A Goal Revisited

Now that it's December, I'm faced with the harsh reality of the Resolution I made in January.  My goal was to lose over 30 pounds this year taking me from 182.4 lbs, 6 weeks after giving birth to Max, down to 150 pounds, the weight I was over 3 years ago before I was pregnant with Mason.

It's been harder in some ways than I thought it would be.  Taking care of two little ones leaves much less time and energy to exercise and think about my eating habits than I expected.  On the other hand, it was too easy for me to procrastinate since I had a whole year to lose the weight.  As it turns out, I don't expect to reach my goal of 150 lbs. by December 31.  However, there is still some success I'll be able to celebrate and I'm looking forward to seeing what the final result will be!

As a final push at the end of this year, I'm going back to using the "MyPlate" feature on livestrong.com to track my food intake and my activities.  Also, I'm using Stephanie as my accountability partner.  I will have to tell her at least weekly what I weigh, with no excuses.  Although I post it in my blog regularly, it makes a difference to say it out loud to a real person!

I have 31 days to reach a new goal.  I weighed in this morning at a surprising 163.6 pounds.  It was lower than I expected after indulging in delicious Thanksgiving meals with our family in Kansas City (which, by the way, we had an amazing time seeing our grandparents and hanging out with Mom and Dad Murrill - it always goes by too fast).  I am setting a new goal of losing 5 pounds by December 31.  That means my new, adjusted goal is 158.6 pounds.  Here we go!

Wake-up Call

It's 7am, and thanks to my personal little alarm clock, also known as "Max", I've already been up for at least 1.5 hours.  I can't say that I mind too much, but I am hoping I get a little nap later today.

We've been having a wonderful time with the Murrill family here in Kansas City.  Stephanie and I brought the littlest ones, Max and Monroe, with us on Monday.  Mike, Mark and Mason drove out on Tuesday evening.  We celebrated Stephanie's 30th Birthday with a surprise dinner with friends at California Pizza Kitchen and some shopping and fun to follow.  There were two "celebrity" sightings during the celebration, we saw Sasha Kahn of the 2008 Champion KU Jayhawks, and Michael Tait, of the Newsboys and formerly of D.C. Talk.  The birthday girl even got her picture with Mr. Tait!

This morning we'll head to church and we're looking forward to seeing old friends.  There's just something about Sabbath.  I'm so glad it's here.  I'm so glad to have the rest and time-out from everyday life!

Shabbat Shalom!

Happy Sabbath, Dear Friends!  I hope you are enjoying rest and taking time for the important things in life.  I am already getting into the Thanksgiving spirit, I suppose, because I've been thinking about things I'm thankful for.  Lately, I have been overwhelmingly thankful for my family, and today I'm going to tell you why.

My littlest boy, Max, is now a big one year-old and he has been dubbed by some, to be a "mini-me".  People say his eyes are just like mine and that he resembles me very much.  I'm so thankful for him, for how he has opened my heart up even more to learn how to love.  He makes me feel needed, wanted, and very important.  He also makes me feel like I'm doing a good job when he gives me his big toothy grin!

My oldest son, Mason, is a very busy 2 1/2 year-old who is looking more like his Daddy everyday, except for the little guy's amazing head of red hair.  I'm so thankful for Mason because he taught me how to be a mother and how to love like one.   Every time I hear his hearty little laugh I can't help but smile.  He is forgiving and loves me unconditionally.

My husband, Mike, has been in my life for 9 1/2 years, with 7 1/2 as my husband.  That's long enough for him to realize that I am terribly flawed.  He's been the receiver of my selfishness, my thoughtless remarks, my controlling habits, and the many negative effects of my insecurities.  Somehow he has loved me in spite of these things.  He is still the only person I ever want to spend my life with, my best friend, the only one who really "gets" me, and the one I still believe God planned for me.  He is an incredible man of God whom I aspire to be more like in many ways.

This thanksgiving, I'm more thankful than ever for the amazing blessing of my immediate and extended families.

So...I weighed in yesterday morning at 165.0 lbs.  I would like it to be much less.  But, it's not.  Enough said.

I wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Fasting

My media fast seemed to be so effective, that it even kept me away from my blog for quite a while!  Renee and I had quite an experience cutting media out of our lives for those two weeks.  We went through a range of emotions and phases including excitement, denial, frustration, anger, acceptance, and finally happiness.

We learned that movies, TV, magazines, books, the internet (yes, even facebook), and other media sources are not necessary to living a happy life and more often that not, (at least for us) were more detrimental.  We realized we needed to learn to create better boundaries if we choose to partake in anything media-related or it can easily overwhelm and overtake our minds, taking our focus away from both our families and from God, which are much more important to us than anything else.

Personally, I learned that I was living without true peace as I had not been taking any time for personal reflection or worship.  After my fast, I feel much more engaged in the lives of my boys and also with my marriage.  I haven't watched any TV (except a little sports with Mike), but I have watched one movie, read a few magazines, and have been online some, however it's been significantly less than my former ways.  I feel happier, more at peace, and generally less stressed.

I think two weeks was a crucial timeframe for this experiment.  One week would not have been long enough to change our habits.  After one week was over, we were annoyed and agitated as we felt the loss of our "media habits", but hadn't filled the hole with anything else.  It was the second week where the growth occurred.  In fact, I chose to fast from a couple of other things just to make sure that they too weren't more important in my life than they should be.

Now that it's over, I wish I could say I read my Bible everyday and spend lots of time in worship, but that wouldn't be true.  What I can say is, that I'm doing better with it now that I've created some space in my life for time with God to exist, but changing your lifestyle or habits isn't easy and it isn't immediate.  I know I have work ahead of me to put my relationship with God where it needs to be, but He is faithful and will guide me each step of the way.

Let me catch my breath.

Things have been so crazy lately that I feel like I'm barely able to keep up with myself!  We got back from Des Moines and 2 days later, the boys and I caught a flight to Washington where we visited with my family there.  It was a very fun 11 days, but also was tiring taking care of two boys as my cold turned into bronchitis and I had some pretty severe asthma.  We got back at about 1:00 A.M. this past Sunday morning and I was able to get some much-needed rest the past few days.

Today I started back to work.  Let me catch you up.  The first time, several weeks ago, it didn't end up working out which was actually good, as I had agreed to work 4 days a week and looking back, I was probably a little goofy thinking I could actually do that and maintain sanity.  I admire you mom's that work full-time.  That is a tough task and so many of you do it so well!  So Monday evening I got a message from Brandon, my boss and friend, who said they needed me after all, and that it would be great if I could start Wednesday (today).  It all happened to work out with childcare and I've agreed to work Monday mornings, and a full day on both Tuesday and Thursday.  This is a very do-able schedule for me and I am very thankful to have the extra income.

Speaking of Brandon, ahheeemmmm...He and his family, 5 people whom I love dearly (Maria, Mitchell, Blythe and Brynley), have announced that they are moving to North Carolina.  While I'd like to try anything to make them stay (selfishly, of course), and I have actually tried to think of something I could do to make them stay, I have to realize that instead of feeling sad that I should rejoice for the time God blessed us with by placing them in our lives.  They are some of the most kind-hearted, loving, fun, cool, gracious and meaningful people I've known.  I have no doubt they will be very happy and that God is leading them.  It's hard to leave people you appreciate and hard to be the ones left.  We've been on both sides and neither is easy.  I ask that you join me in praying for the Nudd family as they anticipate and begin their new life in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina.  We will miss you terribly! Ok, well at least they will likely be here a couple more months, give or take.  :)  I can cram in some time with them, although they might get sick of me hanging around all the time!  Oh well.  They shouldn't have told me they were leaving then.

I haven't weighed on Friday's like I'm supposed to.  I'll get back at it this week.  It's been too hard being on vacation across the country to keep up with it.

You won't find me on facebook or anywhere else on the internet (except for email and my blog), or reading books or magazines, or watching tv or movies for a little under 2 weeks.  My sis and I decided to try a "Media Fast" where we stop all of our bad habits and vices and only allow ourselves to journal and read our bibles.  It's already been very interesting and I'll let you know how the experiment has gone, once we finish.

It's just after 9:00 P.M., but I am so tired I think I might go to bed right now.  Good night!

Welcome to Des Moines

What an interesting trip this has proven to be.  All four of us are sick with this nasty cold to some degree.  We left Chicago on Friday much later than we had hoped, and once we got to our hotel in Des Moines, our relief was short-lived when Max threw up all over himself.  This was not some little spit up scenario, but a full-fledged heaving kind of throw up.  I felt so bad for him.

We had stopped for a plethora of medicines at Walgreens on our way to the hotel and as I gave Mason his cough medicine at bedtime, he completely missed his mouth and spilled it all over his blanket and himself.  Sometimes you just have to smile.

My cold has turned into something much closer to a full-fledged sinus infection and Mike is also battling this irritating illness. If we didn't love Kyla so much, I can say this would have been an easy decision to stay home.  On the upside, the hotel we're staying at has an indoor water park complete with a pirate ship that Mason has been more than delighted to explore.  I'll post some pictures after we return home.

The wedding was so much fun on Saturday night.  Kyla looked amazing and we're so happy for her and Lance.  They make a beautiful couple both inside and out.  Today we're going to take the boys over to see them at their house before we watch the Chiefs game with Dad Murrill and have to head home.

Please pray that we'll all start to feel better.  I've been sick over a week now and am concerned how the flight to Washington will go Tuesday if we are still fighting this virus.

Annoyed

This morning I'm a bit frustrated and more than a little annoyed.  However, I'll get over it.  I weighed in at 165.6 pounds this morning.  All week I've been weighing myself almost everyday and I've been weighing 164.6.  A whole pound lighter!  Oh well, that's how it goes, I suppose.  Maybe next week I can lose again.  I did, however, make good on my promise of having no sugar.  It's a good thing too, because I've been fighting a cold since last weekend that I can't seem to get over.  I'm sure if I had been having sugar, it would have already developed into something much worse.

In a few hours we are headed off to Des Moines, Iowa for the weekend.  One of Mike's friends from Grad school, who our whole family has come to love, Kyla, is getting married!  We are so happy for her and so glad we can make the trip to celebrate with her.  Dad Murrill is meeting us there tomorrow to watch the boys as we go to the wedding.  Sunday there is a luncheon where we'll get to take the boys to see the new bride and groom.

Thank you to Timi and Gina, for sharing your ideas last week for accomplishing a goal!  That meant a lot to me!  I've decided to take the next two weeks and devote one week to each of you!  First, for this week, I'll try out Timi's method and try to give myself prizes and incentives for doing a good job.  I know that it's probably meant to be spread out over a much larger time period, but I'm going to try it anyway.  I'll about Gina's goal next week.

After we get back from Iowa on Sunday night, the boys and I have until Tuesday to be at home.  Tuesday evening Mason, Max and I are flying to Washington to have fun with family for 11 days!  I'm so excited to see everyone but a little nervous about the flights out there with just me and two little guys!  I hope they will do good.  I may not be able to keep up with my blog for the next several weeks, depending on how it goes, so bear with me.  I will still weigh each week and post the results when I get back, if not before.

Have a great weekend!

The good, the bad, and the shocking

This week I feel like there is both good and bad to report when it comes to my weight-loss resolution.

First, the good: I weighed in at 165.6 this morning!  Yay.

But then there's the bad: I've continued to stay off of sugar, but I totally cheated this week.  I had a rice-crispy treat last weekend (okay...full admission: I had more than one), a chocolate frosty from Wendy's on Wednesday (but at least it was a small), and a piece of chocolate cake at Jen's baby shower last night.  Whew!  Now that the burden of stolen sugar is off my shoulders, I feel even lighter.  Pun kind of intended.  Let's see if I can try this again for the week and actually not eat any sugar going forward!

The big news is that I'm going back to work.  Don't be too shocked, I'm still in love with being at home full-time with Mason and Max, but my fellow-recruiter at the hospital is re-locating out of state so I've agreed to help temporarily while they work to fill the position.  It's going to be interesting - an adjustment for me as I'll be working twice as much per week as when I resigned.  I'll be working 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday and this will go until sometime at the end of November or into December a bit.  Living on one income has necessitated some lifestyle changes for us and things are definitely tighter financially (anyone want to buy a 2005 Pathfinder?).  I'm grateful for the option I have to make some extra money for us right now.

Here's where I need you:  What is a suggestion or encouragement that you wouldn't mind sharing, that has helped you with a goal (weight-loss or other) in the past?  Leave a comment to share with me and my 2 readers (ha ha).

Spray-paint projects

If you know me, you know that I love to use spray paint.  I will spray paint almost anything in my house, just because I can.   I've spray-painted many peices of furniture, and then re-sprayed them when I wanted a new color.  There was the table and chairs I painted blue right after we got married.   A few years later, I sprayed them black.  Then there was the cute little blue shelf I found in a trash dumpster when we lived in an apartment in Denver.  I sprayed it black a while later, and then recently topped it with white.  A pedestal has gone from gray, to black, to white.  A pine-colored side table is now black.  Four brown baskets have a new life in white.  Three brown picture frames became red.   A white bathroom shelf unit was more suited with green. In fact, I once spray-painted my dishwasher (complete with heat-safe appliance paint, and plastic paint for the controls) and saved my white kitchen cabinets from having to clash with its shade of warm almond.  Truly, I do not discriminate when it comes to items I choose to spray paint.   Anything that comes in my house is considered fair game for a color change.  You might want to keep your eyes on your shoes and handbags.

Here are a couple of my latest spray-paint projects:

This is a mirror I bought at a garage sale for $3.  I decided it would go better with my decor if it was white.  I had plenty of white primer from another project  so I decided to use it, without paint, for the mirror since I'd need to prime it anyway.

 I covered the mirror with magazine pages to protect it from the spray. 

I sprayed the frame from all viewable sides. 

Looks clean and fresh in my hallway!

I have two of the flower arrangements pictured below that sit on the mantle above our fireplace.  I decided the vases were too dark and were attracting too much attention to themselves.  I wanted to tone them down a bit.  

Here's what they looked like before.  A little too orange-brown.

I wrapped the floral part with upside-down plastic bags and tucked the handles inside.

First, they get a coat of primer.

Then, with their final paint color, they blend in much better with the fireplace.

 It's as easy as the three "P's":  Prepare, Prime, Paint.  You should try it.  I can't find a cheaper, faster or more satisfying way to update your home decor.  And there you have it! 

Pictures as promised

Here are a few shots of Max in the hat from Steph.  You can even see his third tooth in the first picture!

Having a good time!

So stylin'!

Just love this cute little guy!

Awestruck!

For those of you who don't know, I have an incredible sister-in-law, Stephanie, who is probably the coolest crafter I've ever met in my whole life!  Just when I think she's made it to the epitome of craftiness, she goes and makes something else even more incredible!  If you haven't read her blog: murrillspearlsofwisdom.blogspot.com, then you need to.  She shares pictures of some of the things she's made including wallets, baby head bands, baby quilts, customized onesies and now she's even making earrings.  She sews, crochet's, makes greeting cards, refinishes furniture and more!  To top that off, she made the cutest hat for Max and gave it to him today.  I need to get a picture of him in it and post it.  It's absolutely adorable.

She has been a huge inspiration to me.  I used to crochet years ago, maybe when I was around 12 years old, or so, but I later gave it up.  Then I tried sewing, but that too included projects that took so long that I ran out of motivation to see them through.  I've always loved paper and beads, not necessarily together, but I could never figure out what to do with them.  Finally, now that I'm older (maybe turning 30 shocked my psyche), and due mostly to Stephanie's influence, I have tried doing a few of the "crafty" things I used to do.  I picked up crocheting again, she's shown me how to make some great shirt embellishments, and she has helped me realize that instead of being afraid to try something, I should just go for it.

Thank you, Stephanie, for your unknowing encouragement to my creative side!

This week wasn't as successful as I'd hoped with my resolution.  I am going another week with no desserts/extra sugar, and although it didn't create an astonishing weight loss over one week's time (or any for that matter, ha ha), I have no doubt it will help me in the long run, and also keep sickness at bay.  Several nights this week I felt like my sinuses were going to break in to a bad cold by morning, but it didn't happen!  I know sugar is bad for the immune system, so I might have my new "sugar rule" to thank for staying well.  Even that seems worth giving up sugar.  I weighed in at 166.2 pounds on Friday.

Here we go.  Call me crazy, but I'm going to shoot for 165.0 pounds by next week!  Let's see if I can get back on the "losing" wagon and do this!

Too much of a good thing?

Apple season is upon us and since I've been eating delicious, freshly picked honeycrisp's every day, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I'm experiencing one of nature's more unpleasant afflictions.  I'll let you guess what that might be, shouldn't be too difficult.  I've been taking it easy since yesterday and hoping to feel better soon.  Luckily, we had an awesome day outside on Wednesday at the beach with Maria and the kids, so staying inside hasn't felt too bad.  I've posted a few pictures below from our beach trip.

I weighed in this morning at 166.4 lbs.  This week it was definitely harder to stay on track and I had several meals eating out, including a never-ending pasta bowl from Olive Garden, that I can't say I regret!  Did you know that you have to have a deficit of 3500 calories to lose just one pound?  That's a lot.  I've been trying to cut back by a few hundred calories per day.  Even that isn't easy, so to build up to that size of a calorie deficit can take more than a day or two, and frankly it should, if I am to be losing weight in a healthful way.  

I'm going to try something new this week that I haven't done since I was pregnant and was ordered to do this by my doctors.  I am going to try to go off of sweets, candy, etc. for the week and see how I feel.  I am not planning to go off of everything that has sugar in it, as this would mean I wouldn't be able to eat almost anything, but I am going to try to make choices that exclude desserts, and other obvious sugar-laden foods.  

I'll check in next Friday and let you know how it goes! Until then, enjoy the harvest of September, but remember: it's possible to eat too many apples.

 

A mini-party

I decided I need to throw myself a mini-party today because this morning I weighed in at 166.0 pounds.  I'm so excited to be at my lowest weight yet.  The Myplate feature I'm using on livestrong.com has really made a difference for me.  It's helped me realize my portions were too big and also that I wasn't getting enough activity.  I've adjusted my lifestyle this week accordingly and I hope to keep it up!  Back to the fun...My mini-party consists of me giving myself a manicure.  :)

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend.  We went on lots of walks, played at the park and just had a low-key time.  It was just what the four of us needed.  We are happy to all be together after a very fun summer of lots of great vacations, but also the "un-fun" aspect of lots of time with Mike gone.

We've had amazing weather this last week.  It's been in the mid-low 70's most days and it's perfect for just hanging out outside.  I'm so glad fall is creeping in!

I heart Sunday breakfasts.

This is how I love to start a Sunday morning.  I'm sitting here eating a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes, stripples, and scrambled eggs all courtesy of my awesome husband!  He's also feeding both boys breakfast while I sit here at the table in my own little world.  I'm a lucky girl.  Once breakfast is over, we're walking to the farmer's market to get some fresh produce.  It was actually cool yesterday and last night was down right chilly.  It was wonderful.  I'm ready for a taste of fall after the long, hot, humid summer we've had.

Friday, I weighed in at 168.8 lbs.  It was only a few days before that I started using MyPlate and I think some fluctuation is normal.  I've been faithful with inputting my food and snacks and I'm still loving all the features MyPlate has to offer.  Thanks again, Timi, for your fabulous suggestion!

Happy Labor Day weekend!  I hope you can all enjoy some good food, good company, and get a little nap.  I sure plan to!

Thank you, Timi!

If you happened to read the first comment from my last post, you would see that Timi, who I'm blessed to have as my first cousin, suggested "My Plate" from the livestrong.com website.  Well, I checked it out and I was blown away at how perfect it is for me and my goal!  It's the most incredible website for tracking food you eat, calories burned, and more.  I've tried other websites before, but they took too much time.  I was amazed at how easy and helpful this site is and would recommend it highly.

Last night I put in the food I ate yesterday, and saw that I definitely needed to burn more calories for the day.  I'm ready to start today with my new food diary in mind.  Let's see how it goes!

It's sure been a while since I gave an update on either my weight loss goals or my summer happenings!

It's been a very busy summer.  We've had wonderful times with my mom, my sisters family, Mom and Dad Murrill, and of course Mark, Steph and RoRo.  The boys are doing wonderfully and doing new things everyday.

This weekend Mike is on a motorcycle trip around Michigan's upper peninsula.  He was gone last weekend too, so the boys and I are especially excited to have Mom Murrill here to help us stay sane this weekend!

Friday I weighed in at 167.4 pounds.  Not much progress in quite a while with my weight loss goal, but I've thoroughly enjoyed my summer vacation and all the delicious foods that went along with it. I'm still excited to keep at it and hopefully continue my process and reach my goal by December 31.  If I can lose about 8 more pounds I'll be pretty much where I was when I got pregnant with Max.  Although I think I'm at a plateau point, I need to keep at it.

I CAN DO THIS!!!  ....Right?

Today I weighed in at 167.6 lbs.  Although my May goal was 167.5, at least it feels good to hit it before the end of June.  Ha!

This morning the boys and I had a lovely time hanging out with Steph and Monroe at Starbucks and then shopping at Target.  I just love my little niece Monroe.  She makes me smile every time I see her.  Especially when Steph told me the story about her literally throwing her bottle across the room because Steph had tried adding a bit of formula to it.  Hilarious!  That girl has her mind made up about what she wants!  Mason was a rascal who kept running all over the store instead of staying close to me like he usually does and nothing seemed to work to get him to calm down and stay with me.  Even Target employees were calling his name.  At least he listened to them.  I can only go so fast with Max in the cart to try to keep up with Mason.  Thankfully, Steph was there to help out.  These are really crazy times in our lives with such little ones, but I'm so glad to have Steph, Mark and Monroe here to do this together!

I'm leaving in a bit to go get my mom at the airport.  She'll be with us until next Thursday!  Yay!

Back on the wagon...again

The last few months have been busier and crazier than I expected.  Quitting my job brought extra stress for me both before I quit (through the month of April) and after I quit (through the month of May) probably due to finishing up things at work and then adjusting to a new routine at home.  I'm so happy that I made the decision to be home full-time and haven't regretted it for one moment.  Now that I'm feeling more relaxed and peaceful after finishing the transition, I'm able to focus more on my weight-loss goal.

Here's what's been happening for me in the last few months.  I had been hovering in the low 170's and I got discouraged that I wasn't making any progress and didn't feel like writing much of anything on my blog because I had nothing good to report.  I know I should stay open about everything, the good and the bad, but I didn't feel up to it.  The first 10 pounds were much easier than these next 10 are proving to be.  Last Saturday I turned 30 and am only more motivated than ever to get to a weight I am comfortable with.

I weighed June 1, which is kind of like my final May weigh-in since I didn't get to that on the 31st. I was 168.0.  This morning for my regular Friday weigh-in I am 169.4 lbs.   I am glad that I'm more consistently in the 160's now.

I've taken a new look at my eating habits and exercise (or lack-there-of) and am committed to continuing on my journey.  I'm watching my portions more closely and have already made exercise a bigger priority.  I'm getting ready to feel some more success coming my way!

I love these kiddos.

That was fast...

Wow.  A whole month went by and I hardly even knew it!  The last post I wrote was at the beginning of April and much has changed since then, although I wish I could say it was my weight!  I weighed in this morning at 169.0. I will be honest that I don't even remember where I'm supposed to be right now, but I'll check and get back on track.

After my wonderful visit to Washington to stay with my sister and her family, I realized something I had been considering for a while: that I really wanted to stay home with the boys full-time.  I gave my notice at work and my last day was April 29 - well, my last day in the office.  I've still been finishing some work at home and have agreed to do one more newsletter, but I don't have to go into the office or pay for childcare which helps.

I have to say that although the last month has been crazy and at times I felt like I was going to lose my mind, I have had the most fun week this last week, staying home with the boys, that I could have imagined.  I feel sure now that I was listening to God speak to my heart when I decided to quit my job.  I struggled deeply with the decision, worrying that I would not find a job like it again, sad to leave a boss and co-workers that I enjoy so much, wondering if it was something we could really afford and also not sure if I would be happy to "just be at home".  After being home for my first week, I feel peaceful, relaxed, thankful, fulfilled and happy deep in my soul.  I also feel this was the right time for me to do this.  At other points in my life I haven't been ready, but I feel God has prepared my heart, and my mind for this special task and I am more than willing to jump right in.  It's funny, I had many people tell me things like, "it will be a shock", "get ready, it's not as easy as you think it will be", but I didn't do it because it would be easy, and I already had a concept of what it might be like since I only worked part time anyway.  I guess some people don't feel the way I do, but I truly believe God has called me at this time for this job of focusing all of my energy on my children, husband, and home, and YES, I realize it's way harder than a day at the office but THAT'S WHAT I'M SIGNING UP FOR!!!  And I couldn't be happier about it.  I know that since God called me to do this at this specific time, that He will provide the resources we need and He will bless us.  I already feel incredibly blessed just from the joy one week of being home with the boys has brought me.  I can't wait for more!

Hello Again!

Friday I was happy to say hello, a second time, to the 160's!  I weighed in at 168.6, my lowest weigh-in yet.  I'm so excited to be creeping lower and lower.  

We had such an awesome Easter weekend with friends and family.  Friday, Steph and I ran around to several goodwill stores and a thrift store in search of furniture to refurbish.  We ended up with a few odds and ends, but mostly some great clothes from brands like Banana Republic, Lucy, and Ann Taylor.  We were pretty excited and have already worn several of our fabulous finds.  

Sabbath we went to Sabbath School and church, although didn't make it through the whole service as it was communion and a little rough for tiny ones.  We headed over to Mark and Steph's for lunch  and hung out for the afternoon.  That evening we all drove to Geneva, IL and got ice-cream at a great little shop and had fun walking around enjoying the nice weather.  Since we have never lived close to Mark and Steph every time we hang out with them it feels like we're on vacation and like we will never see them again.  Because of that, we usually feel compelled to do as much as we can and cram all kinds of fun activities into whatever amount of time we're together.  It's actually pretty fun and I don't mind it at all.  We definitely appreciate the fact that we can see each other so much now.

Sunday we hosted an Easter brunch and egg hunt.  We had such a blast with Jen, Jared and Ella, Mark, Steph and Monroe, and Brandon, Maria, Mitchell and Blythe.  Everyone brought amazing food and after the food was gone and the hunting complete, the guys engaged in a basketball-type game using Mason's little plastic hoop.  It was really quite entertaining to watch.  

This morning the boys and I are headed out for a walk in the beautiful sunshine!  What a blessing it is to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.  Thank you, God for another day of life!

It's been a while...

I only have a moment for a quick update but I am ready to get back on schedule.  I weighed last Thursday morning, the 19th, instead of Friday since we were heading to Spokane, WA that night to visit my sis and family.  I weighed in again at 169.4.  I didn't even think about losing weight on our trip, just enjoyed being with my family and eating yummy food.  I weighed this past Friday, the 26th, and was up to 170.4.  But I'm really okay with that and am ready to get focused again and try to keep up with my success.  My first quarter weigh-in is coming on Wednesday, at the end of March.  I'm really excited to have finished 25% of this challenge!
I need to run because I finally have sleeping boys and I need to get a nap!

Weekly Weigh-In Day

This morning I'm so excited to report that I weighed-in at 169.4.  I can't believe I'm leaving another "decade" of weight behind!  Good-bye 170's!  I'm not sad to see you go at all!

It feels so good to have made this much progress.  I've lost a total of 13 pounds since January 1.  I still have 19.4 pounds to go to reach my goal weight by December 31.  I know that the closer I get to my goal, the harder it is going to be, but I feel so great about my success already that I hope it will give me the motivation to keep it up.

We're very excited to see Mom and Dad Murrill in a few days.  They are coming into town to help Mark and Steph with some painting (and of course to see everyone).  I think they could be professional painters by now with all the painting they've done for all of us.  As a bonus, they're helping us out by watching the kids for us while us mom's go to work.  That is a big help with the cost of daycare.  It's so great that they are close to both of our families now.

Today the boys and I are headed to pick up some groceries for the "potluck" we're having with Mark and Steph tomorrow.  We're contributing a salad, bread and the dessert.

I hope each of you has a wonderful Sabbath!

Time for Girl-Time

I'm finally feeling better after 3 weekends in a row of suffering with the icky stomach/abdominal issues.  I'm so glad to be finally on the mend and definitely getting better.

I did weigh last Friday, but hadn't found time to form a new post until now.  I weighed in at 171.6 lbs and am VERY excited about it.  This means... JEN!!! I earned my prize of hanging out with you!  I hope you are reading this because I'm ready to plan!

If you remember, Jen offered herself up as my prize for losing my first 10 pounds.  Anyone else who thinks they could put up with me for a short evening or even just a quick trip to Starbucks, I'd love your company if you want to volunteer to be another one of my prizes!

Speaking of prizes, since I realized how much my final goal prize of a flat screen TV is going to cost, I've decided to let my prizes consist basically of enjoying the way I feel with each weight loss goal reached.  I don't think it's a good time for us to be spending any extra money and I really don't need "things" for my motivation anyway.  I'm actually more excited to spend time with friends and try to save money for my grand prize.

Have to share a picture with you!  Mason did us proud today at Miss Shelley's.  He went potty on the big boy toilet!

Again...more than you probably ever wanted to know...

I'm trying to figure out what has happened to my usually-stable and reliable health.  Admittedly, I've always been a relatively sickly person...growing up I constantly had colds, the flu, ear infections, sinus infections, bronchitis, struggles with asthma and a persistently bad cough.  Since becoming an adult, I still get hit with sickness harder than most, but I've been much more healthy and able to rebound more quickly.  I had a difficult time about 4 years ago when I got chronic bronchitis for one summer, but other than that I've been doing pretty well until lately.  As you know from my last post, I struggled with a very bad case of GI troubles the weekend of Feb 20, complete with a visit to the ED.  Well, this past Saturday, although it didn't last 24 hours, I had 12 more hours of diarrhea.  I was so exhausted Sunday that I spent most of the day in bed, drinking water and eating bananas, toast and yogurt.  I thought it had gone away, but then early this morning I was awakened with it again and am going on several more hours of continued sickness.  Also, yesterday I struggled with blurred vision in my left eye and also vertigo.  Needless to say, this morning I'm working on picking out a primary care doctor to go visit.

Probably about the only positive to all this is how it's helped me get back on track with my weight loss.  When I weighed Friday for my weekly weigh-in, I was 176.6 pounds.  By Sunday morning, for my end of the month weigh-in for February, I was down to 173 pounds.  I'm sure much of that was water-loss from getting dehydrated, but I'm still hopeful to keep it from going up too much once I get myself better.

Any extra prayers would be helpful, and if you have called me lately and I haven't returned your call, please know that I would love to talk to you, but I haven't had the energy to do much other than taking care of the boys and trying to get myself well again.  I'm really starting to get frustrated because I want to figure out what is going on!

TMI Alert: Montezuma, how did I offend thee?

It's been an interesting weekend!  I weighed on Friday morning and was 176.6 lbs.

Later that evening, I proceeded to come down with a severe case of gastroenteritis.  I weighed in the morning and was already several pounds lighter.  I was still feeling relatively well and made it to church but didn't last too long after that.  My symptoms became increasingly worse.  I was going on 20+ hours of severe diarrhea and finally decided I needed to go to the Hinsdale Emergency Department Saturday night.  They hooked me up to an IV because I was very dehydrated.  They gave me several different medications to calm down my intestines, to soothe my stomach and I even got a shot in the behind to curb the nausea.  My potassium was quite depleted so they gave me some potassium pills.  I was in the ED for probably 3 hours. They wanted to make sure I got at least 2 liters of fluids through my IV.  I was released and came home and actually slept better than I have in quite a while.

I'm still taking a variety of prescriptions they gave me but today am finally feeling a tad more energetic.  Luckily, my mom was visiting us this weekend so she was able to stay with the boys while Mike and I were at the hospital.  Although she tried to give Max a bottle while we were there, not surprisingly he defiantly refused, but luckily I had pumped at the hospital earlier enough that I still was able to breastfeed him once we got home and he was able to relax and settle down.

Yesterday I mainly rested, but I today I'm dying to get out of the house so we may take the kids to  Yorktown mall to just walk around a bit.  I don't think I'll be up for exercising for quite a while, but that's okay with me.  I'm just glad to get through all of this with a smile on my face!

Help! Need Encouragement!

Last night was another in a row of about five of Max getting up every 3 (and often 2) hours.  Today it caught up with me in a big way as I've had a migraine all day and had to get up and get the boys to daycare and go to work.  I made it through the workday, picked the boys up at about 6 and finally have dinner ready and we're going to just relax and watch a little TV.  I'm really struggling with such a lack of sleep.  The last thing on my mind is watching what I eat or exercising.
Why is this so hard????!!!  Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

Off the wagon, on the wagon

This has been a tough week for me.  I started going back to work and have been struggling with keeping my asthma under control from being sick.  I haven't exercised in several weeks and with all the craziness of work, I think I lost some focus on my goal and on my eating habits.  We also left work early Thursday so we could hit the road with Mark, Steph and all our kids on a trip to Kansas City for the weekend.  It was a night of little sleep but we made it here and got to bed at around 4am.

I weighed yesterday morning and was 177.0 lbs.  I can tell I haven't been exercising and I also think the lack of sleep lately makes my body feel so sluggish.

I'm trying to be encouraged to keep at it and am feeling some sanity return as I try to get rested up again.

Another week

What a funny day it's been.

To start, I realized just how too-short I cut my bangs last night, but I'm hoping I can work with it and make it seem like I planned their length!  Ha!

I took the boys grocery shopping with me this morning.  While riding in his favorite cart that looks like a car (complete with steering wheel), Mason had a blast "driving" around Dominick's while Max slept peacefully.  Mason kept wanting to hold the items I was putting in the cart, so finally I gave him a sturdy bunch of 5 or 6 bananas (after I found him with a can of tuna I had no intention of buying).  By the time we got to the check-out line and Mason began innocently handing the bananas back to me, I couldn't help but chuckle when I realized they were no longer attached to each other.  Earlier I had noticed him pulling a couple off from the bunch, but I wasn't too worried.  What made me start laughing, however, was that as I took the bananas from him one by one, I realized that each one was soft and squishy with bruises, far beyond edible and one was even split halfway open with the gooey, sticky, insides bulging out!  The store was kind enough to dismiss the situation despite my offer to pay for them.  Let's just say I learned my lesson!  Luckily we were heading to Trader Joe's next and I picked up some fresh bananas there that didn't get Mason's "special" handling.

At my weekly weigh-in this morning I was 175.2 lbs, 26.1% body fat, and 55.5% body water.  Yay!

One down, Eleven to go!

I've made it 1/12 of the way through my resolution!  January is over and I've made it to my first goal of reaching 177.5 lbs.  This morning I weighed in at 176.6 lbs.  Here's what the numbers are so far: (and yes, I'm using Friday's weigh-in)

Starting Weight: 182.4
January Goal: 177.5
January Actual: 176.4
Lost this month: 6 pounds
February Goal: 175
First Qtr goal: 172.5 by March 31
Final Goal: 150 by December 31
Total to lose this year: 32.4
Currently left to lose: 26.4

And my first month's goal is...DEMOLISHED!!!

I'm so excited to report that I stepped on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh-in and found that I'm now 176.4 lbs! My goal was to get down to 177.5 this month and I'm so thrilled to be a pound lighter than that. I will check-in on the 31st, but this means that come Sunday morning, if I am still lower than 177.5 (pending I don't do too much celebrating with food...ha) that I get to finally wear the red puffer jacket and black skirt I purchased. Although, I don't plan on wearing them together.

We are beside ourselves with happiness that Mark, Steph and Monroe arrived last night. It feels so good to have them here, and for good. This morning their moving truck arrived with their belongings and although their house isn't yet arranged, at least their things are there.

It's been fun having them here already. We got the regular kid-gang together tonight at Sweet Tomatoes. Jen, Jared, Maria, Brandon and all the kids joined our two Murrill families. Monroe made it an even 3-3 for boys and girls when it came to the kids. Having been outnumbered ever since Max was born, Blythe and Ella were thankful to add another girl to the mix.

It's great to think of all the fun times we have ahead of us with the Murrill's here. Mike and Mark grew up in Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills before they moved to Kansas City when Mike was 7 and Mark was 5. I bet they never thought they'd end up back in the same place with their own wives and children.

Weigh-in Friday

I was pleasantly surprised at my weigh-in this morning when I found out I actually did lose a little bit this week and am down to 178.2 lbs, body fat percentage is 26.8 and body water is 55%. I'm glad the scale measures more precisely than whole pounds or I wouldn't always know if I was making progress.

I have to be honest that I got myself a prize already for when I meet my goal at the end of this month. I am confident it's going to happen. It better happen! I just need to lose .8 of a pound and I'll get to use the new red puffer coat and black skirt I got in the mail today from Gap. This will not be a regular thing each month, but I wanted to celebrate completing the first month and my success losing the first 5 pounds. Rather than monthly prizes, I'm opting for quarterly prizes to keep costs down, especially considering the final prize I've chosen.

I've decided that what I want, after I've lost my 30 pounds, is a flat panel TV. I don't think Mike will mind too much either! I've also decided what I want to get for my 6-month prize. I need some new luggage so I want to get a carry-on size suitcase and one a little bigger. I want something in a fun color or pattern and I'm very excited to be able to pick those out.

Now it's Sabbath and we just spent over an hour on Skype talking with my sis Renee and her family. I even got to read bedtime stories to my nieces, Amelie and Elianne. Now it's bedtime for me.

Wait, what day is it?

My Friday weigh-in days come way too fast. I had a blast today up at Woodfield Mall with Maria and our 4 kids. We got lots of walking in, but also had a very yummy meal at Red Robin. I weighed a few days ago and was actually up a little. I'm not feeling bad about that though, because I realize it's all about the long-term loss not short-term. I went into the concept of weekly weigh-in's knowing that I may not see loss every week, but it still helps me track it better.

Time to sleep. After-all, that will help my body get rid of the french fries I scarfed down today. But, they were so worth it! Ha!

Cookies and Pilates

I have to admit that I LOVE cookies and I've narrowed it down to three of my favorite "cookie-cooks" that I need to tell you about. If I've not mentioned someone here that makes excellent cookies it just means I need to eat more of them to continue my quest for the perfect cookies! The first of my favorites is Grandpa Hallam, Mike's mom's dad, who makes all kinds of delicious cookies including peanut butter and oatmeal. His cookies are so delicious. Even cookies that usually aren't my favorite flavor are cookies I will devour quickly when he makes them. He just knows how to make any kind absolutely irresistible. We love it when he sends them to us with Mom and Dad. The next favorite I discovered only a couple of weeks ago, is Danielle Muhlenbeck's chocolate chip cookies. I truly have been on a mission to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie and I must say I have found my favorite. Her cookies have the perfect texture, are soft, chocolately, and with a delicious dough, are the perfect balance. My final favorite is Maria Nudd's special cookies. I have to admit that I can't even say exactly what is in them (besides chocolate and maybe some coconut?), but I was lucky enough to come home with a plate of them last night and I've been enjoying them immensely! Hers are also very soft and have something in them that acts like potato chips in that you can't have just one.

On that note, after enjoying so many cookies lately, I was excited to be invited to try a Pilates class with Danielle and Kelsey this morning. I haven't done pilates before, but have wanted to see what it's all about. I found it peaceful and relaxing, yet still a good workout. It was similar to yoga and I may try to do the class more regularly. I can tell I used the muscles in my core. It was fun to try something new and to do it with friends.

I have just over two weeks to meet my first goal weight of 177.5 lbs.

My Boys!

We had a nice visit with Mark this week. He was here for a short visit looking for housing options for the family. Hopefully, one of their favorite homes will work out. We are so excited they will be here in only about 2 weeks!

This was a pretty bad week for me when it comes to working out. I did walk this morning on my treadmill, but I've been tired all week since my workout on Sunday. I may have overdone it a tad. I guess I really need to work up to it slowly after all my body's been through and with such a lack of sleep.

Speaking of sleep, we've reached a major milestone this week! Max is finally sleeping longer. He can go about 6 hours between his night feedings. I need my body to adjust because I still wake up when he used to eat! I'm not worried, though. I think that will change soon.

I weighed this morning and am 178.8lbs. My body water is 55% and I already forgot my body fat percentage but I do remember it was down just a little. I'm very excited to still see the numbers creeping lower. I'd like to lose more in the next week though, so I'm going to try to pay more attention to my eating habits. I've been getting the munchies at night!

Bankrupt?

My picture day for Max didn't turn out exactly like I'd planned yesterday. Although he still had a photo shoot, it wasn't at Kiddie Kandids. We arrived on time for Max's appointment to find out that Sunday night the company had declared bankruptcy and when the employees arrived Monday morning, they were sent home and all the Kiddie Kandids are now shut down. I was thinking of the inconvenience for me since I'd gone to all the work of getting the kids ready, planning to have Kelsey along to help and driving to the store until I thought about the employees who may not receive paychecks this week and who have lost their jobs. What a sad situation. My situation, on the other hand, was much easier remedied. We took the kids to JC Penney's and had a great experience getting Max's pictures taken at their studio. It was also less expensive. I will definitely go back.

I did better today with eating, but have been very exhausted since waking up this morning. I considered exercising for about 5 seconds, and didn't even try getting on the scale. Friday's weigh-in is coming too fast, I'm afraid.

Picture Day

We had a great weekend. After a fun time at Sabbath School and a valiant effort at church (Max was fussy and Mason was wiggly) we had lunch with the Nudds and then headed to the sledding hill. I hung out with Max while Mike, Brandon and Maria took the other 3 kids up the sledding hill and came down with delightful screams of excitement! Then we came home for dessert and games.

Sunday morning I went to the gym and worked out. Having been "blessed" by my doctor, in addition to walking, I added leg presses, shoulder presses, bicep curls and crunches. I read that adding muscle mass will help me burn calories all day even when I'm not exercising. That sounds great to me.

I weighed this morning and am 179.2. I'm glad I didn't gain over the weekend. I wasn't as careful with my eating habits so I wasn't sure what this morning would look like! I'd feel good if I lost one pound this week.

Today my friend Kelsey is helping me take the boys to Kiddie Kandids where I'm going to get Max's first professional pictures taken! I'm so excited because it's always been so fun to take Mason. I'm dressing him in an outfit from my grandmother that she sent for me to open at my baby shower even though she couldn't be there herself. Hopefully Max will be in a good mood!

The First Hurdle

Today was my first weekly weigh-in and I am happy to say that I have been successful so far. I weighed in at 179.4 this morning! This is very exciting to me as this means I've lost 3 pounds already and I'm on track to meet my goal of 177.5 by the end of this month (plus it's nice to say farewell to the 180's). It's especially exciting for me as I had gained a few extra "holiday" pounds and had a little extra to lose than my original goal.

I really have to say how encouraging it has been to receive your comments and emails as you read about my progress. I've had moments where I feel discouraged when I realize how easy it is for some moms and wonder why it's not as easy for me. It definitely helps me stay positive and keep going when I have so much support. Thank you so much!

Doctor's Orders

I had my official post-partum appointment today with my OB/GYN and have been cleared for active duty! She said I am healing great and I can safely resume regular activities. I didn't expect anything otherwise, but I am very excited to feel free to focus more intently on my workouts, although I still need to work up to it. Also, I'm finding it a challenge to have energy to workout when I'm still up several times at night with Max. At least I've been able to get some naps here and there.

The word is out and we are so excited that Mark, Stephanie and Monroe Murrill are moving to Chicago! They will be here in about 3 weeks and we couldn't be happier to finally live close to them. I'm having visions of Sabbath lunches together, cousin playdates at the park and picnics at the beach this summer! We may even have to try camping with our little ones.

I just enjoyed a huge bowl of Grandma Murrill's lentil soup. It's SO delicious. Of all the things I could be eating a huge bowl of, I think this was a good choice!

Tomorrow morning I'm going to do my weekly weigh-in and post the results. Let's hope I'm on track still!

Feelings...nothing more than feelings?

Today (Tuesday, the 5th) has been kind of a weird day. It's way too late for me to be up, but here I am.

I got in another good workout of walking. I did feel some uncomfortable pulling on my incision, so I think I will be taking tomorrow off from exercise - but I wouldn't have time for a workout anyway. By the way, my weight this morning was 180.2 and I'm feeling great about that. My goal for this month was to get down to 177.5 and I'm already about halfway there with the majority of the month left.

Tomorrow morning I'm taking the boys to storytime at Barnes & Noble, then I'm off to the Regional Human Resources Christmas Party at Maggiano's. This is my first work function since having Max, and I hope it's going to be a fun one. My good friend Maria will be watching the boys, as well as her two kiddos (she's a saint) while I'm at the party.

Part of the reason this has been a "weird" day is that I'm a little anxious about going to this party, but I'm not really sure why. I do feel like I need to go and I am excited to see everyone... I wonder if my trepidation is because I don't feel quite ready to be actually back in the office yet, and I'm afraid of how this will affect me. I've been having such a wonderful time with my boys and I know going back to work will be a change. I'm going to try to forget about all that tomorrow, though, and just try to enjoy seeing my coworkers and have a fun time. It's funny, I never thought I could be a full-time stay-at-home mom, but I've been having so much fun!

One of my struggles is emotional eating. I think I did a little of that tonight while trying to work through these feelings. Anyone have ideas on how to overcome emotional eating? I'll have to do some research on another night and see what I can find.

Timber!!!

The Christmas tree and all the other holiday decorations have come down in our house. I'm a little sad because the lights from the tree were so calming. But, I also had fun rolling around in the extra floor space today wrestling with Mason.

We had a blast playing games last night with friends. I forgot how much I love games. Although I was eating plenty of Danielle's AMAZING chocolate chip cookies, I'm pretty sure my abs got a great workout from all the laughing!

I was hoping to try out my first pilates class this afternoon with Kelsey and Danielle, who are also members at Lifetime Fitness. Unfortunately, we all had to cancel but I was able to get in a 35 minute walk on my treadmill.

I have a coupon for Jamba Juice that expires tonight so naturally we're going to go use it. Sounds like a suitable outing now that it's warmed up to 15 degrees!

With the close of this weekend, I'm starting back to work part-time from home. The time has flown by, but I'm also excited to get working on my newsletter again.

Time to get the kids in the car to go get our freezing treat!

Body Percentages

I tried the Body Fat Percentage and Body Water Percentage functions on my new scale this morning. According to the scale, my body fat is 27.5% and my body water is 54.5%. These number didn't mean much to me so this evening I've done a little research to determine how I should use these numbers.

I reviewed a number of websites I found on Google regarding body fat percentage and they varied a bit on what percentage would be ideal for me. Charts for body fat percentage are based on your gender and age. The charts varied based on which website I was looking at, but most were around the same general range. If I take an average of their suggestions I think I'd like to see my body fat percentage close to 21.

Body water percentage is something I haven't heard much about so I wanted to do a little more research. I again used Google and learned that the more fat you have in your body and the less lean muscle mass, the higher your body water percentage will be. Of course, the opposite is also true, that the less body fat and more lean muscle mass you have, the lower your body water percentage will be. It doesn't mean you don't want a lot of water in your body, but rather that you don't want to carry it in your fat cells. Muscle cells hold more water than fat cells. I'm going to shoot for a body water percentage close to 50%, based on average recommendations.

One thing is certain, drinking water is very important. The more water you drink, the easier you make it on your body. Fat and other wastes are released out of your body more effectively when you stay hydrated. It's also important for me to drink a lot of water since I'm breast-feeding Max.

No workout today, but I'm already thinking of what I'll do tomorrow.

Ready, Set, Go!

Today started out just like the first day of any new journey should. I felt excited and ready to burn some calories despite ending 2009 last night with pizza and popcorn.

I haven't been officially cleared by my doctor to resume exercising after my surgery (cesarean section on November 13). I go in on January 7 to see her. Until then, I am going slow but still starting my habit of being more active.

This morning I left Mike to watch the boys and I went to the gym. I had to reinstate my membership since I had been placed on a medical leave (as had my dues). After I'd completed that, I headed upstairs to the treadmills. I walked for 35 minutes and then used an abdominal cruncher to start working on my flabby abs. If any of you saw the pictures of my stomach taken the week before I delivered Max, you'll understand why I say that. I have had two large babies that took up a lot of space.

After my workout, I headed to Target where I wanted to look at their scales. I was excited to find quite a variety. Apparently I'm not the only one hoping to get in shape this year! Ha! I found one I really liked that not only measures weight, but also measures body fat and body water. It sends a harmless signal through the fat and muscle tissues in my body to calculate the numbers. I think this feature will be helpful in gauging my progress.

Today is a big day for another reason. As it is the start of my journey, I had to do my first official weigh-in. Yikes. 182.4 pounds. Sharing my weight with anyone other than myself is not exactly comfortable for me, but I have decided that it will help hold me accountable. Tomorrow I'll use the features on my new scale and start tracking my body fat and body water as well. Tonight I got it set up by entering the fact that I'm a female, my age (29) and my height (5'11").

I started a notebook for myself tonight to track my measurements so I can easily look back and see my progress. I also calculated each quarterly goal weight and monthly goal weight. Before Christmas and New Year's I had been hovering around 180 pounds so I had based my goals on that weight. Now that I've gained 2.4 pounds since then (thank you, Holiday meals), I will actually be attempting to lose a total of 32.4 pounds. (My goals are set up to get me down to 150 pounds.) My first goal is to be 177.5 pounds by January 31. I'm going to try to get the extra 2.4 pounds off right away and get on track with my initial plan.

Thank you to those of you who have signed on to follow my blog. I'm excited to share my progress with you!