Weight Loss Episode 4

It's amazing how sometimes weeks slink by like slugs and other times they zoom by like zombies. Okay, maybe zombies don't exactly zoom, but I wanted something that started with the letter "z". This week was a zombie week, according to the previous statement, not according to the walking dead definition that is used by some. I was overwhelmed with garage sale preparation. Let me tell you, Internet, garage sales are a lot more trouble than they are worth! They also don't leave any free time for blogging or perfecting your summer tan which means this week needs extra time by the pool.

The one thing they are good for is keeping you moving and away from food. Therefore I lost 2.2 pounds this week bringing my 2 week total to 7 pounds. Not too shabby! 

I've decided to quit posting my workout goals here because inevitably they NEVER happen!! Remember how I was going to start running this week? Well, when I was 16 years old, my brother Justin was making fun of me for not knowing how to roller skate. I decided to prove him wrong, and donned a pair of roller blades. (There's a connection, it's coming.) So I got up to start rolling blading and went straight to the ground landing on my knee. Within hours it was bruised and the size of a small cantaloupe. After a few years of doctor's appointments, I finally broke down and had surgery. They repaired my medial meniscus and cartilage. It made things a lot better, but I still get knee pains every now and then.

Well, this week I messed up my knee again. I think it has to do with watering hanging baskets, rocks, and a porch step. Pretty much, the running program is not an option. Sometimes walking isn't a very good option. I'm working through it, but until I get it back to normal, I'm avoiding the workouts.

:j

Why Weight? Episode 3

It's amazing how much better ice cream sounds when you're on a diet. Well, the good news is I'm not really on a diet, I'm on a lifestyle change. Then again, the definition of a diet is a particular selection of food or limiting quantities of food in order to lose weight, so maybe I am on a diet. Either way I need to cut back my ice cream intake. 

The good news is Weight Watchers is going well for me. This week I lost 5 pounds....well technically 4.8, but whose counting? (The people at WW, that's who!) Today I learned that the average portion size at restaurants has tripled in the past 15 years. Craziness, eh? Maybe I should be better about sharing with someone else or taking a portion home with me for lunch the next day.

I still haven't joined a gym. Sorry to disappoint. Tomorrow I'm hoping to start a running plan my friend Danielle recommended. I need to get up early though so I beat the heat!

In other news, there is a dog that needs a home. She is a goldendoodle, and I really want her, but my family keeps telling me know. Oh the internal conflicts I face! Maybe some ice cream will help....

:j

50 in 500 Update

I'm checking this off my 50 in 500 list left and right. Well....maybe that's a poor idiom to use to describe my pace. Perhaps snail like is more appropriate, or like molasses in February, or baby steps.

I have however been able to check off #2 which was launch www.jennyslens.com for my photography business. Follow the link but know that it is still a work in progress, so maybe you should come check back every other day or so. I know that's how much you all care about me and my website.

Speaking of Jenny's Lens, I've been horrible about updating my photography blog. I think it's because I like this blog. I'm toying with the idea of merging the two, which means more photography posts here and no more posts there. I'm still thinking about it, so if you want to have some input, now would be the time. 

And here's a cutie just because it's Wednesday, and summer school is almost over, and all I've seen for the past 6 nights is pouring rain, and my sink is finally clean.

Nope, not my nephew, but instead it's Eva Diva, my cousin. Seriously, how can you not love that?

:j

The Bachelorette

Can we just take a moment to discuss The Bachelorette? I'm not sure if you all are fans of the show, but I am, and this is my blog.

This season has been full of man drama. I know, Internet, usually The Bachelorette is a very calm, family oriented show, but not so this season. This season is full of crying guys with poor fashion sense. I'm not going to do episode recaps for you all because you can easily look them up on Hulu. Instead, I just need to vent about some ridiculousness.

Let's start with Krazy Kasey. Who is going to be the one to tell him that he can't shouldn't sing? Who is going to tell him that he was the nice guy, but this episode he turned into the crazy guy? Who is going to tell him that getting a tattoo on a whim for a 13 week television show is NEVER a good idea? Who is going to tell him that the other guys really don't appreciate the symbolism of the 11 stones on the heart of said tattoo? Who is going to guard and protect his heart? Who even knows what that really means in his world? Who is going to give him a thesaurus so he can find synonyms for guard and protect? I can't do it. I'd laugh through the entire conversation. I was hoping Ali would give him a hint by not giving him a rose, but alas she pinned one right on his chest, kind of like the shield on top of his tattooed heart.

And because Kasey got a rose, poor Farmer Jesse had to go home. To his dogs and his land and his normal life. She just wasn't ready to be part of Green Acres. I also think she wasn't ready to go to cocktail parties with a guy who wears jeans and denim shirts when everyone else is wearing a suit and tie. Don't get me wrong, I liked Jesse. He definitely was a little too country for her, though.

Speaking of guys I liked, Frank is slipping. Fast. He was my number one. He had my heart with his dark rimmed glasses and adorable, perfect smile. Then he brought out the emo side that always goes with glasses like his. Frank - sure, she likes you, but this is a reality television show. You don't get to date her exclusively. Give it up.

Thankfully, The Weatherman (Jonathan) has been forced to give up. After wearing a tiny little speedo, and worrying about whether or not Ali was comfortable with a kissing scene in a music video, and being just plain giddy over getting to sing on a broadway stage, The Weatherman was denied the only thing that would make his little heart flutter - a rose from perfect Ali. Thankfully, he didn't give it up without a fight. He pulled out the guitar at the cocktail party and faced Justin aka Rated-R during the post credit moments. If there is one thing that can be said for him, it's that he tried - really, really, really, really hard. And that's exactly what he did wrong. That is, if you're not counting the white jacket he wore a couple episodes back.

I could go on and on, but I'll wait until next week when they go to Iceland. What? You've never been to Iceland on a date? What kind of rock have you been living under?

:j

I almost forgot to update you all....

I was just getting ready to call it a day when I realized I hadn't blogged about my weight loss journey. I need a good name for this blog series. Any ideas?

Okay, if you remember from last week's episode, my current goal is to work out everyday. Here's how that went for me....

Tuesday - Jumped Rope for 15 minutes -- nearly died
Wednesday - Played Tennis with Raylene -- not my best sport
Thursday - Jumped Rope again -- still dying - this is seriously the hardest exercise I've ever done. My calfs have never been so tight!
Friday - Did a bit of water aerobics while in the pool
Saturday - Tennis again - why do I keep subjecting myself to this?
Sunday - Hmmm....I don't think I did anything yesterday or today.

5 out of 7 days = not too shabby. I'd like to create a more scheduled fitness routine so that things like swimming and tennis are just bonus activity time instead of my actual workout. Therefore, this week's goal is to join a gym.

Speaking of joining things, today I decided to join Weight Watchers because I got an e-mail offer that I just couldn't refuse, and I accidentally stepped on the scale yesterday. It wasn't pretty, I've hit the three digit numbers. What's that, Internet? Most people weigh in at three digits? You may be right, regardless I am a card carrying member. Literally, I have a membership card, or a monthly pass as they call it. Kind of like a pool pass, but instead of getting to go hang out and get tan, I get to go hang out and get thin. At least I'm pretty sure it works similar to that. I don't know, I'll update you next week.

:j

City Market

Since I'm teaching summer school, Saturday is my one day to sleep in. Yesterday was the perfect sleep in Saturday. The day greeted us with thunder, grey skies, and buckets of rain. As lovely as it would've been to be nice and cozy in bed, I spent my Saturday at Kansas City's infamous City Market with Stacey. It seemed like a good idea until we hit the downtown area and the rain began. Even then, it was still a blast. I mean, I can sleep anytime. :)

All I had was my point and shoot camera, so blame it for the low quality photos. Next time when it's sunny and warm I'll take my real camera.

Stacey and I did not have an umbrella or a hoodie, so we were thoroughly soaked by the end.

So we went to Chacko's to enjoy a yummy fresh lunch. Stacey introduced me to this place, and let me tell you, it is DELISH! It is family owned and the mom bakes everything fresh. So, so, so good!

Here is a photo of my loot. I spent 12 dollars and got peaches, an entire bushel of lettuce, a ton of sweet potatoes, 3 different spices, a cantelope and an avacado. Why do I need an entire bushel of lettuce? Because I was talking to the farmer boy about the different types and he threw in more and more at a price I just couldn't refuse. 

:j

Why Weight?

So I said in my last post that I would post something about my weight loss goals. Why do I go saying things like that, Internet? I guess there is the possibility that you all breezed right pass it while you were reading, and I could just skip this, but I can't risk it. One of you may be checking my blog daily waiting for this update. A girl can dream, can't she? I like to pretend like I have avid readers who think my blog is just the berries. (Who says things like that? And I wonder why I'm single!)

Okay, back to the topic at hand. Today I joined SparkPeople.com which is a free on-line weight loss community. The best part is it's free, and I get to choose my own pace, goals, plan, etc. The first goal I had was to tell 1 person about my goals, so I decided to tell the entire webisphere. I'm just an over achiever. Okay, my real goal is get healthy. I'm trying really hard to make it more about health than weight. I know that the weight will go down while the healthy goes up. Kind of like the rain and the floods in that Sunday School song. 

So here's my plan....

1. Start working out everyday. 

That's it. I know what you are thinking...lame-o, but I've been going about the whole weight-loss thing all wrong I've decided. Historically, I tried to lose the most amount of weight in the shortest amount of time, and ended up throwing in the towel because I wanted to eat a piece of cake. Instead I need to make it about habits, so every 21 days, I'm going to add a new habit. That's the plan. I've decided to write about it on the blog on Mondays, so if you don't want to follow the progress, don't read on Mondays.

Oh, and here is a "before" photo of me. What's that? The before photo should be a full body shot? Yeah, not going to happen....yet. Check back in a few weeks months.

I can't believe I just wrote this post...TMI! Ha!

:j

By Request Only

I've been asked to post something by my cousin, Tracy. I'm not one to disappoint, and I'll be the first to admit I've been neglecting Bloggy lately. (Sorry, Bloggy, I'll try to think of a better name for you later.) My goal was to get back to posting daily over the summer, but I'm teaching summer school. So Tracy may have to wait a couple weeks for her regular scheduled blogging.

I've decided to make some Summer Goals, so here they are Internet. It's your job to hold me accountable, so if I don't achieve them, I'm blaming you; it can't be my fault. You were supposed to hold me accountable. Sure, I might be the one choosing to watch yet another episode of the Cake Boss marathon or getting my tan on for the 7th day that week, but where were you? Yeah, that's what I thought.

1. Get my office in order. I don't really use my office much except when I need to print things, but it is in dire need of some TLC. It's fairly organized, but I need to get the closet and bottom drawer of the credenza into shape. I seriously don't even know what is in the closet, but I'm pretty sure nothing else can fit.

2. Read all the Truman Nominees. (A middle school literary award) I'm becoming a librarian next year, so I feel like it would be beneficial to read some teen books before I officially begin, and I can complete this one pool side! That's my kind of goal.

3. Get on the weight loss train. I plan to blog more about this. Maybe I'll make it tomorrow's topic....well, I might wait until Monday. :) Possibly after the 4th of July. I wouldn't want to miss out on Aunt Michelle's cheesy potatoes!

4. Stay on top of my laundry. I loathe laundry. If it were up to me, I would just buy all new clothes every week, but I don't have a money tree in my back yard, so I'm forced to do laundry. I need to be better about doing it on a regular basis. This might be a silly goal, but if you knew my distaste for laundry or opened my closet, you'd understand.

5. Work on my 50 in 500. I'm thinking numbers 17, 22, 23, 29, 38, 39, 40, 41, 45 and 49. If you actually open the link and figure out the exact goals I listed, you deserve to be my blog reader of the month!

Ready, Set, Goal! Oh and a photo since they make everything better....kind of like bananas according to my cousin, Eva.

:j