Continuing Journey

Almost 2 months ago I was instructed to lose at least 10% of my body weight. That day I started Weight Watchers.

Now I am almost 20 lbs lighter! Still have a few more to reach the 10% goal, but my goal is to be under 200 by my wedding day (3 months minus 1 day!) I have about 16 more lbs to reach that goal. I also want my collar bones to make an appearance again (my favorite part of wearing prom dresses in high school), and they are surfacing a little!

February 7, 2012

March 24, 2012

If you look closely, you can see a bit of shadow from my collar bone!

When I started this, my collar bones were smoothly hidden under fat.

I've noticed an increase in energy (not quite a lot, but still noticeable), better sleep without sleep aids (which I'd taken for over 5 years), and less of a craving for icky foods. In fact, I care much more to know what is in the foods I eat, so I've been making more from scratch.

My tops are fitting a bit better, and my pants are too big! It's still frustrating right now that I don't seem to have actually dropped a pant size, but the pants I have stretch out in an hour of wearing them and are too big to sit where they're supposed to sit!

Chris says he can tell I'm losing weight, and the scale backs that up with numbers, so I'll keep at it. Even after the wedding, I plan to keep with the WW lifestyle until I reach a much healthier weight (like 150 lbs). That means I could lose about 80 lbs before I feel like I can back off a little (just not back off enough to put the weight back on).

I know I won't be able to be "skinny" because of my hereditary big bones, but I can certainly be more healthy in my size and weight.

And I'm on my way there!

Cooking Adventures and RSVPs

Spring Break was a week ago... This past week went by 10x faster than break did. That's great! I mean, we drove all over the place (Waco to OKC to KC to Decatur to KC to Bolivar to Waco) and saw LOTS of people for Jess's wedding and our wedding shower and other celebrations. We found a lovely spice shop at the City Market, went to a couple museums, and I had my first REAL KC bbq!

Chris and I having BBQ at Jack Stack Barbecue

WWI Memorial and Museum

Now we're back, I have a crock pot, mixing bowls, can opener, and a toaster! (Many other things, but we haven't unpacked everything yet. Some will wait for our new place in 2 months.)

So what have I been doing this week? Practicing with my new cooking gadgets! First I made bbq chicken in the crock pot (the sauce was delicious), then chicken parmesan in the crock pot, now I'm making a big batch of chicken noodle soup to portion out and freeze. For tonight I made homemade salsa to add to our tacos. Might be a bit spicy, but we'll manage.

Homemade Salsa

(a little too much for my food processor, but it's okay!)

Chicken Noodle Soup

So busy! (On top of class and work and wedding stuff.)

Speaking of wedding stuff, we've been getting lots of RSVPs! It's good to know who to expect to be there. We've been getting 2 to 4 cards per day nearly every day since we got back from break. (We had 23 cards in my mailbox when we got back. I felt a little bad for the mail carrier who had to stuff magazines and cards in the box for a week!)

RSVP cards!

Side note: I may have just rubbed a bit of pepper juice into my eye. Not sure, but it hurts! And, yes, I've washed my hands several times since handling the jalepeno.

Presentation, Please? Then Packing.

This semester has been full of presentations, it seems. I don't mind all that much. Although I am starting to have interesting fun with PowerPoint in order to keep myself and my classmates entertained. I just finished making one for online exhibits that I will do tomorrow. Lots of flying pictures. :)

So I've had 4 full weeks now on WW, and I'm down about 15 pounds! It's starting (I think) to become more noticeable. I might have to get my wedding dress fitted again (what a horrible thing... not!). It's worth a little extra expense, I know.

Also a week from today will be my maid of honor's first full day of being my matron of honor! She's getting married this Saturday, and I can't wait to see her get hitched! She'll be crazy beautiful, I know, as she always is.

Last night Chris and I finished addressing, sealing, and stamping our wedding invitations. It's such a relief! Now for all those other projects that need done....

And spring break is coming up starting this weekend. Traveling to Missouri for Jess's wedding, then over to Illinois for our wedding shower with my side. It'll be a long, but valuable week away from classes and with family and friends. Just need to pack before Thursday.

That's all for now, I suppose.

Peace.