Hello Everyone!!

Our family went to the cabin for a couple days last week. I taught them how to play Chance and we went on a 2 hour four wheeler ride. It made me miss all of you very much. Can't wait until next year. I started today with trying to stay away from treats. I have gotten so bad lately. Sugar is my worst enemy. I hope I can do it. I ran 4 miles this morning and hope to do it again tomorrow. Love you all. Hang in there and happy healthy eating. Love, Angie

Hi sisters and cousins, it's fun to hear from you guys, so keep on blogging! : ) The diet is going pretty well. Not as rapid as I'd like, but it's something. I started last Wed. and have lost 3 lbs. I'm doing pretty well at eating around 1200 calories. Last night, when I got home from the gym (after already eating dinner), I was SO hungry. I grabbed a 100 calorie pack, then another one, then I was still hungry, but decided to be smart about the next thing going into my mouth and grabbed an apple.

My friend Angela just got certified in Zumba and wants to start a free class at the Church Cultural Hall a couple morning a week. She wants me to be her assistant. She has been coming over every morning for the past few days so we can work on routines. It is SO much harder than I thought it would be to come up with moves and memorize routines. It's a lot of work, but I'm sure it will be worth it. I've started spreading the word to a few of my friends and relatives about our upcoming class and there's a pretty good response so far.

I'm trying to slowly add better habits into my life (and my family's). I'm almost always remembering to take my multi-vitamin and I've been working out 5 days a week. This morning I made my first "green smoothie" but it wasn't green at all! I'm not sure why it was purple instead. It must have been the frozen berry mix. : ) Everyone drank it down except Paige.

Well, I'm totally exhausted and am going to take a short nap. It was a late night and an early morning and then working on Zumba Routines this morning. Please, everyone write about your progress, frustrations, etc. It helps keep me going. Best of luck to you all with your goals. Love you SO much and like Amy, I had a WONDERFUL time at the retreat! It makes me smile when I think about it.

I'm so happy you guys are posting again. I really need some encouragement to get my body into shape. Jordan and I are Ma and Pa on our wards pioneer trek this week, so that is going to be my official jump start, but I am really hoping to pick up a good exercise routine again. Good luck to all of you, and Amy it's so good to have you blogging too! I miss you all so much. Tara, I hope Hunter's baptism went well. I'm so sad I missed it, but Corbin made the all-star team, so I guess it was the right choice! Love to you all!

Hi from Buffalo

Hi all my sisters and cousins. I had such a great time seeing you all. You all are so special to me and keeping in touch is wonderful. The cabin at Pine Valley was so nice, when I am stressed, I think about it and how relaxing it was. I am starting this month with calorie counting and healthier eating. I am trying for between 1200-1500 calories a day (I don't know if this is right for me, but I am going to ask the Dr.). I am also starting to swim in my friends pool for exercise because walking is hard on my knees. I am having a hard time with my joints aching lately, and am hoping that no weight-bearing exercise will help. So far I have been pretty good, but I found a chocolate bar that the kids got in church for me for Mother's Day (I was away at Summer's) and I ate the whole freaking thing!!!! I eat when I am stressed, bored, happy, etc..... Summer has suggested finding something to keep my hands busy at night especially. Any suggestions would be great. Also, I need to reach out to friends to see if they want to hang out more, so I don't feel so lonely :( Being across the country is hard, but honestly I have a whole ward full of women that are friendly, and there are a few that are at my stage of life where the kids are almost grown. Shelly, thanks for having this blog. I look forward to posting and hearing from you all.

Hi Summer! (and anyone else out there) That is awesome that you and Amy and Lacey are doing something together. I have found this last week that it is a lot harder on your own. In other words I haven't done so well. Such is life. I need to find a new way to relieve stress other than eating. I have more stress in my life right now than I can handle - so I don't - I eat. I have been exercising faithfully though, so that counts for something right! Good luck to you guys. I can't wait to hear about your progress. I will send Amy an email to be able to blog.

The Diet Begins

Hi Guys, or should I just say Shelly, (is anyone else out there?) I had way too much fun with eating in the past month or so, so now it's time to get serious before I have to be seen in a swimsuit. Amy, Lacey and I are starting a diet tomorrow. I will go through the end of June then take a short brake for a trip to Clear Lake, CA. My plan is to count calories and keep it under 1,200 per day and I also will try to work out at least 5 days a week. One of my friends wants to start a "Zumba Group" with church friends, that will meet a couple times a week in the Cultural Hall. She wants me to be her assistant, so hopefully we can get that going soon. I'm still enjoying Zumba at the YMCA twice a week, but I'd love to be doing more Zumba. Shelly, GOOD for you! It sounds like you're off to a great start! Keep us updated. Amy doesn't know how to post on here, so you probably won't be hearing from her. : ( I'll try to include notes about her progress though. PS- I REALLY would like Kim's "Green Smoothie" Recipe. Does anyone have it or can I get Kim's #? Thanks! Love you guys so much!

-Summer

I should probably send you guys an email to let you know I am posting again. I will probably not be as faithful in posting as I was when we did our challenge, but it does help to write about how things are going. Whether you are doing a challenge or not this has been a fun way to keep in touch.
Today my friend stopped by to see if I wanted to go on a walk with her. I was actually just about to exercise so I went with her. She could only go for about a half an hour though and I didn't feel as if I had done enough when I got home so I did a video also. I did pretty well on my portions today, yesterday was a little harder. I made some yummy cilantro lime rice yesterday - how do you only have one small portion of that? I miss you all and hope that things are well!