January 2010 Recap

Grad school has started again and I haven't been very diligent in blogging, my apologies!  This month has been crazy busy as usual, with swimming, soccer, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, driving to Denton two nights a week..... the list goes on and on. 

Theresa and Sal threw us a great engagement party on the 16th, which was attended by about 40 of our nearest and dearest friends and relatives.  Funny story of the night: my grandma walked her check!!  There was some confusion over if my mom or aunt was paying, so she just left without figuring it out!  The conversation went a little like this.....

Waitress: Did you know that old lady sitting right there?
Mom: Yes.
Waitress: She left without paying her check.
Mom: Better call the police.
Waitress: Excuse me?
Mom: I said, better call the police.

The waitress was so flustered, it was funny.... Of course we had to host the after party at our house, which was fun because the majority of the people who came over were Jason's friends, who we never see.  Good times were had by all, it was an eventful night.

In wedding news, we have booked the reception site (Off the Grid), got a cake (Jenn Garcia with Cucalu), scored an amazing photographer (Celina Gomez/Captivating Simplicity), and bought the table linens ($800 worth for $91...score!).  I also bought the most amazing dress (well, my dad bought it) along with a rockin veil and hairpiece.  The bridesmaids have picked their dresses (gorgeous) and we found some super cute dresses this weekend for Rese and Grace.  We were having some issues finding some little girl dresses vs. adult-woman-dress-in-child-size dresses, but Theresa hunted them down.

I did have a little health scare last weekend, but what we thought was appendicitis actually turned out to be a ruptured ovarian cyst, which while it hurt like heck, I was pain free in a matter of days.  I am about 18% done with acheiving my weight loss goals, and have amazingly stayed committed to eating healthier and working out.  It's amazing what having to wear a white dress in June will do to motivate you!

My sweet, sweet FEAHNSAY Jason bought me a BodyBugg!!!  After finally winning him over, he bought one for me and one for himself.  I must say, it is the most fantastical thing I have ever used and we are enjoying the friendly competition in trying to beat each other's caloric defecit each day.
We ended the month last night celebrating my awesome brother-in-law Sal's birthday with dinner and karaoke.  I am not a fan of singing in front of complete strangers, but the place we went to, Family Karaoke, was beyond amazing.  While is wasn't in the lightest and brightest of neighborhoods, it was clean, smoke free, and you could rent a karaoke room so you only embarrassed yourself in front of your friends.  The room came decked out with FOUR flat screens, three walls of couches, two microphones and a great bartender (that was rather 12 Days of Christmas-y).  Half the songs were in Japanese, Japanese videos played in the background with the lyrics running like subtitles, and after you sang the song it scored you in Japanese.  Fun was had by all, and it was a great first time experience.

***HAPPY 28TH (wink, wink) BIRTHDAY TO JASON'S SWEET SISTER, CHRISTI!!!***

Hope you all had a fantastic January, and can't wait to see what February has in store for us!

bodybugg, I <3 you. even if you aren't mine...

As a brand new fan of Biggest Loser, I was curious about the bodybugg they are using on the show.  I also have a friend on Facebook who is using one, and burning a ridiculous amount of calories! :)  Of course, having set big goals for myself this year, I want whatever is going to help me burn, baby burn!

Here is the equipment (photo from http://www.bodybugg.com/)

I have heard great feedback from this product, and from the people who have used it.  It is a great weight loss tool, and I REALLLLLLLYYYY want one! :)  Here is what the website http://www.24hourfitness.com/training/bodybugg has to say about the bodybugg....

Now you can know how many calories you’re burning with the revolutionary bodybugg calorie management system. Combined with a user-friendly web-based program*, the bodybugg makes it easy to manage the calories you consume and burn so that you can stay in control of your weight.

*Uses specialized sensors to monitor calories burned with over 90% accuracy.

*Manages calorie consumption through a web-based program free for 6 months.

*Tracks steps with a built-in pedometer.

*Includes a phone coaching session to help get you started.

*PC and Mac compatible.

*Runs on a rechargeable battery.

I wish the money tree I started growing in the backyard would hurry up and produce some cash money, but until then I can just hope and pray and beg and plead to get one of these.  Is it too early to have Jason do some early Christmas shopping?  Until then, I will just live vicariously through the Biggest Loser! :)

Lose It, my newest addiction! :)

For those of you who haven't heard, Jason and I are tying the proverbial know on June 26th, 2010, which is only 5 months, 15 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes away.... not that I am counting or anything! :)

Having recently been a little ill the past few months, taking tons of medications, being banned from the gym by the doctor, and general laziness, I have put on a few L-Bs I could do away with.  Enter Celina Gomez, my wonderfully talented photographer friend who came up with the GENIUS idea to start a New Year, New You contest.  This is a friendly (so far) competition between friends who are trying to spend the first 12 weeks of the new year getting back into shape.  We meet once a week on Mondays with Celina to weigh in, work out, and discuss what is going well (and not so well).  We also have a Facebook group page where we try to keep ourselves accountable to each other.

Enter the best app of 2010, (I'm starting a petition)..... LOSE IT!!!  I love it so much, it is on the front page of my iPhone screen (note the orange scale, bottom right corner).

This app lets you enter your current weight, goal weight, and the time frame you want to do it in.  I set mine for 50 pounds by June 30, 2010, exactly six months after my 31st birthday.  At this rate I would need to lose a sensible 2 pounds per week, and the Lose It app sets my caloric intake for me.

All I have to do is record the food I eat, the exercise I do, and TADA, it tells you what you have left.

I can even check out my friends' progress who are also using the Lose it app.

Here is how I have done for the first week, with 11 weeks to go until the end of the contest.  I plan on winning the big prize, a professional photo shoot with hair and makeup, and a beautiful album for the pictures.  Celina is one of the hottest photographers in the DFW area, so how lucky would I be to win?? :)  Keep your fingers, eyes, and toes crossed for me, I am so motivated it hurts! :)

Party at the Park

To start the new year off right, Jason and I took the kiddos to the park down the street to play with all their cool new toys.  Peyton took his new rollerblades, Zay was cruising on the skateboard, and Rese was rollin' on her bike.  Peyton has decided he is now a professional "blader", and Zay is ready for the half pipes.  We DEFINITELY need to get these kids some wrist pads, Santa forgot to bring them when he dropped off the skateboards and helmets. :) I took my camera that Jason got me for Christmas and decided to test it out.  The kids had NO problem hamming it up for the camera, and had a fantastic time.  Here a few shots from that day.

The kids on the baby rockers! :)

From the other side of the playground....

A little Brady Bunch action....

Isaiah :)

Peyton :)

Rese :)

Fat Camp.... Day 1

A friend of mine has decided to go on a diet, and thought it would be a great idea to round up 20 of her closest friends to jump on the bandwagon.  This is usually everyone's New Year's resolution, so with the serious need to look amazing in a white dress on June 26th, I decided to join.... and drag Theresa in it with me.

Theresa and I arrived at Celina's house at 6:32 (Theresa drove so of course we were late) to find about 18 women of various sizes waiting.  We were each handed a very professional looking folder, with our names on the tab (TYPED!) and everything.  I knew this chick meant business and started filling in the information sheet.  Over the next hour, we were weighed, had our front and side photo taken and discussed how the program would work.  The program is 12 weeks, and we will be meeting every Monday to be weighed, work out, etc.  Celina is serious about holding us accountable and this could get very interesting.

My favorite part of the evening is finding out I weigh TWENTY SEVEN POINT FOUR pounds more than my lovely twin sister, and only weighed about a pound more than her at birth! :(  I knew things had gotten bad, but I didn't think it was that bad!  Jason did manage to lift my spirits by telling me that he weighed 8 pounds less than an airplane.... I laughed so hard I was crying!  Regardless, those three inches I have on her in height don't justify the extra tubbiness, so it is on! :)

The top three ladies who lose the highest % of body weight will get a photo shoot for FREE (did I mention Celina is a professional photographer?) and the top place finisher will get professional hair and makeup, and a gorgeous photo album. Can anyone say Happy Wedding Day To Me??? :)  We also decided to make it a little more interesting and have put $10 a person into the pot for the winner.

Jason and I are going to be hitting the Wii Fit hard the next few months, so I will keep you posted on our progress!  I can't wait to brag on my GINORMOUS loss and to show you how fit I get (hey that rhymes!) before the wedding.

Fingers crossed, Ness