Milestone

I meant to write this post yesterday, but I was actually busy all day, so it didn't happen. (And I"m not organized enough to have posts planned for days and on reserve.)

Remember a few days ago I said we were going to hit a milestone in our house? You can read that announcement here.


Anyway....here's the big milestone. We officially have a driver on our hands! Scary!
He still has to physically pick up his permit, but in the eyes of Oklahoma, he's a driver!

And I just got 82 more gray hairs thinking about how official it just became. My baby boy is old enough to drive.

And proof that I was really busy yesterday.

Okay, I know it doesn't mean anything based on one picture, but I had papers and file folders everywhere, at one point. I got to the office super early (7:15 ha), with Starbucks in hand, and busted my rear all day long. 

I'm the only one in the office this week on the regular....occasionally a driver or customer pops in, so my days have be fun-filled with drinking a lot of coffee, blasting music, and getting ish done! 

Today's my last 1/2 - 3/4 day of work before the Holiday....still have a lot of loose ends to tie up before I leave, but I'm looking forward to getting my office in tip-top shape before the Holiday weekend. My life is so much happier when it's organized.

With that being said, I better get busy!   Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Tis the Season

Happy Monday! If you were like me this morning, you wanted to stay in your bed all snuggly warm. 

It is always a small irritation to me when my husband is on vacation all week, but I have to get out of bed and go to work. Yes, he has stuff to do around the house and with the kids, but still....he doesn't have to work work. I'm jealous, okay?

This is how my Monday started. 2 cups of coffee and 10 creamers. It's an obsession for sure....that probably needs to go away. 

Coffee aside...let's move on to my real point to this post. Thanksgiving is one of my all time favorite Holidays. I like food, so of course it's one of my top 3 favorite Holidays. Bring on the food, family, and fun!

We celebrate Thanksgiving by traveling to the Land of Oz and spending time with both sides of our family. It's typically a rat race from start to finish, but we've been doing it for 10 years and will be doing it for many more. We're thankful for the quality time and the memories....and my mom's Pumpkin Pie. :)

My 2nd favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the greatest shopping day of the year...

Except this year, there seems to be extra hate for us Black Friday Shoppers that like to go out on the evening of Thanksgiving. It's just wrong, they say. So are drugs and murder, but it still happens. 

Here's my thought: Retailers like the almighty dollar. That's why they entice people like me for great deals. Yeah, it sucks for the cashier standing at the cash register for all hours of the night to check out crazy goons, like me, but it's their job.

 

Color me hateful, but I often wonder if these same complainers are peeved at the grocery stores for being open for those last minute forgotten items, or the gas station that was open to allow the family to fill up the car before traveling to Grandma's house.

Yeah it sucks....but people work all of the time during the Holidays. The military, the police officers, the doctors at the emergency room....the list goes on and on. 

So excuse me why I tend to not feel sorry for the Holiday retail workers. I've been there, it sucks, but it is also a paycheck. Be mad at your company....don't be mad at me. 

4 months?!?!

I knew it had been awhile since I have been on my blog, but I didn't realize it had been 4 months! Here's what we've been up to...

Buddy - our friend for 10 years passed away 8/7/2013

8/9/2013 - celebrated 16 years of wedded bliss

The Melting Pot - Anniversary Dinner! 

8/15/2013 - First Day of School. Tyler - Sophomore/Jayden - 8th Grade

Volleyball Tourney

This picture was taken on 8/30/2013. The hands are of my dad's and my grandfather's. My grandfather passed away 9/1.
I miss this man every single day. It's been a rough year for our family, losing 3 grandparents. As much as I love them all, this guy has been the hardest to heal from. It's been almost 3 months and I find myself still tearing up over the littlest things. 

Mike Eli - Eli Young Band - Kansas State Fair 9/8/2013

Bootsy and Baxter. Boots is so big now, but still so very sweet. 

Charlie Worsham! I won tickets on the radio and got to see him up close and personal at a very small venue in OKC, with my friend Kara.  10/16/2013

Berkley is getting so big! (P.S. He has no idea who Berkley is, so he answers to "Cat!" Usually said in a stern voice, because he's naughty. 

November 2013 - started playing womens soccer again. Signed up for 2 teams and it felt so good to get back out there. Training for a half marathon really helps your endurance on a soccer field. 

Jayden's new project...showing pigs. She will be showing the white one, Eggo, and Elly (not pictured).
This is Eggo and Yoda sleeping under the heat lamp. aren't they so cute?!?! 

Big ouchy! Soccer injury 11/16/2013. Not sure what's wrong with it yet, but I know it's not good! 

Knee update: 11/21/2013 - taken for my sister, so she could see the progress (or lack thereof). Still swollen. Still painful.
Mama not happy.

This has been a glimpse of our life the last 4 months. During this time we lost a dog and 2 grandfather's. It will definitely be one to remember - good and bad. We have been blessed to have had so many grandparents alive, but losing them is never easy. 

Here's to hoping that the rest of 2013 is peaceful and happy! We have a lot to look forward to...starting with the Thanksgiving Holiday and Black Friday Shopping. This ole bum knee isn't going to keep me down. It might slow me down, but I will not be kept down for Black Friday shopping. 

Monday we have a big milestone happening in our family.....can you guess what it is?!?! 

Day 9 of 10!

Okay, let's see how this all went down. It's been a few days,  so I'm a little fuzzy.

Last Wednesday was day 9 for me. I had gained a pound from day 8, so momma was not a happy camper come day 9. I pretty much threw in the towel that day and ate Chili's for lunch, followed by Taco Bell for dinner. I stepped on the scale day 10 and lost nearly a pound. Ain't that a bitch?!?!?

Yes it was.

I wanted so badly to complete this 10 days and I wanted so badly to have the 10 pound loss. Neither of those things happen, which is fine. I tried it. I did work a little, then it stopped. Some say it could be that my body went into starvation mode and held on to everything. I dunno enough about the science and what not to argue one way or another. All I know is, it's very frustrating to work so hard and sacrifice so much for a few short days, to be slapped in the face with a pound gain.

I do believe there is a method to her madness. I did see a difference in my "flab" over the course of this, so mad props to clean eating. It does work.

I think her system could have been just as effective with a variety of foods, versus the same thing for 10 days straight, 3 times per day. It was so hard to stomach some of the food and even now, I don't want to really eat or think about chicken. I'm kind of burned out..

Again, like I said above, I think there's a method to her madness that could very easily work and work well for some. For me, I need variety. I was a little hesitant of that going into it, but didn't think it would be that bad. It was.

I learned lessons, though, and I plan on using them throughout my journey. I have since signed up for Weight Watchers, because I need an accountability system and I know WW works when used correctly. After having a few bad days (okay several), I was at 162.6 again this morning, so I guess something is working okay.

Follow me along as I progress on this WW journey. I'm committed to exercising more and to incorporating weights into my workouts. I even got up on Sunday morning and did a Jillian Michaels workout, before church. I worked so hard and got so sleepy, I laid down and took a nap and slept right through Church and had to miss. (oops).

Something different.....

I know I owe you the final recap of "Lose 10 in 10", but I'm going to do something a little different today....a linkup with Holly and Jake.


I'm a little late to the party, because they all did this like 2 days ago (oops). I haven't done one in awhile and this one looked kinda fun....Here we go!

If I had one extra hour in the day... maybe I would get that exercise in. Or maybe I would sleep more. Or just maybe I would get those pesky chores done that I keep putting off. Nah....I would probably just sleep it away, spend it on Pinterest surfing, or watching trashy tv.

I wish my name... was Amy...duh. 

I think anything chevron is... okay in moderation. It's cute and fun, but a little chevron can go a long way.

My last nightmare... the last bad dream I had was a few nights ago and it was about having a flat tire, when I was driving by myself. (Funny thing is - that really has happened to me several times) Although in my dream, my husband wasn't readily available, but I was talking to him on the phone while I was freaking out. Then all of a sudden I was like "oh nevermind, my tire isn't flat anymore." Weird, I know. 

Sometimes... I wish I had an endless supply of cash and could just vacation anywhere on a moments notice. 

My last meal on earth would be... Chocolate, Mexican food, fried rice, sushi, cheesecake, and a giant Pepsi to wash it all down with. 

I would much rather...work 4 10 hour days, than work on Friday. 

Mayonnaise... is good on certain things. Cheeseburgers - yes. Sandwiches - yes. French Fries - no. 

10 years ago, I didn't think...we would still be living in Oklahoma and married, but both seem to be working out well! 

Selfishly... I would love to go on an endless shopping spree and buy a whole new wardrobe from head to toe, but the kids think they need new school clothes instead. 

My favorite show on TV right now... Big Brother, Real Housewives of OC, Tia and Tamera, Bill and Giuliana, and my soaps. 

And, George Zimmerman... is a pompous ass. That's all. 

Day 8 of 10!

I stayed on track all day with good and water. Today this happened:

'Nuff said. Momma's not happy. I have been eating horse sandwiches religiously and I have gained weight. The math and the science doesn't make sense to me. 

No more horse sandwiches for me! I will stay on plan for the duration, minus the horse sandwich, and then figure out what the next step is.

Day 7 of 10!

We ran! Finally, we made an effort to get our butts in gear and run. We only did a 3 mile jaunt, but since this is like the first run in weeks, it was pretty impressive for us. We stopped after every mile and walked for about a block, so we could regroup and catch our breath. The last mile was like the longest mile ever...wowsers. I'm so glad we ran, but I'm more glad it's over with. 

 

He's such a good guy!

It had been raining all day long, so it was pretty humid during our run, but the temps were in the upper 70's/low 80's. 

And the moment you have all been waiting for.....DUN. Dun. dunnnnnn......

My eating fell apart a bit yesterday. We had a Birthday in the office, so we ordered take out from Louie's and cupcakes from Sara Sara Cupcakes. For lunch, I had a house salad with grilled chicken and sliced avocado and a drizzle of raspberry vinaigrette. For dessert, I had a cupcake called "Two Great Tastes", which was a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting, topped with chopped peanuts. It was a good cupcake, but I didn't enjoy it. 

I guess not having any sugar for the past 7 days, does a lot to your system. The cupcake immediately gave me a headache and it literally took me 2 hours to eat it. 

If you know me, you know that I love cupcakes. I would love to have my own bakery someday, so for me to say it was "just" a "good" cupcake, says something. First of all, in my almost 35 years of life, I don't know that it has ever taken me two hours to eat a cupcake. Ever. I just don't waste good food. Today was different. It was almost like I ate the cupcake, just to eat it, but I didn't really want it and didn't really enjoy it. I, Amy Cunningham, just admitted THAT to the world. That's a big deal, people. 

Day 6 of 10!

I'm going to keep today's post short and sweet, since I rambled yesterday. 

Our Sunday summed up - church, lunch, grocery store, rainy day = afternoon naps followed by our favorite Sunday evening shows. All in all a good Sunday!

Here are some pictures of my dinner that consists of 6oz of chicken breast (I came in just a shade under 6oz), 1 cup of broccoli, and 3 new potatoes. 

My dessert, as my family eats ice cream:

Today's weight: 162.2

A little bit better than yesterday, but I'm still not happy. No I haven't exercised, so that could be the problem, but if you are burning more than you are eating - you should be losing. Maybe my body is in starvation mode and holding onto everything....I don't know. I'm giving it a few more days and go from there. 

My thoughts lately are what's next? Do I want to go to Phase 2, or do I want to try something similar, such as Weight Watchers, but offers a variety of food?

I want long term success, not 10 days. I want this to be a permanent system, not a 30 day trial. I will be seriously weighing (no pun intended) my options over the next few days. 

I want to eat clean as much as possible and I know fruits and veggies are free on WW. WW offers a ton of recipes that aren't weird, that I think the whole family can enjoy. I'm also a huge fan of www.skinytaste.com 's website, as she has hundreds and hundreds of WW friendly recipes. 

The jury is out - I will have a decision made by day 10....

And just because they are so cute, I have to post this. You may have seen it already, if you follow me on Instagram. (amyjcunningham) 

Day 5 of 10! Halfway there.....

I really love the weekends and what they have to offer, but what I really don't like about the weekends is how a diet can go topsy-turvy in no time. That was my fear, as I faced my first weekend on "the plan".

Anyway, Friday night was pretty chill. I got home from work and watched "Safe Haven", with Miss Thing. I ordered it from Netflix weeks ago, but hadn't had the time to sit down and watch it. Finally, I made myself sit and enjoy the movie. It was a good movie. I want to watch it again, because I missed the very, very beginning and that is important in this movie.

That's my boy!

That's my girl - beating up on the boys.

Saturday we had to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn to go watch the kiddos play indoor soccer. I was a proud momma bear, though, because it's been a few years since the kids actually played on a team together. It was neat to see them working together on the field. And of course, I missed the opportunity to snap a photo of them on the field together, so here they are in separate pictures.

After we watch their first game, we busted it home to get some chores done. The girls cleaned house, while the boys trimmed trees. We all got finished about the same time and settled into lunch and relaxation for a bit, before having to go back into the city for game #2. 

As I'm loading the dogs into the garage and the pig into his kennel, for a few hours from the scorching heat, the kids and hubby are frantically looking for the cat. They can't find him. Tyler put him in Jayden's room, but kitty was nowhere to be found there. 

Day 3 of having a cat and we have lost him. Great. Just great. 

We had to get going, because we are already running a few minutes behind and have to pick up another player along the way. We get to the soccer fields and luckily they were running 15 minutes behind, so we were actually early. While there, I managed to lose my keys. Yay! Luckily, I must've left them on the counter when I was checking field schedules and someone turned them in for me. (Thank you, Baby Jesus!)

After game #2, we rushed out of the soccer complex, after locating said lost keys, and booked it to Target to shop for the birthday party Jayden was going to attend later that evening. We got all of that done and headed home, so Tyler could clean up and get to a swim party by 4:00.
Oh, and we found kitty! We knew he had to be in Jayden's room, because that's where Tyler had left him prior to us leaving for the second game. I opened up her bottom drawer of her dresser and he was all snuggled in the blankets we keep in there. Whew! 
On the way to drop him off, we also dropped off the extra player we had picked up prior to game #2. (Extra player = Jayden's friend/Tyler's ex-girlfriend).

We dropped them off at their designated locations and went home to enjoy two hours of silence in the pool. (which we have managed to neglect pretty much all summer). I bought a floatie at Target, so I was anxious to try it out. It was so hot yesterday, so the pool was just the ticket for cooling off and napping, apparently.

Don't mind the green water. That's what happens when you don't get in your pool enough to keep the dirt stirred up.

We had a great (short) nap on our floaties, until it was time to take Miss Thing to her Slumber Party at 6:00.

Scott had invited me to go see a movie after dinner, but was worried about the popcorn situation. I can't (not) have popcorn while watching a movie at the Theater. I told him, I could probably swing a small popcorn and be okay.  So after dinner, we freshened up and headed to the movies to see "The Heat". I did order a small popcorn, which we shared, and had a bottle of water.

On our way to the movie!

That movie was hands down, one of the funniest movies in a long time. I laughed so hard, I snorted. I don't snort when I laugh. It was so funny. Melissa McCarthy is a riot and pair her with Sandra Bullock, you have double-hilarious.

I was very mindful of my popcorn helpings and drank my water. I got home and stepped on the scale and was scared what today's weigh-in could bring. I didn't want to be set back, but I didn't want to not enjoy popcorn at a movie. (Although, I will say the popcorn didn't taste as good as I was hoping it would.)

Long story short...here's today's scale reading: 162.4

I'm a little bummed, because I did gain and I don't feel like I ate enough popcorn to cause that. Here's my theory. If my BMR is in the 1500's, that means I should be able to eat my 950 calorie diet and still lose. Mind you, I ate more than that yesterday, but I also moved a lot more yesterday than I would sitting at work all day. I cleaned house, I walked, etc.

I'm not throwing in the towel yet, though. It's a minor set back and today is going to be a good day, so hopefully tomorrow's scale reading will be twice as wonderful! Maybe since it's cooler and a little rainy out, I will go for a run after Church.

Day 4 of 10!

Just a quick note this morning, as we are off to watch our kids play in an indoor soccer game....at 7:30 in the morning....on a Saturday. 

Yesterday was good for the most part. I am struggling with the sandwich at lunch, but everything else is fine. I'm powering right through the other food. I think the sandwich is getting old, because it's not something I typically eat. I feel like I'm eating horse food...really. 

I wasn't so excited to jump on the scale this morning, because my weight was higher last night. (Yes, I weigh myself at night, so I can estimate what my weight will be the next morning.)

I jumped on the scale and was pleasantly surprised. 161.8. I really wasn't expecting it to be that low, honestly. I weighed again and again, still getting the same reading. I tried to take a picture, but the scale changed. It went up to 162.8 for a few times. I then stepped off and tried a few more times....162.0. So frustrating. 

I feel the 161.8 is the accurate reading as it's the first reading I had, and was consistent for several times after that. 

Today is going to be a true test. It's my first weekend on this plan, so I'm anxious to see how easy/difficult it is going to be. I will have a full report tomorrow...stay tuned! 

Day 3 of 10!

I have to stop and think as I wrote these posts, because my mind is focused on the day ahead, but I'm posting about the previous day. 

Anyway, Day 3 was better! I had a little bit more energy throughout the day. I'm still getting a dull headache from time to time, but I think that's to be expected, due to lack of caffeine and lack of calories/carbs.

I ate everything later than normal yesterday. 

Breakfast - 9:30

Am snack - 11:00

Lunch - 1:00/1:30

Snack - 4:00

Dinner - 7:30

I only got in a touch over 2 liters of water yesterday, so I wasn't sure how that would affect my results. I was busy at work yesterday, which caused the later eating times and lack of water intake.

We went out of town for a few hours last night to retrieve the newest member of our Funny Farm. Meet Berkely: 

He's a 10 week old Bengal kitten and he's so pretty. He has the marbling color in the black/brown shades. He's a sweetie. He loves to sleep on your shoulder. 

Anyway, back to the weightloss topic. After we picked up Berkley, we went to Petco to get his supplies. On our way out of town - heading back home, we stopped by Chick-fil-a for dinner. 

Now, don't get me wrong I wanted chicken nuggets and french fries, dipped in Chick-fil-a sauce, and washed down with a diet coke. What I actually ordered was a Cobb salad with avocado lime dressing and an ice water. Boo. 

Then I stepped on the scale this morning to see what damage I caused myself with not consuming as much water as I should have and de-railing from the written plan for one meal. 

This is what I saw:

So here are my results, already noting Day 4's weight. 

I'm still on track! When I first stepped on the scale, it said 163.6, which bummed me out since it was only 2/10 of a pound lost. Then I stepped on the scale 3 more times and got 162.6 three times in a row, so that's what I'm going with. 

I'm so excited to break into the 150's. if I stay on this track, I will be in the 150's early next week. Thursday is my final day of this Phase and then I'm onto Phase 2.

Stay with me to see how I do in the days to follow!! 

Day 2 of 10!

Well, because I'm a jacknab that forgot to look closely at the scale before starting, I have no idea what my starting weight was. My husband thinks it was 167, but I'm remembering 168.2. At any rate, they are both bad, considering have been in the low 160's for 5 months. (Slipping down to 155 for a few days in April)

Day 2 is complete and I'm feeling pretty good! I was terrified that I wouldn't enjoy the same foods, but I think at this point, I'm just excited to eat!

I'm living with Truvia. (I've never been a fan, but because that's the only thing I can have to sweeten my coffee and grapefruit, I'm just going to power through it!) 

I don't have a lot of energy right now, but it is hard for me to know if that is the diet, heat, stress, or being on the go for 2 straight weeks. I'm going to keep a mindful eye on it, because I have read about people who have gone Paleo and felt like crap for a week or two, then burst with energy. (I'm ready to be at that point). 

Mentally, I am staying tough. I know if I say "this sucks" or "I'm sick of this food", I will cave and be calling the local pizza joint for a large, greasy pizza pie. 

I'm doing the right things for my body. Yes, it's a weird to have to eat the same things for 10 days, but I'm hopeful that Jackie Warner knows what she's talking about.

I'm powering right through the 3 liters of water, like a champ! I have even consumed more than the 3 liters and probably exceeded just a hair over a gallon. 

Exercise hasn't been something I have done a lot of. Because this phase is only 950 calories of food, it is recommended that you not burn more than a few hundred calories. She does have some workouts designed specifically for this phase, but again, I have no energy. 

We did play softball Tuesday evening, but everything felt different to me. I wasn't catching well, I wasn't hitting well, and I wasn't running well. Mind you, it was 100+ degrees out, our team shirts are black, and I hadn't eaten anything since my 3:00 snack, which consisted of celery and almond butter.

Here are my scale readings, so far.

Day 1: 167 (??)

Day 2: 164.8
Day 3: 163.8 (Since I'm just starting day 3, I thought I would go ahead and record my weight.)

I do weigh myself at the same time everyday. First thing in the morning, after I pee.

Not bad for just being 2 days in!