I am surprisingly out of shape...

so I started on Day 1.
5 crunches, 5 leg raises and a 10 second plank.
hmmmmm.

I am sufficiently ashamed.

That was hard!

So for the past few months I have been working really hard on my own at losing weight. I have lost close to 40 pounds now.  It has been amazing.
However I noticed I was starting to plateau and really starting to stall and lose motivation. I was getting hungry all the time and starting sliding back into not eating the right things.

So I took the next step and went to an actual Dr supervised weight loss clinic. They focus on diet, nutrition, and exercise.
So although my initial attempt was a great jump start point, I needed to switch things up a little bit.
I needed to ramp up  my protein, cut down on my "white"carbs like rice, bread, and sugar and focus more on vegetables and lean proteins. I need to drink more water and take my vitamins. I need to have a small snack every few hours to keep  my metabolism going.
I get appetite suppressants if I want them, and it includes one weekly injection of either MIC or B12. I opted on the MIC shots.
So I came home armed with knowledge and (because I am paying for it) motivation.
I also came home with an injection to give myself. It is MIC, which is a bunch of amino acids that help break down the fat and improve liver function.  (I had her give one to me at the clinic to show me how it is done, and said I would do the other at home myself.)

The more I thought about this plan the more I realized how insane it was.
I ...HAVE... TO ...GIVE ...IT ...TO ...MYSELF!!!  
Yep.  I have to FORCE myself to hurt me.
I asked my mom to do it and she said she would, but she has been so busy and I needed to get it done today. Charles said No. he didnt want to hurt me.
So this morning I took out the injection. I looked at it. I alcohol prepped the spot on my stomach. I took a deep breath and.....just stood there.
I had to SERIOUSLY psych myself up for like 5 minutes before I was able to do it.
OK...1...2...3 and  oh wait I cant do this.
Ok 1...2...3  and ahhhh I cant!
Charles came over and said "Give it to me"...then proceeded to kind of fumble around like he didnt really know what he was doing or how he was going to do it.  so I took it back.
1...2...3...oh crap I cant. I cant . I cant.
1...2...3...Im shaking i cant do it.
Charles says "Quit thinking about it. Youre just psyching yourself out.  Just do it."
So finally I closed my eyes, took a deep breath,  and just took the plunge.
for real. It was so easy. It didnt really even hurt.
But the fact I had to give myself an injection...wowie. It was rough.
But I did it.
Now I can resume on with my life.

So I take 1/2 a suppressant daily, which helps a little, but it really forces me to be smart in my food choices, because I still get hungry  towards the afternoon.  So over the next few months I will be building those healthy eating habits and establishing a routine that will keep me looking good.
I feel like I am making better choices. I feel like I can really get a grip on this whole thing and do what I am supposed to do.
so glad I made this choice and have finally taken my health and life back again.

Its a struggle...

a few months ago my husband said ;" Get used to the fact you have a beautiful mom, boys".  Finn (10 years old) said "yeah, but all my friends say she's kind of...you know...chubby"  It obviously hurt his feelings when his friend said that, and it embarrassed him. i felt awful for him that MY weight and MY appearance made him feel like that. I know he loves me, but I know he wishes I would take better care of myself.
My 13 year old has kind of hinted at the same thing.


 So a few months back around my birthday I took a good hard look and REALLY made some changes.   It has been amazing. I have had so many positive comments and a fantastic support at work and home and a great cheering section.
In the past 3 months  I have lost 30+ pounds. I feel better, I look WAY better. but I still have a VERY...LONG...WAY...TO...GO!!!!

I have had to buy new pants, and all my tops are getting too big.  Last Sunday I fit into a dress I haven't worn in 11 years. And it was a little loose. I couldn't believe it.

But over the past 2 weeks or so I noticed I was starting to plateau and kind of yo yo, and I was scared about undoing all my hard work. I felt like I was losing motivation, and it was getting harder for my willpower and harder for me to do it on my own. Having a doctor prescribe you something and kind of keep tabs on you is one thing, but going to an actual weight loss clinic where they REALLY keep tabs on you and are with you every step of the way, and are trained in weight loss (rather than just a family Dr.) is completely different.

So yesterday I took the plunge and went to the Weight Loss Clinic down the road.
It is a bi-weekly weigh in, it includes BMI and body fat tracking, vitamins, supplements, weekly injections, food and menu planning/nutritional counseling.
So after talking to my weight loss counselor, I realized I am going about this the wrong way. I did really well to start, but my body is starting to stall and it needs a shake up and re-boot.

 I have decided not to look at actual weight numbers. I want to be a size 12, which is a healthy, realistic goal for me.  So if my blood sugars, blood pressure, and all other things look good and I am a healthy size 12, then so be it...whether its 175 pounds or 200 pounds, I will take it.  I just want to be healthy. I just want to look good.  I don't want my kids to be embarrassed of me. I don't want them to feel like their mom is ugly, or fat and they not want me around.


But like I said I had a bit of a yo yo and some plateauing  and i got scared and needed professional intervention! so glad i did. I feel like this will help me get back on track and keep going the direction I know I need to be going.

So starting this morning I am back on track.

• I have my multi vitamin.
•  I have my phentramine. 
•  I have my weekly injections.
•  I have a food plan.
•  I have an exercise plan.  I have to keep track of everything I eat.  I have to eat a crap ton of protein daily, and avoid certain things like dairy, nuts, peanut butter etc. things i thought were good for you.  (well they are, just not right now)

I decided to do the injection of the  MIC amino Acid shots this month.  Next month I may add B12.

i HATE needles. i HATE shots.  HATE HATE HATE.  But I bit the bullet.  I had her do it in the back of my arm.  The needle itself didn't hurt. Didn't feel that one bit.  What i DID feel was the serum being injected, and that stung like a son of a you know what.  But it is a good injection to have, and it helps keep things running smoothly.


It is out there in the universe.If I blog it, I am accountable.
  I can do this. i HAVE to do this. I owe it to my kids. I owe it to myself.

I will also be sending my dear husband that direction as well.  DH is really very handsome, albeit overweight now.   If he were to get back to where he was 12 years ago when we went on vacation to Hawaii..man, look out world.
I feel like we have been married so long (16 years!) that we have both kind of said "screw it, I don't need to look good for anyone else. My hubby/wife  loves me just the way I am".  I am sad it had come to that. I feel like I WANT to keep looking good for him. I WANT him to be proud of me. And I would hope that he would do the same for me.  i WANT him to look good for me. I want him to have me be proud of him. I want to be that couple who does the fun runs together, and has a fun and active lifestyle. I want to have a fulfilling life with him and with our kids.  I don't want to be the fat mom and dad on the couch who has a hard time doing anything. i want to teach my kids the importance of taking care of yourself and exercise and eating healthy.  i want them to know that they are the most important things in my life and  I will do what it takes to be with them as long as possible.  And I know that by being obese and unhealthy I was depriving them of that opportunity and that was really selfish of me.

So begins a new chapter.  The first 30+ was easy.  This last 30 is going to be the challenge.  But i KNOW I can do it. I am ready.

My pumpkin...sigh I just cant get it how I want it.

So last year at work we started a pumpkin decorating contest tradition.
I won with my Jack Skellington meets Liza Minelli pumpkin. It was FABULOUS.

This year I had to defend my title as reigning champion. AND... I JUST...WASN'T...FEELING...IT.
For Reals. (For reals?? Did I just type that?  Well it stays.)

I had visions of amazing craftiness pouring forth from my glue gun and paint.  I scoured pinterest. I bing'd, I googled.  I had the perfect plan. IT WAS ON! I was winning again, defending my title and winning the jackpot of money. I was so confident.


I was going to turn my humble little pumpkin into a candy apple.

I painted the pumpkin a beautiful shade of apple/lime green.  I used the puffy pearl paint in espresso. It was the perfect shade of caramel-y brown. I let it dry and did a primer for the caramel.
 I started putting the "caramel" onto my pumpkin...it did not want to go onto my pumpkin.  It wanted to slide.  It wanted to have a date with my tabletop and keep- it- neat newspapers. hmmmmm.
 So far not so good.  So I let it dry overnight and the next morning I came down to a caramel apple that looked like it had been sitting on the shelf for a week.  So I thought, "well I will cover it with sprinkles and drizzle it with "Chocolate and white chocolate".  I sprayed an adhesive on the paint/caramel and started putting on my sprinkles.  They were the little foil confetti of bats and witches and pumpkins in various halloween colors.  Like I said, in my mind, this was a brilliant pumpkin. Well these damn confetti sprinkles started clumping together and I dont know if the adhesive reacted with the puffy paint or what...I had confetti sprinkles that looked like someone had stepped on them AND on the apple at the same time.  hmmmmmm.

So final step was the drizzle black and white paint to look like chocolate drizzle. At this point the apple was looking like a crappy apple.  Then I took it one step too far with some orange puffy paint and ruined the whole thing.  I was sick to my stomach about it.
So while I was at work I texted my husband and said  SCRAPE EVERYTHING OFF THAT PUMPKIN I AM STARTING OVER!!!  I have one night to finish it, but I will come up with something.

SO last night I started over.  Thank goodness I have a craft room stocked with rarely used things.  You never know when you are going to need them.
So I did my pumpkin, and although I am not thrilled with the results (A little sloppy if you look to closely) it is 10,000,000,000x better than what I started with.

I ended up decoupaging the pumpkin with Modge Podge and book pages. I used pages from Dorian Gray and Canterville Ghost(to give it a little bit of a creepy halloweeny authenticity). When it dried I stenciled BOO in puffy paint and decorated a paper silhouette spider for the middle O in boo.  I had some orange and black tulle that I did a little bow.
I am not thrilled.  From far away it looks great, but up close its just OK.  You can tell I did it in 3 hours.

GUESS WHAT I WON???

So the other day the local radio station here was doing their "winning week".

On Tuesday my co-worker Joey came in announcing he would be winning Cher tickets on the radio that week.  We needed to be the 9th caller during a certain song that was announced.

So, we were all in the dispensary, listening for "Dreaming" by The Cranberries.

As soon as it came on I said "Joey, this is it!".  

He pulls out his cell phone and dials.  I get on the work phone(Sorry HCM) and call in.  He hangs up and says "I was number 3".

I hang up after being told I was number 4.

Joey redials.

I redial.

He says "Crap, it's busy".

I say "Im ringing!"

All of the sudden I hear "_____the link..."

Me:  Am I the 9th caller ?

Radio Station: yes you are!

Me: Are you serious?

Radio Station: Yep!

Me: I just won the Cher tickets?

Radio Station: Yes you did!  Now I just need information from you.

So i gave my name and age and address etc.

All the while my co workers are all gathered around saying things like "shut up! Youre lying" 

or

"She's joking. She's talking to a busy signal"

or "No! Sarah just won the tickets. SHUT UP!!!"

I was told the show wasnt until May and that I would be contacted sometime next year before the concert to pick up my tickets.

After hanging up we all screamed and jumped and screamed some more.

Our manager came back and said "Hey guys, whats going on?"

"I JUST WON CHER TICKETS OFF THE RADIO!!!"

I got another "What? Shut up!! Thats awesome!"

So yay me. I will be taking Joey(That was the deal. If he won, they were his. If I won, he and I would go together. My hubby has no interest in her concert)

.  I have several clients who are currently trying to plan a freak accidental death for him in order to secure that ticket for themselves.

Be afraid Joey...be very afraid.

I WON CHER CONCERT TICKETS!!!!!

I WON! I WON! I WON!!

I never win anything...BUT I WON!

Just a test

So Im trying to figure out this whole Google Plus thing.
So this isnt an actual post...move along citizens.

Man I love these babies...my photogenic cats.

I wouldnt call myself a CRAZY cat lady.  But then again I do take tons of photos of them on  a quite regular basis. They are just so sweet and photogenic.  I think they like it. So really, I am just doing what they WANT me to do...right?

Anyways, here are my babies.

Tired Skittles (He rolled himself up in that sheet.)

Big Boy skittles

Rustys body with Skittles face...

sweeeeeeet Rusty. (Rusters is the besters)

my "favorite" Skittles (shh, dont tell the others)

And Rusty (Rusters):

 Yep, thats all I could get from him the other day. He was not in the mood to smile.



And now onto our newest addition...Sir Joseph Blue. His mom was a black ragdoll type cat and his dad is (the dads vet thinks) part African Savannah Cat.  We named him joseph after the Paul Simon Song "Under African Skies"

Joseph's face was black as night 
The pale yellow moon shone in his eyes 
His path was marked 
By the stars in the southern hemisphere 
And he walked his days 
Under African skies 
This is the story of how we begin to remember 
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein 
After the dream of falling and calling your name out 
These are the roots of rhythm 
And the roots of rhythm remain 

The blue comes from the color collar his family gave him to distinguish him from the other kittens.  So his name was Blue when we got him...we added Joseph in front of it.  So, Sir Joseph Blue....His fur is not quite black, but he appears black until he is in the sun and you can see what color he really is.  His pale yellow eyes are beautiful, and then he has those big cupped ears that are almost too big for his little head.

 He rules this roost, let me tell you.  He has Charles wrapped around his sweet little paw.  He is a snuggler, has THE LOUDEST PURR and makes biscuits on you like crazy.  He is just one sweet cat.

just hanging around the curtains

enjoying a sunbeam at the front door

you can see the spots and mottling of his fur color in the sun.

I told him a funny joke...

lazy

dont you love that sweet squishy face??

in my face

 I just LOVE these babies. I cant stand it.

A really awesome crafter...TWISTED SPIDERS

So this past weekend I went to the Carolina Renaissance Festival and I found a booth that I had never seen before...TWISTED SPIDERS!!  This was their first year at our festival and I was so glad they joined us!! Admittedly I hate spiders. (yeah yeah I know they are good for the ecosystem blah blah blah. but seriously they just creep me out).  However these spiders were AMAZING.  they are all made from beads and wire. they came in all different sizes and colors.  I had mine made into a necklace.  Let me tell you I have had SO MANY COMPLIMENTS on it since purchasing and wearing it out and about.
I got to chatting with the owner and she is SUPER nice. I absolutely fell in love with these cute guys!!

Here are some of the pictures I took of it at home so you can REALLY see the beautiful color and sparkle to it.

to be honest I had a really hard time deciding which one to get. Each one was prettier than the last.  I wish I had gone back and gotten more. 

Check her out at Twisted Spiders

The Carolina Renaissance Festival-Huzzah, raise a cheer

Every year we take ourselves to one of our favorite places...The Carolina Renaissance Festival here in Charlotte NC (well, more like Concord. Its off of Poplar Tent Rd exit on I-85).  EVERY...SINGLE...YEAR.  Of course, this year was no exception.  Many of the same acts from years past, some new acts.  This year was the 20th anniversary, so every weekend they are bringing in an "Artiste du jour" to spice it up.  This year was AMAZING!  Seriously.

Slay a dragon.  We have one of these for the past 13 years...

hubba bubba and I starting our day off

Looking at the map, debating what to do first

I just wanted a close up of the crown I made...

So We started off our day with one of our favorites "DON JUAN AND MIGUEL". (self proclaimed: A mexican and a Polish guy from Chicago") They do whip tricks, sword fighting, comedy, dirty jokes that sail over the kids heads.  Don Juans daughter, Esmerelda appears with him on occasion. She is now heading off to Texas Renaissance Fair with her boyfriend, a world champion whip cracker.

Don Juan and Miguel

Here is a series of whip shots from Don Juan and Esmerelda (The fair Esmerelda and hubba calls her. A little whip crush methinks)  He had two bundles of pasta/-. She had to whip through one and leave the other intact. She's good.

Over the next hour or so we wandered around, looked at the various booths and vendors and then went to the opening joust.

Joust arena

Queen and her princesses at the joust

mistress of the games

Our knight, Sir Edgeron.  He was a cutie.

Sir Maxamillian (the cheater) lancing through the rings

ANATOMY OF A TILT:

 Our next stop was to find something to EAT!!  This year Peter had Steak on a Stake, Finn had a meatball Hoagie (very 1599 I know), Hubba had a grilled Portabello Mushroom sandwich(again, very renaissance) and I had a corn on the cob...which they had doused in so much butter that it dripped all down the husks and onto my shirt, effectively ruining it forever. Oh well.
We then headed to my favorite booth...the chocolate booth.  Boys got a slab of rocky road fudge to share, I got a caramel apple with pecans and drizzled with white and dark chocolate.  (and a personal note to the teenage girl working behind the counter...I am sorry you dont want to be there, but it is your job and you need to learn how to talk to people instead of mumbling and trying to figure out the math on your fingers)

So ontoto our favorite act of the entire faire...THE LONDON BROIL!!! (London Broil Core Audience...huah!) I have seen these guys every year for the past 14 years here at  Carolina Renfest. I have seen them get a little older, a little grayer, but still so darn funny!!) Peter was a 5 months old his first London Broil Show...he is now 13.  I LOVE the London Broil. I think the reason I enjoy them year after year is that they obviously love juggling together. They have fun. Yes, it is their job, but they are like 3 best friends who goof off on stage, while working. Its really just FUN to watch the chemistry between them.

Here is Matt with his pretty princess hair(seriously? Did you lose a bet??), opening the show with some flames of fury juggling:

You can see where the torch is starting to get away from him

"hey, no big deal..."

 All three, Matt, Louis and Duncan doing what they do best...

Duncan

Here is Matt being proclaimed KING of the show with a pretty princess tiara, to go with his pretty princess hair....again, did you lose a bet?? .

"try this at home kids...'cause where else you gonna try it??"

Finn then tried his hand at Jacobs ladder....it did not end well. It ended with him on his butt in the hay.

Our next stop was BARELY BALANCED.  These guys, Small, Medium and Large are amazing together. They balance on each other, juggle, contort etc.   

This kid was chosen from the audience. His face was priceless.

Her body is SICK! I want abs like hers when I grow up.

Our next stop was the Falconry Show.  We always enjoy this one, they have a large variety of really amazingly beautiful birds.

Jake the Harris Hawk.

Archimedes the eurasian eagle owl.

Widget the barn owl

Cricket, the  Aplomado falcon

Then the final Don Juan and Miguel show of the day. This is world champ and guinness book record holder Adam Crack, whipping open a can of soda.

I got a new pretty:

my very own Twisted Spider

Sunburn, joust, spending way too much money...nothing like a good old Renaissance festival.  Thanks again for another GREAT year!!