A Year Later

So... a year ago I made this post about Graduation, my Mazda Tribute and the repairs that my tribute was getting for its 2nd birthday.

Well I know it's about 12 days too late, but yesterday Mazda Tribute got a present for it's 3rd birthday... I went through my mail at Mama Reed's house yesterday and there was a letter from the Mazda corporation saying that they have noticed a problem with the transmission cooler '08 Tributes. Basically they are finding that after being driven for a certain amount of time, there is too much pressure and it is causing cracks in the transmission cooler. So they are letting everyone know so they can take their cars in to be inspected and fixed for free if needed.

Me however? I paid for that a year ago on Mazda Tribute's 2nd birthday... so I get to apply to be reimbursed for EVERYTHING I paid last year.

I love when money seems to appear out of nowhere ;) (but it is money that I had to pay for something I shouldn't have had to have fixed...)

Weight Loss Journey

So I know I wrote a little about this last month, but I am on a weight loss journey. Last Fall I was the heaviest I have ever been and knew it was time to make a change. And as of this weekend I have lost 30 pounds since last fall... and 25 since January 1st when I officially started tracking it.

It's finally to the point where other people are noticing and commenting on me losing weight (which feels amazing let me say lol) and that is always followed by the question: What are you doing?

So What am I doing? Nothing too spectacular or magic... I really am just eating well and exercising. I am loosely following Weight Watchers points just to help with portion control and have a limit of what to eat every day.

A big thing has been writing down everything that I eat. Because it is so easy for me to mindlessly snack and not think anything of those extra little things I eat. But writing it down makes me consider if it's really worth it to eat that cookie (and let's face it, sometimes it IS worth it!).

Another thing that I would recommend and that has really helped was getting a food scale. Because I have no idea what 4 ounces of meat looks like... and it helps get portion sizes in control!

I also keep a lot of fruit around. Because you can eat a lot of it for very few calories (or weight watchers points, because fruits are high in fiber) and it is more filling to eat on orange slices than a bag of chips.

As far as working out I really have gotten into the habit of working out every day. Even if just for half an hour, I work out each day if I can. On days when I am home, I work out in the evenings. If I know there is something going on in my evenings, my alarm goes off at 5 am (boo) and I get up and start my day with a workout.

My most frequent workout is The Firm Wave:

It comes with workout videos that use a combination of cardio and weights and I really feel the workouts every time which helps me feel inspired to work out!

It also doesn't hurt that this little monster (I love her) has LOTS of energy and is always happy to accompany me on a walk when the weather allows.

And that is basically what my journey has looked like. Sorry I know this isn't very interesting, but it's good for me to remember how I got here (because I still have a ways to go).

It also doesn't hurt to have a little extra motivation. So it definitely helps that at the end of this week I am heading here:

Nothing like a Beach Vacation to get your butt in gear! More about California to come...