church.  And a church that responds to things Biblically!  I am very thankful that the Lord brought me to my church!

Well I better close for now so here is my weight loss and inch loss chart....not great this time but gotta keep pushing!

	Initial Weight	Bust (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)	Right Thigh (inches)	Right Arm (inches)
Starting	244	45	40	51	32	15
Week 1	243.8	45	38.5	50	31	14.5
Week 2	243.3	44	38	50	31	14.5
Week 3	245.1	44	38	50	30.5	15
Week 8	246.2	44.5	39	51	30.5	16
Difference from Starting	+2.2	-0.5	-1.0	0	-1.5	+1.0

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.....or not

Hello!  Let me start by apologizing for hiding out for the past month or so.  In all honesty it was my failed attempt to hide my lack of faithfulness to my working out and eating right.  Some people say that absence makes the heart grow fonder but in this case it made me just want to keep hiding out.  The last time I posted on here I was explaining how stressed out I was about working two jobs and trying to get my exercise in and eat right and whine whine whine whine whine.  Well, since then I have quit my second job and have gone back to working just one.  And it is GREAT!!!!  I feel like I have so much more time....because....I DO!  After I put in my two weeks notice I mapped out a plan to start working out more and train for my 10K coming up at the end of May.  There are 10 weeks...well 9 now...till the River Run.  Funny because there are also 10 weeks in the T25 program....and also....10 weeks until my vacation to NASHVILLE!  Coincidence?  I think not!  So...I bought a $1 calendar and started mapping out a training program for the end of March through the end of April!  I have my 5 days a week of T25, running, and biking all included in that.  And thankfully I have some great friends and roommates who are asking me how its coming along each day....I need people to keep me in check or I go off the grid like I did before.  I am not aiming for any set weight loss or inch loss at all, but rather I am aiming to get in shape for this 10K.  Last week I completed week 1 of my training.  I didn't get everything done on every single day but I did get all of my runs in, and all 5 days of T25...I consider that a success!  However, my failure would be in really focusing on my eating last week.  That was not so great!  So I have made it a priority this week to get back with tracking weight watchers again.  I have been so bad about that!  So....today was a new day and so far I have tracked everything I have eaten.  I am getting back on track with this!  I haven't tracked weight in a few weeks, nor have I tracked inches, but this Thursday is going to be track day so...check back later for those stats.  

On another note, I came home sometime a couple weeks ago and thought to myself, "I am so glad I am not married, my husband would be so grossed out by the way my house is right now."  For those of you who know me, you know that I have a strong desire to be a stay at home wife and mom some day.  Now....that may not be what the Lord has planned for me but, I do have that desire.  So I consider keeping my house clean and orderly something that I should be working now in my singleness if I want to be able to do that later on in life for my husband.  Some of you may think that I am stuck in the 1950's mindset but you know what?  That's ok.  I totally want to be the wife that has dinner waiting for her husband when he comes home, and the house kept up so that we can open our home up to guests at a moments notice.  That's just how I am.  So with that being said, along with buying a $1 calendar for my workout schedule....I bought a $1 calendar for my cleaning schedule as well.  After talking with some friends on their schedules and looking at some schedules on pinterest, I have formed a plan of tackling a room each day.  I may not deep clean that room each week but at least I will be keeping it up.  It also keeps me from becoming overwhelmed with cleaning when I know we are going to have company over.  I only schedule one week at a time so that way I can plan out my days and rooms according to what my work schedule is like.  If I am going to have a long day I can't have a room with a lot of things that have to be done.  This is the first week that I have started this so I will definitely keep you all informed on the progress of this.  

Well, I better close for now but I will definitely be back here soon!  Have a great night!

Slump Week

Well hello there.  I'm sure that you can tell by the title of this post that this week was not a great one.  Have you ever had one of those weeks that you feel like you were making a conscious effort to do better and yet saw no results of that effort?  That was my week.  I felt like I made a conscious effort to eat better and workout and even started running.  Yet, when I got on the scale and took out the measuring tape, no results.  I understand part of that is probably me retaining water but dang, it discouraged me big time!  I feel like ever since I weighed in and measured on Thursday, I have been dragging. My focus has been totally off!  I know that that is not the correct response to this but it is totally what happened.  I have also been super stressed at work lately and that didn't help either.  I have even been contemplating making some changes in the two jobs department, and when I start to think about going back to one job, I can't help but be excited about all the time that I will have!  I realized this past week that I don't cook much anymore.  I don't even have a desire to cook anymore.  This is crazy!  I love to cook!  I love taking my time, trying new recipes, cooking for other people.  But lately that has not been the case.  I find myself wanting to spend my rare free nights just doing nothing!  That is awful!  And really not productive at all!  I have also noticed that my house has been getting dirtier because I haven't spent time really keeping it up.  I know this may come across as "feel sorry for me that I took on another job to try and get myself out of debt that I put myself into" but it's not that at all.  I have been working really hard to get my debt paid off and I am seeing the fruits of that.  And I really feel like the Lord is showing me that I am taking on too much right now.  The reason I say this is because this past week I found myself wanting to stay home and not do anything instead of being a part of a Bible study and a meeting at church.  Now, before anyone freaks out and explains how awful that is, I know.  I haven't been able to be a part of a Bible study for a couple years now due to me working second shift.  And now I have this great lady at church that wants to meet and do a one-on-one study with me!  Can you believe that?!  She is a mother of 3 young kids and yet wants to take some of her personal time out of her week and spend it encouraging and teaching me!   And yet here I am thinking that I am tired.  I felt like the Lord just really opened my eyes this week to show me where I am placing my importance.  I have been placing more attention on my financial state and not my spiritual state.  With that being said....there are going to be some big changes in the near future so STAY TUNED!  I will place my disappointing weight loss chart here at the bottom of this post.  I really don't want to but, I promised to be honest so....I will. 

	Initial Weight	Bust (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)	Right Thigh (inches)	Right Arm (inches)
Starting	244	45	40	51	32	15
Week 1	243.8	45	38.5	50	31	14.5
Week 2	243.3	44	38	50	31	14.5
Week 3	245.1	44	38	50	30.5	15
Difference from Starting	+1.1	-1.0	-2.0	-1.0	-1.5	0

Keeping at it!

Ok so this is week two of tracking!  I have to say, to those of you who text me and told me how excited for me you are and how encouraged you were by my last post...thank you!  It really means a lot to know there are people out there reading this and encouraging me like that!  You are greatly appreciated!

Now on to this week!  This week was great in some areas, good in others, and poor in a particular one.  Let's start with the bad because I need to get it out and let's be honest....I need to be encouraged after I am discouraged.  So here it is....reading the Word this week was not very good.  I was doing really good with staying consistent and then this week just went downhill.  Crazy thing is....I could see how much it affected my attitude too!  My attitude at work, my thoughts towards other people, and I always see how when I'm not in the Word my focus tends to be more on myself.  So this week is going to be different.  I am super thankful for the accountability here on this blog because I know that this next week I am going to be sharing how I did the previous week!  So here is the plan for that...I am going to set aside a specific time to just spend time in the Word and in prayer.  As weird as this sounds....I got this prayer journal app that is wonderful!  It's called PrayerNotes.  I put it on my iPad and I'm able to list people and particular prayer requests for that person.  I love it!  So...there is the plan for next week to tackle being more disciplined in the Word.

Now for the great area!  I paid off another credit card this week!!  WHOO HOO!!!!!  That is two down and two to go!  I am so excited because I see the end!  I have developed a plan to get my next two paid off by the end of April!!  So great! Then I will still have the month of May at my second job to save up some money for house repairs or to pay off my car!  I can't even tell you excited I am by this!  And let me just tell you about my parents.  They have been so supportive and encouraging through all of this.  They have given me great advice and guidance in how to go about tackling this debt....LOVE THEM!  I don't know about y'all but I don't know what I would do without them.  They have made such an impact in my life.  I find that as I am getting older I am really enjoying the times that I just get to hang out with them.  A couple weeks ago I went back to Hutch and just spent Saturday night eating dinner with them and watching the WSU basketball game....doesn't seem exciting but it was just nice getting to spend time with them.  Ok...enough rambling about the rents.

Now for the good news....another weight loss this week....and it was a little more than last week!  It isn't much more due to poor eating the week before....but a loss is still a loss so I am going to choose to be excited about this.  I will place my tracking chart below this post.  My goal for better weight and inch loss this next week is to be more faithful to do T25, eat better, and get outside more with Riggins.   Speaking of getting outside more with Riggins, yesterday we ran a mile in 11 min and 15 seconds.  Today we ran a mile in 10 min and 25 seconds!!!!  We shaved almost a whole minute off my mile time!  Things like this are what keep me wanting to work out and work hard.  So we will just have to wait and see what next week brings as far as inches and weight loss!

Now....for those of you that are around me often, you probably heard this traumatic story earlier this week.  For those of you who don't....get ready for some comical relief.   Last Thursday I was getting ready to go run some errands and decided to take my dog Riggins with me.  It was a rainy cold morning so I decided to stop by Starbucks.  As I am waiting in the drive-thru with for my drink, my dog all of a sudden jumps into the front seat with me and starts trying to get in my lap.  This was so odd to me until I actually looked at him.  He was standing in his POOP STANCE!!!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!  My dog is trying to poop on me!  Of course, I start to panic and push him off of me and thankfully I did because right after I get him off of me....he starts pooping in the car...in the front seat!  Not in the back where he had tons of room and was a away from me, but in the FRONT SEAT! I can't even tell you what is going through my mind at this point because I couldn't even believe that what was happening was really happening!  My dog not only just pooped in my car....but was trying to poop on me!  So...the cars ahead of me start pulling forward so I grab ahold of his collar because of course he has stepped in the poop and I don't want him jumping in the back seat and spreading it all over my car.  I can't even imagine what the Starbucks lady is thinking when I pull up because I am holding my dog and it smells so bad because...its fresh poop.  So my plan of running errands turned into driving back home with one hand on the wheel, one hand holding my dog, windows down, and doing all of this in the cold rain.  At the time....it was not funny.  But after the twenty minutes of cloroxing my car and cleaning up my dog....I started to appreciate the humor in the situation.  I called my mom to tell her what just happened and found myself crying I was laughing so hard.  I mean...my dog has already peed on my while I was lying in bed and now he just tried to poop on me!  What's next?  Is he going to throw up on me too?  Is there any other form of marking his territory that he can do to me?!  Maybe I should just look at it as he loves me so much he just wants everyone to know that I am his mom and no one elses....hahahahahah.  Even though he does stuff like this....I still love him!  I'm sure you people with pets and children can understand!   

Well I hope you got some enjoyment out of that!  Below is my weight loss inch loss progress!  Have a great week!

	Initial Weight	Bust (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)	Right Thigh (inches)	Right Arm (inches)
Starting	244	45	40	51	32	15
Week 1	243.8	45	38.5	50	31	14.5
Week 2	243.3	44	38	50	31	14.5
Difference from Starting	-.7	-1.0	-2.0	-1.0	-1.0	-0.5

Let's get to tracking!!!

Well hello there!  I realize its been a couple weeks since my last post but there is a reason for this.  I was in debates about whether I really wanted to do what I'm about to do in this post or not.  I have decided....I do.  Let me start by catching up on how my new years resolutions are going.  

First, becoming spiritually fit.  This has been slowly improving.  In fact, my attitude about God's faithfulness has GREATLY improved.  Along with being in the Word.  I still struggle in my prayer life but I am coming up with a plan to improve in that area.  In fact, yesterday I got to have an incredible conversation with a woman that really touched my heart.  It was so encouraging!  I am also pretty excited to get to help with Vacation Bible School this summer at church!  In fact, they want me to help with music.  I am a little nervous to be singing in front of a huge group of people but hey....they are kids so they won't care if I am on pitch or not!  

Second, becoming financially fit.  This is going SO GOOD!!!!  I have paid off one of my credit cards and will have another completely paid off in a week or two!  This is so incredibly exciting I can't even tell you!  I am being more cautious on where and how I am spending my money!  I can tell it is making a difference because I got a target gift card for Valentine's Day and I don't even know how to spend it because I keep thinking "I don't really NEED anything."  So I think I am just going to have to save that for a rainy day! :)  

Now....this is where my big debate I was talking about earlier comes in. My third resolution....becoming physically fit!  A couple weeks ago the thought came to my mind that I needed to make this year of losing weight the year that I actually DO IT!  I need to be faithful to this and not give up! So what helps with that?  ACCOUNTABILITY!  And what better way to be held accountable then to post a before picture with my weight and measurements on this blog?!  This is really hard for me because I don't even tell my best friend and family members these numbers but I figure if this blog is going to be about me and my life then I need to be 100% honest and these numbers are part of who I am. But not for long! So a couple weeks ago I took the picture, weighed myself and took my measurements.  Then this week, a week after the initial weight in and measurement taking, I weighed and measured again.  I think this has a win win affect because not only am I being held accountable, I also can be encouraged if I don't lose weight but do lose inches!    So...here it is...the picture isn't pretty and definitely NOT flattering. And these numbers are not fun to look at but I hope to not see either one of these for much longer.  Have a great week!  I will be checking in again next week with new numbers!  

 

	Initial Weight	Bust (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)	Right Thigh (inches)	Right Arm (inches)
Starting	244	45	40	51	32	15
Week 1	243.8	45	38.5	50	31	14.5
Difference	-0.2	0	-1.5	-1.0	-1.0	-0.5

Confessions Pt 2

Well here we go again.  Another confessions post.  This past week was a really rough week.  Not diet wise...in fact, diet wise it went quite well.  However, spiritually, it was tough!  I knew the week was going to be hectic because I was asked to work everyday at my second job.  That would have put me at working about 63-64 hours for the week between the two jobs.  I was bracing myself for this when....Monday hit! And boy did it hit.  At my PRN job, one person was on vacation, one called in sick, and one person was stuck in Chicago due to weather.  That combined with schedule of over 200 patients equals one busy 4.5 hours.  Then I got to the hospital and found out that we are getting raises!  However, they are cutting our shift differential and our weekend differential.  After doing the math it turns out that anyone that gets shift diff is actually taking a pay cut...even with the raise.  :(   This was a huge hit to the gut.  This news right here is what I have been struggling a lot with lately.  My Spirit says to be thankful for the job that I have and not complain because even though this stinks, the Lord is in control and is my provider, not me.  But the fleshly side of me thinks this is a huge slap in the face.  Especially because we have been working really shorthanded with a large workload and now instead of being recognized for our efforts, we are getting docked in pay.  :(  

I shared both of the feelings I have because I want you to see the battle that I am in right now.  To be completely honest with you...I have allowed my fleshly thoughts to take over this week.  It has taken over so much so that I have had a very poor attitude and outlook at work.  I have grumbled to fellow coworkers, friends, and even family.  So to be frank....I have been sinning.  It wasn't until yesterday when the Lord completely opened my eyes and my ears to the things that were coming out of my mouth, that I realized how in the wrong I am.  How is my poor attitude being a Light for Him?  How is my complaining setting myself apart from unbelievers.  Instead I should be rejoicing in this trial.  James 1:2 says "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds."  Am I having joy in this trial? No, instead I am throwing a pity party.  What is wrong with me?!  Romans 8:28 says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."  Am I trusting that the Lord is using this for my good and His glory?  No, no I'm not.  Again I say, what is wrong with me?!  

Today I was blessed with such a good conversation at church with a good friend of mine.  We were talking about this situation and she encouraged me so much by saying "it's times like this that we have to remember who we are working for."  DANG!!!!  She got me on that one.  Who am I working for?  Am I working for my employer?  No.  Am I working for myself?  No.  Am I working for a paycheck?  NO!  I am working for the Lord.  Everything I do should be for the Lord's glory.  Not my own.  So those times when I am feeling unappreciated, are not times to be sad and down and discontent.  They are times that should be spent working that much harder to make sure that glory is not given to me, but to the Lord.  When I am feeling unmotivated, that is the moment that I need to remember that I am not working for myself, but for the Lord.  I was super convicted this morning just thinking about what kind of testimony I was this week at work.  I know that it is going to be hard to be ok with this new change but, I know that with the Lord's help and with my mind set on Him, I can have a much better attitude that is more Christ like and less self-pitying. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

So there is my confession.  I have been struggling with having a poor attitude lately and a discontent heart at work.  

On the upside, I didn't end up having to work the 63 hours because I got the stomach flu for 2 of those days.  Downside to the stomach flu....you feel like death.  Upside to the stomach flu...lost 5 lbs!  

Have a great week!  Here's to a better attitude this week!

Also....here's a picture of one of my favorite things to brighten your day!