Updated Measurements

I forgot to add that I measured again on Sunday and I was totally suprised! Here is the order of measurements thus far.

Started 2/2/09 at 47" hips
3/10/09 - 46.75"
5/24/09 - 45"

So far I have lost 2 inches on my hips and I am mad that I didn't take more measurements at the beginning. I am going to take more measurements tonight because, to me, that is super inspiring!!!!

Super Happy Day! Kathy

Why is it?

Why is it so hard to accept a compliment? 3 times this weekend I was complimented on how great I look and 3 times I said "Thanks but I blah, blah, blah..." I know I am not the only person who does it but jeeze. It takes the fun out of receiving a compliment and it takes the enjoyment away from the person who gave the compliment. I am going to work on saying thank you and just leaving it at that.

The purge is coming right along. If I was thinking I would have taken progress pictures to post today (if I remember I will do it tonight). I am at the stage now where it looks even worse then when I started. In fact, it looks like a bomb went off. I have gotten a lot done though. My closet getting done is probably my proudest moment. Everything is hung up and has a place. It is so pretty. I also realized how many purses I have...WOW! but I love them all like family.

Last night I tried the Pilate's class and holy cow...it is so hard. I have watched some of those infomercials and thought it looked a little pansy-like but whatever works for you. Boy was I wrong. Like 3 moves in I thought I was going to pass out. Everything is so slow and precise. I highly recommend that you give it a go.

Happy Day! Kathy

Sure will be memorable

I am at a graduation and it is pouring! But the show must go on...

Day 4

Okay...today is my 4th day sans grains and I am feeling a lot better. I was stuck in this limbo land of needing to eat more but not wanting to go over my WW points and I have it. I am eating a lot more veggies (duh!). They are all pretty much zero points so boo yeah! The massive cravings for grains have also gone down quite a bit. I need to continue to be prepared though. I get in trouble when I don't have everything ready to go and I end up eating whatever is the closest to me. Anyone else ever do that? Anywho, I am feeling a lot better. Not as sluggish. 

I am SO sore today. Last night was GI Jane and wow! It was so hard. Oops! I forgot to post last week that I totally wussed out on GI Jane. I had a rough day, didn't eat a lot and had nothing in the tank at class. I made it like 15 minutes and then quit. I am so ashamed...moving on...last nights was crazy. Josefa had us put bands just above our knees and then do walking side squats....ow. I feel it today for sure. 

After class last night I headed to some friends of mine to help them with a logo and business

card design for their new company and I love how they turned out. I am a graphic designer by degree but hardly ever do anything with it. I need to change that because I am a good designer and it makes me happy. There is nothing more fun to me then starting with a blank page and ending with a finished (beautiful) product. 

My Favorite Things #2

This stuff is amazing! I mix it with romaine, Roma tomato, mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil pizza veggie burger, and then drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Yum!

Ow

I just got blood drawn for some tests Dr. Bosch wanted me to get and yowzer! They drew 6 viles! Do you have any idea what that looks like?! I do. Each one looks like a roll and a half of nickels so 6 viles of them is equivelent to 9 rolls of nickels!

Where's My Money Going? Part 1

Not too long ago I met with a financial advisor to work on getting better with my money. I don’t have any real debt outside of student loans and my retirement is fine but I want an emergency savings plan. She helped me work out a budget that seemed manageable but I learned something about myself…I suck at sticking to a budget. I thought I would be able to do it no problem but holy cow! I am so not good at it. The part that has surprised me the most is how much money I spend on food. I don’t really go out to eat but Yikes! the grocery store kills me. I live by myself, pack my lunch everyday, and buy really healthy stuff. It can’t cost as much as I am spending.

Here is a rough idea of what I will be eating everyday. Please note that it now reflects a low grain diet. (Actually I am doing no grain for a while to try to defeat the cravings. More on that below*.)

Breakfast: 2 eggs and Canadian bacon or a couple slices of lunch meat and cheese.
AM Snack: Apple and a 1% string cheese
Lunch: Soup (I need a recipe that I can make in advance because soup is super expensive. Making and freezing it must be cheaper)
PM Snack: Grapefruit or Cottage Cheese
Dinner: Veggie Burger and Corn or Veggie Nuggets and Sweet Potato Fries

I haven’t been the greatest at sticking to the above but I am now on track (since yesterday). I think I made it too hard and I let all of the exterior problems in my life take over. Anywho, I am going to track my spending for a week and see where I can cut back or cut out completely. I know a part of my problem is I am hoarder. If something is on sale I must buy 5 times as much even though it may be impossible for me to eat it all. I throw out a lot. It is so different shopping/cooking for 1 then it was for 3.

*Back to the low grain thing. I have been faithful to it since yesterday. I should have been doing it since I first saw Dr. Bosch but I am thinking that I wasn’t really into it then because if I was I would have done an official post about it like I did the soda thing (I still haven’t had any!). Since I didn’t I guess I wasn’t very serious. I am serious about it now so here is my official post: I am cutting out grains for the next 2 weeks to rid my body of the cravings. I will see where I end up after that.

Here is the problem though…I am so freaking drained. I feel like I have nothing in the tank. I emailed Dr. Bosch about it and she suggested I am not eating enough or drinking enough. I drink a gallon+ of water everyday so I don’t think that is it. I definitely know I am low on protein so I need to find a soup with more protein to in it. Here is the difficulty with soup; most of them have cooked veggies in them. Gross! I can do tomatoes, beans and meat but I am not a huge fan of chili. Picky! Picky! I just need to get on allrecipe.com and do a little research. Anyone have any good soup recipes or any other ideas? Email me: itsallboutmie@gmail.com.

Anyway, I will see where how things turn out the end of next week.

P.S. I think I am going to try Yoga Booty Ballet tonight.

Progress Already

The person I had plans with tonight cancelled so I had some time on my hands. After my Salsa Pump class I did a little grocery shopping and then headed home. The kitchen is my favorite room in the house so I decided to start there. I attached some before and after pics so you all knew I was making progress. I find it intriguing that getting rid of unwanted stuff feels a lot like losing weight. You just feel better about yourself. I know I still have 95% left to work on but I am choosing to focus on the 5% I have already done.

Happy day,
Kathy

P.S. I also attached a pic of the after effect of Saturday night on my leg. Ouch!

Shameless

I am super excited to have signed up for my first long term(ish) mission trip August 15-22, 2009. I am going with my church, Christ's Church Scottsdale, to Guadalajara, Mexico to build a house. I am super nervous and excited all wrapped into one. I have never done anything like this before. Part of being involved means that I need to raise $1,000 to cover the cost of travel, housing and supplies. I wish I was able to cover that amount myself but I cannot. All I need is 50 people to donate $20. So far I have 7 people that have agreed to help which brings the number down to 43. 

If this is something that you would like to help with directions for donation are below. Please note that all donations are tax deductible.

Check Payable to: 

   CCS (Christ's Church Scottsdale)

Write in Memo Line:

   Kathy Conlon - Mexico

Mail to:

Christ's Church Scottsdale 15020 North Hayden Rd, #103 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260

The Great Purge of 2009

My entire house is a freaking wreck. I moved the rest of my stuff out of Daniel's place last Tuesday and haven't had a chance to put it away. As a matter of fact, I still haven't put everything away from when I initially moved in. Daniel also dropped off the fish and Max, our yellow lab, on Thursday so the house feels extremely claustrophobic. I feel like I can't move. All of this has struck a fire in me to start The Great Purge of 2009. I wanted to start this weekend but my empty-ish weekend turned uber busy. 

That being said, I am starting tomorrow night. My small group was cancelled and I was thinking last night that I can't wait until the weekend again. I have to get started. Most of the crap I have I haven't used in a long time. I think a majority of my stuff will end up at Goodwill. I know piles of clothes will go away because they are getting too big for me (yeah!) and I need to just downsize everything in general. I don't need all this stuff. I don't want all this stuff. I am so sick and tired of being surrounded by a bunch of useless stuff. 

I posted pictures so I have the pressure to get new, clean version posted soon. Also, I have the pressure of a bunch of girls coming to my place on the 29th and everything needing to not look like crap. Plus the pressure of not being able to live like this another day. So all in all I think it is going to get done soon. I am also super stoked to have a 3-day weekend coming up so I can get things done with an extra day. 

I will post later about my amazing weekend. 

Ta-ta for now,

Kathy

Weekend Got Away From Me

Don't you hate it when you have this huge to-do list and it doesn't seem to be in the stars to happen? At least in your own time. That was me this weekend. I will unveil my exciting new journey by tomorrow though...I promise.

Vote for my Mom Please

Hey! My mom entered a couple of photos in the Arizona Highways Contest. Click on the link below to vote for them please. I included hers so you know which ones they are.

http://www.arizonahighways.com/photoContest/viewpoll/index.cfm?action=viewpoll&contestid=4

What Now?

That has been a question I have heard posed several times over the last couple of weeks and most definitely the feeling I have right now. Have you ever felt like your situation couldn’t possibly get any worse and then it does and then it does again and then it does again? Last night I got confronted with a situation that I didn’t think could get any worse and then it did. It was quite possibly one of the worst moments of my life because of all the emotions around it and I wanted to just turn around and run as far as I could in the opposite direction not looking back but I didn’t. It is hard because I am trying so hard to focus on myself and how I am as a person and I feel like I keep getting shoved in front of a crowd and then being expected to perform. So now what?

Here is my now what. I am going to move forward from the event, try to forget it and continue to focus on what I need to change. My whole life feels unmanageable so I plan on starting a list of everything I feel like I need to change, prioritize them, and then tackle them one by one. I can add as I go but I need to work on one at a time. That keeps me from feeling hopeless. It is so easy to look at that ever growing list of shortcomings, get discouraged and quit but I can’t live how I am right now so something has to change. I have already started this process but now I am going to do it intentionally.

My progress so far is my schedule felt unmanageable. I forgot things or just plain didn’t do them. Then one day I looked in the mirror and realized I was a flake. Ugh. Could there have been a worse thing to be then that? Not to me. I started immediately changing. I have this really awesome phone that lets me keep my schedule, contacts, and to do list but they were sitting vacant. I made a conscious effort to use them everyday and it has been my saving grace. I now do the things I say I am going to do or be at places I say I am going to be. What a freeing feeling! I have also done it long enough (3 weeks) that it has hit the 21 day line where it goes from conscious effort to habit! We, as humans, are just a string of habits, some of them good and some of them bad. The ones we choose to nurture are the ones we become.

I think that next major thing on my list is what I am planning to do this weekend. Uh-uh…I am not telling you all…yet…but it is going to be awesome and I can’t freaking wait. I am chomping at the bit to get going on it but I know my personality. I am going to Tucson Thursday and Friday and if I start now then all I will be thinking about when I am down there is all of the things that I have yet to do so…not yet. Also, this weekend is just the beginning and I need to do it right. Patience is not one of my virtues (I think that needs to be added to my list).

Happy Day,

Kathy

P.S. I am so looking forward to my GI Jane class tonight.

Longish but Worth It

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Check out the link below and let me know what you think at itsallaboutmie@gmail.com

www.itsallaboutmie.com 

Moving Forward

I have been in a funk the last couple of days. (I feel like that is where I have been living the last couple of months to be totally honest but not the point of the story) I think I am out of it. I worked out last night for the first time in a week and WOW! do I feel better. Salsa Pump has a way of reminding you that yes...you have a body and yes...that body needs exercise. I also had 2 friends join me. They did so good. We rocked it through the entire work out. It must be intimidating to go into a class with other women who are already familiar with it. For the most part I know the order that everything is going to go so I am grabbing my mat before it is talked about and so forth.

Kristy and Leah,
You both truly did so good and I am proud to call you my friends. I would love to see you gals any time.
Kathy

Tonight is going to be a little weird. Before my group I am going to pick up the last of my stuff from the house. It has this sad feeling like the last thing we shared is going away. It does feel nice to know all of my stuff is going to be in one place though. I also get Max for a little while. He is our yellow lab who I love dearly. He is not as well behaved as Maddie but what can you do? Maddie is my princess.

Wednesday will be awesome because I am going to GI Jane. I haven't been in 2 weeks and my body is kinda mad about that. It likes physical activity. After class I am having dinner with some great friends of mine. They are the kind of friends that make you feel better about who you are after you are with them. It is not that they blow smoke but they are just genuine people.

Thursday is going to be the best day yet. I am driving to Tucson for my brothers graduation on Friday.

Emmy,
I am at your disposal. ANYTHING you need help with I will do. And I need to know the day you are moving up here so I can start marking the days off the calendar. :)

Anywho, I have a big weekend planned. I think you all will really enjoy it but I am not telling you about it just yet.

Until next time...

Perfectionism

What a bad word. I am constantly in this world where if I can't be perfect at whatever then I am failing. Doesn't that sound fun? No? Well, it isn't. At my WW meeting today we talked about negative talk and one of the worst is the mentality if you *can't* get done what you think you *should* be able to then the effort is a bust. That is me in a nutshell. Prime example is me this week. I couldn't get to the studio due to my crazy schedule and I feel inadequate. Does anyone else ever feel like that? Another example is when I eat something I wish I hadn't then I get this attitude like "crap I already ruined today anyway...who cares." Doesn't that sound inspiring? I need to get out of the perfectionism rut. But how? 

I love hats

I wish they were always in style.

I am in Awe

Have you ever been in one of those "Wow! This experience is so amazing that I doubt I will ever get the opportunity to be a part of a community this great again" moments? I did tonight. I can't discuss details but this experience rocked my world. It taught me grace, the true meaning of ownership, and the true meaning of community. My life as I know it changed tonight and for that I am truly grateful. 

Holy Sore Body Batman

I did Salsa Pump on Monday and my poor, lame body is still sore. I have no idea what was so different but I am having a hard time recovering. Part of it may be that I am still not getting very much sleep. I am running on less than six last night and about the same the night before. I am an eight hour plus kinda girl. Tonight may be a late night too but I am hoping not. We shall see. 

I find it interesting how much your emotions play into your physical wellbeing. I have been emotionally zapped the last couple of days and I think that is just amplifying the tiredness. Tomorrow night I think I am going to go straight home after my appointment and go to sleep. 

I am looking forward to getting back to the studio on Saturday for Zumba. Next week looks much better (though not great) for my MiE time. This time of year is so weird because of graduations and all the other stuff that seems to fall into place (kinda like Christmas time...no free time). I have at least 3 different graduations to go to. My older brother is graduating from pharmacy school. I am so proud of him. He is one of those too stinkin' smart for his own good types...actually now that I think about it...all of my brothers are. Us girls tend to be more artistic. I have a degree in Graphic Design and love photography, my older sister is an excellent painter, and my younger sister is extremely talented with woodwork. All the boys (3 of them) have super hero memories and amazing math skills. Anyway, life is good. 

~Kathy

My Schedule

I think I have come up with a manageable schedule that won't send me into overload! Yeah! 

Monday: Salsa Pump 

Tuesday: Burlesque Beauty

Wednesday: GI Jane (though I can't this week)

Thursday: Burn by Candlelight (I may or may not be able to go this week. Explanation below.)

Friday: Salsa Pump (Can't this week due to baseball game followed by a concert!)

Saturday: Bikram and Zumba

Sunday: Bikram and Rest Day 

I am off to a pretty sucky start but next week I will be on it. I had a couple of one time things come up. My Thursday night I am pretty excited about. I am meeting with a financial advisor. I want some guidance with my retirement as well as my now. I am crappy at budgeting and need help setting up something realistic. I need to figure out what works for me. It is pretty different living by myself. 

I am back on the food wheel. I kinda fell to a bloody death last week and need to change a couple things that I can do long term. I am not doing so good with the low grain. I think I just need to go off them completely for like two weeks like the South Beach diet suggests (but not follow the rest of it) because I did that before and I went through MAJOR cravings for like a week and then had no desire for them. I will have to do some more research before I do that because I need to come up with good menu options. 

Anywho, off to Salsa Pump! 

Human Nature

What is it that makes us so self conscious? The whole idea of it is completely fascinating. Take for example me today. My good friend's husband's company sponsored Olympic Village at the Special Olympics this year. The second day of the event was today and I went to help out. I felt so dumb. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know how to relate, and I just felt silly. Why? Why would I feel like that ? No one is judging me. No one cares and on top of that I was appreciated. 

The same thing happened when I started at the dance studio. I felt so dumb and like everyone was staring at me. It is completely ridiculous because everyone else is focusing on themselves. In fact, they probably were feeling the exact same thing. That is the fascinating part. A whole room full of people that are so afraid that they look silly all while not noticing that anyone else is doing the exact same thing. Good times. 

Fun with Bonita

So...I was given this really awesome gift. One of those "there is nothing on this Earth that I could ever do to repay you" kind of gift. It was so selfless and unexpected. It was a new laptop. My old one was well...old. That thing had most certainly seen better days. I even spilled soup on it and the 3 - E - D - C keys stopped working. It lasted for a bit longer and then died. Anywho, there are some fun new programs on the new one and my new favorite is called Photobooth. I was tired of sleeping last night and started playing with it. Below are some of the results. They have all sorts of filters you can add to make yourself look like a fun house mirror. Enjoy!

P.S. The new laptops name is Bonita.