Take a Depth Breath

The last few days have been stressful.
Nothing major. Just a bunch of little things that have added up to stress.
Not exactly the kind of week I was hoping for leading up to Evan's appointment on Friday.
But that's alright. All of this too shall pass.

Mainly I've just felt like crap. Went to the doctor and got medicine, so hopefully that will go away. Well except for the fact that the medicine makes me feel like crap too. But it will be ok.

And our first born Star Student brought home a less than stellar grade in English that has thrown us into a tailspin. We were not expecting it at all. She has never EVER had anything less than a 92 in any subject. So her grade being less than a B even completely flipped us out.
I blame it on myself for not prying about her grades more with her. I've tried really hard not to be an overbearing mother this year, and some how this is what I ended up with.
So I'll be teaching an English lesson every afternoon from 4:05 to 4:45 if you'd like to join us.
Because as you know, my chils WILL learn English, even if I have to teach her myself.

Oh yeah, we also have Weight Watchers weigh in tomorrow. And I'm scared. I know I have done fine. I have written down everything and always been within points. But I just don't feel too much smaller this week. So we'll see. Hopefully we'll have something to be happy about tomorrow night.

Finally, don't forget to pray for Friday's appointment. We go to Emory at 9:00 AM.

Hypochondria

I have always been a little bit of a hypochondriac.
Not terrible, just a little.
And it has been increased a little this year by the fact that I sent Evan to the doctor with a cough and he came out with cancer.
Makes sense right? I'm paranoid.
But I have to keep reminding myself that small medical issues are possible.
And that every time I feel a little off, I'm not going to end up on Mystery Diagnosis.

Just call me Martha

As many of you know, we have friends that have an 8 year old daughter who had a cancerous tumor removed back in July. Needless to say, that is every parents nightmare. But our little friend is doing really well with her chemo right now, so we are thankful for that.

I am also thankful for her mom, my sweet friend Tami, who has taken what is an awful situation and made it into an opportunity for showing the love of Jesus.

Even through chemo treatments and a million doctors appointments, Tami has started a non-profit. She is now providing bright colored, cheerful hospital gowns to the children at Scottish Rite- Aflac Cancer Center through her group called Giggle Gown. She has recruited friends and family and the gowns are being hand made as quickly as they can be.

So now enter me- Rookie Sewer, but willing volunteer.

I started my first gown on Saturday afternoon about 1:00.
The hardest part of the project was remembering how to thread my machine!

Because my mom always just did it for me.

But I managed to get it threaded, the pattern all cut out and everything pinned together.

It took me a while since I had never actually put a sleeve on a garment before- remember I am a rookie.

But I think all in all, it turned out great!

I did have one mishap where I missed actually sewing the bias to the neck of the gown-Oops.

But I managed to totally fix that on my own and I finished the gown some time that evening.

It really didn't take that long to make. I took several breaks and watched some football.

But I finished and that's a HUGE accomplishment for me!

And the greatest part is, it's actually wearable!

I put it on to prove it.

And yes, I know what you're thinking.

Wow! That must be one big gown if Lori can wear it.

But I was specifically tasked with making a gown for a teenager.

Now that teenager might have to be a short teenager since I was about an inch short on fabric at the bottom.

But it's a teenager sized gown none the less.

And I am super proud of it. And I'm ready to make 2 more as soon as I get some notions I need from Hobby Lobby.

If you are interested in making a gown of your own to donate, please let me know!

I'd love to have friends join in the effort.

I think it's a really great cause, and it's pretty fun too.

Run Daddy Run!

Here are our resident runners training in the neighborhood.
They finished the KP 5K last night and did great!

Killin' It (Week #1)

Team Bryant lost a combined total of 19 lbs. this week for the three of us!!
Not bad I must say.
Of course we were helped by Evan and his awesome 10.6 pound loss.
I'm so proud of him for doing such a great job this first week.
And he also ran a 5K so he really is my hero right now.

I managed to lose 5 pounds myself. I'm sure a lot of it was water weight, but I'll take it.
And my not drinking Coke is making a big difference I think.
I'm pretty proud of myself, and I really want to keep it up. I now that I won't lose nearly 5 lbs. every week, but a pound here and a pound there and I'll be good to go!

A few things I learned this week that I want to keep a record of:
-16 weeks into this journey will be December 30th and 16 weeks on Weight Watchers is a big milestone, so I look forward to celebrating the end of the year healthier.
-If I can lose an average of 1 lb. a week, it should take me about 6 months to reach my goal- I think that is realistic, right?
-I have a pair of jeans that I am going to use as my measure of success. Hopefully I'll get a picture up here of me in them this week so that I can compare later. They are size 14s which is not the biggest size I have worn. And I'm embarrassed to even tell you that size, but I hope that it will help me keep myself motivated. Ultimately, I want to wear a size 8 comfortably.
-My wedding rings are getting loose on my hand- LOVE IT! I won't mind paying to have them sized if I have to, but I'm not going to until I'm done. So I will put them in the ole jewelry box when they are just too big and if I wanted them back, I'll have to keep it up!
-I'm having a problem with my bras fitting. (I know my men readers don't want to hear this)
Oh, and before Evan starts to panic, it has nothing to do with cup size, it's only length around me that is decreasing. Which is cause my bras to want to move around. A COMPLETE PAIN!!
So I might have to buy some new bras (yea for me!).
-Oh and the Fresco menu at Taco Bell is good.

There you have it, a week #1 recap. I'm really excited. Looking forward to being a smaller version of myself. And maybe I can talk Evan into the Cadillac?

Daddy-Daughter Date

Tonight Evan and Haley (our 10 yo.) are going out on a date.
They're going to run/walk the Kaiser Permanenta 5K together.
Something that I think they both will enjoy since they have the same knack for fitness.
I'm glad Evan has at least one child that enjoys running with him.
I'm fairly certain Britton did not get that gene.
So we'll be hanging out while those 2 are being fit and fabulous.
If you happen to be near Turner Field at 7 tonight, go cheer on #7443 and his side kick!
I'm very proud of them - they are quite the pair.

Not Meth- Just Coke

I have a Coke habit.

As in a Coca-Cola habit.

It's bad. Like a 6 pack a day type habit.

But I gave it up last week on Thursday.

Cold turkey.

I gave it up for Weight Watchers.

Because I know that I will lose more weight if I stay away from the Coke.

And I have tried in the past to "allot" myself calories and points for Coke.

But really, I'm just healthier without it.

So I gave it up.

And man is it killing me.

I don't know why, but I am really irritable.

Like really. I have just had it with the world lately.

And I think it's all because of Coke withdrawal.

But I am bound to keep going in hopes that my weight loss will be increased by a little because of it.

Who knows, maybe I won't notice it's gone after a week or two.

And hopefully Evan can tolerate me being a little bitchy. We'll see.

1st weigh in is Thursday!