So it's been nearly a year since my last post. Since that time I got down to 210, got pregnant, got up to about 243, had a baby in August, and am now back down to 210. I'm happy to say that it has only taken me about 2 months to get back to where I started! And now I have time to lose weight before Christmas again. My new goal is to break 200 before Christmas. Funny enough, my goal last year was to break 200 before Christmas but then I got pregnant. This year I still have 2 whole months before Christmas which makes it even more achievable. Really there will be no good excuse if I don't make it work! Especially since my family has been so supportive and they have since started an initiative to try to get all of us more healthy. I think it's going well!

Oh.....we also moved in with Paul's parents last December and have been here since then. That has brought with it its own challenges but life isn't too shabby right now. We have a beautiful 2 month old little girl now named Ashley. She is a joy and has a beautiful smile! Ryan has started kindgarten and loves school. And while Benjamin misses his brother terribly while he's at school, he also seems to enjoy the one-on-one time we have been fortunate to get more of lately. And, to top everything off, Paul got a promotion last month!! While it has meant more hours at work more recently (which I'm not such a fan of) I've been grateful for his hard work and I'm sure once he gets settled in to his new position (he's only recently been able to replace his former position so for awhile he was covering both jobs), he'll be able to come home more again.

So as far a "little victories" go, we've had several in this past year!! And more recently I've been more desirous to start up on my blog again and try to keep up there now.....I feel the need to write again--which is a little victory by itself! I used to really enjoy writing down my thoughts and I feel like I've forgotten so much because I haven't taken the time to write things down so I'm making that a new goal--in conjunction with my current goal of continuing to lose weight. Huh, this sounds like a great Christmas newsletter! I've got that done already now too! jk. :D

Progress, progress!!

So, I didn't even bother to check and see what my last post on here was or when. I think I did let everyone know that after finally admitting that doing it on my own wasn't working, I decided to go back to Weight Watchers. Well, Weight Watchers IS working!!

I have officially lost 25 lbs!!

I have surpassed my 10% goal--losing 10% of your starting body weight--and I should be down at least another 10 lbs by Christmas! YAY!

There's a definite difference in my clothes. I can feel clothes loosening up on me which is nice. I mean, I already dropped a size back in August and now I'm getting close to dropping another. I'm definitely feeling better about myself and I'm even doing a better job getting things done at home...of course, that had a lot to do with another practice I instituted (with the help of my wonderful husband)......a chore chart! Yeah, but for me it works. I love being able to check things off and feel like I've accomplished something everyday even if it's a mess again by the next day...which it usually is.

So point being, I'm healthier,

my home is cleaner on a more regular basis,

and my husband is happier

because I'm happier

and he doesn't have to come home

to a messy house everyday.

Life is good!

With a Little Help

So....I've been doing Weight Watchers for about 2 months now and I'm down about 15 lbs. At least I plan to be by Thursday when I weigh in!! The last couple of weeks have been a little tough.....so many fun activities with lots of good food! But I'm not giving up yet. I may have slipped up a few times here and there but I know that's just part of the process and I'm not going to let it discourage me! Seriously!
Yesterday I ended up walking about 4 hours total! I had Enrichment flyers to deliver and after doing two routes of that, the boys and I walked over to Costco and back! My legs are a little sore today but it's that good I-did-something-good-for-myself kind of sore. Next time, though, I will be sure to put on my walking shoes instead of my flip-flops the whole time....on the other hand, the flip-flops probably contributed to more of a work-out!
So that's the current weight update....more than a year after my initial start, and not until I actually joined a program to help me out, but still, I'm finally doing something serious about it!

A Renewed Effort...

So it's obviously been quite some time since I've blogged about my weight. The truth is, I wasn't having much luck at it on my own. Even after blogging to let everyone know my intentions and trying create more accountability for myself I still struggled....a lot. And while I had a walking partner for a short time last year before it got too cold, we never started up again this year when it got warmer again. And I've come to understand and realize that I've become much more dependent on food than I really ever thought....I eat for everything...I eat just to eat. Realizing that food was becoming more of an addiction than a mere need for survival, I have come to understand that I really need more help. So I joined Weight Watchers...again. Only this time I'm not going to let a "busy life" get in the way of attending my meetings. I've been going now for 6 weeks and I've lost 10 lbs!! I know that doesn't sound like a lot so far but at the same time, I plan on this becoming a lifestyle change and a long-term more permanent change so I'm not trying to lose everything too quickly. I want to make sure I'm making smaller more consistent changes that will stick instead of treating it like a crash diet and making changes that I would never be able to make stick long-term. So far, so good!

Life Is Beautiful

**Warning: Movie Spoiler Ahead**

Last night Paul & I watched Life Is Beautiful. It's a 1997 Italian film about a Jewish Italian man, Guido, who helps his son, Joshua, and his wife, Dora (Italian but not Jewish) survive in a Nazi concentration camp by making his son think the whole thing is a game, a contest to win a real tank--the first one to 1000 points win; and by communicating to his wife through the intercom and music while in the camp. He gives Joshua rules (no crying, no wanting your mommy, no snacks, he has to stay hidden and quiet, etc.) and then helps to remind him how important it is to keep the rules and win. Near the end of the movie, Guido is informed by a fellow detainee that the war is over and the Nazis are trying to destroy all evidence of the camp and prisoners. Guido hides Joshua, tells him not to come out until there's no one left and he doesn't hear anything, and then rushes off to find Dora to try and save her. In his efforts, he is caught by a Nazi guard who takes him and kills him. The next morning, the camp is quiet and Joshua leaves his hiding place. He enters the empty street and looks around to see a U.S. tank drive down the street. He's excited, believing his dad was telling the truth and he just won a tank. The U.S. officer picks him up and as they leave the camp along with several detainees who survived the night. Along the way Joshua sees his mom and is reunited with her telling her that he won! The movie is narrated by an older, wiser, grateful Joshua who recognizes the sacrifice his father made to keep him alive. The movie won several Academy Awards including Best Foreign Language Film.

Paul was working in a movie theatre when it was released so he had seen most of it before. This was my first time watching it and it touched my heart. I enjoyed the beginning of the movie and then was tense and nervous, and sick, for the rest of the movie. I was sickened as I thought of the real victims of the Holocaust and as I realized that their experiences were undoubtedly much, much worse than it was portrayed in the film; that families and people were torn apart and treated as animals, less than human.

The movie was very well done. I was moved by how the father tried to make every experience in the concentration camp a positive one for his son, to constantly give him hope, never giving up the facade he had created, never exposing the truth as to why they were really there... all the while knowing they may not make it out alive. It really made me just want to hold my children and my husband close and give thanks to a kind Heavenly Father for them. It made me remember how blessed I am to live in a day and time when, probably thanks to the Holocaust, such an atrocity would not be responded to as slowly as it was then.

It also made me so much more grateful for the plan of salvation and the atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ. To have knowledge and faith that, thanks to Jesus Christ, this life is not the end. We will be able to be reunited with our families forever and all those families who were, are and surely will be unrighteously ripped from their families were, are and will be reunited with those families again. Though it may be little consolation to those without such understanding, and even to some with, such faith and knowledge gives me great hope as we live in these last days--of wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, natural disasters, diseases, pestilences, when living a moral life and seeking that for our children is viewed as intolerant, bigoted and weak; when "bad" or sin is preached as good and desireable, and when Satan's grasp on the hearts of men is so strong and his reign here on the earth and is so open and rampant--that if I remain strong and endure to the end, I can have my family forever! And for that reason, life really should be "beautiful" all of the time!

The Birth of Clark

So when Lissa said she wanted to name her baby Clark there were several people who weren't thrilled about the idea. I wasn't sure what to think. After explaining her reasoning, it made a lot more sense. She wanted to give new, good meaning to the name.....so that it's not necessarily a "4-letter word" to my family forever after...especially considering we still have family members with the last name and a whole new generation of Clarks. Well, Clark Abram McDonald was born Thursday, November 6.....ironically, the same date and day even that my mom and dad were married 33 years ago. I just thought it was interesting that he was born , giving a rebirth to the name Clark, on the same day that our own Clark family was born, so to speak. Just kind of makes it mean more I think.

Clark Abram McDonald -- 7 lbs, 8 oz 20 inches long

Happy Birthday Mom!

This is MY MOM! Today is her birthday and I just thought I'd let everyone know what a great mom she is! She has been a huge support to me throughout my life as well as a great roommate, a personal/spiritual advisor, a fun grandma, and most of all a best friend! She is incredibly talented and has always been a wonderful example to me of faith, hard work, endurance, and love.
I love you, Mom!