doctor visits.

mary has been healthy since conception and we are so blessed!  she has been to the pediatrician 4 times and all have been for well-visits.  i'm even more impressed because we live in the wellness center (infirmary), which is also where i work, and she's been exposed, indirectly, to the cold the boys have been passing around.  but neither she nor i have gotten sick (knock on wood) and hopefully we'll keep it that way for awhile.

i have taken a picture of her on the scale at all of her major check-ups.  (the first visit was just a weight check when she was 6 days old.)  but i thought it would be fun to keep up with her visits and measurements and be able to scroll through and see how she is growing.

Birth (6/26/12) :  7 lbs. 0.5 oz.  19 1/2 inches

(we have pictures of her on the scale but promised not to post naked pictures of her on here.)

6 Days (7/2/12) :  6 lbs. 12.5 oz.

(she was so teeny in her carseat!)

2 weeks (7/10/12) :  7 lbs. 4.5 oz.   20 1/4 inches

5 weeks (7/31/12) :  8 lbs. 9.5 oz.   21 1/2 inches

2 months (10 weeks) 9/7/12 :  10 lbs. 11.5 oz.  23 1/2 inches

WW- week 1.

it's time for the first update on my latest trial with weight watchers.  i definitely noticed that i was hungry this week.  i think i wrote a post about that!  eventually the hunger goes away.  on weight watchers, you are given a daily allotment of points and then you are given weekly points to "dip into" if you have to/need to.  they encourage you to use them, however, if you start to plateau in your weight loss, they suggest you not use any until you catch back up.  anyway...

i get 29 points to use daily.  everyone's daily points differ depending on their starting weight, gender, bmi, etc.  food & beverages are totaled up depending on how many fat grams, carbohydrates, grams of fiber, and grams of protein they have.  you don't have to eat strictly "diet food." you can splurge when you want and use those extra points- everyone is given 49 each week.

okay.  onto the weigh in.

starting weight:  168 lbs.
week 1 weight:   164.2 lbs.
weight loss total:  -3.8 lbs.

that's great motivation to keep up the hard work!!!

GO RED!

today is national wear red day.  

why?

heart disease is the #1 killer of women- greater than all of the cancers combined.  

women are less likely to go to the doctor when experiencing chest pain.

women's symptoms of heart disease and heart attacks often manifest themselves differently than men's symptoms.

help spread the word and awareness.  change your clothes and wear RED today.  

resolution revolution.

i really hate making new years resolutions.  i always end up breaking them at some point in some form or fashion over the winter months.  i find it hard to keep resolutions when it's so cold and dreary outside.  (well, except for today.  it's sunny and 60.  yes.  60 degrees!)  now, where was i?

oh, right.  resolutions.  i think sometimes we set ourselves up for failure.  even when trying to make the goal easily attainable it is sometimes still a bit unrealistic.  for example, "i will only eat healthy foods."  okay?  who doesn't love a piece of chocolate cake every now and then?  or a plateful of cheese enchiladas.  mmm... mouth-watering isn't it?  you can't deny yourself of all your cravings.  not all of the time, anyway.

i have again been watching The Biggest Loser on NBC.  i have again been saying to myself, "if these grossly obese people can work out and eat right then why can't i?" as i sit and snack on unhealthy foods and tell myself that i'll workout tomorrow.   and when i put on my favorite pants, which are usually my "fat pants" and they fit... well, it made me want to be on the biggest loser ranch with bob and jillian.  well, maybe for just a day.  and certainly to get a cooking lesson from curtis stone.  he's just as yummy as the food he makes.

my problem?  i love food.  i love my favorite foods- most anything mexican, pizza, macaroni and cheese... and you know what?  i don't have to give them up.  i just have to learn newer, healthier ways to make them.  

i am re-joining Weight Watchers.  actually, i rejoined yesterday.  jay has rejoined, too.  i am gathering friends on facebook, and in my town, who are also doing WW or just trying to get fit and we plan to form an "encouragement" group.  it's hard to lose weight alone.  my problem is maintaining my healthy weight once i've lost it.  

my new weight loss journey isn't just a resolution.  it's a revolution.  i plan to make healthy changes and stick with them.  not for a few months this time.  but for good.  and i know that isn't something i can accomplish in a month.  it's going to take awhile.  and i know i can't do it alone.  i want to know i have support from my friends who are also doing the same thing.  and  i want to support my friends in their journeys too.  my weekly weigh-in day is friday.  friday is the only day i have off every week.  so, every friday i will post my weigh-in results.  hopefully they will be all negatives, but we'll see.  i also measured my waist, arms, legs, hips, etc so i can also watch the changes in these as well.  i may post the changes every 2-4 weeks of those, too.  :)

are any of you out there doing the same?  feeling the same?  need some encouraging words?  don't be shy.  leave a comment!!!  

weight watchers... lose for good

hey friends!

weight watchers has a new campaign, read about it here: www.loseforgood.com. it is part of a campaign to stop childhood hunger. just by jay and i using ww online, money is donated for every pound we lose to help feed children in america. click on the link and check it out. (and, if you leave a comment on this post, ww will donate $1 for every comment.)

speaking of weight watchers, it is a successful venture for us this time around. we are about 2 weeks into it and are both losing weight and gaining new, healthy habits. life is good as we lose for good.

have you had your vitamin d? (and other random items)

so, today, our rain has been delayed and the warm weather has decided to hang around a bit longer than expected. (yeah!) that being said, i decided to go and soak up some sun and let the animals play/eat grass/roll in the dirt. i remembered that sun exposure (limited, of course) is a great source of vitamin d. it is explained well, and simply, in this article (if you want to read the entire thing) or summed up here...

Simply put, exposure to the sun helps our bodies make vitamin D. Ultraviolet rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin, creating vitamin D for our bodies to use. A deficiency in this important vitamin can cause serious health problems, and vitamin D deficiencies are becoming more common than most of us realize.

Eating foods that contain vitamin D is good, but exposure to the sun is much more efficient. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sun exposure is perhaps the most important source of vitamin D, because normal exposure to sunlight provides most humans with their total vitamin D requirement. However, season, geographic latitude, time of day, cloud cover, smog, and sunscreen use all affect UV ray exposure and vitamin D synthesis.

For example, sunlight exposure from November through February in Boston is insufficient to produce significant vitamin D synthesis in the skin. Complete cloud cover halves the energy of UV rays, and shade reduces it by 60%. Industrial pollution, which increases shade, also decreases sun exposure. Sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 8 or greater will block UV rays that produce vitamin D, but it is still important to routinely use sunscreen to help prevent skin cancer and other negative consequences of excessive sun exposure.

An initial exposure to sunlight (10 -15 minutes) allows adequate time for Vitamin D synthesis and should be followed by application of a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 to protect the skin. Ten to fifteen minutes of sun exposure at least two times per week to the face, arms, hands, or back without sunscreen is usually sufficient to provide adequate vitamin D.

now, how is that for a great excuse to catch a little sunshine?! the breeze outside today is even warm and while this was my current view as i sat on my patio

in my mind, this was my real view...


... much better, yeah? if only...
the dogs and cat don't mind the grass and backyard, though. in fact, it was all i could do to get them to come back inside. check them out:

dave lovin' him some grass

pets who graze together.....

and, for the bit of randomness, my sister-in-law has some new pictures of my sweet niece, courtney, on her facebook and her blog. i cannot resist posting a favorite, or two! (you can check out her blog by clicking here.

wearing her outfit i got her for her birthday :) i love her curls!

i totally love this face!

back on the diet train/ house update

hey there. jay and i are back to weight watchin'. literally. we took a very long break from weight watchers over the holidays. i have gained one pound in 2 months. i don't think jay is so lucky. but he says his pants don't fit very well. so we are back to counting points and making sure we are getting in all the exercise we can. i may not update this portion of our lives very often, but when we hit big milestones, i will be sure to inform!

and our project manager finally called us. we meet with him for the pre-build orientation tomorrow at 1pm. yeah! more progress!

ok. well, i am about to take the girls for a walk. we have all discovered the park in fletcher and it has wonderful walking trails so we will be enjoying the 60 degree sunny weather while we can. :)

"stand up straight"

ok. so who hasn't been told at least once in their life to stand up straight? seriously. i think we can all say yes. so, after remembering some great shoes the wonderful julie hunt was wearing on the day of ashley's bridesmaids luncheon, i have searched online and found some fabulous shoes. they are called earth shoes. http://www.earth.us/ and they have "negative heel technology" which makes you stand up straight by putting your spine in alignment. yes. they are on the expensive end. about as much as one would pay for a pair of dansko clogs. but i figure if it helps my spine to align correctly and helps my posture... maybe it'll even help my hips to not hurt so much either. and this would be nice. i can wear them to work. i can wear them around town with jeans and khakis. they are versatile. and cute. http//www.earth.us/shoeDetail.asp?Gender=women&cat=3&ID=2362 this is the shoe i purchased. and, i got a nice discount. about the only thing my employer is good for. haha. i didn't say that. :) so check out the website. save up. try some new shoes.

w.w. update: week 4

well, not sure about jay this week. he's at work. he will weigh in tomorrow. but he is losing. i think about 1-2 pounds for this week. i lost about 2-3 pounds this week. so last week i got chided for gaining a pound. this week i got in trouble for losing too much. you just can't please these people. i didn't do anything different. so basically this week, i have permission to splurge! so maybe i will. ok. time to feed the dogs. have a great week!

w.w. update: week 3

so i didn't think it was true when someone said that week three was the hardest. well. i should have listened. it was really hard. and my work schedule didn't permit for me to easily exercise or really crave a delicious frozen meal in a box every day. so i didn't do so well. jay didn't either. we both gained a little. but not too bad. so that is where we are at this week. we still weigh less than we we started so life is still good and we are still plugging along.

w.w. update: week 2

well, i can't speak for jay because he is still at work and won't weigh in until tomorrow. but i have now lost an additional 3.4 pounds, bringing the two week total up to 5 pounds. apparently, i have lost the weight of a sack of potatoes! haha and it won't be much longer when this healthy eating and exercise should become more of a habit... isn't if you do something consistently for at least a month that it can become a habit? i can't remember but that sounds familiar. let me know what you've heard. and i will update you on jay's progress soon. happy mon(fun)day!

w.w. update: week 1

ok. so yesterday was the big week 1 weigh in. (in the comfort of my bathroom.) i lost 1.6 pounds and jay lost 2 pounds. so we are slowly on our way. :)

weight watchin'

ok. so after filling up on food and me filling out surveys that ask what i dislike about my body... i signed up for weight watchers (online) last monday. so did jay. we both need to lose weight but need some sort of guidance. we don't need to lose much so we signed on up. we are using the points system and the website makes it really easy. it also has tons of great recipes and meal ideas. what is really helpful is that you are accountable for everything you place in your mouth so it makes you realize what kinds of things you are putting into your body on an every day basis. but for the first week, it has been easier than we thought. so we will see if it continues to be as easy. but it is fairly inexpensive and worth a shot. we have our first (at home) weigh in on monday. so we will be tracking that weekly. i will keep you posted on our progress. this picture was taken in may a couple of weeks before we moved. so it can serve as our "before" picture. i can't wait to send you the after pictures!!!!