Amy's New Start : Comments Welcome!

[eyor44]

Amy, I like how you have your workout schedule set. Looks good.
You are definitly on your way.

4 weeks to Disney!!!

Yep, blended families are hard to work out. But you are on the right track.

I'm so glad you have gone back to bible study. I always enjoyed the discussions we would have.

We are praying that the fires will go out soon. I was optimistic when I saw the weather forecast, but then the forecaster said they didn't think it would do much towards putting out the fires. I do hope he is wrong and it at least helps some.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Well I went to Weight Watchers and I was down 2.6 pounds. I am so happy and relieved, its been months since I had a loss on the scale and I really needed that! Since I have set this goal of 12 pounds off by WDW, I was right on target. With 5 weigh in's total counting today, I need to lose an average of 2.4 pounds. So I came in a tiny bit ahead!

The desire to sleep in was big today, the kids are off, it was a cool morning but I got up and was out the door by 7:15 so I could make my 7:30 meeting. Then I went to Zumba but it was cancelled. Bummer! So I did my treadmill routine instead. I am glad I didn't know ahead of time about the class cancellation, that would have given me ammo to roll over, get some more sleep then who knows if I would have worked out or gone to a later meeting at WW. This way, I was home by 9:30ish and have now gotten most of the house cleaned.

My plan today is to get vegetable soup for lunch at Marie Callendars, then splurge with a piece of pumpkin pie (its all about the beta carotene ). Then tonight I am going to take a small bag pretzels to enjoy with my light beers and probably split some sort of bad-for-you appetizer with Dan and our friends. If I start with the pretzels, that may help curb my appetite. They are already in the car ready to go!

I feel really good right now. I am bummed that I let myself derail for the 1000th time after we got back from WDW, but if I can get back down to what I was plus a bit more, I am hoping I can get through the rest of the year. Just gotta stay on track.

I also weighed myself at the gym and there scale is the same as mine: five pounds lighter than Weight Watchers. I like that scale better!

Have a great weekend everyone, I'll try to check in, if not I'll see you all next week!

Lisa: I think the rain did help, but we are now getting back to above normal temps and its going to be dry the next few days. I just hope the wind stays away, that's what really gets them going.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Well my best laid plans of yesterday sort of just became a loose game plan once the game got rolling! I ended up having the salad bar at Marie Callendar's, they had a special going so it was actually cheaper to get soup and salad vs. one bowl of soup! I did load up on the veggies, held the dressing to a minimum and also had some fruit. Unfortunately I also had about one fourth of dd's burger, some corn bread and several bites of ds' cream potato cheese soup! I was so mad at myself I didn't get my own pie, just had about one third of dd's lemon meringue. Then fast forward to that night, where I proceeded to have four light beers, some nachos and then split a cheeseburger with dh on the way home (we stayed there a long time watching the game on tv and then on the way home realized we were both starving for some reason). So total disaster. The weird thing was that today, I was not showing any gain on the scale. I am betting all that food and beer will find its way to the scale tomorrow!

Today has been good, I made a healthy lunch for our picnic and tonight we are having Japanese. I found the restaurant website and found a salad that has 14 points which is high but I am saving the points. If I can just survive the popcorn at the movie, I'll be good. Since we are seeing the movie after dinner, maybe I'll be too full to want popcorn. Yeah right.!

 

[eyor44]

for the loss Amy!!! you go girl!

So glad you stayed and did a work out when the class was cancelled. Yep, I'd have rolled over too if I had known. I'm glad you didn't know.

Best laid plans. been there, done that. Hope you were able to stick to your plan today. Very smart to eat before the movie. Which movie?

I hope you all had an enjoyable day.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Lisa, we saw "You Again", it was a cute comedy and since it was PG perfect for the whole family. I did not resist popcorn in the slightest and I was mad at myself but then figured it wasn't worth beating myself over. I had a very good day otherwise and the scale showed me up about a half a pound which is probably salt from said popcorn! I don't know why, but movie popcorn is something that as soon as I smell it, that's it. My mom was the same way so I come by it honestly!

One good thing, I loved the salad at the Japanese place. Its high in points because it has almonds and avocado but its so full of good stuff and with that being healthy fats, at least its good fat! I have a new favorite for sure. And that way I avoid the white rice that is in their other stuff. Really trying to avoid the white carbs.

So I made another change to our WDW trip! Not a biggie but a change nonetheless to the "I-am-not-making-one-more-change-no-matter-what-trip"! I had us coming into Pop Century the first night (free dining does not start until our second day so I had to have a room only night on the front end of this trip). It saved us quite a bit (I want to say around $75) staying value that first night. I realized this morning with room discounts now out, I could probably switch to CBR for not that much more and be at the same resort the whole trip. It only cost me $15 total to change and to me its well worth it. Dd is bummed, she loves Pop and this is the second trip in a row I have nuked us out of there to stay moderate. Life is tough sometimes! At least I have a kid who is happy with the thriftier things in life.

I guess I could have had them credit us some money back on our debit card by applying a room discount savings and sticking with Pop but its vacation and guess who would be in charge of getting us packed up and switched? So I made the executive decision and Dan is also happy since he hates resort swtiching. We did it for years when we had DVC to save points on the weekends and last trip we didn't have to do that and he realized how much he hates split stays. I am okay with them if its at least four nights at each place. One night though is hardly worth it. I also figure Disney is sick of me calling, but if they'd just release a whole year's worth of discounts at once, well in advance, it would save them some aggravation too.

Today is a lazy day. Ds is still asleep, dd and her friend are still in their pj's playing cards and I am just doing some Disney planning. We skipped church, we are all just sort of beat. I think a day at home with no plans is the only plan I am willing to commit to today! After 6 weekends in a row with no down time, I think we earned this one!

 

[toystoryduo]

Congrats on the weigh-in!!!

Woohoo for staying at the same resort for your entire trip!!!! You are going to have such a wonderful time!

I'm glad that you guys had a relaxing weekend. You've all been super busy the past few weeks. I bet the downtime felt good!

I hope you have a nice Monday!

 

[eyor44]

Let me just say, I love movie popcorn. Don't know what is in the seasoning, but I can't stay away from it. I will plan a whole day of eating around movie popcorn if I know I am going. Love the stuff.

Sorry DD is disappointed about Pop, I like Pop also, but only $15 extra to only have to unpack and pack up once?

I never thought of getting a salad at a Japanese restaurant before. I just never go there, cause I really don't care for the food. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Today was a good day. I did my one hour treadmill routine and vamped it up a bit more. More dripping sweat. Its not easy to do that for one hour, when I get tired or sick of it, I just envision Jillian Michaels sitting on the treadmill bars yelling at me to keep moving!

I also did well with food, I came home from the gym, met a friend at starbucks for an hour then came home starved and made a big salad. Made breakfast for dinner for the kids tonight and had one pice of bacon, a half a pancake (no butter, no syrup) and a bowl of vegetable barley soup.

I am pretty pumped right now and wondering how to keep this momentum up.

Lisa: I swear movie popcorn is like a drug to me. I can pass up Cinnabon and Mrs. Fields at the mall, but movie popcorn is another story!

Tracy: Thanks for stopping by, that downtime felt wonderful!

 

[toystoryduo]

You're doing a great job, Amy!!! Keep up the good work!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracy.

I didn't work out today. I actually made it all the way to the gym but all morning I had felt sick to my stomach/queasy. I thouht maybe I just needed some breakfast and to get moving but by the time I got to the gym parking lot it was feeling like I was going to be sick. So I came back home and never did get sick but sure haven't felt well. I had some sprite and just ate some plain pasta for lunch so we'll see. Dd was complaining of a stomach ache last night so maybe we have a little bug?

I have been getting some things done around the house. Its a bit cooler today, we have broken heat records several times in the last week so that is good. It is so dry and hot here right now, a field pretty nearby caught on fire the other night. The whole state is one big dried out area waitin to ignite. Not one speck of snow on the high peaks, very unusual.

I got this annoying email today from Dan's cousin. I love her dearly but the woman is so opinionated and finds ways to insert her opinions into any and every conversation. Whether its with me and Dan or the kids. We differ on about every subject and she knows this and in spite of my "lets just not discuss that" statements regarding politics and religion in particular she will not back off. I sort of replied back with a paragraph that maybe might come off a bit snarky but you know what, if she wants to dance she had better learn to pay the fiddler! She also takes the kids aside and works on them which I resent very much. Dh told me I was too nice and should have let her have it, of course its his cousin so maybe he should play that role! I'd never want to have words with her, I just wish so much she'd learn to respect boundaries. And not criticize and correct my children when I am sitting right there. People without children of their own always have the best idea how to raise kids don't they?

My food today should come out below points which isn't always a good thing and not working out this close to weigh in won't be a great thing either. Oh well, it is what it is and all things said and done, I have had a very good week! We'll see what the good old WW scale says on Friday.

 

[toystoryduo]

How are you feeling today, WISH sis? I hope you're feeling much better!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracy, I am feeling better but its kind of a slow go. Today I am dizzy and starting a migraine but I am feeling better than I was a couple of hours ago!

I was down 1.4 At first I was really bummed but then put into perspective that a loss, any loss is a good thing! I still think I can get to my 20 by the time we leave. Its weird, last week I lost 2.6, but I only worked out 3x and my food that week was not nearly on point as this week. And this week I worked out 4X but lost about half what I did last week. Go figure! Sometimes when I am sick it wreaks havoc with my metabolism.

I woke up very dizzy. I almost knocked my head off walking into the bathroom on the door frame when I first got up! My left ear feels sort of heavy and then after WW on my way to the gym I started getting the visual things I get right before a migraine hits. So I pulled into a grocery store, bought some Excedrin and took that. While in there, the smell of donuts and fresh bread baking was intense and for a split second I thought "I should get some donuts, a People magazine and just go home and relax". But then it was replaced by "I should take this Excedrin, drink some water and get my butt to the gym". Which I did. And working out made me feel better.

Zumba is getting easier in that I am picking up the steps and no longer feeling like an oaf during class! I am still very proud of myself for doing this since getting out of my comfort zone is not easy for me. I am to the point that even if my friend didn't go or dropped out, I'd do it alone. Major step!

I also did workout yesterday, did my treadmill routine and again, even though I was not feeling 100%, I went. I wish there was a way to bottle up this motivation and determination because I tend to lose it after a period of time!

Speaking of losing my drive, 3 weeks from this moment I will be at Epcot, probably back in the World Showcase sampling some Food and Wine booths and suckig down a Grand Marnier Slush drink from France! I think I am going to order fish at every single ts restaurant we at. I love fish and its so pricey barely ever eat at home. Even with the sauce and sides, I'll probably be better off calorie wise doing that than other dishes.

Talked with my sister last night, she has a mountain lion prowling around her townhome! I guess a mountain lion got one of her neighbor's dogs before she moved in. I love her townhome and its a beautiful location but I told her not to let Sam the Beagle be out there alone on that deck for one second. My nephew saw a bear and her cubs the other day as well. I think Daisy will stay home when we go there in a few weeks.

 

[toystoryduo]

I hope you're feeling better today, Amy. Way to go getting to the gym and getting that Zumba workout in!

Congrats on the weight loss!

A mountain lion and bears? Your sister has some interesting new neighbors!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

[Amy&Dan]

My goodness where have I been all week? Not on my journal apparently.

I come to disboards, hit the resort, restaurant, trip reports and theme park boards and that's all she wrote!

Food has been good, but I will only get in 3x of exercise this week. Not acceptable. Just got sidetracked and my dizzyness sort of messed me up. It did go away, I think I had some congestion in my ears and nose from my allergies and thats what caused it. In any case, I am very irritated with myself about not working out my 4 time minimum. Oh well.

I had a very scary thing happen tonight. I was leaving for church to teach my class and I opened the garage door, got in the car and was about to back out when I suddenly remembered ds had been trying to tell me something a few minutes earlier and I had told him I'd talk to him after I freshened up for church. So I thought "I should send him a quick text to say we'll talk when I get home" (didn't want to take time to go back in the house"). Suddenly dh is standing there telling me not to back out, there is a baby sitting on the driveway, right up by my car. If I hadn't started that text, or if dh hadn't come out (he had a question for me before I left) I might very well have backed over that baby. I mean here is this little kid, she's maybe 14 months old with not a soul around. She got up and toddled down the driveway, she seemed to be scared of Dan but when I got out of the car, and put my arms out to her, she came right to me. I start walking up the street, looking around, see nobody. I head back home thinking I had better call the police or something when I see this other little kid, maybe two and a half and he looks like the little girl. I ask him if its his sister, he says "yes" and he starts to run off and I follow him to a house on the street behind me. I go up, the door is open and I ring the bell and out comes this woman saying she's been looking for her baby. I handed her over and told her to maybe lock the door so her kids can't just walk out of the house! Dan said he's seen the little boy before wandering around. Its this weird house, tons of people in and out, nobody speaks English too well and I just sort of wonder. But for the grace of God, I might have run that little girl over. And also but for the grace of God, some wacko might have found that little girl before Dan and I did.

 

[goldcupmom]

OMG, Amy! Simply the hand of God that you didn't back over that baby! Amazing how some parents are, english speaking or not!

Your exercise is GREAT, your weight is going down and you're going to WDW soon! Life is Good sometimes, in some ways!

I hear you are getting the cold spell now. FL will likely feel really good! Have a great trip! I say this knowing how lax I have been about getting to journals! Reading, but not having much time.

 

[toystoryduo]

OMG, Amy! Praise the Lord that the little girl is safe and that everything turned out okay!! I bet you were so scared though!

How was the rest of your week? Do you have some time for rest and relaxation this weekend?

 

[eyor44]

Amy, the Lord does work in wonderous ways. You didn't ignore him and the child was saved. Hopefully your bringing the baby back will make the mother think. I hope and pray it will.

Your exercise and food have been wonderful! Keep it up girl! You are on the right track. Realizing you can do zumba without your friend. check. Getting medicine at the store and going on to the gym instead of donuts and a magazine..... you are on your way girl! I have every confidence that you will make your goal.

 

[eyor44]

Hi Amy. I'll bet you are getting into high gear with packing and all. Only 8 more days!!!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have been a very bad Wisher! Its been one of those weeks where I am just sort of not on point with a lot of things.

First of all, I have not worked out since last Friday. Very unusual for me. I intend to go later today, but I have a lot to do today. Today is ds' 16th birthday! I cannot believe he is 16. I woke up in the night and remembered being in labor with Dan and my mom right there and it seems like a different life.

Ds picked fettucine alfredo for dinner, that is not looking too diet friendly! Then we are going to Maggiano's tomorrow night with friends, another diet disaster on the way! I'l just do the best I can.

We leave in a week, can't wait! Its driving me nuts, the Disney site is down, I can't do online check in and I can't look at my ADR's. In fact, even before the site went down for maintainence, I couldn't get to my adr's. About ten days ago maybe they just disappeared. If I manually put in each reservation number they will come up, but it made me very nervous. First order of business at CBR is to get them to print out all my adr's. Maybe when the site comes back up, they'll be there again. Very weird.

I am not going to do WW for awhile. With being out of town, ds birthday dinner this week and just being blahsville with everything, I cancelled my membership. I know I"ll start it back up, but with only being able to possibly go once in four weeks, why pay for a full month?

Really need to get back on track with exericse, food has been fine. Until tonight that is!

Tracy, Julie and Lisa: That incident with almost backing over that baby scared the crap out of me. The thing is, I would never have seen her because had my sensor in the car gone off, I would have looked in my rear view mirror, seen nothing and assumed it was the garage wall that was making it go off (happens all the time). It still gives me chills to think about how close I came to doing something very horrible.

 

[eyor44]

Happiest of Birthdays to your DS!!!!! I hope he had a great day all around!

Yeah, I've been sweating over the ADR site being down also and then I found it was everything was down. Trying to just breath and pray that everything is still there when it comes back up again. I have a print out of all of mine, but still. I just like to see them on line every once in a while.

I think you are smart to cancel WW until you know you can go back. Why waste $$ that you can use for something else? I hope you were able to go to the gym today. Help work out some of the stress of not being able to check ADRs.

I'm sorry you are still shaken about the baby. I would be also. So close, but God was holding her. Perhaps it happened just to wake the Mother up. I hope it did.