It's Working.....

Four weeks - 12.6 pounds!!!!

Some things aren't bothering me any more - like drinking Diet Pepsi instead of regular - and drinking LOTS of water!! It's getting easier each week and the results when I step onto the scale really motivate me to do it all again tomorrow.

I won't stick to my points while on vacation in a couple of weeks, but I still think that I've got myself trained to watch out for the really "bad" and to control my portions and keep drinking that water.

"Wicked" Girls

Just got these photos from Kelli's BFF Maggie - from their Chicago trip to see WICKED. It looks like the three of them (Maggie, Kelli and Meghan) had the best time - which included meeting one of the stars (the "wicked" witch) after the performance.

Old Habits....

Old habits are hard to break and so easy to slip back into.

My busy weekend turned into a food frenzy - two and one half days of softball - 8 games total - that's 56 innings of softball in 90+ degree heat. The only thing that "saved" me was that I drank an abundance of water. Other than that - it was concession stand food on Friday night - all day Saturday - and all day Sunday. Just try and find something healthy to eat! Friday night, it all started with a bag of popcorn and it was like a small hole in a dam - bring on the rest of the JUNK! Saturday, a coke float, some onion rings and a hot dog and Sunday, a hamburger and a pretzel with cheese and there was probably more that I blocked out of my mind. I didn’t even try to stay on plan or even control myself in the least bit. My old habits came right back. There really is no excuse. The heat must have done something to my willpower. Surprisingly, even with my moments of mindless weakness, I managed to lose a little more - thanks to the heat and all that water. Needless to say, I'm back on track today. Have to, because we have a wedding this weekend and the wonderful Polish Style reception dinner that St. Hedwig's does so well.

I Thought Those Days Were Behind Me....

There was a range of years between 1990 and 2002 that we spent our summers traveling throughout Indiana and Illinois with Carrie, Katie, Colleen and Chrissie while they played on various summer softball teams. We lived out of hotel rooms, suitcases and many an iced down cooler, dragging Kelli and Kevin wherever we went. After Chrissie graduated, we got a reprieve. Now, seventeen years after we made that first summer roadtrip with Carrie, we're back on the road again - with Kelli. We left on Friday afternoon for Warsaw, Indiana. The Clay Colonials softball team was entered into a 25-team tournament of high school teams from Indiana and Ohio. We started off with a win on Friday night - home at 10:00 - up at 5:00 a.m. and on the road again at 6:00. We lost our first game on Saturday morning at 8:00, but then again I've never known a team we're associated with to play very well at 8:00 a.m. We played again at noon and at 6:00 - winning both of these games and winning our pool. With yesterday being Father's Day, I told Bob to stay at home and go to church with his children and that I would run Kelli back to Warsaw for her 10:00 a.m. game. By now, pool play has completed and based on our ranking, a single elimination tournament was played all day on Sunday. I actually figured we'd drive over, get beat the first game and be home shortly after lunch. The girls had something else in mind. We 10-run ruled the team from Elkhart in our morning game, beat the defending state champions from Ohio in the 2:00 game, beat the team from Gas City, Indiana 4-3 in the last inning of the 4:00 game after trailing the entire game and ended up facing a very tough Mishawaka team in the championship game at 6:00 last night. We lost the final game 6-1, but we couldn't have been more thrilled or proud of our bunch. Clay's Varsity team won 9 games this past season and the summer team - made up of returning varsity players, three JV players and an incoming FRESHMAN won six games over the weekend. Kelli played right field in the eight games - making some great catches and even throwing out a couple of runners at first base. Throw in some clutch hits, a handful of RBI's and even a couple of stolen bases and it was definately a successful weekend. Her coaches told us that she had really impressed them and that right now, she's high on their list to replace the graduated Varsity outfielder for next year. She knows she'll have to work extra hard to earn it, but she's determined. As we drove to Warsaw yesterday morning and talked about the games played and the day ahead of us with the 90+ degree temperatures, she said something I'll have to remember to put into her scrapbook...."What could be better than spending the weekend with your best friends and playing softball?" I think her older sisters might agree.




Angela Miller and Kelli taking it easy on Saturday - prior to game number 4 of the weekend. Nothing like a little shade and a batbag for a pillow on a HOT day.



Katie, Hannah, Angela and Kelli - all smiles after winning their fourth game of the weekend. A nice Father's Day gift for their dads!!

Kelli takes a quick breather after her last at-bat in the championship game.



Our girls - bringing home a little "hardware".

"WICKED"

Kelli's been waiting for weeks and the day is finally here. She's off to Chicago with her BFF Maggie and her parents to see "WICKED" tonight. She read the book this past winter, she's downloaded the music to her IPOD and she's been talking about it for days. Can't wait until she gets home tomorrow to tell me all about it.

....as for our upcoming weekend - neighborhood garage sale tomorrow, softball invitational tournament in Warsaw tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, Graduation party to sneak in SOMETIME on Saturday and Father's Day on Sunday. Whew....makes me tired just to think about it!

The 300 Club....

These folks will look for any excuse to "party". This is my Florida Family and Friends. This past Sunday marked 300 days until our cruise. 297 days from now, there will be 9 of us from South Bend and 4 from St. Louis joining up with these "beach bums". Wonder what they have planned for the 200 mark??

All I Can Say is YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!

GIANT Wildberry & Orange Sorbet & Ice Cream Bars - 2 Points!!

Low-fat vanilla ice cream is swirled with a choice of choice of orange or wildberry sorbet, for a sweet and creamy treat. Comes in a six-pack and each orange bar contains 110 calories, 0.5 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber. Each wildberry bar contains 120 calories, 0.5 grams of fat and 4 grams of fiber. Who would have thought that something that's so good for you can taste this great??!!!

Key West

Anxiously looking forward to my Florida trip in a few weeks - thanks to those free Delta vouchers I received in December. You know... the vouchers I received when I was forced to "suffer" through a night in Cincinnati with Brady Quinn.

http://twinmom7.blogspot.com/2006/12/before-i-get-into-cruise-postings.html

Anyway, I'm flying down to Orlando and then joining up with family and friends for a 4 - day trek to Key West. We'll be celebrating some summer birthdays, seeing the sites (and trying to stick to a diet). Hopefully all the walking and bicycle riding will help us to keep from gaining too much.

All That Water....

... 6 to 8 glasses of water a day. I have to admit - this is hard for me. I'm on my third glass of the day and it's only 10 a.m. - but it sure keeps the snacking craves away. I have found a small way to help with downing all this water - Crystal Lite Peach Tea - 5 calories and 0 fat. YUM!!!! I keep a box of the "on the go" packets in my desk and one in my purse. Perfect for pouring into a bottle of water if I'm at the ballpark or running errands. There's lots of different flavors, but so far the Peach Tea is my favorite!!

I Survived....

....the weekend and my first full week of Weight Watchers. Lost 4.8 pounds and I'm thrilled. I was afraid the weekend would be tough - being at home with all the temptations in my freezer and pantry. I cooked healthy and stuck to my challenge. When I came home from the store, Kevin looked in the bags and said, "All I see is stuff for YOU". I told him that's because everything that's CURRENTLY in the house is for HIM and his little skinny body.

As for the remainder of the weekend.....got my hair cut SHORT, got a manicure, had a fun Saturday night with friends at Bob's "gig", went shopping and out to lunch with Carrie and Jack. This week....softball, garage sale, Father's Day and graduation parties. My goal for this week - 2 pounds.

Feeling Good....

It's been a good week - WW wise.

I've been diligent about counting my points for ANYTHING that goes past my lips. Mary Lou and I walked almost two miles last night and I'm planning to do it again tonight.

I do fine during the day at the office, but being at home at night is a different story. Too many temptations within that house!! The cookie jar is full, those taco chips in the pantry, etc. It's tough when you have two teenagers in the house who DON'T have to worry about pounds. I came back after the walk and wanted to forage through the pantry - but instead, I had a big glass of ice water, took a shower and climbed in bed with a good book.

I'm down almost three pounds, but now the weekend lies before me!! This will be the TRUE test of temptation!

So Far....So Good

Today begins Day 4 of my weight loss trek. I guess I was lucky to find that the week I decided to start was the same week that Meijer had the WW Smart Ones (meals and desserts) on sale - 6 for $11. I've stopped there every morning this week and bought my limit. The freezer at home is full as is the freezer at work. Everything I've tried has been delicious, but my favorite is the Key Lime Pie, (2 in a package) - 4 points each.

One of those has been my afternoon snack on several occasions this week. Breakfast most mornings is either a small bowl of Cheerios or Total with 2% milk ('cause I just can't handle skim milk) and Splenda. I drink 2-3 glasses of water during my morning at work, which helps curb the hunger. For lunch, I've been having a WW meal and 2 slices of whole wheat (reduced calorie) bread - 1 point and Parkay (Fat Free) Spray Margarine - 0 points! The bread is a nice filler.

After lunch, it's another couple of glasses of water along with an afternoon snack - sometimes an apple (1 point) or if I REALLY want a treat, I go for the Key Lime Pie. I've also discovered the Skinny Cow ice cream treats.

The chocolate/peanut butter ice cream sandwiches are 2 points on the WW scale. To be honest, when I get home from work I'm not in a panic to find something to eat. I've been eating a 2nd WW meal and another glass of water and I've found myself satisfied for the evening. With my age and beginning weight, I'm allowed 21 points per day. I find myself having a couple of points left over each day. I also get 35 BONUS points to use per week. I'm trying to save those just in case I'm tempted over the weekend. We have two graduation parties and a wedding in the next four weeks, so I know I'll need to rely on some of those bonus points then. The one thing I haven't accomplished this week is exercise. With Kelli's softball schedule, I've been gone every evening this week. Tonight and tomorrow night - no excuses!!! I'm heading out with my IPod and headphones for a good two miles. The real test will come over the weekend - sitting through another softball tournament and dealing with concession stands. BUT, I'm on a mission now and NOTHING will stop me!!!

Getting Healthy....

It's going to take a whole lot of will-power but I'm going to do it. My sister in law (Arlette) is in Florida - but together, we're going to accomplish this. By the time we cruise next spring, we're going to look a whole lot better than we looked on our last cruise.

She started Weight Watchers over Memorial Day Weekend and I started this week. We may be 1200 miles apart, but thanks to e-mail we are suppoting each other's efforts on a daily basis. No beginning weights will be discussed here - but our results will definately be documented!!! As of today, she's down 9 pounds and I'm anxiously awaiting Monday morning's weigh-in.

I've quicky realized that so much of this is mental (along with a whole lot of willpower)!!! Last night, I was with Carrie and Nolan at the Clay/Penn baseball game and Nolan told me he was hungry. I took him to the concession stand. He wanted nachos, Gator Aid and a candy bar. A week ago, I would have grabbed a hotdog, some popcorn and a Coke and thought nothing about it. Last night, I bought Nolan whatever he wanted and went back to the stands with nothing for myself - and felt GOOD about it! Can't believe how much better I feel about myself - even after just three days!!

Clay Colonials Head to Regionals!!!

It was tough last year to see Kevin and his teammates go down in defeat to LaPorte in the Sectional Championship. LaPorte has won the past 5 Sectional titles - until this year. Friday night at Covaleski Stadium, the Colonials rallied in the late innings and won the game on a homerun by Josh Willis. (On Senior Night last year, Kevin said that his fondest memory of Clay Baseball was being in the outfield with Mike DePoy and Josh Willis).




I am thrilled for the entire team - but especially for Josh, who last year, as a junior was one of Kevin's best friends. This year, as a senior - he has been like a big brother to Kelli.

We haven't been able to get to too many of their games this spring because of Kelli's conflicting softball schedule, but we'll be there tomorrow night to cheer them on against Penn in the Regionals.

Congratulations and good luck to all of them!!!!!! You've made us PROUD!

It's Summer and That Means SOFTBALL...

I can't even remember how many summers I've been doing this - but if I remember right, it was after Carrie's freshman year when this short, little, beligerant ( I say this with love and respect) coach approached us and wanted to take our 15 year old daughter on weekend trips to faraway places to play softball. Our first impulse was to say "NO". Then some other parents who we knew and respected told us he was "safe" and we could trust our daughter to him. So we did - and that's where it all began - in the summer of 1990. Carrie played four years of summer ball for John Woodruff, the twins played six years and Chrissie five years. All of these years were back to back to back - hotels, iced down coolers and BBQ grills. Kevin and Kelli grew up thinking that a summer vacation was a hotel room in Indianapolis or Chicago. Well, after a few years off - thanks to Kevin - we are now back on the road again with summer softball travels. Kelli's been in Merrillville since Friday night, and thanks to our different time zones, she didn't play until MIDNIGHT last night!!! I drove over today and watched three games and I have a lovely farmer's tan to show for it. We just got home and I don't know when a hot shower has ever felt so good. Next weekend, we do it all again - this time off to Warsaw. She's only 15 (right were Carrie was in 1990 - and I'm guessing we'll be doing this for a few more years.