1 Year Ago Today.....

.....I went from this.....................to this!

I can't believe that it's been a year since I started this journey.....one year ago today, April, 25, 2008, I joined a gym (something I thought I would never do!) & made the commitment to myself to become healthier, skinnier & most of all, happier! It hasn't been easy, by any means, but the reward has been SO worth it! I've hit a few roadblocks along the way (shoulder injury (tendonitis & bursitis), being diagnosed with bulging discs in my neck, then being diagnosed with osteoarthritis.....just to name a few, lol), but I never gave up! Even when I couldn't work out, I still stayed positive & was even more careful about what I put into my mouth. I made it through the holidays, only gaining about 4 pounds (which is good for me since I love to bake cookies & make fudge!), but I got right back on track & kept going. To date, I've lost a total of 63.8 pounds & numerous inches.....unfortunately, I didn't measure myself in the beginning, but the clothes tell the story. I've gone from a size 24 jeans down to a size 14, from 1x & 2x shirts, down to a large, from a 48D bra, down to a 42C....and even those are getting too big now ;) Yeah, it figures.....the first thing I lose are my b**bs & b*tt! LOL
So welcome to the new me. Although I still have quite a ways to go until I meet my long-term goal, I'm getting there.....slow & steady :)

Have a wonderful week!

Benita

Picture Heavy Post

We left Michigan around 10:30am Friday morning & decided to go through Canada since we didn't want to deal with the road construction & closures on I-75 in Michigan. We drove non-stop to Niagara Falls until we got to the Duty Free store. From the parking lot, you could see the falls, so of course, I had to take a bunch of pictures :)
The falls always amaze me. I could literally stand there for hours, just looking at them & how beautiful they are! It's like they make you just forget about all of the troubles in the world....even if only for a minute or two!
The American Falls.
Here, you can see the rocks below the American Falls.
Me, with the falls in the background (although Jim didn't get them in the picture very good.....one of these days, I'm going to teach him how to take a picture! LOL).
Jim with the falls in the background. See, isn't this picture MUCH better? :)

When we arrived Friday evening in Pennsylvania around 7:00pm, we met my Dad at The Crippled Bear Inn for dinner. The first words out of his mouth were "Oh My God!" when he saw me! He knew that I had been working on losing weight, but he hasn't seen me since I started, so hearing those words meant so much to me! Saturday morning, we went out for breakfast with my Dad, his sister Jane (both pictured above) & my sister Donna.

After breakfast, we went out to see my Mom at the nursing home & along the way, we stopped at a flower stand to pick her up these gorgeous mums (I also got some for my Dad). They actually painted them these colors, so when the new ones bloom, they'll be white, but I thought the vibrant colors were so pretty! And they did what they were meant to do......
....they put a smile on her face :) My Mom was also very proud of me for the weight I've lost & she gave me encouragement to keep going!

On Easter Sunday, we went to my sister Barb's house for dinner. Donna (above) brought her dog Toby with her. Isn't he a cutie?

Here's the ham she made.....all 16+ pounds of it!

And here is Dad, being sneaky & snitching a piece of ham before everything else was done.

Barb & her son Kyle. I couldn't believe how tall he has gotten! Dang! He's 17 now & had one heck of a growth spurt since I saw him last!

Sunday night, we drove up to my Dads so I could see him one last time before we left to head back home. He's also lost some weight.....about 34 pounds & he looks great!

Monday morning, before hitting the road, I went to see my Mom again. She wasn't dressed yet & didn't want her picture taken in her gown, but I love this picture of us together! Right after Jim took this picture, I started crying. My Mom asked me why I was crying & I said because I miss you & hate seeing you in here! She assured me that she's okay & that they're taking good care of her. But still.....it's so hard! This is not the way she's supposed to live!

I've been home less than 24 hours & I miss my family already! It was so hard to leave this time, for some reason. I always wonder what if? What if this is the last time I see my Mom or my Dad? But I have to stay positive:

We saw this on the back of this van shortly after we got on the road in Pennsylvania (click on the picture to enlarge). Is that a sign or what???

I dreaded getting on the scale this morning, but knew I had to & yep, just as I thought.....I gained 4 pounds back :( I only got to exercise once while we were there plus I ate WAY too much. But this proved to myself just how quickly you can put the weight back on if you're not careful! And those Middleswarth Bar-b-q Potato Chips didn't help, either! Ah well....I'll be busting my butt BIG TIME this week at the gym :)

Have a wonderful week,

Benita

Doctor Update

Our first glimpse of Spring.....I saw these blooming around our Maple Tree today. But with the expected snow that we're supposed to get on Monday (they're calling for 4-6 inches.....UGH!!!), I doubt they'll be around for long.

Thursday, I went back to see my Rheumatologist to get my diagnosis. After she went through all the lab work results, explaining everything in medical terms (which I didn't understand one bit!), she finally told me that I do indeed have Osteoarthritis. Finally.....an answer! Not exactly the answer I wanted to hear, but at least now I know what I have & now I can learn how to cope with it. She said that with this type of arthritis, it doesn't affect the heart, liver or any other organs, which is good news....it just affects the joints. She also said that having osteoarthritis is a better arthritis to have if you have to have one, although none of them are any fun to have!

I had a really busy week this past week, covering shifts for other people at work to get some extra hours in as we're planning to go home next weekend for Easter. I can't wait to see my Mom, Dad & sisters again.....it's been TOO long (since August of 2007!)! And I can't wait for them to see me since I've lost weight :)

I was tagged by Janet for this photo tag:

The tag how-to...
Go to the photos folder on your computer.
Go to the seventh folder of photos.
Go to the seventh photo.
Put the seventh photo on your blog along with a description.
Invite seven friends to join.

I took this picture in August, 2007 on my way home to visit my family on Interstate 80 through Pennsylvania.....this is the highest point on 80, east of the Mississippi (elevation: 2,250 feet). I thought it was pretty cool that this picture just happened to be the one that showed up since we'll be heading home in a week (although we'll probably be driving through Canada this time).

I also received this awesome award from Aimeeslee.....thanks girl :)

The rules governing this award are as follows: List 7 things about myself (I'm not sure that there's 7 things that you still don't know about me, lol). But here it goes:

1. I try to almost always buy things on sale or with a coupon....even better if it's on sale AND I have a coupon for it! Whenever I tell Jim how much I paid for something, he says "let me guess, it was on sale & you had a coupon, right?" LOL

2. Lately, I've been obsessed with buying workout clothes ;) I got some really good deals at JCPenneys today (they were on sale & I had a coupon, hehe).

3. I actually look forward to exercising & feel bad on the days I don't!

4. My highest game in bowling is a 267 & my highest series is a 694. My next goal is to bowl a 700 or higher series and/or a 300 game (I can dream, can't I?).

5. I've joined the ranks of Facebook & it's as addicting as blogging.

6. My 4 sisters & I all collect different things.....Karen used to collect Owls, Linda collects Angel, Barb collects Teddy Bears, Donna collects Wolves & I collect Koalas.

7. As hard as it is to believe, I've actually been selling off some of my Prima collection (note the emphasis on the word some, lol).

I decided to pass the tag & award on to the following people: Darcey, Cindi, Linda, Denise, Sue & anyone else that reads my blog :)

Have a great weekend.....I'll be hitting the gym HARD tomorrow since I missed the last 2 days! Bad me.....BAD!

Benita