Recapping Weeks 14 & 15

So the past couple weeks have been rough for me. Week 14 I didn't mean not to blog but we were enjoying our last weekend with Sephora's boyfriend Austin before he left to the MTC for his mission to Columbia, South Carolina. Plus I was feeling ridiculously fat & lazy because ever since my birthday party the week before I had been pigging out on cake, burgers, chips, soda, whatever happened to be handy. Well, after week 14 naturally I intended to get right back on track but there was a karate volleyball party & brownies & cookies & things around for Austin, & then Austin left & naturally we all missed him terribly & wanted comfort food, you know the story. This of course meant that my week 15 weigh-in was even more atrocious than week 14, by rather a lot actually.

HOWEVER! I still weighed & measured & took pictures dutifully, so I will of course post those to catch you all up. I was really just lazy this weekend & didn't feel like blogging because I knew I needed to catch up on week 14 too. But now I'm back & promise not to miss another week! AND I am back on track & have lost the majority of my pigout weight already. I love when I do what I'm supposed to & my body just works!! For my birthday my parents & grandparents gave me money so I bought myself the set of zumba dvds! It's my favorite way to workout but I'm lucky to get to go to class more than once or twice a month. They have a ten day program to lose a pant size, & a ten day program to sculpt & tone your body. I've decided to simply alternate them for the foreseeable future. I started yesterday & while our carpet sucks for working out & (naturally) a dvd lacks the natural energy of a class, it's still a lot of fun & something I can stick with. Hopefully I can get someone (yesterday it was Sephora) to do it with me every day.

Here is my big news: since my first day in Zumba I have wanted to certify to teach it. When I was a child my mom was an aerobics instructor & I LOVED having her come to my class & teach us all. As I got older she did step classes for women at church & I loved to get up early & workout with her. Until I was standing in that first class watching the instructor & thinking "how fantastic to get paid to stay healthy & help other people!!", I had forgotten how much I loved it. So come Memorial Day weekend I will be in certification all day long. Hopefully Sephora will as well, but she's concerned about earning the money back being able to teach. For me, this is something I want SO BADLY that yes I do want to be paid to do it, but I want to do it no matter what. Even if all I could do was another class at church like my mom did (which I could not charge for), I could help others get fit which is what I really want to do, & it would be a way to make sure I got my workouts. I told a couple church friends & they were really excited & convinced we could easily get others. So I'm going to do it!!!

This weekend had one fantastic moment: getting to see my big sister Liz. Liz & Jenn have been just like sisters to me for years, & have been a HUGE support to me these past few months. Well, when Lizzie saw me she came up, told me how great I looked, & gave me a big hug & a kiss on the cheek. So great to see them!! As we've all gotten older, marriage, kids, etc., it's become a lot harder to get together as one ginormous family. It's wonderful to be reminded that doesn't change even as the months go by. I am thrilled for Ricky & Julie, even if she did swipe my backup, hahahaha. I feel so incredibly blessed to have such a huge strong support system behind me. That's what makes it so easy to get back into it where it's been so hard before, because I know at the end of the day, week, month, whatever, my family & friends love me & always will no matter how fat I am, but they will also push me to be as healthy & happy as humanly possible. I love you!!!

***pictures & numbers to come soon***