Today was one for the books. It hasn’t snowed in our area for several years and the weather forecast was a BLIZZARD warning, lol. This is unheard of in Southeast Texas. However, some areas reached as much as 6 inches of snow. Unbelievable! At our house, we didn’t have quite that much. I wasn’t there to see it in person. I had to be at work. The city was officially closed Tuesday(today) and Wednesday and I was on call both days, lucky me. They up staffed for fear of what would happen in town with all the people bound and determined to be out in this mess. I had packed my bag before coming to work on Monday, so I’ve been staying here since I came to work Monday morning. The first night I abided by the rules and slept on the provided cot, barely wide enough for my fat ass. When I got up Tuesday morning my right hip was hurting something awful. Ricky was kind enough to brave the roads and bring me my air mattress for Tuesday night. This morning it’s not quite as bad, but still in pain. Guess I will have to make an appointment to see the Dr. soon. There weren’t any more calls than normal all day so I really wasn’t needed. However, I want to make as much overtime as possible before I retire in March, so it wasn’t too bad. This morning the temperature was 13 when I got up, which is crazy! Greg Bostwick said in the China are they set a new record of only 8 degrees. 2025 has had a crazy start, it can only go up from here. It was nice seeing all the photos on facebook of everyone enjoying the snow. Looked so pretty, but the mess afterwards isn’t pretty. I’m back at work now and hoping for an uneventful day. I wonder how much snow fell at our new homesite in Magnolia. I don’t think that area had as much as here. Hopefully they get back to work on the house soon. First picture is from Traci’s house early in the day and second is Sara throwing a snowball at Ryan.

Ricky and I drove over to see if there was any progress on the homesite Saturday morning. The fame of the house with plumbing sticking up was there! This is so exciting. The house appears much smaller than we know it is. All the tensioning rods were off to the side and not installed yet. We’re expecting an arctic blast on the 19th which will delay the pouring of the foundation. I don’t know if the 5-6 month estimation allows for any weather days, but if it doesn’t it’s looking like the house probably won’t be ready until May or June. That’s kind of a bummer but we want everything to be done properly so it’ll be okay if it’s later.

Today was the last day of my vacation. Back to work tomorrow for 4 days. I tried to open my sunroof on my car yesterday afternoon and it wouldn’t budge. I kept messing with the switch and it finally opened and I heard a pop. I tried to close it and it wouldn’t work. I finally managed to get it almost closed and took it to Philpott. They ended up having to order a part because it was locked up. They offered to give me a loaner but it wouldn’t be ready till today. I went back this morning when they texted the loaner was ready. Brentlie had a vet appointment so I had the dogs with me. They were working on the paperwork and came and told me they charge $200 for pets to be in the car. I told them I would come back later without the dogs. I got back about 1015 and they gave me a 2024 Tucson. It was quite different from my Palisade. I’m very spoiled with all the extras on my car. They had no idea how long they were going to have my car for. I was only home for a little over an hour when they called to say my car was ready, lol. Got my car back and everything was good. Went and got my teeth cleaned, stopped at HEB, then came home. It’s gonna be hard going back to work tomorrow morning. The countdown is on. Four more months!

I finished the 7-day detox last night.  Had a total weight loss of 7 pounds.  Not too bad, I guess.  I have to say it was not easy.  Some of the drinks were really nasty.  I had one that tasted like I was drinking hot sauce straight up, others that tasted like dirt, and some there is no description for them.  I managed to choke them all down, though.  I’m glad I stuck to it.  I only had carbs (brown rice) twice during the 7 days and no sugar.  It has really taken the cravings for sweets away.  For that, I’m very thankful.  I went ahead and set up to purchase 7 days of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks through For The Love of Foods to see if I can stick to the healthy eating and get the weight loss back on track.  I’m hoping that I don’t get too many meals with the tilapia because that is one dish they don’t do well.  I want to learn what a full week of healthy eating looks like and maybe I can start implementing it myself.  Not sure yet how much the weeks worth of food is going to cost.

Angie asked me if I would be interested in doing a 7 day detox from For The Love Of Foods with her.  Seeing as how I’ve been struggling for about a year now to gain control again, I agreed.  The cost was $150.  I think the price is extravagant, but I need help desperately.  I picked up my first 2 days Wednesday night.  I was surprised that I got 2 actual meals for each day.  They were small meals, but food nonetheless.  Along with that I got 5 bottles of different concoctions to drink. I had a class from 8-5 Thursday and I woke up around 3 that morning.  This was not good since I so little to last me till I went to bed that night.  I went to Delta Life and worked out at 0515 without having anything to eat or drink.  I started the detox at 0700.   The day started with a small bottle of a lemon juice mixture.  That wasn’t too bad since I’ve been drinking a little bit of lemon water every morning for the last 2 weeks trying to detox my liver.  I’m supposed to wait 30 minutes and have drink number two.   It was a little longer than that.   This one didn’t taste bad.  It was some kind of cucumber concoction.  I’m supposed to wait 1-2 1/2 hours between each drink/meal.  Because of the class I waited longer.  My third meal was terriyaki beef and broccoli and I ate it about 1030.  It was delicious.  I was very full from the meal and really didn’t want to eat all of it.  I wanted to save some for later, lol.  Since I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to do that or not, I went ahead and ate all of it.  The fourth meal was a green drink.  I’m not sure what was in it.  This one was a little hard to get down.  We got out of class around 1630 and I ate the fifth meal when I got home.  This one was chicken and asparagus.  I don’t really like asparagus, but I ate it all.  The plan says you should have all of the day’s supply eaten by 1800, but that didn’t happen.  Meal 6 was another juice.  Tonight it was some kind of carrot juice.  This one was hard for me to swallow, also.  Then the last drink of the day is matcha tea.  It is not very tasty, but I drank it all.  Went to bed early and got up this morning to find that class was cancelled.  I made it to Delta Life for 0615 class.  We had 1/3 mile run this morning and I made it in 3:01 minutes.  I had my first drink at 0730.  Second drink was the same as yesterday, the cucumber concoction, around 0815.  Around 1100 I had meal three.  Today it was shrimp and more asparagus.  Meal four was a really sweet pineapple mixture.  Meal five was the same as meal three.  Maybe I’ll learn to like asparagus, lol.  Meal six was a beet juice mixture.  It started off not tasting so bad, but it was really hard to finish it all.  Then matcha tea to end the day.  I really hope that this gives me the push I need to get back on track and lose these extra pounds that are making me so miserable.  Other people that have completed the detox have lost 6-15 pounds.  They say that their cravings also went away.  That’s what I need.  I have a terrible sweet tooth that I have been giving in to for the last year.  Tomorrow will be a real test since I go back to work nights for 12 hours!

Lately I have had a very strange sleeping pattern.  I normally don’t stay on my midnight schedule on my days off.  I’ll take a nap on my first day off and then get up and run errands.  I’ll usually be in bed by 9 or 10 and sleep until about 4:30 when I get up to go workout.  I’ve been waking up at 12:30, 01:00 lately and not being able to go back to sleep.  It’s taking a toll on me.  I can’t seem to catch up on my sleep :(.

We had a nice family visit at Galen’s on the 3rd of July.  His house is WAY out in the boonies, lol.  It was kinda scary making it to his house.  However, we made it and had a good time.  The fish was great and is was nice to see everyone that made it.  On the way home we stopped at visited with Ryan at Corey and Jessica’s house.  They were grilling, but we didn’t stay and eat.  Ricky wasn’t feeling well so we came on home.

It was strange for me to be off on the 4th of July holiday.  Ricky and I just lounged around watching tv for most of the day and then mowed the grass in the evening.  It was scorching outside.

On the 5th I had to work from 0600 to 1200 for Trey.  I’m so glad I don’t work days regularly!  I love my nights.

This morning I made it back to Delta Life.  It is so hard working out in the heat, but at the same time it feels great when we’re done.

Trying once again to get back on the wagon.  I’m still working out regularly, but have managed to get totally off-track and out of control with the eating again.  I don’t know if I’ll get this game of life figured out!  I sabotage myself every time I get ahead.  I know it’s a mental game that I’ve got to get a hold of.  How can it be so hard to just say no to all the bad things I put in my mouth.  I do it time and time again, knowing the damage I’m doing.  I can’t seem to stay consistent on anything.  Just like saying I was going to write something on here every day.  I do it a couple of times and then forget.  Well, I’m going to try again!  Today, after having a sleepless night and finally giving up at 1:30, I got up and surfed the internet for a while, had a protein bar and waited for it to be time to go to Delta Life.  I had some pre-workout about 5:45 and went to workout for 6:15.  I love going to Delta Life. I usually feel really good about my workouts.   It was very hot this morning and we had to do the 1/3 mile for the first time in a very long time.  My time was 3:07, which is a lot slower than it was the last time we ran it.   I was still ahead of all but one other member.  We had a benchmark workout Friday and it took me a lot longer to complete it than the last time as well.  This extra weight and the heat are making a big difference in my performance.  Any way, maybe I’ll get it together.  In other news, I bought into a new line of makeup that I’m absolutely loving…..Senegence…..I have the lipsense and the foundation, both are fantastic so far.  Maybe I can do something and actually sell some!  More on that later.

I think I might’ve finally gotten a grip on things.  Last night and today have gone really well.  I’ve eaten clean and had a great workout this morning.  I had one stupid accident letting the weight bar fall on my good leg, but I worked through it.  I have a huge bruise now but I’m not gonna let it give me an excuse to fall off the wagon again.  I can’t believe that I’ve let myself gain 20 pounds in the last 6 months.  I feel like a failure.  Hopefully I will be able to keep the momentum going and lose the 20 I gained plus the last 15-20 that I had to go before.  Why does this have to be so hard?  Why couldn’t I have the metabolism that so many others have?  It’s so frustrating.  But I guess those are the cards I was dealt and I better figure out a way to deal with it.  I have so much to be thankful for that I shouldn’t complain at all.  I’m way healthier than many others my age.  My husband loves me no matter my size.  I have a very loving son and family.  I have Bevo and Boomer.  I have a Savior that shows me mercy every single day.  Okay, life is great!  Pity party over.

I have never been a goal setter, so this is not easy.  I will attempt to write these goals every day to make them become habits. “Act as though I am, and I will be.”

Weekly Goals:

1. Eat according to my meal plan

2.  Exercise regularly according to my fitness plan

3.  Eat only 1 cheat MEAL per week

3 Month Goals:

1.  I will weigh 150 pounds

2.  My body fat will be 20% or less.

3.  I will easily fit into a size 8.

1 Year Goals:

I will be so happy and thankful that I will have a toned stomach and toned arms.  I will look good in a bikini.  I will have a body fat of 15-18% and weigh no more than 145 pounds.  I will help others to choose healthier habits by leading through example and being a reliable source of health and nutrition information.  I am developing consistent exercise and eating habits that will be so ingrained into my lifestyle that they stay with me for the rest of my life.

We’re home from our mission trip to Casa Angelina in Guatemala.  What an unforgettable trip it was.  We started the week off with a free day and we visited the black sand beach.  It was very different from our beaches around here.  So clean and beautiful.  The waves were also very strong.  We had a great time.  The scenery in Guatemala is amazing.  There are mountains and flowers every where you look.  The weather was spectacular.  Monday we went to Casa Angelina and were greeted by some very awesome kids who are so full of love it just bursts from them.  After playing with the kids for a little while we were surprised with our assignment of combing lice out of the kids hair.  Not what we were expecting, but we did it any way. They fed us amazing lunches every day we were there.  They took us to visit the widow’s home that the team built last year and the family was so happy for the visit and the supplies that were brought to them.  Tuesday we continued with the lice duty and then began digging a trench and building compost bins. The hostel we stayed at cooked us breakfast and dinner each day that was delicious.  We worked on the trench the rest of the week and also cleaning the aquaponics house and planting flowers on a very steep hill to help stop erosion.  We bought shoes and groceries for the widow’s family and brought the items to them on Friday.  The family was so very grateful for everything that was done for them.  The conditions they live in are unimaginable and these people are so full of genuine love, it is unbelievable.  We take so many things for granted in our every day lives and this trip has really humbled me.  God has blessed me in so many ways that I take advantage of.  I had the time of my life serving with the TCPT Ripple Effect Missions Team.  Each and every one of the members are so special and have hearts of gold.  I can’t wait to serve with them again.