Halloween Town

I've been having fun at Halloween events around town. I am living it up in my Flo from Progressive costume and I can only think about one other time I've really enjoyed my costume.

Last week, my sister Katie, my nieces, Phoenix, her kids, and I all attended the Trunk or Treat in downtown Meridian. We made Kenyon dress up as Jake from State Farm so we could take photos before we headed out. I convinced Emma to be the gecko from Geico and we had several compliments on our costume.

Last night, Kelsey, Danielle, and I attended a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Egyptian Theater in downtown Boise. We met at Flatbread Community Pizza for drinks and appetizers beforehand and also had some dessert at Fork.

If you have never seen Rocky Picture Show, it is odd and weird and just...well...odd. I have never seen it at during a community showing and those in attendance brought all the fun with them. There were costume contests (which Flo won the prize during one of them) and throwing of rice, toast, toilet paper, cards, and other things at various parts in the movie. It was crazy. But, we had a good time.

Flo is making her last public appearance today and then she will retire for the season. I got into my costume this morning for my Weight Watcher meeting and then attended Emma's class party where my sister Katie I worked one of the booths. I'm having some downtime now before heading back to my sister's house for Papa Murphy's Jack o' Lantern pizza and salad. We are planning to do some Truck or Treating in town and then trick or treat around the neighborhood.

I love Halloween!  

Reflecting On The Last Several Years Of Weight Loss

I read a really great blogpost from Katie at Runs for Cookies titled “What I Wish I Knew When I Started Losing Weight.”  It worth the read as she has some great insight.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my weight loss over this past month since I’m hanging onto my vacation weight.  On top of that, I’m really struggling with getting back on track and back into weight loss mode.  Last week after my WW meeting, I looked back at my weight tracker for October 2016.  It is no surprise that I didn’t WI much in the month of October or November in 2016.  This year, September was a busy month with vacations but each year the month of October is just really busy/fun with social activities.  So, it isn’t also surprising that I weighed in less that month because most likely the scale would show a gain.

Now that I’m back on day shift, I am remember that it feels harder to lose weight on day shift than when I am on night shift.  I struggle with meal planning and cooking dinner for both Kenyon and I.  When I am on night shift, I’m usually cooking for just me because I’m eating most of my meals at work.  I also prefer to exercise before I start my day than at the end of the day.  When my wake up call for day shift is 4am, getting up any earlier is usually a no-go.

My WI for October 3, 2016 was 245.8 and my WI last week was 231.6.  Despite hanging onto vacation weight, I am still down in 2017 vs. 2016, which makes me pleased.  Even though I’ve been a WW member for almost 11 years, I still need to step back and see the big picture when it comes to perspective.  I also made a comparison photo after my birthday.  The photo on the left is my original before photo taken on my 27^th birthday and the months prior to joining WW.  The photo on the right is my 38^th birthday.

When I think back to my 30^th birthday, the days of being below my goal weight, I know I was happy.  

30th Birthday Celebration

But, I can’t say that I was any more or less happier than I am now 8 years later.  If anything, I might be even more happier than my happy back then.  I love the life I have built and I am happy every day for better health so I can enjoy life to the fullest.  I have a wonderful husband (like seriously, I won the lottery) who is very patient with my short comings and loves me unconditionally and at every size.  I have a loving and supportive family (even when siblings argue).  I have a great group of friends whom enjoy my continuous social outing request.  I have a good paying job that I’m fairly decent at.  We built a house I love.  And lastly, I have no woes with age 40 quickly approaching.

With all of those things that are good in my life, why do I waste the energy worrying about my weight so much? 

My weight flux may be something I deal with for the rest of my life.  I was at goal once so I am often optimistic I can get there again and even stay there this time.  I just don’t want it to rule so much of my life.  I’ve got to find a better balance between weight loss and life.  I know if I continue the path of reckless eating that I’ll soon find myself back at 304 pounds. 

I Tested Out Jamberry's New Lip Color Products

I had the opportunity to be a tester for Jamberry's new lip color from their Jambeauty line. My consultant sent me four colors to try along with the lip scrub and some throw away applicators. 

The test was to run for four days and we had to document what we did in our day along with a rating score (1=Dislike 2=It was okay 3=Like it 4=Love it 5=It's the bomb). We were also encourage to take some photos.

The lip color comes in two different box set options, one in Neutral (Coy and Charming) and one in Bold (Dare Devil and Cheeky). It retails for $65 (in my area) and includes two lip colors (already pre-packaged by color), one lip scrub, and one sheet of exclusive Jamberry wraps.

Here are my results and some photos.

Day One: Coy

I started with the lightest color and worked my way up to the bolder colors.  This day I was at an all day conference for 10 hours.

Applied color at 5:30am (two coats, although first day I think went on thicker than the other days)

Removed at 8am (after eating breakfast, I felt the color had pretty much removed itself due to being the lightest color

I did not re-apply throughout my day.  This was not my favorite color as it is too light and I prefer lipstick to show if I'm putting forth the effort to wear.

Color Rating: 2       Durability Rating: 1   Total Experience Rating: 2  

Day Two: Charming

I was at work fro 10 hours

Applied color at 4:30am and re-applied later in the day at 1:30pm

Removed: first application approximately 6:30 am (again after I ate/drank) and later in the day approximately 6pm (due to the lighter pigment, I felt this mostly rubbed off on its own)

Color Rating: 3     Durability Rating: 1       Total Experience Rating: 2  

Day Three: Dare Devil

I was at work for 10 hours.  This color got the most compliments.  The lip color transferred onto my coffee cup once it got wet.

Applied color at 5am

Removed at 9am (I rubbed the color off as it has mostly come off the water line/corners and I had somebody sitting in with me at work.  I thought it looked funny being mostly left on my upper lip)

Color Rating: 3      Durability Rating: 1     Total Experience Rating: 2

Day Four: Cheeky

I was at home and had a brunch/Jamberry party.  I am not a fan of red lip color and felt my first application had me looking like Ronald McDonald.  I removed the color and tried again with less on the applicator and tried starting the color in the center of the lip and moved outward.  I thought that looked better on the second application.

Applied color at 9am

Removed color at 2pm (I allowed the color today to just rub off completely and didn't re-apply.  It was really noticeable when the color started to wear at this is a very bold color palate)

Color Rating: 1    Durability Rating: 1    Total Experience Rating: 2

Bonus Day: One layer of Dare Devil and one layer of Coy

I decided to layer the two colors as I wasn't sure I 100% loved any of these lip colors and wanted to mix.  I did feel the lip color blended well, however, I'd have to buy two different gift sets to be able to mix Dare Devil with another color since I don't like Cheeky.  

Color Rating: 3    Durability Rating: 1      Total Experience Rating: 2

Pros: 

The lip product smells really good and tastes good

It is very easy to take off

The bolder colors make my teeth look whiter

The product is semi-dry overall but not as dry as I was expecting

Unlike another long lasting lip product I've tried, you don't have to gloss all the time

Cons:

I would not classify this as a long lasting lip color and most days the majority of it came off by the time I ate/drank for the first time

It got on my teeth easily when applying

When it breaks down, I can tell the pieces flake into my mouth

Semi-dry lip product when I already feel I have dry lips most of the time

Overall thoughts:

At this time, I would not buy this product.  The cost point is pretty high when you can't pick the colors (i.e. I am not a fan of cheeky or coy and these two are paired along with the other colors in the gift pack).  It was pretty dry overall and came off too quickly.  I tend to prefer shinny to matte lip color.

At this point, I'll sick to my Jamberry wraps. I am very glad I had this opportunity to try this new lip product.

Back To Work (i.e. Being A Responsile Adult Again)

I’m back at work after five days off.  They went way too fast.  I think I need another five days…

I’ll update you on our Truck or Treat fun later.  Today, I figure I had better get back to some normal blog business.  After all, it can’t all be fun and games!  Eventually, your pants won’t fit.

So far, I’ve not been meeting my goal I set earlier in the week.  I was doing pretty good with my tracking accountability until I consumed my first high point food item.  I also had waaaay more sugar and alcohol than planned on my actual birthday.  But, each day is a new days and thus, we keep plugging ahead. 

It has been a busy week so I’ve not been to the gym since Monday.  Phoenix came with me for a class and boy did I feel that for the next few days.  My legs were still burning.  I got some activity at the corn maze on Tuesday and at Truck or Treating last night.  I’m planning to resume my normal gym routine next week.  I really like the classes offered at Crunch Fitness.

I’m going to keep working on re-focusing so I can kick my weight loss back into gear.

It's My Birthday

It's My Birthday!!!

My very favorite day of the year has arrived.  (I wanted to share with you the short clip I made on Boomerang but I can't figure out how to load it)

Last night I picked up my niece Emma so she could accompany Kenyon and I to Linder Farms for the corn maze. The evening was sponsored by Kenyon's work so our admission was free and we got $4 worth of token to spend on games or food. As a group we shared a bucket of mini donuts and I had a hot spiced apple cider. It was so good and I felt very festive. Kenyon got the waffle dog, which was a sausage on a stick cooked in waffle batter. It was interesting.

We will celebrate later with the family but in the meantime, Kenyon and I had breakfast at LePeep to kick of my special day.

My Apple Watch wished me Happy Birthday as well.

Weekly WI: Ugly, Ugly, Ugly

It felt so good to be at my WW meeting today. It was also no surprise that I've been waaaaaay off track and sadly, I am back in the 230s. sigh. The receptionist that weighed me in asked if my gain was a surprise and I told her no. The WW app was happy to see me back when I entered my weight. The last time I entered an official WW weight was Sept 22^nd.

Dawny posted this on Facebook. I needed to see this today.

My goal this week is to track. That means looking up the points or doing my best estimate when eating out. Even if I go over...track it! The second goal this week is to lay low from sugar. I am in desperate need of another detox. The exception to this will be cupcakes for my birthday tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my birthday....eeeeekkkk!

Jamberry Halloween Brunch Party

Yesterday, I invited six friends (and two littles) over for a Jamberry Haloween Brunch Party. We ordered our Halloween Jamberry wraps ahead of time so we could apply them at my house. With the release of the new Fall catalog, along with the release of the new Winter and Holiday Jamberry wraps, I was hoping not only would the party be fun but that I could also earn some free Jamberry products.

The party was a big success! The food was good and my friend had fun.

Mine glow-in-the-dark.  So fun!!!

I made two different breakfast casseroles and my friend Ashleigh made a third one. I found them all on Shay Shull's blog Mix And Match Momma. We made:

Sausage & Cornbread Casserole, which wasn't a huge success because of the addition to the green chiles. Kenyon loves green chiles so he gladly finished off the dish.

Bacon & Gouda Croissant Casserole, which was a huge hit. It was almost all gone.

Bacon & Tot Casserole, which I have made before and it was just as delicious as I remember. I love the addition of tater tots. This was also a big hit.

Along with our casseroles, we had fruit, homemade cinnamon rolls, and mini bacon, egg, and cheese quiches. My friend Kate brought some bacon and sausage for anybody that didn't want to do the casseroles, which was a great idea. We had an assortment of juices and come champagne for mimosas. And of course we had coffee! I had each of my friends bring something and it turned out to be a nice spread and a great early morning/afternoon.

I think this is the last of my social events as myself as the host for a while. I'm thinking I might set up a Christmas get together but perhaps suggest a nice restaurant where we can dress up a little. That sounds like fun. But, you all know I love hosting parties!

My Plan For Today

My NO-muscle is so weak these days.  I came to work yesterday with the plan to make it a better food day than in the past few weeks.  I stopped by Winco on my way in and bought a Smart Ones frozen meal and a bag of salad.  I came armed with yogurt and berries for my snack and had eaten a Jimmy Dean DeLite breakfast sandwich along with grapes for breakfast.

I turned down my coworkers offer to pick out a muffin for me at the store.  I also didn’t engage in any food leftovers from a party the day before (donut holes, mini cookies, and cake).  I was on the course to making this day the best day yet.

Then, I gave in when lunch plans circulated for Happy Teriyaki including getting myself a milk tea bubble tea.  After work I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some soup ingredients for dinner along with party foods for a Jamberry Halloween Brunch I am hosting on Sunday.  I bought a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and ate the whole pint.

Ugh.

I have a serious problem these days with limits, knowing when to stop, saying NO, and overeating in general.  I am also having a serious problem combating it and figuring out how to turn things around.  Each day I resolve to do better and each day I succumb to food temptations, laziness, and overall not caring.

This is also why I need my WW meeting ASAP!  I know I don’t have to wait until Tuesday to start new.  I know I can start today and I can once again resolve to make today the best day yet.  So, for today I am planning to eat my frozen meal along with my bagged salad.  I have fresh strawberries to go along with my yogurt snack. 


I WILL say NO to eating out.

That is my plan for today and I plan to stick to it!  I’m posing here for accountability!

In Need Of A WW Meeting!

I’m baaaaaaack.

Yesterday I pretty much just lounged on the couch and even napped a few times.  I came down with a head cold on Saturday evening and the last few days have been rough.  Thankfully I was still well enough to attend the PSAP 911 Seminar armed with my Kleenex and hand sanitizer. 

I had high hopes of getting back on track this week including both food and exercise.  With the head cold, I used that as an excuse to eat like crap and not move my body more than necessary.  I feel better today but am not yet 100%.  I’m working to make TODAY different than yesterday when it comes to my food choices. 

I really need a WW meeting too.  I hadn’t planned to skip the last few weeks but with my weight being up, it was easy to not want to face the scale.  I’ll be at my Tuesday AM meeting this coming week.  My meeting always helps me re-focus.

I’m taking some extra days off next week around my birthday.  We have a lot of free birthday meal deals to cash in on and I’m hoping to balance those with other meals at home.  My meal planning has been lacking major motivation lately.  I just have no desire to grocery shop and/or meal prep.  It feels so exhausting.  On the flip side, I’m feeling some burnout from all these high calorie/point meals as well.  And…my pants are feeling it too! 

Between vacations in September and social activities in October, I’ll have to really re-focus so November isn’t a total loss too.

Out Of Office Reply

I am attending the 6^th Annual Idaho PSAP 911 Seminar on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

I’ll check back in a few days.  Have a good week.

Weekend Festivities

I had the best time this weekend filled with tons of fun!

On Saturday after work, my sister Katie dropped off Emma and Hailey and we headed to The Farmstead corn maze.  I’ve not been to The Farmstead and I had wished we had more time.  The corn maze was fun, but there was also so much more we could have done as part of our membership (FYI, $12 is ridiculous for an admission price).  My friend had a ton of fun so I suspect this will be our annual birthday event in the month of October.

 

After, we met up at my house for pizza and cupcakes.  My nieces, along with Phoenix’s two kids, spent the night.  It was a bit chaotic and made me happy to have peace and quiet later that day.

On Sunday, Kenyon, Emma, and I attended the Gowen Thunder Air Show.  There has not been an air show held at Gowen Field for at least 20 years.  This was an amazing show and I hope they will do it again sooner than another 20 years.

 

It was amazing to see the amount of military equipment the Idaho Air National Guard has.  You were able to tour inside some of the items but the lines were long (so were the food lines when lunchtime rolled around).

 

The Canadian Snowbirds were the first big show and boy did they amaze.  It was the neatest thing to see.

 

The show ended with the US Thunderbirds.  Again…amazing!  After seeing the Snowbirds though, the Thunderbirds were slightly underwhelming.  It was a fantastic show all around.

 

The shuttle service back to our car took a total of 1.5 hours.  That is a lot of people for a Sunday.  I am still glad I was able to take the day off and attend this really awesome show.

Pre-Birthday Celebrations

Earlier in the month, Danille and I met up at Flying Pie Pizza for free pizza day if you were born in October.  Yeah!  Free pizza!  Daneille went back and actually made her pizza this time.  She had a blast.

 

Phoenix and I met up downtown a few days later and had a little birthday celebration.  

Today, I’ve got a small group getting together to meet at the corn maze for a bit before going to my house for pizza, beer, and cupcakes.

I love birthdays!

Rest Day

After making good strides in using my new gym membership this week, my body is ready for a rest day.  It is hard to take an actual rest day because I really like filling all three circles on my Apple Watch.  And, I can’t really do that without getting in a workout.  But, my body is sore and so I am really looking forward to resting my body today.

I tried three different group exercise classes this week.  I had planned to attend a forth but the instructor was sick.  On that day, I had met up with my friend Kelsey for the now-cancelled so we walked on the treadmill and chatted for a bit.  That was my second workout of the day.  I also tried out a second gym location.

This week’s classes were: Overdrive (high intensity), Chisel (weights/core), and Cardio Tai Box (kickboxing).  The class I wasn’t able to attend is called Pound and is offered once in the week.  I hear this is a fun class where you use weighted drumsticks along with music.  I’m eager to try it but I think it will be a few weeks due to the limited day/time it is offered.

I was impressed with the treadmill that I used and know they have replaced the equipment at their gyms.  So I’ll also be getting use out of my membership by using the equipment. 

But, not today.  Today I need to rest.

Weekly WI: Phit-N-Phat Podcast

I faced the scale at home yesterday.  Oy!  I'm up 9.8 pounds over the last six weeks, which is when I reached 220 on my home scale. 

Looking back over my weight record, I see that since September 17^th, the WI after our NYC/New England vacation, I am up 0.3 pounds.  Clearly, the bulk of my weight gain is from our big vacation.  I did have fun on vacation so that counts for something.  .  I'd like to say I'll bust it out and lose these 9 pounds ASAP but my track record for losing weight quickly has been less than stellar.  All I can do is re-focus and continue to stay on track.

It is feedback but not the end-all-be-all.  And I already feel a little better in my clothing since getting back on track. 

I’ve been listening to a new-to-me podcast called Phit-N-Phat with Corrine Crabtree, who lost 100 pounds and has kept if off for 12-years.  Her co-host Kathy, has lost 80 pounds.  It is really helping me out mentally and I’m so glad I found out about it on Facebook.  They aren’t saying anything new or enlightening but it is helping me to re-connect with my past self and remember the weight loss journey I took in the beginning.  I want to zone in on those tools that made me successful and getting my mind in gear really helps do that.

Plus, Corrine is hilarious!  She throws out a cussword here and there and it makes me smile.  She is very real and honest, which I really like.  You can check out her website here ß

New Gym And New Motivation

After much back-and-forth, I decided to join a new-to-me gym just before I left for Missouri.  The old Idaho Athletic Club is now Crunch Fitness and I’ve got two friends who already attend.  I started looking at the gym because it has several group fitness classes.  I used to love going to the YMCA for group classes and stopped going after my back pain began in 2013.  I can’t believe it has been four years since I’ve been at a group exercise class but it sure feels good to be back.

The leader was a substitute and when I had asked her where to turn in our attendance ticket, she asked if I was new.  She said the class was high intensity for the full 30-minutes and to modify if needed.  She said the goal was to finish the class since it was my first time.  I could tell I was the heaviest woman in the class but since this wasn’t my first rodeo with exercise, I thought I held my own pretty well.

The class is designed where you do various high-intensity moves for 20 seconds and then “walk it out” for 40 seconds.  After two rounds you increase the high-intensity to 40 seconds and the rest period drops to 20 seconds.  Next, you do several one-minute high intensity intervals.  Finally, you work your way back down 40/20 and then 20/40.  Pretty soon, the 30-minute class was finished and I was a sweaty mess.

 

And I was really happy with my accomplishment.  At one point, I wanted to slow down my pace after we jogged several times during one-minute intervals.  The leader came over by me during one of our rest periods and said she wanted to tell me how great I was doing and that she would jog the next one with me.  Having her giving me kudos and jogging along with me kept me from slowing my pace the next round.  I really appreciated her support and encouragement.  She said by the end of class we had jogged a total of six minutes.

I had several class members give me a high five at the end of class and a couple even asked if I was going to stay for the next class.  It made me feel very welcome and encouraged.  I am happy I joined the gym and I look forward to trying out other classes Crunch Fitness has to offer.

I’m a bit sore today and since I need to be home in the evening, I’ll do a walk on the treadmill at work (I’m on overtime today) so I can get my activity in for today.  I’m feeling much more motivated as of late.