Wow, Biggest Loser got deep tonight. On a trip to Grand Canyon, Ali tells them to think of themselves as the river that runs through the Grand Canyon. Imagine the power that it had to make the changes that it did but also remember that it took a long time to make those changes. Make yourself as powerful as that river and choose the course you want to take. Wow, deep right?

The family went to eat without me (too much temptation at Leal's) so I watched the show without them. I had to rewind it quickly when they got here so they wouldn't know I had watched it without them.

Today was my D day. I didn't want to push my luck with my stomach so I only had a few fries, a few chips, and a grill cheese. I really wanted a malt or candy bar but couldn't brave it. I am still on a weird schedule because of my Thursday start. It works out that I still get a D day on Saturday with everyone else but my mid week day falls on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Everyone at work is thinking they will order pizza for lunch tomorrow. We are all doing the diabetic plan for D days so our carbs are more spread out.

Today I could really tell one of the ladies from work was losing inches. It was great. Several of us from work had workshops today so we meet for lunch and then meet again afterwards for a snack. We ended up talking the WOE for a long time. It was like our own tiny WW meeting. I am so proud of them all for sticking with it. I know it is hard to think about needing to lose over 50 pounds but we decided to break it down into small eight week goals. We have all started different things at different times. I know for me, this time, I have to lose the weight for my health, for my future, and for myself. Enough of the deep river stuff.

I ran again today. I took my daughter in the jogging stroller to avoid the child exercise cops. She carried my water for me and told me to turn left or right. I started on a course with way too many hills and my stroller needed air in the tires. We made it 1.8 miles in my allotted time (Cto5K). I will definitely look for a flat course next time.

I am so proud of everyone's cracking. I think you have all done so good and I am thankful for the support and encouragement that has been involved. Keep up the crack a lackin.

My stomach bothered me all day today. I hate to say food poisoning but I was the only one who got sick. My carb reactions never last this long so I am going with food poisioning. I was still sick today but managed to make it through work. When I got home I slept two hours and am feeling some better now. It's just that I can't manage to put any protein in my mouth. I want stomach food like crackers or chicken noodle soup and oddly enough powdered doughnuts. I sure don't feel like broccoli and meat. I tried to call the Chant hotline but they don't offer help over the phone only by email. My questions were, "Is it better to get some food in my body than nothing at all? Which will do the least damage to my macropatterning?"

Either way, I was left to muddle through on my own. I was hoping that I could get a run in later tonight if I felt better. I can handle going slow but don't want to get sick again.

Fit asked me to post some pictures of my progress. No pun intended but fat chance...I hardly ever take pictures regrettably. I will try to see what I can find lying around. I will blog my inches specific to areas though when I get a chance.

I did lose 4 more pounds today but I had gained some in maintenance. I lost my tape measure so I have to buy a new one. My 4 year old daughter is closely monitoring my eating. She wanted to make sure white Sprite (Sprite Zero) was on my diet since I was drinking one in my weakened state.

Better go see what the family has planned for dinner. Have a great week everyone.

D day on the cracking means restraint or tums. I did good with the restraint part until my last meal and now I need tums. We were trying to decide between Furr's and IHOP. The kids wanted Furr's. I was just going to have a bite of pie and a bite of apple dumpling. I ended up having two bites of chess pie and 1/2 the crust from the dumpling. I also had one crispy sopapillo thing and one cornbread muffin. I did have my veggies, broccoli and green beans. I started getting that sugar rush headache/dizziness before the kids even finished their meals. I think I will count my calories in a minute to see how bad it actually was.

On a better note, I ran again today. My husband wanted to go out for breakfast but I had already eaten my ez bread sandwich. My oldest son wanted to shower before he was seen in public so I saw the perfect opportunity to get a run in. My middle son and I took off running our usual course in reverse with a little extra distance so we could end up at the restaurant and meet the rest of the family. By then I could have my 2nd meal of the day so I had eggs. After everyone finished eating, we decided to run home. The drivers and riders challenged the runners to a race. Fat chance that we would win but we never turn down a challenge besides we could get a head start while they were loading up the car. We cut through alleys and yards but they quickly pulled up beside us in a taunting fashion and circled the block a few times. We refused to be beaten and kept running. They parked at the house and started walking back towards us when I shouted that no one had made it to the house yet. My husband and I took off at a dead sprint and I beat him to the door. Go runners! Remember slow and steady wins the race.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Keep crackin.

I thought I had posted on my blog a few days ago but can't seem to find it anywhere. Guess I did something wrong...still getting used to this.

As for crackin...I haven't lost anymore weight. I got a new scale to help track body fat and hydration. When I went to have my blood test done, they told me I was dehydrated. What? I have been drinking 100 ounces of water a day. Of course, it feels like I have been peeing out 200 ounces so there you go.

I have today off from work. I could so be a stay at home mom. I ran some errands, took some stuff by the school (twice), got my prescriptions, and then came home and ran. Kallie heard I had the day off so she wanted to stay with me. She went running with me again. We are doing the Couch to 5K. We made it 1.5 miles today. We took one of the dogs so our progress was held up a little bit. But after my stalker incident from this summer, I decided to take a dog with me every time. Kallie got pretty whiny towards the end and I told her I was sure someone would turn me in to the cops if she didn't quit whining. When the house is in sight, she starts skipping and high kicking while singing or cheering so I don't think she is as bad as she says. The dog we took likes her to carry him like a baby so he kept putting his front paws up to her and begging her to carry him. They were pitiful. Now they are both almost asleep. What, you get a nap if you are a stay at home mom? Where do I sign up and how do I support the family without income?

Since I have done so good on the WOE, I treated myself to a new pair of running shoes. Once you fall in love with a pair you try to stick with them. I was afraid the update would change the shoe but they felt great on. Thanks to Dad and Jane for the gift certificate so the receipt won't shock Kip nearly as bad. I need some new running clothes though because all my pants (no, not ready for shorts yet) are too big. OUCH! Thank goodness for bodyglide.

I am proud to report that Jo got back to crackin' and J stayed with it. The first week is always the hardest. Everyone at work is still crackin' and now all have their own books. We are going to start walking again at lunch and some people are going to attempt Hip Hop Abs after work. I hope all the crackers involved with IKE get back on track.

I did have a terrible experience this week on D day. I had wings and french fries. I went to Sam's afterwards. As I was paying, I felt my stomach start to rumble. I hurried to the car and raced to Target. Let's just say thank goodness the restrooms are in the front. Why did we like carbs?

Have a good weekend everyone and remember: Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.

Well, I have finished my 8 weeks of crackin' and started week 9 (which is half of two, otherwise known as confusing). I am down 32 pounds, 33 inches, and 10% body fat. My doctor's appt. went well and I get to have blood tests done to see if I have lost enough weight to go off of my medicine. Today 6 people at work finished week 1. Altogether they lost 32 pounds. They were still tabulating inches so I will have to report that later.

Kip is home from the hurricane. He surprised Kallie at daycare and went to surprise Trevor at football practice. TJ hasn't seen him yet. We are glad to have him back and are proud of the work he did to help others. He has some great stories.

We finished, sort of, moving out of the house. Thankfully Jo and Bryan helped or I wouldn't have made it. J and I finished up Saturday and Sunday. We left some junk for Kip to get. The renters/buyers moved in today so I will be holding my breath until March. Now that we are done with that house I can finish the texture/paint job Jo started and left. Wonder if I can hold out until she comes back next time!

Time to take the boys to football practice. Have a good week everyone.

Aside from having a birthday this week, my oldest son started playing 7th grade football. They had their first game tonight. Overall they played well, a little timid, but okay. They lost but Trevor almost saved the game by running the ball to less than 1/2 yard to the goal line. I think once they get the nerves worked out they will be good. There are lots of great athletes in his grade so they should be fun to watch.

My sister is heading back home after waiting out the hurricane with family. I think they are ready to be back but don't want to waste valuable resources that others need. She had to return to work Monday even though their daycare is without electricity and my brother-in-law's office building is without a roof. It has been fun to have them here, especially since Jo is crack-a-lackin'.

Speaking of crackin', I had red velvet cake last night for my birthday. I instantly got a headache, felt dizzy, and couldn't finish my piece. Strange but in a good way.

I am carb depleting for 4 days now and starting back again. I hope I have as much success the second time around. Doctor's appt. is tomorrow so I am hoping for a good blood test.

I have on my running clothes so I can get my run in tonight. I have a new running plan set up. I plan to take Wednesdays and Friday or Sunday off. I love the feeling of being on the roads when everyone else is asleep or settling in for the night. Since we ran in the cold so much 2 years ago, I have great cold weather gear and can't wait for it to get here. Although I wouldn't mind if the cold waited until after football is over!

Time for baths and bed. Stay safe everyone.

Today is my 35th birthday. I had hoped to reach the 35 lb mark by the 35th birthday but fell a few pounds short. I made up the difference in miles. Does that count? My birthday present to myself was to start running again. I love it really and don't know why I stopped. I can think of a few things that I let get in the way but nothing that should have stopped me from doing something for myself. So no matter how early, or how late, how cold, or how hot, how windy, or how wet...I will run. Please remind me that I made this self promise.

Jo and hubby have really been a great help in their own personal trauma. They went to my old house today to pack up the remants so real live renters/buyers could move in. With my husband gone to restore power to those in the Hurricane zone, there was no way I could move the furniture by myself. Now all I have left are the closets and the kitchen. Kip will have to do the barns when he gets back in a couple of weeks.

I did talk to him today. I am not sure where they are but it said it was really wooded and so far not as bad as he thought it would be. He worked Rita and Katrina but he also said he was on the outer band of the damaged area. He said they got the last hotel in town before 41 more guys came in today. They will be opening up a church camp to house the other crews. He always makes fun of me because I wear my shoes in a hotel but he said he didn't think he wanted to touch the carpet in his room tonight. Well, I know he is thankful to at least have a bed for a few days. It looks like they will be working from 5 a.m until 11 p.m. Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts. It is dangerous work but he knows many people are counting on his crew.

I think I have done pretty good as a single parent. My oldest son hated me last night but at least talked to me today. I did forget to feed the horses and had to get the kids out of bed to go help me. Kallie had a good day at daycare (first time in 3 weeks). TJ seems to be doing good. They get progress reports this week and I hope they are good.

Tomorrow is getting closer as I sit and type so I better sign off and move the kids out of my bed. Be safe everybody.

I love this WOE. I will finish my 8 weeks on Wednesday due to an odd start day. I think I will weigh Monday morning because Tuesday will be a cheat day and Wednesday will be a high carb day. My birthday is Tuesday so I plan on having cake.

I got to see my crackin' sister. She looks great despite the stress of the hurricane. Once again, let me say, I am so glad she is doing this with me. I owe my previous success to her support and am counting on her again.

My husband is leaving tomorrow to work on the electricity problems from the hurricane. I am trying to finish up his laundry and help him pack. I hate to think about everything I will have to do while he is gone. I feel so sorry for anyone whose spouse is deployed. I can't imagine how hard it is. I only have to do without him for 3-6 weeks.

I am so glad that Jo and her friends' houses didn't suffer much damage. I hope they get to return to normal soon. You will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. Please remember when you have electricity, thank a lineman.

Looking around the house this morning, I realized the one good thing about IKE is that I had to clean my house cause Jo is evacuating. I doubt she will stay here but it was enough to get the family motivated into helping me clean. Well, that and the threat of being grounded from anything and everything.

About the WOE, I don't like maintenance weeks. I want to get back to losing. Should I skip week 8 and get back to cracking? I would be able to join my friends around week 2 because they started this week. Any thoughts?

I did get new jeans yesterday. I first went in and got the next size down from what I was wearing. I could fit my whole fist in the pants with me and then some. I was so excited I even asked the worker for help. She brought me the next two sizes down. I am not sure what RedDaisy's snoppy dance looks like but I am pretty sure I was doing something close in the dressing room! I ended up going down 4 sizes from the jeans I HAD at home. I think I could have gone down one more size in the waist but my thighs required a bigger size. But there is always round 2 of cracking! Oh, and I tucked my shirt in this morning. What???

Today is my oldest son's first school football game. I took the day off to clean for the evac but got most of that done last night. I will get to go to his first pep rally this morning. Last night he informed me that a girl had asked him to homecoming and wanted to know if it was too late to get a mum. The lady that owns the flower shop lives across the street so I made him walk over and ask her. She had some pre-made and he wants me to pick one up today. Conversation went something like this: "Mom, I will pay." "Okay, how much do you have?" "$10 and lots of change." "Ugh, that won't even buy a mum your little sister would wear." "We are talking at least $50." "How serious are you about this girl" (FYI: We had never heard of her before yesterday afternoon). "Well, she is cute." End of conversation because I had to leave the room to keep my gag reflex in check.

Everyone in IKE's path is in our prayers. We will be glued to the news and waiting to hear from you all. Be safe.

I am supposed to be in Houston tonight enjoying an Astros game or playing at Main Event with family but the possible return trip nightmare due to Hurricane Ike caused my boss to change plans. So instead of getting to sleep late in the darkness of my quiet solitary hotel room I am home dealing with screaming kids and bills.

Also I got in trouble from Jo for not keeping up with my blog. I got blocked at work and haven't had time at home to update.

As for the WOE, I am down 32 pounds and 30 inches. I have made it to Onederland. That's pretty private info to be made public but I guess it was obvious I wasn't a size 0 to begin with. I am 2 days short of finishing week 7. I weighed today because tomorrow is the first cheat day and the next day is High carb day. I don't really have anything in mind. If I was in Houston, I would have had a red Shipley doughnut and Firehouse wings. I am not so sure that sugar tomorrow wouldn't start carb cravings so I am hesitant to try anything much.

I am already planning on the next round of Cracking. I know I have to add more exercise and more calories. I have been under 1000 calories for the last few days/weeks and know that is bad. I go back to see my doctor two days after I finish the first 8 weeks. I will be anxious to see the results from all her tests.

As for family updates, my oldest son competed in his first xc meet this past Saturday. We started the day at 5:30 a.m driving 45 miles to see him race for 17 minutes for xc, then drove 75 miles the other direction for middle son's football game, then back the other way 45 minutes to finish the day with a rodeo which ended at 2:00 a.m. Sunday. Needless to say we were still dragging this morning when it was time to get up for xc practice.

This week is Homecoming for the football team. Every day is a crazy day at school. Tomorrow is twin day and we are currently searching for a missing orange sock. I better end the update and help corral the search party.