Reaching those stars...

So as I took my daily walk, by myself today ( that's a rarity) I actually got to clear my head and think. As I listened to my music and walked a hill, I thought to myself a year ago I could not even walk this tiny hill, now..ehh no big deal. Didn't even break a sweat. Not till further in my walk I realized what a goals I had set back in the beginning of my journey and how many of them I have achieved. It's crazy! I started with 10 goals:

1.To be 180 pounds (last week I weighed in 191..I will weigh in again Tuesday March 30th) So I am almost there.

2.To be able to run. I am doing that! Everyday! Never did I think I would day I was a runner

3.To stop listening to the negative things and become a more positive person. So done that! I am such a happier more positive person then I was.

4.To stop the junk food! I was eating ice cream, sonic blasts, candy almost every day. Now I let myself have a bit on my cheat day. But my beloved sonic blasts..eck...i cant stomach them anymore!

5.To be more outgoing. Come out of my shell! Oh so true, I am back to the Anna I used to be! Back to the outgoing, fun loving person! No more, depressed hermit!

6.To be able to inspire others to get healthy too. I am pretty sure I have done that. My biggest thing was I was so scared to go to the gym and be judged by people. I want to show people that it is ok to go to the gym. Whether you are 300 pounds or 150 pounds. Don't be afraid!

7.To be open to try new things. Exercise, food and people! I so have done that! This past October I went to Wisconsin and met with my girls! Tried quinoa, learned what organic meant, and workouts that took mine to a whole other level!

8.To be able to work out for more then 10 minutes! I know that sounds silly, but it is true. At the beginning of this journey I could not even make it through the warm ups on my workouts! Now I am exercising daily an hour and a half to two hours a day.

9.To do a road race. I completed my first 5K in March and I set my goal back when I started to run the Disney princess half marathon! I am training for that right now and will complete this goal in March 2011.

10.Finally, the most important goal of all....to take care of myself and put myself as a priority. I know this may sound conceded but you have to do this for yourself. When I was 250+ pounds I didn't care what I looked like, what my health was, how my mental state was. I always put everyone in front of me. Now, I know I have to take care of myself so that I can take care of others. Thats to Kristin Steede and Bob Harper, I have learned that I'm Worth It! I am worth taking care of myself. I am worth kicking heart disease when I am older. I am worth seeing my nieces and nephews grow up. I am worth being a great friend for extra years! I am worth being there for my husband for many years to come.

So as I walked and thought of how I have overcome almost every single goal I set for myself it really hit me....I am doing this. I have the determination, motivation and drive that I never thought I would have. I have committed myself to a healthy me! And learned that it feels great I feel great! I decided when I hit 180 pounds My last goal on my list...I get to make new goals! Ones that I am sure will take a year or so to complete..but I can and will do it! No matter what! Thank you everyone who has supported me in this journey! You have all been my rock's in one way or another! You are all amazing!

What a crazy life I live

So things have been going well the last few weeks. Kenny and I took a well needed break from life this past week. We went to the Chateau Avalon in Kansas City. I highly recommend it! We ate and were just in heaven. Then I came back and stepped on the scale...uhh no so happy after that. In 2 days I gained 5 pounds! SERIOUSLY 5 pounds. We took the days on Monday and Tuesday. So I will have almost a week to try and get back to the weight I was before my cheeseburger in paradise. But, it seriously is WAY harder getting it back off as it was putting it on. I never realized how hard it would be to lose weight once I got into the 100's. I have been working twice as hard and it seems like I am not getting the results I want/need. I am hoping that the weather gets better again so I can start running. It is so hard with my work schedule and them taking our days off to get to the gym. So thats a bust. Working 7 to 8 days straight is not fun.

With only 1 to 2 days off in between. I seriously cant catch up on anything. But it is almost over. Only 2 more work cycles and then I am done. And craziness ensues, we will finally be getting out of Missouri. But all the work that we have to get done before then seems overwhelming. And with them taking our days of break it is hard to get anything done when everything on base closes at 4PM and the kids are not picked up until then. But we think the movers and packers should be here April 16, 19 and leave the 20th. That will give us 2 days to clean and we are hoping to get our final walk through on April 23rd. Then it is off to on an 8 hour drive to Becca's in murfreesboro from April 23rd to April 30th. Then after that a 10 hour drive to my dad's in astabula ohio for 3 days and then 4 hour drive to my mom's in fayette city, pa. We will be there from May 3rd to May 16th. We leave there the with for our LONG drive to Florida. We are planning on stopping in Chattanooga TN for a night. That's 10 hours from my mom's house. Then on the 17th a 8 hour drive to hurlburt field afb, Florida. In about 2 ½ weeks we will be driving 2500 miles and car time of 38 hours. But it will all be worth it in the end. We get to see our families, which we have not spent time with in almost 2 years.

So that's my rambling. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

One year ago today...

March 11 2009, that was the day I decided to change my life. Today marks my 1 year anniversary of my weight loss journey. And if you would have told me I would have had the determination and motivation to keep it going for a year I would have thought you were crazy. But I did and am still going. 59 pounds in 1 year. I am 11 pounds until I hit my goal I set at 250 + thats 180. I set a new goal when I hit 199 pounds that I wanted to be 150 as my ideal goal. I have 41 more pounds to go! If it takes me another year so be it! I have the determination and motivation to keep going. The drive to get healthy and to teach others that they can do it too. I was there and will NEVER be there again.

What an emotional, wonderful, frustrating, happy and crazy journey this has been. I have met so many wonderful people along this journey. I have received so much support for family, friends and people who I don't even know. I am beyond grateful to everyone that has been there for me along the way! I could not have done this without my support! You all are just as detrimental to me as food and exercise.

Speaking of food and exercise, I went from eating a whole pizza, 3 hamburger and a large fries and all junk to chicken, turkey burgers and steamed veggies! I have learned that moderation is key. You cant deprive yourself of some of the things you used to like. Also portion control! What an amazing thing that is. Weighing my food, counting my calories. WOW! Never in the world would I thought I would be doing that.

As for exercise, when I started this crazy ride, I could not make it through the warm up of a dvd, and I could only walk 10 minutes and I was done. Now I am doing about 2 hours of exercise a day. I am RUNNING (which I thought I would NEVER do), I am doing P90X, kick boxing, and my Richard Simmons and Biggest Loser DVD's all the way through. It's AMAZING to me.

Not only have I transformed on the outside, but on the inside too. I am learning that I have to put myself first. I have to take care of myself so I can take care of others. I have learned that it is ok to do that. Some think it is selfish, but if you don't then you will not thrive and be where I was.

So here is a hooray to this year and many healthy and happy years to go!

Thanks everyone!

A Well Needed Rest..

So this past week I took a well needed break from my exercise regime. I took Feb 25th to the 28th off. Even though I felt like a lazy bum, I knew deep inside I needed it. My head thought otherwise. I Kept thinking I HAVE to workout. I HAVE to keep going. I will admit. I did over indulge on a few things. But, I guess I needed that too. My hubby kept me in check and kept telling me...Anna just RELAX! HA HA HA! So as I say and tried to relax, I thought what are you doing to your body...go go go go go. You just CANT do that! So I sat and wrote down a weekly regime for the next few weeks. This week I am focusing on running/walking really fast to prepare for my 5K this weekend. Next week I get back to P90X.

I also got a special tattoo on Feb. 26th. I got a tattoo on my left ankle that says I'm Worth It. For some strange reason I always put my left running shoe on first, so everyday I put my shoes on I see that wonderful reminder of what I truly am! Once I hit my 100 pounds down I plan on MAYBE getting stars on the other side on my ankle for every 20 pounds I have lost.



So this morning, Tuesday March 2nd was my weigh in and I in all honestly expected a gain, why shouldn't I since I ate. I was just praying that I maintained. Well I stepped on the scale and to my surprise...I lost 2 pounds! WHAT! Are you SERIOUS! I had to step on it 3 times to make sure! I was floored

So all in all, I learned my lesson. I need to quit beating myself up. And take care of myself before I burn myself completely out.

Google love...

I stumbled across this today and found it REALLY interesting.

Googling for Help on Marriage

by Dave Boehi

What can you learn about the state of many marriages today from Google's most popular searches?

Sadly, quite a bit.

To see for yourself, go to the homepage for Google and type in "My husband." Google's "auto complete" function will then provide you with a number of suggestions to finish your search phrase, based on its most popular searches. Here's what came up on my browser:

My husband

...is annoying

...hates me

...doesn't love me

...is a jerk

...ignores me

...cheated on me

...is an alcoholic

Type in "My marriage" and here's what happens with the Google auto complete function:

My marriage

...is falling apart

...is in trouble

...is over

...is failing

...was a mistake

Pretty sobering.

I can't take credit for this idea. A colleague here at FamilyLife recently sent me an interesting blog post by Eyder Paralta on National Public Radio's website. "I once heard Andreas Weigend--former chief scientist for Amazon--say that Internet searches reveal our most secret desires," Paralta wrote. Taking his cue from another blogger, Paralta tested this theory by typing "How can I get my wife" and "How can I get my husband" into Google. Here's what appeared:

How can I get my wife

...to love me again

...in the mood

...to trust me again.

Here was a similar search:

How can I get my husband

...to fall in love with me again

...to be more affectionate

...to help around the house

...to want me

...to be more romantic

...back

This is just one piece of the picture of American marriage. But it's enough to show once again how many people are looking for help for their marriages and families.

Update on me!

Hi all! It has been quite a while since I updated my blog. So since I have a few minutes I thought I would send an update out! Fun!

Well weight loss wise, as of Tuesday February 9,2010, I have lost 54 pounds. I am officially 196 pounds and PROUD. In a month I will have my year anniversary of the start of my journey! It is crazy! When I started this journey I set my long term goal weight at 180 pounds. It is so close. So I decided once I hit my long term goal I am going to set another goal. I wanna be 150 pounds. That would be 100 pounds lost for me. If it takes another year, so be it! I have learned so much over these last 11 months and met so many awesome people! How amazing! I am so blessed to have a wonderful support system to help me! And it feels so awesome to have them! I love you all! I feel so much better! It is an amazing feeling to be able to run! So here is a split pic for ya. 250 and 199 pounds. I have not taken a 196 yet. I am going to try and do pics every 5 pounds now.



Also I have decided on March 6, 2010, I am going to run my first 5K. I am scared...nervous but I AM GOING TO DO IT! Kenny is going to do it with me and I am so greatful for it! Any tips yall cam give me I would greatly appreciate it!


As for things coming up in the future, I have 9 weeks 1 day of work left. 9 weeks 2 days until I see my girls in KC 12 weeks until we leave MO, and 14 weeks 5 days until I see my Becca, and 14 weeks 8 daysish until we are actually in Florida! I cant wait! I am sooo looking forward to starting a new life down there. Now just to find a job! I am looking and getting help on my resume and cover letter from Becca! She has been a big help!

So other then that...I think Thats about it. Ghost Hunting is going well we are now apart of the TAPS Family which is soooo exciting! Work...well it's work! Cant wait to be done! LOL! That means more days closer to everything!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Hope yall have a WONDERFUL DAY!!!

Journal....

December 17 2009

So I decided that it is way easier to type journals then to write them. I type way faster then I write. My to do list will still be written but things like these I am going to start to type.

There are soooo many things flying through my head right now. From the move, to taxes, to this new car, to my job, to exercising and eating right and taking care of my family! SOOO many things swirling. ECK!! Guess I will just take em one at time here.

The move- the af hurry up and wait tactic is really ticking me off. Me the organized person who needs control and needs to make sure we have everything settled cant do anything until the earliest middle January...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Taxes- so now is the time of year where I get to do the “ fun” activity of gathering my receipts and getting all my deductions in order. I am sure that things will work out just fine. They did last year. Even though I made double this year. I had 4 extra kids to take out. I am stressed all of a sudden hit me about taxes next year. Filing in Missouri and Florida and Ohio...ECKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will do this!!! We have to do this!

New car- SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy about it. The one thing I am not so stressed over. I am relieved to have a dependable car. All I have to do is get all the paperwork ready and send it off. I will have to do that next week. No problem.

Jobs- I have been thinking about all the job opportunities in Florida. I need to work on my resume and get it together with a cover letter. Need to rock that.

Exercise and health- I need to make sure the next 2 weeks I am keeping up my routine. Maybe mixing things up going to the gym. But I am by myself. This is the perfect opportunity to rock it! TIME TO GET IT DONE!. 20 weeks until finale!

Family- Christmas away from the family again this year has been hard. We have not been home in years. It is sad. But I am hoping we get to skype. We have not had that in the years past! It will be awesome.

Going through stuff- I have not had the energy to get out in the garage and go through things and get into closets. We really don't have a lot of stuff. I am trying to sell things to make some extra money and it is working. Which is nice. I think Kenny and I could get things all together in a weekend. I think we could maybe a weekend and a few days. We will get it done. Lots of stuff to donate! Going to go through my fat clothes and donate them! I can not believe I just said that! LOL!

OK, I am actually starting to feel better. I just have to remember that Florida is a NEW START! No worries going into Florida. We need to squash them!!! We need to take one step at a time and cross those bridges when we get tot them. Not worry 6 months in advance like this. I will get through this. Kenny has been my rock! He tells me he will take care of it and that everything is going to be OK. I need to remember that! …..EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK!!!