Flashback Friday: Our Wedding Reception

I hope that you have enjoyed seeing all of the pictures from our wedding over the last few weeks. This is a fun little series and a great way for me to share a lot of pictures with you at once.

This Friday, I posted some of my favorite pictures from our Wedding Reception. We have such a fun time at our reception. The theme for our wedding was China. Anyone wanting a Chinese wedding needs to make sure that they have Chinese food at the reception. Jon made lots of amazing Chinese food for the reception.

This was a great way for us to celebrate with our wedding with our friends and family.

Just Married!

Our Rings

Jon and his roommate Nate, who was also our photographer.

Signing our Marriage License

Jon's Best Man, Josh giving his toast.

My Maid of Honor, Michelle giving her toast. It was funny.

Cutting the cake

Dancing with my Daddy

Our first dance as Man and Wife

The Mother/Son dance

The garter toss

The bouquet toss

Jon, Nate, and Weston

Family and friends signed our picture frame.

Leaving for our Honeymoon

The end of a wonderful day!

Visit Tia for more flashbacks.

Guest Post: Shelly's Weight Loss Story

Today our guest post comes from Shelly at Our One Sweet World. You may remember that I shared what I was thankful for, a few weeks ago on her blog. After you read her post, be sure to check out her blog.

This year brought new and unexpected courage. And I remembered someone who once said "do things long before or long after you are ready. never at the moment." I took the long after, never at the moment route.

I was at my heaviest. Ever. And the scale just kept creeping up. I felt a loss of control. That I had surrendered to food. And well I did. Food was my fix for everything.

I stood in front of the mirror. And then I began to cry. And realization slowly unfurled itself.

Luckily for me I had an inspiration. I found the drive and so there I was, at first toying with this idea. Knowing in the end it was in fact the answer. That is when I decided to join Weight Watchers.

I have been doing Weight Watchers since the beginning of July 2010. To date (November 4, 2010) I have lost 25.8 lbs and have 6 lbs left until goal. By the time you all read this, I may already be well into my maintenance program and working towards lifetime status.

I have weeks where I struggle with food. Where I want to just eat everything in sight. Every piece of candy know to man. Every cupcake, Every cookie, Every doughnut I see. Mounds of Pasta, Pizza, & Mexican food.

I definitely don't deprive myself of all of the things I love. It's just in much smaller portions and frequent use of my extra weekly points.

I will have to say that the Weight Watchers recipes have helped. Tremendously! There are so many good one's out there for all kinds of courses. I have tried some of the dinners & desserts. And honestly there really isn't much difference. Just better/healthier ingredients you cook with.

I'm still learning, daily. And I'm sure I will continue to struggle. But with the great support system I have & the great team leader I have, I believe I will succeed.

I know some frown upon Weight Watchers. But it's worked for me. It's given me new light, it's given me my self esteem & confidence back. I'm healthier and feel good. It's one of the best decisions I've made.

This Journey has not always been easy. But it's so much better. Already.

Wordless Wednesday: Weight Loss Forum

Guest Post: Low Carbing And Loving It

Today's guest post comes from Katlupe at Homesteading On the Internet.

This is the first time I have ever written a guest post for another blogger's blog. So this is a new experience for me. I have been proudly telling everyone about the benefits of low carbs ever since I started eating that way back in 2008. So many people say things against low carb diets and Dr. Atkins particularly. I was one of those people! I had friends who were on Dr. Atkins and they would say things against bread. Well, I AM a homesteader and what is one of the first things a new homesteader does? Why learn to bake bread of course! Don't anyone badmouth our bread!

The night I picked up Dr. Atkins' book to read because someone had asked me to sell it in my eBay store for them, I read it cover to cover. It opened my eyes. Dr. Atkins goes into all the details of why this diet is so good for you. And he covers the history of how sugar, white flour and processed foods have affected the population. After I read that, I was mad about me maniulpated into eating foods that were not nutritional in the least amount. Plus, damaging everyone's health. The thing is that everything he wrote is true! I can see it so clearly now.

What is very encouraging on the low carb eating plans is that you are not that hungry after the first three days. So that really helped me a lot. In fact, now I never eat between meals because I am just not that hungry. If you mistakenly think low carbs means no vegetables or fruit, that is mistaken. Low carb vegetables are plentiful. You can eat all kinds of vegtables. Berries have the lowest carb count for fruit. Lucky for me as that is what I grow. So here I was eating a plate full of meat and salad with full fat dressing, but low carb and no sugar. I could have real cream in my coffee. In between I could have snacks of cream cheese in celery sticks or hard boiled eggs or a dish of chicken salad. For breakfast I would have bacon and eggs or a cheese and mushroom omelet. This diet is boring only if you let it be.

After the first fourteen days of what on the Atkins Diet, is called Induction, you can add more carbs into your diet slowly. Or you may opt to stay on it if you need to lose weight. Which is what I do. I stay between 20-30 carbs. You may need to add more carbs to keep it coming off. It is a gradual process of adding more carbs until you come to the point where you don't lose anymore weight or you gain. That would be your cut off point of carbs. It is different for each person because we are all different. So what might be my cut off point may not be your's.

The key to a low carb diet is to cook from scratch! I wrote about this in my blog, Homesteading On The Internet, today in this post, The Key To Low Carb Cooking. Include a variety of foods in your plan. Don't eat the same thing every day. I am one of those people who likes to eat leftovers for breakfast. So I am not eating an omelet daily and getting bored with it. Make your meals awesome! Look forward to them. In fact, your family can be eating them with you and not even know it is low carbs. It is good for them too. Don't feel guilty for making your family eat this way with you! You don't think filling them up with sugar, white flour and processed foods is good for them....... do you? Just because they are not fat or sick yet? The saying "you are what you eat" is so true!

Guest Post: Losing Brownies Weight Loss Story

Hey there! I’m Losing Brownies, and over at Losing the baby weight…one brownie at a time I often write about my life as a SAHM to The Boy and usually I include my husband, Gadget Guy, in these adventures, mishaps, and antics. Sometimes I write just about myself or things that are going on in my mind. You really don’t know what you’ll find there on any given day!
One of the things I write about pretty often is weight loss.

I have always struggled with weight. I was so chubby that in the fourth grade the boys called me “Butterball”, as in Butterball turkey. I would come home crying every day. Eventually the “baby fat” came off, but it was replaced with actual fat. It probably had a lot to do with the diet my parents provided, which was not laden with fruits and vegetables.

I wasn’t obese, but I was still over weight. That carried on into high school, where I was teased even more and by people I thought were my friends. That was when I decided I was going to do something about my weight.

Unfortunately, I didn’t do it in a smart way. I started taking ephedrine. I slimmed down to a size 9 and was feeling pretty proud of myself, even if my “friends” still picked on me for being chubby. I was addicted to those pills and recall having a panic attack when I got up to the University without them.

If it had not of been for some true friends who educated me on the dangers of those pills I don’t know what would have happened. However when I ditched those pills my weight went back up.

Three years of full time school with 18 credit hours a semester and cooking out of a dorm my weight went back up. I was a size 16 when I graduated from college. Two years after teaching full time my weight continued to rise and I was a daunting 210+ pounds and wearing plus size 18-20 clothing.

That is when I got sick of my weight and got on weight watchers. It took me 9 months to slim down to 130 pounds. Instead of maintaining that weight though it crept back up.

I’m an emotional eater and I let myself go and would “treat” myself with every joy and sorrow. These events included meeting my husband, my brother passing away, getting engaged, buying a house, getting married, and finishing a master’s degree.

After my degree, Gadget Guy and I decided to get serious about starting our family. I knew that 160+ pounds wouldn’t be a good place to start off a pregnancy, so while we tried I started working out more and shedding the pounds. I got down to 140 before we found out I was pregnant with The Boy.

In those 10 months I put on 55 pounds. I was slowly gaining the weight but the last few months are when I put on the most weight. I went from ½ - 1 pound a week to nearly 3 pounds a week. My midwife assured me that most of it was water weight and that I would lose it quickly.

The day The Boy was born I was 195 pounds.

He is seven months old now and I weigh 145 pounds.

In seven months I’ve dropped 50 pounds. Guaranteed, I lost about 20 in the first 6 weeks, but after that the weight loss stopped and I knew I had to do something, so it was back to the gym.

I have a love-hate relationship with the gym. I love the way I feel after a hard workout, but I hate going. I have to psyche myself up to get there. Once I’m there, it’s all good though.

I was having some success with the gym, but not a lot. I was still incredibly unhappy with my body image and found that if I went out at all, I had to be carrying my son. I figured if people saw me with my child they would know that I was still large because of the baby weight.

Not only did I gain a lot of weight, but so did Gadget Guy. He suggested doing Medifast after listening to some testimonials on his favorite radio station. I knew in order to stick to a plan I’d need him on one too, so we went and checked it out. Since he was so into it, I agreed to go alone with it. When we started the program I was 165 pounds.

We’ve been on the program for 12 weeks and I’ve lost 20 pounds. Their program says they average 2-5 pounds a week (it’s lower for people who have a little less to lose) and I’m just under that 2 pound average.

I’ll be honest though, I don’t follow it to a tee. You are allowed one lean and green meal a day and the rest of your meals are replacements from their company. Sometimes life gets in the way though and I don’t want to miss out on having a glass of wine, or eating at a party. I’m sure if I were diligent with it, I’d of lost a lot more.

As soon as I hit my goal of 125 pounds I’ll go on their maintenance program. I’m hoping it won’t take long to get there, but 1.6 pounds a week is nothing to frown at. If I keep that up then I can get to my goal by the first week of March.

I don’t want to discourage myself either, because I know some weeks will be harder (and some easier), so I’m making my goal date The Boy’s first birthday, which is in May. I’m pretty sure I can keep myself motivated enough to make it to that.

So here is to continued success on my weight loss journey.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from China!

Flashback Friday: Our Wedding Portraits

Merry Christmas Eve!!

I hope that you have gotten all your Christmas shopping done and that you are spending the day with friends and family.

For the second week in our Wedding Picture Flashback series, I have gotten together my favorite Wedding Portraits.

Visit Tia for more flashbacks.

Guest Post: The Measure of Success

Today our guest post comes from Kristi at The Child Sensitive Communication Grid. Kristi has a great blog post for us today. After you read her post, be sure to check out her blog.

How do you define success? Landing that dream job? Wealth? Fame? A game won? Goals met? I’m guessing that everyone’s “ruler” for measuring success looks different.

My “ruler” is rather long. In other words, to get that end of the ruler where success lies seems unattainable. So, how did my ruler get so long? I’m not sure. Are my goals for success truly attainable? Or is my definition of success wrong? So, you’re probably wondering now why I’m talking about rulers and success on a blog about healthy living? Before I get to that point, let me share a little about my background.

Kristi's Before Picture

I’ve struggled with weight issues all of my life. Like many, I tried a variety of routes to quick weight loss, nothing extreme. I would see temporary success from these efforts. The operative word here is “temporary.” I tried exercise without adjusting my eating habits. The exercise worked until an injury forced me to curtail my activity. Then I heard about the danger of what was called “yo-yo dieting.” That seemed like a good excuse to give up dieting. The scale made a slow climb upward followed by health issues: High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

Perhaps fear would be a motivator to lose weight? It was. The doctor gave me a couple sheets of paper with a food list and calorie restriction. I was able to lose some weight that way. The doctor even praised my efforts. It was a start. But I still had a ways to go. Eventually the calorie restriction no longer worked so I followed a faith-based weight loss plan. That helped for a while, too. It also gave me a new perspective about my relationship with food. These two plans worked because they were based on solid principles and I learned from them. It wasn’t long before people started noticing the weight loss and were very encouraging.

Once all the health threats were in my rearview mirror, I relaxed my weight loss efforts. I got comfortable. I maintained the new weight loss for a while. But, by not carefully monitoring my habits, the pounds slowly caught up to me. I would make some temporary changes but I always fell back into old habits. This went on for a few years.

I still had more weight to lose. I would make attempts at it by trying these methods that had worked before, but I was not finding success. At one point I blamed the problem on anything I could think of. “It was all out of my control. It wasn’t anything I was doing.” Hmmm. Really? Well, it felt better to lay the blame somewhere else. After more months of trying it on my own, I hadn’t made the scale budge one bit. I wasn’t gaining, but I also wasn’t losing. What’s happening? I’m doing everything I did before!

It was during this time that I received a telephone call that I’ll never forget. My Dad had suddenly passed away. Some people eat when they’re upset. Not me. I do consider myself an emotional eater, but not under these circumstances. For days after hearing this news, I couldn’t eat much at all. The appetite just wasn’t there. After things began to settle down after this tragic event, I returned into my regular habits again. I could see myself struggling with the same problems I had before. The only difference this time was my emotions had been completely dumped out, rearranged, and stuffed back inside. I didn’t have the emotional strength to deal with both the loss of my father and weight struggles. That’s when I saw this huge warning sign. It was telling me that I needed to make a radical change or there was gonna be big trouble, baby!

Several friends had attended Weight Watchers meetings and lost weight with success. When asked if I’d considered attending, I’d say, meetings and weigh-ins weren’t for me. Yet, something was different this time. I needed help. To paraphrase the old saying, “The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing but expecting a different result.” Although my friends were not currently attending meetings, I summoned up the courage to go to the Weight Watcher’s center all by myself.

Weight Watchers and my wonderful leader gave me the tools and support I needed. I even enjoyed the meetings. I was losing weight and doing well. I had donated an entire closet-full of clothes to charity. I lost 4 dress sizes before Weight Watchers and another 3 dress sizes during this time. I managed to get really, really close to my goal weight. Then I hit a plateau. Drat! During this plateau I relaxed my efforts again. Plus, I had been doing the plan long enough that I stopped closely monitoring foods, guessing at portion sizes, etc. On vacations, I would eat just a little more than I needed with the thought that I’d make up for it when I got home. I put a little more distance between me and my goal weight again. I am presently still working on reaching my goal weight. I keep attending weekly meetings and working on changing my habits. I’ve even entertained the idea of throwing in the towel, but I choose to keep going.

So, returning to the ruler analogy, was I successful? That inner voice tells me that I am not successful until I reach my goal weight. But then I’m reminded of a topic that was discussed in a Weight Watchers meeting: Give Yourself Credit. The challenge was to take a close look at everything we did right rather than focusing on everything we did wrong. My leader suggested that each time we made a good choice, or a better choice than we might have made in the past, that we keep track. One way to keep track would be to put a coin (or a dollar bill) in a jar for every good choice. At the end of six weeks, we would see how many things we did right. As a bonus, we could plan to spend that money on a non-food reward. I opted not to use money for tracking my credits but I did hang a sheet of paper on my refrigerator and made a tally mark for each credit. For example, each time I drank enough water that day, I’d put a mark on the sheet. If I opted to eat a piece of fruit instead of something sweet or high fat, I’d put a mark on the sheet. It’s amazing what happens when you start looking for the good things instead of focusing on the negative! (Oh, and I did reward myself.)

Those little tally marks represented small successes each day. And, as I look back through my journey over the years, I can see that even though there were times when it seemed I took three steps forward and two steps back, I still managed to find success. I just didn’t recognize it at the time. I did lose weight. And even though I didn’t always keep it off, I learned from it. I made better choices even if they weren’t always the best choices. All of this is a learning process. I still make bad choices. And it’s so very easy for me to focus on the 20% that I did wrong instead of the 80% that I do right.

What’s wrong with this picture? If my friend was berating herself about this, I would be the first one to encourage her. Then why won’t I encourage myself? I’m much harder on myself than I should be. That’s probably why my “success ruler” has gotten so very long. I’m so focused on the success at the end, I’ve forgotten to take notice of the small successes along the way.

Have you ever examined a ruler? There are tiny little marks all along the ruler which indicate the measurements--inches, quarter inches, etc. It’s impossible to get from one end of the ruler to the other without passing all those little marks. I think I’ll look at those marks a little differently from now on. Those are success marks! And they go all the way to the end!

Kristi
Author of The Child Sensitive Communication Grid


P.S. You may have noticed that I haven’t given any totals about how much weight I’ve lost. That’s because I don’t want to focus on the numbers here but I do want to focus on healthy thinking and healthy living.

Kristi After, Nov 10

Wordless Wednesday: Our New Prayer Card

My 2010 Song of the Year

There is one song that has been especially close to my heart this year. It was with me through the good times and bad. I have sung it to myself and sung aloud in the car while this song played on KLOVE. God has used this song so many times to comfort me, when I needed a reminder that I was safe in His arms. I am so thankful that God uses music in such a powerful way to minister to my soul.

Safe
By, Phil Wickham

(Feat. Bart Millard)

Verse:
To the one who's dreams are falling all apart
And all you're left with is a tired and broken heart
I can tell by your eyes you think your on your own
but you're not all alone

Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas
Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet
With a love so strong he'll never let you go
oh you're not alone

Chorus:
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms

Verse 2:
Did you know that the voice that brings the dead to life
Is the very same voice that calls you to rise
So hear Him now He's calling you home
You will never be alone

Bridge:
These are the hands that built the mountains
the hands that calm the seas
These are the arms that hold the heavens
they are holding you and me

These are hands that healed the leper
Pulled the lame up to their feet
These are the arms that were nailed to a cross
to break our chains and set us free

Guest Post: Sailor Wifey

Sailor Wifey has written our guest post today. It is a lot of good information about staying on track during the holidays.

With Christmas just around the corner all I can think about is FOOD. My brain says that’s not a bad thing, but my body says otherwise. I haven’t made my menu just yet, but all the possibilities are endless. Ham, Leg of Lamb, maybe gumbo, dressing, cakes, pies, and cookies galore. Growing up, the holidays were all about eating and fellowshipping and I haven’t wanted to change that until recently because what could be better than good food with good people. The people are great, but the food is adding quite few pounds to my already extra large rump.

Now don’t worry this isn’t a post geared towards changing every single recipe you have into an entrée you’re not even sure is edible anymore. Instead I have a few tips to help with controlling your calorie intake.

1. Exercise – I recently read about a lady who walks a few miles with her father every Thanksgiving morning. Why not add a family walk or run to Christmas morning festivities? I’m sure that it will make you feel a whole lot better about the calories you consume later on in the day.
2. Breakfast – I notice I tend to skip breakfast during the holidays to make room for all the food I’ll be eating later on in the day. By the time the food is ready I’m ravenous and want to eat everything in sight. Instead try a light breakfast like a yogurt parfait or a breakfast wrap.
3. Drink Water – I’m not the best water drinker. I try…I even have an app to remind me to drink water. When I do remember to drink the correct amount of water daily I notice a huge decrease in the amount of snacking I do.
4. Healthy Snacks – Drinking water doesn’t mean you need to omit snacks all together. In between dinner and dessert try eating fruits and raw veggies instead of junk food. Green Smoothies can also attack a monster sweet tooth.
5. Vegetable Sides – Try adding more vegetable side dishes to your meal. A fresh a salad or steamed veggies are sides that have a lot of nutritional value instead of a lot of calories.
6. Portion control – Sometimes it’s not what you eat but how much of it. Instead of consuming that humongous pie slice alone grab two forks and split it with a loved one.
7. Limit Alcohol Intake – This is another hard one for me. I love to drink! I like to try out a few new holiday cocktail recipes that I find online. I’m not saying you have to skip the bubbly all together but try to limit how much you drink and also try low calorie versions.
8. Stop Eating – Every year I pile my plate and with about a third of the plate left I start getting that full feeling, but I keep on eating while repeating “whew I’m stuffed” after every bite. When you feel full…stop eating. You’re not obligated to eat everything you see.

The holidays are survivable without giving up everything. I hope that these few tips that I plan to use myself this year will benefit you as well.

Try my pumpkin bread recipe below with some tea or hot apple cider for a quick and easy breakfast
Christmas morning:

Orange Honey Pumpkin Bread

1 ½ cup flour
¼ cup ground flax seed
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon (try McCormick Roasted Saigon Cinnamon)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. allspice
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tbsp. orange zest
½ tsp. vanilla
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup honey
2 eggs
1 cup pureed pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk all dry ingredients together and set aside. Combine orange juice and vanilla in small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl cream together butter and honey. Beat in 1 egg at a time and pumpkin until mixed thoroughly. Slowly alternate adding flour mixture and orange juice. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about an hour).

Merry Christmas

Love Always,

“cuz every kitchen needs a cutie”

Get to Sleep

Here is the latest Get Fit email from Dr. Jacobs.

Poor sleep patterns promote weight gain.

America is a high-stress society in which most people don't get enough sleep. We could be paying for it with our health. Sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.

A seven-year Finnish study of nearly 9,000 people, led by Peppi Lyytikainen, found that people who developed sleep problems during the experiment gained more weight than those with normal sleep patterns. Trouble falling asleep, waking during the night, or trouble staying asleep increased the risk of weight gain by more than 50 percent.

Nighttime snacking is common in overweight people with sleep disorders. The body produces powerful signaling chemicals during sleep deprivation that promote overeating. Chronically sleeping less than six hours per night is linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Reference: International Journal of Obesity, 6/8/10.

Guest Post: We Are Not What We Weigh...

This morning's guest post comes from Extra! Extra! Blog All About It. After you read Kimberly's post make sure you visit her blog.

My weight in the past few years seems to mimic a good roller coaster ride. It goes up, it goes down, it goes up. I've been underweight, skinny, and "fluffy" (my nice term for overweight) at different times in my life. It is easy to enjoy the skinny ~ clothes fit amazingly, they are easy to find and buy off the rack, people treat you differently than when you are overweight, joints don't ache, feet don't ache, and self-confidence is high.

This photo was taken with a friend and we were "modeling" ~ hahaha. I was way too skinny then and felt as horrible that skinny as I have felt being "fluffy".

When I'm fluffy, my joints hurt, my feet hurt (it's hard carrying those extra, unwanted pounds), people treat you differently, and well, that self-confidence is thrown out the window. I gain weight just looking at chocolate or anything carb-related.

Photos don't lie ~ this one is my most recent {thankfully, those grown out bangs have been cut}. Ugh! I hate my thighs, but I do love their power and they carry me where I need to go. I am the only one who can do something about them and so here goes the weight loss again. I'm praying it's permanent this time. Feeling good and being fit feel better than any piece of chocolate tastes.

I know when my body is operating at optimum levels ~ I feel good, I look good, my skin is clear, my eyes are clear, my hair is glossy. Oh, I still have the issue with searching for the perfect pair of jeans {every pair has to be altered} since I am pear-shaped. It's the toughest shape to lose weight. I've done it successfully before so here's to doing it again. I know my body does not lose if I eat a ton of fruit (I limit it to red grapefruit and apples when losing) and if I eat grains - even the healthy whole grains. I do best on lean cuts of meat, tons of veggies, and limited fruits. I cut out soda of any type (Sprite Zero only when necessary - best to keep sodas clear - less toxins) and I use stevia to sweeten my coffee - no sugar and no artificial sweeteners. It's tough to get started losing, but once I hit that mode, it has this amazing snowball effect. See weight loss photo below from 2008 (eyes are bright, skin is clear and I never felt better).

My workout of choice? T-Tapp (www.T-Tapp.com), which was created by Teresa Tapp. I use the Total Workout and I start with a 10-day bootcamp for my body to realign and re-adjust. I then use it every other day until I reach my goal. Consistency is key. I walk on my "off days" from T-Tapp, mainly using Leslie Sansone DVDs. When I'm losing weight, I work out 6 days/week. To maintain, it only takes 2 Total Workouts with T-Tapp a week to maintain. No, I'm not getting paid to endorse T-Tapp, just sharing what works for me after wasting countless dollars on other workouts and so many gimmicks. It is a cardio-kinetic (meaning it has intervals to help blast fat and build muscle from the inside-out) rehabilitative (aligns the spine and flushes lymphatic fluid) workout and it's powerful - so powerful that most lose a size a month. In 2008 when I was getting rid of my first round of weight, I lost 27 pounds and I don't know how many inches from the time I started in late January through late March. I was eating clean and it was mostly veggies and I was also juicing veggies and fruits (I love juicing to detox the body and also when I do a spiritual fast). I was actually beginning to love my thighs! Cellulite? What cellulite ~ it had disappeared. I found out cellulite is actually a buildup of toxins around our fat cells and not just fat.

This time, I decided not to necessarily diet through Christmas like I planned on doing, but to start with my bootcamp, workout through Christmas to start a habit again and then begin cutting everything out that I allowed back in. I regained my weight in 2009 when my adrenal system came to a screeching halt and my doctor advised me to rest my body (no workouts). Shame on me! I did not yet understand how rehabilitative T-Tapp is for the bod (go read the testimonials on the site about chemo patients, people with high blood pressure, etc) or I would have kept up those workouts. So here I go again, working out through the holidays. I have a different mindset than I did in 2008. While I wanted to be healthy and honor God with my temple, back then, it was also for vain reasons. I wanted to be my cute self again. I was single and wanted to look good. Now that I'm married, I want to still be healthy and honor God with my temple, I want to be fit but not a fanatic, I want to look good for my husband, but I also want to feel good, too.

Skinny or fluffy, I'm still the same Kimberly with the same heart, the same passions, the same dreams. As my fabulous husband {aka: very understanding man:)} says, "there's just more of you to love right now". Here's to health ~ inside and out.

Keep it simple, keep it motivating, keep moving, and keep smiling! You can do it and I can, too.

Flashback Friday: Our Wedding Ceremony

As we speak, Jon and I are on an airplane, flying to China for the next three weeks.

Today is our Four Year Anniversary!!

I thought it would be fun to make a little series out of this. Over the next several Fridays I want to share our wedding pictures with you. They will be pictures from the ceremony, family pictures, the reception, and our honeymoon.

Today, I am going to start by sharing our wedding ceremony pictures with you all. I love these pictures so much!! Hope you enjoy them.

Visit Tia for more flashbacks.