Week 1 weigh-in

Today it's official. I've been exercising for one week. How'd I do? I got up 4 days last week. I ran for 3 of them and biked for one. BIKING IS HARD! I learned quickly that it's more muscle-building exercise than cardio (which I seem to enjoy more). However building muscle mass increases metabolism, and therefore helps you to lose weight faster. So....I'll bike one day a week....I know I should do more, but I am REALLY not a fan.

Ok I know you're all curious. My current weight is:
163.4 lbs.
So five down. That's pretty good, since my son had a birthday party this weekend and we ate HOTDOGS! Not my number one choice when I should be choosing "Healthy" foods. But I guess the hotdog bun WAS whole-grain (or at least that's what Sara Lee said).

Thank goodness I'm not sore anymore. That is the miserable part about the first week. And getting up at six?.....not quite as hard as I thought it would be. It is getting darker in the mornings though. It won't be long before I'm running in the dark.

Ok we'll keep it short. I hope I can lose that much by next week!

90 day challenge

Well lets face it. I've been wanting to get back into shape since.....well after Caleb was born. About 8 months after graduating DH school.... I did really well. I went running 4 days a week and I was eating really well. I was also living with my in-laws. I didn't have to worry about cooking every day and the pressures of caring for your own home were not there. And lets not forget, it was just Caleb. But I noticed results very quickly, and was quite excited about it. But not long after that, I started my job in Twin Falls, and then got pregnant with Angie. Progress completely halted. I've had a few feeble attempts over the past 2 years....and obviously we all know where that went. Here's a few things that I'm FED UP with.
* My clothes not fitting. I have a large selection of clothes that are about 1 to 2 sizes too small. And here's the kicker.....THEY USED TO FIT! Which means I'm not shrinking....I'm growing.
* I HATE the way I look in pictures. My face, my arms, and OF COURSE my waist. It all looks wrong. Too big. All pictures of me taken since Angie was born....I hate.
* I'm tired of bending over a roll anytime I need to pick something up. Or how it pooches out when I sit.
* When I bought those shorts I mentioned about 2 posts ago.....they are SIZE 14!! Now I realize I'm not in High School anymore. 2 kids takes its toll (obviously) but I'm pushing plus-sizes now. That's where I draw the line. I will NOT wear plus-size clothes.

So here we go. This time is different because I'm setting a time limit. This is for 90 days. If I WANT to continue after that. Then I will. If I DON'T want to continue after that, then I won't. But for some reason it's quite motivating to know that there's an END to this challenge. Because it IS VERY challenging!

Some rules.
#1 NOTHING is AGAINST the rules. If we're having a family night out at the restaurant, or a free lunch with the office. I'm getting what I want. No guilt. I'll do the best I can while preparing my own meals, but I'm not gonna make myself miserable. If I want a cookie. I'll eat a cookie. But here I draw the line at eating LOTS of cookies (which I usually do when I eat cookies...or any snack for that matter).

#2 Exercise 4-5 days a week. And another challenge....I'm doing it in the morning. It's too hard after work. Hungry, tired and cranky kids make this IMPOSSIBLE. And by the time they ARE in bed, the LAST thing I wanna do is work out for 30 minutes. So I get up at 6:00 and am done by 6:30.

#3 Pack my lunch every day, so I'm not tempted to eat out.

#4 Weigh-in once a week, and photos every 3 weeks. I still haven't decided if the photos will be posted or not. I want to make myself accountable in hopes that it'll keep me going. I WILL show them all at the end if I decide to NOT post them right away.

#5 Goal: 2 lbs a week (hopefully more). Target weight: 135 lbs. (I know that doesn't add up once you see my starting weight....but we'll just see how it goes ok).

So that's it! Cut out as much fat as possible, complex carbs whenever possible. But most importantly....no eating out (which will cut out deep-fried foods and hence, a MAJORITY of the calories from fat that tend to enter my system).

OH! #6 Drink lots of water. I've heard you'll lose an average of....(I don't actually know how much) but SOME pounds each year just by drinking water regularly. I can do that!

So today is actually DAY 2. Cuz I didn't have time to blog yesterday. But I've been getting up and running in the morning. And can I just say that I'm SOOOO SORE! It hurts to bend over, or squat, or walk, or stand up. I can't WAIT for this phase to be over. It's quite painful.

Starting weight: 167.2 lbs Yeah can you BELIVE it's that much?! Ick. Here we go! Motivation right there!

I promise not to talk about this ALL THE TIME. But I will report my weekly weight, and possibly a picture every 3 weeks just to keep myself accountable. Wish me luck people! This time it's for real. I WILL be a success story.

300

Well.....Lyons Pride is getting old. This is my 300th post! Holy cow! And all in just over 3 years. I have actually put a lot of thought into what I want to do for this particular post. And I really couldn't think of anything spectacular. So I just want to say that if there's anything I've learned from blogging.....it's that it really is an EXCELLENT way to keep personal history. And THAT truly is why I do it. It's more for myself than anyone else. I keep it public and I do believe I still have A FEW loyal readers out there (although I know I've lost many.....just from knowing how many blogs I've quit reading. Ha! Nothing personal, it's just so exciting when it's new. And this blog is really no longer new. I've seriously considered going private a few times. But instead I've changed a few accessibility options. It can't be found by search engines anymore and I think that's decreased my hits by A LOT. And I think I like it the way things are. I really am glad to have been able to keep such good personal history. Complete with pictures, because even though I was a good journal writer in the past.....lets face it. I spend more time on the computer these days than sitting in my bedroom scribbling away. So I've found something that works.

To celebrate this 300th post I just thought I would share a few of my favorites over the past 3 years:

The Jackalope (a practical joke Parker played on me)

Peach Pit Almonds

A Grove/Stampede Birthday


Enjoy folks!

A Solution!

I'm sure my readers are well versed in my complaints about my skin. White. Very white. Pasty white. Disgusting. I can't even say how much I hate it. I'm always teased about its "brightness." Words like "reflection" and "fluorescent" and "mayonaise" have also been used. It's true if I'd lived in the 1920's I might have been revered as a "fair-skined beauty." However. Nowdays we wear swimsuits and show skin above our wrists and ankles. So the "fairness" is more often given a "dang she's white" instead of a porcelain doll admiration. And I've ALWAYS been this way. And if I DO get some sun.....I just freckle. I used to joke that if I got ENOUGH sun, my freckles would just start to combine and eventually mesh together. Hah. I just don't get out as much as I'd like. Especially working 4 days a week. Oh well. However this is NOT what this post is about.

My sister suggested something to me. It's a product I HAVE heard of. And it's been out for a few years. But I've tried all kinds of sunless tans and "fake bake." BUT. This stuff has prooven different for me:

I finally tried it I thought, "I'll have to use this stuff for weeks to make any difference." Nope. I noticed color after the FIRST DAY. Now mind you.....I have a BRIGHT foundation.....so the slightest bit of color will show up tremendously. After 3 days I felt like I've had the best tan of my life (because.....I've never been tan in my life.) I went and bought myself 2 new pairs of shorts. Not capris. Shorts. Bermeudas of course, but SHORTS! The color bought confidence! And even a few compliments from my husband. I do believe the word "sexy" might've even been used. What? ME? Ok. maybe a little biased coming from my husband....but I'll take it! Since he's the only one that matters anyway!

Now when I have to put on that swimsuit, I can be self-conscious about needing to lose weight or something else instead of my crazy-white skin. And a little confidence about my skin, is all it takes to bring about that motivation to get back into shape. Now lets be honest. I've started THINKING about getting back into shape again. That doesn't mean I'm working out yet. It just crosses my mind once in a while again. Maybe when it cools down a little.... ;-)

Serious Anxiety

On the weekend of the 4th, Caleb and I went boating with my parents, and Anna and her 3 oldest. In order to beat the crowds, mom and dad took Dejah and Chase at like 7:00 in the morning to get a dock, and some good skiing water before there were too many boats. Anna and I showed up around 9:00. I was excited to ski......it'd been 2 years and I wanted to make sure I could still do it. It's about a 45 minute drive to Black Canyon Reservoir and mostly I spent that time chatting with my sister and passing back mouthfuls of food to the kids. Then we turned the corner and all of the sudden my heart stopped. My blood vessels dilated and I went pale. You wanna know what sight caused me unexplainable anxiety?.....

That's right. Glassy water. I know. Call me crazy. It's beautiful. It's exciting! The entire lake to ourselves! I should've been thrilled right? Wrong. I was suddenly ten years old again, and more nervous than I'd been in......years. What EXACTLY was I so nervous about? I've been skiing since I was a kid. I've never been hurt. So why the sudden numbing nerves? Sixteen years and I still get the butterflies. Only when it's been 2 years since skiing the last time.....they were just a little more intense. A LOT more intense. I can't explain it.....or why it's so crippling. But that morning it was just about enough to make me need to throw up. No I didn't, but as I slipped into my wetsuit (actually SQUEEZED myself into would be a more accurate description).....hot tears started rolling down my cheeks. What if I can't do it anymore? What if I've gained just enough weight over the past few years that it's just TOO much to get out. I was shaking. I can't even say I was scared. It wasn't fear. Just anxiety. Pure, terrifying, ANXIETY. About 10 seconds of that, and I dried my face......took a few deep breaths and jumped into the cold water. I started repeating to myself "Keep the ski tip high so it's easier to get out." "Lean Back the best you can." and "Hold on tight" so the rope doesn't rip out of my hands on the first try.

"HIT IT!"

About a half a second of fighting and wondering if I was gonna make it. Then before I was even fully out, I realized that I'd done it. I got up. FIRST TRY! Just like riding bike! I SCREAMED "WHOOO!! YEAH!!!" I wasn't too weak. I wasn't too heavy. I could've let go then and there. The satisfaction of getting out of the water was enough for me. But I held on as long as I could (which was honestly maybe 2 minutes more) and then I let go and sunk into the no longer cold water. Phew. All that worrying for nothing. I'm pretty pathetic. Getting all worked up over something as simple as water skiing. Oh well. At least I continue to try~~

On a separate note.....my Caleb also has some anxiety issues. As a baby, he was terrified of the water. If we took him swimming, he'd clamp his arms around my neck and refuse to let go. Even now, if he can't touch the bottom of the pool, he freaks out. Needless to say, a trip to the lake didn't bring out much bravery in him. We stuck him in the tube with Mycah and pulled them behind the boat. The second we were out of the "no wake zone" and started to accelerate, he LOST IT. Started screaming and crying. Dad kept going. "He's fine" he said. True. But as he continued to scream, Mycah started to cry as well. All right. Now he's ruined it for her. So we stopped. I decided he needs a few lessons first. Like.....what it feels like to float with a life jacket. And maybe a little more time in the pool, before we decide to drag him behind a boat again.

Here's a picture of them BEFORE the screaming ride. Cute ha? He's really such a wuss. I guess I'll just have to do to him what MY daddy did to me. MAKE HIM DO IT ANYWAY! He'll get over it after a few years right? ;)

After that we put Dejah in the tube with Mycah instead. And they had a blast. It really was a fun trip. And a liberating one for me!! Now I can get all excited for an entire WEEKEND of skiing at Hell's Canyon in a few weeks.

Summer so far....

This summer has been pretty fun. And mostly busy, which isn't always fun (if you know what I mean). We've made more progress on the house....slow but steady. Now that the porch is finished, we're attempting to do the back yard. The first step was mowing. And mowing waist-high weeds is no picnic. But we got them all down finally. And after they've been sprayed we've got a guy in our ward who will go back there with some equipment and level the ground. After that, we'll spray some hydro-seed and hopefully have a yard starting to grow by the end of this fall.

Parker went backpacking with Tory and Alex. I've been told they had a really good time..... but while they were gone I went to Boise for the weekend to spend time with my parents and sisters. And Caleb got to play with his cousins. There is something special about the cousin relationship.

From my own childhood, I remember our trips to Missouri were always the highlight of my summer. I had so many cousins, and even though we hardly ever got to see eachother.....when we DID, it was like we were all best friends, or siblings.....or maybe the perfect combination of both = cousins. Caleb LOVES to play with his cousins. They play hard all day, and before the sun can go down, they're all EXHAUSTED and cranky and hungry because they've been too busy playing all day to eat anything significant.
Caleb had a blast that weekend. We also went to the "Hydrotube" on Warm Springs Ave. According to my sister- it's the only water slide where they let the parents go down the slide WITH their child (which is good because Caleb can't swim......even a little bit). But he just thought that was THE GREATEST!! It's a rather long water slide, and you should've heard those excited little giggles as we went down. And once we reached the bottom, each time he'd say "Lets do it again! Lets do it again!!"

Well anyway. We went back to Twin on the 4th and watched the city fireworks with daddy. It turned out that I missed the majority of the fireworks because Angie kept trying to run out on the street. (A VERY busy street....Washington Ave to be exact). But the fireworks were still good.
The following week our babysitter was on vacation....so the kids spent the next 3 days at Grandma Lyons's house. It was nice but I sure missed them. I was able to go to the temple after work, and Parker and I went to see the new "Pirates of the Carribean" movie. It was nice to be able to do some things JUST with Parker for a few days. Even though I was quite hesitant to be away from my babies for 3 whole days. We survived. :)

This summer we are also planning a trip to Hell's Canyon, Lagoon, and then it'll be Fair week and then school will start! Summer will be over before we know it! And hopefully at the end of it all, we'll have some grass growing in the back yard. :)

Angie's Pano

I decided to go to Boise this weekend, since Parker is off hiking in the mountains for the next few days. Friday I stopped at my mom's office and tried to get some x-rays of Angie. I have just been DYING to know how many teeth she's gonna get. I'd pretty much already admitted to myself that she's gonna have problems just like her brother. Ectodermal Dysplasia is genetic. Yes, it's supposed to be rare. But I guess not for my little family. She has her 4 front teeth, and they're shaped pretty weird. Kinda jagged and conical. As she approaches 18 months, I pretty much decided that it's possible there might not be any more coming.

Well at Dr. Emory's office we tried to get her to bite on an x-ray. Hah. should've known better than that. I can hardly even get her mouth open to brush her teeth. Then we decided maybe we could get her to hold still long enough for a pano. We knew it'd be blurry, since there's NO WAY she'd hold still for the entire time, but maybe just long enough to see a few teeth?

We tried 3 times. The first 2 she kept turning her head and looking around. The third time, by some MIRACLE she just stared at herself at the mirror, and only turned her head once at the very end. Here's what we got:

Can you believe it?!! My miss Angie not only has teeth, she has ALL OF HER TEETH! I started to cry the second I saw them. "She has so many!" I just kept saying over and over. "Look at all of them!" I counted them over and over again. Twelve on the bottom for sure. At least 10 on the top, and maybe more. What a miracle! I am so grateful my baby girl held still long enough to give me this peace of mind. It looks like the teeth are sharp and pointy like Caleb's. But.....they're THERE!! Wow. My Angie won't have to wear dentures.

What a good day!!