Alright, so I've been slacking.  Well, not really slacking, I HAVE been busy.  Since we got back, I signed a lease for a rental house that I'll move into in August!  Yay!  I love my parents, but I think we're all ready for me to be out on my own again.  No matter how completely painless it's been living here, it's simply nice to have your own space.  AND, the dog and cat can both come with me!  Hooray.  So, through the magic of technology and MUCH measuring, I have mapped out the entire house and begun  virtually arranging everything inside it.  Yup, I'm a geek.  Ok, so about vacation, and my life over that past week...


Vacation was terrific.  I could write a whole other blog just about my vacations, but I'll leave that for another life.  My parents and I went to Colorado.  My oldest brother lives in Loveland (formerly Ft. Collins) with his wife.  My sister-in-law's mother and step-father are from Iowa, and they've been trying to get my parents out camping with them in Colorado for some time.  So, we went finally.  Here's the catch - they have horses so they obviously have to camp in grounds that have corrals and horse trails.  So, we found a great spot in State Forest State Park, on the far west side of Poudre Canyon on 14.  For those of you following the news, you'll note that Poudre Canyon was one of the areas that was hit very hard by the fires.  Hwy 14 had been closed for a long time, but had reopened just as we got there.  Well, the day we arrived in Loveland, the whole area had been finally getting some much needed rain.  As it happened, the hwy had a mudslide, and we were detoured.  Woops.  So, we took this big hike northwest up to Laramie and back down southeast to get to the grounds.  It was still raining most of the way.  Ok, this is getting long, so I'm going to try to cut it down.  There were 3 more very important things that happened: 1) I FINALLY saw a moose!!!  Right on our way into the campgrounds!  And good thing it was then, because the rain pretty much kept us in our tents during moose watching time every other day. 2) I got to ride their horses!  My sister-in-law's mother had heard from my mom that I wanted to ride, and she let me!  It was GREAT!  She even said I looked very natural and comfortable.  Woot!  3) We were camping with COWS.  Yes, you understood me correctly.  There was a guy moving 600 head of cows through the area, and they were supposed to come straight through the campground.  This happened on my horse ride.  That morning, we could hear the cows in the distance, and in the time it took to ride maybe two miles, the valley just below our campsite was FULL of cattle. Then we found out the cowboy dude had come up and asked if he could move them through, and they of course said NO!  But, the cows were there, we even hiked through them, in a thunderstorm, just to hike.  Sooo...long story made very short, that was my vacation in a nutshell.  And since this blog is supposed to be about my new healthy lifestyle, may I add that I think we did QUITE well on vacation.  Much better that vacations before.  But all three of us were dedicated to not blowing all our hard work on 4 days, so we paid attention without going crazy about it.  I still had a pancake both mornings, but seriously, who is strong enough to resist pancakes cooked over a camp stove in the wilderness?!  Not I!


So, since I've been back, I am 2 for 4 for days having worked out.  Not good!  I'm ready to get back on that wagon.  As for diet, we have pretty much stuck to simply counting calories.  And here is where I'll share a GREAT bit of technology that I found while on vacation - MyFitnessPal.  This app is for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows and can be accessed from a regular old computer.  Setting up your profile is essential when first using the app.  You put in your current and goal weights, height, age, gender and daily activity level along with how many pounds per week you would like to lose (it only goes up to 2 lbs, so you can't set yourself up for failure) and it maps out how many calories a day you should consume.  It's a tracker, much like Weight Watchers for anyone who is familiar with that, and has a FREAKISHLY large database of foods you can look up.  Plus, you can plug in your own recipes, or if all that is just to hard, you can simply scan the barcode of the food item you want to track, and voila! it's there in your tracker.  It also has room for tracking exercise.  Once you're done for the day, it gives you a "pep talk" and says "If every day was like today, you would weigh ______ lbs. in 5 weeks."  It's inspiring, and really is the best app I've ever had.  And I'm not even being paid to say that! The very best part about this app: IT'S FREAKING FREE!!!!!!!!  So, if you don't have it by now, please, take a moment and download it.  I swear, it's calorie counting made nearly effortless.  


Alright, so today, I walked 4.05 miles (yes I'm sore) and as of yesterday, I am 4.8 pounds down from when I started this crazy journey on June 25th (my half birthday in case you wanted to know).  AND, I'm another two pounds down from the heaviest I reached, back in February.  I will tell you this much, as I'm still not ready to share specific numbers with you, for the past 6 months (or more) I have been hovering all over the 190s.  This is the first time I remember that 4 consecutive weigh-ins have gone down.  Calories have clicked with me.  And it's become a game.  What can I get for 400 calories or less?! And with the app, it's even more fun.  I know if I had been only cutting and counting calories, the weight would have been coming off even quicker.  However, this is not JUST about the numbers on the scale for me, this is about overall health and fitness.  I've been doing (pretty much) daily cardio AND weight training.  I know the muscle I'm building is keeping the numbers from falling off too quickly, and honestly, I'm almost completely ok with it.  Sure, I'd LOVE to be 10 lbs. down now.  But, in the long run, I don't just want to weight less, I want to look damn good and toned in my clothes.  And, regardless of the mere numbers that have been subtracted on the scale, my pants are looser, I definitely feel stronger, and shoot, even my bras are getting loose.  And if you know me at all, you know I have PLENTY of boob to lose.  I am feeling confident and happy with the progress that I've made.  Not only physically, but mentally.  Sure, I'm still scared about living on my own again and being left to my own devices and the possibility of falling back into old habits, but I'm also feeling like I can definitely do it.  I'm not scared of having a bad day anymore.  I have had meals (vacation) that I am definitely not proud of, and made me incredibly remorseful.  But it's what you do AFTER that bad day that counts.  I haven't failed just because I let myself eat way too many calories one day.  I only loose if I let that one day win.  It's the next day that matters the most.


So, this was the longest post ever.  I guess that serves me right for procrastinating.  To whoever is reading, DOWNLOAD THAT APP!  Those are your parting words.  :)


P.S. Stuff Etc. Half Off Sale tomorrow.  I even bought the Early Bird ticket which allows me in an hour early.  However, it's apparently a little like Black Friday, so I might actually have to wait in line before it opens.  LAME.  Oh well, I went in today and took notes on things I want/need for the new house, so I may as well try to get them.  Happy Friday the 13th everyone!