My Flying Progress for Today Part 2

Upstairs Bathroom, is also Rob's "Office" hence the TV Tray :)

My Entry way, the grocery sack is going to work with me in the morning, as is the pink bag

Yes that is STILL Christmas garland on my railing...bowing head in shame

Downstairs bathroom (1/2 bath)

Master Bathroom

My cats really like the 'new' cleanliness...they are helping by messing it up! Munchie to the left and Pipsqueak under my rug.

Mini Dee and Pipsqueak, this is a rug that was given to me when I was on my mission. It is made out of Grocery Sacks! WAY COOL!

My Flying Progress for Today Part 1

My new 'best' friend...Kitchen Timer

My Shiny Sink!


Cooking my dinner:

My 'appliance' counter

Microwave (has some stains I'm going to work more on)

My Stove, needs a little more work but is much better

Counter to the left of Stove

Wow! I've been busy today!

Today has been one of the MOST productive days off I have had in a long long time. I got up around 9:30, went to JoAnn's got some rotary pinking blades for my rotary cutter, a pair of pinking scissors, a pack of 4 different sewing scissors, then a plastic ruler thing, all for 40% off they were having on their cutting tools. I got the tools so I could cut out Bandanas for the dogs that are groomed. I ended up cutting out about 10 yards of fabric! Then I made hubby breakfast, did some laundry, went to the post office, came home and have been doing 'crisis' cleaning mode from Flylady (15 min in a room, then move onto the next room for 15 min, then another for 15 min then take a 15 min break). I'm on my 3rd rotation right now (6:00pm) and WOW lemme just say I am AMAZED at what you can accomplish in just 15 minutes. It gets so overwhelming trying to do one room all at once which is why I just give up a lot of times before I start. This method is SO much easier. I think I may get the house in shape for Rob's friends to come over next Sunday....without killing myself trying to get al the cleaning done. YEAH!

Not to mention that I've made dinner easy tonight...we have a Corned Beef in the crockpot (from St. Patricks day...since we didn't get it before, we still wanted to have it), and are going to be having cabbage and potatoes with it. YUMMY! It's cooking as we speak, so no back breaking work over dinner, and it's diet friendly! Anyways back to work I go!

Update as of 7:45pm, I've gotten 2 bathrooms completely cleaned except the shower/bathtub, the kitchen counters cleaned off, the stove cleaned, the microwave cleaned, all the dishes done, the entry way cleaned, and vacuumed, I 've done 4 loads of laudry today, just have to put them away now. Needless to say I'm exhausted and going to go pamper myself with a bubble bath. Can definitely tell I got my exercise in today.

I'm Flying!

Yeah! I am so psyched about my new adventures with "FLYing" (Finally Loving Yourself) that I just had an incredible day, even though midway through it I was faced with some upsetting news --> One of my receptionists was over an hour late getting back from lunch without calling, um she was the ONLY one there who was covering the front (i.e. unlocking the door following lunch, answering phones, helping customers) my dad who was there was in surgery pinning a broken leg on an animal so he couldn't watch. ARGH! Luckily it worked out okay, but normally I would have let that ruin my entire day, I would have been grumpy, pissed off etc, but I wasn't! In fact earlier at Walmart I started CRYING because I was overwhelmed with happiness and love for my husband! I'm happy to report that even hitting 3 stores (Costco, Walmart, Smiths) I still spent under $130.00 which is a MEGA miracle for me! Anyways back to my original thoughts, with FLYing, I have shined my sinks, cleaned all 3 of my toilets out and am working on getting my bathroom counters cleaned off so I can 'swish n wipe' each morning leaving them sparkling! 1 Bathroom down, 2 more to go!. I am also "Getting Fully Dressed even shoes" each day EVEN on my day off! WAHOO! I NEVER do that, well okay I do on the days I have to shop and such. I have ordered the control journal, and can't wait for it to get here. I am such a SHE (Sidetracked Home Executive) that I live in utter clutter and chaos...but that's all changing!

The FLYing is also keeping me pumped and excited for weight loss too! I had Salmon Tacos for dinner....hubby's idea and he HATES Salmon...we just loaded the salmon patties with mega Taco Seasoning and they were quite delicious. I also drank all my water today too, which is normally a mega easy task on the days I work but not so easy on the days I don't work. Got my exercise in, I'm pumped and ready for the day to start tomorrow. I'm going to get up early (and it' s my day off), have plans to head to JoAnn's as I need to pick up a Pinking Shear type rotary cutter so I can make bandanas for the groomed dogs at work. My mom has made these for years but with her bum ankle -- she broke it NASTILY a few years back, slipping on a railroad tie in our backyard while she was YELLING at my Sister Jennifer about her jerk of a 'boyfriend' at the time...it wasn't at the time but it's quite comical. Not to mention my mom is dealing with a Frozen shoulder right now as well. So I decided to start making them. I am also going to work some more on the kitchen and the front/living room so they can be presentable for my husbands friend from work and his wife who are coming over for dinner in a few weeks.

Are you Fireproof?

If you have not watched this movie, I STRONGLY encourage you to do so! It is amazing! I cried pretty much through the ENTIRE thing. I was so touched by the spirit of it. I even cried for a good while after wards. My husband is VERY good to me, he is constantly doing the 'little' things such as making sure I am covered up at night, so I don't get cold, running me a bubble bath (if he's home) after a long day at work, taking care of my boo boos & cuts with a cool head. I need to follow his example and love him more with the Love of Christ. This movie made me realize that I do not rely on HIM enough in my life. I tend to take Him for granted. I'm not going to apologize for the sudden burst of "Christianity" on my blog as I am not ashamed of it. I have decided that I not only need to Fireproof my marriage, and become closer to Him and my husband, but in other aspects of my life as well. I don't rely on him enough, I don't ask for the help and guidance from him in my daily life as I should. I think that I have definitely taken Him for granted in my life, as I was raised as a strong Christian, and things became a 'routine' for me. Now that I am out on my own, I have let things slack and falter, but no longer will I be doing this. My life is going to be centered around Christ in all aspects of it.

Why shouldn't I ask for help in my daily life? Why shouldn't I ask for his help to give up my worst temptations, such as food, diet coke etc? He is waiting at the door, all I have to do is knock. Why shouldn't I live so those who know me will want to know Him because they know me? I am so excited for this new venture in my life, so excited to start 'really' living. I want to thank each of my readers who constantly inspire me. And many of the blogs that I read 'silently' who also inspire me. I really appreciate you!

Deep Thoughts

Happiness keeps You Sweet,
Trials keep You Strong,
Sorrows keep You Human,
Failures keep You Humble,
Success keeps You Glowing,
But Only God keeps You Going!

I'm done living in CHAOS!

Years ago, my sister and I did something each day/night to help control the clutter in our house and in our lives, I was browsing some blogs today and was reminded of it. It is Fly Lady www.flylady.net It is all about decluttering and not living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). I was frustrated as last night someone came to our door...we were home but didn't answer as it's a bit cluttered right now. While my hubby doesn't mind if people see it like it is, I DO! It bothers me. Both my hubby and I work full time, and I suffer from depression so I'm not the 'perfect' housewife all the time. But I'm sick of the CHAOS, not only for that reason, but I'm sick of living a life of 'chaos' in my mental, physical, and emotional lives. I am DONE with CHAOS! LOL! So starting today I am going to take 'babysteps' not only on "Fly Lady" but in my weight loss journey as well, It tend to go 'all' out then get overwhelmed and tend to go off plan. I am going to start with the baby steps with Fly Lady and get my life out of CHAOS, as I would like to be able to answer my door, and have people over without getting embarassed by what the house looks like. I'm going to be posting more about this as I do it, as well as my 'progress'. I don't think I'm brave enough to post 'progress' pictures, but may post 'after' pictures.

In my weight loss journey, I am going to get out of CHAOS as well. My Chaos 'decluttering' with my weight loss is as follows:
C: Control what I eat, Is it really worth it? Is what I am craving, really going to 'solve' my hunger or is it just going to make it worse?
H: Happiness, find ways to be happy as at least I've noted, when I'm happy I'm less likely to 'stress eat'. I will find ways to relieve my stress other than eating.
A: Activity continue to exercise at least 30 minutes each day, change up the routine every now and then.
O: Off Days I am not going to let my days off ruin my diet any longer, I WILL be strong, I will prepare my meals the night before just as if I am at work, then I won't have to worry about what I am in the mood for etc on my days off.
S: Success I am going to CELEBRATE my success, I haven't decided how or how often, but so far I've been able to celebrate by buying smaller sizes of pants (from 22 down to a 16 so far). I will keep thinking about this and post at a future date.

No more Diet Coke for me...

Today is day 3 without Diet Coke! I am doing good, today I didn't even reach for one. I got sick last night because of pills I'm on and it carried over somewhat this morning, so hubby let me sleep in till about noon. We only get to see each other on Sundays basically, and for maybe 1-2 hours at night (he gets home at 10:00pm), I have to be up for work at 5am, so yah, I don't get a lot of sleep all the time. Anyways we spent the day snuggling, loving each other and watching movies...what a way to spend the day :)

I have decided I need to spend more time focused on me. I need to 'get back' to the things that really matter in life, and not spending all my time in front of the computer or t.v. unless of course I am doing something constructive. It is amazing the technology we have today, being able to communicate with our friends, family and others through the internet, being able to learn things through the internet, I think we tend to take it for granted. Hubby and I were talking about that after we watched "My Favorite Wife" a Black & White movie with Cary Grant. We were saying how we feel that God allowed these things to be invented so that we could better ourselves, improve our minds, bodies, spirits etc with them, yet so often they are not used appropriately.

I have a room full of scrapbook supplies that are calling my name so don't be surprised if I start posting some of my creations :). Anyways overall it's been a good weekend, I've stayed on plan, drank my water, exercised, and the big one...NO DIET COKES! YEAH!

Do you Tweet?

I'm fairly new to twitter, but am having fun with it, especially since I just realized I can make updates from my phone...this is gonna be fun! Click on the birdie to follow me :)


More button @TwitterIcon.com

Busy Day!

Today was my day off, normally I spend the day glued to my computer or TV, and today I did a little better, I got 1 load of dishes done, 2 loads of laundry washed, dried and put away (that's a big one for me' the dreaded "CORNER" in my office cleaned out. I also stayed on plan, and today is day 2 without 1 single Diet Coke! YEAH for me! I'm a Diet Coke Addict! I also cleaned off part of my desk, found my kitties 2 more baskets in the basement from our move, got them situated....After all...who needs expensive cat beds....When you have baskets? Rob's mom got our cats addicted to baskets...
Pic 1: Pipsqueak aka Pippy Whips
Pic 2: Mini Dee & Pipsqueak
Pip 3: Munchie

Pic 4: Munchie...holding Pip down so pip doesn't bite him. Munchie is one of our cats that doesn't take ANY crap from Pipsqueak, he gives him a piece of his own medicine...can you tell they are 1/2 brothers? (Same dad) Munchie really looks HUGE compared to Pip who weighs 8#

Pic 5: Mini Dee & DeeJay

Right now

My friend Lindsay shared something with C2L Forum that I found very touching, it moved me to tears.
http://positivepause.com/ for the presentation
& the words
http://greatday.com/rightnowpage/rightnow.pdf

If you really just take the time to 'soak' it all in it is very touching, moving, and can so be applied to our weight loss journeys. I just wanted to share it with my readers.

What's my legacy?

This is sort of 'off' diet topic, but one of my elementary school teachers passed away on Tuesday and it really got me to thinking. She was AMAZING! She was one of my absolute favorite teachers of all time....you know the type of teacher I'm talking about, the type that no matter who, no matter what their issues were, EVERY child felt important and loved after being in her class. She was my 3rd grade teacher and her name was "Miss Keeley". She was my teacher when the challenger exploded and we were watching it live in the classroom, even with the disaster she was so sensitive about it, and was very good it handling it with us. I was 8 years old at the time. She was 71 years old, and had been battling cancer, she never married, but definitely left an impression on many many lives over the years, she taught for 36 years. She was a sweetheart, had the perfect combo of gentle discipline and caring to help all students. She also had a wonderful sense of humor. She volunteered as much as she could after she retired from teaching, and even helped when the Olympics were here. I will always remember her hugs, (although nowadays I don't think teachers are allowed to hug).

This just got me to thinking more about what my "Legacy" is going to be, who are people going to remember me as? Besides the crazy animal lady? It is giving me definitely some things to think about and I want to broaden my horizons a bit. I will come back to this at a future date after I've given it some thought.

It's up to me!

"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: the first is to help yourself, the second is to help others." Audrey Hepburn

I've been doing really well sticking to my diet this week. I saw this quote on a group I'm on and I really like the first part, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm. I have been thinking about it, and it can really be applied to us in our WL Journeys. If it is to be, it's up to me. We CHOOSE what we put in our mouths, NO ONE forces us at gun point to eat the 'crap' that we do. It is up to us to make the right choices of what we put into our mouths. It's up to ME to do what is right for myself. No one can MAKE me diet, no one can MAKE me exercise, no one can MAKE me drink my water....NO ONE EXCEPT MYSELF!

I went to Costco today and in the past I have stopped at every 'demo' stand whether the item was 'good' for me or not, today I only stopped at one that was 'healthy'. I wasn't even tempted to stop at the others. I'm making much better choices at the grocery store, and it feels so good to have a cart full of fruits, veggies, and healthy items instead of junk food, crap food, and more junk food.

While I'm not quite where I want to be, I'm becoming more active on my days off, normally I sit in front of the TV or computer all day long and accomplish nothing on the 'home' front, which isn't good...but is in part due to my Bipolar Depression...and me not taking my pills 100% of the time. I am doing better with that though, I'm really trying as I feel so much better, am more 'on the ball' when I do. Today I slept in, (much needed), went to 3 stores, picked up vitamins/pills from my Dr, put gas in my car, then came home and have been working on doing dishes, and cleaning out my fridge, I even pulled out the shelves and am deep cleaning. I was disgusted with some of the 'crap' in my fridge. But NO MORE! It's all healthy now.....now to just clean the pantry out and get rid of the rest of the crap in there......then I will have no more 'temptations'.

What's your comfort?

My hubby is home sick for the 2nd time in a week, he came home early on Friday as well due to puking in the parking lot, today he is sick as well. He's not sure what's going on probably flu bug or something. He wanted me to pick him up some sprite and some Banquet Turkey Pot Pies tonight as those are some of his 'comfort' foods for when he doesn't feel good. He also enjoys Morrison Meat Pies with Tomato. He also has 'tamales' as a comfort food. SO it got me to thinking, what are good 'comfort' foods that I can eat while dieting? My 'comfort' foods that I can think of right now are:

1- The Light N Fit Carb Yogurts. I really enjoy these, I actually like the vanilla ones, and that's a first. I like to eat them very slow and 'savor' them.
2- Popcorn N Fresca for some reason when I am nauseated (which can happen quite often with the pills I'm taking if I don't get the 'right' balance of breakfast in me first) a little bit of Popcorn and an original Fresca make me all better. I think it's in my mind as when I was in the 5th grade I was sick and my Aunt Joyce had to come and pick me up from school, I laid on her couch and she gave me Fresca to drink. :)
3- String Cheese, I know another silly one but it seriously brings comfort, I nibble on at least 2-3 of them on my way home from work. (I have SERIOUS driving anxiety and have to keep mouth busy either drinking water or eating...I know another weird quirk).
4- Dessert (My hubby used to make me a dessert with Jello, Whipping Cream, Cream Cheese that is to die for) and pretty much lots more guilt free than normal 'desserts'.
5- Low Carb Pasta w/garlic/parsley I love pasta so when I'm stressed out this is my 'ultimate' comfort food.
6- Jell-o the sugar free kind
7- Low Carb Icecream Fudge Bar. WAY yummy!

So here's my challenge to my blog readers for the day: Find your 'safety net' with comfort foods. Find you some 'diet friendly' foods that you can eat when you need that extra comfort during times of stress, sickness etc. Whether it be low carb, counting calories, weight watchers or whatever your plan may be, I wanna hear your comfort! If you find your 'comfort saftey net' ahead of time you are less likely to cheat when you really need them :)

25 Things about my weight loss journey

Five things that make me stay on plan
1. Visions of Success
2. Pictures of me at a lower weight (on fridge)
3. Wanting to have children
4. Enjoying smaller clothes
5. Satisfaction of watching scale go down

Five things that make me go off plan
1. Stress
2. Anxiety
3. Yummy food in the house
4. Laziness
5. Lack of Self Control

Five things I want to acheive during my weightloss journey
1. Healthier
2. Become 'comfortable' with my body
3. Easier time exercising (joint pain)
4. Laying groundwork for lifelong success
5. Better Self esteem

Five things I want to do when I hit my goal weight
1. Buy sexy lingerie
2. Buy several pairs of cute (medium) new scrubs
3. Treat myself to a mani/pedi (this will take a lot as I'm not a mani/pedi girl)
4. Buy a new bathing suit
5. See about getting Varicose Vein treatment

Five people who keep you motivated (and why)
1. Sheila because she is so on top of things, and very enthusiastic, whenever I think it can't be done, I look at her success, her motivation, and realize that it can be done I just HAVE to do it!
2. My husband, because he reminds me when I shouldn't be off plan, as well as now that he is on the WL boat too, he is doing great and is so strong about it.
3. My mom, because she has diabetes and I don't want to get it (I know that's sad but I have PCOS so am already at high risk
4. Larry H Miller (He just recently passed away from complications of not taking care of his diabetes for too long (overweight etc), he was a MAJOR public figure here, owned the Utah Jazz and many theaters, car lots, and was a philanthropist). I don't want to end up like him. Addendum: Added to say, I do want to end up like him in a way as he was very successful both in business and had a very happy family, just didn't put his health/weight first.
5. My future children. Because I want to be able to have them, and when I do have them I want to be able to have the energy to play with them and have a great relationship with them.

CC 4th of July Challenge Check-in

Week 4 of the challenge, but just week 1 for me.
Name: Heather
Pounds Lost this Week: (206.4) 3.2#
Total Challenge Pounds Lost: Beginning (209.6#) 3.2#
NSV's: lounge pants are falling off of me
Weekly Summary: This week was VERY stressful for me, I injured my hand and xrays showed that I have 2 fractures in my pinkie finger that are 2 weeks or older, my hubby is facing some serious health issues, and work has just been stressful...but I managed to stay on plan this week, drink all my water and exercise! YEAH! Normally I'm a MEGA stress eaters so this is huge for me!
Strategies for Success for the Coming Week:Plan ahead, healthy alternatives for stress eating so I can be prepared when situations arise.

Ouchie! Ouchie!

My poor sweet kitty! I had just finished sweeping up my kitchen with a new 'vacuum' broom that we got on clearance and was trying to figure out how to empty it, I pushed the button thinking it was attached and off came the bottom of the broom, falling and hitting my sweet kitty, Mini Dee in the head, she was sleeping in a bed under the kitchen table. So she climbed out of bed, and walked over, I picked her up to console her, well..Mini Dee has something called Cerebral Hypoplasia so gets freaked out easily. So I picked her up to give her a hug, and she wigged out biting my pinky finger pretty badly. It's probably 1/2" long, by about 1/8" or more deep but is a flap so not really 'stitchable', it just hurts like HECK! So I was freaking out, bawling hysterically, hubby kept a cool head. I tend to wig out in situations like that. He called my dad to 'verify' what he needed to do. Telling me that "You can take the girl away from the dad, but you can't take the dad out of the girl" cause I'm Daddy, co-dependent :) I just trust my dad, it's not that I don't trust my hubby because I do. My hubby tells me I have to call my dad to 'verify' things that he tells me. My dad is a Veterinarian, so I get a lot of health advice from him. It is the same pinkie finger that I'm going to the Doctor on Monday for so should prove to be interesting.....we have it bandaged and then have a tongue depressor under it to keep it stiff as every time I bend my finger it reopens...bleeding.

My kitty is okay, she just has a bit of a 'goose' egg on her noggen. :) Hubby is taking care of me though....he's making Low Carb Spaghetti with homemade meatballs for dinner...although to give him more credit, he was working on dinner...before I got injured.

My hubby made me cry today :)

With PRIDE today! I know this is probably dumb...but I am SO incredibly proud of him! Let me explain, he decided last night he is going to do Slim Fast bars for breakfast, eat a healthy lunch and then Shakes for dinner (he is home at 10:00pm and doesn't want to have to digest too much at night). Anyways, he is going to do this till the end of next week beginning of the following week when he can get in to start the Firstline Weightloss program with the Dr. (Have to wait till his payday)

So today he kept telling me all throughout the day (on chat) how he started with a shake for breakfast, had a ham n swiss wrap for lunch (homemade), then got hungry for munchies, had to go upstairs to use the bathroom at work, and there were white powdered donuts in the vending machine that were 'calling' his name, and he has 2 friends at work who are 'helping' him with his weight loss, so he figured that he could eat them upstairs and 'no one' would know. Then he thought to himself "I would know" they had sunflower seeds up there, but they didn't appeal to him so he came downstairs to the vending machines and had Almonds. He didn't have any soda's today (not that he's the soda addict like me), but he had water instead, 3 mugs full, and some Crystal Light Lemonade, he's a lemonade addict.

Then he got off early tonight (7pm) and I was going to Walmart to pick him up some shakes, he wasn't going to go with me as he wanted to just veg, then decided to go, and normally he just sits in the car cause he's hurting or just doesn't want to go it, he went in with me, and picked out some Slim Fast Bars, they didn't really have a lot he could have as he's allergic to chocolate (wish it were that easy to HAVE to stay away from it), oranges, strawberries and regular milk (has to have skim) due to his asthma, he can have them but if his asthma/breathing is acting up those foods trigger it and make it worse. But he did pick out some meal bars and the muffin meal bars, then while I went and grabbed some skim milk he went to the produce section and picked out some oranges, bananas and red apples.

He is trying so hard, and was even 'the bold' one tonight about having a healthy dinner. I'm so proud of him, I am crying even as I type this.

Small NSV for me today...

Today I got some 'sobering' news about my hubby from the doctor, and it really made me upset. I came home and just wanted to binge and eat whatever I could find, I had a bag of doritos ate 1-2 of them and then put the bag down and asked myself "What the HECK am I doing?" the Doritos are NOT going to make me feel any better. So I went and made myself a yummy healthy salad, and had some string cheese with it. MUCH better choice....and won't feel the shame and guilt of it all tomorrow...So my NSV of the day is, I SAID NO! I didn't give into those emotion cravings!

My hubby has to see a couple of specialists for his Blood Pressure and Asthma, and is also going to be joining me on the diet front, although will be doing a 'Dr supervised' diet/lifestyle change. He is already making changes, like giving away the rest of his 'large' family sized bag of Sour Patch Kids, and putting the rest of his Reece's Pieces in his M&M dispenser at work so his buddies at work could enjoy them. He also is drinking his water! I'm so proud of him!

So for today:
Didn't have breakfast cause we got up too late
For Lunch: Gourmet Salad (sunflower seeds, bacon, almonds, cheese, leftover chicken breast, and guacamole (100 calorie pack)
Snacks: String Cheese & Lean Lunch Meat
Beverages: Water x3 (28oz each) and still going, Diet Coke
Exercise: 100 Steps on my Stair Stepper (my knees couldn't handle any more) Hoping to be able to build up this #