Random slices of life

Random images from our life lately:

He's growing so fast!

The cast

Breakfast every morning (and usually lunch as well)

The chef on Mother's Day

Yes, she does own the world

Isn't that the sweetest smile?

Senior Salute-It was a lot of fun!

Last chance work-out: a warning and a recommendation

I told you I am doing the Jenny Craig Diet. Every Monday I go to Jenny's right after my workout with Victor. So, every Monday I hear, "Come on Elaine, "last chance workout! Come on, let's go!"

Here's the warning. If you ever hear those words, hope that it's being said to someone else. Like Orlando, the other trainer said, "Wow! You can give her anything (exercise) and she won't complain. You just have to say "last chance workout".
It's true. What can I say?

This past Monday I needed to lose 2.6 pounds to be at my halfway mark as I had been told that once I reached that goal I would be able to eat my own food. Now, JC food is quite tasty, but nothing compares to fresh, home cooked food. And, I am tired of the little boxes of food. Anything gets old after awhile.
VS

So, I came into the gym and told Victor, after I finished thirty minutes on the elliptical, "I need to lose .6 pounds in this workout. I've lost two pounds this week, but .6 more pounds will put me at my halfway point with Jenny." Victor responded positively, asked me if I had a jacket I could wear and we got started.

One hour later I left the gym so tired that I could hardly lift my legs, but with just enough energy left to stumble into Jenny's and pour myself onto the scale. I had lost 3 pounds! High Fives!!! I lost one entire pound in that workout, but if you could see what he put me through you wouldn't be surprised. Everyone in the gym was asking why Victor was trying to kill me and, after finding out, encouraged me. "Go, Elaine!" "Go, superwoman!" On the last exercise when I could barely move, Victor got me going by repeating, "Remember the boxes, Elaine! You can do it!" That did it, I mustered my last bit of strength and finished up.

That night I even was able to go to kickboxing as I usually do. The great part was that even after I was rehyrated the next day I not only kept that pound off, but lost another one. I thought briefly about asking Victor to keep it that hard every Monday, but I came to my senses pretty quickly.

Now, here's the recommendation. Ask. That's all. Just ask. For example, I might have asked, "Exactly what do you mean when you say I can eat my own food?" Then I would have known that all that meant was that I could choose two meals the next week of my own food. The rest is still all Jenny. I was disappointed, but realized as I thought about it later that JC doesn't want people to lose all that weight and then put it back on in three weeks by going back to the same old habits. If I don't gain this week, I get to choose two more meals, and so on.

I'm lucky because I've done Weight Watchers for so many years that I know what to do at this point. I needed the structure of JC to get my weight loss kick started, but I've been keeping a food journal online at Weightwatchers.com for weeks to ease back into real food. Still, I can be patient. It won't be much longer. I have less than 20 pounds to lose. And I'm so excited. This week I'm getting rid of all the size 12's, 14's and 16's in my closet. That is a good feeling. I'll be keeping a food journal and going to a personal trainer for the rest of my life, and it's worth it to feel this good.

And, I'm making progress: Twenty-nine pounds down. Nineteen pounds to go!

Thought for the day:
"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use." ~Earl Nightingale

And, one more:
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”

John Quincy Adams

Sweethearts

The girls made sugar cookies tonight. "M" came and told me that I might not want to come out of the office and thoughtfully shut the door so that I wouldn't have to smell them.

It was kind of tough when I went to the kitchen later. But, just so that you see that I'm not suffering or going hungry, here is a picture of what I ate last night. I grilled the chicken with worchestershire sauce and lime and made extra for anyone else that wanted some. Most were eating leftovers from the night before. There's no picture of that because I couldn't eat it-pork roast with potatoes and carrots and celery. But Mike and I had the grilled chicken over salad and topped with chopped tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and green onions. I put a chili verede salsa on top of mine.



The limeade is also legal because it's just lime juice, water, and a sugar substitute called Truvia. It was deliciously sour.

I measured myself tonight and I'm not nearly as small as I want to be, but I've lost almost 12 inches total in my bust, waist, and hips. It's frustrating because I work so hard every day and I want to be a size 8 or 10 now! I just have to remember that I didn't put it all on in 3 months and it's going to take longer than 3 months to get it all off. So, I celebrate the victories and the milestones.

I got a pedicure this week to celebrate one month on Jenny Craig and over 20 pounds lost in all.



If your computer resolution is high enough you might see all the tiny marks on my feet. Those are just from wearing tennis shoes with socks all day.

It hasn't been the best of weeks

Sorry I haven't blogged this week, Mom, but it wasn't the greatest week of my life. I won't go into everything. One of the annoying things this week, just annoying, were all the repairs that had to be made. Here's what our water looked like on Monday.




I wish that had been the worst of it. That only took two plumbers and $650 to fix. It seems like our house had a 7 year life span, because I have now replaced both hot water heaters, the second one last week; the double oven, both dishwashers, the ice maker and the microwave. Also, I had an electrician here for two days, upgrading the electrical wiring to handle the new stove. Next week I get to have a carpenter and painters to repair the holes made by the electrician. And I also need to get a roofer to fix the roof where it has already been fixed twice. Then the painters will come back to make the inside repairs. That kind of stuff never ends. I'm looking forward to downsizing in a couple of years when we only have two girls at home.

Anyway, that's not why I've been down. Like I said, those are minor annoyances.
The good news is that I'm still doing well on my diet and exercize program. I've lost 13 pounds and added a lot of muscle. As I posted previously I feel so much better and have so much more energy. Mom, I can even get up without groaning and moaning!

Earlier today Bill and I took Emma and two of her neigborhood friends on a bike ride.



Biking is so fun. I think I enjoy it now as much as I did when I was a kid. We ride down to the river (the Rio Grande) and go alongside it on a wide sidewalk for as long as we want. Bill and I have tried to reach the end of this trail before, but have never found it even though we went ten miles down it and of course ten back-the longest bike ride I've ever been on.

Today, because we had the kids, we stopped a lot to look at things. We even went out on the river, because in the winter, there's hardly any water in the Rio Grande. New Mexico has it dammed off up-river and only lets it out in the summer for the farmers to irrigate their fields. Here's what the river looks like from river-level.



Here are some fun sights from our ride:cotton from a cotton field, a long horn bull, and horseback riders.






Riding has also helped me conquer some fears. When I first started riding I was afraid of/exhilarated by this hill. Now it's not scary at all, but it's still fun.



Then there was this little bridge with no railing across a ditch. Bill always rode right across with no problem, but I would get off and walk my bike across. This week, for the first time, I rode across. A small victory, but a fear conquered nonetheless.



Finally, an important, for the kids, stop on the way home.



So, a one hour, nine mile bike ride for Saturday. Even as I sit here icing my knees, it was worth it. I'm glad that Jen and Mir both have bike trailers and want to make Tuesdays our day for riding to the park by the river. They stop and play with the kids and I keep riding and rejoin them for the trip home. Now, if I could just find someone who wanted to go out on Thursdays I'd be set!