Not a Skinny Bovine

Wanted: Crystal Ball

2010-10-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well, life is funny with it's curve balls and side swipes. I wish I had a crystal ball so that I could avoid all the pitfalls....but do I really? I was listening to an old Garth Brooks song on the radio (The Dance) and was reminded that we don't know how things wind up for a reason. We have to learn from our own mistakes. The only way to grow is to fail. If you help a butterfly out if its cacoon, it will fall to the ground and likely die. The struggle to break free is what makes it strong enough to survive in the world. I guess that being like the butterfly isn't so bad. I am strong. I am independent. I now know that, while I want a partner, I don't need someone if they aren't willing to be a true and complete partner. I am a stronger person now than ever before in my life. I am still growing in so many ways at the same time. I am finding another level to teach and reach my students, a closer walk with God, and a deeper self awareness. I am better without the crystal ball. After all, like my daddy says, I would have done my own thing anyway. :)

Frenchie Video

2010-06-14T08:20:00.001-07:00

Okay...most of ya'll know I'm a frenchie lover because of my maladjusted dog Coco. However, you may not know that my mom raised French Bulldogs for a large part of my childhood and that is where my frenchie mania began. I just saw this video today and it was typical frenchie hilarity that I felt I needed to share! Enjoy!

102.8 pounds...enough said!

2010-06-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

102.8 pounds. That was my total weight loss at WW yesterday! I barely believe that I'm finally at my goal after 65 weeks of work! It seems like I've been working toward it for so long, it will be a new challenge to change my mindset to maintenance instead of weight loss. I supposedly get 4 more points, but I couldn't bear to give myself that many to start. I have 6 weeks to fine tune what I'm eating. This picture was taken this weekend, so those of you who have seen my journey from the beginning know how different I look. Heck, this blog is a pretty good chronology of my changing appearance. I'm training for my sprint triathalon later this month...gotta keep up with the twin...can't let her make me look bad! :o) I realized that my lungs are woefully prepared for swimming. Turns out I don't breathe as well under water! Who'd a thunk it?! LOL! I'll try to keep ya'll updated...here's to reaching goals and keeping them!

I'm practically a FARMER!

2010-05-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

Look at my tomato! I've never grown anything that I could eat before! This tomato was quite yummy. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had refrigerated it for a while, but it was good none-the-less! Anyway, I was very proud of myself for keeping my plant alive long enough for it to feed me! Maybe I don't have a black thumb after all!

Warning! Bikes Bite Back!

2010-05-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

Okay....try not to laugh at me. I took my new bike out for a spin. I'm really not used to the racing handle bars yet!! I caught my wheel in a crack between the grass and sidewalk and...well, the results speak for themselves. My knee is a little worse for wear, but other than that it seems the bike and I escaped largely unscathed. Thanks for the birthday helmet, Shelley! My noggin didn't hit the pavement, but I felt better falling knowing that my head hitting wasn't my biggest concern. I had to remind Steve that the very first run I went on left a similar mark on my left knee. Actually, I think it was worse because you can still see the mark from it. Anyway...I'll have to get back in the saddle asap. I can't let a silly bike...well...make me look silly! :)

2010-05-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's almost my birthday (just two more hours until I'm OFFICIALLY 29!), but my big present arrived via UPS yesterday afternoon! My parents and my in-laws contributed cash so that I could buy this beautiful bike! I haven't aired up the tires yet (I don't have a pump yet) and it needs a little tweaking (It came broken down in a box and I had to put it together) and I still need to go get a helmet (just in case!), but I couldn't be MORE EXCITED!! Sorry I look a little ratty! I'm still a little sweaty from my evening run! Anyway, I'll keep ya'll updated about how the bike adventures progress....hopefully I still remember how to ride one! HaHa!

Cantaloupe with a candle

2010-05-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Who wouldn't LOVE this birthday cake! I told my Mother-In-Law that I wanted a "Cantaloupe with a candle". I really didn't want to have to regret having my birthday cake, so I was just not going to have one. She really one-upped my idea (drilling a hole in the top of a cantaloupe and shoving in a candle!) with this. The best part was eating my whole cake without any guilt!! Who gets THAT for a birthday present?!

My Leprechaun's name is Horace...What's yours?

2010-04-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

I just read this really obnoxious article about a woman who lost a couple hundred pounds with gastric bypass and she was whining about how it didn't fix all the problems in her life. I found myself wanting to punch a hole in computer screen and bonk her forehead on her monitor! First, which magical leprechaun were you expecting to come fix all your problems when you weren't fat anymore? Did you think the universe was punishing you because of your obesity? That's ludicrous! If you lost weight to fix all of your problems then let me be the first to say, "Sorry, Charlie!" and buy you a box of HoHo's. Weight loss, when taken as a journey, can help you find a truer, purer version of yourself. I, however, am fundamentally the same person. I still don't like to do dishes (sorry, Steve!), I still have the same dorky sense of humor, and my bank account is still Donald Trump's waking nightmare. What has changed is how I feel about what I'm doing with my life. I feel a sense of accomplishment. I feel a little bolder and little stronger. Each day that I win my battle with weight is a day I feel proud of. I also have learned the value of people who love and support me. My mom and dad have rooted me on every step of the way and tell me frequently that they love me and are proud of me. My mother-in-law made weight loss fun and attainable by doing it along-side me and always and untiringly supporting me through the process. My husband cooked almost every dinner I've eaten on this journey and always kept my goals in mind. My siblings have pushed me by doing some of their own weight loss and competing with me in physical challenges.

I would never say that I am against bypass surgery. I understand that, for a certain group of people, there are few other options. However, I think that far more people have the surgery than actually have to and many are sucked in by the "quick fix NOW" mentality of our society and don't want to work for change. Working your way through the changes is what makes them meaningful. Figuring out, little by little, habit by habit, what works and what doesn't is what makes weight loss last as well. I'm not a weight loss snob. I recognize that I will struggle with my food issues for the rest of my life. However, I am a stronger person because I know how to and I know I CAN overcome them.

Earl Nightingale sums up my feelings on our quick fix society the best:

“Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.” - Earl Nightingale

91 Pounds! WooHoo!

2010-04-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

I had another great week at WW! I was down 1.4 pounds which pushed me past the 90 pound barrier. I have set a mental goal of finishing up my 100 pounds by the Monday of May 31. That is 8.8 pounds in 7 weeks. Ambitious, but do-able. Even better, I have two of my sisters taunting me about races we are competing in together and how they are going to beat me, so I'm pretty motivated to show them what the formerly-fat sister can do! :) On the race-training note, can I just complain about how running muscles do not seem to transfer into biking muscles?!? And at least running doesn't hurt my rear end so much! Sheesh! I guess I'll get used to it though! I'll keep you updated on my progress! Watch out Shelley and Gina!

AT

2010-04-19T11:57:00.001-07:00

AT&T - Asparagus trivia to welcome spring

Posted using ShareThis

Suck it up, Cupcake!

2010-04-13T06:24:00.000-07:00

13.1 miles of sweet, sweet fun! I finished Angie's Half Crazy Half Marathon in 2 hours and 23 minutes. I ran every step though I seriously considered walking a few times. I think the hardest part was running past a donut shop. Not because I was tempting, but because the smell of sugar was so strong that it nearly knocked me over! Anyway, my run also helped me have a 4 pound week at WW so I am officially in my healthy weight rage for my height. I'm officially NOT overweight! Yeah!

85 pounds and counting....

2010-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

I have been very negligent in my posting. I've actually lost another 5 pounds since this photo compilation because I've waited so long! I've been running and training for my half marathon (only a week and a half left to the official run!) and I've gotten a total of 85 pounds off since last February. I feel like a totally different person! I can't even believe my weight is actally in the 160's! I still want to lose another 15 pounds (to get 100 pounds off) and I only have 9 weeks to get it done in! The 9 week timeline is until the end of May and I want to do that because I have to do 6 weeks of maintenance with Weight Watchers to be in Lifetime and I want to get it all done before our vacation at the end of July...time is ticking! Also, I ran a practice half-marathon (just to see if I would be tempted to die on the race course! :) ) Sunday before last and posted a semi-respectable time of 2hours and 25 minutes with the wind gusting really hard. I was pretty darn proud of myself! I'll post more soon!

Two of these things are not like the others....

2010-03-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, for those of you who are carfully observant, the picture with two little girls is from the eighties and the one with four is fairly recent. However, I saw it and was struck at how much my twin sister's quadruplets look JUST like us at a similar age! If my Dad had more gray and less hair in the picture with me and Shelley I might almost think he was holding two of Shelley's girls! (Don't worry Dad, I know the more gray and less hair part is the fault of all of us kids!) Anyway, it was just a fun picture comparison!

On The Road Again....

2010-02-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

Willie always had a way with words! I was diligent (but not radical) this week in an attempt to remediate my bad behavior of the last two weeks. I returned to the basics of counting, tracking, and ACTUALLY exercising. I was down 4.2 lbs!! I really didn't expect to make up for my mistakes (up three pounds over the previous two weeks) and then some, but my body was probably just so ridiculously cranky with my cruddy eating and lack of exercise that it was more than happy to reward me for my efforts. I'm coming up on my 1 year with WW (February 23rd) and I'm so happy with my success so far. I just have to focus on my goal and keep the pace up.

Training for the Finish Line

2010-02-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

Did you know that runners rarely instinctively run all the way to the finish line? They have to train to run to the finish. They have to be reminded repeatedly and molded into the type of runner who picks up the pace on the way to the finish. Our bodies don't want to run when they see the finish, they want to stop. Our brain sees the checkered flag and says, "Oh thank goodness! I get to rest!" and our feet slow down. When you train to run that can be one of the hardest things to overcome. You have to constantly remind yourself to 'sprint' to the finish. Some runners even avert their eyes from the finish so that they don't fall into the mental trap that slows them down. What I'm finding is that it's not just runners that have a rough time running full bore the whole race. I'm finding it very difficult to keep sprinting toward the finish of my weight loss. This is the first time the end has even seemed realistic, much less achievable, and I find myself stumbling over the simplest things. I've run a marathon when it comes to weight loss over the past year (1 year exactly on February 27th) and the silly mistakes I'm making are akin to turning around when you're 20 yards from the finish. I've commited myself anew and I'm trying to return to the basics. Measure everything. Write it ALL down. Exercise even when you don't feel like it. Snack only when hungry...not just because it's Tuesday!

Finish line....get ready for me....

Going to the Frogs

2010-01-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

My SIL, Shannon, got me three aquatitic frogs for Christmas. A short time after they began inhabiting my desk at work, I got a little grossed out at how quickly they got smelly even though I was regularly changing their water. I surmised that I was basically esential for me to find a way to put a filter in with them. The small plastic cube they came in wasn't going to acccomodate that, so I decided to explore some other options. I found the cute tanks pictured here for $10 each on Amazon ($20 cheaper than the ones without the purple butterfly backing. Go Fig.). I bought micro-filters and new pebbles and my frogs couldn't be happier (well, two of them are happy, one is still waiting for a couple of upgrades before they move in). You might be wondering why there are two tanks and one frog still in the plastic cube on my desk. It turns out that it is fairly simple to sex aquatic frogs. Turns out I had two boys and one spotted little girl. Seeing that I didn't want tadpoles (the frogs will eat them anyway) I figured that forced abstinance was best for my amphibian friends. I still need to add regulators the hoses from the pump so that both tanks are getting the right amount of air to run their filters and add pebbles to the tank on the right, but pretty soon I won't have to worry that a kid reaching across my desk is going to make me fish a frog out of my laptop keyboard!

Before and After

2010-01-22T12:02:00.001-08:00

Before

After What a difference 75 pounds makes!! That's not even the least flattering picture of me, but Sally has most of the really terrible looking ones! I've started running and (drumroll, please...) I've decided to run a half-marathon in April! It's not about finishing in a certain time, it's more just about actually finishing. I feel pretty much the same way about it as I have about my weight loss. I'm not putting a time table or expectations for perfection on either my weight loss or my running. I'm probably never going to think I look good in a bikini, but I at least don't have to count my rolls anymore!! (and I'm not talking about the kind with butter!) I don't run terribly fast. Over 7 miles (my farthest run to date) I run just under an 11 minute mile the whole way. I'm hoping to trim some more time over longer distances in the next couple of months of training. The funny thing about the running is that it actually stalls out my weight loss a little because of the muscle/fat exchange. Anyway, just wanted to update everyone on the current state of my midsection!! LOL!

Holy Cow!

2009-12-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, those of you who get this in your e-mail are going to have to actually come to my blog site today! (www.notaskinnybovine.blogspot.com) The cow on the ticker at the top of my page is doing something I didn't think I'd see. I'm currently (well, it hopefully will change at today's WW meeting, but since I'm not psychic, I'm going with last weeks numbers) at 181.6lbs. That means I'm only 1.6 pounds from my first goal of 180! I'm already trying to decide where to put my next goal, but to be perfectly honest, there was a part of me that never believed I'd get this close to my first goal. I went to the doctor the other day and was described as "disgustingly healthy" due to my weight loss efforts. (Well, except for the heartburn I was there about! LOL!) The doctor actually gaped at me for a minute when I said how much weight I had lost. I wanted to tell her to pick her jaw up off the floor! :) Well, here's hoping that this afternoon brings more good news!

Pig Pen

2009-11-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

No, not the Charlie Brown character with the dirt swirling around his head! The kind for guinea pigs! It actually has taken me 2 weeks to post this because I couldn't find the picture on my computer! Anyway, this beautiful cage was accomplished with the masterful help of my father. He came up to school and I invited all my students who had no missing work for the 2nd 6 weeks to come help build Chew-Bacca a new cage. (He's the gray lump at the very front of the cage. He was being camera shy.) Anyway, turns out that if my father had not come as overly prepared as always we would have had to scrap the project for another day. The little plastic parts that hold the sections of his cage together had this big round bottom that was making the cage fall off the counter and making the pan for the litter not fit. Dad had fortuitously packed a small power saw and we were able to cut our problems down to size. Chewy has since gotten several new toys to fill of some of the space, but love doing laps around the outside. The kids bring him carrots and papertowel tubes on a regular basis and he is simply in guinea pig heaven. By the way, Dad, the kids told me several times to say "Thank you!" Who knew 11 year olds even knew that word?? :)

Kissing 70

2009-11-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

Well, leave it to me to make things complicated. I was 0.8 lbs. from my 70 pound star last Monday. After a full week of procrastinating about exercise and eating more of my points in sugar than can possibly be good for me, I'm 0.8 lbs. from my 70 pound star. ARRRGGHHH! Now, being that I'm always overly ambitious when I shouldn't be, my goal is to make it through Thanksgiving and get my star on the other side of it. I'm hoping that the days off will lead to extra activity that will boost my metabolism and Thanksgiving is at my house this year for the Vaughn family so there is A LOT of sweaty cleaning in my very near future! The other thing I realized is that I'm only 20 - 30 pounds from my ultimate goal. I give it as a range because I'm not really sure where my body will feel comfortable. I haven't been below 160 since middle school so I'm not really familiar with how those weights feel. Anyway, the good thing is that I'm about to get to update the ticker at the top of this blog with a lower goal! I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanskgiving full of family and love!

He's such a PIG!

2009-10-31T17:41:00.000-07:00

What? Who did you think I was talking about?? :) This is my new class pet. He is a 3 pound gray guinea pig. I really feel like the "pig" part of that name really fits him considering he's so big he looks like he's part rabbit! The kids voted on what name to give him and my Dad's offering of "Chew-bacca" won by a landslide. He tries to eat my buttons and clothes everytime I hold him! He's really sweet. He was rescued by a friend of my Mom's who found him being totally abused by two other pigs. One of his back legs was so chewed on that he couldn't even use it. She rescued him and nursed him back to health, but when her grandson's parents wouldn't let the pig move to their house she needed to find him a new home. She gave me a really great deal for him, a cage, food, litter, and medicine (he's kind of prone to upset tummies). I passed out field trip permission slips and guinea pig permission slips (just for my own legal safety) on the same day. I got back 30 field trip permission slips and 100 guinea pig permission slips the next day! I have kids begging to clean his cage everyday. Considering that he's a giant rodent, I really don't mind the kids doing the nasty work since I'll have to do it all summer. I've already got volunteers to keep him for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break. I'm hoping I can continue to use him as a bribe to get the kids to behave. :) I'll keep you updated on his antics!

Back in the saddle again

2009-10-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, now that I'm cast-free, I was able to work out this week. I went on Wednesday to the gym for the first time and did 30 minutes on the elliptical. It was so ridiculously hard! It seemed to last forever. Then, on Thursday, the lock on the gym door was broken and I couldn't get in. I went back home and then went for a walk. I decided to skip some and ended up walking for a full hour. It wasn't even CLOSE to as hard at those 30 minutes at the gym (although, my legs and buns were burning pretty good the next day! :) ). Then, on Sunday, I went again and did 50 minutes and it wasn't any big deal. I think maybe that at that first workout my body was just shocked that I was finally working out again after 5 weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to work back up to an hour a day at least 4 times a week like I was at before. I made it into the 180's today and it feels so weird to be so close to my first goal! In less than 10 pounds I will be at my first goal. I'm hoping that I can do it in the next 5 or 6 weeks. Wish me luck! :)

Third time's the charm?

2009-10-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm going to see the orthopedist again today and we're gonna see if he lets me out of this cast. My arm feels mostly good at this point, but I'm about ready to cut this cast off myself! It's making me bonkers with how tight it is and frankly I just feel gross and dirty having it on at this point. My co-workers have recently (playfully of course) accused me of carrying plague on my cast. Not that I can blame them...hot pink does not age well! :) I did have a very good WW week despite still not working out. Sally completed her first week of maintenance. What's funny was that she said that working out less was the hardest part! :) I'll update if the orthopedist makes me keep the cast, but I'm praying he won't! Wish me luck!

The Universe may not hate me after all!

2009-09-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Ever had one of those weeks? Last week had me believing that everything, including my hair, was conspiring together to irritate, frustrate, and just plain make me miserable. It started when they re-cast my arm. I was really looking forward to NOT being a clumsy buffoon with a flourescent cast. When they re-cast it, I truly was depressed about the whole thing. Then, I was frustrated at home because I felt like it was a mess and I had no time to clean it. Also, I was very frustrated with a friend that's been staying with us. I was trying to grow my hair out and it was at this akward stage where it looked really bad and mullett-y. One of my co-workers was wigging out on me and making work really stressful. Anyway, it just added up to where I couldn't stop crying by Friday. I was rediculously stressed out and frazzled and it was also showing up in my eating. I was having a real hard time focusing on eating right when that was the only thing that I was enjoying. It was the first time since I started WW that I didn't want to go. I was almost in tears about it Sunday and my sweet MIL told me that I didn't have to go if I didn't want to. I told her that no, I would go if only because I wanted to stay responsible for my actions. I will tell you that Monday almost sent me into tears again, but in a good way. I had spent the day getting the house mostly clean. I caught up all the laundry. I got the grading done that I had brought home. I cut my ugly hair into a very cute shorter style (that's not the best picture of it, but you get the idea). Then, when time came for WW, I walked up to the scale and lo and behold, I was down 1.8lbs! That was just enough to push me to my 60 lb star. I really almost lost it because I was steeling myself for the opposite result. I guess it just goes to show that things can work out even when they seem to all be moving the wrong direction. On a note of things working in my favor, it would also be appreciated it you would pray for my arm to heal. I'm still having pain which I fear means that they will say it's not healed next Tuesday. I really don't think I can stand to be in a cast any longer than my current sentence. Please say a prayer that God will heal it quickly so that I can get the cast off for good this time!

Stupid Orthopedist!

2009-09-23T20:13:00.001-07:00

Apparently, something that all humans do naturally, I suck at. I suck at healing. I went to the orthopedist's office yesterday and was scheduled to get my cast taken off and get a temporary splint. However, when I said it still hurt they made a face at me. Then, after the X-ray, they said I hadn't healed as quickly as a "normal" person. (Really, I don't think the name calling was necessary! :) ) Anyway, they said I had to get a new cast. To ease my depression over this, I decided on hot pink for my new cast color. The chick put it on kind of tight and it's a little uncomfortable (You can scroll down to the purple one and see that it's bigger looking). Then, when I got to school the next day, all my kids wanted to sign my 'new' cast. Because I didn't want to listen to that over and over for the next two weeks, I decided to decorate my cast. I got a dark Sharpie and drew swirls all over the front and back so that there was no room to sign on it (*Mwah hahahahaha!* >:) ). I guess now I just need to convince my body I'm 'normal' for two weeks so I can get this ding-dang cast off for good next time!

Fun with Mentos and Soda

2009-09-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

This is a video I compiled of our Mentos and Soda experiments at school. We were teaching the kids scientific method by having them write out the different parts of the experiment and develop their own hypothesis about what would happen. It was a lot of fun and even though you can't see the kids on the video, you can hear them screaming in the background. If you want to see more, I have still pictures and lab write ups posted on the website I keep for the 6th grade at school. The address is http://wbms6thscience.weebly.com .

A Broken Arm Can't Stop ME!

2009-09-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

I really thought that this silly arm was going to sideline me until the cast came off. However, I was actually down 5lbs. this week! (Actually, two weeks because we had to miss for Labor Day.) I'm surprised I'm keeping up my 2lb/week average, but I think walking a lot in class and adding in breakfast and vitamins might be helping.

Pretty in Purple

2009-09-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhh....Ahhhhhh! It's purple! They told me not to work out because I could 1) Fall and make it worse 2) have a really stinky cast. I'm kust going to have to try to move more without sweating and watch my food really closely. The other good thing is that I only have to wear this for 3 weeks and then I should get a removable cast that I can take off so I can bathe my arm. They also said I could drive my manual transmission car....Yeah!

2009-08-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally broken a castable bone! After 28 years of only breaking fingers and toes I've managed to finally snap one of the big ones. I was doing yard work on Sunday and I decided to trim all the hedges in front of the house since we're having people over for fantasy sports drafts next weekend. Anyway, I have a beautiful Bottlebrush tree in front of the house that had gotten taller than I care for it to. I was up on a ladder trying to cut it to about half its current height. All of the sudden I thought I saw bees or wasps coming out of the top of it. (It's blooms frequenly attract stingy guests) I tried to get off the ladder really quick to avoid getting stung. Unfortunately, I missed the last step and put my left hand under me to break my fall. I heard a pop when I landed which apparently was the top of my radius breaking. The ER doc said it was a pretty clean break and it went all the way through. I'm going to the orthopedist for my real cast tomorrow. (They didn't want to cast today because of swelling.) I felt pretty awful today (lots of nausea). I'm surprised how much one broken area can make everything feel yucky.

The best news of the day was that even with the added weight of my splint, I was still down 0.6 lbs today. I only have 0.4lbs left until I get my 55lb star. I'm hoping to do that next week and it looks like Sally may be getting her 70lb star next week too.

Let's Give Them Something to Blog About....

2009-08-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I'm so excited! I guess I should back up a little first. Last week I had just gotten home from 10 days in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. I went snorkeling several times and repeatedly drank salt water unintentionally. (It was deceptively blue and I kept forgetting to be careful about getting it in my mouth.) I went to WW like 18 hours after getting off of the plane. Sally and I were very faithful to exercise on the trip. We worked out every single day without fail. I indulged a little in food, but mostly I was very good and age small portions of healthy food. Anyway, I was a little disappointed when I was up when we got home. I was only up 0.4 lbs, but I had hoped to not be up any. Well, today was the payoff, because I was down 7.2 lbs! That makes my total loss 53.8 lbs. and my weight is officially under 200(199.2)! I feel so much better not lugging around that extra weight. I'm also really excited about getting under 200 before the kids come back to school. That was my secret goal for myself, and I'm really happy that I met it just in time!

Hmmm...A new career path?

2009-07-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Watch out Speilberg! Here comes Stacy Cain! Ha! Anyway, Mike and Steve went on a fishing trip this past weekend and I (nervously) let Steve take our new video camera with them. He took a few minutes of video so I used the software that came with the camera to patch it all together and put a title and some credits. Hope you enjoy it!

WARNING! Fish WERE harmed in the making of this video! However, they were only yummy fish.

Not Too Shabby!

2009-07-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

Here is something that makes me feel pretty good. This is my weight loss graph and stats from Evenhealth.com.

This is a really cool website. It has lots of features that I don't take the time to use, but I do track my weight in it. I also do my ticker (that cow on the measuring tape at the top of the page) on this site. It actually even automatically updates my ticker when I enter a new weight which is a real time saver.

On the graph here, you can actually totally ignore all of the up and down before February. I think it just needs to fill in the graph, so it draws in random peaks and valleys.

One of the other cool things is the average weight loss on the bottom right. When I have a "no loss" week or something like that, I just look at my graph and my average weight loss and I feel pretty darn good about myself.

The Tuna Diatribe

2009-07-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

Okay....Ladies and Gentlemen....I present for your inspection the source of my current confusion. This picture is of two seemingly identical cans of Bumble Bee Tuna. They are both 6 oz. of Solid White Albacore packed in water. However, my confusion arose when I rolled them over to check their fat and calories so that I could calculate points.

First, check out the serving size. I know it might be hard to read, but I assure you that they both claim that 1/4 cup or 2oz. drained is a serving. Now check out the number of servings. HUH?! One can says that it has 2 servings and the other says 2.5 servings. How does one can have a half-serving more than the other??

Now, I should stop here and tell you that, either way, both of these cans calculated out to 3 points for the can. This, however, still confused the pants off of me because I swore up and down that I had been eating tuna that the whole can was 2 points. Steve said I must have calculated wrong and so we bought these. However, when I got home and looked at the one's we had on hand, here is what I found. We had two cans that were also White Albacore Tuna from two other manufacturers. The Chicken of the Sea was 5oz and the StarKist was 4.5 oz.

GUESS which can calculates out to 2 points for the can???? The 5 oz Chicken of the Sea!

The two new tunas also have the claimed 1/4 cup, 2oz drained serving size. However, despite their size difference (and the fact that they are both at least one ounce lighter than the Bumble Bee tuna) they BOTH claim to have 2 servings. Even more confusing, despite the fact that they should be exactly the same type of fish, one purports to have 50 calories per serving and one supposedly has 60. If you remember, our Bumble Bee has 70.

I guess what really frustrates me is that I consider myself to be an intelligent and reasonable person, but I wanted to forcibly remove my hair after trying to figure out why type of physics manipulations the tuna companies must be performing on their fish when they pack it!

I wouldn't be surprised if you could easily find people who didn't know what a Tuna was (other than something in a can) so how can people make an informed decision when the information is so clearly skewed?

Okay, I got it out of my system....I feel better now. I'm gonna go pet my dog while my blood pressure evens out....

I'm Baaaack!

2009-06-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my absence from the Blog-0-sphere. I've been suffering from laptop withdrawal. They don't let me keep my school issued laptop during the summer and I didn't realize how COMPLETELY spoiled I was to that thing! I've barely used a computer since May! Anyway, I am now down a total of 41.6 lbs! Yeah! I actually found a picture of me taken 4 days after I started WW in February and the difference is more than I realized(I'll have to remember to post it later with a current pic for comparison.). My current goal is to lose 11.5 lbs by the cruise. If I don't quite make it it won't be the end of the world, but it would feel good to be under 200 when I plan on wearing a bathing suit much of the time!

Hopefully I'll get over my laptop issues and blog a little more regularly! See you next week!

They like me....they REALLY like me!

2009-05-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

At least it felt like the scale was showing preference this week. I really didn't feel like I had done a whole lot right because we had eaten out several times and one night I even had fish and chips. However, it appears that my steadfast motto to stay in my points was able to overcome even the artery clogging powers of a plate of fish and chips! I still want to do better this week. I like weeks where I lose 3 and 4 pounds much better than weeks like this one where I lose 1.2 lbs. I know I need to be happy as long as everything is still going down, but what is the point of gaining my husband's competitive nature if I can't use it to my advantage?!

Oh, a funny thing happened at work today. A co-worker pulled me aside and said that as my friend she needed to tell me something. I was worried that I had made some major faux-pas, but what she told me was something else entirely. She said, "Cain, you've lost too much weight. Can you please buy new pants because you don't have a butt in those anymore!" I couldn't quit laughing because I thought that was an awesome reason to be told to buy new clothes!

How is birthday cake "traditional"?

2009-05-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, I managed to make it through my birthday week without any cake and it left me wondering....at what point did birthday cake become a "tradition"? Why would eggs, butter, sugar, and flour be a necessary part of aging another year? Is it just carry over from our desire to eat anything with disgusting amounts of sugar as children? If that's the case then how do you explain the "tradition" of eating until buttons are flying off and whacking Grandma in the forehead at Thanksgiving? I know I'm as guilty as anyone of these tradition imposters (Just TRY to tell me not to make Sweet Potato Pudding for Thanksgiving!), but the more I contemplate them from a logical standpoint, the less sense they make. My birthday was no less wonderful when we had "Strawberry Delight" (a low-point cake alternative my MIL found) instead of a giant high calorie confection. I think, that if I'm to be successful in my "bovine" weight loss journey, then I'm going to have to challenge my preconceptions. Will Christmas be a tragedy if I don't leave Mom's house bursting at the seams? Of Course Not! Will my brother disown me out if I don't have a heaping spoonful or two of his mashed potatos at Thanksgiving? Well........maybe....... :) Actually, he'll probably like me more because there will be more left for him and everyone else!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-05-07T11:45:00.000-07:00

It's my party and I can say no to cake if I want to! Actually, fortunately, I didn't even have to turn any cake down. I had previously agreed with Sally that cake wouldn't work this year so she make a "Stawberry Delight" that was quite yummy.

I had a very nice birthday this year because I refused to mess it up by going into work. I woke up, went to the gym, showered, went to lunch with my Mom, went and got a mani/pedi with Mom, then sat on the couch until the husband came home. Then my in-laws came over and took us out to dinner and gave me an AWESOME new digital camera and all the goodies to go with it. My parents had already given me my birthday present early because we were afraid Catelyn (my still-gestating neice) might make an early appearance. They gave me a fancy food scale that I'd been wanting, some nice cookie cutters, and an orange peeler (I'm really tired of breaking my nails peeling oranges).

All in all it was a lovely day of slacking off and to top it off I was 1.6 pounds lighter on Monday!

Today, my a few of my classes sang happy birthday to me and a couple of my kids gave me presents. They really are sweeties most of the time!

Who is that handsome orange monster?

2009-04-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

I went to WW last night and was down 4.2 lbs. I worked my patootie off this past week with a goal of being down 3.2 so that I would make my 10% goal in 10 weeks. I couldn't believe I overshot! How awesome is that?! I'm officially down 26 pounds and past my 10% goal. As a small reward to myself I bought a refrigerator magnet of the WW hungry monster. I think he's adorable. If my hunger was that cute it might not be a problem!

As excited as I was about my goal being reached (and the cute orange monster in my purse), the real excitement didn't start until the meeting was about to end. Right as we were about to dismiss the lady from the front came in and told us not to leave because a tornado had been seen touching down on a freeway nearby. Sure enough the sky was greenish-gray and the rain was pouring down. I waited a little bit, but then decided that I was driving away from where the storms where heading so I braved the storm. It was hairy to drive in, but sure enough, as I got closer to the house, the weather improved.

This morning I almost couldn't make it to the school because the rain had come down all night and the streets were flooded around my campus. I don't know why the schools near my house were closed and I had no standing water near me and my school was open and all the nearby neighborhoods were flooded. Goofy.

Creative Detention Strategies

2009-04-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today was kind of a fun adventure in creative detention strategies. I had assigned a student for detention today, but I had forgotten that Mondays I work out right after school and before WW. Anyway, only one kid was assigned detention, so I decided to go ahead and exercise....and make him run with me. The funny part is that I'm pretty sure I was the one in detention because I was trying to make the run at least a little punishing, but I don't think he even broke a sweat! Anyway, hopefully he'll start making it to class on time now! :) Oh, by the way, I was down another 2.6 pounds for a total of 21.8 pounds lost. Sally got her 25 pound star!

Lord, Have Mercy....

2009-04-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

...Baby's got her blue jeans on!

I will fully admit a small moment of pride right now! (Which would full explain my hammy pose in this picture!) When I started WW 2 months ago, these jeans would barely go over my hips and buttoning or zipping them was purely out of the question. Every Friday all of the teachers at my school can wear jeans, but I refused to buy a bigger pair. So, I had a personal goal to be able to wear them by the end of the school year. I decided to see how much progress I had made today and ... they zipped! I did not suck in or anything! They are still pretty snug and I have the infamous muffin-top working against me (tight pants push your tummy up over the top and it looks like the top of a muffin), but they still went on! I've decided to revise my goal since I reached it earlier than expected. I want these jeans to fit WELL by the end of the school year! LOL! :)

I'm gonna smack the guy who invented the decimal!

2009-04-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Why do we need them anyway? I remember the first teacher who introduced these partial numbers to me. Everyone was confused. Why did she want to cut my precious whole numbers into parts? What did they ever do to her? It's such a violent math lesson. There are people cutting pizza, pie, cake.....no wonder I have a weight problem! I just want someone to quit picking on all those yummy foods! Anyway, as you might have guessed I was down only a fraction of a pound this week. 0.4 to be exact. I worked out really hard yesterday.....I'm determined to accomplish WHOLE numbers this week!

If happy cows come from California....why am I in Texas?

2009-04-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

First of all, I hope you enjoy my new decorations on the blog. I figured that a cow theme was appropriate. It may change as my whims dictate. Only time will tell.

On with the blog:

Well, I am one VERY happy cow this week. I was down another 2.6 lbs at my WW meeting and have racked up a total of 18.8 lbs lost.

Now, Before I go to the meetings, my co-worker Lynden and I go to a park between work and the meeting to go for a walk. We can usually squeeze in between 30 and 45 minutes of good brisk walking. It kind of feels like my Biggest Loser "Last Chance Workout"! :) I noticed today that despite being similar in height, that girl has one mean power walk! We worked up a respectable amount of sweat and then drove on to the meeting.

In the meetings, there is usually this very boistrous group of girls that sits behind Sally, Lynden, and myself. They were, however, conspicuously absent today. Apparently I am the next most talkative person in the meetings because the leader kept asking me to answer her questions and giving me "Bravo" stars for giving good answers. After several times of this, Lynden leaned over to me and said, "She always calls on you!" I responded, "You're just jealous because I'm the teachers pet!" At this point we both started giggling and I'm sure earned a reproachful glance from the meeting leader. I wouldn't really know because I was guiltily staring at the floor at the time.

Sally is still kicking booty on the scales. I'm trying my hardest to catch her. I think my husband's competitive streak is beginning to show in me. I guess it's true that you turn into your spouse!

Getting Lost

2009-03-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a very succesful week! I maintained at my meeting right after Spring Break, but I was down a whopping 5 lbs. at yesterdays meeting! I've now lost about the equivalent weight of a one year old (16.2 lbs). The only problem is that I have the equivalent of a teenager still hanging on my body.....I always said I had a kid in me..... :) I'm trying to make smart choices and push the plate away when I'm comfortable in my tummy. My tummy is getting used to not being gorged all the time. I put on a shirt yesterday that I had been forced to quit wearing a while back because I was too tight and uncomfortable. It still isn't a perfect fit, but it buttoned comfortably and the sleeves didn't sqeeze my arms all day. If anyone knows of any good books that I can buy on tape let me know because that's what I'm working out to these days and they last a little less than a month per book. I look forward to your suggestions!

Is It Windy In Here or Is It Just Me?

2009-03-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

**Disclaimer: I am extremely long winded in this particular blog. If you suffer from narcolepsy, or general drowsiness, I suggest taking this particular posting in small doses. However, if you suffer from insomnia, put on your jammies and go to town! **

Well, it was a wonderful vacation this week! We didn't start out of town until Tuesday because I wanted to weigh in Monday. I already posted about my success last week, so the goal was to cut loose and relax, but not so much that it showed up on the scale. We started out by driving to Cedar Creek (just outside Austin) and gathered up our friend Johnny. Then, we went to a couple of vineyards on Tuesday which was difficult to work in points-wise, but was still a lot of fun. We went to a little vineyard called Driftwood Estates and then the slightly larger Mandola Estates Winery.

Wednesday, we started in Cedar Creek again and headed out to New Braunfels and the Natural Bridge Caverns and Natural Bridge Safari Park. The cave is fun, but the safari park is AWESOMMMMMMMEEE! Did you know that buffalo have purple tongues?? Well when one licks you it's hard not to notice! Also, it's a good thing ostrich don't have teeth because other wise Johnny would be missing a few digits! The variety of wildlife was really astonishing. They were all fairly gentle, but the longhorns and watusi (an African animal that looks kind of like a longhorn) were still rather unnerving when they ate at the car. I'm happy to report that the paint job on the car

suffered no damage!

The cave was very pretty, but the real work came in exiting the darn thing! It was 99% humidity and we were all soaked through our shirts by the time we made it to the top. I was huffing and puffing like the little engine that could, but I made it!

Next, we drove into San Antonio and celebrated St. Patrick's day at the closest thing we could find to Ireland....a pub serving green beer of course! We shared one of the obligitory chartreuse beverages between the three of us and had some pub grub and went to our hotel.

That evening (after a nap to counteract the cave hike and a workout to counteract the good food) we took a riverboat tour through the riverwalk part of the river. There was lots of pretty scenery and even a tree growing right out of a wall! We ate steak to celebrate Johnny's birthday (the big 55!) at Little Rhein Steak House.

The next day we saw all of the silly attractions around the Alamo. We went to the Guinness World Records Museum, the Ripley's haunted house, and the mirror maze (very fun I might add!). We had Thai/Chinese food for lunch. (yes, I put them together.... Even though it sounds wierd, this place did both types of food really well.)

After lunch, Johnny told us that there was this neighborhood

with wild peacocks roaming around in it. He drove us to it and
sure enough, in a shabby little subdivision, there were all of these beautiful birds roaming around. I still had 5 or 6 shots left on my 35mm camera, so I got out of the car and started trying to get close enough to one of the birds to get some good pictures. I followed one big beautiful bird around for maybe 15 minutes as he roamed from yard to yard trying to avoid me. I didn't want to outright scare him, so I was trying to be patient with this avoidance tactics. I finally finished my roll and started walking back to the car. All this time, a man had been watching me walk from house to house trying to take the pictures. As I'm leaving he says, "So, what's up?". I replied, "I'm just admiring these birds! They're really amazing!" He calmly replies, "So, you just trespass and go anywhere you want to? You don't think you have to ask?" I have to admit that I probably looked like a cow chewing my cud at that point because I couldn't get my brain around the fact that he was still smiling at me and being such a jerk simultaneously. Johnny finally spit out a "sorry" and I did the same and off we went back to the car. I'm still baffled that if he really felt like I was trespassing that he waited until I was leaving to be a jerk. Anyway, he was the only part of the vacation I would like to erase.

Then that evening, after having more Mexican food for dinner (I don't believe in too much Mexican food....it's just not possible), we went on the "Ghosts and Legends of San Antonio" Tour. I would like to state here that this particular tour is misnamed.

I would like to hereby offer the corrected name of "Blustery old man who tells any old story that happens to pop into his head". It actually wasn't all bad, but most of the stories were better as campfire storytelling. I like "embellished" history on a ghost tour, so this one was a little less than ideal.

The next morning we got up early, had breakfast and headed back to Johnny's. We got our stuff back in my car and I brought me and Steve back to Houston. Coco couldn't stop wiggling and barking when she saw us.

All in all I would say that it was a pretty awesome week away from it all and it served its purpose of relaxing me. I'll update soon on if the scale at WW likes vacation or not. I'll also try to get all of the pictures on Flickr asap.

Vacation Disaster?

2009-03-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

Well, spring break is here and so far so good. I went to the WW meeting today and was down 4.2! Yeah! I still have a long way to go, but each step is headed the right way....for now. I actually had a baby shower and my brother's b-day this past weekend. I made a cake that I was told was very yummy and I actually kept my grubby fingers away from it! If it can be believed, I actually hovered over the tomatoes and carrots and almost exclusively munched on them. A few more pieces of bread than should have made their way past my defenses, but overall I would call it a resounding diet success! We leave for San Antonio in the morning. It would be an understatement to say that Mexican food is a weak spot for me. I live for a good cheese enchilada. So, will power will have to be my friend. I will have to stop the Pavlov effect that burritos have over me and try to focus my energy in a more positive direction. I have actually even packed everything I will need to exercise. If I get 3 days of exercise this week, I swear I should be given some kind of award. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.....fingers crossed!

So far so good

2009-03-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

Well, now I have finished almost two weeks with no cheating. As a matter of fact, I have really been great! I've worked out 4 days this week and I'm starting to feel better. I'm craving more vegetables and less carbs. I want to be a hottie by summer vacation or at least well on my way to hottiness! I'm actually not looking for a super flat tummy or killer abs, but being healthy and wearing a dress size that is a single digit or starts with a 1 would be nice. Here's hoping.

Relapse and Renewed Commitment

2009-03-03T13:12:00.000-08:00

Well, that wagon must be greased because it is crazy easy to fall off of. I quit trying and the weight piled on to heights I've never reached before. I joined Weight Watchers last week and I'm joining a gym today after work. I lost 5.4 pounds my first week! I know the honeymoon will wear off soon and that's where the real commitment will come. Let's hope I'm up to the task.

Struggle

2009-01-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

I'm disappointed to say that I'm already stuggling. I get home from work and I just want to turn into a puddle of oatmeal on the couch. I don't want to move again until it's time to get into bed. I was so tired yesterday that I didn't even get around to setting up a game system my husband got for his birthday. I'm so lazy I can't even set up a GAME SYSTEM!? What is wrong with me? I know I was more tired than normal yesterday because I stayed up to late, but that's not the first day this has happened. Also, food is always a struggle. My husband had a birthday and he had a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. I was setting up his new electronics he got and getting everything plugged together. The new Blue Ray broke almost immediately after it had been set up. Also, in the process, a HDMI port on the TV quit working and an optical port on the back of the reciever quit working because the cord kept pulling out because it was too short.

Long story short I became extremely frustrated and upset and cut a HUGE piece of leftover ice cream cake and devoured it to soothe my nerves. A terrible choice and one I instantly regretted, but pretty much par for the course with me.

Yesterday was my first day fully back on track after the weekend. Let's hope I can get a streak going!

The perils of eating out

2009-01-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

Okay. Had a very good morning yesterday. I had a faculty meeting after school so I was VERY rumbly in my tumbly by the time I got home. Husband says he wants fish for dinner. My thought is, "okay, that's pretty healthy. I should be able to swing that with no problem." I have a thin slice of bread at the house to stop me from scarfing whatever they put on our table and off we go. He decided that he wants to eat at Fish City Grill.

I suppose I should stop here and mention that I am not the biggest seafood fan. I like crab and a few white fish.

Everything in this place is either fried or a species of sea life that I consider inedible. I end up ordering a grilled blackened chicken sandwhich on wheat bread with only tomatoes and lettuce on top.....or so I think.

It arrives at the table with a slice of cheese on the chicken (not a terrible crime) and resting on a mountain of waffle fries.

Not being one to hurt the fries feelings.........I'm sure you know where this is going.

Anyway, not the goal I had for the evening.

Today is a new day.

New Year!!.....New Me??

2009-01-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

The obligatory first of year diet has commenced. The problem is that I don't want it to be obligatory or a diet. I want to effect actual real change in my health. My cholesterol is 223 and my blood pressure is above normal for the first time in my life. With heart disease a rampant problem in my family tree, I'd really like to not make a doctor say, "She's so young to be having a heart attack." Why, then, have I only ever committed to weight loss once in a serious way. And why, after losing 60 pounds, did I allow myself to slip back to an unhealthy and unhappy me? I guess comfort and 'doing what's easy' are the simple answers. I mean, do I really want to say no to that second helping of my favorite foods for the rest of my life? (The answer that should come from my lips is, "Yes! It's only food!") I know that I have to commit my mind and not just my stomach to the task. New goal.....shift my mind.....this is my new life......goodbye old me.