Switching up the breakfast...

I am switching up my breakfast today. Usually I blend up a smoothie in my vitamix but I am going to start switching it up a bit. Today I made an egg white omelet with mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and feta cheese. I love egg white omelets and what you can put in them is endless.  

I spent last week doing workouts at home. It was a nice break but I was happy to return to the gym this morning and it felt terrific. I was also surprised that the gym traffic was not too much more. There were some new faces but not too many. When I worked out at the Y, there were so many new faces in January but here not so much. It's a much cheaper gym so I guess I was expecting more turn out. New faces are always good! 

We signed the kid up for gymnastics. The kid is something. He will jump off the couch with no issues. He will yell "TWO" and boom, he is landing on us.  We thought maybe we need to channel this and have him learn some fun ways to bounce around and have a good time.  Plus it exposes him to sports :) which is awesome. We wanted to do a swim class with him but we are going to wait until spring to do that so that we are not overloading the little guy.  The one good thing about the classes is that they go in 8 week lengths so this will put us into March.  Now that is nice to hear...March = spring.  

Hi....my name is Kellie...

Hi, my name is Kellie and it about time to blog again. I've lurked on a few sites lately and finding out that more and more people have lost their inspiration to blog. I know what that feels like. Life gets busy, you have a ton of stuff to do, lots of stuff going on, and blogging, well, it's not fun when you can't feel like you can be anonymous. So why bother....? Well, it's a great tool. It's kind of nice looking back to where I was, who I was at a specific time, and where I wanted to go as a person. In this case, I want to find who I am today.

I was not prepared for what life had in store for my during the past year. We moved from our dream home which was rough. In the long run, I knew it was the best for our family. The truth was, we lived in a charming home in Grand Rapids, which unfortunately had one of the worst school districts in Michigan. We had a house loan which we were upside down in because when the market crashed, our house was not valued at what it once was. We couldn't refinance because we were upside down in it. Chris's company gave us the most amazing relocation package ever and we simply could not say no. It was truly that good. His company was relocating all the individuals from Grand Rapids to one main office in Michigan and after finding out that he would have an unreasonable commute, we decided to go forth with a move. I had to find a new job. That was a trip that I don't want to re-live. It was a weird process and I was lucky to be offered a few jobs that I had to say no to but I found one that was a decent fit. We were able to find a new home that suited our style. We didn't want to go with a charming older home because I would compare it to my GR home. Our home sold to the first couple who saw it and they offered above listing price. Which is unheard of in our economy. We moved and said goodbye to our old life...now we have this new life.

New house, new job, and really a new life. Our new life is different. Q...u..i...e....t... More family time. I have a 30 minute commute vs an hour. We have time at night and in the morning with our kid. We are not running as much and it feels different. My whole life I had this super fast pace, now it's slow. We are adjusting to the new community. Luckily, we have some close friends who live nearby but we will need to meet some more people so our support system would be a tad larger.

We are still trying to get orientated to the surroundings. During the past two years, I honestly can say is that I totally sucked with my fitness. After having the kid, I was able to go back to the gym but then I injured my foot because I felt that I could run again. Bad choice because it took me six months to get over that. Then the sleep deprivation of an infant. Not fun...in fact 8 months of seemingly bad sleep was no fun at all. Then I became shut down about all the changes in my life. I didn't want to move and lose what we had so I ate...ate...ate. Luckily, I am not larger than I am now but I am at the same weight as when I first entered Weight Watchers back in 2002.  Though, I have to say, I look better :)

I recommitted myself to Weight Watchers back at the end of October.  I also have been going to the gym since then which is the cheapest gym ever but also the nicest.  My weight loss is incredibly slow.  So slow that I was getting to the point of frustration that I was eating well, working out five days a week, and nothing.  But then I noticed that the pants are fitting better and finally I am losing.

Here I am...recommitting like I always do and hoping that things will change.  The thing I like about the new WW program is that it reminds me of classic cognitive behavioral therapy.  They are really attacking the emotional aspects of eating.  Trying to target where you are putting that bad foods in your mouth and focus on moving both emotionally and physically.

My goals for 2013...
1. Focus on the moment, not past or future, just look at the day.
2.  Gym 5x per week.
3.  Becoming more acclimated in our community.
4.  Being at peace with where I am currently.  Which is where I am supposed to be.

Happy 2013. It's great to be back.  Take care all-Kellie

Our kid is way too cute, isn't he?

Could not help myself...had to post another pic of the little one (LO). He is so freaking adorable that it's not even funny and wow, already, his personality is showing through. It's nice being a mom. I had to laugh some because we found out that 3 friends are expecting right now. Before LO, I would have gone and thought "yikes" but now I'm like "wow, how exciting" and I actually mean it.

We are taking him into visit his daycare next week so I'm excited for that. They have 2 other babies starting so it's an exciting time for the place. He'll be in the infant room with 9 other kids. It's a great place and we like their approach with kids. What really shocked us when we went there to visit that the kids were using sign language at nine months. If the kid needs to be in daycare, it feels good that he will be learning something. Plus, if we really like the program, he can be slotted to go to school there when it is time.


I started walking this week at the gym and it feels terrific. I take LO and his pimped out stroller to the gym after I feed him. Isn't it cute? You know you have to maximize those feeding times! I have my six week check up next week so I'm hoping then to get the green light to resume activities. It's been since August that I have not been able to work out due to the pregnancy and that was hard. He's worth it though. I did gain a lot during the pregnacy for an overweight person. They wanted me to gain about 25-30 due to being overweight but despite my good intentions and eating well, I put on about 40. The notion of eating 300 extra calories a day for a pregnancy is not exactly true for overweight women. When I saw the dietician in the fall, she noted that I was overeating on healthy food (greek yogurt, fruit, lean protein, etc.) because I was eating about 1800 calories a day. I should have been eating 1500 calories. I guess I will know next time.

Chris and I joined Weight Watchers again. They changed the program with the points so everything that I used to know is well...not the same. This time around it's free. My hx insurance is paying for it. We just need to attend 11 out of 13 meetings. That is saving us a ton of money :) I'm not too sure how I did this week. Our first weigh in is tonight so wish us luck! I know the program works because it worked for me before it's just the committment needs to be there and I'm 85% committed right now...too much socializing lately. Which is always our downfall. There's got to be a balance. We'll find it.

Had an amazing delivery! It was a total piece of cake and I did it without any drugs. Chris was an amazing coach :) So here is our little boy. We are a lucky set of parents because this boy is amazing. I would totally do it over again. We are settling into parenthood and getting to know our little guy. We are so in love with him.

29 weeks :)

Howdy...the pregnancy is just cruising right a long. I still feel great, energy is there, and we are looking forward to meeting Baby H. Chris finished up the house a few weeks back and it looks terrific! It's wonderful to have such a creative husband. I really appreciate it. He's been a huge help.

Things are great here. We are cruising right a long now. I'm taking a week off of work to relax. Initially, I was going to just work until Thursday but last week I was like "why should I?" so I took the week off. This is the week I always take off to get prepared for the holidays so I decided to take the much needed break. After January, time will probably fly by and March will be before I know it. I plan on taking the full 12 weeks off of work so if baby comes on time, I will be out of work until June. We still have to line up daycare. I figure in January we will start looking. There's 3 places that I really want to look into. Two centers and 1 home (recommended by friends).

Eating wise, well doing good here. I'm taking my gluclose test tomorrow to see if I have the GD so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully, I will pass. I gained a lot of weight initially because I was told to eat an extra 350 a day but when my weight shot up quickly, I went to see a nutrionist and I was to back down the calories to 1500 because I was overweight to begin with. When the baby comes, Chris and I will be on weight watchers again. Looking forward to that. I hear the new program is doing well. The gym is going to look a little different but it will happen. I miss my workouts but that's okay, they will come soon :)

Huge week this week :)

The pregnancy has been terrific so far minus the early spotting. Chris is totally in nesting mode fixing up the home for our new addition. I love being married to a handy man. Plus he actually completes the work, unlike some guys out there. Next room to prep is the nursery. We picked out an outdoor themed room. Our scan is later on in the week. We are opting out of finding out what we are having. We'll find out when the baby is born. In life, there's only a few surprises :)one of them is the gender of the child. Since it doesn't matter to us, we'll have the ultimate surprise when the baby is born.

We are busy again but it's a good busy. Lots of people to see and events happening in our life. This week also marks our 6th anniversary. It's been an awesome six years. We have a lot of fun together. One thing I appreciate is that we really did everything we wanted to do before having kids. We don't plan on stopping living either once baby comes. Pacing may be different but will we stop having fun? Nope!

Slowing down...

Our pacing for the last year has been run run run run run. Now we are being extremely mindful of slowing down so that when the baby comes, we will not be in total shock. Chris and I have a no travel August where we cannot be away from the home the whole weekend. It's been good but so different. We really cleared out our calendar this month to make it happen. It's been terrific so far. We have had some family time, house transition time, and some couple time. We can't believe how long the weekend feels when our pace is a tad slower.

I hit 12 weeks today! Yes, another sigh of relief. I'll feel really good in two more weeks. So far, it's been a good pregnancy minus the spotting that I had a few weeks ago. Doctor took me off my workouts so I'm hoping in two weeks, I can get back to something. Haven't gained too much weight so far but I'm monitoring what I eat so that my mini meals are balanced and healthy. Luckily, I have been blessed with limited morning sickness...thank goodness!

Ultrasound Picture

This is the little bean growing inside of me. Nice huh? We are really enjoying this time. Life continues to be great. The pregnancy is going well so far. I had some spotting but that cleared up about two weeks ago. I'm not getting hit with morning sickness really. I will occasionally get hit with nausea but that comes in waves. Two and half more weeks until the second trimester. Can't wait.

I'm going to blog again. I need too, I miss ya Anji and all my old peeps out there (well minus you lurker, no love for you...you're just sad....oh and if you are doing anything illegal towards us, I swear I will sue your ass. I hope your wifey is still not obsessed with having a girl. It's kind of sickening thinking that someone wants to play God over what they are having. Be glad with what you have and what God grants you).

Update :)

We'll I'm off the weightloss journey for now. I'm pregnant :) So Ella or Ian will be joining us in late Feb. or early March. So the journey is a different one. The cool thing is that I'm entering this pregnancy without being on any type of medication. My bloodpressure has been under control for the last year from working out (medication free) so it's been well worth the time and effort to be as healthy as I can be. We ran the Chicago Shuffle in March and that was amazing. Then we ran a local race in May, which was another amazing feat. I love running. Life is good. Working out is good.

Chris and I just got back from Quebec City from a music festival. We got to see some major bands and had a blast. We saw Black Eye Peas on Friday and Rammstein on Sunday. Quebec City is just an amazing place. Sorry I missed you Anji...did I tell you how much I love Canadians? It was great to see concerts without the fist fighting that we usually see hear in the states.

Next challenge is a biking trip in September. We are going with a group of friends at Boyne Mountain to complete a 46 mile trip. Chris and I have been training for it and he's getting a new road bike in August. I love hanging with a group of friends that challenge you to be better people. We have a great circle going right now, spread across the state. In fact, we haven't had an available weekend, in, well, forever. Life is a lot of fun...and it's only bound to get better, isn't it?

It's always good to check things out...

Lately, I've been focusing on two things. Making it through the 8K in March and then our trip out west in May. It struck Chris the other day that he should check on his vacation time because he assumed he was getting 3 weeks this year. Well, thank goodness he did because he found out that he will not be getting 3 until next year. Bummer! So needless to say, going to California, Washington, and Oregon are out this year. That threw us both for a loop. After some brainstorming, we decided that we are going to go to Germany for Oktoberfest. We have been wanting to go abroad but haven't so we figured this is the time in our life to do this before we settle down and actually try to have kids. It is a little bit of a bummer because the training has been good but hey, I like the back up plan. Meine Duetsch ist nicht so gut but maybe it can get better...lol...Germany here we come :)

Feeling good...

I'm up to 4 miles running, nonstop! My pace averages between 9.33-11 for a mile, which is awesome for me. I'm seeing a ton of changes in my body since adding in the running and just feel good. I look forward to my running days. We're at the gym six days a week, which is amazing for us. Though, we don't have hard bodies yet changes are occurring. I just took some measurements and they are looking good. I'm still attending WW meetings for my "therapy" though I'm carb cycling and the results are great. Energy level is good and I'm never hungry.

Life continues to be awesome but busy. Finding a balance is hard when you are having as much fun as we are. We kind of need to slow down but it's winter so it's nice to hang out with people when we would normally hibernate. I can't imagine what summer is going to look like with our schedule. I'm sure we will find a balance because one could never have too much fun, right?

Congrats to Chris, he is a Godfather! Isn't that awesome? We're excited to see our friends new baby next month but what an honor for him. He'll make an awesome godfather. Chris is also enjoying his new job and 12 minute commute. It's amazing because I get to come home to a home cooked meal every night. Like I said, life is good :)

I think I have it right now...

It is funny that losing weight is more mental game for me than anything. It's like all of a sudden things that I learned during the last year has finally clicked for me. I am having my "ah ah" moment which is amazing. It's all coming together. I can put together a full body workout, I can run, I can set my day up for success by packing a breakfast and a lunch, and I can say "no" and not be tempted to go off course because I know my goal now. It's clear and simple. I am going to lose the weight, I am going to run 5 miles but starting out slow and increasing my mileage. This week I did something that I have never done before, I ran two miles straight without stopping. By no means was I fast but my goodness, the feeling of utter success after running 14 laps is AMAZING! The funny thing that I do at the end of my lap is I put my hands in the air and do a little shout of "woo hooo" at the end, like I am running through a finish line and that is funny probably to watch but it so completes how I feel at the moment. It's working and I'm loving every minute of it. I'm also a lot happier in life right now. It's just a great spot in my life and I'm not taking anything for granted. Life is good!

Resolutions!!!

Okay, we are loving this new year. Really, we are. People should not be having this much enjoyment in their life like we are. We are having fun, major fun so with the new year, here are my resolutions...

1. Finish the 8K that we signed up for with our friends. We're going to do the 8K Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago so we would like to train and complete it.
2. Continue to have as much fun as we are having now! Enjoy life!
3. Save at least $8K for home repairs.
4. Hit Yosemite this Spring and not get eaten by a bear.
5. Hit goal weight, which is 155.

The new lifestyle is working out. I'm down 9lbs. It's rocking and I'm looking great as you can see :) Yup, it feels good to have a structured plan again. This is what I have been missing for a long time. Chris just found out that he is getting transfer to the office that is 10 minutes from our house and it's a promotion so life is AMAZING right now!

Resolutions Review

Year end goal review:

Okay so I made some resolutions on January 1st so now it's December 30th so lets review how well I did. Resolution 1: Take another Move it to Lose It course in the spring. Keep on getting in shape so that when I get pregnant I will be a healthy mom. Review: I didn't take another move it to lose it class but we personally trained with Ryan at least 3 times a month plus I took the woman's workout class that was amazing! With working out so much I was able to get off my blood pressure medication. As for losing weight for a potential pregnancy, I'm not too focused on that right now. Having too much fun...way too much fun....to buckle down just yet.

2. Make it to Colorado or Utah for a back packing trip Review: We did it! Hiked some challenging trails and had a blast.

3. Balance healthy work hours so that we have family time Review: Doing better, at least 75% better. It just depends on the time of year but my priority is Chris.

4. Have a spending freeze so we can have major $$$ in our savings Review: Yeah, we need to work on this.

5. Replace the remaining windows in our home, thin some of the trees in the back yard so we can have a pergola on our hill (that is a picture of a possible one at Costco. Review: Nope, didn't happen but we are schedule to get 5 new windows in February.

6. Maybe getting established in a church. Review: Nope. I don't know if we will do this either.

7. Reconnecting with old friends/Making new friends. Narrative: Reconnected with some old friends which was awesome. Got rid of some unhealthy friends too! Bye Bye emotionally exhausting people, there is no room in our lives for you. We are totally making some new friends, which is awesome. It's nice to have people in your life who are just good people. We're having a blast and our social life has increased by 100%. Infact, we're spending the new years when some new friends so it's going great in this area.

So overall, pretty darn good! Stay turned for next years resolutions!!!!

Getting back the motivation!

Okay, I was in denial for a while there...maybe even a couple of years but things are working again and the motivation is there to eat right again. The motivation has been there for the last year for the working out but eating healthy is the other key to success. No matter how much excercising you may do, eating like crap is not going to balance it out. My new motivation is like saying hello to an old friend and I'm welcoming it back with open arms. I'm feeling terrific on the new plan and it's fitting well into our lifestyle. We're both seeing some super results. That rocks!

So one thing that I always found motivating is posting a picture of an outfit that I want to fit into. Last year, I picked out a pair of shorts. Okay, so I didn't have a good plan last year but this year, it is crystal clear. I have the tools to do what I want and need right now. I'm doing well at creating my workouts in the morning. I'm doing a run/walk right now for the HIIT part of the workouts and I'm going to step it up a bit after the new years. So here's the new outfit, a size 10 patagonia capris and a tank. Watch out...I'm getting things in gear again. The eating well and working out will help a ton because we have a major trip planned next year for back packing and we want to be in the best shape ever. If I keep this motivation, we will be there!

It's working for me...

Down 5lbs from three weeks ago! Nice! I'm still holding strong with the new eating plan. There has only been a few times when I have been hungry but so far so good. I'm still attending WW meetings for the support though because I need to keep focused with my goals.

On a positive note, my dad is cancer free! That is the best wish that anyone in my family could ask for. His PSA test came back normal. Yeah for dad!

Took a snow day...

Snow days are terrific. Especially in December when the first snow hits. I'm just lounging today which is a terrific thing because I don't usually do that. I've been decorating the tree here and there today but mostly fooling around and doing nothing (yeah, that's terrific!). The carb cyclingis doing awesome! My body is really responding well to it. I'll keep you posted on the weight.

I'm back...

Fourth day in and I'm loving it. Eating every 3-4 hours is really working and the scale is heading down. The only bummer is that I don't get to weigh in on Saturday but I will have to wait a week because I can't attend the meeting :( things are back in a routine and it feels great. It also feels good to be losing again. Nothing is worse than being in denial about your weight. I've been in denial since May. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

Not tearing anyones head off...

Usually when I switch things up my body hollers @ me "like what are you doing to me?". It hasn't happened yet. I had a killer workout today too. I'm doing full body 3x per week w/ 15 minutes of cardio and the other days just cardio using the HIIT method where you are doing more of an interval training. The food is going good, I'm eating 5 small mini meals throughout the day. Tonight I made a killer turkey burger with spinach, feta, and red onion. It was delicious! Chris did great on the plan today because he had a big luncheon with some senators today and ge opted to ear healthy! Way to go Chris :) here's to another strong day.