New Challenge

I'm really frustrated. And discouraged. I've been on track with my eating and working out for about 2 months. And I've hit an absolute standstill. I can't get out of the 160's to save my life. In fact, this week I've even gained two pounds. 

And seeing that number stay the same and then go up is the most frustrating and discouraging thing! It sets my day off on a bad note right from the start.  And I am so tired of feeling like that! 

I've hit plateaus before, and it's always frustrating. Usually when I hit a plateau, it's because I've started allowing too many cheat meals in and/or started slacking in my exercise. 

However! This time, I know that I'm doing well. I feel stronger than I have in YEARS. I'm starting to get some definition in my legs. I've upped my weights and started a new Jillian Michaels DVD (Ripped in 30) and I can already tell its going to be effective.  I've got my eating under control, and even on my few cheat meals, I've kept the portions reasonable. 

So. This is my new plan of action and challenge to myself. I put away my scale this morning, and I'm not going to weigh myself for a month. One month. June 9th will be my next weigh in. I'm still going to log my calories in My Fitness Pal. I'm still going to work out 5-6 days a week, either with an exercise DVD, walking with the stroller, or running. But I want to focus more on the health and fitness aspect of my weight loss journey. Not the number on the scale. I want to tone and tighten, and focus on being fit and in shape more than being thin. 

And I have to admit, I'm a little scared. I'm a little terrified of gaining all of my weight back. But I need a change of perspective. And a chance to recharge and be excited about my weight loss journey again. 

Jogging For Jillian 5k

This past Saturday, I ran in my second 5k! The race was in Abilene and it was to raise money for a scholarship fund in memory of a young couple that passed away (last year, I believe). 

My first 5k was the Color Run in Lubbock at the end of March. I did that with a friend, and while we didn't run the entire thing, it was still a lot of fun. However, I knew that I wanted to enter a 5k and try to run the whole thing. 

I didn't use the Couch to 5k program or anything like that this go around. At least four days a week (sometimes more/sometimes less, depending on weather), I'd load Lilly up in the jogging stroller and we'd head out for a walk. There's a park with a playground about 3/4 of a mile away from our apartment, so that would be our destination. I would zig zag through our neighborhood, to increase my mileage, trying to get at least 3-4 miles in. I think the longest I went was just over 5 miles. I find it so hard to run with the jogging stroller, so my training "runs" are more walk/runs. But since I'm pushing a 30+ pound stroller with a 30+ pound child in it, that helps build up my strength, I think. (It definitely burns a ton of calories!) When I go out for a run by myself, it seems so much easier! 

Anyway, the Saturday before the race, I went out by myself to try a practice 5k to kind of gauge how I would do. I didn't stop, even though I was slow as mud, and finished in 41:22, with a 13:09 average pace. So, my goal for the actual race (besides just finishing and running the whole thing) was to finish in under 40 minutes. 

 

 (Pre-race)

There weren't a ton of people at this race, and I think most of the people doing the run (they also had a 1.5 mile walk) were high school/college athletes. Which is great, but they left me and about 8 others in the dust when they started. Ha! I was just trying to not lose sight of the girl in front of me, so that I wouldn't get lost. We were running through a neighborhood, and it wasn't super well marked, but I made it through without getting lost. :-) 

I did stop to walk in the 3rd mile, to get a drink. The "water" I grabbed pre-race turned out to be a carbonated flavored drink, and every time I tried to open it, it spewed! So I walked about 30 seconds to get a drink, and then started back up running. I finished (unofficially, not sure of my official time) in 33:55. My first mile was in 10:49, 2nd in 11:26, and 3rd in 10:48 (average 11:02 pace). The guy that won finished in like 18 minutes, so obviously he's some kind of robot or machine. :-) There were about 6 that finished behind me.  Moral of the story, it doesn't matter if you finish first or dead last, just FINISH!  Keep going, keep going, keep going.

(Post-race)

 

(With my girl, post-race)

 

 

I am super proud of myself. I really enjoyed myself on this run. And I'm definitely looking forward to more! I actually downloaded an app that personalizes a half-marathon training plan, and I'm excited to get started on that! My official training will start in 3 weeks, so until then I think it said I do 3 runs a week with some cross-training mixed in.  I just bought a new Jillian Michaels DVD (Ripped in 30), and I am SUPER excited to get started on that!

Anniversary Trip to Houston

Our 3rd wedding anniversary is tomorrow, so this past weekend Brian and I went to Houston for a little weekend getaway to celebrate.  We've never really gotten to do a lot for our anniversary- our 1st fell on Easter Sunday, and Brian's parents came to town the day before, so we didn't get to do anything that whole weekend, and then last year we were living with Brian's folks at the time, and we went to dinner and a movie.  So this was a nice change, and definitely something special that we don't often get to do! 

 

It was only the 2nd time we'd ever left Lilly overnight, and the first time for more than one night!  She stayed with my mom, and they had a blast.  They stayed busy the whole time, with the zoo, the park, riding Lilly's tricycle, and playing with PawPaw.  And I know that Lilly loved it all, because she's been asking to go back to Gigi's house since we got home.  :-)

 

Anyway, we dropped Lilly off in Abilene Friday afternoon, and headed to Houston!  We got to our hotel (Marriot Energy Corridor- very nice!) about 8:30, and then headed out for a late dinner.  We had Mexican food at Los Cucos and it was AMAZING.  So, so good.  And the live mariachi band was so fun. 

 

Saturday morning, we headed to the outlet mall in Cypress.  And I have to say, it is the nicest outlet mall I've been to.  And I AM an expert outlet shopper... ;-)

 

 I got a new wallet, to match my purse that Brian gave me for Christmas. 

 

And some new tennis shoes, that are super fun. Brian also got new shoes, and of course, Lilly banked with new clothes, and two more Doc McStuffins stuffed animals.

 

 

 We had a late lunch at PF Changs (our fave).  Delicious, as always.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the game!   The reason we chose Houston, instead of somewhere closer like Dallas or Austin, is because the Cleveland Indians were playing the Astros.  My father-in-law is from Cleveland, moved to Texas as a teenager, so Brian was raised to be a fan of all things Cleveland: the Buckeyes, the Browns, and the Indians!  Personally, I'm a diehard Red Sox fan.  I do still cheer for the Rangers (unless, of course, they're playing the Sox!) as I was raised in a Rangers' family.  But I have also come to be a fan of Brian's Ohio teams as well.  :-)

 

Before heading to the game, all Tribed out.

 The weather was beautiful all day- cool, breezy, and not humid at all! 

 

Before the game, at Minute Maid Park.

 Neither of us had every been to this ballpark, so we were excited to see it.  It has a retractable roof, which is pretty cool.  They had it open for our game, because it was supposed to be a pleasant evening.

 

 



 

It turned out to be a good day to be an Indians fan!! They whooped the Astros, 19-6.  It was a lot of fun to see.  I think they scored 8 runs in the first inning.  And there were a ton of Indians fans there! We had great seats, right on the 3rd base line, 7 rows up.



 

 

It ended up being FREEZING!  I think it was only 55 degrees or so, but the wind was so cold.  Of course we were in shorts and t-shirts, expecting good weather.  Luckily, I had a jacket with me, but I was still super cold.  Even Brian was cold the last few innings, so I know it was really chilly. :-) 

After the game. So Cold!

 Sunday morning, we actually slept in until 8!  Haha!  That's definitely sleeping in for us, as Lilly (our little alarm clock) is usually up and at 'em by 6 at the very latest.  We stopped for breakfast on our way out of town.

 

I grew up eating at Shipley's as a kid in Waco.  They have the best kolaches, and of course donuts too.  I sent this picture to my brother to make him jealous. It worked. :-)

 

We got back to Abilene about 2:30 and left for Midland about 4.  We got to stop in and see my grandpa (Lilly's PawPaw) before we left.  We were all exhausted when we got back to Midland.  Brian and I were dead asleep by 9 pm!  But it was such a fun trip, the long drive was totally worth it.  It was nice to spend some one on one time with Brian- with a young child, that doesn't get to happen very often (but we were SO excited to pick Lilly up- we missed our little monkey!).  And I'll be honest, it was nice to get away from Midland for a weekend and not think about apartments, rent, houses, babies, savings, or anything like that.  I've been having such a hard time lately, dealing with accepting God's timing for my life and my wants.  So I spent the weekend (and the days since) trying to focus on what is really important- I have a husband that loves me, a happy and healthy (and crazy) child, a roof over our heads, food in the kitchen.  We have everything we need right now, even if it isn't everything I want for us.  I'm so thankful that we decided to splurge and take this trip, to celebrate our marriage and how far we've come in the last 3 years!

50 Pounds Down

Happy Thursday!

 

First, an update on the paci situation- we have been paci free for a whole week now!  Praise be to God!  After the third night, she even stopped asking for it.  So very proud of my big girl.  Now if we could just tackle potty-training...

 

And now, a weight loss update!  I officially hit the 50 pound loss milestone last week!  This is since I started tracking my weight loss in May of 2012.  If we want to get ugly-honest here, it's quite a bit more than that, but again, I set my "starting weight" on May 1, 2012. 

 

The past few months have been slow moving... as in, January through mid-March, things were no-moving.  I gained and lost the same 5 pounds or so for about 3 months.  Super frustrating, but completely my fault.  I let too many cheat meals slip in, and got too lazy with my workouts/calorie tracking.  But!  I am back on track.  As soon as I started focusing back on my intake and calorie burn, the scale started moving again.  Which once again proves that there are no secrets to weight loss.  Eat better and move your behind.  I have to daily remind myself of that. 

 

This picture on the left was July 2011, on a trip to Alabama with my mom and a tiny Lil.  I was probably about 220 here (7 pounds higher than my official start weight of 213), and muffin-topping out of my size 18 "yoga" pants.  The picture on the right is Easter Sunday of this year, at 163 pounds and wearing a size 10 skirt.  (I bought that skirt back in 2009, when I worked part-time at JC Penny's.  Haven't been able to wear it since I got pregnant in early 2010.)  And let's not even talk about how much my baby girl has grown... girlfriend is going to be as tall as me by the time she starts kindergarten.

 

 

I also got to wear my wedding shoes on Easter.  Which I haven't worn since my wedding.  Because with my pregnancy and weight gain, I went from a size 5.5/6 to a 7.5 shoe.  Which was totally depressing, because I had to shelve all of my favorite shoes.  But we're back in business with my beloved heels.  :-)

 

 

As of my weigh-in today, I'm only 4 pounds away from being in the "normal" BMI range for my height!  Which is super exciting, because I haven't seen that in YEARS.  I'm 29 pounds away from my ideal "goal" weight of 133.  Which I also haven't seen in years.  I have my short-term goals set up, to break up the big number into more manageable goals.  And we'll see, when I get down a little lower, my goals may change.

 

I'm also in the process of adjusting my thinking from straight up weight loss to eating and living healthy.  Let's be honest, no one wants to count calories forever.  I certainly don't.  So, we're trying to incorporate more lean protein, veggies, and fruit into everyday.  I'm looking into the "clean-eating" lifestyle.  But I love a good carb (read: nachos and cinnamon rolls), and I can't live in a world without coffee, so I'm trying to decide on a plan that would allow for wiggle room.  I'll let you know. :-)

 

Anyway, thanks for all the support on Facebook yesterday!  It was super encouraging, and I made excellent food choices yesterday. :-) 

Night One of No Pacifier

I had reduced our paci arsenal down to 3. This was mainly for traveling, so I'd have an extra on hand. We had already cut the pacifier during naps, but were still VERY reliant on them at night. Since Brian is away this week, I figured it was a perfect opportunity to get rid of the pacifiers all together. Daddy, of course, can't bear to hear his princess cry, so he always cracks and gives her what she wants, usually a paci! I, on the other hand, can handle it when it comes to pacifiers. Tough tacos, kid. Go to sleep. :-)

Anyway, I threw two pacis away last night, and then snipped the end off of the last one. After her bath, she came into the kitchen for her usual cup of milk (we've switched from soy to Lactaid!)- at this point she also asks for her blanket and pacifier (bwank & pappy). I handed her the cut off one. Of course, she immediately noticed it was "bwoke" and begged me to fix it. It was pretty pitiful. She didn't have a full on meltdown, but she was pretty upset with me. When Brian called to tell her goodnight, she told him all about the broken paci. But when I laid her down a little while later, she didn't even ask for it!! I was pleasantly surprised. And she went right to sleep. She did her usual wake up for a drink, about 2 am, (no, we still don't sleep through the night. I know.) and then she came and got in bed with me about 3ish (which never happens). But I think that had more to do with Brian being gone, because she still never asked for a paci. She slept until about 7. Which is also miraculous. We're usually up and at 'em around 5-5:30. 

So hallelujah! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers last night! I'm praying tonight goes as smoothly! Parenting such an already very strong willed child keeps proving to be more and more interesting/challenging. (God is definitely teaching me patience.... Or trying, at least!) I know for a fact that with my future children, their pacifiers will be done away with when we get rid of the bottles, on their first birthday. If not earlier. Live and learn. :-) 

Good luck to the other mamas trying to get rid of the pacifier, and many, many thanks to those who offered advice and support!! :-)

Easter 2013 and Other Recent Happenings

Hello!  Once again, it's been a couple of months since my last post. 

 

Sigh.

 

My bad.

 

Moving on... we've had a LOT going on the last couple of months.  Brian got laid off in mid-January.  After applying for jobs all over Texas LIKE CRAZY, we finally got a job with a bank here in Midland.  It has wonderful hours, good benefits, they're very family oriented, and he has a great staff and upper-management.  He's really being utilized, and we feel like it is really a great fit for him and for our family.  With being unemployed for almost 2 months, and having to use our savings as income, we've had to change up some of our plans.  We're going to stay in our apartment for another year (God help us), and continue saving for a house.  We're planning on buying around this time next year, sooner if at all possible.  In order to maximize our savings, we traded in Delores, my beloved Durango, for a Kia Optima. Lower payment, awesome gas mileage, and the perfect size for us.  In a few years when we hopefully have another child, we'll probably trade in our other vehicle for a larger SUV again.  Something we've definitely learned this year is that our lives are completely in God's hands, and it is all up to Him!! 

 

Our new vehicle.  I'm still trying to think up a name for her.

 

Other happenings with the Anguishes:

 

Lilly got a tricycle (complete with Minnie Mouse helmet).  She loves her bike, and a few times a week we take her on it down to the park (about 3/4 mile away), and let her play on the playground.  She's a huge fan, obviously.  We look forward to having a backyard next spring for her to play in!

 

 

Last month, my friend Corie and I ran in the Color Run 5k in Lubbock.  It was SO FUN.  I definitely recommend it, and hope to do it again the next time they're in my area.  I'm planning on running another 5k in Abilene next month, and am thinking about a half-marathon in the fall.  Obviously, I've completely lost my mind. :-)

Our before and after.  Our little team name was "For the Love of Carbs."

Last week, Lilly and I took my mom to Dallas for surgery.  She had a cardiac ablation done, and the surgeon was very pleased with how it went.  (which is always a relief to hear!)  Lilly did AWESOME at the hospital, considering we spent about 3 hours there one day and about 10 hours the next.  She watched movies, napped, played beauty shop with my hair, drank copious amounts of juice from the fantastic nursing staff, and generally charmed everyone.  Of course.  :-)  Mom only had to spend one night in the hospital, and her best friend came to stay with her so I could take Lilly back to the hotel.  Praise God for good friends!

Hospital shenanigans.

Brian joined us back in Abilene Friday evening, to spend Easter weekend all together.  We went to the zoo, spent time with my grandpa (whom Lilly has dubbed "PawPaw"), did some shopping, napped on Gigi, and harassed my mom's cat.  Good times.  Lilly is obsessed with the zoo, and asks to go see the "ammals" all the time.  She especially loves the giraffes, snakes and frogs (ick), the flamingos, and the catfish in the little "lake." 

 

We went to church with mom for Easter.  Next year, I'll have to remember to take family pictures BEFORE church.  Lilly was tired afterwards, and REFUSED to take any pictures.  So some Sunday, I think we'll stage a good family picture. :-) 

Oh hey there, size 10 skirt.  Good to see you again. :-)

 The Easter bunny came to see Lilly, and brought her all kinds of Doc McStuffins goodies, among other things.  She got a dress-up kit, and now wears the doctor's coat at all times.  It's pretty cute. 

 

 

And she loves to give check-ups!

She also hunted Easter eggs in Gigi's backyard.  She's an old pro this year!

 

So, things have been good lately!  Lilly is growing like a little weed.  She has new words almost daily, and it's so exciting to hear her form sentences.  Obviously, she doesn't say everything perfectly, and Brian and I get to translate for people that haven't been around her a lot.  :-) 

 

Coming up in April: Brian is leaving tomorrow for a business trip to Minnesota for the rest of the week, and we're going to Houston in a few weeks to celebrate our anniversary (for the first time! yay!).  Lilly will be staying that weekend with my mom, and this Mama is having some anxiety about leaving her for two whole nights.  We've only ever left her overnight one other time, and that was just for one night.  Everything will be fine, I know, and she won't even notice we're gone, I'm sure! :-)

Ruffled Christmas Tree Skirt

Well, I'm a little late posting about this, but it's too cute not to share.  

(In my opinion anyway!)

 

Last month, I finally made my Christmas tree skirt!!  I've been wanting to get this done for three years now.  Our first Christmas together, I made a little tree skirt, but as I was still a newbie sewist, and really had no idea what I was doing, it looked like crap.  Just crap.  I didn't know then how to turn the picture in my head into a pattern and then into something that looked decent.  So, when I found this tutorial via Pinterest, I was absolutely stoked. 

 

Of course, I changed some measurements, and Molly-fied it, but having that resource to reference was awesome, and a huge help. 

 

Anyway, I love how it turned out!

 

 

I think my husband was impressed, solely because he didn't think I'd ever start/finish this project. 

(Again, it's been on my to-do list for a loooong time.)

 

 

 

And, it's Pumpkin-approved.

:-)

 

 

 

My projects for next Christmas (that I hope to accomplish long before Christmas 2013 rolls around) include a Christmas quilt and new stockings.  Fingers crossed! :-)