"Summer" cold

I woke up this morning with the worst sore throat, runny nose, and congestion!! :( And I had to play in a tennis match! I couldn't cancel again, so I bucked up and went. Of course we lost, but hey, it was just nice getting out on such a beautiful, sunny day. And boy was it sunny!!! So hot compared what we've been having! Its been 82 yesterday and today....and no wind.

Anyway, even though I'm a bit under the weather, it feels good to get out and run (which I did on Wednesday) and play tennis again (which I did Thursday, as well).

I would love to take a sudafed and go back to bed, but I have some errands to run. Hope all my EP buddies are all doing great on this gorgeous Spring day!

6 years ago....

Today is the 6 year anniversary of my moms death. I miss her and think of her every single day. She was my best friend.

I had to get out of the house today. I was going stir crazy. So, I put on my big sunglasses and took my dog out on a short trail near my house. And I prayed the whole time I wouldn't see anyone, let alone anyone I know!! Thankfully, I got through it unscathed and unnoticed! Just a short 15 minute walk. I'm not supposed to be in the sun, even with sunscreen. I'm still amazed at how swollen my face is after 48 hours! Theres no way I can play tennis tomorrow, so I emailed my captain and told her I was "under the weather" and she should find a replacement. I have been putting my face in a big bowl of ice water several times per hour, but it hurts and isn't really working, that I can tell. Its probably helping somewhat, but I just hope it isn't as swollen tomorrow!! At least its not bruised yet.

Anyway, not much else going on. Just sitting in my house all alone and bored out of my mind, missing my husband and daughters, thinking about my mom and trying not to cry....

Commenting

FYI....there is a kink in security for commenting on blogs. Every time I put the word in to leave a comment, it says its wrong, even though it sure looks right to me, and then it deletes my comment. Its really annoying because I'm trying to comment on your blogs! I've replied via PM to most of my comments, though.

So, yesterday, I had a laser treatment on my face for my rosacea. It hurt like a mo-fo!! Like white hot needles zapping me 225 times in rapid succession. My face is red, blotchy, & swollen. When I woke up this morning, my eyelids were swollen shut and my face is just continuing to get more and more swollen. I can barely see. There is no way I'm leaving the house looking like this! I look like a severely obese Asian women instead of an overweight white girl! lol I don't look anything like myself. I can't drive, either, since I can't see well. My husband and daughter drove down to visit my oldest daughter, who is in college now, so I'm home all alone for 4 days! I do love my solitude, but since I can't go anywhere, I feel like I'm in isolation. I can't exercise or do strenuous activity for 7-14 days until the bruising and swelling goes down. Of course, I'm not bruised yet...that should show up in the next day or two. I have a feeling I won't be able to play in my tennis match on Saturday. :(

I don't have a lot of food in my house, and can't go shopping, and I wouldn't even dare to order delivery for fear of giving the delivery person a heart attack upon seeing my face! lol So, I guess thats a good thing not to have food since I can't exercise.

Anyway, thats my story for now. I'm hoping the pain and swelling will go down soon so I can at least clean house. Its not that dirty, but when I have the house to myself I like to power clean so I can enjoy it. I can't even tell you guys how much I wish I could go running right now. All I've been doing exercise wise is walking and The P.I.N.K. Method aerobics DVD's, but I stopped doing that on Sunday. Supposed to start up again tomorrow, but can't. So, it looks like I'm gonna be starting over in the next week or two. Oh, and I am supposedly running a half marathon in two weeks. LOL I don't think I'll be doing that one.

Well, that felt good to purge my thoughts again! I do miss blogging! Even if no one reads it, its cathartic! :)

OMG! I'm so happy!

Wow! I just logged onto EP after a little bit and I have so many emails and comments from some of my "old" friends!!! Yay! I've thought about each and every one of you and I can't wait to respond very soon! I don't get email notifications, so it has to occur to me to come on here and check. Its super late and I am in a lot of pain from a minor procedure that I had today, but I am really excited to get back in touch with all my friends! I miss you all so much!!! You know who you are!

Blah

Not doing so great. I've gained more weight and I'm really depressed. I had a good cry last night and my husband was so sweet to me! He even got some cucumbers to put on my eyes and then eye cream to help reduce the puffiness! I hate puffy eyes. All it takes is a little tearing up and I'm screwed.

We walked last night and we're going to walk today. Baby steps. I want to be running again. I don't know where my motivation has gone. My clothes are all too tight and I don't even want to go anywhere or see anyone because of that. I'm supposed to go to a club to see my favorite cover band tonight, but I have nothing to wear and dread seeing people I know. :(

I'll try to blog more. It might help me to stay focused. One thing I've been doing is every day I take one "goal" piece of clothing and hang it up so I can look at it all day as a reminder that I need to get this weight off. I've also been wearing a pedometer every day this past week.

I'm back! :)

Ok, so not very many of my EP friends are online here anymore, but I have decided to start blogging again. I know; I always say that and then give up. Thats probably because I don't get any back and forth correspondence any longer and feel like whats the point. But I don't care. I originally lost all my weight 5 years ago because of this website and the support that I got here, so I'm ready to embark on another weight loss adventure...with or without support.

So, heres my recent 411: I'm up to 152. Was doing pretty good before Christmas, but gave in to temptation. My husband and I went to San Diego for his b-day on 1/2 and we splurged like crazy. I gained 3 pounds. But we are back and we are both feeling motivated. Yesterday, I played tennis and went for a run. Today I did what I like to call "Cardio Housework" for an hour. I'm logging all of my calories and work outs on CalorieKing (still!) AND on my iPhone using MyFitnessPal. I love the scan feature.

My immediate goal is to get down to 142. After that, my longer term goal is to get to 135--again! I'm 45 now....as I get older, it gets harder!!!!

Anyway, other than me gaining 17 pounds back, I'm doing really well. I'm ready for the new year. I'm still happily married and my two teenaged daughters are amazing. If any of my old friends are still here, I'd love to hear from you. I also look forward to meeting new friends! :) Wishing everyone the success that they deserve!
Cheers,
Shelley

Hanging in there

Wow, its been a month since I've posted? Eeeks. I injured myself and wasn't able to do the 10K on Memorial Day and I am still bummed out about it. I'm better now and am hanging in there. Kids are home for the summer keeping me busy. I'm getting ready to go back on the 20YY plan with Bob Greene starting on Friday, in addition to doing a 30 day cleanse with Dr. Natura. I gave up coffee last week, and plan to give up alcohol & diet coke, too. For 30 days, anyway. Its going to be hard, but I'm mentally prepared. We're going to Atlantis in 6 weeks, so I will do what I can to look and most importantly, feel my best. I'll try to post here as much as I can just to keep my thoughts in check. Hope everyone out there in EPland is doing well. :)

Week 3

Week 1

Yes, I wiped out my entire blog history. I needed a fresh start. I'm ready to begin.

Last week I started doing The 20 Years Younger (20YY) plan by Bob Greene. I saw him on Oprah, needed something new to dig my heels into, ordered the book & journal, and got started the minute it arrived in the mail. While I wasn't perfect, I was rather impressed with myself for sticking to a routine for one entire week. I tracked my food servings, exercise, sleep, and skin care routine. The food plan focuses on fruit, veggies (spices & herbs, too), grain/legumes, milk/yogurt, high protein, nuts/seeds, healthy fats, water, and superfoods. The idea is to eat 4 small meals per day. I found it rather difficult, but I did better than I thought.

Aside from the food aspect, I've also been doing strength training (4 times this week), stretches (5 days), and core work (only 3). My goal is to get 200 minutes of cardio, which sounds easy, but I only got 135. I was pretty lazy when it came to that...which is odd, because thats usually my go-to plan! I usually run or walk, play tennis, and thats about it! So, I have hope that this part will improve. I'm so happy to be doing weights & core again!

I have never taken vitamins on a regular basis, but this week I've taken them every day! I'm taking a multi, calcium/D, A, & B12. I've been taking the A & B12 for over a month now, actually, but just added the other two. I think Bob wants me to take Omega3's, too, but I can't stand the smell!

The plan recommends that I spend hundreds of dollars on Dr. Lancer's skincare line, which I will eventually do, but for now I'm using up the rest of what I already have (especially since Lancer is on back order until 6/10!), which is an organic line called earthscience. I make sure I wear sunscreen every day, too. My skin looks amazing after one week! I was so broken out and it wouldn't clear up, which is really rare for me because I usually have a nice complexion. I think my skin looks better primarily because I've been drinking more water, less diet coke & alcohol, and I've been getting more fruits, veg, & healthy fat, such as olive oil & avocado.

The 4th part of the plan is all about sleep. Most people don't get enough sleep! Me? I get waaayyyy too much! lol The goal should be 7-9 hours. I've been averaging 9, but am shooting for 8. I'm a night owl and I've always been a big sleeper. In fact, both of my kids are big sleepers, too, whereas my husband can barely sleep 6 or 7 hours. But I am also a very light sleeper. I wake up almost every hour on the hour either to use the restroom or let a cat in, etc. So, I might get 9 or 10 hours of sleep, but its never "good" sleep.

Although weight loss will hopefully eventually happen, this plan is not just about that. Its about looking and feeling better. I plan to stick to this for at least 2 months. If I could lose 2 pounds per week, I'd be ecstatic, but mostly I just want to look and feel better. The weight will fall off eventually.

I miss all my friends and I hope everyone is doing great! I'll try to blog more often and keep in touch. Otherwise, I'll see most of you on facebook! :)