101 Things to do update

My list has been updated again, quite a few because of my new house, but unfortunately I can't strike some plans revolving around vacation off until next year now. Oh well, that leaves some days free to try and accomplish other things on my list : )

Living Well Wednesday - whatever works, do that

This is why I joined LWW online, because I always read something that I need to hear. I love it that God uses other people to speak to me when I have trouble tuning in to what He's trying to tell me. Here's what He told me last week.
~I am not a number, a number of pounds or a number of inches, or a size. I have MANY attractive traits that make up who I am...some of them even physical
~I need to be free in Christ. If I have to obsessively be confined to a dietary plan, work out exactly a certain amount per week to achieve a certain "magical" number, then I am not free. At the same time, if I can't get through a bad time without turning to food, then I am not free either. My beat myself up over 'failure'.

Thank you to the women at LWW who continue to touch me with what they share each week.

Other reminders I need to give myself;
~ treating isn't bad once a week, just don't snow ball it
~ if I know I'm going to have a high calorie and/or low exercise week, be prepared by eating less/working out more the days leading up to (don't say, 'I'll make up for it after'...yeah right!)
~ a snack doesn't have to be a whole bowl of ice cream or pretzels, a small amount will satisfy my desire for food because it's not hunger I'm fillin
~ try to remember to ask why do I snack? and how can I let God 'drive' my health?

Had a pretty ok week, and I lost the 3 lbs again, yay!

Friggin' Amazing

They are a violin playing duo,

called Nuttin' But Stringz

on America's Got Talent this season,

and they need to win!

Yay! First time I've seen someone stand up to her

Living Well Wednesday - I need a break, not a break from my health

So, overall, this week was good again, drank a little less water but also a lot less pop, 75 more minutes of exercise, but also a few more calories on average, read almost all of Daniel, but I didn't turn to God when it counted the most, last night. Grrr.


Last night I got some sucky news from Sean's work that our vacation will most likely be postponed. This year we've had no real vacation, all of it has been tied up in appointments for the house, moving, unpacking, etc. so we've been a little stressed, not to mention sick lately, and in dire need of some relaxing time off (haven't had r&r days off since Christmas), and finally both our schedules opened up around Thanksgiving and so we booked vacation.

Now Sean's boss has decided she instead wants him to do training, that before they were going to get other people to do, and he's not allowed to go on vacation until the training is done. He thinks if he pushed himself harder, burning himself out in the process, we MIGHT still be able to go as planned (which meant the weather might be ok enough to go to Banff like we planned) but I don't want him to get even more stressed, so the earliest we can probably go now is November, which also gives us less time off because we can't combine it with a holiday. And it's going to be too friggin cold so we might as well skip Alberta because I want to go when we can also spend time at Banff. We tried going in September but couldn't do that either because a consultant was coming to check out this new product on which Sean is training people, and the consultant needed Sean to give feedback about the program.

So instead of a much needed vacation in just 4 weeks time, going away to beautiful Banff and West Edmonton Mall, seeing cousins I never get to see, I get to have vacation in November at home, 45 days away! And that is provided nothing comes up with my job in November and it works for me to take time off then. *deep breath*

There has been so much Sean has been helping this boss with, taking things off her plate, on top of his normal busy day, and he's already very stressed, then she adds this unncessary thing to his plate, that she had already told him was going to be done a different way. Not to mention, taking away his vacation for it. Not only am I dissapointed about our plans but I am royally pissed off she is treating him this way. Oh, and guess who DOES get to go on vacation in October....she does! I just feel so bad for him I can't complain about my spoiled plans, he already feels extremely crappy about that (this has been a vacation I've tried to plan for 3 years already, going to Alberta). so not only does he feel crappy about work, he feels crappy about upsetting me.


So, anyway, last night, before I found this out, I had bought fried chicken and fries from our favorite place Candy's, to celebrate that we finally got the cheque from the proceeds of our house. Then I found out the bad news and decided I wanted to make myself feel better with fried chicken. I KNOW I should have instead prayed about it, and KNOWN emotional eating would have it's revenge, but last night that didn't matter. Today I'm 3 lbs heavier. Talk about eater's remorse. Lesson learned...I hope.


Anyway, one other thing I thought of this week I wanted to mention, I do have an idea of making the checklist from my last LWW post into a daily checklist on my fridge, and getting a 'gold star' for each goal I meet on a daily basis. This will hopefully remind me of each goal at the beginning of the day, and hopefully I'll be focusing on a lot of gold rather than the empty spots.

I feel pretty, oh so pretty!

Well, I can't remember the last Monday I was in THIS good of a mood! Why, you ask, would I be happy to be back in a work week, having to wake up early, and be at work instead of home? Because I got to wear one of my pretty, semi-new outfits! The song, "I feel pretty" keeps playing in my head and I feel like I'm a brand new person!
I've been going through my closet lately, packing away clothes that are hanging off me, and pulling out old favorite clothes I couldn't bear to give away even though I feared I may never fit in them again. I found that I now fit into a few treasures again, like my favorite pink, velvet jeans : ) The red dress I wore to the Christmas party Sean and I first danced at (boy he liked seeing me in that ; ), some cute pjs, a tankini, some skirts, etc. My wedding dress is actually TOO BIG ON ME! How many women can say that!?!
With a Winnipeg winter coming though, I was caught severely short on pants and sweaters, and Sean and I had agreed for birthdays we'd go clothing shopping, so this weekend we hit the mall and I was loving it! I went down two sizes, I am now a 12 on top and between a 12 and 14 on the bottom! I can now shop at 'normal' stores and avoid 'plus' sections : ) I was SOOOOO giddy! I actually decided not to buy too many pants because about 10 more pounds lost and a 14 will be too big, and I have a few 14 left in my closet, so I only bought one nice pair of brown dress pants (my 3 pairs of brown pants were packed in the 'too big box'). Then I bought 4 sweaters, a cute dress shirt, and because there was such a good sale, I bought a t-shirt and sleeveless dress shirt. Not to mention all the new underwear I needed, yikes! But what a difference it makes with everything sitting on my body properly, and all my body parts being supported properly.
So, today, I feel pretty, oh so pretty! I just want to put on a little fashion show!!! Maybe if I can get hubby to agree, I'll get him to take photos of me in my new outfits so I can.

"I feel pretty, oh so prettyI feel pretty,
and witty and bright
And I pity any girl
who isn't me tonight

I feel charming, oh so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel
And so pretty that I
hardly can believe I'm real"

Living Well Wednesday - Successes

While evaluating recent set backs (I won't call them failures, especially since I didn't gain weight ; ) I have been going back to my initial thoughts when first starting this, that it has to be about balance. I have to make this work for the long run because I will not be able to 'diet' and workout like crazy forever. There will be weeks when I have a food related gatherings almost every day. There will be weeks when I'm sick and can't exert myself as much exercising. There will always be something I can let trip me up. So it's about giving myself healthy options, making better choices, and creating healthy habits. Then take it one day at a time, do the best I can while still enjoying life. Which means, I may not hit 100% of my goals every day, every week, which is a little hard for a perfectionist to handle, but this isn't about getting the grade, it's about life, a balanced, healthy and enjoyable life.
So, with that being said, I feel like this was a really successful week!
1. 115 minutes of exercise/activity - about 75% of goal
2. Stayed in daily range of 1200-1400 calories (thanks to discovering 'skinny' latte's at Starbucks)
3. Increase fruit and veggies - about 75% of goal, 3 out of 4 snacks were or included veggies and fruit. Prepared some easy to add veggies for supper options. Still need to find a good banana smoothie recipe for breakfast, but practice will make perfect...yummy practice.
4. Drink 2-3 litres daily - around the 2 litre mark lately
5. Start reading the Bible again and praying more about struggles - I read Philippians during the week, and now I'm working on Ezekiel. Been much better at praying as the thought pops in my head, rather than say 'I'll pray about that tonight during my prayer time', which usually doesn't happen.
6. And all that resulted in 3 lbs lost!!! Whoooohooo! I'm a very happy girl this week : ) That brings me to 25 lbs lost in total. And boy do I see a difference lately. I am in need of buying new clothes pronto!
Thanks to everyone who cheers me on, and most of all, praise God, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength".