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.