Feelings and Emotions = LOTS of RANDOMNESS

I don't know how to start this post...I've started, stopped, erased, back pedaled, and now I'm just going to write it in bullet points because I have so much I need to get off my chest it will be the easiest way...try to keep up and if you can't, no worries I'm not sure I'll be able to either...LOL

• We're trying to get into a house.  After 15 years of marriage, it's our gift to each other. 
• We've been pre-approved, we've been looking, and we are now learning what it's like to be on the house buying roller coaster.
• Rules are changing April 1st, so the lender is 'pushing' a little bit to get us to get into a contract before then so we can save money.
• The neighborhoods we REALLY wanted to be in don't have anymore houses in our price range.  They ALL seem to be purchased out from under us before we could even look at them all...
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• I put my foot in my mouth BIG time with someone I love, and it's ALWAYS hard to make ammends when you KNOW you're in the wrong.   But, I've done it and I will probably be continuing to make ammends to this person for a while. 
• We OWE taxes this year, which we thought was going to put a damper on getting the house, but it turns out it may not...why? Because our tax guy is AWESOME!!  
• My kids are precious, but they also drive me crazy sometimes. 
• In exactly 2 weeks from today, Gabe and I are going on another honeymoon for 4 days and 3 nights!
• We are SUPER excited and are COUNTING down the days.  Just the TWO of US, all alone reconnecting.
• I've currently lost 14 pounds and hope to lose the last 1 before our trip in 2 weeks...that would leave 5 pounds left to lose after our trip.
• I'm struggling to not buy anything impulsively, especially since I'm running out of clothes.
• I also used to be an emotional eater..I'm working on NOT becoming an emotional/stress buyer...it's VERY hard!
• I know there's more I want to say, but I'm watching Last Man Standing and I'm too distracted...
• Last Man Standing ALWAYS makes me laugh and smile...

Lifestyle change

So, my sister wants me to blog about how I've lost 13.4 lbs in 2 months, so here goes....

I started my journey to lose 21 lbs on Dec 19th.  I started logging my food and exercising.  Along the way, I've had some of my stomach issues flare up, so it was a good thing that I had started keeping a log to see if there were any connections...Here are a few more changes in my eating habits that I made:

• We started eating out LESS, but when we do, I'm SMART about the choices that I make.
• I switched from chips and guacamole to pita chips & hummus.
• I switched from regular cheese to 2% cheese.
• I switched from Regular Jiff Peanut Butter to Simply Jiff.
• I ONLY eat when I'm hungry and before I put food in my mouth, I drink some water to make sure that I'm really hungry and not just thirsty.  
• I stay within my allotted calorie budget according to Lose It.com.
• I don't eat past 7pm.
• When I snack, I make smart snack decisions...like 100 calorie snacks
• I'm keeping variety in my diet, so I don't get bored.
• I'm still eating candy, BUT I'm eating DOVE chocolates that are 5 pieces for 210 calories..I very RARELY eat all 5 pieces and I usually eat them throughout the day, not all at one time.

I've also switched workout routines...I was using P90X, but I was struggling with time...Each workout is between 60 - 90 minutes each, and I wasn't getting as much accomplished as I needed to before my kids came home from school.  So, I'm doing the 10-minute Trainer workouts from Beachbody.  Depending on my day I can do 1, 2, or 3 workouts every morning.  I usually do 2 workouts, it takes about 30 minutes due to a 2 min warm up 20 minutes for exercising, and then about 5 min for MY body to finally cool down.  I'm burning the same amount of calories as I was in P90X, but my time is being used more efficiently.  I LOVE IT!!  I did splurge and get the Accelerated Results add on, and I can tell a difference.

I'm still struggling to eat the calories that I'm burning off in my workouts, but I've learned that I'm not on a DIET, I'm learning a NEW LIFESTYLE.   So, as I continue on this journey, I'll try to keep a more updated report as to how I'm doing.  Until then, know that I'm loving the new habits that I am incorporating to my life and pray that they will continue with me for a long time to come.

P.S. I'm going to have to go to the Salvation Army store soon to get some new cheap clothes that will fit until I finish my 10 minute trainer 4 week regiment...

I was doing this wrong

Don't you love it when you start doing something and you think what you're doing is right, then have a friend that says, "umm...no that's not ok!".  Well that just happened with me.

Let me explain.  I thought the game of burn the calories, but see if I can still come in under my allotted calories from Lose It! was ok, and I AM WRONG!!  It has been brought to my attention that I AM WRONG!!   Trying to lose this way is VERY DANGEROUS to my health.  So here is the new game plan (AND THE CORRECT WAY) -

My allotted calorie intake is 1442 to lose 1.5 pounds per week OR 1192 calories to lose 2 pounds per week.  HOWEVER, I can NOT eat less than this EVER, otherwise I'm starving myself and THAT IS NOT OK.  I also was told that when I exercise, I need to replace at least those calories as well.   So if I burn 400 calories, I need to eat another 400 calories to STAY HEALTHY!!

For those of you who are following my progress, understand that I thought what I was doing was ok, BUT since it was brought to my attention that it wasn't, then I WILL BE MAKING THE CHANGES TODAY.

Thanks, Brandi, for speaking the truth to me that the way I was calculating my intake and output of calories was wrong.  It's never easy to admit your wrong; however, in this situation, I am and I need to make it right, now.  I will still be working on NOT snacking if I'M NOT hungry and making better food choices, but I WILL start losing weight the healthy way, and not any other way.

Week 1 Day2 Rundown

Here's my plan.  According to Lose It! I can consume 1442 calories each day to lose the weight that I want to, so my goal is to see how many calories I can counteract with working out.  It's a game (I'm a bit competitive) I'm playing with myself.   I'm working out twice a day, in the morning I'm doing my P90X Lean Routines and then in the afternoons I walk or do my Couch to 5K running while my kids ride their new scooters.  I'm alternating them every other day.

So here are my totals for today:
Calories allowed: 1443
Calories consumed: 1278
Calories burned: 698*

Here's what I decided a few months back when I tried before to lose weight and kept getting frustrated.  Instead of having the goal to lose 20lbs, I'm taking them 5lbs at a time.  So my first goal is to go from 171.4lbs to 165lbs.  This way I'm feeling more success on the way.  Hope that makes sense.

*These are ONLY the calories that I am burning while doing exercise. 

Happy New Year!!! - Here's my Resolution

First off, I want to apologize for 'all' of you who follow my blog (I think there might be 2 of you) for NOT updating since March.  Life has flown by & gotten extremely busy.  I know have a Kindergartner AND a 2nd grader in our 1/2 Charter School, which we LOVE.  4 hours of school a day ROCKS.  My contract hours have been picking up, and therefore, this poor blog has been neglected.

First I want to wish you a happy New Year.  Second I want you to help keep me accountable.  I need to have a healthier lifestyle and I need some help.  This blog for the year of 2012 will be my journal as I journey to making better food choices, exercise choices, and over all life choices.

So today was the first day of my new workout regiment.  Today I went back to P90X, but instead of the traditional workout that I only got through 5 weeks on, I am doing the LEAN workout.  It is designed for those of us that want to shed some pounds.  I have between 20 & 25 I'd like to kick to the curb + my core muscles are like that of an old lady....I got flabby, pathetic, sissy ones...I also need to get my stomach to quit being so finicky about things & sporadically getting nauseous.

Since my kids had one more day off of school, I got up at 5:30AM (I know INSANE) and did my core synergistics workout from 6:00 - 7:00 AM. (I burned 482 cals). We had to take my husband to work this morning because he got called in, so I got him & the kids McDonald's as a treat, BUT NOT ME!! I came home & made me oatmeal (200cal) & drank my coffee(55cal).  The kids & I then ran LOTS of errands & I continued to drink LOTS of water & had a snack of a banana (1-5cals).  We went to lunch at Chili's where I ate 1/2 of the lunch portion of a cobb salad (178cal) witha 1/3of the lite Ranch dressing(27cal) on the side AND 1/2 a bowl of loaded baked potato soup (205cal).  Came home, rested, and then took my kids scootering.  I did week 3 day 1 of my Couch to 5K (burned 286cals), so in essence, I worked out twice today. (Which is what I'll be doing Mon - Fri) from now on.   We went to the park, ran one more errand and the kids got Chick-fil-A for supper.  I got ONLY a chicken tenders 3 pack and ONLY ate 2 (250cals).  I was going to heat up the other half of my loaded baked potato soup from lunch, but I'm not hungry so I put it back in the fridge.  I also chewed a piece of gum (5cals) and I'm currently trying to drink some Sleepytime Tea w/2 tsp of honey & 3 tsp on fat free milk in it, but I can't seem to get it down...

So here are the totals for my day:  I consumed 1,072 calories (my goal is 1,442) and I burned 768 calories.  I'm still UNDER my 'allotted' calories by 1,138, but I think they'll just disappear.  I'm weighing myself every Mon morning at 6 am.  Last week I was 168lbs, today I am 171.4...I'm not sure what happened other than maybe because I was up to late last night & drinking lots of water up until midnight....  Oh yeah, I using Lose It!  Android app and web page as my log.  

Here are my goals:  I would LOVE to weigh 155lbs by March 20th AT THE LATEST.  That's dropping approximately 15lbs in 3 months...I THINK I can do it.  I want to stop picking off my kids plates.  I want to stop OVEREATING, when I'm full or satisified, I want to STOP eating, put the food away.  I want to do better with my portion controls.

Right now I think my IBS is acting up, so I'm NOT drinking my sleepytime tea, but I am sleepy so that's a good thing.  Please help hold me accountable.  I will VERY hard to come here EVERY night to journal about my day.

Building the Blocks

I met this family through the blog world about 4 or 5 years ago.  I have been keeping up with them ever since.  I got to FINALLY meet Amy at the Together 4 Adoption conference back in October.  Amy's heart is so very real on her blog and in person.  She does NOT hold anything back, she speaks truth in such a loving way. 


Todd & Amy have 9 children!  They have 4 biological beauties and 5 adopted beauties as well. God has called the Block family 'to go and do' by moving to Guatamala to care for orphans there.  This is HUGE since Guatamala closed adoptions to the US several years ago. 


Here's what I am doing:  I am praying that God will allow me to partner with the Blocks and use my business to fundraise for them as I do for other families adoptive families. We will also be praying for them daily.  I look up to and respect Amy so much, that I want to be open to what God wants us to do to support them. 


Please watch the video below and see just how the Block family is living out James 1:27 and think/pray about partnering with them, details on how are below the video. 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27(NIV)

Would you please consider partnering with this family as they partner with the Lord caring for the least of these?

Tax deductable giving can be made at:

Commission To Every Nation
Todd and Amy Block
P.O. Box 291307
Kerrville, TX 78029-1307
 
Online giving at here.
 
Follow their story at http://buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com/ 

It's my birthday and this is what I want.....

Today I turn 34 which means I've been:

• a daughter for 34 years
• a big sister for 30 years
• a wife for 14 years
• a mom for 7 years
• and a fighter for what's right...well I'm still new at this one, so it's probably been 9 months.

Human trafficking is close to my heart, I probably don't fight for it as loud as I should, but I do think about the 'what ifs'.  What if it was MY daughter, what if it was MY niece...what if's can go all day long. But action speaks louder than words.

So for my birthday, I would like to see how much money we can raise to fight human trafficking.  Please click on the button and donate $5 and I will send YOU a gift, you just have to tell what kind.

Thanks for helping me fight for those who have no voice or freedom.*

*All money raised will go to Children's HopeChest and they will put it to good use in India.*

Bookmark Choices

Bible verse/Inspirational $5.00 Personalized w/name $5.00

AUCTION!!!!

I LOVE how people come together to help those that they don't even know!!  What's better, is I LOVE seeing God's hand orchestrating it!!  After I published the most recent Burrell fundraising delivery blog (See it here), I was approached my one of our cousins (by marriage) about her wanting to donate something that is super cute for Emma's adoption fund.  I can't even believe it.  Kim makes some REALLY CUTE things for little girls and she wants us to auction off this - the tutu and leg warmers- It's value is $25.  

Here's how the auction is going to work.  Make your bid in the comments section over at Elizabeth Engelhardt Creations and help us raise money for Emma Charity's adoption fund.  The auction will go until 10pm on Friday, February 18th.  On Saturday, I will post the winner.  They will have 24hours to make their payment via paypal.  Please help spread the word & let's see how much money we can raise to bring home Emma Charity.

Her Debut...AKA:She's 7 today!!

I think I went to bed around 11pm to wake up at 4 or 4:30 am in labor.  It was going to be a LONG day.  I was able to labor in the tub for a little bit, but my goal of a 'drug free' birth was not able to take place.  About the time I hit transition I couldn't catch my breath since I was being moved (from the tub to the bed to be checked and back to the tub).  Because of the epidural, my labor stalled for several hours.

When I look back and think about that day, I feel in some ways I could have gone without the epidural, but I also have no regrets from that day.  Perryn made her debut at 4:58 pm and came out with violet (deep blue) eyes and beautiful red hair.  

Perryn,
As I look back over the last seven years of your life, I am amazed by your beauty, your compassion, your love, your imagination, and your creativity.  I love that God has place you in our lives to care for you.  I know that I'm not the best mom in the world, but I pray that I am showing you how to be a Godly wife, mother, sister, and daughter.

I look forward to a fun filled year of you being seven.
I love you precious girl,
Mommy

Now the excitement begins...AKA: continue down memory lane

Well, on this day 7 years ago, we woke up, showered, and tried to figure out what we should do for our day.  I was tired of 'waiting', so Gabe asked me what I wanted to do....church...so we went to church...Guess what happened within 10 min of the preaching starting (I think we were late and missed the singing), yep, contractions came back.  This time I had to pay attention to 2/3rds of them.  Gabe asked me if I wanted to leave and I said, "No way, these aren't going to last long..they'll go away just like the previous 3 days."

Well, I was wrong...they continued throughout the day...we went to lunch with friends and then went home to rest.  I watched Hitchcock's "The Birds" and Gabe played xbox.  Of course, after about 3 hours or so, Gabe suggested we go walking to see if we could get the contractions to kick into gear.  I begged not to go, because I knew that they would go away since that's what they did the previous days.  Guess what, I was right..they left after I was on the treadmill for 10 min.

So, we went back to the apartment, ate some dinner, and went to bed.  I remember falling asleep to "The Bourne Identity"....

.....to be continued until tomorrow, when Perryn makes her debut!!

Recap Continued

So, I didn't update how Miss Perryn made it into the world the last two days because well frankly they were uneventful days.  On Feb 5 and 6, 2004, we would wake up and get our day started.  Our birthing class swore up and down that walking helped labor...ummm...not for me...I would start having some contractions, so we would go walk the mall only for them to stop completely!!

However, on this day, Feb 7, 2004, I woke up and had some serious contractions...or so I thought.  We even called my friend Kecia to come over.  Gabe had the car running, I was laboring, he called the dr, but the midwife said I was in early labor, and not to come in just yet...so guess what I did...I walked...I paced the apartment, praying and hoping that it would help my labor along and we would get to meet our sweet girl on this day...but God had other plans for us.

Tomorrow, was very exciting day for us as we got ready to meet our sweet girl!!  Until then....

On this day 7 years ago

On Feb 4, 2004 I went to work and then went to see Dr. Valenti...my AWESOME OB.  He wanted a biophysical profile of Perryn to see some development stages.  They were measuring the placenta, the fluid level, her size, her head, and her breathing...or the act of.  Well, Edie pushed and pushed on my stomach, but this stubborn girl would not 'breathe', so off to the hospital we went.  They hooked me up to the monitors, fed me some supper, and tried the biophysical profile again.  She failed, again.  Dr. Valenti came in and said he was going to do it because my strips were 'too perfect', but he couldn't even get Perryn to breathe.

He had one more 'trick' up his sleeve to try to get her to breathe, otherwise, we were having a baby that day (which Gabe and I secretly were hoping Perryn would fail the test, so we could meet her sooner), but the black vibrating device he put on my lower stomach did the trick....evidently my girl was loving her sleep then like she does now!!  That vibrating device woke her up and she started 'breathing', so we were sent home to 'wait' for labor to start...This day was the beginning of 5 very long days of labor...no worries...it wasn't too intense...yet.

Her shirt says "Are you sure these are my relatives."

More tomorrow....

One day - One lunch

I just participated in Addisyn's One day - One lunch....Will you join me and the others with giving away your lunch money today to help orphans in Africa?  Here's where you can find out more about One day - One lunch.