Weight Update

So...it's Wednesday. Which means I weighed in this morning. And.....I'm down 2.8 pounds! Woohoo! Also, the topic of discussion today was beverages and how to find low point ones, etc. And can I just say that I am so glad I live the Word of Wisdom? They spent a good deal of the time talking about healthier/lower calorie coffee or alcoholic drinks. And I thought...I never have to worry about that! I don't feel a need or a desire for either, so I get to spend all the points on something besides a daily coffee or cup of wine. Just another reason the Word of Wisdom is awesome!

And that's it folks.

More on My Weight Loss Journey

Okay friends, I know I have already shared some of my weight loss goals/journey with you, but I've decided to open myself up to you even further. Weight Watchers is working for me, but I had a couple of weeks where I stopped trying as hard, and even not counting those weeks, the weight loss isn't happening quite as fast as I want. I understand that if you want the weight to stay off, you have to lose it as a healthy weight. But I would love to be losing 2lb a week (WW recommends .5-2 a week) every week, instead of the .8 here or 1.6 there that I've been losing. Any loss is great, but I want to push myself a little harder.

Which is in part, where you come in. I don't know the people at my meeting, and none of them really know what weight I started at and what my goal(s) are. But I do know you, and I want you to know what my goals are so that I can be held accountable by the people I know really care about me. So, starting this week, there will be another page on this blog titled "My Weight Loss" where I will keep track of how much I've lost and what goals I am working towards. I don't know what all will end up there, but I want somewhere to keep track of these things where I won't be the only person to ever see it. I used to think by doing this I might open myself up to judgment. But the truth is, most of you won't be judging me for my highest weight, or if I have a bad week. Instead you'll just be cheering me on and motivating me to reach my goals, and I've decided I need that. Plus, I've realized that I can let go of my shame about being overweight, because guess what, I am working HARD to change that. And the fact that I finally admitted that something needed to be done and starting actually doing it...that is something I have every right to be really proud of. I am still really self-conscious about my weight. The thought of you all knowing what my starting weigh at weight watchers was is an unpleasant one to me, but I feel like it can help me to never get back to that point again.

Another way I'm motivating myself to do better is to challenge myself. I know I already set one goal for the summer, to reach my 10% goal by labor day. Sadly, I don't think I'll be reaching that goal (we'll see, I might, but it's doubtful) and I don’t want that failure to hold me back or keep me from making new goals. So I've already picked a new goal to start working on. I want to be at or below 200 pounds by my birthday, November 30. I have about 27 pounds to go to reach that point, and just over 16 weeks to do it in. That means I will need to be losing an average of 1.69 pounds a week. It won't be easy, but I really believe I can do it. Especially if you will all support me and push me to reach this goal. It was really hard on my self-esteem when I reached 200 in my weight gain, but it wasn't enough to make me finally change how I was living. I'm hoping that when I reach it going in the other direction, it will be a great boost of confidence to keep me going in the right direction.

Thank you so much for the support you've already offered me as I've worked to improve my life in this manner, and thank you in advance for the support I know you'll continue to offer.

Shop and Weight Loss Update

So, this update is mainly to let you know there are 20 new items in my shop! So click on that little link at the top my page and go check it out!

Second, for those of you who are interested my weight loss is still going well. I met my 5% goal the week after my latest update, and to date I've lost 14.6 pounds. I've still got a long way to go, but I have already fit back into a couple of shirts and some pants that didn't fit me when I joined Weight Watchers. I'm a little anxious about my weigh-in this week because I haven't been as good about not giving into my cravings for food or in going to the gym as much as I should, but even if my weight doesn't go down, I know that I can start fresh for the next week. It's a great feeling to know that I am sticking to my goal and actually succeeding!

Short Little Post

Hey friends. This is just going to be short little post asking any of you who may not have checked out my crafting blog/shop yet to think about doing so now. Even you non-female readers who may be out there should look into it, cause I'm sure you all have women in your life who wouldn't turn down some new jewelry. I'm bringing it up again now because of two reason, I currently have a coupon code available for 25% off anything in my shop that can only be found by reading that blog, and because I've just asked my readers over there a favor, and the more possible people I get responding to it, the better. :) Also, you can now find a convenient little link to them both in the header of this blog.

Also, for those of you wondering if I reached my 5% goal at my Weight Watchers weigh in this this week, the answer is, not quite. I lost 1.8 this past week instead of the 2 I wanted to, so now I'm just .2 away and I expect to lose at least that much by my weigh in next week. Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement as I work to make myself healthier and happier.


P.S. Kaitlin Farmer, the word convenient almost always makes me think of you. :)

Down 10 Pounds!

So, today is Wednesday, which for me means a Weight Watchers meeting complete with my weekly "weigh-in." Of course, I pretty always wish I lost more than I do in a given week, which was the case today, but I was still down 1.6 pounds, which is pretty awesome considering they say you shouldn't lose more than 2 a week anyway. Well, that 1.6 pounds put my total weight loss since my first meeting at exactly 10 pounds! Woohoo! Today was my 7th meeting, meaning I've lost that over a 6 week period, or an average of 1.67 a week. Which actually makes me pretty excited, because it means I'm on the right track to meet my 10% goal by Labor Day. Speaking of goals, this also means that I only have 2 lbs to go before I meet my 5% goal. So, keep your fingers crossed for me and maybe I'll meet that goal next Wednesday! It's definitely great motivation to work really hard this week. And perhaps once of the best parts is, I really don't feel deprived of eating what I enjoy, even though I know I'm making positive changes to my diet. I just eat less of the really unhealthy stuff, and I've learned to really savor it when I let myself have it.

I'm also really enjoying going to our rec center and working out, which isn't really something I think I would have ever said before. But it's true! Jacob and I joke that I am becoming a "gym junkie" because I pretty much want to go every day, whether Jacob wants to come with me or not, I also generally want to stay longer than him when he does come, and sometimes I even want to go two times a day! I'm not saying I haven't been sore or in pain at all, but I actually enjoy knowing that I'm sore because I'm finally trying to exercise regularly. The last few days I've gone I've had a great hour long workout spending 20 minutes each on a treadmill, stationary bike, and treadmill. And I am tired by the time that I get on that last machine, but I just feel so good about it! And the best thing is, even though I don't really look or feel any skinnier yet, I can already tell that I'm healthier just from the two or three weeks I've been going. I am slowly increasing my speed on the treadmill, and my heart rate has been slowly decreasing from where it was hitting the first few days. It's really helped to have my ipod with me, and about a week ago I had the genius idea to take my kindle with me and prop it up on the little stands they have for magazines on each machine. It's been fantastic! And luckily, it will also be a great way to get me to read some classic literature, since I already have a whole bunch of classics on my kindle that didn't cost me a thing.

Also....I've pretty much secretly decided I want to try a 5k towards the end of summer. I know I won't be able to really run it, but even now I can walk an 18 minute mile on the treadmill. I tried upping my power walk to a jog today, and sadly I still weigh too much for the joints, etc in my legs to be able to handle that for very long quite yet, but hopefully that will change soon. And, Jacob and I are thinking we might actually go backpacking in the Windrivers with some of my family this year. A couple of my uncles are taking their oldest kids, so they're doing a shorter 6 mile hike, and I actually am starting to believe I could handle that, even with a 40 pound pack on my back. :)

I guess what this all really comes down to is that I am really enjoying my weight loss journey so far. I think I finally hit that point where I was so disgusted with my weight that it was enough motivation to finally do this for me and to be willing to spend the money to make it happen. I've also had a lot of really great examples in my family lately of people working hard to lose their extra weight, and I owe a lot of you my gratitude for being examples to me. I hope this weight loss update didn't bore any of you, because you can totally expect more.


P.S. Thank you to Aubrey for being the ONLY person who commented on my shop/crafting blog when asked for suggestions of what you guys want to see in my shop. If the rest of you love me at all, you might want to consider proving it by following her example. Here's a convenient link for you --> Lydia's Craft Blog

The Update on everything Lydia post

Hey folks, it's been a while, so here I am to update you on everything important (and maybe not so important) in my life.

First off, still no jobs. In fact, we're even worse off in that department now because Jacob's boss retires in July, so that job will be gone. Sad day. Obviously that's still really frustrating and discouraging. I did have one interview for a job that I would have loved to get, but then I never heard back from the person I interviewed with. Even after I e-mailed and asked them if the position was still open, etc! It is so rude in my opinion when people won't even both to send you an quick e-mail saying, "sorry, we decided to go with someone else," especially when they have an e-mail from me they can just reply to! Grrr! So yep, that situation is still frustrating and stressful, but I'm trying harder not to let it get to me.

Second....Jacob and I celebrated our two year anniversary by spending a night in the hotel we stayed in the day we got married. Sure, it was just one night, and it's just in Layton (since we did our reception the next day) but it was still fun to just get out for a night. We stopped by City Creek center before heading up north and then spent some time in the Layton Mall as well. We also tried a Thai restaurant in Layton. I can't even remember what it's called, but it's on the corner of Antelope and Hill Field Rd. I think. Well...we weren't really impressed. Their Pad Siew (or however they spelled it) was just okay, and their Massamaun was waaaay to spicy for me(I'm a wimp) even though we ordered it mild. The one thing that was exceptionally good though was their version of wantons, which they called golden bags or something like that. They were DELICIOUS! If I were ever going to let myself make an entire meal of wantons, that is where I would go.

But, I won't be doing that any time soon because I joined Weight Watchers! A lot of you reading this probably already know that, but for those of you who don't, there's the info! I just attended my fifth weekly meeting and so far I've lost a total of 6.4 lbs. My progress has been a little slower than I like, especially last week when I stayed exactly the same weight, but I'm still progressing and haven't gained any weight in those five weeks. Today at our meeting we were all encouraged to make a summer goal, and I decided mine would be to meet my 10% goal. Meaning by Labor day I want to have lost 10 percent of what I weighed on my first day. I've got 17.6 lbs to go, which will require me to lose an average of 1.25lbs a week, but I really think I can do it, especially because I've told all of you, so now I'm extra accountable! So, in the future expect updates on my weight loss progress, and possibly some good workouts or recipes I find as well.

To help me with my weight loss, and Jacob's as well, we recently purchased 3 month memberships to the Rec Center near us. It's a really nice Center, and the passes weren't cheap, so we're determined to make it worth the expense. We went to work out for the first time last night, and I felt so out of shape! I of course wanted to try the pool out first, but I could barely handle 15 minutes of laps before I was ready to get out and check out the cardio room. Pretty sad when you consider that I used to have practice for two hours after school every day when I did Swim Team the first couple years of high school. But, if I just keep doing as much as I'm capable maybe eventually I'll be able to handle two hours again. (though I doubt I'd ever swim for two hours straight these days) However, even though I was shown just how out of shape I am, it was still a great feeling when we walked out knowing that I'm doing something about it. We're planning on heading back tonight to work out some more.

What else.....
My cousin/best friend Brian got married last week! I'm so happy for him and Alisa, they're both great people and I know they'll be happy together. And I couldn't help but approve of Alisa when it became obvious that she knows just how great of a guy she found. :) Also, I've had an eye infection for the last week or so....and I'm really missing wearing my contacts. The doctor put me on some antibiotic eye drops, so it's clearing up and hopefully will be 100% in the next day or two.

Finally, my big announcement! (No I'm not pregnant) I finally followed through on my idea to open up an etsy shop and crafting blog. They are both extremely new, so don't expect much yet, but please check them out!
You can find the blog here and the shop here. And for those of you curious about the name....I didn't really want to use my full name in my shop name, so I started thinking of my nicknames. Well, one of my cousins used to call me Dia, when he was really little and couldn't pronounce my whole name, and it's always kind of been one of my favorite nicknames even though it's hardly been used. Then, I also realized that dia is the Spanish word for day. So, with a double meaning, I couldn't resist using it! So you can adorn yourself for the day with accessories created by me! heehee. I'm so clever. Anyway, most of you reading this are family and friends and are probably willing to support me in this venture anyway, but please, check it out! And even if you don't buy anything, feel free to share ideas and suggestions. I'll happily accept any support you're willing to give. And for sure feel free to tell your family and friends about my shop.

And that's the update on everything Lydia...or at least all the big things. Hope life is treating you all well!

My Life? Not so fond of it lately

So I know I keep promising that I'll post more, but the truth is I'm not sure you want me to, because then I might just end up complaining all the time, and nobody wants to read that.

Lately I feel frustrated and restless ALL THE TIME! My life in general is extremely frustrating to me. I still haven't found a job, and Jacob hasn't found a full-time job so we are still in his parents house. And I'm not even sure how much longer we can be here, with the weather getting warm again Jacob's parents are wanting to get back on track on getting the house fixed up to sell. Either way, I feel like my life is limbo right now. I can't really do much to decorate this house and make it really feel like home because we'll be painting soon(I've been thinking it was going to happen soon since we moved in, so I never did get around to decorating before now) and they might be having the kitchen and bathroom redone. I sit at home all day not really doing anything. I know everybody says looking for a job should be your full-time job when you need one, but honestly, I can only look for so long, especially when I find nothing and get really discouraged. Jacob is gone half the time, so not only do I feel really bored and useless, but extremely lonely. And because I can't find a job, I feel like a failure, like the 4 years I spent at BYU working my butt off and paying lots of money were worthless and I shouldn't have bothered. And on top of all that, for last little while it's been really hard for me to ignore just how badly I'm starting to want a baby. I want to start our family! And Jacob does too, but we both feel like right now is not the right time since we don't have a place of our own or a good income. So, for now I continue to wait, and every time I see a cute baby or toddler (and there are many in our ward every sunday) it tortures me just a little bit that I don't have one of my own. And also, my attempts to be healthier and lost weight aren't going as well as I'd like (I need more will power), even when I do well with exercise and eating better, the weight loss is minimal which makes me feel like it's not worth it!

With life being so frustrating in general, the smallest things can set me off into a pretty much full on melt-down of some kind. (for example, ask Jacob about my throwing our plastic cups around the kitchen when our stupid dishwasher failed to work properly even after my cleaning cycles of baking soda and vinegar) Most days I kind of just wish I could sleep all day long and not have to deal with it. (Instead I end up doing a lot of reading to avoid thinking about my own life) So, depressing, right? I knew you wouldn't want to hear it, and that's about all I have to say lately, hence the lack of posts. And perhaps most depressing of all is that it's getting rather hard to keep hoping that things will get any better, seeing as I graduated almost a year ago and have been in this same lousy boat since then.

There are a few things I can be grateful for thought. Mainly Jacob, and his loving patience with me and my pretty much constant depressed/frustrated state that I take out on him more than I should. In fact, he loves me so much he went and saw the Hunger Games with me, even though he wasn't really interested. Also, he agreed that we should buy MarioKart for our 64(mainly at my bidding so we'd have a game we could actually play together, which he continues to do when I ask even though I tend to beat him about 80-90% of the time)Also, the weather is finally getting warmer! which has been wonderful and has helped me cheer up a bit. And as I mentioned, I have been getting a lot of reading done, which has been great. (I know I keep promising book reviews on here, but seriously, you should all just get goodreads, because I keep track of everything I read on there, and even if I don't write an actual review, I do at least rate the books I read)

And on that note, I'll be done. I hope all of your lives are going better than mine, and if they're not, well, feel free to call and commiserate with me.

Tag, I'm it.

My friend Aubrey "tagged" me in one of those fun little blog games that goes around so I decided to play along. Here's how it goes.

1. Post these rules
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you've tagged them.


(This is my favorite picture from my bridals, and I don't have many of just me that are any newer, so it is a couple years old, but I don't look that different)

11 Things About Me
1. I really hate cold leftovers, like it disgusts me just to dish them up and get them in the microwave, especially if I have to touch them at all. It's just gross.
2. I've never broken a bone, and the only place I've ever had stitches was in my mouth(for wisdom teeth and when I had my frenulum labii superioris trimmed when I was younger)
3. I absolutely love board games. So much so that growing up when nobody wanted to play with me, I'd play Monopoly with myself. Now I do the same with Ticket to Ride when Jacob's not in the mood to play.
4. I love to do Jigsaw puzzles, in fact I spent a lot of summer days growing up doing puzzles and watching movies.
5. Speaking of movies, I have a really hard time just watching a movie or TV show, I have to be doing something else as well, hence the jigsaw puzzles in number 4.
6. I have a really hard time falling asleep without "sleepy" music because my dad always had some on around bedtime when I was growing up. Luckily Jacob is really understanding and lets me have music on at night, but when I had roommates, I had to use my ipod and headphones some nights.
7. I never had braces or a retainer, but I get cavities really easily, like you'd probably be disgusted if you knew how many I've had filled. I promise I brush my teeth!
8. I have strange dreams on a nightly basis, often more than one in a night, and I actually remember most of them too.
9. I may have majored in English Literature, but I'm not one of those "literary" stuck up types. I'd probably rather re-read the Twilight series than wade through a Thomas Hardy or Virginia Woolf novel.
10. When I was little girl I really hoped that I would have twins or even triplets when I grew up. I planned to name them things like, Rose, Rosy, and Rosamund. I've thought better of the names plan, but part of me still secretly thinks it would be cool to have twins.
11. I have a really hard time coming up with random facts about myself, you're lucky I thought of this many.

Aubrey's Questions for me
1. favorite beverage? wow this one is hard for me, but earlier this year I discovered that ginger ale mixed with the homemade grape juice Jacob's mom helped me make was AMAZING! I also really like sparkling cider, just the original apple flavor
2. what talent do you most want? I wish I was more artistic, I would love to be able to draw or paint.
3. dream vacation? Europe. I won't pick a specific country because once you're there it's pretty easy to travel between countries. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
4. what piece of advice would you give your 10 year old self? hmmm, there's a lot of things I'd love to tell my ten year old self, but I guess one would be, read a little bit less, get out and be social and active a little bit more.
5. what time of your life do you most wish to go back to and why? The summer Jacob and I started dating. It was one of the happiest periods of my life simply because I told myself to just be happy and for once I actually listened.
6. what is the coolest thing you have found on Pinterest (with the link so we can see!)? I haven't been on Pinterest long and there are already so many cool things I've found it's hard to choose one. But I did find a picture of this really cool little item I'd love to have, you stick it on your finger and it helps keeps the pages of your book open.
7. worst fear? Honestly, I am always paranoid that I'm going to be kidnapped and or raped or something else like that.
8. best work out/pep song? There are way to many, I really can't pick just one, and it often depends on my mood as well.
9. biggest accomplishment? graduating with Honors from Brigham Young University (in 4 years mind you, no super senior here)
10. favorite children's book? This is also a hard one for me to answer (another random fact about myself, I actually hate it when people ask me to pick favorites because I just can't do it) but I have always loved "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch
11. favorite holiday? Okay, so my family has our own little holiday was call "Thanksmas" which is the weekend after Thanksgiving when we'd put up all our Christmas decorations. That's probably my favorite. If I can't pick a holiday that doesn't "officially" exist then I'd probably have to say Christmas, but really I just love that holidays mean spending time with family.

My questions for Jillianne Jensen, Sarah Crooks, Kiera Beddes, and Erika Hirschi

1. What is your favorite book ever?
2. What is your dream vacation?
3. If you could live one day in the life of a fictional character, who would it be?
4. What is your favorite dessert? (Feel free to share a recipe)
5. What is your favorite restaurant and your favorite dish there?
6. What is one word you think best describes you and why?
7. What is your favorite TV show ever, and favorite current TV show (if you have one)
8. What do you love most about yourself?
9. Which Harry Potter character do you most identify with (if you don't like Harry Potter, pick another series like Lord of the Rings)
10. What is your favorite song?
11. What is your favorite board game?


Hope they all join the game, I'm excited to see their answers, and I hope this post helped you all learn a little bit more about me. And if any of you want to join the game and I didn't "tag" you, feel free to join in anyway! I'd love to see your answers too.

Woooozy

So, I finally made myself wake up around 11 this morning (late I know, but Jacob likes to keep late hours, and then he falls asleep first and SNORES-at least when he has a cold- and makes it really hard for me to fall asleep) and just lifting my head up a little bit made we feel woozy and light-headed! I stayed in bed for a bit, then I made myself go eat a clementine (and the last piece of the delicious brownies I made), hoping it would help, before I took a shower. Well, the food didn't really help. So I sat around in bed reading for a bit hoping more time would help. It didn't. So then I ate a full-sized lunch thinking IT would help. It did, a little bit. But still, if I move my head very much or very fast at all I start feeling disoriented. NOT COOL!


Anyway, I'm mainly writing this post because A. I'm bored. B. I feel like complaining about it, and C. To let you all know that while I can handle colds like nothing's wrong and after having the flu twice this year I'm not really fazed by throwing up anymore(it used to make me cry), it REALLY freaks me out when my body does weird things that I can't think of a reason for. Like, I start getting all paranoid that I've developed diabetes, or cancer, or my appendix is going to burst, or I have a tumor. Yeah, I know it's an overreaction, and I try to stay calm, but in my head the worrying just goes on and on.

I'm trying really hard not to get in full worried mode today, and it kind of helps that I feel pretty out of it...you should all wish you were here to see, it's probably entertaining. I just keep telling myself that when I wake up tomorrow morning I'll feel better, and hopefully I do.


In other news, or really more like in other Lydia's thoughts, I think I'm going to start doing a book review on a weekly basis, probably just sharing the book(s) I've read since the last post on books and telling you what I thought about them, and maybe letting you know about similar books I've read in the past that I would also recommend. So, just a heads up about that. I haven't decided what day of the week I want to do it on, but expect one soon!
And as a P.S. to that, I really think that any of you who read and who are always looking for something new to read, I really think you should get a Goodreads account if you don't have one already. It's probably one of my favorite websites ever. You can keep track of books you've read, books you're reading, and books you want to read. Plus you get to see what your friends are reading and what they think about it. So, check it out!! And then add me as a friend once you have an account.

Christmas Presents

So in my family we draw names for Christmas presents between the siblings and their spouses. This year Jacob and I drew Sarah and Sheridan. I was so excited because I knew immediately I wanted to make them some homemade presents. Necklaces are kind of the craft I'm most familiar with right now, so I decided I'd make them each a necklace. Then, I asked Sheridan what kind of gifts she wanted, and she said she'd love to have some holiday decor for their house. Now, I've been wanting more of that myself, but I've been looking for something I could switch out and re-use for multiple holidays, so I googled for tutorials and found these great ideas:


An interchangeable ornament frame at Today's Fabulous Finds


Interchangeable Letter Frames at All Things Heart and Home



and a sign or picture display at Just Beckause


After debating for a few days, I decided to go with option number one, but the frames I ended up buying were plastic, so I couldn't put the nails in the actual frame. At first i got super frustrated with myself for not realizing that, but with the help of Jacob and my mom I figured out how to make it work by putting the nails in the backing itself. This gave me the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the three frame piece that came with the frames and also make them option number two! I had some problems figuring out how to keep the alternate backing in place and ended up using some velcro, it's not a very pretty sight, but it'll do. Anyway, here's the end result(s)




And this is the necklace I made for Sarah. The picture of the entire necklace doesn't show the coloring of the beads very well, so that's what the closer pics are.




As for the necklace I made for Sheridan, I don't have any pics for you yet. As I mentioned, I got a new camera for Christmas, but by the time I opened it I had already wrapped the presents, and silly me, I forgot to take pictures after they opened them. Hopefully I can get some pictures of it soon to share with you, I'm quite proud of both necklaces, but Sheridan's was a style I've never tried before and I think it turned out great. I plan on making one for myself and Sarah after the same style as soon as I have the supplies.

And finally, for your enjoyment and mine, a couple pictures of my adorable nieces, Leah and Evelyn! They both are almost always happy and smiling and I love them to pieces!

To Pin or not to Pin?

So, I'm just sitting here debating with myself whether I want to join Pinterest or not. And by want I probably really mean should. Because I mostly really want to, but I'm scared I'll become addicted and spend many many hours on the site....because I already spend many many hours reading various craft blogs.

But then I think, well, if I get Pinterest maybe I'll be more inspired to actually start making all those awesome crafts out there.....which I really want to do. I just get scared that I'll just mess everything up! And then there's the whole cost factor, whether I can afford to spend money on crafts right now. I really should make some more necklaces, sometime I just feel like I have more than I can wear (and I'm not up to starting an etsy shop or anything like that just yet) and I'd love to make some new skirts for myself, I just get nervous about how they'd turn out and whether they'd be worth the money. AH!! Decisions!

And this is why I'm posting about this. So you can all help me decide! What do you think? Should I give in and join the Pinterest club? And what kinds of crafts should I start working on?