Summer Time in AK

First was the Alaska 4x4 Meet and Greet. A total redneck event that I offered to chair this year. Not sure what I was thinking... maybe a few too many margaritas the night they called and asked if I would. But all went well and everyone that attended had a great time. I'm just glad it is over. Here is a link to what others are saying about it and some great pix of Kaia having a good time.

Once we recovered from that, we spent a little time getting the house put back together and took the girls out to to learn how to ride a bike.

Here's Kaia in all her biking glory.

Not at all happy to have to go home.

Mekayla had a great time too. Here she is in some Lupine in true Mekayla form. Totally excited and then totally pissed for no good reason but that she was done with the lupine.




Here's happy dog.

This 4th of July, we hit up the parade, attended a freedom rally at Wasilla Lake Park (which was interesting considering how 'Palin-friendly' and uber-conservative our little town of Wasilla is).






We even did a little fishing and then went wheelin' out to an old B-29 crash site. That was really cool considering it was a war plane that went down while serving the country I love.

Here are some great pix of that trip, and you can see more here.







Other good news. The Big Dreams 100 lb Fitness Challenge was a big success. We collectively lost 106 lbs since the start of the challenge back in Feb. GREAT JOB LADIES!!! I am going to start a new one and keep up in a forum fashion in Facebook. If you are interested, let me know via e-mail or facebook message at shunsaker@hotmail.com :) The new one starts on Friday so let me know if you want on that e-list via facebook. Thanks.

Training is going well for the 1/2 marathon. I did an 8 mile run on Saturday. It took me a good long while, but I'm just happy that I did it. I ran about 6 miles before having to walk a bit. I'm thinking I can finish the 13.1 in 2hrs 45 minutes. That is my goal and if I can drop another 20 lbs before then, I will be feeling really good about that. So... that's the goal. 20 lbs and 2hrs and 45 minutes. Wish me luck. :)

MORE good news, Kaia is officially potty trained. NO more wet pants or accidents at night. YAY KAIA!!!

My first Tri

Okay folks. Here are the pix from my first triathlon. It was awesome. I've still got a lot of work to do to be most improved next year. But I'm out there and lovin' it.
I'm down about 1/2 way to my weight loss goal and already training for my next big event. 1/2 marathon in August! Yay! Off to the races!

In other fitness news. The 100 lb fitness challenge has been a hit! Everyone has contributed to the total loss and it has been amazing! Here is the latest and greatest on the fitness challenge.

Remodeling Everything

Well, we've been busy remodeling EVERYTHING. The garage is coming along quite nicely... it is now a storage room and a drop down living room space. We just need to finish framing in the doors, cut a hole in the house, lay down the floor and put up a wall... oh yeah, we need to build an entertainment center and fireplace... okay, so we're not quite there yet.

We have also been doing a lot of remodeling in the front and back yard. We have cut down maybe 20 trees and split and stacked them for firewood. Gas prices are ridiculous and winters are coooold here. :( But at least it is good exercise and gets rid of all that dang cottonwood that makes such a mess every spring. It also lets in amazing light now for our garden, which I am excited to get started on. I figure this late in the season, I'm going to have to buy sprouts for most stuff, but with our raised bed we are building and all the berries I want to plant, we should have a really good crop this year and it will probably only cost us about a grand. Yeah! 1000 buckarooos, but we would easily spend that in berries and tomatos, so we shall see how it goes this year... wish us luck... well, at least more than last year because all we got for our $20 investment was a pea and a carrot... both of which the dog ate. :(

So back to the remodeling. I've also got a big Body Project. The Big Dreams 100 lbs Fitness Challenge is going quite well too. I've been remodeling my body to compete in a triathlon next Sunday. This Sunday is the trial run for that and I'm stoked. I'm almost to my weight I wanted to be by the triathlon, but still a long ways from 'racing weight' I decided I'm going to run a marathon next spring and am using this triathlon and other things like the bike and run for women to help me train in the mean time. I plan to get down to my 'racing weight' and then maintain for about 6 months before the race while I condition and get myself into competition form. :) REMODEL HERE WE COME!!!

Here are the fantastic numbers from the Big Dreams 100 lb Weight Loss Challenge. We are only 14 lbs away from our goal!!! That is amazing. There are 5 other awesome participants who have been miracles for my success as we have been sharing struggles and accomplishments on facebook. Once we are done with this, I may start up another one... mostly because I LOVE prizes, but also because I need the motivation and accountability.



Things have been really busy, and not much posting going on here. Sorry, I'll try to do better and catch up on all of what's goin on in your blogs.

Mommy Drama

I joined a local Mom's Club about a year ago and rarely went to any activities. Then recently, re-upped my membership in the hopes of getting out of it what I intended to the first time and I've been a LOT more involved. Well, now that I'm in it, I'm seriously thinking about starting up a new chapter.

I am just sick to death of the drama. I don't like the back biting and bitchiness and I certainly don't like the jockeying for position and power. There have been a few actions taken that are beyond repair and I am regretfully part of the problem.

About 6 months ago, the club president confided in me her frustrations with a few 'old' board members who were standing in the way of progress. Me being the action taker that I am suggested we get a group of members together that want the same changes and make an organized effort at the next membership meeting to start these projects. Since then, I haven't seen the 'old' members at any activities or meetings. Something tells me they were tipped off to the 'rebellion' that was staged.

Then there was a Mom's night out scheduled by the president and then canceled at the last minute. It was then picked up by another memeber and about 8 women showed up and had a great time. Unfortunately, another member sent out personal invitations and had a Mom's night out on the same night at a different location excluding a whole list of people intentionally. I haven't seen that 'invitation only' group of women at any activities in the past few months either.

The way I see it, there is a HUGE division in the group and I've finally discovered why that is. Feelings have been hurt and people are taking sides. I HATE THAT. I don't want to be pulled into the middle of it or forced to choose a side. THAT negates what the mom's Club is about, it's exclusive and it's hurtful. I'm not going to do it anymore. I've decided that I am going to step back in a pretty big way and give up some of the sub-clubs that I am running. I'm just going to fill my days with activities that I enjoy and spend my time with people I enjoy being around. The trouble is that I have half a mind to tell the president what I think and I can't think of a way to do that where her feelings don't get hurt. Maybe just walking away is the best thing to do.

I'm just going to have to find other ways of making new friends and find another cause to get behind. Maybe in a few months, I will look into other clubs or starting my own. But right now, I'm just feeling very negative about women in general and don't want to be a part of the drama. What would you do?

On a happier note, my Big Dreams 100 lb Fitness Challenge is going great! We have lost 15.5 lbs already and are well on our way to big success! We have decided to pamper ourselves with something really nice and out of the ordinary when we reach our goal. I wish we could do it together, but being all over the country makes that really difficult.

I change my reward about every other day, but today the plan is to touch up my tattoo and get my ears pierced again. I'm thinking the tat I got back at BYU is a little juvenile and cartoonesque for my taste now that I'm 30 and adding more black and a bit more detail in the vines could bring my little Forget-me-not flower more up to date. I also want a 3rd hole in my left ear so I can put Mekayla's birth stone in it. I usually wear Kaia's birthstone in my second holes and I'm in the process of finding my next everyday ware for the first holes. :) So that's the plan for that.

As far as tracking and reporting results, I have switched to a thread on facebook so that we can be totally honest and not worry about the whole world peeking in on our personal struggles. For now, I will post progress as a general group effort and keep you in the loop about how we celebrate our success. ;)

I'm So Glad When Hubby Comes Home!

YAY! Today is the big day when the hubs comes home. I am so relieved and excited, I can't even contain myself. It's been 3 weeks since I've had a man around the house, and I could really use a break after the last few weeks of disaster.

I tried to potty train Kaia. This is an ongoing frustration. She has been pooping in the toilet for a good 6-8 months now consistently, but she won't pee in the toilet to save her own life... which there have been a few times where it might have spared her some drama. She effectively saturated my scrapbook bag... yup, climbed right on top to take a leak into my open bag of papers and supplies. I was able to save most of it, but it was touch and go for a lot of it. She tagged my office chair twice the floor 3 times and the couch once. But I think the one that made me the most angry was when she went up on her bed with about 6 loads of clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away and proceeded to do business through the clothes and onto the bedding which had also just been washed and put back in place the day before. I'm thinking she is using this as a tool to get back at me for something. Any advice on how to handle this would be helpful.

My workload has more than doubled this last week and I've been so sick with a sinus infection and lung issue that has effectively robbed me of 65% of my lung capacity. Not fun, but the meds seem to be helping a bit with that, so hopefully, we'll be back to our routine here shortly.

We got about 18 new inches of snow and our 50 meter driveway needed a good shoveling... YAY for snow. It's beautiful, but a LOT of work.

Mekayla started crawling and has learned to pull herself up to her feet. Unfortunately, she has not learned to keep herself on her feet when she tries to move from one side to the other. This has resulted in more bumps and bruises than I care to count. She also managed to get off my bed and fall down out top step last week... that could have been tragic. Our staircase is like a ladder and the only thing that kept her from tumbling all the way down was the traction strip of sandpaper that she got her face caught up on. Yeah... makes me feel like mother of the year. I guess that's one way to leave my mark on the world.

Of course y'all read about the granola bar incident. Poor Kaia has healed nicely. The staples came out last Friday, and it seems to be a distant memory for her. I'm not so sure it bares so traumatic in her mind as it once did because she has had as many granola bars as she has asked for whenever she asked for them and I think she counts that as a win in her book. :)

I think that about covers it for the tough 3 weeks. Oh, let's not forget that the gilrs aren't sleeping through the night anymore. Not sure what that is all about, but Mekayla wakes up at about 3am and 5am every morning. Then rustles around until 6:30 when she is up for the day. EXHAUSTING! Kaia does pretty well once she is down, but we have had 2 projectile vomiting sessions. One with Mekayla this morning and one with Kaia 3 days ago. Not sure what they have been eating to cause that, but it was a one-time deal that made terrible messes and then it was over, with little to no residual whining or fussiness. WEIRD.

So, I'm looking forward to getting a full nights rest and a break from the kids. I look forward to spending time with Ben too. I've missed him lots and could use some snuggle time and adult conversation. :)

Big Dreams 100 LB Fitness Challenge Report

Big Dreams 100 lb Fitness Challenge
Name Start Current Goal Total % Loss To Go
Me 250 243 155 7 2.8% 88
Nicci 188 185.5 150 2.5 1.3% 35.5
Lacey 244 236 155 8 3.3% 81
Piper 209 202.4 150 6.6 3.2% 52.4
Jennifer 206 206 140 0 0.0% 66
TOTALS 17.5 7.4% 204.5
POUNDS LEFT TO CHALLENGE GOAL 82.5


We are off to a descent start, but have a ways to go. We need to start talking about our prize for reaching the goal. I'm thinking a mandatory pamper day where we take at least 2 hours without the kids to do something nice for ourselves. Clothes shopping, pedicures, margaritas with friends, whatever. What do you guys think? If we set that as our prize and we meet our goals. I'm going to expect a full report of your celebration. It is no small feat to lose 100 lbs. Thanks for joining me to make it a bit easier. If we each lose 20, we'll be there in no time. :) Keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

If you are interested in joining the challenge but don't wish to be named, just shoot me an e-mail and we'll come up with a nickname for you and we can support each other anonymously. :) Have a healthy one!

Sierra
shunsaker@hotmail.com

Okay-- She's Accident Prone

So we visited Urgent Care yet again. That's 3 times in less than 6 months! It would be funny if I didn't know how much it hurt, but my little heart breaks to hear Kaia hurting like she was.

The girls and I were all snuggling on the couch watching Public Television when Grandma called. Like ritual with these calls, I ventured into the garage and various other parts of the house picking things up and wiping things down. I step out of the front room for 5 minutes and I hear this scared little cry. Like something is really bad, but she isn't quite sure how bad. I rush in to find her standing by the front door with a hacked up box of granola bars, a fillet knife and a stab wound to her left leg!

I think my last words to Mom were 'Kaia just stabbed herself, gotta go.' click. About a minute later she calls back to see how bad it is and where. It took me all of .02 seconds to figure out what had happened and another 2 minutes or so to decied I needed to take her in for stitches. It was about 1/2 an inch deep and just as wide. Not too big of a deal, but not going to stay closed with the location and her activity level. Plus, her legs really aren't that big, so 1/2 an inch pretty deep.

Apparently the box could take more of an assault than Kaia could handle. There were about big hacks in the box, so I knew she used significant force to drive that knife into her leg. :(

So, off we go again to the same doctor who checked her out after this and this. I was relieved to find that he wasn't suspicious of me coming in with pretty big accidents in such a short time.

The good news is that it only took 2 staples, the bad news is that there were a lot of tears. I even shed a few. I hate to see my little ones hurt or scared and Kaia was both. :( :( :( We survived it though and are all home safe and put back together. She will be on antibiotics for 10 days and can't swim or soak in the tub till the staples come out (the 10 days). That is going to be the worst for her. She LOVES the water.

Right now she is distracted enough with cheeze balz and 101 Dalmations, so I dared to steal away (not far enough to break line of sight) to type this. The tough part for me is having to admit that she is accident prone and I have to keep my eye on her and fight her to keep her safe. Tis the curse of moms everywhere!

100-LB Fitness Challenge

You guys are doing great! Here's the chart for this week. I'll Edit it we need to update numbers or add anonymous people to it. If you would like to join anonymously or chat via e-mail for support I'm at shunsaker@hotmail.com. :)Keep up the good work and we'll get to our goal in no time.... Now we need to come up with a reward or prize for getting there. Any ideas!

Big Dreams 100 lb Fitness Challenge
Name-----Start---Current---Goal---Total---%Loss---To Go
Me-------250-----245-------155----5-------2.0%----90
Nicci----188-----185-------150----3-------1.6%----35
Lacey----244-----236-------155----8-------3.3%----81
Piper----209-----206-------150----3-------1.4%----56
TOTALS----------------------------19------7.3%----262
POUNDS LEFT TO CHALLENGE GOAL 81

Not sure why the format sucks. I'll work on it though.

Splish Splash and a Dash

So, I got in the pool today and seriously timed myself to see what I could do. Then came home and signed up for swimming lessons. :) I swam laps for an hour and kept a pace of about 75yds / minute. Turns out that counts as 'slow' on MFD and I'm supposed to be training for a race! I was really working at it too. Ah well, gives me something specific to work for.

I think my real problem, aside from my size and the obvious drag, is that I don't like putting my face in the water; makes for bad form. Right now, it is more of a flop, cough and spit with a lot of splashing around. I caught the life-guard watching me with more concern than I like to see when I'm a good 2 feet taller than the water is deep.

Hopefully the lessons will help me, and I'll be more efficient. The good news is that I can do the distance of the swim in the triathlon in 4.5 min right now. Seems odd that it is a leg of the race and only takes me 5 minutes to do. But I checked and re-checked the distance and my time. The 3.1 mile run and 9 mile bike will be significantly longer.

When we got back from the pool, there were 2 moose bedded down in the yard! And I was all excited about enjoying the warmer weather (we hit 31 today!) and sledding in our driveway with the girls. Unfortunately the moose hung around till after dark. Here's a pic of the beady eyes bearing down to charge my dog. That was a bit scary. Dog= 5 feet from me, moose=10 feet from dog. I've been training, but I'm not fast enough to outrun an angry mama moose. Even with a woodpile and a dog between us, my mad dash for safety would have been worthless had she decided she didn't like my flash.

99 Thingie Meme

(Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.)
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band -if you count wii
4. Visited Hawaii—No, but I lived in Barrow and that is far more exotic
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain- at least one 14er and a few 12ers… I lived at 10K for the first 3 years of my life, that should count too.
9. Held a praying mantis -
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea—seen lightning, not necessarily a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie -
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job-- well, I would have had I not quit before walking out on my shift
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London -
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life -if you have kids, you’ve done this more than once.. er maybe that is just my kids…
90. Sat on a jury-- if you have kids, you are the judge, jury and executioner.
91. Met someone famous-- I've seen Sarah Palin a few times... does that count?
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake –I put my arm in… does that count?
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Getting Serious

Okay, so I'm getting serious now. I'm still battling the ol' embarrassment issue with my triathlon. But, I'm not going to let it stop me.

The big day is May 13th. I will probably weigh in right around 220-225 at the rate I'm going, and I DON'T CARE anymore that I'll likely be the biggest girl on the course. I know that I can do the distances, and I know I can come in somewhere in the middle of the pack if I work at it. So, my 7000 calorie/ week goal is going to stand, but I am going to get specific about how I reach it.

I am going to do 3.1 miles on the treadmill, 9 miles on the bike and my weight circuit to muscle exhaustion 3/week and then hit the pool in between and swim laps for an hour. The race will be equivalent to 6 laps at my gym, so I'll do that as fast as I can and see where I'm at then train from there to push myself.

So far, I know I can do the 3.1 miles in 45 minutes on the treadmill. My goal is to get that down to 30 minutes at an incline of at least 1% and not using my hands. It takes me about 45 minutes to go 9 miles on the stationary bike. I'd like to get that down to about 30 minutes too, and I'm doing courses with hills and resistance. Man! That is tough on the rump!

I figure even if I don't improve anything, I will come in around 700th out of 1300. If I reach my goals, I will come in in the top 100! I know that the gym equipment is not the same as the real deal. So I will be really happy if I make it in in the top 200. Hopefully, the weather and the girls will cooperate soon so that I can get on the trails with my bike and chariot/jogger stroller. THAT would be good resistance training!

So, that's my goal. Thirteen weeks to Triathlon! Today I did my gym circuit training and it actually burns around 1700 calories according to MFD! I'm beat, but I'm excited. I only have about 2400 calories left to reach my goal this week, and I know I will pass it with my training plan.

As for the weight loss, we are doing great! I've got 2 gals on board and am waiting for everyone to send me their numbers so I can post our success! Only 95 more pounds to go together! Happy losing!

Big Dreams 100 lb Fitness Challenge
Name	Start	Current	Goal	Total	% Loss	To Go
Me	250	246.5	155	3.5	1.4%	91.5
Nicci	188	186.5	150	1.5	0.8%	36.5
Lacey
TOTALS				5	2.2%	128

My One Word

When I first started blogging, I was inspired to come up with a one word focus for the year. It is an interesting concept that lends itself to bettering the world and bettering my personal universe. This one word is supposed to be a guide or a goal for making progress on a daily basis. I started with CHANGE in 2006. In 2007 it was INTENTION. 2008 got a little muttled with the difficulties of pregnancy, but the word to best describe it would b EXPAND. I expanded in patience, in family members, in humility and in size. Yay for pregnancy! I also expanded my comfort zone to include a few new ideas and hobbies. So that was 2008.

My one word for 2009 will be GRATITUDE. I want to show my gratitude for my body by taking better care of it. I also want to teach my girls to appreciate and take care of their bodies. I want to show more gratitude for the earth by being more proactive about conserving energy and utilizing all of my resources in a responsible way. I want to show more gratitude for my friends and family by making a stronger effort to keep in touch and encourage them in their own goals.

This one word is something that I have always felt in spurts, but have always been a little inept with demonstrating, and I've been really irresponsible about teaching it to my children in the past. No more though. My girls are going to learn how to appreciate the little things, take care of the big things.

I hope that everyone will take a few moments to identify a one word that inspires them to make positive changes and find meaning in their lives over the course of the next year.

A Fitness Adventure Entry

I know! Two posts in two days! This is fantastic. I've been putting it off because I was just too overwhelmed with all the stuff that I hadn't reported on, but I figure the last post will do. I still have to get some of the photos from the family vacation on here, but that will be another entry... that's right, I didn't forget the promise I made.

So, I've been doing a lot of reflection and self-psychoanalyzing. The truth of the matter is that I have become nutritionally abusive to myself and am starting to pass that on to my daughters. It's an addictin and it's ruining my life. I see the cycle continuing. Bad habits were formed for me in the womb. I don't blame Mom and Dad, they had the same problem that I have... evolution and a serious history of bad habits. But damned if I'm going to pass that on!

Well, I'm going to break the cycle. I'm going to evolve into something that is going to work for me, and be a strength and inspiration for my girls. I started My Food Diary (MFD) again www.myfooddiary.com and I love it. I've got a great support group there in the 65+ lbs to lose group and I have already lost 26.5 lbs with this program! It is a healthy habits deal that helps you track and record the right kinds of nutritional balance for your body and activity level. It is very personalized and it is about healthy habits moreso than actual weight loss, but the healthy habits make for weight loss.

So, that's right. I gained crazy weight with Mekayla. A whopping 76 lbs and it really sucks considering that I had worked so hard to lose those exact same 76 lbs and then some after Kaia. But the good news is that I know I can do it and I am doing it. I've set high goals to lose 10 lbs / month and blew that out of the water in January with 17lbs! I've been busting my ass at the gym and at home on days when the kids are too sick to stay at the play center while I work out.

I've been watching the Biggest Loser this season and LOVE those guys. They are so inspirational and I am convinced that this can be done at home. Sione proved that this last month with a 25 lb loss. There is a guy on MFD who lost 25 lbs last month too, so weightloss and healthy habits can be without the ranch. I think that they are burning up to 7000 calroies a day on that ranch and I figured if they can do that in one day, I can do it in one week. So I did for two weeks and I feel TONS better. It is liberating and empowering to gain control in such a meaningful way and have it show on the scale.

Ben hasn't noticed any changes yet, but he will. I think he will come home from his 3 week stint for training and see that something is different. By then I hope to be down another 10 lbs bringing me to 36.5 lbs total! Even with as big as I feel, that is going to look different. I will probably be into a size smaller too. Good thing I kept some of my old clothes. Never mind that they range from size 6-20. Ok, the size 6 is a skirt I kept from High-school... It's a goal skirt. But really, what the hell?!? Who changes that rapidly in just 18 months? I went from a healthy size 10 in December of 2006 to a whopping 22 in July 2008. The plan is to be back down to a size 10 by December of 2009. What an adventure that will be. So far, I am right on track.

My first mini-goal was to get below 250 and I'm there. Yup, this chick-a-dee is sitting fugly at 250 again. But that won't last long, in fact, by the time anyone realizes that I'm blogging again, I'll be less than that anyway. :) So, Ben and I are going out sans-kiddos to celebrate a whole bunch of things. My birthday, his birthday, valentines day and my weight loss milestone. The next one is 25 lbs down the road and I hope to be there by the time we head out on our annual leave in April.

So, there you have it. No more fat me. Just a healthier, more reasonable me who is on the way to fitness and good life-long habits. As part of that, I will be participating in my first ever triathlon. Its in June and I will still be pretty big for a triathlete, but I'm looking forward to it and am excited that the idea of it is motivating me in the gym. If Dad gets into the Hard Rock, it might be fun to pace him again like I did in 2007. We would have to work out the logistics of that, but I'm thinking I would be back down to about the same weight I was when I did it the last time too. That would be GREAT!

So here is the schedule with coordinating status and rewards:

Feb 4th- 250 Achieved
A Date night to a nice place without the kids

April 15th- 225
A Family Vacation to see family and 5 or 6 National Parks

June 24th- 199
A Triathlon, a weekend with friends who last saw me at 276 and hopefully a trip to Colorado to pace Dad on the Hard rock at about the same weight as I did 2 years ago.

Sept 16th- 176
Exactly 100 lbs from my heaviest (this time) and deserving of a big drip somewhere awesome... I'll have to think on that one.

Nov 25th- 155
My goal weight. A trip to Portland and a $2500 shopping spree!... or maybe I'll get nominated and accepted for TLC's What Not to Wear... who knows?

So there you have it. My Holiday confession of self abuse, a big outting myself party about my weight, and the breakdown of goals from now to Thanksgiving to hold my feet to the fire. If anyone is interested in joining a collective 100lb Weight Loss Challenge, let me know and we can use my blog to track it. All I'd need to know is your current weight and have you report that once in a while. Best of luck to you in your weight loss adventures.

Hi

So, it's been a while and I'm way behind so I'll sum up quick with pictures. Here are a few from Christmas... Super good times, lots of relaxation and too much stuff to play with it all and get full use of it. :) It was so fun to spend some time with my family and then to have Ben join us Christmas morning was perfect!



Kaia played so hard all day, dressed up in her tiara, grabbed all of her purses and a few toys of the moment and crashed hard. This is when we discovered her routine.

1. collect toys that we want to play with in our dreams.
2. find a comfy spot... just about any will do.
3. restrict all movement to what is required to pickie nose
4. pickie nose
5. crash till morning


Here is Kaia's 3rd Birthday. Celebrated with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunties Meadow and Summer, Tim and his son Vincent and of course all of us in our immediate family. Kaia rode this mary-go-round at least 50 times... cheap date! We had a fabulous time at New Years with Meadow and all of her friends... but I think she's got all the pictures of that one... maybe they are best unshared here anyway... heeee heee.

Here's a fun one of Kaia on the stairs a few days after getting back. I gues she had played hard enough and was in recover mode.


Since we've been back, we enjoyed one fun trip out to Knik glacier. I don't know what happend, -30 one day and then 40 the next. Everything melted down to the icesheet on the river so out we go in the Jeep. Here's Kaia having a good time in a dry, warm contained environment.
Somehow we got seperated from the group... which is a HUGE no-no in Alaska off-roading, but not our fault at all. I'm just glad we knew where we were and had preparations to get ourselves out by ourselves. Here is one of the spectacular vistas right before sunset. Of course, we had to put our jeep in it. :)


I guess that catches us up on the photos I have. Hope everyone had fantastic holidays and is starting off the new year happy and well. I'll catch up on everyone and post comments soon.