Where did the time go?!

I can't believe it's been 7 years since my last post but lately my Skinny jeans series has been on my mind.

I'm still not where I want to be yet but after a few years of whatevering on my eating and exercise I have gotten back on track.

Quite a few years ago I changed from Planet Fitness to Vasa. I discovered Cardio Cinema. I love it! Plus my last post was in 2014. My last 5k was in 2016. It's now 2021 and I felt that I needed a motivator to get going again so I signed up for the 2021 Bryce Canyon 5k. It's in 2 weeks. I love using the ZenLabs C25K app in conjunction with whatever YesFit challenge I'm working on. 

I'm comfortably in a size 16; for now. drum roll please.... I BOUGHT A SKIRT IN THE MISSES SECTION!!!! THAT'S HUGE!!! (no pun intended...since I usually shop in the Plus section LOL) Seriously- the Part 1 post I was a size 26. 

This has been an emotional rollercoaster. When I look in the mirror I still see the person who is 275 but other times I notice my jawline is getting more noticeable and the chin is smaller. I'm starting to rediscover that I LIKE being fit despite bum knees that don't like yoga but can handle a treadmill; weird but whatever.  I realized the other day that I am 18 pounds away from 'One-derland'. It's been 2002 since I saw a number on the scale that started with 1. I'm so excited that the pasta offered to me for lunch isn't even a temptation.  After attaining 'one-derland' my goal is 175. That will be a 100 pound loss. I can't wait! 

Sometimes I get asked if this motivation to get fit is for someone special. Yes. ME! I don't like how I look in pictures. Shallow? perhaps but this is also for my health. At 51 I'm starting to feel the affects of mortality and it sucks!  Hitting the treadmill a few days a week keeps my hip flexors and IT band less unhappy.   Eating healthier keeps me in a better mood. (I might have mentioned in long ago post that I struggle with dysthymia; a form of depression. You sometimes get in a funk and can't get out. I didn't like the meds I was on so I quit cold turkey. I know what I need to do to get back to my happy place.) I noticed last week after a couple days of fast food eating that I felt gross and was cranky.  

Skinny Jeans may be a misnomer because nothing in my body has every been skinny! Even my hair is thick!  I have strong thighs and glutes and my calves were never slender. (Funny note: My Dad was hiking with my sister and her friends when they were in high school. One of them mentioned "Wow! Your Dad doesn't have calves-he has herds!" Bwhahaha!!!! 

I do find motivation in this lady! Her story is inspiring https://www.facebook.com/Fatgirlfedup

I regularly join her monthly DietBet groups. Haven't won any yet but it keeps my mind going the right direction.

I tried NutriSystem last fall and while it's a great program; just didn't work for my lifestyle at the moment but I won't hesitate to recommend it. I went back to the Yoli Better Body System.  It's not always easy but when you see success it fuels the motivation. 

Skinny Jeans, Part 2 of 9, Part 3 of 9

To keep with the Skinny Jeans posts...

Since 2011 I have lost 50 pounds! Yahoo!!!!! currently I am 10 pounds away from half-way to my goal. Easy? Not.On.Your.Life!  Me? go to a gym regularly?(See Part1) Still not happening...any surprise there?

I still have my Planet Fitness membership but rarely go so I'm thinking about cancelling. In its place I have started a Couch to 5k program and run a couple times a week after work. I am doing this in preparation for the Bryce Canyon 5k in July. My goal is to RUN; not walk the whole distance. Eventually I plan to run a half marathon. I would love to do the Moab Marathon Thelma and Louise and The Other Half.

Part 1 - Part 9 correspond to pant sizes. I have gone from a size 24 (Part 1) (gah!), 22 (Part 2)am now in an 20(Part 3) comfortably and I do have a pair of 18(Part 4) pants that I wear regularly.

Last year I was using Xyngular products but switched to Yoli Better Body System to support my brother and because I saw the results he was having. Xyngular worked for me but Yoli works better. It's still hard work though to keep low carb and higher protein but I really crave Pop-Tarts!

What I have found that works the best for me, is to prepare my food for the week and have it in Ziploc bags marked with the day of the week on them. In the morning I get up have my Passion energy drink, then have my Protein shake as I head out the door, then grab my bag of food for the day and I'm set!

I also make sure to get my water in while I'm at work. I have a cute glass at work to make sure I get my water in for the day! The current recommendation is half your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 200 pounds then you need 100oz of water. I get 3-4 of these down a day! The insulation keeps the water cool and it has a nice fat straw so you get decent amounts of water each sip.

I eat a lot of hard boiled eggs, turkey bacon, turkey jerky, chicken, tuna, quinoa, black beans...basically higher protein, less carbs; no carbs after 2pm if I can help it. It's ok to 'cheat'. BBP is a lifestyle...so I am learning what foods my body likes and responds to. I get cranky when I have too many carbs.

My next step is to clear 200 and work into a size 16. I did just buy a pair of workout pants that were a 16 but I like a tighter fit on those..but. the. tag. says. 16!!!!! Yahoo!!!!!!!! So, here's to good eating choices and getting my run on!

Time flies....

Has it really been 21 months since my last post? YIKES!!! Since then I have crossed a couple things off my bucket list; such as finishing school in August! Yeah! and I have on my bucket list to visit someplace new every year. Last year I saw the Perseid meteor shower from Wolfe Ranch at Arches National Park as well as just outside Goblin Valley State Park. Sego Canyon has a ghost town and a really old cemetary!

When I finished school in August I went and explored Mirror Lake Highway a bit and have a couple things on my to do list for this summer...

I recently just got back from another trip to Moab and am looking forward to going again in September! This summer will be filled with a retirement party, a couple weddings, a baseball game, Bryce Canyon 5k run in July and lots of time spent outside digging in the garden and hiking!

Skinny Jeans, Part 1 of 9

I came across this post this morning and felt compelled to share.
http://flintland.blogspot.com/2012/05/hey-fat-girl.html

We all have our health and fitness issues; some are more apparent than others but having a fit, healthy body is so important since this is the only body we get!

I recently joined Planet Fitness. I do not go regularly but I have been a few times. I try to go after class since they are open 24 hours a day but sometimes it just doesn't happen.

I have gone down one pant size. Yeah! Most of that attrtibuted to Kroger Brand diet shakes and Lean Cuisines. Plus I try not to eat when I get home after class.

Day 5 Northwest Trek

After a long, fun day I journeyed back to Lacey with my youngest brother and his family. The next day we had plans to go to Northwest Trek. I had never been and they had a season pass for it. Yeah!

We started with the Tram Tour.





The top of Mt. Rainier



Kyra & Jack

Buffalo resting in the grass. Did you know that female have C shaped horns and males have L shaped horns?

It was a warm day. The animals weren't very active.

the smart ones were laying in the shade!

pronghorn something...goats? deer?

There's a mama moose in here somewhere...not sure where though...

I spy...antlers. 

Looking down on the buffalo.



Mason, Jack, Joy & Kyra

This must be where Rudolph hangs out in the summer. I think I saw Donner, Blitzen & Prancer sitting in the shade.

ahhh...take a deep breath and enjoy the scenery.



Then we had lunch before taking the Walking Tour.

pretty patriotic flowers

These white flowers were everywhere.

Then on to the walking tour.



Mason & Jack touching the animal pelts

 some mangy looking wolves.

I think Jack wanted to walk by himself.

they found a caterpillar!

Bear bum...this is the only view I got from him/her





THAT is an ancient tree!



Hedwig?

Golden Eagles

Bald Eagles

River otters

We stopped at Costco on the way home to pick up pizza for dinner. Then Joy & Kyra took me to see Cars 2 3-D. It was a fun day!

Day 4 The 4th of July

It should be worth noting that while I certainly don’t have control over the weather, the last couple years it snowed while I was home in December and this last trip it was cloudy the day before I got in, clear for all 6 days, then cloudy once I left.



image courtesy of Wikipedia

So, that being said, July 4^th dawned early and bright! Dad headed over to the church to help cook for the pancake breakfast. Mom and I  went later and enjoyed the flag raising ceremony put on by the Boy Scout troop and then had pancakes, eggs and sausage for breakfast. We sat with my cousin and her youngest daughter who are also in Mom & Dad’s ward.

After breakfast Mom and I went for a walk around their neighborhood and Dad went to work on ‘neighbor relations’ i.e. he went to scope out the goods at the Chehalis tribe firework stands and did not leave empty handed. We load up the Jeep then head to Safeway for a killer sale on soda. Mom and I see the same man there that we had passed on our walk earlier in the day. We also stop and buy another flat of Spooner Farms strawberries. We pick up Lara on the way. Next stop Lake Margaret.

Somehow in the course of conversation we miss the turn to Highway 520 through Carnation so end up taking 522 through Woodinville instead. When what to our wondrous eyes should appear but a stretch Chevy Metro. Red and no windows in the back. It looks like a hand-sautered mini-hearse. So ugly it’s cool.



We get to the lake and soon we’re in the water. Well, most of us. This is a conglomeration of a couple siblings, their children, my SIL's family, as well as friends and their children and the missionaries showed up as well. Plus Jake and his friend Buddy. (gold and black retrievers respectively). At one point during dinner I counted 7 Moms who had kids there…oye. It was a crowd and we didn’t even have our whole family there! Our Spokane counterparts were unable to make the trip and were sorely missed throughout the weekend!





C heading to the water. She's my mini-me :)



Dinner was a crazy, messy affair but many were fed and watered and not many leftovers were well, left over. The candy bar salad was a hit. As was the potato salad and frog eye salad. There are some Dill potato chips left over from the beach and they didn’t last long.



Now to the main event: fireworks. I have a brother-in-law who was kind enough to be born on July 4^th. Since he joined the family in 2001 we have always blown something up in his honor. This year it was a cantamelon. It was set on a fence post with a mortar in it. BOOM! Happy Birthday! Bits of cantamelon fly everywhere to the cheers of the crowd. One year it was a Hostess cupcake. It left a grease mark on the pavement and a small crumb on someone’s shirt. That was it. All gone. It went boom and bye bye.



Jake decided it was time for humans to go get the stick! I took my turn as well but didn't go all out like L did.



  Acornucopia of lawn chairs and blankets cover the driveway as the Dad’s light off the fireworks. The nice thing about being by the lake is that you get to see everyone else’s fireworks displays reflected in the lake. Usually there is some smart person who just sits in a canoe in the middle of the lake taking it all in. They probably have the best view and they don’t get sparks raining down on them.  One party across the lake has used flares in the past for lighting fireworks. Before the fence was put up around the park access to the lake there would be bottle rockets flying both ways across the street when the boys would shoot them at each other.



Things finally wind down and family’s start leaving because tomorrow Mom’s and Dad’s have to go to work. Gingersnaps and strawberries are all gone L Boo. They were a hit!

Dad, kids, grandkids & Jake in the lake

Day 3 Sunday, A day of rest

Church starts at 10. I haven’t been to church in ages and am looking forward to the spiritual nourishment. The sacrament hymn is “I stand all amazed”. My eyes leak through the whole song. It offers such sweet words of hope and redemption of ‘the love Jesus offers me… to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine…oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me.’ It is one of my favorite songs. The lyrics are by Charles H Gabriel.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died

Chorus:
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me enough to die for me
Oh, it is wonderful
Wonderful to me

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine
That he should extend his great love unto such as I
Sufficient to own, to redeem and to justify

(Repeat chorus)

I think of his hands, pierced and bleeding to pay my debt
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me
Secure in the promise of life in his victory
Thus ransomed from death I will live to my Savior's praise
And sing of his goodness and mercy through endless days

My parents ward is great. They are truly amazing souls. The Gospel is true everywhere you go but the Church feels different outside the “Mormon belt” of Idaho & Utah. You are unique and special and it is a different kind of feeling of brotherhood.

Since it is the first Sunday of the month that means Fast & Testimony meeting; as soon as the Bishop finishes his testimony Dad gets up and goes to the pulpit and in a loud booming voice declares “Hello. My name is “AGB” and I have been married to my trophy wife “C” for 42 years.” This got chuckles from the crowd and for the next little bit Mom will be known as the trophy wife. J

Church was great and I can’t wait until my life situation is such than I am an active member again. (I don’t like working Sundays but I need to pay the bills too)



with Grandma Bentley



After Church Dad leaves to go get his Mom so she can join us for dinner. We have yummy rice, pork & black bean taco salad with home fried tortilla chips that I could not get enough of. Especially with jalapeno Tabasco sauce on them. My taste buds are watering now just thinking about them. After dinner we watch Independence Day and I help Mom make gingersnaps. No one makes them quite like her. I’ve tried to make them here in Utah and the recipe doesn’t turn out. They are soft and chewy and full of ginger and molasses flavor! Mom & I also slice up a flat of Spooners strawberries. Later we have them with Twinkies. Ok but not the same as the shortcake cups and whipped cream.

My parents’ neighborhood is situated somewhat between two Indian reservations. That’s where you go to get good fireworks. After the sun set all we heard were booms from people setting off fireworks. Some legal - some probably not. Ahhh…such glorious sounds! Especially since the 4^th of July is a big holiday at our house. I only remember one year where we didn’t host the party. That was because we went to Lincoln City, OR and spend time with some relatives. 4^th of July on the beach was cool! Now the party is at my sisters’ house…but that’s for the next blog.

Hi! Mom is waving at you from behind the bush.

It was nice to spend some down time with Mom & Dad since my vacations usually get spent at siblings’ homes with children. The quiet was a nice break AND I got warm gingersnapsJ

They also have a couple hummingbird feeders...