ok I will have to admit it, I'm a soccer mom

You can feel the cool crispness of fall in the air. The smell of burning leaves confirm the season. There is so much this time of year offers and I love everything about it. Now I have one more thing to put on my fall loving list. Soccer. Yes soccer. No I don't play it. I watch it. Eliza finally talked her reluctant parents into letting her play soccer. Although she is now in 6Th grade it is her first year of playing. She has caught on really fast and is quite good. She loves it and we love that she loves it. So even though I have never watched soccer before and don't know any of the rules, I have had fun watching her have fun. Now only if she would let me bedazzle her shin guards all would be perfect.

Off to the races

Samuel and I have stared " Training "for the Nauvoo grape festival 5k. We have 13 weeks to whip ourselves into shape and build up our endurance enough to run and not have to stop and walk part of it.OK I know what all you great athletes out there are thinking- " whats the big deal? A 5k really is not that hard ANYONE can do it." Well it is a big deal for us. It will be the first race either of us have ran, and our first 5k. Samuel is doing great and I am sure he will have no problems running it,but for me I need a little more work. We have been attempting to run every day and are slowly making improvements. If anyone out there would like to run it with us we would love to have your support. It should be really fun and the more the merrier I always say. If I start slowing down or falling way behind always feel free to give me a push ( I just might need it) The race is on Sat Sep 5Th at 08:00. It Start in the Nauvoo state park, goes along the highway, south, to the Comm. of Christ church, then turns there and goes to Main St., then run all the way down Main until you get to the grain elevators. We turn around there, and then follow back until the st. right after the Gun shop, turn left and finish after you cross the hwy into the State Park. If you don' feel like running with us you can always come and cheer us on. Well I think I better lace up my shoes and get running so I am not left behind.

hair care

I am often asked what hair care products I use. Why I am asked? I don't know, but here is the answer no matter how common and boring it may be. I use garnier shine and sleek shampoo and condition. When I wash my hair, I first put conditioner on the ends of my wet hair. With the conditioner still on the ends I wash the roots with shampoo. I do not wash the ends unless they need it ( about once a week) then I rinse. I seldom condition the roots because if I do my hair becomes limp. I sometimes use a silicone based shine serum after washing.I like Garnier brilliantine shine.

Shampooing too much strips the hair shaft of its natural and protective oils. That's why I seldom wash the ends of my hair. Conditioning too much makes the hair heavy and greasy which leads you to believe it's time to shampoo again. Hence, the no conditioner on the roots.

One other thing- I use bore bristle hair brushes. I like them a lot more then synthetic brushes. So now everyone knows the down and dirty on my hair. Not that interesting after all. Was it?

36 lb lighter

I have had Friends and family that live far away ask about how I look now since I have lost some wt. So here is a photo of me in Dec, and some photos Mike took today. I am about half way to my goal wt. It has taken 9 weeks to get this far with a LOT of hard work. I am hoping to be to my goal wt and size in another 9-10 weeks. Then I will start working on building muscle and toning.

My prize

I just got my free prize from Jammie Steen. I am so excited. She sent me some gorgeous earring. She is so talented.I have a dress that I bought 4-5 years ago as a "goal dress" to inspire myself to lose weight. I absolutely love the dress and all the details on it.When I got the earrings from Jammie I went right upstairs and got the dress I was so excited because one of the pair of earrings went PERFECT with the dress- Like they had been custom made for it. I had to try on the dress one more time. ( I have to admit I try to squeeze into it about once a week.) To my amazement I could get it on this time.Although it fits tight and I still need to lose about 10 lbs before I look good in it I was so happy. I pulled my other two Goal Dresses out of the closet ( OK I will have to admit I have 3 goal dresses and one pair of goal pants- I can get the goal pants on and zipped up but I have a very unattractive Muffin top that needs to go before I can ware them in public, I know-- too much info and I am getting off the subject.) Well anyway the other two pair of earrings match my other goal dresses Perfect.I am now even more inspired to cont to lose weight! I am so excited and happy. What a GREAT GIFT.I love them. THANK YOU, THANK YOU ,THANK YOU Jamie!!!

The Biggest loser

Mike and I have officially started the biggest looser contest at the "Y". We are only into it 9 days and I think Mike is going to kill me. He knows that in the past I go to the gym, enjoy working out, but don't really push myself then get discouraged because I don't loss weight.This time I asked Mike to keep me on track so I would lose wt. Boy does he take his job serious! He says he loves me and wants me to know I can do it. I get up at 4am and do an exercise tape for 30-45 min before going to work. Then at work I go up and down the satires for both of my 15 min breaks. At my 30 min lunch I eat for 15 min then walk for 15 min. But after work is when my work out really starts. That's when we go to the "Y". Mike pushes me hard and will not let me slack off even for 1 min.If I do he will yell "finish strong". He will be on the treadmill and I will be on the bike across the room and he will yell "Mary keep it above 60! What are you doing churning butter?" Its so funny, everyone in the gym will start going faster. The girl on the bike next to me said he is worse then Jillian on the Biggest looser. She said she always speeds up when he is around,and wishes he would train her. She told me if he kills me she will be a wittiness when the police come. Another girl was on the elliptical next to me the other day and gave me the signal to speed up then looked towards mike with a smile as if to say "you don't want him to see you slowing down" I will have to admit, He has made me realize I am capable of more then I thought I was. Then there is the diet 1200 cal a day and he checks on that too. He always asks me "so how many cal have you had today?" All I can say is, be careful what you wish for. I wanted to lose weight, and have a trainer like Jillian. I got a trainer that is 10x tougher then her, and I better loose weight at the first weigh in or I can't even imagine what the workouts will be like.

Time to get in shape

As I have been pondering how best to make the most of the new year I can't help but give thanks for all that I have been given. As I do so though I have a little sadness that I haven't been a good Stewart over some of my blessings. I am so grateful for my health and body. But as I go about my day I can't help but be reminded that I have abused this gift. My weight is a constant reminder that if I do not care for the things God has given me I will loss the blessings they can offer. How ungrateful I feel as I take inventory of how I have mindlessly put unhealthy food day after day into my mouth, And although I LOVE to exercise I have failed to do so regularly. So as you can probably tell by now one of my major goals is to get healthy. Mike and I signed up for the biggest looser contest at the YMCA.The contest starts on Jan 12 and should be a great motivator. It will be fun to have this goal together,and I couldn't have a better partner.When Mike puts his mind to something there is no stopping him.I know that through God all things are possible and that he wants me to succeed in caring for my body. So as I strive towards this goal I am so grateful that God has given me the help of a loving husband to encourage and push me.