updating

Hey Bloggies-
Hoping that everything is going well in your parts! I am on half of Cloud 9. I say half because while I am trying to not dwell on the fact that Pauls leave is quickly ending it is very hard...

Paul got in on the 12th at around 7:30 am but he was unable to make it from Atlanta because of the impending winter storm which had all flights from Atlanta grounded. The next opportunity for him to fly in would be on the 13th at nearly 6:00 pm. I was crushed but after looking at the weather forecast decided to go on down to Atlanta and get him! I made it well before the weather but on the way home we had to stop for the night which was also just fine!

I showed up at the airport not looking the way I had wanted to after not seeing him for seven months but he could have cared less if I was in a sack. It was such a nice little reunion there in the lobby of one of the busiest airports in the country. He picked me up and spun me around. I am so glad I am smaller now as there really is nothing quite as nice as being able to be picked up by your guy.

When we left the airport we stopped and got some food since we knew we werent going to make it home then we checked into the Holiday Inn. I am fast forwarding to the next day seeing as how you can guess the hotel stuff...

On Saturday the drive home was not bad. The roads were fine and we made it home pretty fast. We spent the day relaxing, cuddling and more. Paul also used this day to get the dogs used to him again. Riley was very apprehensive at first. Molly was just Molly. She loves anyone who will pet her.

Sunday we packed for our trip to Gatlinburg and we also went to church. I cant tell you how nice it was that I had Paul next to me in the pew. I miss him so much all the time but it seems to be so much harder on Sundays...

Gatlinburg was so amazing. We had such a good time doing all the touristy things and we also shopped in some really unique places. We ate out a lot and I didnt pay close attention to it. I figure that I can relax some on vacation. I also know that he is going back in a couple weeks so I am not going to spend my time with him obsessing about food. We soaked in the hot tub with wine each night. So nice. The temps were in the teens but it was so great in the hot water. I loved it and have decided a hot tub beats pool any time. We were able to be a couple again and while Paul and I are by no means not connected we were able to fit right back into the comfortable couple we are when he isnt deployed. None of the weirdness so many others experience.

When we got home from our week in TN Paul told me he just wanted to do normal stuff like order pizza, rent movies, go bowling, walk the dogs, go to the gym... So, that is what we have been doing the last couple of days. Tomorrow we are going to dinner with our Pastor and his wife and then on Friday I am making us a modified Thanksgiving/ Christmas dinner since he didnt have a good one in Iraq. I couldnt find a small turkey or even a turkey breast so we are doing Cornish hens. We are also going to have buttered noodles, whole wheat of course and some green beans. I bought a can of Grands biscuits since I know he likes them. We arent preparing a dessert though. We are going to go out for a pastry and coffee at Starbucks so that I dont have to have that stuff in the house after he leaves on the 1st. Saturday we are going to go to crossfit, then if the weather is nice up to hike Raven Rock, cook on the grill and bowling in the evening. If we have bad weather the hike is off. We can always rent a movie or play Wii. Sunday is church, preparing his bags and then just spending that last night enjoying each others company. Le sigh:(

Well, thats it for now. Later I will post pics and then update after he goes back. I got some goals I want to put out publically...

Take care and be back soon!

Pics

people are always asking me for weight loss pictures. I had them on the old blog and updated them monthly. For whatever reason when I began this one I stopped. Today at cross fit someone asked me for a picture of what I looked like before I lost the weight and so I thought I would post the the one that really inspired me to lose the weight. The one that made me see myself the way others saw me. Anyhow, ironically on the WW board there is a post on the challenge I am part of that talks about photos as well so here it is... the photo that started it all along with the most recent picture I have.

updates

Hellllooooo Bloggies!

OMG, I am updating again within less than two months:)
This last week has been so cool. Cross fit has been amazing and also Paul is on his way home so I am on cloud nine.

This last week in cross fit we worked on our max weights for the shoulder press and the dead lift. I was so proud of my weights. I maxed at 75 lb on the shoulder press and 150 on the dead lift. My goal for the shoulder press was at least 60 and I wanted to exceed my body weight on the dead lift. I exceeded both of my goals and was just thrilled. I cant get over how strong I am becoming due in part to cross fit. Ali is such a great coach too. John was wonderful but he never pushed me in the way that she does. She really makes me get out of my comfort zone. Love that.

Paul is currently in Kuwait. He left his FOB on Monday. I dont think he will be home until Friday but it could be Thursday depending on if he gets a flight right away out of Germany into Atlanta. He doesnt even leave Kuwait until 2:30 am Thursday morning our time. I am not sure what the flight time is to Germany from there but I know he has at least an 8 hour flight from Germany to Atlanta. I so hope his connecting flight into Fayetteville from Atlanta is fairly soon after he lands. I just cant wait to see him.

I got our romantico cabin all reserved. We are leaving for four days on Monday:) Gonna be so nice. I scored a great deal with my military discount. Only $79.00 per night. These cabins are amazing too. Full kitchens, jacuuzzi tubs for two, outdoor hottubs, and views that are just spectacular. When we get back and its all said and done I will post some photos on Facebook and a few here.

Speaking of facebook, why cant they just leave it alone? OMG, the new format is horrible. It is confusing and so not user friendly. I am a creature of habit. I like things the same day in and day out. From what I have read there arent many who like the new layout.

Monday I had a horrible food day but yesterday was excellent! Today is also going to be a good day. I had a blue monster this morning and am really loving it. I can also have some egg quiche but so far am not hungry so I may be able to wait until lunch. I am trying to keep fairly busy so that the time passes quickly. I need to run to the post office and do some housework but I want to make sure that things are pretty much in order when Paul gets in so I am putting it off until I know he is in the air coming from Germany. Besides, I hate cleaning.

I am thinking I will be able to make cross fit in the morning which is good. I hate to miss it since I know my workout, (real workouts. LOL) will be sparse when Paul is home.

Well that is about it for now. Guess I will go shower. Brave the wind and get to the post office.

Updates later on.

Hey Bloggies, its update time

Ya ya ya, tis been awhile! I figured that since it is the first of a brand new month I would attempt to start off with a new post. My goal will be to update at least weekly but this month that may be a bit hard to do since Paul COMES HOME FOR R&R IN ONE WEEK! I am so thrilled to say the least. He is scheduled to leave Iraq the 8th so any prayers you want to lift up for him to have a safe journey would so be appreciated. We arent planning a bunch of things to do. He wants and so do I time to just reconnect. Being apart for over six months is hard and so quality time just chatting, and loving on each other is what is really important. We are going to go up to the mountains for four days and stay in a cabin. We planned a day hike in the Smokies while we are there. It is completely guided but we think it will be fun and romantic. It is catered and so we will have snacks and lunch which will consist of some cheeses, hard meats, crusty warm french bread, fruit, nuts and chocolate as well as sparkling cider. I think we will have a wonderful time. After the hike we are going to go back to the cabin, get cleaned up and go to dinner and then come back and soak in the outdoor hot tub. Tres romantic! Aside from that day we are just planning on doing some relaxing, sight seeing and and just chilling in the cabin. When we come back to Fayetteville we will be doing routine things like going to church, the movies, bowling and just hanging out. Sounds boring but its what we want to do and what we like to do. Paul is also going to come to my cross fit workouts with me. Yay!

So far so good with counting calories. My weight is solidly in the mid 140's now. I am so thrilled. I dont feel deprived and in fact there have been a couple of days I have not been able to even meet the calorie requirement. I have even switched back to r/f versions instead of ff versions of foods so that I can meet the calorie requirements and fat requirements per day which tickles me to no end. I hate ff things and so I often did without things like cheese because I hated them ff. Now that I am counting calories and doing SF/Core again I can reintroduce them back into my diet and they dont kill me. In fact they assist me in my weight loss efforts. I am still not eating a lot of grains. This is a personal choice for me. I do believe what John taught me about them. I find when I eat them a lot, even the healthy ones I feel sluggish and bloated. I dont discount some of the health benefits and I dont discount the fact that they create a satiety in people. For me though I have found that my body does so much better with less of them. If I want oatmeal for breakfast I have it but I then try to limit the rest of my grains during the day because I end up feeling really icky if I eat more later on. I often wonder if I have some sort of an intolerance like some people do to dairy? The other day I made pumpkin lasagna. I used whole wheat pasta. That evening I ate it for dinner. Earlier in the day I had a bowl of cereal, (shredded wheat) for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch. My bread was whole wheat. That night, actually before dinner my gut was killing me. After dinner it was even worse. Looking over food journals I see this pattern with grains... If anyone has any feedback I would surely appreciate it.

The weather here has been hot/cold. We had gorgeous weather a week ago. In the 60's. Then, Friday it was 30 and on Saturday we got an ice storm which shut down everything in the town. I havent been out of the house since Friday afternoon. I am going to the movies today though with a friend and her little girl. I have to get out or I will go mad. This next week is busy busy busy for me. I have lots of activity to help with the time passing. Tomorrow I have a sushi lunch date, Wednesday I am painting the walls in the house that need touched up and hopefully getting my DL. Thursday is lunch at Subway with a friend and then hair appts, Friday is the Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan concert with a couple of girlfriends and Saturday is the race and baby shower for Ashley. Of course Sunday is church and then Monday should be Pauls day to fly out:) It takes about four days travel so God willing he will be home Thursday or at the latest Friday the 12th! Woohoo!

Thats all for now!