SUMMER !!!!

Summer has arrived and it has arrived in style. 
It kicked the tornadoes out of town and came roaring in with 90 degree weather ... amazing !!! I mean I already have a sunburn. And I took a 3 mile walk tonight at 9pm and I was hot. It was great.
And we got Ashlynn out in her new pool ! 

She loves swimming and playing in the water. 

We also planted some flowers in planters ... I've never been a flower person so I hope I can keep these babies alive. They are beautiful. 

Ashlynn has also been playing in the Sandbox some more :) 
I adore summer ... especially now that Ashlynn is old enough to enjoy the joys of playing outside !!

Weekly Weigh In #2

This week was a good week for me. My goal is to lose a pound and a half each week and that is exactly what I lost! 

So far I've lost 4.7 pounds (!) and I have 5.3 left to go to my first mini goal of 10 pounds by June 30. At this rate I'm still very confident that I can meet this first goal. 

This week was a much more relaxed week with my workouts. I didn't do something every day like I want to, but I was really good with my food. I stayed under every day! I'm really proud of that. 

I ran a total of 4.12 miles last week. Honestly I'd like to see that number up at around 12 right now, thats near 2 miles each day. 

I've also been doing my Wii Fit :) Which is really just fun, but it gets me moving and does burn some calories. 

I've also been getting much more active in the My Fitness Pal community and it is amazing! If you need support to keep you going then you need to join. It is free and the people are so nice, understanding, and supportive, not to mention motivating !!!! There are some people who have lost over a 100 pounds using MFP! 

Getting a little help ...

So, last night was our first counseling appointment. It was easier than I expected. Mostly just getting to know each other and then telling her about our history and where we are in our marriage right now and why we decided to go see her. She even identified an area that she wants to work on next week. 
After we left Josh and I talked about our appointment and we think it's going to help that we now have this person to help us learn how to be better together. At first I was really worried about going, like it was some sort of admission that we couldn't do it alone, but after thinking about it I just feel like we are doing what we need to do to stay together. We are doing doing the hard thing by admitting that we need to learn how to be better together, that we need skills that we don't have right now to communicate. 
After our appointment, I'm so glad that we went. I left the building with this lightheartedness. Our conversation was still serious and it was still difficult at times, but it was so good to know that we are moving in the right direction, that we are going to be stronger for each other and for our little buggy because of this. 

Weekly Weigh In #1

Today is my first weekly update on how I am doing with my weight loss journey. 
I want to start by telling you all that this week has been horrible interesting. My husband and I are going through a rough patch. Rough enough that I spent the last week staying with my mom and we are going to start going to counseling tonight. I don't think it's anything that we can't get through, but it's just kind of been a wake up call to me that we need to be doing more of that big scary C word - Communicating! I think we get so stuck in our routine and daily life that we forgot that we are married and that we have to keep talking to each other, including the things that we don't really want to talk about because they make us uncomfortable or uneasy about hurting each others feelings. 
So this week I felt like eating chocolate constantly and making cookies and not sharing any ... 
But I didn't ...
Thankfully ... 
So, now to the last week. I have been using My Fitness Pal to track my calories in and calories burned by exercise. My screen name is mshellrung117, so if you want to add me feel free. I'm also using my Nike+ Sensor when I go walking or jogging, and started using the Wii Fit again which is a fun way to work out. 
I did really well this first week calorie wise. I went over significantly Friday, but still stayed under 2000 calories. I went out that day to celebrate my aunt being in town, so it was my day to live a little loose.
I did about 8 miles on the treadmill Wed-Fri. I slacked on my workouts Saturday and Sunday, unless you include shopping (!) and walked around the zoo for a few hours Monday. I did 40 minutes on the Wii Fit Tuesday. 
Now to the Weigh In part of the post ! 
This week I lost ... 
3.2 pounds ! 
I am really excited about that. It is a 1/3 of my short term goal. I want to kick that short term goal's butt and now I am well on my way! I now have 6.8 pounds to lose by June 30. I am really glad that this first week back was a good one because it has solidified in my mind that if I eat right and keep track of what I'm taking in and also take just a little time each day to do some sort of physical activity then I can do this. I can take back my own body ! 

Hoo Are You? #41

1. What type of diamond cut do you like?

Princess <3

2. If you are married when is your anniversary. if not what month 

would you like to be married in?

My Anniversary is August 15.

3. What were or would you like your wedding colors to be?

Sunflowers was our theme. We did Yellow and Brown. 

4. How many bridesmaids did or would you have at your wedding?

I had a Maid of Honor and a Bridesman. My husband had a Best Man and a Groomswoman.

5. How long have you been married?

We have been married for 21 months and 2 days. 

Link up over at Hoo Are You? It is a great party ! 

Beginning Again

So ... My weight has always been an issue. At the beginning of the year I enrolled in a blogging biggest loser Win, Lose, or Blog. I did pretty good. I lost weight by exercising and watching what I was eating ... No surprises, no shocking secrets.
But near the end of the competition I got Bursitis in my hip and I was in too much pain to work out for a few weeks. Plus we moved and I stop keeping diligent record of everything I was taking in. I never really made it back to my workouts or to my calorie control, so I gained all the weight back. Every single hard earned lost pound has come back and now I have to lose them again.
My long term goal is to be 80 pounds lighter. I don't have fancy dreams about doing this right away, but that is where I hope to be eventually.
My short term goal right now is ten pounds. I'm hoping to be ten pounds lighter by the end of June. I think this is realistic considering how I did before if I keep to my calorie count and get in the exercise I need each day.
To keep myself on track I'm going to report to you all each Wednesday and hope that it keeps me motivated to continue on this journey.  So I look forward to next Wednesday and updating you all on how I am doing!

At the Zoo !

We have the delightful joy and gift of living about 35 minutes from the St. Louis Zoo. The St. Louis Zoo is one of the best zoos in America and ... it's free ! If you are ever in the area it is a great place to visit, no matter your age. This past Monday my Mom and I decided to take our little one's to the Zoo for a few hours. 
Uncle Sean and My Little Bug 

Our Little Director

Nana & Ashlynn

The Penguin & Puffin house is my favorite ! 

Me & Buggy

These GIANT turtles were Ashlynn's Favorite

Ashlynn's 1st try at cotton candy. She didn't care much for it ... 

I adore the zoo and am so glad that Ashlynn loves it too. It was so much fun to spend the day with her and my mom and brother at this wonderful place. 

The car ride home with two tired and cranky children was ... less fun.