sooooo...the blog does not update on its own?!?!

i was just looking at someone else's blog who observed that unless you write a blog for a living, it is really hard to update them regularly. totally agree! i constantly find myself thinking, 'oh, i should write today,' but then end up wasting my time doing something else (like watching ridiculous tv) instead. ugh.

i realize it has been two weeks since my last entry. oops. last week's weigh-in sucked; i was up another pound. this past weekend's weigh-in was better, dropping most of those DAMN THREE POUNDS that continue to haunt me. seriously!? so obnoxious.

i have been really active in the last week, which i think is 100% the reason why i finally saw the scale go back down. i played four games of soccer from last wednesday to yesterday AND did two workouts at the gym - even when our personal trainer did not show up for our session! i even ran on the treadmill for a bit before driving up to minneapolis for soccer. "ran" might be a bit of a stretch...it was more like some fast-paced walking with a little bit of running. oh hell...most people would probably qualify it as a jog. whatever. i was moving. and it helped me earn 9 activity points.

i have plans to go to the gym tomorrow night for zumba as well as wednesday and friday mornings. i have been trying SO HARD to go in the morning when it is way less crowded and to just get it out of the way from the rest of the day. i also have soccer wednesday (and maybe friday? depends on a certain someone's knee...talking to you, karen!) and for sure on sunday.

two sets of new pictures.

my photographer noted that the gray pants are too big. i am starting to worry that the black pants are also not fitting well anymore.  it is definitely a good thing, but it also means spending money when i am trying to save! i know, i know, the girl losing weight should not complain about having to buy clothes - what did she expect to happen, right? sorry.

my weekend was pretty boring overall. i got my hair dyed and trimmed on friday before the late soccer game. i weighed-in on saturday morning, took a glorious nap, saw "silver linings playbook" with jacob (which was AMAZING), and grabbed taco john's for dinner afterwards. i love taco john's. two tacos without cheese is only 8 points, which i think is completely reasonable. jacob had to work so i entertained myself with justin bieber on snl - was not that impressed. maybe it is only me, but i feel like he tries way too hard to be justin timberlake. just sayin'.

last night, we went and had dinner at buca's to celebrate a very early valentine's day. jacob works on thursday so we agreed to go to dinner ahead of time. it was amazingly delicious and i did not feel like i overate. a little caprese salad, spicy rigatoni, chicken parmesan, and, yes, some tiramasu. i figured the 9 activity points warranted a few bites of the tiramasu.

turn around...every now and then i get a little bit terrified the best of all the years have gone by...

i need to turn it around!!!!!!!!!!!

i gained 2.6 on saturday. and i ate TERRIBLY all weekend. UGH.

this needs to stop!!!!!!!!!

other than that, not much to report. except the getting a new car. no biggie. ;)

it is a 2012 certified pre-owned "tornado red" vw jetta. i enjoy the heated the most! it was time to ditch the neon for more reliable transportation. not starting in the morning (and dying later friday night) was enough to justify the decision.

so!

check out my new polka-dot pants.

 i guess you probably cannot tell there are polka-dots. but trust me! they are there! and they are REALLY tight...oh well.

here is to making better choices the rest of the week.

i have a serious case of the munchies

i am having difficulty staying out of the kitchen at night. i eat dinner and am completely satisfied...and then i go back in to find dessert...and then another snack...and then something else...and it continues on and on until i just feel pretty gross and disappointed with myself.

UGH.

i need a muzzle. or to wire my jaw shut. haha, just kidding. but not really. seriously, i need to find a way to tone down my grazing.

what i really want to do is start waking up early and going to the gym before work. i figure that will kill two birds with one stone - get me to the gym more often and force me to go to bed earlier (which in turn, would probably stop the snacking).

now i actually have to do it. one thing to write it, another to follow through on it.

i will at least get a good start tomorrow. karen and i have training with kenzie bright and early at 5:30 am. so. early.

anyhow. went shopping last friday and got some new stuff. debuted a new outfit this past tuesday at school.

 the pants are MUCH brighter in person but i thought it was a super fun color. keeping my fingers crossed that my weigh-in on saturday goes okay despite all the snacks!

old clothes, new outfits!

happy monday!

just wanted to get my pictures posted on time for a change. i thought it would be interesting to see me in my shirt when i first got it last spring and what it looks like on me now.

what do you think? i can definitely see some changes from the side. not so sure about the front or back view.

LOVED watching the golden globes last night. it is so much fun to judge all of the clothing. : ) we had a no-fuss dinner tonight - turkey burgers with salsa and guacamole for toppings and salads. hopefully i can come up with something creative for tomorrow.

so, about these fruits and vegetables...

this week, i made a conscious effort to actually try and have five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. we did a HUGE grocery shop last sunday (for like, the first time since before thanksgiving) and bought bananas, apples, oranges, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, spaghetti squash...phew. we even cleaned out the refrigerator and pantry.

results? i got rid of all the holiday weight - 4.0 lb. to be exact! so i guess eating fruits and vegetables helps you lose weight. interesting... ;) i will even say that i was less hungry between meals because i was snacking on the "healthier choices" and trying to steer clear of the pre-packaged "100 calorie" packs that are oh-so-tasty.

this puts me at 140.0 lb. five more pounds and i am DONE. easier said then done though, right? i want to make sure that i keep exercising and get toned. i am not into looking like a bodybuilder; i just want to not "jiggle."

some yummy food i had this week:

• dannon light & fit greek yogurt in cherry and strawberry - YUM..i have tried other brands that had icky after-tastes...this kind did NOT (2 points plus)
• wholly guacamole 100 calorie pack - SO good on a salad (3 points plus for the full pouch, i only had half of one)
• weight watchers birthday cake celebration bar - special for their anniversary...which means they will eventually disappear like my favorite red velvet bars did :( (2 points plus)
• beef roast with some balsamic/tomato/white wine sauce - jacob made it in the crock pot and it was DELICIOUS (4 points plus for 4 ounces of beef [not including the sauce])
• cornish hen - i was VERY skeptical as we had it once at alpha game and mine was PINK...but this one was very tasty, again, courtesy of jacob (3 points plus for half the cornish hen without the skin; i had a bit more than that)
• green giant steamers tuscan broccoli - a nice change from plain broccoli (the serving size was half a cup for 3 or 4 points plus - not something i would have all the time)
• spaghetti squash with marinara and sauteed peppers, onions, and garlic - SO GOOD...it was drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then baked for an hour (0 points for a cup of spaghetti squash though i probably more than that)

i think i may try to share more of what i had during the week when i write these updates. my favorite part of the weight watchers meetings is when people share how they prepare food or meals that they enjoy. new ideas are always welcome!

lastly, new pictures.

until next time!

i fell off the wagon

and i fell hard.

the first part of my winter break was great - i ate super well at both christmas celebrations i attended and even got to enjoy some sweet treats. 

but then we went to wisconsin.

we ate out. my mom cooked. i "baked." 

it was bad. i ate everything in sight. i seriously think i gained five or more pounds while we were there. 

it was really frustrating. it made me think about what happens once i reach my goal. if i can gain five pounds in a week, how fast could i gain back everything if i am not careful??? 

i cried. 

do not judge me.

so that got me thinking - it has been one year since i started this journey. one whole year of really hard work and great weigh-in's and frustrating weeks of gaining and I DO NOT WANT TO QUIT. there. i said it. 

how do i get back on track? easy. grocery shop. stop eating candy (and cookies. and basically anything that was in a stocking). go back to the gym. 

all very basic steps that sometimes seem SO hard to take.

"resolutions" are great in theory but i never seem to follow through when i make one. i never actually made a resolution to lose weight last year, i just promised myself that i would finally do something about it. i want to continue working on me in 2013. 

i would like to set some goals for myself, both short- and long-term:

1. reach my goal weight. and...drumroll please...i am ready to share that with all of you. i started last year at 206.6 pounds (GROSS). i would like to stop at 135 pounds. that would put me around 70 pounds of total weight loss. and then i want to KEEP IT OFF.
2. go to the gym 12 times a month in order to receive a $20 reimbursement from my health insurance. that would make my gym fee roughly $5. that is a ridiculous deal. i will also continue my personal training sessions but i pay separately for those. FYI - i am liking kenzie, the new trainer, much better than the old devil trainer.
3. manage money better. without a car loan to pay every month, i have no excuse not to be putting money into my savings account. i would like to have a decent amount stockpiled as a "just in case."
4. keep our house clean. we are terrible about cleaning the house. we go way too long between cleaning sessions and the ones that we have are usually only because people are coming over. i have seen a lot of cleaning schedules on pinterest and hope to find something that fits us.

i could probably list tons more but i want to feel like i can actually accomplish all of them, which means  capping the list (at least for now). since i am not calling them "resolutions," i suppose that i could add more at a later date. 

i just have to remember...

i truly did enjoy my time off. it was great to lounge in comfy pants all day and not worry about work. i got to watch the first season of "modern family." i know, i am late to the party. it was pretty hilarious. i got to see my nieces twice while they were in town, which is always a treat. we are *hopefully* going to drive down to kentucky over the summer for an extended visit. besides going to arizona for my cousin's wedding, that would probably be the only other trip we get to take. 

random side-note: have any of you ever used rosetta stone or some other language program? i am thinking about making "relearn spanish" my summer project but i am not interested in paying for or attending classes somewhere. i would prefer to do something from the comfort of my couch. : )

sorry this is so long. i am now rambling. i will just end with new pictures.

decisions, decisions...

first of all, i have really been a bad blogger. sorry.

that probably does not concern most of you...because this is mostly a place for me to document what has been going on this past year. i want proof. : )

so i see it has been over a month since i last wrote. i enjoyed thanksgiving with all my family back in neenah, wi. it was so much fun to see my nieces.

love them! i am going to meet them for lunch tomorrow before they head up to see my sister-in-law's family for christmas. hopefully i will also get to see them before they head back to kentucky.

the beginning of december also brought jacob and my anniversary. four years! we went to dinner bar la grassa, watched (most) of the holidazzle and went to see "skyfall." it was wonderful.

weight update time!

i lost 1.8 pounds this week for a total of 65.8 - woo hoo! this puts me 0.8 away from my initial goal. part of me is wondering whether or not i should stop at that point or keep going... with the personal training, i think i may be able to lose a little more. i really want to get a flat tummy!

some photo evidence.

my photographer insisted that we also take a "behind" shot. i kind of wish i had done that from the beginning. 

here are the past two weeks as well.

i am very happy to be on vacation until january 2. we are celebrating christmas tomorrow with jacob's mom and her family. we will go to his dad's house on monday to celebrate with his family. we also decided to drive to neenah for a visit and see some friends! 

i also somehow got volunteered to make dessert for tomorrow. i have never done the "christmas cookie" thing before so send good baking thoughts my way.