One year ago...

It was one year ago tomorrow I made a decision to change my life for the better. I joined Weight Watchers at work, and it was one of the best things I ever did (Joe of course falls in that group as well)!

I had a small goal I set to achieve for myself within the year, and as of today, I DID IT! I have officially lost 125.2 and there is no looking back!! I still have a ways to go, but what an achievement in just a year. I have a great support group at work and with my family, and for that I am truly greatful! I couldn't have been this successful without your love and support.

I don't have a before picure from when I started, but I do have one from a few months before. Below are photos from July 2009, and Thanksgiving 2010.




Have to run for now! Until next time...

Happy Thanksgiving (a tad late!)

Hope your Thanksgiving was a great one, shared with close friends and family!

We went to Joe's Aunt & Uncle's on the farm for dinner. We had a nice time visiting with his parents (don't see them too much since they moved over 2 hours away), and we had an awesome meal as usual :).

We then headed to my brother's house to see my family, and have dessert with them. My friend Denise was there, and we caught up on lost time. She wants to take a trip to England over the big April 29th wedding of Prince William. That would be sooooo much fun, but a bit on the pricey side at the moment. I have never been to Englad, and so would love to go. She would be one of the people I would love to show me around as she has been there a few times before.

As for the weight loss, I officially hit 120.4 last week. It is so hard to believe that in just 3 more weeks, I will have been doing this for a year. My goal for that week is to make the 125 mark. What an accomplishment to say I lost 125 in a year!

As of this past Sunday, Weight Wathcers changed their plan again, and it is a lot to take in. I hope this will still allow me to make that goal of 125 in the time I need. Only time will tell!

Have to run for now. Take care and see you in a few days.

Another fun trip!

Well we are back again from another fun trip to the North Shore! Man was it cold, but yet so beautiful! I don’t know what it is about Duluth and beyond that I enjoy so much, but Lake Superior is just magnificent. It is the closest to the ocean one will ever get if they never leave Minnesota.

We drove up to Grand Marais and was it windy. The waves from the lake were crashing over the breakers like there was no tomorrow. I got some great shots I will post later. We bought a state park sticker in September, so we hit a few parks while we were up there. Only bad thing was many of the parks up there were going to be closed for a special hunting season. We did make it to Tettegouche, Cascade, & Gooseberry, and had some good hikes while there.

As for our continued weight loss, I actually stayed the same (first time I ever did that), and Joe lost 2.4. He is officially in the 60’s for weight loss…..Woooooohoooooo!! I feel good about the zero as we were on vacation and it could have been a lot worse! Joe’s leader has a “travelling tracker” book, and he took it for the week. I think it did him good and will get him back on track again.

Tomorrow is stamping day….getting together with some friends and working on Christmas cards and some scrapbooks. I can’t wait!

Time to run. Have a great weekend and catch ya next week!!

What a night!

Happy day after elections!! What a night it was last night. I worked as an election judge, and put in 15 hours. The precinct I worked in had almost 1000 voters turn out (about 66% for this area). It was busy from start to end. What a great opportunity to serve as a judge, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Today was weight in day, and I dropped another 3 pounds, putting me down 116.8. Joe dropped a pound and is getting so close to the 60's!!

Now we are sitting in a hotel room in Hinckley, on our way back up to Duluth again for a few days. We will be off to the casino soon, and hopefully will hit the pool & hot tub tonight....woooohooooo!

More to come during the trip...I hope!

Until next time!!

Happy Halloween (almost)!

Hello to all the ghosts and goblins out there!

Hope all is well and you are enjoying this lovey fall weather (Brrrrr if you are in Minnesota).

Well, it was another successful week in the weight loss world. I dropped another 3.4 and Joe lost 4!! Rock on sweetie!!! I am officially down 113.6 now! Now comes the challange.....I joined WW before Christmas last year, so I was already past the Halloween candy, and Holiday potlucks. There are all kinds of candy laying around and I am doing my best to avoid them (though I have been good when I caved and only had 1- small miracle for me since I LOVE CANDY!). We are off to a party tonight, and I am bringing a healthy(ish) treat so we can enjoy the festivities. I am going as a penguin, and Joe is going as the Red M&M (get in the bowl!).

Have to run for now. Have a happy and safe Halloween!!

Wooohoooooo!

Wow! Another great week on the weight loss. I went down 3.4, and am not at a total of 110.2! Not too bad for starting a part time job and not getting as much walking as I usually do. Joe, on the other hand, went up .6. :( I wish I knew what else I could do to inspire him to keep on losing. He said he wants to get back on track, but it has to be in his own time.....which is hard on me when we aren't in this together. I just keep hoping....

Well I have to run. Time to go home for the day and get ready to go play at my stamping group tonight :).

Until next time!!

Happy Fall!!

Well, here I am again after a 5 month hiatus. Where has the time gone??

Just to update on my weight loss journey: yes I am still sticking to the plan, and yes I am still losing. As of today, I am officially down 107 pounds! I have made some major milestones since my last post. I hit 72 pounds on my birthday in May (happy birthday to me!!), made 92 in early August, and hit the big 101 in early September. Joe is still plugging along at 55 pounds as of today. He is struggling a bit, but I know he will be back on track in no time.

Since the last post, we have taken another trip back up to the North Shore and Duluth. Split Rock Lighthouse is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, and since May, they have been lighting the beacon to mark this occasion. Normally it is lit only in November to mark the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, so it was exciting to get to see it on our trip in September. We made a few other stops as well, and got some great pictures. Check out the link for Split Rock at http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/srl/index.htm

I have recently started a part time job again at a local furniture store. I left this job just about 8 years ago, and it was soooo worth it at the time, as I met Joe a few weeks later. It is nice to be back again, working with some old friends.

I have to run. I promise to be better at the posts.

Until next time



Lori down 75 (June 15, 2010)


Joe down 46 (June 15, 2010)


Cove Point Lodge Chair (North Shore, Sept. 3, 2010)

Another month almost gone...

Man, where has the time gone?? April is almost over, and my birthday is around the corner.

I have been continuing to make great achievements on my weight loss journey. Since my last post, I have lost another 2.4, gained .2, and lost 5.6 this past week. This puts me at a grand total of 61.2!! Joe is doing awesome as well, as he is down 35 pounds as well.

Joe just celebrated another birthday on April 17th. We took a few days off and headed up north to Duluth, Two Harbors, Grand Marais and Grand Portage. We had awesome weather, though occassionally windy near Lake Superior, we could not have asked for a better trip. We are planning to go back again in May for my birthday.

Below are some photos from our trip. I don't know what it is about being up North, but there is just something so relaxing about being near the wide open water, and just taking it easy.

In Grand Marais


At the Duluth Aerial Life Bridge


At Gooseberry Falls (lower)


At Gooseberry Falls (upper)


A ship arriving through canal in Duluth


Until next time....

April showers.....please stop!

Happy Wednesday after Easter!

Hope you had a great Easter, spent with family and/or friends. Joe and I went to his Aunt & Uncle's farm. Great times with great people!

So, today was weigh in day....Joe dropped 4.4 and I lost 2.2, bringing my grand total to 53.2! Yeah me!! What awesome progress for another holiday week! Again, I am sooo proud of both of us!!

I have to make this brief today...Joe is waiting for me :).

Until next time!

Pictures of flower show

Below are a few pictures I promised from the flower show today...Enjoy!! :)

Happy Easter....almost!!

Man, where has the time gone?? I have been bad on keeping this up again, especially when I have had some awesome news to share almost every week!

So, my last post was Feb. 5th. Since then, I have made the following achievements:

2/10 down 3.6
2/17 down 1.4
2/24 down 3.8 (hit my 10 % mark and got a key chain)
3/3 down 1.6
3/10 down 5.6 (say what??)
3/17 up 1.0
3/24 down 6 (say what…again??)

Which puts me a this current weeks numbers. If you were keeping track, as of 3/24, I was down a total of 48.6 pounds….less than 2 away from 50. Well, today I MADE IT! I am officially down 51.2 total pounds…and in only 16 weeks!! I received 2 more charms for my key ring- a 16 week charm with hands clapping (as I completed a session), and one for the 50 pounds.

The other nice change was that Joe has since joined, and as of today, he is down 23 pounds! I am sooooo proud of him. Heck, I am proud of the both of us! What an accomplishment we have both made. I will post a picture soon of me 50 pounds lighter.

So now the true test! I have not told anyone in Joe’s family I have been doing this, and we will be seeing them this weekend for Easter. Think anyone will notice? I did tell my parents a few months ago, and they have been SO supportive, as has Joe. That is a big part of the success with losing weight…SUPPORT! My at work friends have been just as great and I thank them profusely! Love all you guys!

Well time to sign off. I am off to the flower show at Macy’s. Will post some of those pics later as well.

Until next time… hugs!

Happy February!

So sorry I missed my update last week, but I have great news! Last Wednesday (1/27)I had my weigh in, and I dropped 3.4 pounds. That brought my total loss to 26.2. I received a charm that had 25 pounds stamped on it, and I can put it on a key chain I will be getting at my 10% mark (not too much farther to go for that one!). Another achievement down!

So for this week’s weigh in, I was down another 1.4, bringing me to 27.6. I am so proud that I have lost every week except one (and that was only a .2 gain…no biggie).

My little goal I had set for me was to be in a pair of jeans I had bought a few years ago by then end of January (I had bought a few pairs in the size I was at the time, but I hadn’t got to wearing the last pair). I have been trying them on each week since I started, and I could tell I was making progress. I would get a little closer each week. I didn’t make my goal by the end of January, and I was ok with that. Just knowing I was getting close was an awesome feeling.

Well guess what??? I tried them on this morning, and THEY FIT!!!!! I wasn’t too far off my goal at all. What an amazing feeling to have achieved this milestone, and man do I fell great! I love setting the little goals and getting that feeling of satisfaction when I achieve them. My next is to make my 10%, then to hit the next set of hundreds. However long it takes, I will be ready and willing to get there.

That’s all for now. Enjoy the big game this weekend. I still haven’t figured who to cheer for yet. Do I go for the team that kicked the Vikings butts or go for the wish for them to have the same things done to them they did to us and have the Colts win. I still have a few days to decide.

Until next time…

Another great week!!

Hello again and happy Friday!

Well I am back on track again on the weight loss journey! I am down 3.4 this week, for a total of 22.8 since December....Woooohoooooo!!! Man does it feel great! I actually woke up Sunday morning and felt motivated to take a walk, and I have been keeping the walking up all week....so far ;).

It is Friday and only 2 days before the BIG Vikings game against New Orleans. Man will tension be high this weekend in anticipation of the game. I can't believe I am even talking about football as I have never been a big fan, but there is a lot to say about us getting Brett Favre on the team, and all that he has done for the organization. Rock on Brett!!

Until next time...GOOOOOOOOO VIKES!!!

Vikes Win!

GO VIKES!

I have never been a fan of football, but DAMN, what a game!!! They kicked some MAJOR Dallas booty yesterday with a 34-3 win....moving us that much closer to the Superbowl! I hate to say it, but it ROCKS having Brett Favre on the team! Might be the only real chance we have to pull this off. Keep your fingers crossed as we move into the next game against the New Orleans Saints next Sunday.

I forgot to post last Wednesday on my progress...oops! I actually went up .2 pounds, but I am not worried since I am still in the 19 pound lost range. I did find the leader mis-calculated by .4 last week, so I was really at 19.6 down.

I have been finding it hard to go through all my points everyday- either I am full or I hadn't been feeling well from this cold. I have been working more on getting in some good walking time everyday, and it helps that there are others at work willing to get up and move with me! :)

Until next time!!

Update....

Woooohoooooooo!! Another successful weigh in! I have lost another 6.8 pounds, bringing my total loss up to 19.6!!!

Here is to another successful week :)

New Year.....new me ( I hope) :)

Well, here we are again...slacking for a few months (my bad). It is now January 6, 2010 and as most people do, I have made a New Years resolution to lose weight. The nice thing about this is I started a few weeks early by joining Weight Watchers at work on December 16th. I have made some awesome progress in these last few week by dropping almost 13 pounds! I lost 9.2 the first week, and 3.6 last week. Not bad for starting over Christmas!!! Now I just hope I did well this past week....more to come later today as Wednesday's are weigh in day!

Other then that, I can't say the new year is off to a good start. Both Joe and I were sick over thte weekend, then to top it off, we got a phone call from the police dept. yesterday saying our car was one of 15 that were broken into. The cop also said there was a break in over the weekend as well, and they had a remote to the garage and cut the wires to the security cameras in the garage. When I asked the apartment manager yesterday why the remote code wasnt changed after the other break-in, she got all defensive and asked where I heard about another break-in. The funny thing is there was a memo left at all apartments saying "It's that time of year again to re-code the remotes" and nothing was mentioned about the break-in. Grrrrr.

Anyways, I will part now. I hope to have good news later today that I either maintained where I was last week, or that I lost more....hoping for the second one ;). I plan to make better efffort to blog as this will be a great place to log my goals and efforts on my weight loss journey!

TTFN!