Dreaming Big

First I am so sorry I havent been present in the last couple months. Life has taken over and I have been busy living it, and dreaming big new dreams. First an update on my weight loss. We have just past the 5 month mark and I am at 65 pounds lost and Carl has reached 35 pounds. Its is truly amazing how losing weight changes your life. I cant speak for Carl but I feel like a new person, not just physically but in every other aspect of my life. I am more positive, more energenic. I want to try new things....I have new big dreams!!!!

We recently put our home back up for sale, this time with a real estate agent so we dont have the stress of trying to sell it ourselves. Its such a different experience so far, my only job is to keep the house clean. We have gone to look at a few houses, trying to get an idea of what we can get in our budget and seeing whats out there. This has been a dream of ours for awhile. A house of our own, on our own piece of land, where we can have a pool, a couple dogs, a place to relax and call our own. So hopefully our house sells soon so we can get started on this dream. We know it will happen when its meant to and we know the right house for us will be for sale when its time to buy one.

If you had asked me a year ago what my dreams were I would probably have said having children and having a house. But now with losing weight I have a few new dreams. I am hoping losing weight will help with the dream of having children. But now I can add my new dream of experiencing new things and living life. We recently went on a long weekend vacation that included a lot of physical activity, including a hike in Fundy National Park. I loved it, and I can see a lot of new adventures in our future. Things I always thought would be fun but never were on my radar because I didnt think I could physically do them, I now picture myself doing. Things that I have said no to doing before are now maybes and yeses!!!! I want to hike new places and trails. I want to get a bicycle and start biking, I want to learn how to kayak. I am even open to maybe facing my fear of heights and trying rapelling or maybe even ziplining!!!

I am sure over the next few months, and after I have lost more weight I will have more new dreams to add to my list. I can now allow myself to dream big. A whole new world has opened up to me and I am ready to experience it. My dreams are still pretty simple....to have a house we love, hopefully children to fill it and time with my family and friends. The most important dream I ever had already came true, when Carl came into my life. I could not have asked for a better, more loving and supportive husband to share my dreams with. Everyday I thank God that he has answered my dreams, and given me the ability to dream big new dreams!!

Blessings,
Heather

Weight Loss Update

So it has now been 6 weeks and things are moving along. I have lost a total of 16 pounds! But most importantly this new normal has become a new routine. We dont call it a diet, we know that this cant be something we do, lose weight then go back to the way it was. This is our new normal. The way we want to live our lives for the rest of our lives. Dont get me wrong it hasnt been easy and we have both had rough days and set backs. Carl's has been his bad knee. He popped it out a couple weeks ago and hasnt been able to walk or do any cardio. He has been doing some weights and other exercising but he hasnt lost any weight in the last couple weeks but he has maintained and thats awesome! I have had a few rough days...mostly because when food that I have the most trouble with are around I seem to eat them then I feel quilty. My biggest enemy seems to be breads. I know I have a bread addiction, and I binge snack on it. But I have been working on it and trying to say no to myself. Not an easy thing for me to do, its something I have always done when alone, like eating an extra biscuit after supper while doing the dishes. I have been tempted and I have failed a couple times in the last few weeks, but its ok, I have been more aware that I do it and I have been confessing it to Carl and making myself work a little harder the next day. I am still seeing progress and everytime I get on the scale and see a loss it makes me want to work harder. All of the encouragement I have been getting from my friends and family has been the most motivating though. To hear my mom say she is proud of me, to have people say good job on my weekly facebook updates and to have people say they are beginning to notice changes in my body have been so encouraging and makes me want to work even harder. It keeps me going when I want to give up. The best moment so far was last weekend when I put on a pair of dress pants I havent had on since Christmas. At Christmas time they were tight and I was unable to button the last button and Sunday when I put them on for church they were loose and I was able to button that button I hadnt been able to before. A small victory but one step that I am proud of and I cant wait for more of those victories!!!! I am thinking of starting a new blog to follow my weight loss and share some things I have learned that work and some healthy recipes. Not sure yet but if I do I will let you know!!!

So many changes......

Hi everyone!
Its seems like such a long time ago but its only been a few weeks. But so many changes have been going on in my life. First I turned 35. Second we moved.....back into our old home, long story!!! At first it was upsetting, we thought we had sold it but that fell through and as much as it was a pain in the butt, it was a learning experience and it now looks like it will be for the best, we may be able to buy a new house this summer!!! And the best change in our lives has been that we have set a goal of getting healthy. 2 weeks ago both Carl and I decided it was time to get in shape, start eating right and exercising. I am soo proud of both of us. We set down some goals and plans, like no junk food, only eating healthy meals and snacks,and  we each set a weight goal. We gave ourselves a "cheat day", once a week we are allowed to cheat and eat something we love that may not be the healthiest. We are going to deprive ourselves of things we love, like Carl and his chips!!! We are both experiencing new foods...like kale and eggplant. We are walking everyday and bought an exercise bike. My friend Angie has lent me Zumba for the Wii and I am enjoying that. We each treated ourselves to a new workout outfit and sneakers. 2 weeks in and we are both enjoying some weight loss, as of last Thursday we had lost a total of 11 pounds between the two of us. But more importantly we both have more energy, are sleeping better and Carl has even commented on how much of a better mood I have been in and we seem to be enjoying life more. Dont get me wrong it hasnt been easy, the first few days were rough, I think I was going through withdraws  and I was cranky. Getting my self motivated to exercise was hard, but once I was finished I felt so much better and now look forward to it everyday. I love pushing myself a little harder each day to beat what I accomplished yesterday. My end goal isnt to be super skinny. Its just to be able fit enough to enjoy activities, not to get winded just walking around the block, to not fit into my winter clothes next fall and maybe get healthy enough to get pregnant in the future. Its crazy how much better I feel......after only 2 weeks I never want to go back to even how I was 2 weeks ago! I have to thank a few people.......Abigail Cappel and Shandy Showers(my sisters in this journey) for your motivation and support, and encouragement, my best friend Angie for getting me started, listening to me and encouraging me, and most importantly to my husband who joined me on this endeavor, for your encouragement when I wanted to give up and for trying all these new foods with me, I couldnt do it without you, I am proud of your accomplishments too! I am so excited and we are only 2 weeks in, please pray for us that we can keep it up and accomplish our goal!

If anyone wants any info on what we are doing or wants to join us let me know!

Blessings,
Heather

35 till 35 Day 30

Only a few days left. Here is the photo for day 30, a view from my window.

Its the calm before the storm, we are suppose to get 20-30 cm of snow tonight and tomorrow. The little boy downstairs built the snowman this afternoon.!

Blessings,
Heather

35 till 35 Day 29

I am pretty sure if you read yesterdays post you guessed who I was going to post a pic of for todays challenge which is someone you love. I said yesterday it would be of the person who means the most to me in the entire world and thats...............my Carl.

Love you honey!

Blessings,
Heather

35 till 35 Day 27 and 28

Here are yesterdays and todays photo challenge photos

Yesterday was my niece's birthday so I decided to write her a note for my day 27 challenge....handwriting.

Today's challenge was breakfast......I had homemade waffles with maple syrup!

Cant wait till tomorrow when I get to show you someone I love....hint its the most important person in the world to me!!!

Blessings,
Heather

35 till 35 Day 24, 25, and 26

Here are my photos for day 24, 25 and 26.....hands, best friend and pets.

The top photo is my hand, the middle is my best friend Angela, we have been friend for over 20 years. We met in Junior High and have been friends ever since. She is a wonderful, fun, caring, generous person and I couldnt ask for a better best friend! The last photo is of our cats, Bailey and Vader!

Blessings,
Heather