Have Pen, Have Paper...will travel!

Hi everyone! I decided I needed to come here and talk about something other than how much I hate camping, how much I am stressing about packing and how much I can't wait for this to be over ;-). My friends promised me this time will be different, we shall see!

Today is my regular weigh in day, however I did not weigh in. Let me tell you why. I am so swollen and bloated because I had a little incident that occurred last week where in I had to go to the doctor and was prescribed antibiotics. Let's just say someone didn't drink enough fluids and ended up being dehydrated which lead to other issues all together, that I'm not going to talk about here.

Either way I am on day 2 of the antibiotics and everything is going smoothly. This was the first sign that I need to get back on track, lesson learned, never underestimate the power of water!!

When thinking about this I realized that I have been doing ok in the workout department (aside from this week because of our camping nightmere) but I have been doing terribly in the tracking department. I had good intentions but because there was no internet deep in the woods (how do bears survive ;-)), I didn't bother.

This stops right NOW. Today I went out and got these:

one to write down the nutritional information of every single food I am bringing, and one to track my food, the calories and my WATER intake as well as track my excersice. I am leaving on this camping trip feeling prepared and in control. Here is the proof, I started writing out the items we took, even though I may not eat them, all the information is at my finger tips.

I cannot waste any more time with this, I can't keep saying "I'll start again on Monday", time is running out for me if I want to hit my September goal. I need to be accountable that's all there is to it!

On a whole other note....Before I leave, I got a package in the mail today, remember when I told you that I had won a giveaway from Silver Maple, well my necklace arrived and I LOVE IT!!! I took a picture to share with you all.

When I return on Monday, all will be back to normal, Peter will be heading back to work and I'm looking to get some form of routine back, including posting more frequently as well as visiting all of you and catching up, I miss you all terribly!!! I apologize for not commenting as much as I normally do, life has just been crazy!

My hope is to come back here with pleasant stories to share with you all in form of pictures, pictures of my journals that will be full when I return - after all I owe it to myself!!

Jen The Prior Fat Girl - A true success story

As I prepare to leave for my next camping adventure I feel the need to write a post about my friend Jen.

When I started my blog 2 years ago, I stumbled upon Jen's blog. Upon seeing her before and after picture, I couldn't help but be jealous. If I were to be honest with you I really didn't like her. I thought there is no way I could ever get there and was so envious of her dedication.

As I went back to the beginning of her blog and read all the way through, I thought if she can do it why can't I. I have always thought Jen to be a down to earth person, making the changes for herself and putting herself as a priority.

As I started blogging, I would turn to Jen's page for inspiration. Every morning I would read her post for the day. I finally de-lurked and left her a comment. The next post I wrote she commented back and I felt like my tiny little blog (that had 3 readers, hi Peter, Gina and Heidi ;-)) was just visited by a superstar. I remember telling my friends JEN LEFT ME A COMMENT ;-).

As my weight started to come down, I formed a friendship with Jen on line. This relationship grew into something that I couldn't even imagine. I consider Jen a very good friend, even though I have never meet her.

Last year around this time Jen had a huge goal, she wanted to get to the 100 pound lost mark. And she was working her butt off. While she was doing this, I was preparing to go away with family and friends for the long weekend. I was so sad that I would miss the milestone, because deep down I knew that Jen would make it.

As I left for my holidays, all I could think about was Jen. Hoping and praying that she made it because she deserved it.

After my vacation, I came home and the first thing I did was run into the house to see if Jen made her dreams come true. Instead I read a post that made me cry. While I was away tragedy hit Jen's family and she lost her mom.

I really didn't know what to do for her. I knew exactly how she was feeling because I had lost my dad a year before. But what words do you say to a person you have never meet. I had sent Jen a few things that I hoped would bring her comfort.

As she is approaching the first year anniversary of her moms passing, she is being featured in Shape magazine (I can't wait for it to arrive in my mailbox). She may have not had her mom there to celebrate the 100 pound weight loss, she has had to endure a lot in the past year, however Jen being featured in this magazine as a success story, is heartwarming. I know her mom played a part in this.

As I leave again and miss the first anniversary I am compelled to tell you all what an amazing person Jen is. She has made it through so much, and continues to inspire people daily. If you have a chance, go visit Jen's Blog. Let her know you are thinking of her and how proud you are of all she has achieved. She continues to fight her way through a journey of a life time. And when you are done that do yourself a favour and go get a copy of August's Shape Magazine, I promise you that you will be inspired!!

Jen I am so proud of you and I know your mom is too. I raise my glass of water (ok who am I kidding we both like wine, I raise my wine glass) to you and continue to be blessed to have come across your blog. I no longer "hate" you, I now look up to you.

Tent for Sale!!!!

You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl!!

I had to leave behind this:

Was also told I could only take ONE suitcase for the four of us, nuts, what's a girl to do I took the biggest purse I could find, that showed him ;-)

and with that the car was filled to the rim and we were off. The drive in was quiet uneventful, all was well, sprits were high and then we came across these -

WILDLIFE.....with no signs of any bears, we kept going!

Then there was further signs of trouble, and empty box where our "home" had been taken out of and TWO sentences worth of instructions....

after about an hour of staring at each other, progress was being made

we got it out of the box and laid it flat on the ground!! Only problem was...it still needed to be built!

with a few tears and a whole lot of PRAYING....we had a home!!! This is where the fun begins. I put out the fire at around 1am, got into "bed" and the air mattress was flat, that's right the princess and her prince slept on ROCK! My thighs and hips are sore and bruised and I thought "this is a great way to spend a night...WHERE IS THE NEAREST HOTEL!".

We woke up that morning, bruised and FROZEN, temps dipped down to seven degrees. We decided to make the most of it and go tour some of the lake areas. When we got back, all hell broke loose because here comes the rain and HAIL. We sat in our car and didn't really know what to do. As the rain slowly stopped I got out of my car, looked around and realized WE ARE THE ONLY TENT IN OUR SECTION OF THE CAMPGROUND. How scary is that? Being a first time camper I felt really uneasy.

Peter suggested we pack up all we can, leave the tent, the bikes and our sleeping stuff and head home for the night, get a good nights sleep, recharge and then come back for a nice day. Our home was about an hour and a half away from the camp site. Didn't have to tell me twice, I was packed up in 2 seconds flat.

We drove home, had a shower, slept in a warm bed and headed back out the next morning to pack up. We thought we would do some nice hiking, have a picnic, spend some time in the WILD ;-). Only our plans backfired by more rain. To top that all off my window busted on the passenger side so we drove home with a half open window that wouldn't go up.

This experience has made me a little wary of camping. I think with a group of people it would be different. In fact I am sucking it up and gonna give it another go starting Wednesday with friends of ours, if this doesn't work out I AM NEVER CAMPING AGAIN ;-).

I did not whine or complain once, in fact I tried to make the most of the situation, however I felt uneasy the entire time.  

In all honesty and if I were to be fully upfront, I think once this camping trip is over that will be it for us.  I have camped before as a child and as a young adult, however never with kids, I am very protective over my kids and so is my husband.   Their safety being the number one priority, that being said, being in a forest sleeping in a tent with a layer of material between us and the wildlife in the deep forests, I just don't think it's what I love to do.  At this point a trailer doesn't even sound appealing.  We tried it, it was an Epic FAILURE, but we tried and we will try one more time!

I leave you with a few shots from the beauty of our surroundings. Had the weather cooperated I think things would of been different.

This really has been a stressful and BAD week all around, I have not focused on food or working out one bit. I can't even stomach eating at this point, I think once things are settled down, laundry doesn't smell like campfire and routine is in place, this girl will be a "HAPPY CAMPER".... ;-).

Back soon!

had a great week!

I know that I am going to regret this but I have to tell you my personal trainer is slipping! He has been far too busy torturing me with this camping insanity to keep focus on my weight loss, but have no fear, I have picked up the slack myself! (He says it's because I complain too much, so not true ;-)).

I have gone on a few runs and really challenged myself this week. My reward was my weigh in this morning, the scale read 143 pounds which means I had a 1.2 pound loss this week!!!!

I also thought I would mention that the distance between my house and my moms house is 1.5 hrs and exactly 27.02 km. How do I know that you may ask, because yesterday I challenged the heck out of myself and decided that I would trade a car ride in for a bike ride. While the boys and the dog rode to my moms in the car, I challenged hills, highways and stinky poop. You see my mom lives on a acreage outside the city so my bike trail was highway and lots of hills and a whole lot of cow poop!

We were dropping off our dog Taz to stay with my mom for a few days and given that I hadn't got my workout in for the day, it was the perfect opportunity. The first 10km were the hardest, because the roads were rough and alot of them uphill. But I challenged myself and I did it. The other challenge was riding down a gravel rode on my bike, my bike is a road bike so has skinny tires, it was a bit challenging. I rode down my moms driveway feeling very accomplished. I even told Peter that I want to ride back but he wouldn't let me...something about a Tornado warning and a rain storm...he's sooooooooo mean ;-).

here's Taz being dropped off, she is spending the week with Jasper my moms dog and who my garmin was named after (Jasper is the Lab)

and here I am coming into the final stretch

Great week, great workouts and I'm feeling great, 3 pounds and I'm out of the 140's and well on my way, I know I can do this.

We leave for camping tomorrow and I'll be sure to document the whole thing and come back with what might be the funniest stories you have ever read ;-). Should be interesting to say the least! Jasper is coming with me and I'm going to try and get a few runs in, or at the very least a few bike rides.

Ta Ta for now from the princess who is getting dragged into the forest kicking and screaming, did I mention there are no outlets for my flat iron ;-).........

My husband has COMPLETELY lost his mind....

and I'm not even kidding! 

We are the proud owners of a brand new TENT......

Can you picture me... SYL... sleeping in a tent with no heat, no toilet, no PLUG INS FOR MY FLAT IRON.....please pray for me while I try to fiqure out what one needs for such an adventure.... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

To say I am scared is a bit of an understatement....I may need to come up with a "plan B"...like go buy milk and not come back till this INSANITY is over!

We leave Tuesday, until then I will be trying to talk my husband into returning the tent and buying me a new purse... ;-)

In all honestly I CAN'T wait to share my adventures with you...this should be good!  However don't say I didn't warn you, the pictures may be BRUTAL, did I mention I can't bring my flat iron with me, and apparently wearing make up in the woods in frowned upon!

As a side note I haven't been able to get any form of activity in since returning from our mini holiday on Monday but plan on getting a long run in tomorrow! Eating has been great though, I'm very proud of my accomplishments so far this week!

Ta Ta for now!

First summer getaway!

We just got back from a 4 day holiday and it was great!

There were alot of first's on this vacation, let me tell you about them!

We went away with my Best Friend and her family. If you recall my friend Lora was on a weight loss journey of her own. Similar to me, her weight loss journey stopped, the motivation wore off and she was in a rut.

She came to me and told me that she would like to try running, and wants nothing more than to run in the mother's day race next year.

I told her to take her running shoes on holidays and I would show her how to run.

Lora was afraid of who would be "Watching" her while she ran, and was embarrassed and afraid. I assured her that no one would be watching her, and in fact no one cared, to just get out there and do it.

So early one morning we laced up our shoes, I grabbed Jasper and we were off. We started by running one minute, and walking the next. As the time passed Lora asked for a bigger walking break (remember this was her first time ever running), so we extended by running one minute, walking 5. In total she did 4.5 km and I was so proud of her. I walked her back to the starting point and then went and completed a 10k run, it felt so great to get a workout in while on vacation!

Later that day we hit the "beach". I started out like this, so afraid to shed my shorts and shirt:

and then I thought of Lora, and how she overcame her fear and just did it. How her fear of what people would think resulted in no one caring, and her holding her head up high. So I stripped my protective layer and just did it, it felt fantastic.

and really what was there to be afraid of, I just had to keep reminding myself that I am a work in progress.

After we left the beach we headed for ice cream! I had a small cone and just ate the ice cream and gave the cone to my son to eat. It was exactly what I needed and didn't feel guilty at all.

The next day we went for a 5km hike in the forest. It was wonderful, so great to be surrounded by so much beauty and still getting a workout in.

After we got back, Lora and I got on our bikes and biked into town, I would estimate our bike ride to be around 7km, but after our hike, it was just and added bonus!

It felt so good to get away and still remain active, to not over eat and to come back home proud of my accomplishments, it was a great get away. I know leave you with some more photos. I missed weigh in day yesterday, so I will post my weigh in next Monday. I know I am down because last Wednesday I weight in and was 148 pounds, this morning my weigh in was 145.6. A little up from the 144 but down from last week. I know I am doing great and am pumped to keep going. And as a further update from Lora, she came home and started downloading songs onto her ipod, I believe she may have caught the running bug ;-).

Sometimes all we need is a little hug!

Yesterday I was reminded why I work out alone! My basement ended in a disaster and I kept getting "Mommy I want a snack, Mommy are you done yet, Mommy how much longer, Mommy can we get a hamster, MOMMY I NEED TO PEEEEEEEEE?"

And I thought it would be a great idea to post some pictures of my adventures because quiet frankly I haven't posted any recently...however it cost me BIG TIME. I ended up having to clean the entire basement, double their allowance, and promise SUGAR in big QUANTITIES...your welcome my friends ;-)

First things first, you need to embrace your love for the treadmill, as much as you may hate it, it has feelings, and sometimes all we need is a little hug:

and attempting a picture while running, is not an easy task, here is the proof ;-)

then you threaten taking the candy away and it gets a little better,

and once you tell them them they will never get a new toy EVER...a miracle happens ;-) This is as good as it gets!!!  If you squint your eyes in just the right fashion I become clearly visible!!

and once the 60 LONG minutes pass it's time to continue the craziness, crunches PEOPLE - 200 to be exact

and then your son takes over as "OFFICER PETER" and tells you to move it, your going to slow..GET GOING MOMMY....and all you can do is laugh!!!

and that my friends is it! By some miracle I got my workout in, however I prefer to do it alone ;-).

And just as an update, I am so glad that I went to Peter and asked for help, some times when I tell stories I tend to over exaggerate, he really has been great.  He's got me moving again, and in turn my whole view on everything has changed.  I feel much better about myself, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  So I guess the moral of this story is if you are down in the dumps and looking for a way out, hire Peter...just kidding, get real with yourself, reach out for help, get moving, start over, put everything behind you and look forward to the future!!

Have a great weekend!

It wasn't so bad!

Another busy day yesterday, while the kids were at grandmas for the day, I got a lot done around the house and also cleaned my car.  The kids are NEVER allowed into the car again ;-).  

After cleaning the car I headed to the Dentist to get my tooth issue resolved.  The did a "quick" fix and in a couple of weeks I have a 5 hr appointment.  Have I ever told you how much I hate dentists, hate is a light term, kill me know ;-).

Then it was time to get down to business.  Because I couldn't run outside last night, I had no choice but to suck it up and run on the treadmill.  Are you ready for this .... it wasn't that bad!  I ran for 60 minutes (give or take because I also did some inclined fast paced walking) and then proceeded to do my crunches.

I came upstairs and told officer Peter what I had done.  And his response was "really you did your crunches I didn't see you, drop it!"... this is where I nicely told him that I love him and he is my knight in shining armor......ok maybe not in so many words, actually I told him to "bite me"!

Another busy day on the horizon and later this evening we are heading out to visit my mom, which means I need to get my run in during the day.  The plan is to drug my kids with candy and let them run wild while I try to run on the treadmill....wait.... that doesn't sound like such a smart idea, I'll put in a movie for them and we can watch it together while I run, that sounds like a much better idea ;-)

Oh and one last thing I forgot to mention, I went bathing suit shopping yesterday, I was in the store buying shoes and stumbled across the bathing suit section.  I didn't run screaming I actually tried some one and ended up buying one.  As I was trying them on I kept saying to myself in my head (don't judge me, I have conversations with myself and as long as I don't answer I am perfectly normal!) it went something like this:

"you have done great, it may not be what you want it to be but you are a work in progress, it can only get better from here, embrace what you have done, and fight for what you want".  And with that I purchase a cute little pink tankini!

Have a great day!