#59: Lose 15 Pounds

I don't know why, but I've just not wanted to write about the completion of this goal.  I actually hit a 15 pound loss back sometime earlier this summer.   I think I worried that if I put it out there that I lost weight than I'll feel like I'm being looked at and scrutinized more! :)   I think I also had the fear that if I were to say "Look at me...I lost weight!" and then the weight came back on I would feel like I had failed and that people would be thinking, "Hmmmm...she's sure putting back on the weight."

I realized that line of thinking was ridiculous and since I have kept the weight off (and continued to lose), I now feel comfortable letting the world know. :)

I had lost about 5 pounds from the time I started this list to this past April.  I was just trying to watch my weight and exercise some and it was working, just slowly.  In April though, I finally decided that I needed to kick it into gear and I joined Weight Watchers.  I had seen my sister, Kim, have great results with the program after she had Alexandra, so I thought I would give it a try. 

The program WORKS.  At least it works if you DO the program.  I think the meetings are a little cheesy, but there is something about having someone weigh you in every week that is very motivating.  

So as of today, I have lost 17.2 pounds with Weight Watchers.  When that's added to the 5 pounds I lost pre-Weight Watchers, I have actually lost about 22 pounds since I started my list.   I struggled along the way with feeling like I was losing weight so slowly, but it all adds up after awhile!  I figure it's better that I didn't lose quickly because now I have learned how to be healthy as a lifestyle instead of just as a quick-fix.

This actually completes the last of my "Health" goals.  Who would have thought that I would finish the Health section first!?

#60: Run a 5k

The 5k Saturday morning went really well!  The past few years I had seen the signs up for the Jared Coones Memorial Pumpkin Run in our neighborhood, but it wasn't until last year that I had been going somewhere Saturday morning and realized that the route runs right in front of our house!  I told myself then that if I ever got in shape enough to do a 5k, that I would run this one.  The run raises money for cancer research in honor of Jared, a 10-year old boy who died of Leukemia 11 years ago.  His mom, Jayne, also lost her fight to breast cancer 3 years ago. 

Jared attended the elementary school right by our house and the course runs in front of his house.  It was neat to know that we were running the race for such a good cause.

One of the things that I also really liked about this race is that out of the 3,200 participants, 1,500 of them were elementary school students.  Over the past 11 years, more and more schools have started running clubs to train for the 5k.  It provided a lot of entertainment during the race! 

Trevor was nice and ran with me.  I'm sure it killed him to run slowly with me and to be doing such a piddly run....a 5k is only 1/10th of his race in July!  I really appreciated him doing it with me though!

Mom & Dad decided to come visit us this past weekend, so it worked out well that they could take some pictures for us during the race.  Mom was at the start/finish and Dad took a picture as we ran by the house.

Trying to stay warm before the race.  It was 37 degrees!

The start.  It was total craziness with 3,200 people on the narrow streets.  We were somewhere near the back and it didn't thin out hardly at all until we finished the first mile.   We were trying our best to dodge kids and strollers everywhere, but we felt like we were barely moving.  It took us 12 and a half minutes to run the first mile because of this!  I'm slow....but I'm not that slow!

Dad's picture of us running in front of the house.  I actually was excited at this point, we were only about a 1/4 mile from the end and it was all flat!

Crossing the finish line.

It cracked me up when I zoomed in on the picture above.  Trevor is smiling and looks like he's out for a stroll in the park and I look like I might die!

Done!

We had a really good weekend in general.  We had a nice visit with Mom and Dad.  They took us out to dinner for Trevor's birthday Friday (He's 27 now!).  We ran the race Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day shopping and relaxing.  Then Sunday after church, Trevor's parents came over for some birthday cake and after they left we went out for dinner with his Uncle Dave and Aunt Debby.  What a fun weekend!

#63: Exercise at Least 3 Days a Week for 2 Months

Well, I'm off in about an hour to run the Jared Coones Pumpkin Run.  I've been training for a 5k for the past 9 weeks, so I just realized I'd completed the exercise 3 days a week goal without even thinking about it!  I followed the Couch to 5k plan here.  I started at week 2 since I knew I wasn't that out of shape and then I added on a week at the end.  The program worked out perfectly for this goal because it requires you to get about 30 minutes of exercise three times a week.   I would really suggest this program to anyone that would like to try a 5k.   It progresses really slowly and nothing ever felt too incredibly hard. 

Let's hope this training pays off....today is making me think I may be crazy.  I just looked at the weather here and it's 37 degrees outside!  Yikes!  I don't think we've run in anything under 50 degrees while we were training.  Perfect timing for a cold front to come through, huh?

Wish me luck! :)

#78: Make My Bed Every Morning for 3 Weeks

I'm sure you are all sick and tired of reading about my bedroom.  This is the last of the "Everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-the-Goertzen's-bedroom" posts.  I promise.

After we got the bedroom furniture, I figured I should now have have the motivation to make the bed every day to keep the room looking nice.  It really makes our bedding look as good as I envisioned it would when I bought it two years ago.

It's not like I never made my bed in the past.  I just didn't do it as often as  I should (like only when people were coming over).  Please don't judge me. 

Through the three weeks, I realized a lot.  Like that I really appreciate getting into a nicely made bed every night.  And that a bed is a lot easier to make when it hasn't been through many nights of sheets and covers being torn all over the place (we're both pretty restless sleepers!).  I also discovered that having a footboard holds more than just aesthetic value - it also holds the covers in one spot!

Now it's time for a disclaimer:  You know those decorative pillows that really serve no purpose....yeah, those didn't always make it on the bed.  Why should they?  Who's going to see it?

They made it on the bed for the picture though.... :)

It's been two weeks since I successfully finished the three-week challenge and I'm still making the bed every day.  This goal might have just created a habit!

#55: Save up to Buy New Furniture (With Cash!)

We LOVE our new bedroom furniture!

We, like a lot of people, had neglected our master bedroom.   I've always heard that people ignore it since visitors don't see it very often, but that it is actually one of the most important rooms to decorate nicely.  After painting and getting new furniture, I now agree.  It is so nice to get into bed at the end of the night and relax in a room that feels put together and doesn't make you feel tense.

We have been saving up money for various things since we paid off  Trevor's grad school loans in March.  We had set aside a certain amount for a bedroom suite, and then we found a great set at the JCPenney Home store that actually came in under budget.  That was a nice surprise.  So we bit the bullet and replaced the two dressers that we had bought for $20 in college after we got married.

We got a king-size bed, 2 nightstands (no more TV trays!), a dresser, and a chest.  The furniture looks almost black in some of these pictures, but it is actually a really dark mocha finish.  I think it's the perfect color!

#40: Paint Master Bedroom

One of the big tasks Trevor took on this summer was painting our master bedroom.  I can't say that I really had much to do with this goal completion other than picking out the paint color, having to endure living in another bedroom, and moving my clothes to another closet. 

We hadn't done much of anything in the past two years other than tearing down the wallpaper.  The master bedroom was also pretty much the only room that we hadn't painted the wood trim white. 

BEFORE:

These were taken before we bought the house...

Trevor's Closet

My Closet

The Vanity

Shower (I was so happy when the inspector found mold behind this tile...it meant it had to be torn down!  It was in good shape, but I'm just not a blue flowery kind of girl.)

A view of the old tile floor

We forgot to take some "before" pictures of what the room looked like this summer before we painted it.  Honestly, it didn't look much different than the pictures above.  The wallpaper had been torn down since around the time we moved in, which almost made it look worse!  Trevor had tiled the shower, bathroom floor, and the floor in front of the vanity (it was carpet...ick!) not long after we moved in. 

I remembered to take some pictures in the middle of getting ready to paint.   The two colors we were choosing between are on the wall and the trim and vanity had been primed at this point.

I didn't have an actual picture before Trevor painted the vanity, but it was the same wood color as the wall cabinet you see in the pictures above.

  The view of Trevor's closet.

My closet in process of being deconstructed.

You can see the shower & floor tile that Trevor had previously done in this picture.

AFTER:   

Here are some of the pictures of the paint done.   It's a little hard to tell the true color on the computer...but I really like it!

Trevor's closet after he redesigned it.  He has a lot more room now with two levels of clothing racks.  So much, that he doesn't have any clothes in my closet now! :)

  Speaking of my closet...this is still how it looks.  I have grand plans of redesigning it, but I can't find exactly what I want.  At least I can't find anything that I want that I can afford.   I did design what I would like online for $1,500...a bit much for a closet?!!? :)

The vanity after being painted and new hardware installed (except the hinges-they're satin nickel now).  Now we just need a new vanity top, new faucet, a new lighting fixture, and possibly a new mirror.

We took down the shower doors, installed the new shower tile and painted.

The floor tile

Up next:  New bedroom furniture!

#18: Meet Up with College Roommates Mary Ellen and Gladys

Two years ago for Labor Day weekend Trevor and I met up with my college roommates Mary Ellen and Gladys and Gladys' husband Josh in a cabin in Arkansas.  We decided we had so much fun that we should try to make it an annual event.  Last year we couldn't make it happen since Alexandra was due around that time.  So this year we made sure to clear our calendars months in advance for a Labor Day Reunion.

We had a great time hiking, kayaking, and just spending time talking together and catching up.  Oh, and taking pictures...lots of pictures.  I mentioned in my post about my goal to learn more about photography that Gladys and Mary Ellen are both into photography.  So needless to say, I didn't pull out my own camera the whole weekend.  They did both let me play with their cameras though.  So I actually did take some of the following pictures.

So this is definitely going to be a "picture post"...

Our cabin

Saturday evening we headed up to White Rock Mountain.  We asked this old man for directions and I tried out my photography skills on him. :)  He had a very interesting face.

   

The boys were scouting out the cliffs to see if there was a place that they could rappel and climb.  The thought of them doing it made me VERY nervous.  Gladys and I were pretty happy when we finally saw a sign that said "No Rappelling"!

Since the boys couldn't climb at the White Rock Mountain cliffs, they decided to stop at some rocks along the road up to the mountain.

Trevor and Josh showed off their climbing abilities.  Josh and Trevor actually were friends and climbed together before Trevor and I even met our Freshman year of college and long before Gladys and Josh started dating Sophomore year. (Here's the real story behind the pictures that appear like they are hanging off a really high rock.  Gladys did some magic with the camera!)

On Sunday we headed to Lake Fort Smith to do some kayaking.  It was a beautiful day and the surrounding mountains made for an amazing setting.

The boys got out of the kayaks near some cliffs to check the water depth so they could dive off of them without killing themselves.  Do you think they like adventure?!?!

While they were doing that, the girls were bored and did this....

Trevor flipping off the cliff!

Jumping together...how cute!

(Later the park ranger came by and said he had reports of people swimming.  Apparently we weren't supposed to get out of the kayaks.  Oops!)

Mary Ellen's amazing photo that captured the beauty of the day.

After the kayaking, we headed over to Devil's Den State Park to do some hiking. This picture makes me laugh!  Gladys looks like the paparazzi hiding in a bush to get the picture above this one of me and Trevor on the bench.

Mary Ellen had told us she had a surprise for us all weekend.  She brought us out these awesome gifts right before we left the cabin on Monday.   If you click on the pictures to make them bigger you can see that she took pictures of everyday objects that look like letters of the alphabet and spelled out our last names.  They're so cool!  So we took advantage of the props for our final photo shoot.

Our "Goertzen" picture frame!

I'm always amazed how it can feel like we've never been apart when we get back together.  I'm so glad we've made the effort to stay in touch.  Love you girls! :)

(And yes, I promise I'll see you again even though I have now crossed you off my list!)