Justin has lost over 20 lbs as of today and has less than 40 lbs to go for a 9.1% weight loss to date.  I am so happy for him.  His snoring is much better, also.  When he went to the grocery store Friday, he called me with some numbers (I thought it was the price of the groceries at first), then I realized he was giving me his blood pressure:  120/83.  That is great!  I don't remember the last time it was in the normal range for both diastolic and systolic pressures.

 

I have lost 17 lbs as of today for an 8% weight loss to date.

 

There are a lot of good things going on.  There are things that we have questions about, but we need to wait on the Lord and not jump to our own conclusions.  He has everything in His control, so we will wait.  His faithfulness makes it easier, especially since Justin can take things one-day-at-a-time MUCH better than I can.

 

We are grateful for the blessings He has given us.

 

Have a blessed week!

Tammy

Justin was really disappointed at his weekly weigh-in.  His weight was 207 lbs.  He felt it may as well have been 237 lbs.  I will try to help him work on it more this week.  This is his week to walk and sweat a lot at work, but that doesn't always translate into weight loss for him.

 

I lost .6 lbs, gained .1 lb lean mass and lost .7 lbs of fat.  It's still not where I was when I came back, but it's doing better.  My lean mass is up a total of 2.3 lbs from when I started back.

 

I have a lot of chores to do - and that is good, plus reading, and writing up projects.  I am trying to keep a balance on all those items and taking care of Justin and the children.  I had a REALLY bad headache this weekend, so on top of all that I was trying to accomplish, I was cranky, so Justin got a raw deal on that, unfortunately.  Having him home for three days helped so much, but I better not act like that or he won't want to have a three-day weekend with me anymore.  :-)

 

Thanks to all who said a prayer for us.  God took care of the situation.  He knew what we needed and provided that for us.  God is so wonderful, awesome, loving, and generous!  God tells us not to worry.  Justin wasn't worried, but I was.  I sure hope I learn soon, thankfully, God loves me anyway.  What a good God!

 

Have a blessed week,

Tammy

Justin is disappointed because after all the hiking and walking and swimming he did last week, he didn't lose any weight.

 

The girls and I are very glad to have Justin and our son back from camp, though.

 

I have been checking my weight through the week and it had been up by nearly three pounds, but my body fat percentage was down significantly.  I weigh 1.2 pounds more than last week, but my body fat weight is down 1 pound and my lean mass (muscle) is up 2.2 pounds.  My muscles are sore, also.

 

I took the girls to see their grandparents on Monday and Friday.  On Tuesday, we went to the Creation Science Museum in Glen Rose, then went to Dinosaur Valley State Park.  We looked at he dinosaur replicas, the dinosaur tracks in the river, and swam and played in the river.  On Wednesday, we went to a small local zoo.  Both girls LOVED it, although we didn't see any monkeys.  We also went to the Dr. Pepper Museum.  That was fun, also, except that the fountain Dr.Pepper tasted like Waco water because they don't filter the water there.  Yuck!  They used to use Artesian wells, but the city of Waco had those all closed up years ago.  Now they use lake water that simply tastes awful.  It was still fun.

 

Justin was so proud of our son swimming the mile swim for a special patch - and getting up each morning before 6:00 am to go swim before his other classes.  That our son sucked it up and hiked 11 miles the day after doing the mile swim, even though he was sore.  That was all he needed to do to complete his camping merit badge that he needs.  He was also proud of him for coming in second in the archery tournament, even though he had an arrow go "wonky" on him.  Justin said that he really showed good leadership skills while he was there.  We are very proud of him.  He turns 17 on Wednesday.

 

The girls are up and I have a lot to do today.  Best of luck to everyone on you weigh-ins.

 

btw...  There is something really stressful going on right now.  I'm uncertain about this issue and I don't really know what to do.  If you read this and don't mind saying some prayers for us that things get sraightened out soon, I would really appreciate it.

 

Have a safe and happy Independence Day.  Remember those who are fighting for us around the world.  I am so thankful for all the freedoms we have in the United States.

 

Have a blessed week!

 

Tammy

 

 

I weighed in this morning - I thought at first I had it (the scale started at 199.6), but I'm still close anyway - 200.6 lbs.  Better than last week - and better than my last public weigh-in.  I'm okay with that.

 

Reset my goals.  I'm okay with that also.

 

Justin is at camp - having to hike to breakfast this morning he said.  Sounds like a nice way to start the day. 

 

My girls are up and ready for Mommy's attention.

 

I wish you all the best on your weigh-ins and on life this week.  May God bless each of you.

 

Tammy

When I went to the health program offered at our church, my blood pressure was 116 / 68 and my heart rate was 60 bpm.  The EMT asked what I thought about that BP and I said, "Aaaa, it's okay."  He told me that he thought that was great and was not worried about my BP.  I can't believe my HR was that low.  My blood sugar was 86.  That was GREAT!  I was really glad to see that number.

 

I asked about cholesterol screening, but they said that I would need to fast for that.  I said, "Oh, really?  Everytime I've had it done, I was never told to fast."  They looked at me surprised and said that the results would be off significantly if I hadn't fasted.  It makes sense, but I figured the doctors who told me my total cholesterol was border-line high would have let me in on that part.  I guess I need to see if I can get my cholesterol tested after fasting and then I will know if I really need to be concerned at this point or not.  The thing is, I was told this 16 years or so ago.  I have been to doctors since who have taken my cholesterol levels without once asking me to fast.

 

Have any of you been told to fast before having your blood cholesterol taken?  Have any of you been like me, and not told anything like that?  Just curious.

 

It's late.  Justin's already snoring.    I'm going to hit the hay.

 

Looking forward to tomorrow night.

 

Tammy

Justin:  205.0 lbs, lost 1.0 lb from last week.  Lost 19 lbs total, for a percentage weight loss of 8.5%.

 

Tammy:  201.8 lbs, gained 0.2 lbs from last week.  Lost 11.8 lbs total, for a percentage weight loss of 5.5%.

 

I was doing really great, then something got my goat and I could NOT rest well. I had weird dreams, hot, cold (more to do with being very warm in the daytime then dropping significantly at night and Justin stealing the covers.  I'm hoping everything will get on track this week.

 

Justin took off work Friday to go to a funeral of a friend of his, then came home and worked in the garden and played with the girls while I got a great deal of paperwork done that I needed to accomplish.  I still have a good bit more to do, but I feel like a big load was lifted.  I wanted to work in the garden Saturday, but when we left town to go to Clifton, we opted to browse (county-wide garage sale day) and take our time.  Our son got home past curfew Saturday night and Sunday.  Just piddly stuff going on, but a lot of it.  I'm hoping to make the most of today so the rest of the week will be less stressful.

 

I am going to a free health program that our church is offering in conjunction with a local hospital and clinic to check my blood pressure and blood sugar.  If they check cholesterol, I want to get that checked, also.  This is the first day they are offering it and plan to offer it monthly from here on.

 

I have a vacation Bible school meeting tonight, then hopefully get to go to another meeting that is scheduled regularly for tonight.

 

Thursday, the children and I are going to Athens, TX to a fishery as part of a field trip.  They get to see how it works, watch a film on it, then go fishing.  We should all have fun.

 

I hope everyone's weigh-ins went / go well.  I hope to see more of our friends on BL tomorrow night.

 

Tammy

I am so PROUD of the girls! 

 

Ali has done an outstanding job - ever since she came back, she HAS been the Biggest Loser each week. That is outstanding, especially considering that not only is she a woman, she had already lost so much weight that to achieve that week after week is astonishing.  Then this week to lose 11 lbs to be 135 lbs is incredible!  Just looking at her, I thought, she's got to weigh 135 lbs.  I could just see the weight difference from last week.  99 lbs in 15 weeks is AWESOME!

 

Kelly, oh my goodness, she was so afraid of being voted off, of not making the finale - and she DID IT!  WOW!!!  Her attitude and confidence have so greatly improved.  She hasn't become cocky, but you can tell she's finally beginning to feel good about herself. That is fantastic.  And three weeks in a row, she and Ali beat the boys!  What an achievement.  And to lose 13 lbs at this stage for a woman. That ROCKS!  I am so incredibly proud of her.  (We have a severe thunderstorm warning /tornado warningin our area, so I did not get to see what Jillian said to her after watching her video due to the news breaking in.  Would someoneshare that with me?)  I am so glad that Jillian had a true black team representative make it to the finale.  To think that Bob hand-picked his team and in the end, they still came up short the last several weeks to the finale.  Hmmmm....

 

Mark truly does seem to have changed on the program into a more considerate person.  Roger seemed, in large part, to be the glue that held his team together.  He never fell below the yellow line until tonight.  Roger did not seem to change much, but his competitiveness did shine through these las few weeks in his attitude and what he said (at least what the program showed him to say.)

 

I'm having a difficult time selecting one of them for the finale.  Truly, I want one of the girls to win this and Roger does have more room to lose more weight (congratulations to him also on losing more weight on campus than any other BL contestant.)  I just don't know. Is anyone else in the same boat?  Or do you have your mind clearly made up?

 

I'd love your comments.

 

Finally, WAY TO GO BL MPMU WINNERS!!!  That is so great!  Of course, I wish more of my friends could have won because there are so many of you who did outstanding jobs and if we could have voted, like we get to tonight, that would have been fun to see the results. I am really proud that Gayle and Stefanie made it.  They did go over and above in setting up weekly phone calls (although we had church those evenings and weren't able to participate, it was nice to know that we had the opportunity.)  I hope each of you has a great time in LA and at the finale.

 

Gotta get a little one to bed now.

 

ttfn,

Tammy

Justin:  206.0 lbs - up .6 lbs from last week (and 1.4 lbs from his birthday.)  He has to do a lot of walking this week at work, so I am sure he will be back down next week.

 

Tammy:  201.6 lbs - down .8 lbs from last week, but still up .4 lbs from the week before that.

 

Justin was disappointed in his weight gain this week, especially since he nearly hit the 20 lb weight loss point by his birthday.  He is doing great and looking great and will be back on track this week.

 

I did get some pictures of him in the vest and slacks of his three-piece suit.  Everything fits him fine now.  I was trying to get a full-length picture of just him, but the baby (Daddy's girl) wouldn't have it.  She "ran" to him just as I snapped the picture, but by the time the flash went off, there she was, he looked down, and I had jiggled the camera, but we had to leave directly after that, so I didn't have time for a redo. He does look mighty handsome, though.  (I asked him the other day how long it had been since he had had three girls vying for his attention at once. )

 

I wish I had gotten below 201.2 this week at least, but at least I did lose some of the weight I gained the week before.  <Whew!>

 

For me, personally, I have 2 immediate goals:  GET BELOW 200 lbs, doggone it!  and for us as a team to weigh LESS than 400 lbs combined.  That day is coming soon, I know, but it is just that it is so close to being within our grasp, that it is a little frustrating.  Oh, well, that's all the more incentive.

 

Challenges:  Terri, I am now up .8 lbs toward our 30 lb weight loss goal by July 5, which is 30.8 lbs to lose by then.  I am still determined to do that and I know we WILL get there.

 

Justin is officially 40 today!   Yea for Justin! 

 

He weighed 204.6 lbs today.  Not bad at all.  He's lost .8 lbs since Monday and is only 4.6 lbs from his goal of being below 200 lbs by today.  Not bad, not bad.

 

He has a meeting tonight, so we will be celebrating tomorrow evening.  Our son is going to watch the girls for us so we can go dancing at the local community center - non-smoking building works for me.  We haven't been out dancing together in a long time.  I am really looking forward to it.

 

Then Saturday, our son goes to his first prom.  I'm probably as nervous as he is to see him all decked out in his tux.    That reminds me, I have to pick up more batteries for taking pictures.    I DON'T want to miss this moment!

 

Have a great weekend folks!

 

Tammy

I was so thrilled to get to see some of my BL friends from the MPMU on the show!  That was terrific!  I saw Tammy and Terri as well as Kelley and Kristie.  It was so cool to think, "Hey, I know them!"  It was really cute, too.

 

Regarding the challenge, that was one tough workout, I felt like I was going to be out of breath just watching them during the competition.  That was kind of Mark to wait for Ali.  Could you believe after ALL that, she still had the energy to carry him piggy-back to the finish line?!?  Wow!  She is one tough lady in a competition!  I was also so proud of Kelly for staying ahead of Roger as long as she did and she didn't give up.  What a trooper!  It's tough running against men.

 

I have travelled across the International Date Line before.  That is a really tough flight to endure.  They lost time and you tend to swell on flights.  It's a shame that they (comparatively) lost so little or gained - but many of us doing this in the "real" world know exactly what that is like.  It's tough and frustrating.  While Yoga is a great workout for muscle toning, it is not what I would consider a great workout for losing fat.  Doing that in addition to a regular workout would have made more sense to me, personally.

 

I do think that Jay looks wonderful after losing 100 lbs.  Good for him. With Mark and him being in the competition this long and Mark still being in it, there is no reason that if Mark does win, that he wouldn't share the pot with Jay.  I'm still rooting for the girls, though.  With all that she has lost so far, for Ali to still be pulling those weight loss numbers is outstanding.  And Kelly has been the underdog for such a long time, I think she has grown accustomed to that position and does well in it.  It certainly gives her more incentive to work out harder and not give up.

 

I think they will have a really hard time the next week.  For one, travelling that far east, while they will gain a day, really wears a person out.  I know I always had a harder time travelling east than travelling west.  Also, trying to do this last key week without a trainer will be extra tough, but it will show what they have truly learned in working with the trainers and their own personal dedication.  How hard can they push themselves without a trainer there, and so forth.  Should be interesting.

 

Have a great week!

Tammy

I did everything I could to procrastinate about calling the optometrist yesterday, but after I finished everything I needed to do and still had flashing lights in my vision - now in both eyes, I called.  My family optometrist recommended an opthamologist.  They got me in at 8:30 this morning.  Justin was so sweet, he took a day off work to take me.  Fortunately, it is just  matter of getting older.  The vitrious gel can become more fluid as we age and cause flashes - it could also cause my retina to tear, so I am going to "keep an eye on it" (ha!)  The opthamologist said they should go away in 2 weeks, if  not contact him.  If I get a bright flash with "spiderwebs," contact him right away.  Aside from that, my eyes are very healthy, yea!  I am really glad that Justin did take me because I could not see at all well with my eyes dialated.  I thought a deer that had been hit and was on the side of the road was a coyote.  My vision was that fuzzy.

 

We worked in the garden when we got home.  Our radishes and squash are already coming up.  I think some of our cucumbers are also coming up.  I'm so excited!

 

I'll check-in at some point after Biggest Loser.

 

l8r.

Justin:  Weighs 205.4 lbs, down .8 lbs from last week and 18.6 lbs overall for a percentage weight loss of 8.3%.

 

Tammy:  Weighs 202.8 lbs, up 1.6 lbs from last week, down 10.8 lbs overall for a percentage weight loss of 5.1% overall.

 

This is the first time that one of our bumps caused us to have a net weekly gain.  As I mentioned to Terri and Tammy and Terri's web site, things were going well last week until I burned dinner both Thursday and Friday nights.  I simply could not get into my body what it was craving / needing and I tried everything in sight.  It was not an empty, stressed-out eating, but there was something my body was telling me it needed and I had trouble getting it.  I finally got that satisfied Saturday night and everything levelled off, but since everything else is going well, I am sure I can get this back into negative territory quickly.

 

Speaking of Terri, I am up 1.6 lbs toward our 30 lb weight loss goal by July 5.  That means 31.6 lbs to lose by then for me, but I know Terri and I will lose what we are trying to lose if we keep trying.

 

As for the 15 lb weight loss by the end of May challenge that Justin and I each signed up to do, Justin is down 4.6 lbs and I am down 1.6 lbs overall.  This one is a closer term goal.  I am determined to get there.

 

I am kind of worried.  Ever since Saturday night, I keep getting these little bright white floating things in my peripheral vision on my right eye.  It's weird.  I'm concerned that I may have done something to my inner eye.  I'm going to call an eye doctor this morning.  (I mentioned this because it did it again while I was typing.)

 

Justin has begun a new blood pressure medicine as of last week, but even before he did, his blood pressure was down closer to normal range.  I'm so glad about that for him.

 

Have a great week!

Tammy

 

Hi!

 

I mentioned in our blog in February that we were looking into the Weigh Down program after Chris mentioned it in her blog.  We have been doing this program for several weeks now and I must say that it is really beneficial for us.  Whatever each of you are doing that is working for you, keep it up.  If any of you are really struggling with schedules, priorities, and guilt, you might look into this program.  The kit of VHS and cassette tapes plus one book was $29.99 plus shipping and handling.  I did have to go buy a new cassette player because we did not have one that worked but we found one for $9.99.

 

Here are the reasons that this works for us:

1)  When we get sick or injured, there are no reasons we cannot continue the program.

2)  When we have hectic schedules, there is no reason we cannot continue the program.

3)  We are not spending all day worrying about our next meals, grams of fat, carbs, etc.  (OK, I am not spending all day worrying about these things and planning for Justin and me.  Justin just ate what he was given and gave me puppy-dog eyes when something was on the restricted list.)

4)  We are not spending all day tracking our food intake and work output.

 

What we do have to do is wait until we are hungry to eat.  Make sure that it is true hunger.  Drink a beverage while we eat.  Eat slowly and deliberately.  Eat smaller portions.  Pray to God for help and guidance.

 

It is funny, Satan does not like this program.  He attacks our weakest points to make us feel inadequate in whatever area of our life he knows to be most vulnerable, but when we recognize it for what it is, admit sin that is sin, and denounce Satan's attacks, we are actually made stronger.

 

For us we have to choose a program that works for us and this one is truly it, I believe.  I do enjoy exercising, but I found that doing so was taking away key parts of my life with my children and family - I felt guilty if I did and didn't get everything done that needed doing and guilty if I didn't.  What I am doing now is enjoying the pleasure of being outside and working in the garden for 15-30 minutes a day.  Working on my housekeeping and making homemade bread and such.  These are things that are enjoyable, and yield tangible results that my husband and family can enjoy.  I do not have to say that I cannot have this food or that food or must eat some other food.  We eat what is available to us in moderation - no guilt or anxiety.

 

So, if you wonder about our workouts and so forth, insofar as going to the gym, working out with DVDs, or walking for walking's sake, probably not so much at this time so that we can focus on the priorities God gave us; however, Justin's job does give him a good bit of walking and physical labor (we discussed renaming him Manuel Labor this week since he spent all day each day this week digging a trench by hand for a water pipe.)  I am still going to try to workout at home when I can and go walking when we can (I enjoy spending that time with Justin), but when I can't I can play with the kiddos at home, in the backyard or take them to the park to play.

 

I wanted to wait on blogging about the change in our program until we saw if we could live this way and have it work for us for several weeks.  So far, so good. We will keep you posted on our progress.  Our next weigh-in is Monday.

 

If any of you are interested in the program, go to http://www.weighdown.com.  You can also contact me if you have any personal questions about our results.

 

By the way:  Justin turns 40 on Thursday (April 3).  Let's see how close to his first goal's weight of 200 he is by then.  I may sneak in an extra weigh day next week so we can see.    With all the hard work he has put in at his job this week, he should be close.  Please feel free to leave a word of encouragement or a happy birthday message for him in our guestbook.  Its fun to watch him blush  when people write a message to him and he does appreciate it. He's just not accustomed to people going out of their way to encourage him.

 

For all of you who have weigh-ins this weekend, best wishes to you and may the scales be kind to you.

 

Tammy

 

 

 

 

 

I got comparison photos of Justin posted.  He looks great!  I can see improvements in all pictures particularly his front and side photos.

 

I finally finished getting my comparison photos completed. You can tell my hair grew, to find any other changes, you'll have to look REAL hard.  I did realize that my derrier is protruding less in the new side photo - that's a plus.  I did include a picture of me in one of my favorite dresses, which fits more loosely, YEA!

 

Justin and "his" girls posed for a lovely photo that, unfortunately, did not turn out.  I will get a new one taken as soon as I can so you can see him in his suit. 

 

I also have some of our garden. I tried to get a new picture of our garden, but the camera did not want to cooperate, so I will have to try again later.  We'll try and keep photos coming as it grows.  I am looking forward to the fresh fruits and veggies.  I'm hoping to learn how to can successfully this year - and that we do so well that we need to can.  We'll eat what we can, and can what we can't. 

 

ttfn,

Tammy

Justin:  Weighs 206.2, for a weight loss of 17.8 lbs.  Outstanding!

 

Tammy:  Weighs 201.2, for a weight loss of 12.4 lbs.  OVER 12 lbs lost to date!  YIPEE!!!  Just over 1.2 lbs to go to be below 200!

 

I was also excited to see that as a team, we have lost a combined weight of over 30 lbs!

 

Speaking of 30 lbs, Terri suggested a challenge between the two of us for each of us to lose 30 lbs by July 5.  Sounds good to me!

 

As for the New "Post MPMU" Challenge to each lose 15 lbs by the end of May that Justin and I signed up for, Justin is 3.8 lbs down, and I am down 3.2 lbs.

 

We had a lovely weekend.  Friday, Justin and the children got the garden ready while I picked up a few more garden supplies and some items our church's youth group needed to host Easter breakfast and decorated and prepared the area for the breakfast.  One of our neighbors allowed us to borrow their tiller so they tilled up half the back yard and the front flower garden.  When I got back, the older children and I went to the Good Friday Tennebrae service.  It is very special.  When the pastor's wife closes with, "Were You There?" I get goose bumps and teary-eyed everytime.  (Tennessee Ernie Ford sang my favorite version, but hearing her voice reverberate through that somber room is something special.)  Justin stayed home with the baby because she is just at the age that she is too fussy for a service like that.

 

Saturday, Justin, me and our 4-year-old worked most of the morning and all afternoon in the garden and yard, planting vegetables, flowers and herbs, weeding, fertilizing, watering, and working the soil in the smaller areas Justin couldn't get with the tiller on Friday.  That was enjoyable work / exercise.  It was a beautiful day for gardening.  It was supposed to rain on Sunday, but it did not do as much as we had hoped.

 

Afterward, we went to Justin's sister's home for a family get-together and had a nice dinner and a good visit.  We discovered that the baby LOVES pinto beans.  Cool beans! 

 

We had a lovely Easter together.  The service was nice.  (It was my turn to keep the baby entertained, so I didn't get to see and hear all of it.)  We got to visit with my parents after lunch for a bit, then had a relaxing afternoon.  (I was told to go to bed and sleep since I didn't get to sleep at all since I woke up Saturday morning.)

 

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and has a wonderful day!  I hope your weigh-ins have gone / go TERRIFIC!  Good luck everyone!

 

Tammy

Christi just outed me - I am in fact a certifiable dingbat.  Are there any of you out there who are close to being out of a certain range and mentally go to the next lower range - I guess out of wishful thinking?  When I weighed early yesterday, I told Justin, "I weighed 103.8 lbs this morning.  Just .2 lbs more and I will have lost 10 lbs."  He looked at me strangely (which I thought was kind of rude considering my excitement) and said, "So you weighed 103.8 lbs, huh?"  It took me a moment, then I realized what I said.  Doh!  I don't even want to weigh 103 lbs,but I am definitely ready to be out of these 200's.  I guess I'm looking so forward to being out of the 200's, that my mind just makes the jump for me. 

 

Also, we took some measurements the other night and compared them to two weeks ago.  We are going to wait 2 more weeks before posting them because they were curious - according to those measurements, Justin was overall up by 3/4" (but when measured initially could not quite fit in part of his favorite suit and at the time of the most recent measurement could.)  Also, the measurements showed that I was down overally by more than 8".  That would be great, but I want to wait and see if that is true.  That seems like a lot of inches down for not so much weight lost in 2 weeks.  I think it was human error.  Our son's best friend said that he could tell I had lost weight (he has been at college and hadn't seen me for a bit), but I'm a little suspicious of the compliment because he also wanted our son to spend the night that night and may have been buttering me up.  I'll still take the compliment - who's going to turn down a perfectly good compliment? 

 

Have a great day!

Tammy

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I had caught a virus.  I thought I was well, but I was WRONG.  Our baby caught it also and wound up much worse because her little ear canal got infected.  She has been running a fever between 104.1-105.3 since Sunday.  The good news:  she did not have any fever this morning!  YEA!!  She still has an icky tummy, but I think that is due to the amoxicillin.  I have been so concerned that she was getting dehydrated.  She is drinking more today already and has more of her appetite back.  I am so relieved for her.  I was achy last night, my throat still hurts, and I sound like a frog, but as of this minute, I am feeling much better.  (Not hot, chilled, or achy.)  I was supposed to sing part of a song as a solo for Easter, but I don't think that will happen.    That's ok.

 

Unfortunately, I am really behind on things I need to accomplish.  I am going to prioritize and get done what I can before Easter those things that must be done before Easter.  Everything else can wait until after Sunday.

 

I did weigh myself ahead of schedule yesterday and have lost .4 more lbs and all I have to do is lose .2 lbs more and I will officially have lost 10 lbs.  YEA!  That will be great!

 

I am working on my recipes to share.  I hope to have those up soon.

 

Justin is off tomorrow, so maybe I will actually convince him to get our progress photos taken.  I will be sure to get one of him in his three-piece suit.

 

Have a great first day of Spring!

Tammy

Justin:  209 lbs, lost 1 lb from last week and a total 15 lbs so far (YEA!!) for 6.7% weight loss to date.

 

He wore his three-piece suit to the funeral yesterday (and looked very handsome I might add) - this is the same one he could not quite fit into a few weeks ago and his slacks looked very nice on him.  He said his next goal is for his neck to be smaller so he can button the top button on his favorite dress shirts.

 

Tammy:  204.2 lbs, lost .2 lbs from last week and a total of 9.4 lbs so far for a 4.4% weight loss to date.  (I'll take it - at least it is down.)  I know why it is only this little, a friend gave me a tub of my all-time favorite treats that I have not gotten to have for 20 years or more and I have had a couple a day.  I'm going to throw the remainder away because I have had my fill and can go a few more years (just maybe not 20) without them again.  I am just happy to have my weight go down at all after last week.

 

Starting tomorrow, every evening is booked until Sunday because in addition to this being Holy Week, I have my usual Tuesday outings with the children and Wednesday is church council that both Justin and I are now on (my last year, his first).  Next is Maundy Thursday, Good Friday (with a beautiful,powerful service at the Rock Church in Norse), a synod WELCA meeting Saturday morning and early afternoon then on to my sister-in-law's, up early to prepare a continental breakfast at church, then Easter morning service, then REST.

 

I did find out that Justin gets Good Friday off as a holiday - YEA!!!  He had to work all this weekend, so it will be good for him to have a day of rest.

 

I do hope the baby is feeling better today.  The girls and I did not go to church yesterday because I was still somewhat achy and my throat hurt, with a mild cough (Justin had to work in the morning so he could go to the funeral in the afternoon).  The baby did not wake up until I went to change her diaper at 10:30am yesterday - she NEVER wakes up that late - and she was scorching hot.  I have 5 thermometers in the house and the one I wound up using showed her temp to be 101.4 - but after checking it later, I am sure it was much higher.  Even the Motrin did not get her temperature all the way down.  Last evening an hour AFTER some Motrin and Tylenol, her temperature was still 102.1.  It did finally go down more.  If her temperature is still up today, I am going to get her a doctor's appointment and see if she has more than a virus.

 

I am going to try to get the girl's Easter dresses mostly finished today.  Wish me luck!

 

We did not get our new pictures taken yesterday because the baby was so ill, but we will try to get them taken tonight and put up this evening or early tomorrow.

 

I hope everyone's weigh-ins went well.

 

Blessings to all of you!

 

Tammy & Justin

I was struck dumb yesterday afternoon when I received a phone call from one of the ladies at church who told me one of my friends, who was in her mid-forties, died suddenly of heart failure Wednesday evening.  She and her high school-aged daughter had been visiting her in-laws, went home, she asked her daughter to move something for her and died.  Her family also lost a granddaughter the middle of last summer.  The baby was born prematurely and fought for several months, but could not overcome her heart problems.  I am praying for their family, especially the daughter in high school (I believe she is a junior this year) and her granddaughter that I have had the privilege of teaching in Sunday school the past year.  My daughter and her granddaughter have been good friends because my friend would bring her to church with her anytime she kept her for the weekend, and sometimes would meet her parents halfway just to bring her.  The parents live about an hour away from here.  She is the big sister to the baby who died last year.

 

My friend had diabetes, lost weight, but had a severe heart condition.  If I remember correctly, she had had the problem most of her life.  She had major surgery about 18 months ago or so and was doing much better.  She was active in ladies' organizations and walking.  I knew that I would see her at the local clinic rather frequently for one reason or another (I work there on occasion helping with their computers.)  She had just been so active that I forgot that her heart was so frail.

 

I know that God alone know the number of our days and I really do look forward to joining Him in Heaven, but I want to live to see my children grow up and play with my grandchildren.  I made some mistakes in my eating Wednesday and particularly yesterday.  I must get myself back on track and focus on the goal of health so that I can not only watch my children grow, but play with them and be active with them in the process. I don't want to look back and realize I missed out on opportunities because I was unhealthy and did not take every opportunity to get healthy and play with my children.

 

Justin has a doctor's appointment this afternoon - a physical.  He had one not too long ago, but this is a different doctor.  She is an internist who is very thorough from what I have been told by a friend of mine who works at the hospital / clinic and others.  Justin has not been on blood pressure medicine for several months now, not because his blood pressure is down, but because the first prescription made him feel like he had something caught in his throat all the time and the second medicine cost $50 per month WITH insurance and did not lower his blood pressure.  He also feels like he is falling apart with aching joints and such.  I hope he follows through and asks about quitting his snuff.  Nicotine has bad effects on one's health and he already has some precancer cells on his gums from it.  Both his parents died from cancer, but he insists that he is not going to get mouth cancer and that he will not lose his jaw.  Who knows, but stopping now would be better than waiting.  (Yes, I am a nag.  I just don't want to continue to watch him increasing his risks of cancer.  He knows it is because I truly love him that I ask him to stop.)  Quitting may even help his blood pressure.  We'll follow-up with the outcome.

 

On a good note, tomorrow is our 5th anniversary and he has been banned from the Boy Scout campout on threat of being physically evicted if he shows up.    This will be our first anniversary that he has NOT gone camping with our son.  He likes this campout in particular because they help with a chuckwagon cook-off.  I have practiced making chicken fried steak for years and I must say, it is REALLY good, but I went two years ago, and there was someone who out did me.  MAN, was it good!  They even had mashed potatoes that were out of this world.

 

Saturday is supposed to be really nice - actually hot at 90 degrees, so hopefully we can go to the local state park and walk or fish.  We just have to figure out how to keep the baby happy if we decide to fish.  It is supposed to rain Sunday and that is the day of my friend's funeral, so it would be nice to do some fun things tomorrow.

 

Due to our plans for the weekend, I probably won't update this until Monday - weigh-in day for us.

 

Have a great weekend and blessings to everyone.  I hope your weigh-ins go well for those of you who have them this weekend.

 

Tammy