Don't hit me.

I know, I know, it's been a month.

You're surprised I'm updating.

And now you're making me feel pressured to come up with something witty and entertaining to post about.

Stop it!!

I'm totally not going to quench your thirst with anything too terribly exciting, but I did want to at least update. Mainly to tell y'all thank you for sticking with me, even though I'm boring and don't post. I haven't lost a single "follower" on my list. That's pretty crazy. Thank you!

So, a lot has happened over the last month. I'm going to cheat and do the whole bullet-point update. This will alleviate the stress I'm putting on myself to update with 20 different posts for you. It will also get us a little more caught up, because I can't promise it won't be another month before I post again.

* I'm still on Body for Life. It's not working like it did ten years ago. But then again, I was ten years younger then. BUT, I believe something in my body is fighting against me. I'm getting to the bottom of it after many doctors appointments with some good doctors, some un-good doctors. I'll update more on this later.

* Lorelai and I drove to Tennessee to meet my Dad at a cabin in Pigeon Forge. We hung out, did all the sight-seeing stuff, and had a great time just hanging out. Lorelai got to ride in a helicopter for the first time. We just might have a thrill-seeker on our hands! I have some awesome pictures to share of this trip, and will probably do that on my Facebook. Oh, you don't have me as a friend on Facebook? Where have you been!? ADD ME!
* As soon as we got back from Tennessee, we welcomed our first round of house guests for the summer, the Andersons. We went to the beach, Busch Gardens (taking two-year-olds on rides that aren't made for two-year-olds) and Colonial Williamsburg with them. We also hung out and let the girls spend some quality time together. We got to see (with the newest addition to the Anderson family) that Lorelai really needs to be a big sister. She was SO cute with "baby Mia," it made me cry. Sorry that I don't have more pictures, but I just need to get through this post, then possibly I'll do a photo slideshow later.
* The day the Andersons left, JD's parents showed up. I wasn't sure how the back-to-back visitors would pan out, but it was EXTREMELY relaxing and fun! I really didn't have any stress about it when it happened. That's pretty sweet! So, the inlaws were a lot of fun. We went to the beach, ate out, planted herbs, played cards and laughed a lot. Oh yeah, and pretty much the only pictures we took were unflattering "journalistic" shots of one another.
* The day the inlaws left, our friends, the Krynicki's showed up. They're moving to Hawaii soon and totally went out of their way to come and spend 24 hours with us. I can't say enough how happy I was that they chose to come spend time with us! We only had a small amount of time to hang out, but we filled it with food, play grounds and reminiscing. JD had never met Alayna, their ADORABLE one-year-old. Once again, Lorelai proved that being a big sister is in her future. She tried SO hard to teach Alayna how to walk by dragging her by the arm and saying "come on, baby Wayna, I show you how to walk. No worry, I walk swowly." Alayna didn't walk....until about 7 hours after they left. Dang it. I didn't take a single picture while they were here. They did...but I still need to get them from them. However, I ganked this one off her blog!!
* After all the dust settled from our wonderful visitor-streak, it was time for Lorelai's first dentist appointment. Suffice it to say by the first photo...she wasn't too worried. She's pretty easy-going as long as I explain to her what to expect. She was awesome! When the dentist was done, she exclaimed "thank you, thank you, I WUV da dentist!!"
* Next week, we will be on a flight back to St. Louis to visit with family and friends. I have a good friend getting married, and I'll be going sans kiddo. I'm not sure if I will be able to handle all that EXCITEMENT! No, really....I'm being serious.

So, that's about it right now. Do we feel all caught up now? Will you stick around until my next post? I sure hope so!

Miss you, love you, mean it!

Fitness Friday - a Two Fer

aBecause I missed my homework last week, I'm going to be a good(ish) student and post them both now. Last week, Brenda wanted to know where we work out. I actually took a video camera with me on one of my trips down the Chesapeake Bay; fully intending on cutting, splicing and posting the finished video here. Ask me if I got that done?

Actually, ask me if I even know how to use the movie-making software.

So, I snapped a few pictures with my camera phone of the gym on the Air Force Base where I work out.

Three reasons I work out there:
1) It's free.
2) I don't have weights at home.
3) It's free.

Here are the weights. I'm usually the only one using them,
(unless my friend Kathi is with me)because I believe a lot of
women are afraid of usingweights for the fear of getting "too bulky."
That's cool for me,because nobody bothers me while I'm getting buff. *cough, snicker*

You see that short walled-off room with the TV?
That's where Lorelai and any other children
there will cry play. There is a table, books and a tv.
Poor kids, have to create their own excitement. But for me,
I can see her, hear her and constantly remind her that I'm almost done.

And this is obviously the cardio section. There are six machines.
I only do cardio here when it's raining.

And y'all already know where I jalk. On the Chesapeake Bay. It's beautiful.

What? You don't know what "jalking" is? It's not quite jogging, but more than walking. That's what I do.

And I'm slow.

And I hate it. I don't hate being slow. Jalking, I hate jalking.

Now for assignment number two. Brenda asked two questions:

1) How/where do you "sneak in" exercise when you can't get to the gym?
2) What are your goals for next week?

Well, for number one - so far, I haven't not been able to get to the gym or work out. Granted, I've only been doing this for three weeks, but I'm afraid that if I miss a workout, I'll give up completely. And because I'm not sure I could figure out a way to "sneak one in," I just don't miss them.

Yet.

I'll let you know if anything changes.

And for number two, I'm glad you asked. Because I'm going out of town for the majority of the week, my goals are a bit different than they would be if I were home. I'm going to stay with my Dad in a cabin in Pigeon Forge. There isn't a gym, no weights, no treadmill. Just a bunch of hills. So, I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of walking and not so much weight training. Unless caring my own weight counts.

* stay OFF the scale
* plan plan plan my meals, which is something I normally do, but being out of town I don't want to drop this ball.
* don't make poor choices just because Dad isn't doing Body for Life.
* do NOT let the depression of another negative pregnancy test make me fail my eating plan

So, I hope I get an A for effort, at least. All you FF ladies, have a great weekend and week. Thank you for everything.

What we did today....

I know I totally missed my Fitness Friday post yesterday. I'm getting to it. I took video, but have to get it onto the computer and edited.

BUT, we took Lorelai to the beach for the first time today and she LOVED it! Here are a few pictures. I took almost 200. Total overkill. It was awesome and I'm guessing we'll be spending a lot of time there this summer!!

Fitness Friday - Awesomeness Edition. Or would that be Awesome Edition?

Either way, so much has been awesome this week!!

Brenda, creator of Fitness Friday, wants us to talk about Awesomeness today. So, I'm going to interpret that as what is awesome this week and what would be awesome next week.

Awesome this week:
1. Last weekend, I actually ate everything in cleaned out my fridge and pantry of all things NOT healthy.

2.  I planned my meals for the week.  This, I'm used to, because of Weight Watchers.  Thanks to WW, I gained weight AND a good meal-planning habit.  I'm cool with the latter.

3.  I went grocery shopping and bought only healthy foods on my list to eat for the week.

4.  I have stuck to my exercise and eating routine to the T!  This is a first for me.  Usually, I falter somewhere.

5.  I have not had One. Single. Craving!  YAY!  This is also huge for me!  I have a "free day" once a week built into the Body for Life plan. I was hoping to write down my cravings during the week, so I could indulge on Saturday (my free day) but, no cravings so far. 

6.  Joey, my girlfriend who is partnering with me on the Body for Life journey, lost FIVE POUNDS this week!  I, however, will not be stepping on a scale again until the end of week two. 

7.  God is awesome.  Seriously....as corny as it may sound to some of you...He has gotten me through this week. 

What would be awesome for next week:
1.  For someone on Craigslist or a resale shop somewhere to sell a set of Bowflex Dumbbells to me for a good price.  It would make my workouts a lot easier.  I go to the gym on the Air Force Base with Lorelai, but they don't have childcare, so she is in a room with me - secluded with a tv.  She's not a huge fan and I'd be happier if I could just get my weights done before she wakes up in the morning.

2.  If the weather stays nice, I can continue to do my aerobic workout going down the Chesapeake Bay in the mornings.

3.  If my workouts could not cause me to walk like a 90-year-old.  I know it won't always be like this, but my body sure has forgotten how to function with exercise!  :-)

4.  I push myself just a little bit further to burn more fat. 

5.  Can water just taste a little more awesome to me?  I'm getting it down, but I'm not always enjoying it.

6.  At the end of week two, when I weigh myself again, it would be REALLY awesome if there was even just a small change.  That would keep me going for sure!!

So, what has been awesome this week for you?  It doesn't have to be fitness related.

If you're curious about the other FF'ers...go check out what they think is awesome.

Two successes!

First off, today was day one of Body for Life.

* I made it to the gym on time. YAY me! I'm not really sure what "on time" means, but basically, I was happy that I made it there by nine. There is a workout room for parents who need to bring their children. There is a little gated off area for the kids and then cardio equipment, dumbbells and a bench on the other side. Lorelai wasn't really too thrilled to be within reach of me....but not with me. I think that might be harder for her than actually being in child care. Oh well, we're still going to do it.

* I ate six healthy meals today and it wasn't too bad! I thought about food all. day. long. I was never hungry, but I wanted to do it all correctly, so I was just planning in my head the whole time. I'm sure after three or four weeks, it will become more natural for me and I can just plan my meals on Sunday, have healthy foods around and eat when I'm supposed to.

* For those of you who are wondering about the eating, I am supposed to eat a certain balance of food (protein, carb and veggies) six times a day, each meal two to three hours apart. So, my first meal was at 8am and my last was at 8pm. I never felt hungry, everything tasted great and my energy was pretty steady throughout the day. Basically, the idea is that your body is a furnace and you need to fuel the fire evenly throughout the day to keep it burning at a steady pace.

* Aside from the four hour almost-migraine I had (because I'm going through caffeine withdrawal), everything went pretty well.

* I took my "before" pictures and after I puked, cried and pouted, I took my measurements. Really? Why did I think that would make me feel better!!? YIKES is all I have to say. If anything, it will encourage me to get my BIG. FAT. BUTT. into gear!

Success number two is that my little independent daughter has been telling me lately that she needs to go pee pee on the potty, when I'm in the restroom. I usually ignore it because I'm a horrible mom I never think she really needs to go. But today I didn't ignore her. She sat on the potty, played around, got up and down for about 10 minutes.

Then, she asked me to leave her alone. I left, giggling, but then peered my head back into the bathroom. There she sat, looking into the potty while she went "pee pee!" We did the "you went pee pee on the potty" dance, she got two jelly beans and a sticker. She was pretty darn proud. So were JD and I. I know we still have a long way to go, but being laid back about it has proven to be good so far.

Two successes! Not too bad.

How was your day?

Fitness Friday - Peer Pressure Edition

Brenda, at The Family Revised has been doing Fitness Fridays for some time now. The individuals who participated have all taken a little break, but now they're back on board.

So they (read = Brenda) pressured me to be part of it. Actually, I made some little comment about being "IN" and she's holding me to it. Ugh! Accountability. Whatever.

Where shall I start?

Recently, I was diagnosed with PCOS. Women with PCOS are at risk for insulin resistance.

Where there is smoke....there's fire. I'm insulin resistant.

Many who have insulin resistance develop type 2 Diabetes.

No. Thank you.

This is kind of like knowing that you are going to get hit by a car. I'd be willing to bet that there are many individuals with type 2 Diabetes who would have loved to have known before-hand that there was a chance to prevent it.

So, I requested an appointment with a nutritionist. It took me 8 months to get in with a fertility specialist and less than 15 minutes to get in with a nutritionist. Go figure.

The nutritionist (Bree) asked me what I weighed ten years ago. I answered quickly and then choked, realizing that it was a great deal different than my current weight. A GREAT deal.

Then Bree asked me how much I weighed five years ago. That number is still a far cry from my current weight. So, this whole thing has come on pretty darn fast.

The solution? Body for Life. I jokingly call it Body for Nine Months because ten years ago I embarked on the journey, had awesome success.....then bailed nine months into it. I lost about 35 pounds, went from 25% body fat to 8% body fat and had six pack abs. I was a verrrrry dumb 20-year-old.

So, it's back to Body for Life for me. For good, this time.

I'm serious about this. Body for Life is actually a fairly simple plan. In another post, I'll talk more about the program and how I plan on keeping up with it. But for now, Brenda has asked us to list out our goals.

In no particular order (because they are all equally important) here are four of my short-term goals:

1. Get to bed by 10 pm at least three days a week. (seeing as how midnight is a very early bedtime for me, this one might be the hardest goal to accomplish)
2. Work out six days a week. (they are short, intense workouts, so this shouldn't take up too much of my time at all - only four hours a week)
3. Eat six (specific, balanced) small meals a day.
4. Journal it all.

I have many goals, but those are short-term. I'm going to continue to try to get pregnant, so the weight-loss goals are subject to change, Lord willing.

I also promised Brenda that I would have this post done before midnight. It's 11:39, so I guess I should go ahead and hit "publish" for now.

Every Friday, I'm going to try to keep you updated on my progress. I wrestled with publishing this kind of information on my blog, because y'all are going to be hard on me. Hard on me in a good and loving way, though. Which is why I caved. I must make this life change. I want to be healthy. I want to be around for a long time. And gosh darnit, I want to look HOT. Is that too much to ask!? :-)

So, in true Rachel style, I'm going to go out with a bang. I'm going to have a glutton-for-punishment, binge weekend and start on Monday.

What? Don't lie - you would do it too!

spontaneous and forgetful - yep, that's me!

Cherry Blossom Festival Checklist

1. pack but forget to bring the zoom lens ... check
2. take only 13 pictures all weekend ... check
3. take only one photo of yourself ... check
4. take only ONE photo of a Cherry Blossom - the very reason you WENT to DC this weekend ... check
5. plan to capture Lorelai's precious face as she rides the "train" for the first time, but make sure to forget to charge even ONE of the two batteries for the video camera ... check

Here are all 13 photos.

Lorelai was so thrilled to be on the "train."

Lorelai and Daddy in front of the Capitol Building.

Lorelai, Daddy and the Washington Monument.

Not sure what was so exciting here, but it was during the CBF Parade.
It wasn't until I took a two-year-old that I realized how SLOW parades really are!
Lorelai pretty much freaked out when she saw Elmo.
The lone Cherry Blossom photo.
Vietnam Veterans' Memorial
My Uncle
The White House
This was the best shot I could get. There were thousands of people
trying to take pictures and people were loitering .... taking hundreds of photos.
There was NOBODY on the lawn. The building didn't move. WHY oh WHY do
they have to stand there for SO long!?
Lorelai and the White House
Uh oh, before we leave, I need a picture of me ....say cheeeeeese!

Cute things Lorelai said:

When getting on the metro she cups her hands around her mouth and yells "all abooooaaard the choo choo train....come on, follow me!"

When JD got off the elevator at the hotel, she ran down the hall, gave him a big hug around his legs and proclaimed.... "Daddy, I'm so proud of you!"

I was reaching across Lorelai (in her carseat) and she threw her arms around me and said "Mommy..... a my best friend."

The weekend was fun and exhausting and we can't wait to go back. Not bad for a 2 1/2 hour drive!

Where in the world is Huse Yo Mama?

I'll tell ya.

I'm hanging out in a hotel in Alexandria, VA anxiously awaiting the Cherry Blossom parade and festival tomorrow in DC!

You want to know something sad? This is the first trip like this (spontaneous, staying in a hotel, etc) that we've done with Lorelai. She is 27 months old. But we're not as big of losers as it sounds. All of 2008, when we were in San Antonio, JD didn't have any time off to do anything fun like this. I guess the year before that we don't really have an excuse. But, whatever.

This is so much fun. Lorelai will get to ride the metro tomorrow and I'm sure that's going to be her favorite! Currently, she is standing three inches from the plasma television getting what must be a great education, seeing as how she's mesmerized. And drooling.

This was a rather spontaneous trip for us. We had talked about it for the last week, but really hadn't decided if we were going to go. Until today. Thankfully, Laura stepped up and saved my dog from an untimely death. I mean....she's watching him while we're away. If you're an animal freak, don't worry.....it's a joke.

This time.

So, hopefully I'll have a ton of pictures tomorrow to share with y'all.

Until then, here's JD and Lorelai walking down the street in Old Town Alexandria, before we ate at Hard Times.

I'm pretty sure Lorelai saw a ghost. Or a butterfly...the reaction is the same.

My girl parts

Thank you EVERYONE for praying for my girl parts! What a united effort in the girl-part cause!

But now we might need to pray for my sister-in-law's girl parts. Yesterday, she gave birth to an almost 11 pound baby!!! Yep, you heard that right.

Thankfully, though, she had a c-section! Turns out her hips are just too narrow to deliver a toddler. I wouldn't know what it's like to have hips that are "too narrow," must be nice.

Owen Glen Huse
8:25 am
March 31st
10 lbs 13.8 oz
22" long

Isn't he just perfect!?
WOW - Storm is a DAAAAAAAAAD!
Look at that HAIR!

I don't have any pictures of mama bear just yet.

Storm, may you get what you deserve!

(these are of Storm with Lorelai)

But really, congratulations Storm and Katie! Enjoy parenthood, it's the most rewarding thing you'll ever do! I mean, just ask our parents, we children are such a blessing! :-)

Maybe TMI?

Okay, so ... if you have any spare time, could you PLEASE say a prayer for my girl parts?

Quit laughing, I'm serious. Right now, there is a possibility that a union could be happening and I need all the prayer I can get.

Pray for a solid union.
Pray for said union to build a firm foundation.
Pray for my sanity, because I cannot believe I'm posting this.