Into The Wilderness

   

There's nothing more romantic than a moonlit walk with my sweetie!

Every week we are tweaking our healthy lifestyle to make it better, more realistic and simpler to stick to. Last year we had pledged to get in 10,000 steps EVERY SINGLE DAY, and we did. All through the 40 days of Lent. And then Easter was upon us and we took the day off from our daily walk. A day became a week which stretched into a month and suddenly we weren't walking anymore. So now we are devoted to going for a walk at least 3 times a week which is WAY more do-able. Jeff and I have been trying out some new walking routes, too. One of the biggest challenges I face is getting bored with our routines. Do you have that problem, too? We walk the same three routes in our neighborhood and aside from the occasional dead raccoon (so gross), the scenery never changes. Jeff could probably continue on the same path every day and it wouldn't bother him a bit, but I have the attention span of a toddler loaded up with birthday cake and pixie sticks. I need new environments and shiny things to amuse me! Preferably ones that are not decaying and covered in maggots. 

Mall Rats

 

It just takes a little ingenuity...

  Welcome to the weekly weigh-in! Care to join us? 
  Katie has been sick this week, staying in bed for a few days trying to recover. Without any physical activity she posts a 3 pound gain this week. Fear not, for she is youthful and determined! Once this illness is behind her, Katie will be back to dancing at play rehearsals, racing around school to her classes and maybe joining Jeff and I for walks or a bike-ride. Something to celebrate-Katie's report card! First semester grades are A's and B's with one D, which she had mixed emotions about. Katie has never received a "D" in her entire academic career. This grade is in her AP World History-a really tough class with a TON of homework. With all of Katie's extracurricular activities and a few illnesses, she fell behind in the class and struggled to complete assignments she missed. However, she was failing the class shortly before the end of the semester, so to be passing with even a D was a great relief. It's a good life lesson for Katie about having priorities and not taking on more than you can realistically handle (something her mother struggles with at times). So, lesson learned, ever forward and regroup for second semester! I'm super-proud of this kid!

Healthy Living Through Costco

 

Dinner at our house! Yum!

  We are well into the middle of the rainy season here in wet western Washington, which means only 4 more months until Mr. Sun upgrades from his cameo appearances to a full-on cast regular. It is really hard to find the motivation to go for long walks (or even short ones) when there are few to no breaks in the precipitation. I am too cheap to pay for a gym membership just to have an indoor track, so I'm gonna have to think outside the box to get in my daily exercise. 

Pennies From Heaven

  We're off to a pretty good start! Weigh-in day was Friday morning, so we only had two days to show any improvement and we KILLED it! Katie lost 2.4 pounds between Wednesday and Friday! She had let her commitment to healthy eating slip quite a bit over the last several months and she has been drinking a lot of soda. So just giving up the carbonated demon and keeping active with dance rehearsals for the high school musical, Katie is set up to take control once again. 

  Jeff lost 1.2 pounds bringing his weight to 277.4 pounds. Over the last week Jeff and I walked Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday logging in a respectable 14.74 miles. Katie hasn't joined us for a walk yet. She fully intended to pull on her sneakers and head out with us Friday morning, but when I tried to wake her up at 7:00 a.m. to hit the pavement, she had changed her mind, favoring sleeping in over exercise. Shocker! A teenager who wants to sleep in on the weekend????? That is entirely unexpected!!!

The Return for Lent

 

Time to re-think our fitness goals

 
  Hello dear friends! I know it's been a long while, but we are back and ready to kick off once again with a new resolve to lose weight and get healthy! So much has happened since August (has it been THAT long?) and I fear it will take more than a few blog posts to get you all caught up. So let's begin today with a recap of where we were, where we're at and where we're going. Ready?