If only losing weight was as easy as putting on makeup

So, you know how I like to bake? Well right now my body shows it. Weight has never been an easy topic for me. I was never a chubby kid, but I was never scrawny either. It’s always been a joke how my older sister wore the 8 slim and I wore the 8 regular. In high school, I wasn’t skinny, but I was average. High school sports tend to keep girls like me from packing on the pounds. Then came college…..and beer and pizza. As a college freshman, I quickly put on weight from having WAY too much fun and not enough exercise. We always joked that our sorority was the farthest from the Rec center and the closest to Maggie Moo’s (it was an ice cream shop for those of you who aren’t from the Midwest). I had a couple of great friends that were great enablers and I love them dearly (you know who you are).

After college, I got back into shape and was regularly working out. We’ll along came my husband and the rest went downhill from there. I slowly gained weight back and by the time our wedding took place, I was heavier than I would have liked to be, but oh well. I have always had a lot of self confidence and weight never really bothered me until now. Ugh.

I am 30lbs heavier (I can’t believe I had to write that number down) than I was before I got pregnant with Jackson. Jackson was born in October and I had a hard time recovering from the birth. It was just one thing after another that kept slowing the process down. Then came the Christmas season- I ate my way through the Holidays, hoping to take the pain in my heart away. It didn’t. It just made my butt bigger. Well, the excuse of “I just had a baby” is now no longer justifiable since that was almost 9 months ago. I never even got to use that excuse at stores, because if you say you had a baby, everyone wants to know about the baby. Part of me has held on to the weight to remind everyone that I was prego and Jackson did exist. Worse thing is that some people can’t tell I am prego again, so they dance around the question. I quickly respond with a “nope, just chubby” and smile. That shuts them up.

Today is a new day. I am back to portion control and making smart choices. I have starting training for my first 5k. It is in June and is to promote cancer awareness. I will run in honor of my dad who has bravely fought cancer for the past six years. Every time I think about how much running hurts, I think of what he has been through and how important it is for me to keep going. Exercise has been good for me both physically and mentally. Now, if my rather large butt would just go away.

Weekend Fun

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Anthony and I. This is his busiest time of the year at work, so I try and pick up the slack in the yard and with our crazy dogs.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Des Moines to visit my sister and we were joined by my niece Carsen from Kansas City. It was such a great weekend to have her aunts spoil her rotten! At 4, she is at such a wonderful age. We took her to Adventureland and she couldn't get enough of the rides- especially the big ferris wheel! She's a little bit sassy- but then, so are we! We love her so much!



I took my camera to Des Moines to capture pictures for my blog- but then I didn't want to drag it into Adventureland. We have a Nikon D60 that I love, but I definately need to get a smaller camera that I can just throw in my purse.

You think that small friends don't always know what's going on around them, but it's amazing what they catch on to. When Jackson was born, my sister didn't bring Carsen with her to the hospital. At 3.5 years old, we figured it would just be really hard to understand. Carsen knows that we had a baby and that he went to Heaven, but I never really thought she knew much more than that. Recently my sister was telling her about a friend of theirs that had a baby and Carsen asked if they got to "keep" their baby. It broke my heart.

My mom is coming to town today to help me work on my flower gardens. I got really anxious this year and planted things just a little too early- because it's suppose to FREEZE tonight. Boo. I'm going to look like that crazy lady with sheets all over her yard trying to protect everything. Two years ago, the weekend after I planted we got a terrible hail storm and I had to replant a whole bunch of stuff. Unfortunately it was later in the spring and all the really cute stuff was gone from the greenhouses. So that year, our yard wasn't as cute as I had hoped.

I am punting the idea of a vegetable garden this year. With so many other things going on in our lives, I just don't have the time to do it right. Last year I made a lame attempt at tomato plants in pots- HUGE mistake. I had to water them twice a day to keep them from dying. So this year, I'm going to support the local farmers market and leave it up to them!

I love spring!