A FEW THINGS TO SHARE

I have really been away from blogging for a while. It seems my schedule is pretty crazy these days. Here are a few updates...

After making my first goal to get my shoes, I set another goal to do 3 miles every day for two weeks. Unfortunately, I didn't make it. I had some family things that happened and I just didn't have the energy to do it all. Despite that, I moved forward. When I knew that I wasn't going to meet that goal, I just walked as many days those two weeks as I could. Last Tuesday (2/12/08), Maura came over and we were doing the 3 mile walk which consisted of playing my 2 mile walk one full time and then going to the one mile mark a second time. Well, we got busy talking and I missed the one mile mark. Maura finaly said, "I think we have finished the 3rd mile." I looked at the video and sure enough, we were past that mark. I joked about doing the whole thing twice and she agreed, but then I told her we had to get to work so I stopped.

The next day I was thinking about how easily I could have gone on, so when I started walking, I just kept going. I went through my 2 mile walk 2 complete times. It was amazing to me how easy that last mile was. So I did 4 miles, each day the rest of the week. On Sunday, I decided to pull out my 4 fast miles DVD and see how I could do. It was challenging, but I loved it. So I am now doing 4 fast miles every day. I can keep the pace pretty good, but still not able to do the high impact. I can really tell a difference in my core and abdominal muscles. So I am really excited about this. When Maura came over this past Tuesday we did it together and let me tell you, she is awesome.

I am thankful for all the support and the positive feedback. I have not stepped on a scale in a while because that is just too frustrating right now. Maura and I reviewed my progress since starting in December and found something really interesting. In December when I started, I walked a total of 10 miles. In January I walked a total of 42 miles. As of today, I have walked 57 miles in February and if I keep on track, I will have walked over 80 miles by the end of the month. That is exciting to me. The 4 fast miles is a faster pace and I can really feel the difference. There are good things ahead.

On Wed. this week 2/20/08...Eric and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary. In some ways it is hard to believe that we have been married that long. In other ways, it seems like just yesterday. He is my biggest supporter and I am thankful for his encouragement as I work toward acheiving my goals. I don't think I realized when I married him, what a treasure I was getting. However, as the years have passed, I have been blessed to have him in my life. He really brings out the best in me. Eric, honey, thanks for everything. I love you so much. Here's to the next 21 years!

Mama Got a New Pair O' Shoes!

I have been really diligent about keeping my goals so far this year. I have charted my progress and am really proud to say that I have done better this year than any other year in my life. Still with keeping my goals I wasn't seeing the weight loss that I wanted. I was doing the diet and really giving it my all---to no avail! So I took a que from the pampered princess and decided I was going to increase my activity level...

Last week I walked 3 miles every day---21 miles total. I have to say it was hard some of the days, but I knew that I wanted to obtain my reward so I just ignored the pain and went on. At one point, I got up from my desk slowly because my muscles were stiff and my co-worker asked if I was ok. I explained my goal and she was very supportive because she had also lost 100 lbs a couple of years ago and understood the sacrifice it took to do this.

I am happy to report that today I went to the store and bought my reward--a new pair of running shoes. That isn't even the best part of the story...I was going to get them on Saturday, before I had finished my goal, but decided I wanted to really earn it so I waited...Today after work, Eric and I went to Shoe Carnival. I had planned to buy him a new pair of shoes also so I knew it was going to cost me, but I had earned my shoes and didn't care about the cost.

When we got to the store, we started looking at the shoes. Over the PA system they announced an in store special...buy one pair, get one half price--even on the clearance shoes. This was something we had done there before, but today it wasn't advertised. It was just that store, at that moment. I found a pair of Nike runners that was regularly $65, on clearance for $54. Eric got a pair of New Balance (the only kind that he can wear because his foot is so wide--4E) for $59. My shoes were half price---$27. As we left the store, I exclaimed "Thank you Heavenly Father for another tithing blessing!"

Not only did I reach my goal and get my reward, but I also was blessed to get a great deal. I am thankful to report that I put on the new shoes right after I got home and walked 3 miles in them. WOW--what a difference a new pair of shoes makes! My next goal is to walk 3 miles every day for the next 2 weeks. I haven't decided on a reward, but it will be a good one. I am going to force my metabolism to respond!

I do have to admit that even though the weight loss isn't there, I can see my muscles toning up. I also know that muscle weighs more than fat so I am willing to go with it. Thanks for all your support. This is going to be a great year as I finally accomplish my goals.