Progress and...

Well lets see. Ive been working really hard on losing weight over the past 5 months... really much longer than that but because of some medical issues finally taken care of back on December 1, I was able to get my journey of weight loss from a much better "starting" point. When kenny and I got married I weighed WAY to much at 165. Since Im 5'5" thats about 30 lbs over the middle of my "Ideal" weight range. Now I know that my range goes up to 145 and as low as 123 but I've weighed 100 when I was 18 and was very similar to an out of bounds marker on a golf course. Yes someone actually called me that once when I was in a white swim suit. For those of you non golfers out there, OB markers are often a decorative timber burried in the ground with white paint on the top half with the letters OB painted in black to let a golfer know when he's (usually me) hit the ball off the course (keep in mind back yard fences really do the same thing.) Anyway, while I dont want to be that skinny again, I would like to be a lot healthier and lighter than I was, lets say 17 months ago. Since my surgery, and might I add that explains why I could never get a flat stomach, no matter how many situps I've done in the past 3 years, Ive worked VERY hard at eating right and getting regular exercise. Last April I started jogging, walking etc to get in better shape and even though I pulled muscles in my shins and had to take 2 months off, yes I did it up GOOD, I managed to continue the routine well into the fall. When my health got the best of me, I did quit for a while. The Dr had been telling me for a few years to "pick a date" for surgery, but I felt like my other options were better... HA! Because I waited 2 more years and tried a couple of other options, (one worked ok but the side effects of that one were unmanageable, option 2 worked like a miracle but and there is always a but, it also contributed to 20 lbs of weight gain and my inability to lose it no matter how I ate or how much exercise I did) I was heavier than I'd ever been in my life, even with gaining 60+ lbs when I was pregnant with Derek. The Dr said the first 30 didnt count because I was so UNDERWEIGHT when I started... at this point 16+ years later, who would have ever thought I'd be at this point? Anyway, back to my original thought here.... oh yeah... Ive been working really hard at losing weight. Eating 1200 calories or less a day, which isnt that hard on the weeks I travel because of my usually self inflicted insane schedule. I have also been exercising 5+ hours a week by either walking/joging on my treadmill or now that its warm enough and when it isnt raining, riding my bike. I'd jog with Derek but since he has legs up to his ears, there is no way on god's green earth that I would be able to keep up with him, even if I wasnt 35 (36 next week) and still not in great shape. Crosscountry Boy can run 3 miles in around 16 minutes... even when I was his age and in JROTC there is no way I ran that fast! I think I did good to run 2 miles in 14 minutes (but that was with combat boots on too!) Sooo with all of this diligent work on my part, the use of Balance Log to track my food and exercise, support of Mom and Kenny and even Derek who regularly invites me to go out for a run with him... I CAN keep up with him on my bike with it in 7th gear, since December 20th I have lost (still retaining some fluids from my surgery, at least thats the story Im telling myself) Ive gone from 199 to 166! Wooo Hoo! My clothes of course fit mucho better, in fact at this moment Im wearing shorts I havent put on in quite some time... well I did but then the pleats were smooth! My goal is still to get to 145 so I have 26 lbs to go! But wow, in 6 solid months, Ive lost 33 lbs! Can you say SWEEEET? Ive slacked off on the working out the past couple of weeks but Im back to it and boy am I paying for it now! Who would have thought that 2 weeks of no treadmill, bike or situps that I'd be this sore after 40 mins on a stationary bike and 60 situps... ok maybe doing 60 after not doing any for a while was a bit much but hey, gotta get going again somewhere. Anyway lets see what the next 6 months bring and maybe the pictures that Teresa takes I wont look like stuffed sausage in my chef's coat.

Derek's Driving - Well... he's now been driving for 2 weeks and 2 days... and in that time here I go again with a big SIGH. His second weekend of driving resulted in a gash, and I do mean gash, puncture, screwed up paint etc in his tail gate... dont you know the ex LOVED having to call and tell me about that Derek was too afraid to call me himself. It looks as though someone backed into his truck with something in the back of theirs at the paintball place in Boyd. They drove around to all of the places that Derek had been that day and couldnt find anything that looks like he could have backed into that would cause that kind of damage... 5 inches long, 1/4 inch wide and the paint is ALL gone around this hole. He immediately wanted to take the bed off because the truck was no longer "pristine" but we decided it would be best if it was left on there because if something falls out of the back of his truck while he's driving such as the lawn mowers etc... thats another issue I just dont want to have to deal with! We told Derek he would have to pay for 1/2 of the cost of repair or replacement of the truck bed... needless to say he wasnt happy about that with but I didnt do it. Ahhhh the lessons and cost of growing up and owning your own vehicle. THEN, this past week, yes within 7 days of the first problem, he hit something, possibly going to fast into one of his friend's unpaved drive ways, broke the black plastic ground effects on the front of his truck. His dad made him take it off because he was afraid he would get pulled over by a police man or it would come off and hit another car. So thats 2 things he now has to help pay for and replace. Me thinks we will wait a while for that though so if something else happens maybe it will be to the tail gate and no where else.

He also had a new lesson in keeping track and balancing his check book and bank account. He is wanting to buy a really nice paintball gun so he was supposed to be saving part of the money he earns from mowing yards to pay for 75% of it. We have repeatedly (his dad and I) told him to check his account balance every day, gotta love online banking, so that he would always know what he has outstanding and pending. He is rather or has been rather laid back about the whole thing. A few times he has come close to over drawing it by a dollar or two and we have always covered it with the lecture of "dont do this again or we arent going to cover it." Well he finally did it, and did it GOOD. In the past few weeks he has gone from having over $100 in his savings and $75 in his checking to completely over drawing the account and getting whacked with not one, not two but THREE over draft charges... to the grand total of $102. That means he blew all his $$$ in both accounts and then some. He was convinced that it was the bank's fault but after he met with them this morning he discovered NOPE... it was all Derek! Now he's not only behind... he is in the negative... makes all the work he's done this week essentially FREE... lets hope its lesson learned... we shall see.

Travels - I had a marathon week from H-E-double hockey sticks this week. I got up monday morning and went to DFW, flew out to Knoxville, TN. Spend the night... of course worked all day Monday and Tuesday and flew home Tuesday night.... Got up Wednesday morning and flew to Cincinnati, OH (and yes I know its only an hour flight from Knoxville to Cincinnati, and yes I know there ARE flights between the two cities but would you believe it was $250 more to make it a round trip flight than it was to fly home and then back out?) worked all day Wednesday and Thurday and took a late flight home last night. At dinner I told Kenny, WOW, Im surprised Im not more tired that this... HA famous last words, by the time we got home I felt like I'd been hit by a rather large truck... and wouldnt you know, I was to dang'd tired to sleep! As you could imagine Im beat today. I did the work from home thing today and spent the better part of 2.5 hours on the phone helping one of our clubs in California... at least Im in shorts and yes as my usual atire, a golf shirt. At least Im not wearing heels today, wooo hooo... actually Im barefooted!

For those of you interested, my birthday is the 22nd... gifts, cards and well wishes are welcomed! Especially gifts... but I'd settle for a well wish from everyone! I'll officially be in a new age bracket... no longer the 26-35 group.. its the 36 - 44 group... AAACK! chant to myself, Im not old, Im not old!

Well guess what... this past week it was Kenny and my 3rd wedding anniversary! And some said we wouldnt make it a year... well they might have but they never said it to me! wink wink Believe it or not Im going to post a picture now. Here is a picture from that happy day, 3 years ago on the 12th.