Saturday, October 29, 2011

The Joy of Shopping

Shopping...oh, how I've missed you! I've ALWAYS loved to shop, but I noticed the larger I got the less I enjoyed it. I would see some of the cutest clothes in stores, but when I tried them on it was never a pretty picture. Especially when the whole tunic/empire waist/clingy fabric trend started!

Today my mom and I ventured out to the outlet mall in our area. I really needed some new dress pants for work, and maybe a new sweater or shirt. I'm pretty sure everyone in my office is tired of seeing the same 3 outfits on me at this point. So we headed to the Ann Taylor Outlet. I found a cute pair of pants in an 8 Petite, and a sweater in a small. I instantly fell in love with both - because I ended up having to go down a size in both!!! I was just so happy to even be in the single digits again, so this was a major bonus. I, of course, wanted to buy all the colors they had available for both :).

The one downside - having to get new clothes is going to really cut into my budget!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Reaching goal - a sweet place to be!

Last Saturday I headed into my Weight Watchers for my usual morning meeting. I was sitting at 136.6, which was 1.6 lbs away from my goal. Considering how the last few weeks had been tiny losses, tiny gains, and back again I really wasn't expecting much. I was just hoping to keep the trend of losing (even just a little something) going. I stepped on the scale, and hoped for the best. Imagine my shock when she told me I was down 3.6 lbs! That was so much better than I had hoped for!!!!

It felt wonderful to get the "Goal" star to add to my key chain. I love my group on Saturday mornings, and my leader Laura is incredible. I never imagined how walking into that first meeting was going to change my life so much, in so many ways.

It's not just the weight I've lost - it's the confidence I've gained, the energy that has come back, and the amazing people I've gotten to know along the way. Some were already in my life before this, but thanks to new interests for me I feel like a whole new world has opened up to me.

Thank you to all of those that read this, for all your words of support coming from many different places. I know I'm the only one who could have made the decision to start this journey, but there is no way I would have been able to do it without all those around me.

The journey doesn't stop here....it's only just beginning....

Sunday, October 9, 2011

I've said I don't think I would ever run a marathon...

But that comment is now going out the window.

I was lucky enough to have the chance to see part of the Chicago Marathon, and served as a volunteer for Team Ronald McDonald House Charities. I could tell every runner that came down our red carpet was completely and utterly exhausted, but every single one of them had a huge smile on their faces. To accomplish a feat like a marathon has to be such an amazing experience. And to be able to raise thousands of dollars for a charity at the same time makes it even sweeter.

So this time next year, I will hopefully be blogging about finishing my first Marathon. I know it will be worth the incredibly sore muscles that will come along with the package.