Tiffany's Random Weight-Loss Thoughts

<-----This is the girl I am using if I just have "random" life change thoughts! So if you see her then you know it is just "random"! So I had been thinking I can't wait for two things: #1 To go down a size - well this morning I was actually thinking it is going to be nice to be comfortable in the clothes that I have. So that will be the first thing I look forward to! The clothes I have now fit, they aren't too snug or anything but they are not "comfortable". (If I try to go up a size they hang on me and the size lower is too small but yet the ones I am wearing really don't fit that great - it is almost like I need a 1/2 size or something - strange!) #2 I CAN NOT wait to be under 250. I have been right around this weight for so long that I can't even remember the last time I wasn't around 250. THEN I can't wait to weight less than my husband. He is usually around 210 or so (and he is not a "fat" guy - he is just broad shouldered & muscular - of course with a little bit of a "marriage" gut!) So from when I actually started losing weight back in August (?) until the point I get to his weight it will be a loss of 52 pounds! From yesterday's weigh-in I have 42 pounds left to way the same as my hubby. That would put me at 210 and then of course my next goal will be ONEDERLAND!!! I am not going to get my hopes up because I know that you can hit plateaus and that everyone loses weight differently. Based on the weight loss of several people over the course of 3 months on BL and based on my first weeks weight loss I am going to make a little weight loss goal list based on an average loss of 3lbs a week. I don't think that is over shooting too bad. I know some weeks I may not lose and some weeks I may lose more but lets just put this into focus - makes me feel better anyway to see these numbers!

As of today: 252

Brian's Weight is 210 - to reach that I need to lose 42 lbs - based on 3lbs a week I should reach his weight by March 22nd.

Based on this same scale I should be in ONEDERLAND by April 5th!! 199!! I know that is 4 months but I have NOT seen a"1" in front of my weight in OVER 6 years! SO I figure 4 months is nothing!

WELL if we continue on that same scale I will be 180 by the end of May! Just in time for summer! THAT is only a little over FIVE MONTHS away! That is ALSO on 40 lbs from my goal weight and a total of 82 lbs lost!

SO if I continue on that same scale then I will be at my GOAL weight BY Thanksgiving of next year!! That is less than a year away!

I know that this may be unreasonable thinking and I can't count on 3lbs every week and I can't count on NO plateaus nor can I know when my body is ready say "enough weight loss" BUT considering I haven't been at my goal weight in 10 years I think 11 months is worth the weight! That in itself makes me want to stick to it!

P.S. I was looking at how low your calories were yesterday...mine have been that low for the past two days and I have been eating but not tons and tons of food. I am scared I am not going to get enough calories and stall my weight loss - what do you think?

So Much More...

This thing is so much more to me. It is about losing the weight, changing my life, losing the bad attitude, becoming a better person in all of my relationships in my life! Life is too short to sit around and wait for tomorrow - who knows if we have tomorrow!

I had decided that by the end of this year I would like to lose 10lbs. I am up to 6 and you never know how things go week to week so hopefully that goal will be reached. I feel it will be. My reward? Won't be food! I am going to treat myself to a new pair of earrings! Everytime I reach a goal that I set here in writing by a certain date I am going to treat myself. Of course, it won't always be something expensive! I might only spend $2.00 on those earrings but I am going to get them! Better than the $2.00 I would usually spend on a coke and candy bar!

Thoughts To Live By

For those that know me - you know how I like to talk and what I have written here is kind of long but it is really important to me so I thought I would share it with all of the people in my life who are also important to me! So hopefully you will have time at some point to read it!

This morning when I got to work I talked to a friend of mine here. We talked about complaining, thankfulness and life. Throughout the past week I have had those types of conversations with several people. It has been an eye-opener and made me realize how much we forget the small things - the things that are most important. Some that have really stood out to me are:

Treat others as you would like to be treated. How many times do we - as humans - do or things out of spite, revenge, envy, jealousy or for no reason at all to other people. If the tables were turned is that how we would want to be treated? This holiday season and throughout the year I will do just that - treat others as I would like to be treated!

Let go and Let God. This is my favorite. We often think we can "fix" things and think we know what is best but GOD is the only one that knows! Boy do I know I need to let go of some things! God can not give us answers if we truly never let go! When anger or hurt pops into your head or heart say "God take this from me, give me peace and remove the planks from their eyes and if I have one, remove it from mine"

Do things out of love not recognition - that is what will truly be noticed. My mom taught me this one and the very next week at church they talked about the same thing! Give gifts anonymously! Volunteer without patting yourself on the back. Truly good deeds will go noticed by others and by God whether you think they will or not!

Be grateful for what you have. Now how true is this! We complain about so much but how often are we really grateful for the good. I don't know if they realize I noticed this but my mom and grandmother used to always say things such as, "Thank you God for a beautiful day!" How often do we grumble at the rain but never give the sunshine a second thought? At a marketing meeting yesterday we were told TWICE as many people relay a bad experience than relay a good one. Lets turn those figures around!

It is truly better to give than to receive! This is especially important this time of the year. This is our Savior's BIRTHDAY and we should be thankful and happy all day no matter what. How happy it makes me to be a child of the King! What a wonderful thing to give when you can and what you can! This reminds me of the story in the bible where the "rich" man gave a lot of money and a poor woman gave only a small amount but this was greater in God's eyes for this small amount was all she had - the rich man could have given so much more! I do think that this should apply to all things in life not just monetary things but LOVE and RESPECT.

No matter what ... in any circumstance ...

Psalm 113:3 "From the rising of the sun to the going down of same, the Lord's name is to be praised."

Now that I have rambled on and on I am going to leave you with one more great story one of our co-workers wrote and sent around today! May we all remember to count our blessings and be grateful this CHRISTmas! Love, Tiffany

What I am thankful for this CHRISTmas season -
I am working on a photograph album of the snapshots of our grandchildren from 2005 to give to my son and daughter in-law for Christmas. I've sat at the computer for hours deciding which ones were "worthy" of a place in the album, I've had them printed, sorted them in date order, bought just the right genuine leather album to put them in - because after all, this album should make a statement, right?-it's my gift to my son and daughter-in-law and I want them to be properly impressed with it.

Last night as I sat in my recliner which I haven't had a chance to sit in much for the past two months, I started placing these photographs into the album and something hit me for the first time-90% of these photographs were taken at places that no longer exist due to Hurricane Katrina.

Oh, there's one of my grandson's baseball pictures - wonder where they're going to play next year. Here's the other grandson's karate pictures - well, someday they will rebuild that karate school and he'll be able to start enjoying again those grueling three-times-a-week sessions that he's become so good at.

And here's my precious granddaughter, sitting on the steps of USM, our FAVORITE place to take pictures - well, there'll be another favorite place. I think that big, beautiful tree might have survived the storm, but that's all. That tree just might have to become our favorite spot now.
And here's Easter lunch at the buffet at the Grand. We've been there every year after Easter services for three years now. We need to start cooking at their house on Easter anyway - the Grand was always TOO expensive for that many people. (Guess who always paid the bill!)

Oh, my, (as the tears start to flow) here's the Easter Sunday pictures at St. Patricks. For some reason it's always buggy on the Coast on Easter Sunday, and every year the children are always swatting gnats in their "new Easter clothes" pictures. This last year was no exception. Their beautiful, little church right across the street from the beach, where the azaleas are always blooming on Easter, is now only a slab. They're now holding church services in the gym at Coast Episcopal and the spirit is still there, but -oh, that beautiful little church where they were married and all their children were baptized is no more.

Let me get up and get myself a Diet Coke and get myself together so I can finish this album tonight. Okay, that's better. Now, where was I - okay, here's the beach pictures . . . the ones that were taken August 21, my son's birthday, just one week before Katrina. As far as beaches go, this is not necessarily the prettiest beach, but it was OUR beach, the one where the children played, and I snapped photographs till my heart was content. I guess it will be a long time before we get beach pictures again, but one day . . .

Then I realized that all of these places were just places. Our children and grandchildren were safe at our home when the storm hit. Their home suffered minimal damage compared to those that lost everything. My husband and I are so blessed that we have our family that means everything to us and that they are safe and have a home. They still don't have a "real" school, but that should happen after New Year's, and then, in their minds, they'll be all set and back to normal.

There's not many photographs of my daughter and her husband yet - not nearly enough to fill an album, but guess what, come February 11 (or thereabouts) we're going to be blessed with another precious life in this family of ours, and I guarantee you that next Christmas they'll have an album, too. The only difference will be that instead of taking pictures because it's what I do and something that I've become good at--deleting the ones that aren't technically just right or the ones where someone has a strange look on their face--I'll be taking pictures for the sheer joy of documenting my family and our times together, of watching my grandchildren grow and you can bet that with every click of the shutter, they'll be a silent prayer of thanks for the blessings I have been given.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I don't usually document to paper many of my thoughts, but I really needed to stop and reflect on the past year this CHRISTmas. God is so good and we have been blessed.

The Good & The Bad: Tiffany

Well I have lost my first 6lbs. (Strange that the last diet in my first week I lost 6lbs. That must be my "starting" number. Ha! Of course, the last couple of diets I never stuck with it and didn't make it any further! This time will be different.) That is definitely good!

The bad is I really haven't exercised but I have been going like crazy with all the Christmas funtions, shopping and activities that I have been involved in. SO in actuality that is more exercise than I usually get. I just need to start trying to add it in and/or make sure AS SOON as things start slowing down I start replacing that time "running around" with exercise.

I really haven't kept up with my diet that well. I have definitely eaten less but I haven't "Crunched numbers" per say. I really didn't start "paying attention" to calorie intake until Monday and on that day I probably had about 1600 or so calories. Based on that I am ashamed to say that my regular calorie intake was probably somewhere around 3200! I say this because I ate SO much better that day. Alot of times it is not HOW much I eat at one meal but the types of foods I eat and the "little bites" of this or that throughout the day. It is funny that you think if you just take ONE cookie here and there through the day it is not as bad as sitting down eating the whole bag! Tuesday I didn't eat enough calories AT ALL! I think I only ate around 1000 and that is shooting high. I ate lunch and went shopping after work so by the time I got home it was late and WAY past dinner and I really wasn't hungry. I am also trying not to eat ANYTHING after 7:00. So the good is that I am eating less but not necessarily more healthy - yet!!

Weigh in Wednesday - Traci

I decided to go ahead and have weigh-in on Wednesday also. That way we are on the same page and can look forward to it together. As of this morning, I weighed 214.4 lbs. That's down 6.8 lbs since I started last Tuesday! That's 15 lbs since August (I lost about 11 on NS and kept 8 of it off)

Weigh - In Wednesday: Tiffany

Well I decided that instead of weighing in on Mondays I will do it on Wednesdays. Just thought "Weigh - In" Wednesday sounded good! Also, I am bad about putting things off until Monday. I will start a new diet Monday, I will do such and such Monday. It is like I make such excuses that I can't start something in the middle of the week - so this "Life Change" is going to be all around for me - not just about weight but about changing my whole life!

So to the weigh - in. When we decided to do this (even before you got the website up and going) I was 258. As of this morning I am 252. That makes it a loss of 6lbs. I know the first pounds are always "water weight" but to me any loss is good! I had told myself that I won't to lose AT LEAST 10 by the end of the year so hopefully I can accomplish that goal.

Where's the Spare?

Weighing in

Woohoo!

As of this morning I weigh..... 217.1 lbs!!! That's the lowest I have weighed in almost 2 years. It feels great!

Just an OK day

In life there is hardly anything that is black and white, there is always a little gray in between. So that is what this little guy is going to represent for me. I didn't do "bad" yesterday, but I wouldn't exactly say it was a "good" day either. I went about 90 calories over the 1400 per day that I had set for myself. Jen and I had our annual Christmas baking day. I started out with gum in my mouth so I wouldn't be tasting along the way, but the gum got old and I got rid of it about mid way through the baking. So I did taste a little bite here and there. I think I had 10 chocolate chips, 3 bites of the uncooked dough (= 1 cookie maybe?), 1 whole fresh, hot, out of the oven cookie and 1/2 of a tiny pecan tart. My estimate is probaby a little high, but I want to make sure I didn't blow it the rest of the day thinking I hadn't eaten too much, so I am estimating 500 calories. I think that is pretty close though after looking up the nutritional info for chocolate chips and a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie! That's crazy. It really showed me how much I really used to eat. I would have normally eaten 3 or 4 cookies, a couple of pecan pie tarts, 1 or 2 pieces of fudge and a closer to 1/2 cup of chocoate and peanut butter chips along the way. Which really doesn't sound like that is TOO much. I decided to see what the calories would have been in that instance. It would have been 1965 calories!! That is crazy. I have looked back at a typical day for me and I estimate that on a normal day I was eating atleast 2500-3000 calories a day and those were the days I felt like I had "behaved". On the other days, probably once a twice a week when I felt like I had blown it I was probably consuming close to 4500 calories. And then I would look in the mirror and ask myself "How did this happen"? Hello... you eat TOO much and you don't exercise! So now that I have finally woken up and I really see it on paper (or screen I guess), I really feel like it is going to change. Why it has taken this long? I think I have been in denial about how I eat. I would always say, I really don't eat that unhealthy, but I was thinking unhealthy in the sense that I don't have chocolate cake 3 times a day. I DID eat unhealthy everyday, not just a couple of times on "special occasions. You first have to acknowledge that you really do have a problem. So here it goes.... Hi, my name is Traci and I'm an unhealthy overeater!

I have never kept track of calories on any other "diet. I've always counted carbs, proteins, and fat - but NEVER kept track of calories. Regardless of all that other stuff, it's mostly about your body and how many calories it burns. As long as you burn more than you eat, you WILL lose weight. Even if your whole day only consists of 1 huge piece of chocolate cake that had 1100 calories and 80 grams of fat. As long as you burn more than that on that day, you will get rid of those calories. Is it healthy? No, but that IS how it works. It can still clog arteries, give you high blood pressure, etc...but it won't make you gain weight. Weight Watchers is the closest thing that I have done to counting calories, but honestly with those points, I think it's decieving. Those numbers are so low (around 20-30) so if you have 2 points to many it doesn't seem like much, however those 2 tiny points could contain 2 to 3 hundred calories. Now I understand why WW didn't work for me. I always allowed myself an extra point or 2 and never felt guilty about it. So I guess I say all that to say that I really like keeping track of the calories. I feel in control of it for once. I'm not watching carbs or proteins, but I am making low fat choices when the option is there (i.e. low fat cheese, skim milk, lowfat yogurt, etc). It has become a numbers game for me. I guess that's the finance analyst in me. It's like a budget. As long as I spend (eat) less than in my budget and I put a little back in everyday (exercise) I will profit. (lose weight) !!

B - 500 calories from baking day
L - Low fat Pepperoni Hot Pocket - 300
D - Grilled Chicken Breast - 231
Side Salad with cheese, bacon, and creamy herb dressing - 360
S - 1 Pkg of Right Bites Chocolate Chip Cookies - 100

Total Calories - 1491

Exercise - does shopping at the mall while pushing a 40 lb stroller for 2 hours and then doing an hour of grocery shopping with a kid in the cart count as exercise?? I would say YES! According the the site, I burned approximately 800 calories. It would take me 2 hours to burn that on the treadmill

Water - only 30 little ounces - the rest of the day consisted of about 60 ounces of unsweet tea

Weigh in is tomorrow... I can't weight (ha)

Good and Bad days

I thought it would be cute to use the images below on the post that we talk about how our day or week went as far as what we ate and how much we exercised. One would represent a good day and the other a bad. I will be doing mine daily. If you like the idea I will email you the images.

We Can Do It!

I still don't have the book and DVD!!!! What's up with that? Do you have yours?? I went to the site to see if I could check the status and it doesn't recognize any of my 4 email addressess. I know I would of had to have used one of them??



Here is my calorie intake for the day:
B - Whole Grain Fig Newton Bar - 130
L - went to a banquet for lunch, so this is all estimated using the foods as listed on www.calorieking.com
1/2 Chicken Breast - 230
Snap Peas - 50
1/2 c Scalloped potatoes - 100
S - 1 and 1/2 Hershey's Treasure Miniatures - 94
S -1 Miniature Candy Cane - 15
D - Low Fat Pepperoni Hot Pocket - 310
S - 1/2 of 1 Little Debbie Nutty Bar - 78
Total Calories - 1007

Water - 55 oz

Exercise - 20 minutes of resistance training using the fitness ball

It's been a good day and I even got to eat chocolate. I am amazed at how many calories are in 1 little piece of chocolate!! I need to work on my water tomorrow though!!

I have another Banquet tomorrow night and there is supposed to be a ton of food. I'm gonna down some water before I go and I'll have Bobby there with me, if I need a little nudge!

We can do this!!

So far...

Well although we don't have our books or tapes yet, I started eating healthy and doing my treadmill for now. I'm going to start posting what I eat and total calories for each day.
I don't remember all the way to Monday (I swear my memory is slipping ....fast) , but I'm going to list Tuesday and Wednesday and then I'll post each day going forward.

Tuesday - South Beach Bar 140, no lunch - I was too busy at work for lunch (not good...I know), a whole grain Fig Newton Bar 130, Baja Chicken from On the Border 830 (good thing I skipped lunch) & 90 ounces of water = 1100 Calories

Wednesday - Whole Grain Fig Newton Bar 130, Nutrisystem Entree (left from my NS days) 270, South Beach Bar 140, 10 mini marshmallows 22, 8 oz serving of Shrimp Alfredo 300, 1 small dinner roll w/o butter 110 & 80 ounces of water = 972 Calories

I walked on the treadmill for 25 minutes both nights - 157 calories burned each time (estimated) I used the following website to determine the calories burned, because the one on my treadmill doesn't take my weight into consideration. The website has some other really great things (other calculators, forums, and food lists) .. and it's free!

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index.html

It calculates the same BMR as what I have listed in my first post, but then the site goes on to explain that the BMR calculates resting energy (basically when you are asleep) It then shows you based on your activity level what your BMR actually is. The calcualted sedentary (because I sit at a desk most of the day) RMR (more accurate than BMR - the site explains) for me is 2226 calories. It also allows you through a huge list of daily activities so that you can get an even better idea. It's got everything from getting dressed to butchering animals!! It's a huge list! You can pretty much go through your whole day each day and choose everything you did that day. I'll post mine. They are out of order from when they occur each day, but you'll get the idea. I didn't quite hit a 24 hr day either, I'm a half hour short. Using that I see that my RMR is actually more like 3,491. It then allows you to figure your calorie deficit. To reach my mini goal on 1/15/06, my deficit is 737 calories. So if I go with the latest RMR, then I need to eat 2,754 calores a day! That seems high, so for now I'm going with the calculated RMR and my calories I should consume is 1489. I'm going with a 1400 calorie diet. So hopefully I will lose a little more than what I want by my mini goal date.

PS: What day do you thing we should use as our weigh in day?? Monday morning maybe? I think they will help me stay on track better on the weekends.


Totals: 3,491 calories in 23 hr 27 min

Kissing - light
8 calories in 5 min
Hugging - light
8 calories in 5 min
Food - preparing, at home
124 calories in 30 min
Eating - sitting
161 calories in 1 hr 5 min
Child Care - bathing, sitting
21 calories in 5 min
Hairstyling - self care
41 calories in 10 min
Applying Makeup (self care)
33 calories in 10 min
Walking - 3.5 mph
157 calories in 25 min
Grooming - personal care
33 calories in 10 min
Watching - TV or movie
199 calories in 2 hr
Child Care - play, sitting, light
124 calories in 30 min
Child Care - grooming, standing
10 calories in 2 min
Cleaning - multiple household tasks, light
83 calories in 20 min
Driving - light vehicle (e.g., car, pick-up)
66 calories in 20 min
Office Work - desk work
1,609 calories in 9 hr
Driving - light vehicle (e.g., car, pick-up)
33 calories in 10 min
Showering (self care)
33 calories in 10 min
Dressing and Undressing
33 calories in 10 min
Sleeping
715 calories in 8 hr

History of Eggnog

Well Hello! Happy Friday to everyone! Can't stay long just wanted to tell you all hello! This will be my last post until Monday! Busy day at work! We are having an office Christmas party! Yeah! Then tomorrow one of my friends and I are throwing a "Christmas Party" for all of our friends. We have been planning this for months and I am so excited! We have a lot of little loose ends to tie up before then but everything is coming together nicely!

Have a great weekend!

R.I.P. Snowman!

So how is everyone today? I have been terribly busy and have not had alot of time to post! I have something going JUST ABOUT every day between now and New Years! I am sure most of you all are the same way! I will stop into say "hello" and do quick updates but most of my post in the near future will probably consist of Christmas Cartoons! Gotta Love Them!

Have A Good Day!

Kids These Days!

Before "Face Shot"

What is sad about this picture is we tried SO hard and took so many "test" shots in order to keep them from looking like "fat" pictures! I can't wait until we can take one and like it on the first try!

Getting Started

So here is the short of my story. I have pretty much always been "chubby". I was a cute tiny baby, so I know that cute and tiny is in here somewhere. I just have to find it. My first memory of me considering myself as fat is as a teenager. Before that I just don't ever think I thought about it. I don't even remember weighing myself until I was at least 16 or 17. I maintained at 180 for several years, but then I got married and had a baby and now here I am only 5 years after the days of 180 at 221! That's 41 lbs in 5 years, almost 9 lbs a year. At this rate I'll weigh 300 lbs by the time I'm 38 yrs old. The thought of that has my head spinning. I cannot, WILL NOT let that happen. I actually gave Nutri System a try back in August. I lost 11 lbs after 4 weeks and have managed to keep all but 2 of that off. I just got so bored of eating their food.

Tiffany and I have talked about our longing to lose weight for so long, I think we have both realized that we aren't getting any younger and there is no better time than the present. So here we are, supporting each other through this journey. We WILL do this, we HAVE to.

I am posting my goal virtual model below. Notice that my second goal is to weigh 180 lbs.....before I get pregnant. My husband and I have been wanting to have a baby for the last 6 months or so, but with my weight like it is, I just can't allow it right now. So even though 180 is not ultimately where I want to end up, it's the weight I which I am comfortable getting pregnant. This is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change, so even once I am pregnant, I will continue to eat healthy and may even continue to lose fat, just not wieght due to the baby and fluid. After the pregnancy I will lose what I have gained and continue to my final goal of 160. I don't want to be a supermodel, I don't even have to be considered skinny, but I do want to be healthy and 160 is much healthier than where I am today. Last time I was pregnant I gained 25 lbs and lost all of it within 4 weeks (17 the day he was born). So hopefully after birth, I will be right around 180 where I started. Then I would like to lose another 20 over the next few months. So in summary, (if all goes as planned, babywise) I would like to lose a total of 61 lbs by April 1st 2007. Now that's some long range planning!! It seems a little far fetched even to me right now as I write, but the goals I have written above are attainable...now it's just up to me to follow them through.


Current Stats as of 12/06/05

Weight: 221.2
BMI: 35.7
BMR: 1779.20
Hips: 51 inches
Waist: 46 inches

My Story: Tiffany

I am Tiffany. My cousin Traci and I started this site (mainly her idea!) to help us be able to go through the "weight loss" process together. This site is mainly for our use but if you stumbled across it - that is okay too! Most of my post will be directly to her or mainly about my feelings, struggles & accomplishments day to day. Here is my story:

I have just about always struggled with my weight. I have not always been obese like I am now but I have always had to work to keep that extra 5, 10, 20 lbs off that most people can do without blinking an eye! Mine started around puberty and it seems like it just hasn't stopped! I was average weight (which by today's standards is probably chubby to some) until about ninth grade. All through high school my weight fluctuated. Up and down and up and down. It seems like I was on a constant weight roller coaster.

Well marriage and child birth took its toll on me! I am now considered obese. Severly obese. In the days to come I will give you my stats and will be posting before and hopefully soon - after pictures!

Today I am waiting on my "Biggest Loser" book and DVD to come in. That is the "life change" that I am going to try. I really enjoyed how the show took just normal people and showed them how to lose weight by regular methods - food and exercise!

By the end of the week I will have actual "before" photos up. I plan on updating those every two weeks. I will also set a weekly goal beginning on Mondays. Other than that I am going to play it by ear. I want this to be somewhere I can come and share exactly what I am feeling and exactly what I am going through.

My Stats as of today:

Height: 5 ft 5 inchs
Weight: 258
BMI: 42.9 Obese
BMR: 1947.70

BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)Your BMI or "Body Mass Index" helps to assess overweightness or obesity using individual weight and height ratios. BMI does not measure body fat. Depending on your calculated BMI you can gauge whether you are undeweight, overweight, or obese for others in your weight/height range. Info obtained from: Biggest Loser Website

BASAL METABOLIC RATE (BMR); This calculator will assess your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is fancy talk for the number of calories you naturally burn. Or, another way to look at it, is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed and slept all day. A person's BMR decreases as they age, meaning you need to be more active to burn the same amount of calories that you naturally burned at a younger age. The BMR calculator uses height, weight, age and gender to determine your resting calorie count. Info obtained from: Biggest Loser Website

Our Fellow Bloggers & Weekend Things!

First and foremost I would like to mention these two things:

Bombadil & Goldberry have welcomed a precious little bundle of joy into the world! Stop by and see the pictures and wish them luck!!

Sallie one of my dear blog friends has been dealing with a death in her family. Her father passed on so if you know her or would like to send her some encouragement through this time I know she would appreciate it!

Weekend Things

I had a very good weekend! I very rarely get company at my house - I guess because I live so far out or either that the hubby and I usually are the ones that go around and visit. WELL my friend Jessica and her two children came over around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. We caught up on some DVR'd Oprah shows, some cooking shows and then made lunch. After that we loaded all the kids in the car and went to the grocery store. We went back to my house and I cooked a baked spaghetti recipe that I got from my cousin Traci (which is yummy!). We played some games and watched several movies. All and all it was a great time and I really enjoyed it!!

Sunday my mom came to my house where I reheated the baked spaghetti for lunch. We then went out to do some Christmas shopping and were gone about 6 hours or so! We never do that so my legs were KILLING me when I got home. I tried another new recipe for dinner - which was yummy - moved some furniture around and then went to bed! Over the weekend I talked to my friends Brooke & Carla two or three times and got to visit briefly with one of my neighbors. We have been so busy lately that I felt so out of touch but I am feeling much better now.

This week I have a lot I need to catch up on at work and I have to get ready for a Christmas party that my friend Carla and I are throwing. I am SO excited!

Well that is all of my "ramblings" for now! Hope you all have a good day!

Templates...UGH!!...How Did YOU Learn HTML?

So I have been working on my "template" and I will say - I am not very good at this! I am impressed at my "little bit" of knowledge but I feel well - dumb - while trying to do HTML!! Like I should just KNOW this stuff! Some of you blogspot/blogger people have the cutest blogs! (Not that the others don't but just comparing apples to apples!)

Where did you go to learn how to really use HTML and to change your blog templates???