Tell All Tuesday - Week 25

And what a busy week it has been...

The best news is that I lost 1.2 lbs this week for a total of 11 lbs in 8 weeks. My 20 lbs in 20 weeks goal is well within my reach!

My leg is feeling some better but is not 100% yet. I am still getting in plenty of exercise and activity points though so that is good.

I can't believe I haven't posted in a whole week! Last Wednesday afternoon we took the kids to the last Texas Ranger home game. Then on Thursday, little James had to get his 15 month shots plus his flu shot. I went ahead and got my flu shot since our pediatrician's office will also give them to the parents...yeah for convenience! Then on Friday, David took Kirstyn and they both got their flu shots. Friday afternoon to help Kirstyn feel better, she and Mimi went to get pedicures so Kirstyn's toes now look better than mine! On Saturday afternoon I got to take Kirstyn on a date to see Sleeping Beauty at the local children's theater. I could go on and on. I can't believe how busy we have been! I will get some new pictures of the kids up soon!

Tell All Tuesday - Week 24

Today was a very busy day starting with Weight Watchers and continuing on to the doctor to find out why my knee was hurting so bad. See, on Sunday after my weight lifting class my knee started hurting so I iced it and took some ibuprofen. Then last night at my aerobics class during one of the kicking parts my knee started having some major shooting pain. Anyway, back to my weigh in...after all the whole reason I started posting this Tuesday weigh in was so that I would do better all week and not have to confess a gain all the time. So, today I weighed in DOWN 2.4 pounds! Yeah...that means I have lost 9.8 in 7 weigh ins. I am still on track to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks!

Now, back to my knee. Turns out it is not my knee that is injured, my knee hurting is a symptom of an injury to my quadricep muscle. Turns out that I have some fluid build up between the muscle and the bone. My kinesiologist did some deep tissue massage and told me to lay off of the lunges for a couple of days. I'll keep you posted because I wouldn't want anyone to loose sleep worrying about me!

Okay, 13 more weeks until Christmas...
Oh and don't forget that The Biggest Loser is on tonight! Yeah! "Healthy" Brain Rot!

Bring on the Brain-Rot!

I am so excited that this week is premier week! Finally, the summer of reruns is over! Now, I am the first to admit that I watch way too much TV, but I just love the escape...some people read and I prefer to watch TV...to brain-rot!

I have to admit I am still watching ER because I have always watched ER and I can finally see it through to the end. Also, I can't wait to find out the conclusions of some of last season's cliff hangers. Will Horatio Cane survives the gun shot wound he took on in the season finale of CSI: Miami or who has been blown up in his/her black SUV on Criminal Minds. What about the major confusing season finale of Desperate Housewives where 5 years have passed and the big shocker was that Susan goes home to the wrong husband! How will Numb3rs still be Numb3rs if Charlie doesn't continue to work with Don at the FBI? Oh and how dare NBC cancel Las Vegas when the season finale last year was a major cliff hanger!

Oh and one last confession while we are still talking... Our favorite show to watch together is 24. We have to wait until January to watch it though...probably a good thing though since I have so many other shows that I want to watch. Before we had kids we used to tape 24 (yep, I said tape...as in on the VCR!) and watch it on Sunday afternoons... now we record it on the DVR and wait until we have several hours to watch and make a date night out of it!

So, I admitted my addiction...what is yours? Are you excited for the premier of any shows this week? Did any of your shows get canceled? What is one show that you watch that you don't really want to admit that you watch.... mine is Dirty Sexy Money! Talk to me people...hurry, before my brain rots out!

To-Do List

This week's question over at Hot for the Holidays was "What's on your life's to-do list?" Well, this took some thinking on my part. See, I am pretty Type A in that I make to-do lists and keep calendars so that I can know what is happening next and what I need to be doing right now to keep from being behind (although, some days I feel so far behind that I feel like items are scrolling off of the bottom of my long to-do list). When some people don't make lists and then forget to do things it frustrates me (ahem...I love you Babe!) Anyway, back to the Life To Do List. I kept this one short and sweet and just named the first 5 that came to mind.

1. Lose 100 pounds!
2. See my kids grow up.
3. Get a masters degree (don't know in what yet...my Bachelors is in Computer Science but I am thinking that I want a future in something not so sedentary so that I never put this weight back on!)
4. Tour Israel
5. Return to Switzerland for a visit.

What is on your life to-do list?

Actually Some Randomness

Kirstyn really makes me laugh sometimes. Apparently she learned a new word today. Actually she must have learned the word 'actually' and now she is actually trying to use it as much as possible! Tonight after dinner she was eating a popsicle and she turned to her daddy and said, "Actually, I actually wanted a pink popsicle not a blue one. Can I give the blue one to brother?" This afternoon on the way into the gym Kirstyn was just talking and talking and it sounded like "today it is warm, actually yesterday was warm, and actually before that it was colder, well, actually not cold, but colder than it was the day before that...." I had to turn around and say, "Kirstyn, talk less and walk more or Mommy will be late for her exercise class."

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Tonight David did 3 loads of laundry. Back off....He's MINE! The laundry, however, was not mine. On his way home from work he got a call from a friend of his that was working security at our church where we are housing several families that are displaced due to Ike. Anyway, a small child had a 'tt' accident last night and the red cross ladies did not want to do this laundry but the family needed it done. My darling husband said, no problem. We have little children and would want someone to do this for us. David knows that I do not do well with bodily fluids. I am a sympathy chunker, I gag when I change James' diapers, etc. He called and asked me to finish any laundry I had in progress because HE was going to do this family's laundry. Three loads later, he was able to return this laundry to the church and bless this family. He really is pretty amazing and I am lucky to have him.

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The Biggest Loser and Dr. OZ were both on TV today! Talk about extra encouragement... Are you a Biggest Loser or Dr. OZ fan?

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Actually, I hope you have a great day!

Tell All Tuesday - Week 23

Today in our WW meeting we talked about negative self talk and how damaging it can be, so, with that in mind, I will focus on the positive!


First, last week I earned 77 activity points at the gym! Yes, that is right! I did 8 hours of intense cardio, 2 hours of weight lifting classes, and lots and lots of stretching along with some yoga! (I have created my own Biggest Loser ranch at HOME!) I am having so much fun watching my body shape change and making friends at the gym that I don't even notice all of the WORK! (for the grandmas....the kids were not in the childcare 10+ hours last week, some of those classes were before they woke up and some were after they went to bed so they didn't even know I was gone!)


Second, I journaled my food every. single. day! I stayed within my points AND didn't even use my extra flex points for the week. Although given all of the activity, I think I may eat just a little more this week and see what happens. I am going to adjust my points from "sitting most of the time" to "spends most of the time standing/walking". I think I am no longer a sedentary person! (can I get an AMEN) I have finally become an "active" person! YEAH!

Okay, so now back to why the POSITIVE self talk lesson was great for me today! I was up 1.2 pounds. Yes, UP. I know why. I increased my weights at my weight lifting class on Sunday due to much encouragement from the trainer. The first thing I thought was, great, I know I will be sore and up at my weigh in on Tuesday. But the real truth is, I want to change my shape more than I want to see a smaller number each week. I know next week will be another big number down on the scale. I have lost almost 8 lbs in the past 6 weeks so I am well on my way to being successful with my 20 lbs in 20 weigh ins goal! I will be HOTter for the Holidays (thanks Kami)!

Hearing Aids

Meet Pancho. This is Kirstyn's Webkinz that apparently had to get hearing aids because according to Kirstyn she wasn't able to hear well.

Me: Kirstyn, why are your hair things on your Webkinz' ears?

K: Mommy (can you hear the exacerbated tone), Pancho had to get hearing aids.

Me: Oh, they are pretty.

K: I know... Pancho wanted sparkly ones like Trinity's, not the kind like Grandpa's that you can barely see!

Me: I like them.

K: Don't tell me, tell Pancho.

Me: Pancho, I like your new hearing aids.

K: I am just glad that Pancho now understands what I have been saying to her over and over and over!

Me: Me too Sissy, Me too!

Did you know?

Okay, so I have to say that I LOVE my Crocs flip flops. I wear them all of the time and they are super comfortable. Well, one afternoon while playing outside with the kiddos and working in my garden I got my favorite shoes muddy. Well, of course the kids were some muddy too so I just kicked my shoes off at the back door so that I could deal with the rest of the mud. My plan was to let the mud dry so that I could knock it all off and go back to wearing them non-stop. So much for that idea.... Crocs SHRINK! Just look! My brown pair is the exact same size (or was) as the black pair! I was so mad! Guess Crocs should add a warning that they shrink when muddy and then heated by the Texas sun!

Cinnamon Rolls

Okay, so my bloggy buddy Kami posted a recipe for cinnamon rolls on her blog. I looked at the recipe and thought "I can make those healthier but still make them taste yummy." So, I showed Kirstyn the picture, she licked her lips and said, "Yummy, Let's make them!"

Well, I made them. I used all whole wheat flour, Motts no sugar added applesauce (in place of the egg because of Kirstyn's allergy), I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light, and so on. Anyway, we made them and they looked and smelled fabulous. I also put them in the recipe builder on the WW web site and found out that they were down to only 2 pts per roll.

We had them for dessert that night after dinner. I liked them, David really liked them, James got all sticky enjoying one, and Kirstyn took one bite and spit it out. She said, "THIS is NOT DeeDee's Recipe! I should have known something was wrong when we didn't open a can!"

I laughed soooooo hard. Because, if you know my mom you know how funny this is, but if you don't you should know that DeeDee makes almost everything from scratch and always has except for cinnamon rolls when she has the grandkids spending the night! That's when mom breaks out the can of Pillsbury reduced fat cinnamon rolls!

Tell All Tuesday - Week 22

Yahoo! Today I weighed in and was down 3.4 lbs!

That means I am down 8.6 lbs in the past 5 weeks! I am doing this. I am being successful. I am getting healthy! I could not do this without your support! (leave me comments please!)

There are 15 weigh ins between now and Christmas. I am on a quest to lose 20 lbs in 20 weeks. Join me, you can lose 15 lbs in the next 15 weeks and be a whole size smaller for the Holidays! For a little extra motivation I have joined a blog challenge called Hot for the Holidays! I am so excited to find more people out there in blog land that are on this weight loss journey. And maybe just maybe I will win a prize or two! Join me!

On a side note, I may be doing this but I should give some credit where credit is due. First, I should say that prayer works! Prayer has helped me develop some much needed self control and self discipline. (Those two are different... Self Control helps me not eat a donut when it is in front of me and Self Discipline is what makes me get up off of my butt and go to the gym.) Also, I need to thank my friend Rachael for encouraging me to go to WW in the first place. I never would have considered it had it not been for her encouraging me!

Our Walk in the Park

Thank you so much to those that supported us as a family in A Walk In The Park. David and I together raised $170. Not a bad total considering we signed up rather last minute for the walk. We will definitely be a part of this walk next year and will plan to sign up earlier and work harder at our fund raising.

We had so much fun and just look at the fun group of walkers that we joined!

I wish I could have gotten at an angle where you could see James' face. He was just standing there babbling to Taz like they were best friends. He was also all for giving '5s' to all of the characters while Kirstyn was on a mission to get lots of hugs!

After the walk Six Flags and Chick-Fil-A served us a very nice breakfast and they gave away lots of door prizes! I won a t-shirt/hoodie pair and David won a free 6X8 photo from one of the Kodak stands in the park (we will probably try to get a good picture at Holiday in the Park). Later in the day we also got to ride a few rides and enjoy some of the Best Of Texas Festival foods!

Praying for a Cure!

Okay, as I sit here tonight crying and watching Stand Up To Cancer I am amazed by the statistics that they are sharing! Did you know that this year alone 1500 kids in the US will die from cancer! They also said 1 in 2 men will get cancer and 1 in 3 women will get it! I just keep thinking how glad I am that we signed up for A Walk In the Park tomorrow! If you want to donate there is still time! Please consider giving at least $5!


Now that you have done that, please take a few minutes and say a prayer for my friend Jessica and her family. She is in the fight right now and her faith is an inspiration to all!

How has cancer affected you and your family? My mom is a melanoma survivor, I have two aunts currently fighting breast cancer, my grandpa is fighting colon cancer, and I lost one of my grandmothers to leukemia. I also have several friends in the fight!

On a lighter note... my kids are being brainwashed!


Sunday for church we were encourage to show support for our favorite college football team!

Tell All Tuesday - Week 21

Okay, well today's weigh in is nothing to really brag about but I am not disappointed either because I stuck to the eating plan AND exercised... Still with me? Anyway, I was up 0.4 lbs. Why? Well, I think it has a lot to do with "that time of the month" because I feel like a bloated pig. Plus, our AC went out yesterday and didn't get fixed until around 9:30 last night. When it kicked on and started working again it was 94F in our house so it took a while to cool off. Needless to say the temperature didn't help with my water retention! I was really worried about the weigh in this morning knowing how I was feeling puffy...I really didn't want to weigh in ever again outside of ONEderland and thankfully I did not! I am still under my 20% and in ONEderland! I now have 14.8 more pounds to lose in the next 16 weigh ins before Christmas! I can do this!!!

Thanks again for all of the encouragement and accountability! What have you done this week that deserves you take the time to brag on yourself? Go on over and TOOT your own horn!

Have you read about the walk our family is doing for Children's Cancer Charities??? I am doing a giveaway for those willing to donate ANY amount of money to this great cause! Please help me spread the word (right now David is raising more money than me with his Facebook and MySpace friends than I am with the bloggy world)! I should also say a BIG THANK YOU to The Mommies United for helping me get the word out about this GREAT cause!