Here we go again!

So basketball season is upon us once again!

Last year's season marked a huge turn around in my attitude towards Todd's coaching job.
I went from a miserable stay at home wife who whined and complained about her husband's long hours and how "I had to do it all" with the kids all by myself from the time they woke till the time they went to bed to a happy and content wife who took it all in stride. I went from a wife who couldn't care less about basketball and never went to a game to an avid fan who couldn't get to enough games and truly didn't want the season to end.

I had decided before last season even started that I was going to give myself an attitude adjustment. I had decided that in the 2009/10 season the kids and I were going to make the half hour trip to where Daddy coached as many times as possible to support him.

So that is what we did.

An amazing thing happened last year. The girls NEVER lost.

I'm not saying that this is due to my support or my attitude adjustment. I am saying that I believe that God kicked in an extra blessing just because He could. That the girls were going to have a winning season is an undisputed fact. They were great. They had a great coach. But to go undefeated? And win the state title? Not only do I believe that this is the stuff great sports movies are made of but I also believe that we had a bit of Help on our side.
My belief is that when we get on board with God's plan for our life (without whining and complaining) the blessings are beyond compare.

Thank you God for a great season! AND for the blessing of getting to experience an undefeated one!

Sooooooooooooo, like I said... here we go again.

Our record as I write this is 4-2. Todd says this is a rebuilding year and he is excited about the challenge.

I am excited to be a part of it once again. Winning season or not!

Go Seneca Valley Screaming Eagles!!

Gingerbread Houses

********UPDATE********

So in reading back over this post I must ask you: Aren't we amazing??? Look how CALM and enjoyable we make this all look!! Please keep in mind that together we had 6(!!!) boys ages 7 and under, one girl, and one dog, all doing an edible art project at the same small table that seats 6. Of course I suppose I should fess up and admit that Mindy is a kindergarten teacher and I homeschool my older three so there is a slight possibility that we have control issues... but still.
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Today my sister, Mindy, came over with her crew of 3 boys to make gingerbread houses with us.
The kids had a great time decorating their masterpieces.
Here are Mindy, Luke and Elliot working on their house:

Kyle, Julainna, and Drew:

Jake and Ryan don't seem to mind that noone wants them "helping" out! Luke is being so careful to place his candy in just the right spot.
Hmmm, look who needs to be in the spotlight. Silly Elliot!

Oh kids! The candy is for your houses... not your noses!
Of course a little icing on the finger never hurts either!

Penny volunteered to be the clean up crew! This is one of the reasons why I love having a dog.

Running update

Thanksgiving morning I ran in the Frederick Way Station 5K Turkey Trot. I ran with my sister Meredith and our running buddy Ann.

We woke up to down pouring rain and I thought, "Hmmm, 35 degrees and pouring down rain... NO WAY!" I got up anyway because I had this thing about not being the one to opt out. Maybe one of them would and then I would just agree with them that it was a better idea to stay in and be warm and sip coffee.

I got a text at about 7:30 that said, "We are still running, U???" I looked outside... still pouring.

So I put on my brave face and said that I was still in if they were.

We got to the starting line and it was just misting. I felt great and a little frisky as we started to run. Then out of nowhere the song Rhythm of Love by the Great White T's started playing in my head. So now I'm a human iPod? Whatever works.

After a bit I asked Meredith if we had gone a mile yet. She looked at me strangely and told me that we passed it a while ago and were at 1.4.

Hey! That's like almost halfway! I start to speed up a little.
At mile 2 she looks at me and tells me that I'm fast for me today. I smile and go a bit faster.

We take the last right turn and the finish line is just up ahead. Still frisky. I glance at her and say, "What you got left?" She responds by turning on her afterburners. I hang with her as best as I can. I'm laughing and running so hard that I think I just might throw up as I cross the finish. 29:52 she finished 4 seconds ahead of me 29:48

That's a new PR for me!!
Hmmm, what will it take for me to feel that good doing 26.2?

Now I've got a few weeks to relax before the training for Big Sur begins!

Race report!!

Want to see how I did running my first marathon? Head on over to One Mom in Maine!!
Thanks Emilie for letting me guest post!
Enjoy!

FAMILY

It was great to be with my Family on my 40th birthday.

Mom and Al: You rock. Thanks for dinner and the memories and the gift. It was great to see you and hope to see you again soon.

Buff and Robin: We have such a great time with you and love you all so much. You are amazing and we are continuing to pray and hope for the very best. Thanks for everything which is too numerous to list here but know that you have a special place in our hearts. Thanks for the I-Pad.

Andy,
Thanks for hosting the party and it was great to see you more this week thank in the last 6 months combined. Come and lift with me. I miss hanging out with you.

Paige and Tiercy,
Thanks for the memories. Friday at Go Ape was a blast and I am glad it worked it well. Tiercy, thanks for coming out and Paige thanks for winning free tickets. You are great sisters and I hope you all had as much fun as I did and can't wait to see what we look like at 80. Thanks for the jacket and Panera card.

Blair,
Come on over so I can beat you in backgammon and poker or at least try.

My Dearest Michelle: You are simply an amazing woman and I love you very much. Good luck at your first marathon and I will be cheering you from afar. You are simply the glue that keeps or family all together and I don't know what I would do without you.

Torin, Thane, Grayson, Tobin, Noah, Brenna, Laney, Tyler, and Ethan: You guys and gals are cool nieces and nephews. Love you!!

Julianna, Drew, Kyle and Jake: I am proud to be your Daddy and don't grow up so fast. You are too big already.


Todd

WHAT I LEARNED

What I learned on my weight loss journey. I doubt it will be anything you haven't heard before but sometimes if you are like me, you need to hear it 20 times before it sinks in...The following are my experiences, you may disagree with them. And that is okay.

1) Food has one purpose and one purpose only....to fuel the body. It helps if the food tastes good but its main purpose is to fuel the body. That means we must watch what we eat if we want to lose weight or to maintain weight. If we don't care if we gain weight, then eat whatever you want. In other words, be purposeful about what you eat. You may feel that I completely changed my diet 180 degrees, but I didn't. I just ate healthier and cut out the desserts. The adage is true: You are what you eat.

2) If you are planning to go on a diet or are on one, then what you are doing is making a change of some kind right? Less calories or less carbs, less sugar, etc... Make the right changes and you will lose or maintain weight either quickly or slowly but what does it matter if the weight comes off? I saw results quickly and no doubt that spurred be on. Plus, I set a deadline, by Nov. 5th because I would be turning 40. Treat yourself every once in awhile to something. I knew I would have some dessert on my birthday and surely I could give it up for 2 months.

3) Sugar is not the enemy. Our choices are. Most people know what to do about losing weight, they just need to do it. Exercise regularly, eat healthy, be absolutely committed and get the sleep you need. Plus have support. It didn't help when everyone would offer me some cookies or something and I had to say no. When I would say no, they would be like,"Oh yeah that's right, I am sorry." But It was easy to say no because of my results and willpower. Huh, which came first, will power or results.... don't know. Sounds like something for another time.

4) Don't drink your calories. Your body doesn't need them. Drink water or tea. Limit juice. Like everything else, you can have juice in moderation.

5) Chocolate milk is a great recovery drink. Much to my kids dismay, they knew the chocolate milk in the refrigerator was Daddy's and if they wanted some c. milk, they were to get the mix out of the pantry and it to cold milk. This is a great way to replenish after a workout. This may seem to be a contradiction about not drinking your calories, but my sole purpose was to replenish after a heavy workout of lifting weights. (BTW, I lifted a total of 35,000 pounds during each of my workouts. I hope you are impressed because I was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

6) It became easier to make these changes as time went along. It was a lot harder at first b/c it was new but it gradually became easier. I knew the end was in sight and I was having great results. I looked forward to weighing myself every morning and seeing what I weighed. it amazes me how much your weight can vary in a day. This is why I say my weight range is to be between 220 an 225 pounds.

7) There are numerous benefits to having undertaken this challenge. I am definitely more healthy and have more energy. I look good and feel good. I can't wait to get my 40 year old physical and see what my cholesterol numbers are, blood pressure is and resting heart rate.

8) My kids and wife will see a healthier me and know that it is important to take care of yourself physically. We don't know how much time we have while here on earth but the benefits of being in shape are great.

9)Good food tastes good and bad food just tastes bad. Your taste buds come alive and I can honestly say that I really looked forward to eating my salad, salmon, broccoli, peppers, etc... because it tastes good and is good for you. The though of eating McDonalds or a Little Debbie snack made me think there is no way I am going to eat that.

10) Do you know how hard you have to work out to offset a donut? Really hard. Eating that donut takes like two minutes and to work those calories off it easily takes at least like 25 minutes. That coorelation alone is enough to make me give up donuts. It isn't worth it.

I hope you enjoyed my journey. Take care and if you are planning to undertake a weight loss endeavor, you can do it!!!!!!! Good luck and be healthy.

Todd

THE RESULTS

225 POUNDS THIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND MAN DOES IT FEEL GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will write over the weekend what I learned and gained from this endeavor. But I wanted to post the results for you who anxiously were awaiting my results.....LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Paige and Tiercy. Love you!!!!!!!!

Todd

Fit and 40 Plan

Once upon a Time....

There was a young lad whose weight was like a yo-yo. He would lose ten pounds and then gain it back rather quickly. This process went on for about the last fifteen years or so. His weight hovered around 240 pounds for the last 5 years or so. I know, none of you can relate...He had many reasons why this happened and always justified that it was because he had kids, worked horribly long hours and had a bad commute to and from and work. These are all reasons that he came up with to make him feel better and besides, he always felt he could lose 15 pounds whenever he wanted. He had done it before and he could do it again......or could he?

Well, with his 4oth birthday fast approaching (about 2 months away) He decided it was time to see if he really could get down to 225 from a high of 242. He said, let's see if you really can do it. Game on!!!He made serious changes to his diet, workout regimen and went for it. It was not an easy task. The first change was to make the decision to give up all sweets (cake, cookies, doughnuts, candy, ice cream, milk shakes, etc...) from his diet. If you know this guy, you know he loves warm chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and ice cream. He knew this was a tall task for him because he had tried to do this before but had always failed and failed miserably. He decided to eat more vegetables, drink water and tea instead of sodas, and generally eat more healthy. A typical food day went like this for our lad:

Breakfast:
Multi grain Cheerios with banana or a bowl of Raisin Bran
Snack: Fiber Plus Bar ( they are actually pretty decent)

Lunch : Salad, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice or sandwich

Snack: peanuts

Dinner: normal dinner with the family

Portion Control as well was important.

Didn't eat after 8 o'clock

Exercise Regimen:
He also decided he would get up at 5:10 or so and get in early to workout. This lad happens to be a PE teacher and his school has a weight room that he would use 2 to 3 times a week. He also decided to run as well. So he would also run 2 to 3 times a week as well.

THE RESULTS:

Well, you will have to wait until Friday until his actual birthday to find out the results. Did he make it??? Was it worth it???? What did he learn during this process?? Can he keep the weight off?

STAY TUNED.

TODD

I love this man...

I just got this e-mail:


"Hey,
I am going to set up a date night. I was thinking about this Saturday. I say I will arrange a sitter, you and I could go to Dutch’s Daughter (after this past weekend, u deserve it.) And then we could walk hand in hand around a Baker Park while we digest dinner and then maybe we can go get a coffee for you and just enjoy each other’s company. If you could do me the honor of being my date, I would really like that.

Your Hubby who loves you more than you know,

Todd"


and it made my day!!!

of course I said yes!

Kyle's Birthday

Happy Birthday to my sweet 6 year old boy!
More fun and pictures to come as the day plays out :)

Happy Birthday to Noah Pagley! What are you? Like 11 now??? Tell Uncle Todd and the rest of the teachers to treat you special today!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!! What is it? Your 44th now!!

What a special special day... I am also remembering with great fondness Todd's Uncle Klaus who died 7 years ago today. AND remembering the Brand family and wishing you a peaceful easy day to remember and savor the memories.