2 Years Later and is it a Coincidence?

So after my post last night, I was really telling myself to believe in myself.  And then this morning when I headed over to the WW website, I found this.

Do you think it's a coincidence?

As I said yesterday, today is my two year anniversary of starting this journey.  Unfortunately, I have gained some weight so I'm not as light as I was a year ago, but I'm still 60 pounds lighter than I was two years ago.  I want 2012 to be my year.  2012!  I love even number years so this year is already my friend!
I became a lifetime member of Weight Watchers in the Fall of 1999 with a goal weight of 130.  I would like to officially change my goal weight to 145 once I reach it and then weight in monthly at  Weight Watchers as a lifetime member.  I also heard that lifetime members get free e-tools.  Those things are good incentives to keep going and not give up.  Keeping up with that monthly check-in will also help me maintain when I get to that point.

That said, I'm not sure if it's best to continue with Weight Watchers online or actually become a meetings member.  I have said several times that the meetings aren't really for me, but it seems like they have a new open door format where you can go, weigh in, talk with the leaders, get materials and not sit through a meeting.  There is a new center on my way home that has open hours each day for drop ins.  I like this idea.  I like it a lot, in fact.  It would be a nice way to find a leader that I connect with and then maybe meetings would be good for me.  For now, I am an online member but I will keep you posted on what I decide.  Online is more in my budget right now so I'd kinda like to stay with that for awhile, but I also want to stay motivated so if I need to change it up, I will.

Today is a good day.  I did not get up to exercise, but I am eating ON PLAN and I'm drinking my water faithfully.  Quick note, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, but I am a water bottle addict.  I have no less than 5 purple water bottles and 3 pink ones.  Here's my latest acquisition:

My husband says this bottle is exactly like one I have.  Well, no it isn't.  The one I have has a black lid while this one has white.  And this one is my favorite right now! So there!

And just because I made that proclamation so many moons ago about this blog needing more pictures, here's your daily cuteness.

That is my kitty, Tucker, who nearly died over New Year's weekend.  He's doing so much better!!  I am so thankful.  He's wearing his "party collar" until he gets his stitches out tomorrow.  Last night he was clearly helping me work.  He also loves purple and chooses that color for his pens.

The ABCs of Me!

I'm jumping on the ABC bandwagon to share a few things about myself. 

A. Age: 36 1/2 on Feb. 28.  My birthday is Aug. 28.

B. Bed size: Queen.  We slept in a double bed for the first 5 years of marriage, along with two dogs (see D).  When we got our Queen it felt like an ocean of room!  Now, with no dogs, but sometimes a 9 year old (see K) in bed with us, we could really use a King size.

C. Chore you dislike: toilets!  Especially after my son has had friends over.  Yuck!

D. Dogs: love dogs!  Have one yellow lab named Chance.  We used to have two dogs, a Dalmation named Dawson who died, and a black lab/rottweiler mix named Warrick who we had to give away. :-(  Warrick has probably passed on now too, otherwise he would be 14 now.

E. Essential start to your day: breakfast!!  I cannot skip breakfast EVER!  And coffee! (I wish I could answer "workout" on this one.)

F. Favorite color: purple

G. Gold or silver: silver, although my wedding ring is gold.  We were married in the 90s, what are you gonna do?

H. Height: 5' 5.5"  That .5 is kinda annoying because it's never a choice on a height chart or web form.  Do I choose 5'5" or 5'6"?  It makes me anxious. :)

I. Instrument(s) you played: clarinet from 5th grade through 9th grade.  I really like it until 9th grade when I changed schools and found that first chair in a small school was 14th (out of 16) in a large school.  You can call me a quitter on this one.  Oh, I was also a pro on the Magical Musical Thing in my childhood.

J. Job Title: Accounting Manager, although I don't manage anyone so I usually list Accountant.

K. Kids: 1 son who is 9.  We will stick with one, why mess with perfection?  I am a pet mom to 4.

L. Live: in Spokane, WA a.k.a. Spokompton or Spokane, USA.

M. Mom's name: Diane

N. Nicknames: my husband calls me honey; at home I sometimes forget I have a first name.  My dad called me Monkey Monkey when I was very little and then The Monk, but that has long since gone by the way side, thank goodness.

O. Overnight hospital stays: had my tonsils out and tubes put in when I was 4 (kids don't get that overnight stay these days).  I also spent the night when I had my son.

P. Pet peeves: plucking or waxing eyebrows.  Why can't a unibrow be high fashion?

Q. Quote from a movie: "I still sometimes wish that I am the mother of your children." Susannah to Tristan in Legends of the Fall (and when she says it I always wish it too!)

R. Righty or lefty: righty

S. Siblings: brother (40), stepbrother (30--for 3 more days), Stepbrother (32)

T. Time you wake up: later than I want to.

U. Underwear: yes.  Bikini only; no butt floss or whale tails for this girl.

V. Veggies you don't like: broccoli, some kinds of lettuce, radishes, I'm sure there are more.  I only like basic veggies.

W. What makes you run late: sleeping in (see T).

X. X-rays you've had: when I was 3 I swallowed a straight pin so I had my belly x-rayed.  Sure enough it was in there.  And then it came out--naturally.  Isn't that a fun story?  I also had my ankle x-rayed a couple years ago and my shin x-rayed last fall.

Y. Yummy food you make: pumpkin cheesecake and lasagna

Z. Zoo animal favorites: tigers and otters most, but I also find Meerkats and prairie dogs to be adorable.

Tag, you're it!  I challenge you to share the ABCs of you!

Pictures: The Pet Edition

For today's viewing, I give you the household pets. We have 3 cats and 1 dog. I personally think you cannot go through life without pets. You'll notice far fewer pictures of the dog.  I love our dog, but I'm a cat person.  I can never take too many pictures of the cats!




Tucker




Dash & Disney - my son named Dash when he was 5 after Dash on the Incredibles.  Super!




Dash & Disney again




Disney in the back, Tucker in the front - They are littermates--we adopted them in Aug. 2009.  They are kittens here.




Tucker prefers Mac.  He's still my friend.




Tucker & Disney-they love each other.




Chance--she just turned 8 last month.




This is why there are few pictures of her.  She's the ultimate "Yellow Dog".  Points for who can name that movie.



Blogging!

Yo!

Yesterday I was so thrilled because I noticed I have 50 followers! Today I have 51!  I love that!  Now I hope you're following because you want to read about me and my life and not just because I'm following your blog.

What is the blog etiquette on that one?  I mean, I don't follow everyone who follows me.  I follow the blogs I want to read.  I hope you do the same, but is there an official etiquette rule on that one?

I have been thinking about this blog lately and what I want to do with it.  For sure I want to keep using it as my place for talking about weight loss and running, and if I can inspire even one person to make changes in their life, I will feel awesome!  I mostly want to use it for staying accountable and continuing my own efforts towards a healthy life.  I love the outlet of this blog for bragging, venting, or just reflecting and evaluating.  Staying committed to this blog will help me stay committed to my goals.

I also love having this place to write!  I love writing!  I wish wish wish I'd gone to college to learn how to do it with skill.  I wish I could get paid to do it!  When I was a kid I used to write stories; my first one was in elementary and it was about My Little Ponies meeting Cabbage Patch Kids!  I wish I still had that story as a keepsake.  On into junior high and high school I wrote teen romance novellas.  Mainly to fulfill the dreams I had of finding love.  I have since destroyed all evidence of those stories which is kind of a bummer.  I wish I had those too.  Now, as an adult I still love to write, but I don't write stories anymore.  I have kept a journal since high school and I still use that somewhat, but for the past year, I have written here more than anywhere.  I love it!  Whether I have skill or not, I love getting my thoughts out of my head into the written word.

I like to read healthy living blogs, but the ones I enjoy the most include everything.  Not every post is about eating or running or fitness, there's a bit of everyday life thrown in too.  So with that in mind, I'm planning to add more about the other parts of my life here on this blog, either with more pictures, more words or both.  I know I've posted about some of the family stuff before, but usually as it relates to my running and dieting.  Going forward there might be no connection with any of it, and there might be no major revelations or self discoveries involved, I might just like sharing a picture of my super cute cat!



This is Tucker.  He is one of my cats.  He is super cute.

 Anyway, I thank each and every reader and follower, whether here by choice or default (because I follow you).  I really appreciate you following along and sharing in my life.  It is super fun to have this blog!   

Do you blog?  What do you love about it?  Do you share it with people you know?