I'm Back

I cannot believe that it has been 2 months since I posted. There has been a lot happening during that time.

• I FINALLY moved into my house. I closed/moved in on July 23rd. Everything went smoothly on my end, but between the bank and HOA issues we couldn't close until then. I signed papers on the 17th and the seller agreed that I could paint the house that weekend. Well, I figured if I could paint, there was no reason I couldn't have the carpets cleaned, appliances delivered, have my mom clean the bathrooms and kitchen, and start bringing things over. I got the call that the deed had recorded at about the same time that my last piece of furniture was being delivered . . . good timing. I LOVE my house. I'll try to make a slide show to post with pictures. Thanks to my dad, mom, Les and Dave my house was completely ready to move into. Haley came over with me the evening I moved in and by the following day I had everything unpacked and put away.
• My Grandma passed away on the 19th of July. She went downhill so very quickly and we all knew that it was time. She was miserable. We had her funeral the afternoon of the my moving day and it was a very nice service.
• School started again and I have to say, I love my class!!! This is such a welcome change from last year. We are in a new building with some awesome technology and the kids are loving it! Plus, they are learning sooooo much more than my previous classes. On the one hand, it's sad that kids need a screen in front of them to be interested, but on the other, I say if it works . . .
• Today is the kick-off event for our WVBL II. I haven't been as good over the past two months as I should have, but I figure it's a fresh start. I have missed my workouts, as well as my friends. I am looking forward to getting back on track and getting myself in awesome shape!

It's Over :-(

If you would have told me back in January that I would grow to love being a part of the West Valley Biggest Losers I would have laughed in your face. What a difference 6 months makes. Last night was our finale event. Although it was actually a contest with only one winner (which wasn't me, by the way) I don't think any of us were focused on the material prize. Here is my Top Ten List of what I "won" by being a loser.

10. I lost 31.5 pounds and over 50 inches (not sure of the exact number)
9 . I learned what a healthy eating plan looks like.
8. I found a dentist who is awesome and I highly recommend.
7. I learned to enjoy exercise.
6. I finished three 5K races and one 5K walk to benefit MDA. I may not have had the fastest time, but I finished!
5. I gained a brighter outlook on my life. I feel better about myself, I'm sleeping better (so long as you don't count the past couple of weeks) and have so much more energy.
4. I learned that I am capable of so much more than I ever gave myself credit. Back in January I could do 7 pushups, only 1/4 crunches, had a 16:24 mile and 1:41 wall sit. Now, I can do 47 pushups, 27 REAL sit-ups (shocked myself even), run a 11:48 mile and do a 20:39 wall sit.
3. I found out that a personal trainer can be tough and kind at the same time. Our coach, Stephanie Fogelson, has been so wonderful. At our first workout, I expected us to ease our way into things, but Steph had other ideas. She had us RUNNING over a bridge and back several times. She made us push ourselves at every workout but was right there encouraging us all the time. The workouts were never "easy" but you always felt a sense of accomplishment when you were done.
2. I learned to swim--you know, really swim, not get in and splash around. A couple of weeks ago I swam 1050 meters in 45 minutes.

And, most importantly,

1. I made some wonderful friends. The people in our group are some of the most amazing people I have ever known. Like I said earlier, this was not about the prize. Everyone was so supportive and encouraging of one another. Going into it, I was extrememly self-conscious and intimidated by those who were much more fit than I was. However, there was never an ugly word or action from anyone. If you thought you couldn't do it, someone would be there to encourage you and work alongside you. We laughed together, cried together, sweated together (a lot!!!!) and even partied together.

I know for a fact that I would not have survived, and even enjoyed, the past 6 months without Stephanie and the rest of the "Losers". Most of us have signed up to continue on with a "Fit To Fab" program starting in September. I don't know what I'll do until then . . . this past week I have been lost during the evenings without going to workouts.

My goal is to continue with my workouts on my own to build up my endurance and, hopefully, lose another 10 pounds before we start back up again in September.

Randomness

This is going to be a very random post. I have so many things going through my mind, so my blog reader is going to be treated to a brain purge.

• I HATE banks—at least as they relate to home buying. I have heard that we will have final approval in “the next couple of days” for close to a month now. The two *#$%^ banks are arguing over $2000 so they won’t sign off on the contract. I have all of my paperwork in order for my loan, the appraisal was scheduled (then cancelled) and , literally, everything on my end is done. I signed an addendum that close of escrow will occur on or before July 29. I have to be out of my apartment by August 2 (which is a whole ‘nother story). Add into that the fact that I am moving into a new classroom at school which is not even finished being built yet. Oh yeah, did I mention that we have Meet the Teacher Night on August 4???? So, yeah, I have a little bit of anxiety that thing are not going to happen as they should.
  
• My grandma, who is my mom’s mother, is in the hospital. She has congestive heart failure and was having trouble breathing on Saturday. She had a heart attack here in the hospital on Saturday night and, as it turns out, she has had at least three previously. Three of the main arteries (?) to her heart have blockage and she is not a candidate for surgery. So, she will be treated with medication. They are also working on getting all of her other systems under control since CHF affects the whole body. My gramps had CHF, also, so it is a bit of deja-vu being here again. Although Gramps had other issues, as well, it is bittersweet to be going through it all again and I have really been missing Gramps this week.
  
• I had my first experience with dental work this week. I haven’t been to the dentist since I had my braces off, which is 20 years! I know, very bad. However, I only had 4 cavities. I went back to get them filled yesterday. I was prepared for the worst but I watched The Wedding Singer and they did their thing. I didn’t realize how numb I would be for the afternoon and my mouth is a little tender today but, overall, it was painless. I love the dental office I go to—doesn’t hurt that you get paraffin hand dips, aromatherapy, and movies while you are there.
  
• We only have a few more workouts before WVBL is done!!! I have been really faithful to my daily workouts at home and journaling everything I eat. For the next round, which starts on September 15, I will be doing the Fit-To-Fab program. I have to maintain what I am doing now during our hiatus but I am so committed this time that I know I will succeed. I am going to turn one of my bedrooms ( you know, in the house that isn’t mine yet) into a workout room so that I will have no excuses.
• My hair doesn’t like humidity. Enough said!
• I am lonely. I would love to have someone to share my life with. I know, I need to go out there and make it happen, but it is easier said that done. I don’t have a lot of criteria—basically a good person with a job who wants a family J Anyone know of anyone?
• Finally, Blogger isn't the easiest when it comes to formatting. Therefore, I have extra spaces between some of my bullet points and if you are OCD like me it will bother you to no end!

3 More Weeks

We are almost to the end of WVBL. Last Friday we did weights, measurements, and pictures again. I was only down 1 lb. this time but I lost 12 1/2 inches!! I am trying to remember that I shouldn't judge my progress by the scale but I think it's ingrained. For all of our lives the question has been "How much do you weigh?" or "What's the scale say?". I am trying to get away from that, but it's not easy.

We have a couple of little mini-contests going for the last month. The person who loses the most percentage of body fat during the last 4 weeks will get a free night at a resort following our final celebration. Since my body fat doesn't change, according to the scale we use, I doubt I'll win that one. {Side note: How is it possible that I can lose 30 lbs but have absolutely no change in my body fat percentage?} Our second contest is a points-based one. You earn points for going to workouts, journalling your food, and doing extra workouts at home. That, I can do! If I don't win this one, I will at least go out with a bang!

Exciting News!

Well, at least I am excited by it. And stressed. And nervous. And worried. And planning. And not sleeping.
Anyways, I filled out all of the loan paperwork today and took my earnest money to the title agency this afternoon. I don't have the official contract yet because apparently there are two lien holders on the house and they are arguing over the proportion of money they each get. I don't understand a lot of the stuff that's happening. Thank goodness my dad is a mortgage broker and is doing my loan for me. He is explaining it all in terms I understand. :-)
We are thinking it will be a 45 day close, which would put me at July 16 as a closing date. That is just a couple of weeks before my lease is up here, which is good. I had hoped for a little earlier closing so I could do some painting and stuff before I moved in. Oh yeah, and I am moving to a new classroom at school, in a building that isn't even done, at about the same time. No stress here!
So much is going through my mind right now. I will update with more information as I learn it!

House Hunter

I thought I'd give a little house update. First of all, the media will have you believe that in this market you can basically name your price and pick up a house. NOT!!!! I was outbid on a foreclosure a few weeks back and started looking again. I put in some offers on short sales, but they take 30-45 days to hear back from the bank. Earlier this week, my realtor said that an approval letter should be coming out in the next couple of days. Apparently, since I had the first offer in, the contract will go to me and the other offers will be back-up offers. So, I got really excited and then it turned into the waiting game. We haven't heard anything else yet but hopefully soon.
The floorplan of this house is really great. It has a Great Room that flows into the kitchen which has an island and dark cabinets, both of which I love. The master bedroom is at the back of the house and there are 3 more bedrooms at the front, along with another bathroom. The one thing I'm not thrilled with is that it is linoleum, not tile, but I figure I can change that at a later time. I'm hoping to hear back and be able to close before my lease is up here (July 27) so that I can do some cleaning and painting before I move. Anyone want to come to my painting party? :-)

School's Out!

Yesterday was the last day of school. It has been a really rough year for me and I was so looking forward to the last day. There would be no tears this year . . . think again! we take our kids up to meet their 1st grade teachers at about 9:30 and I started crying as I dropped them off. This has never happened!!!! I usually have a meltdown as I am telling them goodbye.
Anyhow, we are moving into a new building for Kinders and First next year so we got to take the kids on a tour of it. Talk about sweet!!! We are going to have interior corridors, interior restrooms and each classroom will have a Smart Board, Student Response clickers, Document Camera, and 5 student computers. The best part of all is that we will have our own copier in the building, shared just be K and 1st!!!!! No lines. Packing up my old classroom was torture . . . I threw out bag upon bag of stuff and still have about 40 boxes. But I am looking forward to all that will be available to us next year.
Now, if we could just start praying now for a sweet class with little or no behavior problems.