Take A Tour With Me

Welcome to our blog tour! I hope you enjoy the tour of some pretty cool blogs. Make sure you check them all out. Just click on the link below and then click on their link, etc. You'll eventually end up back at my blog!

I am just beginning my weight loss journey. Ok...that' not entirely true. A couple of years ago I lost almost 50 pounds. I gained almost all of it back. So now I'm at it again. This is me now. It was taken while I was singing at a good friend's wedding. She posted it on facebook and I just about died. How did I squeeze my big, fat boobs into that? I won't be wearing this shirt again for a while! So here it is...my "before" picture.

I've only lost about 4 pounds. But hey...it's 4 pounds! I'm following the Weight Watchers Momentum program. I have a gym membership that I try to go to regularly. I absolutely LOVE Zumba. It's offered a few times a week at the gym and it's so much fun. You'll never know you are getting a GREAT workout in.

This rice pudding is my all time favorite snack right now. It's only 1 point! I've eaten Kozy Shack Rice Pudding for years now and I never knew they had a healthy version of it. I was so happy when I found this. It's worth every penny I spend on it!

The biggest life lesson I've learned is forgiveness. I tend to beat myself up over everything. I say terrible things to myself and I'm trying so hard to stop that and to forgive myself. I have had to let go of the fact that I gained so much weight back and that's been good for me. I believe in myself and I WILL do it again.

The biggest strength I've discovered it that I can stop eating when I'm full and that I don't have to fear the feeling of being hungry. I totally used food as comfort. I would stuff myself silly and that would be comfortable for me. Even changing my eating over the last little while has shown me that I feel so much better when I don't over eat and when I eat the right things. It's empowering to stop and put my fork down or cover my plate with my napkin.

My toughest struggle has been exercise. I'm just not in the habit of doing it. I have a gym membership now and NEED to get my bootie there so my membership doesn't go to waste. I've got to figure out what system works for me. I think it will be a lot easier when my kids are out of school and I can go really early in the morning.

My biggest supporter has been my friend Sam. She probably doesn't know that but it's true. I joined WW when she did but I quit twice since she's been doing it. It's been hard this time. And she has encouraged me and loved me. She keeps me going. My husband is also a support. I got him to join too! Tonight is his first meeting.

When I make it to goal I plan to go crazy shopping! Before I was heavy my closet was FULL of GAP clothes. I can't wait to shop there again. I just can't wait to go into a store and know that I can shop in any section I want to! I can't wait to buy a cute swim suit. I might need a tummy tuck first! :)

I'm not sure what I would've wanted someone to say to me when I started WW again. I would tell someone to let go of fear. I know I was afraid. I was afraid of failure and of it not working. It does work! It's hard but good work. I can do it, you can do it! I'm your cheerleader! Now let's put our forks down and get to work!

The next blog on the tour is Anne's blog at Smaller Fun Pants. I hope you enjoy the tour!

Blog Tour Tomorrow!

I am excited for our blog tour tomorrow. Stop by tomorrow and take the tour with me. You'll be directed to some amazing blogs! See you tomorrow! Good Night.

Learning...I Won't Beat Myself Up

We went out to dinner at Cafe Rio last night. I did not order my usual pork salad. I ordered two pork tacos instead with black beans and rice. I was really surprised how satisfying it was. But after I ate I felt guilty. I was totally satisfied after eating some rice, beans and ONE of the tacos. Did I stop? Nope. I ate that 2nd taco and then the terrible voices in my head started raging! They told me I was a loser, had no self control, I was a pig, etc. But then I stopped!! I started re-thinking things. I had made a BETTER choice by ordering tacos instead of that salad. And even though I ate two tacos I told myself that I am making progress in my weight loss journey. I know that I have to change my habits. And so I turned self loathing into something positive. So next time I know that I can order one taco, rice and beans and feel totally 100% satisfied. Plus I'll save a lot of money too!!

Beautiful Blogger Award

I am honored to receive this blogging award! Thank you to my friend Sam over at Believe In Yourself. She has been my inspiration, she believes in me and keeps me motivated. I love her!
The rules of this award: pass it onto 7 other bloggers. And then tell 7 things about yourself that no one really knows. BTW...I have to change the rules just this once! I'm awarding 5 bloggers.

I am happy to award this beautiful blogging award to the following well deserved bloggers!! Not all of these are weight loss blogs. They are blogs that enrich my life and will do the same to yours. And I don't know about you but when I read about others I am more inspired to be a better person!

1. Jocelyn at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ. She is one amazing woman! Her blog is family centered and service centered. She really inspires me to be a better person! I hope I can meet her one day! Jocelyn, thanks for being my new friend! You always have something positive to say.

2. Misty at Misty's Scrapbook Corner. Misty and I went to school together way back when! She is an amazing woman. She is kind and compassionate. She is amazingly talented! I only dream of having true talent like this. She's got it going on! Misty thank you for your amazing courage and determination.

3. Petit Elefant is my next award. I don't know her personally but I've been a follow of hers for some time now. She's awesome! I love her blog. She has so many followers and I'm probably just another "number" to her but she's not to me!

4. Shan at Design Gal & Her Handyman. I found out about her blog because of a local news program. She has amazing thrift store ideas. Her vision of items found are out of this world! I can't wait to make her jewelry holder.

5. Audrey at Audrey's Bliss is a favorite. Her blog is private but deserves recognition. Her attitude is infectious. She radiates positiveness. She and I perform in the Jenny Phillips Choir together and I swear my life is better because of her attitude about life and family. You rock Audrey!

Here are 7 crazy, fun facts about me...

1. I LOVE to fold socks. If all laundry was just socks I would want to do it every day. It's so fun! So if you hate to fold socks I'll come over and do it for you!

2. I LOVE jewelry...the bigger, the better! I love rings. I have almost 30 different rings. And they are big, loud and sometimes gaudy. I can't go into a store without stopping by the jewelry section. I love earrings, bracelets, necklaces and cute watch bands. Awww...just blogging about jewelry makes me happy!

3. I collect magnets from the places we've traveled to. I'm not sure how many I have but our refrigerator is getting pretty full!

4. I am totally afraid of big dogs. It doesn't matter what kind of dog it is. If it's big...I'm afraid.

5. I LOVE to play games. I LOVE to act silly and immature when I play them too. Floppy face anyone? Or how about I've Never... We host FUN parties. They are legendary! Ok, maybe not but our friends do look forward to them.

6. I HATE unpacking from trips. I will dump out the dirty clothes and then live out of the suitcase until it's empty, then I can put it away. I went to Minneapolis in April and I think there's still a couple of things left in the suitcase.

7. One of my favorite things to eat it left over turkey dipped in ketchup. Hey! Don't knock it until you try it. Ok...I know it sounds gross but my dad would eat that growing up and I loved it. It's not Thanksgiving time until I have turkey and ketchup. Oh yea...the turkey has to be cold.

Thanks again Sam for the award!! I guess I need to find some fun weight loss blogs to follow also!

You've Got To Try These LOW Point Foods!

I'm now on the lookout for delicious, low-point foods. Here are my latest finds. I love rice pudding. I love Kozy Shack's rice pudding but it's really high in fat, sugar and calories. I found no sugar added rice pudding last night at the store. I pulled out my handy dandy WW calculator and discovered they are only 1 point each! I tried it this morning and it is so good. And did I mention it's only 1 point! I am so excited that I can still eat rice pudding.I NEED a chocolate fix every day. My life won't go on if I can't have chocolate. These mousse cups fro Jell-O are only 1 point each. I love the light texture and the rich chocolate taste. I don't need a candy bar with these around.

I am so in love with this cereal. The vanilla taste is subtle and not so sweet, which I love. It's all natural and will even leave little black vanilla specks in your milk. My daughter wanted to know why they had put pepper in her cereal. It's definitely NOT pepper!

Guess how many points this little packet of apples has? ZERO. That's right! If you only eat one pack that is! These are expensive but worth every penny. I found a box of mixed varieties at Costco (I think it was around $14.00 for 20 bags). The pears and bananas/strawberries are 1 point each. They are crunchy, light and a perfect snack to keep at your desk or purse.

I've saved the best for last! These alternative bagels are only 1 point each. I'm not kidding. They are great toasted. I had a bagel sandwich for breakfast this morning. I cooked 3 egg whites in olive oil (got that in today!) and sandwiched that between an onion bagel. I was a little hesitant to try these because who wants to eat an "alternative" to anything? They are amazing!

What are your yummy, low-point finds?

I'm Hungry!

I'm hungry right now. It's a feeling I've been so scared to feel. I think that's one reason why I kept myself full all the time. Why was I afraid of hunger? Would it hurt? Would it scar me for life? Would my face turn purple? Of course not. But feeling full was my comfort. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and I ate a TON. I didn't do that today. I promised myself I'd stick to my points and that I'd eat smart. So what that I'm hungry...hello it's 5 o'clock and time for dinner. It's a good feeling actually. I'm going to have a snack so I don't pig out when we go out to eat tonight. I survived being hungry!! What are you afraid of?

I'm Fat AGAIN!

So here it is...my story. Ok, not so much of a story as a journey that I'm on and you can come along for the ride! I'm fat. Yep, it's true. I clearly remember being in high school and wishing a certain cheerleader would get fat when she got "old". She's not, she's absolutely beautiful and I'm the fat one. I was never overweight as a kid or teenager. When my husband and I were married I had gained some weight but was pretty comfortable wearing a size 14. We were married 12 years ago and now I can't wait for the day I can wear a size 14 comfortably! A couple of years ago I lost almost 50 pounds. I was looking good (I was almost that size 14 again)! But then my son got sick and spent a lot of time in the hospital. He's had 3 MAJOR surgeries in the last year. I stopped taking care of myself and I stopped going to my Weight Watchers meetings. The weight slowly crept back on. Now here I am almost at my starting weight AGAIN. Uggg. I joined WW a while ago and have been very wishy washy. I have been going for 5 weeks straight now and have gained weight each week. Why? Because I haven't been following one thing that they talk about. I didn't care yet.

I care now. I had my light bulb moment this week. And I'm pumped up now! I can't wait to get started. This is a new week. I CAN do this. YOU can do this. Let's do this TOGETHER!! I realized that I need support. I need it like a fat kid needs chocolate. Ok...probably not the right thing to say but you get the point. The meetings are great each week but how can I stay motivated? Through this bloggity blog I tell ya! So buckle your seat belts! It's going to be a bumpy but a GREAT ride!!

A Slight Change...

I'm adding to this blog. I'm going to include my battle with weight along with my battle with depression. They go hand in hand for me. I have SO much to blog about and can't wait to get started. I don't have much time tonight but it's worth waiting for!! Stay tuned!!