Lisa's big, official announcement... Updated with answer

 It's time to make a big announcement to the world!

Ok, so not so much of an announcement as a multiple-choice exam with answer to follow later.

In January, I am going to:

A. Move to Rome with my family for the next 3 years.

B. Give birth to baby #3.

C. Run a half-marathon with my best friend (and Godmother of H, who is pictured above).

We made up our own 5K back in 2005 in honor of the conclave to elect a new Pope. I'm not saying we had anything to do with the successful election of Pope Benedict XVI in just 2 days and 4 ballots... but I wouldn't rule it out. :-)

So... guess away. I'll tell you by tomorrow.

UPDATE: The answer is... C! My best friend (D) and I are doing a half-marathon in January. I wanted to make an official announcement in order to motivate me to keep getting out 3 times a week to train. Thus, any plans for "B" have been put on hold until after the race because I'm so excited to have this as a goal in my life now for health, weight, and personal-sanity reasons, and "A" is always a future possibility, just not on that time frame. D and I are both doing the C25K program (that I said I was going to start back in October, but just actually committed to in May...) and I'm in LOVE with the iPhone app for it. It tells you when to run and when to walk! I play the Beach Boys Pandora station for motivation and the C25K app interrupts it to alert me when to get moving or slow down. In addition, I use the free Runkeeper app to track my distance, speed, and route. You can even talk on the phone and still hear the C25K app telling you what to do, without the other person on the phone hearing it. 

Don't ask me how that works. I totally don't get it. I guess it's because the person on the line doesn't hear anything that from my earpiece, just through the mouthpiece. Hmm. Modern wonders, these newfangled gadgets!

And I'm a Weight Watcher, I'm a Weight Watcher...

Watching my weight go BYE... bye, bye, bye!

After saying for a verrrrrryyyy long time that I needed to get back to Weight Watchers in order to shed these (nearly!) 1-1/2 year old pregnancy pounds, I headed to a meeting on Saturday to learn all about the new Points Plus system.

And to step on the evil scale.

While I would like to believe that the WW scale was broken (by say, 30 lbs...), I know how much more impressive it will be when I start shedding pounds.

Now, I need to preface the rest of the post by noting that I very rarely share many (any?) truly personal details about myself on this blog. See my Blogging Manifesto if you need a reminder about my thoughts on this issue. The funny part is that I'm much more open on several different topics that I would NEVER touch on my blog when I'm commenting on other blogs I regularly read. I have a feeling that my poor prayer buddy (Hi, prayer buddy!!) must be feeling frustrated about what she should pray about for me. In fact, I have a feeling her prayers, based on what she reads in my blog, might sound something like this:

Dear God, please help Lisa... umm... umm... not staple her finger when she recovers her chairs. Yeah, that would be good. And, umm... help her to save money by not ordering any more cute diaper bags. And could you please remind her to post some more Lenten recipes? I've noticed she's fallen behind. Ok, that's all I know to pray about for her. Thanks, God!

Anyway, back to my WW journey. I first joined in January 2004 after going through a very traumatic and unexpected break-up with a man I had envisioned marrying. I had put on some weight in the Fall before we ended our relationship (ok, before HE ended it...) and was unhappy with the way I looked in photos and how my clothes fit. The day we broke-up, I went to the gym at my apartment complex and started running on the elliptical as a way to deal with my heartache. I couldn't stop sobbing, and the one other person in the gym couldn't help but notice my tears. When I moved to the free weights, he stopped me and asked me if I was alright. Of course, I completely broke down at that point and choked out my sad little story to him. Dumped it on him might be more accurate. I told him how I was so sad and mad and hurt and confused and angry, and how to top it all off, I felt faaaaaaaaat (sobbing once more).

This guy (who later on went on to do missionary work... I think he realized if he could help me in that state, he could help anyone) told me that, someday, I wasn't going to ache anymore about the ex, and that when that day came, if I wanted to have changed myself, I might as well start then and channel all of my feelings into something constructive.

Truth be told, for the first several months of exercising and doing WW, I was really doing it with the idea of seeing my ex again someday and showing him what a hottie he was missing. Somewhere along the way, my attitude changed and I started doing it for me, for how good I felt and how good the new-me looked in comparison with the old-me. I'd come home from teaching and strap on my sneakers and hit the road for a few miles of good walking, then jogging as time went on. I started running at least one 5K per month, and even threw in a 10K for good measure.

Weight Watchers was transformative for me-- it helped me have the willpower to resist so many temptations when it came to eating, because each week I had to face the scale (blessed or evil, depending on what it told me). It kept me honest about what I was eating and how I was (or wasn't) moving throughout the day. The meetings gave me a place where EVERYONE in the room was cheering me on, either having been where I was, or currently where I was, wanting to be where I was, depending upon where I was in my weight-loss journey. My Dad even joined (and lost more than 30 lbs!) and it brought out the competitive spirit in me as we jostled over the pride of losing a greater number of pounds each week or a higher percentage of our original weights.

All in all, I lost 27 lbs and kept most of it off for years. While dating M, I developed anemia and got too tired to exercise, or even really care about tracking what I was eating (hey-- I was in love! And since we were engaged in fewer than five months, clearly the whole thing was very whirlwind and distracting).  :-)  I joined WW again in 2006 before our wedding and shed enough pounds to go down TWO dress sizes in my wedding gown. Instead of altering it as much as they would need to do, the bridal shop exchanged it for a (much!) smaller gown.

Nine months into our marriage, I got pregnant with C. I lost the pregnancy weight, but was never as toned again. When C was 15 months, I got pregnant with H. After his birth, I lost a lot of the weight... until I went on Prednisone for several months and gained around 20 pounds. That was nearly a year ago, and the extra weight is still there. While we're ready to try for another baby, I know that I have to lose this weight first, and I have to do it for ME, not just so I can have a baby. That motivation just wasn't working for me, because in the back of my mind I knew that no matter how much weight I lost, I'd just be gaining it back with the next pregnancy.

Thus, my WW meeting on Saturday! I need the inner motivation and the external motivation to whip my you-know-what into shape!

More to come later about this journey...  


And Prayer Buddy, could you please pray that I develop greater discipline in many areas of my life in which I'm currently lacking it? I've fallen away from my daily Rosary and need a nudge to get back to that (because I'm supposed to be doing it for MY Prayer Buddy!!!) and need some more fortitude in a few other areas. Thanks!

And, Prayer Buddy, if it's not too much, could you PLEASE beg Him to do something about the oak pollen in the Texas Hill Country? I'm dying here. It'll be the elliptical instead of a stroller jog today, because that's the only way I can breathe. Thanks again.

SERIOUSLY????

 Frazer Harrison/Getty 

If this woman is "plus-sized," then I am a whale. Just take me down to San Antonio and give me my own Sea World show, please. I think I'd like that, so long as you keep my water clean and my fish fresh.

 Me (and apparently one of my children)

Crazy fun news

I have a few blogs that I read on a regular basis, and I sometimes enter the giveaways that they sponsor. Now, on sites like Pioneer Woman, where over 45,000 people tend to all want the 3 Kitchenaid mixers, or the new iPad, or a Photoshop giveaway, I have a pretty good idea that I shouldn't hold my breath.

BUT...

I actually DID win something in a Tatortots and Jello giveaway! I won a fashion look book from Cardigan Empire. 

Basically, I just sent Reachel, the woman behind Cardigan Empire, my measurements, lifestyle, favorite/least colors to wear, and pictures of myself. She's making a personalized style guide for me! In the past, I would never have thought much about this, since I've always thought I'm pretty good at putting my outfits together. However, with this latest round of post-pregnancy weight/Prednisone, and a lack of clothes that fit and aren't maternity clothes, I've had trouble finding what looks good on me, let alone decent on me. I've been hesitant to buy new clothes until I shape up, which means I have yoga pants and T-shirts... that's basically it.

I'll write more about this once I get the look book! I'm excited to have someone point out options that I'm not seeing now.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 7)

1. We've seen real progress in the potty training department! C went three days with NO wet pull-ups! Maybe the Roman Empire would have lasted if they had just persisted with potty training in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds .

2. My mother-in-law has magical powers. Thankfully she uses them for good, such as helping me organize my bathroom (ok, doing it for me mostly). Everyone should have a fairy mother-in-law.

3. Taxxxxxxxxxxxxxxes.......... (Lisa writhes in agony on the floor). Every year I vow that I will have them done by February, and that I will keep monthly records for the next year so that taxes will be a cinch. And every year I end up writing in agony. But next year...

4. My birthday simply cannot come soon enough. I'm ready to be [30+]. It makes me feel powerful.

5. The elliptical machine and I are bonding, in hope that the fat currently bonded to me will take a hike.

6. Only 1-2 weeks left on Prednisone. Thank. You. Lord.

7. April showers bring May flowers, but March showers bring weeds. LOTS of them. And VERY tall grass. Time to break out the weed eater and get to work this weekend.

Vanity, thy name is Lisa

So, I've mentioned that I'm taking Prednisone for my UC flare. It's a corticosteroid that reduces inflammation, but has some unwelcome side effects, including:

-Weight gain (Luckily, the scale has stayed the same. But more on this later...)

-Mood swings (Up, down, up, down... mostly up for 2 weeks, now all over the board)

-Insomnia (What? I'm sorry... I haven't slept much in 2 weeks and can't process this thought)

-Avascular necrosis of bone (Yes, that would be another way of saying BONE DEATH. Hello, aching knees last week)

-Acne (Unfortunate, given that my skin has been so clear the past few months)

Now that we've dealt with these, I'd like to introduce you to Sara Beth. She's been hanging around lately, though I won't be too sad to see her go, hopefully sooner than later. Sara Beth is my... buffalo hump.  There. I've said it. I. Have. A. Hump. I'm going to have to talk to our church about hiring me to ring the bells instead of the electronic system they have. Just call me Quasimodo. Prednisone can cause a "redistribution of fat," which is a polite way of saying that it migrates to places you DO NOT want it to go... belly, neck, and face (hello, moon face! What's up with this terminology, anyway? "Moon face" and "buffalo hump" do not do much for one's self-esteem). So, even though the numbers on the scale are the same, I'm still looking rounder.

While I refuse to display a photo now of Sara Beth, check out this website if you're curious.

This whole process has been interesting, and is really forcing me to get over myself, particularly when it comes to my looks. Post-pregnancy time is already tough, but add a very round face (and I already HAD a round face!), a hump, and an inability to lose weight while on this medicine, plus bloodshot eyes due to insomnia, being a bit sick, and having 2 somewhat-sick kids who wake up multiple times each night, I've had to just see the humor in this season of my life. Thus, "Sara Beth" was named. "Sara Beth" sounds much nicer than buffalo hump. I've accepted her as my buddy during this time, since she won't be going anywhere until I'm off the meds sometime next month. 

This does not, however, mean that I'm giving up all vanity. I seriously need a haircut so I don't look like I belong in Deliverance. Just make sure my hair hides the hump, though, please.