Frogs at June Lake

June Lake

Yesterday we went hiking on the south side of Mount Saint Helens. It was so awesome. You can see St. Helens in the background of this picture.

We hiked up to June Lake. It was only 2.8 miles....thank goodness! We were really out of shape. We shouldn't have taken any time off! Seriously! It was bad.

We made it to the lake though. It was nice. We let the kids take their shoes and socks off and get their feet wet in the lake; they found three frogs in the lake and were able to catch two of them. They had a great time catching frogs and cooling off in the lake. They also learned some history about St. Helens.

We also took a short walk through the lava beds and collected some ash. While we were taking pictures there: water started coming down the trench. It was pretty neat to see how quickly the water came through.

When we were almost back to the car, we stopped down by the river. We found another frog there....he/she was bigger and faster; the kids weren't able to catch it.

It was an amazing hike. We spent about 3 hours there....either on the trail, at the lake, in the lava beds, or down by the river.

It was really hard. Especially since we had taken such a long break. I hadn't been riding the bike like a good girl either. The kids and I were dreading the hike. I wanted to go, but I didn't want to have to do the work. I think this was an important hike for me. It showed me that even if I take time off (hopefully I'll never have to take that much time off again) I can start over. It doesn't matter if I've failed for a week...or 3. All that matters is that I try again! I'm proud of myself for going again.

While I was relaxing at the Lake, enjoying it's beauty, I realized that I had to get back on track. I so desperately want to go hiking in the Wallowa's with my hubby next summer....really, I'd love to go this summer; I'm just not physically ready yet. The lake was amazing. It had a mirror finish...so calm and serene. Two water falls dropped into the lake. It was just amazing. I could have stayed there all day; maybe for a couple days. I'm excited to get back on track. I'm want to hike on the north side of St. Helens now. I want to see more of its history and magic.

After we finished our hike at June Lake, we took a side trip to the Lewis River Lower Falls. It's a short walk down to the view point where you can see the falls. They had information about the falls and the the Indians that once lived in the area. They were so beautiful and HUGE! I could just picture Indians standing on the rocks fishing for salmon. The falls are near a camp ground. We plan to return to the camp ground and stay for a couple days....hopefully this summer. You could also walk down to the falls, but we were a little nervous with the kids.

It is TRUELY amazing what beautiful things we have hiding in our backyard....there has been free entertainment right here the whole time....who knew! I'm just so happy we are taking our kids to enjoy these natural wonders while they are young. Hopefully they will have some favorite spots to take their children when they grow up!

I love hiking; it helps you to forget about all the troubles of life. I am really looking forward to our big trip.....I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a hiking birthday gift. ;)

Until then, I need to get back into gear! I have a goal....I'm not going to reach it if I don't continue to try!

My Late Night Tears......

So, I broke down a little last night. I'm just wore out from school & my crazy life.

It sucks that I gained back my weight so easily! It really scares me. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about being fat for the rest of my life. I don't want to be. I really want to go hiking with my hubby next summer and be able to make it. I also want my kids to be healthy.

Last weeks weight gain could have more to do with water weight and stress (like my hubby thinks) than actually gaining from eating to much, but maybe not. I guess I won't know until Wednesday.

We are going hiking tomorrow. It's the only day that it's going to be sunny. It'll be hot, but I'm really excited to get back out there. I'm a little worried I won't be able to make it. It's been awhile. I haven't even rode the bike. I'll just have to remember the first hike we went on; it was really hard and took a long time, but we made it. :)

I have a long way to go and giving up now won't help anyone!

Well, Don't Fall Off the Wagon!!

Ahhhhhhh...........

I weighed today. It was the first time I had to put in more weight than the week before. I weighed 3 pounds more.

It doesn't feel good. Now, I haven't lost 20 lbs. I really need to get it together! But now, I feel like quitting again. Seriously! I took one freaking weekend off....I didn't even eat that much. I had cake on my daughters birthday and alcohol on the 4th. I skipped breakfast and didn't eat a lot of dinner either day. We just had crappy lunches on those days. So, I'm a little depressed about my ability to keep the weight off even if.....WHEN.....I lose another 120 + pounds. I can't lose all that and gain it back. It will seriously kill me!

So, for now, I have to go, but I'm going to be blogging more because I think it helps me and I need that now. Especially since I want to give up!

I need a day to think about it. Maybe I'll blog again tonight..................

Post #30~ Off the Wagon!

This weekend killed me! Between the 4th and my oldest daughters birthday, I was doomed. I knew I ate and drank too much, but I didn't think it was that bad....that was until this morning when I weighed. I gained 3.5 lbs over the weekend. I'm not very proud of that, but I need to stay positive. I know it was probably not just the weekend....after all, I hadn't exercised in two weeks.

I know this week will be better, but I'll probably have to put in a number more than last week when I log my weight on Wednesday. I'm not looking forward to that.

The things is, life is going to happen and I need to be more prepared for stressful situations....such as school and holidays. I don't know how to do that yet. So, if that means that I fall off the wagon (a little) on a holiday or busy weekend, I need to be okay with that, but work harder to catch back up. I think that eventually I'll think that NOT falling off the wagon is better than playing catch up!

A bigger problem than holiday's is school. I know I'm a stress eater and school is stressful. On most days I can keep it under control, but when I write a paper, I like to eat. It's a nervous habit. I've written 3 papers in the past week. Although I wasn't eating a box of Girl Scout cookies, I was eating and I wasn't measuring or counting. I'm going to have to stock the desk with carrots and water before I write my next paper....carrots are like free calories. :)

So, I woke up and worked out this morning and I plan to again tomorrow. I'm hoping that I'll be down some from where I was today, but I'm not keeping my fingers crossed. Only the scale will tell.

20 LBS!!!!

So, I weighed yesterday and I had lost 20.5 lbs....not in one week, so far in this journey. I'm so happy! It's really nice to have such a huge change so quickly! :)

So, I haven't met my 3 days of bike riding goal, but I will....I'll just have to do it a bunch of days in a row. That's okay though! I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike. I'm really looking forward to another hike. Although, I'm not sure I can make it very far after having two weeks off!

I'm also pretty hungry again these days. Hopefully that goes away. It's really nice to be at school and not have the option to eat, but writing papers makes me HUNGRY! I used to eat a box of girl scout cookies while writing a paper....probably why I don't like girl scout cookies any more!

So, I'm happy my calorie counting is working. I have 123 lbs to go. Still a lot, but it's almost like that 123 lbs is another person and that person is getting skinnier!

My Goal This Week

I really don't know what to expect for this week as far as homework and school are concerned. Last week was kind of a strange week because I had one class that was only a week long. As far as this week goes, it should be my norm for at least a few weeks.

I'd rather set a goal next week after I know how things go, but that probably isn't a very good idea. So, I'm going to set one and hopefully I'll be able to do my very best at it.

My goal this week is to ride the bike at least 3 times. I know it isn't a very ambitious goal, but I don't want to stress over it and then never follow through on it.

I'm hoping to be down by 20 lbs on Wednesday morning. HOPEFULLY! :) If not, a loss would be great! After I've reached my 20 lb goal then I can reach my in the 50's goal. I know, one goal at a time. :)

School is Exhausting!

Last week I lost 2 lbs....I don't know how! I was terrible from Friday on. Up until then, I was doing so well. I was really proud of me, but then we had the party and then I started school.

OH MY GOSH!!!! School is so exhausting. I can't even think about exercise. This week I don't have to go early. So, I'm going to exercise before class and get back on track! One week off and I feel like a complete failure.

Hopefully by Wednesday I'll have lost a 1/2 a pound. If not, I guess I'll have to hope for a no gain! We are going hiking tomorrow so that will be good for us! I'm not really looking forward to it. Mostly because I've become lazy again! Secondly because I have a LOT of homework, yard work, housework, and so on! It's hard for me to justify exercise when there are other things to be done. I've always been like that....which is why I'm fat! So, I should remember that!

I'm just happy the first week of school is over and now I'll have to get my butt in gear and get some homework done! I am trying to complete everything as quickly as possible so that I don't get burnt out at the end and struggle to much! There is just so much stuff to do for school right now! YIKES!

So, this week, I'm not really setting a goal. I know I should, but I honestly don't have energy for a goal. I'm just hoping I can make it on a hike tomorrow and not kill myself!

What a Week!

As expected, the weekend did not go well. I tried, but it was just a stressful situation. So, I started over yesterday day morning....waking up at 5:30 so I could ride the bike before I had to go to school. That was okay, but I was so tired at the end of the day that I couldn't stay awake long enough to do my homework. So, this morning I woke up at 6:00, but had to do my homework instead of ride the bike.

So, I didn't exercise today, I weighed a pound (I think) more than I did yesterday morning, and I have to weigh in "for reals" tomorrow. It's not going to be a good week.

Besides that, school started and I already feel overwhelmed. There is already so much to do. Seems like I'll never finish or have time for myself again! I just have to get back into the swing of things.....that's what I keep telling myself anyways. :)

I'm sure I will have lost something tomorrow, but how much is the real question....

Worried About Parties, Company, & Hiking

So, this weekend I have to (get to) go to my sisters bridal shower. I'm sure they'll have food and I'll have to say no. It's not like I usually eat at group events....mostly because I'm so picky! I'm just worried they might have cookies or something totally yummy! Do you know how hard it is for me to say no to cookies?

I'm going to try to fill up on other stuff, but another problem is that my parents are going to be here. It's hard to feed other people. It was hard enough for me to limit the amount of food I cook for our family. Now, I'll have to cook for extra people and I really don't want anyone to be hungry. It's really going to be hard for me to not cook a whole bunch of food. Maybe we'll be able to eat out or something....HOPEFULLY somewhere with a healthy option! Last time we went out it didn't go so well!

Another issue with this weekend is that we aren't going to be able to go hiking. We won't have time with the party and Fathers Day and the company! Okay, I could use a day off, but I'd rather not. I don't want to get out of the habit. It's to easy to get lazy or make excuses.

I'll just have to keep up the other exercises until the next hike. I can do that. :)

YIPPEEEEEE!!!! Finally in the 60's!

It took 24 posts for me to be able to say that I'm in the 60's. I don't remember when I weighed in the 60's! I'm so happy I reached that goal. :)

Today I weighed 268.5, 1/2 a pound away from 15 lbs. 15 lbs! That's great for me! I know, I still have a LONG way to go....actually 129 lbs, but 15 is a great start! I feel way better and stronger. I'm less tired (even though I'm waking up earlier) and I'm less embarrassed. I actually sat at the front of my daughters class the other day when she was doing a show for the parents. Usually, I sit in the back so that no one is STARING at me. I didn't even think about my weight while I was sitting there. I was just enjoying the show. It was a really nice change.

Can you imagine what another 15 lbs will do for me?? How about another 5. I'm starting to like the scale....it's like a little goal keeper. And the best part is that goals can be made in 10 lb increments and it really shows on the scale. Every time the tens number drops I feel great! This is the second time. I can't wait for the 3rd, 4th, 5th.....

My goal for this week is to exercise 6 days. By doing that, I'm hoping I will be able to reach the 15 lb mark. It shouldn't be too hard, it's only a 1/2 a pound. My next big goal is to get down to the 50's....that sounds crazy! :)

I also measured, but didn't lose any more inches, at least not in anything I was measuring. I saw on TV yesterday to measure everything, including your neck. I didn't do that....so, maybe I lost something in my neck! ;)

I am so proud of my hubby. He has lost 16 lbs!! I think he's averaging a little more than 2 lbs a week....my average is about 1.5 lbs a week. He's doing great. He's only 34 lbs away from his goal (I think). Not the goal the computer set for him, but his personal goal. They're trying to make him be too skinny! He needs to save a little something.

So, we are both still having success with calorie count. My sister also started using it last week and lost 2.5 lbs in her first week. That's awesome because she hardly has anything to lose. I swear, I'm not a spokesman for them....it just works and I want everyone to know!

Weekly goal: WORKOUT! :)