On Leave....

I am taking leave.  Leave from my computer.  I have decided the best thing for me and my family is to walk away from my computer habits.  I spend too much time pinning on Pinterest, browsing Facebook and too many hours catching up on Google Reader.  I won’t even start with how much time I spend checking email and time on My Fitness Pal!!

I am not giving up on my weight loss.  I am hoping this helps me gain focus where it needs to be.  I don’t know how long my absence will be, but I just need to change some things up in my life.

I hope to return a healthier person, mentally and physically.

Take Care,

Amber

... There is good news too!

Okay since I vented on my last post I only though it is fare to tell you about the good things happening in my life today as well.

-After trying to sell my car for several months I have a buyer!  Yes we had to drop the price a couple of thousand dollars, but we have a buyer and we can replenish some money in our bank account!!  I am still crossing my fingers that it all goes through.  I love my car and it is hard to let it go.  I bought it brand new in 2006, we “upgraded” to a mini-van last September so it is time to say goodbye to my lovely little wagon!

-Since my husband became a CPA, we have been searching for a new job.  He has applied many places.  The past two week have been FILLED with interviews (around 10ish!!).  He is even on round three (the job is between him and another individual!) at a job he would really like.  Tomorrow is the big day for this final interview.  We have been hoping and praying this is the job for us and that it will be a significant pay increase (especially since he has never had a raise in all four year of our marriage, even when he did get his CPA!).  Please pray for us!

-I had a nice Valentines with the hubs.  We went to dinner then went dancing.  It was a fun evening filled with Lindy hop, ChaCha and Salsa!  My mom was so gracious to babysit for us, it was wonderful to get out and just be alone for a little while.

So there are some really great things in the works at our house.  I hope your week is going well!

Persistence and the CPA

My husband has a degree in accounting.  He is an auditor right now, and his ultimate goal is to not be an auditor and maybe go into fraud investigation.  On this journey he has been working towards becoming a CPA, Certified Public Accountant.  To become a CPA you have to take four grueling exams.  After you pass one section, you have 18 months to pass the remaining three sections.  It is said that the CPA is worst than the BAR for attorneys.

The short of the story is, my husband didn’t take the CPA immediately following graduation from college and has been taking and re-taking these exams for many years (4+). He has been slaving away at these exams our whole marriage.  It has been our ball and chain.  All of our time has revolved around studying and the next test date.

He passed three sections then lost credit on one section, so he had to re-take it.  On that re-take round he missed the mark by one point. And the one he hadn’t passed yet, he missed it by one point as well. This was not the first time he was a point away from passing, success was just hanging on a string in front of us.  Frustrating!!! 

We decided this year, that this last testing window was it.  He was going to take the last two exams one more time and we were calling it quits.  The end.  Enough is enough.   We handed it over to the Lord and stated we have given it our best shot, year after year and now if it doesn’t happen we know it isn’t meant to be!

We have spent thousand’s (between $8,000-10,000 the hubs doesn’t want me to add it up!) on testing fees and our lives can no longer revolve around this exam.

Well, after a lot of work and sacrifices in many areas of life he DID IT!  My husband finally passed the CPA exam!  I am sooo grateful to be closing this chapter of our lives.  We are now seeking a new job and have high hopes he will find something that is a better fit for him.

Since this is my weight loss blog, I will liken it to weight loss.  Persistence.  You must never lose hope of your goal, even when it doesn’t seem possible or even something worth working for any longer.  There are angels out there cheering you on.  Allow them to help you keep your head lifted.

I always believed my husband could pass the CPA exam, I just never dreamt it would be so challenging.  It doesn’t seem real yet, but I am so proud of him for being persistent.

May we keep our visions straight and keep plugging away!!

Chocolate Fest and a Sleep Number Bed

Over the weekend the hubs, kids and I all went to the in-laws for a little staycation.  They have a spare sleep number bed that we wanted to try out to see if it would help us get better sleep.  I spent several weeks, several years ago at a friend’s that had a sleep number bed and all I remember is being uncomfortable and rolling onto my friends side of the bed, due to different number preferences.  Not the best rest. I found the same this time around.

We stayed at the in-laws for three nights.  First night: lots of waking up and adjusting the number.  Second night: not too bad, slept well but was probably so tired from my lack of rest the first night.  Third night: uncomfortable and sore.  I felt just like I had woken up in my own bed.

We decided not to make the switch, at least not for now.  There is no reason to change  out one bed that you wake up achy in, to another bed that leaves you achy.  We were going to buy a memory foam bed a month or so ago, but instead we had a different impulse buy, which drained our funds… a mini-van.  Yeah, now I am a mini-van mom. 

While staying with the in-laws I went crazy on chocolate.  My mother-in-law has got junk food all over the place and I took the Liberty to help myself.  She even has a fridge in the garage full of chocolate.  I have never opened it though!  When ever I am at their house I am weak, so many temptations.

I made sure I chugged a ton of water while inhaling the cocoa.  Before I got to their place I was bloated, and the whole stay I was even more bloated!  I could hardly stand to keep my jeans buttoned up! I gained a like four pounds over the weekend (so much for my loss!).  Thank goodness the scales are declining again.  I will be lucky if I actually have a loss this week, we will see once Saturday rolls around. Yikes!

So back to life on the home front.  Things are busy between the kids and church, but I will continue to move forward.

I have tried to comment on several blogs and I am not able to again.  I have no idea why.  Just know I am out there reading several of your blogs.  Keep on trekking along!

Sick...

On Friday night my mom had my sister, and sister-in-laws over for a Girls Night In.  It was fun to escape the little ones and just get out.  I was suffering from a terrible head ache and have been on the edge of not feeling well for several weeks. We stayed up super late and I didn’t get home until 4am.  All-nighters used to not be such a big deal, these days they are killer.

All it takes is an all-nighter to tip me over the edge from not feeling well to sick.  Yesterday and today I have been laying around all day with achiness and nausea.  Terribly unpleasant.  I feel like I am pregnant, but I am not.  I am hoping tonight I sleep deep and wake up refreshed and ready for the week.

Before I went to my mom’s house Friday night I stopped by a local thrift store and picked up a new dress for the Christmas Dress Challenge I will be participating in.  I will get a picture posted by the end of the week.  The challenge starts Sunday so I am hoping the yuckiness I am feeling goes away quick so I can get back to working out.

What A Way To Start Week 2....

Summer is in full swing, and so are the moods of my kids.

To put it in the simplest terms, today was exhausting.  I didn’t make the best choice for breakfast, and my bad choice left me exhausted and moody the remainder of the day. 

I ate one graham cracker, 2Tbs of peanut butter and a banana.  I knew it wasn’t the best choice, but I didn’t think it was a terrible choice.  After I plugged the food into my log on myfitnesspal.com, I had already exceeded the daily recommended amount of sugar with those three items.  I was shocked.

Today and yesterday I have had a terrible time getting my blood sugar in a normal range.  It has been dipping low and I am tired and hungry.  It has made it more difficult to ward off the sweets.  I have resisted for the most part, but not with out a challenge.

My seven month old boy is cutting four teeth right now.  He has pretty much been miserable all day too.  And my two year old has been her normal, energetic two year old self.  Her normal wears me out.  She is a sweet girl, but she has tantrums many times through the day and eventually it takes its toll on me, which today took place about 8am.

Despite my challenges with cranky kids.  I have gotten my exercise in.  Yesterday I got in an hour at the gym, doing strength training and cardio.  Today I didn’t make it to the gym, but I did get in a 45 minute brisk walk with the kids in the stroller.

Numbers Girl: Three years!

I hated math growing up.  I despised it.  In fact, in college all of my schooling was delayed because I held off taking any math classes as long as possible.  I decided enough was enough and I needed to learn to overcome my fear of algebra, functions and all things numbers. 

As I rode my bike to school one day I started running numbers in my head: If I go this fast, so many miles to school I will get there in this time.  It became my own game and I would try to out beat myself each day.

Until I got pregnant with #1 I was an avid bike rider.  I loved the wind in my face and challenging myself to go faster or further.  So many years ago, on my 13 mile rides to the University I learned to like math and gain a greater appreciation for numbers and number patterns.  It took a few years and seven math classes later, and one very faithful, patient tutor (some of those repeated classes) before I got the groove down.  I learned to love math!  I am still amazed by the fact.

Last night as I was logging in my foods and watching the numbers add up and appear like all wonderful math problems, that little spark started coming back.  If I make this caloric/carbohydrate counting number game work for me, I can have some fun with it. 

As I read many of the other challenger’s blog posts with their caloric intake (sorry for not commenting, Blogger is really out for me today and I am not able to comment for what ever reason) I was impressed and amazed with all the awesomeness in everyone and how you are all doing.  I am so grateful to have stumbled across this challenge and all of you blogs, to keep me going!

So in celebration of numbers!  On 06-07-08, three year ago I was married to my sweet husband, the Chocolate Lover.  Happy anniversary Chocolate Lover, may our union by uncountable.