summer in a nutshell



February 2014 vs. July 2014

Down 65 pounds! Not going to lie, I'm so over this diet. I'm ready for it to be over, like yesterday. One of the main reasons I started this diet was to gain some confidence back. But I've noticed that while my confidence has increased my focus to stay on this diet has not.

 

 

On top of trying to stay focused on program we had a very busy summer. I went to camp, which was one  of the biggest highlights of my summer. I took 9 youth group members from my church to Camp Kirkwood in Wilmington, OH to join about 20 other people from another Presbyterian Church and we spent a week together, enjoying the outdoors (I know right, totally not me), Bible studies, music, and just generally having a wonderful time. Even though this was only my second summer, It's already something that is very important to me and something I look forward to as being a summer staple.

 

It's amazing how close you get to a group of people in just one week.

 

 We also put our house on the market this summer. The amazing man I married painted, installed new lighting and a new ceiling while I was a camp and I came home to a beautiful (neutral) home.

 

BUY OUR HOUSE

Check out all of Hubby's hard work.

 

We are totally ready to move and can't wait to start the next chapter in our life.

 

 

Other Things We Did This Summer:

1. Took Ezra to see his first Fireworks (Coney Island for he 4th of July)

2. Ezra rode his first carnival ride. (River Days in New Richmond)

3. Took Ezra to his first County Fair. (Clermont County)

4. Ditched diapers!!!

5. Multiple trips to the zoo.

6. Kept a spotless house for the entire month of August (super accomplishment).

7. Welcomed home some dear dear friends who moved back from Baltimore.

8. Went to Indianapolis for a visit that was long overdue.

9. Got a decent tan (also long overdue and a big accomplishment for me).

10. Tried to foster a love for Hanover College in my son. HC class of 2032!

 

 

Till next time.

sarah

why planning our wedding was easier...

Hubby and I have always been the novelty couple of our friends. We were the first to get married (5 years ago), buy a house (five years ago), and have a baby (almost 3 years ago). We had moments when we wished that our friends were in the same place as we were. So we didn’t have to go through it alone. Now that some of our friends are getting married, Hubby and I are seeing that we really had the better situation.

When we got married (pre-Pinterest) the only inspiration you had were other weddings you attended or what you saw in bridal magazines. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Pinterest. I’ve used a lot of the ideas I’ve found on there for Baby Boy, home organization, youth group at church, but in my personal opinion when it comes to weddings Pinterest is making things a little more difficult.

Now you can get on Pinterest and there are millions of “simple DIY” ideas that claim they will save you money.  In my opinion they might save you a few dollars but it will definitely deplete your sanity. Not to mention that despite the fact that there are millions of ideas on Pinterest everyone seems to use the same ones (mason jars, wine bottles, natural wood, wild flowers). This “minimalist” idea is fine and all but it is anything but minimal. Having to collect all those damn mason jars, natural wood pieces, and all those “have to have them” small details that in all honesty, the only thing you will remember about them is that you stayed up all night making them.

A couple’s wedding should be about the marriage and the wedding is just the first day of marriage, what they hope will be a lifelong partnership. Does it really matter that you have the right tables for your guests to sit at? Does it really matter that the flowers are just perfect? Not in my opinion. The wedding should be about starting your life over, as a unit, with your soul mate.  Why start your marriage off with a stressful day?  Why worry about all those small details (that your guests will either not notice or forget as soon as they leave)? Why not focus on the marriage, or the vows, the promise that you make to your fiancé in front of your family and friends, to love and honor them for the rest of your life together? If you want to plan for your wedding, go to premarital counseling, talk about your marriage with your fiancé. What do you want out of your marriage? What does your life together look like to the other person? Talk about your finances. When 50% of marriages end in divorce and 45% of those divorces are caused by money, I feel that would be a good thing to discuss. Everybody was brought up with different views and ways of dealing with money. It is my suggestion that one discuss it ahead of time. But I digress.

The only advice I have for people getting married now is to remember that the wedding is just the first day of the marriage. The marriage is what the wedding is all about and the “perfect” wedding doesn’t necessarily mean the perfect marriage.

mother's day and mommy things

This is my second official Mother's Day and I spent it exactly how I wanted to spend it, with my boys! We went to church that morning then had lunch together in Old Milford. Then, because my husband loves me very much, we drove around potential neighborhoods (which I had been begging to do).  All and all a wonderful day.

The next day or so I was browsing Facebook and saw someone I went to college with posting about a mom she had seen in a grocery store. The mom was with a young child and the child apparently was flipping out in the grocery. This person (who shall remain nameless) stated, "Why can't parents control their kids? This kid is flipping out in the grocery store and the mom is just ignoring it. Why should innocent people be subjected to her bad parenting? Just drop your cart and take your kid home."

I chose to keep my mouth closed and simply defriend this person from college (whom I don't really remember) rather than write a scathing comment probably saying things like, "You don't know her situation. At least she isn't rewarding the bad behavior. When you leave the store you get to go back to you childless life and she has to go home with an angry child. Leave her alone."  But this situation got me thinking, I know there are lists floating around the internet about what people with no children wish they could say to parents. However, upon consulting the googles, there are very few things that parents wish they could say to their childless friends (probably because they are exhausted). So I decided to look at our life and come up with a list of things that I have wished I could say to my childless friends.

Let me preface this list and say that most of these things should be taken with a grain (or two) of salt. I am aware that their are exceptions to everything and although some of these statements have scrolled through my mind others were simply thought to be funny (I know that I am rarely funny and have been told to not to quit my day job when telling a joke). I hope my parent friends out there can laugh at a few of these and I hope my childless friends know that I love them and wouldn't trade their spot in our lives for anyone else. "I love you just they way you are." Billy Joel? Anyone? See I told you I wasn't funny.

Things you wish you could say to your friends without children:

1.      No, I didn’t see the latest episode of <insert popular show here>.  By the time the kiddo is down for bed and I clean up the mess from him being awake all day, I have about 15 minutes before I pass out.

2.      Yes, I realize that talking to me on the phone is like talking to someone with multiple personalities “Yeah, we can meet for lunch on… No No No, don’t you dare put that in your mouth… does Wednesday work?”

3.      Don’t treat my kid like a parrot. “Hey let’s see if he’ll repeat this.” The answer is yes, he will say what you tell him to say (every 45 seconds for the next 3 days). Thank you very much.

4.      I don’t want to hear how tired you are… ever.

5.      Don’t compare your pet to my child. It’s not the same level of responsibility. You can put your “fur baby” in crate and go out to eat at a nice restaurant. Doing that to a child is frowned upon.

6.      Stopping by to “just say hi” disrupts our whole day.

7.      No, I’m not a control freak but you aren’t the one who has to deal with a two year old who doesn’t know how to emotionally handle a messed up routine.

8.      My child is a growing human being, not a social psychology experiment. Don’t do things to him just to, “see what happens”.

9.      Getting parenting advice from you is like seeking prostate health information from a butcher.

10.   My child makes my life complete. I am a better person because of him. I created another human being and am teaching him to become a productive member of society. What are you doing with your life?*

 

*No, I don't think you are wasting your life if you don't have kids.

 

 

 

forty pounds gone forever

I hit my 40 pound mark on Monday! Let me be the first to say that I am very excited! At this rate I might hit my goal by my birthday (July). I haven't taken any pictures recently but I am down 2 (almost 3) pant sizes and down to a medium/large (depending on the style) shirt size. I will have Hubby take pictures soon. So excited!!

Our household also hit another big milestone this week. Baby Boy is not longer a baby!! He has gone 4 days with no potty accidents and has been dry after nap and in the morning when he wakes up. He no longer needs to be prompted to go sit on the potty. We are venturing out to my parents' house tonight to see how well he can potty at someone else's house.

That's really all the updates I have for now. Happy Spring Friends!

lots of life changes... the good kind!

It’s been a very busy few weeks in our house. So let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start (I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself). My husband had been with the same company for about 9 years when he was offered a new job and after a lot of talking, praying, talking, and more praying, he accepted the new position. Since starting the job the mood in our house has lightened quite a bit. Now, that could have something to do with the fact that Hubby and I went away with our friends for a long weekend of rest and relaxation in Gatlinburg. The cabin we stayed in was beautiful and slept 8 people very comfortably. The family that we rented from was so accommodating and helpful. We all agreed we would stay there again. Here is the link if anyone is interested. Awesome Cabin

Right before the job change and the vacation I hit my 30 pound mark!! HURRAY!! I have lost 30 pounds and over 27 inches all over my body. Because I hit my 30 pound mark I made the decision to eat what I wanted while on vacation (4 days). By day two I decided to get back on the wagon. My stomach was in terrible shape. I was not used to the amount of sugar I was suddenly taking in or the amount of food. After the second day I upped the amount of water was drinking then proceeded to get my cardio in (2 full days of outlet shopping). I was so ready to get back to my normal eating schedule. Since getting back from vacation I have lost 4 more pounds making a grand total of 34 lost!! I haven’t done my measurements in a while but I was able to purchase some new clothes that were 1 or 2 sizes smaller than what I was wearing before. I’m also fitting into clothes that I haven’t worn since way before I was pregnant with Baby Boy.

In other news, my best friend got engaged!! My BFF has been dating the most wonderful man for a little over a year now and on their one year anniversary he proposed!! I am so very excited to be a part of that wedding and their special day. Just one more reason to stay motivated to keep those pounds coming off.

In other “other news”, because of Hubby’s new job we are now able to seriously begin the process of looking for a new home. Baby Boy isn’t so much a baby anymore (in the process of potty training, more on that next time) and if we ever want to give him a sibling, we must be in a bigger home first. Let the search begin!

With three weddings in the next calendar year plus the possibility of moving into a new home we will be one very busy family. Now that things have slowed down for a bit I will be able to update weekly again. Until next time,

sarah.

Five Week Pictures!

 Not going to lie, I've been so self conscious about taking my before and after pictures that I've been taking them myself, while Hubby is at work and Baby Boy is sleeping. It's not that Hubby won't take the pictures, in fact he offers to help all the time.

 

I'm feeling excellent this week. All of the work is finally paying off and I'm starting to see results. Lots more exciting stuff has happened this week but I'll leave that for a later post. I just had to get these pictures up. Normally I would never share the second set of pictures with anyone but this quick 5 week transformation has really helped with my confidence. I always love seeing the progress of people on a diet, it's very motivating for me. At the very least, these pictures motivate me to keep going and hopefully motivate others to take the plunge and do something for them.

 

 

 First picture was taken in July on my birthday (no I don't normally smile like this, it was a goofy picture taken with my husband). The second picture was taken yesterday (I don't normally take selfies, I think they are tacky, but I was super excited).



The first picture was taken the first week of the program (February 3rd) the second picture was taken yesterday. I'll ask Hubby to take my pictures from now on. I know that they are fuzzy and just bad.
 

All I wanted to do was add pictures and give my weigh in update. Lots of exciting stuff happening in our life right now and I will put those things in my next post. Thanks for the support everyone!

 Week One: -10 lbs.

 Week Two: -2 lbs.

Week Three: No Change

Week Four: -5 lbs.

Week Five: -3 lbs.

Total Loss: -20 lbs. and 18 inches


Until next time,
sarah

progress is progress is progress

What a couple of weeks! It’s been kind of crazy around here. Birthday celebrations, sick toddler, house guests, out of town friends, lots of distractions. I didn’t see any change in my weight from week 2 to week 3. Not going to lie, I was disappointed. I spoke with my health coach and she asked if I was drinking my water. I had no problem consuming the 120 oz. of water my first couple of weeks because I was still getting used to the amount of food was able to eat. When I was hungry and it wasn’t time to eat I would just drink my water. Now that I’m used to my 6 smaller meals a day I’m not as hungry and I really have to force myself to drink the necessary amount of water. My health coach said that because of my age I should be able to lose the amount of weight I want pretty quickly if I make sure to drink my water. So, week 4 I drank all the water I was supposed to and I lost 5 pounds! I also measured myself and noticed that I lost a total of 14 ¼ inches all over my body! I am now a believer that drinking all the water makes a huge difference.

Now that I’ve been on the program for a full month I feel like I’m able to share some tips (per request) that have helped me stay focused and make sure I meet all of my daily requirements.

1.     DRINK THE WATER. Drinking that much water a day can be a hard thing to do. I could never remember how many times I filled up my water bottle and because of that I think I was slighting myself. Now I measure out all my water for the day and put it on the counter in the kitchen. If I’m going to be at home all day I fill up a giant pitcher and just refill a water bottle from that. If I’m going to be out an about all day I fill up multiple bottles and take them with me.

2.     HYDRATE THE MEDIFAT MEALS. It’s no secret that the Medifast meals aren’t gourmet. However I’ve found rather than mixing the “hearty” meals with cold water and microwaving, that mixing them with boiling water, letting them rehydrate, then microwaving yields better results. At least for me.

3.     PICK A GOOD START DAY. Do not start before a big party or event that revolves around food. I think that if an event is over a month away I don’t think it will kill you to stop for a day but be ready MENTALLY to jump back on the ol’ Medifast band wagon the next day.

4.     CLEAN OUT THE PANTRY/FRIDGE. I cleaned out all the junk food in the house before I started Medifast. I also made sure that I had a bunch of Medifast Friendly condiments and salad dressings. (Hubby and Baby Boy were less than thrilled that all their junk food was banned from the house).

5.     IT DOESN’T LAST FOREVER. I think the biggest thing that keeps me motivated is this whole weight loss journey isn’t going to be a life long journey.  I can see light in the distance and I'm working toward a very attainable goal. I am using Medifast to be lose the extra weight then I’m DONE losing weight.

 

 

Also... I'm not trying to brag at all (okay maybe I am). I was going through my closet and saw a few pairs of jeans that I had when Hubby and I first got married (FIVE years ago). I don't know what possessed me to try them on, but they FIT!! I lost one full pant size in just ONE MONTH. I haven't fit in those jeans since before Baby Boy was born. It's been a good week.

 

 Week One: -10 lbs.

 Week Two: -2 lbs.

Week Three: No Change

Week Four: -5 lbs.

Total Loss: -17 lbs. and 14 ¼ inches

 

Yay Me!!

 

~Sarah