Weigh-in Wednesday: Week 4

Wow!

Today marks one month of challenging myself to become a healthier me!

While I've faced some obstacles, and at times I've felt discouraged,

today I am feeling overall pretty good about myself!

I'm making changes that will last a lifetime......while I've chosen to use SlimFast to help me lose weight, I've been incorporating it into my daily life in a way that's helping me make better choices.

Smaller portions, healthier alternatives to my favorite snacks, not depriving myself of things I love......

these are all ways that I have helped myself lose weight, but things that won't leave me on a roller-coaster of weight-loss and weight-gain anymore!

The weight is coming off more slowly than I had imagined it would, but I'm realizing that's a good thing!

This week I'm not discouraged. Rather, I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far. It's not just about the number on the scale, but about how I feel.

And today, I feel pretty good! Thicker, Fuller Hair?! My new obsession!

Now, let's weigh-in, shall we?!

Here's the run-down:

Each week I'm going to share with you my ups and downs from the current week, my current weight and any other progress notes, and some words of wisdom.

Then, it's your turn to link up and share with everyone else your ups and downs, current weight (if you want to) and other progress notes, and words of wisdom for that week's topic.

The rules for linking up are simple.......write your blog post,

and be sure to include my button (grab the link below).

Then, head back here and link your post at the bottom of this one!

It's easy, and I'm not too picky on what you post about......I want to hear YOUR thoughts on fitness, diet, exercise, and healthy living!

 I'll have a different "topic of interest" each week, but you can really write about whatever you feel like writing and sharing.

Okay, on to the good stuff!

Positive: Making better choices, even on a "cheat day"

Negative: STILL not exercising. Boo.

Starting weight: 144.8

Last week's weight: 138.4

Current weight: 136.4

Total weight loss to date: 8.4 pounds

This week's topic: No topic today.

I just don't feel like talking today!

If you have great advice, a success story, or even something to say about setbacks, feel free to join in!
Write your post, grab the button below, and link up!

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Weigh-in Wednesday: Week 2

Happy Wednesday!

Today feels like Friday to me because, well, it is my Friday!

I'm leaving on a camping adventure tomorrow, and I'm so excited!

It's the only real "vacation" I've gotten to take the last few years,

and I look forward to it every summer now!

But before I leave, we have a weigh-in to address, now don't we?!

Here's the run-down:

Each week I'm going to share with you my ups and downs from the current week, my current weight and any other progress notes, and some words of wisdom.

Then, it's your turn to link up and share with everyone else your ups and downs, current weight (if you want to) and other progress notes, and words of wisdom for that week's topic.

The rules for linking up are simple.......write your blog post,

and be sure to include my button (grab the link below).

Then, head back here and link your post at the bottom of this one!

It's easy, and I'm not too picky on what you post about......I want to hear YOUR thoughts on fitness, diet, exercise, and healthy living!

 I'll have a different "topic of interest" each week, but you can really write about whatever you feel like writing and sharing.

Okay, on to the good stuff!

Positive: Sticking with my new diet regimen. Oh, and actually losing weight! Yay!

Negative: I have yet to work out this week. Again.

Starting weight: 144.8

Current weight: 139.6

This week's topic: Tricks of the Trade

This week I want to talk about any tricks you might have for succeeding with a diet/weightloss routine.

You see, anytime I'm on a diet or simply just "watching what I'm eating", I feel like I need to treat myself most days. I mean, I give myself a cheat day every week or two, but besides that, most days I just want a treat that tastes good or satisfies a craving. So some tricks I've been pulling out lately are:

1. Diet or no-calorie beverages. Most days, drinking a diet coke or iced tea is so refreshing, and makes me feel like I'm treating myself, and I don't get diet-sidetracked at all!

2. Chewing gum. Okay this one sounds silly, but some days a stick of gum is all it takes! I don't count the 5 calories in my daily intake, but I do enjoy the flavor and it usually is enough to tide me over until my next healthy snack or meal.

3. Low fat or fat free popcorn. It's no lie, I looooove me some popcorn. At this point, it really doesn't even have to be a certain kind of popcorn! So, grabbing a 100-calorie bag of homestyle popcorn, or 99% fat free kettle corn can totally satisfy my craving.

4. Graham Crackers. Ok, another randome one. But have you eaten graham crackers lately?! I'm quite fond of them as a snack now, because of their low calorie and fat content. And, it makes me feel like I'm "cheating" just a little because they taste so good!

So, what gets you through a tough day or a craving?! What are your favorite "tricks" that you can share with us?!

Write your post, grab the button below, and link up!

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Also linking up for Wordless Wednesday with Baby Baby Lemon, The Paper Mama and A Little Kind and I Some day (soon, I hope), I'll be confident enough to wear a swimsuit. I still won't be as cute as this little nugget, but I'm just fine with the spotlight being on her :)

Wordless Wednesday: Dirty

Last weekend, I did something I never thought that I would do!

I did the Warrior Dash.

A 3.55 mile run, sprinkled with boot-camp-esque obstacles.

In the mud.

 We dubbed ourselves Team Pansy, and completed the look with handmade tutus, headbands, and T-shirts!

Mike, Beth, Reina, Jennifer, Elliott, and I....all in our tutus!!

(Scott raced with us, but he wasn't in the picture-taking mood before the race)

I have to say, the combination of running, obstacles, and mud can really wear you out! (oh, and the fact that I'm completely out of shape didn't help the situation either)

I felt like I was running through sand.....and that was before I even hit the mud pit!

When it came to obstacles, I pretty much earned the right to be on Team Pansy, if you get my drift.

Our group survived and lived on to become Warriors......here's the proof, in photos!

 This one gets me every time.....Jennifer is leading the pack with a smile on her face....then there's Scott drenched in sweat and recovering from a shoe-stuck-in-the-mud incident, and me looking like I'm about to die bringing up the rear.

 It gets worse. Here I am, literally having a panic attack at the top of the cargo net. Thank the Lord that Beth was there to talk me down!

I'm proud to call these two kick-ace girls my friends! I love how they're both holding onto their tutus!! This fire was serious business! I jumped over the first fire pit, but skipped the second one (where this photo was taken)

 This picture pretty much says everything there is to say about the mud pit. It was like quicksand, no joke!

 We were SO proud of finishing!

 Seriously, could the men look any more forlorn?!

 Tough.

 Scott was not amused by all of the running he had to endure.

 Finishers!

This was just one of the large piles of shoes that were donated to a good cause. I don't know what that cause was, but I know that we could leave our muddy shoes behind and they would be washed up and donated! Sweet!

I was sick to my stomach and jittery going into it......but this race was SO much fun!

I have to thank my friends at work for supporting me throughout the race.......I think we will definitely be participating again next year!

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday:

Playing Pretend

Spring around the Pacific Northwest is a waiting game.

The sun will tease us with a little appearance (and the temperature will reach into the 60's and we'll all complain about how hot it is.....and then take it back real quick because we don't want to take any sunny day around here for granted!) and then disappear behind clouds and balmy rain for another 5-7 days. This continues on until who knows when. Sometime in late July, I think, is when we finally get more sunny days than rainy per week. And that doesn't last long.

 I'm not complaining about the rain because, well, if you live here there's obviously some part of you that doesn't mind the rain. It's just this in-between time that I hate. Spring. It's frustrating at best.

Yesterday, however, we took advantage of our one sunny day in the 10 day forecast. We played pretend because if you stand really close to the window when the sun is shining through it, it almost feels like summer.

So we cut up fresh summer fruits and ate it for dinner.

Then we tried to find a bathing suit for Elliott to wear.

(We settled on this last one. This picture was taken a while ago, but I couldn't resist posting it again :) The other two suits are still a little big, but they'll fit her this summer!)

Then we took a little family walk

(it was supposed to be a run, but walking in the cool evening sun just felt better).

We actually walked to the high school that we live close to. They have a pool there, and I just discovered their toddler pool and swim schedule this week! My sister-in-law invited us to join them for an evening swim, and it was so fun! Elliott loved being able to walk around the kiddy pool by herself, and we got a little chit-chatting in between my over-protective mommy dance in the water.

I'm pretty sure that Elliott and I will be taking a walk to the school to swim every spare chance we get this summer! I love when I find fun, cheap things to do so close to home!

For now though, while we wait out spring, we'll have to just play pretend. We'll bundle up in our sweatshirts, and eat our fruit salad, and swim indoors while dreaming of warm summer nights.

~Amanda

A Blogtastic, Runnerific, Ho-Down of a Weekend!

Yep, that's right. My weekend consisted of the following: Blog friends (old and new) walking for babies, a wild and crazy bull-riding date night, running my tooshie off in a 5k race (in order to get a free doughnut), and a family BBQ that was long-overdue.

Let's start with the Bloggers for Babies, shall we? This delightful group of blogging mommies from around the Pacific Northwest was brought together by Mandy, from Harper's Happenings. I met her for the first time on Saturday, and yes, she is just as cool and sweet and friendly as she sounds on her blog :) Anyhoo....she brought us all together to raise money and then walk together, to help support the March of Dimes in their quest to help pregnant mothers give birth to full term babies and to give babies born pre-mature a fighting chance. Our group raised over $2400 collectively, and the coordinator from the March of Dimes took note and stopped by to thank us personally for our efforts. Pretty cool if you ask me!

I love this photo. The mamarazzi!!

The walk was early Saturday morning in downtown Tacoma. The mommy bloggers and babies gathered before the event, and then marched together for over 4 miles.....chatting and huffing and puffing as we pushed our babes in their strollers. I met some really lovely ladies through this group, and I'm so glad that I got to be a part of something so special! I will definitely be participating again next year! Thank you to those of you who donated! Please stop in and say Hi to some of these lovely ladies that I met (they all took better pictures than I did, too, so check our their photos from the walk!):

Melissa: Hi, Baby

Jill: Chronicles of Corbin

Mandy: Harper's Happenings

Amanda: Raising Reese

Chelsey: The Paper Mama

Andrea: Peanut Butter Handprint

Fiona: Letters to Little

Tessa: Life according to Lennox

After the walk, I was lucky enough to sneak in a quick nap, and then it was time for a double date! Elliott hung out with my parents while Scott and I trekked down to Seattle with our good friends Katie and Chase. The main event was PBR (professional bull riding, duh) and let me tell you....it was SO fun! The main clown/emcee was HIlarious! He danced, he teased his co-workers, and he made fun of people in the audience....it was like a stand-up comedy. Oh, and there were also bulls. And cowboys. It was just such a great experience, and it was fun to do something different! Of course we had to stop at Dick's afterwards for a little treat. And of course I didn't take any pictures the entire night. Fail.

Sunday morning came far too early, and all I really wanted to do was sleep in. But, silly me completely overdid it this weekend. I committed to way too much....but then again, they were all fun things and I just couldn't say no!

Sunday was my friend Christie's birthday, and in order to celebrate we decided to run a 5k. Sounds fun, huh? It was actually really fun, and the motivation behind this was also fun: Doughnuts!! That's right, the famous Top Pot Doughnuts sponsored this "Doughnut Dash" and every participant would walk away with a free T-shirt, and of course a doughnut! It just sounded like too much fun, so we were there bright and early. And, the day couldn't have been any more beautiful! We walked/jogged/ran around the gorgeous Green Lake park in Seattle, soaking up every last bit of sunshine, and when we finally finished the 3.5 miles.....we indulged in yummy doughnuts! My friend Reina and I ran together the whole time. Neither of us had really trained much for this race, so I was so pleased with our time of 36:41. Not bad at all :) I was feeling it when the race was over.....my legs were sore and stiff (umm, remember the 4 mile walk I did on Saturday.....yeah I may have overdone it this weekend. oh well.) Today, however, I feel pretty good! And I'm so proud of myself that I may just keep up with this running thing!

Finally, Sunday evening I got to just sit and relax.....at a BBQ! Scott's family all got together, and it was the perfect day for a BBQ! Almost all of his siblings and their families made it out, and we had a blast watching the kids and the dogs (I think there's almost as many grand-dogs as there are grandkids now!) play in the yard. We took family photos (which I was completely unprepared for...whoops!) and ate yummy food. It was a perfect way to end a busy weekend, and to take advantage of the one gorgeously sunny day!

You'd think it was summer by the way we stripped poor Ellie down and gave her a popsicle.....that's how we do in the PNW!

Uncle Adam snuggling with Elliott and Michael

I'm still recovering from this long, busy, fun weekend.

My feet hurt a little, and my diet suffered greatly, but I think my house suffered the worst of all! I'll probably be catching up on laundry all week, in the midst of making scrapbooks and cards, and working. It was worth it, though. I like to live life and take advantage of every moment....this weekend I can surely say that that's what I did :)

(If you made it through this entire post, I think you deserve a doughnut for yourself! Can you spare one more minute to vote?! We appreciate it so much!)

~Amanda

My Week in iPhone Pics

I didn't take a whole ton of pictures this week because, well, there just wasn't that much goin' on around here! It was a great week, just nothing super duper exciting.

Monday

We went on our first Family Fun Run!! You can read about it here. Monday was the only night we ran this week, but Scott made it out in the rain one other night without Ellie and I. We're hoping to make this a 3-times-weekly event!

 Tuesday

Ellie and I got up for the day, and I realized that not only were we both wearing Christmas pajamas (in Spring), but our PJ's were matching.....pink and green :)

Late night dinners happen often around here.....Scott is in class until 8:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday I couldn't wait for him to get home.....I dug in around 7:50!

 Wednesday

Potty-training Practice outfit at it's finest. And, I bought Ellie the cutest mini Nalgene water bottle. I wasn't sure she would be able to drink from it, but she figured it out pretty quickly.

DIY shaker toy.

 Thursday

I spent my evening with these three adorable little kiddos. I don't even want to think about the kind of trouble these little ones are going to cause come summer when all THREE of them are walking running all over the place!

 Friday

Friday we were lucky enough to have another play date with Melissa, Stella, Amanda, and Reese! I was feeling lazy so I didn't even bring a camera with me, and my iPhone is so not capable of catching these three lovelies in the same frame!

Ending the week on a splashy note.....bathtime is always our favorite :)

Want to join in the fun?! Head on over and check out A Good Life and then link up any cell phone pictures you took this week! Do it! It's fun :)

~Amanda

First Ever Family Fun Run!

I just got back from our first Family Fun Run! Scott would probably not appreciate the cutesy name that I've given it, but it was all his idea! He would like to get back in shape, and running was always just his thing.

I got into running a little bit.....years ago...before I was a wife or a mom......back when I did a triathlon!!! I kinda miss those days.....being adventurous enough to train for a triathlon?!

Well, a 5K is adventurous enough for me at this point in my life, so that's what I'm doing! (the Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5K, to be exact!) Some friends from work have decided to sign up for this 5K (that ends with me getting a free doughnut....score!) that will take place on May 1st.......that's just over a month away! So it was perfect timing last night when Scott was complaining about being out of shape.....I suggested that now that it's light out when we get home from work, we should go running as a family a couple nights each week. Scott used to never ever want to go running with me. I was too slow, too whiney, just downright not a good running partner. Well, he must be desperate because he agreed!

I committed to running with him anytime it's not raining. Tonight I probably could have gotten out of going, since it was sprinkling a little, but I went for it. As soon as I walked in the door from work, I changed my clothes and we loaded Ellie into the jogging stroller....and we were off!! Lungs burning and legs shaking, we completed a decent run. We may or may not have stopped a few times to catch our breath, and I may or may not need to wear a panty-liner in my running shorts (oh, was that TMI?! Sorry, just being honest here!!) but I'm proud of us!

And you know what?! It was kinda fun! I loved being outside as a family. Ellie was completely content in the stroller, and Scott would most often run in front of us....which made Ellie shout and giggle, and kept me motivated to keep moving! I'm looking forward to Wednesday when Family Fun Run #2 will take place :)

Can we get a vote for this running family? I'd love to keep our spot on the 3rd page!!!

~Amanda