Day 3

I'm starting day 3 of my eating right/ get my fat ass in shape challenge. I didn't walk yesterday because I had a blister on my foot. Well, that, and I didn't want to get arrested for violating university property (I kid, I kid...kindof), but I did go look at the new gym in town. We are going to join. It offers 24 hour access, as well as access to any club in the world. I'm excited. The gym is Anytime Fitness (check out the link- they're literally everywhere!), and while small, I think it will be a great fit. It has everything I want in a gym- freeweights, bikes, eliptical, treadmill, and a circuit area. It seems really safe and secure as well, so I am really excited about that- 3 am workouts, here I come!!!

I am also keeping a food journal. I'm finding that just knowing I am going to have to add an item to my list makes me think twice about its consumption. (Do I really need butter on my rice? Do I need to add that second teaspoon of jelly to my yogurt to make it palatable?) Throughout the day, I go through my list and assign calorie totals to the foods. So far, the greatest challenge has been finding a consistent calorie estimator, but I guess if I am mindful of my eating and consistent it should pay off, even if my numbers are a little "off". I am eating about 1300 calories per day, but I am not feeling hungry or crabby. In addition, I am taking a multivitamin to cover any possible deficiencies in my diet. I'm realizing that I really didn't eat that much "food" before, but the junk (mostly sodas and chocolate bars) was what killed me. At 330 calories per vanilla coke and over 1000 for a big huge chocolate bar, that's a LOT of empty calories! I am going to restrict calories pretty severely for the first 6-8 weeks, as a bit of a "jump start", then reevaluate to see what direction I need to take after that time period has passed. I do plan on a few "cheat nights" here and there, but mostly I just want to be much more selective about what I put into my body.

Well, I'm off to pay my enrollment dues! Later dudes!

Hello, my name is Fat

Alright all. I've come to a realization. I'm FAT. Like, really, really fat. I've known it for a while, but these past couple of days I have finally decided to do something about it. I've been watching The Biggest Loser on TV, and quite frankly, those fellow fatties have inspired me! I've only watched one other season, but it was right about the time I had my first or second child, and while I was somewhat big, (I had about 10-15 pounds to lose to feel comfortable) I mostly remember being repulsed by those fat people on the TV. I couldn't understand how they had let themselves get so darn FAT! Well, several years, a college degree, a couple kids, and a whole lotta' living later, I UNDERSTAND! It happens one pound at a time. One candy bar at a time. And now I am officially one of them. (dun, dun, duuuuun!!!) So I started walking. This morning I set out on my first brisk walk. After about 35 minutes on the track at my lovely university, a nice gentleman from the athletic department rode over on his golf cart and informed me that I needed to leave- that the track was only for athletes, and was most definitely not for women pushing strollers. Seriously?!? I hate athletic departments. He told me about another track in town that welcomes fat women with strollers, so I will try that one out tomorrow.

After returning home, I decided to set out again on another adventure. Caleigh and I walked to the city park, then back home. After walking on the city sidewalks, I have decided that either A) The city needs to get them up to code or B) I need to invest in a much better stroller. Seeing as the attitude in Texas tends to be rather conservative and resistant to change, I'm leaning toward B. So if you have any recommendations on jogging strollers, please send them my way. I don't care if we've never met and you just happened upon my little blog, if you know anything about jogging strollers, spill it (please and thank you).

Anyway, as far as my weight loss goals, my goal weight is 150, but realistically, I'll be more than ecstatic with anything under about 165. Basically, if I can get back into the mid 100's and start running 3-4 miles at a time, I'll be happy with it. After I graduated from high school, I was a bit of a running fool, and to be honest, I miss running. I also miss strength training- the violent clang of the weights, the grunting, and especially that wobbly feeling your legs get when you've maxed them out, and you don't quite know if you'll be able to walk out of the gym without falling on your face. Ahhhh....I miss it all. A new gym just opened up in town, so I am going to check it out, too. They offer 24 hour access, so that will be very nice.

So internet, you get to keep me accountable. And to my lovely readers (all 7 of you!) I apologize in advance if this whole weight loss/ exercise talk gets tedious or boring. You'll still love me, right?

"Goals that are not written down are just wishes. "~ Unknown

Extreme Makeover: Career Edition

I forgot I took these, but I'm glad I did. On Friday, September 11, 2009, John was a normal, albiet somewhat dorky looking Wal-Mart worker*. "Meat Department, this is John. How can I help you?"

Then, almost as if by magic, the weekend transformed him into Agent John Bryant***. "Revenue Agent John Bryant speaking. How may I help you?" I think he cleans up rather nicely, don't you?

*If I EVER see another blue Dickie's workshirt, I will burn it. **

**Really, I will. Just watch.

***No, a flat tax won't solve the world's problems. Or put him out of a job. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Some Summer memories

Last week at this time, mother nature dumped about a foot of snow on North Texas. It was unreal! Aside from going to the mountain as a child, I have never seen that much snow! I should have taken some pictures. But alas, the memory card was full and the camera cord was nowhere to be found.

So I located the cord and downloaded the pictures that were taking up all the space. They really make me miss summer! Come back summer, come back!



Nothing beats small town 4th of July celebrations! Layton, Cameron, and Collin

I love Cam's face in this one!

Cam and Caitlyn hiding out in Grandpa's motorhome. Probably, hiding from Reed the sunflower seed spitter.

Uncle Layton and his 4 little summertime shadows.

Caleigh's birthday feast at Nanny's house.

Brandon, Cameron, Caitlyn, Collin, and Layton at Cameron's Survivorman birthday party.

Cameron's cake- he had to find it using his best survival skills.

Caitlyn acting like she can tolerate Caleigh. Just a couple of days after she tried to drown her in the Safford pool.

Brandon and Cameron getting ready for the 4th of July parade.

Cameron, Caleigh, and Nanny with Caleigh's birthday horsie.


Somewhere in West Texas. I think it's about where 10 turns into 20.

I just liked this one...

This little piggy...

***Not an actual picture of our piggies, but close!

These little piggies we adopted are funny.

The brown one is quite a bit bigger than the black one.
But the little black one has an ornery streak.
We introduced them today, and after spending the better part of the morning sniffing each other, eating hay together, and pooping on the floor together, I decided to move them to their cage.
Two pigs in one cage is a lot noisier than two pigs in two cages.
But it's also a lot more fun.
They mostly eat.
Then they wrestle.
And they squeak at each other a bit.
It's like having two boys who are 18 months apart.
The fighting.
The "seeing who's toughest".
The wrestling.
The companionship.
The love.
Awww...I think we'll keep them around.

Another month already?

It's been another month since my last blog post. Wow! I'm so awesome at this. Hmmm....what have we done this month? Last month was Collin's 8th birthday. It feels really weird to have an 8 year old. I think I wrote about his birthday in my last post.

The kids and I spent a week in Arizona for my younger sister's wedding. It was great to see everyone who was able to make it down. Arizona was hit with three major snow storms while we were out, so most of our family was snowed in. It was neat to look at the mountain after the snow storm. The snow line was right above the mesas at the base of Mt. Graham. Talk about breathtaking! I really wish I would have taken a picture! Erin was a beautiful bride, and I am so excited to watch her go through married life. Her husband is a really nice guy, and he is absolutely crazy about her.



Yesterday we celebrated Caitlyn's birthday. She is 5! It just amazes me how fast the time has gone. She is definitely a princess, a little hard headed and ornery, but sweet at the same time. We went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate with Grandpa Bryant, Aunt Erin, Uncle Craig, and Uncle Bart. I think Uncle Bart wants to get a cd (sorry, itune... cds are so 1990s!) with all the Chuck E Cheese music on it- he loved hearing Chuck E Cheese sing, especially after we had been there for two hours and the songs were on about their 7th rotation! Good thing he's a good sport because we stayed about another hour-and-a-half.

We also adopted two guinea pigs. One is a small black and white one, and the other is brown and white. They are adorable. The kids love them, especially Cameron. When I brought them home, the kids yelled, "Yeah! Our first pets that live in air!" Poor kids have only had fish their whole lives.

John is still liking his new job. He's been training for about 5 months now, and conducting examinations since the beginning of December. He says the best thing about the job is learning tax law and how to apply it to so many different situations. The worst thing is the constant paperwork.

Now I just need to find a job. I think I am going to work part time at the hospital, probably nights in admitting, then go to work with the school district when Caleigh goes to school. I'm about 90% sure she is our last child, so I want to stay home and cherish her babyhood, since I didn't do that with the other kids.

I guess that's our month in a nutshell!