WW Wednesday: 20 in 20 - Week 10

Half way there!

Well it has been a crazy 10 weeks.  I myself am not on track to lose 20 pounds by the end of this Challenge, but I have indeed lost.
When I started this journey 55 weeks ago, I never told myself "I want to lose X-amount of pounds by the time I turn 30."
Nope.  I just told myself, "If you keep at it, you can feel and look better than you have in years by the time you are 30."  That was 57 pounds ago.

Counting my slight gain today, I have had a net loss of 4.4 pounds in the last 10 weeks.
That is like 18 sticks of butter no longer sticking to my body.  Yes, I could have done a lot better, but facts are facts and I'm moving forward.

As I said Monday, I'm not going to share my exact numbers every week from now on, but I will tell you what kind of week it has been.  I might even share my total at the end of the Challenge.  I might even do a Before & After picture if I'm not too chicken.  :)

So, as for Week 10, I had a little gain.  Nothing happened because of it, though.  I'm still the same person.  My clothes still fit.  I look the same in the mirror.  No biggie... it happens.
I'm so over over-examining this.

How are the rest of my Challenge participants doing? I'm ready to listen.  Amber, where's my cheerleader?

(Aw, I miss Kodi.)

Putting words in her mouth

We recently replaced our dearly departed point-n-shoot camera.  This afternoon I took BabyCakes out on the porch to try it out.  Please forgive the shamefully sappy/vomit-inducing faux-scripting of the events that took place.  What can I say?  I'm wearing a Hello Kitty t-shirt right now.  I'm feeling a little corny today.  Without further embarrassment ado...

"Hey Mom, What's that UPS man up to?"

"Maybe he has something for me in that truck."

"I've been really good lately.  I think I deserve-- I mean, I've been really cute lately."

 "I know that box is for me.  I'm gonna check it out."

"Nope, I was wrong."

"Mom, How much longer till my birthday?"

MAKE IT HAPPEN Monday

Better late than never, right?

To be honest I haven't done anything to further my educational goals this week.
I take that back.  I made a decision that should make the task of going back to school easier.

For a while now I haven't done much with my etsy shop.  I've let it sit and languish.
I have plenty of items in my closet and garage that I could list for sale (my husband can attest to that), but in the end it wasn't enough.
Yes, I enjoy the hunt and I enjoy taking the pictures of my items.
But the actual business of it all with writing descriptions, packaging, and shipping... notsomuch.

Now, I know that I'm fortunate to be able to say "Hey, I don't like this as much as I thought I would, so I'll just not do it anymore."  But the truth of the matter is that at this point, the only reason I would continue would be out of fear of being seen as a failure or a flake.
And you know what?  My other goals are more important than an irrational fear of what someone might possibly be thinking of me.

(That's my BigBoy's "think of me what you want" face for you.)

I had to try it.  I learned from it.  I didn't sit around wondering what might have happened.
Also, I see now that it was mostly a way for me to put off dealing with the larger picture.
Going back to school and getting a degree will serve my family more than the extra money I made from my shop.
Come next semester, there will be one less distraction for me to deal with.

In the spirit of making changes and learning from what doesn't work for me, I've decided to stop sharing my exact numbers gained or lost on the scale every week on my WW Wednesdays.
I'm returning to my old tried-and-true method of starting. over. every. day.
No matter how much I tried to convince myself that a little challenge was okay, the truth is that for me, it's not what I like or what keeps me on track.
The pressure of it threw me off and made it not fun.  Getting healthier is supposed to be a good thing!  Not something that causes you anxiety.

Of course I am still moving forward in my weight-loss efforts, but I'm going to stick with my "Any amount down is alright with me" attitude about it all.
Again, I tried it.  I learned from it.  Now I'm doing what's best for me instead of getting so off-track I can't see the path anymore.

So, come Wednesday I will share how my week has been, but not numerically.  I'm sure I'll share my total around my big B-Day, though.  :)

Challenge participants, please feel free to continue in your efforts!
I support you all in achieving your goals in ways that work FOR YOU.
Thank you for understanding that I had to shake things up for myself and my life, and please feel free to continue to share your progress in whatever manner you wish.
The only thing that is changing is that *I* am not sharing my numbers, nor am I holding myself to set number goals during the remaining 10 weeks of the Challenge.

So, anyone else MAKIN IT HAPPEN this week?

WW Wednesday: 20 in 20 - Week 9

Yep, it's Wednesday and of course that means I attended my Weight Watchers meeting.

Walking up to the scale today I felt pretty good.  

YES, I ate out a couple times in the last week and NO I didn't get the steamed veggies on the menu, but I did pretty well balancing those heavier meals with modest normal-time (lunch at home with a toddler, etc.) choices. 

I even got in a little exercise.

So, I stepped up -- no, wait a minute, let me back up...  

So, I put down my bag and took off my flip flips and my sweater (I had a shirt on underneath - I'm not that desperate for fewer ounces on the scale), stepped up, and weighed in.  

Down 0.8.  

Meh.

I wasn't surprised.  

I was a little disappointed but not a little surprised.

I think the main reason my weight loss feels so slow these days is because I'm really trying to go about doing it in a livable way.  I'm not really "trying" to lose weight.

I know myself way too well to think that I could sustain a lifestyle containing zero fat.  Or carbs.  Or sugar.  

I eat processed foods.  I drink diet soda.  I still don't really like never eat salads.

There are definitely things I could do to accelerate the process, but it's not worth it to me to hit "goal" a month or two sooner.

The biggest difference in my eating now is that I  try to make sure it's "worth it."

Are the kids' goldfish worth it?  No.

But a Dove bar on a bad day? HELL Yeah!  (sorry, mom and dad)

(Interesting, I just realized that doves are often associated with peace and I often crave Dove when I am looking for peace.  Kudos to their marketing people.  I mean little "k" kudos and not big "K" Kudos since I don't think the Dove marketing staff would like a basket of Kudos in their chocolate filled paradise office.  Hmm... I wonder if they are hiring?  Wow, I am way off-track.)

Anyway, I am going to "try" to lose weight for the duration of the 20 in 20 Challenge, however.  

Having a short-term goal that kicks you into gear isn't a bad thing, and I think I could use it.  

I've been at this for a year now!

So, where my Challenge peeps at? ;)

Lookie Lookie!

On the top right-hand side of my blaaahg, you can now enter your email address to have new posts sent straight to your inbox!

See y'all tomorrow for WW Wednesday!

BabyCakes' Nursery Changes, The Sequel

Remember when I showed you how we changed BabyCakes' nursery around?

Well a couple days ago we decided to take it a step further.  Upon the hub's urging, we broke out the toddler bed.  It had been too many months of her waking up once or twice (or more) during the night and we had to try something different.

So we pushed the crib up against the closet and crammed in the toddler bed.

(Like the mess?  I'll explain that in a bit.)

So much for access to my vacuum/ her clothes. :/ 

We wanted to be certain she was ready for her big girl bed before disassembling the crib.  

After two nights of uninterrupted sleep (holla!), we were sold.  She even napped well for me yesterday.

But then came today.

This is what I found during what was supposed to be my therapy/chocolate time her nap time.

At least she was thorough.  Not one part of her room was spared.  There were even dirty diapers (ewww!) on the floor.

Eventually she gave up after I lovingly yet firmly told her to stay in her bed 3 or 4 times.

And NOW she is asleep.

We have 10 whole minutes before we leave to pick up BigBoy from school.

The toddler bed is here to stay, but maybe the crib wasn't so bad after all.

MAKE IT HAPPEN Monday

What did I do to work toward my educational goals this week?

I finished my application process for Community College.
Not too hard.  It's basically a BOGO-class-free kind of school.

Not really.  That was mean.

What can you expect when you install a drive-thru for Admissions, though?

Again, not really.  Just being mean.

I think my blood sugar is low.
And the kids are fighting with each other.

At least I wasn't the mom who ran out of gas and had to leave her Cherokee in the carpool lane this afternoon.
That had to be embarrassing.
I saw her frantic note written in fading ink waving out her window as I slowly went around the vehicle.
It's the mom-o-elementary-aged-children version of wearing clothes in public that are secretly smeared with baby poop.
And spit-up.
With toothpaste on your shirt... if you even got to brush your teeth.

To run out of gas in the carpool lane, things have to be pretty hectic.
Not judgin, just sayin.

After all, I have that toothpaste on my shirt today... and it's not even mine.

Again...  not really.

But I feel like I do. ;)

How are the rest of you making your goals happen?