F I N A L L Y !!!

It seems like one moment I have been waiting for, this whole journey, is to see the 220s on the scale again. I remember graduating from high school weighing around 218 and then I graduated from college in the 230s. I don't remember ever seeing the 220s! I just kind of flew right through them while I was away at school.

This morning I saw 229.0. PRAISE THE LORD!

My running is finally paying off.

Holy Mackerel

Holy Mackerel everyone- I set off for a mile run and decided to push myself to see how much further I could go. I ended up going 2.5 miles! 2.5 miles WITHOUT stopping!!! 2.5 miles up and down hills. 2.5 miles!!!

Did I happen to mention I ran 2.5 miles?

:Happy Dance:

A Mile in My Shoes

I am officially 60 down with 60 more to lose. HALF WAY THERE BABY!!!

I have been running every evening, and it feels dang awesome I must say! After running in the evening for the past few weeks, I decided to finally "clock" the distance using my car. I was hoping to build up to running a mile- it's been a while!

To my amazement, I found out that I have been running 1 to 2 miles and didn't even realize it! I am so stoked about that. It feels so good to turn on the old mp3 player and go running with my new puppy. The best part is the fact that my belly and badunkadunk don't hold me back anymore. I don't seem to suffer from the bounce back effect anymore which is nice.

My family and I just got back from a trip to PA to visit with a sick relative. While I was there, all of my husband's family kept expressing their shock over my change. The last time they saw me I was close to 300 pounds. My sister-in-law later apologized for saying something. Apparently I turned red when she said something and assumed she upset me. HOWEVER, in Kate's words, the truth of the matter is that I need to learn to take a compliment and I still feel like I have so much further to go. SOOOOO, it's hard for me to just smile and take the credit.

Maybe I can make that my next NSV- hearing I look good without turning bright red.

THIS IS WAR !!!

Dear Scale,

Due to your abundantly clear decision to continue to punish me on a daily basis, I have decided that I have no other choice but to wage a full out war on you.

I have exercised every day for the past two and a half weeks, without fail, for 30-45 minutes a day. What more do you want from me!?

I will no longer wrestle with, attempt peace treaties with, strategize against or hope to tame you.

You have gone too far in your attempts to derail me.

I am a warrior.

This is war.

Sincerely,
Lynn

Carousel

We went to the mall today, and like always, my boys wanted to ride the carousel. I bought our tickets and placed my purse in the stationary seat - where I ALWAYS sit - and helped my boys get on their horses.

I haven't ridden a carousel in YEARS. My oldest turned four back in January and I have never ridden with him. Besides the stares I was always avoiding, I was afraid the darn horse wouldn't be able to go up and down, resulting in a major mechanical blowout with tons of black smoke which would cause everyone to head for the exits screaming with mass panic thinking that a terrorist was present. That and my big'ole behind wouldn't fit in the molded saddle.

But today was different. After strapping my boys in place, I looked at the horse suspended between them and without hesitating, hopped right on! Yippee! My boys were so excited and let me tell you, I had an absolute blast!

I am looking forward to going again soon. Oh, and my behind fit just fine. A small child could have fit behind me!

Poo-Poo Guy

My husband has a friend who weighs about 320 lbs. or so. We've always gotten a chuckle out of the fact that my son has often times referred to him as a "tough guy". And of course by "tough" he means large.

I guess he thinks that overweight people are "strong" and "tough". He has NEVER used the words big or fat- because I haven't taught those to him- so he has defaulted to the only way he knows how to describe what he sees.

Today at the mall a very overweight woman walked by and my son hollered, "Look at that lady Mommy! She's super tough!". I hope that she didn't hear him, oh how I hope.

Now, my son has also referred to me in the past as being "tough". After he pointed out the passerby, I asked him, "Is Mommy a tough lady?" and he said "No". Hallelujah! My four year old no longer things I'm large compared to the "normal" world.

I have always been worried about being an embarrassment to my boys when they were old enough to understand. Thank GOD I am traveling down a different path.

What's up with the title of this post you ask? Well, last night while my two year old enjoyed swinging at the playground, he screamed out "Hi poo-poo guy!". Who had he screamed at? No other than an African-American boy playing on the other side of the playground. I WAS MORTIFIED. It was the perfect time to make sure he is aware of the fact that there are differences between all people. *SIGH*

Kids say the darnedest things.

Skinny B*tch

First of all, it has finally happened. And actually, it happened twice! I have had TWO people tell me in the past week that I look S K I N N Y!!! One of those people was my mother-in-law.

Now, I am by no means skinny, but the fact that my neighbor called me a "skinny b*tch" kind of made my day, you know!? Moving along...

My best friend Kate was here for a visit a few weeks ago and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together. What was so wonderful about this particular visit was the fact that it was the first time - that I can remember - that we didn't eat from the second we were together until the second we parted. She has been my binging buddy for over 20 years now, and instead of eating junk we actually exercised!!! We both LOST weight while she was visiting. There is a first for everything. Praise the LORD.

And speaking of firsts, my parents just left after a four day visit and I got to experience something entirely new to me. My mother has always been the, "Do you really need that?" "Put that back Honey, you've had enough" type, but I was amazed to hear her constantly telling me, "You need to eat something Honey" "Here, please eat this...". Wow, what a 180.

AND- I have TONS of NSVs lately- my husband took a picture of my two sisters and me and I DON'T look MORBIDLY OBESE! I am so excited about that picture. I no longer stick out like a sore thumb.

I have been exercising like crazy, having a new puppy helps keep me motivated. I have to walk her, sometimes twice a day, in order for all of us to keep our sanity! I have also been busting my butt on the elliptical machine.

Now for my favorite NSV EVER (so far!)- my husband told me last night, while we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary, that making "boom, boom" has been wonderful lately. He said that I was looking great.

Have I mentioned that I love my band?

I will post some pictures later today.