Weigh-In Results

Because we are enjoying our lovely weekend and beautiful weather, I will keep this post short and sweet and straight to the point.

I went to my WW weigh-in this morning to find out that as challenging as last week was for me, and I'm not exactly sure why that was, I still managed to do the following:

Pounds lost this week: 2.0 lbs
Total pounds lost: 7.2 lbs

So there you have it: 7.2 pounds lost in the last couple of weeks ~ hey, I'm not complaining. As of right now all I'm hoping for is an easier week.

Have a great weekend!

The long overdue return of weekly weigh-ins

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I (re)joined Weight Watchers a couple of Saturdays ago. My weigh-in day and time is still Saturday mornings, which I love. Last week was my first official week back on the program. I'm glad to report that it wasn't as tough as I had anticipated and I did a heck of a job resisting temptation. So, I had my first weigh-in this past Saturday and this is how it went down:

Pounds lost last week: 5.2 lbs
Total pounds lost: 5.2 lbs

YAY! Trust me when I tell you that I was beyond thrilled to start out so strong. I'm a realist and having battled my weight my entire life and having been in this program numerous times before, I know not to expect these results too often. But I'm definitely motivated to doing everything I can to kick these extra pounds to the curb.

So stay tuned for what will hopefully be some more good news this coming weekend. Wish me luck!

Randomness Galore

WOW, I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post. Things around here have been SO busy this last week and I haven't made much time for sitting at the computer, but I promise to do the best I can to get you caught up. Let me warn you, this post will most likely be long and ALL over the place. OK, so here we go.

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WW Update:
I was not able to attend my regularly scheduled WW meeting last week and most likely will also miss this coming week's due to scheduling conflicts. But I can tell you with most certainty that ever since my parents got here, it's been BAD. Really, really bad. Like lunch at Panera bad. And lunch at Pei Wei bad. Oh yeah, and late night drives to the donut shop bad. See? I told you it was bad. So, I will update you with my "progress" as soon as there is some to report.

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The "MOLE":
As you all know I have a mole right next to my bottom lip. You know, I actually like my mole. It's been a part of me and who am I ever since I can remember. I seriously do not have a memory of myself that doesn't include my mole.

Exhibit A: Liz with mole

Well, I've noticed my mole has gone through some changes in the last couple of years and thought it would be wise to have a dermatologist check it out, you know just to make sure that everything is OK.

So I'm taken into an exam room and placed under a bright light and the dermatologist looks at it and says that in order to ensure it's not malignant it has to come out. Come again? Apparently, unless the mole is removed and sent out to a lab to be checked out they can't tell whether it's OK or not.

So I naively asked her when she wanted me to schedule this "procedure", to which she enthusiastically responds : "Oh, we can do it right now! It won't take but ten to fifteen minutes." WHAT?!?! ***Insert panic state here*** I tried to explain that this mole is a part of me, I have had this on my face since forever! I wasn't expecting that it would be removed today. It's something I need to think about. She sympathetically says she understands and tells me she'll be back in a few minutes. Phew! That was a bit too close for comfort.

A few minutes later she strides right back into the room and asks: "Well, what did you decide?" WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me, lady? Think, Liz! Think fast!!! Suddenly it hits me and I say: "Well, you see I have a baby in the waiting room with my parents and I don't know how well he'll hold up if he has to sit there much longer. I'd hate for him to upset your staff or your other patients." She looked up at her nurse and without missing a beat the nurse walked out of the room and was back seconds later to report that the baby is fine and my parents have given the OK for them to proceed.

Anyway, ten minutes later I walked out into the waiting room looking like this:

Exhibit B: Liz with huge, swollen and disfigured lip

My lip was swollen and bruised and hurt like crazy. Oh yeah, just in case I forgot, thanks Mom,... thanks Dad! You guys are the BEST!!! When I went to pick Isabella up at school I had to cover my lip and explain to her that Mommy had a Boo Boo, but that it really did not hurt and I felt fine. She looked petrified.

So anyway, I went back to the dermatologist today and they removed the stitches. It's kind of hard to assess what it will really look like until the swelling has gone down a bit and the scar starts healing. Bring on the Mederma, Baby!

Exhibit C: Liz without mole

Good Heavens I'm in desperate need of a facial! Geez!

The reason it looks all bumpy is because last week the dermatologist's nurse told me to put some Vaseline on it but my Mom thought some Neosporin would be so much better for it, being that it had the Vaseline in it and all. As it turns out they don't tell you to use Neosporin because it actually irritates it. Who knew? Thanks Mom, again!

*****

My Dad:
We are diligently working every avenue we can think of to get my Dad the treatment he needs here in Memphis. We've hit some seriously discouraging walls along the way, but I have promised him I will research and exhaust every possibility available. We're so very grateful to so many people for offering their help and guidance along the way.

*****

Our Girl:

Please say a prayer for our sweet girl who is having some procedures done tomorrow at the hospital to determine the reason(s) for her recurring UTIs.

*****

Simple Things:

These are in my house right now:

Gerbera daisies are my absolute favorite flowers and they make me oh so happy.

*****

Current Read:
I am currently reading this book:

And it is seriously laugh-out-loud funny. It's a woman's story about her real-life weight loss journey and if you've ever been on a diet or thought about losing weight you might want to check it out. Hilarious!

*****

My Bronchitis:
Although somewhat better, I'm still struggling with this illness. And since I like to keep things PG on this blog, I'll just move on to the next topic.

*****

My Cell Phone:
Is broken. Maybe this should not have been the topic of choice after my vow to keep things PG on this blog.

*****

Bad Hair Day:
Have you ever had a bad hair day? You know, the kind where absolutely nothing you do can help you tame your mane? Yeah, kinda like this:


This boy just cracks me up and I wanted to share some of his craziness with you.

Alrighty then, now that I have totally sucked up such a ridiculous amount of your time, I better get going. Until next time.

Girls' Night Out

Last night a group of girlfriends and I met up for an awesome laughter-filled dinner and then we all went to see this:
If you're looking for a deep, thought provoking movie that will challenge your intellect in ways you can't even imagine, then this is definitely not the one to see.

However, although the movie got some pretty negative reviews, it totally turned out to be exactly what we all needed after the busy/demanding/emotional week we all had. The bottom line is it's a pretty cute chick flick which was better than any one of us had expected. And finally, is it just me or do you also think Kate Hudson is almost an exact replica of her mother (well, before she had all those cosmetic procedures done)? Seriously, right down to her mannerisms.

OK, so being that dinner and drinks would be involved in last night's agenda, the kids and I visited my local WW office yesterday afternoon for my weekly weigh-in.

Pounds lost this week: 3.2 lbs
Total lost: 28.4 lbs

I have one word, and only one word to say:

SWEET!!!

Oh. My. Gosh.
I was thrilled beyond belief. I seriously could not even believe it when the lady told me my results. I'm sure the other shoe will drop during next week's weigh-in, I mean,... it has to, right? But until then I will bask in the glory of the fact that I am less than 2 pounds away from a total of 30 pounds lost. And I feel GOOD!

In other news, my Mom and Dad are scheduled to arrive this coming Tuesday instead of tomorrow. We had to push the trip out a couple of days due to a scheduling conflict with the local dialysis center. But we're in business now and ready to roll. Have I told you how excited I am that they are coming? I have this unbearable need to hug my Daddy as tight as I can for as long as I can.

Alrighty then, I'm off to bed now. It's been somewhat of a hectic day, I'm still fighting off some nasty illness that has me coughing quite unladylike (I'm pretty sure it's along the lines of kennel cough) and I'd like to do a little reading before I doze off to la la land.

Until next time,...

Back to the Everyday Grind

Well, effective today we're officially back to "normal", or some semblance of it, in the Butler household.

Isabella's first day back at preschool is today and tomorrow she returns to dance classes after the Holiday break. My Spring Bible Study does not start back until next Wednesday, and I can't wait, but we do have a play date with the Yoders scheduled for this Wednesday. So we're back to our busy, but fun weeks.

*****

Although I've already stated my opinion on New Year's resolutions, and have chosen instead to focus on SIMPLIFYING our lives in 2009, there are certain things that I'd like to do this year.

One of them is to get back to scrapbooking. I honestly cannot remember the last time I sat down to scrapbook. Well, that's not entirely true since Sam's first year album is up to date, but that's more "mechanical" than it is creative since I'm following the same formula month after month. It's just that it seems like making the time these days is almost impossible. So, it appears I'm going to have to get creative with my time in order to squeeze it in somehow.

Also, there are some house projects that I've been wanting to tackle for some time now and I'm thinking this will definitely be the year. Some things will HAVE to get done before Sam's birthday party in March so that might just be the motivation I need to get myself in gear. Hmm,... I smell an OPAM coming on. Stay tuned!

*****

OK, let me just start this section by saying that it's been three whole weeks since my last weigh-in and I've been bad,... really, really bad. WOW! I totally feel like I'm back in private school during one of our mandatory confessions. Oooh, how I hated those. Remind me to to tell you about them one of these days. Anyway I digress, I'm happy to report that as "bad" as I was during the Holidays with regards to WW, I'm still committed to the program and I did go in this last Saturday for a MUCH dreaded weigh-in. Without further ado:

Pounds lost since last weigh-in: .8 lbs
Total lost: 25.2 lbs

Now my dear friends, if this here isn't a Christmas miracle then I just don't know what is. Somehow I managed to lose .8 pounds in the last three weeks and reach a pretty exciting goal of 25 pounds lost. YAY!!! Let's just hope the other shoe doesn't drop next week with an astronomical gain.

So now what, you ask? Well, let's just say that not only am I getting back on the wagon, but I'm super gluing my behind to the wagon and steering the heck out of it.

*****

Our Christmas decorations are still up and will probably not come down until the weekend (of course if it were up to me they'd be year round). Tonight is a very special evening for us. You see, we're expecting a visit from the Three Kings (or the Three Wise Men ) who visited Jesus shortly after he was born.


This is one of my favorite Latin traditions, specially when I was a kid, and I'm so excited to celebrate it with my children. We get to go out and collect some "grass" to put in a box for the camels to eat while the Three Kings come in and leave us a little something. Growing up we would place the box under our beds and the camels would eat some of the grass (they were very messy eaters, let me tall ya), but since we live in a two story home and it would be quite the daunting task for the camels to go upstairs quietly we leave our box under our Christmas tree. This isn't big presents like the ones usually exchanged during Christmas, these are smaller gifts, much like the ones they took to Jesus. So tonight we'll collect our grass, read the story about the Three Kings who found Jesus and brought him gifts and go to bed filled with excitement and anticipation. I mean seriously, can you stand it?

*****

Finally, I should have an official update on my Daddy later this week. Some things have transpired in the last few weeks, but the moment of truth and decision time will likely take place this week so I'll make sure and keep you all posted. Please keep them prayers coming.

Until next time!

It's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Alright, so let me just get it out there so that we can move on with this post,... I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I've been such a bad blogger lately. Things have been INSANELY busy and when I do have time to sit, writing about the craziness of it all is the last thing on my mind. So there! I don't know about you, but I feel much better.

First order of business ~ the halls are finally decked! I'm usually one of those people who puts up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving day or shortly there after. Nope, not this year. Actually, I'm embarrassed to admit that for a while there I had quite a Scrooge-like state of mind. You see, with all this uncertainty about my Dad and his condition/treatment and whether or not we'd be traveling to FL, I actually debated whether or not to put the tree up at all this year. I kept thinking what's the point? And then it hit me ~ Isabella and her fascination for all things Christmas that light up! She's the point! And although Sam's too young to know it, so is he! So as you can imagine, as soon as I had my little epiphany I got real busy.

This here is a view of our Christmas tree from upstairs. Due to my before mentioned state of mind, I kept the decor pretty simple this year.

This eclectic flocked pink little number decorated with everything from graceful ballerinas to lollipops to disco balls is Isabella's tree that sits in her room.

Of course, Sam inherited Isabella's old tree. He is absolutely mesmerized by the different color lights and ornaments. I'm thinking next year we'll have to "personalize" his tree for him.

This is our Dining Room tree which is the only one that's been up since before Thanksgiving.


*****
OK, so what else have I been up to? Oh yeah, not WW. I just realized that I haven't even reported on my WW progress, or lack thereof, since November. That's NOT good! Let me just be frank here, I have been so unmotivated lately it's ridiculous. The lack of self-control I have had in the last few weeks is a disgrace.

Pounds lost last week: +.2 lbs
Pounds lost this week: .2 lbs
Total lost: 24.4 lbs

So as you can see luckily the damage has not been as bad as it could have been and I have vowed to get back on the program ASAP. Next week there WILL be a loss reported,... I promise hope!

*****
Last Wednesday our friend Laura, brave friend that she is, hosted a Children's Christmas party at her beautiful home. It was all about the kids and it was wonderful! They got to decorate Christmas cookies, eat pizza and play for hours.

There was one itty bitty insy weensy problem ~ I did some major sinning while I was there. You know the commandment that says : "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's ______"? Well let me tell ya, I coveted, I coveted BIG TIME! What was the source of my desire/sin you ask? Here it is:

That's right my friends, it's the 21 piece Willow Tree Nativity Set and it is as magnificent as the price tag is hefty! I was literally trying to figure out how I could discreetly stuff the entire set into my very small purse. HA HA HA. Just kidding,... or am I?

So I'm wondering, is coveting a "sin" if it involves something that is Jesus centered? Yeah,... probably.

*****
Today we went to my niece's 6th Birthday party and then to Alpine Village for the fourth year in a row. I'll post about that later because someone, who shall remain nameless, is hanging on my leg begging me to get off the computer. But before I go I do have to leave you with a funny from this week.

On Tuesday it rained and rained and rained and rained. And just when you thought it couldn't rain anymore you guessed it, it rained some more. Anyway, I was having one of those days when I wanted to call in sick for the day. You know the kind, right? I didn't want to change another diaper, or feed another mouth, or listen to any whining or do anything really. So as if I wasn't irate enough already, the dogs refused to go outside to do their business in the rain until way late in the day. And of course, when they finally did they tracked all this water and mud into the house adding one more thing to the list of things I didn't want to do, but had to.

Anyway, Mick comes back inside and heads straight to the water bowl. When it comes to water Mick can outdrink any dog we've ever known. So he's drinking. A lot. Nonstop actually. Isabella's in the bathroom taking care of her business. So I tell him: "Mick, that's enough". Drink. Drink. Drink. Then I say: "Mick, stop!" More drinking. Finally, I yell at him: "Mick! Quit!" Suddenly, the bathroom doors flies open and Isabella comes out, pants around her ankles and says to me: "Momma, is he killing you or just getting on your nerves?" Yeah I admit it, I laughed hard at this one. She totally changed my mood for the remainder of the day.

OK, gotta go now.

I'm Back

Sorry about the extended absence. My one and only reason is that I've been trying to get the house "visitor ready" with organizing and cleaning and all that. And it wouldn't be that big of a deal, except for the small issue of how darn easily distracted I really am. If I'm working in the kitchen and walk past the dining room then I start doing something there and then if I go to the bedroom I get started there and so forth. So basically as it stands right now every room in the house is pretty much half done, or something like it. Anyhoo, I do have some updates and new developments I'd love to share with all of you, so here we go:

*** My parents arrived safely in Florida yesterday. His appointment at the Mayo clinic isn't until December 8th, but they wanted to get there with enough time to complete the Medicaid application process and take care of some of the other logistical stuff. The good news is that his hemoglobin has remained at a constant number ever since he was released from the hospital, which means the internal bleeding coming from his liver has most likely stopped. Praise God for He is good! If this isn't a miracle my friends, then I'm not sure what is. December 8th will be the day of my Dad's first consultation. Let's pray that after reviewing his files and everything else they consider him a candidate for the transplants. I will keep you all posted.

*** On the WW front, I had a night out with the girls on Friday and you know how I hate to weigh in after dinner out, so I went in on Friday at noon instead. Although I was so good throughout the week I was afraid that going in a day earlier would hurt my weigh-in. Luckily, that wasn't the case this week:

Pounds lost this week: 4.2 lbs
Total lost: 24.4 lbs

It was a REALLY good week and I am thrilled with the results. This week presents a whole different challenge: Thanksgiving! Yeah let me warn you, I might not be as peppy when I report back with my WW weigh-in results next Saturday.

*** Our sweet boy is fighting some kind of ear/sinus infection and is on his second round of antibiotics. The first around apparently didn't finish the job so he was prescribed a stronger antibiotic to take for a longer period of time. Unfortunately, after three and a half days of treatment on his new medicine, he developed an allergic reaction and now has a rash all over his face and scattered around his body. I think it's bothering me more than it does him, but since I took him off the medicine we're going to see the doctor again tomorrow to talk about an alternative.

*** Last Friday was this little fella's 7th year anniversary with us.


Copper came to live with us back in November of 2001 when he was only a year old. He made himself right at home in no time. And despite everything he's been through with us:
- a neutering (Yikes!),
- the unfortunate accident of my inadvertently kicking him where the neutering took place the day after such event (Double Yikes!),
- wearing antlers and a shirt that says "Feliz Navidog" during Christmas for our entertainment, although he is absolutely mortified,
- two relocations,
- the addition of Mick, another dog, a big dog, a dog who weighs three times as much as he does,
- the addition of a baby girl who has always been fascinated by him, and most recently
- the addition of a baby boy who has just recently started following him around and pulling on his ears
he loves us so very much and is as loyal of a pet as we've ever known. We love our stinky dog!

*** I am really into, no consumed, no obsessed with Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.

OMG!!! As if I have nothing else to do. All I want to do is have my face in these books all day every day. I'll be the first to say that I had no idea what the big deal was about these books, I mean, they are about vampires. A Vampire love saga. Seriously,... so not my cup of tea. But my friend Hannah got into them and told me I had to read them. To make matters worse the movie just came out last Friday and she planned a girls' night out with a group of girls from work and bought me a ticket to join them. So what was I to do? I got busy and started reading Twilight, the first book. I started it twice and could not get into it at all. Then the third time I decided to stick with it and made it through to the point where there was absolutely no turning back. Yeah, I read it in two days. I finished it about two hours before my girls' night out, and boy was I glad I did.

The movie is definitely not as good as the book. A bit corny at times, funny when I don't really think they intended for it to be, and somewhat juvenile. But who cares? It provided us with two more hours of Edward and the Cullen clan who I deeply love right now.

Needless to say I am currently devouring New Moon, which is the second book in the series, that I bought yesterday morning. But I am definitely trying to pace myself until tomorrow when Scott comes home with books three and four that I am borrowing from Hannah. We wouldn't want to finish New Moon without being able to pick up Eclipse right away. After those two books are safely here, then watch out! This is CRACK!!! CRACK I tell ya!!!

*** My good friend Celimar arrives from Arizona on Wednesday afternoon and I am DYING to see her. It has been years since we've spent any time together and this will be the first time she meets the kids. Oh, how exciting! I will post more about Celimar and how I know her and love her so in the next couple of days.

Geez, sorry about the long post. See what happens when I don't blog for a while? OK, gotta go now. New Moon is waiting for me,...ha, ha, just kidding,... well,... maybe,... no, it really is!

Oops, U-Turn Required

Well, I guess it was bound to happen sometime. My WW weigh-in was how shall I put it, less than stellar today. But I can honestly tell you I am not surprised. I'm pretty sure I can account for every ounce.

Pounds lost this week: + 0.2 lbs
Total lost: 20.2 lbs

You see, this week was one of those "Why Bother?" type weeks for me. I followed the program most of the time, but definitely had my oops moments. Take last night for example,... I NEVER eat dinner out the night before a weigh-in. I know better than that. What did we do last night? We went out to Rafferty's for dinner. I thought I'd try and be good, so I ordered myself a salad. Well let me tell ya, as soon as they brought me the salad I immediately thought that I should have ordered the steak and baked potato instead. That thing was huge and I ate every last bit of it. Why? Cause I was starving, which is yet another NO NO in my weight loss book.

So anyway, it is what it is and I can't let it get me down. I'm starting a new week today and I'll make some changes to hopefully see the results on the scale next Saturday.

Weekly Weigh-In

FINALLY!!!

It seems like it has taken me FOREVER to get to the 20 pound mark, but it has finally happened. YAY!

Pounds lost this week: 2.4 lbs
Total lost: 20.4 lbs

I cannot even tell you how thrilled I am. I was so surprised with my results this week, but hey I'll take it.

Alrighty then , I gotta go now. We've got a birthday party to get ready for.

Until next time,...

PS I think I'm filing a charge of harassment and cruel and unusual torture against my scale at home. Going into today's meeting I didn't think there would be any change from last week.

Weekly Weigh-In

Due to a pretty hectic Saturday, I went in to my weekly WW weigh-in and meeting yesterday afternoon, which as I have mentioned before I really don't like because usually by meeting time I am STARVING. Well, yesterday was no exception.

Anyhoo, here are the results:

Pounds lost this week: 0.8 lbs
Total lost: 18 lbs

No sooner the girl told me the results for this last week I started to get really irritated. What?!? 0.8 lbs? I mean, seriously?!?

But suddenly my week flashed before my very eyes: my very emotional week, and as I've mentioned a million times before I tend to be an emotional eater; a week filled with unbelievably delicious homemade fudge given to me by one of my wonderful Bible Study teachers: a week filled with mini Snickers, Kit Kats, Almond Joys, Hersheys, M&M's; a week which ended with a VERY non-WW friendly lunch at Chili's on Saturday.

So needless to say, my next thought was: LUCKY! Considering my crazy week, I am lucky to have lost anything at all. So, YAY,... I guess.

Anyway, I am hoping for a much less emotional week and a much better weight loss week. I'll make sure to keep ya posted,....

Weekly Weigh-In

Alrighty guys, I'm back on the weight loss wagon. I went in for my weekly WW weigh-in today and although it's been two weeks since I've attended a meeting and I didn't even go to weigh in last week, I'm quite pleased to report that this week's news was good:

Pounds lost this week: 3.0 lbs
Total lost: 17.2 lbs

In reality it's more like 5 lbs lost this week, due to the 2 lbs I gained last week, but hey that's what I get for not showing up when I'm supposed to.

I'm super excited about this week's weight loss and quite motivated for this coming week as well. So please keep your fingers crossed for me,...

I've been bad! Really, really bad!

If you've read my blog this past week then you might already know that it has been a TERRIBLE week WW-wise.

Since last Friday, which was my last weigh-in day, I've had oh I don't know about 7 bad days, some much worse than others. There have been quite a few instances of eating out and/or eating some serious junk. It's been a hard and stressful and busy week for us and I've missed every opportunity I had to go and weigh-in. I am definitely not pleased with the fact that I was absent to my weigh-in on the week that I most likely gained weight, but there's not much I can do about it now. And besides, I am totally committed to making this coming week a great one.

So, I'm really sorry for the lack of an appropriate WW update, but I promise to work my hardest this week and update you next week,... even if the news isn't good.

Weekly Weigh-In

Hey everyone, since I won't be able to go to my "regular" WW meeting tomorrow due to our very quick trip this weekend (Backyardigans, here we come!), I decided to go and weigh-in today.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay for the meeting, which I hate, but with both kids in tow trying to sit for any amount of time in there surely would have ended in disaster. Oh, well.

So, survey says,....

Pounds lost this week: 2.4 lbs
Total lost: 14.2 lbs

I'm pretty much at a steady pace in this journey so far, but I'm done complaining. I'm averaging about 2.8 pounds a week, which is really just fine by me. I'm sure however, that if I actually started being more active, instead of just talking/typing about it, that I would have some weeks with bigger loses. I don't know what it is about exercise this time around, but I just can't seem to get motivated enough to get moving.

I was talking to Scott last night about the fact that we have our family shoot with Marci coming up in three weeks and my goal was to lose 20 lbs beforehand. After today, I'm thinking that I might just be able to accomplish, and dare I say maybe beat, that goal. I'll make sure to keep you posted.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Weigh-In

Although we've got a pretty busy day today, I wanted to swing by really quick to update you on my WW weekly weigh-in results.

Pounds lost this week: 2.2 lbs
Total lost: 11.8 lbs

Yay!

I'm so excited to be over the 10 lb mark and can't wait to see what will happen this coming week, when I'm REALLY going to try to be more active. Last week was a bit taxing around here so it didn't quite work out how I had originally envisioned. But flexibility is key to staying motivated, so I'll just have to try again this week.

OK, gotta go and have some fun now.


PS Congrats to my friend Lynn who lost 4.8 lbs her first week on the program.
4.8 lbs!!! That's awesome! Keep up the good work, Girl!

Weekly Weigh-In

OK, so I've changed my WW weigh-in day yet again.

It started out on Mondays at 12:00pm, but I quickly realized that with Isabella in school I am usually super busy on Mondays, so it wasn't a very convenient day/time.

Then I started going on Sundays, but I have this terrible habit of not eating anything before weigh-in (terrible, I know), and by the 1:20pm meeting time I was usually dying of hunger and horrible headaches.

So I decided to try Saturday mornings (9:00am) and I think I might have found the perfect day and time. Hopefully this will continue to work going forward.

Alrighty then, so what's the verdict you ask?

Pounds lost this week: 3.6 lbs
Total lost: 9.6 lbs

Now, that's what I'm talking about!

I'm very happy with the results from this week's weigh-in. I tried my hardest to stay within my points, increase my water intake and eat smaller meals more frequently. Not to mention my recent Zumba experience (ha, ha, ha).

So here's hoping for another great week with a lot more activity.

*****

PS I want to congratulate my good friend Rachel for her wonderful week with a 3 pound loss. Woo Hoo!

PSS I also want to congratulate my friend Lynn for re-joining WW. The first week is the hardest with all the adjustment that goes on and stuff, but I can't wait to hear about your weigh-in. You go, Girl! I'm sure you'll do great.

I am so glad to be doing this with you guys, even if it is via phone and/or e-mail.

Weekly Weigh-In

So I went in for my WW weekly weigh-in today, since tomorrow Mr. Sam is having his 6 months pictures done. I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed and maybe it's my own fault. I might have set my expectations WAY higher than they should be. The previous times I've done the program the weight just melted off initially, almost effortlessly, and I'm not really seeing that this time around.

OK, without further ado:

Pounds lost this week: 1.6 lbs
Total lost: 6 lbs

Now, I know that 6 lbs in 2 weeks is great and I really shouldn't be complaining, but once you've done the program before it's hard NOT to compare your progress to your previous results. Scott's explanation was that it's two kids later and I'm also older. Right,... love ya too buddy!

He also asked why losing 1.6 lbs has the same effect as if I'd gained 5 lbs. I was quick to explain it didn't: losing 1.6 lbs made me sad and disappointed; if on the other hand I would have gained 5 lbs, he would have had to go find me and drag me out of The Commissary BBQ while trying to pry an entire slab (or two) of ribs off my hands. See the difference?

And besides, there was a lady at the meeting (talk about older, much, much older, like granny older) who lost 8 pounds on her first week in the program. Kind of makes you wonder what am I doing wrong (or what laxative did she take last night ~ sign me up!).

Anyhoo, not much I can do about it now. I'm starting my new week with a new attitude.

I'm kicking butt this week!!!

And if I don't,... well then brace yourself The Commissary!

Off to a good start

Although my first Weight Watchers weigh-in was supposed to be tomorrow, right after I drop Isabella off at school I have to take our baby boy to the doctor for his 6 months check-up (can you believe it? 6 months already?), which of course involves some shots. Well, I decided to go to WW today so that tomorrow we can come straight home after his appointment and I can make sure that he is as comfortable as possible.

OK, here it goes. Drum roll please,....

After my first week of WW I have lost: 4.4 lbs.

YAY!

That's exactly the motivation I needed. I am certainly feeling ready to face this coming week with its set of challenges.

P.S. Yeah, don't think for one second I didn't scarf down a medium bag of popcorn yesterday at the movies. There are some things I WILL NOT quit, like popcorn at the movies. It's bad enough I'm totally off my much beloved Coke. But on the bright side, I did not add butter and I did account for the popcorn points.

Hello, old friend ~ we meet again!

Well, it was bound to happen and it finally did. I'm totally fed up with the way I look and feel. Which means what exactly? I've finally joined Weight Watchers,...again.

I went this morning after dropping Isabella off at school and met up face to face with my nemesis ~ that awful scale! Of course the number it spat back at me didn't surprise me one bit since it was precisely the reason I was there in the first place. But still, GEEZ!!!!

Please don't let my (,...again) comment confuse you. I happen to be a HUGE (hmm, I might want to choose my words more carefully) fan of the WW program. The first time I joined was back in 1999 and I was unbelievably successful. Back then I was single, working crazy long hours in a new town with no friends. With not much else going on in my life at the time I gave the program 150%. So what happened you may ask? Well, I met and fell in love with Scott. I was happy and in love and eating late night dinners and desserts and drinks. As my personal life was on an upswing, apparently so was my weight. At some point I stopped going to the meetings altogether, which is a big NO NO for me.

I rejoined WW when I worked with my friend Lynn in St. Louis. Remember, Lynn? It couldn't have been more convenient; the meetings took place during lunch time in the building that we worked in. It was definitely fun to have someone to do the program with, go to weigh-ins, make little wagers and serve as a support system ~ you know especially at times when you're standing there unable to breathe while staring at a box filled with a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Then at some point the doughnuts won and it all went to downhill.

In 2004 I joined again and was doing great. I lost a little over 20 pounds within the first month and that was all the motivation I needed to stay on track and keep going. Then one day SURPRISE! I was pregnant with Isabella and could no longer follow the program and/or attend the meetings. But I had such a wonderful pregnancy and such a beautiful little girl, I wasn't discouraged. I knew I'd be able to go back and give it my best when I was good and ready.

So fast forward a couple years and there I am walking right back in there with an additional 10 pounds. But it was OK, I was just as motivated on following the program as I had been the other times. Again, history repeats itself ~ I lost about 20 pounds that first month. I was feeling good and totally determined to do this, just like I knew I'd be, and then BAM! Pregnant again!!! This time with our wonderful "little" Sam.

Anyhoo, here are a few observations on my very personal journeys with the WW Program:
* I do GREAT when I have NO life
* I do OK when I do the program with someone I know
* Weigh-ins and meetings are a definite requirement for my success, without that accountability I might as well not even waste our money
* Apparently I love a good challenge since every single time I go back I show up with 10 extra pounds than I did the time before
* As soon as I'm down 20 pounds I'm going to have to send Scott to sleep on the sofa, at least for a while ~ I mean seriously!

I am very excited to have rejoined, feeling super motivated and looking forward to my weigh-ins. And the reason I am telling you all about this is because, like I said before, I do much better when I have a support group and accountability. So every Monday I will update the blog with my progress, which will hopefully be pounds lost.

So wish me luck for this coming week. I'm definitely gonna need it!