Today was a great day. Kallie, TJ, and I got up early to take the dog out. Then we woke everyone else up and talked them into walking to a local cafe to eat breakfast. It was a little colder than we thought but we only had to walk about a mile. By the time we ate, it was better coming back home. Then I went back to sleep! When I woke up, Kip was outside working on the basketball goal. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside. The boys played basketball while Kallie and I decorated the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. Kip also got all the bikes back in shape for the warmer weather. Kallie tried to learn to ride with out her training wheels but didn't last very until we had to put the training wheels back on. She wanted to ride her bike to the school play ground so off we went. I don't know who had the hardest time, me going slow enough for her to keep up or her having to peddle all the way.

It was a great day to spend outside with the family. Not very many chores got done but we had a good time together.

I am home from a day at the doctor's office. I had to fast after midnight and be there early for blood work. Well, early to them was 8:45 so I sat in the car for an hour, not to mention that it was NM time so it was after 10:00 before I got to eat. You think my blood tests will come back whack? I tried to speed walk around wal-mart to make up for the sausage biscuit I had to eat before the next blood test two hours later. Got back to the doctor's office and the lab girl got me right in. Then the best part of the day, she said, "Man, you really have lost some weight. I didn't even recognize you the first time this morning." Go Me!! Then back to the lobby to wait. A big sign said please tell the receptionist if you have been waiting more than 30 minutes. 45 minutes later I was about to get up again to see if they had lost my chart or something when my name was called. Needless to say it wasn't the most pleasant visit I have had. They had to do a lot more than just the yearly exam. Since it was so late in the day and I am in so much pain with the worst cramps I can remember since labor, I decided to come home and rest. I have heat on, drugged up with advil, and thinking of going to lay down. Hope all the tests come back okay. Maybe I can at least get someone else to fix dinner tonight.

Oh, and yes I did run yesterday when it was snowing and the wind chill was 7 degrees. In the middle of the run I had to give my face mask to my son and then we had to turn to get out of the wind. I have to get another face protector so we can both have one. The only sports store near by is Big 5 and they were too expensive today. Not sure I am supposed to exercise today after the doctors so maybe we can survive until the warmer temps come back tomorrow.

I was down another pound today and minus 2 1/2 more inches.

Okay, I have officially been shredded, Day One. Kallie did it with me and wanted to move to level 2 immediately after we finished. I politely said (panted), "Not now, maybe tonight or tomorrow" but thought maybe next week! I still have to get a run in today. Trevor has basketball games and we have the wedding reception for my sister tonight. It is a nice day so I hope it all works out.

I was down another pound. My new journal suggests weighing everyday and tracking your ups and downs to see if you can figure out what is causing the fluctuations. Think I will try that for a while and see.

Enjoy your Saturday. Get outside or spend some time with your kids. Remember the laundry will be there next week also cause no one else is going to bother to do it. :)

I am up way to early this morning because I am going to a workshop 2 hours away. I am actually completely ready to go and it is 6 am. What???

I haven't run at all this week since Sunday. I have been saying I am too tired or that my knee is too sore but I really don't know what's wrong. Then Jo slapped me in the face yesterday and reminded me that it's only 7 weeks away until the marathon relay. What???

I did have to get up to take the dog out this morning at 4:30, 15 minutes before my alarm went off. Thanks. Anyway, I had forgotten how nice it is at 4:30 in the morning. My friends in Hereford used to meet up to run then and no matter how much we gripped about it at least we got it out of the way and nothing interfered. The reason that it's nice then is that it warms up slightly around that time and the wind is calm (er). Then right before the sun breaks it gets cold again. I am not sure if it is a scientific fact but it was something we experienced almost daily. So the next time I am trying to convince myself to go run but am thinking it is too cold-too bad.

I have got to get with the program. I have done great on the WOE this week and have lost a few pounds. Jo reminded me that it wasn't about the scale and I reminded her she had a free pass for 9 months. Actually I think I told her to SHUT IT!

Well, the dog finally quit barking and the coffee is ready so I am signing off. Have a great day everyone. By the way, the workshop I am going to is "How to Deal with Difficult People." I hope none of you have any to deal with but if you do, I am hoping to be an expert by 4:00 today.

I am sore tonight but it is a good sore. I did nearly 5 miles yesterday and did nearly 4 today. I ran with Jana this afternoon and it was great to run with someone else again. She is doing great and is on track for her first 1/2 marathon in OKC. Kip got up and ran this morning so everyone is doing good. I got up early yesterday and ran with the sunrise. I had taken my phone and took a picture so I will try to get it downloaded to add to the blog.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. We talked about my current plateau and she looked over my journal. Get this, she said I needed to eat more calories. I was trying to average 1500 and she said I needed to be eating 1700 and no less. Can you believe that? Eat more. I told her I wasn't hungry and she said do it anyway. I fell short today by 622. Have to work on that. She also saw Kallie who had two ear infections. Oh and she said I needed to sleep more! I love that doctor! I will have blood work done at the end of the month to see where the insulin resistance is with the meds and the pre-diabetes progress or lack there of. Keeping my fingers crossed that the 35 pounds, 10% body fat, and 44.5 inches will have helped.

This week I am going to try to Taebo again. My sister gave some of my DVDs back and I remembered how much I loved it several years ago. I also have to lift a little more often to help my legs adjust to running again.

I am not as brave as "The life of L" so I just set my running goals at 500. I have 29 down! Have a good week! Gotta get up and change the ice on my knees!

I totally forgot that I got two starches today. I remember right at three when i was driving in the car without any food. I had so wanted toast this morning. I did have 1/2 a baked potato at lunch and that was good. I am looking forward to something sweet this weekend.

Just wanted to report in and say that I have made my $50 for two weeks now. If I think I want something I just ask myself if it is worth $50 and so far I have been able to convince myself not to eat! Yesterday my mom and her step-kids decided to get another money competition going and it cost $50 to enter. Whoever is down the most percentage wise by May 30 gets the cash. I am so going to be rich! Well, okay maybe not rich but I will have enough money to get started on my new wardrobe. That's 20 weeks away to make the $300 and $50 to myself each week. Have I mentioned that I am really competitive?

I still haven't gotten my treadmill so I headed out to run tonight after my brave husband fought the neighbor's dog! The wind had died down alittle and it wasn't that cold. Of course when the kids heard I was going they all wanted to go. Kallie got her blankets and snuggled up in the jogging stroller and TJ got his running gear on. I don't know why but I don't sweat, ever. I bought myself one of those trash bag looking things that are supposed to make you sweat. I love it and it really does make me sweat. I know I just replenish it when I drink but it makes me feel better to think I am getting rid of toxins. Anyway, sometime in the run tonight the legs ripped. I felt a little chilly (yes, I had on pants and tights underneath). I had been working a sweat up before they ripped and then I was cold. I noticed when I got home that they had ripped. I must have looked like a huge tent flapping in the wind. Anyone who believed in ghost might have thought they saw one tonight wearing a flapping trash bag.

Oh, and on a sad note, my 9 year old can walk faster than I can run. My husband asked me if I remember the saying about how to eat an elephant and I told him that was the problem. I had eaten one to many elephants. Just kidding...I know you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Keep running!

Okay, my husband was getting all dressed up to head out to run. It is about 20 degress and the wind is blowing 30. We had to go through the whole, "I can't find my IPOD, I can't find my nike plus, what did you do with my headphones (as if), and blah, blah, blah. Finally he opens the door. I ask him his course cause he hasn't been running in forever and he just got over nearly pneumonia. He tells me he will do the park once. He is no sooner shutting than the door than opening it. There is a huge huge huge yellow lab sitting on the porch barking his deep bark calling the girls from the back yard. I am laughing my head off but he is telling me to call someone, get the id, whose dog is it, blah, blah, blah. We have lots of dog running stories, remind me to tell you one time. Anyway, we get all our dogs in the house. One in the bedroom with Kallie, one in the boys' room, and the main attraction in her kennel. Then my husband leads this horse through the house to the back yard where he is still barking non-stop. Meanwhile I get in touch with the owner who is one hour away. So now an hour later, Kip is off running and I am waiting my turn. I know it may be colder but at least the wind will die down.

Another running story...my friend reminded me to be careful running at night because some other friends of hers had gotten their cars sideswipped during the night. The police had left a note on the cars to let them know they had been hit-duh! It happened 1 block from where I make my turn around to head downhill and back by the house. I went by there 5 times the other night. So just a reminder to be defensive when you are out there running. Wild labs and hit-in-run drivers are just a few of the terrors.

How did everyone do on Carb Deplete?

Seriously the wind is blowing 30 mph as a front moves in. The wind is supposed to continue to pick up through midnight meanwhile the temp is dropping quickly. I have to run today and tomorrow to make my $50 for the week.

I just don't understand this round of crackin'. I have been sticking to it exactly while staying around 1500 calories. I have gotten to start exercising again and I am trying to add intentional walking to my day. I can't get any true weight loss reading. I go down and I go up. I guess maybe I need to measure and check the inches again.

My sister passed down some clothes to me so I picked out a dress to use as my interim goal dress. I tried it on and it fit but still looked a little like the hood of a car after a hail storm around the buttocks area. Guess I will keep working.

Weather is better and not as cold. I am still not happy about having to run late at night but want to do the whole family supper thing so that's the sacrifice. This week is still a little slow coming back from Christmas but basketball should be back in full swing next week taking up a few more hours of our time.

Day one of carb deplete is done. I feel okay. I really wanted a roll at dinner especially cause they were a little burned on the bottom, just like I like. I made a new deal with myself. If I eat clean all week, run 4 times, and lift weights then I will pay myself $50. So now when I feel like eating something I just have to ask myself if it is worth $50. I have been trying to track my calories eaten and burned to try to find some rhyme or reason for why I have gained or lost for the week. I was doing good last week and was down a few pounds. Today after CH and H days I had gained even though I hadn't gone over on calories. Don't understand it. I am hoping after depleting I will be down quite a bit.

My knee was still really sore and swollen after last weeks miles. I know it was only 9 but it has only been 7 weeks since my surgery. I decided to rest, ice, and elevate tonight and move tomorrow's rest day to today. Easy enough to make the trade. It will be cold in the morning and windy so I will probably wait to run until after work. Cold this morning meant 8 degrees when you take the wind chill into consideration.

I am glad that others have started back on the crackin' so I won't be alone. Remember it's a lifestyle not a diet.

Since starting on Monday, I have lost 4 pounds and run 9 miles. I have eaten clean every day except today which was a cheat day. Even with a cheat day I stayed under my calorie allotment. What a great week! I plan to carb deplete next week so I hope to see a big weight loss next week also. I have tried to move extra every chance I have gotten.

I went today and got new shoes. I was having blister trouble with my running shoes. I have never had trouble with them before but my feet seem to be swelling. I had a new pair exactly like the old but when I got them out they caused blisters also. I got some NIKE shoes even though I haven't had much luck with them in the past. It has been a while since I ran in them so I thought I would give it a chance and the price was right.

I also had to get my daughter some running shoes and some new workout pants. She only had black sweats and didn't want to look like a boy. I got her some pink clothes and pink adidas shoes. She said she wished they had princess running shoes but she guessed these would work. She ran around the house showing us how fast they made her! Those were the days.

DH had to go to the doctor today. He has bronchitis and nearly walking pneumonia plus asthma. 5 prescriptions and a breathing machine later he is feeling a little better.

We still have a little house work to finish the post "sister hurricane evacuation remodel." I wasn't allowed to paint anymore when DH can't breathe.

Can't believe only one more day before Christmas break is over. Seems like the rush of everyday life is just around the corner. The family has resolutions to slow down a little so hopefully we can make it happen.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Another day of vacation is gone and what a great day it was. We slept late after getting home late. I got up before everyone else to have a cup of coffee and to see what the new year had in store for us. It wasn't long before I had company which meant breakfast for the hungry. I had already made my egg whites and EZ bread so Kip cooked for the rest of the crowd. Then we played a few rounds of Sequence until the bowl games started. We grilled hamburgers for lunch and laid around. Kallie and I took a nap. I re-read my diet book and waited for the wind to die down so I could go run.

Finally about 5:30 we suited up for the cool weather, packed the jogging stroller and headed out. I decided to try the cinder path at the park today to see if it was more forgiving than the road. I always hate starting out even before the knee injury. If you can get past the first 30 minutes it seems better. The problem is I can only go about 30-45 minutes so not quite to the running euphoria. However it was much better today. Less complaining from my kids who went with me, no dogs at all, no wind, and warmer. I made it 2.5 miles at about 14.30 pace. Slow but at least I went. I also did my p.t. again today which is a lot harder because it is all one leg stuff. I did get my new brace which is much better.

I am proud tonight also because my middle son is trying to learn how to lead singing in church. He is only 9 but really interested in learning what he can do to help the church. All the boys got pitch pipes for Christmas so it's been fun to see them working on it.

Tomorrow I go back to work for a few hours so I better close up and head to bed. Remember your goals and mine.