Wanted: Crystal Ball

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

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!

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!

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!

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! :)

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

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?

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!

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

AT&T - Asparagus trivia to welcome spring

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Suck it up, Cupcake!

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....

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....

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....

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!