An update in pictures

There hasn't been too much excitement around the Welcome to My Life house but here are a few fun updates in pictures.  

We had a small snow storm on Friday and I finally got to use the snowblower!  Please also take note of our ugly camper in the background, I hope I can talk my dear husband into selling it come spring.  It's more of a project than we imagined. 


Bessie also enjoyed the snow, for a little while.

We've also FINALLY hung pictures on the walls in our house after almost 4 years of living here!  My mom and brother did the wedding frames for me and I got the sign that's hanging in the kitchen at an auction about two years ago as a homage to my maiden name.
















I'm hoping that we can do some more home decorating as the winter slowly moves along.  My mom is still working on curtains for my kitchen and I'm hoping that soon we can buy our bed, a TV and loveseat for the office and some other small items to finish off the house.  In the spring we will start our next major project....the downstairs bathroom.

Hope that everyone is having a great week!

Down 2lbs and sticking with it!

Sunday was the start of my third week on Weight Watchers and I'm down two pounds!  It may not seem like a lot, but I've sucked at working out so this is mostly just from eating right.  I've also cut back a good deal on my weekend drinking which I think is helping.  I allow myself a few glasses of wine or a few under 100 calories cocktails and sip them slowly.

I am anxious to get to that first 10lb loss or to see that my clothes are starting to fit a little differently.  I went shopping this weekend and I'm obviously still in the same size but things aren't as tight as they once were.

I've noticed that my cravings for many of my favorite junk foods (chips, chocolate, chipotle, a nice Wendy's cheeseburger) have for the most part gone away.  I have let myself have a WW ice cream bar a few nights a week after dinner, but since they are the size of the palm of my hand and only two points, I don't feel bad about it.

My body is still adjusting though to this lifestyle change and not to make anyone say "TMI" but, my stomach has had problems adjusting to eating so many veggies and maybe a little more fiber than normal.  And that's all I'm going to say about that.

So what is my goal?  I don't think I've really talked about this before but here is the down and dirty:

Starting Weight: 180

Current Pant Size: 14

Current Top Size: Mostly XL

Current Weight: 179

Goal Weight: 145

Goal Pant Size: between an 8 and 10

Goal Top Size: No more XL, I've got some girls so I would be happy to wear a large again

And my current motivation:

So what Wednesday!!

This week I'm saying so what......

• that I'm obsessed with weight watchers, when I talk about it I feel like people around me are getting annoyed.  I'm just so excited about losing weight and making healthy choices!
• if I am once again addicted to pinterest, I have been using it to look up recipes for WW.
• if I have ordered so much stuff from shutterfly lately, It's all been wedding stuff, they had an awesome photo book sale so I got one for my mom, grandma and us!!
• that I'm still not quite back in a good workout routine, I will get there soon.  I keep going back and forth about buying an elliptical but I just can't make up my mind!  For now, I'll keep using my semi-crappy treadmill and workout DVD's.
• that I finally, officially changed my last name!  I got my new license this weekend and I'm in the process of changing it with the bank and so forth.
• if I cannot ever make up my mind about my hair.  I cut a good chunk of it off right before Thanksgiving and never went back for a trim.  Now I have a hair appointment tonight and want to cut it really short but I'm worried that I'll hate it.  I've also decided not to color it for a while.
• if I still have some stuff from Christmas to put away, its mostly gifts.
• if I'm already planning our Memorial Day party in my head and it's four months away.  I am so ready for summer!

What are YOU saying so what to this week?!

Weekend in review

For a winter weekend, this one was rather fun.  We had been planning to go to Amish Country for a few months with Andrew's family and this weekend we were finally able to make the trip!  It was 60 degrees in Ohio this weekend, which is unreal and although it was cloudy and sprinkled a little rain we had a nice drive through the country and spent the afternoon shopping, eating and having a nice time together.  Our first order of business was to find a bed frame (we've never had one) and we didn't want to buy something cheap from a furniture store, below is the one we've picked out.  We have to go back and order it in a few weeks and it will take 10 weeks to make.   I think we are getting the nightstand as well.  Its solid oak with a dark tan finish that nicely matches or hodge podge of antique furniture in our bedroom.

I was also able to restock all my dry good while we were there because its so cheap!  Spices, flour, oats, baking stuff is all pennies on the dollar compared to most grocery stores!  We go to Holmes County Ohio, about 1 hour and 30 minutes northeast of our house and visit Charm, Berlin, Millersburg, Walnut Creek and Farmerstown each time we go.  There is a great organic store in Berlin and the bulk food store is in Walnut Creek.

All the spices I scored, that big box of bay leaves was $0.88 and all that cinnamon (bottom left) was $2.00!

My restocked "dry goods cabinet" when we got home, love it!

I was also proud of myself for controlling my diet while we were there.  I opted for the soup and salad bar at lunch and split a piece of pie with Andrew.  Though when we got home that night, Andrew wanted pizza I only ate two pieces and had some fruit. 

Sunday was our typical cleaning, laundry and grocery store day.  We finally took down the outdoor Christmas lights and I made a big pot of healthy and yummy potato soup for dinner!

Sunday night kitty snuggles!

What did you do this weekend?

I'm going to stick with my fitness goals!

Last night while running/speed walking on the treadmill, as I'm staring at the blank drab wall in front of me, I realized I need to surround myself with things, words, phrases, anything to keep me inspired.  After I finished working out, I ran upstairs and pulled from the top of the closet, my "dream jeans."  The size 10 express jeans that I love and have not been able to wear since 2009.  I got a hanger and hung them from the rafters in front of my treadmill.

If that's not motivation, then I don't know what is, but I didn't want to stop there! I wrote down on two pages of white paper inspirational quotes that will keep me motivated during my workouts.  I may decide to add some pictures later on, but right now my printer is out of ink.  Thus the little kid craft project.

I wrote down all of the "0 points" foods that I love and taped the list on the pantry next to another list about CRAP and food (which I found on Pinterest).

The whole time I was doing this, Andrew was looking at me as if I was a crazy person but hey if it keeps me motivated who cares!

I want to fit in those jeans by this summer and I think if I stick with weight watchers, continue to incorporate more fruits/veggies into my diet and slowly start working out hardcore again, I CAN AND WILL DO IT!

I'm happy that nearly everyone at my work is participating in our Get Fit 2013 challenge and that we are all here to support one another.  We have all been packing our lunch and making better food choices each day, which is amazing and makes everyone want to keep up the good work.  Our next potluck is all focused on healthy foods too which I think is GREAT!

I'm not sure what light bulb has turned on in me to make me want this so bad but I am more determined than EVER!