The 15 Days Are Over

Disclaimer:  There are before and after pictures of me in this post.  Please don't judge me too harshly.

Well, I did it.  The 15 days are now over and I can say that the experience was a success.  I made sure to keep a log of my weight, food, and workout activity.  If you are struggling to lose some unwanted and unnecessary weight, this could work for you.  But only if you have the determination and drive to stick with it.  It's not fun, and it was a little harder than I expected it to be, but it was so worth it.  As I have mentioned before, I have already lost 50 pounds in the last 2 years.  During the 2 years, I have made it my personal goal to get back to my pre-wedding weight.  And because I worked really hard over these last 2 weeks, I was able to accomplish that goal.  After 2 long years, I have finally lost all of the weight I have set out to lose.

In 15 days I lost a total of 7.2 pounds.  (That's a grand total of almost 60 pounds since I started losing weight.)  My BMI went down 1.1 points.  And I lost a total of 6 inches from various body parts.  I am going to add in my journal to this post so if someone is interested in how I accomplished it you can see it all here.  There will also be pictures of before and after as well.  Just from over the 2 weeks.  I don't have a before before picture.  Although, I wish I did.  I am a little nervous and on the fence about doing this.  I still don't have the body that I would like, and no, it's not perfect.  So please don't judge me.  I definitely don't look like a model or a super skinny person, but the change that has happened with my body is crazy.  And I am trying this new thing of loving my new self and being proud of what I have accomplished.  So I am going to swallow my fear, and post pictures of my body for the world to see.  Oh boy.  Here goes nothing.

15 Day Challenge

Before:

After:

DAY 1

Weight: 142.4

BMI: 22.9

Hips: 42.0

Thighs: 24.0

Waist: 30.5

Throughout the process I took cold showers, wrote in my journal, always tried to get 8hrs of sleep, and only drinking water and nothing else. Good sleep was even more important than food.

During the 2 weeks, no salt, no dressing, and no sugar 

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and slices of apple
Lunch: Chicken salad.  I made my own dressing with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and Mrs. Dash.
Dinner: Baked chicken thigh and raw vegetables.  Tonight I had cauliflower and cabbage.

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (10lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- First set 50 swings, then 20, then 20
No cardio

Every day I timed myself how long the workouts took and tried to do it faster and faster. The first time took me 30 minutes.

DAY 2

Weight: 142.0

BMI: 22.9

Breakfast: Cucumber sandwich
Lunch: Chicken thigh and carrots.
Dinner: 3 hard boiled eggs and raw vegetables.  Tonight I had broccoli, carrots, and cabbage.

Snack: Cucumber sandwich

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (10lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- First set 50 swings, then 20, then 20
No cardio

DAY 3

Weight: 141.2

BMI: 22.8

Breakfast: Woke up late for church, so I didn’t have any time to eat breakfast.
Lunch: Tomato and avocado salad
Dinner: Roast beef and vegetables.  Tonight I had butternut squash, mushrooms, onions, and asparagus.

Snack: Cucumber sandwich

Since it was Sunday, I made it a rest day.

DAY 4

Weight:139.4

BMI: 22.5

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and celery
Lunch: Pork salad with cucumbers.
Dinner: Grilled chicken and veggies.  Tonight I had butternut squash, onion, carrots, and cabbage.

Snack: Cucumber sandwich

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (10lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- First set 50 swings, then 20, then 20
No cardio

DAY 5

Weight: 139.4

BMI: 22.5

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and celery
Lunch: Pork salad with cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, and celery.
Dinner: Blitzen with mushroom and asparagus sauce.  Butternut squash, pineapple, and raspberries.  (I had dinner at my in-laws tonight.  I didn’t want to tell them about my diet, because I didn’t want them to cater the meal to me.  I just ate a lot of things that I could, and only a small portion of the things that are not on this diet plan.)

Snack: Cucumber sandwich

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (10lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- First set 50 swings, then 20, then 20

DAY 6

Weight: 138.6

BMI: 22.4

Breakfast: I felt sick this morning so I didn’t have breakfast.
Lunch: Grilled chicken and butternut squash.
Dinner: What Chris and I call bean dip and a chicken thigh.

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 7

Weight: 138.6

BMI: 22.4

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and celery.
Lunch: Cucumber sandwich.
Dinner: Pork roast and roasted veggies

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 8

Weight: 138.6

BMI: 22.4

Breakfast: Chris slept on the couch, so I didn’t want to wake him up by making breakfast.
Lunch: My mom came to visit, and I didn’t want to eat out.
Dinner: My mom took us to the Mongolian Grill for Chris’ birthday dinner.  Pork, chicken, and veggies.

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 9

Weight: 138.2

BMI: 22.3

Breakfast: Chris slept on the couch, so I didn’t want to wake him up by making breakfast.
Lunch: Tomato and avocado salad with grilled chicken.
Dinner: Broccoli, mushroom, and onion frittata.

WORKOUT:

Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 10

Weight: 138.2

BMI: 22.3

Breakfast: Leftover broccoli, mushroom, and onion frittata.
Lunch: Tomato and avocado salad with grilled chicken.
Dinner: Hawaiian haystacks with no dressing and very little rice.

Since it was Sunday, I made it a rest day.

DAY 11

Started my period today, so I am not going to weigh in until it is done.

Breakfast: Felt sick, so I didn’t have breakfast.
Lunch: Cucumber sandwich.
Dinner: Pork Roast and butternut squash.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

PM Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

DAY 12

Didn’t weigh in.

Breakfast: Felt sick, so I didn’t have breakfast.
Lunch: Mother-in-law took us to lunch, so I did the best that I could given the circumstances. 1 beef taco.

Dinner: Tuesday nights we have dinner at the in-laws.  So again, I did the best that I could given the circumstances.  4 mushroom ravioli, 2 meatballs, and a giant salad.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

PM Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

DAY 13

Weight: 138.2

BMI: 22.3

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs.
Lunch: 2 cups of homemade granola.

Dinner: Roasted veggies.  Cabbage, broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, mushrooms, and onions.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

PM Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 14

Weight: 137.0

BMI: 22.1

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Was baby sitting a friend’s kids so I didn’t get a lunch in.

Dinner: 2 cups of homemade granola.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

Plank 90 sec

DAY 15

Weight: 135.4

BMI: 21.9

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs.
Lunch: 2 cups of homemade granola.

Dinner: Hard boiled eggs.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

Plank 90 sec

DAY 16

Final weigh in:

Weight: 135.2

BMI: 21.8

Waist: 28.5

Hips: 41.0

Thighs: 22.5

Moms, Crafts, and Mongolian

Last Saturday my wonderful mom decided that she wanted to come to Springville and spend the day with us.  I am so glad that she did.  We had a wonderful time together.  We chose to do some crafting as our activity.  Before hand my mom had me look up some ideas on (you guessed it) Pinterest, and then we would chose once she got to my house.  She doesn't get the opportunity to spend money on herself very often, so this was the perfect activity for her to give herself some much needed attention.  We went to Hobby Lobby to take care of all of our crafting needs, and came out an hour and a half later.  We spent a lot of time in the store going back and forth on ideas, materials, and price.  But everything festive and Christmasy was half off, so the price wasn't actually that bad.  Once we got back to my house the crafting began.  Here is what we came up with;

Drum basket and Peppermints

I did a very quick craft which consisted of a basket, peppermints that you would stick on your Christmas tree, and tissue paper.  It was very easy.

Thank you Pinterest!

This was my favorite craft that we have done.  My mom's is JOY and mine is NOEL.  We got wooden craft letters, scrap paper, and things to cover our wreaths.  It was a really fun project.  I can't wait to hang it on our walls and start being festive.

After we were done crafting my mom wanted to take Chris out for his birthday dinner.  His birthday was on October 28 (He turned 28 on 28.  It was his Golden Birthday.), but my mom still wanted to celebrate it with us.  We decided to try a new place.  It's a little place here in Springville called the Mongolian Grill.  It was actually quite good.  And a killer price.  You get all you can eat Mongolian, rice, an appetizer, and soup for $9.95.  So we will definitely be going back.  Once dinner was over, we got distracted my the bread place and another little shop called Rod Works in the complex.  We headed into Rod Works just to see what kind of things they had.  If I had a lot of money, it would have been spent in there.  It was really cute.  I didn't get anything, but my mom did.

They are great!

My mom likes to decorate her house for the winter in snowmen.  She tried to get a new one every year, and this year she got 2.  Both while she was with me.  She got the snowman with the cardinal from Hobby Lobby.  And the snowman countdown from Rod Works.  She tried to convince herself that she didn't want or need it.  But as you can she, she didn't do a good job of that because it ended up going home with her.

It was great being able to see my mom.  It means a lot to me that she would take the time to come visit us.  I love her dearly and can't wait for the holiday season when I get to see her even more.

15 Days Is Nothing

I just realized that I forgot to post an update on my 30 Day Cross Fit Challenge.  I finished it on October 3.  It was tough.  I lost 4 pounds and about 3 inches total off of my whole body.  The biggest change was just in body shape though.  I like to lose weight in a weird way.  Sometimes I can work really really hard, but not weight comes off.  Instead my body just changes its shape and the way it looks.  For the better of course, but it's still frustrating sometimes to not see results on the scale.  Even thought I had a lot of progress with the 30 Day Challenge I am still not at a comfortable place to post the pictures online for all to see.

Starting today I am doing a new thing that I, of course, found on Pinterest.  It's a 15 day exercise and meal plan.  The girl who wrote it wrote down everything that she ate, the workout she did, and her progress along the way.  The food is pretty straight forward.  I will eat a lot of protein and veggies.  There's no salt, no sugar, essentially no flavor involved.  But the nice thing is that there is just no way to fail because she gives you everything you need to succeed.  So, I am going to try it.  It's only 15 days.  Anyone can do anything for 15 days.  And with the results that she saw with it, I have to give it a try.  I am also going to include the link to her journal.  Click HERE to see it.

Wish me luck.  It's going to be tough, but it's only 15 days.  I can do it.

Keeping Busy

Since I don't have a job I have had to find things to keep myself busy so I don't go crazy.  I have turned to crafting as a source of my entertainment.  The first thing that I did (with the help of my wonderful mother-in-law) was make a curtain to go in our bathroom window.

I am pretty proud of myself.

I am pretty impressed with the work that I did.  For not having touched a sewing machine since Home Ec in Jr. High, I think I did pretty good.

I finished my second project yesterday.  It is a fall burlap wreath.  (Once again, thank you Pinterest.) I love that one as well.  I was a little worried that Chris wasn't going to, but he thought it was cool.  His choice of words.  Now I just need to figure out how to hang it on our front door.

I think it's pretty amazing.

I am trying to figure out my next project now.  We'll see what I can find on Pinterest.  Since that's where I get all of my crafting ideas.

Bittersweet

Well, today is my last day of my job.  I am kind of sad about it.  If I had another job to go to I don't think that it would be as bad, but I am moving forward to unemployment.  I check Craigslist and KSL every day to make sure that I don't miss out on something.  It is a little defeating sometimes not to find anything though.  If there are any other job search options out there that I don't know of, please let me know.  I don't really want to stay unemployed.  I am hoping to find something before Christmas.  I know that there are not a ton of options out there, but I do need to be a little picky about what I find.  I don't want to get a job that I am going to hate after 3 weeks.  I need a job that will be a good thing long term.  I know that the right job is out there for me.  It just hasn't turned up yet.  I need to stay positive and I need to be patient.  And for those of you that know me, patience is not something I am very good at.  Maybe this is a good learning opportunity for me.

What I need to do is find things to fill my day.  I can't sit around the house bored for the foreseeable future.  New hobbies?  Or maybe mastering old ones?

• Our house is going to be super duper clean while I am not working.  Cleaning always keeps me pretty busy.  
• I can work on my personal weight loss goals.  I now have 24 a day to kill, I might as well get in shape. 
•  I am still teaching myself how to crochet, so I can learn a few new things there.  Maybe actually make something?  
• I also can do a little bit of crafting.   I want to make a fall burlap wreath for our front door.  That could be a fun project.  
• I can get caught up on my reading.  I have 3 books that I am working on.  I could get those read pretty quickly now with all of my free time.  

Wow, maybe I won't be that bored.  There are quite a few things on that list.  I guess writing down my thoughts and options helped out a lot.  Thanks blog!  As for the job hunt, I will keep you posted.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will find something before Christmas.  With a positive outlook, and now a lot of hobbies, I know that time will pass quickly and I will find something soon.  Goodbye Eye Physicians of Utah.  Time for you to make room for the unknown.

Now What?

Last week, the doctor I work for came into the office and informed me that he was going to close the practice.  I am not sure when my last day will actually be, but I am thinking roughly about 2 weeks from now.  Which means, I am out of a job.  I knew that it was coming, I just didn't think that it would happen so soon.  He has a lot of overhead and not enough income coming in.  So it was just a matter of time before he had to make that very hard decision.  I was pretty sad about it last week since I have to hunt for a new job. I hate job hunting.  It's not fun to send out resumes, not here back from some places, go to interviews, be turned down, and learn the ins and outs of a new job.  Job hunting is the worst!  But it needs to be done.  So if you know of anywhere that is hiring, let me know.

I am still a little sad, and a little worried about what I am going to do next, but I know that there is something out there that is new and better for me.  Even if the next job I am meant to find isn't necessarily better than the job I have now, it will be better for me at this time in my life.  As I have said before, I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason.  This has happened for a reason.  This door in my life needs to close so that the next one will open.  It still doesn't make losing my job any easier.  But if I stay optimistic things will work out the way that they are supposed to.

Hey. . . Remember Me?

It has been a really long time since I have done a blog/life update.  We haven't done anything super interesting or exciting, but I decided that I should share something.  It will be a little bit of a mash-up.  "Our life over the last 30 days done with 4 pictures."Hey,

September 19, Chris and I celebrated our first date/first time meeting anniversary.  We have been together for 5 years now.  I know that celebrating something like that may sound strange to some of you out there, but it is a pretty big milestone in our relationship.  Since that's when the relationship started and without that day we wouldn't be married.  Plus I am a huge romantic sap for that kind of stuff.

One of the first pictures we ever took together

We celebrated low key by spending the day together.  Which was easy to do since I didn't have to work. We did decide to go to dinner.  So, I dressed up in my first date outfit, (Yes, I still remember what I wore that night.) and we went to Bombay House. That is where we went on our first date in Provo.  I would have like to go to where we had our first date, Roosters, but that is in Ogden we did the next best thing.  Again, I am a really big sap.

Also during my blog hiatus, I went to Moab.  The clinic I work for, Eye Physicians of Utah, has opened a satellite clinic there.  So I went down to help train new people so they know what they are doing.  I left about 8:30 on the morning of September 27.  The drive was okay, but lonesome since I went by myself.  I got to the clinic around 11:30, and to my surprise, there was no one else was there.  There were 2 girls that I was supposed to train and they decided not to show up that day.  That was a really big disappointment. I still needed to be there though since the doctor couldn't have handled doing the eye exams and selling glasses alone.  I worked for about 6 hours, and then drove back home.  I reached my final home destination around 9:30.  Needless to say, it was a long day.  I worked as much as I drove.  But that's okay.  The doctor needed help, so I was happy to do my part.  I have only been to Moab one other time, so I forgot how beautiful it is there.

The picture doesn't do it justice.

There is not really a story for this next picture. . .  I am just in love with it because it is so adorable.  Chris was really nice and decided to share his fruit drink with our nephew Jack.  And I just happened to snap a picture at the perfect time.

It's perfect!

This is such a fun time of year for Chris and I.  We have Halloween and Chris' birthday all within a few days of each other.  So October is a fun celebrating month for us.  Well, mostly for me because Chris doesn't do much festive celebrating.  But he was really nice and helped with my latest crafting endeavor.

The Monster on our door.

It was a super easy project, and yes, I did get the idea on Pinterest.  I would be a really boring person if Pinterest weren't in my life.  I can't think of these things on my own.

So there you have it.  Our life over the last 30 days in a quick blog post.  Like I said, we haven't really done anything too exciting.  I still thought that I should share though. . .  At least the highlights.

A New Found Love

Crafting!  I know that isn't what you expected, right?  Thanks to Pinterest I have had this weird desire to start making my own holiday decorations for our house.  Maybe it's because we're now homeowners and poor, so we can't afford to just buy decorations.  But who's to say that if we were filthy rich I wouldn't still want to make my own things.  My wonderful mom and brother Zach came down to Springville to play with us yesterday.  I was pretty stressed out because I hadn't thought of any super fun plans for us to do on the Labor Day holiday.  Once they got here we chatted a few minutes and then decided that we were hungry.  Off to Glades.  For those of you who have been to Spanish Fork, or surrounding areas, and haven't been to Glades. . .  Shame on you.  But next time you're in the area, you MUST go.  It's not incredible food I have ever eaten, but the experience (and the sauce for fries) is reason enough to go.  After lunch, we tried to figure out something fun.  I showed my mom a few things on Pinterest that I had wanted to try, and she was game.  Off to Michaels we went.  It was there that I realized how cheap I truly am.  Some things for crafting are expensive.  Who knew?  But not to fear. . .  Well, maybe a little bit of fear. . .  We ended up going to Wal-Mart for some things at a cheaper rate.  Since Halloween is the next holiday coming up, we decided that that is what we were going to do.  Once the holiday gets closer, we have pumpkin ideas on our mind as well.  We have both thought of some pretty great ideas.  That is a post for a future date.  Next month I'll do Thanksgiving/Fall decorations, and in November I'll do Christmas decorations.  I am pretty stoked.  I want to keep it up because I loved it yesterday.  Even Chris got in on the action.  Where's Zach you may ask?  Don't worry he was taking care of the Wii.

Crafting it up in the basement.

Chris painted the faces.

Candy corn and yarn.

Both of the crafts were really easy.  A little time consuming (only a baby bit). . .  But pretty easy to do.  I'm excited to see what DIY Crafty Craft I'll do next.

30 Day Cross Fit Challenge

I saw a Cross Fit workout on Pinterest (of course) and I have decided that it would be a great one to try.  I have come a long way with my weight loss, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.  I do have a little way to go still so I don't want to just quit.  I would ideally like to lose another 10 or 15 pounds.  But my main goal is to tighten and tone everything.  I am not flabby anymore. . .  Just loose.  I enlisted the help of my dear friend Joleen Cotton.  Shout out to you girl!  I thought that this would be a workout best done with a friend.  That way I would be accountable if I didn't do it.

It is a 30 day challenge and we start on Monday.  The month of September is going to be dedicated to lifestyle changes and getting in shape.  I did a Cross Fit workout (which I also found on Pinterest) for about 2 weeks in July and I lost about 1 inch off of my waist, and 2 from each thigh.  It was awesome!  So I know that I will see major results from doing this workout for 30 days.  I am going to take a before on Sunday and after picture on October 1.  That is something that I will share with the group once I have finished the full 30 days.  Wish me luck. . .  This is going to suck, but it's also going to be SO worth it!

If anyone else would like to join us on this workout journey click here.  And let me know.  It's always easier to go through this kind stuff with a friend.

Hard Work Pays Off

Over the last 2 years, as some of you know, I have been working my butt off (literally) to get into better shape and lose some weight.  We had Gardner family pictures taken the beginning of June in 2011.  Looking over those, I had a very very hard time looking at what I was seeing.  There is no way that the fat girl in the pictures was me.  I just couldn't believe it.  What a sad realization to come to.  I decided then and there that I needed to change something in my life.  I couldn't keep going like I had been.  I had put of 50ish pounds since the day I got married.  That's 50 pounds in just over 2 years.  The sad part is that the majority of it was put on in the first year.  I didn't realize that I had gained so much weight.  I knew I had gotten a little soft, but I didn't realize how pillowy I actually was.  After seeing our family pictures, I was devastated and horrified that I had let myself go so much.  August 1, 2011 was the beginning for me. 

 

My friend Raelle said that she wanted to try Zumba at this place called Sweaty Chix in Springville.  I decided that it sounded like a lot of fun, and it has always been easier for me to have a work out buddy, so I chose to go with her.  In the first month of working out with some serious cardio I lost almost 15 pounds.  Raelle helped kick start my weight loss goal.  I am forever thankful to her for that.  She was my work out buddy and stuck it out with me for a long time.  We did different workouts together as well.  We tried Zumba, Hot Hula, and Hip Hop at Sweaty Chix, Zumba at home, kickboxing (which we both loved), and even Just Dance on the Wii.  Yes, we are that cool.  If you haven't ever tried it though, it really is a pretty good work out.  Over the 2 or so months, I lost another 15 pounds.  I couldn't believe the results I was getting.  Once we stopped paying for our membership at Sweaty Chix we kind of drifted off of working out together.  Life got busy, and we couldn't find a time when we could both go.  But I never stopped working out.  I did P90X at home a lot.  The motivation to work out with Tony Horton 4 or 5 days a week always pretty non existent, but I knew I wouldn't get thin by wishing for it and wanting it.  (Although that would be nice).  I had to get off of my butt and start working.

 

People always ask me, 'What did you do to lose all of that weight?'   'How did you do it?'  They thought that I had found some special secret to weight loss and was keeping it all to myself.  So they are always taken back when I tell them diet and exercise.  That is all that I did, and guess what?  It worked!  2 years is a long time.  It was a lot of work, and I wanted to give up a lot.  I knew that giving up wasn't an option though.  Some people are blessed with the genetics to lose weight and keep it off really easily.  Just like a lot of you, I am not one of those people.  I have to work extra hard in order to fight my genetic code, but that just means the rewards are so much sweeter.  I know a lot of you are thinking, 'I have tried everything.  Diet.  Exercise.  Fad diets.  And nothing works for me.  I can't seem to lose weight.'  My response. . .  You didn't try hard enough.  You didn't stick with it.  1 week of "trying" is not going to fix your 30-90 pounds of weight you want to lose.  You have to want it.  You have to fight for it.  And if you do, I promise you are going to like what you see on the other side. 

 

In a way, I am grateful to have had the struggle of losing 50 pounds. I know now that it is possible.  Even when I have been dealt a crappy hand of Genetic Blackjack I fought back and won.  I am walking proof that anything is possible.  It has been a long challenging road, and I am still trying to lose the last 5 or so pounds, but I can finally look at myself in a mirror and like what I see.  I have NEVER been able to do that before.




Goodbye Katie 2009-2011.  Welcome Katie 2013.



Our House the Home

Our yard is in!!  We are so thrilled!  The house is complete now.  Before I loved living here, but it always felt unfinished since we only had dirt surrounding us.  That is no longer the case.  We have a complete house.  And I get to work in my yard now.  I love yard work.  And no, that is not a sarcastic tone you are reading.  I really do love to work in the yard.  That is what my childhood was.  Pulling weeds, or planting new flowers, mowing, watering flowers and dry spots of the yard.  My parents always had to have a great looking yard, and they were working in it all of the time.  It was something that I logged away, and I am excited to be able to have a great looking yard myself.  AND I get to do so many fun things with it.  Next year I can plant adorable flowers, or more shrubs, maybe another tree or two.  The possibilities are endless.  I am really excited to finish it off.  I also get to look around and find patio furniture that I am in love with so that next year we can have that as well.  Our house is coming together.  It has been a slow process, and we are still not done.  We will eventually have all of the furniture that we need and want for our house.  We will have fun things for the outside as well.  I know that it is a process, but it is a process that I have loved trying to complete.

The first tree is in.

The patchwork quilt is started in the backyard.

The east side of the house.

Half of the backyard.

The other half of the backyard.

The shrubs in the back of the house.

The tree in the front yard.

The west side of the house.

The front of the house under the office window.

The front of the house under the garage windows.

Our house is now a home.

A Forever Family

On June 15, my cousin Briann was sealed to her adorable little family in the Brigham City temple forever.  It was such a beautiful ceremony.  I had never seen a sealing done with kids, but it truly opened my eyes to being a forever family.  Watching Bri and Todd be sealed, and then to watch them be sealed to their kids was the most amazing experience.  It was also really emotional for me too.  I am so happy for them, and know that Briann has been waiting for this day for a long time.  4 years ago, I started my own forever family, but I know have a different understanding and perspective on the whole thing.  I am so grateful that Bri and Todd invited Chris and I to be a part of their special day. 

What a special day for their family.

I know that it is a day that they will never forget.  Every time I go to a sealing it reminds me of the day that Chris and I kneeled across from each other and started our journey together.  I get pretty emotional and sappy because of it.  But who is surprised to hear that?  It helps me fall in love with Chris all over again.

Our very, very small but eternal family.

June 11: The Second Best Day of the Year

My birthday was pretty much amazing.  It is the 2nd best day of the year for me.  Chris's birthday is the best day of the year.  I love to spoil him.  This year, I kept it low key and spent my day with Chris. Of course I got to sleep in, which is a welcome change from the work week.  We went to the Spanish Fork movie theater and saw G.I. Joe.  Not a great movie. . .  At all.  The Spanish Fork theater is super cheap, so we didn't really care.  We just enjoy going and spending time together.  Ahhhhh.  After the movie we went to drop some things off at his parents house.  I call dibs for the best in-laws of all time.  They are really nice to me, take care of me, and treat me like their own daughter.  They don't treat me like a daughter-in-law and I love that.  For dinner, I of course chose Happy Sumo.  Chris doesn't do sushi, so I only choose to get it once a year.  Luckily they have other options there, so he usually gets a chicken and rice or noodle dish.  I always go for the sushi.  This year I got the Venus Roll.  After dinner we went home and watched some Chucks and Storage Wars.

It was so yummy!

It's weird to be 26.  I definitely don't feel that old.  I don't fee a day over 23.  I'm just sad I have to wait another 360 days till it's my birthday again.

Birthday Weekend

As most of you know, it was my birthday last week.  For those of you that knew that, you also may know that my birthday is a pretty big deal to me.  Some people don't understand why, but I always have to do something amazing to celebrate.  This year I decided that I wanted to go to the cabin the weekend before my birthday.  It was wonderful!  On Friday after my 'working interview' at my new job we headed right up.  We stopped on the way to get some food at Day's and a Papa Murphy's pizza to take up with us.  While we were at Day's I noticed that they had a snow cone shack, so naturally I had to stop and get us one.  I love me a good snow cone.  And I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to start my birthday weekend off right.

Blue Raspberry.  My favorite.

I got the snow cone and we were off.  Friday night we has pizza and ice cream, watched episodes of Chuck, my newest favorite show, and a movie.  Since we were up in the mountains, the weather was perfect and while we were waiting for our pizza to cook, we went on a little walk.

My mouth is still kind of blue from the snow cone.  It's fine, I'm a child.

We also decided that we wanted to have dinner on the deck.

It was perfect.

We of course slept in on Saturday and made a yummy breakfast of pancakes and eggs.  Later that day Chris's mom, dad and Scott came up to the cabin for the afternoon.  I really wanted to go on a hike, and Chris's mom was the perfect person to be the trail guide for us.  It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and it was not too hot out.  It's like it was meant to be.

No filter needed.

On Saturday we decided that we needed to be a little useful, so we helped haul a bunch of wood.  That was the first time that I had the privilege of doing that.  And I have to say, it was a lot of fun.  It sounds a little bit intense and not fun at all, but it was.  I was pleasantly surprised by that.  Sunday my mom, dad, and Zach came up to the cabin for a birthday celebratory dinner.  We had hamburgers, cucumber salsa, watermelon, and brownies.  It was awesome.  A lighter dinner at a wonderful location with my family.  We took a little walk, did some of a puzzle, and just talked.  Everything about that day was perfect.  And then it wasn't anymore.  DUN DUN DUN!  As we were cleaning up the cabin before we left disaster struck.  I was folding up a blanket and felt a pinch.  Thinking it was a burr I tried to shake it off, but doing that make the pinching tighter and more painful.  As the "burr" fell to the blanket, I realized that it was a giant wasp.  Seeing as I am a really big baby and went into instant hysterics.  Mostly from the excruciating pain that I felt, but also from the fact that I am allergic as well.  I hadn't been stung in 10 or so years because I am terrified of them.  I wasn't sure how my body was going to react, so I possibly overreacted to what had just happened.

It's hard to see, but the white circle under my pointer finger is where it happened.

We went upstairs to find something to help with the pain.  As we were looking it started to get pretty swollen, which naturally given my irrational state, made me even more worried.  Chris gave some ice, which helped with the pain, and then he was back downstairs to kill the jerk who did this to me.  He was very sweet to take care of me while we hurried home to get me some Benadryl.

Overall, it was a great weekend.  It just had a sad ending.  But that's okay.  I am not going to remember that part in a few years.  I am just grateful that I have Chris to help make anything we do a great adventure.

It's Funny How Things Work

Ever since we have moved I have contemplated about finding a job closer to home.  Driving to the Pleasant Grove office of Timpanogos Vision Center is now 25 minutes one way.  But I loved my job enough to make the drive every day.  Finding a new job is a hassle and I didn't want to learn the way another practice did things.  But 2 weeks ago, my schedule had changed and I was now required to drive to the Highland office 2 days a week.  That was not going to work for me.  The drive is 45 minutes one way, and I couldn't make that drive 2 days a week.  I took that as a sign, and I knew that my days at Timpanogos Vision Center were at an end.  The day I got my new schedule I started to look for a new job.  That day I took my resume to 4 or 5 different places in Springville and Spanish Fork.  Every place was exactly the same, "I'll make sure to give your resume to the office manager."  Which meant, 'We have no intention of actually looking at this, so you're wasting your time.'  I was a little discouraged, but decided to take my resume to one more place.  A new practice in Spanish Fork called Eye Physicians of Utah that had opened up less than a year ago.  I walked in, handed my resume to the doctor of the practice, and told him I was looking for a job closer to home.  I ended up staying there for over an hour as he talked with me and conducted my interview for a position there.  I was so surprised that things were happening so quickly, but I knew that it was meant to be.  He told me that he wanted me to come back for a 'working interview' to make sure that I was going to work with his practice, but I essentially had the job.  It only took me 45 minutes of looking to find my next job.  Needless to say, I was pretty impressed with myself.  And the best part is, it's only 7 minutes from my house.  AND there is no freeway driving involved.  I went back for my 'working interview' a week later and was offered the job.  I start on Friday the 28th.  I am really excited!  I think that it is going to be a wonderful opportunity to help build up Dr. Gubler's practice.  Putting in my 2 weeks was rough, but I got through it and now I just have to get through the last 4 days of work.  I am grateful for everything I have learned from Timpanogos Vision Center.  It has been a great place to work for the last 2 1/2 years, but it is time for me to move on.  Everything worked out perfectly and I could not be more convinced that Eye Physicians of Utah is were I am needed next.

Christmas Present Weekend

What an incredible weekend!  All thanks to my thoughtful and amazing husband.  Chris really out did himself for my Christmas present.  In November we saw the trailer for Les Miserables.  I just casually mentioned that I didn't want to see the movie just yet because I wanted to see the play first.  I guess that was a part of me that I hadn't shared with him because he was appalled that I hadn't ever seen it.  Minutes later we were online trying to figure out when it was going to be in Salt Lake.  Lucky for us, Pioneer Theater Company had it in their rotation this season.  We decided at that very moment that we were going to go, and that we were going to buy tickets when it got a little bit closer.  1 month later as we were opening Christmas presents from each other I found out that Chris got the Les Miserables tickets for me for Christmas.  And our seats were on the 3rd row!  I told him that I would have been fine with tickets further back, but he insisted that if I was going to see it for the first time, I had to see it the right way.  And that way was to be as close to the stage as possible.

The months had come and gone, and before I knew it it was May 24th.  The day before our show.  We stayed in Salt Lake Friday night because our show was the matinee on Saturday.  We didn't want to spend a lot of money for a 1 night stay, so we went a little cheaper than we normally do hotel-wise.  We checked in and the lobby was pretty nice so we thought that we had made a good decision on not spending as much.  That thought disappeared when we stepped into our room.  We opened the door, and it was pretty scary.  There were stains on the chairs, we were convinced that they were probably urine stains.  There were also some dark spots on the floor.  We were sure that those were blood stains.  I tried to make the most of it, thinking that it wasn't so bad.  And then I saw the tub.  There was no way that we were going to shower in there.  We didn't even feel comfortable enough to walk around without shoes on.  So we kept our shoes close by the bed.  What a scary place.  In order to not spend a lot of time there we walked to Denny's for dinner.  And we went to The Gateway to go shopping.  Chris was really sweet and told me that since it was my Christmas weekend I could do whatever I wanted.  So naturally shopping was on my list.

The next day we woke up bright and early. . .  Well, Chris never really fell asleep.  His body was on high alert all night.  Since we were up at 8 we decided that we would go check out breakfast.  The spread was actually not too bad.  We had a good breakfast and then just sat around until about 11 when it was time for us to check out.  We then made our way to City Creek so we could waste a couple of hours and that way I could do a little more shopping.  We went to H&M and Restoration Hardware.  Chris was a really good sport and helped me pick things out to try on at H&M.  He is pretty tapped into style.  After we wasted some time we left and headed up to Pioneer Theater.  Once we pulled into the parking lot,  I was shocked to see what people were wearing.  Call me old fashioned, but I always thought if you were going to some kind of cultural event it was proper etiquette to dress a little nicer.  Not necessarily black tie, but not t-shirt and jeans either.  Boy did we see a lot of t-shirts and jeans and shorts and tennis shoes and flip flops.  Why do people feel the need to not look nice or dress up for an event that clearly you need to.  I just don't understand it. 

We got to our seats and I couldn't wait for Les Mis to start.  I was so anxious and excited for everything to start.  And then it did.  The music stared.  The moment was finally here.  The moment I had waited 5 long months to experience.  To sum up, I was blown away by the entire thing.  Chris had warned me before that if I didn't cry from the story, I would cry from the music.  The music was so powerful and I was very emotional.   I was crying through out the whole play.  I couldn't control myself.  I finally regained my composure enough to make it to the car, and then I lost it again.  The play had an emotional hold on me and I couldn't shake it.  It was the greatest thing I have ever seen!  I already want to go again.

Cars, Plants, and Food

Chris and I actually had plans this last weekend.  I know I know. . .  Lets sound the adventure alarm!  We normally don't have a whole lot going on.  Which is fine with us.  But it is nice to get away from our usual routine and do something exciting and different.  Early Saturday afternoon we went to the UVU car show at Thanksgiving Point.  Last year we missed it, and I was not going to let that happen this year.  Chris loves a good car show, and the UVU one is one of his favorites.  He doesn't let us waste anytime while we there either.  He is pretty particular about what he wants to stop and look at.  I asked him what he wanted to look at this year.  His response, "Only the cool cars that I actually care about."  I wasn't sure what that meant, but hat seemed like a good answer for me.  I didn't really care what we stop to look at, just as long as he was enjoying himself.   Later on that afternoon my mom and brother Zach came to Springville to see us.  I always appreciate when my mom comes to see us.  She has been down 3 times since we have moved and for that I am very grateful.  It's nice to know that she cares about us enough to make the 1 hour and some odd minutes drive to come and see us and our new life.  Anyway, I am getting side tracked.  Once they got here we went to a place in Springville called, Doman's Nursery and she bought us a beautiful mixed succulent plant for our front porch.

My mom loved it so much that she is trying to plan another trip so she can come down and get one of her own.  Chris and I are pretty thrilled about it.  Thanks again mom for the wonderful plant!  In one of our many chats of the day, my mom had mentioned something about the Payson temple and asked if we had been to Payson to see the progress.  We had not.  I didn't even know that they had done any kind of ground breaking on it.  Well, when we arrived, this is what it looked like. . .

Needless to say, they have done a lot of work on it.  Also, it's huge.  Chris and I both thought that it was going to be one of the smaller temples.  We were wrong on that assumption.  It sure is going to be beautiful though.  The outside is not white.  I looks like it is going to be an ivory color.  It's gorgeous.  We sure are lucky to have so many temples close to us.  Once the Payson and the Provo City Center temple are finished there will be 4 in Utah County.  How blessed are we??  The next amazing adventure we went on with Zach and my mom was out to dinner.  We wanted to take my mom out to a late Mother's Day dinner.  We also wanted to try somewhere new.  We decided on a quaint little place in Springville called Art City Trolley.  It was a lot of fun, and the food was delicious!  It's definitely somewhere that we are going to go to again.  They had so many yummy options on their menu.  That is not a good thing for someone like me who is bad at making decisions.  Especially food based.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend.  I am really happy that my mom and Zach were able to come down and show their support for us, our house, and our new life in Springville.  Next weekend should be great too. . .  But I will blog about that adventure next week.  You won't want to miss the update!  It'll be a good'n.

My Summer Nemesis and Friend

Well, it's that time of year again.  The weather is getting warmer, people are out and about, coats are finally getting stashed, and yard work begins.  Oh yard work, you are my nemesis this year.  Now don't get me wrong, I am super duper excited to get our yard put in.  That's not the issue.  I can do yard work like nobody's business.  Figuring out what our yard is going to look like. . .  That is a different story.  Chris and I have been discussing it over the last couple of weeks, and we are trying to decide what we are going to do.  It is more difficult than we expected it to be.   On Saturday we walked around our yard talking about our options and our likes and dislikes of landscaping.  We know we want some trees, interesting flowers and bushes, and I definitely want a garden.  But where was it all going to go?  We finally went and stood out in our backyard and decided that we were going to get it all figured out.  

If we are looking out the back window, the yard seemed big but manageable.  Standing in the yard itself is a different story.  We didn't realize how enormous our yard really is.  I understand that it is going to be nice to have all of that space once it is finished, but getting it finished it is the tricky part.  What to do what to do?  Hmmm. . .  I think that we finally have a plan.  Well, for the most part.  But the plan is only known to 2 people.  We will share our secrets once the process is started.  I would love for it to look like this. . .

 

But seeing as we don't have that much money or space, something a little more simple will have to do.

The Lord Needs Valiant (10) Servants

Well, it has happened.  We have a calling in our ward.  Surprise surprise. . .  (Drum Roll)  It is a Primary calling.  Last time we heard we have 122 kids (not including nursery and the babies) in your ward.  And no that is not a typo.  We have 122 Primary kids in our ward.  Needless to say, a Primary calling was bound to happen.  We have been called to teach the Valiant 10 class.  Last week was the first week for us.  I was really nervous about it too.  They are not young enough to accept whoever rolls on into their class to teach them.  They are older and actually have opinions about people.  I did not want to disappoint.  The pressure was on.  Chris kept reassuring me that everything was going to be fine, and I knew it was going to be.  We were teaching the class together and we are great compliments to each other while teaching.  I could handle 8 kids with the 2 of us there.  It was going to be perfect. 

I woke up nervous, but prepared Sunday morning.  Rolled over and tried to wake Chris up, but he was so so sick.  There was no way that he was going to be able to go to church.  He couldn't even open up his eyes long enough to realize I was standing over him trying to wake him up.  And that was the moment that I realized that I was going to be teaching this new class on my own.  I was petrified.  I was pretty nervous throughout Sacrament meeting.  What is it going to be like?  Are they going to like me?  Or just be annoyed because I am the new teacher?  Were they good kids?  Did they like to participate?  Or were they going to sit in silence as I asked someone to read a scripture?  Maybe everything would be fine.  I had no idea of knowing what was really going to happen once I went through my classroom door.

I am happy to report that everything went great.  There are a few kids that we'll need to get after a few times for chatting and not listening, but for the most part the kids we well behaved and happy.  The majority of them were participating.  They all answered questions, but not all of them read.  They were happy to help fill me in on birthdays, what they had been working on, things they were used to the other teachers doing, etc.  They filled me in on everything.  Once we went in for singing and sharing time they were even better.  I'm still trying to decide if them behaving better for someone else than me is a good thing or a bad thing.  I think that I'm going to take it as a victory.

This is going to be a good calling for Chris and I to have in the ward.  We'll be great teachers and have a wonderful time learning and growing with the kids.  Thanks Jessie's Brook ward for the wonderful opportunity to teach and learn.