Motivational Monday: My Journey...So Far

I'm back! Lol. I really am this time! I finally got a new computer and it's small enough for me to carry everywhere and be comfortable on the couch when my back is really sore. :)

I've been pretty busy lately! It's mostly due in part to getting a good handle on my depression. I've been able to cope better and losing weight has definitely boosted my confidence. That's right, this girl has lost 22lbs! Yay! I've been on Jenny Craig since September 24th and I've been loving it. It was really hard at first but like anything new, it takes some getting used to.

I plan on posting before and after pictures eventually, but I think I'll wait until I reach one of my goals.

 



Right now I'm keeping busy with trying to walk at least three times a week. Working through the pain is difficult but I'm getting through it. :) My Dad is finally getting a good hold of his health issues and my husband and I are taking turns with helping him get to his appointments and run errands. I never realized how hard it would be trying to take care of myself and my chronic pain while also trying to help my Dad deal with his issues. Tough stuff! It's all part of the journey I guess.

 

This has really been resonating with me lately. I am doing it.

I can finally say I see an end in site and with a few more pounds to lose I'm almost there! Once I reach my weight loss goal I'll be getting ready to meet with a surgeon. I've exhausted all my recovery options these past two years and I'm looking forward to finally feeling like something might work.

 

It feels so good to be back blogging and finally catching up with my dear friends in the blog world. I've missed you! Stay tuned for Wednesday's post!

 

Hope you have a great day!

Happy Holidays and more!

I'm back! Yay! I know in my last post I promised to blog soon and of course life got in the way. But I'm here and plan to update you all on what I've been up to!

I'd like to do separate posts about everything but I'll try to sum it up here to give you a bit of a preview. :)

I officially started Jenny Craig at the end of September and I'm 3 months in! I've lost 15lbs and feel wonderful! I'm learning how to eat all over again and exercising a lot of self control! Dieting like this during the holidays is a challenge and I'm so proud of what I've accomplished so far.


For Thanksgiving I headed out to Colorado Springs, CO to visit my sister and mom. I got stuck in my first snow storm and was constantly amazed by the beautiful snow-filled landscape. My sisters German Shepherd, Kilo, kept me entertained and gave me lots of love when I was missing my fur-baby at home. I also met up with a friend I met through Facebook when our husbands went through training together! It was a great day! I'll give you a full update on my trip as soon as I can. :)

My sisters front yard :)

Look at that face! My "nephew", Kilo. :)

Amanda and I. Love this girl!

As soon as I got back from my trip I began decorating for Christmas! I absolutely love this time of year! I decorated the house and sent out holiday cards to friends, family and Amanda's Somewhere Over the Camo holiday card exchange. I also made a cake for my brother-in-laws 15th birthday and went to a "costume" party for my best friends birthday. That was all in the last couple of weeks! This past Friday my husband and I also went to his Judo Club's holiday party and had so much fun! :)

My sweet boy in front of our tree.

Holiday cards were sent out!

My brother-in-law's birthday cake.
 

"Costume" Party with my Bestie! :)

This week my Mom has been in town and we've been spending a lot of time together. Tonight we will be having dinner at my brother's house and then it's Christmas! I'm so happy to be back blogging and hope I can catch you up even more in the next coming weeks.

Happy Holidays!

I'm still here!

It's been so long since I've blogged or visited my favorite bloggers! I think of it everyday!

Life is keeping me busy and no wifi on top of that is really why I've been gone so long. 

I can't wait to get back soon! I'm still on my weight loss journey, went to Colorado for a week and I'm finally tackling my Christmas decorations! I'll be planning a few blog posts in the next week and I hope some of you have stuck around. :)

Happy Holidays! <3

A Start

I've officially been on Jenny Craig for almost three weeks now. The first two weeks were rough on me.

I went from eating two to three times a day (I know that's bad!) to now eating six times a day! I was so full my first week and breakfast was the hardest meal to get down. I've never liked eating right after I wake up. Now I don't have a choice. Fortunately, things have began to take routine and I'm no longer feeling full or having a hard time eating in the morning. 

My first two weigh-ins were not ideal. I went up 0.8 oz my first week and down 0.4 oz my second week. I've been following the program exactly and have no results yet. I knew after consulting with my doctor that the pain meds I'm taking would slow down my metabolism. Even though I do everything I can to manage my pain on my own. I still need medication to keep me moving and not bed ridden. 

I've been encouraged by my doctor and Jenny Craig counselor to try to walk as much as I can. Last week I walked a total of 40 minutes in two days! That's a big deal for me! However, this week was so much harder. 

I walked on Monday for about 15 minutes and noticed towards the end that a flare up was coming on. Flare up for me means spasming in my lower back and radiating pain down my legs. When I got home I laid down and iced my back as usual. The next day I woke up in horrible pain and have been getting flare ups that have been lasting the majority of the day. Today is three days since my walk and I am still recovering. 

As much as I want to lose this weight, I know that my health is more important. I'm going to start limiting my walks to 10 minutes or less a day and see how that works. It's a start and will give me a chance to see how my body reacts and when I'll be ready to do more. 

I hope you're having a wonderful day!

Wordless Wednesday

Here's some silliness from Rocky. This is his waking up, stretch it out and lick his face look! Lol.

I hope you have an amazing day!

I Married Well

Last weekend my wonderful husband woke up early to meet up with his dad and spend the whole day working on my car. Wan's dad is a master mechanic and can pretty much diagnose any issue you will ever have with your car.

My car needed new front shock's really bad and instead of paying crazy labor fees at our local garage, Wan and his dad said they would do it. Love them!

I am so blessed that my husband has learned so much from his dad and takes such good care of our home and our vehicles. :)

I hope you have a great week!

My Mom Came and Good News!

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post! I've been so behind on blogging lately! This past month has been busy! Since everyone loves pictures, I thought I'd give you an update with some of the pictures I've taken this past month.

At the beginning of September my Mom came for a visit and spent 2 whole weeks here! It was so wonderful having her here for a longer trip.

 

First order of business was to make her wonderful homemade carrot cake! So good!

Lots of family time! Here we are with my younger brother, Matt.

We spent some time with my Aunt Toby (Dad's sister).

I snapped some pictures of the decor at the restaurant we had lunch at with my Aunt.

My beautiful Mom at lunch. So lucky to have her in my life.

We also had a great time chatting on my Aunt's back patio. 

She lives in a beautiful Spanish-style home in the Hollywood Hills.

It was so wonderful having my Mom here for so long this time. I'm now counting down the days until December when she'll be back. :)

Soon after my Mom left town I got the news that I've been waiting for! I get to start Jenny Craig! As some of you may know, my upcoming surgery is contingent upon me losing the weight I've gained since my injury. It was the best news I've received in a long time! I've been on the program for almost two weeks and it's going well. It was really hard at first to train myself to eat 6 meals a day every 2 hours! I was always full and all those veggies were not making me feel too hot at first. Now that I'm in my second week of the program, I have a good routine and feel like I'm making good strides to lose the weight. 

Some of the yummy food I get to eat on Jenny Craig!
French Toast with Berries and Vanilla Yogurt.

Of course with anything new there has been some anxiety. I have found comfort in the support of my husband and my parents and know that whatever the results of this program may be I'm going to be okay. I plan on talking more about my experience here on the blog and I'm very excited to be sharing this part of my journey with you!

Happy October!