Goal Dress

This week, I wasn't as focused as I had hoped. I ate donuts, Taco Bell, etc. Last night, I went out with some friends for a mom's night out and saw a movie. I ate popcorn, candy and had a soda. Afterward, we went to a local hot spot for their late happy hour, and had a BBQ sandwich, smoked salmon rangoons and two Guinness. Talk about bad choices! Exercise didn't happen either.


My big positive for this week was getting myself all set up on SparkPeople:

SparkPeople is the world's largest healthy living community with a free online diet and fitness program. SparkPeople is helping millions of people achieve their goals every single day!

Whether you want to lose weight, tone up, live a healthier lifestyle or reach other goals, SparkPeople can help--and it's 100% FREE!

My friend DB told me about it, and I have found it to be a great resource! I joined some teams that suit my needs.


At the end of the evening last night, I got a text message from my brother's fiancée telling me she had picked the bridesmaid dresses for their wedding. I finally got online this morning to take a peak. It's a beautiful, red, long, strapless, satin ball gown with a waist sash. I have never worn a strapless dress in my whole life. Mostly, because I've never had the chest to support it. I now have a goal dress. The wedding is December 10, 2011.


Today, I started my day with good food choices and I'm walking with my friend KK this afternoon. I will try on the bridesmaid dress this afternoon and get it ordered. It is my hope that it will have to be substantially altered by the time the wedding is here. I have 336 days to get my act together.

It's On!

My husband and I have been married for over 11 years. Since being married, we have always alternated Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays between the two families. So, it's always been either my parents or Jon's parents hosting the holidays. We lived in a small house, hours away from either family, so hosting never came up as an option.

March of this year, we relocated to southern Oregon to be closer to Jon's family. This also was the year we spent Christmas with Jon's family. We invited his grandparents to stay with us for five days over the Christmas holiday. The kids were especially excited to have their great-grandparents here.

Now that we live near family, and have a house big enough to have a gathering, we hosted Christmas. I was so excited to finally use my Christmas dishes! It wasn't until this year that I really appreciated what it meant to have someone else host Christmas, and at a distance from our house. Usually, we would go to visit my parents, or Jon's parents. It would be wonderful, magical and full of good food and family. A day or two after Christmas, we would pack up and head home, returning to our normal routine.

Our Christmas tree

The thing about hosting Christmas, and especially about having guests, is that all the food is at our house. Which means, the leftovers are at our house. I hosted a potluck, to make it easy on myself to host a meal for twelve people. I feel like everyday since Christmas, has been Christmas all over again. THE FOOD. There's been ham, potatoes, sweets...you name it.

We never repent of having eaten too little.
Thomas Jefferson

As you've gathered from the title of my blog, I'm a bit of a sweet tooth. Dessert is a weakness for me - like a drug. I need a 12-step program for my sugar addiction. My endocrinologist tells me that this is one of the horrific symptoms of having PCOS. I am insulin resistant, meaning that my body doesn't process sugar correctly. The more I eat, the more I crave. It's a vicious cycle.

What I need to do, is cut down my sugar intake. I did this once before, last spring. I lost 20 pounds in two months, almost effortlessly. I need to be conscious of what I'm putting in my mouth. I'm a boredom eater, and a stress eater...so I'm going to have to find some new vices for when I'm bored or stressed. I'm thinking that reading, exercising and writing this blog will be a good start.

Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow ye diet.
William Gilmore Beymer

So, here we are, on New Year's Eve. Tomorrow is a new day, and a fresh start.

Why am I here?

Well, it's coming time for New Year's resolutions. While I'm not a big fan of that whole tradition, I can appreciate where a new year can be a fresh start. So, here I am.

Summer '07

In September of 2006, I rejoined Weight Watchers for a third time, determined to lose the excess weight and get in shape before I turned 30. I joined a gym and started working out for 1-2 hours, 3-5 times per week. I was on track with my eating, even through the holiday season. I kept a blog of my progress on my MySpace account. It was encouraging, and my friends were supportive. I got down to 140 pounds, and a size 8. I was in the shape of my life for my 30th birthday, April 2007.

I graduated fall '09

That next fall, feeling renewed and invincible, I returned to Oregon State University to complete my bachelor's degree. Between the stress of school, and the lack of time juggling my whole life, the gym fell to the wayside. My food choices started to fall back into old habits of bad choices. Here I am, a few days away from the start of 2011, and I'm dreaming of being healthy and fit, once again.

So, this blog is dedicated to keeping me focused on reaching my health goals, once again. It won't be easy, and it won't be quick...but I know I can do it!