WW - before and after (kind of!)

Oh! Oh! This wordless Wednesday has lots of words!!!!

I have been asked to post before and after photos. But I have 3 major problems with doing this:

1. I am not done my weight loss journey - I have come to realize that this is a life time journey and I am far from done yet!
2. There are so few photos of me - I think I have posed for more family photos in the last 3 months than I had in the last 5 years!
3. I have hit a bit of a plateau - perhaps posting some photos will help me break through it - my main "problem" is that I have really increased the amount and intensity of my workouts and that is leaving me hungry, craving food and grazing...but I will get it all under control. One good decision at a time!

So, here is the best I can do!

BEFORE

(yep, that is me in the far left corner, hiding from the camera!)



After


(yep, that is me, proudly posing while my son snaps a few shots!)

A few friends have also asked me about some of the weight/foody blogs that I have started to follow, so, in no particular order, here they are:

Amy's Quest to Skinny

Roni's Weigh

Bitch Cakes

Carrots 'N Cake

Chubbie Chica

Green Lite Bites

Healthy can taste good too!

Loosing to find Myself

Our Blubher Over Haul

A work in Progress - Wednesday Weigh In

As many of you know, I trying to "loose the fringe". I have been on a weight loss program since the beginning of September - and I am happy to report that it is going great.

I am in the process of rediscovering myself, taking time to take care of myself and I am making many lifestyle changes. So, as my body, self-image and entire world starts to change, improve, and morph into something great - I figured I would also re-vamp The Fringe.

It is all a work in progress...but I hope you like the new look! I am no HTML guru! Instead I used my scrapbooking software to create the new banner and then plunked it into a template. (Santa, if I am on your good list this year, a certificate to have a professional blog-transformation would be a sweet idea!!!)

Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions on how to improve The Fringe!

Speaking of a new look - I promised myself that when I hit 25 pounds in weight loss I would pamper myself with a nice new hair cut and colour. Well, I am not quite at 25 pounds - but will be very shortly!!!! Ya for me! My weight loss this week was just over 3.5 pounds.

I am thinking of getting a fairly same-type of cut I currently have, but going a rich chestnut brown with amazing highlights and fun streaks. Your thoughts?!?!?!?

This week was also Canadian Thanksgiving...and I still stuck to program and did not cheat. No turkey, stuffing, beans, squash, sweet potatoes or pumpkin cheesecake for...no sireee Bob! I prepared all these wonderful eats for my loved ones, but did not eat any of it! Not even a taste while cooking or baking. I am so proud of myself! I did my 4 Optifast shakes a day - that is it - that is all. I never felt like cheating or sneaking a bite.

And even though I did not celebrate Thanksgiving with food - I celebrated it with my wonderful family - I could not be more thankful of the love and support they all give me.

Well - that is it for this Wednesday Weigh In day!

Murky Waters

Can I say I am new at this??? This whole blogging phenomena? Having never posted a blog, in the true sense, perhaps I am...but then for years I have kept a journal...does that count? Yes. I think it should. So, while I am not new to the catharsis of putting thought, peeve, desire or anecdotes onto paper, I am new to this on-line spuing of inner-thoughts.

Why take the plunge?

While washing the dishes this morning I was gazing out our back window. And there in front of me was our wonderfully refreshing in-ground pool. My pool made me do it! The green, murky water called to me...and I decided to dive right in!

You see, our pool has a crack in a pipe and it has made it near impossible to clean. So, the dirt and crud has settled on the bottom. And if you look closely, or if we do get a bit of the pool vacuumed, you can see the water is blue and clear - it is all the crap that has settled that makes it appear murky, cloudy and icky.

hmmmmmmm.... is it a metaphor of my current life? For years I kept a journal and then when my life took a most fabulous turn - I stopped. I met the most amazing man, started an amazing courtship, marriage and family. I am now blessed with three wonderful children. Life is great - but bumpy at times. So, why not start journaling again? The waters of my life are clear - I have found my calling in being a wife and mother...but at times things are not as clear or clean...and some crud always seems to settle when you least expect it.

So, jump on in and join my pool party...come splash around...have fun and help me perfect the front crawl and back stroke of life.