ReStart

So it has been a couple weeks since I signed the contract with my friend and I have to admit that I have not been doing so well. So I am posting this as my commitment to you and myself that I am starting over this week. I hope to report of my better doings next week. Here we go again!

After week one...

So here is my weekly update of my training and contract with my friend. Last week was not as bad as I thought it would be. I did alright with following the rules of the contract, except one day I went over board and ate too much pizza, but even with that I still lost 4.2 lbs. Go me!

I road an actual bike last week, not just a stationary gym bike, but one that has gears and peddles and moves. It was fun, but it’s going to be a long 15 miles…rumor has it that the biking part of the triathlon is 9 miles up hill…ugh! I can barely ride well on flat ground. It should be fun.

I think that is about it for this week. And as promised my chubby picture, and not so flattering, but here it is.

Happenings Since May....

It has been awhile since I have updated my blog and I have been nagged to for the last couple weeks to do it. I didn’t realize it’s been since May. Here goes. I moved back to California the beginning of November. I am currently still working at Wal-Mart, part time, for the City of Vista once in a blue moon, and I have privilege of watching my nephew, Bradley, once a week. I teach 5 year olds in Primary, and that is about the excitement in my life.

There are a couple of reasons why I decided to write, and hopefully will write more often. One, I have decided to do a triathlon with my sister April 30th in Henderson, NV. Don’t worry it’s not a full triathlon, it is an 800m swim, 10k (15 miles, for those of you like me who don’t know the conversion scale) bike ride, and a 5k (3.1 mile) run. I can swim no problem, it’s the other two events I am worried about. I have not owned a bike since I was 11 because I was diagnosed with knee problems and the doctor said I should not ride, and I have never been a runner, but I could walk pretty fast and far, so if all else fails, it might be a 3.1 mile walk. I am hoping my sister and I can stick together through the whole thing. I’ll keep you posted on training…. I just bought a bike tonight.

Another reason I have decided to post is to make myself accountable for a goal that I have set with my friend Shannon. We have made and signed a contract with each other to lose weight. I started working grave yards 2 years ago so I could finish school, which I was attending full time. I am sad too admit but I put on a good 30-40 pounds. So staring Feb. 1st I am going to follow the following rules, I hope she does not mind that I am sharing this with you:

• No Fast Foods
• No Sodas
• Drink 6-8glasses of water a day.
• Participate in a group activity at least once a week (aerobics class, YSA Activity, Study Group etc)
• Try to sleep at least 6 hrs!!! We both need to work on that one!
• Stay away from Starchy Enriched Foods
• Cardio 6 days a week for at least 30 min a day
• Eat smaller more frequent meals at least 5 times a day
• Eat protein for every meal
• Eat 5-6 servings of Fruits or Veggies a day
• Meal Preparation!!! Pack your meals the night before.
• NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST!!!
• Stay away from pre-packaged / preservatives
• Weighs yourself ONLY ONCE A WEEK
• Understand Portion Size. Pick out 1 bowl,1cup, plate and stick to that size.
• Chew Sugarless Gum
• Keep a Food Diary
• Celebrate success (but not with food)
• Keep your diet public. Own up to what your claiming you will accomplish.
• Eat negative calorie foods – celery, apples… more calories to digest than consumed
• Eat slowly
• Chart your weight loss
• Be Happy
• Don’t skip meals – have a meal replacement shake if necessary
• Skip dessert unless it is healthy – most desserts are not healthy
• Take before and after pictures (maybe some in between) But keep a fat picture on the refrigerator

We each set a goal to have lost by June 30th. I have set mine at 50lbs. I have between 80-100lbs to lose to be a healthy weight for my height. Fifty-pounds sounds like a lot but it is about 2.5 pounds a week, which is doable and a healthy goal. Before picture soon to come!

Thought....

I went to visit my grandpa in Oregon last weekend, 8 hours in a car all by myself which gave me a lot of time to think and there is a thought that came to me that I thought I would share.

On my dad’s side of that family we have a line that were Jewish and came from Lithuania. This was my great-great-grandmas family. When she was 16 she married a non-Jewish man and her family disowned her. Because of this we cannot find any of her family besides a couple brothers. We have checked in so many places with no luck, even at the genealogy library. It makes me really sad that we cannot find this line of my family! It makes me sad because they are all on the other side of the veil waiting for their work to be done, and unless someone else does their work they will have to wait for the millennium.

I think that too often we forget that the choice we make do not just effect us but they effect our whole line of family that comes after us and all those that love us, whether the choice be good or bad, the effect will be felt for ever. Just like my great-great-grandmothers family disowned her, I am sure they are kicking themselves now because they are going to have to wait for a long time for their work to get done and they lost the chance to see their daughter grow-up and to see their grand kids.

This was a reminder to me that I need to do something that is going to leave a line that I can be proud of and that will be strong. Like they say to every action there is a consequence.

Forever later............

Sooooo…. once again it has been forever since I have blogged so here is my life update… I graduated! YAY! Took me long enough! I graduated with a degree in Medical Administrative Assisting and certificates in Medical office assisting, medical transcription (which I am not so great at but I passed!), medical coding, and one in institute of religion. I did all that while working graveyards as a cashier at Wal-mart. My mom and Aunt Judy came to visit and attend the graduation. It was sweet.

What’s next…… I have to do and internship this summer for the medical administrative assisting and medical coding and then I can find a job that would let me have more of a normal life…I can wait! Until then, I am continuing to work graveyards until the end of summer.

Other than that not much else is new. The guy I had been dating for awhile left for Air Force Basic the end of last month. We are just friends now. Exciting thing happened though, the whole time we were dating I tried to get him to go to church, and he did….twice. Since he has been at basic he actually goes, according to an email from some missionaries on base and a letter his parents received from Elder Oaks. That would be a huge change for him if he actually continued going….miracles do happen though.

Other exciting news, my sister and bother-in-law had their baby! Cute little Bradley Daniel Edwards was born March 25. I have yet to meet him, but I love him already! I get pictures all the time to….thank goodness for picture phones.

That’s all for now! Have a happy day!

Stupid!!!!

So I wrote this long entry and tried to copy and paste it from word and it won't let me! since when does can you not copy and paste into your blog? I know its been a while but come one now!

LIFE

Hi, those few people who read this! My mom says I need to update this, so here it is. I am not very good at keeping this thing up to date because my life is not that exciting.

So I am in school for another semester, taking 12 credits equaling 7 classes. Yes that seems like a lot, a couple of the classes are just one credit each. I am still hoping to he done in April, but we shall see. I am thinking next semester is going to kill me! But if I do one more internship during the summer I can get another certificate on top of my degree. But we will see how it goes. I don't know what I am going to do after that.

I am still working in the great land of Wal-mart. I actually kind of like it there. I think it is more the people I work with than the actual work itself. I does get eventful sometimes. We had a gang fight in front of our store a week or so ago, don"t worry, the cops showed up before anything crazy happened. Everyone that was out there got arrested. It was pretty crazy.

So that is pretty much it. Exciting, I know. Oh, I had mentioned a guy I was dating. We are still dating. Nothing serious, don't worry.

I hope you all are doing well. Love ya!