More Motivation

While searching for pictures to use in a slideshow for Pickle's graduation party this weekend, I stumbled across this old photo of me at a dear friend's wedding.

If seeing myself look like this isn't motivation to continue along on my weight loss journey, I don't know what is!

78.8 lb down and counting! Whoo-hooo!

70 Down

I thought it was worth mentioning that I've hit a milestone.  From my heaviest (and yes, I'll admit, it was a while ago) I have officially dropped 70 lbs.  I'd like to lose about 44 more.  I've lost 13 in the last 3 weeks, so I feel like I am on a good roll again. Finally.

Here are a couple of pictures to remind me of what I look like when I let myself go, and to help keep me motivated.

If that last one (taken when I was a bridesmaid a while back) doesn't keep me away from the fridge, I don't know what will!

I Haven't...

In the last 32 days I haven't had any soda...or any carbonated beverages at all. I gave up soda for lent, not because I am Catholic, but just because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. It's been easier than I thought it would be.

In the last 21 days I haven't had any alcohol. It's not that I am a big drinker at all, however I do enjoy an occasional cocktail or two when I am out with friends. The decision not to drink hasn't been a conscious one, it just hasn't come up lately and I'm ok with that.

Now for the really interesting stuff. Since this past Monday I
1. Haven't had any caffeine
2. Haven't had any sugar (other than natural sugar in fruit)
3. Haven't had any bread, potatoes or rice (white, brown or any other color)
4. Haven't had any dairy products
5. Haven't had anything fried
6. Haven't had any red meat
7. Haven't had any fast food - including not one of my beloved Mickey D's Mocha Frappes!

I have been drinking a LOT of water, eating a lot of vegetables, fish, chicken and salad. I am really trying to learn a new way of eating. So far, so good. My weight is going in the right direction too- I'm very happy with my progress. I don't want to jinx things though, so I won't give details on that yet.

I have some personal things coming up that I really want to look good for-including my 30th class reunion in August. Oh, how I'd love to lose about 30 lbs before then! Wish me luck, so far, I'm on the right track.

Another Year Older

Yesterday was my birthday. Yup, I feel older. That's not necessarily a bad thing, right? Getting older sure beats the alternative. Although the original plans for the day fell through because of the chilly weather, I was treated to a very nice day. I woke up to a table full of presents.I love how Pickle always customizes her envelopes.
Bear treated me to breakfast at a really cool place - Hash House a Gogo. They have awesome food and crazy big portions. This was there version of chicken fried chicken and eggs. It was WAY too much for one person to eat.

After breakfast we did a little shopping and then spent a little time at Valley View, my favorite local casino. I didn't hit any big jackpot, but a couple of little hits here and there always keeps it fun.

For dinner we went to Red Tracton's, a cozy restaurant in the Del Mar area. The food was fantastic, the atmosphere was cozy, and the company was great. They treated me to a little birthday dessert to share with the table.

Speaking of desserts, once we got home, there was another cake waiting for me. It was a triple chocolate mousse cake and it was incredible!

I was spoiled with all sorts of wonderful birthday gifts - a new Golden calendar, some beautiful clothes, a laminator that I've had my eye on, a big box of Sees candy (back to the gym I'll go...) and the topper offer was a beautiful 27" computer monitor. Talk about COOL! Apparently someone knows I spend a lot of time on the computer and will get a TON of use out of that.

Yes, it was a very nice day indeed, and I am looking foward to see what the next year brings my way.

Sweet Treats!

I got a wonderful, sweet surprise yesterday - an early birthday cookie bouquet from some very special friends. I was tickled pink! I'm not quite sure how I'm going to spend my birthday since the chilly weather has put a kink in my plans to go to the spa...(I don't feel like sitting in an outdoor pool and shivering...) but I'm sure I'll figure out something fun.

It would all be fine if Brad would just return my calls...

Getting back into "it".

I'm not sure exactly what "it" is, but I'm working on getting back into "it"...which means, I guess, that I haven't been in to "it" or more accurately, I have been out of "it."

Yeah, I know it's confusing. For me too. It's that funk I'd mentioned not long ago. It's still got me by the shorts. Anyway, I'm still working on shaking the funk. This past weekend helped. AJ was home and I thoroughly enjoyed ever minute we got to spend together. He arrived Tuesday evening, and left yesterday morning.

Tuesday evening we were invited to our neighbors' house for a catfish & bbq'd tri-tip dinner. There were about 20 of us there, and it was a very good time. I'd gotten AJ a cake to celebrate his belated birthday, so we all got to sing, and embarass him a bit. We hung out for a while, and it was a really fun evening.

Wednesday we just kind of took it easy. I had my long VA visit with Kona (the visit where I go to several different wards and it usually runs about 2 hours) and AJ hung out with his friends, visited with my folks, etc. Pickle started her first ever "real" job - at a local pet boutique.

It was another good day.

We went out to AJ's favorite Mexican food restaurant, and while we were there we ran into some old friends. We chatted about how big all of our kids are getting, how tough it is to have them away at college, etc. It's always good to hear that I'm not the only one feeling the way I am feeling.

Thursday I got up nice and early, and although I didn't have to do much for our Thanksgiving dinner, I started rolling on what I did need to do. I whipped out the deviled eggs, and got the greenbean casserole ready in no time. Hubby and I picked up the house a bit, and enjoyed looking thru the paper planning our midnight shopping and Black Friday buys.

We went to my folks house at about 2pm, and spent the afternoon eating, chatting, and relaxing with my parents. It was a very, very nice afternoon, and it's always great to see Pops enjoy a good plate of food, and have a smile on his face. I cherish every moment we get to spend together.

After the big meal, a nap was in order for AJ....he needed to catch up on some much needed sleep....

And of course, what's a nap without your sibling making fun of you as you snooze...

More soon - I have to run out for an appointment I'm nearly late for.

Move In Day - part 1

Well, here it is, the day AJ has been waiting a long time for. We get to move him into his dorm today. Purdue sounds like it's pretty organized with the whole move in process- I mean they have done this once or twice.

We have a specific time to be at the dorm with the car, our time is 10:30am to 12:30pm. From what I understand, there will be students there to help us unload. I'm thinking that that is a good thing, considering THIS is what the car looked like after a day of shopping yesterday. (the Zebra print bag is NOT AJ's!)



We were able to find the last few things we needed- and AJ was happy. We'd been looking for an area rug that he liked. Of course he LOVED this one-



but it was very expensive, and a "special order" item only. After a LOT of looking, he found one to his liking-and was happy to grab it and finally be done shopping!



We wound up the night with a stop at Triple XXX on Chaucy Hill, a typical college dive, with great greasy burgers and even better root beer.


I'm going to get the rest of the family rolling now- we'll grab some breakfast, and head over to the campus.

I hope I have the strength to get thru today without tears- I'll shed enough of those tomorrow. I'll keep you posted....

I'm in Love with NINE Brothers!

Shhh, don't tell Hubby...but there are some new men in my life- Nine Irish Brothers! Ha! Actually, "Nine Irish Brothers" is an authentic Irish Pub located just off the campus of Purdue. We went there for dinner last night on the recommendation of one of my "Purdue Moms" Face Book friends.

It was fantastic! Great atmosphere...






Great food...













and great fun! I've got the shirt to prove it!








We even had the honor of meeting Jerry, the youngest of the O'Bryan Brothers, and his lovely wife Jan. Jerry was a real hoot - coming over to our table to ask us where we were from...talking a bit of football (former San Diego quarterback Drew Brees is Purdue alumni) and just shooting the sh!t with us for a while. It was a great way to wrap up our day!

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad after spending a long day shopping.

Only Two Hours In...

...and we've already enjoyed our first gourmet meal on the road...


seen a lovely sunset from Fontana....


and gotten a photo from Bear telling us that Kona is sitting, waiting for us by the garage door we left out of...


Poor pups, our trip is going to be a long one for them too. Thank goodness Bear will be giving them lots of TLC for us while we are gone.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad while we are on the 15 north...

Easter Day

I hope you all had as nice of an Easter Holiday Weekend as we did. We had a wonderful brunch at one of our favorite restaurants in Carlsbad - it happens to be the same place Hubby and I had our wedding reception.

My brother, his lovely wife and one of my nieces were here visiting from Texas, and it was a lot of fun getting to spend some quality family fun time with them. We spent some time at the beach, played some cards, and got to see some very interesting sites. (insert private family joke here...) It was just what the doctor ordered!

I hope the Easter Bunny brought you something fun....he brought me piggies...more on that tomorrow!

Breakfast of Champions?

What is one to do after a visit with their weight management doctor? Well, go have a great big, fattening breakfast, of course! I had piggies(how appropriate!) in a blanket, with chocolate chips (mmmm, melty....) and whipped cream.

Hey, listen people, my mouth is still sore and I needed something soft, and pancakes fit the bill!


Bear came along for moral support. She had this yummy plate of goodness - pancakes with walnuts and bananas and chocolate chips - oh my!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it - just like these pancakes are going to sit to my thighs...

It's a Wonder I'm Not a Size 2!

With all of the "help" I am offered around here with my meals, it's truly a wonder I am not stick thin!

Valerie was kind enough to deliver lunch to me yesterday (I haven't been up to doing too much lately with my sore mouth and all) and boy, oh boy, did I have some interested bystanders! "Wings and Things" were just what the doctor ordered...mild strips, a couple of bread sticks, and some veggies. YUM!The pups were determined to "help" me - they are obviously concerned about my weight and want me to stay on the straight and narrow with my diet....yeah, right, they just wanted the darn bread sticks! (I'll never tell if they actually got anything from me or not...but could you say no to faces like that??)

Oh! Remember my special requests from the other day? I wanted flowers, and chocolates and ice cream, etc.? Well, I have to say, I did pretty good thank you very much! Big thanks to Lisa for my flowers. Valerie for my chocolates...and lunch!And Hubby and the kids for my ice cream-actually fro-yo with all the fixins. I'm still waiting on Brad to show up and give me that foot rub I've been waiting on, but obviously, he's got worse "directional skills" than I do.

I'll just keep telling myself he's lost, and hope he finds his way here one of these days.

My mouth is still hurting like heck, and I've come to realize (on a Saturday morning of course, when no one is actually at the dentist/oral surgeon's office to help) that I have "dry socket." I don't know if you've ever had to deal with this fun little complication of oral surgery before or not, but let me tell you, it sucks, plain and simple. I've been up "googling" it all morning and I've got every symptom. Hurray for me! The best thing I can find to do is to put clove oil on it, so Hubby is at a health food store right now picking some up. I do hope it works.

I just don't think there is enough Malibu Rum in the world, even in IV form, to knock this pain out. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

WHOOSH went the weekend - again!

It was an eventful one...on Thursday evening we made it official with AJ and decided that Purdue University was the best choice for him this coming fall. He will be a Purdue "Boilermaker" - and while he was elated, I am was a basket case. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a fantastic university, and an incredible, once in a life time opportunity, I just wish it was closer.

Purdue is in West Lafayette, Indiana, which is 2120 miles from San Diego, (not that I've already map-quested it or anything...) Anyway...Friday was a typical run-around day...VA therapy visit, a meeting with a customer in the morning, a Costco run, and dinner with friends in the evening. I manage to get through dinner with only a few tears, but my Kleenex was handy all night. I have a feeling that the cocktail (and I only have them very rarely) helped.

Saturday was a blur-we started off the morning by sending in deposits to Purdue, signing up AJ for his Freshman orientation, making reservations for his "STAR" day- summer transition and registration. I also did another therapy visit, but this time I only observed. We have new teams joining my chapter of Love on a Leash all of the time, and I supervise their first ten one hour visits. On this particular visit we had three teams...a "small, medium and large" combo. They were all a big hit. The small pup was a 5 year old 1 1/2lb. teacup Yorkie, the medium was a reddish 3 year old lab, and the large was a 100lb. Sheppard. What a great mix! The folks we visited LOVED them all! Saturday afternoon I worked a party, and we finished up the day with a great family celebration dinner for AJ at Shogun Kobe. What a treat! Sunday was a dog day - at least in the morning. We got together with about 60 of our Golden friends and hit Del Mar beach.

The dogs were THRILLED! It'd been a while since we'd been to the beach and they were in heaven.

The beach was followed up by another dinner with friends and a little time at a casino. (I'm in training for Vegas you know....)

It was a great weekend, but it went by in a wink!