Post #100!

This is a perfect topic for my 100th post...

Considering I've lost approximately 15 lbs. since January, and I'm committed to continuing, I've come up with my top 10 pros (not in any order) to losing weight. Of course there are cons, but I'm staying positive!

• Feeling better - I can't tell you how much better I feel physically right now. I've been up and down in my weight since highschool, and this is probably the best I've felt in a long time.
• Walking - I'm telling you, I was fully against walking (thanks to my mom...long story) prior to owning a dog. That's right...every time Nacho and I go walking, that old school Chicago song pops into my head... "You're the meaning in my life, you're the inspiration..." She definitely pushes me - I just know I'll feel guilty if I don't walk her, unless it's raining...
• My calves - I know that sounds silly, but they're my favorite part of my body. I've always had pretty beefy legs (from years of soccer when I was younger), but they're finally getting some actual shape back, instead of just being beefy. LOL.
• How clothes fit - It's kinda rough right now because I'm inbetween sizes, and although I don't have a specific size as a goal (being healthy is the goal), I can see and feel myself going down. I'm not ever going to be Barbie, and I'm finally starting to be happy with who I am and how I look, even in dresses! Just the fact that a lot of my clothes are big on me is good enough!
• Taking clothes OUT of the goodwill bag - HA! We donate to the thrift store at least a couple times a year, and in the past, it's been because clothes were too small for me, and giving them away made me feel a touch better about the situation. But now, I've been able to grab a couple things back out of the bag because they FIT!
• Having more energy - I know, I know...it's cliche, but it's so true! My appetite suppressant has helped a lot, but now I'm starting to feel that energy anyway.
• Food DOES NOT control me - This is huge. I'm an emotional/stress eater, which is why I got to the size I did. I was allowing my life to revolve around food, using the fact that I love it (cooking, experimenting, etc.) as my excuse. But now, I've allowed myself to feel hungry - something I was not used to. It's been very freeing. And I am continuing to work on not letting myself feel guilty if I go overboard every once in a while - it truly is all about moderation.
• Paul being "worried" about me leaving - JK! He did make that comment the other day, but I know he's not serious, and trust me, he has nothing to worry about. But to see him look at me differently, and notice how things are changing...he doesn't know how much that encourages me. I don't thank him enough for that.
• Size "Large" - Now this may seem kinda vulnerable, but it's the truth - I was super pumped to buy a dress in a size LARGE instead of XL. I was smiling so big at Wal-Mart (yeah, that's how I roll) that I'm sure the woman running the fitting room thought I was crazy. As a side note - smaller underwear is a HUGE plus too!! Sorry...TMI...
• Relying on God - This may seem off-topic, but when my doctor put me on the appetite suppresant originally, I was at the bottom. I knew I needed to change, but I was so lazy...I was afraid that nothing would happen, just like every other time I've tried, so what was the point? Now, I have specific goals, like getting the ol' bod ready for pregnancy...and no, nothing is going on in that area. I just know it's going to take a while, and I knew I needed to get started if I want to be remotely healthy when I do get pregnant. I have some great encouragement (especially from Nacho!), and I'm really starting to believe I can do it. It's a beautiful thing.

So - I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of right now. Do you have anything to add?

Meet our new baby!

This is Nacho. We adopted her last week from the Birmingham Humane Society. She's a 9 month old hound mix (mutt), and she's precious. Although we have had a hellish week with her this week, we are so happy to have her. She has gone through it this week - the vet found a mass in her stomach area last Saturday. The vet told us to keep an eye on the mass for a couple days, and if it didn't go away, to bring her in. It did not go away, so we brought her in on Tuesday - she got a full round of blood work and an xray, but that showed us nothing. The vet recommended talking to the humane society about possibly doing an exploratory surgery, considering the mass was closer to her private area, and it could be a side effect from her spay surgery. We tried calling yesterday, but with no luck. She wasn't eating or pooping normally throughout the week, and by yesterday morning, we found tape worms in her poop. BOO. As if that wasn't enough, she started bleeding a bit last night, as if she was in heat. Hence, more suspicion about her spay surgery and me losing it. Paul brought her to the humane society during lunch today, and the vet tech there decided to do another surgery to see what the mass is and/or if there were any problems with her spay. We've heard that the surgery went well and that Nacho is doing well, but we haven't gotten details on anything yet.

So within a week and a half and almost $400 later, God is giving us a glimpse of what it takes to be parents. LOL.

UPDATE: The vet @ the humance society finally called us back from her cell phone (bless her!) around 7:00ish on Friday night. She said that when they did Nacho's spay about a month ago, she had already started her cycle, so the amount of blood during the surgery was at a higher level than normal (sorry, that's probably gross). Anyway, because of that, the vet did two internal sutures instead of just one. Apparently, the first suture leaked into the second one and caused a clot of blood to form (not a blood clot, like we think of, but a pouch of blood). That's what the mass was, and that's why she started bleeding on Thursday night. We're super thankful that we brought her in when we did because the clot could have ruptured at any time, and would have caused her to hemmorage (sp?). Yikes!! They cleaned her out during the surgery, and used staples to make sure nothing happened when they sewed her up. PLUS they did the whole thing for free, and sent the medicine (anti-inflammatory and antibiotic) home for free as well. Thank you Jesus! Needless to say, when we got her back on Saturday, she was worn out and drugged up, so the weekend was pretty laid back in comparison to what we had planned. Our baby looks like Frankenstein, but we're thankful that she's ok! :)