And the winner is….
I am sure you were all waiting with bated breath for this moment to come. It was probably difficult to sleep last night you were so excited, right? I figured as much- it is a pretty amazing prize. Yes, the time has finally come for me to announce the winner. Oh, happy day! Of course, it would only be fair to show you how the winner was chosen before I make the announcement.
First, I went to the comments section of my blog and wrote down, in chronological order, the names/blog names of everyone who left comments and assigned them each a number. There were a total of thirteen entrants.
Then I went to random.org and used their true random number generator using 1 as the minimum value and 13 as the max value in order to find the winning number. I pressed the generate button and voila- we have a winner. It’s #2.
Oh, I am guessing unless you scrolled back up to see the list that you probably want to know who is #2. It’s Yerttle! Congrats Yerttle, you have won an 8×10 print of Subha’s beautiful Positano photograph. Please contact me at axid200@gmail.com so I can get your address for shipping.
Thank you to all of those who participated and of course a huge thank you to the talented Subha for donating her amazing photograph for this giveaway. I know I can speak for everyone when I say we were all in awe of the beauty you shared with us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
*On a non-contest related note, as of this morning I am down to 256 (home scale, different than WW weight) which means I have lost 30 POUNDS since I started on 2/22, 15 weeks and three days ago. Can you believe it??? I can’t. I am amazed I have made it this far and gotten my life on this new, exciting path. I am happy with these results, to say the least, and excited to be able to share them with you.
Thanks for reading!
Versatile Blogger Award
I am excited to announce that today I received this:
This is my first blog award so I am pretty thrilled. I kid you not; I almost did a little dance when I saw my blog listed in Ginger Couturier’s post as one of her recipients. I love Ginger and was honored to receive this from her. Her blog was one of the first one’s I subscribed to when I started blogging and have been faithfully following her journey ever since. In case you don’t subscribe to her blog, which you totally should, you may remember it from this post that included the best-ever brownies which I won from her blog giveaway. This chick is pretty rad; brownies and then a blogger award. I am so lucky!
As I read through her post and checked out the other blogs she listed I realized that this meant that I would have to figure out who I would be giving this award to. I was excited to accept this award but in order to do so I had to meet two conditions: share 7 things about yourself and pass on the award to other wonderful bloggers.
I am ok with the sharing part but trying to pick others to receive this award is comparable to Sophie’s Choice. This decision is made only slightly easier by having two blogs eliminated from contention; Ginger’s and Yerttle’s- as she was another recipient of this award from Ginger. I really would like to give this award to everyone on my blogroll but I will follow along with the conditions and will choose seven, although it doesn’t specifically say how many, bloggers to receive this award. I hope I get more of these in the future so I can pass them along to other bloggers not on the list this time. You all deserve this!
Recipients of the Versatile Blogger Award- please show them some love!
* In no particular order…..
Haath Se [By Hand] / Simple Beauties – one blogger, two blogs
Kitchen Tutor / Team Dewhurst – one blogger, two blogs
Hopefully you are still reading and not unsubscribing from this blog instead 
Seriously, it was very difficult choosing just seven because I love and read so many that are deserving of this award.
Well, I still have another condition to fulfill which is to share with you seven things you might not know about me. Here you go:
- I am a licensed aircraft mechanic
- As an adult I have lived in nine different states, six of which I have lived in with Paul since we were married six years ago.
- My career goal is to become a college professor and to get a PhD
- I have a birthmark on my upper left thigh that somewhat resembles the state of Florida
- I only cut my hair once a year.
- I am very superstitious and believe that any change in my routine or even wearing certain articles of clothing can impact the outcome of things.
- Oh, and for those of you who don’t know me outside of this blog, Dacia is my real name and it is pronounced day-sha; the –cia make a sha sound like in Marcia or Patricia.
Don’t forget to enter my blog giveaway- the deadline is 1159 pm CST TODAY! Thanks for reading!
{Semi} Wordless Wednesday: Pictures from my iPhone
Here are some pictures I took over the past week on my iPhone.
Flowers around my apartment complex
View from the trails around the new part of Phil Hardberger Park
It's amazing how different one side of the park looks from the other
The trees were still green just not as lush. The trails are paved differently too
Maggie was pooped after our walk. She just relaxed in the shade over at the dog park. She was the only dog there.
View from our seats at the Silver Stars game. They won 93-73. Woot!
Part of our season ticket package was to meet Forward Sophia Young #33
Definitely not a great picture of me but Sophia looks stunning. She was very nice and it was fun getting a chance to meet her!
Sunday morning I met my friend Stephanie and her two dogs for a walk around the trails at Hardberger park- opposite side from where I walked the day before. Here they are relaxing during our water break. So cute!
Pink wasn’t my first choice of colors but they were the only ones available in my size. Oh, well. I will take comfort over style any day.
I broke down and bought a new pair of boxing gloves since Paul will be home soon and he will need his for when we take classes together.
New sneakers. Still in the box. I am waiting for a good time to break them in. That's always the worst part.
This bra feels like a straightjacket for my boobs and I am pretty sure it is bulletproof. It took awhile to get used to but man does it do its job!
Enell- the Cadillac of plus size sports bras. This thing is crazy, it has 12 hooks running up the front of the bra. It takes some serious time and energy to get this on.
Taking a cue from the Kitchen Tutor my breakfasts this week have been a waffle topped with peanut butter and mixed berries with a side of veggie bacon and some pomegranate Kefir. Yum!
Speaking of the Kitchen Tutor- look what I won from her blog. A rice cooker! I am so excited to test it out this weekend! Thanks KT!
Thanks for stopping by!
Tuesday’s Mishmash of Thoughts
This post is a compilation of random facts/note and information on some of the classes I have taken this week. Sorry for the hodgepodge.
The proper stance to use when weighing yourself on a scale
I found myself in a situation one day where I weighed myself and was so happy with the number on the scale that I wanted to take a picture to send to Paul. I hopped off the scale, grabbed my iPhone, hopped back on and presto- I gained two pounds. WTF! So I stepped off and stepped back on and voila I was down a pound from my second weight. Blerg! In the span of one minute my weight fluctuated three pounds. Now we all know I didn’t really gain and lose weight that quickly but I was frustrated nonetheless. What was I doing wrong? My guess was I was changing my stance on the scale. I talked to Paul about this and he said when the get weighed for their Army PT tests they are told to stand ‘at attention’ on the scale. This means heels together, toes out- feet in a v-shape, looking straight ahead. I have since adopted this method because it is a method I can consistently duplicate on a daily basis. Is this the correct way to stand on a scale? Maybe. I have read articles saying to can stand with your feet in a V-shape or stand with your feet shoulder-with apart. I would guess that either stance is ok as long as you make sure you face forward, stand perfectly still, and are consistent with the stance you use. My recommendation: do whichever feels most comfortable/natural to you.
Skin on redfish is like…skin
I was at the grocery store on Sunday buying some redfish that was on sale. I have never eaten or prepared redfish before so I asked the fish monger if you leave the skin on while cooking and if so, is it edible? His response to me was that the skin on the fish is like skin so it is edible. This comment was disturbing to me because what other type of skin was he comparing it to? Human skin? Chicken skin? I don’t know, all this typing about skin is grossing me out. That is how I felt at the fish counter. I left the counter wondering if I would be able to stomach the fish skin after his ‘like skin’ comment. It’s on the menu for dinner tomorrow night, I will keep you posted.
You shouldn’t wear 100% cotton socks while working out
I finally broke down and bought a high-quality sports bra this past weekend. It was somewhat of an adventure finding a store that carried plus size sports bras but I was able to find one and lucked out that they had one available in my size. Most times, I have no problem ordering things online but I really wanted to be able to try it on and was looking for that instant gratification of walking out the store with my purchase in hand. The store I found it at was a high-end running store so while I was there I decided to check out their running shoes as well. I have been using a pair of New Balances purchased when I lived in Philadelphia for all of my workouts and they are starting to show their age especially from all of my outdoor walking. I love going into small, specialty stores because of the attention you receive and the knowledge the employees have. I was measured, told to walk barefoot through the store, and then brought out four pairs of shoes that met my requirements and walking profile. I loved them all, the employee was spot on with her choices and I ended up leaving with a new pair of sneakers as well as my sports bra.
The store was running a special offer: 20% off accessories with any sneaker purchase. This made me happy because I was getting 20% off my $64 dollar sports bra. I’m sorry, I just can’t get over how expensive that is for a sports bra. I know it is worth the money or I wouldn’t have spent it but man it seems a little ridiculous. Anywho, that’s not the point of this story. While I was checking out the employee asked me if I wanted to look at any other accessories because of the 20% off deal and suggested new socks. So, I went over to look at their sock selection which was very expansive but I really couldn’t see myself paying $10-$20 for a pair of socks so I passed. As she was ringing me up she said to make sure that I am not wearing 100% cotton socks when I work out because they keep moisture in and cause blisters. Really? Was this true? I had never heard that before. I thought maybe she just wanted to sell me some fancy socks but no, she was telling the truth. I did some research and found this to be true. 100% cotton socks keep your feet wet which can lead to blisters. You should wear synthetic blends that wick moisture away. Hmph! Maybe I should have bought some fancy socks. I will be checking out the PX (department store on post) to see if they carry any synthetic blend socks this weekend.
Goodbye Food Pyramid
I am sure by now you have all heard the news that the food pyramid has been replaced by the food plate. Check out choosemyplate.gov to find out all about it. I think this is a great change and provides us with a more accurate picture of how we should be eating.
I love how half of the plate is made up of fruits and veggies. Someone must have been reading my blog, it was just a week or so ago when I was telling you about how I was replacing a serving of veggies with a serving of fruit at dinnertime. Look at the trend I started I am just kidding of course but I am thrilled to know I have been following the new guidelines without even trying. Here are some helpful tips taken from the choosemyplate.gov website that I think everyone should try to incorporate into their diet.
Balancing Calories
- Enjoy your food, but eat less
- Avoid oversized portions
Foods to Increase
- Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
- Make at least half your grains whole grains
- Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk
Foods to Reduce
- Compare sodium in food like soup, bread, and frozen meals- and choose the foods with lower numbers
- Drink water instead of sugary drinks
*Image and guidelines taken from the USDA’s MyPlate website: choosemyplate.gov
I’m Famous!
Ok, that is a bit of a stretch. I am far from famous but I was recognized from my Twitter profile picture on Sunday which was kind of crazy. I recently purchased a Groupon for 8 classes at the Synergy Studio here in San Antonio and went in on Sunday to take my first class. Prior to going , I spent some time reading about all the different types of classes they offer, so much more than yoga, and decided I wanted to try Nia, which I will talk about in detail later in this post. I went into the studio for a 4p Nia class and while waiting in the lobby I met KM; she was also there because of the Groupon and was going to be taking the Nia class as well. She and I were talking for a bit when she asked me if I was on Twitter, I said yes, and she asked what my Twitter handle was, to which I said dacialee33 (follow me on Twitter if you aren’t already!) and she said she had thought she had recognized me. KM is the social media person for the Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency hotels in San Antonio which I follow on Twitter because of their affiliation with the Gorilla Challenge. We had tweeted back and forth a few times but I had no idea who I was talking to aside from a Hyatt employee. I was as amazed she remembered who I was and recognized me. So crazy!
Nia
Nia is described on the Synergy Studio website as “movement practice that not only offers the cardiovascular benefits of traditional fitness classes, but also encourages emotional expression and engagement to nourish the mind, body and soul.” It is a blend of modern and jazz dance, aerobics, martial arts, yoga and body integration therapy. I thought it sounded unique and a big change from boxing so I wanted to give it a try. It was fun, it was unusual, and it was a great workout that was somehow relaxing at the same time. I have never done anything like it before and although I did find myself spinning in circles and moving in the opposite direction from the rest of the class at times no one seemed to mind, they were off in their own world. Everyone in the class was kind and welcoming and although it was so different from what I expected I will definitely be going back. The best way I can describe the class would be aerobics on acid.
Yoga – Gentle Hatha
My plans fell through yesterday so instead of staying in and cleaning I decided to head back to the Synergy Studio to try out a different class. This time I went for Gentle Hatha Yoga which is described as a slower paced yoga class ideal for people of all sizes, ages, fitness/experience levels. The website says this class “creates an atmosphere of safety and comfort that fosters self-acceptance” and this statement is 100% accurate. I loved this class. It was taught by Esther Vexler who is 93 years old and the ‘Mother of Yoga’ in San Antonio. I read an article about her, and the celebration held for her 93rd birthday earlier this year and it said this about taking a class with Esther:
“In her class, you may not break a sweat or get a killer workout. You will, however, probably leave the class feeling more relaxed, more in tune, and a little wiser.”
Continue reading on Examiner.com Celebrating Esther Vexler: the Mother of Yoga in San Antonio – San Antonio Yoga | Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/yoga-in-san-antonio/celebrating-esther-vexler-the-mother-of-yoga-san-antonio#ixzz1Obazwoic
That is exactly how I felt. By the end of the class I felt relaxed and at peace, it was wonderful. It was the perfect class to take on a Monday evening in order to let go of all the chaos of the day. I will definitely be making Monday yoga with Esther a part of my weekly routine.
Thanks for reading!
It’s Not Always Rainbows and Puppy Dogs
This journey I am on, it isn’t always rainbows and puppy dogs. I don’t wake up every day feeling fantastic and I certainly don’t find my workouts to be easy. Yes, it is getting easier but it is not easy. I struggle, it’s hard, it sucks, and if that hasn’t come across in my blogs I am sorry because the last thing I want to do is give you an incomplete picture of what my life is like. I do try to keep my blogs positive because I am trying to keep a positive attitude myself but I don’t want you to read something and think that I make it sound so easy and then end up disappointed when it isn’t easy for you. I struggle trying to find that balance in my writing between staying positive and still incorporating my struggles and the real, somewhat harsh details.
Lately I have found myself angry about this person I have become; angry that I let it get this far without doing a damn thing to stop it. I got quite upset the other morning when I was taking a shower. Most days I shower on auto-pilot, I have a routine and I always find myself following it step-by-step each day. I don’t really think too much about it, I mean it’s just a shower- what could I possibly have to think about? This time was different though. As I was washing up I noticed something that I do everyday. For me to clean my lady parts I have to literally lift up my stomach in order to get to them, it’s pretty disgusting. It’s embarrassing to admit this and it makes me feel ashamed but on that day all I felt was anger. Anger that I let it progress to that point and anger that it never affected me until that day. Why had it never bothered me? Why did I let my weight spiral out of control? The only logical explanation must be that I completely stopped caring about how I look which in turn means I completely stopped caring about my health.
Paul’s uncle passed away a few months ago due to complications from Type 2 Diabetes. It was heart-breaking. We both loved him dearly and this loss was hard on both of us. I used to get so frustrated that Paul’s uncle couldn’t get his diabetes under control; he didn’t follow his doctor’s guidelines and battled with sticking to his required diet. I would always get upset because he was battling an illness that was completely controllable and he was losing. It broke my heart that he had given up on life; he stopped believing he could overcome it. Well, this was just my misguided viewpoint. Somehow I felt that people who were diagnosed with obesity related illnesses brought it upon themselves and that being faced with a death sentence would make it easier to fight to get your life back on track. I was very naïve. Somehow I thought I was different because I was ‘healthy’ but I was only fooling myself. I was 136 pounds overweight. I was a heart attack waiting to happen, I was probably just a few years away from contracting Type 2 Diabetes. I was digging my own grave and everyone around me had to watch this happen as I did nothing to stop it. The only difference between me and Paul’s uncle was that he was fighting to stay alive and I had given up. Going through this now I understand how hard it is to fight the battle against obesity and I see that Paul’s uncle never gave up, he just couldn’t win. Because of this I know I have to try harder, I have to fight every day in order to overcome my obesity, and win my battle.
Most of my days are made up of small victories, battling all the crappy problems that come with being obese and trying to get in shape; like jumping rope last Wednesday at my boxing class. I have inadequate sports bras (well not anymore since I just forked out $65 for an Enell sports bra) which leave the girls flopping around when I jump rope. Most days this is annoying but on Wednesday it was down right awful because it was the day before I got my period and my breasts were super sore and tender. Ten minutes of jumping rope felt like hell. It was one of the most painful experiences I have ever had. It literally felt like they were tearing away from my chest that is how bad it hurt. It sucked but I knew the pain was temporary and it would end once we were finished jumping rope. Or like Thursday when I had demon cramps and really bad ‘indigestion’, which I always get on the first day of my period. I felt like shit and wanted to sit on my couch and eat ice cream. Instead I forced myself to go to the gym where I spent an hour on the recumbent bike nearly in tears. Between the cramps, the upset stomach, the broken A/C (the high was 96), the sun beating down on my face, my sore feet and legs (due to taking a kickboxing class Wednesday- which is a whole other story) I didn’t think I was going to make it. It was awful and I found myself questioning whether or not it was even worth the effort. I periodically have days like this, days where I want to quit, days where I don’t feel I am progressing. I feel sad and hopeless and I want to give up but thankfully I don’t. Somehow, I manage to find a way to keep myself going, to work through the pain, to see the light at the end of the tunnel and move on.
I know one thing that helps keep me going is seeing that downward trend on the scale almost every week. Seeing that change helps to keep me motivated through the rough patches. My biggest fear, which is another big motivator, is that I will hit a plateau and not be able to push through it and in turn give up. Although I am doing many different things to work on my physical strength, I am still afraid that mentally I am not strong enough to push through a month or two with no movement on the scale. This is another reason why I push myself so hard. Each week that I see that scale move is another week I can avoid my fear of not losing weight and forever being obese.
Speaking of obesity, I would like you to think about something for a minute. My goal weight is 150 pounds, which is the high-end of the healthy weight range for my height. This means I am currently 110 pounds overweight which is crazy. I am basically carrying around another person’s worth of weight. For those of you who are of average weight, I would like for you to think about your activity level and how it would feel to do basic things like walk, climb stairs, jump rope, ride a bike, with 110 extra pounds on your body. Think about how much more effort and energy your body would require of you to do simple tasks and how much stress these tasks would cause on your body. Every night I go through the rotation of icing my knees, feet, and ankles. My back is sore and most days I smell of tiger balm/icy hot. For those of my reader’s who are overweight/obese; I want you to think about how much easier life would be if you didn’t have to carry around that excess weight. I would assume that this is something that helps to keep you motivated to push towards your goal- it does for me. I often think about how much better life will be with less weight to carry around. In my head, being at a normal, healthy weight must feel like walking on clouds.
I hope that by reading this you were able to understand a little more about my battle with obesity. It’s not pretty. It’s certainly not easy. But I take full responsibility for letting myself get to this point and know I am the only one who can get me back to a healthy, normal weight. I also hope that I did not upset or offend anyone by what I wrote. The only goal of this post was to share with you a more realistic picture of what I am going through, my thoughts and struggles with my weight and how it is impacting my life. I just wanted to put these thoughts out there so you can see a different side of me because my goal of this blog is to be open and honest about this journey with you and with myself. I try to follow the words of the magnificent Dr. Seuss; “be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
Thanks for reading!
Weight Watchers Update- Week 12 and Weekly Goals
Weight Watchers Update
So another Saturday has come and gone without an update from my weigh-in. I am really bad at getting these Saturday posts up in a timely manner. I think if I had an iPad it would make blogging much easier; hint, hint As per my usual routine I went to my Weight Watchers meeting which was good. I was somewhat blasé about this weigh-in because it’s my TOM and I am super bloaty and I had a crazy big drop last week so I went in thinking it could go either up or down but hopefully just a small amount. I was correct; I lost 0.6 pounds last week which made me happy. I always like to see that number on the scale decreasing. For those of you keeping track, I have lost 19.8 since joining WW and I am down about 27 pounds since I started in February! Yay!
The meeting topic was ‘best supporting actors’ and sadly, we did not discuss the academy awards. I think we were supposed to be talking about people in our lives that help us through this process but somehow we got off track and ended up talking about finding nutritional information and ordering off the menu at restaurants. These are my least favorite meetings- when we get off subject and end up talking the whole time about food. It makes me hungry! Blerg! But overall, we did hit a few key points which made the meeting worthwhile; that we have the support of others in the meetings if/when we need it and the importance of educating the people in our lives about the program in order to have them help us better. So, if any of you ever have any questions at all about Weight Watchers please ask. If you want me to explain in more detail about the program or what I do while on it please let me know.
280/260.2/150
Weekly Goals 5/30 – 6/5
Let’s see how I did last week…..
Keep moving! I think I did a pretty good job this week; here are my results.
Monday: 2.5 mile walk plus swimming
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: Combo class (1/2 boxing, 1/2 weights) Kickboxing because I cannot tell time/read a schedule so I missed the combo class
Thursday: Recumbent bike: 20.3 miles in 65 minutes
Friday: Boxing
Saturday: Recumbent bike: interval training on the bike: 5 min. low resistance/fast, 2:30 high resistance/moderate speed for 60 minutes, 2 mile walk with Maggie
Sunday: 5K walk with Stephanie and then I took my first Nia class (60 minutes) which I will talk about in another post
Clean House! I did ok with this one. My house is definitely much cleaner. I still struggle with getting much done during the week but I made up for it yesterday and today and am pretty pleased.
Eat Whatever I Want! I like this goal and I think that ‘eating outside the box’ is helping me to make meals more fun to prepare and eat. Who says you can’t have salad for breakfast?
Read more! So, I didn’t read poolside except for on Monday but I am 30 pages from finishing a book I started on Memorial Day so I think I will say I met this goal too. After I finish writing this I am going to finish that book and hopefully start another one tomorrow.
Weekly Goals 6/6 – 6/12
Keep moving! I know it’s repetitive but I just can’t take this one off the list. My biggest fear is hitting a plateau and quitting because I can’t handle not losing weight. I am so sick of being this person that I don’t want anything to get in my way and I feel like if I just keep at it, keep putting forth the effort, then I will continue to see results on the scale.
Schedule: Monday – off, Tuesday – boxing, Wednesday – off ( I have two season ticket holder events this week; Monday is hockey and Wednesday is WNBA so no workouts), Thursday – Nia, Friday – boxing, Saturday – recumbent bike, Sunday – walking and Nia
Clean House! I need to keep this on here because I NEED accountability when it comes to this part of my life. I still have not caught the neat-freak bug and live like a messy college kid.
Read More! It’s good to make sure we set aside time to enjoy some of our favorite hobbies and for me reading is one of them. I read before I went to sleep every night and I found this to be very therapeutic so this one is staying on the list too! Sorry for all of the repeats.
Contribute More! This is not really a weekly goal; it is more like an ongoing goal. I want to do more; more for my community, my family, my friends, and try to help others in the way others have helped me. I having been half-heartedly trying to find ways I can give back to the people directly impacting my life and starting now I am going to try to really put some focus on this. I have some ideas of things I would like to do but I need to put some more thought into it. I will definitely keep you posted. Hopefully I can come up with something wonderful!
Thanks for reading!
It’s time for my second blog giveaway!!!!
I am honored that my friend and blogging comrade has offered to donate one of her amazing photographs for this giveaway. A few weeks ago I asked for giveaway ideas and Subha graciously volunteered to donate an 8×10 photograph as the prize. Since I follow both her blogs and had already perused her photography website I knew that this would make for an amazing prize. I love photography and have fun toying around with my digital SLR camera when I can but most times I can be found trying to capture life using my iPhone camera. So, I am thrilled to be able to give away one of Subha’s beautiful (and professional) photographs. She is simply an amazing artist and hopefully you can take some time to visit her websites and blogs and take a look for yourself.
About Subha
Subha Airan-Javia is a health professional by training, but realized early on that she needed a more substantial creative outlet than her career would allow. Therefore, she started a photography business, JAS Photography LLC, while she was still in training and has been having tons of fun with it ever since! In fact, she has since become a mother and decided to work part-time, so that she could spend more time with her daughter and explore her other interests. Since then she has taken up many other hobbies such as graphic design (
http://LABELit.etsy.com
), creating tools to teach children how to speak Hindi and Gujarati (
http://BabyCultureCards.etsy.com
), knitting, sewing and many other handmade crafts (
http://haathse.wordpress.com
). She is also currently trying to practice the art of appreciation, by recognizing something she is thankful for, or one of life’s “simple beauties”, each day for a year, on her blog Simple Beauties (
http://simplebeauties.wordpress.com
).
Although I knew I wanted to feature her photography as the prize it was quite a difficult decision figuring out which photograph we should offer. Subha asked me to pick which photograph to give away in order to make it more personal. This was a challenging task because there were so many amazing photos to choose from. I was, thankfully, able to narrow it down to six. From those six, Subha told me which were her favorites and narrowed it down to two. Then Subha sent me the dandelion photo, which was not posted on her photography website, and I fell in love with that one as well. So here they are; our top three photos. We couldn’t pick just one so we are leaving that up to you. To enter the contest all you need to do is leave me a comment telling me which one is your favorite and why. The winner, picked at random, will receive the photograph they picked as their favorite. Easy peasy, right?
Dandelion:
For my birthday, my hubby bought me a new macro lens, which I had been wanting for a long time. This image it the result of play time with my new toy on the coast of Maryland. What really makes the shot is the blue sky in the background, for which I had to lie almost completely on the ground to capture!
Positano:
This is a view of the breath-taking Amalfi Coast in Italy- more specifically, it is of Positano. This little town is perched on the cliff side of the coast with unbelievable views from almost any vantage point. This shot was taken from a bus stop off the “highway” with my point and shoot camera with the flash turned off. It is amazing what you can get even with a point and shoot!
Yellowstone Springs:
Grand Prismatic is perhaps one of the most picturesque views in Yellowstone National Park. We try to visit a national park every year, and from the moment we entered Yellowstone, I saw pictures of this amazing “rainbow” spring everywhere I went. Instantly I thought: I want to see that! Well, sadly when we got there, the smoke coming up from the spring obscured pretty much everything. It wasn’t until we hiked up a nearby hill that we were able to see this commanding view of the spring displaying all the different colored bacteria creating its characteristic rainbow appearance!
Contest Rules
To enter, simply leave me a comment as to which photograph is your favorite and why, only one entry per person please. The contest will be open from the time this is posted up through 11:59pm CST June 9, 2011. On Friday, June 10th, 2011 we will choose a winner at random and announce it here on my blog that day. The only thing we require in order to enter this contest is that you feel comfortable enough to give me, or Subha directly, your home address so we can send you the photo.
Good luck and thanks for reading!
Thankful Thursday
For today’s post I wanted to share with you some of the things I am most thankful for.
1. The support of my loving husband. Here’s the thing, this may seem trivial or expected as he is my husband and is required by law to be supportive of me. I try to always remember to thank him for all of his help and make sure he knows how much easier this has been because he allows me to do what I want, when I want, and has totally picked up the slack. He doesn’t think it is a big deal but it totally is. I tell him that not all people are so understanding and accommodating. He doesn’t complain that we are eating differently, and normally around my workout schedule, or that I spend money (all the time) on things only for me like weight watchers, boxing, expensive sports bras. I have been fortunate that he finds the positive effects these things have on my life outweigh the negative impact it has taken on his life- like more housework, less spending money, and less time with me. These things require him to be selfless in order for me to be selfish. For all of his support I am eternally grateful.
2. All of my fantabulous blog readers/followers. I would have put this first but since Paul started reading my blog I didn’t want to offend him by putting him in the number 2 slot. Just kidding, Paul well, sort of. I cannot tell you how much you guys mean to me. The support I have received since starting this blog has been overwhelming. Your kind words and constant encouragement keep me going. I think of you throughout the day, like when I have a good workout or after a weigh in, and am so excited to report back to you what I have done.
On Saturday, after my record high weekly weight loss of 4.4 pounds, I was somewhat sad when I realized I had no one to share my excitement with. No husband or San Antonio friends to give me a hug or the pat on the back I wanted. But then I blogged about it and within minutes I had my first congratulatory comment and I was on cloud nine. It brought me to tears. I was so happy because of this community I have to share these achievements with; I am truly one lucky girl. Even more amazing is how these relationships have spread outside of the blog to emails, Facebook, twitter, texts and phone calls. I have gone from feeling alone in my world, to a life surrounded by friends- even if you are all over the world. So, again, I just have to say how much I love you guys! Thanks for drinking the Kool-Aid!
3. My increase in self-confidence. I am not sure if it is an increase in self-confidence or decreases in caring what people think but either way I have found it so much easier to do things that previously I would have felt too uncomfortable to do. It started with the boxing class; that was a huge step outside of my comfort zone. Not only am I obese, I am not the picture of athleticism either so stepping into a challenging, cardio-intense class filled with super fit people was enough to cause anyone to have an anxiety attack. But I pushed through it and kept up with it and now I don’t care at all that I am the fattest person there (by far) or the slowest runner or the worst pusher-upper, yeah- that’s a made up word but I think you know what I mean. Now, I go in with my head held high, get my ass kicked for 55 minutes, and leave with a smile on my super sweaty, beet-red face.
It’s not just the physical situations that have gotten easier; I am also mastering situations that I had problems mentally overcoming. Like over this past long-weekend I went to the movies TWICE by myself, I ate dinner by myself and my biggest triumph, I went to the pool by myself. I was so nervous about going to the pool alone I was overcome with fear; would it be too crowded and I wouldn’t be able to swim? If I was able to swim, would people laugh at how bad of a swimmer I am? Will people stare at me while I am getting into the pool? A million questions were running through my head as if it would have been a different experience than if I was going with Paul, which of course it wasn’t. I totally feel like he has become my security blanket in these types of situations. Good thing for me that the heat was so unbearable that I just said eff it, grabbed a book and a towel, and headed to the pool. Physical comfort trumped mental discomfort! To no one’s surprise, except maybe my own, it was no big deal. Actually for the most part I was alone and when a couple arrived I just kept doing my own thing; alternating between reading and soaking up the vitamin D and hanging in the pool treading water and my version of swimming laps.
4. New clothes. I haven’t gone shopping yet but I will soon so I guess technically I am thankful for the prospect of being able to buy new clothes. I am excited to buy new clothes for two reasons; A) I am fairly certain that I am a smaller size now which is exciting as I am not sure I remember a time where I had to buy smaller clothes, normally I am shopping to buy larger clothes and B) my clothes are becoming too loose and baggy that I am one misstep away from my work pants falling down. Although it seems wasteful to spend money on clothes that will hopefully only fit for a short amount of time I don’t really have a choice, I need for my clothes to stay up and on me at all times. I don’t think I could handle the embarrassment of a wardrobe malfunction. Also, I know it will make me feel good to have some new, better fitting clothes.
5. Local grocery stores and farmer’s markets. I am fortunate to live in a city that offers local farmer’s markets and has a plethora of grocery stores selling local, and often organic, fresh produce. It doesn’t hurt either that I live someplace that has two growing seasons which really allow us to eat fresh, local produce for a very large portion of the year. I have lived in other cities in other states where Wal-Mart or the local grocer were my only options and I was limited by the selection of what was offered and from where it came from. I do think that I owe part of my weight loss success to the availability of food items around me. It has made cooking fun, almost like an experiment, when I get to try out new foods. I thoroughly enjoy perusing the produce aisles and picking up whatever I think sounds good to me. It’s been a lot of fun but it has also taught me adaptability so I know when Paul and I move again that I will be ok if I don’t have this luxury anymore. I am only limited by my imagination.
I read this quote yesterday and though this an appropriate place to share.
“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others” – Plato
Make sure to stop by tomorrow to find out all the details about second blog giveaway! Thanks for reading!
{Semi} Wordless Wednesday: Food Edition
Yesterday I talked about having one of my goals this week is to eat whatever I want. By this I meant to eat whatever types of food I wanted at any point in the day; to break out of the box a little and really start to have fun with the food I am eating. Today I would like to share with you some pictures that better capture what I mean.
My favorite combination: Sweet & Savory
Watermelon Gazpacho and Vietnamese-style Braised Pork Lettuce Wraps from Tapa Tapa
Breakfast: sautéed yellow squash, veggie bacon, and a bowl full of watermelon
Breakfast: multi-grain sandwich thin, carrots and hummus, watermelon and a banana for my post-workout snack
Dinner: barramundi (high in Omega-3), garlicky broccolini, Easter Egg radishes
I replaced one of my vegetable sides with a serving of fruit instead
Dinner: turkey burger on multi-grain sandwich thin, homemade vinegar based cole slaw, rainier cherries
My new favorite sweet snack: Biscoff spread on Magic Pop
Trust me; it tastes a million times better than it looks. For only two WW points you get a wonderfully delicious treat the size of a medium paper plate. Yum!
What are you doing to keep mealtimes interesting? Any new foods you have tried out recently?
Thanks for reading!
{Semi} Wordless Wednesday: Phil Hardberger Park
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to spend some time at Phil Hardberger Park here in San Antonio. Phase two (out of five) was just completed and opened on May 21st so I was anxious to go explore. Sunday morning was spent walking with KJ and our dogs, I only brought my lab Maggie that day, around the trails that opened with Phase 1. It was my first time on those trails as I usually only go there to take the dogs to the dog park so it was nice to explore another part of the park. On Sunday, I returned to the park with my other dog, Ruby, and we hit the trails over on phase 1 of the park before heading over to check out phase 2. Phase 2 also has a dog park, so of course I had to take Ruby to check it out, as well as brand new basketball courts, playground, picnic tables, trails and gigantic hay sculptures. Yes, you read that right- gigantic hay sculptures. It’s pretty fantastic.
Phil Hardberger Park Phase 1
This is called the ‘Water Loop’ trail. There are three bridges that you cross while on the trail. Sadly, there is no water under any of the bridges. It really gives you an idea of how bad the drought is here in San Antonio already.
We stopped for a water break. Ruby certainly loved being out on the trails!
Phil Hardberger Park Phase 2
It looks like the weather was gray and overcast and the pictures came out kind of dark but really it was because it was so sunny I had to hold my hand over the lens on my iPhone just to be able to somewhat see what I was taking a picture of. It was crazy sunny! Next time I am back there I promise to take some better pictures!
Ruby loved checking out the new dog park. Just like on the other side, this dog park had one section for small dogs and another for large dogs. We were in the large dog section because Ruby thinks she is a Lab not a Boston Terrier 
My friend KJ says her favorite thing about San Antonio is the parks. There are so many parks within the city limits and she is always amazed at how once you step foot inside and are surrounded by nature it is hard to believe you are still in the city. I agree with her completely, the parks are one of my favorite things about San Antonio, too. I feel so lucky that I get to spend time exploring these little pieces of country living, inside the city.
Thanks for reading!
