Blog stalking - 12 in 2012

So I was eating my lunch at my desk and blog stalking some quilt blogs and found a great idea. This lady did an 11 in 2011 theme and set aside 11 projects to complete in 2011. I wanna do the same thing but for quilts, like 12 quilts for 2012. Sounds ambitious, but if I can do one a month then that would totally work! Anyone feel like joining me? It doesn't have to be quilts, it can be what ever you want to get done in 2012.

In other news this past weekend I finally hit my goal...216, which means I'm officially over my 100 pound goal, and by 2 pounds. Well sadly it was short lived as it jumped back up but today was at 219 so I don't feel that bad. I hate that it bounces so much. Guess if I only weighed once a week it wouldn't, but since I weigh everyday that might be why. I know you shouldn't weigh every day but I promised myself I would never let it get out of hand again and the only way for me to do that is to keep it in the front of my mind at all times.

Ok, so I'm going to start thinking of my 12 in 2012 now so I can get a jump on it. Tell me what you wanna do too!

Weight loss update

So it's been a while since I've posted about the weight loss. It's has slowed quite a bit, but I'm hoping it will be picking up again because I'm training for a 5K. Plus I wanted to post when I lost 100 pounds total and I'm still 2 pounds away and have been hovering around being 2-5 pounds away for a while now. So as of this morning I was 220 and 218 will be my 100 pound mark. I started training for the 5K with Lindsey and we are on our 3rd week. I'm glad I'm not as sore as I was the first 2 weeks. My goal is to jog the whole thing with no walking. I have only 6 more weeks to train, but it should be fine. I'm doing the couch to 5K program and then once it's over I think I'm going to start training for a 10K in the spring. That should be fun. I really enjoy running. It's a great stress reliever and I fall asleep so much faster now. My body is exhausted and I really like that. So I'm hoping that all this running/walking will help me drop another 20 pounds. It'll be great to get down past 200 and back in the 100's. I haven't been there since college and I'm hoping to get there and stay there a while, meaning forever!

In other news, I have another quilt idea but haven't started it yet. It should go pretty fast as it's just charm squares. I'm excited to get at it again, but have been so busy with the running and church stuff these days. And with the holidays fast approaching I may not get as much done as I'd like. Oh well, that's what New Years Resolutions are for. I think I've done pretty good with the weight loss resolution this year :) Yay!

Photo Test and Quilts

So this is my photo test. I downloaded these from my phone into iphoto and then had to put them on flickr and add them here. Now I'm not sure how to size them or move them around quite yet. Guess I'll be spending some time doing that. Well at least for now you can see all the quilts. The black and white one I made for my boss. He loves everything black and he really liked it. It's the first one I finished and I think it turned out pretty good. I love the border. It's chinese characters and since he's Chinese it worked out great.

This one I made for Elise. I started it a really long time ago but couldn't ever figure out how to finish it. Then I got some ideas online and I think it turned out great.

This one I made for Emme. The colors are so cute. I got the idea from Crazy Mom Quilts on one of her tutorials. I gave it to her last night after our ward showcase and she loves it. That makes me happy. At first I wanted to keep all of them, but I'm glad to know people really enjoy them. Now to start another one!! Oh the possibilities. And if anyone has any ideas for presenting my pics better please let me know :)

Jared got a job!!

It's true. Jared got a job just a week after being unemployed. I'm pretty sure I know how it all worked out too. He was laid off on Friday, Sept. 23. The next day he and Erik went to help a lady in our ward who was moving. Well they were the only ones that showed up. The ward council discussed it the next day on Sunday during their meeting and we found out the bishop wasn't too happy about no one else showing up.
Later that week Jared was able to go on a few interviews and one of them said by Friday to let them know if wanted the job or not. So he took that one (I know it wasn't his first choice but hey it's a job!). He started on Tuesday this week and that means he was only out of work for a week and one day! Almost unheard of these days. We truly have been blessed.
So how are the 2 connected you may ask? I emailed the bishop late last week and thanked him for helping us with the job hunt and prayers and said I was so happy no one else showed up for the move because we literally needed ALL the blessings. He said he was glad it worked out for us and was grateful to the Pickett's and all we do. I was really happy to hear that.

In other news, at work we volunteered at the Coastal Clean Up Day in Malibu a few weeks ago. It was a fun morning and this pic turned out so cute! There were a few others, but I'm already frustrated with adding pictures in here. I was thinking today if I dump pics from my iphone into my iphoto stuff on my computer at home it may work better. I'm going to try that because I know I owe you all pics of my quilts and of me :) Wish me luck! This is me, Elise, Alison and Alix.

Feeling a little better

So I'm feeling a little better about the job loss situation. Jared has been on the hunt for the past 3 days and thankfully it's not very busy at work so I can help him look. He went on an interview Monday for a taxi job driver job. It's a lot of ups and downs so I'm not feeling really great about that one. Then yesterday Alison found one on CalJobs and he went on an interview yesterday for a teaching job in Chatsworth. They really liked him and they know a lot of the same people from another school Jared used to work at. They said they'd call him for a 2nd interview later this week. Then this morning he called an old co-worker to ask if he could use her as a reference and she said they are hiring right now Resource Teachers which is exactly what he was doing before and is in an interview right now! Please pray that something pans out for us. The other one wants to open a school in Lancaster and asked if he could commute there. I told him to say yes because $40K is better than unemployment. I'll update as soon as I find out if we are employed again!

Down in the dumps

Well on Friday morning I thought it was going to turn out to be a great weekend. I had box seats lined up for The Sound of Music Sing-a-long at the Hollywood Bowl. I left work early, amongst much teasing about singing at the bowl on Saturday. I was in a good mood. Ready to go home a little early and either do some quilting or nap before having to pick up Elise from daycare. As I was pulling into the driveway I got a phone call from Jared asking where I was. I told him I just pulled up at home. He said, oh good, you aren't out buying a car are you? We really need to get a him a new one and I had been looking and found a few really good deals. I said no and he said good because I just got laid off. I was dumbstruck. I couldn't believe I just heard what I heard. He went on about this or that, but it was like a ton of bricks hitting me square on the shoulders. I felt the burden immediately. I called Barb and started crying and sat in my car. I knew there was no way now I was going to sew or nap so I went to pick up Elise. When Jared got home he explained what had happened. The company he worked for wanted to basically get rid of everyone who previously worked for the old director and get their family members in to do all the jobs. Well since they were short staffed Jared had to do a lot of things he wouldn't normally do. They gave this as one of the excuses for him being terminated. They said he was doing too much. I was shocked. Who ever complains of people doing too much? What idiots! Anyway, I could go on for days about what a terrible company it was but Jared is relieved to not have to work there anymore. So he's on the hunt for something else now. At first I really wanted him to continue with teaching, but now I see it's not going to be good for him. I want him to really find his niche and I'm not sure where that is going to be right now. He has a lunch interview right now with a guy he met on Saturday to drive a taxi cab. It sounded right up his ally, but I don't think the pay is as lucrative as this guy is saying it is. Everything I've read today says it's about $10 an hour after all the costs. So if it's that low I'd rather him just be an aide. Well I guess we'll see what the Lord has in store for us. Hopefully it will be better that before, but you just never know. I need to learn how to sell stuff on ebay. Any hints let me know. The Sound of Music was great, but the stress of the news was a like a big rain cloud hanging above my head. Hopefully it rains quickly and the sun and rainbows come out soon.

Irritated

No wonder I never add pics to my blog. It's so irritating trying to get them on here. I have pics on my iphone I sent to my email address so that I could get them on here. Sorry folks, it ain't working. So no pics from me. If anyone has ideas that would make it oh so much easier please let me know. I can't stand flikr so don't suggest that one. Sorry, not in the best of moods today. Want to crawl back in my bed and not get out.

A little of this and that

I'm avoiding doing my work today, so I thought I'd post for a minute. I was recently looking at some quilting blogs and I really need to get some pics up. The problem is I work in the basement so I have no phone service when I actually think about posting. So I need to send my pics to my email and that way I can open it at work and then save it on my blog.

So right now I'm working on finishing up a quilt for Emme. She was asking when I was going to make her one and I was in the process of putting a pink one together with no one in mind. So I'm glad she spoke up. It was the Ragged Square Quilt from Crazy Mom Quilts blog. It was so fast and so easy that I'll probably have to do a few more. I already basted but I had one more idea for the back this morning so I might have to unpin and re-pin the entire thing. Good thing that it's not that big.

I have so many ideas in my head of things I want to get done. I wish I could take some time off work and work on them. It's hard when you have a very active toddler running around to get anything done.

Onto something else. The weight loss is at a standstill right now. I've been hovering around 225 for a few weeks. I think we I start training for the 5K it will begin to speed up. I'm excited and nervous to train. My body says I can do it, but it's my mind that plays evil tricks on me. I need to find some good running music. Any suggestions would be great!

Alison and I headed to the beach yesterday to chill. It was so nice to be kid and husband free and just to lay out and do nothing. I caught up on some magazines, ate some junk (not good) and got a little burned on my legs. The water was freezing so I didn't venture out past my ankles, but at least I touched the water. I wish I could run/walk there every day. It would be total motivation to keep running because of the beautiful scene.

Well that's my life in a nutshell. I'm dying to get some quilting done. Hopefully I'll have a little time this weekend to work on it. Oh I didn't even mention my anniversary and b-day. Jared and I went to dinner at Kabuki for some sushi. He surprised me (totally!) with a strand of real pearls and said he had been saving to buy them for me. I was shocked and very happy! They are beautiful, something I look forward to wearing forever. I got him passes to play paintball with Erik which he was happy about. Then for my b-day I cleaned in the morning, the Ganiere's came over for home teaching and picking fruit, went to lunch at Subway, Jared took the kids shopping while I was home alone to pin my quilt and take a nap, then we headed to the Burr's for a BBQ. It was great. I just relaxed, at my baked beans and had ice cream cake. Barb got me a gift card to Joann's, Jared got me one too and a gift card to Bath and Body Works. Alison also got me a g.c. to Walmart and I ended up using to buy my little Angry Birds collection for my desk at work. I need to take a pic of those too and post. Boy I am totally behind with the pics! Shame on me!!!

2 years ago yesterday

Two years ago yesterday I had vision correction (aka Lasik). I can't believe it's been 2 years, but one of the very best decisions I've made. I love my crystal clear vision. I love not having to put my contacts in or wear my glasses. I love that I don't have to buy any solutions or even think of taking anything out right before I pass out in my bed. Oh so nice!!

Wow, with this post it's like I'm a whole new person. I really like this new person more than the one I used to be. I was fatter and four eyes. But it's a new time and a new me. I need to post pics and I'm sorry I haven't lately. I also need to post pics of my quilts that are done and the ones I'm planning on starting. I'm a slacker, you can punch me now. I'll do it soon, I promise or I owe you all cookies or banana bread, or something equally as yummy!

2 more accomplishments

So this week I accomplished 2 things. The first is that I've made it into the 220's. Yep, as of this morning I'm down to 227 (reminds me of the T.V. show). So I'm very happy about that, considering I was stuck in the 230's for what seemed like an eternity. The countdown so far is 91 since my highest, last July and 69 since surgery. Wow! Ca.ray.zy!!

My other accomplishment was finishing my first quilt last night! Yippppeee! Thank you to Lindsey for the encouragement. I want to make more, but I realize I'm no where near where I want to be, so I may take a quilting class to understand it a little better and my next one can look all the more cute. I'll post pics of the quilt and of me soon :)

Goals

Recently I've been thinking a lot about goals for myself. All the weight loss has triggered me thinking about things I want to accomplish. The first have to do with fitness. I want to run a 5K by the end of the year and Lindsey has invited me to run with her in December. I can't wait! I think it's going to be tons of fun. Then following that accomplishment I want to run a 10K, a half marathon and a full marathon. I know it's going to be a lot of work to do that, but I'm willing to do it so I can say I accomplished my goals. I don't have a timeframe, just sometime in my life I want to do it. Yesterday I was talking with my doctor about it and she was really happy with my goals. She told me something that was very inspirational and which I will probably thinking about while I'm running. She said if you can run 3 miles then you can run 26 miles. It's all mental.

So the other goal is also related to fitness and one which I just thought about this morning. I was talking with Barbara about the Yosemite debacle and we discussed going with our families while the scouts were there for scout camp. She told me she had talked to Heidi about the Half Dome hike and she mentioned she wanted to do it, but didn't have anyone to do it with. Well Heidi, if you are reading this, we're going to hike Half Dome next year! I really want to do it and make it all the way. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but I'm willing and I really want to accomplish it.

In high school my class went their for the senior class trip. I didn't even bother signing up because I knew I was so out of shape I couldn't make it. But I'm determined now more than ever to get in shape and get some goals accomplished.

Anyway, there's my ramblings about goals. What are yours? (Oh and one more, I'm going to finish that darn quilt by Wednesday even if I have to stay up for 3 days straight, so there's another one!)

4th of July

I'm writing this post because if I post of Facebook I'll get a bunch of lame responses and that's not what I'm in the mood for. I know only a handful of people read this blog and I just had to write this morning so I can get it off my chest and get to work.

4th of July has long since been my all time favorite holiday (Halloween a very close second). I love everything about it. I love the music, I love the bbq's, I love the fireworks, I love summer, I love sandals, I love shorts, I love summer fruit. I think you get the idea. What more could you ask for? So I have made no effort to try and hide my love of the 4th. I even have Flag-tees from Old Navy dating back every year since 1999 (one day I'll be making a quilt with them).

So let me just say how disappointed I am with yesterday. There was no pancake breakfast-sucks, spent most of the day in front of the tv wishing I was swimming-sucks, actually had a great bbq-awesome, Jared pissy about having to stop playing video games to go to the bbq-sucks, missed the fireworks show-major sucks, had to watch it on tv-sucks, listened to the neighbors blow off illegal fireworks till 2 in the morning-sucks. So as you can gather the only great thing about the day was the bbq, of which I couldn't stuff my face because of surgery.

My plan for next year...pay for a good show, or find one of the smallest towns ever that has a show and go, like Kingman, AZ. We had such a great time last year because it was a small town, no crowds and a really cute 20 minute firework show. Just the kind of fun I like. Those are really the moments I wish that I lived in a small town. Anyway, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I'll be more prepared next time and ready to hang out with people who really want to see fireworks instead of fart around all day long and do nothing to celebrate our nations birth. Hope yours was better than mine.

Week 24 and a 5K. I'm all about the numbers!

So today is 24 weeks since surgery. I've tapered off a bit and are currently hovering between 231 and 233. I need to change up my workouts and am looking for a treadmill. We have the elliptical but I just don't like it. I may have to use it though while I save money for the treadmill. But all the same I'm enjoying this new me :) Something great happened at Walmart last Saturday. We were at the front of the store and Elise had to go peepee. It was at the back of the store so we ran from the front to the back. I didn't have to stop and I wasn't even breathing heavy. I was kinda in shock. I'm glad my body is working better. I even got some great test results back from the lab about cholesterol and fasting blood sugar. My blood pressure also has been down and I'm hoping this next visit with the doctor they will be able to take me all the way off it. Fingers crossed!

This morning we did a 5K at work. I was anxious as I've never done one, but then got to thinking back a few years ago Michelle and I used to walk at the Rose Bowl almost everyday and that's basically the same distance as a 5K. I jogged it once the whole way and never did it again. Today was great though. I walked the whole thing, but I'm feeling great. My legs were a little sore at first, but they are fine now. I'm ready to start training for the running of a 5K. I can already tell this is going to be a good, addicting behavior and hobby for me. I've always aspired to be a runner, but never really knew what the heck I was doing. I just saw a book today on the proper techniques that I might have to buy and read. So all you runners out there... if you are looking to coach or train just give me a call :)

In other news Jared hit the big 4-0 this week. We went to dinner with the Burr's to Kabuki for some sushi on Saturday night. It was so much fun. We had a great time celebrating. He's been a good sport too about me teasing him. I know I'll get there soon enough, but I'm not worried :) 40 is the new 30, right? For his birthday I bought the numismatic a set of gold plated state and territory coins. He got it yesterday (the mail was slow) and he loved it. His eyes lit up!

Erik is off to South Dakota for a few more weeks. I hope he's having a great time with his mom and enjoying the great outdoors. He said they would be going camping and fishing. That sounds like so much fun! I love fishing.

Elise is as fun as ever. She is so cute. We have a few plants that are on the verge of dying and we watered them and she said to the little one "you gonna be ok." So cute!! She's also trying my patience at bedtime. Since she gets a nap at daycare she wants to stay up later and later. Some nights it's nearly 10pm before she goes to bed. I can't blame her. I like staying up too.

So that's the update for the past few weeks. I should add some pics, but I'll have to next time.

A year of miracles

So the weight loss is steadily creeping down. This morning I weighed in at 232. As of last Thursday I was 20 weeks out since surgery. So that's a total of 86 since my highest almost a year ago and 64 since surgery. Yay! The miracle though is that over the weekend I bought a size 18 pair of shorts and actually fit into them. I can't believe I've made it back into the teens!!! This is truly a miracle indeed! I honestly can't remember the last time I was wearing a size 18 but I assume it was about 10 years ago. I had been on Weight Watchers and when I started was at 248 and got down to 223, so I would assume that was the last time. I think that was in 2003 or 4 so maybe not quite 10 years ago.

I'm feeling great. I love my new look and love that people have noticed that I'm shrinking :) My next goals are to get a decent treadmill so I can start running because I want to do a 5K and eventually a 10K and I'm working my way down to the blessed 199 mark. It would be great to say goodbye to 200 forever :) Well I'm on my way to get some new tires for my bike so I can start doing that again. Oh I need to have Jared teach me how to roller blade. I've never done that and it's something I've always wanted to learn. Wish me luck!

Picture this....

More fun Elise and mommy pics to upload - Dad and Erik don't like being in pics. Hopefully I can figure it out so it works correctly. Enjoy! (I'm sure I'll cut it off again).


Easter Sunday. Aren't we cute?

She just had to jump on the tricycle.


In front of the Princess Castle with cousin Isabelle.


Riding horses on the carousel.

Cousin Isabelle and Elise trying to pull out the sword.

Birthday girl got balloons and a crown from her teacher.


Yummy birthday cake made by mommy!!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful little princess!!

It's taken weeks...

to finally get past my 242 month long pause. I'm down to 239. Yay! With my goal of 169 I only have 70 more pounds to go. That sounds like a lot but it's better than saying 150 more pounds to go. I'm feeling great, especially after going to Disneyland yesterday and not feeling self conscious about riding rides and not fitting (except for the Rockets, those things are tight!). I also didn't feel like the fattest person there so that was really nice. Anyway, I forgot to bring my camera to work so I could download the pics, but hopefully tomorrow and I'll post some cute ones of Elise enjoying herself at The Happiest Place on Earth.

Blessed

I don't have any weight related things to talk about now (been at 242 for almost a month!) and I don't have any wonderful mother's day experiences (just the same as pretty much every other day). So instead I wanted to write about how truly blessed I feel. I am so blessed to have such a great family. We have our ups and downs and our little craziness, but we don't have any serious issues. Erik is a typical teenager with typical teen problems/attitudes, but overall is a really good kid and that makes me really happy. He isn't into drugs or girls, but spends most of his time either reading or playing video games. I know video games aren't great, but like I said, no drinking, drugs or girls, so I'll take that.

Elise is a blessing too (at least most days). She's bright and funny and even though drives me so crazy sometimes she is totally in love with me and me with her. I love to watch how she gets so excited over the smallest things. I love that she wants to play outside and ride her tricycle for hours. I love that she's not addicted to food (well maybe candy) and can stop eating when she's full, a lesson I have come to learn only after surgery. I love that she wants me to put her to bed every night and read to her and wash her hair in the bath tub. I love that she sings little songs. She is so adorable and I feel so blessed to be her mommy.

And Jared is a blessing too, even if I complain constantly about him. He fixed my brakes the other day just because they were rattling a bit. He went and bought the manual for my car and looked up how to fix it. I love that he doesn't care that I want to go hang out with my friends for a movie or dinner and watch the kids because he knows I need a break and when I get back I'm usually a lot nicer to him. I'm am so very happy and grateful he has a job. It may not be one that he likes and I know he won't stay there for the rest of his career, but at least he has a paycheck and we can afford to live in our house and pay our bills.

I feel so blessed to have a job. Not just one that I work at everyday, but one that I like to do and feel that I'm pretty good at doing. I may not enjoy the people everyday and I don't like waking up early, but I feel blessed to have a job that is in my book challenging, and simple and I actually get paid a pretty decent amount for doing.

I think most of all I feel really blessed to hear other peoples problems and know that they aren't mine. That sounds kinda funny writing, but over that past few months I've heard of some pretty bad problems with people and I feel so blessed that it's not me. I guess the Lord knows what I can handle and I'm not sure I could handle those other problems. I do my fair share of complaining about my own problems, but in contrast I also do my fair share of researching and getting to work to fix whatever problems I do have instead of just spouting about it and wishing my life were different.

So there you have it, my life is blessed. Sorry you can't have it (although you may not want it). Just like I don't want yours. Now that really did sound terrible, but hey at least I'm honest, right? But most of all very, very, very blessed.

12 weeks out and a new to me car!

So this past Thursday was 12 weeks since my surgery. I'm down to 248 which is just 2 pounds shy of a total of 50. I can hardly believe it's only been 3 months and I've already lost almost 50 pounds. I'm hoping that by my birthday in September I'll be down another 50 and be under 200 and then by about Christmas at my goal weight of 169.

In other news I bought a car yesterday. I'm still in shock over that one too. It's a funny story how it happened. I went earlier in the week to get the van smogged because the registration was due yesterday. It didn't pass and the guy said a lot of work needed to be done. Well the transmission has been a pain in my side for a while, since last summer, and I wasn't about to put another dime into it. Jared and I have talked about getting a car for about a month now and we found a few that we liked. So there was one online I really wanted to see, but by the time we cleaned out the van and looked online again it was gone. Then I found another one and when we pulled up to the dealership they said they sold it 10 minutes before we got there. So we went to another place and found a few we liked but they were all around 100,000 miles for $10,000. Well I wanted to get something with a little better mileage so I kept looking. On Friday morning I was telling my co-worker about my frustration because I found one online that morning and called the dealership only for them to tell me that it had been sold last week yet put on craigslist the day before. I was so upset over the whole process that I jokingly told him there were no deals to be had online and wanted to prove it to him. So I went to craigslist and typed in toyota. I found one that looked decent and said that if I called the dealership I bet it wouldn't be there. So I picked up the phone and the guy said he wasn't sure and he would call me back in 5 minutes. I told my co-worker yeah right this guy ain't calling me back. But sure enough 2 minutes later he did and said it was still there and asked when I'd be down. I left work immediately because I didn't want to get left behind on another deal. So I drove to LONG BEACH, about 45 minutes from work. I test drove it and fell in love. I was texting Jared the whole time, but I knew I didn't want to hem and haw about it so we started the financing immediately and I was out of there in 2 hours driving away in my new to me car. (By the way about 2 minutes after I signed all of the papers Jared walked in the door. He hadn't even seen it before the deal was done!)

So it's a 2001 Toyota Highlander with black exterior and gray interior. It's super clean and it only had 71,000 miles on it. I'm shocked because it's 10 years old. I hoping it's going to last me another 10 years :) All total with taxes and title and all that junk it was about $11,000 with my monthly payment about $220. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I just really, really, really hope that Jared doesn't crash this one, but I have a feeling he won't because I'll be driving it most of the time. And soon enough we'll have to get another one for Jared and I'll be nice and let him decide what he wants this time, hehe. I'll have to put up some pics soon.

10 weeks and another goal met!

Today is 10 weeks post surgery. I'm down to 252 which was one of my goals! I couldn't believe it this morning when I looked at the scale. The last time I weighed 252 was when I went to my 6 week check up after I had Elise. That was the lowest I had been in years. So next up will hopefully be just a short time away at 248 - the weight I was when I first joined Weight Watchers more than 8 years ago. I bought some pants last Friday because they were on clearance for $20 each. I bought size 24 and they were snug. I figured they would last me a while, but I'm thinking now they aren't going to last me long. They are already baggy and I need a belt for them. Happy to be heading downward, but I guess I'll have to buy super snug next time :) Yay!

Almost 10 weeks

This week will be 10 weeks since surgery. This morning I hit 256 so that's 40 pounds since surgery. I'm still in shock over it after my 2 week stint at 264. I'm happy that it's creeping down. Since my highest I've lost 62. And once again, in shock. But very happy with the results. I know it will slow down at some point, but I'm hoping that won't be for at least another year. I was talking with some friends about it on Saturday and I'm so happy I did it. I think at first I wasn't so sure, but I can see that this really is going to help in getting me healthy. Ok, back to the grind at work.

Family Photos

I haven't added pictures of the family in ages and since Natalie showed me how easy it was I thought I would add a few.

This is the only decent picture from Christmas morning.


Jared on a scout campout in Big Bear.


New Years Eve Excitement (it's sparking cider just in case you were wondering).


BBQ with Grandma and Grandpa Pickett


Erik with his sister Rosie at her birthday party in January


Boy Scout hike to the Hollywood sign.


Erik's birthday party in February. Great weekend to be outside.


Elise and friends picking oranges from the trees in our backyard.


So there was the past few months in a nutshell. Now that I know how much easier it is to add pics I'm going to try to do it more often. Plus my baby Elise is adorable and you all should get to see her cute smiling face more often (am I a biased mommy or what!?).

Pics.... I know, I know, finally

So I'm finally out of my stalled funk and down this morning to 260! Hip Hip Hooray! I was thinking about some past milestones that I want to hit again. First is 252, the weight I was at my 6 week checkup after having Elise. Then 248, when I first started Weight Watchers about 8 years ago. Then 223, the weight I was when I quit Weight Watchers 6 months later. Then finally 199, just to be under 200. Then 175, to be the weight I was as a freshman in college. Then my goal of 169. That's the plan. Wish me luck. And now the moment you've all been waiting for..... PICTURES!!!
So the before pics are the day of surgery (my scale at home was 298, but at the hospital it was 296 so I use that one) and the rest are from last night, today marking 8 weeks out! Wish I could do a side by side, but I'm technically challenged.

Stalled

So for the past week I've been stalled at 264. Not sure why or how, but I've decided to make a few changes. I was skipping the protein drinks and eating bars instead. The shakes make me want to barf so I just stopped drinking them. They are horrible and disgusting, but today I decided to just drink the darn things and if I barf then I barf and hopefully that's a few more pounds down the drain. I know it's gross. Sorry. So for now I'm going to eat/drink all the protein I can and try to get all my water in too. I'm walking everyday for 30 minutes and that doesn't seem to be helping either. So I decided that it's time to step on that elliptical that the in-law's gave us and go for at least 5 minutes every day and work my way up to 20. Hopefully this ends the dreaded stall.

Then vs. Now

So it's been 6 weeks since surgery (I know, I know, pics coming soon, very very soon...I promise!). And so far I'm down 32 pounds. But the thing I wanted to share was how much I've changed. At work this week we went out for a team building lunch to an Italian restaurant. I didn't even touch the "fresh baked bread" and olive oil even though I was tempted for a few moments. I ordered chicken with vegetables and it came with pasta. I ate half a piece of chicken, a few bites of the veggies and I was done. In the past I would have had a few pieces of bread and finished the whole plate and then had a food coma the rest of the afternoon.

The same thing happened today when I went out on my lunch break. I had to go to the bookstore and then I had previously decided to go to Jack in the Box for a Chicken Fajita Pita. I ate all of the chicken and a few bites of the pita and I was stuffed. Back in the old days I would have eaten that, plus an order of fries and a soft drink. I couldn't be more pleased with my progress.

I've also had a realization that I can't stand those horrible protein shakes so I eat the bars instead. They have more fat and calories but at least they are staying down and it takes me the whole afternoon to only eat half.

Switching gears, I wanted to say how much I love 2 shows on TV right now. GLEE is hilarious. I loved the "Comeback" episode and was laughing like crazy. The music wasn't all that great, but the writing is amazing. One of the funniest scenes is when Santana is talking about how big Sam's mouth is. Too funny! And the whole Justin Bieber thing was cracking me up. The other show I love is Parenthood. The family dynamics are amazing and the characters feel like they aren't scripted at all. I think they must do some ad libbing there because it just runs so smoothly. Anyway, my $.02. Pics coming shortly!!!

Oh and I forgot one thing. I didn't buy any Girl Scout cookies this year and normally I buy about 10 boxes (not only because they are good, but because I was a GS for so many many years I know how it feels to not sell any). So my co-worker had an extra box. I bought it and it's been sitting unopened in my desk drawer for the whole week. And it's Thin Mints! Talk about progress :)

4 week update

So I had surgery 4 weeks ago today. This morning I weighed in at 271. So that makes 25 pounds lost in the last 4 weeks and 47 pounds total since my highest ever. I can't believe that it's actually working. I had a stall there for a while and I've been in the 270's for a few weeks so I just kept thinking 'why did I do this again?' So now I only have 102 pounds to go. Wow that still seems like a ton, but at least it's not 150 pounds like it was last summer.

I found a new protein shake that is a little lighter than the one I had been drinking so it's helped me get a little more protein in. Plus I can get it at GNC and they have a bunch of different flavors so that will help take away the awful taste of chocolate I've had for the past month.

In other cool exciting news I get to take the online Jeopardy test tonight. I know I'm gonna suck, but it will still be fun to see if I can make it to the next round. I really want to go to the Wheel of Fortune tryouts on Sunday but I have no one to go with me, so I guess I'll have to wait until next time :(

I promise I will take some pics of me and post my before and after. I don't think I have any from last summer, but I have the day of surgery and I'll take some from today and see if there is any differences. I really should start taking my measurements too just to see if those are changing. I assume they are because most of my pants don't fit well these days. Guess I'll just have to go shopping :)

3 week update

Well I have to go back to work tomorrow so I thought I would update how I've been doing 3 weeks after surgery. I'm down to 275. It was stuck for a while at 283 and then 279, but more moving around helped it go down a few notches. I'm actually glad to get going back to work so that I can walk 2 times a day and not be lazy about it. I downloaded some new music to my ipod and I'm ready for some good walking. That should really get the weight moving. I tried a little peanut butter today. It was good, but I couldn't even finish the tablespoon I got for myself. I ate about half of it before I was full. I'm glad to finally be moving on to other foods. In a few weeks I won't have to eat pureed and I can move onto solids. I really should post some pics. I think my face looks different but I don't see much change in my body. Maybe everyone one else sees it and for sure tomorrow at work I'll be getting some feedback.

Off and on

So it's been sooo long since I've written on my blog. I think I was mostly annoyed by how long it was taking to upload my photos. Natalie showed me how to do it fast from flicker but since my account is with shutterfly then it still takes forever.

Anyway, on to new adventures. The kids are doing great. Erik is in 9th grade now and is finally getting used to seminary and high school. Elise is almost 3 (I still can't believe that!) and is so funny these days. She cracks me up most days and sometimes drives me crazy. I love that she is talking more and more and is so expressive. Jared is still working at 2 schools in downtown and not really loving it but it helps pay the bills. Speaking of bills in November we moved to a new place. I was a little skeptical at first of the sketchy neighborhood, but the house is perfect for us (a rental). It has 4 bedrooms and more importantly 2 bathrooms. We also have an enclosed porch that is now the game room and a pretty large storage/washer room. I love having my own room back now that Elise is in her own room. It was fun to do a little painting, but I've been slow to put up decorations except for in the living room. Cleaning hasn't been on my top list of things recently either. If I could just muster up the strength to find a place for everything it would be so much easier.

So last week I had surgery for weight loss. I had the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Basically they cut out 3/4 of your stomach and that's it. No reworking of any intestine thank goodness. The surgeon was very pleased and so was I. The pain was so much more tolerable then when I had my gallbladder out a few months ago. I couldn't believe how painful that was! So I've been recovering for a few days now and wanted to share some of my progress. It's been a rough couple of days food wise. I feel like I'm in mourning over losing a friend. I guess I never realized how dependent I really was on food to make me feel better or entertain me or just about for everything. Plus it's amazing really how many food commercials there are!

At the beginning of my journey last summer when I first started taking classes about having the surgery I was 318 pounds, the biggest I've ever been. During the 3 month class I lost 14 pounds and then by the time I went to see the surgeon I was at 301. He was happy with my progress and they scheduled surgery for January 13. One week before I had another appointment with my surgeon and I weighed in at 305 (the holidays and pre-surgery got the best of me). He wanted me to lose a few more pounds before surgery. I would so nervous they would reschedule that I was pretty good that week and when I came to weigh in right before the surgery I was 296. Since then (last Thursday) I've lost 13 more pounds and am now down to 283. I can't believe how fast it's coming off, but I'm sure I'm losing a lot of muscle in there too. So that's a total of 35 pounds since last summer. My goal is to be around 169 or so. That's a good weight for me.

Today I started on some new foods (I've been drinking this horrible protein drink for the last 3 days). I tried cream of wheat strained. Not so yummy. And then I tried the cream of celery soup strained and that was delicious. Next came some yummy light yogurt. But the shocker was light soy milk. It tasted like a milkshake. Such a nice change from the yuck of Isopure. So I'll be on protein shakes and the like for the next 10 days and then get to graduate to some pureed foods. I was really shocked though how full I was from 1/2 cup of strained soup and 1/2 cup yogurt. It was like Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily since there's not a whole lot to digest it doesn't take very long to empty out of my teeny tiny stomach. In time I'll get to enjoy some of my favorites again (at a much smaller portion of course), but for now I'll just stick to torturing myself by watching the food channel network. There have really only been 2 strong cravings over the last few days, a bite of a big crusty bread sandwich and a bite of spaghetti. Mmmm, one day.

I really should post of pics of my progress. Maybe when I'm not so mad about how slow they take to upload. I'm going to try and write in here a little more about it too, just to help ease the food funeral. Oh I almost forgot. When I had my lasik done I remember the first few days were horrible. I kept thinking why did I do this to myself. Then at about 3 months things were almost crystal clear. Nowadays I tell everyone it has been worth every single penny I spent on it. I hope this surgery is similar. In fact, I know it is.