Hey now, Hey now, my boyfriend's back!

It's been ENTIRELY too long since my last update, post, pic, etc. Things have been crazy around here. Everytime I want to blog, ten million other things have to be done. Well, thanks be to God, I am getting some things crossed off my "30 before 30" list. That is keeping me pretty busy! I finally have a good before and after pic to show, although my after pic isn't really finished yet. Did I mention that I have started my Master's Degree program? And I am teaching summer school? So yeah, like I said, it's been pretty crazy.

Where do I begin.....I know. I'll start with a weight loss update. I had a few slow weeks, but I am proud to say that I've hit all of my goals for the month of June already. No seriously, I set pretty conservative goals this time. I am OFFICIALLY out of clothes that fit...I can either go shopping or lose 5-10 more pounds. I have elected to lose 5-10 more pounds. I did, however, buy a couple of new sundresses to hold me over. THat's the one thing that you have to love about Texas weather; I may be hotter than (insert funny word here), but at least I can just throw on a pretty dress and hit the door. No point in wearing make-up. It just melts off my face anyway, lol! So here is the moment I think you have been waiting for. My total weight loss up to this point is exactly 29 pounds!! I am soooo excited I can hardly contain myself. Between that and all of the many things that God is establishing in my life (too soon to share, but just wait and see) I feel like I could do anything right now. Seriously, nothing is too hard for me or My God!!

School is wonderful. I am definitely still "Nerd Extraordinaire". I feel this compelling desire to do great on everything now so that if I run into any trouble later I have somewhat of a cushion in my GPA from all of the hard work that I did in the beginning. My professor loves me. She told me that she was "looking forward to having me again" in my 3rd class. She also told me "you will be very successful in this program because of your diligence". That literally made my day last week! =)

The boys are growing like weeds. I can't wait for them to get to visit my side of the family later on this summer. That is going to be the best present EVER! I have not seen my sisters in well over a year; they have never seen my youngest son in person. And to top it all off, my grandmother is even coming! This is big for me. I went my whole life, well the first 26 years, believing that she didn't like me and that she only loved me because she had to. Now that I have been delivered from that lie, I am super excited about the relationship we are now able to have, and I can't wait to see her and for her to see her great grandkids! Speaking of which, I have to go get them breakfast. We have a lot of moving around to do today. It's like they can smell me in the next room or something, lol. Now they're all crying for me. Gotta run.

Until next time.......

It's been a long time, I shouldn't left you...

Without a dope beat to step to..step to, step to , step to, step...baby girl! LOL. Okay so for those of you who didn't know me that long ago or simply have forgotten, there was a time in my life where I thought I was Aaliyah (Nesha can testify to that one, lol). I heard that song yesterday somewhere, and it kinda fit since it's been so long since my last entry.

I didn't write anything last week because I was so frustrated. I was almost ready to quit. It wasn't that I didn't lose any weight; it was simply that I missed my goal by 0.2lbs. I know right...who gets upset over 2 tenths of a pound?! Apparently me! Well, either way, it really bothered me. I wish that I could tell you that I decided to buckle down and work harder this past week...but I would be lying. As a matter of fact I did the exact opposite. I tried to eat horrible...but my body wouldn't let me.

I truly believe that I am starting to experience the change that I wanted to see. I wanted so badly to change my beliefs about eating, and now here it is manifesting right in front of me. Even when I wanted to eat junk, and lazily go about my day something wouldn't let me. Some of you may think that something was my will power, but I know that it wasn't. It was nothing but the Holy Spirit. The Word tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us, and I am living witness to that this week.

I am happy to report that since my last entry, I have been more successful in my weight loss endeavors. Last week (when I was complaining) I lost 2.4 lbs. This past week I lost an additional 4.6lbs. This brings my total weight loss count to 24.6lbs!! I'm so excited. All of my clothes are too big. In fact, some fortunate person is going to be rocking some new duds soon; I gave away everything that I could not fit!! That was really hard for me, but I am proud of myself for letting go of my "fat clothes". It means I don't have any room to gain any of this back.

On an even more exciting note......I will be starting graduate school in less than 2 weeks!! I'm so excited! All of my materials have arrived. This is it. I can't believe it's finally happening. But I'm glad that I got these good eating habits down before it was time to do this. Otherwise I may have ended up in a really bad place.

I'm now the weight I was after I had my 1st child. Next stop..pre-baby weight. Not too far past that though. That would just make me look kinda "cracky"!!


Until next time.........

Learning How to Fish

Well, I listened to all of my fans (all 4 of you, lol) and decided not to sing this time. Sorry to disappoint anyone. I can make arrangements for next time! Anywho, this weeks goal was all about healthy eating. Read on for more details.

So I'm trying out this new eating strategy. Instead of focusing on a weight goal, I'm aiming to eat according to the good health guidelines every day. You remember those right?? That little thing the FDA sends out every year...it looks like a pyramid?! That one! So far so good. I can't say that I hit an exact number EVERY day, but I'm getting pretty close. I have been doing this since last Friday, so today makes day 4. I wish I could say that it is becoming easier as the days past, but I find myself always missing something. I will say this: having 2-3 servings of milk, 5 servings of fruits and/or vegetables, 2 servings of lean protein, whole grains, and 6-8 8oz. glasses of water everyday leaves little to no room for junk. Seriously! Even though I want something junky, I don't have time to eat it because I too busy counting fruits and vegetables. I'm too full from chugging water and working protein into every meal. On a bright note, my husband has fallen in-love with grilling again, so I get my lean protein AND he gets to have fun!

Right now, I am at a training for summer school. The group I am with is REALLY nice. As usual, everyone piled up and went out to lunch. But not me! No, frugal Fran packed a lunch. So when everyone else left, I decided to blog. It's not as fulfilling; especially as everyone comes back with food. The room, though, smells HORRIBLE; too many different mixes of smells. That's my consolation. Also, it's that when I get home, I can have almost whatever I want; it's that at the end of my road, when I reach my ultimate goal, I know that I will still be on this journey. I know that this is not a diet, but rather a life style change. I am praying that the longer I stick this out, the deeper the change will go. It will move from being behavioral and environmental; it will move from the surface and begin to change my beliefs.

I know that this can work. All of the principles of God work if you work them. God's word does not work because you are perfect. It works because He is perfect. II am reminded of an old proverb said by someone who was important, but obviously not famous because I can't remember what his/her name was (LOL):

If you want feed a man for a day, you give him a fish. If you want to feed a man for life, you teach him how to fish. This is what I am doing; I am learning how to fish!

Until next time........

I will survive!

At first I was afraid, I was petrified. Just thinking I could never live without you by my side. But then I spent so many nights, just thinking how you did me wrong; and I grew strong. And I learned learned how to get along......Oh now go, walk out the door. Just turn around now; cuz you're not welcome anymore!! Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with your lies? Did you think I'd tumble? Did you think I'd lay down and die? Oh no not I!! I will survive.....I've got all my life to live, and I've got all my love to give. And I'll survive; I will survive! Hey Hey! (dancing around the room)

I didn't forget the words, lol! Anyone who knows me knows that I could sing that song in my sleep; but I didn't want my entire blog to be the song, so I had to stop there. Now by now you are probably wondering what I am singing about this time. Last week it was chocolate, then then there were the odes to my workout, Insanity. Now, I'm singing about my beloved Doritos. That's right ppl. If there were ever a potato chip that I thought I couldn't live without, it would be the crispy, crunchy, cheesy Doritos. Not the knock offs, the generic brand, but the big boys. I am proud to say that I have not had in in such a long time, that I don't really remember the last time that I ate them! I wish that I could tell you it was because I am eating so healthy that I don't have the desire for them at all. Sadly that is not the case. It's as simple as this: I don't liked the baked version. Sorry, I'm not as deep and wonderful as you thought. I simply made the decision to only eat baked chips, and the baked Doritos are gross!! I love the baked Cheetos, crunchy or puffed; but there not the same as my beloved Doritos.

Now all this talk about food has got to be making you look at me, or the computer screen, sideways. I know what you're thinking....or at least I'd like to believe so. You're wondering what this has to do with anything. Well I promise I am getting to my point.

Part of my decision was based on my goal to fit into my magical dress on April 17th. Well, on the 17th I forgot to try the dress on. But here comes the best part.....I tried it on on the 18th and

IT FIT!!!!!

It fit so well that and decided to try on all of the dresses that I had been hiding in the back of my closet and

THEY ALL FIT!!!

It's now official; my new dress size is a 10!! I worked so hard to get to this point, and I am soooo proud of myself. I would be remiss if I did not thank God for giving me the strength to get through and for placing all of the gifts on the inside of me that I would need to get the job done. For example, all that time I thought my stubbornness was a bad thing, but I have now learned to use my powers for good and not evil and look where it got me!! I have to thank my husband, Maurice, for his unconditional and unyielding support. I have to thank my dad; just by reading my blog and commenting on it I am able to feel your support and that to me is priceless. Thanks to my buddy, Karen, for giving me accountability to someone other than myself. Thanks for having me write my goals out plainly, and for making me email them to you so I couldn't change them later, lol.


I feel like I look like a million bucks. As soon as my personal photographer get on it, I will have a picture to post to update everyone.

I'm almost there everyone. 13lbs down, 37lbs to go. Now it's time to get to thinking about a new short term goal. I'm still open to suggestions!

Days 11-12

Well, so much has transpired over the past 3 days and two workouts. Where do I begin? Here's a good place; I hurt my need trying to do one of the stretches from the video. It put me down for a couple of days, so I just did the recovery workout twice and then moved on. I learned a HUGE, VALUABLE lesson from it all. Everything they do on the video cannot be done by everyone! I hate that I had to learn it the hard way, but I least I learned it, right?! Since this injury I have started doing the stretches that I grew up with; the stretches that Reggie and Rick had us do everyday for 4 years....and guess what?! They worked! The pain is gone and today's workout was better than ever! Now the pain leaving cannot be solely attributed to stretching; that was nothing but the healing hand of God! I praise Him and Bless His Name for touching my body. Oh, I'm shouting over here. Let me stop, before I never finish what I am trying to say. My point is, if you have never learned the proper way to stretch be careful before you go "all out" doing this Insanity workout. If you have absolutely NO athletic training in your past, make sure that you are doing the stretches and exercises correctly. Ask someone to watch you to perform them. Do them in front of a mirror if you have to!! Just be careful. Don't end up like me.

With that said, I must say that I am very proud of myself for pushing through and not giving up. No more excuses, right?! The hardest part of no more excuses is not letting other people make excuses for you. Once you stop making them for yourself, there will always be someone to step in and make them for you. You just have to keep your resolve and not let them; don't give in. Honestly, there are some mornings that I have to wake up and tell myself in the mirror, "no more excuses." You have to do whatever it takes to make sure that you don't fall off the wagon. I fell off last week, and I promised myself that I would not fall off again, even if that means that I am holding on for dear life!

Now for a workout update. This was about my 4th time doing cardio power and resistance. I made it through the WHOLE video only sitting out 2-3 sets of the entire circuit. It was hard; it took guts. I had the nagging voice in my ear telling me, "your knee is hurt; it's okay of you quit." After using the Word of God to quite that voice, I made it through. A mighty woman of God, whom I love and trust, told me that I should pray in tongues while I was working out. The rationale being that when your in the spirit you don't feel pain. In the soul, or the flesh, your body doesn't like pain or change, and will make you want to quit. It definitely worked today! You should try it out if you have have the chance.

Well I have to go now. I have been busy working out, feeding kids, washing clothes, and cleaning the living room up. I took a pause to finish this, but I must get back to work. This house isn't going to clean itself! (It took me 6 months to realize this!)

Until next time...

Oh No; I fell off the wagon

So what started as one day off for my anniversary turned into two days off. I didn't eat bad or do anything crazy; I just didn't plan my time well so I didn't get to work out yesterday. I am a little disappointed; well let's be honest, I am a LOT dissappointed. I must have beat myself up last night for over an hour. Then I came to the realization that if God can forgive me, I have to be able to forgive myself. I know that the enemy would love for me to condemn myself and quit. But that's not happening. I am back on the wagon; I have planned accordingly.

On a side note, I have noticed that it seems to be easier to do things when my life is hectic and fast paced than it is when I am off and I have nothing to do. Why is that? Whatever the case may be, you'll here from me later. Insanity Day 8 is serving up at 5:45pm tonight.

Until next time.....

Day 2 Recap

Well, what can I say?! Day two was a beast. Every muscle in my body was worked yesterday...even the muscles I forgot that I had! As crazy as it may sound,I feel like I have more energy today. I feel like there is more pep in my step. My students are definitely benefiting from my increased energy level. Let's talk about the details of day two.

where should I begin? Oh I know! I'll start with the fact that doing the full warm-up had me winded. I knew that I was out of shape, but I had no idea that it was that bad. I pushed through the pain; I dug deeper, as Shaun T repeatedly says throughout the DVD. At one point, I was so tired I yelled at the TV, telling him to shut-up. My extreme workout yells and grunts eventually led to my 3-year old son screaming, "mommy, are you okay?" It was precious; he was so worried about my well-being. That made me smile. But I was working so hard, and breathing so heavily that I could barely reply. By the time Maurice came home, I had sweat dripping down every surface of my body. And I was only 25 minutes into the workout!! He spoke to me, but I honestly don't remember what he said. I remember he brought me water...but I was determined to finish the workout.

I was focused; zoned; oblivious to all around me. Well, when I could be; it's hard to zone out when you are responsible for 3 little ones. I am glad to report that Matthew, Michael, and Mark were able to play nicely together in their room. No one was hurt; no tears, crying, or fighting! They give me hope that I really can do this!! My Bishop has always told me that if I tell the Lord the desires of my heart, He can move on my children to make them get in line so that my wishes can come true. Well, I saw that for the first time last night. And it was also important for me to realize that it was NOTHING wrong with my request. It was in no way selfish, nor did it make me a bad mother. In fact, I believe that it made me a great mother. If I don't take care of myself, I will never be able to take care of them. I will also be setting a HORRIBLE example for what they will grow up to expect from their future wives. I know that it way down the line, but it is never too early to start preparing for the future.

Now I sit, in my stool in my classroom, with sore muscles but a tangible excitement and anxiousness. I cannot wait to get home and start Day 3. What's crazy is that I was scared of Day 1. Once I started, and conquered that fear I realized that I can do anything I put my mind to. I AM STRONG; I AM MADE IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD THE FATHER!! My words have power, so I say...no I declare I WILL FINISH THIS PROGRAM AND I WILL REACH MY GOALS! 50lbs in 50 weeks (or less, that would be great!) I hope that somehow my journey can/will help inspire someone else to live out their dreams!

Hopefully I can get the blog for Day 3 tonight. If not, it definitely will be done tomorrow.

Until next time.....

JUST DO IT!

When God tells us to do something we should do it. Simple right? It seems simple enough, but more often than not we don't. I am included as a member of the guilty party. God has been telling me to start a page/group on the social networking site that I use for months. In the beginning, I kept telling myself that I was making it up. God wouldn't tell me to do that...or would he. About 1-2 months ago, He told me again; this time, I took it more seriously, but the fear of what other would do or say stopped me. Would they laugh? Would the join/follow the page? Well today, I finally decided to stop making excuses and do it. (That's my mantra for the next phase of my life...No More Excuses). I will admit, the fear was not completely subsided; it was more like a nervousness. But I have decided that I would rather God be pleased with me than my peers. It's funny, only because I learned that lesson (AGAIN) watching Veggie Tales with my children! Now I'm not saying that it is easy, but what alternative do I have. I am trying to set a good example for my children; trying to teach them that when God tells you something, you should worry or care about what anyone else does or thinks. Hopefully, they'll pick this lesson up along the way. And I can be an example for them along their journey.