What We've Been Up To...

I realized today I never posted any pictures from Jake's NY trip Labor Day weekend with his brothers and dad. Here is one of him and his brother, Tyler, passing the Statue of Liberty. (Yes, I know my husband is a hottie. Rawr!)

While I was gone in Washington/Oregon last weekend, Ben lost his first tooth. He was so proud of himself and called me right after it happened. Jake said he didn't even know any were loose so it caught him by surprise. He waited to put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy to get it until I could see it the next day. What a sweet boy!

Probably the worst news over the past two weeks... we had our dog, Truman, neutered. Now, this usually is a good thing but for us it has been two weeks of pure torture! We had it done the day before I left to Washington. That first night blood was dripping from him and Jake ended up taking him to the Utah Pet Center around 10pm. He was given a bigger cone (the other one was too small so he could lick his incision and make it worse) and also some anti-inflammatory meds. Then a couple days later I noticed his incision was about half open and it was still bleeding off and on. I took him back to the vet and was told he needs to wear his cone 24/7, except to eat and drink. He licks himself when we are not looking and has caused an infection, so he is also on antibiotics now. What should have been a minor 2 or 3 day inconvenience has turned into a 2 week nightmare! (Yes, that is blood on his cone. He would use the cone to rub himself. Don't worry, it's clean now. SICK!) Doesn't he just look miserable?! Jake and I both have decided Truman hates us now. Every time he has to put that cone back on his head, we think he is devising a terrible plan to get rid of us. Hopefully in the next week or two he will be back to his old self.


Last Friday I went to the dr to get my thyroid checked (something I've been doing every couple months for the past 2 years.) My blood work came back perfect so I'm at a dosage that I'll stick with which was great news. Then my dr checked my heart again and said he's a little concerned that I might have some kind of irregularity. Just to be on the safe side, he decided to have me hooked to a heart rate monitor for 24 hours to see what's going on. It could be nothing and he didn't seem too concerned, so I'm not. My mom says irregular heart beats/palpitations run in our family so it could just be one of those lucky things I've inherited. I just hope this doesn't change how I exercise. We shall see.

Facelift anyone?

So, I've had some ask to see my before and after pictures. My plan is to post full body pics when I get down to my goal weight, so it's not going to happen for awhile... sorry. I will, however, post these to help satiate all those who are dying to see my juicy pictures. ;) The first picture was taken on July 22nd, and the second was taken this morning, exactly 2 months apart. It's amazing to see the difference my workouts have made in these two pictures, especially in just two months. It makes me excited to see what I will look like when I get down to my goal weight.

2nd 6-Week Weigh-in

It was time for another 6-week weigh-in today. The last month and a half I've worked really hard, harder than I worked the first 6 weeks. I feel I've accomplished a lot as far as my cardio goes. I can run 3 miles under 29 minutes without breaking too much of a sweat (something I've never been able to do!) I ran a 10K, the longest race I've ever done. My fat pants are packed away, and my "normal" pants are loose. My skinny clothes are close to fitting, which blows my mind. I'm almost half-way to my goal and I feel great.

So, with all that said... my results. In 12 weeks I have lost:

16.6 lbs.
6.3% body fat
3.75 inches from my waist
3.5 inches from my hips
1 full inch from my neck

To add a disclaimer to my weight loss which is not as good as my last weigh-in, it is my special monthly time (I'm sure you all wanted to know that) and so I bet if we would have waited another week I would have lost more weight. Oh well.

I'm really hoping to be at my goal weight by Christmas and I think I can do it. Someone asked me a couple weeks ago if my healthy eating habits will be something I can stick with forever, or something that will last until I meet my goal. To be honest, I had not really thought about that until I was asked. I definitely think this is something I can maintain. I'm not starving myself. I'm not trying to maintain a fad diet which usually doesn't work. I'm just choosing healthier foods, and eating smaller portions. There is no magic to this. Exercise and diet... that's all it is... and a lot of motivation and hard work. One of my favorite sayings that has helped motivate me during hard times is "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." It's so true. I've thought about that a couple times, especially when I first started all this a couple months ago. It's easy to sit down in front of the tv with a bag of chips, M&Ms, or whatever you're craving at the moment and mindlessly down the whole bag without thinking twice about it. It's easy to go to a restaurant and order a huge plate of ribs, fries, and a coke and shovel it down in minutes. It's NOT that easy to plan out your meals, check out the nutritional content, and know when you're full and to say stop... but that's what it takes. I've learned that when you are really in-control though, you can make the conscious choice of what you put in your mouth, and that is a huge step to becoming healthier. Okay, enough ramblings. I'm excited and motivated, something I haven't felt about myself in a long time, so of course I want to share it with my family and friends. Thanks for all the support and encouragement everyone! It means more than you know.

Oregon-bound

Just wanted to let my Oregon friends know I'll be there on Sunday for approximately 4 1/2 hours before I have to head to the airport. I didn't want you to find out some other way and be frustrated that no visits were made. I'm driving my sister, Ashleigh, and her two daughters back home to Washington on Saturday. Sunday morning I will be driving down to Oregon and will get into Portland around 11:30am. I will be at Naomi's house and will go to church with her at 1pm. Then I will drop my parents' car off at their house and Naomi will be taking me to the airport around 4pm. It's probably the quickest trip of my life, but a trip nonetheless so I shouldn't complain. I wish I had an extra day to see everyone but it will have to wait until next time, which will probably be either Thanksgiving or next August for my 10-year reunion.

Black eyes and more love notes

I remember going through the check stand at Smith's when Emma was a year old. She was sporting this great shiner and had plenty of bruises. I wondered if some who saw her ever had the thought to call DCFS and turn me in. Thank goodness for veteran moms though, who have been there and know this is just a phase... the joys of learning to walk. The checker at the grocery store took one look at Emma and then said to me "Looks like she's learning to walk, huh?!" It was a sigh of relief. It's nice to know some people don't think I whack my children. So, now Josh is going through this wonderful and scary stage. Yesterday he was playing with Emma and his cousin, Ryleigh, and he fell and smacked the corner of his eye on a chair. The poor guy cried for awhile so I know it was painful. I rocked him and kissed him. Within a minute or two his eye was puffy and blue and I figured a nice black eye would be coming. Here it is, a day after the incident. The first picture he was hugging Emma's stuffed dog and I managed to capture his cuteness (it's not that hard, though.) The second is a close-up of his shiner. He looks like a boxer... the poor kid. Knowing what I know, I'm 100% sure this will not be the last of these fun experiences.

In other news, Ben's kindergarten romance is going strong. He wrote Ellie a little note Monday and stamped a butterfly and heart in pink (for Ellie) and then stamped a penguin and a dinosaur in green (Ben's favorite stamps and his favorite color.) Yesterday when I picked Ben up from school, he told me Ellie gave him "some more stuff." I checked his backpack and this is what I found:

(sorry for it being sideways, I can't figure out why blogger is uploading it like that.)

Butchered!

Tonight after FHE Jake and I were looking at Josh's crazy mullet (which has been getting more crazy by the day) and figured it was time for his first haircut. Jake took him up to the bathroom and pulled out the clippers while I made cookies with the other kids. He brought Josh down a few minutes later and I about had a heart attack. The poor kid looks BALD! Jake said he tried a longer attachment and then just went with a #3. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. My baby looks like he's going into the army. Jake knows it's short but still thinks it looks fine. What do you think? My poor little army boy!

Ben's first love note

So last week I asked Ben if he had made any friends in his kindergarten class yet. He told me "no" and didn't seem bothered by it. I mentioned how it would make school more fun if he made some good friends and he said he would try to meet some people. Fast forward to this week, I picked Ben up after school on Tuesday and Ben excitedly told me "I made a FRIEND!" I asked what his friend's name was and he said "I don't know. We played together at recess though and she sat next to me when we listened to the fireman talk." The wheels were turning and I wondered if there might be a crush brewing. I casually asked what he thought of her and he said "She's just my friend." Then Wednesday he told me he figured out his new friend's name... Ellie (then he went on to say not Elliott, like his other friend's name with two T's, but just Ellie.) He said they played together again that day. Then Friday after school as he was climbing into the van he mentioned Ellie gave him a note before school started and he put it in his bag. I pulled it out and read it to Ben: "4 Ben. From Ellie. Ben. Love." It looks like someone might have a crush on my little guy. It's funny. If it was 10 years from now and I was posting a girl's love note to Ben on my blog, I think he would probably be freaking out (rightfully so.) As of right now though, he tells anyone who will listen and he's excited about his new friend. He even wants to write her a note back (he has told me he wants to use some dinosaur stamps to decorate it.) Wow! Love notes at 5-years old. I'm betting Ben is going to be quite the heart-breaker when he grows up.

Calories... and more calories

I have had quite the epiphany over these last couple months as I've been exercising and trying to make healthier decisions all-around. Like I had mentioned earlier I have never counted calories before. Occasionally I remember glancing at the nutritional facts of certain foods a handful of times but it never meant much to me. Now that I have to watch every little thing that goes into my mouth, I'm learning more than I ever have about calories, fat, protein, carbs, etc. I've also made some harsh realizations. Let me just say I LOVE Red Robin. I worked there after I graduated high school and just loved their steak fries and would dip them in ranch dressing. My favorite burger of all-time was the Royal Burger. I remember many times sitting at the restaurant with friends or family and shoveling down a royal burger, fries, ranch, and a strawberry lemonade. I would be stuffed but my plate would be empty at the end. I wish I would have known I was eating 1931 calories at that one sitting. CRAZY! That is nearly 500 calories more than I eat in a day right now. How was I not obese?!

Another favorite of mine is the chicken fettuccine alfredo at Olive Garden. I could down a whole plate, small salad, and a couple breadsticks and that adds up to nearly 1500 calories (more than I eat in one day!)
While my parents were here visiting we went to Costco for lunch. I thought I was being good by ordering the turkey wrap. It's made with a whole wheat tortilla, turkey, tomato, cheese, lettuce, and a little bit of mayo... 810 calories! Who would have thought?!

Now I don't mean to be such a downer, but just hope this might open your eyes a little, like it did to me. This isn't to say I won't ever go to Red Robin or Olive Garden again, what a sad life that would be! I definitely won't be wolfing down my food any more though and I will be much more careful about what I order and my portion size.

I don't want to end my post on a negative note so figured I would write down some of my favorite low-cal foods. (Feel free to comment and add your own to give me more ideas!)

1) fruits (watermelon, bananas, grapes)
2) grilled chicken (add lemon juice and a little garlic)
3) Wishbone Italian dressing spray (1 calorie/spray)
4) orange-banana smoothie (1 C. light orange juice, 1/2 banana, 8 ice cubes)
5) grilled salmon
6) vegetables (green beans, corn, asparagus)
7) fiber one breakfast bars
8) lean cuisines
9) McDonald's fruit parfait
10) oatmeal

Wasatch Woman Love Your Body 10K

I ran my 10K this morning, the longest race I've ever done. I left the house at 7:40am and drove up to the U of U campus. Parking was easy to find and it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. I only had to wait about 15 minutes to use the porta-potty and spent the rest of the time talking with my sister-in-law, Allison, and her friend Sherian. It was fun participating in a women-only race... just something empowering about throwing a bunch of women together who care about their health and who are running for a great cause. The 5K started at 9am and I watched Allison and Sherian take off. Within two minutes I found Shana Mollerup, an old friend from the village. I was excited to have someone to run next to, at least for the first couple miles. The 10K started at 9:15am and Shana and I were pretty close to each other for about 3 1/2 miles. She's a stronger runner than I am and so it was nice to have here running in front of me and give me motivation to keep up with her. There was a huge hill that we had to run (twice) and the first time I ran it and the second time I just couldn't make it and walked. By that point Shana was out of my sight. I pushed through though and was just hoping to beat my time of 1:14. I saw Jake and the kids twice on my route, and they were cheering me on. When I hit mile 6 and had just .2 to go I started feeling a tad nauseous. I turned the corner to the finish line and saw the clock, 1:09:38. I sprinted to the finish line so I could make it under 1:10 and ended at about 1:09:50. I thought I would puke for a second but after I caught my breath and drank some water, I was fine. Jake, the kids, Allison, Sherian, and Shana were there at the end, clapping and yelling. It was great (thanks guys!) I definitely need to practice running outside more, and on hills. I was not prepared for this course. I'm happy though. I feel I did pretty good, especially considering 2 1/2 months ago I couldn't even run 1 mile without feeling sick. Hopefully I'll just get faster and stronger over the next couple months. I have a couple half marathons I want to do next year. Anyone want to join me?!

Family Pictures

My entire family has been visiting the past couple days and we have had a great time playing games, celebrating Chad's birthday on Sunday, and having an extended Call family BBQ on Labor Day. On Monday night we had planned for family pictures to be taken. Jake had been in New York since Thursday and pulled into the Salt Lake airport at 7pm Monday so we had about 30 minutes of decent light left to get the pictures taken. We rushed to Memory Grove and took as many pictures as we could before the sun went down. Ashleigh, my sister, is a great photographer and is very talented with photoshop. She took these of our family and I love how they turned out. Thanks, Ash! Chad left this morning. The rest are leaving in the next day or two. It's been fun and we will definitely miss everyone when they are gone.