So yesterday I had my 8th weigh in, not including that first one and I am down officially 15lbs! I can’t believe it. I am at 183.2 and excited. I lost .2lbs this past week, which is my lowest, but if I really look at it, I wasn’t great during the weekend, didn’t really do anything to earn activity points and I’m bloated at the moment. I danced a lot last night at Toby Keith’s I Love this Bar with Stacie last night, so an activity point or two earned yesterday and I bought the Tone kit that they have at Weight Watchers and plan on starting tomorrow. Giving myself a much needed day off at the moment, though if I’m feeling up to it, maybe I will do it tonight when I get home but probably not. Still excited to be at my lowest I have been in forever. Thank you Stacie and Zoe for coming with me every week! You two help me want to do this!
So it’s that time again and before I give you a list of the ones that I have this year, let’s see how I did last year…
These are last year’s resolutions:
1. Obviously the lose weight thing. I am super excited that on the very 1st day of 2011 that I was able to fit in a 14! Last year on the same day, I was fluctuating between an 18W or 20W. That’s a plus size! And though they make the W in the 14′s, there is no W on the jeans I am wearing today. That feels good and I would like to make that feel better! This all starts tomorrow, as date night is tonight and I am giving myself one last day/night.
– Though I didn’t do anything for a better part of the year, I joined Weight Watchers on November 14th and as of New Years Eve, I am down 14.8 lbs!! Still in a 14 but comfortably whereas a good chunk of the year it wasn’t so comfortable!!
2. I want to get my bills back on track. I may have said this same thing last year and I did get some fixed, but I need to fix more. That’s one of my plans.
- This one was tough as due to some things with my job, I lost somewhere around $10,000 of my yearly pay. They took away our spiffs and it hurt a lot.
3. I would like to get my house more organized, enough said.
- Didn’t do this as much as I would have liked to…
4. I want to find time to be crafty again. Eric got me a Learn to Crochet kit, which I hope to learn how to do by the end of January. I also want to scrapbook and maybe learn to quilt. Have to start that one soon, as the first one I am making is for Lucas and his birthday is this month.
- So I didn’t get a quilt done for Lucas, but I did make 6 this year I believe. Lucas’ is in the process of being made now. I love doing them!!
So I did do something with 50% of my resolutions. That’s not too bad!! Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish this year:
1. I would obviously like to continue to do good with Weight Watchers and would be happy to lose another 14.8 lbs this year. If I can lose more, great, but lets keep a realistic goal. I’m also hoping to not begin to lose it in November and maybe keep it off all year. I would like the day that I can put on Brittany’s size 12 and I am able to zip them up! I will let you know when that happens!!
2. I think I have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up…I would like to do something with Graphic Arts or Marketing. I make brochures and flyers and monthly memos for customers all the time and I love doing it. So with that said, I would like to start looking at school. I know that I can’t afford it right now, but I would like to start getting some ideas for school and see what is out there and maybe take a home class. Won’t happen soon though maybe starting over the summer.
3. I want to be happy. I haven’t been the happiest person recently and I just want to be happy. Not sure how to go about doing that but I am going to figure it out.
4. Lastly, I love making my quilts and this is a two for one…I would like to make some real money off them if possible and I would like to be able to donate some to a hospital or Project Linus or a nursing home. Maybe completing one a month, for a total of 12 this year. I have an order already for three more for Christmas and maybe one for February but it’s for the same person I made the one for Christmas for and she’s good at waiting until the last minute. We will see…
That’s it. Wish me luck and keep me on track please. I would greatly appreciate any help in any of these.
So this blanket felt like it took forever and in reality, it only took me a little over 2 weeks. It was the biggest I have ever made and it was also my most stressful but I am very happy with the results. I think I put in like 40+ hours on it and Eric won’t let me do anything again until my fingers heal (I poked myself a lot with the needle putting the ties in). Let me share the results with you…
I started with this fabric:
Happy 2011! Can you believe that it’s the holidays already! We can’t. We have been so busy at the Chalmers Household this year, I’m not sure I can decide what are the important parts of the year that should be part of this letter.
Brittany is in her sophomore year at South Shore Voc Tech in Hanover and got in to Allied Health! We are so proud of her and she seems to be loving it too! She has been part of everything she can be, cheer, softball, drama, creative writing, adventure club. She has been keeping super busy and still doing pretty good in school. I don’t envy her schedule at all!
Zachary finished up basketball season and went right in to baseball season which went right in to football season, though he decided to take a break from that. He finished 6th grade doing pretty well and is now approximately half way through 7th grade. Basketball has started again, so it’s back to something for him. He had it pretty easy this fall.
Things with Eric and I aren’t too much different at this time. Eric is still at Walmart. He helped coach Zachary’s baseball team this year and is doing the announcing for the football season for the Whitman youth team. My company has officially been taken over by Phillips Feed and I went down to PA for 2 weeks in June for training, which was a ton of fun though I missed Eric and the kids a lot! They would like us to move to PA but I don’t think it will happen. Family and friends are all, for the most part, within 1-25 miles away and I think it would be too hard for all of us. I also started quilting this year, which has been fun for me. I have enjoyed doing it and it keeps me out of trouble.
We lost Gram Pimental this year which was hard, especially on Brittany. She loved hanging out (“babysitting”) with her. Please take a minute and say a quick word or two for her. It was different being at the house afterwards, but the Cherry Street house has been officially been sold so it will make it easier.
I hope 2012 finds you all with lots of love and laughter and good health. Make sure to hug your loved ones whenever you can, as this year has taught us how unexpected things can happen.
We love you!!
Julie, Eric, Brittany and Zachary
Zachary turned 13 this past Sunday and I still just can’t believe it. He’s getting so old and I am not ready for two teenagers in the house!! Just a few of the pictures I could find. I have so many more but all before having a computer so I don’t have any real young ones of him on here. One of these days, I hope to go through all my pictures and put them on a disk. Here are some good ones for now though. I love you Zachary!!
I am down another 3.4lbs! Woo hoo! That brings me down 8.6lbs total! I am .8lbs away from my 5% goal and only 3lbs from my lowest point with Alli. I am so excited though don’t completely feel it in my clothes still. Will keep doing what I’m doing though because I am having success with it and I love that feeling!
I haven’t done one of these in quite some so I thought what better day than today to do one… Though Thanksgiving has passed (I can’t get the holiday straight, I keep calling it Valentine’s Day), I am going to name some people/things that I am grateful for. They may not be the obvious ones, trying to go a little away from that.
1. My cousin Stacie and Zoe Mansfield – I started Weight Watchers two weeks ago, as you know from other posts, and I am so grateful that I have them both to go with me. I don’t think I could do it on my own and Stacie has been such a huge help every time I have a freak out.
2. Peggy Brooks – Anyone who knows me and my work situation may find this one strange, but with some of the changes recently, Peggy has been a bit of a sounding board. It has been tough recently and people are on edge and jumping down each others throats at time and Peggy is one of the few who remember that we are all in this together and that we can’t take it out on each other.
3. Cold Medicine – I have been sick for what seems like forever and thankfully cold medicine was invented to help me from calling out of work and crawling back to bed. I probably should do it, but I just don’t have the time off and things are stressful there anyway and I don’t want to leave them feeling screwed if I am not there.
4. My blog, which would include Tommy and Tanya for making it possible for me – I may not always find time to put my thoughts down, but it does help to do it. There are thoughts that I can put out on the internet for everyone to see and if I would like, I can write things that only I can see (I’ve done it and it helps).
5. My Nook – it has gotten me through many a cheerleading practice this past football season. It’s a 20 minute drive to Brittany’s school and when she has to be there for anywhere from an hour to two hours, it’s crazy to drive home, so I either sit in the parking lot of the school or I will head over and sit at Walmart for the couple of hours. I have read quite a bit this year because of it.
6. Me nephew Lucas – I don’t think anyone gets as excited to see me as that kid! “Auntie Julie’s here! Woo hoo!” I love seeing him as his face lights up every time I come over. I love seeing all my nieces and nephews, but the genuine excitement in that kids face when I come over overwhelms me.
7. My Mom for teaching me to quilt – I really enjoy doing it (and need to get some done as I have three blankets to do for Christmas). I think I’m getting better too!!
8. Brittany – for being able to feel she can come to me for anything, even if I don’t want to hear it. I am glad we are as close as we are at her age. I don’t think I was as close with my Mom at that age. I love her more and more everyday. Sometimes I worry that we aren’t as close and then something changes to make a differently.
9. Zachary – How can you not be thankful for this kid? His laughter alone fills the house and it makes me smile (though I wish I heard it more sometimes). His smile is infectious. He will do anything for me, with minimal complaint.
10. And lastly, Eric – he loves me no matter what is going on.
So week two and I am down 5.2lbs! I am so excited! I am 4.8lbs away from my 5% goal. And we just passed one of the hardest weeks to be on a diet! Thanksgiving was actually easier than I thought it would be though the food was super good! I just wasn’t as hungry. I found other things to occupy my thoughts instead of getting another plate. I did eat a full piece of pie though (slivers of two different kinds) but otherwise, I ate breakfast before heading to Aunt Judy’s so I wasn’t starving. I ate a bite of two different dips (one taco dip <–super yummy and one artichoke dip <–also super yummy) but then filled up on the grapes and a banana that were on the table. My clothes don’t feel looser yet but I still did it! I am so happy. Thank you again Stacie and now Zoe for being there for me. I couldn’t do it without the two of you!
Hey everyone this is the first time ive done this but i stared to play basketball this year and i have a game on the first or second week of December. I will tell you the date on a later day. Also happy thanksgiving.
So I made my first item that I’m charging for (though I feel funny doing it). I’m still excited by how it came out! Something a little different than Brittany’s pillow but fun anyway. Really have to get working on some blankets though that I have to have done for Christmas and other things really soon!! For now though, I love the pillow and how it came out! I have a free Saturday coming up (no football!!) so I can work on some other things. This pillow only took me a couple of hours to do!!
