Weekend projects and sore muscles!

I spent the past two weekends doing projects around my house and yard. I've been searching for matching bedside tables that wouldn't cost me a fortune, and I finally found some at Wal-mart. I love them! I spent a couple hours on Saturday assembling these babies, and I think I did a pretty good job! I also (finally!!) hung some prints that I've had sitting around for at least 6 months. Here's a picture of the final product:

I have also been working in my yard. It's a mess! Last summer I pulled up a lot of bushes and such, but I just haven't had a chance to re-plant anything...so as you can see, it was overgrown with weeds! That's my little doggie in there too....I think she was a little bewildered by the overgrowth!

I planted 2 Rose of Sharon plants (they're already flowering now with big beautiful white flowers) and some purple mums in the front. Here's the finished product!

I know it doesn't look like much, but I usually would just pay to have someone do this for me (I hate yardwork) or call the BF or brother to put stuff together for me. I decided this time to do it myself! And I'm proud of my work.

I am finding that since I feel more in control of my eating and my health, I have a lot more enthusiasm and such for projects like these. I gotta get it into my mind to "just do it!" I think that will take me places! Man, Nike was smart when they came up with that slogan.

Oh, and to the second part of my post title....my hamstrings were SO SORE from pulling weeds and planting! I looked like an old lady trying to hobble around :) But that kind of sore is a good kind, I don't mind it one bit.

Glad it's over!

Whew, I'm so glad that week is over with. I was in a Funk all week. Funk with a capital "F". I have no clue what my problem was. I was grumpy, didn't exercise, didn't eat that great, and so on. But, I woke up this morning and feel a lot better. So on to a new week!

The scale seems to be down this morning though, thankfully. I have one of those scales that never gives me the same reading twice in a row, so I end up hopping on and off about 5 times to get something I can work with. After 3 different readings this morning, I finally settled on the one that came up 3 times in a row after that.

I guess I should say that I started getting serious about my health and weight about a month ago. I was just back from a wonderful trip to Vegas and I was fully planning on starting back on Weight Watchers the next day. The night I got home, I was really short of breath and couldn't figure out why. It got so bad to the point where I called 911, because I was really scared and I was alone in my house (hadn't even picked up my dog yet!). The EMT's checked me out and couldn't find anything wrong. My BP was ok, my sugar was ok, I had 100% oxygen saturation in my blood, and they even did a little mini-EKG because I was freaking out that I was having a heart attack (I wasn't). But everything looked fine. I ended up going to the doctor the next day and they still couldn't find anything wrong. Took a chest x-ray and bloodwork and everything seems to be fine. I now think that I have a slight case of asthma and that night I had an asthma attack, which made me panic because I've never had that before.

Who knows. But, it made me really think about my health and realize that even though everything is ok now...cholesterol, sugar, etc., it's not going to be in 10 years if I keep on going the way I'm going. I've abused my body long enough that it's time to start treating it with the respect that it deserves.

In the past month I've lost 10 lbs. I'm hoping this week is going to be another loss! I want to lose about 85 lbs. total, but I'm really not looking at the big picture yet. I really just want to feel better and be healthy. I need to focus on making this a lifestyle change and not just try to lose weight really fast so that I look good. I know that doesn't work for me. I'm not concerned with how long it's going to take, just that I know I'm headed in the right direction.

Whew, long post! Thanks for reading :)

What was I thinking?

It's been a rough week....I haven't been to the grocery store, so of course that means my necessaties are running out and I haven't packed a lunch since Monday. I've been doing pretty good with eating though...mostly Subway this week, yum! However, today I decided to try the new boneless chicken things from Wendy's. I figure, I've been good, I can have a treat (need to lose that mentality too!). But, I regretted it almost immediately. They looked good, but I don't think they tasted that great. And I'm thinking, "Why am I eating this crap anyway?" I know when I don't eat "good" stuff, I feel worse, so why don't I just eat the good stuff all the time?

So, that's what I'm going to work on for the rest of the week....going to the store tonight so I can pack a lunch tomorrow, even though it's Friday. And I'm getting back on my walking schedule tonight too....I've skipped the last two nights and that's plenty, I don't need any more rest! And my doggie will love me even more for taking her on a walk :)

New girl in town...

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, and I really wanted to start one of my own. I am so inspired by people that share aspects of their struggles so candidly, and I hope that my blog will help me along in my journey, and maybe inspire someone out there like me!

So, where do I begin? I want to get healthy. I've struggled with my weight for my entire life. I've seen the home video from when I was 4 years old and my aunt picked me up and said, "Wow, they've got to stop feeding you!" I've endured ridicule and I've ignored it, but I still remember all those hurtful words. I feel the difference in the way I'm treated since I'm a "big girl". I want to enjoy my life, and I feel very held back by my weight and my lack of self-confidence.

I want to be healthy. I want to be able to run around the bases on a softball diamond without feeling like I'm going to die. I want to want to take the dog on a walk instead of feeling like I have to. I don't ever want to deal with the diabetes that runs on both sides of my family. And most of all, I want to be comfortable in my own skin.

How will I do this? I've lost weight before with Jenny Craig, but I don't think that's reasonable and it's too expensive for me. I've done Weight Watchers for years on and off, and have been most successful with that program (when I actually stick to it), so that's my plan for now. I think I have a pretty good grasp on what to eat and nutrition, it's just realizing that I have to combine this with exercise and coming to terms with the fact that I have to do this for the rest of my life. There is no other way.

Welcome to my blog.