Traveling and eating healthy...

One thing about travelling is the challenge of eating healthy. It's almost like you just want to go with the notion of " hey I'm on vacation who cares about eating?". Yeah, it's good to indulge some but you have to pay the price when you get home. Plus eating out gets really boring after a while. What we have been doing the last few years is that we pack breakfast, lunch is usually a sandwich and fruit, and dinner can be a stop at a grocery store or out but at least it's planned. Having a plan is good :)

Backpacking pizza and Pad Thai on the trail?

Who says that trail foods need to be boring? We practiced making backpacking pizza and Pad Thai tonight and it turned out terrific. Who says that trail food has to be nasty? Chris successfully dehydrated pizza sauce last night and he was able to whip up some pizza on the backpacking stove. Amazing! I never knew we could cook like this. He's just giving me trouble for making him eating oatmeal in the morning but I keep on telling him I'm going to jazz it up with some berries, cinnamon, milk, and some nuts.

I can't wait. I'm getting more and more excited. Today I looked at a coworkers map of the US and we are hitting a ton of states. I'm so ready for a vacation! Only a little while more. Thank goodness I have a hubby that likes to travel :)

My workouts have been strong and I've been working on the treadmill a ton to get ready. I'm at a 15 incline walking 3.0 right now (which is terrific for me). That will prepare us for the Narrows at Zion. Watch out...here I come :) Here are some sights on where we are doing some major hiking. Thank God we have been working out for a year now! Yup, it feels great to be active!

It's not a good idea to...

We're gearing up for our trip within the next month so we've been trying to dry our own food. Yeah, there's a bunch of commercially foods out there but they are loaded down with sodium so Chris had the idea of drying the food after doing some reading about it. Well, it's a great concept but man, it's difficult. In my attempt to make organic peach roll ups, they turned out horrible. Chris has been attempting to dry up some eggs so we can have scrambled eggs out in the back country but so far, no luck.

I'm getting so excited for our trip. It's going to be awesome. We got our bear canister in the mail on Friday so we will be safer. We are going into bear country so it didn't help matters that we watch Timothy Treadwells Grizzly Man last night. Yeah, that was great timing :(

We are this close to....

Vacation!!! Yup, just a while more but we are almost there! The count down is on :) It's going to be an awesome time. Chris booked a room at the Bellagio for one night while we are out west. He figured that we are going to be close to Vegas so why not go? It's an awesome feeling to know that a terrific vacation is going to happen soon :) The one thing I love about Chris is that he likes to get off his butt and explore. This vacation is going to be packed with exploring. We're tenting, backpacking, hiking, geocaching, and doing the things we love to do. Within the month, we will be out of here!

Cherry picking...

The one benefit of living in Michigan is the availability of fresh fruit. I'm loving the fresh cherries and blueberries that we are able to access. Chris and I went cherry picking last night and had a blast. I love this time of year!!!

Life is good. I've made it to the top of one climbing wall and almost to the top of the other. Weight is stagnant at this time but hopefully that is going to change. We still need to get back on track but we're almost there (that is, Chris and I). We just need to track our food. The workouts continue to be strong.

It's a hot one today...

Working out this morning, Chris and I wonder how in the heck do people run in this type of weather? There would be no way that I could or would do that. It's a hot 93 degrees today with some humidity going on. This type of weather reminds me when I lived in KY. I found that weather to be awful down there. It was like I couldn't even go outside in the summer when I lived there. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

I'm still doing some slopping eating. This accountability thing has got to get back on track because I've been sloppy. Last weekend was probably the worst eating I've done in a long time...I was throwing back a few drinks at a wedding we went to so it was like, "Geez, Kellie!". That's not like me either but I got hooked on Vernors and Captain Morgans. Vernors is a Michigan ginger ale that is an acquired taste but it is so good so I had about 3. Yeah, not a good choice there. I totally didn't care what I was doing in that moment. I had that "it's free booze so let's celebrate!" mode going on. I'm shaking my head at myself right now (I'm feeling like I'm confessing all my sins). I did manage to have some self control but I've got to get back into the groove. On a positive note, my clothes are fitting terrific on me. All my hard work at the gym is paying off and I'm still wearing clothes that I would not wear normally at this weight. I've got the gym under control, now I just need to stop the snacking. It's stalling me...

Trying to figure things out..

Ever go through a phase in life trying to figure things out? That's me right now. I'm seriously looking at what needs to change for the better. I got out of Weight Watchers last week after hearing about two members that started in January lost 30 pounds...I want that. I need to figure out why it's not there for me yet. What's my hang up? It seems like I'm always stuck between the committed and relapse phase. It's not that I relapse when it comes to exercise but not writing down what I eat is a major issue. I need to do that better. It's like I have a strong couple of days then bam, I get busy and fail to log things. I know what I am doing and I need to keep my goal in perspective, even when it feels so far away.

The other phase is people in my life. I just don't get people anymore. Maybe I never got them. Why are people so strange, not up front, or just simply not truthful? I have no place in my life for gossipers, liars, etc. Are there any good friends out there anymore? I'm so not blessed in this area. I'm okay with that but it truly sucks when a friend screws you over. Humm, that sucks. Do I have a bad friend magnet or what?

I've been coming this close to...

I've been coming this close to buying an iphone for myself. I love Chris's iphone and all the applications. Apple is offering the 8G Iphone for $79 refurbished. The only thing that has been keeping me from buying it is the data plan cost. Chris gets a discount from work for the phones but paying the additional money out a month is still keeping me from purchasing it. I love the WW mobile site and it's super convient. I've gone back to tracking my food carefully this week so hopefully I will see that scale move. Paper tracking hasn't been too good for me lately so I've gone back to tracking online again. I guess what ever works but I just need to track!

Nice weekend...

It's the summer time and we are getting busy! Between weekends at the boat on Lake Michigan and visiting with friends and family, we are running. It's a nice running though. I love the summer! Life is good. We're busy every weekend this month. We have a wedding, fathers day celebration, and a mini camping trip. You can't beat that.

Excercise is going good but I have to firm up on the nurtrion. I'll keep plugging away. I'm wearing clothes that I couldn't fit into 3 years ago, which is amazing. Everything is paying off!

Sleep is important...

I occasionally participate in the oncall rotation at work and this week has been a whopper. Not fun, I was up for 40 hours without sleep which is definitely, not good. Every time I would get snuggled in for a rest, the pager would go off. I never recognized how important sleep is until an experience like this.

I had a strong weigh in this week. 2.8 pounds down! Nice! I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm packing my lunch for work and that has been helping. I love those Arnold thins and I put some natural peanut butter on there from Koeze (which is local from Grand Rapids) and some low sugar jam that I found at Big Lots from somewhere in Europe. Then I pack a greek yogurt or Kefir from Costco, and have some fruit. I can eat on the go with no problems or worries about what I am going to eat. As usual the Weight Watcher meetings have been absolutely phenomenal this year. I look forward to going and get a lot out of the meetings. It's a nice reminder why I am doing this and sticking to my weight loss. It's slow but worth it. I love the feeling of putting on jeans that I haven't been able to wear in ages.

I've been struggling to get our garden put in this year. Last year, I was able to put it in around late April but this year it looks like it will go in some time this weekend. Hopefully, we'll be able to put it in today. We bought a ton of plants last weekend and I'm eager to get it going. I'm going to plant less lettuce this year and have more squash. We'll see how it turns out.

Life continues to be nice and smooth. I'm taking off a whole week in a few weeks to just relax and start my summer off nicely. I'm really looking forward to that.

Nice to see...

I only made it until 10 pm last night but it was great to see that Jerry won the at home Biggest Loser contest. He definetly showed America that he could lose the weight at age 64. Good for him! It was an interesting season and I'm looking forward to the next round of contestants. This show never gets old for me...yet.

Doing great here. We're taking a climbing class and it's amazing. I burn about 450 calories a class. Who knew that climbing a wall would burn so many calories!

Thanks!

Thanks for your support. I guess I need to look at my options about this with a clearer head. What it boils down to is that maybe I just need to stick to my boundaries and share some stuff but maybe omit the details of we are joining this group or we are going here....etc. A few of you have been with me ten years, that's a while. Why should I just give up? I guess I need to look at it as if stalker is going to be there, he is there but I can be smarter about it. So I think I am going to be back but just be a little bit more intelligent about it and not share some details. I guess everyone needs to have experience like this to learn an imporant lesson as in share some information but not everything.

It's a good day. I'm wearing a pair of capris that I haven't been able to fit in since 2005. Life is good. Thanks for being there and I have a clearer head. I'm on my way to my goals and nothing is going to stop me now because I am centered.

Goodbye, Farewell!

Dear Stalker

Thanks for making the right decision with my husband. That was very nice of you. I'm tired of your games. First you joined urbanplanet, then meetup, then the YMCA now the sushi group. If you were truly Chris's "friend" you would have respected him more by stopping the stalking of me. If you wanted to know what he was doing, you should have asked him instead of just coming on my site and peering into our life. So it's nice to know that you will be out of his life. A huge thank you to you! The appropriate people know about this and if anything slanderous was to occur, there would be appropriate action taken.


Dear readers

As you have seen, I do have a stalker. It used be a couple who Chris and I were close with but two years ago, I distanced myself from them due to certain behaviors. During the past year or more, the husband has been on my site frequently, in order to ensure that he is no longer taking tabs on my life, I'm done with the site. Thanks for your support. If you are an oldie, you know where to reach me.

Kellie

Everything always works out in the long run...

We were not able to go on the hike this weekend. Bolton got another UTI and we had to cancel because he is on antibotics. Poor kitty! We're going to switch his diet so hopefully that will help. We spent Tuesday night in the vet hospital and that was very interesting. There was one guy who had a beautiful lab that had blockage and he was losing weight because he ate something bad like a tennis ball and the dog was skin and bones because he was not eating. The guy was complaining because he didn't have the money for the procedure. I don't want to know what was going to happen to the dog. There was another couple in their with their cat and they spent about $2K on their cat saving his life because of blockage. Hopefully, we will not have to go that route with Bolton. It's funny that when you know something is going on with your animal. He said to cry again and we're like "oh no" so instead of waiting another day, we just took him in. So no trip. We'll get with them again in the future. There's always another trip.


Drum roll [please]...I'm down to 180 this week! So I'm on a good roll again. I talked with Ryan last week about my ups and downs and he encouraged me to look at my work out again and get that heart rate up. I've been getting on the treadmill the last week at 15 incline walking 2.9. That really gets my heart rate up. Then I did the kettle ball and that is a super workout. Chris noted that he was getting bored with the workouts so he's been following me. Hopefully, he will get out of the funk. I was able to fit into my size 14 shorts which is terrific. I need to get rid of my 16's because they are too big!

We were going to go out to Chris's cousins boat in Holland, off of Lake Michigan but the weather is not looking good today. Chris was going to help Mike put up the sail but with the 40mph wind gusts, they are like no way. I need to find some good support because when I saw our sushi picture on facebook, I thought "oh no I need some new bra's" because I have the tendency to lose weight in my chest first first. I have some gift certificate at Macy's so maybe I will be able to find some there. I really hate Macy's though. I loved Hudson's which turned into Marshall Fields. Macy's tends to be overpriced and carry expensive clothes that don't have the quality that I loved with Hudson's/Marshall Fields. Chris's parents are going to come up and check out the new doors so it will be nice to see them. Then we're off to the Polish Halls because it's halfway to Pulaski Day's...it's a Grand Rapids thing were all the polish halls are open. I love Polish food! We'll take care all-Kellie

PS. You are so funny stalker! Must you join everything that we do? Come on, now, this is really taking the cake on this one. Sushi? Since when did you like sushi? You're a meat and tators guy. Give it up...stop the stalking. Are you planning on hunting down which group we go backpacking with? Maybe you need to chat with someone about that because it's not nice to stalk people. So why are you still talking to Chris, huh? Show my husband a little more respect than just doing this.

So my computer decided to take a dump...

On Sunday, my computer took a dump. Argh! I had it for about six years and I loved it. It was a HP Media Center computer with a huge hard drive and it had a tv tuner which acted as a DVR. Luckily, we did not lose anything because everything was backed up on the new external HD that we bought around Christmas or I would have really freaked out. Once you lose pictures of family events, it's semi traumatic. When the drive took a dump about 3 years ago, we lost wedding shots so it was awful but we didn't back things up because I never had to until then. It was a good lesson to learn. We browsed the ads and decided to hit Costco, Sams, Best Buy, Office Depot, and Office Max. After some investigation, we found the perfect computer at Sams. It has everything on it and it was $200 cheaper at Sams than Best Buy. So we got it. This morning is the first morning that I get to play with it because I have the day off today :) So far, so good. I got a lot of use out of that old computer so hopefully, this one will last as long. The one thing I hate about buying new electronics from stores is the question, "Do you want a warranty with that?". Even at Sams it was this high pressure pitch about needing a warranty. All I have to say is that if it fails, it fails. Having a cashier pressuring me into a warranty and reminding the money we're spending on the product doesn't help either. Maybe if they had a softer sales pitch I would be more apt to buy it but once the pitch is given, I'm shuttering away. Even if it is a good option. I just don't trust people like that.

Things are going good here. We had a terrific weekend filled with a bunch of activities. Saturday we worked out with Ryan so that is all good. It's amazing how many calories you can burn with a trainer just doing strength work. Then we were off to a 5K at a local brewery benefiting the Special Olympics. We had a great time with a coworker and her crew. Then we were off to Home Depot to buy some paint. We need to paint the foyer so we picked out a new color. We're looking forward to painting that. Then Chris joined a Grand Rapids group on facebook so we met up with them and had a great time. It was great to meet some new people and they were different from our usual type of people we are used to hanging yet we fully enjoyed ourselves. We are looking forward to next months meet up. Then on Sunday we raced around town trying to find a computer. So overall, it was a great weekend. We are differently working on out goal of getting out and meeting other people. We both tend to be a tad shy on warming up to new people but it's always good to put yourself out of your comfort zone.

We have our trip to the North Country Trail coming up so we're looking forward for that. 21 miles of backpacking! Yikes, it's been a while since my pack has been on my back so hopefully I will not be killing myself :) We looking forward to the trip a great deal. I'll be sure to take some pictures of the experience. I hear it's an awesome trail. Chris has been fooling with our new camping stove to see what the water boiling times are to ensure that we have enough gas. We're going to attempt to cook on the trail with some fresh ingredients instead of boring old freeze dried food which is usually higher in price and not as tasty plus it's full of sodium. We checked out some books from the library on cooking for backpacking so hopefully I will find some good recipes.

One feeling I hate no matter what is the feeling of going into a weight watchers meeting knowing that a gain has occurred. I can spin it all want but I gained this week. It is my fault. My accountability continues to be on the poor side with tracking my foods. I've been totally sloppy. It continues to be my laziness that I have not been tracking. I know what I need to do and I need to get back there nutritional wise. My workouts are amazing. It's just been my lack of time with preparing meals ahead of time and not writing things down. I have to stop freaking out about it and do something about it because focusing on what I am not doing well is not going to help the problem, it's jut going to make things much worse. So with that, I am up a pound. Second week in a row. We've all been in this situation and once we come out of it, its amazing but it totally stinks. At least I know what I need to do. Now I just need to get to it. Take care all-Kellie

That was a super fast weekend..

I think we overdid ourselves this past weekend. It was amazing but it was so tiring. Chris wanted to buy some hiking boots for our big trip coming up in a few weeks so we went into East Lansing home of Michigan State University to pick up some boots at one of our favorite stores called Moosejaw. They fit him properly and he was able to pick up some sweet Scarpa boots for 30% off. He definitely needed a pair of boots because the last hike we went on, his big toe was getting smashed. This wouldn't be good if it happened on our trip. Since we were in Lansing, we decided that we were so close to Detroit, we should just hit it again. One of our favorite breweries called the Motor City Brewing Works had a blueberry mead on tap so we wanted to try it out and it was terrific. We also hit Ikea and Trader Joes. As much as I love Trader Joes, I'm sickened by the vast amounts of people that lack the manners in the store. This is the reoccurring theme in the stores. People stumbling over each other, bumping into others, cutting, etc. Argh, it gets me going. Then on Sunday, Chris made the lamb on the grill and we took it down to his folks in Kalamazoo. We spent the day there and came home late last night. We did too much because our sleep last night was rough!

Speaking of our trip, Chris has it planned. We're going to hit Utah, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona. We're going to attempt to climb Longs Peak so that is going to be a huge challenge. In order to get prepared for the trip, we're going to start taking local trips that push the intensity. It's kind of hard when you live amongst the flat land but it's doable. We're also going to take a rockclimbing course at the YMCA to burst my confidence level with climbing so that I will be able to make strategic decisions when I need to. It's something that I've always wanted to do but it's way out of my comfort zone.

Drum roll [please] I gained .6 this time. I was relaxed with journalling so I have to recommit to it. When we were at Chris's folks, I used the iphone so this helped with tracking foods. I just need to get over this slump. My clothes are fitting so much better. I was able to wear a pair of pants yesterday that couldn't get over my thighs six months ago. I'll take that! I just need to strengthen my accountability because I went over some. Yesterday I really did well at controlling myself with the snacks so I'm impressed. I focused on eating a few shrimp cocktails and leaving the yummy bread alone. I will be one with my journal this week :) Take care all-Kellie

The only thing about working out in the morning...

The only thing about working out in the morning is that every morning I am up at 5am! Body, could you at least sleep in once in a while? Today I was up at 5am all ready to start my day. Yikes!

Things are going great here. I spent the whole day organizing my kitchen and bathroom. I thought I would actually get more accomplished yesterday than I did but that's okay. I have 2 completely clean rooms now :) I started to organize the dormer but it got a little overwhelming so I'm going to need Chris's help. I need to get rid of some stuff and I need help taking it down. I've got a ton of old textbooks that need to go and I'm not too sure what I need to do with them. I'm keeping my favorites but what do I do with the rest? I don't want to toss them. I was thinking I could recycle them but I'm not sure if they will take old text books. Clothing is another area that I need to let go. I have that sentimental trait of, "Oh, I wore that when"...I know I need to let it go but man, why do I do this? I think this whole organizational task is definitely going to last more than 1 day. I think it's going to take a whole week to sort through the stuff properly :( it has to get done. Well, I got to hit WW. Take care all-Kellie

New doors!

They are simply amazing!! My 1930s Sears and Roebuck home is singing tonight because it's looking terrific. Now we just have to get the rest of the windows replaced and new siding. It just takes time and money but it's nice to see what a difference the new doors make :)

I love a four day week :)

I'm working four days this week. Two down, two more to go!!! Thank goodness we still get Good Friday off because it always comes at the perfect time of year. I'm going to spend my Friday cleaning out my dormer and getting stuff ready for a garage sale. Now, I'm not sure when I'm going to have the sale and where but it's going to happen. I'll donate the old clothing to the Salvation Army because the clothing never sells and it's not worth the effort. So hopefully, things will be looking nice come Friday :)

No chicken pox yet! Yippy, I have two more days and then I am safe. The only thing good about getting the chicken pox is not having to go hang out with Chris's sister on Sunday. I don't connect with her at all and I can say on my end, I have no desire to "get to know her any better". She doesn't strike me as someone I would like to hang with, we just have different ways of looking at things. She is so different from his mom and dad it makes me wonder how they spawned her. Okay, that was pretty petty but I just find her way to challenging for my taste. Blah!

Drum roll [please]...I am down a pound! Even though I wasn't expecting a loss, I got one. I'll take it! Over the last several days, it seems like I need to slow down with the food intake. I've had to take out two different clients for lunch so it's been screwing me up. I've eaten healthy but it's still the principal of eating out, which should be only one time a week, not 3. Chris and I decided that since Easter is this week, we'll forgo our dinner out so hopefully that will balance everything out. I hope!

I'm excited for tomorrow because we get our brand new doors installed. It's been almost two years that we have been in the house and the doors were needing to be replaced because there was a ton of heat loss from them. Chris is staying home tomorrow while they install them. I really excited for the old kitchen door to be replaced because the outside of the door actually has indoor kitchen trim boards on the outside. It will be so nice to have it gone and look right. I love home remodeling!

April seems like it's going to be a busy month. Chris and I have a lot of activities going on, which is awesome. In a few weeks, we're doing a 5K with one of my friends. I don't think we're going to be doing any running but it benefits the Special Olympics and it offers free beer, so why not? At the end of the month, we are going to do a 21 mile overnight hike up north on the North Country Trail with a backpacking group that we hooked up with. I don't know if I am in that kind of shape yet but we're going to try. Plus it will get us ready for our trip out west when we hit Utah and Colorado this summer. It's intimmidating but we can do it! Well, I'm off to see the biggest loser (at this time, I will actually see who will get the boot tonight). Take care all-Kellie

Oh it's Saturday...

Thank Goodness. We're going to have another lazy weekend this weekend. I'm very exhausted this weekend. I was oncall last weekend and it totally whipped me out. It was a very quiet weekend for oncall but I just don't sleep as well when I am on it. Though it was nice to see that extra money in my check last week! I was so tired yesterday that my eye started twitching. Now that is tired. Chris went out last night so I had the whole home to my self to relaxed and I loved every minute of it. It's a wonderful thing to be able to chill out in your own home and not have the desire to do anything but relax. Usually, I would be toying with something but yesterday I just crashed on the couch and didn't move for five hours and then I went to bed. Hopefully my battery will be replenished today :) I've got a Weight Watchers meeting at 8:30, then we're working out with Ryan, our trainer at 9:30 am. Then we might be doing dinner at a place we've been dying to hit for the past few months.

Another reason why I'm taking it easy is that was exposed to the chicken pox virus last week. I pray that I will not be getting it but it's freaking me out a little bit. I will know if I'm going to get it between next Tuesday - Friday. I guess this is one of the downfalls of working with children because you never know what you could get. When I was a kid, I never got the chicken pox. Heck, I never got sick even. When I was 24 I got the shot but after reading things on line, I'm not sure if the shot will protect me. Argh! That's what I get for being an encouraging therapist...send me positive thoughts here about not getting them because for the last week, I've been itching all over. It's amazing how your mind plays tricks on you!

I'm not too sure how weigh in is going to look today. I made good choices but my scale is not showing a loss. That happens! I'll keep heading towards my goal :) Take care all-Kellie