bring joy

Weight loss Update: Beyond Size & Scale

As ya’ll know, I took the summer off from posting, then have taken my time getting back to the rhythm of things. But I suppose it’s time for another update.

If you haven’t followed my weight loss journey (you can do so, here), here’s the gist of it:

I gained lots & lots of fat weight with my fifth pregnancy.

After I had the baby, I weighed in at 204 lbs. (I’m 5’9″). I also had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy (which I have no doubts contributed greatly to the excess weight), which puts me at higher risk of developing diabetes later in life.

SO, the short story is, I had about 60 or so pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, which is one of the many preventative measures I can take to keep myself healthy & diabetes free.

As of the end of May, I had lost 35...

The 5 things your kid actually needs

parenting

“Mom,” (little puppy dog face with tears in his eyes)

Uh-oh, I thought, this isn’t starting well, I hope he’s not getting bullied or something.

“All the kids at school have video games

Whew, I thought this was something actually serious.

My response, I’m afraid, wasn’t very sympathetic. I paused for a moment, then blurted out,

“Bwahahahahaha!”

Hyrum started to smile too, then said,

“MOM–I’m serious!”

“I’m serious too. I think it’s funny you think you need video games. You will have the rest of your life to sit on duff (I actually said duff), but you only have a few short years to really be a kid–to run around, to read books for fun, to play games with your brothers & sisters. My job as your mom is to provide you with things you need to be healthy & strong–like food, this home,...

Love: 10 years of it

marriage

Love. Straight-up, unadulterated love.

I’m not talking lust, one-night stands, or even the act of falling in love. I’m talking true love. The kind that makes you want to have a family & follow a person to the ends of the earth just so you can be with them.

Joseph has been gone for nearly a month now for training out of state, as a part of his job as an attorney for the U.S. Air Force.

He does a lot of things, but one thing he does is prosecute the bad guys. Drug dealers, rapists, & other miscreants. It’s super sexy. I mean, he goes off in his blues, & fights for justice, goodness. Much like Tom Cruise’s character in A Few Good Men, except way hotter.

Any idea where my 10 & 15 pound kettlebells are? I can’t find them anywhere. I have no idea how something that heavy & big could...