Back on Track

So it's been a while. Hi there!

Vacations, birthday, summer visitors are done and behind me...for now anyway. I'm refocused and back on track. Been struggling with the whole weight loss thing since my laptop died. (No it cannot be fixed afterall.) So tracking wasn't happening for a while and that made a huge difference.
In order to lose weight I GOTTA TRACK what I'm eating. (There's new scientific proof of this as well!)
I also have to MOVE my butt more.
So I'm tracking again and making a POINT to get out and walk at least 4 times a week, more if I can.
What can I say...I'm down 7.6 pounds in the last 2 weeks. :D Here's the kicker: This is FAT (Water retention) week and I'm down 4.4! This plan really works when you work it.

I realize I let myself slip into the habits that other people on the plan slip into and the complain it doesn't work. Well, it doesn't if you don't USE THE TOOLS. I'm proof of it. Truly.

So I'm trekkin on, and I do believe I'll be at my goal weight by my wedding day. Fitting is this Friday, so I'm going to get an undergarment that sucks it ALL in...to see if we can get by without the MAJOR alteration that we have in mind. It will work, but I would really like to keep the dress as it is if I can.

Plans are moving right along, we have nailed down our site, my gown, our officiant, our cake baker, our caterer, my shoes, and a few little things. We still have a lot to do, but we've got more appointments this weekend and a fun one on Friday - we meet with a custom jeweler to discuss creation of our wedding set!

On a food find note: I am not much of a soda drinker, but Jef and I have found one we like to indulge in from time to time. You gotta try Coke ZERO. Today. If you like Coca Cola Classic...but you don't want all that sugar, this comes much closer than Diet Coke ever has. Try it, and let me know what you think!

Only 28 more pounds to go to goal. I know I'll get there. WHOO HOO!
Have a GREAT week!
~Lizbeth

Up .2, but so what? I'm floating on a cloud.

So I am up .2 pounds, but that's ok...we had a lovely dinner out on Saturday and I had the left overs on Sunday for lunch...or was it breakfast?
Anyway, Sunday dinner came with a proposal! Yes, THAT kind of proposal. :D And I said YES!
So Jef and I will be married soon, we've not picked the day but will probably have that solidified this weekend after we look around at possible sites in Santa Barbara to have the ceremony/reception.
It's really easy planning a wedding with someone you really share values and deep love with. I'm enjoying the process.

However, I am feeling a little down...I would like to share this event with my family and special friends, but they are all so scattered...not only geographically...so I am concerned that some of the people who are important to me won't be there. The day really is about SHARING this wonderful love and the joining of our lives together with others that we feel love for...it's this whole LOVE fest and I worry that it will be lacking in some way for me. *sigh* Am I just being silly?
I'll just come out and say it: It would complete the day for me if my family were present. All of them, the good, the bad, the ugly, the survivors that we are in our own ways. We're a goofy bunch but there is love between us that I hope hasn't been lost over the years. I hope there is a glimmer and that when they receive my invitations, they will come to Santa Barbara for a fun weekend and share this very special day with me and see me join my life to this very special man who loves me so unconditionally. I cannot have my mother and father there in body, but they will be on my mind and so there in spirit...so I would like to have my siblings and their partners there too.
The Moore-Allbright wedding would be VERY special if they can all be there, but I'll take what I can get. If only my sister's come, I'll be content with that. I just had to express that I want them all to be there...

Hustle and bustle ahead, and still about 30 lbs to lose...I'd love to have it all off by the wedding day...but that may be just a tad unrealistic...however, 20lbs is doable and I'm shooting for that.

I'll be running around a lot but still need to focus on getting EXERCISE... :)

Root me on?

Down again: 7.4 pounds and back on track

What a GREAT week. Not the weight loss...although that's not too shabby, but the WEEK was so nice.

We spent the weekend in Lake Tahoe with a bunch of REALLY SMART people and did some hiking up in Heavenly Valley.

I let this post sit in my drafts too long and I'm lost about what to say cuz I have more to say about the current week.

This having no laptop stuff is for the birds...I'm calling the fixers NOW!!!

NYC, Junior's Cheesecake and I'm up 8.8 lbs. Also a Parenting Question.

Vacation was FUN FUN FUN. We traipsed all over Manhattan, across the Brooklyn Bridge, rode the subway to places far and wide, and took full advantage of the wonderful public transportation available in that area. Why can't California get their public transportation together like NY and the surrounding states have?

Thanks to a gentleman in our complex here at work, I learned about a lovely diner in Brooklyn called Junior's . We never found the one in Brooklyn...but 'lo and behold, our hotel was right around the corner from the Times Square location! Sooooo, over the course of vacation, I had 3 pieces of cheesecake. I know...overkill, shame, and sweet ecstasy!
I went completely off my plan, drank too much, ate too much and came home to enjoy food poisoning from the wee hours of June 9th til the later hours of the same day.

What did I learn? With my laptop dead in the water, (sending it back again for repair) and not having an electronic way to track my food while away from a pc...I am useless on this plan. I think I could set up an excel spreadsheet to do what I need to do, but the convenience of looking up the calories for the foods I'm ingesting is GONE and that makes it challenging for me. I'm all about ease of the plan. :D

So, I purchased another book last night, this one is basically an oversized pocket size booklet that has most of the information found on the website I use. I'm going manual with paper and pen until I set up an excel spreadsheet that I can use on my smartphone. I gotta get used to tracking even when I have no electronic aid. So I have my tracker, my book for foods, my book for dining out foods and a few others, and I'm taking them with me as we head off for Lake Tahoe tonight for "Fusion 2008" a masterminding session with some very bright people.

I will not let a little thing like the loss of computing power stop my progress...though it did slow it down, I learned why, and I'll make the necessary adjustment and move on. :D

For all you parents out there, I need some input/advice/thoughts on the matter:
I had made arrangements with my son to watch our doggy while we were in NYC. The few days before, he got a little flaky doing something we talked about and I warned him not to do...so I fired him...then he wouldn't return my call, so I made other arrangements for the doggy.
He was upset with me for doing that, but whatever...next time, return my darned phone calls.
So, while we were away, our doggy broke free from her caretaker at the local "Big Dog" Parade...apparently, she'd seen something to freak her out and off she went, wriggled free of her collar and ran like a bat out of hell. I called my son to ask him to help find our doggy, and he never responded to phone calls or text messages.
When I spoke with him after our return, to tell him to go ahead and use the job I fired him from as a reference, I won't slam him, nor will anyone else...then I asked him...and his reason for not calling or responding was because he figured, after I changed the plan on him last minute, he could only laugh and go back to sleep. What a great kid, huh? I reminded him to keep this whole thing in mind when he needed a favor from me...

So yesterday, he calls me to get something from me...help with living arrangements at the college he wants to attend in the fall. My question is: Why should I help this selfish person make his dreams come true when he does selfish things like that and for all he knows, our doggy could be dead. I realize, as a parent, there are things I need to do to help him, but I think, right now...he needs to learn to apologize for being a jerk, really figure it out...and until then, I am not going to help him. Why should I go into debt for his college? Why should I put a deposit on his housing? He's been working since June of last year here with me and not saved a dime. Yet I'm supposed to foot the entire deposit. He's not found another job either.

I think the most important help I can give him right now is to let him see/feel/experience a bit of humility. Crack the hard shell around him and learn that it's ok to admit mistakes and to take responsibility for one's choices and the consequences (good or bad) that go along with them.

Of course I want to help him get to college, but I absolutely refuse under the current circumstances. What are your thoughts Parents??

.8, Guess I'm going to crawl to the finish line. :D

And that is ok, just to get there is good enough...

I am now tipping the scale at 179.4! That's a number I ain't seen in a very long time...

Been a busy/rough week but the light at the end of the tunnel begins when I leave work today. From there it's off to NYC!

My goal for NYC is to keep on losing weight. YES I will enjoy a treat or two while I am there, but I also expect to be walking ALL OVER that fine city and beyond...so I will come back showing a loss of weight. Of that, I have no doubt. I also plan to use the gym facilities and pools if they are available. (I've packed workout gear and a bathing suit. :D)

This week has been rough...and I learned I wasn't correctly calculating a couple of the foods I eat regularly...which helps explain the slow crawl to the finish line...so I need to start with fresh eyes on the program as if I'm a newbie and not 18 months into it.

My son basically quit his job here at my work this week, via Text message...though he still isn't quite ready to accept that responsibility and also a few others. I have to keep reminding myself that the lessons are HIS to learn and I just need to let him go far enough to learn them. I've been REALLY guilty of trying to cushion his falls and hope he'll learn. The truth is, he isn't learning...and how many of us learn the cushy way? I sure didn't. So I shed a few tears for the waste that it is that we, as humans, HAVE to learn things the hard way...and the loss of having my son near me at work every weekday. We're good, I love him to pieces, but it's time to really let him fly...go son go! You're going to be fine. I gave you the best tools for your toolbox, I have no doubt you're going to be successful in the face of life's challenges.

I just wish I didn't hurt so much...gotta work harder on the whole "ego" and "attachment" thing. It's such an adjustment for me...for so many years, it was Sam and me...the level of communication and understanding we have...well, another single mom would understand it I think. It's subliminal at times.
I'm enjoying the fact that I get to live my life for me now...but for so many years, my life revolved around him...I'm not at a loss for what I'll do now...it's just that he won't be such an integral part of it all. That's the adjustment and the attachment that is painful to let go of I think. It's a mix of emotions actually; there's pain, sadness, anger, relief, happiness, trepidation and confidence. And that's all about ME...because, deep down...I know he'll be ok. Whatever life throws at him, short of taking him from this world (and I'm not going to think too long on that one), he's got the tools and the brain to handle. I know he does, I raised him and I see evidence that he learned it everytime we talk. Now my job is only to help him pick himself up, dust himself off and continue on his journey when he's done all he can and needs a little help. No more rescuing him from the bumps of life. Bumps are good, the tougher the better.

I thought I let go when he moved out...but truly, working with me only prolonged the letting go and grieving process for me. So, I'm going to go on vacation tonight and breathe, enjoy time with my man and some friends, and continue to find out who I am beyond "Sam's Mom".

Pics from NYC when we get back. And yes, I'll find a place to weigh in next week while we're there!

Have a wonderful week!

'Nother .4 off.

I misposted last week, that's been corrected. I think the misposting is interesting tho, I said I tipped the scale at 180.2 when it was actually 180.6 last week...and so this week I made it to 180.2. :D

So Maybe I should say I tipped the scale at 176.3 or something. :D :D

I've adjusted to the simple fact that I won't reach my goal weight by my birthday, but the trip next week to NYC and all the walking we'll be doing around that beautiful city will certainly jump start the metabolism. I'm taking a bathing suit to take advantage of the hotel pools too. Chlorine sure does a number on my hair though, I think I may get a bathing cap...I don't care how dumb it looks, my hair gets FRIED in chlorine.

I'm so excited about taking vacation. The prep before will be all about the girly stuff. Getting my eyebrows threaded (that's an indian technique involving twisted thread to pull the hair out) and then getting my hair did on Thursday night...with some advice on the correct way to iron my hair for the optional straightlook. I'm also considering getting another color of the clip in hair extensions like the blue ones I have already. Purple anyone? But then, I keep thinking RED would be hot. :D So, the girly stuff is fun again, and a large part of this journey is about getting back to enjoying that part. Probably get a mani-pedi with my friend Kate in NYC if I can convince her on our girl's day out. Those are a nice treat any time.

I have my laptop back and in working order, so tracking is back on track...and I did the usual "Date Night" thing where I eat what I want, within reason and use up some of those weekly optional calories. So, a few drinks (mostly wine) and some fried food were on the menu last night. Today, (Sunday) has been about sleeping in (til noon!), making breakfast, being lazy and blogging. Now I think I'll get ready to head out and move this body for a while. The sky is overcast so the pool won't be happening, but it's great weather for a nice long walk. With the usual place being a bit soggy, we'll head for the paved path by my work and head towards the beach, that will be a nice LONG walk.

See ya! Have a Happy Memorial day cookout and a great week!

New Pictures, New -do.

So I thought it was time to post some more pictures...I got a new hairdo as well, the transformation is almost complete! BWAHAHAHAHAH!


But seriously, I'm 14.6 lbs lighter than the last photos taken in March. :D