It's a Challenge....... 10 Weeks to a Healthier You, are You Willing to Commit???

Everyone has that one defining moment when you know something has to change. In May, 2012, we had company visiting where we ate great food, drank……a lot….. but that’s a whole another story. During this time, we took a trip to San Francisco and while I love the city, we spent it walking around. While that would be considered great exercise to be outdoors, I saw it as torture because I could not keep up with the rest of the group. They were always so far ahead while I struggled just to keep them in my sights and stopping to take breaks just to catch my breath. When the days were done and we went back to our hotel, I would hit the showers to wash up but the reality was I wanted to cry and feel sorry for myself in private.

When I got home, I put it all out of my mind because really, I just didn’t think I was ready to make the BIG change….. Oh I changed my eating habits but I really didn’t have a clue about what I was consuming. I started making other changes, I was working on my bachelor’s degree and started planning on finding a job and then that whole weight/appearance reared its’ ugly head all over again. We all know about discrimination and prejudice but has anyone ever experienced it? I can say that I have witnessed it first hand when I was interviewing. I would have really great phone interviews where my qualifications were discussed and it sounded promising and then I would show up for the face-to-face part and you could just see the wind being let out of their sails when we’d meet and then the enthusiasm was gone and I’d hear, “don’t call us, we’ll call you” comment and nothing…….. So I jumped into a program with both feet and made a commitment to get healthy and try and take the pressure off my knees (that were in a bad state from carrying around over 300 pounds for more years than I’d like to remember).

In the beginning, I struggled with the exercise portion thinking that I had to go all out or it wasn’t worth it, but that is not the case. I started taking short walks around the block and eventually worked up to walking to the grocery store to pick up a few items and then carry it back. My reason for sharing is to promote a great group of people who are all on a mission to get healthy. This group https://www.facebook.com/groups/JackBeFit/ is focused for the next 10 weeks to setting personal goals and doing everything they can to reach those goals. We all are supporting each other in this quest. Some of us are trying to lose weight; while others are trying to eat healthier. Whatever your goals are, this group is here for support and advice.

If you are looking for fitness advice and suggestions check out this page https://www.facebook.com/jackbefit and invite your friends to join. The more the merrier!!!!

Happy 4th of July and a Salute to the Men and Women of the Armed Forces

On this day every year, we celebrate our independence. I’d like to say thank you to all the people I know that have served or are serving in our Military today and to also remind you that we live in the land of the free BECAUSE of the BRAVE. Have a safe and Happy 4th.



Thank you to my father who was Active Army for 27 years and retired in Seattle, WA. Thank you Mom for going through the many moves and for dragging around the world. My brother (Bill) who served in the Army and got out to become a Police Officer in AR and to his wife, Wendy for standing by his side. My husband (Jim) who is currently serving in the Army and has been for over 23 years, and I would not want to be anywhere else but by his side. To the following couples that I have met, and I’m proud to call close friends: Steve and Joanna; Dustin and Traci; and Tomas and Sara. To the young men who are enlisting in the Marines (Paul) and  anyone else that reads this and is part of the Armed Forces. I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for the sacrifices made. All of us have made them during deployments, PCS moves, etc.… we may be spread out, but we are one big family that I’m proud to be a part of.

A special thank you to the Logan/Porter family may your next journey be a good one, and I hope you meet some really great people.

Here are some pictures from the 11^th Battalion and other fun times.

More about Me

Well….. When we last left the story, my father’s last duty assignment was Seattle, WA, and my parents decided to stay. You see; Seattle reminded my mother of her hometown (Berchtesgaden, Germany) so staying was not a hard decision for them. I really didn’t have a choice, so I spent my senior year of high school in a brand new school with new people. The readers who know me personally know that change is not a difficult thing for me; I’ve been doing it since I was born and in some aspects, I find that no change makes me a little stir crazy because I get bored staying in one place for too long. Anyway, I finished out my senior year, started my first office job and was going to college. I really felt like things were going really good. Well, the school thing just didn’t stick; I found that I was dividing myself too much between work and school so I quit school and kept the job. After about 5 years on the job I decided that I need to take a vacation and I met a friend (Ami), and we started talking and one thing led to another and we were off to Germany together for the summer. Let me say that we had the best time in the summer or 1991. I still get out my photo album and reminisce over each picture taken. We rode the train around a few times and walked just about everywhere. Well that year was also the year that I met my husband of 20 years. I know this is the part that most of you have been waiting for and the suspense was just killing you……. Did I tell you about the first car that I ever bought?? Oh you don’t want to hear about that? Ok Ok here goes……..

            The summer of 1991 I took a trip to Germany with the goal of spending 6 weeks having the time of my life. Ami and I spent many days out touring the cities and the evenings hanging out at some of the local hotspots. One Friday night, we went out with my Aunt and Uncle to one of the local bars. Right next door was a dance club that I remember being there the many summers that the family vacationed there from Kuwait. Anyway, that night I kept going out on the balcony and looking next door because something told me that I really needed to be there. Normally, I don’t listen or I ignore the signs, but that night I didn’t, I grabbed Ami and we went next door for dancing cause really a couple of girls in their 20s really do not want to sit around a bar. Nowadays, I’d be happy doing that but not then. We get inside and the place it packed so we grab a beer (yes I was drinking beer back then) and head out on the dance floor. I’d been out there for about four songs already, and then I felt like I ran into someone who was behind me. I turned around to say sorry, and there he was this blond-haired blue-eyed baby faced person who was dancing alone (so was I) so I decided we’d dance together. At this point, neither one of us knew whether the other was American or German, but it really didn’t matter. I discovered later that Jim wanted to get my attention, so he walked out on to the dance floor and pushed me or as he says it he “accidentally” bumped into me to get my attention. We spent the next couple of days together, and then he had to go back to his duty assignment, and I had to get back home. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers and said we’d keep in touch, but who really does that. Now remember this was long before email was that widely used and I found myself writing letters to him almost daily. He did end up getting stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA, we were engaged for a year and were married at the end of January 1993 and have been together ever since. He really is my best friend, and I’m not sure what I would do without him so every day I work so that I never have to know…… I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my life. Tune in again for the next round of random……. I’m thinking it’s almost time for another weight loss update, which is going good by the way, but we’ll save that for later……..

There's a story behind this picture

Need Some Food Ideas?

Who doesn’t love food? Anybody? I thought as much; I am just as big a fan as the rest of you, but I want easy. Easy to me does not mean frozen meals, fast food, or out of a box, it just means it takes less than an hour from preparation to the table. With as busy as I am, and I know that each of you are feeling the same way, the last thing I want to do is spend a lot of time making dinner. Because after dinner comes the cleanup and well that’s a discussion better left for another time. Ok, where was I, oh right, easy meals that can be made in under an hour. Well, salad is a quick one but that does get old after about the third day. However, I have two salads here that are pretty simple to make.

This first one is an Antipasto Chef’s Salad that comes from the kitchens of Food Network, and link is: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/antipasto-chefs-salad-recipe/index.html and is 400 calories a serving. If you are counting the calories (like I am now) there are ways to adjust the ingredients to bring that number down some. Essentially the cooking part of this salad is boiling the eggs and the potatoes. The rest is gathering ingredients, making the dressing and assembling the salad. SEE EASY! I know the picture looks pretty, but if it didn’t, you wouldn’t be thinking about making that salad right now, would you?

The next one is another salad which is a Greek Salad with Grilled Shrimp, and it is from the Cooking Light Food Community; the link is: http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?44600-Rev-Greek-Grilled-Shrimp-Salad and this salad is less than 300 calories. Once again, the cooking time is for the shrimp, and the rest is gathering ingredients, making the dressing, and assembling the salad. Both salads, I have made and taken the pictures for this post. This is just simple food that tastes good. 

OK, now we are bored with the salad run, and it’s time to move on to other dishes like an easy Poblano Turkey Chili. I just made this meal last night, and I can honestly say that it’s going to be a favorite in our house. This chili has the potential to be really spicy (if you are heavy-handed with the chili powder), but I found that it was packed with so much flavor, and it all melded together perfectly. This recipe also comes from Cooking Light, and the link is: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/poblano-turkey-sausage-chili-50400000123569/ and is only about 218 calories per serving. I’m a huge fan of one-pot meals, if there is a way to put it in a soup, stew, or crock pot, I will try it at least once. I have concocted (yes, I used that word on purpose) some really strange food trying to get it in one pot. I think the next time I’m going to substitute white beans for the pintos (I know that’s not very chili like, but that’s how we roll here) and then beef up the spicy side with more chili powder (I’m going to use more chipotle next time). This is definitely a winner for a cold winter day, holiday gathering where it’s made and then kept warm in a crock pot or even Super bowl Sunday. I can honestly say that I didn’t miss having cornbread but then again, we’re counting the calories and carbohydrates are not part of my food plan (unless they are in fruit or vegetables).

Well, that’s all for now, I’m off to pack for a road trip; tune in next time when there will be another round of “Living the Life.”

 

A Little Bit About Me

            I thought it might be time to introduce myself and share a bit of who I am. I was an Army Brat, born in Monrovia, Liberia (Africa) in 1968. My father was stationed there at the American Embassy. Growing up I traveled to a lot of different places and met a lot of different people over my 40+ years. I’m thankful for FB because I have found old friends from my overseas high school days that I would not have found without it. But I digress…… From Africa, we moved to Panama, next was Ft. Carson Colorado. My memories of those times are very spotty, but my mother is always sharing the stories.

            I really started coming to my own when we moved to Berchtesgaden in 1976. I was in middle school, and I was always the pushing the envelope. It was just my brother and I (I’m the youngest) and while I was getting myself in trouble, my brother was right there covering it up and protecting me from the backlash. Thanks for that Bill. Christmas that year my Aunt gave my brother and I, skies and all the accessories and in January 1977, they took us skiing. My first trip up the ski lift I didn’t make it 100ft from the lift when I fell and broke my left leg. I spent almost 5 months in three different casts. It probably wouldn’t have been that long if the broken bone was set right the first two times. By the time an exchange doctor from England came along for the last replacement, it was discovered that my leg needed to be broken and then set correctly so it could heal. Oh and physical therapy was not part of the healing back then. I remember after the leg was finally healed (in the middle of May) they came in and took off the cast and said have a nice day. I hopped off the table and promptly hit the floor when my leg gave out. Well, I managed to heal up pretty well because I’m not a quitter. That same year when it was time for skiing I put them on again and after the first run down the hill and many face plants later, I became the biggest hotdog, there was. Man, those were the days.

            Not a lot of interesting things happened until the year we moved to Kuwait (1982). This was before Desert Storm and the Iraq invasion, but it was still during tense times. I was starting my freshman year in high school in a foreign country and met some really great people (I found over 30 years later on Facebook, but that’s for another segment). The winter of my sophomore year the country was bombed in six different locations; two of them were the American Embassy (both my parents were working at the time) and the clock tower just outside the American School of Kuwait (during school time). That was probably the scariest time because it was during a 12hour period that I thought I was an orphan, but it turned out alright in my book. Both of my parents are alive and well and living in Seattle, WA.

            From Kuwait, we moved to Seattle, WA, in 1985 where my parents and I settled until I met my husband (1991). Come back later when I will share the story of how my husband and I met, and he made me an Army Wife; it's a fun and interesting story. This is me just living the life that I wouldn’t change for a minute.

My Introduction to Romance

            I’m just a girl who was lucky enough to meet and marry that one perfect man who brings romance into my life every day. Some wonder why I feel the need to read romance when I experience romance every day, but the real reason is sometimes I just want to sit and be entertained by a story that makes you laugh, and makes you cry but when you close the book you know that everyone is following their dream of HEA.

            I wasn’t much of a reader through my school years, and then I read a lot on the job that the thought of reading a novel was almost painful. My sister-in-law introduced me romance novels in 1994 with novels by Diana Palmer (http://www.dianapalmer.com/) and Nora Roberts (http://www.noraroberts.com/). She is an avid reader, and I thought I had nothing to lose so why not. Well, needless to say I was sucked in right from the start. I couldn’t seem to get enough of the stories. Watching the stories begin with that first fluttering feeling when you meet Mr. Right on up to that HEA when everyone is in love.

            I knew those were not the only authors so off to the book store I went to see what I could find. Along came Lori Foster (http://lorifoster.com/) in 1996 when I found myself relating to the heroines and feeling like I was in the stories with every page I turned and then wait, there are mystery and suspense in the romance, who knew? Oh wait, there’s action, weapons, fighting from Cherry Adair (http://cherryadair.com/) and after that the heart pounding came in from any situation you can imagine, kidnapping, mugging, and murder that of course were solved by the last page so while I was anxious throughout the story, I did get that feel good when I closed the book.

            Well, in comes Roxanne St. Claire (http://www.roxannestclaire.com/) with Tropical Getaway and Ava and Dane, who are trying to solve a mystery while fight their attraction for each other. You know they succumbed eventually; it’s the path, they walked that was their adventure. I loved this book and was really sad when I had to read the last page. Oh, but it gets better; she wrote the Bullet Catchers series which gave me bodyguards, car chases, and gun fights, heart-pounding  action that was a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end. I LOVED IT! The whole series, I couldn’t get enough of them; I read them so many times that I could recite my favorite passages. However, she didn’t stop there; she gives us the Guardian Angelinos series that offers stories written about beautiful settings, heart tugging romance, and constant action/adventure which up to this point they are cherished love stories (she still has more to write).

            I also discovered Dinah McCall and Sharon Sala not knowing they were the same person (http://www.sharonsalabooks.com/). What makes her books so great is the realistic feel of each place and each person she writes about. My favorite series is Diamond, Queen, and Lucky; I laughed and cried several times throughout that series but when I put them down I sighed each time and was sorry that the story had to end. Then, I read When You Call My Name, and I fell in love with Wyatt and Glory. I can pick up that book and start reading anywhere know exactly where I was in the story and read it right to the end. My all-time favorite book of hers is The Warrior with John Nightwalker and Alicia Ponte, and I love the mystery that surrounds these two while John is protecting Alicia from her father. If you’re intrigued, you should find the book and read it.

            Oh and let’s not forget the historical novels being written by fabulous authors like Delilah Marvelle (http://www.delilahmarvelle.com) who writes about scandalous items during historical times and oh boy; she does it well <whew> <sweaty brow>. The heroes are fan worthy, and the heroines are strong and capable of standing on their own. Then there were the other worlds created by authors like Nalini Singh (http://www.nalinisingh.com/) whose Psy-Changling series is intricate and detailed but not so much that it’s hard to follow, but so well thought through that the separate worlds do crossover at times. I’m fascinated by this series and the characters within, and the whole time I feel like I’m there when reading and when I close the book, that world fades and my world appears.

            These are not the only authors that I read or have read, but they are the most notable at this time. There is one romance writer who will remain anonymous until her book is published, and then you’ll find her as part of future postings (and you know who you are).

Stop back by again for future postings on romance.

It’s time to stop Hiding

In January, 2013, my husband and I celebrated our 20^th Wedding Anniversary in Las Vegas. Up to that point, my goal was to lose weight, get in shape, etc. I kept telling saying I’m going to change things, eat better, exercise, and I KNOW that each of you reading this has said something similar sometime in your life. Anyway, while in Vegas, I was the slow person, everyone had to wait for; my knees and feet hurt on the walks and when I wasn’t sitting I can honestly say I was miserable when I had to move and angry with myself for lying to myself about changing. I felt bad that I was slowing everyone down so I could keep up. When I got home, I took a long look at myself and what I’d become, and I didn’t like the person looking back at me. I’m in my 40s but what I really felt like was that little fat girl that I’ve been carrying around with me all my life and I decided that she needed to go.

There is an upside I promise, so please don’t stop reading now. Ok where was I oh yes the upside. When we came back from Vegas, my knees were hurting me so much that just walking through the apartment was tough to do. After much (supportive) badgering from my husband, I went to the doctor where he shot cortisone in one knee, and then he asked me the tough question; “Are you happy with yourself and how you feel?” My first thought was to say things are fine, because that is my classic response, but what I did say was no, I’m not happy; I'm frustrated; I can’t seem to lose any weight and exercising is just too painful to keep up for an extended period. About 4 years ago, I was at my highest weight (375lbs) and then my husband and I moved to CA. I started working out and watching the food some and I lost 70 lbs. but it stopped there and for the last four years I have not been able to break 305 so they only thing left to do was take the doctor’s advice and join the weight loss program.

I researched the program and thought what do I have to lose, so I signed up and for 10 weeks I exercised hard, watched the food I ate and lost 35 pounds, and 13 inches total. It can be done after you stop lying to yourself and start looking at the food you eat. I’m here working every day, walking 3miles four times a week, weight lifting 2 days a week. I challenge each of you reading this to join me in becoming healthier, but you have to be willing to be honest with yourself about ALL the food you are eating.

I want to thank my husband for standing by and supporting me through this process by working out with me and fitting my food plan to his. I wouldn’t have gotten this far alone. If you want to know about the program, I’m happy to share the information with you, just leave a comment below.  I’ll be sharing my progress and posting pictures as the milestones hit. Thank you to everyone who reads this because you’ll be helping me achieve my goal.