We've Been Here Before

Now that I've been in Arizona for a year now and have settled into a relatively normal pattern, it's time to focus. Focus on me and my health. I've done weight watchers two other times (3rd times the charm right?!) and I've had success with it then, as long as I was following the plan anyway. 

So here I am again. Last Saturday I joined my local Weight Watchers, I attended the 9am meeting, which is nice, not too early, not too late, and gets me out of bed on a Saturday! I was also able to replicate getting out of bed early for a second Saturday and made it to my meeting again this morning! It always seems a bit weird to go to the meetings, I imagine it's a lot like what an AA meeting would be like. We are all there for the same reason, food, but at the same time it's nice to know you aren't alone in the struggle. There are people from every walks of life and a varying group of ages. I am happy to report that after my first week, I am down -3.4lbs. (I would like to lose about 60lbs so that I am back into a healthy BMI range) Slowly but surely I will get there.

It's funny because since I've joined before and had all the materials, I kept telling myself, oh I can do this on my own and not have to pay for it etc etc. But it never stuck. I always succeed the best when I go to the meetings. I'll sometimes just remember in my head how many points the foods I've eaten were, but this time I am determined to physically write it down, it's not going to be easy but I'm all in this time.

The hardest part for me is deciding what to eat. It can seem overwhelming. I bought a nice planning calendar and plan on planning out my meals for the week and going to the store on the weekends and buying for the week. I won't lie, this will be the hard part. I might slip sometimes but I truly want to get my weight down so I look and feel better for myself. I'll search all the sites, pinterest and go into the cookbook archives to find good meals that I can make in a fairly quick amount of time.

Be prepared, this may turn into a what is Heather eating for dinner tonight blog. I've already had to fight the urge to not just order Papa John's pizza several times. (they have like 50% off every day or so, it's hard not to just order for a quick delivered meal) First step is the food, next step is the exercise, and that whole Planet Fitness membership I pay for but have yet to use... for shame Heather... for shame. I know... baby steps right?!

Wish me luck! Weight Watchers friendly recipes are always welcome! Feel free to email me any that you have tried and love! 

An Artsy Saturday

Tulip has been wanting to go to the Phoenix Art Museum forever to see Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester which is on display there. The last time we attempted was a free Friday event and there was so many people jam packed in the parking lot, we decided we would try again later. 

The Phoenix area has this awesome thing called Cultural passes, which if available can be checked out at the library and used for two free admissions to participating cultural stops around the area. We took advantage of that option and got ourselves a free Saturday treat! 

I loved this painting! Spring Flowers by Julius L. Stewart

Also on temporary exhibit is Warhol: Portraits, a collection of over 200 works by Andy Warhol

Spring Looks Good on ya AZ

Today is the first day of Spring! I think in Arizona language that just means pre-hot. I know my Midwestern family is excited for Spring to push away old man Winter. I'm excited to see them in a few weeks!

The above picture was snapped just outside my door this morning as I left for work. I'm glad the longest week on earth has finally ended and the weekend is here! I checked the 10 day forecast and it says it's supposed to be 95° next weekend. I feel like that is much too soon to be that close to 100° I don't remember it being that hot this time last year. Like I said, I'm not quite ready for the A/C to have be on and those electric bills. Stay tuned to see if I can make it through the rest of March and into April without melting! 

Have a great weekend! 

The 90's are coming

The 90's are coming, the 90's are coming! I'd much rather that say the British are coming... wink wink Tom Hiddleston. I say it's much too soon for the weather to be this hot already. It seems like just yesterday I was in my warm pajamas curled up in a blanket because it was so cold (50's). The average temperature this time of year should be in the mid-70s. I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of the summer that's to come. They say that last summer was pretty mild compared to what it normally is. If that is the case I may be spending more time outside by the pool this year. Sure it's a dry heat by hot is hot in my book. Here's hoping I still have a few months left before I have to turn the air conditioning on I'm not ready for a higher electric bill just yet!

12 Whole Months in Arizona - September to February

September: Trip Home & Grand Canyon 2

October: Georgia for Army NiBo & Halloween

November: I Found Fall! Project LiveWire & Notre Dame

December: Army NiBo's Graduation & Christmas in the Desert

January: Superstitions, Barrett Jackson, Color Run

February: San Xavier del Bac & Tombstone

Man when you put it all together like that, I've done a lot of things! I've made a really good friend here in AZ, thanks Tulip for joining me on most of these AZ Adventures. I can't wait to see what lies ahead in the next year! 

12 Whole Months in Arizona - March to August

It is honestly insane to think that I have officially been living in Arizona for a full year! I think I've done a great job exploring from the get-go and still have tons more to do! 

It was hard to leave such good friends behind.... I still talk to all of them, and I get to go see Pumpkin Runner at the end of April in Dallas and I can't wait to see her! 

Me & Pumpkin Runner

March: The drive & unpacking

April: Tortilla Flats, AZ Easy Rider Status

May: Audrey & the Symphony 

June: OL/PT, Jerome, Comicon & Sibling Visit - Grand Canyon Trip 1

July: Dust Storms & Lake Strolls

August: Casino & Wicked Weather

check back tomorrow for the next six months' adventures! 

Suns Game

Another first! A friend had an extra ticket to the game against the Golden State Warriors and asked me to join. The Suns ended up losing 98-80, but it was a fun game none the less!

Bob Knight and Tony La Russa were a few of the big names in attendance. I kinda thought the place would be bigger it seemed to me to be about the same size as the Assembly Hall State Farm Center in Champaign where the Fighting Illini play. 

Life Happens

Work seems to keep more more exhausted than usual, and our new wave of trainees has me starting work at 7am again. I sure got used to sleeping in and not having to be in until 9am with my last couple waves of classes. I honestly usually go to bed about 9pm and still wake up tired, I swear I have some sort of crazy sleeping disorder that requires me to get like 14 hours of sleep on the daily.

I've had the greatest of intentions several times since the new year began to get all my crap in order figure out what this year looks like as far as what I want to accomplish, but every time I try to get started, I change my mind. At the very least I wanted to be more updated with my blog, but as you see that hasn't been of the utmost success.

This last Friday I got my yearly work review bonus check so I decided to spend some money. I bought a very lovely chair from IKEA in hopes that a comfy desk space will encourage more blogging. So far so good ;)