Zumba 3x!!! Yay for K!!!

I did great this week on my maintenance and my Zumba:) Woot!

The girls:)

Birthday girls!

Last night was a birthday celebration with my lifetime friends. They treated me to a pedicure and a wonderful dinner at The Olive Garden. It was a special night with a lot of laughs and friendship. I repeat this often, but we have been friends since we were 12! 43 years...pretty darned amazing. Unfortunately we never got around to taking a picture all together:(  I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and did not have any of the chocolate layer cake or apple crisp with ice cream. I did not want the sugar sickies again. It feels good to just say "no". I am a cheaper date than my friend who also celebrated her birthday. She had a dessert, a bottle of wine...and a mani / pedi! She's recently lost 16 lbs doing weight watchers. I am happy for her too. I really felt good about how I looked last night, last year I was in the early stages of my weight loss. I have repeated this often too....What a difference a year makes! I really feel like I am back in control and it feels good! I'm sure I will have my "screw ups", but I find it easy to jump back in. 

 

Now here's a picture of my "hip scarf" for Zumba. 

Zumba Zumba:) 

So, usually there are about 10 women out of 60 or so that are wearing the hip scarves. I just ordered them for my friend and I and was excited to try it out. I get it on, wait for my friend to get there, look around, my friend doesn't show, and NOT one other woman in the whole gym has one on:) Really? The day I decide to shake my booty with my new scarf and no one else, including the instructor wears one? I'm glad that I'm not afraid to be different! I have to say that it really does help with the booty shake and I intend to wear it each time now. My friend's son had a baby last night so she had a really wonderful reason to miss! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful joy filled weekend! I know I plan to!

Blessings and happy scales!

One day at a time....

Stressful evening so I forgot to weigh this morning. My Mother fell in her garage and landed squarely on her nose. That's actually the good news because she didn't really hit anywhere else. Her nose is broken, but no concussion or head injury. She had to spend the night here so I could wake her up every 2 hours to check her. She looks like someone really beat her up good. My brother wasn't available so she had to call me. I'm glad I could help, but there is so many elephants in the room, that is is odd to be with her. I don't know if I have said this before, but she is finally moving up close to the nursing home that my sister is in. It's a good thing. My mom has decided that everything that she does not want to take with her, she is selling at an estate sale, for pennies on the dollar. My painting was my gift to not question her. We won't be told when the estate sale is, just my brother. She would rather have pennies than give anything away. I pray that I am never like her. NEVER. If she didn't have lots of things that she acquired when my Dad was alive, it wouldn't bother me. It's the things that I remember from him, that makes me sick. Oh well...lessons to learn on how NOT to be.
Jeri had asked about upper arm exercises, so I found this link. Personally I think bicep curls are amazing tools and repetition vs heavy weight. The tricep exercise on here is great too. If you don't have weights, use soup cans:)
http://www.livestrong.com/article/411601-the-best-arm-exercises-for-women-at-home/

Bedroom and Kitty

Here's a pic of our bedroom. The colors don't really show, but it is a light gray with a darker gray on the headboard wall. My "always kiss me good night" sign wasn't up yet here either.

Our trees are blooming and they are so beautiful. Last year a storm came through right when they bloomed and blew all the blossoms away. I forgot how gorgeous they look. Our tree almost blew over 2 years ago and my husband won't take the stakes out:( We actually had my daughters Honda CRV parked in the yard with a tow rope holding the tree up until the landscapers could get here! It was a wild time and a fun memory.
BFC wise, a yummy dinner....scrambled eggs with spinach/tomato/turkey and monterey jack cheese. I was never a cheese fan until I found monterey jack...I should just not buy it! I certainly don't need the extra calories. I have had a headache off and on since my sugar overload. I am starting to think I am detoxing again. Crap! What a stupid mistake and one I won't repeat soon.
It's official, my daughter is preggars! She is due the end of October. The baby had a strong and fast heart rate today. She is about 12 weeks, so I am really hoping we are past the bad times. Woot!
Blessings and happy scales....

Happy Saturday:)

"Don't trade what you want the most for what you want at the moment."

I really liked that quote from Minichick. It really is good advice! If we are blogging about weight loss, I am assuming that all of us want a healthy body weight the "most". Therefore, STEP AWAY FROM THE COOKIE!!! What tastes good at this moment, will not feel good tomorrow! 

I can happily say that I am back on track with my BFC. I am more in maintenance mode than weight loss mode, but it is working. I feel a lot better than I did this time last weekend! I went to Zumba 3x last week...yay...I moved around furniture in my daughters old room so I can actually work out in there....the best laid plans:) We will see if I actually do it. Wish me luck:) Or kick my butt...either is OK! 

We had a beautiful day today and it reminds me why I want to wear t-shirts comfortably and sleeveless shirts...oh my!!! It's time to do a few exercises for the old arms! Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice so I am hoping to get some sun. I always feel better with a little color on my skin. 

Our house is back together and it looks amazing. Our baseboards are all white and when our floors were refinished a couple of years ago because of water damage, they got stain on the baseboards. After having them come back 3x to fix other issues we finally just said....don't ever come back!!! Having them bright white again is refreshing. I really believe we got our monies worth and that feels good too. My husband has really liked what they have done and has started talking about several other things. I'm just glad that he is in the update mode. Maybe the fact that he is actually around all the time and notices changes is a good thing. I really hope if he gets another job it is a non travel job. I really like having him home with me. He is still selling his collectible cars on ebay and loving it! Good for him:) 

Thanks for reading my ramblings:) I hope everyone has an awesome weekend! 

Blessings, K

Day 3 and still at it:)

Here's pics of the changes in our house! I am so excited. Each thing that is finished makes it a little more special. The lighting has made a huge difference and for  not that much money. We did not have the luxury of ordering matching things, so we spent a lot of time trying to find similar things. The one light going up the stairs is really different, but my husband loved it. It turned out cool. I love, love, love the paint colors. Our bedroom is still not back together. Night 3 of sleeping in my son's room. I am still really liking the sheets! 

scaffolding

Old entry

New entry

BFC update: I did go to Zumba and loved it. We are doing a new song that is a tango. Funny!!! My friend that is joining me lately has twin's too. She has 2 girls that are freshman at WSU. One of the girls tried out for cheerleader last weekend and did not make it. I don't know who is taking it harder, my friend or her daughter. I have been there with my kids before, so my heart feels for her. All I keep telling her is how much money they will save! She said that she needed me to snap her out of it (sadness) so I pretended to slap her face:) Aren't I a nice friend?:)

Food wise I am doing good. We had pizza hut tonight, but I basically pile all the toppings on 11/2 pieces. We also added hot wings...yum! I did have eggs for lunch with spinach in them, that was healthy:) 

One last picture of the most exciting part of the remodel for me....the granite and back splash!

The granite has lots of pockets of quartz and bits of mica. The cream tile has little sparkles in it to match the sparkles on the accent tile. So exciting, but I am sure it will be very messy!
Blessings and happy scales...and thanks for reading my blog:) 

Day 2 and I have journaled:)

OK, I like to eat the same things over and over, so I am weird! But....according to myfitnesspal I was close to goal both days. I have really needed to get some fiber back in my diet and the Healthful muffins do that. I started taking a probiotic after my peanut fiasco, I'm not sure they are really doing a lot yet.
I made a ham on Sunday and then Potato soup on Monday. I ate it for dinner and then breakfast, lunch and dinner today! I told you, I am weird! The only reason I went over in sugar today is because I had a cutie orange. I need to get some berries again. I personally don't think the cutie orange will kill  me, because there are some health benefits in there too.
Our house continues to get it's makeover:) Our room is painted, but the carpet needed stretched, so the room is still torn apart. We slept in my son's old room last night. The bed was quite comfortable and it had flannel sheets on it, which I loved. I did not have a hot flash all night in the flannel sheets??? My husband hated them though so I guess we won't be getting any for our bed.
I have to say that I am really getting TIRED of having someone working in the house every day. The painter gal is really sweet, but I like to go potty with the door open etc, cramps my style. The builder guy pops in right when I am gassy....I know TMI.... but I am used to an empty house. It will be worth it in the end, but today I found it annoying. I am mean:(
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/16/quadruple-amputee-to-undergo-surgery-after-afghanistan-blast/
This is my daughter and son in law's good friend. Prayers would be awesome. They have quite the battle in front of them. Since my son in law is an infantry officer, it has really opened up a conversation of what could be. Hopefully he is another year away from being deployed anywhere. Hopefully....he's mad right now and would volunteer to go tomorrow. These men and women who protect and serve our Country are pretty darned amazing!
Blessings and happy scales:)

I am doing AMAZING so far!!!

Today is my day to start my food journaling again. I have done AMAZING so far! It is 7:30 in the morning:) Let's go ladies...it's going to be Summer soon and we all want to be our best.
Zumba, Zumba!!!
136.4 today....my low was 132.9....Yikes....and yes it does make a difference in my clothes:( 3.5 lbs of butter slathered across my body:(
I don't plan to really change "what I eat", just go back to the good things that I eat, and less of the bad things that I eat. The only thing that I have truly given up is sugar....and sugar is POISON!!!
Oh...one more quick note...I made chocolate chip cookies with my new food processor for my hubby. It took like 30 seconds. He LOVES them. Pretty darn exciting because now he won't complain that I bought something I will never use:) The recipe is on my pinterest for anyone that is interested!
Go Monday!!! GO FIGHT WIN Monday:)
Breakfast will be a Healthful english muffin with PB and Nature's Hollow. It works well for me when I Zumba:)

Dreams do come true:) Never stop believing!!!

Poison!!!

First off a BFC story in case anyone wants to quit reading early! I POISONED myself yesterday. Hubby and I went to Panda Express because he is always bugging me to go there and the only things I like are high in sugar. Well, we went, I ate my favorites. We then went to Cold Stone and got ice cream because we had a 15.00 gift card. I had this:

I felt fine until about 1:00 today. OMG, head pounding, shakes, nausea. I had to go to bed. Seriously was so sick. I haven't even really craved ice cream. I still have a Clemmy O that has been in the freezer forever and some Clemmy's ice cream. I truly have learned a lesson. TOO much sugar is very, very, very bad. I needed the reminder!

Beyond Autumn Gate

Now to "dreams coming true". If you have read my blogs, or haven't, my Mom and I have not had a relationship for over 18 months. Recently she told me to just "remember" what she used to be like. Then today she brings me this:
I sold her this piece of art in 1994. It is one of Thomas Kinkade's most sought after and collectible pieces. CRAZY right? She said when I sold it to her, I asked her if she would leave it to me someday. She is moving to a smaller place and decided to give it to me now? Heart swells:) She does really love me!

Secondly...I was a single mom for many years. I had 4 kids and I made about 12,000 a year on my good years. I drove a Renault when all of my friends had mini vans. It is NOT about "stuff", it is about dreaming and believing. I always knew that if I never gave up and truly believed, that someday, I would live differently. Jeremiah 29:11-13....I knew that there was a "normal" for me. 13 1/2 years ago, in the Thomas Kinkade Gallery, that "normal" found me. My husband walked in the store and we have been together since. He is an amazing man, and a constant reminder that God loves me....He gave me my hubby:) Anyway....when you are in a position like I was, poor, with mostly rich friends, you dream of what you may have someday. It feels good for someday to be here. This may not make a ton of sense, but I have always wanted granite counter tops, and not just any granite, to die for granite. We are getting granite counter tops:) And the builder really listened when I told him what I wanted and the back splash tile he picked was perfect. Just perfect:) I am so excited. We haven't done any updating in our home in the nearly 12 years that we have lived here. Now we have new paint, a new kitchen coming, and a new powder room. (which I use every hour on the hour I swear) New lighting through out the house, new paint etc. I'm in OMG thankfulness overload.

Now here's my dining room, the paintings aren't back up yet because the walls were just finished today. The Living Room has gross furniture, but we are never in there, so we got the furniture for our family room instead.  The walls were white, every where...white.

New living room wall color.

And the minimal mess they leave:)

I know that this may not make sense to some people, may make some think I am materialistic, I am NOT. I am THANKFUL for a life, at times, I can't believe I deserve.

And to top it off....my daughter and I made it 50 minutes for lunch and had a nice conversation:) Woot!!!
We get to sleep in tomorrow because the painters are taking the day off. It will be nice to dream happy dreams:)
Thank you for listening once again to my ramblings....Kay's  "kayotic" life isn't so chaotic right now!
Blessings and happy scales.

I'm here... and older...no wiser....oh well:)

Update on Easter and my birthday...My twins were especially kind on my birthday. My daughter and I are going to lunch tomorrow and my son invited me to his work so he could give me a very sweet card. It said he is ready to listen to my advice, I told him my advice for the day is to "love like there is no tomorrow", because someday there won't be. He wondered if I was sick or something!  Does that mean they may feel a little guilt about Easter? Who knows. I love them anyway. I totally appreciate all of your comments. I have created these kids, I will have to set boundaries and expectations, the whole definition of "insanity" thing.
My birthday was wonderful because I have a husband who is pretty special! We are having some updating done on our home and we had to find a new chandelier for the front entry. We went to Coeur'dalene Idaho, close to Dawn's hometown, for shopping and dinner. Guess what? I ate more peanuts....my POOR husband and anyone else who happened to be near me today! It was a beautiful day and the area is gorgeous. If you ever want a getaway, the Coeur'dalene resort is one of the top rated in the Country.
Today was more shopping and more decisions! Ugh! We did get a lot of both done. I am FINALLY going to have all colored walls. Most of the house the exact same color, but gray in our bedroom. It was hard work getting 12 years of "crap" out of our closet to paint.
Now to BFC....I have been a VERY bad girl. Rosalie keeps saying that we can never go back to our old ways, she is so right. I haven't eaten sugar, no desire, but rolls, white bread, over dose on peanuts, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, etc., etc., etc. The Zumba instructor was sick on Wednesday so I did not go to Zumba. I plan to go tomorrow, but you know about plans.................
Who wants to join me on journaling our daily food? Holding ourselves accountable until we get to our goals, or back to them again? I am getting out my food journal sheets and going back to the basics. Summer is coming, Spring is kind of here. I want to put on those jeans and tee shirts with no fat rolls. I am going to get this weight off and feel my best again. It's just a couple of lbs now, but it could be a whole lot of lbs if I don't get a grip. I do know that I have NOT gotten enough fiber. I haven't had my high fiber english muffins for about 2 weeks and I definitely noticed a difference in a bad way. I bought 3 bags today. They have a lot of good fiber for me. So that's where I am. I am going to get back to business on Monday! I AM!!!
Thank you for being here to listen to my ramblings, good, bad, and ugly. We are very blessed to have one another, even if we are "cyber" friends!
Blessings and happy scales!
Truly thankful for all of the comments:)

The story of my life....when life is too happy....crap happens!

I just wanted to share my lovely Easter dinner. I guess because I have had such a good time with my children lately that I thought maybe we had turned a corner??? Nope! I started cooking at 10:30 AM. I only had the twins coming, but I still wanted it to be a fun dinner. After seeing Pattie's post we ran to the store and got some of the favorites for Easter Baskets. They are 24...but I just wanted to do it. So, they show up on time...good....we have a lot of fun laughs...I made a turkey/dressing/mashed potatoes/gravy/green bean dinner.....then we talked about Thomas Kinkade dying....we were still at the dinner table....I said I loved contemporary art so if I sold all of his things I would be OK with that.....comments about contemporary art are made....my stormy daughter got her "feelers" hurt....tried to leave but realized she hadn't driven....I chewed her twin out because this time he had started the battle....he had driven, so they left....no thank you...nothing....and all of that happened in 45 minutes. Yep....45 minutes. I was so hurt, sad, frustrated. My husband is speechless and wants to spank their butts, which he would have loved to have done years ago. No apologies, no acknowledgement of their Easter Baskets. I think I may have finally learned a lesson. I over give with no expectations. That's a good quality to have, but it does  nothing to teach them the responsibility of thankfulness. I have missed some lessons to my kids by not holding their selfishness accountable. For those of you with younger, more impressionable and moldable kids.....I strongly urge you to learn from my hurts. Because I am their Mom I will love them through it, but I am finding that I forgive, but I don't forget. Thank GOD my identity is not all about how my kids treat me. 

My 55th birthday is on Wednesday. I will be lucky to get a facebook acknowledgement. I could be wrong, shocked, surprised...but I know I'm not. My husband and I are planning to spend the day together in peace and the love that he surrounds me in every day. Peaceful, gracious, accepting love. 

I have eaten myself to death today, but I did go to Zumba. I have a dinner at Olive Garden tomorrow night, my birthday on Wednesday and then I am done with commitments for awhile. I am going to get out my journals and go back to BFC 101. I still don't eat sugary treats, but carbs are through the charts. 

Thanks for listening to my sad tale. I wish I believed that it would change someday? Funny but my son had just asked me if I was ever going to ditch them like my mom had ditched me. Hmmm....I would NEVER, but they get close! 

Blessing and happy scales! 

Happy Easter tomorrow:)

Just checking in to say that I have still been eating bad, but no sugar and not horrible!!! We are still eating out every day with no end in sight. Ugh!!! Weight is holding steady, so I know I can get back in the game. I did not end up going to Zumba once last week, but I am looking forward to going on Monday. Very excited to get back in the groove.
This is a picture of my granddaughter Cadence and myself on Thursday. We had so much fun at the movie and then shopping at the mall. She's so grown up and I want her to have happy memories with me so she always wants to come visit!

I have mentioned before that I sold Thomas Kinkade art for 11 years. The fact that he died, really hit me hard last night. I am saddened by how his life turned out. What a gift he was given. My husband figures we will finally be able to sell all of our pieces, logical mind, but sad:(

I just got home from a wedding shower for the daughter of a dear friend. It was so joyful and fun. I loved the compliments on how I look. What a difference this year is. Last year I probably would have DREADED going and found an excuse at the last minute not to go. I felt that bad about myself. Even my super fit, always healthy, nutrition PHD friend complimented me. There was sugar in everything but the quiche! I didn't want to have a totally empty plate, so I had some grapes. There was salad, but it had onions in it so that was out. It is hard to be a picky eater!!! I did have a couple of bites of a to die for lemon bread. But I did not have all of the other sugar treats....so I am proud of myself:) Woot!!!

When hubby gets in from doing yard work, we are going to dinner. More food:)
Blessings and happy scales....Have a joyful Blessed Easter!

Life is good, even though I'm gaining:(

Yesterday was a fun day with my husband shopping, and then dinner with the twins. My daughter was actually fun, smiled at me a few times....and said "thank you"!!! Wow!!! My son with the big smile is always joyful, or at least 99% of the time....he just doesn't like to work very hard. He is working at a Snap Fitness and LOVING it. It is a great fit for him:) Hopefully this will be a new trend. 24 years old! They were actually 12 minutes apart and almost 2 full lbs different in size. Memories:)
My grand daughter came home with us to spend the night. We are meeting up with Taryn and my oldest Grant to go to The Hunger Games again today. She is 12, has read all the books, and has already seen the movie once. Her Dad is 32 and read the books in 3 days and can't wait to see the movie. I tell you, it crosses all age barriers and is very entertaining.
We went to Macy's yesterday and I SCORED some great deals. I have some clothes that will make me think Spring! Woot....even though there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground when we went to dinner last night. Ugh:(
I am gearing myself up for getting back on track. Honestly it is only max 3 lbs, but it feels like 10! Misery does love company, so seeing others are struggling a bit, makes the journey easier. I love the camaraderie that we share. Thank you all:) French fries twice yesterday is not going to get me where I want to be!
Blessings and Happy scales!

We have sunshine:)

I wore sandals today for the first time!!! I love not having shoes on and I am so ready to wear flip flops all the time. I went to lunch with my gym friends today. I LOVE them:) We had such a wonderful time and in case you are worried....we solved all of the worlds problems today.

So question: Do horizontal stripes make you look bigger? I bought this shirt, stepping out of my regular box, and like it, but felt big. Of course I couldn't wear it without a shirt underneath because it was too cold. My husband liked it, so I guess I will take his word for it. I am firing my hair gal too because she can never get my hair right, but today it didn't look too bad. My friend that sees me when I show up at Zumba, said I sure look different when my hair and makeup are done:) I am assuming that was a compliment!

Now to BFC. I have made some interesting discoveries about myself the last week or so. First of all the scale said that I weighed 138 lbs on Sunday morning. That kind of freaked me out, which was a good thing because it kept me from totally overeating on Sunday. Monday morning I was 135.1, so I must have been ultra fluid filled. I have been retaining water and my system is not very regular. I did start taking probiotics on Saturday. Those peanuts left me gas filled for over a week!!! I also realized after dinner last night that I am finishing way before my husband again. He used to comment on how I scarfed down all my food. When I started BFC, I noticed how I took longer than he did to finish. I am back to scarfing down my food. I don't chew it completely, I don't savor the taste and enjoy the bites. I am just eating like there's no tomorrow. There is TOMORROW!!! I need to slow down and enjoy the ride again.
I am proud to say that I was not going to go to Zumba this week because it is spring break and the Y is crawling with kids, tons of kids, but I am going tomorrow. I cancelled that excuse. I also realized that I have all the Zumba DVD's that were quite spendy and my daughter's bedroom is empty. Duh....it can be my workout room. I am actually getting excited to get a grip on these couple of lbs before they become several lbs. This is also a reminder to me that I am eating way too many processed foods and way too much white flour foods again. I can do this forever, but I need to remember my good and positive habits.
Tomorrow is my twins 24th birthday. I can't believe they are so old!!! Wow. We are going to Red Robin for dinner and even my older son/wife and 2 grandkids are coming. I am EXCITED!!!
Oh, and my sister that is doing BFC? She has been stuck on her weight, but she finally got all of her blood work back and her thyroid was not working at all. Zero, Zip. Her entire body was in pain. She is slowly getting better, although the DR. told her it could take up to 6 weeks for her system to restore itself. She's hanging in there.
On the car front....were you wondering who won? My husband or myself? Well, my car is getting paid off:) YAY!!!! And then we are waiting to see what we will do for another car for him. Fight avoided!!! So far. My husband has collected hot wheels type cars for years. I think I may have mentioned that he has thousands of them. Truly! Well he started selling some extra's on ebay. 1 4.99 car went for 132.00. Another 4.99 car went for 50.00. There are obviously other crazy men out there. I think he is going to make a lot of money and then I will have to quit teasing him.

Kitty and me:)

Thank You Lord for the sunshine today!!! And my friends, near and far:) LIFE Is GOOD:)

Good Sunday morning to you:)

I'm in Hawaii!!!   April Fool's!!! 
I wish:) Just a distant memory and a reminder of Life's Rainbows!
Just a quick note to say that I miss everyone and I hope we are all not falling off the blogosphere? I know I am guilty too. I can't believe that I haven't posted since last Monday? Weird, I always have too much to say!
Weight front....up to 135.1!!!!! I was staying in the 133-134. Those  2 lbs make a difference in my pants and I don't like it! I am still attributing it to Zumba. I did go 3 times this past week, so that is 3 weeks of at least twice a week. I am getting my Zumba back, but in the process, my whole body feels so sore afterwards. Honestly I can barely lift my arms. It takes so long to build up and such a short time to lose it:( I also attribute the weight gain to eating out even more than I did before hubby's job ended. Honestly, if we are out and about we eat somewhere, and not somewhere with pure, unprocessed foods! If I were being totally honest here....I have eaten a LOT of calories of late. a LOT!!! Not of sugar, but of carbs. I have the sugar thing down, just not the chips, salsa, fries. I am thinking if the weight doesn't go down again on it's own, I may just start doing my eating 1/2 of what I usually eat. I have Faith in myself that I can do this. I also know with all of my heart that being active again is helping me get through this dreary shitty weather! Honestly, we have set records in rainfall for the month of March. I will be so happy to see sunshine, wear sandals, not wear a coat, be warm.
We are headed to my husband's family celebrations today. A reminder, it is 3 hours there and 3 hours home:( I will be watching The Tudors on my Kindle. I am hoping that makes it a quick trip. My birthday is included in the celebrations. I can't wait to see what I get.....kidding!!!
Have a wonderful Sunday, funday, April Fool's day!!!
Blessings, K