Merry Christmas!

One more Christmas has passed and we don't have our tiny miracle yet. I know, I know.. It will come. But damn it, I'm sick of waiting!

So, if you watch the news, you know that the midwest is being pelted! We've already gotten a foot of snow and are getting up to 6 inches more tonight/tomorrow. This is on top of the 10 inches we got 2 weeks ago that has yet to melt. Yeah, great times. Ready for the Snowed In crowd:
* 11 adults - me, David, my mom, and his family (including the fertile sister in law)
* 3 children under 4 - the 3 of the above fertile sister in law.
* 10 dogs - mine, my mom's, my mother in law's.
* Wine, wine, wine

It's definitely been an interesting few days... We celebrated Christmas last night - dinner, presents, etc... - because David was supposed to go to work this morning but couldn't get out of the neighborhood. So, he left at 5:00 pm - it took him 2 hrs and 15 min to get to work. But, he made it safe. And that's what matters. Jazzy and Max are not dealing with the people/kids well - they are stuck to my side no matter what and Max is being more protective than usual.

We all enjoyed opening gifts together. Our 2 yr old nephew is just learning how to open gifts - he usually gets in trouble for ripping so he had a hard time with learning that this was "okay" for the night. Once he got it figured out, it was hilarious!

And the last gift of the night was one from David to me.... A cruise!!!!!! We had been thinking about doing something over Spring Break, but "we" (me) didn't think we could afford a cruise this year. David found a really good deal on a 5 day Carnival cruise leaving from Galveston, TX the week of my Spring Break!

That also means that I need to get my butt in gear and lose the 15 lbs I've gained... Monday is a new day - the family will be gone, and I will be able to get back on the Weight Watcher's band wagon strict! I need to go to a meeting - I know I will have to pay, but I'm okay with that. Well, not really, but I need to face the scale and make myself accountable. The NICE sister in law and I already have a Cruise Shopping Day set in February!

So, I need help! Keep me accountable. My goal is to get the 15 lbs down by early February and then maintain until the cruise - I want to get down to 185, and the last time I got on the scale I was 201. I need to weigh myself in the morning, and then I'm going to make a ticker ~ I know how to gain the weight, I know how to lose the weight... Now how do I maintain it? Help!

The Knee Saga continues...

Well, as you all know, I was released 2 weeks ago to start some light cardio. I wanted to go 3 times the first week, but because of my schedule, I only made it once.

The first week, I made it 10 minutes at 2.7 mph. Today, I went 15 minutes at 2.8 mph! Not much of an increase, but enough of one to make me feel worth the effort to get to the gym.

On Tuesday, I had PT. Mike is really happy with my progress. We've lowered the resistancy from a 9 to an 8. Wednesday, I was a little sore, but now I'm fine. I'm doing better with the 3 sets of 10 steps and 3 sets of leg raises. He added 10 chair-squats. And, he took away my quad sets, and added a second leg raise. This leg raise, I couldn't even do 1 a month ago. Now? I can do 10 with only a little "annoying" pain!!! We are very excited about the progress!!!!

More of a "life" update later...

Time for a U-Turn

Since hurting my knee, workouts have been limited. Stress has mounted for lots of reasons, and WW has fallen to the backburner...

On Monday, I got on the scale to see where I was at. I started crying when it said 202. Seriously? I'm back over 200???? I've gained 17 lbs since hurting my knee. Crap!

And then I remembered something... Weight Watchers is a LIFETIME journey. It's not a diet, it's not a get-to-goal-and-then-stop thing. No, it's not. It really is a lifetime journey. It's a road... And I accidentally took the wrong fork in the road. Well, guess what? I found the spot to make the UTurn at. I'm making that Uturn and then getting onto the right path again!

Today is Wednesday, and when I got on the scale this morning, it was down to 197.3! I know it's water weight, but hey -- it's down! I watched my points all day on Monday (it wasn't perfect, but it was close), and yesterday I stayed just under my points. I've done really good today - I did have an oatmeal cookie, but my student teacher was doing a cooking project. The kids need to see us trying it to say "Oh, well, even the teachers try 'new' things!"

I had Physical Therapy tonight. This week has been better than last week. I had alot of pain last week, but he helped me push through it. This week, we worked out the "order" of exercises so that I can complete them all without unbearable pain. And.........

I get to start light cardio!!!!! He said I can do the treadmill or stationary bike, but the treadmill will be easier. No incline, and only 5-10 minutes to start. But, you know what? It's a start! So, I'm going to meet David at the gym after work tomorrow. He can obviously work out alot longer than I can, so he can get his long workout in, and I'll do my stuff while he's doing his cool down.

I know that getting back into the gym is going to help the weight. If nothing else, it will help me mentally - to know that I'm at least burning a few calories, and I won't be sitting around so much. I'm hoping it goes well - my goal is 3 times this week, and then I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can up the time and maybe days next week!!