Happy Halloween!

Once again, our plans got changed & we decided not to go home right now. Things are just up in the air with Jim's job & it's just too scary to risk at the moment. I called my Mom yesterday & we talked for like half an hour. She even told me to wait, so that's what we're doing. She sounded really good & I even got her to laugh a few times, which doesn't happen very often. I was telling her about how much weight I've lost so far (45.4 pounds as of today :) & she asked me if Jim & I felt better. I said "yep, and we're even bowling better now, too!" Then I went on to tell her that s*x is a lot better as well, lol. That's when she laughed & said "I figured you'd say something like that!" I told her it's true.....our bellies don't get in the way anymore ;) Okay, maybe that was TMI, huh? But hey, it did get her to laugh, so it was worth it.

Last night, at 11:00 p.m., I got a call from Shawn & he told me that since his car is in the shop, he can't make it out to Toni's to see his daughter for Halloween. So he asked me what we were doing & said that Toni may go pick him up & they may bring my granddaughter to our neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. I say may because I'll believe it when they show up! I haven't seen my granddaughter since June because Toni moved out to Lansing :( So keep your fingers crossed for me that they do show up. Toni said that she's going to be a princess, but I don't think she needs a costume for that.....she already is one :)

Have a safe & wonderful Halloween! It's supposed to get into the 60's here today, so I'm going to get outside & enjoy it while it lasts!

Benita

Another Awesome Night

Tonight was another awesome night at bowling :) But this time, I let Jim beat me, lol. My games were 210, 212 & 217 for a 639 series! That's two 600+ series in one week! I have NEVER done that before! Jim bowled wonderful as well, shooting games of 237, 254 & 235 for a 726 series!

Above is a layout that I actually did last month, but kept forgetting to post it. I used my last Design Team kit from The Scrapbook Zone & printed out index size pictures of some of the layouts that I did while I was on the Design Team.

Tomorrow, we bowl again & then on Thursday, we decided to go ahead & do The Biggest Loser competition again, but this time, I volunteered to be a coach. I'm pretty excited about it, too. This competition only runs for 6 weeks, but I'm hoping it'll really help keep Jim & I on track during the holidays. Then on Friday, we'll be heading home to PA to visit my family for the weekend, so I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to update again before then.

Hope you have a wonderful, safe & Happy Halloween!

Benita

The Biggest Loser Finale

Tonight was the final meeting of our "Biggest Loser" competition & although neither Jim or I won the title of the biggest loser, we're both still big losers.....of weight, that is :) I ended up finishing in 9th place & Jim finished in 8th. Not too shabby if I don't say so myself. Yes, winning some money would have been nice, but losing weight is even nicer & you just can't put a price on that! Here are our before & after pictures (don't ask me why Jim has his hands behind his back in the before picture.....I'm still trying to figure that one out myself, lol):

Before - July 31st, 2008 -- After - October 16th, 2008

Before - After.

In 12 weeks, Jim lost a total of 31.6 pounds & 41 inches! And in case you didn't notice, he's also lost his glasses. Okay, so he didn't actually lose them, but he now wears contacts.....I've always loved the way he looks without glasses on! And yes, he's also growing his goatee back again. Humph!

Before - July 31, 2008 -- After - October 16, 2008
During the 12 weeks of the competition, I lost a total of 22.8 pounds & 30 1/2 inches! And 6 1/2 of those inches was in my waist! To date, I've lost 43 pounds since I started this journey on April 25th of this year.

Sadly, October has been a bad month for me for some reason. I'll admit, I'm not working out nearly as often as I'd like ever since I started working at the gym :( But I will be changing that! I know I need to work out at least 5 days a week, although 6 or even 7 would be ideal. But it just hasn't been working out that way these past couple of weeks. In between hurting my foot & then having a stomach bug, I've been struggling. But now, especially after seeing these results, it's given me the new energy I need to keep going. I need to make working out not only fit into my schedule, but it has to become a part of my day! It's gotta be one of the most important things I do for myself each day! Even if it's only doing abs & weights with my arms at home on the days that I don't make it to the gym to workout....or going for a walk with the mutts.....as long as I do something each & everyday. It's been almost 6 months (as of this Saturday, the 25th) since I started this new life commitment to myself. I'm averaging about 7.17 pounds lost a month, which I know is about right on course. Afterall, slow & steady wins the game, right? :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Mine will be very busy as I work Friday & Saturday & then Sunday, we have to get Cas prepared for her trip to Traverse City on Monday. She'll be spending Halloween up there with her friends while Jim & I will hopefully be going to PA next weekend to visit my family.

Till next time,
Benita

6 Little Pins.....SIX!!!!!

I don't have any pictures to share this time.....just lots of excitement instead :) Today at bowling, I was 6 pins away from shooting a 700 series! SIX!!!!! But right now, I'm still floating around somewhere on cloud 9 :) My games were 211, 257 & 226 for a 694 series! My highest series EVER! WOOHOO!!! And I only had 4 opens total between the 3 games & one of those was a split! The pin that probably cost me my 700 series was a dumb 10 pin in the 9th frame of the 3rd game that I didn't pick up :( I also had 8 strikes in a row in the 2nd game & then the first 5 strikes of the 3rd game. The team we bowled against wasn't too happy, though because we ended up taking all 7 points & it was position round. And to top it all off, my average is now going to be 180, the highest it's ever been! Here is what my games looked like:

1st: S71 X 80 X X 8/ X X X X9/ = 211

2nd: X 90 X X X X X X X X9/ = 257

3rd: X X X X X 9/ 9/ X 90 7/X = 226

All night tonight, I've been rubbing it in to Jim that I beat him as he only shot a 631 series :) Okay, I know, I'm bad, but I'm just still so excited! I don't even know if I'll be able to sleep tonight! And now Jim & I have a bet going....if he bowls a higher series this season & beats my 694, then he gets a new bowling ball at the end of the league. If not, I get a new ball :) We shook hands on the bet while we were at the gym on the ab machines, lol, so it can't be broken now!

Tomorrow, I have to try to find a Halloween costume as their having a party for the member's kids at work this Friday & I was told that I have to wear a costume. Heck, the party doesn't start until 7:00 p.m. & I get off work at 8:00 p.m., but I still have to wear a costume for that hour! Anyone have any ideas of something I can do/make myself? I don't have any costumes & I'm going nuts trying to figure out what to do!

Thanks for sharing in my excitement with me :) Hope you have a wonderful rest of your week!

Benita

Wordless Wednesday

(sign in our neighbor's yard)

Cider Mill Sights

Friday & Saturday, I had a stomach bug which pretty much ruined me going to the gym most of the weekend. But luckily, I felt better today & spent over 2 hours at the gym, making up for lost time.

Today, Jim & Cas went out to Miller's Big Red Cider Mill & I made them take the camera to get some pictures since I wasn't able to go due to having to attend a meeting at work. Apparently, they have meetings once a month or so. Why they had it on a Sunday made no sense to me, though.
I think they did an excellent job taking pics for me :) Here are the rest:

Slim pickings in the pumpkin patch.

On the way home, they also took some scenic pictures for me.

I have another busy week ahead of me.....eye appointment tomorrow for Cas along with working out, work & bowling on Tuesday, bowling on Wednesday & working out, dentist appointments for all 3 of us on Thursday & working out, work on Friday & Saturday & hopefully working out those days as well. I haven't been doing very good with my weight loss this past week or so, but I'm hoping that changes this week. Neither Jim or I won the Biggest Loser competition, but I think we both have a chance at possibly winning the money for the most inches lost. Keep your fingers crossed for us.....we'll find out on Thursday. And we also find out then exactly how many inches we did lose.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Benita

Fall Foilage

I thought I'd take some pics of the changing colors around our home. I truly do love fall, except for the fact that it's a reminder that winter is right around the corner. I'm soooo not ready for winter yet! Above is a picture of our Burning Bush, Jim's favorite.
Just some leaves in our yard. Jim just cut & bagged the grass & leaves on Sunday, but you can't tell it now!

Last year, this maple tree was a gorgeous, vibrant orange. This year, the color isn't nearly as beautiful because of the lack of rain this summer.

Saturday, we went to Birch Run & then we stopped at Chili's for dinner. As I was getting out of the booth, I ended up straining the top of my right foot :( Luckily, it's better already, but it did put a damper on my work-outs over the weekend. So I decided to skip bowling last night & went to the gym instead. We bowl this afternoon, then we'll be going to the gym again & then on Thursday, we have our final weigh-in & measurements for our Biggest Loser competition. Jim was in 8th place before last week's weigh-in, but I'm sure he moved up after losing over 5 lbs. last week. I'd love to see him win, but there's another guy that is also doing really good, so we'll see.

Have a great Wednesday,
Benita

10:10 AM on 10-10

I thought it was kinda neat that when I started my blog post today, it was at exactly 10:10 a.m. on 10-10-08. Just a little something I noticed, which made me come up with today's blog title.

Back in August, I purchased these capris in a size 18. Two months later, this is how they now fit me:

The past couple of weeks, I've been wearing jeans instead of capris because it's been kinda chilly. But yesterday, it was 70 degrees out, so I decided to wear capris & couldn't believe how loose they've become in just 2 months! Size 16, here I come! As of today's weigh-in, I'm officially down 41.2 lbs. :) I didn't work out as much as I would have liked this past week, but I did meet with a trainer yesterday & she taught me a lot of new stuff that I didn't even know my body could do :) And surprisingly, I'm not sore at all this morning! She even had me doing lunges the correct way, something that I've been struggling with.

I was tagged by both Sarah & Sandra to list 6 Secrets about myself. Then I have to tag 5 other bloggers. This is going to be tough because I think I've already shared all my secrets on here before ;)

1. While swimming, I have to hold my nose when I go under water. My dh is trying to break me of that habit, but so far, no luck.

2. Just like Sarah, I used to always bite my nails. Sometimes I still catch myself starting to bite them, but now I just try to keep them polished & that stops me.

3. Up until a few months ago, I didn't like to eat eggs. Now I absolutely love omelets & could eat them every single day!

4. I get carsick very easily which is probably why I almost always drive whenever Jim & I go anywhere, even if it's just down the road to the gym.

5. If you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm obsessed with working out & getting healthy :) I'm constantly wanting to go to the gym, thinking about my next workout & I'm obsessed with workout clothes. Hey, there are worse things in life to be obsessed about, right? :)

6. I'm not good at keeping secrets at all ;)

Now I tag: Cindi, Kim, Jewls, Lorrie & Sue. Have fun :)

I also gotta brag about my dh.....last night, at our Biggest Loser competition weigh-in, he lost 5.4 pounds in a week & was also awarded the 'biggest loser' for the week :) I'm SO dang proud of him!

Off to get ready for work & then this weekend, Jim & I are driving up to Birch Run to get him some new jeans since he's lost so much weight. Have a wonderful weekend!

Benita

Little of this, Little of that

I just realized that it's been awhile since I've updated my blog, but I really don't have much to talk about, so I'm sharing some pictures instead of talking about nothing. Above is a picture of the birdhouse in our neighbor's yard behind us. Looks like all the birds are getting ready for winter already. I never realized how many birds come & go to this house before. Could explain why I see bird poop everywhere on our deck & in our yard, lol.
Today while we were having a humidifier installed on our furnace, the dogs were outside so they wouldn't jump all over the person installing it, so I decided it was time to take some new pictures of them. Reeses, above, is my teddy bear. Well, he doesn't really look like a teddy bear anymore, but he sure did when he was a puppy! Don't you just love his 'eyebrows'?
Onyx loves 'sunbathing'. She would stay out on the deck all day long if I let her. Yes, I know, her head is too small for her body, lol. She was the runt of the litter & her head just never grew enough to match her body. And look at all that gray hair on her face! Yep, even dogs hair turns gray. Afterall, she is 63 years old :)
Lastly, here is a layout I did a few weeks ago (click on picture to enlarge). It's not my favorite layout, but it's done! I just really don't like how I did the journaling. I did the words Party! Party! in the title since that's what was on her hat, but it just didn't turn out like I had imagined it.

Got another busy week ahead of me.....work & bowling tomorrow, bowling & working out on Wednesday, working out on Thursday plus I have a session booked with a trainer that day, then work again on Friday & Saturday. I'm really liking my job :) It can be a little slow at times, but it's also a lot of fun. And the discounts aren't too shabby, either :)

Have a fantastic week!

Benita

5 Months Minus 40 Pounds!

Since today is the first day of October (already!), I decided to weigh myself again to start out the new month. And once again, I was screaming at the top of my lungs! I am officially down 40 pounds!!! OMG.....talk about an AWESOME feeling! I had to get on the scale 3 times to make sure I wasn't going crazy, lol. Since I'm now working at the gym, I'm having a little bit harder of a time fitting working out at the gym into my schedule, but I'm still going to get at least 5 days a week of workouts in. And today, I'll be starting the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels to help boost my workouts even more :)

I thought I would post the before & now pictures of myself & Jim. As much as I hate even looking at this before picture now, it's a reminder of what I DON'T want to look like ever again!!! NEVER!!!

And here I am as of today.....5 months later, 40 pounds lighter & so much happier already! I still have a long way to go to reach my goal, but I've never been so determined to do anything before! It feels so good to be able to bend over & tie my shoes now without being out of breathe! It feels so good to be able to run up the steps at the gym to the weight machines! It feels so good to have energy again!

Here is Jim's before picture, taken on April 25th. He's lost a total of 37 pounds so far :) When I took his updated picture the other day, he says that he still can't see a loss.....I think he's nuts! Just look at the difference in his stomach & his face/chin!

And here he is now. Yep, he's shrinking as well! Even his arms are skinnier. I'm so proud of him for sticking with this with me! I told him when we first started this that we got fat together & now we're going to get skinny together :)

Just like I thought.....Summer ended in a flash & Fall is now officially here. Right now, it's only 49 degrees out & windy. I think it's time to donate the shorts & capris because by next year, I will NOT be in those sizes again!

I bowled really good last night for 2 out of the 3 games :) My games were 187, 217 & 125 for a 529 series! I also won the 50/50 drawing for our league & the High Handicap Game jackpot for my second game :) Jim just joined the men's league at the other end of the house last night since a team had a vacancy & he ended up bowling a 654 series! We bowl again this afternoon & afterwards, we'll be heading to the gym.

Off to do some shredding :) Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Benita