Fun week...

Well, today is my last day in my current job and I am having mixed feelings about it.  I am really going to miss the people I work with and I am going to miss the job I do.  I am still not super excited about the new job, though I am trying to see all the positives.  I am hoping it will be a good path and lead to exciting new opportunities.  I am just cautiously optomistic.  There are definately some pros and cons to the new job and I'm really trying not to think about the cons. 
I am taking tomorrow and Thursday off this week.  Tomorrow Nick and I are going to King's Island.  We are super excited about it and we are PRAYING for no rain!!  The last time we went, we had a bad experience.  We didn't really fit in all the rides and it was kind of a frusterating trip.  I haven't been on a rollar coaster in a long time now and I am really excited to spend the day with Nick!  Thursday he is going to get a new tattoo.  He's getting an Asian dragon on his left arm.  He's excited about it and I can't wait to see it.  It will take a couple of sessions to complete, but I think it will be neat when it's done!
Wish us luck for tomorrow.  NO RAIN!!  :-)

Happy Birthday Nick!!

Today is Nick's 35th birthday!!  We had a really fun party for him on Saturday.  We celebrated with friends and family at Rascal's Fun Zone. Nick had a blast and I am so grateful for all that came to celebrate with us!  Here are some photos from his party...

This was the very yummy fruit basket Kathy got Nick

Here is Nick with his cake

 Isak was "kissing" Nick with a ducky

 Nick and Matt racing on the slick track



Work update

So my biggest news of the day today has to do with work.  I was asked yesterday to do a temporary assignment as a "Subject Matter Expert" for 3 leaders in my office.  Without getting in to too many details, I would basically be an assistant to three different managers.  I will shadow them and as a developmental opportunity for me.  My goal at Allstate is to be a manager and this is a great chance for me to learn a different side of the business.  I have mixed feelings about it becuase it will be a lot of work and probably a bit overwhelming and I am JUST getting ready to start school.  I am struggling to figure out how to keep balance in my life juggling these 2 big changes at the same time while maintaining my workout and weight loss goals, maintaining my social life, maintaining my family commitments, maintaining my marriage and maintaining my SANITY!  LOL! 

I will be curious to see how things go.  It is a great chance for development for me and I am anxious to work with the leaders I have been assigned.  They all have very different leadership styles and personalities and it will be a broad overview.  I will be starting in the next week or 2, so I will keep you posted.

Whew!

It was a BUSY weekend to say the least!  It was a lot of fun, too!  The Indians game was nice.  We had great weather and it was good to catch up! 
Our work picnic went really well!  I am glad it's over.  I worked my tail off!  But it was nice.  Saturday night we went to dinner with Matt and Trina and enjoyed catching up with them.
Yesterday was delightful!  I didn't do anything!  It was lovely!  LOL!

Back to work today and it's a busy Monday!  I am ready to start planning my fall vacation!  :-)

I did lose some this week.  I am at 225.6 as of yesterday.  My mom is joining us for our walk tonight and we may try to push her just a bit.  :-) 

Busy weekend

I am looking forward to this weekend, though it will be busy!  Tonight we are celebrating my cousin, Glen's, birthday at the Indianapolis Indians game.  It should be a great night.  They do fireworks after the game, so it should be a lot of fun. 
Tomorrow is our company picnic.  We are planning on about 300 poeple to come and I am on the committee.  It has taken a lot of time the past few months, but it should be fun.  Nick and I will be there ALL DAY!  Tomorrow evening we are having dinner with Matt and Trina and it will be really nice to catch up with them.
Sunday you will find me at home in my pajamas ALL DAY!  I'm taking a day off!  LOL!
Have a great weekend and pray for NO RAIN!  :-)

Walking...

I was really proud of us last night.  I got home about 8:30 and it was later than we wanted to start our walk.  Plus, neither of us felt great and it was very warm and muggy last night.  We could have found a LOT of excuses not to walk last night.  BUT we did it anyway.  And we trimmed 3 minutes off our time.  We walked a lot faster than normal and we both felt it a bit more last night, but it felt GOOD!  I love our walks! 
Tonight is Stamp Club and I am super excited to see the ladies!  I love our group and being creative with them.  I can't wait to see what Kathy came up with for us!  After club, my Mom and Jenny and I do a date night and I enjoy catching up with them, too. 
Have a great Thursday!

Yummie smoothie!

So when I was at the doctor's Monday, they gave me a smoothie to have for breakfast.  I made it this morning and it is YUMMY and so filling!  It took me about 3 hours to finish 24 ounces. 

It is:
1 scoop vanilla Whey Protein Isolate - 30 g protein (found at Vitamin World in the Greenwood Mall)
1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
6 oz container Yoplait 99% fat free Strawberry Banana yougurt - 5 g protein
12 oz skim milk - 12 g protein
(you can also add 1/4 cup shredded carrots for a veggie serving)
total - 47 grams of protein!  That's over 1/2 the daily recommended dose!  :-)

I have been having trouble getting in enough protein, so I am very excited about this recipe.  It was very quick to make this morning.  It tastes good and it will definately keep me full for a while!  Plus 3 servings of fruit (and good fiber!)  Yay!!

Success!

I had a great weekend!  Friday night Nick and I went to dinner at Dave and Busters with Paul and Stephanie, my step brother and his wife.  We always have a lot of fun with them and Friday was great!  We had a nice dinner and then played games in the big adult arcade. 
Saturday was nice, too.  We celebrated Mother's Day with Kathy.  We went shopping and went to visit Kathy's sister, Glenda.  Then we went to a nice dinner and had a great time.  We always laugh so much when we get together with John and Kathy!
Sunday was nice.  Chris and I made dinner Mom, Dave, Grandma and Grandpa.  We had a nice afternoon catching up and I got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa afterwards. 
Yesterday I went to the doctor for my 6 month check up.  I have lost 60% of my excess body weight already.  They consider 70% a successful surgery, so they were pleased with my progress so far.  We agreed that my goal should be closer to 175 than the 160 I was planning.  We will see what my body does...  I am going to go where ever this journey leads.  :-)  My nurse also told me that I needed to be prepared for the weight loss to slow quite a bit over the next few months and that was totally normal and I should try not to get discouraged.  I am already very pleased with my results, though I will continue to push myself until I am happy with where I am.  I am getting close, really.  I would be very very happy to lose another 50 lbs over the next several months and will work hard to get there. 
Last night, Nick and I went for our normal 5k walk, but we had company.  My Mom and Kathy joined us!  It was their first attempt and they did it like champs!!  They both got thru it and didn't pass out.  We finished in about 1 hour 10 minutes, so we maintained good time for their first time out.  They may join us once a week for our walk.  That would be so awesome!  It's a great walk!  Nick and I are going to start jogging.  There is a simple training plan for marathons and stuff that we will follow.  Basically you walk 5 min, the jog a minute, over and over for a week.  The next week, you walk 4 minutes, jog 2 minutes, and so on...  I would love to be able to jog a 5k by the end of the year and then maybe part of the mini marathon next year!!
Today is back to work.  I hope you all have a great week!

Mother's Day weekend!!

Happy Mother's Day weekend!!  I am so richly blessed!  I have the very best Mom in the world and the greatest Mother-in-law I could ever dream of! 

My Mom was my very first friend and has been my best friend since then. She always knows what to say and how to be exactly what I need.  My mom has the best laugh and a beautiful smile.  People always say we look like sisters and it's one of the best compliments you can give me.  My mom is a loving, passionate and outgoing woman that has overcome many trials to find happiness and peace.  I love you, Mom.

 My Mother in law is sincerely one of the neatest women I have ever met.  Kathy is one of the most thoughtful, generous and delightful women I have ever met.  She is extremely talented and a friend to all.  She also has a gift for being an awesome mother, judging by her practically perfect son.  She raised him in a way that amazes me everyday.  I love you, Kathy.

I have many "Moms" in my life that set an amazing example for me.  I love to watch my friend Katrina be a Mom.  My Aunts are raising really amazing families.  My sister-in-law is doing an outstanding job with my neice and nephew.  So many different styles and, most importantly, SO much love and support and STRENGTH in these women.  Nick and I pray that I will be blessed with a child of our own when God's ready and I am so glad to have so many women to look to for guideance.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there that are raising the next generation of this country.  It's an amazing gift and responsibility and you all bear it so graciously! 

Pictures!!

Here is a recent picture of me.  This was taken last night and I will put it next to one of my "Before" photos.  I'm kinda blow away by this.  :-)   

The before is in about October.  The second is down 120 lbs!!

 

Catching up....

Goodness gracious!  It's been a long time!!  I have a lot to catch up on!!  I will try to start at the beginning from my last post.

Tuesday morning (4/26) we got up nice and early to meet John and Kathy to head out on our adventure.  It rained in a few spots on our way down, but all in all, the weather wasn't that bad.  Especially seeing as how there were MAJOR storms and devistating tornadoes the very next day in the same areas we had just been through!  Scary!

Here is a photo of John and Kathy taken when we stopped for lunch.

We stopped in Marietta, GA on Tuesday night and stayed with Aunt Marcia.  She was an awesome hostess and her house is amazing!  Here is a photo of her back yard.  You should see the rest of her house!!

We got back on the road Wednesday morning and finished the drive to Florida.  Here's a photo of the Atlanta skyline:

We actually stayed in Brandon, FL.  It's just east of Tampa and it was a really nice area.  There was a very nice mall and lots of resteraunts and things to do.  

Wednesday night was John's first meet-and-greet and hockey practice.  He was excited to meet his team and get on the ice!  The guys on his team came from all over and it was fun to see so many guys that have the same passion for hockey that John does.  Here is a photo of the first team practice with John tending goal.

Thursday morning we got up and went shopping.  There was a really nice mall about a mile from our hotel.  Nick got a very nice jersey for his birthday along with some other t-shirts.  I also found a couple of cute shirts and we all walked away with some new clothes.  Then we went back to the ice rink for John's first game.  His team, the Stars, played the other pick-up team in the tournament.  The game a a lot of fun and the Stars won!  Yay for John!  Thursday night we drove to Clearwater Beach.  It took us about an hour to get there thanks to some rush hour traffic.  There was a storm out in the gulf and the surf was intense!  We played in the water for a while and then enjoyed the sunset. 

Friday morning we went to the Hyatt in Clearwater.  They have a really cool nature walk that spans about a 1/2 mile.  It was a nice day and we got to see some great wildlife and beautiful flowers!  There were lizards and little crabs everywhere! 

John had another game that afternoon and the Stars didn't fare so well.  The guys must have been tired.  They skated their hearts out, though! 

Saturday we went back to Clearwater Beach in the morning.  It was a beautiful day.  The water was much more calm and we swam and sunbathed for a couple of hours.

 

We headed back to the ice rink and John actually ended up playing a double header!  He did great, though I was tired just watching him!!  His stamina amazes me!  The Stars lost their game, but he was asked to play goalie for another team and happily obliged!  They won that game and it was a lot more fun! 

Sunday morning we headed back out on the road.  We went back to Marietta to Marica's to stay Sunday night.  We had a very nice BBQ and got to meet Marcia's daughter, Tracy, and her family and Marcia's other daughter, Laurie's, kids.  We played in the pool and had a nice visit. 

We finished the drive on Monday and got home about 6.  I was very sad that it was chilly and rainy when we got home.  It was BEAUTIFUL in Florida!  In the  upper 80s and sunny!  I am ready for it to be warm here!

We took Tuesday off work to recoup a bit.  We ended up going to the mall and doing some more clothes shopping and some Mother's Day shopping.  We went to dinner and just enjoyed the day.  Then back to work for me yesterday.  Nick doesn't have to go back to work until tomorrow. Lucky duck!  It is nice to be back to work, though we are already planning our next trip to Clearwater!!