8 sizes and 26:58

In a friend's comment she requested I post more pics of myself, so here are some I took today. In the first pic I'm showing my size 14s I wore when I started working out in June. You can see the waistline has a crease because they were tight on me. I wore these jeans nearly every day. CRAZY! Yesterday I went to DI to get me some jeans to tide me over until I get my Christmas giftcard to the mall. I bought my first pair of size 6 jeans (I'm wearing them in the pics!) I was euphoric as I tried them on in the dressing room and realized they fit perfectly. I haven't been this size since Jake and I were dating. I can't believe I've dropped 8 pants sizes! 13 more lbs. to go until I reach my goal and I'm slowly but surely getting there. My other great news: I ran 3 miles this morning in 26:58, the fastest I've ever done it. I'm excited. I feel stronger. There really is no high better than this, working out and feeling good about yourself. I posted the last two pics so you can see the difference in my face over the past 5 months. I promise to post full body shots once I get down to 130... which hopefully will be soon!

Happy 6th Birthday, Ben!

It's hard to believe my little guy is turning 6 years old today. I remember very vividly the morning Jake, my mom, and I headed to the hospital. It was a Sunday morning, the 15th, and my contractions were getting pretty painful. I was worried about being sent home because I hadn't progressed as far as I thought. The nurse told me I was at a 4 and sent me walking around the hospital to help speed things up. We walked around for awhile but my contractions started coming very hard, every 2 minutes like clock work. My sister-in-law, Katie, was timing them with me. I finally couldn't stand it anymore so we headed back up to Labor and Delivery. I was at a 5 and my water had partially broke. I was in labor the whole day, at 9 cm for nearly 3 hours, and finally the dr decided this little guy wasn't going to come on his own so I was prepped for an emergency c-section. Within minutes Ben was out. The whole room was amazed at how big and pink he was. A few called him "Hercules." He weighed 10 lbs. 1.6 oz. and was 21 inches long. Jake and I were nervous first-time parents. I think we did everything you could possibly do wrong with a newborn. Amazingly enough, though, he still turned out just fine. Now, my big boy is my big helper. He's a very sensitive and caring brother, almost always thinking of others before himself. He loves to play games, play with his cousins, go sledding, t-ball, swim. His favorite foods are pizza, chicken nuggets, green beans, fettuccine alfredo, and salmon. He also is learning how to cook and loves to help in the kitchen as much as he can. His specialty, pizza and chocolate chip cookies. Benjamin Jacob, we love you. Thank you for being such a good boy. Happy 6th birthday!

Our first family picture together. Ben was only a couple hours old.

Ben with Grandma Call at Niagara Falls (7 months old.)

Ben's first time with Santa (1 year.)

18 months

2 years old, right before Christmas looking handsome in his new suit.

Big brother loving his little sister (2 1/2)

Ben with Dad and Emma at Dad's law school graduation (May '06)

4 years old

Easter 2007

Loving the diving board at Dave and Stevie Mangum's house (June 2007)

Ben with his new baby brother (July 2007)

Ben's first day of preschool (August 2007)

Sledding at the Eaglewood Golf Course Club House (Feb. 2008)

T-ball (June 2008)

Kindergarten 2008

Ben's kindergarten picture

And I just had to add this little video of Ben. When he was just over a year he LOVED baths and would squeal if we even mentioned the word (now Josh does the same thing!)

We love you, Ben. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

#4: 6 Week Weigh-In

It's hard to believe it has been 5 1/2 months since I started working with my trainer... nearly half a year. It doesn't feel that long. I was hoping to be at my goal weight by the end of the year but I know that won't be happening, which I'm okay with. I'm still working hard and with battling bronchitis and a broken toe this past month, and then Thanksgiving and all the wonderful food that came along with the holiday, my results are still decent. I'm losing more inches than I am lbs. which is still good in my book. My trainer told me today that my goal (to lose 14 more lbs.) is nothing and I will get there soon. Hopefully he's right.

So, in 5 months I've lost:

25 lbs. (lost 3 lbs since last weigh-in)
9% body fat (lost 2% body fat since LWI)
6 inches from my waist (lost 1.5 inches since LWI)
5.5 inches from my hips (lost 1.5 inches since LWI)
2 inches from my right arm (lost .25 inches since LWI)
1.75 inches from my right thigh (lost 1 inch since LWI)
.5 an inch from my right calf since last weigh-in
1.5 inches from my neck (lost .5 inch since LWI)

Here are some pictures from last Saturday. Our neighbor took a great pic of Jake and I all dressed up in front of our tree right before we left for Jake's party, but it accidentally got erased. The party was wonderful, though. It was at La Caille and we were served yummy food (halibut, steak, potatoes, salad, rolls, pasta salad, etc.) I think secretly Jake enjoyed dressing up in his tux, even though he protested most of the time. He is one handsome devil (with or without the tux!) The last picture is of our good friends, Dave & Emily. Dave's office is a few doors down from Jake and they actually went to law school together, so we've known them awhile. It was fun to have a couple to hang out with the whole night.


Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season. I know we are!

2 Heroes at the Gym

As I hit the gym this morning, trying to burn off all that yummy leftover peach pie I had last night, I saw two women who are definitely worth mentioning on here. I don't like posting without pictures and so was tempted for two seconds to actually stop my workout, go downstairs to my locker and grab my camera out of my purse, and then take a pic of these women when they weren't looking. I'm not the stalker type, however, and that's probably why I didn't end up taking the pictures. So, just imagine this... if you can. A woman in her early 50s. She's running on the treadmill at a good pace. It doesn't look like she's straining or pushing too hard. She's in the zone and looks like she's actually enjoying her run, earphones in and I can only imagine she was listening to some upbeat Jack Johnson song, or something like it. As I pass by her treadmill, I casually glance at her settings and see she's running at 7.5 mph. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! I thought maybe 5.5 or 6, just by how easy and effortless she made it look. She had already gone 2 miles by this point, too, and then she went another 15 minutes at the same speed. Amazing!

Hero #2: I have seen this girl nearly every day I have been at the gym. She's a little taller than me, probably a couple years younger, and just a cute girl. I've watched her belly swell over the past couple months and have wondered when her baby is due (and how the heck she can be so diligent about getting up at 5:30am every day to workout while being pregnant!) I noticed her today on the elliptical, really pushing hard. I watched her while I ran on the treadmill, and then I decided today was the day I would talk to her. I started a 30 minute program on the elliptical right next to her and just waited for her to slow down enough to talk so I could ask her how she can be superwoman! Ten minutes later she is done and I interrupt her cool-off period and ask when she's due... THIS FRIDAY! Holy cow. Amazing! She burned over 400 calories on her workout and was dripping with sweat. I was so impressed with this girl and couldn't believe with 4 days to go until her due date, that she could still manage to push so hard. To be honest, she probably worked harder on her elliptical workout than I did! Again... amazing.

So, this post is dedicated to all you amazing heroes out there. I know some of my friends here have mentioned how I've inspired you and I just wanted to let you know what inspires me. Hope everyone had a Happy (and skinny) Thanksgiving! ;)

PS Check back on here Sunday morning and you will see pics of Jake and I in formal attire. It's his annual holiday work party and a black tie affair. It gave me a good excuse to buy a beautiful gown at Macy's and he is renting a tux. He's not exactly happy about it, but in the end I know we will have a wonderful time. It's Saturday night, so check back after for an update.

Black Friday Success!

I woke up every half hour last night, wondering if it was time to hit the sales. At one point I had a dream that I missed Black Friday all together and surprisingly enough, I wasn't too crushed about it. Right around that time I woke up, looked at my clock (4:10am) and I jumped out of bed... this was 5 minutes before my alarm went off. Yes, I was just a little excited. I made it to Toys R Us by 4:30am and waited outside in the rain until the store opened at 5am. I was about the 30th person in the store and I quickly grabbed a cart and headed down the main aisle. I brought my master list and knew exactly what I wanted. On Black Friday there is no messing around. It's not a day to just go and browse. I was lucky enough to find everything on my list (2 items were almost gone) and then I only had to wait about 5 minutes to check out. Painless and so fun. I was in and out of there in 20 minutes. Then I headed to another store and bought something for Jake (spent $25 and saved $35). Then I headed to Shopko. I had a toy in mind and as I was searching I saw there were none left. I went down another aisle and found a similar toy on sale but it was for the bigger one and cost $20 more. It was the last one so I took it and then heard a woman say behind me "She just took the last one." (She was referring to me and I felt a tiny bit guilty.) The line to the cash register wove in and out of aisles and took 25 minutes... not great, but not the worst I've waited in (Toys R Us one year I waited over an hour!) When I got to the cash register I saw on the counter the toy I originally wanted to get but was sold out. I asked the cashier if someone was going to buy that and she said "No. The lady changed her mind and gave them back." YES! I switched out the bigger one and got the cheaper one. (Again, I felt even more guilty now for that lady who wanted it and I took the last one. Oops.) After Shopko I rushed to the car and headed out to Wal-Mart. I figured the few things I wanted there would be gone since it was already a little after 6am. I pulled in at 6:30am and ran straight to the toys and to my surprise, there was plenty left of everything! It was awesome. I only waited about 5 minutes in line to check-out... again, awesome! Then I headed out to Old Navy and bought a few things. After that I hit two more stores (can't say what they are or Jake will know where I shopped) and bought everything I needed to get. Black Friday was a success! I was home just before 10am and bought all the items on my list. I figured out I saved an average of about 50% off everything I bought today. Not too shabby. The best part is Christmas shopping is 99% done. I just need to get 3 more presents, figure out my neighbor gifts, and stockings and then we are set. It's a great feeling and I love that we were able to save some money in the process. Another fun part of Black Friday is meeting other crazy shoppers, like myself. I met Laurel from West Valley at Shopko and Ryan and Shari at Toys R Us (they have 2 boys and were looking for Nintendo DS games). Fun times. It's 1:30pm now and I think my adrenaline rush is gone and I'm realizing I'm actually a little tired. I think I'll sleep pretty well tonight. ;)

145

My weight loss journey began 4 months 23 days ago. I weighed 170 and wore XL tops and size 14 jeans. I thought today I would dedicate a post to my weight loss journey, not just these past couple months, but over the past couple years. I have lost 25 lbs. now which puts me at 145. I wear medium tops and size 8 pants. I want to lose 15 more, but I'm excited about where I am and know I will get there eventually. It's no secret, though, that I have struggled in this department off and on for years. It's not easy watching your body morph into a whale-like creature over and over. With each pregnancy I gained quite a bit of weight and stretch marks. After each baby was born I seemed to lose the first 20 lbs. easily but then had to work very hard to get the rest of the weight off. Also, with nursing I seemed to hold onto the weight or even gain more, rather than lose it (which was really frustrating.) I gained 70 lbs, lost 70, gained 40, lost 40, gained 18, gained 50, lost 38, and then lost another 25 (where I'm at now) all in 6 1/2 years. Too many times I found myself crying to Jake, telling him how ugly I felt. I knew deep down this was my problem. No one could fix it for me. No one could run for me or lift weights for me. I felt it was unfair, though, watching others pop out babies and wear their size 2s home from the hospital. That just wasn't my luck. I have to work hard to lose weight. That's just a fact. That's why moments like these are so much sweeter to me, because it's something that takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. As I've been looking through old pictures this morning, I've found some that didn't get posted on my blog because I was embarrassed about how 'big' I looked. I like looking at where I've been though because it proves how far I've come and motivates me to keep going further. You know, I'm happy when I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. Of course there are things I would love to change (stretch marks gone and a little lift here and there) but overall, I like what I see... and that's something I haven't been able to say in a VERY long time (and I'm getting teary-eyed now, so I better stop.)

Here is a pic of Emma and I 2 weeks before Josh was born (weighing about 208!). I was so huge and miserable, but tried not to show it. ;) Anyone jealous of the stretch marks?! My Grammy told me they are war wounds and I agree with her.

I made this sling for Josh and was proud of myself, especially since it was probably the 10th time I used my sewing machine (around 175).

Here I am with Jake and our dear friends, the Crane's, Tate's, and Stacy Johnson (Brad was sick that night.) It was taken in January this year. I love the pic because our friends are in it, but cringe when I see myself because of my belly roll sticking out.

I was told once that I was the "fat sister." It really scarred me, especially after I saw this picture. I don't feel that way now. We are all beautiful and one person's opinion shouldn't matter to me.

My mom took this pic of Ben and I coming down a waterslide in Malaysia. I was really embarrassed after seeing my gut hang out, I didn't want to show it to anyone.

And here is my closet. Sunday I had to try on multiple outfits for church because nothing was fitting. I finally decided I needed to go through my clothes and take out anything that is too big and doesn't fit anymore so I know exactly what I have to work with. Well, here is what is left. (The plastic storage container has all my over-sized clothes.) I have 4 pairs of jeans (2 are a tad big and will be going in the bin soon.) 2 pairs of khakis (one pair is big). As for church clothes, I have 3 long skirts and 3 short skirts. Out of those, half are getting too big. Can you guess what I need for Christmas?! As great as this is, not so much for the checkbook. Hopefully I can get some good deals around Christmas!

Bronchitis... Again

Monday I started getting a sore throat and cough. Then Tuesday it seemed to get a little worse. I was achy and felt lethargic, but no fever. Then Wednesday I had a fever throughout the whole day (100-103), nauseous, and my right lung really hurt. Wednesday night I was in a lot of pain and kept waking myself up because of it so around 3:30am I went downstairs and tried to get some sleep on the couch sitting up (it doesn't hurt as bad if I do that.) Then today I was miserable. I called Jake at lunch time and told him I wanted to go to Instacare when he got home from work. I had pneumonia almost exactly a year ago and bronchitis in March, and I've been feeling similar symptoms this time around so figured I should go get some antibiotics. Tonight the dr confirmed that I do have full blown bronchitis and my temp was 103.4. (No wonder I've been feeling so crappy!) I was given some antibiotics and some prescription strength cough syrup. The dr also told me to buy Mucinex D to help break up the junk in my lungs. When I went to the pharmacy, I noticed the Mucinex I was told to buy actually had to be given to me by the pharmacist. I also had to show picture ID and sign a form with my contact info. I found it very strange that I would have to do that for an OTC drug. You would have thought I was buying crack or something. Then Jake later told me that Mucinex has been used to make Meth. Interesting. Anyway, I'm hoping over the next couple days I'll get my energy back. I hate when I get sick, especially because the kids suffer. I think Ben and Emma watched 3 movies today while I passed out on the couch. Ugh. No fun. Jake also has a scout campout with his boys tomorrow night which isn't the greatest timing. Knock on wood none of the other kids get it. Ben has a runny nose, Emma is fine, but Josh has been congested and I worry he might be getting something. Hopefully I'm wrong.

It was interesting to hear from the dr that once you've had pneumonia it makes you more susceptible to bronchial problems. Hopefully this isn't something I'm going to have to deal with every year!

Sorry to be a downer. I do have one bit of exciting news! Take a look:

I really never thought I would see the day! This is the Chevron right down the street from our house. What's so incredible is that on the 4th of July gas at this very station was $4.15/gallon. Amazing! I'm actually excited to fill up the van tomorrow.