Just do it.

Posted on May 11, 2013 by the2beths

Just do it.

That is what I have been telling myself lately when it comes to walking on the treadmill. Eventually, I would like to add in other exercises, but I am going to continue walking until I get my first 30 pounds off, then add in other workouts, like videos.
Anyway, after school yesterday, I knew I needed to walk for at least 45 minutes. I needed the activity points to end the week in the positives. Last week I was negative 4 and I stayed the same on the scale. Well, I walked for 66 minutes, and got all my activity points, and ended the week with points to spare!! WOO HOO!! So, even after a day heavy in the points on Friday, my Saturday weigh in bared good news -

**I LOST TWO POUNDS THIS WEEK!!!****

And, I’ve been taking my blood pressure lately, because I notice a correlation between when I am exercising and eating right and my blood pressure going down. Anyway, my bp was 110 over 62!! That is good people!! Very good. My goal has always been to go off my blood pressure medicine and this has given me the hope I needed that this might be possible some day.

This weight loss this week is with a barbecue at my friends house last Saturday, where I indulged in desserts, and a first communion party on Sunday, where I exercised more constraint (because I was eating leftover desserts from said party on Saturday…ha ha ha) But, I tracked everything, and kept working out. I’ve been using all my points, even my activity points, and have still been losing. I always have the intention of not using my activity points, but then, I do. I guess it is ok until I quit using.

Here is a picture from the barbecue at my bff’s house. This is her daughter, Megan, and me. Her daughter was having the best time with the neighborhood kids, so we were cracking up at how dirty she is – because my friend, Liz, is the cleanest person I know.

Some random pictures from my phone over the last few weeks.

Here is the lilac tree in our back yard – it smells SOOO good and is so beautiful.

Here is a picture of a supplement that I have to take to help me get pregnant. My husband and I repeatedly joke about the name of it. Now, you can, too.

And lastly, I will leave you with a picture of my dad in his stylin’ new shades.
We loved them because they were so out of character. (They are actually just try-outs from the optometrist.)

Well, I am going to walk with a dear friend. I was so happy she texted me last night to walk this morning so I can get it out of the way, and actually “just do it” instead of torturing myself all day. HA HA..
Updated to say: I walked 5.1 miles with my friend!!! 100% of activity by 10:30 am. I will take it!
Peace out…xxoxoxoxo
Beth WA

Just gotta blog…

Posted on May 8, 2013 by the2beths

I have been remiss in blogging because I have sooo freakin’s much to say, that it always seems overwhelming to sit down and write it. So, I just thought, I can just start writing and see what happens.

Usually when I am not writing, it is because things are not going well, but this time, it is quite the opposite.

Weight Watchers Update:
I have lost 9 lbs total, and am still losing. I have been tracking all of my food, and better yet, I have been walking. I have been walking a lot. And, it has been so good for me. I’ve walked on the treadmill, I’ve walked with friends I don’t normally walk with, and I’ve walked outside by myself. I have loved my Active Link, and have done so well with it, they’ve raised my goal for my challenge.

(In) Fertility Update:
While I won’t ever go into details with this, I will share that we went to a specialist, and he gave us something that I was beginning to lose – he gave us hope. He said he was “extremely hopeful” that we would be successful. He said that while my miscarriage was devastating, it was the greatest sign of hope that we *could* get pregnant. So, keep your fingers crossed.
One of the things the doctor recommended was to make sure I stayed within 200-300 carbs a day, and so being mindful of my carbs sure makes my points stretch further, and that along with a dosage increase in one of my medicines has really helped avoid the afternoon slump I had been experiencing.

School Update:
School is almost over – 15.5 days left. I am so ready this year. I feel like this year was a great year, but I also feel like I learned a lot with the transition to Common Core Standards, and am anxious to try the new things I’ve learned next year.

House Update: My husband got a tractor lawnmower, so he has mowed the lawn more in the last two weeks than all of last summer.
HA HA. I jest. I jest.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now.
I hope all is well with all y’all
xoxox
Beth WA

ONE MORE SLEEP!!!!

Posted on March 29, 2013 by the2beths

One more sleep – and it is not even a real sleep as I have to get up at 4:30 AM – and I get to see my best girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am beyond excited. Especially since she does not know we are coming.
I am also excited to go on a vacation with my husband. It will be nice for us to get away. We don’t get to vacation very often, as I’ve mentioned, so it will be a treat!!

Today I have a low key morning planned, and then I have a load of laundry to do, and packing, obviously. I also want to clean out the pantry and refrigerator so that we don’t have a stinky house.

Today is the last day of my Active Link assessment. This measures my activity level and helps me increase it little by little each week by setting goals for 12 weeks. I really need this because I have become quite sedentary.
In the last few years I’ve lost 20 lbs that I’ve kept off for a while. I have been stuck at the same weight for a while, and I have a lot more to lose, and I am hoping my commitment + activelink+ weight watchers is a winning combination. I have to take it day by day. And I’ve learned that doing drastic elimination diets does not work for me, as it lends itself to binge eating for me. I mean, there are foods I definitely don’t have in the house as they are trigger foods, but eliminating a certain food or food group messes with my mind. Maybe if I did it extremely gradually, in a weaning process.

For now, I am going to stick with
*tracking my points on WW online
*eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible
*being more active than I am now

My first official weigh in is tomorrow (Though, I am a daily scale hopper). I tracked all of my points this week, but went way over. I also didn’t exercise. HA HA. But, it was my assessment week, so I am trying to ease into it, as I mentioned earlier, that helps me mentally. The positive is that I didn’t snack after dinner at all this week, and every day I’ve weighed myself has been less than the day before, so that is good.
Baby steps.

I know it will be hard on vacation, but I am hoping to be able to walk outside in Houston in the mornings since the weather is so much nicer than here in Ohio right now!

Well, off to do chores.
I will leave you with a picture of our dog, Sammy. She is going to be so sad when I take out the suitcases today. Although, she is getting the best care in the world – her gramma – who spoils her rotten!

xoxox,
Beth WA

One More Week…

Posted on March 23, 2013 by the2beths

One more week and I get to see this sweet face in person, and smooch all over it.

I can NOT wait.

This has been a busy few weeks, at work, at home, and just all around.

Last weekend was St. Patrick’s Day, and Saturday night I went out locally with my bff’s, and had a great time. Beth FS’s husband is very hilarious, and he was entertaining us all night.
Here is a group pic of the ladies from the night. Darn it for not getting pictures of us with our husbands. That is something I need to work on, taking more pictures of fun times!

And here is a picture of the Jameson shots that Beth FS got us. It’s a tradition on St. Patrick’s Day in honor or her late Uncle Dan.

On Sunday, my dad and I drove up to Cleveland (where we are from) to see his side of the family as they always celebrate St. Patrick’s day in a big way. My cousin was home from the Navy so it was nice to see him. I have lots of cousins, but here is a picture of a few of us from the celebration.

Last night we went to my parents and I brought pizza over from the place across the street from my house that has delicious New York style pizza. We went through some old pictures (because when my dad hung his coat up in the closet, the closet broke, and the bar fell down, and it all came tumbling out….so a box pictures were discovered by me).
Here is a picture of me and my cousin, Cortney. She is my most hilarious cousin.* Truly. And she is gorgeous. She does not age, seriously.
This is us at Niagara Falls in the 70′s.

I just thought it was the sweetest picture.

On the weight front, I have been struggling. Majorly struggling. And by struggling I mean eating like crazy and not exercising. I made the decision last week to join Weight Watchers Online, and utilize their Active Link. It is a device that you wear all the time that measures your activity, and helps you set goal to become a more active person, little by little. So, I have been preparing all week for today, the day I start WW, and I have to say I woke up this morning relieved. Relieved that I am finally doing something.
It’s a vicious cycle. Infertility depresses me. I eat. I gain weight. It increases infertility. So, I need to change my coping mechanism. And that is what I am working on. I will keep you posted.

Here is what the Active Link looks like…

You can wear it clipped in the waist band of your underwear or bra, or in your pocket. You don’t even feel it. I am currently in the 7 day period where it gets a baseline of your activity. I am in day two. I am anxious to get it started when it is over. It will be just in time for my trip to Houston where I am hoping I get to take walks outside in the warmer weather.

Well, I am going to try to clean up my google reader, and do paperwork, then cleaning, laundry, and some work for my online class that I can NOT wait until it is over.
Have a great Saturday.

Beth WA

*Tied with you, Bridget. ; )

Saturday morning chat

Posted on March 16, 2013 by the2beths

Good morning. It’s my favorite time of the week. My leisurely Saturday morning.
I have chores to do, and school work to do, but I am just going to enjoy the morning first. It was a go-go-go week, so it’s nice to be still for a bit.

Can we first talk about Lil’ Wayne? What the heck?
I open my facebook app and I see this last night.

Now, Beth FS and I have a theory about TMZ. And it is this. All stories from TMZ always end up to be true.
HA HA. Right?

Now, I don’t know if you know this, but Lil’ Wayne is Catholic. And I am not sure if the fact that he got “last rites” is what made them think that he was on death’s doorstep or what. But, nowadays, that sacrament of “anointing of the sick” or “last rites” is performed more often, and not just when you are about to die.

However, when I got up this morning, I saw this…

So, weezy is recovering. Phew.

Next, can we talk about the impending doom of Google reader???? I am on google reader every single day. It is how I read the zillion blogs I read.

And now it is going away in July, and I have to find a replacement. I have been searching for suggestions, so if you have any, I’d be glad to hear them!!

My parents have been gone for two weeks, and I miss them. They are visiting my brother and his family, and I miss them, too. It’s been a lonely two weeks.
But, they have been having a great time. For the last three days, my parents took Ava to Galveston for a mini vacation. She got to do all the things you do on vacation with your grandparents…swim, order virgin daiquiris at dinner, and order room service.
Here is my little sweetheart by the pool. I just love her hair.

Well, I have a few other things I wanted to write about, but this post is getting too long! I will finish up later.
Have a great Saturday…
xoxox,
Beth WA

Do-Over

Posted on March 9, 2013 by the2beths

Well, I didn’t lose weight this week, but I also didn’t gain weight.
I just couldn’t get it together. Hopefully, I can this week.
It’s an old fashioned do-over like on the playground when we were kids.

I am having a hard time getting back into working out. I thought working out last weekend would help, but it didn’t. Maybe the warmer weather will help get me out and about.

I can only move forward from here and try to do better this week.

In other news, I went to see P!nk this week and it was amazing. My friends and I loved it so much, and we are all a little depressed that it is over. It went so fast, and she did such an awesome job. She has a new album and played songs from there, but she was sure to play songs that everybody loves, like “So What,” “Just Like a Pill,” and “Trouble,” as well as many other hits. I wish all concerts were like that. I love when singers/bands play their popular songs. I mean, that is what people are there to see, aren’t they?!

Here is a picture of my girlfriends right before the concert.

It was funny, we were looking for our seats and saw the Huntington Club and said, “Oh, that’s for fancy people,” and kept looking for our seats. Turns out…we are fancy people. Our seats were in that area. They were nice and cushy and roomy.

I can not tell you enough how awesome that show was. And I am so envious of P!nk’s physique. Whenever somebody is in shape like that, I am always in awe of how easily they move their body, and without difficulty.

Well, I started using my pedometer again, and am aiming for 10,000 steps a day as part of my strategy to losing my first 30 lbs. I also am going to start packing my lunch the night before in hopes of saving morning time and making better choices.

Off to start my day…have a great Saturday!!

Anybody doing anything fun this weekend?!?!

Beth WA

Another Snow Day!!

Posted on March 6, 2013 by the2beths

Well, we got a doozie of a snow storm last night. They have been building it up all week, and it delivered. Starting at about 11 last night, the snow started coming straight down. Lots of tiny flakes to make about 6 inches, I would guess. I had mixed feeling about this snow storm because tonight, my girlfriends and I are going to see P!nk in concert at a venue about 50 minutes away. So, the whole time the storm was predicted, I was hoping for enough snow to cancel school, but for it to stop early enough so the main roads would be clear for our drive to the concert. AND, it looks like that’s what happened. It stopped snowing early in the morning, and the treated roads are already looking good.

Here are some pictures from my yard. We have this very scary and VERY large pine tree in the back yard, and the snow has the branches weighed almost down to the ground when they are usually above our heads. I think this has terrified my dog, because she will not go out. She used to love the snow, but not today. The last picture is of her sitting in front of me all anxious-like with a slipper in her mouth.

I am going to do some grading today, read some magazines, and walk on the treadmill, and do my kettlebell work out. I’ll be honest, Monday and Tuesday were not good days with calorie count or exercise. I had a test done at the hospital yesterday that I was nervous about, and I think that contributed to it, but I can only take one day at a time. So, today is a new day.
(I guess I should mention that the test went fine!)

I am so excited to see P!nk tonight!!!

Source

Have a great hump day everybody!!!
(Or my Saturday!! because I took tomorrow off as a personal day – woot woot!!!)

Love,
Beth WA

Continuous Improvement.

Posted on March 3, 2013 by the2beths

Well, day two of exercising and counting calories has been making me feel a lot a better about life in general. I haven’t been doing super great, but I have been doing…
Last night, after I had my calories done for the day, I had pretzels and dip. Boo! But, I still counted them out and measured them.
And today, I am a little over. But, still tracking every thing.
It’s the weekend, and I always do worse on the weekend. Hopefully, tomorrow I am able to stay in my calorie count.

I have walked both days (and even Friday). I didn’t walk that long or that fast, but I walked. I could tell today was even easier than yesterday. Although, my legs are killing me for another reason.
This workout:

I cut it out of Weight Watchers magazine. It doesn’t look like much, but when you are completely out of shape, it makes it so that your legs hurt like nobody’s business. My inner thighs are soooo sore. Squats are difficult for me. But, it is a good hurt. I feel like I am heading somewhere.

Tonight for dinner I made pulled pork in the crock pot. It was a new recipe, and it was good, but not great. The meat was delicious, and tender, which helped. I served it on a kaiser roll, with cole slaw from the local fried chicken joint. I also served creamed corn from a can, which is one of my favorite foods ever, and I haven’t had it in a while because my husband doesn’t like it. I make it then add a bit of butter, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mmmmm. And also, we had Bob Evan’s mashed potatoes. I am so full right now.

Well, I am off to do a little grading. I’ve managed to procrastinate, and put it off until right now. 7:00 Sunday night. Oops.

Have a good Monday!
Beth WA

Friday Night Burn Out

Posted on March 1, 2013 by the2beths

Man, oh, man, am I tired tonight. I am not sure why I am so exhausted, other than life has been a bit heavy lately. I was wishing I came home from work and wanted to do a million things, but that was not the case. I actually had a headache that I couldn’t shake. I walked on the treadmill for a short time – about 35 minutes – then I took a nap.
For dinner, we got pizza from the place across the street from our house. I also got a Greek Salad. I love Greek salads. This one had a bit too much feta for my liking.

And my dog stared at me trying to guilt me into a piece.

Tomorrow I join my friend in a weight loss journey. I’ve been mentally prepping this week. I am ready.
Tired of being tired.

But, for tonight, pizza and vino.

Have a great Friday night, everybody.

xoxox,
Beth WA

I kept a promise.

Posted on February 25, 2013 by the2beths

I did the thing I am worst at today – I kept a promise to myself.
I tracked my food on Fitness Pal, and stayed within my calories.
I exercised!!!! with a good friend.
I did work at work, and didn’t bring any home.
YAY.
It’s amazing how one day back on the wagon makes you feel so much better. Not to mention, when I got on the scale this morning for the first time in weeks, it was 2.1 lbs lower than I thought I was. So, I am already 2.1 lbs into my 30 lb goal. WOO HOO.

Today was a good day.
And, here is why…

* I was caught up with grading when I went into school this morning.
* I had a few kids in my room before school and I was able to help them without feeling rushed.
* My lesson plans were pretty laid back today.
* I tracked my calories.
* I ate fruits and vegetables.
* I went on a walk with my friend, Marianne.
* I am ’bouta make a good dinner.

This weekend we cleaned out my gramma’s assisted living apartment, as she has to move to the side of the home that is full time care. I found this picture of her when she was a baby. She has always been very ornery, or as she will tell you, she was a “brat.” This totally captures her ornery side.

I still have a lot of work to do for my UD class this week, but I am glad that it was a good Monday.

I hope you had a good Monday, too.

UPDATED: I can’t believe I forgot to mention the highlight of my day. My best girl, Ava, face timed me without me begging her to do it!!! It was a complete surprise!!!
I miss that girl!!

xoxo,
Beth WA

the2beths

Discussing life, point by point…

Category Archives: continuous improvement

Just do it.

Just gotta blog…

ONE MORE SLEEP!!!!

One More Week…

Saturday morning chat

Do-Over

Another Snow Day!!

Continuous Improvement.

Friday Night Burn Out

I kept a promise.

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