Not a secret at all

Here it is October and I haven't posted since February! At the last update, I was joining a gym, working out and preparing to do the Portland Marathon 5 mile run.

Well, in keeping with tradition, things didn't go as planned. For awhile I was doing great at the gym. I went up to 5 times a week, and worked out as diligently as I could. It was hard, but I started to see some results. And then: In March I changed jobs and everything changed. My schedule changed, my job responsibilities changed and my motivation changed. To make things worse, the medical clinic I'm working in, is right next to the cafeteria! We're not talking gross school cafeteria, but good, home made foods and soups and treats!

I tried to say no, but the smells of bacon each morning got the best of my taste buds. Before I knew it, I had gained 5 pounds in 2 months! I scaled way back on the cafeteria food, but....the 5 pounds didn't go away. Neither did my self loathing.

Then summer came. I had 2 pair of shorts that "fit". I REFUSED to shop for a bigger size! I don't want to waste my money on something I don't want! Each week I kept saying, "I'll start going to the gym on Monday.....", but it never happend. Finally, my 35th birthday was fast approaching. I was feeling so depressed about being 35 (not sure why 35 was so hard....). I didn't want to have another year go by feeling the way I did.

One evening in early July, I was so down, and I was watching T.V. feeling sorry for myself when I saw a Weight Watchers commercial. I don't know what came over me, but I stood up right then and there, walked to my computer, found the nearest Weight Watchers location, hopped in the car and drove straight to the meeting. I signed up that evening.

I was DETERMINED to succeed at this! I went home that evening with all my parphenalia, read through it with vigor and felt rejuvinated!

I can't control time. I can't control getting up at 5:30 to get kids off to school and be at work by 7:15. I can't control volleyball games, young women activities, scouts, meetings, schedules, or working late. BUT: I CAN control what I eat! I can control how MUCH I eat, and WHEN I'm going to eat it.

And....that's exactly what I did. I followed the plan without missing a beat. I thought it was going to be difficult, but I soon realized: This is NOT hard! This is a "piece of cake", so to speak. It's not about "dieting". It's about healthy eating. It's about making good choices and reasonble portion control. It's not about going hungry, and then binging, or denying myself something because it's the latest "fad". I like to EAT! Everything. I can't be told NOT to eat something, or that's all I want to eat.

Weight Watchers gave me just that! There isn't any special "food" I have to buy. There isn't any food that is "off limits". There is just calories/fat/fiber in the right amounts for ME. Once I figured out what MY amounts could be in order to lose weight, the pounds started to dissappear. I've had cake, ice cream, rice, pasta, steak, Mexican food, Italian food, German food. I've eaten out at a number of resturants, and even had dessert several times a week. Never a day has gone by that I went to bed hungry.

I turned 35, and even though I wasn't at the weight I wanted to be: I was IN CONTROL! I felt great, and I was happy with myself. Finally. I can do this.

As of October 9, 2009 (10/9/09), I am down 22 pounds, and 3 pant sizes. My self image is not perfect. I still wake up on some days and feel "fat". I know it's ridiculous, and it drives Ted BONKERS! But, at the end of each successful day, I go to bed knowing that I'm doing something for myself, and it shows. My only regret: I didn't run the Portland 5 miles this year. However, even if I HAD been training: Coming down with the swine flu would have put a stop to that race anyway. There's always next year though, right?

There. The secret is out.

~Sharon

Quick update

It's been awhile since I posted here, so I figured I would let you all know how my "Life Change of '09" is coming along.

I joined a local community center which has a full gym including aerobic classes, spin classes, kick boxing, yoga etc. I have been going 4-5 times a week, for at least 30-45 minutes each work out. I sweat more than a 500 pound elephant sitting in a sauna, but....I am really trying hard. I haven't really "weighed" myself, so I'm not sure if I've lost weight but my clothes are starting to feel nice and loose! More importantly: Overall, I'm feeling much better about myself, and my health. I can run 2 miles (sometime 2 1/2 if I'm feeling good). My goal is to run in the PDX 5 mile marathon. I'm almost halfway there!

I should also mention that Ted has also joined the gym with me, and he uses swimming as his work out program. I'm so proud of him! He swims 4-5 times a week as well. We're making this a family event.

Thanks for all of your support and I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Life change for '09

Okay, after the last few crazy years of my life, things are finally starting to settle down. I've married a wonderful guy, have a great job, and things are looking up. However: I've really let myself fall by the wayside. I completely stopped exercising, and truly taking care of myself. I'm embarrassed to say that I've gained about 15 pounds! Yikes!

The last couple of years I have "walked" in the Portland Marathon 5 mile walk sponsored through my company. I have promised myself that this coming October (the next date for the PDX Marathon), I will run the 5 miler. I would like to run the 15 miler, but.....that is a LOT of training. So, for now my goal is to run the 5 miles.

This is a picture of me getting my packet for the 5 miler from this last October.

Wish me luck! I'm going to need it!

Gingerbread house fiasco

We decided to get the "cheaper" gingerbread house kits this year. It looked so fun, and we pulled out all of the items, only to find that we had to mix our "own" icing and things did not go well.
Our gingerbread houses were a bust. They would NOT stay together.

The roofs kept sliding off the houses, the walls kept falling over and everyone started getting impatient. So, we ate our gingerbread houses, before they were even built. They were delicious. Next year: We'll spring for the deluxe model homes.

Artic Blast!!!!

Portland does NOT snow. Maybe a few flakes will sprinkle the roads a couple of times during the winter, but for the most part: We just get rain. Lots and lots of rain. However, it seems about every 5-6 years we have a monster snow storm that shuts the city down completely. This year was the year. Of course, it had to hit within days of Christmas, so it really put a damper on the last minute shopping.
We all spent about a week stuck inside of our house because the roads were too dangerous to drive anywhere. It was a little maddening! Talk about cabin fever! The first couple of days were fun, and exciting. After that, it was just annoying and inconvenient.


These are pictures of the front and back of our house.

Christmas tree

The NorthWest is known for it's beautiful, evergreen trees. Therefore: We have some great choices for Christmas trees. We have a tradition of going to a Christmas Tree farm, choosing the best one of the bunch, and cutting it down on the spot.

My favorite kind of Christmas tree is a Noble. When I lived in Utah, it was a real treat to get a Noble tree because they were so expensive. And...if we were lucky enough to buy one, it usually had a huge gaping hole we needed to hide in the corner....you get the picture.

This isn't the case up here. We can buy a beautiful, perfect 7-8' tree for $25 or less. Each year our tree is more and more beautiful. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the tree with all of its decorations but still.....it was another year for a wonderful family tree.

Pumpkin carving!

I figured we worked really hard on our pumpkin carving, so I should at least post the finished product. I think they turned out pretty cute!
I'm still a little nervous letting the younger kids use the knife to carve, so we had some "kid friendly" carving utensils.





One of these pumpkins does not belong.

Spooky!