Weight loss, new shoes, a new challenge, and more!

I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to lose weight.  There are some people who never struggle with their weight (I have never had this problem ;), and because of that I don't think they understand how it feels to have this constant burden....a burden on your body, your mind, your self-confidence, your motivation, everything.  I've always struggled with my weight, for as long as I can remember.  I've done so many diets and quick fix solutions and started many exercise programs completely gung-ho, but then never following through.  It's been a struggle to say the least!  But I can proudly say that I have been sticking with an exercise program for over 2 months now!  I've surrounded myself with friends (friends located all across Canada and the United States - we get together on a private message board....my accountability partners :), and they have provided me with more motivation and encouragement than I ever thought possible.  It's a very motivating thing to know you're going through something with the help and encouragement of others.  When you know that they may be having the same self-doubts and feelings of not being good enough as you are.  They are a major blessing, and I am continually thankful for each and every one of them! :)

With their help I've lost a total of 17.6 lbs and 20.25 inches since I started on June 7th!  I can't remember the last time I lost that much weight!  I still have a long way to go before I reach what I determined to be my goal weight.  As a friend says (about herself, thankfully not about me....that would be mean!) "It's like throwing a deck chair off the Titanic!" HA!  Well, that's not entirely true of course, but some days it does feel like that!  But I know I need to be celebrating this loss, and I truly do feel the healthiest I've been in a long time.  I'm eating so much better and getting at least an hour of vigorous exercise in every day.  So I feel good....I feel like I can really continue this lifestyle change for the long haul :)

I'm starting a new challenge next week - it's called the "Couch to 5K" program.

It's sort of like a beginners guide to running.  Well, likely jogging in my case, but still.  Mom and my sister Alina are going to do it with me - so that will be nice to have them along!  They start you off slowly and alternate between fast walking and jogging intervals, and you slowly build up the jogging time until you're doing more jogging than walking.  It looks like a very balanced program - not too difficult for a beginner like me!

I knew if I was going to be successful at this program I would need to get new shoes.  The runners I had were fine for doing housecleaning jobs and working out in the yard, but they were just your typical $50 pair of runners from Kohl's.  I have a bit of heel and support issues in my feet, so I knew I was going to need to spend a bit of money to get a good shoe.  I certainly don't want to wreck my body in an attempt to get healthy.  The last thing I need is to wreck a knee, or develop foot issues from not having good shoes!  I had recently won a 2 week challenge that my accountability group had put on, so I put my winnings towards these awesome new shoes :)

I went to a local place called Frontrunners and they assessed my walking and fitted me with a bunch of different shoes.  The ones I decided on are Adidas adiStar Salvation.  They feel AMAZING!  If you ever get the chance to put these shoes on, I highly recommend it :)  They make me WANT to get out there and run!  So I've been wearing them around the house, doing my exercise videos and such, to break them in for next week.  I have high hopes for them :)

I've also joined this online community called SparkPeople.  You create a free online profile and there are tools on there to track everything you eat in a day, how many glasses of water you've drank in a day, what exercises you've done, etc.  There are groups you can join, like the Couch to 5K group, or Leslie Sansone group, or regional groups.  You can create goals for yourself and track your progress every month or week.  You input information about yourself and your fitness goals and they tell you how many calories you should be eating in a day, and they even offer meal plans if you want.  It's really an amazing website!  I was never really into the idea of tracking my food, or keeping a food journal or whatever, but this has really opened my eyes!  It really does help you see just what you put in your mouth everyday, and how many calories it all has and how much sugar you're eating and all those things that almost no one pays attention to :)  So I highly recommend it!

Happy exercising everyone! :)

My views on the "Ground Zero Mosque"

These are my opinions....I'm sorry if they don't meet yours, but I guess that's why we were all created different and unique, with the ability to form our own beliefs and personal views.

First of all, to call it the "Ground Zero Mosque" is very inaccurate, and yet another way we are encouraged to hate on Islam.  This building is to be built on private property, many blocks away from Ground Zero.  A friend of mine shared a very interesting link as to just how "hallowed" this ground is at and around Ground Zero.  Please check it out - it is very typical of any large city:  Hallowed Ground?   So, it's very hallowed ground, and it must be honoured, but we do allow strip clubs, storefronts for betting, fast food restaurants, etc?

To believe that all people who practice Islam should be punished for the radical views of a few is completely irrational.  I am a practicing Christian - I go to church every Saturday, I pray to God, I do all that I need to do to build my relationship with God, as *I* see fit.  I am an individual and I have that right.  I have the right to meet where and when I want, to practice my religious beliefs.  Why is it that we are denying those who practice the religion of Islam to have those same rights?  I don't agree with all the practices and doctrines of the Catholic faith, or the Jewish faith, or Islamic faith, but why would I think I have the right to tell them where and when they can meet, where they can or cannot build their temples or mosques or churches?  We all believe that our religious beliefs are the correct ones, and we have the right to do that, but to judge those around us simply for believing something else is BIBLICALLY wrong.

Why is it that the United States as a nation, and many other countries for that matter, are willing to judge the entire faith of Islam, every person who practices that faith, on the views of the radicals?  Why are people so willing to believe that every Islamic person AGREES with those radical beliefs?  The United States was attacked by a group of radical individuals, who want to kill and destroy all Americans and all that the United States stands for.  Do we really believe that all people who practice Islam believe this??  Honestly?  Please read this article:   Islamaphobia  - We are encouraged to have a hatred and fear of Islam.  It is unreal how willing people are to fully and completely accept this, no questions asked.  How are we any different from those radicals who bombed the WTC and killed thousands of people?  We INVADED their countries under the ruse of WMD's (huge laugh) and peace (read: oil) and killed (and continue to kill) thousands of their innocent people. 

There have been radical Christians - people who take things way too far.  Many people think of organized religion as "CULT".  Is it fair to believe that I belong to a cult just because I attend with an "organized religion"?  Should we then ban all Christians from meeting together in unity to practice their beliefs because there have been radical views on Christians in the past?  Should we ban all Catholics from meeting together in unity to practice their religious beliefs because we just don't agree with the Pope and frankly we are disgusted by those priests who molest little boys and girls?  These priests who molest these children are abhorrent individuals - they should all be arrested and taken out of society......yet do I believe all Catholics, priests or otherwise, are sexually abusing little children?  No, of course not!  Because that is ignorant and utterly close-minded!

I do not want my religious beliefs directed to me from the government of any country.  I do not want to be told where and when I can meet in unity with my fellow church-goers by the government of any country.  I do NOT want to have my RIGHT to "peaceably assemble" taken away from me.  I think we all need to assess just why we are judging these people based on the views and beliefs of a radical few.

First Amendment - Religion & Expression  -  "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

4 Years of Wedded Bliss...

Four years ago today I married my best friend and the love of my life.  He is the one I know I can always turn to, no matter what, who will always be my biggest fan and strongest supporter.  He means the absolute world to me, and it breaks my heart every day that I am away from him, especially on our anniversary.  I realize that I took those little moments for granted, when we were together every day.  I miss him.

Here's to so many more years together Luke :)  I know that I am the luckiest woman, to be your wife and to have you as my better half.  You inspire me every day and make me feel so special and so loved.  I want nothing more than to be back in your arms and to spend all my moments with you again.

Happy Anniversary my love <3   Here's to hoping that year 5 brings a reunion of historic proportions! :)

This is the exact spot where Luke proposed to me :)

All photos by Ian de Hoog

An Update! It's been awhile.....

Hello!

It's been forever since I've updated this blog....I had been trying not to spend my time on the computer while Luke was here.  So when Luke left I had a bunch of photos to edit and I wanted to do a big long update blog :)

So first things first, I never uploaded any of Alina and William's engagement photos!  We spent a day downtown at various locations and I think Jordan and I both came up with a lot of great images :)  Enjoy!

Aren't they adorable?!  I know - it's sickening ;)  

So, some very exciting news for Jordan and I.....we both got a piece of our artwork accepted into the show!  And we both sold our pieces!! :)  Pretty awesome eh?!  We're very excited about it!  We were also able to submit some art cards to be sold in the gift shop, so we made a little extra money that way as well :)  This is the photo I submitted that got accepted:

And this is the Artist Bio that I made up for the show...I was pretty proud of it:

These are the other 2 photos I submitted:

Luke and I had a really fun day trip up to Coombs, BC to see the Goats on the Roof market :)  It's this great little town and a wonderful little market.  The goats have been living up on the roof as long as I can remember.  We then drove to Rathtrevor Provincial Park so I could show Luke the beach.  When the tide's out the sand is over a mile out and you can still walk so far out into the water before it even gets to your knees!

These were all taken at the summit of the Malahat - that's Mt. Baker to the left on the last photo.

This is the worlds largest hockey stick and puck! :)  It's only fitting that we own it up here in Canada!

Goats on the Roof!! :)

We had such a great day :)

We went camping up at French Beach for about 5 days....it was wonderful!

We saw a bear on our way up there!  Right around the corner from the campground....I was a teeny bit worried about that ;)

Luke and I were able to spend a long weekend up in Parksville - it was a wonderful time!  We stayed at the Pacific Shores Resort & Spa - it was gorgeous! We spent the day on the beach at Rathtrevor on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  However when we got back to the hotel I realized I got SO burnt on my back...it was the one place I guess I missed with the sunscreen.  It hurt SO badly for at least a week afterwards.  When we got to Rathtrevor the tide was soooo far out, so we set up fairly close to the water and had to continue moving farther back a few times as the tide slowly came in throughout the day.  As the day was winding down we moved all of our stuff wayyyy back from the tide line and went out into the water for a swim.  I kept looking back and checking on our stuff and at one point I realized there was a group of people standing right where our stuff was....this was concerning!  I realized they were waving at the water, and then I realized they were waving at US!  So I started heading in as quickly as I could, which isn't as fast as one would hope, trying to run in the water!  I finally got all the way back in to our stuff and I discovered that the tide had come in SO fast and started to wash  it up!  The people around our stuff were trying to bundle it all up for us and were waving us in.  They were such a huge help!  They helped me move all of our stuff way back until Luke was able to come back and help me.  In the process I lost a flip flop, but in perspective that's really not too bad ;)

This was the view from our balcony the afternoon that we got there.....

....and this is the same view the next morning!  The tide is so far out! :)

This is the other side of the resort.

And now just some randoms of us and our adventures (mildly speaking of course) in the past month or so....

This is us in the motorhome that sits in my parent's driveway....we had too many people staying in the house so we were sent out to the motorhome :)  It was nice to have a little place to ourselves though!

Jogging buddies!

We got to hang out with Dave and Tara!!! yay!! :)

The Sookes of Hazard! :)  642 baby!

So Luke left on August 4th, and I have been missing him so much ever since.  I sure love him a lot and miss him like crazy.  We're contacting the local congresswoman in Luke's area to see if they can help us figure out what's going on with our package.  I hope to have some news on that front in the very near future!!! :)

Thanks if you read all of this :)  I'm hoping to keep this blog a lot more updated from now on! :)