Summer is here!

 

Hard to believe it, but June has come and gone!  It has been a busy month with lots of social gatherings.  We had several hockey Stanley Cup playoff watch parties,  we celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary, Bill's 62nd birthday, we tried a new pizza place 3 times (yes, it's that good).  We've had several pool days and "redneck yacht club" floating days as pictured above.  Our weather has been very nice the entire month of June with the exception on maybe 4 days.

It has been a fun June but that usually means not much progress in the weight loss journey.  I have been consistent with my exercise.  I end the month of June with 388,754 steps with a daily average of 12,958 steps.  I have logged 162.88 miles with a daily average of 5.43 miles.  I have exercised 30 out of 30 days.  My sleep has not been that great though,  only reaching my goal 14 days out of 30 with an average of 6 hours, 45 minutes per day...that's not good.   Stress from work, I think and I also think a few days of overindulgence caused for messed up sleep.   Crap food, too much sugar, etc.  It's amazing how your body gets used to eating better and drinking less alcohol so quickly, when you go back to the evil ways, your body lets you know it's unacceptable. 

I have pretty much stayed even on the weight for the month of June, which I suppose is not bad all things considered.  I had a goal to reach by mid-August and that is feeling a bit more unattainable but I will just push on and whatever progress I make will just have to be celebrated.  Back to being "good" within reason for the month of July! 

One Year Anniversary - June 10, 2007

 

Seems the only other "MySpace blog" that I converted to a "FB note" that I saved was the recap of our One Year Anniversary! 

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 

One Year Anniversary Current mood:  sleepy Category: Romance and Relationships Well, can you believe that I have been married to this wonderful man for over a year now?!!   The time has flown by so quickly, it just amazes me!  I will say that these past 3 years since I met Bill, I have been having the time of my life!    We have been to so many places and done so many fun things.  We've shared many of nights simply sitting and talking with each other over a bottle of wine ~ everything with him is so very easy. Since our wedding, we've done a bit of travelling: our honeymoon last August in Kauai and Maui, 2 day Coastal Cruise from Vancouver to SF, Thanksgiving weekend visiting his family, the Grand Canyon & Sedona, Club Med Punta Cana and now our 1st Anniversary 10 day Alaska Cruise!  And I know I've left out weekend trips to Tahoe and Capitola and probably a few others!  This man sends me flowers for no reason other than to say "Because I love You", he tells me at least 5+ times a day that he loves me, always says hello, goodbye and goodnight with a kiss.  I love to have my back scratched and he completely indulges me ~ all I have to do is meander up near him with my back to him and voila he just starts to scratch my back - HE SPOILS ME!!! Our one year anniversary started at midnight since we were still up packing and getting things ready for our June 10th cruise out of San Francisco to Alaska.  We exchanged gifts and he gave me this beautiful diamond Palm Tree necklace.  We had seen this necklace when we honeymooned in Hawaii ~ he remembered and ordered it from the jewelry store in Hawaii.  He is always thinking and remembering things like this!  And then the significance that we saw it while on our honeymoon ~ just amazing! We embarked on our cruise ship around 2pm and the 10 day party began.  We had the outside of our cabin decorated with "Happy Anniversary" balloons and our good friend Maura (who was on the cruise with us) sent us a wonderful bouquet of flowers that lasted the entire cruise!  They were beautiful.  We really didn't do anything super special that day except "BE TOGETHER" ~ we had dinner with the family and just explored the ship and then spent the remaining 10 days together 24/7, which was wonderful!  We shared some wonderful experiences: zipline touring in Juneau, Dog Sledding in Skagway ~ simply amazing!  We danced every night and we LOVE to dance!  We had a really great time, although we did miss our furry child! All in all we had a wonderful cruise and it was a fabulous way to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!  Not sure we will "vacation" on our 2nd anniversary, we have a nephew's 8th grade graduation the same weekend next year!  But that's ok!  I love this man more than words can explain!  He is amazing and I am a very lucky woman!  Thank you God ~ you did good!

Wedding Day: June 10, 2006

 

20 years ago, I wrote this "note" on "My Space"- remember that- the first of Social Media Platforms, well when I knew I was not going to stick around on My Space, so I had copied this onto Facebook "notes" and then FB discontinued "notes"- so I cut/pasted anything important into a Word Document.  Can't hurt to have this documented in other places just in case!!  

So on this eve of our 20th Wedding Anniversary....here is the re-cap of the most magical of Wedding Days! 

Tuesday, July 11, 2006 

Wedding Day Current mood:  loved Category: Romance and Relationships Well, this is taking me a lot longer to get to this-I have officially been married for just over one month!  ;)  I am extremely happy and really want to re-cap the wedding day events-if for no other reason to keep the memory alive. June 10, 2006-Bill and I woke up around 8am, ordered room service breakfast and then after a few pictures and last kisses as "fiance's" we parted ways for a few hours.  My two maid/matron of honors (Lisa & Sherry) and I were off to the salon for hair and make-up, I was very relaxed- but quiet, which for me is not common, and oddly enough I was very quiet the day of my first wedding at the salon.  I guess the last few hours of calm before the storm, but this was a different type of calmness the second time around.  A calmness of knowing I was exactly where I needed to be in my life and that I was about to marry the perfect partner, companion and love for my life. According to plan, Lisa & Sherry were back at the room before me, getting dressed and fine tuning make-up, and then I returned back to the room at 1145am- as planned.  I didn't have much to do other than get dressed, so I just took my time- my girls were so helpful and attentive, making sure I was getting my shoes on right, that the dress was hanging correctly, making sure I wasn't shining from the sweat on my brows! ;)  1215 or so, almost ready and I ask "what time is it"- Lisa replies "you don't want to know" (nobody would let me wear a watch)--well needless to say, it was time to take the elevator down to the chapel for my 1220p schedule.  My emotions were getting the best of me all morning and my eyes would tear up from time to time, as we rode the elevator, deep breathing was helpful--then we arrive to the chapel level and get out and I was not prepared to see all of the guests outside in the lobby area-- thought they would all be in the chapel already--so that was a blow and made it hard to keep my emotions in check, I was so on the verge of tearing all morning-- Sherry and Lisa safely whisked me to the "bridal room"- helped me freshen up, put kleenex in my arm pits cuz I was already sweating--think that was probably from the shot of tequila before we left the room (thanks Sherry!). ;) Wedding planner comes in to check on us, photographer comes in to review his job and then minister- "you ready Pam"- Hell yeah!  So my girls leave me alone in my bridal waiting room as I try to wait patiently-- I hear the first song "drifting" from one of my yoga cd's - my groom, his best man, and remainder of the bridal party were all walking into that song, I kept trying to sneak a peek from the room, but Sherry caught me-- gave me that look to "go back into my room"-- she is very maternal! (love you) Wedding Planner comes and gets me--my dear friend Diane is still outside the chapel as she needed to make sure her daughter Brynn did her flower girl duty.  I could barely talk to her, the emotions were just so strong as "our/my" song started to play- "Keeper of the Stars", that was my "bridal march" and I started to walk into the chapel and thanks to the photographer for reminding me to breathe!    Each smile that I saw as I walked into the chapel brought me one place closer to tears welling up in my eyes.  I could just feel so much happiness in the room, all these people so happy for Bill and I and the love that we found with each other.  It was an amazing feeling to know how loved we were by all these people.  People who took the time to travel to Lake Tahoe to share in our wedding weekend.  It was really special. I kept my eyes on my destination- Bill's waiting arm and noticed his eyes to be a bit blurry also and I was apparently shaking when I arrived (so he says)- but the video does clearly show my chest beating at a very quick pace- good thing I didn't hyper-ventilate.:D  All kidding aside, the minister asked if we were ready and he proceeded to go through our ceremony- it was very beautiful, covered exactly what it needed to, my sister did a beautiful reading on marriage: excerpt from The Art of a Good Marriage, by Wilferd Arlan Peterson "A good marriage must be created. In marriage the "little" things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say, I love you" at least once a day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is having a mutual sense of values, and common objectives. It is standing together and facing the world. It is forming a circle that gathers in the whole family. It is speaking words of appreciation, and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is not only marrying the right person -- it is being the right partner." We exchanged our vows, rings and then lit our unity candle.  The minister then finished up with a reading that was indigenous to the founds of Lake Tahoe and it was a very beautiful reading, bringing new meaning to the beautiful place on the Lake.  We were then announced at Mr & Mrs Horst - and walked out of the chapel to "Feels Like Love" by Vince Gill with smiles from ear to ear and still those teary eyes- neither of us really cried, but we were on the verge and thanks to Morgan (surrogate niece) for the tissues that she gave us during the ceremony.  Chapel Pictures with wedding party and then family pictures outside the chapel in the ballroom lounge area, then the party was ready to begin for the guests- they were all escorted upstairs to the reception location.  What I learned later is that my two nephews insisted that they go up first because they wanted to make sure everyone found their seats properly.  (earlier in the day, my nephews along with my sister and her husband went to the reception location and put out place cards, favors, disposable cameras and just made sure everything else was in order.  It was well worth their payment in extra chocolate bar favors that they snatched-15 in total oink oink) :) :)  But I though it was very sweet that they wanted to take their job one step further and make sure everyone found their tables.  Someone has raised those boys right! We took a few more couple pictures around the hotel and then to the reception we were, the DJ announced the wedding party playing "Difference between living and living well" by George Strait and when we were introduced the words used were: "Two-stepping their way into a new life, the dance begins for a husband and wife.  Introducing Pam & Bill Horst" -- and "Forever and For Always" by Shania Train started to play and we entered with our first two-step dance as a married couple.  Dancing is how our relationship all began, so it was only fitting that we start the party with a dance.  It was a little shaky in the wedding shoes (not my boots)- but after a few times around with basic, I gave Bill the ok to do tricks! :)  We had a good time, ended with a photographic dip and then started to mingle with the guests and make our way around the tables. We got a chance to visit with some before lunch and then my matron of honor said Grace before we started the buffet.  After lunch, we exited for a few outside pictures and then returned to visit with more tables and do some dancing.  The afternoon flew by, but we managed to spend time with everyone, managed to get in several dances, we did the traditional things- cake cutting to "Love will keep us alive" by the Eagles, the bouquet toss to "This one's for the girls" by Martina McBride, the garter toss to "Getcha Some" by Toby Keith.  Our traditional first dance was "Amazed" by Lonestar and the wedding party joined us for "I can't help falling in love" by Elvis Presley Toasts, started with the Best Man toast, well I know he (my brother) had good intentions, but he did make an inappropriate toast considering my ex-husband (who is now a good friend) was there--there were references made to "finally finding the right man" etc etc and how "dad would be proud of this one"- Bill and I were actually very embarrased and felt very badly for my ex, who took it like a trooper.  We did speak to him afterwards and he understood, not that it felt any better--but we reassured him that we were happy he was there for us. Toasts were then made by Sherry and Lisa- both wonderful friends who made heart felt loving speeches, while trying to keep emotions in check. :)  Then the mic was opened up to the guests and my friends Diane, Brynn (flower girl), Diana and Denise all made toasts and it was very emotional to hear the pouring out of friendship and love from these ladies (even 3 year old Brynn with her 'congratulations Aunty Pammie and Uncle Bill- Yee Haw') Afterwards, Bill took the mic and thanked everyone for attending and pointed out the distances traveled by my relatives in CT and his family from AZ, then the mic was mine.  I tried to keep the tears from flowing, but they were there and I thanked everyone and told them all that each and everyone of them was special to us and that they were all included in our special day because we love them and value their place in our lives.  Then a "cheers" "salute" "let's dance and have fun" toast and we finished off the afternoon with more dancing, mingling, and lots of fun fun fun!!! Our final dance was to "Love of My Life" by Sammy Kershaw and then poof 515pm- it was over. :(  But we didn't have much time to spare before it was time to meet the bus that was picking us and 25 of our guests up for a boat cruise along the Lake. We enjoyed a dinner sunset dance cruise along the lake and had a great time- good music, good food, good dancing, good friends- we had fun!  BAck to the hotel around 1030pm- and met up with some other friends in the casino and did some more dancing at the casino bar (the DJ at the casino bar was also the photographer trainee who attended our wedding earlier in the day- small world)- then 1am or so, we were tuckered out and finally made it back to our room--day over - but it was a wonderful day!!! I would do it all over again and I would not change a thing- everything went according to plans, we started on time (which amazed me)- no tripping, no falling down, it was just perfect!!! Now I get to live out the rest of my life with this fabulous man and I hope we both live long long lives!!!

May- a month abroad!!!

 

May was a busy month, a month where I was home for a total of 6 days and not all of those were full days!   I traveled to San Diego for my annual travel conference May 2-5th,  I was home for a full day and then we traveled to Athens to begin our European Adventure on May 7th.   We made it back home late on May 24th, celebrated Memorial Day on the 25th and then left for the Bay Area May 29th for a weekend of birthday & graduation celebrations. 

How did I do?   Well, the weigh-in after San Diego was fine- I did not gain any weight.  In fact, I was up at 7am to get my walk in before morning sessions began at 830am-9am.  The 1st morning I went to the fitness center but after talking to colleagues, I was reassured that an easy loop could be made around the hotel grounds, so the next two mornings, I did just that and it was a fantastic way to start out my day of sitting! 

17 days in Europe and though I have to say that eating was easy, under control, I did not feel as though I overate, I had dessert some nights, but not every night.  I did have my fair share of  bread, aka my kryptonite!  It's the alcohol that kills me and I travel with friends who are bad influences, LOL  But sure, I could say "no" but it's vacation and I'm in Greece and Italy- of course, I'm going to say "yes" to the Lemoncello Spritz!  I can't say that I made an effort to exercise every day, but Europe is one big outdoor GYM!   I mean, you walk everywhere, so I did not have any troubles getting my steps during our trip and there were a few days that I did actually "exercise" to make sure I would get my steps.  This meant 2 nights in our Athens hotel, I line danced until I achieved my goal and then there was our one Sea Day that would mean lounging most of the day- we walked for an hour on the deck before we sat our butts down on lounge chairs...and then there was the one morning when I think jetlag caught up with me and at 6am, I could not go back to sleep, so at 630am I was walking on the deck as we pulled into Mykonos.  I saw the most beautiful sunrise, while we were sailing into port. 

By the time we got home, I was brave and got on the scale on Memorial Day and was shocked that I had gained 7 pounds--WTF????  But I also knew that it was mostly sugar pounds.  The food in Europe is different, it's wholesome, it's not filled with fake ingredients or preservatives.   By Thursday, I had lost 5 of those 7 pounds.  Of course, a weekend on the horizon in the Bay Area with eating out, celebrating friends and family, but I managed to maintain and I think that is partly due to staying on track with fitness.   I woke up Saturday at our hotel and searched our area and found that there was a park within walking distance so Bill joined me and we walked to the park and walked around the walking path several times to get our 3 mile walk.  It's great to have a partner who supports your goals.  Sunday, we were driving home, so getting steps was a combination of a short walk and then dancing and that was of course, May 31st- the end of a month.

For May, I managed to average 14,458 steps per day, with a total of 448,464 steps in the month. I averaged 5.98 miles per day with a total of 185.68 miles for the month.  I "exercised" 31 days of 31- this means that my activity level registered 30 minutes or more per day.   My sleep could have been better, I averaged 6 hours, 50 minutes per day and only met my goal of 7 hours 17 days but part of that was the traveling and also the excess of sugar (aka wine) as I am starting to see that too much wine really disturbs my sleep- having cut back so much the past few weeks, I really do feel it now when I over-indulge. 

It's now June and I am on track and ready to attack my goals.  I would like to enter ONEderland by the time our line dance conference BLISS happens in August.  I'm not far and it is completely an attainable goal.    There will be a few more celebrations this month,  Bill & I celebrate our 20th wedding Anniversary next week, we will celebrate  Bill's 62nd (WHAT?) birthday and we have our friends and wonderful band, The Rob Tracy Band coming to town for our Regency Rodeo Kick-Off concert, knowing Tiina, Tequila will be involved.   Moderation is key! 

Some of my favorite photos from May:

April- Holidays & Social Fun

 

April was a fun month but also a challenging month.  We had family in town for Easter & my sister's birthday (bonus that they both fell on the same weekend)- but this also meant more splurging with not the best of food choices and of course alcohol was involved.    But--I still managed to lose 4 pounds this month, so I will take that as a big win!    If we want to count the weight I gained over Easter weekend- well then I lost 8 pounds because to my surprise I instantly gained 4 pounds over that weekend--but even though I was mis-behaving with food/beverage choices-  I was living life, I was having fun and I was still consistent with my walking and dancing! 

My stats for April:

Average 6.18 miles per day, total of 185.39 miles for the month.

I exercised 30 days in April- that is 100% participation! 

I averaged 7 hours and 21 minutes of sleep, hitting my target sleep 23 days out of 30.

I averaged 14,451 daily steps, a total of 433,525 for the month and hitting my goal 30/30 days!   I currently as I write this on May 4th have a 94 day streak of 10k or more per day.

Staying focused is key to reaching my goals.   I have lost 17.6 pounds since my February re-set and a total of 37.6 for when I had my initial Reno reset August of 2022--there have been ups and downs but again, the key is to keep on going and not giving up!! 

I am Persistent Pam and I will reach my goals! 

I am currently at my annual Travel Conference and I am making good choices.  I am also getting up at 645am and walking for 3 miles before my sessions begin--this is HUGE for me!   I have a huge trip starting this week to Europe and I plan to stay consistent while I am gone on my trip too!   I know alcohol will be involved on this trip - peer pressure, LOL  Joking, sort of--but that's OK,  if I can come back from this trip with no loss or gain and/or a small gain like the 2 pounds from Portugal/Spain last year- that will be a win!  

Ok- back to my conference!! 

March Summary- Still Making Progress

 

Here we are - April 1st already!!  Not sure how the time keeps flying by faster and faster but it's slightly terrifying.  Not enough hours in the day, enough days in the week, enough weeks in the month.....

March- I logged 447,314 steps for a total of 189.71 miles.  I exercised 31/31 days.   I logged my food intake 31/31 days.  I am down a total of 14 pounds now since my 2/1/26 reset.   I was "dry-ish" most of the month.  We went to Disneyland for a very special little girl's 5th birthday and I enjoyed 5 glasses of cold white wine during meals (it was 90 degrees outside) and I enjoyed a glass of wine by the pool.  I had ordered a cocktail that sounded good, but I didn't really care for it, so I did not drink it- if I'm going to spend the calories, I better be liking it!   Outside of vacation, I had a few more glasses of wine:  one at our monthly "wine dancing" event and two glasses when Robin brought a nice bottle over from her Sonoma Wine club, Anaba and a glass at dinner with a group of friends. 

Work has been busy and stressful,  every trip just seems to be like pulling teeth sometimes - so as much as I love what I do,  I've not been enjoying the process that much this past month but I still managed to hit my monthly goal.  It's never over until the very last day of the month.  Seriously.   I've had a hard time finding time to plan my own trip which is quickly approaching- May will be here FAST! 

Disneyland was fun, we had not been there in 5 years- which is hard to believe but we have had other travel priorities and Disney has gotten crazy expensive- it was time well spent with people we adore and Disney is the best when you have child eyes through which to view.   Seeing the magic when they met Princesses and Characters, so cool.  Kids should not grow up.  These times only last for so long.  I have to say that I ate relatively well on this trip and had real meals.  The only "treat" that I splurged on was the Mickey Ice Cream on a stick- YUM.  A favorite - only wish I had had one more.  Love Disney churros but when I'd see them, I just was not hungry - that is huge for me.  

March brought lots of dancing, which helped with the step count and I walked to/from the Clubhouse for every class that I taught and expanded my walks to take the long way- so averaging between 1.5-2 miles roundtrip.  We had glorious weather the majority of March, that helped!  I found myself on March 31st needing my steps as the rain that was supposed to happen in the morning decided to come in the evening and last many more hours than predicted and though I wanted to go the clubhouse to the gym to hop on the treadmill, I was not sure my keyscan would work.  I ended up dancing in the Dining room to get my steps.  No excuses, even at 11pm!   (Turns out my keyscan is not working, tested it today and will need to have management help get that fixed for when weather gets in the way)

Of course, I would love to have lost more, but I think 14 pounds in 2 months is a good pace and expect to keep this pace of 5-8 pounds a month.  April should be relatively easy, we do have family coming to town for Easter and there will be meals out and yummy extras - like Kimberly's famous buttercream cake!  But you need to be able to enjoy those times and bounce back and get back on track, which I will do.    Onto a great April....here goes! 

February Summary - Journey to a Healthier ME!

 

February was a month of putting ME first!   FINALLY!   I decided to do "Dry February" - I finished the month successfully and that included a GNO night to celebrate one friend's 65th birthday at the beginning of the month and finished the month with a 65th birthday dinner for another dear friend- a glass of wine would have complimented the meal beautifully - but I set out to accomplish a month of no Alcohol and I was not going to blow it on February 28th.  It would have been really easy to say, "you've done 27 days, it's OK - have that glass of wine" but that was not what I wanted to do.  In fact, I'm loving my results so much that I'm going into March thinking that it may be another Dry month- we will see, with Disneyland in a few weeks, it may end up being "dry-ish". 

Activity, I achieved over 10k steps every day of the month and did a walk outside just about every day.  We had a few days of snow- so I consider walking back and forth with a shovel "walking" and there was one day that life got in the way but we went dancing that night and I got about 9K steps on the dance floor.  But I made sure we were going dancing because if we were going to bail on going out, I was dressed and ready to go for a late afternoon walk instead.  Days that I taught Line Dance class, I walked to/from the Clubhouse.  If the weather looked like it might be unpleasant for the walk home after my evening class, I walked longer before class to get my mile in so I could then get a ride home after class.  I PLANNED!!  It's so true, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.   Also, Bill has walked with me several weekends and also on Friday mornings to/from Line Dance Class.  

Tracking- I have been tracking on my Weight Watchers app for 83 days in a row now but let's be honest, some of those days in December/January were "49er tailgate= 20 points"- very vague and lots of guessing.  February, I broke out my food scale, I weighed things that needed weighing.  I didn't deprive myself though.  If I wanted ice cream, I have my pints of Halo in the freezer and I measure out the serving.  If I wanted cookies- I have my Biscoff cookies and I take 2 out of the container and go sit to eat them.  None of this bringing the bag or package to the couch - unless it's Pistachios, those are good for you and take some work, I get tired of the work long before I can overeat them!   We've gone out to eat but I've been aware of my points available, whatever weekly points I might have to help cover a meal out and I've still ended each week this month with "excess points" and that is what you want for weight loss. 

Isagenix- I'm not going full blast back into the program with cleanse days and such, but I am drinking my shakes - probably 3-4 times per week, it's a nice change and it's a good, healthy meal that tastes like a treat.  Who knows, I may add back the cleanse days- though those were so hard to work into my crazy schedule before moving to Reno and I think it would be exponentially harder to implement with our new lifestyle here.  

Starbucks- iykyk.   Well, I tried to mostly stick to having Starbucks if it was in conjunction with a hair or nail appointment.  I had my Iced or Hot non-fat Latte a total of 10 times during the month of February- I looked back at my history and I've been averaging 20 times per month, so a 50% cut in my usage and a 50% savings - which is about $60/month savings- crazy how the cost of Starbucks has gone up.  When you use the app and the account is magically replenished with a charge to your credit card, you don't really see what you are spending - or you do but it's easy to ignore as the money is not coming out of your wallet! 

Weight loss- well, I am down 9.2 pounds in 28 days- I'll take it!  I realize the first month you "get back on track", you will tend to lose more than subsequent months but I am mentally prepared for that and 5 pounds a month is a realistic goal, if I happen to drop more than that- fantastic.  

Onto the month of March and hoping to continue on this path of weight loss, I have so many cute clothes in the smaller sizes sitting in my closet, begging to be worn.  The ultimate goal are two pairs of Christine Alexander jeans with bling that I've had for years.    Ok, off to do taxes--that's going to be a fun Sunday afternoon!  

Week One - Feeling Great

 I was ON POINT this week.   8 days of staying within my Weight Watcher points.  8 days of "Dry February".  3 days of Starbucks, which is a huge improvement.  I don't get a terrible drink- it's a non-fat Latte, iced and sometimes hot but the habit was getting out of hand.  I am trying to limit my Starbuck consumption to Nail day, Hair day and maybe one extra during the week.  

I walked 6 days this week, 3 of the days were to/from the Clubhouse to teach 90 minutes of line dancing and the other 3 days were 3+miles and it felt wonderful to be out walking again!  Sunday was the only day that I didn't walk, but I had 13000 steps from Line Dancing for 3 hours at RPM and figured that was good enough, besides it was time to plop on the couch for Super Bowl.  

We did not attend a party this year, in part due to me wanting to stay on point.  If I'm at a party with a bunch of junk food or snacky food, I'm going to snack without paying attention to my points.   Also, I was multi-tasking while watching the game because I could not have been any less interested in this year's event.  It was really tough to see our biggest rival in the Super Bowl at our Stadium and then to win on top of it.  Ugh.   I though it was bad enough years ago when they beat us on Thanksgiving at home and feasted on the Turducken on our field--this was much worse.  Kudos to the Hawks defense, they were stellar and kept NE from scoring for most of the game.  It was impressive but I am not happy about it.  LOL

The no alcohol was mostly easy this week.  I did have a gal pal get together Monday night and that was easy to skip the drinks, I had my water and was perfectly happy.   Friday night we went over Robin's house and it would have been nice to have a glass of wine with the pizza but I still did fine with my water.  I usually get a cocktail when we go out dancing but skipped that today too and did not miss it. I'm really too busy dancing to nurture a cocktail and I had my Starbucks to keep me busy for an hour+.

I should have an easy week ahead with staying on point.  The only obstacle that may enter into the picture is our weather is supposed to turn.  But hopefully, I can get out for my walks before the rain hits and even if it hits, as long as it's not pouring rain, I'm Ok to walk out in the rain.  We may get some snow next week, so I will just need to play it by ear.

The good news is that I'm down 4.5 pounds on week one and that feels amazing.  It's nice to see the efforts pay off.  Now to keep on going in the right direction! 

Love having company on my weekend walks...and it's good for him too! 

Back to Basics

OK- I feel like I've been on this Journey to a Healthier Me FOREVER!!

I know there are excuses and there are reasons and I have had some valid reasons for derailing my progress and many out of my control.   I sure hit the perfect storm though over the last 10 years.  Menopause is not kind to the waistline and I remember my mom crying because she had lost her waistline when she went through "the change" and though I didn't lose mine- everything did get fluffier in equal proportions over my body and just as I thought I was over "the change" and started to lose the weight gained, I went through Menopause AGAIN.  Yes, this is a thing - seems my ovaries came out of retirement for one last hoorah and then the clock was reset.  For those who don't understand this process- that means 4 years of Menopausal weight issues.  

I think it could have been much worse, but at least while going through these years of change, I was still teaching fitness classes at the gym and was dancing 2-3 times a week, so I was staying in shape, though my shape was fluffier.  And then just when things are getting back on track...boom, the pandemic hits and life as I knew it and as I loved it was temporarily halted.  No dancing, no gyms, no work and I was depressed.  I spent a lot of time talking to friends on the phone or over zoom, I spent a lot of time getting sunshine on the patio and tried to do fitness online but it was not "fun".  I did line dance in the house often to help keep my spirits up.  Walking outside felt weird because you'd see someone coming and wonder who was going to cross the street because heaven forbid you get too close to another human who might have covid.   Weird times for sure.

Then we embark upon this big move to Nevada which ultimately began in May of 2021 and there was a lot of back and forth, living in an AirBnB with a kitchenette that didn't have a stove or oven.  It was a challenge for sure.  Lots of stress, lots of unhealthy eating and ok probably too much wine drinking.   But we made it through that stressful time and got into our new home.

However, though we would not change a thing about where we live, when moving to such a fun community like ours, it's sort of like Freshman year in College.  Lots of parties, lots of food, lots of drinking events ~ and of course, you love all the fun.  This is what you signed up for- an active, social environment, until your clothes start to feel snug and you realize you want to have lots of golden years and you can't live them like this and expect to have lots of them!   

In 2022, I got myself refocused and back on Weight Watchers and was doing well and of course, like WW does each year in January of 2023, they re-vamped the program and my "free foods" were no longer free and I tried to still do what I had been doing but it all magically stopped working and of course, then I get pissed off and start to self-sabotage.   I had lost 20 pounds in 2022 and had gained 10 of those back in 2023, partly because I was pissed off at WW.   So I re-focused in 2024 again and lost another 20 pounds (yes 10 of those are the ones I lost and regained)..so I was ultimately down 30 pounds from my Reno Move Here weight.  In 2025, I had gotten down to a total of 40 pounds lost (since 2022) and had mostly maintained (+/- 3 pounds) through summer....until my trip to NYC.

On my gal pal trip in NYC, I was walking back to the hotel with my friend Janine, when I tripped over uneven sidewalk and went flying, landing on hands and knees with my left knee taking the brunt of the injury.  Truthfully, I'm not sure how my hands got nothing and my right knee had very light road rash and later some bruising on my thigh made me realize that my purse probably saved that knee from worse injury.  I ended up with 17 stitches on my left knee and of course, that halted my activities for a bit.  Though I was back to teaching line dancing 6 days later, carefully.   But getting back into the groove with my walks was hard and it was more a mental thing than anything else, I was having a bit of PTSD from this experience.  

The rest of 2025 was filled with birthday celebrations, a cruise, a week in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving and my birthday, holiday parties, hosting football parties and Christmas festivities and there we are back to a net loss of 25 pounds.  UGH.

Well 2026 is here, January had its share of events and trips, so I knew trying to do Dry January to kick off the year was not going to work.  So now it's February and I've set a goal to walk every day- knowing if it's a dance day that the walk is probably going to be to/from the Clubhouse, I've decided that it's Dry February (might make one exception on 2/14 for Valentine's Day) and I'm limiting my Starbucks consumption (& spend).  I had gotten way out of hand with my daily Lattes, so I am going back to treating myself to a Latte when it's Nail Day (bi-weekly) or Hair Day (weekly).  I'm going to save a bundle! 

We are blessed with some very mild weather here in Reno this year and I know we need the snow or rain and I want it, I love having 4 seasons but it's awfully nice to be walking in 50 degree weather, honestly it was 40 when I started today and it was not cold.  We have such a dry climate here and if the sun is shining it feels much warmer than the temp would lead you to believe.   I have walked 3 days in a row so far and yesterday's was the true test- I walked to the clubhouse to teach my line dance class.   I love our scenery here, so beautiful!  

My initial goal for 2026- to get into ONEderland by May.  I wanted this goal before we went to Europe last year and then I thought perhaps by my 60th birthday two months ago--guess third goal post is the charm.