Hello Goodbye I'm Late I'm Late I'm Late

[Hello, Goodbye, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late ... think Alice in Wonderland]

My Monday morning started like this .... a text from Jeff:

SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!! I pretty much died reading this. Are you serious?!

He was flying from MCT in North Carolina to his MOS school in California... and had a lay over here in Detroit!?! What!!

So ... I got a military family gate pass and I was ready to go. Just like he said in the text, he had a lay over at home for about an hour!

I met him at the gate with his dad and his sister ... he was the last one off the plane and everything was right in the world again for one hour.

It sounds so sappy as I write it. It is sappy, get over it. It's hard being without him! haha.

His flight landed and he got to the gate around 6:35 pm and then he was one of the last ones to board his next flight to CA around 7:55 pm .... {they boarded late ... heyyy!!}

We got more than an hour together, really. We just keep saying that "God is really looking out for us" and I know that none of it is a coincidence. He was home for Christmas ... with extra leave. Now this surprise lay over, all when we didn't know when the next time we would see each other would be.

Like I've said in posts before, he has his phone back now and that is making such a huge difference. Between Facetime, text messages and phone calls it is soooo much better than it's been.

So ... "how was it?" It was amazing, incredible, a blessing, so much fun, hard, sad, difficult, painful and all over just as soon as it started. We agreed though that we can't let this saying "goodbye" make things harder, because it was borrowed time. We weren't even supposed to get it.

Thanks for reading! :)

Hello February!

Monday Morning! Hello February - GOD am I glad to see you!!


Time to look back at my week. My messy mess of a week. I do crappy ... I'm 144.4 ... I do well ... I'm 144.4 but I REFUSE to believe this is the number I'll be stuck at forever. I won't do it.

So, third weigh in of my weight loss competition (Jan 12 through March 21):
Started at: 147.0 lbs
Weighed in today at:144.4 ... I know, you're surprised right?

This week pounds lost: Literally zero

Total weight loss percentage{for the competition}:  1.77% STILL

Total weight loss since 190lb beginning: 45.6 STILL

My work out schedule this week was:

Monday PM -  Zumba

Tuesday - 30 min run on the treadmill
Thursday - skipped spin because I was tired and mad that none of my hard work is working.

Sunday - Zumba AM

*Something extra I DID do this week though, was lift my weights at home. I did 4 days of weighted ab work and arms. THAT I am proud of. THAT is what I need to focus on.

I did this 10 minute arm video each day and honestly, I don't even know who Holly Perkins is. I just liked that it is a 10 min video and I can do it all with my 5 lb weights because its challenging but not "too much"..

I also have been doing these weighted ab work outs:

from this site ... I can feel it .. so it must be slowly but surely working!! So I plan on keeping at it.

Ive been keeping my food journal up to date really well and drinking all my water... until Friday. My body has been out of whack ... I have been doing what I need to do and emotionally, it got to me {the getting no where}. I begged my mom to make mini cheesecakes, because #cheesecakeiskryptonite (and she did, cuz she rocks - Hey Mom!) and they were awesome. I had a healthy day and a healthy dinner and then ate the baby cheesecake. I then decided that during the snow storm Saturday I would let Anthony bake cookies with me to take to church for Saturday Night Snacks in the hall. This way, I could get my baking in {because that's all I want to do when we're couped up in the house} and get the cookies out of the house. Perfect right? No. Before we took them to church I ate like 30 cookies. How many for real? I don't know, but it wasn't pretty.

Sunday I got back on track but I didn't know if I was even going to weigh in this morning because I figured that I gained my ONLY two pounds I've lost BACK... so ... "yea" is all I have to say to that. I suppose I should be grateful. My body is still really out of whack. I think it will be better in another week or two.

On a positive note, I got my phone call! I officially have my fiance "back" in the sense that he will have his phone from now on. He isn't coming home but he IS calling and texting and Facetiming and that is a blessing I didn't have last week. He graduates MCT tomorrow. Honestly, I feel so much more myself when I can talk to him. I'm hoping that helps with my recent struggles. Which is funny because when he was away at bootcamp for 13 weeks, it was what kept pushing me and this time it was different.

Yea that sweatshirt says MARINES .. duh!

Goals for the week: Drink more water, eat more proteins and less carbs (still), each day I'm going to do "no carbs until lunch", lift my free weights 4 or 5 times this week again and see 143 .... Yes I'm shooting lower, maybe that will help - maybe on the scale NEXT Monday.

#goodlord #emotionalweek #finallytalkedtomyman

3 More To Go ...

Well ... Jeff has been gone at MCT for 2 weeks and 1 day now. I'm missing him like crazy. I have my phone on me at all times, just hoping to have it ring. Three weeks left until he will ACTUALLY call me ... hopefully less!

Ahh .. now that's much better! :)

I remember when we only had 3 weeks left of boot camp and how excited I was. I was getting ready to go on a trip (to his graduation), to see him finally after thirteen weeks. This time, I only get to look forward to a phone call. Most likely he will not be coming home after this part. He will be away for most of 2014. It has been "easier" for me to get into a rhythm of day to day stuff with him gone this time. I say "easier" it still SUCKS, but it's not SO foreign this time.

After boot camp (13 weeks of no talking to him) this should be a breeze. My day-to-day is easier ... but I haven't received a letter from him or heard his voice in two weeks and that's kind of tough. At least when he was at boot camp he wrote me one letter per week. I'm staying busy with daycare, preschool, mentoring and trying to get to the gym 4 days a week all while trying to keep my sanity :) I think God is keeping me busy for a reason. It's Him helping me through.

At least he's safe, at least he's safe, at least he's safe. 

Lets end on a positive note, shall we?

Only 3 more to go .... 

147 .. The First Step To My Next Journey

Well! Here it is! 

I weighed in today after a month of Jeff being home, a little "vacation" in itself ... Eating crap food way more than I would like to admit and not doing consistent weigh ins. Not drinking enough water and not tracking what I ate. Jeff left yesterday .. Return date unsure (29 days at Marine Combat Training, and then straight to his MOS school) so we should know when we can think about planning our wedding next month (fingers crossed). With him being gone I tend to need something to focus on and my goals are really good for that. 

So ... From December 11- January 7 I gained about 2.5lbs 

Today's weight: 147

You know what though? It's okay. I lost 15 lbs from September 16-December 11th (while Jeff was at bootcamp) and I was getting burnt out. I took about a month off, gained 2 lbs (seriously I should be thankful it was only two! I really enjoyed myself haha)

But now 147 starts me on my next journey! 

Next stop: 130lbs by April 18th (our spring break .. I'm not going anywhere I just have chosen this as a goal date)

The plan is to count Weight Watcher points, write down everything that I eat {which I hate .. But makes a huge difference in my results}, drink a ton of water and to exercise at least 3 times per week (more if I can make it work) I am also going to be doing some arm exercises with free weights at home too. 

This plan is not new. It's simply what has worked for me. Hard work and doing what I know I need to do. It's not a magic plan or a secret, it's just doing what I need to do.

So that's the plan. That's where I'm at. Another part of my plan is to post updates on Mondays here. 

I always wish I had a real "start" picture and measurements (inspired by Mama Laughlin) and so this time I did:

Left arm: 10.5"

Right Arm: 11"

Chest: 36"

Waist: 30.5"

Hips: 38.5"

Left thigh: 22.5"

Right thigh: 22"