January in review

Well this weekend is the end of January. Which means a few things...one, my sister is a year older (Happy Birthday Beth) and two, we are one month closer to summer. I do really enjoy the snow and cold, but only from about Thanksgiving to Christmas, after that well...ugh, I'm over winter. January did bring some good things our way this year, especially a visit from my mom. I really enjoyed having her here and Ella loved having her visit. It was a good excuse to take time off work as well :). We did a lot of fun stuff, Chuck E Cheese, Build A Bear, Shopping, and Jungle Joe's. Ella had a blast. Another positive is that we are VERY close to having our basement finished. Craig painted, and we had the ceiling, trim, and doors done as well. Now all we need is carpet and tile. Craig is working on the tile next weekend and then as soon as Uncle Sam sends us our refund we will get the carpet done. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a decent return. So despite my blah attitude about winter January has been good to us.

Ten awesome things about January:

10. I had a lot of time off work
9. My mom came to visit for a week
8. I did a lot of fun stuff with Ella
7. Our basement is almost done
6. We joined a gym
5. I lost 7 pounds
4. TAX REFUND!
3. Cold weather is a good excuse to stay inside and in pjs all day
2. Cold weather food: stew, lasagna, soup etc..
1. One month closer to summer and summer vacation :)

I want to be a big loser....

I want to be a big loser...again. But first let's back up....
I have struggled with weight my whole life, I was a chubby baby, kid, teenager, etc. I think after you hit about 10 though you are no longer chubby, you're just fat. Anyway, I never exercised and ate junk all the time. I didn't know my weight and didn't care. I didn't have any idea how many calories I ate or even how many calories were in certain foods and I didn't care. I lived in this blissful ignorance until I was about 23, yeah it took that long before I cared. Not to say I was happy fat, I just didn't have the will to make the change necessary. And then there was New Year's Eve of about 2002. I made a resolution to lose weight (like a million other people) and I did it! I bought a scale, I weighed nearly 210 lbs, holy crap how had that happened I wondered. Over the next year I lost 80lbs. There was no secret, no magic, no pills, no special diet program. I simply ate better, counted calories, and probably the most important addition, I started exercising...EVERYDAY. I started with TaeBo tapes in the winter and when it got warmer I walked. Not only did I lose the weight I kept it off....until I became pregnant in 2006. I gained nearly 60lbs when I was pregnant. And after Ella was born I slowly started to lose the weight again. I was successful in losing all but about 15-20 lbs, which I have been holding onto ever since (guess I'm sentimental :)). So again this year I made the New Year's resolution to lose the rest of the weight, finally. To help motivate me I also joined a weight loss contest at work, the biggest loser. Everyone put $20 in and whoever loses the highest percentage of weight wins the contest and the money. So I'm working hard! I joined a gym again and have been watching what I eat. So far I've lost 6 lbs :) I have some difficult competition at work and I'm determined to lose 20 lbs, and hopefully that will be good enough to win. So wish me luck, I really want to be a big loser :)

Back to the grind.....

Well it's been just about 2 weeks since I've been back at work and I guess it hasn't been quite as horrible as I envisioned it to be. I do miss Ella during the day but I know she loves school so that helps. My class this year is awesome and they actually make my job easier and more enjoyable. However I've seen the second graders coming up and I'm a little scared for next year :) Guess I'll enjoy what I've got now. This has been a short week at work for me, my mom is here visiting and I am taking some time off to spend with her and Ella. It has been really nice having her here and Ella is loving spending time with her. She is practically glued to her side, which is kind of nice too ;). I have the next five days off and am looking forward to doing some fun stuff with mom and Ella. Tomorrow we head to Chuckie E Cheese and then Friday to Build a Bear. Let the fun begin!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I guess I figured new year, new things, new blog...what the heck. 2009 was a great year and I expect even greater things for 2010 and I thought this might be a good way to document a small slice of our world. In 2009 our beautiful daughter Ella turned 2 and is continuing to grow, change, and amaze us everyday. I FINALLY graduated with my master's degree...only took 9 years ;). I continue to teach 3rd grade at a school in Portage and Craig and I celebrated our third anniversary. Life is good. Right now I am wrapping up my 2 week vacation from work. I have LOVED spending time at home with Craig and Ella! We have had so much fun and I am surely going to be sad heading back to work on Monday but such is life. Only 6 months till summer break ;), let the countdown begin. And while I am sad to be going back to work I am looking forward to January because my mom will be coming for a visit. She was last here in the summer and I am excited for her to see all the changes in Ella. We are also in the process of finishing our basement to add some MUCH needed space. We are just waiting on ceiling and carpet as of now so we should be done by spring! I can't wait. Ella's room is overflowing and she desperately needs a playroom. So lots of good things to look forward to already in 2010. Well all for now :)