Day 60

Wow I think trumpets should be sounding across the land! Zaababy stuck to something for 60 days STRAIGHT. Absolutely mind boggling.
My walk last night wasn't so bad humidity wise. There was a nice breeze--at first, then it died off. For some reason my ankles were bothering me. That has never happened before. My daughter said I need to do stretches before I walk. Okay, I know this. I've always known this. But I've never done it. I hate getting down on the floor to do stuff like that because you always have to get back up. Which is so HARD for me. She said she'll show me standing ones. Thank you Rachel!
I guess I should introduce my family to you, after a fashion.
Benjamin--25, married to Danielle for 1 year, is an air traffic controller in the Air Force, stationed in New Mexico
Rachel--24, in the national guard for 5 years, is a Sergeant (!), busy taking care of my husband's parents in their home.
Eli--20, works for a cable company digging ditches, laying cable, and all that entails. He's my only kid with curly hair. He has dirt in his pockets when he gets home! So funny. He plays the guitar and is so good!
Rebekah--17, is a counsellor at a summer camp for mentally and physically disabled children and adults and she is just loving it. More power to her, I couldn't do it at all. She will be a senior this year. She plays the saxophone and is in the marching band at school with Bethany.
Bethany--16, she'll be a sophomore. She can talk like donald duck better than anyone I have ever heard in my life! I love when she sings happy birthday to me like that. She plays the trombone.
Sam--13, ahhh Sam, you are what keeps me young. He'll be in the 8th grade. He is quite the character. Came home from a friends house and said 'Guess what I have!' and I said 'Is it alive?!' and of course he said 'Yes!' and I groaned and said 'Dog or cat!' and he said 'cat!'. So we now have another kitten, a grey striped tabby. We have named her Elora Dannan. Now before you get all weird about that name, it's from the movie Willow which we all love. And it goes perfectly with MY cat, Ninja Cobra. Who is totally freaked out about this kitten.
Josiah--12, he'll be in the 7th grade. He knows all kinds of weird stuff about bugs and animals that nobody else ever heard. He is showing himself to be quite musically talented. He plays the saxophone and the oboe.
MaryGrace--9, yes, it has a capital letter in the middle. When I was pregnant that's the name I wanted. My husband said 'Why can't we just name her Mary Grace and I said No Way I hate the name Mary which of course I am ashamed of because now I LOVE the name Mary! Her name is MaryGrace Elizabeth. She'll be in the 4th grade and is the baby of the family.
Oh and let's not forget my husband David. We've been married for 28 years and believe you me it has been a slog at times. He is a painting contractor and works very hard to keep this family afloat. And me? I haven't had a job since I got pregnant with Ben all those years ago.
We homeschooled for 10 years, but stopped 5 years ago. Let me tell you THAT was a chore. I was always pregnant or nursing during school.
Let's see. I'm a pianist, I love to read, and Bethany and I play an online game together called World of Warcraft. Don't judge me!
My house is always hopping with one thing or another.
**End of this stuff*******
Last night we had french toast and after much laborious mathematical computations deduced that one piece with light butter and sugar free syrup would be 200 calories so I had 1 and 1/3. Now please don't leave a comment that says I am WAY off on that!
It was weird last night walking. For the first time in ever I didn't have anything to say to my friend. She is just so not encouraging to me at all. When I told her that I put my underwear on without holding on to anything and what a big moment that was for me she didn't say anything. That's a silly example, but that is pretty much how she responds when I tell her a positive change in my life. So it's difficult. She's happy to walk but man it must be frustrating to not lose a single pound by doing that.
When I got home last night I had 2 tostadas (total 300 calories) and that was the best bedtime snack ever! I always make sure I have stuff to eat that is low in calories and more importantly, that I love.
Okay. So when I first started on my journey, I somehow found a blog of a man who weighed 500 pounds and had lost almost 200 pounds so far. And I went all the way back to the beginning, yes, I did, and read it all. Crying through much of it, of course, sometimes I'm such a big baby. This was when I decided to pattern myself after him and eat 1500 calories a day. I emailed him once and he actually responded! My word you'd have thought I had gotten that email from royalty i was so excited! I tell everyone who will listen about his blog, and stories from others I read, but mostly his. And can I tell you how absolutely floored I was when I discovered that he mentioned my blog and me, yes me and my weight loss journey in his blog today! Thanks Sean for the callout. Of course everyone is still asleep while I am typing this but when they wake up I'll be showing it to them. Here's the link to his post today: http://losingweighteveryday.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-305-ten-months-yesterday-and.html If you've never read his stuff, I suggest you go back to the beginning and read it all. I think he should turn his blog into a book.
I was thinking last night about being overweight and how feminity dropped by the wayside because of that. I no longer have pretty underwear, silky pajamas, or a robe. I guess once you hit a certain weight all the clothes become utilitarian and ugly. My sister gave me a bunch of stuff she grew out of when she lost weight and in one of the bags was a nightgown. Okay I haven't worn a nightgown for about oh, say, 10 years at least. Can I say how overjoyed I was to discover it fit?! So now I have a nightie. Through all these years with the kids my personal grooming was always last. I never took a shower or got dressed or anything until last. When you're getting 8 kids ready to leave the house Moms don't come first believe you me! And with all the weight I gained I didn't really care what i looked like. For church I made sure I was clean and my clothes were clean, put my hair in a pony tail and I was good to go. Well things are changing around here. I've been taking 2 showers a day. Yes, you read that right, two! One in the morning and then after my walk. I am actually caring about what I look like for the first time in ever! And I put on earrings and makeup too, and fix my hair.
Okay, you have to understand where I am coming from. My marriage has been a difficult one, my mother passed away 6 years ago which devastated me, and I've been so busy with the kids. Put my weight on top of all that and tada! you get zaababy. I never realised when I decided to lose weight that my whole life would change. I know I've said this before and I so hate to be redundant but I'm just so surprised. It's taking charge of things, that's what is doing it. I would never have had the courage to talk to the doctor and discover I'm depressed (which still freaks me out a little) and start on medication. I would never have discovered that within me there's a steel core of determination. Yes, a steel core that will not waver or get sidetracked. I had that core when I quit smoking 17 years ago and I have it now. I wonder what other things I will discover about myself!
Okay I think this post takes the record for being the longest one EVER.
Make wise choices! (you all know what that's from right? Freaky Friday, it's what the mom says to her daughter when she gets out of the car at school, I say it to my kids when they walk to school in the morning and I thought it was an appropriate way to end my posts)