Catching Up

I’ve started training our new employee, Jaimee, and this time it is a Phase 1 training sessions which is much more involved than then I trained Patty.  So, I’m not on the computer as much now and when I am, I hardly have time to answer work emails let along get a blog post published.  I’ll try and keep up in “real time” but you might see more of my past memory posts.  I’ve still got many to share.

So, I’ll rewind the last few days…

On Friday morning, our newest group of troopers from ATC 45 graduated from our training academy.  I always enjoy going to the capitol for the ceremony and this time was no different.  Adam, who used to dispatch for us, graduated with this group and will now be one of our troopers.  We are so happy for him.

 

I was supposed to meet Rebecca for lunch since she works downtown but she wasn’t able to make it.  Costa Vida still sounded good so I redeemed a coupon for a salad.  The women in front of me ordered the grilled chicken and it looked really tasty.  I usually love the sweet pork so I changed it up and went with chicken.  The chicken was good, just not my usually yummy sweet pork taste. 

 

I ended up saving myself some points so I changed into my tennis shoes and walked to Flying M for coffee and a ginger snap cookie.  Sadly, no ginger snap cookies so I left empty handed and with my extra points still in hand.

 On Saturday my family had plans to take a drive to the Owyhee reservoir division dam and see what is known as the “glory hole”.  Due to our large snow volume and thus the large amount of water this year, you can actually see the hole when most years you can’t.  The hole is designed to take the excess water and re-direct it further down the dam.  I’ll admit, I was feely a bit dorky lining up to see this rare event, but once you do…it is pretty awesome.  I could have sat and watched it all day.
 

After we saw the hole in all its glory, we went further up the dam to the campground area for picnic.  It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine.  We had so much fun.

 

I really wish Kenyon could have come but due to his work schedule, he stayed home.  I hope we can make a trip out again in a few weeks.  It is a very long drive, but worth it.

I was ridiculously tired from two days of little sleep and really wanted to stay home with Kenyon, however, I’d already made plans for Danielle to pick me up as we had a Jamberry event called Margaritas & Manicures at my consultant’s house.  Once I got there I perked up and was glad I went. 
 

 

I made it home around 9:30pm and Kenyon and I went to Texas Roadhouse for a bite to eat before returning home to veg the rest of the evening.  I took a nice long relaxing bath and fell asleep shortly after.  I’m working my 4-hour overtime shift now and just have four more 10-hour shifts to get through until I am officially on “vacation” for 11 whole days.  I can’t wait!

Sharing Blog Posts From My Weight Loss Journey: Lifetime! A Time To Reflect On The Journey

I’m sharing old blog post from my weight loss journey when I blogged on another site:

April 25, 2009   
Lifetime! A Time To Reflect On The Journey



I’ve just reached my Lifetime status with Weight Watchers. That means I get to be a member for free now. Yeah baby! Weight Watchers helped me lose (to date) 132 pounds. I’ve gone from a size 26 jeans to a size 14. I’m no longer a XXXL. I am now a size medium. I’ve lost 43% of my total body weight and my BMI went from 49 to 28. Oh…and I’m not done yet….



Reflecting back on my weight loss journey



I’ve been asked all sorts of questions during these last few months on Weight Watchers leading up to reaching my goal and getting my Lifetime award. I’ve been asked if I even recognize myself when I look in the mirror or see my image in a window. I’ve been asked if I feel tons better and just love being more active. I’ve been asked if I just love my new self and am just so happy. 



Yes, Yes, and Yes. 



It is funny. I never had an actual idea of what I looked like. I never liked pictures and so unless Mom or Dad took pictures at each birthday celebration I didn’t always have a picture. When I would see one I’d not even believe it was me. A mirror does not do justice. I looked in mirrors everyday never really seeing what I looked like. I was active (although just socially), I was outgoing, and I was just a fun person to be around. I loved myself for me. When my Mom would recommend some sort of weight loss program saying, “You can be fat after you get married” I’d tell her, “I want somebody to love me for me. Not just somebody they like to look at.” And I stood my ground. Slowly getting larger and larger in the process!!! 



I’ve been on Weight Watchers (known as WW) before. I did it once with my Mom when I was younger. My sister Jenny reached her Lifetime status at the age of 13. I wasn’t doing WW for me. I was doing it for my Mom. She felt I needed to lose weight. My Mom was always trying some new diet. We were always trying to find ways to lose weight. Between my junior and senior year of high school we went on this new program called the Prism Diet (no not Prison Diet like it sounds when you say it although sometimes it felt like Prison.) You couldn’t have any white flour, potatoes, or refined sugar for six weeks. It was hard but I adjusted. I also lost 30 lbs in three months. I was about 180 when I graduated from high school. I remember wearing a size 14 jeans and feeling good about myself. 



I suppose I just started getting heavier and heavier in college. Living the single life and enjoying life in general. I can’t really say it was one thing or another. Poor food decisions and no exercise. I remember going to the doctor and slowly the scale started to increase. When the nurse weighs you, to be police they always started the weight at the 200 lb marker. I always told them to start it at the 250 lb marker as I knew I was over 250. One day she moved it to the 300 lb marker. I couldn’t even believe I was over 300 lbs. How did I get this way and why didn’t anybody tell me?? Because YOU have to be ready to change. Nobody can make you do it. Nobody can make you want to eat healthy and exercise. It has to be your choice and it has to be for the reasons you want to do it. 



So I joined WW. I cried the day after I signed up while on the phone to Mom. I didn’t know how I was supposed to take this list of healthy foods and make a meal out of it when I ate out for all of my meals. She told me if it was going to be that hard then to just quit. (Mom has said this to me at a couple of different crossroads in life. It serves its purpose as I don’t quit anything). I decided to make WW work for me. I continued to eat out and make good food decisions and lost weight along the way. Slowly my healthy eating got even healthier and I started cooking at home and trying out different recipes. Now I love to take a recipe and see how I can make it more WW-friendly. It is fun. And I know my husband, Kenyon, get the benefits from it as well. 

The weeks leading up to getting to goal were tough. I had set a goal for 175 lbs, which was the goal I set with my doctor. At the time I’d lost almost 100 lbs and was not yet under 200. I did not feel that 155 was a weight I wanted to be at. WW’s goals are based on the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart. According to my height of 5’6” I have to weight 155. I remembered my last successful weight loss journey in high school. I was happy at 180. I thought I looked good at 180. So we set the goal for 175. I have now reached that goal and see that 155 is right there within reach. Also, I cannot be a leader with WW until I reach that 155 goal so I’m going for it! I really want to be a leader. I was trying on clothes in the dressing room at JC Penny’s the weekend before I was to get my Lifetime award. I just started crying. I finally realize that I’ve done it. That I have changed my life and that I did what I set out to do. 



It is amazing what an impact weight loss can have on a person. It is way more than just losing pounds or looking good. For me it was a whole life change. It was making the outside match how I felt on the inside. No longer hiding and no longer allowing myself to make excuses. I’m active, I’m alive, and I love my life. I have a great husband, great family and great friends. My support system is HUGE! And I am grateful for each and every one of my supporters. 



Weight loss is possible. For whatever reason you choose to motivate you and whatever program you choose to assist you – embrace the change. Enjoy the journey. Remind yourself why you are on this journey and what you want to accomplish. Set small goals. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, funerals, and weddings all come throughout the year. Remember that they are just one day. Enjoy the day and then get right back on track. Keep at it even when you have a gain at the scale or a bad day where you eat more than you should have. Don’t give up. Put yourself first because YOU are worth it!

Weekly WI: Springing Into Action

It is pouring rain today and I am attempting to get my car into the dealership to check out a leaking issue happening on my back window.  However, despite the rain, it isn't currently dripping inside the car like it was last week.  Doh!  So we will see what they say once I arrive.  I've got extra time so I am typing this blog post at Starbucks.

My WI yesterday was a bit of a letdown.  I had another large gain (more than one pound) again this week just like last week.  According to my scale at home, I've gained 2.9 pounds over the last two weeks. It really made me bummed out all day yesterday.  I know I was feeling sore and retaining water.  That could be a combo of my poor eating and drinking over the weekend and my training session.  But, I don't like to make excuses for weight gain.  It always come down to what you are putting in your mouth and if you are keeping yourself accountable.  Since I switched days off, my "weekend" is the days before my WI.  My previous days off meant I still had four whole days before WI.  I have never been shy that I eat differently on my work days vs. my days off.  So, it has been no exception that the bulk of my over eating and careless eating has been happening right before my WI days.

So, there are changes I need to make and I need to continue to stay focused.  I actually wrote STAY FOCUSED on each of my tracking pages this week.  The plan is to eat within my points Tuesday and Wednesday and then eat my daily points Thursday - Saturday.  Then, I'll go back to eating my daily points on Sunday and Monday.  Hopefully this theory, which I've blogged about before, will show the results I'm looking for.  My only "planned" splurge day is Saturday with a family picnic in the afternoon and a Jameberry Cinco de Mayo party that evening.  I'm going to hold myself accountable and track/plan ahead.  I know what will be served so I can have an idea in place.  Then, I have part of Sunday off after I work my 4-hour OT so I'm going to stay alert and conscious of my food choices and NOT snack!  That is my goal.  I did some meal planning over the last few days and so I've got meals to plan/prep and I need to stick to them.  Having such a large spike over two weeks really irks me and throws me into action mode!

I did get on the scale this morning when I woke up just in case it was mostly water weight and I could ease my mind a little.  Regardless of what it said, I had a GREAT day yesterday with my food/tracking.  But, the scale was back down.  So, that does make me feel better and less stressed in thinking I need to take three pounds off this week just to break even from three weeks ago.  Oh man this scale can really mess with my head.

Weekend Fun: Pedi Party, Friends, Food, Alcohol, & Being A Kid Again

OMG!  I had so much fun over the weekend that I was genially sad to have to return to work on Monday afternoon.  SO. MUCH. FUN.

I hosted a Jamberry Pedicure Party at my house on Saturday afternoon.  I’d been looking on the internet looking for low calorie/sugar cocktails and something might be fun and different.  I settled on a spiked strawberry lemonade recipe that still needs to tweaking.  But, it was still yummy. 

My Jamberry consultant brought me the prettiest bouquet of roses that also had some glitter on them.  I stopped into the Dollar Store to pick up some flip flops, which happen to be in season so I had lots of fun colors and prints to choose from.  We enjoyed a relaxed atmosphere where we soaked our feet, used foot scrub, lathered up peppermint lotion, and finished with paint and/or Jamberry wraps.  It was a really fun time.

Saturday evening, Phoenix and her neighbor Deena joined me for some downtown fun.  I wanted to keep it low key so we started out at the tasting room at Longdrop Cider Company.  Rebecca met us there.  The cider was good but the owner had her dog there.  The dog would bark at us while we were sitting at the table and the place smelled like a vet office.  Not sure if we will be back.  We walked to Boise Brewing Company to try some beer and then bid farewell to Rebecca.  Phe, Deena, and I continued onto Old Chicago for some food.  OMG!  So good. 

Lastly, we hit up Dutch Bros as they now have a location in downtown Boise and it was open until 1am.

On Sunday, I was invited to Wahooz Family Fun Zone in Merdian to meet up with my friends and celebrate Julie’s birthday earlier in the month.  We all bought one of the unlimited passes so we could go on any attraction/ride we wanted to and it also included mini-golf and bowling.  We had so much fun.  I can’t wait to go back!

With all the extra hours needing covered at work and the abundance of OT, it was wonderful to have two days off in a row and to spend so much fun time with my friends.  It sure did help me de-stress.  Sadly, I had no days off with Kenyon but I’ve just learned my upcoming time off request has been approved so soon I’ll have 11 days off with him.  I can hardly wait!

Pushing Outside Your Comfort Zone

After my training session with Tyson last Thursday, I met his next client during our stretching time.  Tyson had told me before she had gotten there the he expected her to cancel.  Since she had not sent him a text, he was still skeptical she would be a no-show.  When we got to the stretching area I saw this young gal with this very pitiful look on her face.  You could tell she didn’t really want to be there and commented that she didn’t want to be “that person who sent a text saying I wasn’t coming” so she decided to show up.  She might have physically showed up but mentally, he looked really unhappy about being there.

Making the decision to sign up for personal training sessions was a big push outside of my comfort zone.  I am really good at cardio and I know how to burn calories.  Remember that exercise gives you endorphins and endorphins make you happy.

 

What I don’t enjoy doing is the core work, strength, and weight resistance.  For some reason it is embedded in my head that if you aren’t breaking a sweat, you aren’t working out.  I’ve come to learn that strength training along with cardio is how you burn calories quickly and then later at rest.  Since I’ve started my training sessions I have noticed that I burn more calories at my sit down job on the days I exercise vs. the days I don’t.  I also feel like my body/weight loss is different this time around then my last time.  I’m not skinny by any meals but I just feel good in my clothes.

Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is really hard.  Since December, I’ve been pushing myself twice a week and showing up for my training sessions knowing I’ll have to do push-ups, burpies, crunches, arm weight, plank, etc.  Some days I have to psych myself up for it and some days I tell myself, “bring it on.”  Even when I’m not feeling though, I hope I don’t look as sad as that young woman did.  And if I do feel that way, I sure hope I hide it well!

 

 

What I Ate Yesterday: Wednesday

I decided to photograph my food on Wednesday, partly for extra accountability and partly because my first meal of the day was yummy and I snapped a photo of it.

Breakfast:

½ leftover Denny’s whole wheat pancake topped with 7g peanut butter, smear of honey, and a sautéed apple with brown sugar and cinnamon (6 SPV)

One scrambled egg with two egg whites and a ½ left over chicken gouda apple sausage from Denny’s (4 SPV)

Starbucks at home: dirty chai Americano made with espresso, ½ cup Chai skinny latte, and some cream (3 SPV)

Lunch:

5 oz chicken breast cooked in 1 tsp olive oil and a salad with 15 g Caesar salad dressing and 15 g sunflower seeds (8 SPV)

My coworker made a coffee run to Dutch Bros so I ordered a sweet treat.  A full small blended Dutch Freeze with white chocolate is 19 SPV so I only drank half (9 SPV)

Dinner:

Smart Ones Swedish Meatball meal (9 SPV).  I’ve never tried this one and it wasn’t too bad.  I failed to plan accordingly or I would have added some frozen veggies.

I’ve been drinking flavored waters as a way to combat those time I want to boredom eat or when I need that little bit of sweet after a meal.  I’ve been getting the Kirkland brand and the Crystal Ice brand.  They come in a variety pack and are sold at Costco, which makes them a bit cheaper.  They don’t have sugar and I like the sweet mixed with carbonation.

Snack:

I’ve been ending my shift at work in the wee hours of the morning with fruit and yogurt.  I’ve also been adding slivered almonds for added crunch.  Just like sunflower seeds spice up a boring salad, slivered almonds spice up fruit and yogurt.

Weekly WI: Up At Home, Down At My Meeting

Since I wasn’t able to attend my WW meeting last week, I didn’t get my loss recorded.  This week I gained a bit of my loss from last week back but luckily I still showed a loss once I got to my meeting.  So…a win in my book!

After a training session with Tyson and my WW meeting, I was super energized and re-focused.  I really, really, really enjoyed my days off work this week and my downtime/laziness.  But, I really struggled with food while at home on those days off.  Even on Monday night, I was still eating mixed nuts thinking “this is it…after this, I’ll eat better.”  It has been a constant struggle and something I need to stay focused on and work harder on combating.

My trainer hadn’t realized yet that I logged my gain (home weigh-in before I go to training) and commented that I must have had a loss.  I’m not sure if it was because I was wearing a different shirt or what but he thought I looked smaller.  I feel good!  So despite having a gain I just feel good.

And, I realize I have to keep moving if I’m going to get under 200 pounds.  I really want to get there!

Sharing Blog Posts From My Weight Loss Journey: My Two Year Anniversary With Weight Watchers

I’m sharing old blog post from my weight loss journey when I blogged on another site:

Saturday, January 24, 2009   

My Two Year Anniversary with Weight Watchers Current mood:  strong   I will have been a member of Weight Watchers (aka WW) for 2 years on Monday.  I can’t believe it has been two years.  What a program this is.  What a lifesaving tool it is.  And what great support I have gotten from my friends, family, coworkers, WW members, and my WW leaders.  It has been a great two years  I started in Nampa with Lynn.  She was so supportive and loved to talk about food struggles.  She was always so positive and shared with us her current weight gain and how she was working hard to get it back under “goal.”  Lynn retired several months ago.  I was sad to see her go.  She was off to travel the world and left us her email address to be in touch when we reached our own goal.  I can’t wait to contact her when I get there.  From there Mom and I went to the Caldwell meetings with Tamela.  Tamela is so upbeat and positive and was so much fun.  We really enjoyed her meetings.  I reached my first major goal of 100 pounds lost just before we had to switch meetings.  They were all so very positive!  I miss Tamela’s meetings.....  We are now at Nampa again.  This time with Kimberly.  I’m not sure what to think of her.  At first she wasn’t my favorite leader.  She seemed to focus more on activity and exercise and less on food struggles.  She was no less amazing like my other leaders.  Kimberly lost 65 pounds and has maintained her weight of 155 pounds for a few years now.  She is also a trainer at the YMCA, I look forward to taking her spin class in the future.  So here I am approaching the eve of my two year anniversary with time to reflect on where I have come from and where I still have to go.  It has been the most amazing journey.  I am healthy, fit, and happy.  I am enjoying my new healthy lifestyle and my new size 14/16 jeans.  I still have many more pounds to lose.  If I want a chance at being a WW leader I have to weigh in at 155 pounds.  Quite a feat for somebody that started at 304 pounds.  But I’ll get there.  Just wait and see!!!  Here is to two years and counting!  122 pounds down and 27 pounds to go!  It has been a very successful two years!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!!

 

We celebrated our Easter on Saturday since that was the best day the whole family could get together.  I absolutely love our new house and that I can entertain easier than our previous house.  My Aunt Teresa surprised Kenyon and I with a house warming gift of a drawing she did of our new house.  We love it!

I didn’t snap a ton of phots as it does get a bit chaotic once everybody arrives.  My nieces are also going through this weird phase where they don’t like posing for photos.  I think perhaps they don’t really understand what it means to have been born in this family.  When my Grandma A was alive and we were kids, there was never a time that woman didn’t have a camera attached to her hands.  And, that was waaaaaay back when you had to wait to develop the film so you didn’t know that everybody had their eyes closed.  My sister Katie must have taken ten photos to get a good one of her and her boyfriend Kevin.  See, you would think the girls would love photos as much as their mother.

Seriously though, we had a good time an I love spending time with my family.  We had fourteen in attendance and were just missing my Uncle Burke and my sister’s husband Will.  We had a good sized crowd.

 

I am enjoying extra time off this weekend with very little overtime.  I needed to relax, de-stress, and catch up on sleep so bad.  I’ve recently become addicted to the Lifetime show UnReal, which is on Hulu right now.  It is the bachelor-like show which has you really involved in the characters behind the camera.  So far, it is good and there is two seasons to watch.  I think I’ll be spending a lot of couch time the remainder of today and all of tomorrow. 

I hope your Easter was enjoyable and that you were able to spend it with your loved ones.

National Telecommunication Week Comes To A Close

This past week was National Telecommunications Week where each year our police, fire, and emergency services dispatchers are recognized for their service.  It always a fun week where you get extra spoiled.  This week was no exception!

On Friday was our annual BBQ/party and our night shift supervisors made it really fun and special.  We had a whole slew of troopers come I to visit us and they even brought gifts!

 

Team Pattis brought us some Rockstar energy drinks since we are all “ROCKSTARS” .  I never had energy drinks but since they were sugar free, we opened a few and tasted them.  OMG they are delicious!  Then, I didn’t feel so good…sort of like I was drunk.  Once it wore off I drank more and then didn’t feel good.  I think I better lay off the energy drinks and just stick to coffee.

Ashleigh and Me

We played Peeps jousting which is where you pick a Peep and put a toothpick in it.  You square off against a partner by putting two on a plate and into the microwave.  Whoever’s Peep hits the other ones first with their “joust” wins.  We ended up playing several rounds and the final winner was Trooper Crapo.   She was stoked.
 

 

It is a pleasure to work for this agency.  I love my coworkers and my troopers!

 

My "thin gold line" among the blue line headband

Me, Kenia, Sierra

 

Photo Bombed by Ashleigh

 

Trooper Crapo, Sgt. Pattis, Ashleigh, Me

Shauna, Ashleigh, Me

 

Shauna, Trooper McConnell, Me

 

DeLisa, Shauna, John H., Me

 

To all those that dispatch…THANK YOU for all you do to keep your officers, fireman, and emergency services personnel safe.

Sharing Blog Posts From My Weight Loss Journey: Blog Update

I’m sharing old blog post from my weight loss journey when I blogged on another site:

Thursday, December 11, 2008   

Just a Blog - an Update   I just feel like blogging today.  Pretty slow at work so why not eh??  I completed my very first spin class at the YMCA on Tuesday.  I can't even believe it.  If you had told me two years ago I'd be doing a spin class I'd say "no way."  It feels good though.  Not as sore today as I had expected so I plan to go again every Tuesday for a little while.  We have joined the YMCA in Meridian for their Healthy Holiday challenge.  For six weeks you have to workout twice a week.  At the end of the six weeks if you want to become a member they will waive the joining fee.  For us that is $120 so it is well worth it.  Having fun.  Almost to finish up our second week there (I think just second??)  Other news, Kenyon and I are house hunting.  We have met a great realtor, Christina with Swope Enterprises.  We are having fun looking at houses and even found a couple we might consider.  Waiting another few weeks to look at more houses on our list.  So far so good though.  I have never wanted to be a homeowner but I am excited for this new journey with Kenyon.  I can hardly wait to have "our" home.  I might be whistling a different tune come summer when I am out mowing the lawn.  But for now it is fun.  We found out yesterday our dispatch center will be merged with RCCE from Pocatello.  I am very sad these dispatchers have to decide to up-root their lives if they want to keep their job.  Although I am anxious to meet some of those that do move, I wish them all the best of luck in what they decide.  I can only imagine how tough it will be.  So as of July 1, 2009 we will now dispatch for Regions 3 through 6.  Major work on our end and lots of new area to learn!  I am still plugging away at Weight Watchers.  I am getting closer to the goal I set with my doctor of 175 pounds.  I am now 117 pounds lighter and feel great!  I love my new active lifestyle and I love live in general.  I'll get to that goal (and beyond).  Right now my sights are set at being at goal by my 30th birthday, October 25, 2009.  Should be enough time eh?? I hope you all have a safe and Happy Holiday season.  Many wonderful wishes for the New Year that is quickly approaching!