Who says slow and steady is EASY?

My new motto for losing weight is slow and steady. Although, I already HATE my motto. I agree with the steady, but the slow is KILLING me.

I lost 0.6 today. Go on, say outloud very sarcastically with me, "woo hoo". Considering I've been watching what I eat, even eating out and getting healthier options, I still can't knock a pound off. So I guess slow and steady is how it is going to be for me. I just want to hit that SECOND sack of potatoes off my body. That is my goal right now...20 pounds down. I still have a LOT of work ahead of me.

Thanks for sticking in there with me!!!

In Love with a NEW Home

So, many of you knew that John and I were in love with a home just a month ago. We thought for sure, if this stupid condo sold, that it would be our dream home. Little did we know then that our dream home had a HUGE problem in the basement - lots and lots of water. When we went to the builder they gave us some lame excuse about the home. We thankfully never signed the contingent contract and were able to get our down payment back.

So we are now in love with ANOTHER home. We've been three times to see it. It is another new build, just waiting for someone to move in. We've also been to see it twice after a hard rain or snow melting and we've found no water in the full basement. Here is a picture of it:It is called the Norwood. Who comes up with these names??? Anyway...the one we like is actually flipped, so the garage is on the left and the area by the bottom two windows is actually stone, not siding. The house itself is a gray/blue color. Very pretty, in my own opinion! :-)

Here is the first floor. Quite open, and the house we like DOES have the six foot bump-out with fireplace and a transcom window over it. Makes the living room HUGE:

Then here is the second floor. The house we like has the deluxe master bedroom.

Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that THIS house turns out to be OUR house, and that OUR condo SELLS!!!!!!

We're going to Florida!

No, we're not going to Disney World (sore subject for me). No, we're not going to Florida this week. Heck, we're not even going in the next six months. It won't be until October 30 when we will head to Panama City Beach, Florida, to watch my beautiful sister and brother-in-law both run the Ironman. I had the pleasure of watching Tom complete his first Ironman last November and cannot wait to cheer my sister toward her first Ironman victory as well as Tom's second Ironman this November 1st.

Tonight we FINALLY sat down and booked our flights. Wouldn't you know it, neither John nor I had enough points to get a whole flight, so we are actually flying the same days but on two different airlines, connecting in two different cities. We will both leave on the morning of Thursday, October 30. I will fly from Columbus to O'Hare to Fort Walton Beach, arriving 1 hour before John who will leave Columbus 15 minutes after me, fly to Atlanta then to Fort Walton Beach. Returning on Monday, November 3, I leave Fort Walton Beach at 2:15 to O'Hare to Columbus at 9:35 while John leaves at 3:30 to Atlanta then to Columbus at 8:35. What I'm really impressed in is that we will pay around $165.00 for his flight and my flight will cost around $140.00. Gotta love American Express and American Airline Frequent Flyer Rewards! I especially love that I was able to buy 9000 miles from John's American Airline rewards, which is getting me enough miles to fly down south for $10.00 (aside from the $130 I had to pay to get his miles). Beats the heck out of the $391.00 we were expecting to pay...per ticket!

While in Florida I cannot wait to cheer Colleen and Tom on. I'm not sure how I will make it through the day. Last year it was Colleen who cried when Tom left to start the Ironman...this year it will be me. I'm crying as I type this, just thinking about what my sister will be doing that day. But I'm more proud of her than words can ever imagine, and I could NEVER imagine NOT being there to watch her accomplish one of her dreams.

Finally, I'm a loser again!!!

I was starting to get worried. After three weeks of gain, no movement, and a loss of 0.2, I finally lost 1.2. Now, I can't move my ticker yet as I haven't re-lost what I gained last week, but I'll accomplish that next week. I'm just happy to be losing again. I was starting to get worried!

Can I just tell you that I love my trainer? Alright, so when he is kicking my butt I really hate the guy, but otherwise, I love what he is teaching me and I am starting to look forward to the gym. He showed me how the use the quick 25-minute circuit, which is nice on a busy day, then he showed me stretches and exercises for my core. Next Tuesday he is going to have me work with dumbbells. I've never done those, so that will be a nice change. So far, he is EONS better than the trainer I had a year ago.

Hope everyone is enjoying the first day of Spring and that you all have a BEAUTIFUL EASTER!!!!

Don't ask me, please...

Yes I am leaving for WW in three minutes...

But please don't ask me how I did this week. I gained weight. 'Nuff said. Despite getting to the gym and getting my butt KICKED by a trainer and watching what I'm eating and drinking more water than I have the past nine weeks, I have gained weight.

I don't want to talk about it. I know, sounds childish, but I need to be angry at myself and then get over it and move forward. I hope you will understand.

I Miss My Sister!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those who might not know...my dear, sweet younger sister is on a boat in the middle of the ocean somewhere near Tahiti as I type this. She is on a two week vacation with her mother-in-law while those of us she left here in Ohio are suffering through a BLIZZARD!!!!!

All seriousness aside, as I told my mom on Sunday...this SUCKS! I HATE not being able to pick up the phone to call and say hello. I miss that I can't call and have a short conversation with her (often times our conversations are short and sweet...more so just to hear each other's voices than to talk about something new).

I MISS MY SISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blizzard of 2008

Boy is it pretty, but boy has our city been paralized! See for yourself!

This is the depth of the snow right outside of our condo. 11 inches. One snow drift on the side of the condo was 25 1/2 inches!

Looking out our screen door onto the deck. Looks so pretty!
Standing on our porch, looking out across at the neighbor's places.

John not enjoying the shoveling of the snow.

Me making a Snow Angel! And having a ton of fun doing so!

Finally back up and running...

Not that this was really "down", but I've been running around like crazy, that I am just now getting a chance to update my blog.

Well, let's see. In the past two weeks since I've last blogged:

1) I had my first week, since I started at WW, that I missed a meeting two weeks ago. I know, I could have gone to another meeting, but I didn't. So, I went last night. Well, I didn't lose weight, but I didn't gain weight either. Yep, you read correctly. I was EXACTLY the same weight, to the tenth of the pound, as the last time I weighed in. Not cool. Not awful, but not cool either. I NEED TO KEEP LOSING! Alright, got that out of my system. Still haven't gained weight, so that is a good thing.

2) John and I started looking at other houses. We still are in love with our dream house (see post below), but we want to make sure there are no other houses out there with better deals and better prices. Nothing has moved on our condo, but the stupid Ohio weather is not helping things what-so-ever.

3) The speech and debate season is almost over. We are supposed to have a tournament for Student Congress tomorrow (Saturday 3/8), but due to the Blizzard Warning we are currently under, that has been cancelled. Just one more tournament is all I'm required to attend before Nationals in Las Vegas in June. As for how the state tournament went? We got our butts handed to us, as we usually do by the schools in NE Ohio (Youngstown and Canton are powerhouses!). Of the 17 students who qualified for states, seven made it to quarter-finals, one made it to semi-finals, and no-one made it to final round. It was a little depressing.

4) My student teacher started and has completed two of her ten weeks. I feel like my work load should be decreasing, but really, it has remained the same. Brandi is great. She has teaching experience through being a permanent sub last year, so that helps. She wasn't supposed to take any classes over until the Monday coming up, but this past Monday she took on my Popular Literature classes all five days, did four days of Senior Composition, and has been a tremendous support for me in my English 10 classes. My students are still weary of her (some of them, not all), but I think it is going to be a great experience for her.

Well, I think that is all. That is enough! Hope to hear from everyone soon!!!!!!!!