All I want for Christmas

Is my two front teeth! And I got them! They still look unnatural to me, but I think they will grow on me. I hope so. This is a temporary fix until I get implants.

What have I gotten myself into?

Can I really do all the things I have on my plate? Gym, school, work, church callings, etc. Not necessarily in that order, but GWhiz. I used to have pajamas that said that on the shirt. When I lived with my dad.
What the heck am I thinking? I can barely do my school work and the gym. Why did I throw a job in there?
I have got to lose weight. It is making me insane. I am eating like crap, because I am never home. I am missing three days a week at the gym, and I just got started. This is not even the busiest time at work. Things are only going to get crazier. I hope I can maintain my sanity.
I know what you are going to say, let the gym go. But I absolutely am unwilling to let that go. I need at least 4 days a week just to maintain my weight. If I only go to my sessions I will gain weight. I can't do it, folks. I can't gain any more weight. I am already back to 300. I had to buy new clothes, because I got rid of all of my old bigger sized clothes. So what am I supposed to do?
Any thoughts?

Much better

Now I can see all my blogs again. The other layout template was interesting, but I didn't like it after a day or so. So I am back to the other way.
I am working, at Hickory Farms, again. The lady I work for is very nice and when she called I was so excited that she wanted me to work for her again I said yes before I could think about it. I am glad though, because it is a lot of fun. There are so many people out there that stop and say hi, or chat with you. Of course there are some that don't, but the majority of people are happy about getting a hello and how are you and will return it, given the chance. Mostly it ends in a sale, but even when it doesn't it is still pretty satisfying. And people's kids these days are just gorgeous. Makes me miss and wish I were closer to all the little kids in my life.
I am also still in school four days a week and still doing my personal training twice a week. So I am pretty busy. But I am happy.
I hope you are too.
I am thinking about doing a thankful post. I haven't done one in a year or so, and while I try to let people know when and why I am thankful for something they have done or just for them in general, I need to offer my gratitude to my Heavenly Father publicly for the very many blessings he provides me.
So look for that soon.
Gotta get to bed, I am a working girl now, gotta get up and go to work tomorrow.

modern greetings

My sister's company that she works for is launching a new website. It is awesome. It is moderngreetings.
Go sign up for a free photo book. Very cool stuff. Can't wait for the launch!
www.moderngreetings.com

Phones

I got a phone call today from my old boss at Hickory Farms. She wants me to work for her again! YAY! That means I wasn't horrible. Anyway, I filled out my paperwork online and I think I start next week. Not sure, I have to get a phone call from her telling me when to come in and stuff.
I am so excited!

Friendship

I take my friendships very seriously I don't make friends easily or lightly. If you are going to be in my inner circle, there are a few obstacles to break through. If you aren't in my inner circle, you can still be my friend, but I will keep my opinions and feelings to myself. Anyway, this isn't the point.
My close friends know they are important to me, and they know who they are. If you are not sure, you are not one of my closest friends. These people know I am there when they need me, no matter what. I know the same is true about them. They don't offend easily. Neither do I. I don't necessarily have to talk to you every day in order to consider you a close friend. If I love you, you know it. If I have ever told you I love you, I still do.
I say all this because one of my very best friends is moving next week. Across the country. Far away from me. Very far. Farther than I have ever been away from home, either here or in Oklahoma or in Texas. The farthest I have been from home is Utah. And that isn't that far. I have never been farther west than Arizona, and I have only ever visited one friend that lived far away from me. She is still one of my closest friends, and I haven't seen or talked to her in years. But I know she loves me, like she used to, and she knows the same is true for me. That time I went to Colorado. This time it is even farther than that. Washington state. The only other friend I visit is only because she lives near my family. What I am trying to say is that it is not easy for me to go out and visit my friends. This is because I hate traveling. A lot. If I am going to go to the trouble of traveling far from home, it better be for family. I don't see them often enough, so when I am gone from my home, I want to be with my family.
I am going to miss this friend more than I can articulate. Her family has become part of my family, and I don't want them to go. Actually, I want them to go, and I am excited for this move, for the sole purpose of it being a great opportunity and Heavenly Father has assured me that it is where they need to be. But part of me wants to cry for hours (or maybe days) and beg them to stay. I want to spend every last minute with them. The last four years have been great, because I have had my friends to share them with. I have grown a lot, learned a lot as a mother and friend, loved a great deal, and I will miss them so much. They have changed my life.
I have close friends here still. That won't change. Nor does this post mean I love them any less. All of you have changed my life for the better. All of you will be in my heart forever. That is why you are my close friends. I am blessed that Heavenly Father has put so many wonderful people in my life when and where I need them.
I know it is time for them to move on. But I will miss them. So much. The words are inadequate. My heart aches. I don't want to be without them.
So this post is for them, all seven of them. I LOVE YOU. I will think of you every day. I know we will stay in touch because I am not letting you go. So tonight, when I see you, just know how much you mean to me, and know how much I love you. And how much I am going to be missing you. But also know I am proud of you, and where you are going in your life. And I am grateful for everything you have done for and been to me.
My contacts are fogging up. Time to start getting ready for dinner.

Update...

Okay, so the last post was not that cheerful. I realize for some of you that is so not cool. Okay, so this one is going to be better.
I re-upped with my personal trainer for another year. I went to my psychiatrist and got another anti-psychotic for my bipolar, one that is weight neutral. I stopped taking all the diuretics.
I am feeling so much better about everything. I realize sometimes when I get things off my chest it sort of solves the problem, and then I feel a little embarrassed that I let everything go like that.
So I am beginning all over. I am going to pretend that I am just beginning, and here I am just deciding to lose weight, just deciding that this is a journey I want to go on. For the last few weeks I felt that I needed a break, that I wanted to just put everything on hold for awhile. Things got pretty intense in my head. And with my weight. I made it back up to 308. The funny thing is, I don't have any clothes that fit that size anymore. I was so determined not to go back there that I gave away prolly three or four hundred dollars worth of clothes. An entire wardrobe. Nothing I own is over a size 24. Now I am stuck in my workout clothes, for the most part, because they are the only things that fit. Heh.
I am back down to 295, for a minute.  It still fluctuates wildly. I go see my endocrinologist on Tuesday. Hopefully we will find a reason for the weight. Hopefully it will be some version of the anti-psychotic drug mixing with the hormone changes (or whatever) to make the drug make me put on almost forty pounds in two months. Or something else that I am easily able to fix. In any case, I am ok. I am going to do a bod pod session on the 17th, where I sit in this little chamber (pod) and it measures my resting metabolic rate, my exact body fat percentage, and a couple of other things that will give my trainer something to work with as far as how many calories I need everyday, and what sorts of foods to avoid and to encourage. My trainer is amazing y'all. He works so hard to help me. My sessions are brutal, to the point that I am in tears. But he somehow makes me feel like I am succeeding anyway. He is helping me in so many ways. I cannot recommend enough that you go see him. If you need a free pass to the gym to get you started, I have several. Let me know, ok? I am serious, you guys. This is life changing stuff. Even if you just join the gym, you get a free session with a trainer. Ask for John VanVelkinburgh. I will give you his number, if you want it. Even if you think you can't afford it, check it out. The staff at Club Fitness and the DFM trainers are all amazing and willing to work with you however they can. Nick Wibbenmeyer is the DFM manager. He is awesome as well. They are all of them very compassionate and interested in helping you do what YOU can to help yourself.
So the break thing isn't going to happen. I am instead going to double my efforts at the gym, going at least four times a week, preferably five. I am going to be keeping a meticulous food journal. SO yeah. This is it again. I am pumped and ready to go. I hope I am never back here again. I hope we can find the reason I got back here again and fix it so it NEVER happens again. But even if I go through this again, over and over, this is my life now. I will never go back to just laying on the couch all day. I will never go back to binge-ing on food again. Not happening. Never. I WILL be healthy (and cute) again. Even if I am gray and bald. Heh.
I think this is long enough. Thanks for listening.

Numbness and tingling

Hey, do you think this post will have anything to do with my health?
As I sit, I am numb or tingling in no less than four of my limbs. I am back up to three hundred and two pounds. Yes, I am saying it out loud. But I don't know why. I am eating properly. I am working out like a fiend. I am taking all the right meds and getting off all the wrong ones. My eyes were swollen shut this morning. My nose is bright red like Santa Claus'. My hands are puffy like my feet, and my arms and legs are stiff and swollen like bratwurst. I am retaining so much water. I don't know why. I can't get rid of it. My doctor says on paper I am looking really good. My labs are all normal. My kidney function is normal.
This weight thing is doing nasty things to my brain. I can't handle this. I had to drop one of my classes because I am a can't hack it, no talent wuss. I am seriously considering dropping all my classes. I am considering stopping my workouts. I am considering binge-ing on whatever I can get my hands on, which unfortunately is fruits and veg because I have been so strict on my diet that there is no junk in the house. Not even crackers. I am so tired  of all this drama. A friend says drama makes you feel important and helps you feel connected to others. I tend to agree.
Instead of stopping anything, I will begin a food journal that takes into account everything I eat, drink, or sniff. Including how I feel about it, and what I am going to eat for the rest of the day. Also a weekly recap just in case I missed my abject failure the first time.
I will continue to work out like a dog, even though working out with all this water and weight is like breathing and moving through mud or wet concrete.
I will continue to go to school and hope I don't get too far behind.
There. I am done. I can go on with life.
Pray for me, people. Please.

Slipping

Who wants to help me make slipcovers for three chairs or possible a sofa or all four? Come on, you know it will be loads of fun. I have never done it before, so it will be an experience to remember! Call me!

Rockin'

Well this last week just flew by. I think there may be some pathology there, but I am not sure. I won't elaborate, and you will thank me.
This week, however, seems to be taking forever. My house is a mess, I have too many projects going, and I am busy up to here---->!
Dylan got his wisdom teeth out this morning. One of the roots was a perfect hook. I have never seen anything like it. I know, I know, I don't look at wisdom teeth roots often. Well, any tooth roots for that matter. Anyway. It was the weirdest thing I have seen for a long time. It was shaped like a J. Strange. But at least it is out of there now. He is sleeping, and has been for most of the day.
I am getting my braces off this month! WOO HOO! I can not adequately express my feelings about this.
Four years, people.
Jeremy is having five teeth removed on Thursday.
I just deleted about three paragraphs. Grr.
I am not in the mood to rewrite them.
More later.

Hanging in there

Doing my thing, just like always.
Things are beginning to go more smoothly. School is settling down, although I was late to my math class, because I mistakenly thought it was at eight am, instead of seven. I was half an hour late! Doh!
Anyway, I am doing well in my classes at least. And getting the hang of the schedule.
We did microscopes in Lab the other day. It was fun, I guess, but I got a dud. There were only two little crawlies on my slide that I made with pond water. This one guy had everything in his slide, from algae to creepy-crawlies. I had scratches. And a worm thing. And another small little swift bit that was too small to describe.
The professor is great though. I like her.
All my teachers are pretty cool. I am enjoying my English class (remember, it is Developmental Writing II) and my Beginning Algebra class teachers as well. I haven't had much of a chance to get to know my Bio teacher, as I have only been to class once. Next week I will get to know him better. He seems pretty cool.
My projects are under way. I did a dresser, the little blue one that we found on the curb. I did it in a Twilight Gray color, and sanded it down to show a bit of wood and old paint. It matches my bedroom perfectly. I couldn't have done it to match more if I had done it on purpose. I also replace the knobs. George helped me, by carrying the old knobs all over the house. Still finding them.
George is doing well. He has a LOT of energy and tends to kill his toys if he gets bored. Also he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. His favorite game is to carry clothes or books or whatever he can get off the floor around the house while running. My house has never been cleaner. :) So far he has only managed to ruin a few things. We like to keep him occupied with his swimming pool, and games, like finding a treat under a series of bowls and then trying to get it out from under the correct bowl. He LOVES that one. He figures it out pretty quick. Also, he gets walked two to three times a day. He is learning to behave on the leash pretty well.
The boys are good. Jeremy is doing well in school. He decided against Marching Band this year. He is going to seminary as well. Dylan is still looking for a job.
Richard is home for a couple of weeks. It is a nice change. He has traveled a lot this year. Every month, for at least a week.
I have been having health issues. I won't go into them, they are not important. I am getting them in control. I hope. I am excited to begin losing weight. I wish it was easy. Man. It has been tough. Most of you have seen me lately and know that it is not going fast AT ALL. I am very strong though. And I have stamina, which is new for me. I am also sleeping less and eating less.
Gotta run.

I went there.

Over on the left, there is a link to Fighting Monsters with Rubber Swords.
I have been following this blog for many years. Probably 9. Maybe 10. A long time, in any case.
It is about a father, who has a disabled daughter. Mostly he talks about his daughter and how they try to help her find her place in the world.
This latest post, however, has questions from readers and Schuyler's answers. Go there now and read it.
I don't agree with this guy's politics or views on religion, at all, really. But I love how passionate he is for his daughter, and not in a perv-y way at all. I love how he tells the truth as he sees it, whether it makes the rest of us uncomfortable or not. I love how he expresses himself, in a very readable and down to earth way, which makes him easy to relate to. He is a normal schmuck, like the rest of us, but has been given two very valuable gifts. Those gifts are his family and his ability to write. He combines them in an awesome way.
I promise you, whether you like him or not (and I do, by and large), you will become addicted to reading about his life and his daughter. Especially his daughter. After you finish reading his blog, go out and buy his book. It is called Schuyler's Monster, and you will love it. If you don't want to buy it, come borrow it from me first or get it from the library.
I can't say any more about how much this little (not so little anymore) girl and her mom and dad have touched me. Changed me, made me more aware of others' feelings and circumstances.
Go on now. And take some tissue with you. you will need it.

Remember the last post? When I said I loved to get ugly furniture from good will and make it look nice? This is one of the things I bought this morning. Richard said if I wanted to furnish the front room, I needed to get it from goodwill or garage sales. So this morning I went to goodwill and found this footstool and chair for 25 dollars total! I bought the fabric from hobby lobby on clearance the other day, thinking I would redo my window valances. I decided after I bought the footstool and chair that I would flip the fabric over and put it underside up on the footstool. So the brown velvet would be on the design, and the cream color would be the background. I liked it. I hope you do too, but I will live if you think it is too busy, or not pretty. Because, you see, I love it. And it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. I added the trim to cover the staples, as I couldn't take the legs off. It is a sturdy little thing.

This is what it looks like now.

I like it alot. Tell me what you think, unless you are being mean.

I am going to have a friend help me slipcover the chair.

I love having this obsession.

A new look

I am obsessed.
I am utterly and completely obsessed. I am constantly jones-ing for this new hobby. I love to pour over catalogs and blogs and get ideas for it.
It is, in a word, refinishing.
I love to get cheap and ugly (at first glance) furniture from curbs and garage sales and thrift stores. I have received things from friends as well. I like to paint them and make them fit in my home. I am obsessed I tell you.
Also, I have a new favorite color for furniture. Get ready for this--it is GRAY. Such a non-color, right?
But there are so many shades of gray, or grey, depending on what you prefer. I am currently smitten with a light grey, "quiet rain". It is soft and silky. If butter were grey, this would be what color it was. (Gray butter? Yuck.)
Anyhoo, there you have it. Grey furniture. Weird, I know. If you know me, and most of you do, you know I like neutrals, darks, and pops of vibrant colors. But I am falling in love with this chic, smooth, glossy world of whites and greys, and mints, and pale blues. Cool and comfy, modern and romantic. Clean straight lines and voluptuous finishes.
It all started with white bed linens. I then painted my room a vibrant blue. Which I still LOVE. I mean, I LURVE this color. So to make it fit with grays and whites better, I am going to get an allover wall stencil, and stencil a gorgeous damask pattern over it to lighten it up and bring in the new colors. Well, the new grey. I am going to reupholster the head board.
I have SO many ideas, ya'll. I gotta get them on paper and get moving on them.

Books

I received my college books today. I went and got them first thing this morning. I want to open them A LOT. But I have to wait until class starts to see if I really need them and have the right ones. Grr. Can't return them unwrapped.
I am getting a new cpap machine. I am excited. I got a new mask today, and I can't wait to try it out. It has nasal cannulas, sort of, and i should be able to sleep with it better than the face mask.
George is doing well. He misses his dog family, I think, but he is doing all right without them. HE likes to go to the pet store, and he likes to walk. But only once a day. He is good on the leash for me, but not as good for Richard. He is off his food, kinda. It takes him a long time to eat. I think he is adjusting to being the only dog. And to being in the house. I think he is going to be a great pet. He is a sweet boy, and tries very hard to be obedient. He likes to chew, which so far hasn't caused too many problems.
D is looking for a job. He doesn't want to do fast food, but I think he won't have to. He has applied at all kinds of places.
J just started school this week. He likes it so far. He has decided not to do marching band. He missed most of the practices this summer, and feels like he will have too much on his plate. So next year we will make sure he gets to go to summer practices and band camp. Hopefully he will want to do it next year. He is still going to be in the regular band, though.
The Man is working hard this week. Trying to catch up from being gone so long.

Jiggety jig

We are home, finally, and I am getting into a routine. Such as it is. I won't really be able to get into a routine until school starts, but I am all caught up on laundry and dr. visits, for the most part.
I had a session the other day and thought I was going to die. Today, I wish I had. I am so sore. And I have a headache. I will get over it, of course.
George is a remarkable dog/puppy. He is very well behaved and sweet. The vet fell in love with him, and said that he will be about 60 pounds full grown. Which will be in the next few months. He is tall and gorgeously sleek. Short hair! Like a pit bull, but feet like a Lab. We love him very much and he is taking to his new home really well.
So far, no barking at the doorbell. Although, I have to say, we have trained everyone really well. No one rings the doorbell anymore. They just knock or come in through the garage. It is funny to me. George is learning that the noise of knocking means some one is coming in, because he runs to the front hall and waits. He is a very patient puppy. He doesn't bark at the door yet, and doesn't rush the door like Marvin. Like I said, he is very well mannered.
School starts soon, and I am nervous. I am taking eleven hours this semester. I am also excited. The only day I have off is Friday. And Sunday of course. I have a Saturday morning class, Essentials of Biology. The rest of my classes are Beginning Algebra and Development Writing II.
I have two classes on Monday, and one class on each of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I will also still have my training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. I wish I would lose weight faster.
Sigh.
I have decide to do couponing. Not extreme couponing, but regular. My sisters told me how they do it and I will do a conglomeration of their two styles.
Gotta get ready for dinner, we are having guests!
Let me know how you are doing, and what you are up to this fall.
See ya!

George

I know most of you have seen this, but for those of you who don't have facebook, here is George. I am so excited to get him. He is six months old and very obviously a Lab mix. Which is great because I love Labs. He is already thirty pounds. I think it is going to be a lot of fun to have him in our family.

Chillin'.

I am spending the week with my Grampy in TX. He is my mom's dad, and he misses my Grammy. She died not TOO long ago. I miss her. A lot. Especially when I am at her house and she is not.
My aunt, Cheli, whom he lives with, is having surgery today and my mom is at the hospital with her. I am here with Jeremy, Grampy, and the cats.
So far things are going great. We ran a couple of errands this morning and everyone is eating when they should be. I enjoy spending time with my Grampy. He is a good guy. He likes to do things on a schedule, so he is helping me regulate my time. Which I need. He likes to do errands in the mornings and eat at regular times and he has little jobs that he does. Like go around on his scooter and return all the neighbors' trash cans back up to their garages after the trash truck comes.  He is also the neighborhood can collector and goes around and cleans up the neighborhood of cans and other trash. All except for one guy, who is a "jackass" who told him not to mess with his trash cans. LOL.
He is taking good care of me, making sure I have enough to eat, and that I know I am welcome to anything in the house. He spends a lot of time sitting in the garage with a fan on him, but he is constantly coming in to check on me and Jeremy. It is sweet.
My aunt Cheli is doing well, out of surgery and into recovery. I hope her surgery works out for her.

Hoarders?

Went to a class on couponing tonight. It was pretty cool. It isn't something I am interested in myself, but I learned a few things.
First, don't be a shopper, be a buyer. Go with a list. I believe we have discussed my loathing of writing things down. But seriously? I gotta get some things in order.
I can be a buyer. I can make good decisions about things that I buy, and such.
Currently, I am a shopper. I like to walk each aisle of the store, look at most of the departments, take my time, find everything I might want or need. I don't currently restrict myself on the things that I buy.
Honestly? It is a source of contention between The Man and I.
My sister says that her husband works so hard for his pay, that she doesn't want to be wasteful about it. I totally agree with this sentiment. The Man works SO HARD. I feel like I have been remiss in my duty to take the responsibility of being in charge of the household budget seriously, and to execute that duty with  the gravity it deserves.
I don't think I need to change EVERYTHING about how I am. But lots of stuff is getting in the way of making progress. For instance, I am having trouble losing weight because I am horrible at saying no to things I shouldn't eat. Another example is that I have problems with The Man because I spend too much money. I have problems with my spirituality because I don't follow the most basic of requirements. So maybe instead of thinking of all these things I have to change, perhaps I should focus on the one thing they all have in common. Because I gotta tell ya, folks, I am overwhelmed. The thought of all the important things that are needing attention and work in my life is enough to make me want to crawl in a hole and give up. But I can't give up. The things that need change are too important. So instead of focusing on all the things I need to fix, I am going to focus on the one thing they all have in common. Self discipline. Lack of, to be specific.
So let's see what I can come up with. Maybe I need a routine. Maybe I need a more organized life. The thought of doing the same thing every day at the same time makes my skin crawl. But it isn't working the way it is now. Really, it isn't. So a schedule it is. A routine. I have plenty of time to get everything done that I need to get done, and I am motivated to do all those things. So I am going to work on my self discipline.
Wish me luck!

My feet hurt.

It is a lot of fun to make so many things, but my feet hurt.

Jammin.

Hey ya'll.
I am making jam and pickles all this week. Yum.
Today I made a beautiful strawberry lemon marmalade. It is dark pink and looks like a jewel in a jar. I had a little left over and tried it and it is FAN. TAS. TIC. Every one else thought it was great too.
We went to Canino market today to get fresh veg and fruit for canning things this week. It was THE best farmer's market I have ever been to. Beats Soulard by a mile and a half. All the produce was gorgeous, there was a HUGE variety, and it was all very inexpensive.
We are making dilled carrots, stewed tomatoes, strawberry lemon marmalade, pepper carrot salsa, honeyed peach and blueberry compote, lemon ginger marmalade, and blueberry citrus conserve.
Yum.
My mom and sister are making the veggies, and me and my sister are making the fruits. We are also doing bread and butter pickles. Friday we are going to the ocean. It will be my first time to see the ocean. I am looking forward to seeing it, but I am not going in the water, and I am afraid it will be hot and dirty. Oh well. I am also sure it will be gorgeous and maybe a little awe-inspiring.
I am having the best time.
I missed my sister and her family a lot more than I thought I did. I am glad to be able to see them.
Also, Avery gave me a kiss on the hand today! Woot!

Dogs, it is hot.

Going to be over one hundred degrees all week!

Blogger on my Galaxy Tab

Woo Hoo!

What life is

I am going to pretend that I just started working out. I have really been working out for almost two years. But I am not losing enough weight. I am strong like bull. (heehee) So now that I am sort of getting the hang of my food thing, I was thinking about sort of starting over. Taking my weight that I am now as kind of a new beginning and seeing how far I can go with it. Not to discount all the things and work I have done. It has been great. But I am beginning to feel overwhelmed and discouraged. The pounds, they are not coming off, people. I know it is because of food. I am horrible at eating right, and we have already discussed my hatred of all things tracking. that is one of the reasons I quit weight watchers. Anyway, I am going off on a tangent.
So this is my new start. Too bad I am going away from the gym for three weeks. I can think of it, instead of as a bad thing, as a challenge to really get my food under control. I am afraid of leaving the gym, and my trainer. Big time. I am afraid of gaining back even more weight than I already have. (Ten pounds, in the last few weeks.)  We have discussed and are discussing the idea of leaving my trainer for a few months during school and starting again in January with the training sessions. I know I can't do the personal trainer thing the rest of my life, but I am really not ready to do this by myself. I want to get my food under control, and lose about 75 more pounds before I try and finish on my own. OK, so maybe 75 pounds isn't reasonable. How about 60? How about down to 200? That is more than 75 pounds, friends. I don't know when I will be ready to tackle it without professional help, but I know I am not ready now. I want to get started losing again. I want to lose slowly and consistently. I want to eat right for real, and not just talk about it. I know how to do it. I just need to get there. And I think I might be there. I am ready to try the food thing, with the tracking and all. Even when it is ugly. What, is he gonna ground me?
I have learned that I can take whatever people throw at me, and use it to get stronger. I am learning to take my faults and problems and turn them into talents and strengths.
One reason I want to be a nutrition sciences major is to learn about the body. I want to help people. I want to know what food does to my body (besides make me fat) and help people to figure it out for themselves. I know that everyone has their own time table, and their own agenda, and that I won't be able to help everyone, but I can always help myself.

Question

Should I add a song to this blog?  What song should it be?

Tracking

Got Richard started with myfitnesspal.com today. Thought it would be fun to do together. I got started on it from my sister. It is really neat, and easy to do. I hate tracking. I hate lists, and calorie counting, and diets, and everything else related to tracking. The myfitnesspal.com tracking program is really easy and fun. I like it alot. Thanks Wendy!

Looking ahead

I am looking forward to seeing my family soon. We are going to see Taylor, who is coming home from his mission in Sweden next week. I am so excited to see him. And the rest of his family. I haven't visited with them really since we moved from San Antonio, 6 years ago.
We are going to have a party, of course, celebrating his return, and then my mom, my sister and I are going to do some canning. I am so excited, I can hardly wait.
Then we are going to visit with my Aunt Cheli, and my Grampy. I will even get to see my Hunky Bob.
The only bad thing is that I will not be able to get to the gym regularly. Fortunately, there will be opportunities for me to exercise, and I am going to be super careful about not eating fast food or junk. Even when we are traveling.
Also, I will get to see Dylan again. He has been gone for a while now, and I miss him. I hope he is doing well.
There is a wealth expert on tv. He is a dork. How do you get to be a wealth expert, I wonder?
Anyway, I guess that will do it.
TTFN

The Fourth

It is Independence Day today. I am sure you already knew that, seeing as how the day is three quarters over. There have been a lot of posts on the FB about how grateful people are to be in this country. How much they appreciate the men and women who serve has been another common thread. I agree completely. Of course.
This country is amazing. I hope it continues to be. I hope that the freedoms we enjoy now are ours forever.
Sounds like I am about to say that I am not sure they will be ours forever. I don't know that. I also don't know where we are headed. I am scared and excited and nervous and looking forward. I know that life is about change and how you deal with it.
I say bring it.

First post!

Here it is, after almost a year of no blogging, my first post! I have missed you! I hope you get as much out of my new blog as I do. I hope I get a lot out of it. Not sure where we will go, but excited about the journey.
Things going on in my life at the moment:
I am currently benefiting greatly from a personal trainer. His name is John. Outside of personal training, he is my friend. In our training sessions he teaches me how to exercise properly (and hard) and about nutrition. I am learning a lot about both of those things, as well as a lot about myself. For instance, it is really hard for me to stick to a certain diet. All diets, actually. I hate restrictions on what I can and can't eat. So I am really struggling. I am on a limited calorie phase right now, 1200 per day. Most days I am good with it, but sometimes I overshoot the target. I am trying though, and seeing progress in lots of ways.
I am going to start school again in August at Saint Charles Community College. Eventually I will end up with a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Nutritional Sciences. I think I want to be a diabetes educator in a hospital or clinic, but I am not sure about that part yet. I am taking three classes and one lab.
Having trouble getting to and staying at church. Not sure why. Still thinking about that one. Sometimes I want to drop it completely and other times I miss it so much it hurts.
Going to be visiting my family soon. I can't wait for this! I miss them all so much. They are amazing people.
Very diverse and intelligent group.
Well, I better get started on my day. To the gym!