A little bit of Everything

Hello from the great state of Iowa. Unlike most days, I have lots to say. First of all, thank you to my new readers who complimented my blog. It is nice to know that other people besides my mother appreciate my efforts.
As of this evening, I have my ring on my finger and I am enjoying it. Who would have known it would take a week to size it? It was so large that I couldn't even put it on my thumb, now it fits perfectly. I keep looking at it and thinking Holy crap, it wasn't a dream. This will also give me something more interesting to blog about....wedding plans =).
Anyway, before I show you some pictures of my baby (I am feeling a bit guilty that I haven't been taking very many pictures of my big girls...perhaps I should try better) I was going give a quick update on my fitness adventures. So I am proud to say that I have pretty much lost all 50+ lbs (i stopped counting after it got too depressing) of the baby chub that I so adeptly put on (minus the 7 lbs or so of lean body mass I gained during the pregnancy). So I have been thinking about what I wanted to accomplish next. A few weeks ago, my lovely sister so kindly asked me to participate in the Des Moines marathon with her in Oct...as much as I really really wanted to do that (ha!) I politely declined as I had already made other plans. For the next 8 weeks I am doing a body transformation challenge. I figured I could be pretty disciplined for the next 8 weeks as it is only 8 weeks out of my life and see what I could accomplish. The workouts are a bit more disciplined than I am currently doing, but not that different so that won't be a problem. The food thing is of course going to be the issue. I actually eat quite healthy, so much so that I get made fun of at work for it. That being said, I am not rigid about it, if I feel like having a treat, I will, etc. So eating "clean" for 8 weeks and getting the right proportion of nutrients is going to be my challenge. Getting protein is a bit of a chore for me and as of day 1 I have already fallen short of the recommended amount of protein...131 g today. But I will try again tomorrow. Need a better plan...or perhaps any plan (unlike today). It will be interesting to see if following this diet will burn some fat while adding muscle...have never been overly successful at doing that all at the same time. Anyway, I will shut up and move onto more interesting things...but will keep you updated.

So yes, some pictures of my baby. We were outside the other night and she was picking through the grass again.

I think she was a bit disappointed with the taste of the dandelion seeds...do you think?

Sitting on my new rocking chairs on the front porch (part of my revamping of the outside porches).

And that is all for now. Have a lovely evening.