Weekly Weigh-In

So I started off the week back on The 17 Day Diet. However, I have decided that it is just not working for me. When I was going to school and out of the house every day, being on a restrictive diet worked really well for me because I simply did not have the time to plan meals and experiment with recipes. However, now that I am home every day, I am just not doing well feeling restricted.
I lost these first 19 pounds on my own by just eating balanced meals and counting calories, so that is what I am going to continue doing. No more "diets"!!

One thing I have learned the past 2 weeks while I have been home is that I am an all-or-nothing kind of girl. I am a natural over achiever so I always put in 110% into anything I do. It's just the way I am and have always been. So, one thing that I have realized is that I have a hard time focusing on multiple goals. For example, when I was in school, that was my main focus, the goal I was trying to achieve. I had a difficult time focusing on anything else. Now that I am home, I tried to start sewing again and start exercising more and keep my house clean. I quickly learned that I can't do more than one thing. I have to accomplish one goal before I can add more. Now that I have accomplished finishing school, I need to accomplish losing weight. I need to give this weightloss thing all of my energy. So for the next few weeks, my goal is to get into a steady routine that will allow me to start adding in more physical activities.

So, to the weigh-in.......

I am excited to announce that this past week, I lost 4 pounds!!

As of today....

Pounds Lost: 23 pounds
Pounds Left: 49 pounds

Exercise Log for this week:
Sunday - yard work for 3 hours.
Monday - 1 hour walking pushing both kids in the double stroller.
Tuesday - 1 hour walking, pushing Tayler in the single stroller.
Wednesday - 30 minutes walking, pushing both kids in the double stroller.
Thursday -  30 minutes bicycling, pulling both kids in an attached cart.
Friday - 45 minutes in home gym (15 min strength training, 30 min cardio)
Saturday - none

Facebook Pictures

If you are on my facebooks friends list, I added a bunch of pictures to a new album called "2011." It took me too long to load them so I am not going to load them here. Feel free to take a look at them over there.

Time to Make a Change

Last night I finally got a chance to watch the season finale of Private Practice. Addison's character was centered on the theme of "If you want your life to change, you have to make a change." I haven't been able to get this quote out of my head. So, enough my reasons and excuses why I can't exercise or lose weight. I have no school left. I have the kids but I can't let them stop me from getting healthy, so they too must make sacrifices. :)

So, this morning I woke up early to get my day started right. (I NEED to get on some sort of schedule..) The kids and I had breakfast then we got changed, put on sunscreen, got the diaper bag and lunch kit packed, wiped the cob webs off the stroller and aired the tires. And off we went... I walked for 45 minutes, then we played at the park and had a snack for another 45 minutes and then we walked for 15 minutes home. So, I got a great workout and the kids got to play.

I am sooooo exhausted! I pushed about 85 pounds. (Tayler = 20, Colton = 40, stroller = 20, bags = 5) and boy do my legs and booty hurt! I feel like I could pass out right now. Here is a picture of the kids after we got done at the park.

So, even though Tayler got antsy on the walk, she sure was happy to play at the park! I can't wait til the pool is open and we can go swimming after a hot walk!

Struggling

So, back on May 1, I announced a new "diet" plan that I was following. I did really well on it the first two weeks. However, now that I am done with school and back at home with the kids, I have had a really hard time finding that balance I had when I was at school all day every day. I am now realizing why and how I put on so much weight and how challenging it is. You would think being home every day with "nothing" to do would make it easy to lose weight. Well, with little ones, that isn't the case. I am still busily working on applications and studying for some exams I want to take this summer. So, I have been having a hard time staying on track and unfortunately gained 3 pounds back. :(  However, I started the 17 Day Diet again today and I am hoping that since I have been home for a week now and have already seen what is causing me to gain, that I can fix it. So, please pray for me to have strength to get through this very important journey. I need to hold myself accountable so every Sunday I will "weigh-in." Read if you please or don't if you choose not to. A very special lady once told me that blogging should be done for me, so I am doing this to help me. I am hoping that seeing the numbers below balance out will keep me motivated because I can visually see what I have done.

As of today....
Pounds Lost: 19 pounds
Pounds Left: 53 pounds

One of the best days of my life!

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I finally graduated from college!

This is something that I have been working towards, full time, for the past few years. I must admit, there were days that I wanted to give up. There were days that I felt like the stress and exhaustion just weren't worth it. But there are two special little people in my life that are worth it - my children. I need, and want, them to have the best life possible. I want them to know, when they get older, that sometimes life gets in the way but that doesn't mean we can't reach our dreams. So, a special thank you goes towards my two little ones - they were the ones that kept me going! (And for those people who said that getting pregnant at 20 would ruin my life - you were wrong!!)

Another special thanks goes to my mom. Without her support, it would have been extremely difficult to finish school.

And another special thanks goes to my husband, Kyle. Without him taking on the extra hours and being the sole provider for our family, I would not have been able to go to school full time. Also, there were many nights that he had to put up with me being cranky and stressed about exams and assignments.

I can now say, I have everything I ever dreamed of, and it's all in this picture!

P.S. I would also like to brag on myself and say that not only did I graduate, but I graduated Summa Cum Laude - the highest honor - with a 3.9 (out of 4.0) GPA! Oh yeah!!!!

I GRADUATED!!!

Today, I became a member of the Univeristy of Houston-Victory Alumni. I have finally graduated from college!!!!! I am hoping to post some pictures the next few days... gotta them from my mom! Kyle let her take all the pics so he could deal with the kids!

I still can't believe this day has already came and gone. It feels like I have been in school for so long - it's hard to believe that there won't be any more exams, studying, papers, etc.

I'm Done!!!

I am done with my student teaching! It feels soooo wonderful to be done! I do still have a few assignments that I have to do tonight, but other than that, I am home free. I will be graduating on Saturday with top honors! (3.9 gpa baby!)

GoooOOOOOO ME!!! :)