2013 and moving forward

I can't believe 2013 is over and 6 months have passed since I last blogged. With the new blogger app on my iPad, I am going to use this blog as more of a journal for myself. However, feel free to read and comment as you would like it. 

The last blog I wrote, I wrote about my success and how proud I was of how healthy I was becoming. A huge success I had in 2013, in addition to losing that weight, was maintaining it all summer. I did not gain weight all summer. That was such a success for me. Unfortunately, that is where the success ended for me. From September until the present, I gained almost all of my weight back. When  it comes too tress and exhaustion, I definitely do not know how to balance my life and take care of myself. I have definitely let everyone else come before me. I can't do that anymore. I have to lose weight and keep it off. It is so depressing to look at my last post and know I have to get to that point. ALL. OVER. AGAIN. But I know I can do it because I did it before. 

I have plans to start my master's degree this summer. I was going to start this semester but then I realized... If you have time to go back to school, then clearly you have time to lose weight. So, I need to get in shape now so that way that goal is out of the way and I can work towards my next goal. 

One thing I am trying to do is think positively and pay attention to my small success so I will be journaling those things here from time to time. Instead of always picking out what I'm doing wrong, I want to pick out what I'm doing right. 

2013 Goal: Get Healthy

One of my goals that I posted back in December was to get healthy. While I am still far from reaching my goal, I am on my way. My weight and food addictions have been 2 things I have battled for several years now. For once I am starting to feel hopeful..... 

I started this post on May 17, 2013...

It's Saturday afternoon and I feel like taking a break from cleaning. I pull up the list of DVRed shows on the TV. It is 84% full. Some shows have 3 weeks of recordings. Where have I been?

I have been....
- Preparing my meals and cooking everything, as well as measuring and weighing servings
- Exercising
- Going to bed early

In order for me to be successful in becoming healthy, I pretty much had to give up TV in order to fit the things listed above into my schedule.

I am not going to act like I am this amazing person who is just so motivated and full of energy, because that wasn't me 6 weeks ago. I was desperate for help, so I spoke to my doctor about it who advertised a weigh loss program through his office. My doctor has written me a prescription for an appetite suppressant. Not only is it supposed to help with portion control, it has tremendously helped me kick cravings and curve my appetite for those food demons. The first 2 weeks taking the medicine was amazing. My body was not used to it so it worked very well... I experienced no cravings and when seeing the trigger foods, I had absolutely no desire to touch them. After those 2 weeks, I didn't really care about them anymore.

I am also taking a supplement (a powder that you mix with water) before lunch and dinner. I purchase it through my doctor but you can also purchase it online. It's a little more expensive online but when you add in the doctor visit fee, it equal outs. This supplement has appetite suppresants in it so I get full quicker as well as a fat burner to help me burn between meals.

With the powder supplement I am taking, I am following their plan and only eat 3 meals a day. I allow at least 4 hours between breakfast and lunch, at least 4 hours between lunch and dinner and at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast.

I am eating a balanced diet (meaning I eat EVERY food group.. in moderation).
I only eat whole wheat/grain breads, pasta and rice.
I do eat fruit as well yogurt (greek) and cheese. (I have chosen to not drink milk at this time.)
I eat lean protein (turkey, chicken, fish, extra lean beef) and lots of veggies.
I ALWAYS eat a protein when I eat a carb (fruit or bread).
I only eat fruit for breakfast or lunch. I measure and weigh EVERYTHING to get an accurate count of what I am putting on my plate. 

July 8, 2013 (today)

To date I have lost about 24 pounds since my last attempt that I started in April. Unfortunately, the sale hasn't moved much the past month. I have been out of school for 4 weeks now. However, the first week was spent in a week long training, so really I have only been out of work for 3 weeks. I thought that once I was at home full time I would be super motivated and with all this extra time the weight would fall off. Boy was I wrong! It is extremely difficult to get up and going when there is literally nothing I have to do. I have no schedule that I have to stick to.  I have tried and tried to get in a schedule but it's hard. I just want to relax! And having 2 kids home all day while my husband tried to sleep (he works nights) is very difficult and stressful. So, we have slowly but surely started getting more and more on is schedule, where we stay up late and sleep late. So instead of keeping the kids quiet for 8 hours, I only have to keep them quiet for 4 hours. It's really better for everyone. However, doing so as made me feel even more lazy, tired and unenergized. I'm trying to break it this week for that reason. 

With that being said, below is a picture that I posted on Facebook that you may or may not have seen. I am also going to try and start blogging more so that I can keep track of things for myself that I want to refer back to later. Maybe it will also help someone else out there. 

 
Even though this is just a face shot, it made me realize how much different and better I look with less weight on me. For the first time in a LONG time, I am starting to feel pretty. I am wanting to do my hair and makeup. I am starting to feel good about myself and have self confidence again. 

This picture was taken just a few days ago. 

I found the picture below a few days ago and saved it. It really is true. Even though I'm on a plateau right now, I have  I stick with it and give it another 12 weeks. 

13 goals for 2013

1. Strengthen my relationship with Christ. 
2. Strengthen my relationships with my family.
3. Spend more quality time with my children.
4. Become healthy.
5. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
6. Leave work at work. 
7. Go outside more.
8. Choose and begin a master's degree program.
9. Become organized.
10. Keep my home clean.
11. Keep in touch with people.
12. Make friends.
13. Go on dates with my husband, without the children.

Our Newest Additions

I am not a cat person. So, when Kyle wanted to get some kittens I was very uneasy. However, I agreed to try it out and he agreed to return them if they didn't work out. Well, they have really grown on me. They are so sweet and cuddle with me in bed every night. They are also very playful with kids and really put up with a lot of annoyance from the kids. One evening, one of the cats curled up with Tayler on the couch. It was so cute and she was just loving it so much.

Every time I sit down on the couch to watch tv, they jump in my lap and cuddle.

They are brothers and look almost identical except for their noses. One has a pink nose, one has a black nose. Pink nose is named Pongo to go along with his bouncy personality. Black nose has simple name, Burt, to go with his easy-going simple personality.

This is Pongo.

Here you can see their noses.

New blog

Hi everyone,
I created a second blog that  I will be using more for posts related to my job. If you would like to follow me the address is http://teachersheard.blogspot.com/  I will continue posting here for personal posts.

Tammy

drum role please...

Hello everyone,

It is with great excitement that I announce to you that after a very tough first year teaching, I am leaving the charter school world and going back to traditional public schools. :)

Over the last few weeks, I have been working hard to send out applications. Getting a teaching job is tough stuff. However, I landed 3 interviews, 2 of which are in the district that we live in. Of the 3 interviews, I received an offer for each! I had to make a tough decision but ultimately picked the school that met all of my needs, 1 of the schools in our district. There is not one negative thing I can think of about the school I will be working at. I interviewed for a 5th grade position, which I was completely fine with, but they have actually decided to move some teachers around and are placing me in 3rd grade. This even better because 3rd grade is what I taught last year so I will be extremely familiar with the things that I will need to teach. I will be departmentalized again which means the kids have 2 teachers... one for reading/writing and one for math/science. Last year I did 3rd grade math/science and that is what I will be doing again this year, but with many more perks since I am in a traditional school district.

The best part about working in this school isn't even the pay raise I will get... it's the fact that I can dress casual. I get to wear capris and sandals!! WOO HOO!! My legs and feet will finally be able to breathe. Wearing pants, socks and shoes every day last year bothered me extremely badly. So this work attire makes it all worth it to me.

Anyways, this is why I have been so stressed out and anxious the last few weeks. The last few weeks I really saw what stress does to me and how poorly I handle it. I have to find a way to deal with it other than staying up late, sleeping all day and eating junk. Stress makes me lazy.



I just wanted to share my excitement with you. This is something that I have been praying for for several months now and I am so thankful God has decided to open this door for me. I am hoping that as I begin to get settled into my new classroom I will feel less stressed. You may or may not have noticed I have not weighed in recently. Well, it's because I am ashamed. I let stress get the best of me. It's like it paralyzes my self control. Hopefully I can start to get the weightloss back in gear.

Tammy

What's on My Nightstand

I recently finished The Hunger Games series (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay). Before I dive into my next series, I will be reading "One Breath Away" by Heather Gudenkauf. I picked it up today as it seemed very interesting. The synopsis on the inside cover reads...

"In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the schoo, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.

Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town's children in her hands. Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands b y helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again. Trapped in her classroom, Evelyn Oliver watches for an opportunity to rescue the children in her care. And thirteen-year-old Augie Baker, already struggling with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has brought her to Broken Branch, will risk her own safety to protect her little brother.

As tension mounts with each passing minute, the hidden fears and grudges of the small town are revealed as the people of Broken Branch race to uncover the identity of the stranger who holds their children hostage."

As a mother and an elementary school teacher, I have high hopes for this book. I have also read the reviews online and many say that it is hard to put down.... my kind of book! I love suspense.

Tammy