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~

WOW!!!  I was in SHOCK when I stepped on the scale this morning!  225.2  I had to weigh myself several times to believe, moved the scale to different places on the floor, checked under the scale to make sure nothing was under it... That was my weight!!  My lowest yet and that is a 5 lb loss this week!!! HOLY COW!!    I knew it was going to be low, but that TOTALLY exceeded my expectations!!   WOWEE!!!!

So, I am thinking this little trial of an "altered" Phase 1 of South Beach was the kick int he pants my metabolism needed!!!  I added fruit which is not the normal menu.  Basically, I am just eating whole foods...   I haven't had any bread or anything this week, but will obviously be adding the right stuff back in! 

I am on Cloud 9 right now!!  :D  I am 5 lbs away from my all time low... I am so excited to see the scale go below and it LIBERATING to see the scale FINALLY move int he right direction!!! THANK GOD!!! 

Can you tell I'm STOKED?!?!? lol  Woo Hoo!!!!!!

~joi~

Okay... So i decided to try something because it feels like nothing I do is getting me out of this plateau... So.. Since I had success with South Beach in the past, I've decided to try doing phase 1 for two weeks to see if that will help curb cravings and get me back in control!  GUESS WHAT!!!  It is working! :D  I won't tell you my weight this morning, but I am SOOO looking forward to weigh in on Saturday!!! :D  I was up to 234.5 Sunday morning after Saturday being our sane day... LOL  I know it wasn't a true weight but... COME ON!!!  lol  I'm going to hold off on the sane day this week... just to get ahead a bit if i can... its a risk, but it feels like it takes me all week to reclaim ground after sane days.  Anyone else have that problem??

We are taking a trip to Michigan's Adventure on the 13th... and I have a mini-personal-HOPE-goal to break 220 by then... It is a little much, but I figured I have been at this same weight range for so long my body might just be tricked enough to think i'm starting from scratch again... lol  We shall see!!  :)   Something about going to the water park for all the world to see me chase my kids around in a bathing suit TERRIFIES me... So, if I can hit a milestone  HUGE MILESTONE then I think I can swallow it down a little better! 

I haven't been below 220 since I got above it in my teens!!  this is HUGE for me and I can't wait!!! ;)  I was sooo close and hovered at 220 for SEVERAL months without ever seeing a teen on the scale... *sniff* and then came baby #2... so It's time to reclaim where I was 3 1/2 years ago!! I am SOOOO close!!!

~joi~

Man, I don't know why I haven't been making this a priority... :(   That makes me sad...

Well, my body is paying the price... I had a 1.2 lb gain this week, I'm getting so sick of this bouncing back and forth between the same few pounds....   Brandon is hovering too.  I guess it is better than a REAL gain... but come on!!  We are eating well and know that we need to work on exercise... but I think we have gotten to lax with all the work on our house, the summer events and just life in general... we are RE-FOCUSING!!  We are starting the workout plan a new and going at this like it is the first day again... Well... tomorrow!  LOL  Today is our sane day...lol  :)  Hahaha

Hope all is well and the summer is treating everyone well! 

xoxo~
~joi~

OOPS!!!  So, obviously weighing  in is NOT the first thing on my mind on Saturday mornings!!  lol  SOOO... we will make it official next week.  I didn't even think about the scale until I sat at the computer and saw my spaces icon on my favorites... OOPS!  Not normal for me... but I'm also not feeling super "with-it" today... lol I swear I could sleep ALL DAY!  Going to take it easy today and head to bed early.  If you know me, you know my head doesn't usually hit the pillow until around 2 am or so...  So, I may even be in bed before Brandon gets home from work at 11:30 tonight... we'll see though! 

~joi~

sooo... we figured out we are going to change out weigh-in day to Saturday mornings... it is no fun to have a sane day on a TUESDAY and with all the cookouts and family get togethers coming, they tend to fall on Saturdays, so at least we can weigh in BEFORE the insanity begins! lol

I don't know if we'll start this week , or carry it through until next week.. that is yet to be determined as we have technically had a weigh in this week.   We'll see... it might depend on what the scale tells me on Saturday... haha... that's fair, right?!? 

Sound like a good plan??

~joi~

So, I've decided anytime Brandon says he wants to cook out on the grill I'm going to protest! lol  YES... You can OBVIOUSLY make healthier food on said grill but nooo... we don't... hamburgers (sirloin even), hot dogs (ewww... yet I STILL eat them) and of course my stupid butt grabs chips at the store too!  WHY OH WHY!!!! lol  I was doing so good away from the evil lard fried potatoes... LOL   See, even calling them that doesn't help! 

I went up to 229.8 (still under 230) and Brandon went up 1 lb... I wasn't up too much considering all the sodium floating around in our systems...but WHY do we do this?!?! LOL  We couldn't have done it TODAY?  You know... AFTER our official weigh in... lol

Not letting it get me down, just kicking myself!  How did everyone else do??

~joi~

1. I sold a cleaning product door to door. TRUE... Believe it or not... LOL  It was free travel and accomidations at surprisngly nice hotels... LOL  The job itself sucked though... lol  Funny when a cop tells you he could arrest you for solicitation.  *Wow... I want the same arrest a prostitue would have!*  So, yes, I quit!  LOL
   
2. I got my first sewing machine at the age of 4 TRUE... I started hand sewing at an even earlier age, but mom gave me my first machine at tehe wee age of 4... and yes... Kaidence got her own for her 4th birthday, too! lol
   
3. I unknowingly went to a gang party. TRUE...Rachel and I were "cordially" invited to a party by "friends" that we didn't realize were in a gang... figured that out rather quickly.  Not a situation I EVER want to repeat! 
   
4. I worked in Yellowstone and my first night there, we walked through the Geyser Basin and almost every single one erupted as we approached. TRUE... Believe it or not... Rachel was there for this one too... The odds of this happening are insane, but that was our experience the first night there and it was AMAZING!!
   
5. I designed costumes for a show in NYC. TRUE... One of the most insanely cool experiences of my life... it was an off Broadway show... but STILL I was doing it in NYC!  The Fabric stores are phenominal there and the main one we shopped at is the same one they use on Project Runway... so it was cool getting glimpses of it again! :)
   
6. I went to Paris with my parents to teach  classes on puppet making. FALSE...  I have helped my Mom make puppets ever since I can remember but I didn't get to go to Paris with them the first time as funds wouldn't allow and the 2nd time she was supposed to go I was too far along in my pregnancy to travel. :(  BOOO!!  But I was supposed to go!
   
7. I drove cross-country (Las Vegas to Michigan) with only 4 hours of sleep the whole time. TRUE... Once again with Rachel... LOL  We had a VERY interesting drive full of coffee, caffeine pills, Officer Ticket Happy and exploding semi tires (right next to my window!)
   
8. I was a nanny. TRUE... I had jobs in NY, NJ and locally... some of those kids would make REALLY good birth control!! lol
   
9. I worked at a gay bar. TRUE... I worked the door at a gay bar in Sandusky, OH called the Winery...  At the time I thought it was pretty cool to be getting paid to take people's cover, gently advise tourist that it wasn't a straight bar and DRINK FOR FREE! lol  How different life is now... lol
   
10. I snuck into Cedar Point (an amusement park) in the middle of the night with a group of friends.TRUE... A group of friends and I decided we wanted to go play in the ballpits in the kiddie area... LOL  So somehow we managed to get in past the security booth without scanning our employee IDs and played... went to the beach at the hotel (which was also closed) and just had a wonderfully illegal time!  Until security confronted us at the beach... we managed to get away with it claiming we were guests that didn't realize it was closed... lol  We were all a wee tipsy... lol  Had they known we were employees we would have been in serious trouble for sure.
    

LAST CHANCE to guess my truths... :)

I will post the TRUTH later today.  I have to go register Kaidence for Pre-school  in a little while! how exciting and WEIRD!*

One last hint... you are ALL WRONG so far... lol  ;)

~joi~

Okay... I'm not big on "pushing my goods" here... but thought some of you might be interested! 

In case you didn't know... I design children's clothing and sell several places online.

I just listed an auction on eBay for 6 custom sets throughout the year *the Holidays/seasons that you choose*  with a LOW starting bid, NO reserve and FREE SHIPPING! 

Joi's list of Truths... 9 are true... 1 is not... you be the judge! Post your guesses and I'll reveal in a few days which one is NOT true! :)

1. I sold a cleaning product door to door.
2. I got my first sewing machine at the age of 4
3. I unknowingly went to a gang party.
4. I worked in Yellowstone and my first night there, we walked through the Geyser Basin and almost every single one erupted as we approached.
5. I designed costumes for a show in NYC.
6. I went to Paris with my parents to teach  classes on puppet making.
   
7. I drove cross-country (Las Vegas to Michigan) with only 4 hours of sleep the whole time.
8. I was a nanny.
9. I worked at a gay bar.
10. I snuck into Cedar Point (an amusement park) in the middle of the night with a group of friends.
    

So, plans changed and we aren't heading downstate for the weekend...  Pretty bummed about that. BUT that isn't my wah hoo moment though.  

BUT  I weighed myself this morning, have been daily as that seems to be the only way I can stay on top of my weight...  I was going to wait and post on Tuesday, in hopes it will be even lower but I HAVE to share!!!

228... my lowest yet!!!! :)  I'm back in charge of this body!!!!  YIPPEE!  So excited about that, what BETTER motivation is there??

Keep up the great work everyone and have a great weekend!  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the Dads out there! :)

~joi~

Hey all... We DID weigh in this week and post everything but I didn't have the time to write a blog... and here it is a few days later now... lol  SO here it is...

We are both getting a little annoyed that our weights are bouncing back and forth... not to the point we are going to stop, but COME ON! lol  We have to be more vigilant with exercise and avoiding trouble foods.  But overall we are doing pretty good about our choices.

I am heading out of town tomorrow to go to my niece's birthday party and will make sure I stick to my guns while around the family.  They are trouble I tell ya... lol

We've both been very busy with the house and work.  I've got lots of orders to fill, which I am VERY thankful for and extra excited about three of the dresses ordered *wink*...  I may also have a LARGE order for my pincushions which is very exciting! :)  By large, I mean 200-300! WOAH!  I should here if I've got the contract in the next week or so. 

Kaidence's head is healing WONDERFULLY!  She didn't even flinch when they took out her "sniples"  LOL  Yes, she kept calling them sniples, after a week of saying staples, I guess she got sick of the word.  LOL

Hope all is well for everyone else...  Big Hugs!

~joi~

soooooooooo... last weeks weigh in was 234.4   with a gain on Wed. for a  lovely weekly high of 235.4 *eek*  So...... anything i could manage today would be an improvement! 

I got back to 234... then back to 233.. then back up to  234 again... so I wasn't sure what to expect... I was crossing my fingers and legs and toes...  looked down... low and behold... 231.2  Woo Hoo!!!  It's coming back off!!!! :)

Brandon was down only a little bit but it wasn't a gain!!!! So woo hoo to him too!

Lots to work on today, so this is brief. More to come in the week... KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!

~joi~

Oh my goodness... I thought I was doing SOOOO good!!  Only to step on the scale yesterday morning and see 4 EXTRA pounds staring back at me!  WHAT?!?!    So... I'm not quite sure!  Kinda had a ummy day yesterday, I'm sure the weather didn't help.  then to top it off, our daughter Kaidence got her first battle wound.  She cracked her head open and we had to drive almost 40 miles to get to the ER at 10 pm... got home after 1 and couldn't sleep after... lol  Man am I just Miss Negativity or what?!?  lol

So, I NEED to make sure today is a BETTER day!! :)

~joi~

Soooo... the "Come Back" weigh in has been posted... lol  The REALLY sad thing is I have TOTALLY lost track of what week it is... lol  WOW! I was better than I was expecting... I also posted last weeks as well!

Not sure why we are having such a hard time getting back into the flow again.  We are trying!!! We really are! :)

Our food choices are getting better and better again... it is just when we are traveling, the options aren't the healthiest.  So I'm going to go back to old school mom... I'll pack a lunch with HEALTHY options instead of being sucked in to the drive-thru of death... lol  ;)

As far as exercise, we've totally lost the groove we were in... I think with so much going on it was just way to easy to have an excuse and fall off of the wagon... lol  SO!  My goal for myself is to get at least 20 minutes on the treadmill a day (bad I've lowered the standard so much... but I'll shoot for longer).  I'm also going to start the Billy Blanks regime over! :)  Since I feel like I'm starting back over, maybe it will have an AMAZING impact on the results I can see! :)

My new clothes still fit... so I know I didn't go TOO crazy... but I could have had 5 more pounds off instead of gaining a few back...:( 

~joi~

hello everyone... amazing how quickly you can break a GOOD habit... lol   We haven't been TERRIBLE with our portions, but the food quality has def. gone down hill in the last weeks... UGGG!  Time to get back in control.

We are still here and going at it... so please don't think we are gone!  We will be updating weights tomorrow which I am kinda scared of... the girl who was addicted to the scale has pretty much avoided it lately... so I have no clue what to expect tomorrow... *crossing fingers*

In a bit of a rush right now... COLORFUL blogs wills resume tomorrow! :)  *sorry*

~joi~

awww... thank you all so much for your kind words! :)  Life is starting to look a little more familiar around here... less crying and more good memories being told...  

His Grandpa was a worker, through and through... he owned his own business and still worked even into his 70's... he is the type of guy who would do everything himself, even if it required help.  He was loading a bulldozer back up onto a trailer and didn't buckle in.  The dozer got off-center and toppled off of the trailer, throwing him and landing on top of him... :(  

Just wanted to update a little on what happened...

~joi~

It has been a sad week here... Brandon lost his Grandfather in a very tragic accident on Wednesday and we are all taken aback by it all.  Sorry we haven't been as active as we'd like to be on here, but I'm sure you can all understand!

Prayers for the whole family are GREATLY appreciated... He was an amazing man and will continue to fill our hearts with his love in all the memories that we have... but we already miss him terribly! 

~joi~