Friday morning was really busy and I had planned to blog that afternoon. Well that never happened and then Saturday and Sunday were pretty much a repeat of FRIDAY!
So, obviously, I have lot’s to say!
I have actually spent a lot of time in the last two weeks learning more about the Blogging World! Did you know that you can make money by blogging?? I know….right? Well, I’ve only made a few pennies, but it is my hope, since I spend so much time here anyway’s and I really like doing this, that one day I will be smart enough to figure out the whole “money making” part of it without changing the way I blog. I like keeping it simple and I don’t want to overwhelm my blog with a bunch of advertising (which is how you make the money) so I am trying to learn all about that and have spent a little less time writing, and more time learning.
But….here is a catch up of all that’s been going on!
Friday morning, I went to my WW meeting, and as always, left feeling recommitted to eating healthy, making good choices, and exercising. We actually talked about the need to constantly recommit at our meeting this week! We commit, we veer off the road, then we come back and we recommit. It’s a very normal part of the journey. It felt good to hear that. The fact that we ALL recommit on a regular basis. It reminds me that my journey is in no way a failure when I get off track, but a perfectly normal part of a weight loss journey, and deciding to live a healthier life. I also left my WW meeting thinking a lot about my weight loss journey and the goals that I set for myself when I joined WW in 2009. I’ve been on this journey for almost five years now. WW and journaling about it has certainly become a very important part of my life. These are the goals I set for myself in 2009.
My goals were…
1. Get healthy
2. Maintain my weight loss by becoming a WW Leader
3. Inspire others to live their healthiest life!
There’s this small part of me that is discouraged that I do not weigh 150 pounds. There’s this LARGE part of me that can’t believe how many changes I have made in my eating habits in the last five years and how proud I am of myself! There is also a LARGE part of me that is proud of myself for continuing to go my meetings on a regular basis and accepting that as a part of my life, and accepting the fact that I need those WW meetings in my life.
When I look at my goals, the most important one was to get healthy. I have accomplished that goal. I eat healthy food 80% of the time. I exercise regularly and I am always up for trying a new exercise. I drink plenty of water, and I just feel really good. This healthy body allows me to do awesome things, and for that, I have learned to be grateful.
WW will not hire me until I weigh 150 pounds, (It’s a BMI thing) and I’ve accepted that.
Through my blog, I have been able to inspire others, another goal accomplished. Inspiring others is what I had hoped to be able to do by becoming a Weight Watcher’s Leader. I never thought about inspiring people during this journey, which has been a long one. I guess I thought people would only be inspired by someone actually reaching their final weight loss goal. The comments on the blog, the comments on Facebook, the text messages that I get and the emails that I receive, make me feel so good, and remind me of just how many people are out there struggling with weight loss, weight and body image and food struggles. I received an email just this morning checking on me because I hadn’t posted in a few days. She had told me before that she reads my blog when she has her morning coffee!! That makes me feel so good, and reminds me that even though I don’t weigh 150 pounds, my constant efforts are encouraging people, and that couldn’t make me happier.
My original weight loss goal was 160 pounds. Getting to 160 felt awesome. I’ve gained some weight and I’ve been in the upper 160’s for a while now, and I continue to work towards getting back to 160, and below. I’ve learned to not beat myself up, and I’ve learned that I will never give up.
Right now, I’m very happy that I am healthy and inspiring others, which is exactly what I set out to do in the first place.
Okay….moving on.
Friday
After my WW meeting I did a little shopping. I bought some pants and a few tops. I was happy to be trying on 10’s in pants and medium in tops and they were all fitting great, so I left the store very pleased.
Friday night, Mike and I went to a concert. Mike never really has much of an opinion about what we do socially, but this was different. He has had somewhat of a bromance with a country artist, Jamey Johnson, for several months now. We almost hopped on a plane last month to go see him in Nashville! Mike found out he was going to be at Whiskey Tango (it was seriously the best people watching…..EVER!) on Friday, August 1st and he said that we HAD TO GO!! The concert really was good, but I was way more entertained with all that was going on around me! Jamey was done at 12:30, but we had some friends there and we ended up staying until 2:30 am!! Mike was so happy about finally seeing this guy in person, he was cracking me up. I was the designated driver and the place was so filled with cigarette smoke, I thought I was going to die, so at 2:30, being the sober one and ready for some fresh air, I told Mike it was time to go home. We had a 45 minute drive home!! We got home after 3:00 and I absolutely had to take a shower before getting in bed. We both smelled like an ashtray! I think I went to sleep after 4:00 am!
Saturday
Needless to say, I slept in just a wee bit. But not for too long, because I had a coffee date with my dad. I ended up taking Tucker with me, and when I called my dad to tell him that I was considering going to the park to have our coffee and that I had my dog with me, he insisted on bringing his pet duck, Charlie, with him to the park to meet me! People, this is not a joke. My dad has a pet duck. He bought him when he was 3 days old, and was curious if he only bought one duck this time (he usually has anywhere from 3 to 5 ducks around his house just for fun) would the duck become a little more domesticated than the other ducks that he had had in the past?
Well, guess what.
The duck, sorry…I mean Charlie…follows my dad wherever he goes. Even at the public park! I wish I would have written down ALL of the things that people said as we walked by. The looks were even more priceless!! My dad likes to pretend like it is perfectly normal to be walking your pet duck at the park. He’s a mess. Of course, I had to go along with the whole thing. One lady said…”Is that your duck?”, and my dad just looked at her weird and said…”No.”
Here are what some of the kids had to say……
“Hey Mister, is that your duck?”
“Um, did you know there is a duck following you?”
“You can’t hold the duck’s here…..they bite!” a three year old.
One of my favorites was while I was looking for my dad. I had seen his car in the parking lot, but I couldn’t find him. I decided to walk around the lake with Tucker, and I stopped to talk to a granddad and his two grandkids that were sitting on a park bench fishing.
Me…..”Have you seen a man walking his duck?”
The Grandpa….”Is this some kinda joke?”
Me…..”Nope. This is my real life. My dad comes here to walk his pet duck.”
Finally, Tucker and I found dad and Charlie.
Nobody even wanted to pet Tucker. Charlie stole the show.
I ran errand’s the rest of the day and we ended up at the Pizza Street Buffet for our grandson’s 8th birthday dinner! It was about 4:30 and I knew I would be passing on the pizza buffet, but it was REALLY hard!!
All of those pictures from the birthday party are on Mike’s phone, but you can imagine……6 kids…pizza….party hats and presents!!
I was showered and in bed by 7:30. I ate a simple egg dinner and listened to Mike talk about how bloated he was from the pizza buffet. 🙂
Sunday
Mike worked. I enjoyed the rainy morning on the couch with my pup’s, then I made a menu for the week and hit up Trader Joe’s and the grocery store up the street.
Mike’s mom brought over several home grown tomatoes recently, and I had decided to make Homemade Marinara for the first time! It turned out awesome! So easy and so good! I’m thinking about getting more tomatoes from the stand down the road and making up another batch to freeze!
I had planned to get in at least a 4 mile walk, but hopefully a 5 mile walk. A walk with a friend turned into THIS!! And it was awesome!!
I was quite please with myself, AND I earned 8 activity points!
Lots going on this week…..then we are going to the lake again this coming weekend!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
Here are the last few day’s eats……
Friday
Breakfast – Latte = 2 PPV
Lunch – Cheesecake Factory Turkey Burger and Side Salad…no dressing = 12 PPV
Snack – Leftover grilled veggies = 0 PPV
Snack – Un-pictured Pistachio nuts = 5 PPV
Dinner – Salmon Caesar = 11 PPV
Concert Beers – Bud Lights = 15 PPV
Total = 45
Exercise – none
Saturday Eats…..
Breakfast – Frothy Coffee, Cheese Omelette topped with Smashed Avocado and Salsa, Grapes = 5 PPV
Lunch – Veggie Burger, Light English Muffin with Smashed Avocado…Avocado for veggie dipping = 10 PPV
Snack – Apple and Banana topped with 1 T. melted Better n’ Peanut Butter = 1 PPV
Snack – Un-pictured nuts = 5 PPV
Dinner – One Egg Over Sweet Potato and Turkey Sausage Hash = 7 PPV
Total = 28
Exercise – 2 Mile Dog Walk
I also had these snack’s…..
Grapes
Fresh Tomato!
Sunday’s Eats….
I made The Simplest Spaghetti in another blog post, and vowed to make Homemade Marinara using fresh tomatoes when they were in season, and I am so glad that I did!
Homemade Marinara
Ingredients
10 Home Grown Tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Oregano
Basil
1-2 Bay Leaves
Dash of Cinnamon
Directions
Bring a pot of water to boil. Drop tomatoes in water for about 30 seconds, then transfer the tomatoes to a bowl of ice water. The skin will peel off super easy! Place the tomatoes in a food processor and chop or grind to the consistency that you would like your sauce.
Cook onion and garlic in Olive Oil. Add the tomatoes and season to your liking. Let simmer for about an hour!
I added cooked, 93% Lean Ground turkey to my sauce!
Dinner was so delicious, we broke out the good wine!
Go to The Simplest Spaghetti for the full recipe!
Frothy Coffee = 1 PPV
Breakfast – Peanut Butter Packed Pancake = 5 PPV
Lunch – Salad Bar with lots of veggies, Bean Salad, Chicken = 6 PPV
Dinner – Turkey Spaghetti over Spaghetti Squash, (but with HOMEMADE tomato sauce!) with Parmesan Cheese and Garlic Bread = 8 PPV
Red Wine = 14 PPV
Total = 34
Exercise – Walked 6.76 Miles!!
It’s been a great weekend! Here’s to a great week ahead!
“love the life you live, live the life you love”
Thanks, Pam! Thank you for being proud. Thank you for thinking I set amazing goals, and thank you for telling me that I inspire you! You have no idea how much all of your words mean to me!
Oh, and I’m glad you liked the duck story!
🙂
Julie, I am so proud of you! You have set some amazing goals and have met them and are continuing to keep them. Good for you! That is perseverance and commitment and determination. Determination is powerful. You inspire me every day. This healthy living stuff isn’t the easiest, but the payoff is pretty huge. Yes, we make unwise choices some days, forgive ourselves when the day is done, and recommit the next day. It’s all OK. Thanks for all you do. Pam. ps. Your Dad and his duck are a hoot!
Hi Dustie!
I’m glad I was able to bring back a great memory for you! My dad can be a hoot! What a great story your’s was as well!
Congratulations to you on quitting smoking! Just think of how many years you were able to add to your life! I quit when I was 30, after 12 years of being a pretty heavy smoker, so I know that it is not easy at all!
Weight loss is all about life style change. It’s hard to get started, but once you’ve decided you want to make changes in what you are eating, the choices you make begin to become habit. I certainly don’t have all of the answers, but I have learned a lot.
If you’re considering trying to lose a few pounds, start with some simple things like drinking more water. Do you exercise? If so, that’s great. If not, start small with a walk around the block each day.
You mentioned you don’t want to quit eating, and I eat all the time, so you don’t have to quit eating, that’s for certain! You just likely eat different foods.
Either way, you have to be ready mentally to make changes and it sounds like you know you will be one day, just not yet!
Enjoy the fact that you have quit smoking and thank you so much for taking the time to write to me!
Have a great and healthy Week!
Julie
Hi,
Your aunt Xyta sent me to your blog to read your story about your dad and his pet duck! What a great dad you have, choosing to raise ducks in the first place, and then deciding to try just one to see what happened. I once rescued a newly hatched goose from the mouths of a large black rat snake, and, for an hour or so while the little gosling was recuperating I toyed with the idea of raising it. It was the fact that I knew it would imprint on me, as your dad’s duckling did, rather then on it’s parents, and I didn’t relish being responsible for a pet goose at the time. I returned it to it’s mom who was sitting tight on the nest since all the babes hadn’t hatched yet and twice it came running back to me, and this only after an hour. Finally when it heard the peeping of another hatched chick, it snuggled in beside mom and I was able to walk away. It was hard though, and the story of your dad and his pet duck brought it all back to me. It was hard to walk away from the little guy, but I was young and worked too much to be a proper momma to the little guy/gal. Glad your dad can be a proper pappa to his duck and that the two of them are such companions for each other. You’re story warmed my heart…
As does the story of your weigh loss journey. Someday, when I’m ready, I’ll start mine. Not there yet though… I quit smoking in 2005 when I weighed 150 lbs. By 2006 I weighed 207. I now weigh 195 and there I stay, give or take a pound or two. I’d love to be able to do what you are doing now, and know I will be able to when I decide to take it on…. but, alas, the motivation to do so is not there yet. I hope it doesn’t take 36 years for the motivation to come…that’s how long I smoked before I was finally able to get the motivation to do the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life…quite smoking. I’m afraid quitting eating is going to be even harder, which is probably what keeps me from attempting it.
Glad you could do it…you look good!
Glad your aunt sent me to your blog! I’ve bookmarked you for when my motivation comes along…
Keep up the good work!
Dustie