Breathe a breath for me

lol I don't know why I thought that title would be funny. lol Who cares? These last few weeks have been very hard. 3 weeks now I have been dealing with what I'm calling Super Asthma.

For the first 2 weeks I felt like my throat was swelling. So I was thinking I was eating something that I was either newly allergic to or had some exposure to peanuts. Turns out it was all my asthma. Constriction of the airway and swelling of the airway feel the same. I've also been on a controller for 3 weeks now. Here's to hoping it starts working. So last week I went in to the doctor for test results. She thinks I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since my symptoms seem to fall within that category. And I'm not testing positive for the other things that are similar (like Lupus, Sjogrens, Thyroid, RA, etc.) She said CFS is similar to Fibromyalgia. And some think that CFS and Fibro are actually the same thing, but just with different main symptoms. Anyway, I'm going to be seeing a Rheumatologist just to be sure and confirm diagnosis or figure it out further. (It's also similar to Epstein Barr, which is what the other doctor in Victorville thought I had. But like myself, my new doctor in Whittier wasn't convinced it was that either.)

At that same appointment she also put me on Prednisone, to get rid of any residual allergic reaction that was going on. But that opened another can of worms. I ended up reacting very strongly to that. It's a common side effect but it was very strong for me. It made me jittery. Like you are sitting still but your insides are shaking. It reminded me of when I was on Terbutaline when I was pregnant with Skyler. But not as severe. The jitteriness also increased my heartrate and made my breathing increase as well. This then started making me feel like I was having an asthma attack. ALL DAY. Even using the inhailer wasn't making it go away. So, she took me off that medicine.

I ended up going to urgent care last week for a breathing treatment the very day I had stopped taking the Prednisone because I just couldn't catch my breath and nothing was helping. It was just getting worse. So, one breathing treatment and a chest x-ray later and I went back up to my doctor for my appt there too. Eventually the breathing treatment kicked in so that was nice. My x-ray showed something in my brochials they said and they said that's common to see if someone has asthma or bronchitis. So, we came up with a plan of action.

I now have a nebulizer at home for whenever my asthma is really bad. Unfortunately the nebulizer meds also make me jittery. But it doesn't last as long as the Prednisone. I'm now on a steroid controller as well as the Singulair I had started 3 weeks ago now. On top of that I'm taking Benadryl at night to help with any residual histamines as well as Claritin during the day. Both of those I can stop at any time when my asthma is more under control.

So, it's a new week and today I'm finally feeling a little better. I still am having the asthma feeling every time I breathe, but it's not as bad as it was. It seems to be getting better. This last week has been hard. Whenever I would talk it would just make the asthma worse. I have hardly gone out of my house so that I could try to stay away from whatever allergens were causing this flair up.

Thankfully last week my parent's were picking up the kids for me from school. But this week I have been. Still every day after picking them up (walking from my car to the front of school and waiting for them and then back to the car down the street) I'm having to use my inhailer. It's like just being outside is causing problems. 2 days ago my throat was feeling so tight so I took my inhailer. It wasn't feeling all that much better so I took a Benadryl too just in case it was throat swelling. Thankfully either of the 2 worked and I started having less of a swelling throat feeling after. Yesterday, thankfully, just taking the inhailer after getting home was enough. I really hope today will be all that much better. And eventually that I can get back to being outside, exercising, doing all kinds of normal every day things.

In the meantime, I patiently wait for all of the meds to kick in. Oh, and I also have a Pulmonary Lung Function test scheduled as well.  Oh the joys.

10 on Tuesday

I really came on to give an update but realized it was Tuesday. It's a long overdue 10 on Tuesday! I'm doing it from the wrong computer so my graphics aren't available. (Update at end)

1. I swear my kids are fish. And with it being so hot all they want to do is swim. Good thing we have a pool. Free entertainment. :)

2. Skyler started doing homework on her own today. Up until now I had been sitting with her being sure she knew what to do. Well, for some things. But today she did it all on her own and I just checked it after. I did go over her spelling list with her like usual though. Aww she's growing up.

3. Courtney is obsessed with our dog. She just has way too much love stored up in her that she just can't contain herself sometimes. She showed this today by being so distracted by touching, petting, and talking to the dog instead of being focused on homework. I seriously had to separate them so she could get it done.

4. So, the first elements of Christmas are starting to show up. Costco having Christmas stuff already. And my kids being in the mood to watch Christmas movies. We are currently watching "Elf". It's not even time to start decorating for Fall yet. :) So, that begs the question. When do you start decorating for Fall/Halloween and Christmas?

5. Did anyone watch the VMA's? Ug! There are some great articles out there that have said what I'm thinking about that.

6. If you have girls do they like to wear bows/hair accessories? Mine do now, but as babies would take off anything on their head. I just love them and try to make them occasionally. I have a small collection for my photography too.

7. Ooooh I just remembered it's "Extreme Weightloss" day tonight!! I can't wait to see the new episode. Another amazing transformation, I'm sure. Have any of you been watching?

8. Apparently I can not be trusted with cookies in the house. I need to stop buying them!!! When in the world will I get that? Anyone else have issues with certain food items and you keep buying them anyway?? I can't be the only one.

9. Ever just feel like you have so much to do that you can not be feeling sick??? That leads to number 10.

10. The update: I finally went in to the doctor to get my medical issues figured out. I hadn't been in the doctor since once in Victorville a year ago. I have not been all that convinced that what I'm dealing with is Chronic Epstein Barr. Don't get me wrong. The symptoms seem to be Epstein Barr but there are so many symptoms that really aren't covered. So, this doctor isn't convinced either. 9 vials of blood later (plus 2 more tests). Hopefully we will have some results. But regardless, she's going to have me see a Rheumatologist since the bulk of the issues seem to be like Lupus. It just would be nice to have an answer and possibly be able to do something about it so I don't feel like this all the time. It's really very exhausting. If anyone ever had an excuse to not workout I sure would have a million. I just don't ever know when I'm going to feel good so I have to take advantage of any lessening of symptoms and just work out anyway. Here's to hoping I feel ok in the morning because I'm supposed to hike with a friend and help another pack because she's moving.

TV Show" Extreme Weight Loss"

Ok, so who is watching "Extreme Weight Loss"??? Talk about a motivating show. It is a 2 hour show each week showing one person's journey in weight loss. They have a one year progress period and most of them lose most if not all of the weight they needed to. I LOVE this show!

Last night's show was amazing. Both the wife who requested the help from Chris Powell and the husband by her side both lost a ton of weight. They did amazing.

So, it got me thinking about how much they work out and how motivated they are. I feel like I have been stuck forever. So, I'm changing things up and sometimes doing double workouts so I can hopefully kick start the scale to go back down. What I really need to do is get my snacking in check. That's where my downfall is. I can have great breakfast, lunch, and dinner but don't even get me started on snacking. ug! So, I'm trying to figure it all out.

On a positive note I have been doing a lot more strength training. I can see the difference in my arms. And I feel stronger all the time doing various other workouts. So, that's good at least. I've been doing strength training first and feel so much stronger starting with it. I'm not all wiped out from doing cardio first. I really recommend it.

I love watching shows like the previous mentioned show. They are so motivational. And they get me thinking outside of my comfort zone. Get me thinking that maybe I could be doing more than I currently am. Striving to better myself daily.

WOW!

WOW! It has been a long time since I blogged. Sorry about that, friends. I'm pretty active on my facebook fitness page and I need to add blogspot to my phone apps again so it can be easier to post here too.

I've been having fun learning new things in photography and loving the chance to try them out. Too bad I don't have the pics on here to show you. I'll have to do that next time. I learned how to add clouds and sky to pics that are blown out (white sky). That usually happens if it's overcast.

We just got our laptop back after it died. So sad it took pictures with it. We had been adding our iphone pics to this computer. And ever since getting a phone that had a camera on it we have been taking much more pics on that camera than the good one.

The girls have been doing gymnastics and it is amazing the improvement they have shown in just 2 sets of lessons. Courtney can now do all 3 splits and a cart wheel. Before the class she couldn't do any of them. She was close in the middle but quickly went down during class. Plus, she likes to practice daily. So that helps her. Skyler just wants to practice at gymnastics so she is making smaller improvements. But what I'm noticing with her (actually both) is how much stronger they are getting. Every time they go they have to do push ups, squats, and many other things. They can do push ups better now too. (And so can I.)

I had a challenge to do 25 push ups daily for a week and now I try to do them whenever I think about it during workouts. My arms got a lot stronger. I also am getting stronger ever since I started doing strength training before cardio. It's amazing the difference. I'm looking forward to more improvements and increased strength.

Talk to ya later.

Traci's Getting Fit

So, I decided to start a facebook page to have a safe place to post anything workout/health related. Sometimes I feel like I can't share what I do on my fb page because honestly most people don't care. I also wanted to share my journey and be able to encourage others and have them be able to share any workout related stuff too.  So if you are interested, check it out. It's called Traci's Getting Fit.

When I started it I invited some friends to it but most people didn't go to it or see the notification. It's amazing how facebook hides these invites from us in obscure places. I found a ton of them that I didn't know I was ever invited to.  Facebook certainly makes some things harder than they need to be for its users. The constant change is annoying.

Here are the 2 challenges we are in the midst of on my page. Feel free to start wherever you currently are and push on from there. If these are too easy, do the same exercises but with more reps/time.

Biggest Loser

This is soooo deep. Quote from Biggest Loser doctor. He was talking about the health of a contestant on the show to the contestant.

"If you had been told you had lymphoma would you take 2 hours out of your day for chemo? Because what you have is worse than some Lymphomas for what it's doing for your longevity." Dr. Huizenga from the Biggest Loser

So glad to see Jillian come back but boy was she mean last night. She was a new kind of mean than she hadn't been before. And this is coming from someone who loves Jillian. She could have tried harder with her team instead of kicking them out of the gym. She also could have tried harder with Nikki so she didn't choose to go home. Thankfully while watching tonight's episode (the second) Jillian seems better. She had a sit down with her team and realized what she is doing isn't working. Whew!

I still love this show. Even if it frustrates me. Above all it inspires me. And that makes it worth watching.

Going Mobile

Thought I would try a post from my phone again since its been a while.

I have a love hate relationship with Facebook. While I love staying connected with friends and family some aspects of it are just hard to deal with. I haven't been posting as many status updates because it seems like there is always someone who comments and ruins the whole mood of it. You know, sometimes ya just want to state something. Not have it analyzed. Granted, that's the nature of Facebook. So we have to take it with the good. Also, fb is horrible with business pages. When I originally signed up for a business page all of my friends who liked my page could see every post. Now they have to like a bunch of things to have it show up. And I'm not going to pay fb just to have everyone see an update. It does seem that the more photos I post the more people can see my updates however so I may have to just keep posting more regularly. That's fun to keep up with though. More pics to come. Just getting started really with Instagram so I'm trying to figure it all out. What are some of your favorite sites (social or photo sharing)?

10 on Tuesday

1. It's been so long since I have blogged. I thought a Tuesday would be perfect with the 10 on Tuesday. So much has happened.

2. My husband got a new job at Hyundai where he is a manager now. It's in Costa Mesa, so we were able to move back to Whittier.

3. Hallelujah!! We moved back to Whittier!!!!!!!!! We are so excited to be back in Whittier. Back with friends and family here. It's sad to leave the friends we had made while in Victorville, but we feel so much more at home here.

4. Life is different post MOPS. I didn't realize how much having all of those scheduled activities made keeping friendships tight. It's a little strange being back in Whittier and not hanging out as often with buddies. I'm in serious need of a girls night! Guess it will just take more planning. It almost makes me want to start up Moms Cafe at church. Almost.

5. We were able to get Skyler into a soccer team at Youth Kicks. There weren't any spots available for Courtney's age. She's having a lot of fun.

6. The girls want to do so many activities. We just need to pick. First Courtney wanted to do Gymnastics. (probably from watching the Olympics) We still need to look into that. And if she does it, you know Skyler will want to. Now the girls want to do Girl Scouts, so I'm looking into that too. They started choir at church. That's one night a week. We decided not to do Awana since that would be yet another night. Now church is offering some amazingly affordable music lessons. Skyler wants to learn piano and Courtney wants to do guitar. So currently we just have choir (both go) and one in soccer. So we'll see what we add/don't add.

7. We moved into a house with a pool. Oh boy. They want to swim every single day. Needless to say we need to stock up on sunscreen.

8. I finally went to the doctor in Victorville right before we found out we were moving. Did a blood test and FINALLY found more of what is going on with me. I have Chronic Epstein Barr. This is the cause of the chronic fatigue, constant feeling of being sick, feeling sensitive to the touch, almost constant low grade fever, tiredness, and feeling weighted down like I just HAVE to lay down. It's overwhelming some days and other days it's better. Basically most people have been exposed to this viral infection. What gets me is when I told people what I had they go on google and try to find out what it is and instantly dismiss it because almost everyone has it. True, most people have it, but don't have symptoms. So, please don't tell me it's not that bad. You haven't lived with this for over a year and a half. You haven't felt sick most days. You have an inactive version. I have an active one. Ug! It's like that status people put on their facebook where they give sympathy to all of those invisible horrible illnesses. Where people don't know you are sick or feel sick because you don't "look" sick. This one could easily be added. So, moving forward, eating healthy and exercise can help. lol I'm already doing that so I'll keep that up. One of my friends also has this and has been dealing with it since she was a teenager. Off and on. The thing about this is that once it is active you could still have the lingering effects months after. Just wish this one would end so I could get a break.

9. I hit 40 pounds lost (again)!!! I'm actually currently at 44 pounds lost. Started a new Biggest Loser challenge a few weeks ago. I went so gung ho that I didn't realize I wasn't eating enough to counteract all of the exercise. I talked with a trainer about it. He immediately told me I was doing too much. I'm like, but I want to kick it up a notch. So, anyway....we figured out a plan with approx what I should do when working out so hard. And of course right after I get going with it I have to stop exercising completely. (see #10)

10. We (Scott, me, Courtney, Skyler, Mother-in-law, & Father-in-law) were driving home from taking my sister-in-law to the airport when we got into an accident. We didn't see him coming either. We were driving about 40 mph when this guy hits us from behind. HARD! It felt purposeful. It felt like someone ramming into us. No brakes applied (by them) feeling. I can't even believe Scott got the car under control. I thought we were going to go up onto the lawns at least or roll over. Linda said that we were inches away from hitting cars on the side but somehow didn't. Scott and I don't even remember cars being over there. It all happened so fast. We pulled over assuming they would too. Then they pulled in front of us. Scott looked at them and their air bags were both deployed. (According to the witness it was a man driving and woman in passenger side.) Then they pulled in front of us like they were going to pull over too but suddenly punched it and took off. We followed them to try to get the license plate number. They cut through the gas station on the corner and we followed. I saw them turn left on the first street to try to get out of view. We were waiting forever to turn left there so we lost them. We turned left and pulled over. Then we saw some guys holding their bumper. They said that the guy was going so fast through the street and almost hit a tree. He went up on the curb and lost the bumper (with the license plate). Several other parts fell off the car too. Looked like engine parts. We called the police. There was a witness that followed us. She stayed to talk to the police as well. She had been following them since Downey. And this happened in Whittier. She was already on the phone with 911 when she pulled up behind us. Not sure when she called (if it was before the accident because he was weaving in and out of traffic or when she stopped). She was so nice and told them everything she witnessed. So we had the license plate, bumper and parts and then the neighbor who took the bumper off the street went driving around and found the car abandoned. There was a big thing of alcohol in the cup holder. Wonderful. A stupid drunk driver. Makes sense why they ran. So 2 officers from the CHP showed up and talked to everyone and documented the abandoned car as well. Everyone in our car except Skyler all had whiplash. I ended up having a neck sprain (I'm assuming this is from the whiplash) and a concussion. When they hit us I had slammed my head hard back into the headrest. We went to urgent care to check us all out. We were going to have to pay cash because it was accident related and the girls weren't complaining of any kind of pain so we didn't have them seen. It really was pointless since he really didn't do anything but tell us to have ibuprofen and rest/ice the area. The following day we sent notes in with the girls to their teachers as well as going in to talk to the school nurse just to be sure they all knew what happened. And that if they had any kind of pain we would pick them up and take them to the doctor. We ended up having to pick up Courtney because her neck started hurting. I went back to the doctor a week and a day later because I was having so many additional symptoms. The doctor told me I have a concussion and neck sprain. No idea what the neck sprain means. Probably just from the whiplash. So I was supposed to do "brain rest" 1 hour at a time for 4 times EVERY DAY for the next week. Boy was that hard to get in. She did tell me that since I was a mom that getting at least 1 hour in would be good. It really just means laying down not doing anything. So, I just napped each time. It really helped. I'm now a week later back to being able to go back to working out. (I had to wait a week and then see what I could do.) I did last night (only did the bike though which is not very hard on the head). So glad I tried. I didn't do any exercises like the elliptical or running which make your head bounce. Didn't think I could handle that yet. Still get head pressure if my head is down (looking down) too long. And light headedness occasionally. Still have neck pain but it's a lot better. My back is a lot better and so is my foot. I had slammed my foot down slamming my imaginary brake. So glad we are all doing better. Just thinking about how different things could have been. If we had been at a stop the force from the impact would have been so much worse. Our whole family could have been gone. So thankful to be alive and well.  Scott called and spoke with the CHP regarding the report to see if any additional information on finding the guy had been added to it. Sadly, he has not been found. They have tried a few times and are planning to go back again. What an idiot. He seriously would have been more believable if he just said the car was stolen. Now he's avoiding the police. Hope they get him.


Have a great week everyone!!!

10 on Tuesday

Edited to add: Ok, so I started writing this on Tuesday (on my phone) and got obsessed watching the 2 hour House finale and finished writing it today (on my slow computer).

I have been meaning to do a 10 on Tuesday but never remember ON Tuesday. :)

10 on Tuesday is really 10 random thoughts or things I've been thinking about all on one blog.

1. There are posted no parking signs for a reason people. I couldn't help but smile when there was some chaos at school pick up one day when people were getting tickets. Hello! If you park where it says you can then you won't have this problem! Did it stop people from parking in the wrong spot the next day? Nope. Lesson not learned. I wish they would do a mass ticketing at soccer too. So many idiots parking where it clearly is marked not to.

2. This weekend was quite the adventure. We camped in line at the school we are trying to get the kids into. It actually wasn't bad. We met some cool people. We played games, looked out for each other, ate together, etc. In case you missed it I will say it again. We were 5th in line. Thought we were 4th in line for 1st grade (with 6 openings) but one person ahead of us didn't have all of her paperwork so we were 3rd in line. We were 2nd in line for 3rd grade (Zero spots available so we will be on a wait list). There usually is movement in the summer so we are hoping to get her in also before school starts. Scott and I talked about it and even if he ends up getting a job back near Whittier and we end up moving back, this was all still worth it. The kids will remember what we were willing to do to get them into a better school. The top photo is seriously the smartest ice cream man ever. It was in the 90s both Saturday and Sunday so he had a captive hot audience for delicious treats. If it wouldn't have made me sick, I probably would have bought one. The one photo under that one is of the front of the line. Our tent is on the right. Second one on the right. You probably can't see the first because ours is a lot bigger. This is the corridor to the office at the school. Everyone was so nervous that they wouldn't have every little thing filled out on their paperwork or have exactly what they needed. Because we have heard about people getting told they can't register until they have everything complete. So they would be sent home to get whatever it was they needed and have to go to the back of the line (and probably not get in). Even with all of the checking, people still didn't have it all. One lady who was 3rd in line didn't have proof of residency so she was sent home to get it (and copy it). Can you even imagine waiting all weekend camping knowing you are 3rd in line (she was 2nd for 1st graders) and then not having everything. She must have thought she had it. It's one of the things on the checklist. So glad we had it all.

3. Courtney got her trophy for soccer! She was so excited. They were superhero themed. The boys got Hulk smashing a soccer ball. Soccer is now over. Skyler's party is next week and she will be getting a trophy too. It's been a fun season.

4. The girls did amazing at soccer last Saturday. Courtney had 7 goal attempts that were so close but didn't make it in. She did score a goal at her practice game the night before so we are counting it. :) Skyler scored 3 goals this game!!! She was rocking it this game. She was really going after that ball. (Was going to add a picture, but my computer is being weird.)

5. "House" is one of my favorite shows. I am obsessed with it and am sad to see it go. Watched the 2 hour special for the finale. The first hour was Hugh Laurie (the guy who plays House) doing a behind the scenes tour with cast members during the final days and scenes from the past seasons. Then the hour long finale. I won't do a spoiler just in case some of you haven't watched it yet. I liked how they ended it. Now I have all of the DVD sets (except season 7 and the current season (8) that just ended) to watch as well as DVRing it when it comes on. I think what really intrigued me was his mind. The vast knowledge and how he could come up with these random things that all fit together. I frequently look up diagnosis that they talk about just to learn a little more about it. So, to me, the show was/is educational.

6. School is almost over. It's always fun to have the girls here having fun and going on outings. Not a fan of the fighting that ensues when they spend too much time together. Looking forward to the fun, sleeping in, and no homework. Their school time has been my gym/cleaning time so we will have to figure out a new schedule or combine things.

7. I soooo badly want to go to Coffee Break tonight. My friend, Sarah is singing/speaking tonight. We have grown up together through our small choir, Inspirations. We have gone through a lot through the years. I believe it was 17 years we were in that choir together. However, it's in Whittier. And we already are going to Whittier this weekend and next week and the week after. Our gas bill is horrible. So, not sure if I convince Scott or not if I can drive there tonight.

8. Can't believe I'm almost caught up on posting picture to facebook of our personal pictures. I uploaded more to our computer to go through but I'm current through March. :) Just need to pick what to upload from April and what has already happened in May.  I was in September so this is huge.

9. This piggy backs on the previous one. I finally decided to just post straight from my camera to facebook for my regular photos. I kept feeling like I wanted to edit them so they would look better, but just did not have the time. I finally had to give myself permission to not have all of my pictures look professional. They truly are snapshots. I kept thinking that it would represent me poorly as a photographer but seriously? This is my personal page, not my business one. And I have a life. I have a family. I can edit those few that I really want to have fun with, otherwise they are SOOC (straight out of camera).

10. So excited for my first maternity photo shoot coming up next month. The woman is one of my new friends from MOPS. We really hit it off and have been hanging out. Speaking of hanging out. I have a few friends up here now and none of them knew each other. Or at least I thought so. (Turns out 2 of them had spoken before at MOPS.) So I thought it would be fun to arrange a girl's night out so they could all meet each other and we could all benefit from our friendships. 3 of us are new to the area and one is a veteran to the High Desert. We had such a great time and are scheduling our next meet up. So fun!

Ready, Set, Go!

Our camping adventure begins today! Not that excited about it but ready to endure it. Today is the first day we are allowed to camp out at the school we want to get the kids into. Yes, you read that right. Not some fun camping in the woods. But camping in a line all in the name of better education.

The actual registration is at 6am on MONDAY! They warned us about the amount of student openings per grade that they have. Saying that they usually have movement in the summer also. We are hoping we can get them in. There are 9  1st grade openings and 0 3rd grade openings. HOPING that there will be an opening in 3rd over the summer. We know at least 3 other 3rd graders who are trying to get in because Courtney recognized them from her own class. The majority of people camping will be for Kindergarten. There were tons of people at the information meeting for kinder. There are a ton of openings for kinder too. I think like 39 or something. However, they warned us that usually about 30-40 people show up to camp over the weekend. So, they warned us that we weren't allowed to be there until 4pm Friday (today). Even our cars can't be parked in the lot until then. Everyone who is in line will have their paperwork stamped in order and the kids will get in in order received and a waiting list after that.

We also are on the waiting list (no camping needed) for another school that is further away. First on the list for 3rd grade and 3rd or 4th in line for 1st grade. But they said they would call us in the beginning of June to let us know. (After this school camping thing is over.) And we won't find out about this school until I believe it was the middle of June.

What a hassle this all is. We could just keep them in their current school but it is just a much lower performing school. I forget what they call it, but their school is on review. And while their teachers did end up doing a little more with them (based on my asking), the base of what the norm of the school was, was so much lower than their level. They were excelling at their previous school, which had a much higher performing level. They were both doing so well there being challenged. Just want to have them have a similar experience with school here.

It will all be worth it in the end. Just have to endure this weekend. Not sure we would be able to make this happen if my mom wasn't coming to help out with the kids. She can stay at our house and sleep with the kids while Scott and I are at the school. That way if either of us need to leave to go to the bathroom or whatever, we can and someone will still be in the line. Ug. It will all be worth it....it will all be worth it...

Blogger Mobile App

Trying out my new blogger mobile app. I figured it would be fun and easier on the go to just add pictures from my phone. Texting this in however might not be pretty. ;) lol

I talked to some random guy at the gym. Normally people don't talk to you. He said, "You go girl!" as well as a few other things. Really wish I could know my heart rate on the stairs because my heart always feels so fast on there. Lol Of course the day after I talk about heart changes. Haha

I also ran a little today and feel great!!! I walked the first mile and didn't have any hip or back pain so I thought I would go for it. Happy to say I ran the second mile. Felt like I could have gone on but didn't want to push it. Baby steps.

Check out this awesome "Sweet Shoppe". Shauna did amazing. Loved it!!

Heart Improvements

I love it when I notice good health changes along the weight loss journey. Since I have been working out so consistently (almost every day), I have been noticing changes. Heart changes!

When I used to exercise and noticed my heart rate, I would start in the 150s and go up to the 180s. Of course at that point I would slow down because that is high. So now I am working out just as hard or harder and starting out in the 130s and going up to 150s usually. Occasionally I'll see a 160 in there.

I like to motivate myself by trying to work harder than the person next to me. But when I glanced over I just happened to see her heart rate. So, I slowed my speed to match hers and my resistance level lowered to match hers. This was a much skinnier person. Her heart rate was in the 160s/170s and Mine was in the 130s/140s. I was sooo excited about that. That is some serious change. I used to not like to hold on to the heart rate thing much because my heart rate was high usually, even if I wasn't doing too much. What a change.

Weight Loss Update: Things are going GREAT!!! I am consistently losing. I'm at 34 pounds lost now. This fitness app is really helping me. Picturing myself having to add something to my log makes me not want to choose certain things. Making healthier choices and keeping moving every day is my new norm.

I haven't run in a while. I tried once last week because my hip wasn't hurting anymore. (Probably because I wasn't running.) But I tried just for half a mile and all of a sudden my back starts hurting again. UG! If it's not one thing it's another. It was making me limp so I had to start walking and then even walking was hurting too much. Seriously need to call the doctor and make an appointment already. I'm not letting this stop me from working out though. I'm just choosing other workouts to do. NO EXCUSES!! So many of my friends ran in half marathons or full marathons yesterday. ahh really makes me want to run. Can't believe I would ever really say that. I actually like to run and I miss it.

My Fitness Pal

So, with my new rejuvenated enthusiasm to get this weight off I have decided to take a new approach. I've decided to start counting calories. I have been eye balling it in the past and making healthier choices. But I figured that a more structured approach might be just what I need to make the scale move faster.

I joined a site called myfitnesspal. It's a website and app all in one. You can calculate all of the foods you eat and get a read out on the nutrition you are consuming. It's pretty awesome how it shows all of the vitamins and everything you are getting and what you are lacking and still need to get for the day. You can track your exercise there too. Then it calculates and gives you credits for all of the working out you have done so theoretically you could eat more if you worked out. On a day like today when I worked out like crazy, I'm using some of those calories.

Another part of it that I like is that it has an app for my phone. So, while I was in the gym today I was adding all of the things I did right into it. That way I would remember it all. And it's so fast to do it too.

I lost again this week!! Not nearly as much as the first week trying really hard....but still a loss. I'm looking forward to many reports of progress on the scale.

You can add friends on this app to help encourage each other as well. I'm TraciTreasures. Feel free to add me. Still trying to figure it all out.  A bunch of my other names I would pick were taken, so I just chose my blog name (without the s). When I had originally signed up for it I was TracisTreasures, but I deleted that account because when I signed in I didn't use my original start weight for my "now" weight. I was discouraged. I really wanted that ticker! So, I'll be adding the ticker right after this blog. Sadly, I'm back to 30 pounds lost (as apposed to 66). But that's with losing like 5 recently. So, I'll take it. I won't quit. I will slowly lose it all again and then more.

While I was working out yesterday I was telling myself over and over. I'm capable. I can do this. I can get through this. I am worth it. I'm not going to die.

I'm so determined that no one and nothing is going to stop me.

I joined 2 challenges as well. One is with a group from church. It's mainly a goal challenge. Set your own goal and whomever achieves that goal within the allowed time gets put in a drawing for a $50 gift card. Sounds good to me!! The other challenge is kind of a goal challenge too with some online friends. For that challenge I am going to be continuing my workout routine as well as tracking my food and exercise on myfitnesspal as well.

Looking forward to all of this motivation to keep on track.

No Bus For Us

On the way to school today we saw the kids still waiting for the bus (all alone). So a conversation started about why they are not taking the bus to school even though they are far enough away from school to bus in.

I started telling them my story about almost being kidnapped at the bus stop when I was in 1st grade. I realize most people probably don't know this story so I thought I would share. I was with a few other kids at the bus stop waiting for the bus. A car came up to us when the man driving said that our bus had broken down and that he was there to take us to school. (There was already a little girl in the back seat of the car.) So immediately I was like...oh ok...and took a step toward the car. That is when one of the big 5th grader boys stepped in front of me with his arm straight out shouting "NO!" He hovered around us pushing us away from the car to get us further away. It all happened so fast. That's when the bus showed up and the car sped away.

We proceeded to tell the bus driver, as well as several other adults who DIDN'T believe us. Finally we told a noon duty aid who took us seriously and took us to the office. The police were called and a search was on for the people in the car as well as the little girl who was in the car already. They did calls to make sure none of the school buses were actually broken down as well. And eventually called our parents. My mom says it wasn't until 2 something before they were called. Needless to say they couldn't believe it took them so long to call.

The police honored the boy who saved us. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. Who knows what could have happened if he weren't there?

I was just talking about this with my mom the other day. I learned something I never knew. She said they eventually caught the guy because he tried to do it again.

The bus stop here is literally right down the street from our house. But the bus stop this happened at was right down the street from my child care that I was at in the morning. And the bus stop this happened at was right next door to a fire department. This stuff can happen anywhere. So I will happily drive the 2 miles to the school twice a day.

Moving the Scale

Finally we have some major movement on the scale. I lost 4.4 pounds this week!!! Hallelujah!! I guess cutting back on the Easter candy was the trick. What a concept?! lol So excited to see that scale moving in the right direction. It just motivates me further to keep going to the gym and eating better.

Video for Ellen

Ever since seeing Sophia Grace and Rosie on Ellen Courtney has been asking me if they can make a video to send to Ellen. That way she can go on the show. It seems really important to her so I agreed to video them if they practiced what they were going to do. So they practiced and I videoed and promised to send it to Ellen. I'm putting it on here because it needed a web address to submit it. And I thought it would be safer here than you tube. So, here they are. So cute!
Never mind...it only let me upload on you tube. But here it is anyway.

WACCy Wednesday

haha I thought that would be a fun title since I am writing about the women's retreat that I went on with the wonderful women at WACC (Whittier Area Community Church). We went to the Murrietta Hot Springs for the weekend and had a wonderful time. As you can see from the photo above, it was a beautiful place. I only took this one picture of it. lol Didn't even take my regular camera. Guess I needed a retreat too.

6 people to a room doesn't sound like much fun, but it was. My roomies were my mom, Shauna, Kim, Ekaterina, and Amy. We had such a fun time doing everything together.

The first night we got all checked in (thanked God we weren't the lady who broke her leg) and went to dinner together. It was fun eating all together in the big hall so we could see the other groups who were there too. Then we went over to our big room that we had the opportunity to meet our speaker. She was wonderful. What a natural gift this woman has. While walking back to our rooms and being very tired, we checked out the hot springs for the next day. Don't know if you have ever been to them but boy do they stink. lol Supposedly like sulfur but to me it smelled like rotten eggs. We didn't care. We just knew we had to experience it while we could. So we went back to bed and slept. Every one was so tired.

The next day we started with breakfast together followed by our morning session with the speaker and worship. The theme of the talks was friendship. We learned about  Barbaras, Pamelas, and Tammys. The need for having friends that are Barbaras are friends that are like Barnabus was. There for your friends no matter what. They live life with you and are willing to pick up your mat when you are too sick/tired to do it for yourself. Friends who are Pamelas are friends who are like Paul. A mentor relationship. Someone who has been there before. Someone who can pour into you, as Sherry would say. The third are Tammys. These are friends who are like Timothy. Friends that we can mentor. Someone new to the path you have been on. It was awesome learning all of this.

After that talk we had many different options of workshops we could go to or chose to do nothing at all. ;) I thought it was great that they emphasized that this retreat should be whatever you want it to be. So if you wanted to have activities, there were many to choose from. If you wanted to sleep all day you could do that too. Loved that. We chose to sign up for one workshop and have fun the rest of the day. We went to Anne's workshop on Building Healthy Relationships/Boundaries. Some good reminders about having healthy boundaries and sticking up for yourself really. A hard challenge but worth it.

We then went to lunch and parted ways. Some went to lunch outside the retreat and others went to other workshops, while 4 of us (mom, Shauna, Ekaterina and I) went out shopping after our lunch. There was a mall right down the street. A few of us got mini massages (10 min. shoulder ones). It was worth it. We got back to the retreat and decided to go into the hot springs. WOW, is it hot! And we were supposedly in the cooler one. The natural rocky bottom was so hard to sit in or on. It was amazing that we didn't stink like it afterward. We all still took showers after just in case. ;) Then we all got ready for dinner. After dinner was a wonderful night with worship and the speaker one last time. There were also other mini talks here and there throughout.

After that we had a bonfire with smores and spontaneous baptisms afterward in the hotsprings. The speaker had talked about her church and they did a polar bear baptism for someone who insisted to get baptized right away in natural water (not an inside pool or bath). I think people were inspired by the story and by the Holy Spirit of course. It was wonderful that so many people (7) decided to be baptized.

We actually left right before the baptisms and before the bonfire was over so we could get to our movie in time. We went to see The Hunger Games. The movie didn't end until 1 something. We were pleasantly surprised when the rest of our group was still awake when we got back. They had been relaxing in the hot springs late. The movie was good, but the company was even better.

The next morning we met for our last breakfast there together. I ended up getting an allergic reaction to the bread (manufactured with peanuts I found out). So I spend the rest of the morning in a daze of sleepiness due to the Benadryl. We had a great morning recapping our wonderful weekend. So many women talking about their experiences. I even felt the need to share. I got up to share how wonderful it was to spend some quality time with friends. To be somewhere, where I knew a lot of people, and got so many wonderful hugs from people. I think God knew I needed to be there. To experience the love of friendship this weekend. It was a rather emotional morning. We went to look at the bookstore before we left.

Thankfully my mom had offered to drive me to her house because there was no way I could drive. We were already planning on going to Whittier. I was just going to drive home to get everyone and Scott drive to Whittier. So this way my mom drove me to Whittier and Scott and the kids met us there. We got to hang out with my cousin Nicole while she was down from Washington and her fiance Greg. We had to leave way too soon. We waited quite a while though after taking the Benadryl to leave because I had to drive one car home. The weather going home didn't help. Windy, rainy, foggy, dark.

Got home safe from the retreat finally like at about 8 or so at night. What a wonderful retreat with my friends and family. But it was so nice to be back home. I missed those kiddos and my hubby.

More to come....

Just thought I would come on here real quick so I don't get out of the blog habit for too long again. ;) I have a few ideas for blog entries I will be doing soon just need a few minutes to do it and today is not that day. All of my photos are on the other computer too. The computer we just got back from being fixed.

The girls had soccer games today. Note to self: Everyone must be slathered in sunscreen. Not just a little. Slathered! And don't just bring the umbrella in the car. Actually take it with you. lol Even if it's a Wind Warning kind of day. More on that later. I had sunscreen on and still got burnt.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Mom!! Excited to go to Whittier. However, we are doing our taxes that day too. Hate doing them. Always makes me nervous for some reason. All of the receipts are all in excel and it's all printed out ready to go.

The girls have spring break this week. They couldn't be more excited about it. I think they are the most excited to be visiting their old school. The schools have different spring breaks so their old teachers encouraged us to bring them in to visit their classrooms. Courtney has been making cards for each person in her class telling them how much she misses them all.  I'm looking forward to seeing all of those little faces seeing her again. Her face as she sees all of her friends again. And her teacher's face watching it all. The joy will be abounding. I sooo look forward to Skyler going back to her classroom too. She is also very excited to see everyone. I can't wait for her to see her old friends again and to feel like a super special kid for a day. Scott also has Monday and Tuesday off to join us.

Monday Scott has his nuclear stress test. Assuming it actually happens. Last time it was scheduled we had a call the day before saying it wasn't approved. Ug. Talk about hassles. So, let's hope it happens since the doctor wants it to happen.

Looking forward to all this week has to offer. Wait...let's see if Scott has put any pictures on this computer. ;)

A cute pic of the girls at Red Robin with some of their best friends, Jenna and Alyssa. I believe this was when we were celebrating Alyssa's birthday.

Resurfacing

So, I'm resurfacing in the blogger world. I have been thinking about blogging for a while, but never sat down to actually write anything. Since the kids are getting a long for a few minutes, I thought I would jump right in. It feels like forever since I have blogged and quite a lot has gone on in my life.

We moved. Quite the ordeal. I have lived most of my life in Whittier and have moved away from home. We now live in Victorville, CA. Which, really isn't that far away. It's usually about an hour and 15 minutes to get here. We have been back to Whittier almost every weekend since. Or at least it seems that way. Between birthday parties for the girls back in Whittier so their friends (and ours)  and family could come, outings for church, more birthdays, etc. We even came back once to get a dog. (More about that later.)

This move has been really hard on me. Not to take away from any of the friendships I have started now that we are here. It just doesn't feel like home here and I'm not sure it ever will. Eventually we would like to be back in Whittier. So I see this as a chance to trust God's direction in our lives. Trust that He has a plan in all of this and that maybe it's people like Gen and Tim we were supposed to meet. Or Jenny and Jeff who invited us into their home for bible study. Or maybe we will some how impact something here or have lasting friendships from here that we weren't going to have had we not moved here.

This is really hard to write about because it hits me hard how much I miss everyone. I miss hanging out with my besties. Going to Savers or Panera with Danielle and Candice. Hanging out with Kim and Amy. Running or scrapping with Shauna. And all of the above and more with all of my friends and family. I miss being able to run over to either my parents or in laws house to hang out. I know my girls miss that too.

Speaking of the girls, it has been so hard seeing them in the school that they are in. Yes, we checked it out before hand. Checked them all out but couldn't get in to any of the charter schools we wanted because they were all full. They were excelling in their school in Whittier that had higher standards of learning compared to here. Don't get me wrong, they are doing great here too, but they could be doing more. Thankfully we just had a conference with both teachers and they are doing amazing in their classes. So glad to talk to both and get a feeling like they might challenge them both more. Even if I'm doing some of it at home. We will be trying to change schools for next fall. Hopefully we can get in. But for now, I think it will be fine where they are at. I'm learning to go with it in some areas and challenge what isn't being done in other areas.

I really should take this time to say how blessed we really are. My husband has a job!! That in itself is just such an awesome thing. We are living in a rented house that is amazingly huge that we are getting spoiled in. 3 bathrooms compared to 1 is the most amazing thing. We are starting to make a few friends slowly and have unpacked everything we are going to unpack. (There are tons of boxes in the garage that will stay that way unless needed.) We really are blessed. I just really wish we could be back to our life and a more local to Whittier job for my honey. We'll work on that. ;) He's such a hard worker and I am so proud of him.

In the meantime I am a traveling photographer. Kind of was one before, but more so now. I have only done some shots here of my girls (that I haven't edited yet). But still keep getting work near the Whittier area, which I love. It allows me to be able to go back and visit some people while I make some money for my family and provide a wonderful service for families, as well as have fun taking the pictures. I am constantly wanting to learn more about photography. This is partially why I pin a million pins about photography on my board on pinterest. Because I never know which pin will be linked to the most amazing advice I will ever get. And sometimes I check out the websites, realize it's crap and go back and delete the pin. Ug. I love looking at it all. It's so inspiring. Not loving their terms of use though. May have to re-think some of the things I re-pin.

So, I mentioned we got a dog! Finally!! The girls cheer for her every time they see her. It's so adorable how they just love on her. Her name is Princess. She's a small little black dog. Looks like a Chitoxi (Taco Terrior...lol), which is a mix of Chihuahua and Toy Fox Terrior. Not 100% on it though. Possibly a Puggle like Petsmart thought. But the Chitoxi ones look more like her.

The year of unemployment was not nice to my waist line. So I need to re-loose some of the weight I lost. That's so hard for me to admit, but I'm finally saying it. So far since the new year I have gone up and down to a total of 3 pounds lost so far. Not that great, but something I guess. It seems like every time I go gung ho on the weight loss I either get really sick and can't exercise or hurt myself when I go running or something and can't move for a few days. It's like really?? Granted, the eating right should be enough, but it just hasn't happened yet. I need to get real and kick myself in the butt. I have started doing all different kinds of exercises to help. From Turbo Kick Boxing, running, walking, elliptical, rowing, strength training, stair machine, etc. I started training for a 8K race (but didn't end up racing). I trained for it and got to the 5 miles twice, but ended up hurting my hip. Not sure how since it was pretty gradual increase of miles. So, I'm going to lay off the running for now since even walking and a little jogging still hurts it. I'll stick with the other stuff for now. That's hard for me because I know in running once you stop you have to build back up to it all again. Just when I was at 5 miles. Ah oh well. Health of my hip first. And that way I won't have my hip holding me back from exercising. I want to stop sabotaging myself. I want to get me back. I want to be healthy. I WILL do this. I will never give up.

Moving??

Scary thought!!! But good reason. Scott got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He accepted a job offer in Victorville. If you don't know this area, that means it's about an hour and 15 minutes to drive to without traffic. You have to go through the Cajon Pass to get there...so it's one of those places that if weather isn't good, you can't go through the pass. I'm assuming there are ways to take the long way around. So, in the meantime, Scott is going to start working there on Oct. 24th and commute until we actually move there. That is unless another better offer comes first. He had an awesome interview with Chevron of all places (his previous employer). This refinery is the one in Bakersfield though, so that would be even further away. Through yet another pass (Tajon Pass..aka the Grapevine) So, if he got that one, we would have to move there. Either job (Victorville or Bakersfield) we would have to move for. The one in Victorville doesn't pay enough for us not to move. Victorville cost of living is way lower than here so we could rent a huge house out there for way less than we have a mortgage for here. Same with Bakersfield. But Bakersfield there is no way he could commute to. Just too far away. And on another note, there is a slight possibility we wouldn't have to move at all. Scott got an email yesterday from a company who wants to talk to him and they are only in Monrovia (way easier to commute to). So, in the meantime we need to pack with the assumption that the for sure job is happening (Victorville). I'm so sad for the kids moving from their schools, teachers, friends, family and all. (Especially since it's during the school year.) But really, Victorville isn't that far away. When I think of all of the hundreds of places Scott applied to all over the country, this is pretty close. It's not Hawaii or Washington DC. No 5 hour plane flight needed. :)

I am getting sad about it though. Our house is going on the market. And it just saddens me to think of other people wanting our house and getting it. We have to try to sell anyway to avoid foreclosure (since we haven't been able to pay the mortage for several months). It would be way better to get someone to buy it as a short sell than to have a forclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure on our record. (Both are bad for your credit.) But then again so is not paying your mortgage for several months. It was inevitable though. We managed to pay it several months after unemployment somehow and then the funds just weren't there.

Scott's unemployment checks just ended. Well technically he still has one $29 check still coming. lol Isn't that so like God? Having him get a job offer right when the unemployment is ending. So amazing. We are so thankful for a job!!! If it didn't happen we were both thinking of taking any job out there (like Target or Costco or wherever) just to have money to eat and all.

Unfortunately, the job in Victorville doesn't do relocation. So we have to pay for our own costs to get out there. Boo! It seems like most do cover it, so to get like the one that doesn't is a little strange. Oh well. It's a job.

We keep hearing about the schools over there being bad. Please stop telling us this. We have heard it from so many people now. Guess they have a reputation out there. HOWEVER, once you actually look into the school systems over there, there are several schools that are California Distinguished schools (just like over here) and some are even National Blue Ribbon schools (which is better than the schools over here). Guess we just have a heart for our own school systems. We will also be calling the Sherrifs to see which neighborhoods are bad and which are better to live in as well as actually going there to look at some rentals.

There is just so much to think about. First order of business is my business birthday bash this weekend. I'm doing a little party for previous clients and future ones that have signed up for a session as well as some family. So excited about that. So, I have to keep the house looking fall for that. Then after that we can seriously start packing. In the meantime Scott and I will be going like mad people cleaning up our room and the garage and all of that to make the house look better to sell. Seriously need to paint the trim also. Lots to do, so much to think about.

And just the thought of having to keep the house looking perfect for anytime people want to call to come look at the house. ahhh A serious yard sale will be in order.