BLOG TIME-OUT

I took a hiatus from my blog for a while because life has been a bit hectic.

I needed to step away so I could focus on my family. My father-in-law was on life support for almost 3 months {October - January} fighting for his life.

In late October, he had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. We learned he had pancreatitis, apparently he had it for months undiagnosed. He went to his primary doctor several times but was told it was just back pains & he needed more pain medication. The undiagnosed pancreatitis became so severe that it overtook him causing kidney and respiratory failure. He had to be put on a ventilator. He fought a hard fight and Jeremy was right by his side the whole time. However, after weeks of minimal improvements his dad requested to have the life support stopped.
Even now as I write this, the words seem surreal. unanticipated. I didn't realize how hard it is on a family to lose someone they love.
It was an emotional roller coaster right in the middle of the holidays - which made it hard for the children. We were spending nights and weekends at the hospital and then putting on our fake smiles for everyone at work and school. Trying to remain happy and positive for Jimmy but immediately leaving the room to cry. I couldn't imagine going through this without the support of family and friends. We are blessed to have so many. Now is the hard part, when the funeral is all over and everyone goes back to their normal routines...while we are still trying to cope.

I have to remind myself that only GOD knows the master plan.
Jimmy was blessed to have the opportunity to say good-bye to all his family and friends. I know GOD was with him because on his final day - he gave him a strong voice so he could preach one last time to his sons.

Jimmy always made me feel like part of the family and worshipped his grandbabies!
Losing him is a great reminder that life is precious and needs to be lived passionately and purposefully with LOVE for all.

 

XOXO



Staying Motivated...

To be honest, I have been in a real funk lately

and can’t seem to get motivated to exercise... yes, I still show up to my boot camp classes but only because my friends drag me and I am not giving my 100%. 

I am hoping these pinterest inspirations help...

Also, some very competitive friends & I decided to have a competition since we all have fitness goals to meet. We each put ten dollars in a pot and whoever loses the most inches at the end of July wins. It’s not a lot of money - we mostly want bragging rights. The only rule we have set is we have to influence each other to exercise and eat healthy constantly.

I am crossing my fingers, this friendly rivalry will push me to work harder in the gym.

Exercising is never ending - how do you stay motivated?

Mustache Dashe

I am so proud of these two - they didn't let the freeeeezing cold weather nor the brisk wind stop them from running.

They are devoted little runners and it makes me very HAPPY! 

They were pumped about the race, well I think Andrew was mostly excited to get a new mustache! I cooked them egg-in-a hole for breakfast, it was a great balance of carbs and protein to fuel them for the race.

Adrianna ran the 5K & Andrew ran the 1K

This may be the last race for little man for a while... a mile is just too much for him. I ended up carrying him most of the way. He was happy after it was was all over, I just don't want him to have a bad experience and hate running forever.

Adrianna & I are already counting down to our

next race this spring!

XOXO

The Best Kind Of Fitness Goal

I was honored to be featured on Robin Dayer's Fitness Blog

I am happy to share that I have lot 27lbs and gone from a size 12 to a size 7!! The last time I was a size 7 was high school.  =)

I started this journey for many reasons----to lose weight prior to my big 30th birthday, to get healthy, to gain confidence, but most importantly to be an example for my daughter. I wanted to start living a healthy lifestyle, making fitness a priority in hopes that she would

follow my lead.

come over here and read about my journey.

I still struggle with eating clean - mostly on the weekends.

If you have any helpful advise or tips, please share!

Happy Friday!!

XOXO

HAPPY FRIDAY...

It’s day 5 of no sugar or diet cokes!

I have to confess it’s been hard – especially in the afternoons.

That’s the time, I normally walk to the vending machine for my diet coke & hit the candy jar. To overcome the urge, I have been preoccupying my mind by cranking up Pandora & chewing gum {full of artificial sweeteners}

I never realized how much artificial sweeteners I was consuming until now… it’s everywhere, my coffee creamer, gum and drinks. I will gradually cut it all out but I have to

start small – baby steps. I CAN DO THIS!

 It definitely helps that all my co-workers {on my row} are on health kicks. We share blogs, helpful tips, recipes and support one another. It's funny, as I was typing this, my manager walks to my desk and hands me a red solo cup full of cheese and caramel Garretts popcorn - REALLY!

Life is full of temptations & I am learning that I must have Will Power and Determination to succeed.
My favorite quote is “You are stronger than you think”.
 So simple yet true.

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My AWESOME trainer, Robin Dayer inspires me A LOT too! She sent me the below quote today - it was exactly what I needed.  Check out her blog here

"You will NEVER get this time back. Work hard and eat right. This is the hardest work you will ever do that you will NEVER NEVER regret". 

xoxo

It's time for change...

If you know me, you know... I love sugar. LOVE. IT.

Love it so much {eat too much of it}
Seriously, I am addicted!

But I am giving it up today...

 & giving up diet cokes as well, cold turkey.

Well, that is the plan anyways...

I started drinking diet rather than "real" cokes a year ago.

which helped me lose weight, but I keep thinking

 all the carbonation, caffeine and artificial

sweeteners can't be good for me.

Hopefully, eliminating sugar & diet sodas from my

diet will help me get past this weight-loss plateau.

If not, atleast my dentist will be happy!!

  *****

If you see me...remind me or ask me how I am doing. I am just going to apologize in advance if I am grouchy.

Sugar brings out the best in almost everything about me {except my waistline!}.

So, here goes craziness...