Stumbling...

I had intended to update on Monday but it has been a crazy week so far! Speaking of crazy... I didn't get near the workouts in that I had hoped last week because we had a crazy week last week too! We were blessed to have a few evenings with my family last week and between that and eating out over the weekend I didn't workout or eat like I should have. I suffered for it by gaining a little back :( Although discouraging it has given me the drive and motivation to work that much harder this week and as of yesterday morning I had lost the extra weight and I am starting fresh! Monday night Jeremy did Yoga X with me and last night I worked my legs and back with chin ups, lunges, and squats! Talk about a workout! Most days I grab Subway for lunch because we all have to eat fresh, right? Haha! The hardest part is those cookies staring you down when you're waiting to pay for your veggie delight wrap ((or maybe it's a Turkey on Wheat))! Just don't fall for thinking that the apples look like a nice substitute for chips unless you like your apples rubbery and tart! The gist of my week is that we're going to forget last one and focus on making this one something to brag about!

The Journey

Like most woman, after having a baby I had weight to lose, but for me it was over 75 lbs of “baby fat” (I'll spare you the exact numbers) to get rid of. I was miserable and for the first time I hated my body. I knew I couldn’t let this control my life and I decided to do something about it! I couldn’t wait until Shae was 6 weeks old so that I could begin working out, so the day she was I put in that Turbo Jam DVD- and sat on the couch and watched it. OK so I tried, right? I eventually got back into the swing of it and established a routine while watching what I ate. Fortunately, I was nursing at the time and the first 30 pounds fell of in a few short weeks. Then came the plateau, you know, where you stop losing and start to think that all that hard work was for nothing! Then, Jeremy and I discovered Tony Horton’s P90X program and bought the set. And of course with a new routine the pounds started falling off again, but wait, here comes the plateau again! At this point I’m no longer nursing so every calorie has to count! And boy they did! After the first 30 days I started to see a difference in the way my clothes fit, in my energy level, and in my self esteem. This has to be working! So, why not give it another 30 days? P90X is based on muscle confusion and it includes 3 days a week of weight training, a day of jump training, one horrific day of yoga, and another day of martial arts; all nearly 90 minutes long. Well, if you work this hard to get your body in shape you start to care more about what you are consuming! For me that’s the hard part. But I buckled down and I opened a free account at www.myfitnesspal.com to help me calculate and keep track of my calories. I created a profile with my goals and current stats and discovered just how much food you could eat for 1500 calories a day if you choose the right food. You don’t have to be hungry and you don’t have to suffer; great news because I hate suffering! My biggest challenge at this point was to drink water, sounds simple enough but if any of you know anything about me, it’s probably that I don’t drink. Anything. Even water. Jeremy and I have turned toward lean meats and away from a large quantity of red meat; you would be surprised at how much you can do with chicken! Shortly after starting the second phase of X I dropped another size, that’s 3 sizes since Shae’s birth. Not too shabby! (I’m half way there!) My next challenge is that my measurements aren’t changing, the weight is slowly and steadily coming off but the inches are hanging on. As I was finishing up the third phase Jeremy and I went on a Caribbean cruise. They have an entire city on those ships! And part of that city is a full gym and fitness trainers that provide free seminars for those interested in their health between bites of pizza and soaking in those cancer rays up on the deck. Well, we were part of that group. My mother in law and I went to a seminar on detox and learned just how bad Coffee, Refined sugars, Additives, and Preservatives (CRAP) are on your body. Jeremy and I followed it up by meeting with the personal trainer, ordering the detox vitamins, and setting new goals; well I set new goals. Jeremy, as most of you know, is far from needing weight loss but is more health conscience than you would expect. When you are exercising, eating right, and detoxing, it’s hard to know which on is responsible for your results but I’m assuming it’s the combination. I have been losing a steady 2 pounds a week for the last couple weeks and have set the new goal to lose 20 more pounds by the first of May. Most days I feel it is very attainable but of course there are those days that it seems just beyond my reach. It has been and I’m sure will continue to be a journey and I am grateful for the never ceasing support of my husband and for the knowledge and education that I have been fortunate enough to find. This post was much longer than I expected but keep up to date on our journey with short weekly updates on Mondays. Thank you and many blessing to each of you in your own journey of life.

Warmer Climate

Jeremy and I got to take Shae and go on a cruise with his parents and a group of friends. It was a complete blast and we're looking forward to more trips in the future! We got to see a different culture, swim in the ocean, zip line through the mountains, and soak up some sun!

You can't tell by this picture but Shae loved the water! Once she got over it being cold she splashed and kicked and was hard for Mommy to hold on to!

Nothing beats a sunset on the water!

Our ship was one of the newest in the fleet.

Jeremy and Shae were looking good for dinner one night!

Shae was a trooper and wasn't phased at all by the airplane ride or even the boat rocking!

Most of our group waiting for a bus.

Dale (Jeremy's dad) fed these birds off of his balcony! They sure liked those airplane cookies!

San Juan, Porto Rica

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Antigua, Guatemala

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Nassau, Bahamas

Happy Birthday Mom!

My Mom's birthday was last week and we had the family and a few friends over for some homemade pizza and a game of Taboo!

The Birthday girl!

We were thrilled that our dear friend, Joe, could be with us and meet some of the little ones!

Braden was convinced he could swing in Shae's swing- but he couldn't get it closed!

Waiting for the pizza...

Making the pizza

We decided fruit was just as good as a cake!

Game of Taboo!

We are so blessed to have such dedicated and happy parents!
Have Birthday Mom!

5 Top Toys in a 6 month old's life

Jeremy and I delight in watching Shae make new discoveries as she grows and changes. She has a collection of toys and gear that she spends a great deal of her time with and I have been able to get a few blog worthy pictures!

When she's not in her swing...

...she can usually be found rolling in her play pen...

... or jumping in her Johnny Jump Up...

...and when her legs get tired she likes to check out her farm animals in her ExerSaucer...

...and eventually a girl just needs to relax on the floor!

New Year- New Hair!

In the spirit of the new year I decided to change up my hair- or maybe my mother told me to wait until after family pictures and the holidays!

Christmas 2008 in Review

We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with so many family and friends this Holiday season! We still have one more gathering to go! I thought I would go ahead and post a few photos of Shae's first Christmas and other highlights of the season.

Shae's second cousin, Tucker, spent a good part of the evening holding Shae at Farr Family Christmas! He was very sad when we had to leave, and take her with us!

When the boys weren't playing pitch, they were playing pool!

Shae was much more interested in the packages than we expected, but of course the paper went straight to her mouth once she got it in her hands!

One of her new favorite toys is her Vtech Laptop!

Christmas day we spent in Topeka with Dale's side of the family, it was great to see a few people that we don't get to meet up with very often!

Dale's Aunt Jeanette from Texas was so thrilled to get to spend time with Shae.

Dale's cousin, Penny, gave Shae pink John Deere boots!

Christmas Eve we spent with Angel's family in Hiawatha and Shae was definitely the main attraction!

Granny thinks her little girl is pretty special!

We didn't make it out to Denver this year to be with my mom's family but we look forward to the trip next year!