Rising up from the ashes!

This girl is going to be a phoenix! 

I don't know if this is going to be a complete post, as I am feeling pretty tired tonight.  Tired is a welcomed gift.  I'm struggling with sleeping and have for years.

 My food "hoarding" is as bad as ever.  We have food everywhere!  My son said to me the other day, "Mom, people could come to our house to go grocery shopping!"  Son, oh, my sweet, smart son, I sure know it.  I believe this stems from growing up with a parent with a gambling addiction, so badly that, sometimes, we didn't even have food.  Thank the universe that Grandma lived next door and her home was always open to us.  So now we have so much that a lot of it ends up getting thrown out due to it expiring.  I have challenged myself to put an end to this insanity.... starting 1/1/11.  It's been 2 days and I have not been to the grocery store.  Of course, we will have to get bread, milk, fruit, etc., but I AM going to use up our food stores if it kills me!  Pictures will follow so that I can have a measurable goal and also see my progress.  You would think that this should be simple... I am a great cook, if I do say so myself, but as much as I use up, I just go buy more.  We could probably survive Armageddon! 

Another thing that we need to deal with is some of the clutter around here.  I always want to save everything "for later - in case we need it."  I'm coming to the conclusion that, if we haven't needed it in the 6 or so years we've been in this house, then we are not going to need it. 

Maybe simplifying is exactly what we all need to achieve the calm serenity that I crave.  Out with the old and in with the new in so many ways!  How rejuvenating this will be for everyone.

We are *loving* being foster parents.  The pumpkins are wonderful!  It has been challenging having two little ones around again, but we are loving every minute.  We are so glad that we decided to do this.  I believe that our own children will learn and grow so much from this experience as well.  I could go on about this all night, but we'll save some things for later. 

..... and my weight.  I have taken off 28 lbs.  Things have been very difficult ever since my 1st gallbladder attack (June) up until now.  Now that it's been removed, I have entirely different digestive issues, but the new medicine seems to be helping (Cholestyramine).  I definitely need to do the best that I can to be successful in this challenge while also keeping it healthful and delicious.  I have about 40-50 more pounds to go.   We shall see.  I have completely wasted the year-long gym membership that I bought almost a year ago.  I've probably been there about 12-15x...  That really stinks!  Like flushing $500 down the toilet.    I got an invite from one of my best friends today to join a support group they are putting together.  It may be just what I need.  It's going to be difficult to do anything like a weekly "appointment" now that I have the pumpkins who have their own schedule.  We will see how it works out.  I'm so happy to have her looking out for me.  Love you, Erin! 

Big changes around here...  Most very exciting, some very sad (which I'm not going to go into).  If you are close to me, you know already.  I am so much in need of change.  It'll be difficult at times, but there's no better time to start than 1/1/11....  And that's how it happened. 

Almost 3 months later....

I've been so bad about blogging lately! It's been almost 3 months.  

I finally had my gallbladder out.  They made me wait two months.  I was in the ER twice with unbelieveable pain.  It was definitely worse than childbirth.  I kid you not!

Partly because of this, I am now down nearly 30 pounds!  Crazy enough, I can still wear the same clothing.  It is just loose on me.  I don't get it.  I'm having that mind-over-mirror distortion of how I see myself... but I've had 5 different people tell me this week that I look great.  :)  That is so good to hear!  I need to take some new pictures and get this updated.  I promise that I will try to be better. 

It seems that my intestines are still drowsy from my surgery.  It's been a week and they are not working.  I don't see the dr til Monday, so I am going to call tomorrow just to see what he says.  I was so afraid that this was going to be the opposite.  I'm not pleasantly surprised.  ugh!

We went to the Jonas Brothers/ Demi Lovado concert last night with friends.  The girls REALLY enjoyed themselves.

Tonight, I laid out in our front yard and watched the ah-mazing meteor shower with the boys.  Dave and the girls came out for a few short minutes... too impatient to wait.  It was so worth it.  We saw a giant one that lasted a good 2 seconds.  We made a wonderful memory!  Hoping to watch again tomorrow as well.  Things like this are priceless!

My husband had a spontaneous tearing of his Achille's tendon.  He's going to be off of work for a few weeks, at least.  I thought that he had a blood clot based on the symptoms.  We are blessed! 

Anyways, that's about it for now....  We are still working on our fostering home study and I really am not ready for the kids to go back to school :( 

xo - Christina

Lyndsie's Give aways!

Lyndsie has some amazing give aways going on over at Lyndsie's Giveaways!   Please go over and pay her a visit and sign up.  I've loved following her.  :)

The Wellness Bridge - Meet Judi Hladek, my hero!

The Wellness Bridge's mission statement is this...

"The Wellness Bridge will provide people with a connection between health
and wellness through education, motivation, guidance, encouragement, and compassion
so that they can help themselves achieve the goal of physical, psychological, and
spiritual wellness."

"The Wellness Bridge will empower people to be well in body, mind, and spirit now and in future generations...."

And she stands by that.  In my weakest moments, she's there to help pick myself up and show me that we are all human.  Sometimes, I am just going to eat that cookie.  And that's okay.  She put up with my times of resistance with a smile on her face and she's also the first person to enthusiastically congratulate me on my accomplishments, no matter how small or how large it may be. 

What words could be said about Judi that could ever describe what she means to the people she helps... ? The people she helps to find the power inside of themselves to save their own lives... To "Be Well." Angel, mentor, coach, guide, teacher, miracle maker... Those would all cover how we feel about Judi. But, I am so, so honored to be able to call her my FRIEND...

A wise person once said, "To the world, you may be one person.  But to one person, you may be the world."  Judi, YOU have changed my life... just by being there, teaching me, listening to me when I needed that more, and believing in me.  I could never say thank you enough for being my partner in saving my life and the lives of my children.  I <3 you!!! 

Umm.. yay!

So I had my coaching today and I was down 3 pounds and 6 inches!  Okay, 5.75 but who's counting?  LOL
Not too shabby for one week!  I am hoping for similar results next time.  Thursday, I leave for Gettysburg with my buddy Erin for our adventure with the Paranormal State group.  I'm really excited!  That's it for now.  I've been gone all day and I have a couple of things to do....

xo,
Christina

Tomorrow is the moment of truth (for the week)!

Tomorrow, I go to see Judi to get weighed, measured, and my coaching.  I can't wait to see how I did.  I made it to the gym 4x in the last week so far.  I hope it's made a difference.  Just 1 small problem.  My monthly cycle is starting and I'm bloated.  That's going to make my weight inaccurate.  BLAH!!!

Today I bought a really cool scarf... in preparation for our trip to Gettysburg for the Paranormal State Field trip.  SOOOOO excited.  Here's a pic. 

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get Miss Judi in a picture so that I can introduce you to her on my blog :)  I'm sure she'll be a sport :)  Lovely lady that she is.  I'll give a full report tomorrow.

I think that the Statin medication is working on my appetite.  I haven't been really hungry since I started it, which is a good thing.  I need all of the help I can get.  LOL

Today, I did 30 mins on the treadmill and all of the weight machines.  So, it was about an hour all together :) 

Ta ta for now!

Christina xo

Plugging along....

I am really doing super this week.  I'm down to 206.5, which is 1/2 a pound less than what I was at my lowest.  Yay!  I've also started food journaling again.  I'll see Judi on Thursday for weight/measurement/coaching.  In about 5 weeks, I'll have to have blood work done to check my liver function since I am now on the Statin medication.  Then, in 3 months, we will check the lipid panels and HBA1c again to make sure that everything is checking out.  I've made it to the gym 3x this week so far.  My arms have to be the weakest part of my body.  They are so sore. 

Today, I made an awesome smoothie.  It was as good as having some ice cream. 

Honeydew
pineapple
strawberries
agave nectar
protein powder
vanilla soy milk
ice