Daily Gratitude

Since I didn't get a chance to post yesterday about what I am thankful for I have to post two different things today.

I am thankful for my primary children & the hugs they gave me yesterday when I went to watch their primary program. I was so sad leaving my primary children when I moved home. It was so good to return to my old family ward to visit my primary class & the many friends I made in the Wells Ward.

Today, I am thankful for good health. I am grateful that I made the decision to gain a healthier lifestyle. I love the new & improved Becky. I love being able to do new things & find the extra engery to pursue new goals. I can't wait for the day when I can run an entire 5K. My life is truly blessed.

Cornucopia of Things

What makes up a family?

I used to think that a family could only consist of a mother, father, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles & grand parents that are blood related. My thoughts on this matter have changed as I have gotten older.

A family to me consists of people who may or may not be related that come together to provide unconditional love & support for each other.

A few years ago one of my step moms friends passed away at a very young age. This friend had a son who was 17 when his mom passed away. My step mom & dad became legal guardians for this young man. He came to live with them for awhile. This young man has since gotten married and had a daughter of his own. This young man, his wife and daughter are not related to me but they are very much my family. My dad & step mom act as grandparents to this young mans daughter.

It is nice to know that we are all able to adapt & create our own support systems whether we are related or not. As long as we care for each other, love each other & are there to help each other through everything we experience then become my family. The reason why I share all of this with you is to introduce you to others who make up my family but that I am not related to.

Wheeler Farm

Last Saturday my dad, step mom, Christina and I went to Wheeler Farm. Christina is the daughter of the young man they had legal guardianship of.

Christina is at the fun stage of learning about her animals & what kind of noises they make. We thought it would be fun for her to see the animals in person. As we pulled up to the cows, Christina "moo"ed without us telling her to. Everyone around us started laughing. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. When we got really close to the cow Christina started crying, she was afraid of the cow. We tried to get a picture of her by the cows but she became so interested in the cows tha she wouldn't turn around for the picture.

Here are some more pictures of my family and me at Wheeler Farm:

Feeding the ducks & geese

Earlier Christina had a fear of cows well I can relate to how she felt. I have always had a fear of geese. I am afraid they are going to attach or chase after me. So while Christina was feeding the ducks a group of geese came up behind us. Here is a video clip of me being afraid of the geese:

It was a crazy Saturday at Wheeler Farm. Everywhere we turned there was a photographer taking someones family portraits, engagement pictures, and bridals. It was hilarious to say the least. Every where we turned a photographer was having someone pose. I do have to agree Wheeler Farm made a great back drop for pictures. It was out of control to say the least. I wish I would have grabbed my camera to take pictures of others taking pictures. It would have made a good blog post.

My Life Currently:

On to other things. Life is going pretty good I can't complain. I have been living at home with my dad and step mom since August and its going very well. When I moved home I decided to start attending the older singles ward for those who are ages 31 to 45. This has been a huge adjustment from attending a family ward but I have enjoyed it thoroughly. They have me playing the organ once a month and being on the mingle committee. I have enjoyed getting to know other people who can relate to what its like to be 34 and single. I don't think any of us thought we would be single this late in life, but we make the best of every situation and live our lives to the fullest. There is blessings in all things.

Weight Loss Update:

I have lost a total of 203 pounds. I wouldn't of never thought this was possible. I am enjoying every minute of this new life. I would like to lose another 70 pounds to get to my goal weight. Why is it that we allow ourselves to get derailed from things that matter most to us? I think for me the hardest thing wasn't loosing the weight its going to be maintaining the weight loss. That is why I want to get as close to my goal weight as I can. I know I have what it takes to do it, its just reminding myself daily of what my goal is.

More Changes:

Since I have made so many changes physically I thought why not try to grow my hair out as well. I was getting tired of my same hairdo. I haven't had long hair since I was in elementary school. I am thinking about growing it out to an A-line. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can grow my hair out faster? It will be fun to see what becomes of this process. I am hoping I have the patience I need to grown my hair out.

T H A N K S G I V I N G:

I am excited that Thanksgiving is fast approaching. I look forward to the time we get to spend with family & friends surrounded by good food. The last two years I got to prepare the bird and have everyone come over to my duplex. Now that I no longer live at the duplex we will be having Thanksgiving dinner at Dad & Peggys. It makes for an interesting day because of how small the house is. We seem to always find away to set the table so everyone can fit around it. We tend to have to move some furniture out in the garage to make it happen but its for a good cause. I can't wait to help my step mom with all the preperation & food making. It should be for a busy, eventful & fun filled day.

One of my friends has been posting on her blog one thing she is thanksful for everyday. I really liked this idea and might copy her. My plan is to blog about one thing that I am grateful for everyday until December 1st. I think it will be fun to share with all of my readers and it will help me come to realize how blessed my life is.

So today I am thankful for my family. I love them and appreciate all that they do for me.

Blog Ideas

As you can clearly see I haven't blogged in awhile. That's because I'm not sure what to blog about. I'm sure I will think of something.

I thought about sharing my daily life, my weight loss goals & achievements but I feel that is all I blog about latetly. Maybe I will change it up a little. Stay tuned!

P.O.W Campout 2010

Over the last 7 years I have been getting together with the same group of ladies for our annual P.O.W (Pretty Outstanding Women) camping trip. This years campout was fun, enjoyable, rainy & relaxing. I look forward to the trip every year.

Sharyll & Vickie

For the last 5 years we have headed up to Tanner Flat Campground in Little Cottonwood Canyon. We have a normal campground that we reserve every year that we really like. This year Sharyll Madsen, Vickie Ricks, myself & their friend Lori were able to come up. We don't really plan any activities we just fly by the seat of our pants. We normally walk the entire campground once or twice a day. We also will find different trails that we can hike or explore. The rest of the time we work on projects, read, or play games.

Sharyll & Vickie setting up our shower! We like the luxury of a shower when camping!

We had a little run in with Mother Nature this year. Thursday brought about great weather until in the evening when it started to rain. When we woke up Friday morning we realized that the tent had leaked and that there was water under our air mattress. Luckily we have 3 or 4 hours of nice weather on Friday where we could dry out our bedding. However that changed very quickly. As Friday afternoon approached Mother Nature decided to open the heavens & allow it to pour. I don't remember the last time my shoes, socks & pants were so wet from all the rain. I even came prepared with a poncho but was not able to stay completely dry. On the positive side the rain let up just a little bit so that we could build a decent fire to stay warm. All of us were pretty wet & tired by this point. As we retired to bed we didn't realized that the tent was so wet that it had started to leak onto the two beds located on each side of the tent. Vickies bed was in the middle of the tent, Sharyll and I had ours on both ends of the tent. Needless to say Sharyll and I ended up sleeping in our cars while Vickie slept in the tent. Lori headed home Thursday night as she wasn't able to sleep over but still wanted to participate in part of the camping trip.

Even though the rain put a damper on the camping trip, it was nice to get away, relax and enjoy each others company.

We wanted a group picture but it was too late to ask any of the other campgrounds to take the picture. Well my thought was why not use the self timer on my camera. So we put the camera on the hood of one of the cars and started to take pictures. We had to take several as I wasn't sure what I was doing with the self timer.

We didn't realize the camera wasn't level that is why we are all leaning to one side.

Still leaning after rigging the camera to be more level

Sharyll has reached her breaking point & gets the case of the giggles.

Finally a decent group picture!

Another group picture with the self timer, this time we are level but not centered.

Each year Vickie likes to find different ways we can get creative with our pictures when we go on our walk about the campground. Here are a few pictures that shows her creativeness:

Sprawled out in the Fire Pit

Head on the chopping block (oops, I wasn't supposed to get her arm & leg in the picture)

Me posing with the "Berries"

Is Change Good or Bad?

What is your view on change? Is change good or bad? I truly believe it depends on the circumstances and how much of the change we have control over determines if the change is good or bad.

I am an optomistic person. I like to always see my glass as half full rather then half empty. I view change as a good thing. Going through changes is never easy and at times can be very frustrating & difficult but those tend to be the times that bring about great growth.

Listen to me carrying on about change. I have experienced a couple of changes in my life just recently that I feel will be monumental for me & my future.

Last weekend I moved back home to live with my dad and step mom. It took me forever to come to this decision, but once I did I was at peace with it. I had some reservations about it because I have been out on my own for the last 7 years and love every minute of my independence. Also I have never lived with my step mom before and I wasn't sure how that would impact our relationship. All I know is that when something feels right and everthing in tells you should do this, then I have to take the leap of faith. One of my motivations for making this decision is to pay off the debt I incurred for having my weight loss surgery. I couldn't pass up this opportunity. I know the sacrifices I make now will allow me to eventually purchase a place of my own.

I decided that while I would be living at home, I would take this opportunity to start attending the older singles ward. I thought it would be wise since I am living at home again that it would be best for us to go to different wards so that we can keep our relationships healthy & strong. This also allows me to meet new people, make new friends and be able to socialize with other single people.

I am very sad to leave my family ward. I have made so many friends there who have impacted my life for good. I will miss teaching my primary children. I have come to love them very much. They will always hold a special place in my heart. I was so hesitant to accept the calling to be a primary teacher at first. I thought to myself what could I possibly teach them. I learned an important lesson that I always need to trust in the Lord. He knows what is best and will not lead me astray.

Another change that has been monumental for me this year is finding the new & improved Becky. I am so blessed & grateful for the outcome I have had since my weight loss surgery. I have lost a 199 pounds. I am 1 pound away from losing 200 pounds. If I never lost another pound I could be happy with where I am at. However I am determined to break all of my belief barriers and reach my maintance goal of weighing 180 pounds. I have 78 pounds to go. I know I will make it.

While I was packing up all my belongings to prepare for my move, I came across 4 outfits that I use to wear prior to having my weight loss surgery. I hadn't taken the time to put the outfits on until last week . I was astonished at how much weight I have truly lost. It was empowering for me to try the clothes on. The clothes made me more determined to reach my goal and never go back to 458 pounds.

All of the clothes pictured below used to be very tight on me when I was at my heaviest weight. The levis were so tight that the seams on the pants ripped and I had to repair the levis to keep them.

It is so easy to loose sight of what is truly important which is good health & happiness. I want to live a long & lovely life. I think I am well on my way!

One Year Ago

Today is my one year surgery anniversary! I can't believe how fast the year flew by. This was the best decisions I ever made for myself! I would do it again if I had to make the decision all over again. I am truly blessed for all the wonderful friends & family who have supported me along the way. I couldn't do this without your support.

I met with my doctor today who was pleased with my overall success. He informed me that all of my labs came back with excellent results. My blood sugar, cholesterol, & blood pressure fell well within the normal ranges. Its nice to know that all of my hard work has paid off.

I am not quite to my goal weight of 180 pounds, but I know I will get there. I realize that my journey is going to take me longer then some but all that matters is that I reach my goal. I am determined to make it. My doctor reminded me to not get so caught up in the number & lose sight of whats most important which is staying active, feeling healthy & happy.

My ultimate goal is to stay focused & committed to my new lifestyle so that I can keep the weight off long term. I love my new life. I love all of the extra energy that I have. I love trying new things that I have never been able to do before. I am excited for my future and all that it has in store for me.

I'm Back

I'm back! I know it has been a long time since I have blogged. I couldn't remember how to log in to my blog so that goes to show it has been too long since my last post.

Life is great but seems a little busy for me lately. I am in the process of packing up my duplex to get ready to move. I will be moving in August. I am moving home to live with my dad & step mom for about 6 to 7 months to pay off my debt from my surgery. This decision was not easy for me to make, but after much thought & prayer I know that it is the right decision for me. I am going to miss living in Sugar House, my lovely duplex, my primary class, my friends and my ward. It is hard for us to experience change, but sometimes it brings about the greatest blessings.

I had a wonderful 4th of July weekend with my friend Deedre' and her parents. Deedre' invited me up to her parents cabin for the weekend. They have the most beautiful cabin up by Kamas and the Uintah Mountains. It was nice to get away and enjoy the beauty of our mountains. Deedre' and I spent a lot of our time exploring & hiking. We hiked Mirror Lake, Fehr Lake & Ruth Lake. I was impressed with how well I did an how far I have come in a year since my surgery. I would have never done any of these hikes before. I was able to do all 3 hikes and enjoy each of them tremendously. I do have to thank Deedre' for pushing me when I wanted to give up.

I am closely approaching my 1 year mark July 20th since my surgery. I can't believe how fast the year has flown by. I have lost a total of 189 pounds. I have 95 more pounds that I want to loose to get to my maintenance weight. I am determined to make it to my goal. At my year mark I was going to allow myself to introduce carbs & sweets back into my diet very slowly. I decided to wait until I reach my maintenance goal of 180 pounds before I introduce those foods again. I will get new pictures posted as soon as I can. I am excited for my future and the new experiences I get to explore along the way.