2011: Year in Review

This past year has been FULL.  I started this year in a different place.

In January I about 30 weeks pregnant.  I was due March 4th 2011.  My Husband decided to take a job in Vancouver (2 hours drive, 2 hours ferry and 1 more hour driving away).  We though it might be a good long-term opportunity for our family so off he went. I was pretty heart-broken, and my son who was not quite 2 yet didn't really understand.

Here he is the morning we left to move Daddy over. He put on his shoes and tried to pull his bag and open the door for him.  This picture made me cry because he was excited for the car ride but didn't understand he wouldn't be seeing his Daddy very often.

In February at 35 weeks pregnant, and my husband away I fell and sprained my ankle.  I could hardly get up to go get my son from his bed.  I was alone and scared.  It made me more angry that my husband was working away from me.

On Feb 28th 2011, I went into labour.  My student midwife didn't believe me but finally agreed to meet me at the hospital.  I was in a LOT of pain and when they checked my I was 8cm.  They broke my water and it was time to push.  This didn't leave enough time for Jeff to get home from Vancouver, so he missed the birth.   He arrived about 5 hours after she was born.

Jeff stayed home that week, and then went back to Vancouver.  During this time I discovered just how strong I could be. I had a newborn baby, an almost 2 year old, and a daycare that I was running from my home.  I was also taking care of paying all the bills (Vancouver and Home and Daycare) I had help during the day with daycare, but everything else was on me.  Guess what?  I did it!! I survived.

When Annalisa was 6 weeks old we started taking turns with Jeff visiting. We would visit Jeff and then two weeks later, he would visit us, and so on.  We had a lot of fun during our adventures. We went to the Zoo, the Aquarium, rode on mini trains, ate at Krispy Kreme, rode on ferries and more!  I was also able to catch up with two of my most favourite friends in the whole world! It reminded me what true friendship is, and that I didn't need to see people every day to know I still cared for them.

In May I got some EDS testing done, and found out that I was sensitive to certain foods.  I started a strict diet eliminating a lot of foods.  I did great and felt great for that month.  I lost about 14lbs.

 In June Jeff lost his job in Vancouver.  We decided that he should move home instead of looking for something else there.  At that time I stopped my diet.  We also began the summer of The Food Channel... I started baking a lot and making dishes worthy of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  My excuse was that I had been stressed out. I deserved a break. Every occasion was another excuse to bake and consume delicious but totally unhealthy foods. I even started making things into occasions.  Happy Sunday! (Shaking head)

 By September I had gained back all my 14lbs + 5.  In September that's when Crystal said to me "Are you going first, or am I?" That's when it all seemed to 'click'. I started and finished the Couch to 5k app, I started doing Turbo Jam again.  I started logging all my food into MyFitnessPal, every little bite, EVERY damn day!

This is me a few weeks into my change.  I was feeling good and joked that I was channelling the show Big Sexy.

 Here I am about a week ago and down 40lbs:

 Since September I have come this far!

Wow. A lot happens in a year!

In December I decided to 'go public' with my weight-loss journey and self transformation. I started my Facebook page, and shortly after re-started my blog.   Until that point I wasn't ready to show anyone my imperfections.  I didn't want anyone to judge me or see me fail. Most likely I didn't want anyone to know I had admitted there was something wrong with me.

Now I am gearing up to ring in the New Year with my New Years Challenge.  I'm amped up and ready to go!! Can only imagine how far I'll get in 2012!