Hawaii and More

I have been MIA for over a month and although it has been on my mind to put my thoughts to writing, I have either not had the time or not been feeling well. A lot has happened to me during the month of August.

First, I went on a fantastic vacation with my family. My sweet husband brought seven of us on a fun trip to Hawaii. Each of my children brought a guest. Sarah brought her boyfriend, Kevin, whom we all love. Alex brought his best buddy, Michael, who is a real sweetie and tons of fun to have around. Glenn and I brought my mom and it felt so great to bring her along because I know she had the best time, and we ALL enjoyed her company!

We spent three nights in Oahu at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It was great because both of my children, as well as their guests speak Japanese and there is a large population of Japanese on the island. (We’ve actually hosted three Japanese exchange students and have sent our children on school trips to Japan) The kids were able to find plenty of choices for good sushi and all of the Japanese treats that they enjoy. We even all went out one night for great sushi and the kids made a new little friend, Hotaro, while singing silly Japanese songs, speaking broken Japanese, and playing silly Japanese games.

While on Oahu, my mom, Glenn and I took public transportation to Pearl Harbor. It is quite the memorial. It is both somber and breathtaking. All of the memorabilia in the museum is amazing to see. My favorite things were the taped accounts of people that were actually there on the island, the photographs and the movie I saw in the large auditorium before actually going to the USS Arizona Memorial. I learned that Elvis Presley has a fundraiser concert to raise money to help build the memorial. I also learned that it is maintained to this day by the Navy. It is so much to absorb and process while visiting. I do think it is something that any American and beyond should see at least once in their lifetime. I am glad that I went as this was my third visit to Oahu, yet my first visit to Pearl Harbor.

We also spent a day at Sea Life Park, so Sarah and I could swim with the dolphins again, but this time we were able to take some dolphin virgins along. Sarah and I were both interested in doing this again, as it is almost a spiritual thing. I think the dolphins know what we are feeling and thinking. They are amazing creatures and I will swim and touch them at every opportunity. We couldn’t convince my mom to do it, and Glenn and Alex have had to do this with Sarah and me several times on other vacations, so they were not interested in participating. So, we brought Kevin and Michael along. Of course they loved it and had a great time. I think it brings out the best in everybody.

After Oahu, we boarded our ship, The Pride of America, for our Hawaiian cruise. It was the best fun. We spent the next seven nights cruising the islands of Hawaii and I would do it all over if given the opportunity, just so I could experience the beauty, fun, family and kindness of others. The first night we all got used to the layout and mechanics of the ship. At our muster station meeting, Kevin began to play the piano on the way out. He is classically trained and absolutely amazing. The dining room manager invited him back to play on formal night. So, for the next couple evenings, he and Sarah went to practice on the grand piano. It was pretty cool, and when he finally did perform, we of course videotaped so we could share the pride with his own parents.

Our first overnight stay was in Maui. On one of these days, I drank too much at the pool and danced like a fool on the deck, along with my partner in crime, Mom. Again, it was all in fun and I ultimately switched to water, but I can tell you that I made good friends with my pool deck waiters. We kinda split up in Maui and the kids all stayed together hunting for the best sushi.

It’s funny, even though the kids could do whatever they wanted and eat whenever they chose to; they chose to eat with us, as a group, every single night. So every night we dressed up and went to the dining room together. It was great because we could also decide what we were all doing afterwards, as there were shows, dances and fun things to choose from. Most nights we all did things together, but since there were so many choices, we sometimes split up. For instance, Sarah and Kevin were interested in seeing this improv group that I really wasn’t interested in seeing. Glenn and Mom and I mostly hung together, but when Glenn got tired and pooped out, I was happy to have Mom. She never tires and was always up for anything.

After Maui, we docked in Hilo on the Big Island. We had pre-arranged for a van since we were a party of seven, so we could sight see. First stop-BIG ISLAND CANDY...oh my goodness. This place is too much for me. I mostly wanted to get my dog sitter something special, and I did. The old me would have bought and eaten the chocolate dipped shortbread cookies. However, the new slimmer me put some serious thought into this dilemma. In the end, I opted out of purchasing anything for myself. Honestly I prefer to have enjoyed the sample I was given and pass on all of the delicious calories. It wasn’t easy, and it took a lot of self talk, but once I left that place, I didn’t miss the goodies one bit. We then traveled to Akaka Falls where they have this 1 mile loop trail leading through the beautiful rainforest to the stunning view of the falls. Even though it was raining, and we were not prepared, it was still warm and we did not care. We had a fantastic time, made some great memories, soaked in all of the beauty and took many gorgeous pictures. It felt like we were at the heart of Hawaii; truly remarkable. We then went to a local place for lunch and headed towards the botanical gardens. Hilo was fairly rural and untouched. I imagine it is what Hawaii is meant to be.

The next day we went to the opposite side of the Big Island to Kona. Of course, we had to lunch at the Kona Brewing Company. We made friends with the shop kitty and dubbed her “Kona.” Sarah and Kevin went snorkeling, the boys took the tender back to the ship to hang with their teen club friends, and Mom and I shopped for white dresses for the white hot party that night (with success). We also swam and played on the beach with Glenn for a while.

Our next day was in Kauai and it was my absolute favorite! All I can say is WOW! We again had a van so we could all travel together. On this day we stopped at the grocery store and loaded up with beer, drinks, snax and lunchy stuff. We knew we were headed to the north shore in search on Hanalei. We ultimately found it and I think it was the most spectacular beach I have ever been to. Glenn and I are definitely planning on heading back to Kauai next year, by ourselves. We spent our entire day lunching, swimming and playing at Hanalei. Someone later told me that Puff the Magic Dragon was written about that particular spot (Hana Lee). Who knows? Either way, it was the most magical place I have EVER been. I didn’t want to leave. Kauai is where I want to spend more time with my sweetheart. I’m already looking into resorts for next year.

The next day was our final full day, and we never left the ship. We were still in Kauai, but were set to sail at 1pm, so we opted to party and celebrate vacation. Once the ship set sail, we sailed along the Napali coast along the shores of Kauai, and boy oh boy did that solidify for me that Kauai is the most beautiful island. It was absolutely majestic and phenomenal. I have never seen anything like that before and I was definitely in awe. Our last night on the ship was equally as entertaining and I think that cruising is a nice way to get a little taste of several of the islands. Ad I can’t believe that I have not mentioned until now just how extraordinary the staff and crew were. We loved them, and I think I may have made some lifetime friends in the staff. (I’ll get into the coincidences later)

Our trip was tons of fun. There is just too much to share. I think I’ve already written over 1500 words in my short blog post. I was going to elaborate on my other stuff from August, but will have to wait until next post.

OH YEAH! I only gained 4 pounds and have lost them already. Yay, yay, yay for me!

Also, I got the job I wanted (more on this later).

And lastly, I am having some serious health issues that are requiring surgery next week. I promise to elaborate on this over the weekend sometime, but it is the true reason I have not written since I have returned home.

I promise, promise, promise to update later this weekend-

~Live, love, laugh and lose,

Lisa

Our first night. Mom, Michael, me and Glenn
Big Island Candy with everyone.
Kona Brewing Company with everyone.
Dining room with everyone
White Hot Party, Mom and I
Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Alex, me, Glenn and Sarah
Kauai on pool deck with Glenn
Unplanned leopard stuff, me, Sarah and Mom
Napali coast with Glenn

I Am Shrinking And It Feels So Good!

Greetings all,

I know it has been a little while since I have posted, but remember this is all new to me and I am simply trying to use the blog as another source of accountability. So, last week I opted not to weigh in for the first time in three months. The reason being that I had the worst food week ever and I personally did not want to see a gain as I know it would crush me. The week leading up to my decision consisted of a wedding shower where I ate a cupcake and some pasta, a Friday night pizza party, a trip to Santa Cruz that included some fudge and assorted candies, along with various other "treats."(see above, we had our sweet little nephew for the week) Needless to say, I was not feeling the weigh in. I chose to skip it, forgive myself, start fresh again and move forward in my plan and that is exactly what I did!

I did weigh in though yesterday and came out with a 2.5 pound loss, so all is good with the world now:) More importantly I made a discovery that has brightened my days and re-sparked my motivation. My daughter and I are addicted to this vintage dress website where we order SO MANY THINGS!! (the UPS man knows us well) On the site, each and every dress has a measurement chart for precise sizing, so we have our handy dandy tape measure at our sides all the time. My daughter, Sarah, ordered something really cute that I have had my eye on and I asked her if she would mind if I had the same thing. Of course she did not, as long as we don't wear them at the same time, cool...done and done. However, I have been practicing a bit more reserve lately as I do not want to order this great stuff that will fit now for only a short time. So I decided to order it in a smaller size while it is now still available. I took my measurements for my waist and hips, 34 and 44 inches, great, perfectly proportionate! Sarah then asked me what were my measurements when I started. Hmm... I did not know. I ran to my room to look up the starting weight paperwork and found that my waist and hip measurements in April were 38 and 48 inches! HOLY CRAP!!! I have lost 4 inches in both places, significant inches, and I am only halfway to my goal (actually 2 pounds away from halfway). No wonder nothing fits me anymore. I may lose 4 more inches in each place. Wow, I feel so good about this! I should also mention that I had to buy new bras this week. I am no longer wearing a 40G, but a 38DDD! Every little bit counts.

I also want to add a very special announcement. I am finally below 200 pounds for the first time in a very long time. If these monumental changes are happening to me now, just think how great I will feel as I get closer and closer to my goal?

I am very proud of me!

I am off to have another successful, productive and positive week.

Y'all should do the same-

Live, love, laugh and lose-

Lisa

Weigh In Results 6/30/11

Oh my goodness! I think the busyness around here has finally come to an end. All of my home improvements are in place and we are finally enjoying the fruits of our labor. The most complicated drawn out process was the wiring of the television and surround sound. I personally do not know why all this fancy speaker, woofer, blah, blah, blah is necessary, but apparently it is very important to the home theater. What I do know is that it took forever and made a big mess, created lots of dust and also made some holes in/on my freshly painted walls (That are now patched up, but still need painting). During all this chaos, I was without my laptop and was relying on my android to check email, so I am late in posting my weight loss for the week.

Here goes...I lost 3.4 pounds last week. I am thrilled and quite positive that my body has finally adjusted to this new change. I am at 201 and am really hoping to be below "that number" at my next weigh in. I still have four weigh in's before I sail away to the islands, so I am diligent about timing my meals, drinking my water and getting in my exercise. I really, really, really want to be at 191 when we go, but I promise not to be hard on myself if I do not meet that goal. After all, it is a journey, not a destination, right? Until then, I will continue down my path and assure myself that I am doing well and will follow this path until I reach my goal and the maintenance phase of my program.

I have a busy mind and always have lots of thinking going on. I never really have a concrete plan when I sit down here to write, but rather ramble and try to keep the blog coherent. Here it is the Fourth of July and it is the first free weekend day we have had in weeks. We have no furniture to move, no painting to do, no more boxes to pack or unpack and I am completely unsure of what we are going to do. Maybe we will simply relax and just enjoy the gorgeous new surroundings. I would love to go out and about, but anyone that knows me knows I am anti-crowd. I love people, but I hate crowds and living here in the bay area, anywhere worth going today will be too crowded for my liking. Thinking we will just hang out and BBQ.

Also, my sweet Maxi boy turned one on Saturday. I bought him this cute little peanut butter doggie cake in celebration. It turns out, he is not a fan of frosting, just like his big sis, Sarah! Roscoe, of course loved every morsel. I think he must be part lab because he will eat anything. All in all,Max had a great birthday despite all of the uproar in our house that day and we are so happy to have him here with us. He is adapting beautifully and I am sure he now feels safe and secure. I think he is the most sensitive dog I have ever owned. He really is mommy's sweetheart. I adore that dog.

As for Roscoe, he will be one on July 29th, so we will also get him a little doggie birthday cake. Roscoe is not feeling well though. Yesterday when I returned from my girls day out, he was coughing a little bit and I asked Glenn if he had been doing so all day. Glenn hadn't noticed. But as the night wore on, he got worse, coughing and retching. Around midnight we called the 24hr emergency vet and decided to bring him in. They said it is most likely kennel cough. I'm sure we had him immunized for this, but apparently it is quite common. It must have been contracted from the dog park. Currently he is dosed up on codeine cough syrup and antibiotics and sleeping. I hope he can sleep most of this day and feel better tonight. My poor little sweetheart. It seems that all these crazy illnesses always happen late at night or on a weekend when my regular vet is not open. We are all tired today because Roscoe coughed and vomited all night. Staying home today seems to be the best bet for all.

So, that is what has been going on in my little corner of the world. As of today, I am 33.5 pounds down from my starting weight in April. I'm getting there!

Happy Birthday America!

Live, love, laugh and lose-

~Lisa

Weigh In Results 6/23/11

Well here I am, down 30 pounds. Actually I am two tenths shy of 30 pounds, but I am calling it 30 pounds. Funny how last week that same two tenths of a gain was such a downer, but now that I am two tenths away from a thirty pound loss, I can easily dismiss it as insignificant. Crazy mind games.

Anyway, I had to weigh in day early this week due to life circumstance, so I weighed in yesterday making my week a six day week. I figure next week should be good since I am giving myself an extra day and going back to my regular Friday weigh in. Though this was my third week on Medifast, it was my tenth week on a vlcd. I have averaged a 3 pound loss per week. Boy, I am happy with that! I still have five and a half more weeks before vacation and I do not think I will reach my 180 pound wish. I have decided that if I lose at least another 10 pounds before vacation, I will be thrilled. Fifteen more pounds will put me over the moon. I guess fifteen is not too outrageous to shoot for if I am averaging three pounds per week. We'll see. Today I am at 205lbs. If I can be somewhere in the 190's before vacation, that will be wonderful.

During my trip I plan on doing a 3 and 3, that is three regular L&G meals and three MF easy to pack meals. I am hoping to maintain during that time and even if I have a little gain, I will not be hard on myself. After all, I will be on a dream vacation!!

And, for the record, that dress I am wearing in the picture is one that I found in my garage closet. It still had tags on it. It looks like I bought it on sale and it was always too tight, then too small and never flattering enough to wear. I'll tell ya, shopping in my own closet has been so much fun. I didn't even remember having that dress, so it was like a fantastic surprise. I received so many compliments yesterday in that dress. I felt like a new and improved me!

I am the new and improved me!!

Happy Friday all.

See ya lighter next time-

Lisa

Weigh In Results 6/17/11 (Not Good)

Kinda feelin' crappy about this, so I will keep it short and sweet.

I had a small gain of .2 (two tenths) of a pound, which absolutely sucks because I have been following all the rules and drinking an excess of water. I can't even think of what it is that I did differently, so I am at a loss for explanation.

All I do know is that since I started Medifast three weeks ago, I have only lost 2.5 pounds. I just placed my second months order and if I do not make better progress on this plan, I will find something else that works for me.

I did well on optifast, and am now second guessing myself. Hmm... what to do, what to do?

A Very Cool Thing Happened Yesterday

We have been doing a lot of work around our house. I guess that is what happens when I am not working or in school. It seems I need to have something important to do each day. I cannot just sit back and relax for very long.

So one of the things we are incorporating into this facelift is the home theater. We are having our widescreen television mounted above our fireplace and this entails moving most of our electronics to new spaces. To have the television moved, we need to have some masonry work done as well as some wiring work done. We have interviewed several wiring guys, but have not yet decided on anyone, as Glenn seems to think he can do it himself.

Either way, Glenn has been up in our attic clearing a path from the attic entrance towards the area near our fireplace. He is sorting through twelve years of family storage and it is a big job. I think we have opened a can of worms. But I guess purging some of our old stuff is freeing in a way and it does feel good.

Moving on to the cool thing...as Glenn was clearing crap from our attic he came across a sealed plastic bin of mine that was full of clothing. This was clothing of mine from so long ago that i cannot even remember. The cool thing was that it was filled with shorts, jeans, denim skirts and capri's in my current size! Perfect blessing. Most all of the clothing in this bin was in a size 14 and there were also a few size 12's. I am thrilled to have found this cache as I am in desperate need of clothing that fits. The bonus is that there are a few items that are actually too small. It gives me something to work towards.

Timing is everything. It's funny how things happen-

I think today I will clean out my closet and drawers again~

Random Thouhgts

So yesterday it was finally a nice sunny day here in my little place in the world. I decided to wear shorts for the first time in forever. I had cleaned out all of my clothing drawers fairly recently and had given away all but three pairs of my shorts. I kept the smaller pairs of shorts as I thought I could still wear them for a bit. I was wrong! I tried them on one by one and each pair were far too big. It was as if they belonged to someone else. I suppose they did belong to someone else...the former fat me. I should also add that I now need a complete new round of undergarments, pajamas and many other things.

My sweet husband told me to head out and find some new things. This girl never needs an excuse to shop, so off I went and I was able to find two new pairs of shorts in a size 14! It was kinda weird and fun to be shopping in the regular women's department as opposed to the plus sized department. I am feeling good and just thought I would share.

On another note, this morning I taught water aerobics for the first time in a long time. It was so much fun. I used to teach it at the YMCA and when I stopped teaching it, I wrote down my routine in a journal just in case I ever took it up again. Well, I located the journal sometime last week and placed it on top of my jewelry box for safekeeping, knowing that this week I would be teaching. Since we have been having so much work done around here and last week the painters were here, I packed it up and thought my journal was in the garage in a box of my personal stuff. Of course being the procrastinator I am, I didn't even try to locate it until last night when I discovered that my sweet hubby brought it to the storage. Needless to say, I had to wing it today. Luckily for me, I've still got it!

Until next time-

Live, love, laugh and lose~