Normal

Blood results are in and I am normal! Ha, that's funny!

My overall cholesterol is fine but my LDL is too high and my HDL is too low, confusing huh?!

Thyroid and blood sugar and vitamins are all normal. My bread free days lasted 3 then superbowl party and a birthday party hit me sooooo I am now on day 3 again of no bread. So far so good. Through the course of this most recent experiment, I have learned some very important lessons that I might have otherwise missed: 1. If I start off my day with cereal, I crave a sandwich or pasta for lunch; if I start with eggs, I crave more protein in the day. 2. I CANNOT have just one bite of candy/chocolate/ice cream etc. If I never put it in my mouth to begin with, I actually don't want it and the moment passes. 3. Sugar makes me super cranky, makes me hate myself, and makes me angry towards the kids. 4. Eating a bread product makes my stomach puffy and my pants tight. I am craving a lot of water right now 5. I am actually now following the simply filling program of WW without the cereal/bread; who knew? 6. I have cut down on so many fruits and have replaced those servings with veggies, turns out I was still getting too much natural sugar from fruits. 7. For the first time in many many months I feel in control! That my friends is a major accomplishment!

So.

I lost a pound (you know, of the 3 that I have gained!) John is working mids for the month of February so I will be able to go to every weight watchers meeting this month since he can take Ava to school instead of me. I love to exercise in the am before I get on the scale so for this month, I can! Yesterday worked out great with no sugar/bread, I actually ate quite a bit and didn't have any headaches or feel hungry/deprived at all. We'll see how this week goes, I have many mantras I am repeating to myself like : "I am worth this" "The cravings will pass" "I will never be this weight again" and so on.....I am really trying to work on my mental attitude and how I talk to myself and try to have a more positive attitude instead of trash talking myself everyday.

My parents moved over the weekend from plant city to a mile away! I am so excited they are closer, we have already been there everyday since they moved. Ian definitely loves it since he is a little obsessed with his Papa. The girls love the new house because there are more rooms and more places to explore and hide! I love that they love to help out with the kids and will keep them anytime!

Anyways, waiting to hear about my blood results, I'll update when I hear

Waiting

Well, I went to the dr. this past Tuesday and then had blood work done Wednesday and should have the results this week early. I have decided this week it is time to eliminate bread and sugar, I just don't think my body can process it well. All I ever eat is whole wheat anyways but I just think there is something in bread period that I need to do without. I have prayed for a lot for help, strength and support for this week to eliminate my cravings. My goal at the start of the year was to have lost the last 7 pounds by February 20 and since then all I have done is gain 3 pounds! My self esteem and mentality are really taking a beating because of this and I really need to work through it because it is pulling me down. Man, I hope the blood work shows something! She is checking all my vitamins, a full metabolic panel, urine, and thyroid. If something comes back iffy, she wants to do another full work up on my thyroid.

I am pushing myself harder this week too in the gym and boy oh boy are my muscles feeling it! The full hour of weight lifting is really what I have been needing and craving and it HURTS! look out summer here comes a new woman!

Issues

I am having issues. Weight issues. I have lost 40 lbs since I had Ian but have been gaining and losing the same 2 lbs since last April! Now, in the past month, I have put on 2-3 MORE pounds!! What gives?? I exercise 4-5 times a week either eliptical, running, bike, pilates, body pump (1 hour of weights) or a combo of 2 of them. I write down EVERYTHING I eat, eat all my fruits/veggies, take a vitamin, make sure I eat enough protein, I don't drink milk but do get calcium in other ways, if I eat a grain, only once a day, never buy junk foods EVER, and am constantly mindful of what and how I am eating. I have truly changed my horrible eating habits into something to be proud of BUT I still feel like a failure because I can't lose 7 pounds to make Lifetime at Weight*watchers???

My leader has helped to try everything....eat more points, exercise less (I want to know the logic in this, I just don't get it!), try all kinds of different things and nothing makes the scale budge. My last resort, and I am going on Tuesday, is to see a dr. and get a physical/blood tests and see if something is missing from me and ask their opinion what my weight should be for my body type. I feel excited about this hoping I can find some answers as to what is going on because I know something is, just cant figure out what!

If this doesn't work, someone schedule me for a tummy tuck and get these implants out of me! That has to be an answer too ha!

Animal Kingdom

We bought passes to Disney this week and our first trip we chose to go to Animal Kingdom since

we have never been. I was skeptical at first thinking it would just be a glorified zoo and that we were going to waste the trip. I was told that there wasn't a whole lot to do. Boy, am I glad we went! It was pretty awesome, the Nemo musical, safari ride, and the Lion King show were definite favorites by far. Ian was mesmerized during Nemo (one of his current favorite words and the ONLY thing he will watch on TV!) The parade at the end of the day was pretty cool too. The girls and Ian met Pocahantas, Minnie, and Donald Duck, Madeline rode her first roller coaster in Dino-land, and me and the 3 oldest were absolutely terrified during another dinosaur ride (NEVER AGAIN!!!) I wish the park would

have been opened longer (they closed at 5) because we didn't even get to see a whole section of the park!

All around it was an awesome day. Ian and Ava both took brief naps in the stroller, Johnny chickened out on the river rapids ride because he can not stand

getting wet, and the kids and I are pretty sure we are over dinosaurs at the moment! (if you have young children, even if they are 40 inches, DO NOT LET THEM RIDE Dinosaur!!! It was dark, fast, loud, jerky and just 100% terrifying for little ones (and ME!)

Ian 22 months, Ava 4, Madeline 6, Johnny 8

sorry guys about the sun being in your eyes!

see how perfect our days was on the African safari!

On the jeep during the safari...we sat in the very back and it was b*u*m*p*y!

Madeline's first roller coaster ride!

Watching a performance

Cold beginnings

Welcome new year! Ian has been sick with an upper resp. infection and we started the breathing treatments. He wasn't a big fan the first couple of times but after a couple of times, he was holding the mask himself for the full time. I guess it felt good on his little lungs.

Ice covered lawns is not something we see often in central Florida! It was super cold for a solid week! Most of our warm lovin plants look like they bit the dust but our grass always comes back. I ran out of clothes to wear too!



I do have 2 other kids! The two youngest are just always home and easier to catch!

Have a great (warmer) week!

My New year

What I am most grateful for this year:

The trips we took! we went to Stone Mountain, Ga (camping), Atlanta, South Carolina, Savannah, Sebastian Inlet (camping) Jacksonville, Disney World a couple of times, the beach many, many times, Sanibel Island, ans lots of little day trips in our area. We are so blessed to be able to provide these trips/excursions to our kids. As i was growing up, we never went anywhere, only Jacksonville to visit family. John on the other hand took lots of family trips and has all the great photos to look back on. I love to travel and want to instill that into my kids as well. Maybe these year we will leave the country! I am so looking forward to taking a cruise and going to Costa Rica someday soon! We also want to try Boston, San Antonio, back to Atlanta and SC, and maybe somewhere south in Florida. definitely going to do Disney of course and try to get more camping trips under our belt. There has been talk of selling our trailer and getting something bigger.

I am also thankful that everyone in our family has stayed so healthy! No flu of any kind, no serious issues what so ever! I am telling you, a healthy diet goes really far when it comes to having a good immune system. I am thankful that our children enjoy eating healthfully and making wise choices when it comes to food.

I am thankful for our finances and work this year. So many folks are out of work and out of money and out of homes. I know we are beyond blessed with John's job and all that it provides for us and I value our home so much. It is perfect for us right now and my children have a safe, warm home that they can feel loved in. What more could you ask for?

What I want to improve on this year:

I need to walk the dog more! he is getting so fat and I don't want him to be unhealthy so more walks for him!

Being more present for my parents.

Keeping our closets clean!

I hope all my readers (ha, I only have like 3!!) have a wonderful SAFE New Years and may you be blessed( and healthy) in the year to come! Much love to you and your families(((())))

Helping out in the church more.