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What's Up in Our World

It's been quite a while since I have blogged anything, & most everything new or exciting for us has already been posted on Facebook, but for journaling sake I figured I should put something on here.....so, what's up in our world?


1) My babygirl turned 1 in September....we had a tiny little shindig at my mom's, after eating at Bob Evans (or should I say stuffed ourselves?!? ;) ) All in all it was a fun event & Brinley seemed to enjoy her pressies, especially the Little People SUV her Grandma & Grandpa got her & the Laugh & Learn table her Mommy & Daddy & brothers got her. The only thing that sucked was the poor baby got 4 shots at the doctor that day =( Looking back on it, I wish I'd asked for a different day for her doctor's appointment, but she was a trooper.


2) My hubby turned one year closer to 40....too bad he doesn't always act his age LOL He wants a big to-do next year.....I don't know how to pull that off considering I'm not a good party coordinator whatsoever, but guess I'll figure it out somehow.


3) Gabe started Kindergarten this year, and so far it seems to be going well, but I am not 100% solid on his teacher.....she's not bad, but not great, just "meh".....I really wish he'd have gotten the awesome teacher (Ms Keziah), but then again I think it's a good thing he didn't....they apparently put the kids with teachers based upon their testing levels, & the teacher he got was the "middle of the road" one, while Ms K is the "low end of the road" one, so in that aspect it's a good thing.


4) Garrett is months away from being a teenager! Oh my goodness & the attitude from this boy started a long time ago.....I don't know how I'm going to survive this time in our lives! He can be such a loving & sweet young man one minute, a stubborn & ornery punk the next! Yes, I love this boy, although sometimes I don't love the actions.....but that can be said for anybody, including myself LOL


5) Soon, we will have some adorable chihuahua puppies for sale! My girl is due around November 7th, & the puppies will be ready around the end of December. I am excited to find out how many she has, I am thinking 4-5.....all I know is they should be cuuuuuuuute! =) I am not posting this on Facebook till she has them, but wanted to write it down for memory's sake. Here's the poor girl's already swelling little pooch belly:

Bah for Exercise!!

Exercise, oh how I loathe thee! Exercise is evil, I say! But alas, a necessary evil.....woe to me! Today I wanted to see if I could accomplish something, so we went to a park with a nice nature trail that's 3/4 mile long. Run I did, for most of it (or should I say fast "shuffle" for most ;) ) until I reached the really big hill at the end of the trail, & dang that hill, it defeated me! Not completely, but mostly.....as in I had to quit my "shuffling" & go to a way out of breath slooooooooooow walk......but then! There is also a regular paved track on the other side of the park, that is 1/2 mile around, & Jerry wanted to see how fast he could run/jog/walk a mile (which my boo did in 9 minutes, wooooo!) I decided to run/jog/walk around there as well, & supposedly I did it in 11.5 minutes (although I don't see how, but J swears it's true!) What was most awesome about the whole ordeal is there were a few others out there in about the same shape as us, & every time one of us would pass by each other, there were words of encouragement which were so very very helpful to keep going.....one of the girls mentioned losing 53 lbs & her brother has lost 106 lbs! She walks/jogs 1.5 hours a day, & her brother walks/jogs 3 hours a day......I wish I was able to go to this park daily, but it's way up in Mint Hill (boo!) It sure would be nice to have that encouragement & someone to work out with like that. (Yes, there's Jerry, but we don't really have the opportunity to do this together =( )I'm really missing our old neighborhood right about now.....not only were we about 15 min away from this park, but we also lived on a circle that was so easy to go around & not have to worry about someone running over your kids, or dogs darting out from nowhere, or heck, if you got in trouble & needed help you would be easy to find & someone would spot you quickly, no matter what time you were out there (well, maybe not 4 am LOL).....our street now is so full of woods & neighbors who really couldn't give a rat's ass about you I am scared to be out there alone! That & you never know what kind of critters are going to make an appearance (& here lately there's been a few skunks in the area! P.U.! & for some reason alot of FAWNS, not does, not bucks, but BABY FAWNS!) Anyhoo, I'm rambling.....so now this will end.

I lied, as I have one more thing to say.....it stinks that every time we've had the opportunity to go to the park this week, about 30 min after we get there it storms! (not sprinkles or even just rains......STORMS with thunder & lightning =( ) It wouldn't be so bad if it was just rain, as none of us mind that (Brinley was even enjoying it when we got caught today), but we have to stop for the other junk (boo!) Really puts a damper on things......

Okay, now I am done.

A Shot in the Dark....

I know no one will probably do this, but I wanted to share anyways. On one of the parenting/pregnancy forums I belong to, someone mentioned a way to earn a few bucks as a SAHM, from the convenience of your home, with virtually no strings attached.....all you have to do is "read" mail from advertisers & you get paid per email read.....now the reason why I put "read" is because in all honesty I just open them up & wait till the little screen pops up saying I got paid ;) LOL They start you off with an automatic $10 & you get a check cut after $25.....so it's not a ton of $, but I figured if I could get ANY $ for doing basically nothing, I was willing to give it a shot! Now also, the reason I put virtually no strings attached is because you will unfortunately get spam sent to your email address, that has nothing to do with the website & is not pay mail......but I also covered that contingency by creating a new email addy just for this ;) No skin off my back, if it means I'm gonna get some $ for nothing! One other thing is, after you get your login set up & all, if you get others to sign up too, you also get paid when they read their emails! =) You'll get a url for your login, to share as I will with you in this post, so that if others do sign up it'll know to pay you for it. The url for me is http://hits4pay.com/members/howitworks.cgi?aliwoo

Like I said, I know it's a long shot, but figured it wouldn't hurt to share......

My Newest Addition....

to the exercise regime, that is! I've been wanting to enjoy the park, but it stays soooooooooooooo hot till late evening & I really don't want to expose Brinley to that kind of heat so much.....so, I got a DVD set of "Zumba" to try, which is sort of like a "dance aerobics" with Latin dance moves/music. So far, it's been pretty fun because I have always wanted to learn how to merengue/salsa/etc anyways & this teaches you those basically =) I'm still on the Beginners DVD, but hope to get to the Advanced one soon since the Beginners one just isn't long enough! I end up doing it twice, which is kind of annoying, but it's only 18 min long & I really want to get the moves down pat before using the next one. There's 4 in all, Beginners, Advanced, Abs/Buns/Thighs, & Power/Rapido. It really makes you break a sweat, but to me, sweating is good! LOL Well, when exercising, that is! I don't even sweat as much walking around for an hour at the park in the heat, so that's saying something! Now, to get my body to look like the peoples' in the video....heh!

I also got some 5lb weights to work with, to try to do some strength training along with the cardio. Hopefully the combo will cause something to happen for me.....eye on the prize.....eye on the prize.....eye on the prize! I'm so tired of nothing happening for me =(

Chimp Eden

I think I have a monkey in my house! I enjoy watching a program on Animal Planet, called "Escape to Chimp Eden", which chronicles the goings on of a chimp sanctuary in South Africa. I don't know what his exact position is called, but the host of the show is the guy who "runs" things (but is below the Director), & he often "talks" to the chimps in their "language" (grunts & hoots & calls & ways of breathing, etc.) Well, one time he was mentioning that chimpanzees have been found to be closer to humans than they were to primates. I won't say yea or nay on that, but I have found a slight resemblence between Brinley & the chimps on the show LOL She has been vocal for some time now, although not really saying "words" yet, but some of her favorite things to "do" now sound an awful lot like the vocalizations of a chimpanzee! I can't help but visualize the cute little infant chimps from the show as she curls her lips into a pursed oval & lets out an "oooooooooooooooo", an "oooo oooo oooo oooo", an "ohhhhhhhhhhhh" or an "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee", hahahahaha! It's kind of hard to explain, but if someone saw the show they'd know exactly what I'm talking about. It's too bad my camcorder is on the fritz =( Me & media tools don't seem to be on speaking terms right now ;) Well, at least this will be funny to me LOL =)

FINALLY!

The 2 teeth Brinley has been cutting forever it seems finally broke through this weekend! I don't have any pics 1)they're just barely visable (although easily felt when she chomps on your finger!) & 2) it's hard to get Brinley to let you see in her mouth without sticking her tongue in the way or her biting the mess out of you LOL Anyhoo, I am just very glad these 2 decided to make their way on out, so maybe now she can have a tiny bit of relief till the next go round....these were such a nuisance taking as long as they did, torturing my poor girl =(

Brinley & The Boys

For those that have not seen my big girl in a while, here she is =) I took some pics of her a month or so ago, of her modeling her Blessing dress & Easter dress since we weren't able to get them on the actual dates. I also took some pics of her in a cool tie dyed shirt I found at goodwill, that matches several of her diapers perfectly =) OH, and thought it was appropriate to get one of her in her "The Future is Green" shirt while in a cloth diaper ;) I know these are on Facebook, but also wanted those who may not have FB to see her, too. So, on that note.....enjoy!







Also, of course there are 2 others here that need to be mentioned ;) My lovely boys.....although one of these pics shows what we have to deal with these days....ATTITUDE!





And Gabe, being the goofy lovable little boy he is!



And one more cute one of the 3 kiddos....Bebo really loves her bubbies!

Various Things

I haven't blogged in a while, so this post will cover a few things.....

1) Apparently I need a "gym quality" elliptical in order to use it daily & hardcore like I've been wanting....which SUCKS b/c I don't have the $ to get a "gym quality" one =( Sooooooo, for now I will have to go to plan "B"......which is

2) I got a fancy schmansy pedometer to count my steps/calories/distance walked/etc, & so far I have found I walk alot more steps in a day than I thought (which is good!), so YAY for that! We've been hitting the park almost daily, or at least every other day, & I've been trying to walk the whole time I'm there, even if it's pacing back & forth. It all depends on which kid(s) I have with me, how they are behaving, & if Jerry is there or not as to how/when/where I am able to walk. It makes me kind of wish I was a morning person so I could've been walking before getting the boys, but I am sooooooooo not.....that & Gabe is out of school now & Garrett is soon to be, so it wouldn't matter now anyways....

3) Walking outside sure is HOT....but for some reason I don't mind the heat when doing something productive like that....maybe it's because I can "zone out" & just walk & then it seems like it doesn't faze me so much....listening to motivating music sure does help, too! Sometimes it's even hard to keep to "just walking" because the beat hits real good....so I take off jogging....then I am quickly reminded of why I shouldn't run LOL Mainly support reasons, but I won't say of what ;)

4) All in all, I've been trying to do well with the exercise, but some days it's been real hard to keep to it....I know I feel soooooo much better when I've been very active, mentally, physically, & emotionally, then I go on a bend & when it's done I am soooooo mad at myself.....guess I really need to quit doing that, eh? I'm never going to get where I need to be if I don't, & I know it's going to feel so wonderful when I get there.......so I know I need to get myself in gear & JUST DO IT!!

5) Last but not least, I saw someone's blog the other day, about some "Secret"....from what I gather, it involves you envisioning what you want from your life, envisioning yourself already as you want to be (i.e. I want to be thin, so I'd envision myself already as such) & supposedly your believing things to be as you want them to be will in turn make them happen to/for you? I have been trying to envision myself as thin, & hope it works for me ;) OH, and I do know when I got pregnant with Brinley I knew I was going to be pregnant the month we conceived, before we even had a chance to conceive her, & I knew she was going to be a girl.....did I will myself into it? I don't think so, but it sure does score some points for the whole "believe it will happen & it will" philosophy! ;) Maybe now I should envision us as rich? LOL

3 3 3 3 3

3 pounds....not much but it's better than nothing! I've been going to the park the last few days, because the boys need to work out some of their craziness & it's nice to walk the trail when I can....I have a feeling the park is going to be my close close friend this summer ;) I can't wait till I'm able to do something really calorie burning like P90X ( ;) ), till then I'm still trying to bust my tail doing what I can.....meh.

Exercise Schmexercise

Woooooooo! I continue to be amazed with myself.....last night the finale of "The Biggest Loser" was on, & once again I was motivated to get my big ol' butt onto the elliptical for a bit.....it's truly inspirational to see these people who were my size dwindle down to such small sizes......it makes me feel like maybe someday I too can dwindle down to a much smaller size.....now I admit, I am not looking to run a marathon or get as small as some of them, I just want to be back where I can be happy with myself.....I think it took Tara 9 months to get to her size (?), I'd be ecstatic if it only took 9 months for me.....what a wonderful way to begin 2010! I just wish I'd watched the show from the beginning & tried out some of the things they did =( This is why I was so excited to have my friend offer to be my personal trainer.....I am so disappointed about that not happening. But hey, at least I am doing something instead of nothing.....I recently had a convo with someone who claims there's no sense in exercising because there's nothing she can do about her jelly belly without plastic surgery anyways & keeps lecturing me on "making sure I don't go too fast or do too high a resistance on the elliptical" because "you don't want to bulk up under your fat"......oooooooooooookay, so I shouldn't even try to work harder to improve myself as things get easier for me? I shouldn't even try to challenge myself? I know some about weights/bulking up/etc might be true, but right now pushing myself out of my comfort zone & burning the most calories & seeing any kind of results is more my concern than whether I look like a bodybuilder! I've got a long way to go before that would happen anyways, trust me on that! I also think she's trying to sabotage me, because she's been trying to lose weight too & tries to play all innocent about it "oh I don't know how I'm losing so much" & "I don't know how I got into these size 10's, I haven't done anything".....how about how you don't eat & you smoke a million cigarettes a day?!?!?!? Could that have anything to do with it??? She knows losing weight is very difficult for me, & when I first told her I wanted to be serious about losing she was all "let's get together & exercise" & "you can come over anytime & we can workout", yet she's never available and she's trying to tell me not to workout as much?!?!?!? I know it's because she feels like she has one up on me as long as she's smaller & all.....she's more or less alluded to that before........but enough of the bitchfest, I need to commend myself on something fantastic! =)

Tuesday night's exercise: 75 minutes non-stop on res1, rate 35-40, 4242 steps, 525.8 calories burned!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight's exercise: 65 minutes non-stop on res1/res2, rate 25-42, 3765 steps, 500 calories burned!!!!!!!!!!

Happenings

Yesterday the hubs was going to give me some alone time & take the kids to the park, but it was so nice out I just had to join them....I am glad I did because we got to do one of my favorite things, which is play catch/hit the baseball around....we took turns throwing to each other, hitting the ball, & chasing after it....a pretty good workout that lasted a couple of hours! I was a bit sore this morning & a slightly burnt, but that's okay....it's all worth it when doing something I love with people I love & having fun! I am not one for mush, so I'll skip the feelies, but just suffice it to say I am very grateful for my children & husband & can't wait to have more (children that is, not hubbies! LOL)

A wonderful example of why I'm grateful happened today....my family knows how much I desire to lose weight, & I was watching a show called "I Lost It!", which features different people who have lost ALOT of weight & how they did it....while watching it I decided to go ahead & do the elliptical....thinking I'd do my usual 35-40 min burn 300 cals blah blah blah....while the show was on, one of the girls was similar to me size/weight wise (& her name was even Alison!), so I was telling my boys "that's me" (as in that's my size, etc)....when I got to the 42 min mark, Garrett asked me how long I had been on for & I told him & that I was trying to make it to 45 min & burn about 350 calories....well, he says "I think you should go to 60 minutes" & I quickly told him there was no way I could do that & I'd try for 50....he asked me why not & I told him my hips & back were starting to ache & he said he still thought I could do it....well, 50 came & I said "how about 55, you think I could do that?", to which he replied again "I think you should go to 60 minutes"....I said "we'll see".....I got to 55 & he said alright try for 56, then 57, then 58, then 59......then next thing I know it has been 60 minutes & I was still alive!!! So, all in all 60.5 minutes on mix of res1/res2, 3340 steps, burning 451 calories!!!!! So, thanks to Garrett's encouragement, I was able to push well beyond my comfort zone & accomplish a goal I seriously thought was impossible! I am very very very grateful he was there, pushing me along, telling me I could do it when I myself did not believe it....maybe I should encourage him to become a personal trainer or something LOL ;)

Legs Like Jello

2422 steps on resistance 1, for 46 minutes, burning 322 calories=legs like jello

Oh & although my clothes don't fit any looser than before, when I measured my waist tonight it was 2 inches smaller than the last time I recall measuring it (which was around a month ago)....don't understand how my clothes are no better, but I guess 2 inches is 2 inches *shrug*

Back to the Grind

So, I exercised tonight after taking a depressive hiatus....hated every minute of it, but if I don't do anything it's not doing me any good....so here I go again! I did 1911 steps/revs on res2, burned 300 cals, went for 38 non-stop minutes....which cut 4 minutes off the time it took me to burn that many cals last time! Would do a happy jig but my legs are like jello, ha!

Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it! =) OH, and I really need to measure myself to test for inches (or millimeters ;) ) lost....at the time of my feeling yucky last week, it did cross my mind that maybe instead of pounds I had replaced an inkling of my fat with muscle, but when my clothes didn't seem to fit any better the thought escaped me....I know in due time things hopefully will get better, I'm just a woman of little patience LOL

Getting Discouraged

I know I cannot expect to lose alot of weight at a fast pace (although I *did* back in '90 LOL), but to lose nothing so far is upsetting.....I know eating habits come into play too, but the thing is I have been eating better.....and I am alot more active.....so I dunno what's going on.....all I know is it's making me sad to step on the scale & see no change =(

Monday I did 15 minutes of walking, Tuesday I did 15 minutes vacuuming/15 elliptical/30 walking, and Wednesday I did 15 minutes walking/22 elliptical @ res2, 1012steps, pace 30-40, 165 calories burned

For me to do something I dislike so much & not see any results is very discouraging =( I started all excited & now I feel like doodoo. I am going to incorporate the meal plan too, see if that helps, but I hate hate hate diets so we'll see......ugh

Today's Exercise & Whatnot

So, I didn't do any more on the elliptical until today, due to 1)I admit, laziness but also 2)Brinley acting more than needy the past few days....I wish she'd get her teeth already! She's also hit this stage where she wants me & definately knows the difference between Mommy & anyone else! For instance, last night she was getting fussy so both Jerry & Garrett tried to rock her, & let her swing, because I was going to try to get some exercise in.....well she never would calm down, so I took her & no sooner than I started to rock her she quit crying immediately & went to sleep! It's nice to know she knows me, but it doesn't make things easy sometimes LOL I'd rather hold & spend time with my children than exercise any day though......

Anyhoo, now for the "go me!"part.....today, I did 42 non-stop minutes/1680 steps/burned 300 calories!! I was sooooo ecstatic when I accomplished that, I couldn't believe I was actually able to do it!! Now I just need to keep it up!!

Today's Exercise

• So far have done 15 min non-stop/500 "revolutions/steps" on resistance 2 on elliptical
• Will update with tonight's min/steps

Today's Exercise

I can't believe it, but I was actually able to do 24 minutes non-stop on the elliptical tonight!! Instead of trying to go fast, I kept it slow but steady, & was able to complete 24 min, 1185 "revolutions" or "steps", & burned 150 calories....I know 150 is not much, but it's a start!! I am so freakin' proud of myself & so very very thankful to have the strength to complete what I thought was impossible....it was truly amazing to me & a very emotional experience! I just want to give a shout out to Christa to encourage her in doing what she can when she can, because even the smallest amount matters!! Thank you for encouraging me as well!! And to Tiffany, I also want to thank you for the inspiration....I think you're an amazing person & just by you being you, it helps me in ways you don't even know.

Okay, I am obviously getting loopy now so I am headed to bed......but again, Thank You!!

So....

I'm thinking of joining the 50million pound challenge, so I can use the meal plan made by Dr Ian as a guide & to log my exercise/eating/etc.....please wish me luck (& encourage me!) My hopes of having my friend be my personal trainer have gone out the window.....what a butthead for lying to me =(

I did 30 min (albeit it not non-stop, but a full 30 min nonetheless!) on the elliptical tonight, so YAY for that! I found my good headphones for my mp3 player tonight, so was very excited about that b/c music is a big motivator for me. I am proud of myself for sticking to my guns to exercise today!

I just hope I can meet my end goal eventually.....for now I am trying a shorter goal, in the hopes of "if I can just get that done, then I can worry with the next goal"....in total my ultimate goal is an embarrassing 115 lbs....for now I'm trying for 20, then after that 20 more, then after that 20 more, and so on......please please please pray for me, as this is a huge struggle for me (no pun intended) & weight loss does not come easy for me at all.....

Thank you!

Proof I Was Once Thin & Hot....

I came across some pics of when I was younger, & thought it'd be fun & great to my self-esteem to prove I once was thin & hot....it's funny how much more I was accepted when I looked like this, especially at church....personality is the same, all that changed is I got fat....just goes to show how much looks plays a part in dealings with people....


This one is my fave, good gracious my cheekbones! Is it a wonder I had a modeling company approach me?

This one was while I was at NC State *go Wolfpack!*


This was Senior Year of HS & I weighed about 140

This was Senior Prom, dayum I was skinny!
(p.s. ignore the white/grey smudges above my head, the photo got wet somewhere down the line & the ink/finish messed up =( )

I doubt I will ever be this thin again, but I am going to try to get as close as I can.....I have to.....have to have to have to! Mostly for myself, but proving to others that the fatass too can look good would be an awesome reward! ;)

B is for Big Girl!

Just a quick post, to show off my big girl trying to sit up on her own! She can only go for a few seconds, but is going longer & longer the more we work on it, & she sure does love trying! Also, I am including some pics of what I caught today when I came out from the restroom....apparently Gabe thinks Brinley looks better with a moustache! *LOL* I am just VERY thankful the marker was an el cheapo easy to wipe off one & NOT a sharpie! *whew!*