Exciting Weekend

It has been exciting around here this weekend!

Last night the Texas Rangers made their playoff history by beating the Yankees and putting themselves into the World Series! I have never been a big Baseball fan, but it is still very exciting for the Rangers to have made it this far.

Mama Reed loves the Texas Rangers and we often go to games together, so I was even more glad that she and my brother and sister-in-law were able to go to the game last night and be there for the history making moment. My mom sent me this picture that she took after the game:

And this weekend was also Baylor Homecoming. Since I had the opportunity to see the Bears play at the Cotton Bowl a few weeks back, I decided to forgo the trip to Waco for Homecoming this year. Just in the last few days I started getting very sad about missing it, but I was cheering on my Bears from home!

After a long weather delay of the game, Baylor beat Kansas State 47-42 for their 6th win this year (and to give them a 3-1 conference record) making them Bowl Eligible for the first time in over a decade! Such an exciting night for my Baylor Bears!! And we still have some exciting games to come... 4 more conference games where we will face Texas and Texas A&M along with OU and OSU who are both fairly highly ranked. It should be an exciting rest of the season.

And hopefully the networks learned their lesson by not televising today's exciting game and I will actually get to watch the rest of the season unfold...but even if not I will be closely following the games cheering on those boys.

Sic 'em Bears!!

Erin & Laura go to the State Fair (again!)

The State Fair of Texas has been up and running again the past few weeks. The last time I went to the Fair was 2 years ago. And since it had been a couple of years, Erin and I decided it was time to head back. We decided to go a cheaper route this year and go on one of the deal days. So we looked at our Calendar and found the 1 free weeknight we had during the time the fair was open (yes, seriously). We gathered our Dr Pepper cans and went on Tuesday night for $3 :)

We started by splitting a Turkey Leg for dinner. Then we headed into the Car show and looked at some of the new cars. We made our way to the Midway and looked at the games and rides. We decided to skip the Texas Star (Ferris Wheel) this year for the cheaper option of the Texas Skyway. As you can see, we were very excited to ride the Skyway above the crowds:

Then we continued walking around to see what all of the options were for fried food. For a few minutes, we almost considered branching out and trying something different... But in the end we split the tested and true Fried Oreos & Funnel Cake.

It was a great night at the Fair! And bonus: we figured out that each of us only spent around $20 for parking, admission, ride and food!

The Cotton Bowl Hosts: Baylor vs. Tech

So I absolutely love to watch football. I have been going to football games for a very long time. My parents had season tickets to our High School games starting when my brother played on the team his sophomore year (which was when I was on 4th grade). So every weekend in the Fall from then until I graduated High School was spent at the football field.

When I went off to Baylor I loved going to the games (despite our less than perfect record). It always made for a great Saturday when we got dressed in our Baylor shirts and headed to Floyd Casey for the game. Now that I am not in Waco, I love it when I can occasionally catch the Baylor games on TV.

So when I found out they were coming to the Cotton Bowl, I was excited to find a way to go. So I called up my friend Kristen (who I haven't seen since graduation) and we made plans to go. It was exciting to be at the Cotton Bowl at to see the Sea of Green & Gold:

It was a very exciting game, but sadly my Bears lost in the end. They looked as though they might make a comeback, but no such luck. For most of the game it was a close score and it was fun to be at the game!

Here is my pre-game smile:
By the end of the game I was sunburned and my hair was up and my smile had faded a little. But it was a great experience... there is nothing like spending a Fall day at the Football Game.

It also made me very excited for my trip to the State Fair on Tuesday with Erin!

Waiting a Year for Cowboy Boots

This afternoon I bought something that I have been wanting for a long time. I am the proud owner of these cowboy boots:

I know it's not the best picture... but these boots are so much fun and I am excited to have gotten them just in time for Fall!

These boots may have seemed like a last-minute splurge, but let me explain the journey to get my new boots (I know this sounds ridiculous, but there is a point ;) )

A year ago I started a long road. I went for my yearly check up with my doctor and when I had to step on the scale, I realized I was the heaviest I had ever been. I was so upset with myself. I've never had a fast metabolism. I've been overweight since I was in High School and then college added on a few more pounds. But it really got bad once I got into the working world. Being on the road all the time I tend to not eat all that well. And in the Summer of 2009 my caseload at work spun out of control and I barely had time to sleep much less work out or plan good meals. And I am definitely a stress eater, so this stress led to me feeling like I could eat whatever I wanted. Not to make excuses, because there are none... this was just part of my journey.

So last October I went to my doctor and knew that I needed to make a change that I tried to make several times before. With my family history of illnesses, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. I knew if I didn't get things under control it could have a lot of bad consequences. From October until Christmas, I was able to lose about 5 pounds. Then in January I started really keeping track of everything I was eating and getting intentional about working out.

Part of my loss has been having small rewards for myself. I know that being healthier should be a reward in and of itself, but I needed an extra incentive. I love buying clothes and shoes, so I set goals where at each 10 pounds I lost I was able to use my gift cards from Christmas, or a few pairs of new shoes, or spend a certain amount of money on new clothes.

And since I have wanted Cowboy boots for such a long time (literally, I have talked with my friend Erin about wanting boots for years lol) I decided that once I reached my final goal I would buy cowboy boots.

As of 2 weeks ago I had lost 45 pounds since last October, and I made sure I had maintained that for 2 weeks before I let myself shop. So today, sweet Erin went with me to Cavender's and I bought myself a pair of Cowboy Boots.

As I said before, I love my new boots. But I also love the way I feel right now. I currently weigh less than I did even through most of High School. And me trying to make healthier choices has inspired others (such as co-workers and family members) to try to make lifestyle changes as well. Not that I have it all figured out! I still splurge on foods I definitely should not eat and have days where I do not want to work out. But I have tried very hard to be consistent and to take it slowly (um obviously, I think I just said it took a year... it could have been a much quicker journey). Making small changes and being conscious of what I am eating as much as possible.

I still have some toning and slimming down that I would like to do, but for the first time in a years I am at a healthy weight and I truly feel good about myself.

And I am super excited to wear my new boots... and knowing how hard I worked for them just makes it that much better.