So... we are indeed alive.  We are in a mad dash to get as much of our renovations done as we can before the house is appraised and the time is closing in.  So, that and the fact I have a HUGE pincushion order to tackle during this same time is not my idea of fun!  I feel like I've been pushed to the edge of sanity and I don't enjoy it.

We haven't updated weights for a few weeks and that isn't out of laziness or humiliation... lol  Honestly!  One of Brandon's work boots was ever so lovingly placed on the scale  and when I went to weigh in...  the scale didn't want to work at first... I got a big old "E"  (hopefully not for enormous) and then it registered 2 different... and I mean VASTLY different weights... LOL  204.6 and 256.9  LOL  So, I need to get a new scale and with all of the chaos around the house I honestly keep forgetting.  SO, we will update properly once that is remedied... :(  Kinda scared to see what it is after so long.

We have under a month of all this stress left (pincushions & house) and I can't wait for our life to feel a little more normal.    BUT it won't take THAT long for me to get my butt back on here and to be PRESENT!  Especially with the new season coming up... I am SOOOO excited!!  I can't wait to watch while I'm on the treadmill... the miles just flies by that way!!

I missed everyone and am sorry I've been such a deadbeat!  :(

~joi~

First of all I hope you all had a Happy Easter!  And hopefully you all ate way better than WE did... lol   We had two places we had to try and avoid temptation...  There was a breakfast potluck at Church  and then we went to Brandon's brothers for dinner...  UGGG!!!  I am SOOOO not a ham eater and it kept calling to me, evil brown sugar glazed ham!!! GRR!  I ate soooo much less than I would have in past times, but I still wasn't happy with my food choices by the end of the day. 

We won't be posting our weights tomorrow because I'm going out of town in a little bit... I'll be back on Wednesday so our weigh in may not be until Thursday... EEK!  But that also gives me a bit more time to work off some of the weight that I KNOW I gained over the weekend.  lol  So, please don't think we dropped off the face of the earth! :)  WE ARE STILL IN IT!!! 

~joi~

So there is a dual reason for this post...Here is a little history.  Rachel and I have been best friends for almost 24 years through thick, THICKER and thin...   We would normally have done this type of challenge with each other but both of our husbands were willing to jump in with us and get healthy  and fit and well, even hotter! ;)   So, we may not be partners on the teams for this challenge but we have always been the "biggest" *no pun intended* support for the other through this and many many other challenges in life.

Our challenge this week was to get under the range we were in... she was 271 and i was 241 so i needed to get to at least 239.9 and she at 269.9... simple enough, right?!?! NOPE!!  We both gained... lol  SOOO  the penalty for the "loser" was to have the one who lost the weight post an old photo of the loser!  Well, she posted one of me on her page... here it is!!

So here is my post of HER... since w both "lost at losing"... lol This is from 1996 when we were in Chicago together.  How fitting that Brandon and I will be there once again in just a few days and it could possibly change how we live  the rest of our lives!!!  WOW!  We are praying the interview goes well and everything works out for the best... :)  

As you can see we have both been "fluffy" for a while! Oh wait... FOREVER!!! Time to get a skinny pic together!!!

~joi~

So there I was...

It was 7:20pm EST (7:20am in Istanbul, not Constantinople).  I had Just finished my Lean Cuisine Pasta, salad, and snackie...

The Lights Dimmed....All But One...

THE VENDING MACHINE OF DOOM under poor florescent lighting called to me not unlike the Sirens of yore.  A Siren filled to the hilt with Butterfingers, Doritos, Hostess Apple (well Apple-esque) Pie, and Andy Capp's Cheese Fries...

Whats a poor guy to do?  Just like the sailors that ran their doomed ships into rocks, due to the sweet song of the Femme Fatale Siren I walked up to the rotary dispensing harbinger of sweet and salty destruction and yelled "NAY BEAST...NAY!  I WILL NOT FALL INTO YOUR CARAMELY, NUTTY, AND CHEESY TRAP...NOT TODAY...NOT...TODAY..."

So, I had an Apple....and saw it was good....

(fin)

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Jen (of Jennifer and Megan) and I are doing weekly challenges and for this weeks weigh in, we were both to get to the 230's... my weight was 242.6  close but no cigar... :(  So I have posted a photo that I would not ordinarily show people of myself.  LOL   this was in 1996 on a trip to Chicago with the choir I was in... Such a super "sexy" photo, I tell ya... lol  You can see it HERE or go to our photo albums... :)

So, I was trying to figure out what our new challenge will be... I think we should  keep it along the same lines..  But since I don't know what her weight was I think we should keep a level playing field... whoever loses the MOST weight this week wins bragging rights... the loser once again will have to post an embarrassing photo.   It WILL NOT be me again!!! ;)

~joi~

This is so cool!!!  *And a little bit scary*  A member of another team, Jen and I have a challenge going for our next weigh in... we both started at the same weight and weighed in last time with the same numbers, 244...  our goal for our little challenge is to get into the next 10 lb range... out of the 240's and into the 230's!  WOW  Not that many pounds... but when you have been challenged to do it, it kinda turns up the heat !  I've lost more than that in less time, but the last few weeks, I'm managing about 2 lbs a week... *if I'm "lucky"*  So... I'm going to blow you out of the water , lady... lol
 
The one who doesn't make it to the new range has to post a REALLY embarrassing photo of herself! So, come Monday... Please don't think you'll be seeing a new nasty  pic in my photo album...

~joi~