Doing great!

November 11, 2020

Steadily losing about 1-2 pounds per week!  I've been non-stop since September in a fun way with my new job (I love it) and the kid's hockey program.  Currently, I am the smallest I have been in 3.5 years so I will take it.  Today, I am officially half way to my weightloss goal.  Despite covid, life is going good and the pandemic caused me to make some changes with my health and job.  I highly doubt if I would have changed if it wasn't for this occurring.  

I have been purging some items out of my closet and slowly wearing some old favorites.  I sold a basket of clothing to a local consignment store and made about $275.  Out with the old, in with the new!

241/212.2/165

 

Life is good!

September 9, 2020

Man, we got busy when we hit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when we were going for over two weeks in August.  We had a blast and I fell in love with Marquette and other various places up there. It's a must go back!  

I settled into my new school district and I'm still navigating that environment.  Hybrid classes started yesterday and you know what? I was not sworn at by a kid for the first time in 6 school years...hahah.  I think I was in shock as I wasn't prepared for such a thing.  I might actually get to do proactive social work for the first time in so many years.  You have to pinch me....as this doesn't seem real.  

I'm 45 today.  And 45 feels terrific.  I'm enjoying life.  For the first time in about 10+ years, I have the life that I want to have.  Everyone is healthy, happy, and we are having a blast despite covid.  I'm feeling blessed.  Great friends, loving family, and have my shit somewhat together.  I'll stay in this moment and enjoy it...as time is ever fleeting.  241/219.6/170

 

Eight Weeks of Weightloss

241/223.8/170

I'm having way too much fun in my closet...

I have to say, I'm having way too much fun in my closet.  I'm a bargain hunter so when I find a great sale online, I pick it up.  Well here are some goodies I picked up last year.  I'm having way too much fun with it.  

Today was an emotional one, I packed my office, shredded old charts, and got some ready for storage.  I cried three times.  I need to go.  I am truly done and have nothing to offer them.  They need someone younger, fresher, eager, and less jaded as I was afraid to attach.  The funny thing is that I found my replacement.  It sounds like she will be a great match and her former students love her.  She just has to move to Kalamazoo because she is getting married.  I wish her all the luck!  Losing 30-50% of staff and students every year does a toll on you.  Where I am heading is a small town that takes pride so I am excited to be there, if we can just get past COVID.  Argh...

We are heading up north for two weeks to the upper peninsula.  Chris decided that he needed a vacation so we are doing a spur of the moment trip.  I initially freaked out about it with all of the changes but I'm going to roll with this one.  I'm excited and we will be off the grid for a bit.  Hiking, biking, kayaking, etc.  He deserves this vacation!  240/225/170

Week 6 and 7 progress pictures...

Week 5 progress pictures

June 16, 2020

Wow, the last 1.5 weeks have gone by quickly.  I resigned from my job yesterday and I will be moving into a different district.  I'm jumping so that I can work with my old friends and have more staff stability.  At my school we lose between 30-60% of staff every year.  Last fall I had 5 out of my 7 special education providers quit from September - December.  I have a truly wonderful boss, great special education supervisor, and a few close coworkers but it's time for me to move.  I found myself losing some zest and my lead role was more emphasizing macro social work vs micro.  I'm not into putting presentations together.  I enjoy the mechanics of coaching.  Also turning 45 soon, I am needing to think about how the next 20 years will go.  We all know that 20 years go quickly.  For example, look at this blog.  It's origins began in 1999.  Time flies quickly...I was 23 when I started to write, I'm 44 now.  I need to think about retirement and choices.  Time truly evaporates, even during COVID.  My undergrad college has a new FB page about memories and they asked to do side by sides.  22 vs 44 is pretty awesome.  I like where I am at, I like where I am heading.  It may be scary but it will be alright.

The nutritionist has help me through stress eating.  I've been dropping weight nicely and they are helping me through this time of transition.  I am not one to deal well with change.  Wired in anxiety, I'm always headed towards cognitive distortions.  Sometimes that gets exhausting but I'm not turning to food.  

241/226.6/170

Anniversary...

July 3, 2020

Went to see my folks the other day and nabbed this picture.  Today marks their 50th wedding anniversary!  So congrats to my mom and dad.  I am said that we cannot give them the party that they deserve but we will be all together tonight when we go up there to Clare to see them.  Their town has fireworks but we will watch it from the comfort of their house as I say no thanks to being around a mass of people.  I want to not get COVID.

The interview went today.  We will see how it goes.  I am not too sure how well I did except that I did the best I could.  I haven't interviewed for six years so it was a tad nerve wrecking but I feel I did okay.  There are not too many resumes like mine floating around.  

I'm at the smallest I have been today in over a year.  Lets keep this down trend moving!  I plan on packing my food so I can eat there.  Hopefully it won't be a challenge. 241/227.6/170

Progress Pictures!

July 2, 2020

Progress pictures!  So far so good.  Things are trucking away with the weightloss plan !  I was actually able to buckle the pants yesterday.  I know that things are working!!! Woot Woot 241/228.4/170

Distract...

June 30, 2020

I used some heavy distract skills today.  Governor announced the plans for the fall.  Currently, Kalamazoo is in the phase 4 section of Michigan yet Grand Rapids is in the phase 3.  If we continue in phase 3 in Kalamazoo, we can return to school as normal.  It will be interesting how it plays out as with everything in life, I'm not too sure where I will be.  It's slightly nerve racking but I will see how it will play out.  My friend is going to quiz me on the way up to GR on Thursday as she's a hiring manager at the hospital so it will be great practice.  I'm bailing on lunch with a friend as I don't want to be in GR twice that day.  We are figuring out when I can have lunch with them again.  Maybe the week of the 13th? I haven't seen them since Ian's birthday back in March but it's good.  I kind of got sick of the crap they were giving me back in December so space is good.  We co hosted a huge Christmas party that had about 50 people and the next weekend after our party, that had another one but smaller and didn't invite us because well....I was struggling at Christmas time.  I always struggle at Christmas. Argh...

Today I'm in an Ann Taylor Loft sz 16 curvy pants and a XL Lauren Conrad shirt. Found both at Goodwill. I love thrifting.  I am really digging Ann Taylor Loft.  I've recently discovered their clothing after a phenomenal $8 sale per top and $12 per dress.  Picked up a few items. Scent of my day is Vanilla Anise by Jo Malone.  I'm obsessed with Jo Malone.  Mercari is helping me pick up some instead of paying full price.  I need to stop but I love this distinctive scents.

Eating is kicking ass.  I am doing better than I ever had.  Why did I not try this years ago is beyond me? I'm at the lowest I have been in months.  241/228/170  

Geocaching today!

June 28, 2020

Great weekend!  We went out geocaching today at Yankee Springs.  Chris and I haven't been there since 2005? 2006? So we decided to do some hiking, geocaching, and biking out there today.  We had an absolute blast.  The cache's were unique and Ian had a blast finding the caches.  We hiked about 3 miles and biked about 6 so not a bad day at all.  I appreciate that there's shade and it's a tad cooler out of the sun.

We have been doing more geocaching as Chris picked up a new GPS when we were supposed to be in Europe so at least we are making some use out of it.  I can't wait to show Ian some mountains.  He would love it.  They are still going on Weblo's camping coming up so he may get some experience there in August but we will see.  Any exposure to elevation, Ian is on it.  If we didn't have Covid times, I would so have him into some climbing.

Things are doing great with the weightloss.  I'm digging the variety as I'm actually eating fresh fruit now.  I am totally addicted to fresh cherries.  The Washington cherries from Costco are perfectly ripe and juice.  I look forward to my fruit time! Tonight we are having some dinner with our friends who are professors at Western.  She is Chinese some dumplings are coming my way!  I have it computed how many I can have so I'm mindful to not over do it.  She knew that Ian loves her dumplings as when he was last hanging with his friend, he asked her if she could make him some.  She's like "come on over for dinner some Sunday!" and so after biking yesterday, she invited us.  Ian has known them since he's been 1.5 so it's nice to watch their kids and Ian grow up together.  The little girl has such a crush on Ian.  It's adorable.  Also it's nice that we can maintain the relationship even through they are in different school districts. 

I'm having some non scale victories and I'm enjoying it.  I slid on a dress I last wore for my birthday and it looks terrific.  I can zip it up with no issues!  Woot Woot though I have no place to wear it. 

240/228.8/170

Progress!

June 27, 2020

Happy Saturday!  We are going out biking with our friends this morning and tonight we are social distancing with some friends around a camp fire tonight.  Which will be awesome.  We haven't seen our campfire friends since January but it doesn't feel like it's been that long.  Crazy to think how time is flying lately.  Everyday seems to be bleeding into the next.  I don't feel like I have earned this 6 month break.  It's definitely something.  There no normal here yet.  Everything feels so darn odd.  I'm longing for some camping as we haven't been since last year.  We are going in a few weeks to Saginaw so that will be nice.  I'm stalking the Michigan DNR site for camping next weekend but I don't think we will be successful.  We were supposed to be in Europe so we have zero reservations.  Arg!

Things are plugging away with the weight loss.  I'm seeing some major results.  I love the program and seeing the scale going down.  The check ins with the nutritionist 3x per week is wonderful.  It's time for me to reflect on my choices and discuss if I had any struggles.  So far, so good!  I'm doing my measurements on July 2nd so I'm excited to see the progress.  I will soon be able to button these pants!  I cannot wait!

240/229.2/170

Almost 10 pounds down...

June 22, 2020

Woot woot, down a total of 10 pounds almost!  I am loving this program.  I was able to push through some pressure of not eating cake this past weekend for Fathers Day.  Proud of myself for not eating it or drinking one of my brother in laws tasty dirty martini's.  We headed north to see my folks and stayed the night with my sister.  We met up at a park, had a picnic, and then my sister and I sat with my mom on her back porch while Chris and the guys went fishing at the local dam.  A good time was had by all!

I swear, IUD's are the biggest pain in the bottom.  I've been spotting for 7 days now.  It's so irritating plus the hormones.  It's like "oh my goodness".  I'm so sensitive today.  I hate it.  I also notice that a week prior to spotting, I retained water horribly.  I miss the days where my cycle was a short 4 days and in/out as this is the total pits.  I'm wondering if I will have my full blown period or is this the new norm now.  Grrrr….hopefully this will stop soon as this is the total pits.

It was a quiet day today.  I slowly attacked our room and put things away.  I'm going to work about an hour a day to get things done.   I've had 3 months and I've been totally unmotivated.  Ian got his haircut today at Sport Clips and it is looking quite awesome.  I am super impressed how the stylist cut his hair.  He is really looking good!

240/231.4/170

Woot woot!

I’m officially the smallest I have been in months.  I got an IUD back in the fall and since then, I noticed the weight was creeping up slowly.  The plan is awesome so far, I feel full and zero leg cramps.  Typically my legs will cramp up when I attempt to lose weight but not this time.  So win win!  Last night I chilled with my friend at her place.  We typically hook up once a week to visit.  We used to have drinks but she had a tall glass of ice water waiting for me yesterday.  She’s lost 80 pounds so she knows how it goes.  She’s super excited too that the gyms are opening up here in Michigan next Thursday.  I’m still doing my zoom workouts until they don’t offer them.  I’ve been Uber protective of Chris as he has diabetes and severe asthma.  Last spring I almost lost him

from double lung pneumonia. He passed out in Detroit when we were at the state championship for Ian’s pinewood derby.  All I have to say is that was scary as hell so he’s only been out a few times during the past 3.5 months.  He’s supposed to be in the office possibly in July as the hospital has kept their IT department home.

I bought my first miniskirt.  It’s a Good American skirt sz 16 and Madewell XXL shirt. It’s adorable!

We are heading north later for Fathers Day.  We are staying with my sister and brother in law.  His dad is dying of cancer so they went to see him this morning.  It’s sad.  He worked his whole life and right after his retirement he found out.  They are trying to maximize their time with him.  Chris’s parents are in Detroit like usual.  His parents are enmeshed with his sister so nothing new there.  We had a fallout with his sister at Christmas two years ago so I have no time for her.  It was over us inviting our best friend over for Christmas Eve night and dinner.  They had a meltdown and berated us for hours.  Chris sat silent and I was direct with all his sister and her family.  It was bound to happen, it was building for years.  I door shut so I have zero room in my life for bullshit or fakeness. 

240/231.8/170

Indiana....

We just got back today from Turkey Run in Marshall, Indiana.  I have to say it was an amazing trip. We were able to do about 6 miles on the trail there.  If it wasn’t for my Boot Camp, I’m sure I would’ve been toast. Bear crawls are never my favorite when we have to do them and I typically balk But I was able to maneuver around with no issues. After all of that hiking, I wasn’t even sore today. This is a huge gain for me!  All that dedication for the past three years have paid off. Chris and I originally went when we were first married. Somehow I blocked the memory of the trails, and just remembered him falling down a ravine and the hotel itself.  The kids really enjoyed it too. Chris noted that it brought back family memories of when his parents brought him there as a child. It’s a must go back to place.  It’s only a four hour trip down there from Kalamazoo so it’s easily accessible. I did well at food logging the whole time.   Though,  I’m not too sure how much I weigh today.  We will see tomorrow at weigh in!  Originally we were going to pack and food and I was going to cook on the air fryer but we decided to just eat at the lodge for the convenience. I made great choices and counted everything. I even contained myself around gummy bears from when we stopped at the Albanese factory outlet.

I’m still dragging my feet on my resume and plan on getting that done next week. I just needed to take a step back from it because I hate doing resumes.  I’ve been doing some junking at the beginning of the week and found some more treasures. It’s amazing what I’ve been finding antique wise in I’ll be able to have my she shed mastered soon. I’m going to put an antique table out there and have some other items in there. It has electricity so I am completely hooked up.  I also found some stuff to restore such as a record table and a wicker chair. It’s such a blast finding treasures for myself and others. I found a light for a friend and a chest for another friend. I also found a retro Christmas tree for another friend. To see the joy on their faces is such a delight!  

Below is my first goal outfit.  It's a pair of sz 34 Paige Jeans and a size XL on the top that I picked up cheap from Nordstrom.  I'm hoping to fit into this prior to a party in August that I'm going to with Chris.  We are seeing some friends that I haven't seen since January.  Miss them and it would be awesome to be a tad slimmer.

June 13, 2020

This year did not end the school year with the usual amount of closure.  It's always so rewarding to give those

 last goodbye's for the school year but yesterday wasn't like that at all. That's okay, it is what it have no idea how the fall will flow.  I have no clue on what to expect at all.  There's three choices Michigan and I have no idea how two of them will be sustainable.  

We went to a drive in movie last night and it was rewarding.  Trying to get the kid out of the house was like pulling nails.  We got to the park where they were showing the movie and they greeted us with popcorn and had us park in the soccer field.  From there we travelled out and got some time down at the lake and played some baseball for about an hour.  The kid loves baseball and seeing how he has improved since the winter workshop is exciting.  We joked about him playing for the local high school when he got older and he loved that idea.  We sat and watched the movie then joked on how corny it was.  Every time it broke out in song, we busted out laughing.  Tonight we are heading to another drive in movie to watch The Lion King where our local baseball team plays.  We figured for $30, why not? We will see how this goes.

I got to spend some time with a friend and we did some shopping together.  It was great to be back in a store.  I was impressed with how they did the temperature checks and informed us on how to shop.  I picked up a few things for 30% so I'm going to see if they will work.  It's worth a try at 30%.

We are leaving for Indiana next week.  Looking forward to it.  We are leaving when we were supposed to be on a plane to Rome...yeah...missing out on our 2.5 Italy and France trip totally blows.  Maybe eventually...but man, that would have been awesome!  Maybe next year on in 2022.

241/235/170

Head hunted and another day of junking...

June 5, 2020

Whoa...got head hunted today.  Wasn't expecting it as the school budgets are being cut next year in Michigan.  It's for a district where I can be with my friends who left my school as we were part of a dream team.  We will see.  It's worth checking out even though I hate change but yet change is the only constant, right?!  I need to work on my resume though this weekend as the job will post on Monday.  Went out walking with my friend who works in the district and weighed the pros/cons with her.  I've been at my school since the 2014-2015 school year and I am one of the individuals who have the most amount of seniority as my staff can rotate between 30-50% each school year.

I went out junking again today and found a hose plus a hose reel box.  I'm amazed by what people throw out.  The hose reel box is selling for $100 at Lowe's.  It's in perfect condition and the hose works too.  Yesterday, Chris was like "Kellie, go find me a hose".  I didn't know if I would find something but I did right away.  It was like, SCORE!  I'll take a $120 savings.

Eating was terrific today.  I'm down a total of 6.2 pounds.  I ran the calories in My Fitness Pal and it's around 1200 calories/125 protein/76 carbs/8 fiber/31 g of fat.  I don't feel hungry right now so I'll take it.  I did my zoom workout and walked for an hour with my friend tonight.  

Looking forward to weekend to do some more hiking and getting ready for next weekend when we are in Indiana.  I feel pretty confident with the hiking but I like to feel fully prepared.  Chris and I haven't been there since 2005.  We figure the kid will get a kick out of it.

240/234.8/170

Oh the love of junking...

June 4, 2020

You know besides a great garage sale what my favorite thing to do is for free? Junk!  The great thing about living in Kalamazoo is that they do periodic clean up days where you can throw anything out and it will  disappear!  I've been junking since I was young.  Growing up in metro Detroit when you no longer wanted an item, you would just toss it to the curb where someone would pick it up possibly on trash day.  Truly one person's trash is another's treasure.  Today I found pure joy in finding 4 pots of pansies, 2 shutters, a chair, and two bright blue chairs.  I threw them in my front to create a front yard oasis.  Part of the appeal of our neighborhood is the amount of walkers that our neighborhood has.  It was a nice change of scenery tonight to pull Chris out and just chill.

I had a pretty active day.  Did my usual zoom workout and then met up with my friend Shannon for a walk.  Prior to COVID, I saw her every day Monday - Friday.  Not seeing her for almost 3 months was awful.  I chatted with her the other day and I asked her if she wanted to walk and she was game.  While we were on the trail we ran into another gym friend and it felt terrific to meet up.  It's like our crew is almost back together again. That family feel gets me to the gym everyday faithfully.  Next Monday they are having workouts at the park so I'm looking forward to that.  I'm ready!

Today I went into the clinic and got to learn the program a tad more.  It actually makes since that I have been eating wrong essentially my whole life.  They are going to have me eat more veggies/fruits and simple starches.  So far I'm down 5.8 in water weight since Tuesday.  I felt I was retaining water....now I know!  It will be different pushing a ton of veggies and fruit but this is the time of year to do so since everything is in season.

241/235.2/170

Daily Ramblings...

June 3, 2020

Trying to keep my focus today.  I've learned that I cannot bounce between school and work very well at home.  Chris is in IT as a DBA at the local hospital and he's in his glory.  He is hoping that he doesn't need to go into the office ever again! He is a true introvert.  Me on the other hand...I've always viewed myself as an introvert...oh, hell no.  I just need my battery recharged when I've been around too many others.  Lately, I've been walking our neighborhood with a friend, then social distancing visits with other friends, and patio sessions with my bestie on the weekend.  Last weekend my bestie and I went up to Grand Rapids to help clean up the riot mess.  I drove by the old house there and it looks terrific.  It was therapeutic as I haven't seen it since 2016.  I love my current old home and it's been the best choice we have made.  Our son gets the Kalamazoo Promise, Chris moved into IT at the local hospital, and I'm happy to be in an old home with soul.

Only one more week of school until I can pack up my office for the school year.  The sad thing about this year was COVID and the lack of closure with the students.  They will be doing pick up for the students next Wednesday.  We picked up our son's items from school yesterday in a large school trash bag.  The teachers were able to give waves in the car to him.  This totally stinks.  I'm sad for so many things as remote learning was a challenge.  I was tied up doing socio-emotional learning.  His schedule got confusing as all heck.  

Day 2 of the structured eating plan.  I met with a dietitian on Monday.  I needed a change.  I'm at my highest ever.  I've been doing Boot Camp for 3 years so my measurements are better than in the past but still, I got sick of just getting bigger since last summer.  I got an IUD in last fall and since then my weight continues to inch up.  I started tracking my calories back in May but despite eating between 1300-1500, I was gaining.  That was so irritating.  They are putting me on a structured eating plan.  I started on Tuesday and so far so good.  I excel at structured eating plans except when we socialize so I'll need to work on that.  I am going to maximize on this time of limited socialization.  We have been talking walks in the local nature preserves to get some movement because we have a mini trip planned next week, as we are hitting a park in Indiana to hike and stay in their lodge.  We need to get away as we were supposed to be on a plane to visit Europe.  We were going to do 3 weeks in Italy and France.  We had some major fun planned.  Maybe next year?  It was going to be a trip of a lifetime.  It was going to be our family and Chris's best friend Karen.  So here's to things calming down.  241/237/170

 

 Why hello there...missed you.  I’m 44 now...far from the 22 year old who started this journey back in 1999.  Life is amazingly good despite COVID...so much to chat about.  Lots of adventures, way too much fun.