Merry Merry Merry!

Well...It's been a marvelous week. Christmas day was glorious with family and presents and joy. I wanted to wish all a very wonderful Christmas season and a Happy New Year!!! ;)

Wow...5 more and lots to go

Well...yesterday was measuring and weighing day again. I'm down another 5 pounds! It wasn't as dramatic as the first time, but I had to remind myself that it was still good. That makes it a total of 20 pounds off in 6 weeks. Not bad, actually - for the first time in 5 years I'm seeing the scale below 300 pounds. Now we have another bunch to go... ;)

My personal trainer wants me to pick only one fat per meal this next couple of weeks. She said it was kind of mean to do during Christmas time, and she'd ignore Christmas day. I said heck yeah...I'm not even going to count it -- I didn't count Thanksgiving!

It's interesting how my stomach has shrunk and how I'm not tempted to eat a lot of candy...mostly. Making it at home is always a challenge, especially when the homemade caramel turns out soooo good. I want to buy a can of fat free condensed milk and see how it turns out. I'll let you know...

Have a good one!

Wow...it's happening!

Yesterday was the first time I've been on the scale since going with the personal trainer. My hubby teased me that I'd be 15 lbs lighter...I thought perhaps 10. He was right! I lost 15 pounds in 4 weeks!! I've never done that good. I was sooo excited! And I didn't even go home and eat chocolate...lol I did make an excellent alfredo chicken dinner, yum. Anyway...just had to share! I'm so excited! One of the things I use is Sparkpeople. I have a button on the side if you want to check it out...it's been invaluable in keeping track of what I'm eating.

Have a good one!!

Okay...this is the best!

We discovered this video today, and I had to share. If you love the Muppets, you're gonna love this. Enjoy!!

I Won!!

Well...it's Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and I just thought I'd let you know that I won Nano...this past MONDAY!!! yeah!! Best I've ever done. So, I'm bragging. ;)

Anyway, I'm still trying to get some more words in, but at this point, I'm at 52,000 words.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I know we did. LOVE that turkey. Have a good one!

I'm Doing It!!

It's crazy, but this month has been the best year for my Nano participation. Partially because I've been sick half the time...sigh...and thus had time at the computer that I don't normally have. I guess there are blessings in disguise everywhere...grin.

But anyway, my fellow Authors Incognitos are having different contests through the month to honor the Nano, and I came in third last week! For writing the most words! I was surprised, and a little thrilled...I mean, just hearing the words you won always seems to mean something, even when all you won is a patch you can put somewhere, but I put it here with pride. It means I'm doing something productive, even if no one else can really see it...grin. Have a good one...oh, and my word count this morning? 37,536. Not bad if I do say so myself. ;)

So Far So Good...

Or is that so good so far?? ;) It's second week of Nano, and I'm not that far behind. I should be over 12,000 words, but I'm only over 10,000 -- but considering that most of my writing is in the morning before work and at night before I go to bed, it's working. sigh. And I did over 5,000 on Saturday...grin.

Hope you're having an excellent day! I'm off to write some more...

I Really am Loosing My Mind...

Okay...you know you have too much on your plate when you forget things...but forgetting a party that you're giving??? sigh.

You know I do mystery shops, well, I gave a Pampered Chef party on Wednesday and Tuesday I told someone that I'd do a shop on Wednesday. In Wyoming.

I really need a vacation. I am SOOOO glad I have today off. I'm hoping to de stress, but I've got all my kids home for the day, so you know how that works. sigh. And then my son takes off with the truck (our only gas efficient vehicle at home) and doesn't tell me where he's going or why...

And I was going to do what today???

Also, I have started with a personal trainer. I know...it's really crazy, but my husband insisted. You see, if you are brutally blunt about it, I am extremely obese. At least that's the medical terminology. My family doesn't agree with it, but ya know. Anyway, I've been struggling to try and get the weight off for years, and just haven't had any success.

My hubby made me promise, oh, wayyyy back in February that I'd hire a personal trainer and see if that made the difference. Well, easier said than done, actually. I didn't want to go to some gym and have their specialty person, I wanted a personal trainer that came to my home. We couldn't find one. I finally thought of KSL.com the other day, and what do you know? They had personal trainers in their classifieds. (that was after wading through sooo many massage adds I thought I was going to puke) -- wait, pretend I didn't say that, my daughter-in-law is graduating as a sports massage therapist...sigh. (Yes, I have a daughter-in-law now...but that's for a future post)

Well...so we found a place called Lifelong Fitness. They are not a huge gym with no name workers and skinny, spadex clad instructors, they are a simple workout facility with personal trainers that you meet with to discuss your individual needs. You have addess to the facility 24 hours a day, and you meet with the trainer every week to discuss your progress, your nutrition (you'll notice I did NOT say the 'D' word)and are available when you are discouraged, frustrated, etc. Granted I've only been formally going for less than a week, but so far, so good. I'm encouraged, and that's saying something.

You track your eating habits on an online calorie tracker, and then bring in printed copies for them to look at. You could lie your head off, but they'd see it in the non-results, so you'd only be hurting yourself. I didn't think we could afford it in the beginning, but when we took stock of all the health issues I'm facing and what they would cost in the future, we figured it was the cheaper option.

I think part of my no brain stress has come from trying to do so many things at one time. I guess we'll see. I have lots to try and accomplish this weekend, but I'm not going to stress out if it doesn't all get done. Life goes on, right?? And my sanity is most important. ;)

Nano is coming...

be afraid...be very afraid. If you're like my hubby, you run screaming into the night saying "No! No, not again!!"

Some people are sooo melodramatic...grin.

Just because it's the month of November and 30 days of insanity where my house usually looks like a wreak, the kids are always wondering what's for dinner and no one can find any clean socks...what's to be so afraid of?? ;)

The count down begins...

Finally...the leaves!

Well, we finally had a Sunday free of obligation (sort of). After 4:30 we were able to go drive into the mountains to see the last of the leaves. So many years they have already dropped by now. Usually by conference weekend when we have a chance to drive up, they are already gone. But this year they've hung on, and it's been a gorgeous fall!! Just looking at the mountains every morning is an awe inspiring thing.

What is amazing, is our own large maple tree in the front yard has barely begun to change color. I can't wait -- it's a glorious sight. This is how it looked two years ago.



We enjoyed every minute of it, even driving around the reservoir and getting lots of pictures. sigh. I think I've had a refill of the serenity cup.

Have a good week!

Life is Crazy

Okay...we have gone in one week from have 5 children at home to having 6 (the 6th one isn't ours) and by next week, will have 7 again. sigh. How does this happen?? grin. Well... My son is getting married. She's a cute girl and we like her, but he doesn't really know her, so it's going to be interesting. And they are both out of work and broke, so they're living with us. Isn't life fun???
Sigh. Problem is, I remember when he was just a little guy and having fun with life. When do they grow up???
Oh well.

Conference was wonderful, and the weather was fantastic and my bday was pretty good for most the day. So, I'm pretty blessed. If I get a couple of obstacles to deal with along the way, I can handle it, right? Like my white shirt coming OUT of the laundry dirtier or more stained than it went in??? ARGH. Ok...I'm ok.

;)