Heavy

Back in October I decided to join a Jazzercise studio that opened up near me.  When I joined I didn't really have any goal about weight loss or anything I just thought it sounded like something fun that I might actually do, so I joined.  I had only be going a few weeks when I realized just how much I liked it and how great I was feeling.  I decided to take a picture to document how my body was changing.

By December I was hooked.  I was going almost every day and feeling better than I'd felt in years.

By January I started seeing a real difference and started making goals.  Anyone who has battled weight knows that you go up and down and I was no exception. About five years ago I was able to lose 60 lbs. but life and stress take their toll and the weight went back on.  

 In February I started working with a personal trainer and she asked me to go off sugar, fried foods and white flour.  I also started using heavier weights and most weeks I take at least 7 classes.   In one month I was able to lose 9 lbs and 7% of my body fat (22lbs in fat).  I also lost 11 inches around my middle and 2 inches around my thigh.  The best part of losing the weight this time around is that I don't feel like I'm suffering, I'm actually having fun. I feel like the changes I've made to my diet aren't crazy so I can actually sustain them long run.

Mostly it feels different this time around because I feel different about me and my life.  When I lost weight the last time, I was at a weird spot in my life and I think, I thought if I lost the weight, then all the things in my life that I was unhappy about would magically be fixed.  But I've made a lot of changes in the past few years and I feel like I'm in a good place when it comes to me liking me.  I like my job and feel like I'm doing good work, I've found peace of mind when it comes to religion, and I've never been happier with my marriage, and my girls are amazing kids.  I feel like losing weight is just one more step in the right direction on being a better me. I still have a long way to go, but I like what I see in the mirror lately and that feels great. 

I'm really glad that I have been taking the pictures of myself.  Sometimes when I think of the numbers (22lbs down total at this point) and how far I still have to go, I get a little discouraged.  Even though I'm having fun, I'm working so dang hard. I work out every single day and only take a day off every 2 weeks or if I'm  out of town.  Most days I take 2 classes so I'm working out for 2 hours everyday.  I'm also trying to be very careful about what I eat and sometimes that is very hard. But when I look at the pictures and see what a huge change I'm seeing in my body I'm so proud of myself and what I've been able to accomplish. I have a long way to go, but I'm having so much fun getting there.  

What a difference 6 months makes.

Summer Quilting

 This Summer was a busy Summer when it came to making quilts.  Jon's Niece and his Nephew were both getting married and one of my cousin's. I've always made quilts for my family that gets married and I wanted to do something a little more special.  

I made this quilt first.  I have done chevrons before but smaller, but I really liked how the bigger size turned out.

I quilted this one by hand with a little help from my Carly.

I finished just in the nick of time.  I love how it turned out.

The next wedding was Jon's nephew just a month later.  I used the same pattern, just different colors.

I put it on the frames with plans to do a modified version of hand quilting/tying, but soon figured out that I was never going to finish on time.  Jon and I were talking about my options as far as having it machine quilted and just for curiosity looked up machines for sell. 

We happen to see this Mid arm machine with frames for a great price, and before I knew it. we were setting it up in the living room.  It took me some practice, but I final got the hang of it.

I can't do much more than a meandering pattern, but I really like how it turned out.  

I had a little break before I had to do my next quilt, so I took the chance to practice and finished a top I had laying around to leave up at the cabin.

Next up was the quilt for my cousin.  For this I did a trip around the world pattern that is a favorite of mine.  but rather than tying it like I normally would I decided to machine quilt it.

I still had one more wedding quilt to do for the little sister of my bst friend, who I've known since she was little.  For her I also did the trip around the world design, but I had put my machine away for a bit and did the international stitch.  My mom came and helped, and I love how it turned out.  So did the bride. 

Carly also decided to get some quilting done and finished a quilt she had been working on for quite a while.

I'm very proud of my little quilter.

In the past few months I've also done a few baby quilts for friends.  I'm getting better at quilting on my regular machine too.

This last quilt is just a top I did out of random red white and blue scraps I had.  I'm hoping to get my quilt machine out again in a few months and finish it and some other tops I have hanging around.

More San Francisco

 We are National Park Geeks and our Bucket list is basically to visit all of them.  So on our second day in SF when we set out to see Alcatraz we were happily surprised to find out it is a National Monument.

 Selfie on the boat out there.

 Alcatraz is on of those kind of eerie places.  It was so interesting and I learned so much history.

 They have an audio tour that you listen to at your own pace on headphones.  I really liked how they do it because everyone was very quiet and it felt like someplace where you should be quiet.

 I never knew that Native Americans occupied the island for several months in the early 1970s. 

 It was also very beautiful there the views of the city and the plants.

 Our next stop of the day was Muir Woods. 

 I loved it there and wish we would have had much more time.

 It even smells beautiful there.

 When we got back we had dinner on Pier 39 and it was wonderful!  We also saw this boat being docked.

 Our last day there we drove around the city for a bit.  We even drove down Lombard street.  It is such an interesting city.

 Then we crossed the Bay bridge and drove into Livermore, where Jon had been working earlier in the week.  We met up with one of his coworker and she took us to a Winery for a wine tasting and a bit of lunch. 

We had so much fun!  It felt like it was our first grown up vacation, but at times we still felt like two giddy teenagers in love.  I'm so happy to have the chance to spend some time with my Honey.
Can't wait to do it again!

San Fran

Yeah so I haven't blogged in forever, but since I'm pretty sure no one reads this anyway I guess it's not that big of a deal.  So we have been very busy around here with birthdays and the end of the school year, but recently Jon and I snuck away for the weekend in San Francisco.

 We had so much fun!  Jon had to go the the Bay area for work so we took advantage and I flew in for the weekend. I got there on a Friday morning and we were going non stop from the minute we got there.  Our hotel was right near the Wharf so we walked around and spent the first day exploring the city.

 The ship yard.

 Pier 39

 We haven't been away together for more than overnight since we had kids so this was kind of a big deal for us to go.  We loved the city.  It has such a different vibe than where we live.

 We ate great food and then decided to take a evening cruise around the bay.

 There is an art installation going on on the Bay bridge for the next few years.  Thousands of lights move and dance on the the bridge.  It was neat to see and a lovely night on the bay.