Glad to be at Friday. TGIF

Hey Ya'll.  Hope everyone has had a fantasic day, even though I did not get my vehicle back from the shop.  It is suppose to be ready tomorrow.  This weekend I am going to busy.  Will be helping my hubby get things together and do my Honey Do's this weekend.  lol

Followed my diet pretty well today, however I went over my calories.  When I got home from work, fixed Rick and I a good and health dinner.  It was nice to spend quality time with my husband.  I also made the Weight Watchers Pumpkin Muffins.  They were alright.  Tomorrow I think I am going to make a soda cake.  It is a cake made with a diet drink and cake mix.  I bought diet cream soda to use in mine. 

This is a great sign.  Too bad this saying isn't true.  I would be at my goal weight by now.  lol  

Well I must sign off here, 

Remember, Have Faith, Believe and never give up Hope.  Get up, and Get Moving.

Well I must sign off for the night.

Lovey (Gina) Howell

Stay Positive

Well this morning I woke up at 6am, then turned over and slept until 7am.  (One of these days when I wake up early, I am going to get up and exercise.)  This morning Rick and I had to tow my vehicle to the auto repair center to get the fuel pump put on.  I was a little grumpy this morning because I felt guilty that I planned on getting up early and did not.  Then when I got in the truck realized was almost out of gas.  Rick was not happy that I did not get gas the night before.  Ooops.  But we survived and was able to get it dropped off at the shop and then he took me to work.

My work day was very productive.  At work I usually do very well eating healthy.  Its when I get home and relaxed I get a little reckless.  But tonight I made dinner and spent time with my husband.  Just when I was starting to get into LAZY mode I decided to go out to my studio and get a workout done.  I did a mile on my Eliptical for 30 minutes and got a 541 calorie burn.  I am really happy I did go and work out.  This weekend I am going to make my Weight Loss Jars with marbles, just another incentive to help me along the way. 

This sign says it all.  I am thinking of blowing it up, printing it and putting up in my studio.  It is very important to stay positive during your journey, even if your not feeling it.  Smile, its contagious and you will be surprised how better you will feel.  So Let's do it.

Remember make a commitment to change one thing a week and do it for 6 weeks and it will become a part of your routine.  Good Luck.

 Remember...Tomorrow is a new day, Get up, get moving, have faith, believe and NEVER give up HOPE.

Goodbye for now my friend, God Bless.

Gina (Lovey) Howell

 



 

All the marbles!

I have been struggling this week.  I want so hard to be disciplined.  A couple of days of slacking is bringing me down and hurting my progress.  I go to work and do so good.  Get home and I just don't know what happens to me.  I am mentally tired and just want to relax and do nothing.  I have got to get a new game plan in place.  I am going to go to bed earlier tonight, get up earlier in the morning and try to get in a good workout.  I think I will do so much better exercising in the mornings.  I have drank some diet zero drinks these past two days.  Which is zero calories and not bad for me.  I really think it is a good diet drink.  But I feel  it would be in my best interest to just drink water.  I want to cut out the coffee but I am afraid of lack of the caffeine may make me drag a little or even cranky.  Oh we don't want that.  Seriously,  my niece told me about the Marble Visual Tactic. 

You need two jars or glasses.  One marked "Pounds to Lose" and the other "Pounds Lost"
You take marbles and count out how many pounds you want to lose and put them in the "Pounds to Lose" jar.  Every time you lose a pound you move a marble over to the "Pounds Lost" jar.  (vice versa if you gain)  Put it somewhere you can see it.  This way you will be more determined to turn away from the temptations.  Oh yea do not say DIET!  When I think of the word DIET it makes me want to binge really bad.  I know its Crazy to think like that.  So I decided to tell myself this is nothing more than a Lifestyle Change.  Make small changes in your behaviors, do them long enough they become good habits.

Yesterday I was at the dollar store and I bought my marbles.  I think this will help me allot.

I have been digging up old pictures for our reunion website.  They would like us to send our graduation picture (which I loved the size I was in HS) and a recent picture of us now.  (I am not liking this one)  It just shows me how much I failed over the years by not staying healthy and fit.  I know, boohoo.   I know that I got myself in this situation all by myself.  No one else to blame. 

Remember today is over, tomorrow is a New day to start fresh. 

Tomorrow I am using the "Money from Heaven" to get the New Fuel Pump put into my vehicle.  YEA!  I am thankful I have my husband's (gas gusseller) truck to use until I had the opportunity and money to get the Fuel Pump and get it put on my vehicle.

I am thankful for the following:  My God, life, health, church, job and the opportunity to choose to make changes to my life.

My motto, with God beside me I can accomplish anything as long as I put forth the effort and Have Faith, Believe and Never lose HOPE!  If we all stick together and encourage one another we will get through this journey successfully.  So get your marbles and let's get started.  Here's to a new Lifestyle change 

Thanks for reading,

Lovey (Gina) Howell

And Their Tasty Too!

This morning got up early, had one of my egg muffins and a biscuit for breakfast, Got ready for church.  Which the sermon was so enlightening.  Always refreshing to renew my spirit and get ready for the new week ahead.  Below is my egg muffin recipe.

My Egg Muffin Recipe - 6 Eggs, 1 cup Birds Eye Frozen Bell Peppers, & Onions, 1/4 cup shredded cheese and 2 Jenni O Turkey Sausage Links (cut into little pieces) and 1/4 cup milk.  Mix all ingredients together.  Spray Muffin pan with PAM.  Pour mixture into each muffin hull.  (Makes 6 Muffins)  Cook about 20 minutes in oven of 375 degrees.  (These are great to put in Freezer bags, easy to reheat in microwave for quick breakfast)
(I eat them with a little picante sauce or put in flour tortilla for a breakfast burrito)    ENJOY!

My I LOVE LUCY plug.   AND THERE TASTY TOO! 

When I got home from church, I fixed my husband and I a really good lunch too.

John Morrells Smoked Turkey Sausage, (grilled with onions and a little HOG WILD BBQ sauce), Baked potato and Brussels sprouts.

This afternoon, I was a little lazy and all I wanted to do is watch LMN movies and relax.  I even took a nap.  Now tonight I look back and I am feeling guilty that I took that nap, I should have gotten outside and got a good walk in  or got a workout in my studio.  I am trying not to beat myself up because of it, because tomorrow is a new day. 

I just want to do the right things and stay motivated to keep moving and eating right so I can get to my goal.
When I was younger right before 7th grade I had gained allot of weight, My mom and  I went to an Overeaters Anomyous Meeting and joined.  What was great was my mom (God Bless Her) did this with me.  I also had a sponsor that I could call when I was having a bad day or was thinking of cheating on my diet.  It was wonderful, I lost weight and really became obsessed with exercising to keep my weight down.  Now I just wonder where that girl went.  Its me, I just want to get to that ME again.  My mom is not here to talk to anymore.  Everyday is a struggle for me to eat the right things, get moving and exercise.  I do not understand why I crave sweets.  But I am not giving up, I know that little girl in me that was strong and ate right and lost the weight is there, she just needs a little push and motivation to come back.  Please pray with me, that God grants me the strength to do what it takes to get there.  Thank you.

Something to look forward to is my 30th High School Reunion, I am very excited and can't wait to be able to see all of my friends and previous classmates.  This is going to be terrific.   

I have always wondered what kind of talent or purpose do I have on this Earth.  I know what is my passion, I love taking pictures, and I love creating all kinds videos.  I am honored to be able to put together such a personal memorial video for our Class of  82.  Classmates that we have lost over these past years. 

"The End of One Life is Just a beginning into another."

Remember get up, get moving and ttomorrow is another Day

Have Faith, Hope, and BELIEVE.  Never Give Up!

Thank you for reading.

Gina (Lovey) Howell

Spiritual Journey - Money from Heaven

Spiritual Journey - Today I begin my blog with an amazing thing that happened to me today.  First I wake up late, (that is not the good part), to my amazement my alarm was not even on.  I know I set it before going to bed.  This morning I heard "WAKE UP GINA!"  I sat straight up looked at my clock and saw it was 7:25 am in this morning and I am running late big time.  No one around, honestly, I don't know who told me to get up.  But I just said ok daddy I am up an moving.  I love you and miss you very much.  I truly like to think my dad is still here watching over me.  I was definitely a daddy's girl.  Anyways regardless who yelled at me to get me moving, I  had to get ready for work.   Got ready, fed my kitty cats, my doggy Daphne and proceeded to fix some turkey bacon to take with me so I had some kind of protein to start my day.  Yesterday my husbandhad  brought in the mail and sat it on the kitchen table, I told him I would open it all this weekend.  I just didn't want to open junk mail or more bills.  But one piece caught my eye, it was adressed to both of us, their was no return address either.  I opened it and low and behold their was a money order and a note that said, "Money sent from Heaven for a new Fuel Pump.  God Bless."  I was at a loss of words and begin to cry.  I was so excited and very happy.  See my car broke down in December before Christmas.  Found out my fuel pump  needed to be replaced.  I have had to drive my husbands truck (which is a gas gussler).  Things have been really rough and money has been tight.  Just trying to catch up on bills is very had when you get behind.  I just have not been able to come up with the money to purchase a fuel pump and then have to pay labor to have it put on my vehicle.  Just last week I prayed to God to please help me, I just need a little help.  God I am going to let you take care of this.  God is so amazing!  This was an answer to my prayer.  There are ANGELS among us on Earth they do things that help us along our spiritual journey.  God guides them and they help guide us.  This is just one wonderful experience I will never forget.  I know there will be many situations I will encounter in the future and I have FAITH God will guide me along my journey right beside me, if need be he will carry me.  I pray that each of my friends and family experience many blessings throughout your life.  God Bless.

REMEMBER:  Have Faith, Believe and Never Lose Hope!  God is only a prayer away.

A message to my Guardian Angel doing God's Work,  THANK YOU!

STAND UP, GET MOVING AND MAKE IT A TERRIFIC DAY!

Thank you for reading,

Gina (Lovey) Howell

Hello Lets Start this Journey Together

Welcome to my blog.  I am very new at this so bear with me as I tweak everything to make it perfect. 

I started this blog because I am on a journey to lose weight and rediscover myself again.  I remember the days when I was thin and how good it felt.  To be honest back then at 117 lbs I thought I was fat.  What was I thinking?

Throughout my life I have had many setbacks that periodically caused me to go into depression and I gain weight due to these events I had no control over.  Not to mention the ridiculous diets I endured and the yoyo weight loss and weight gain I experienced.  Seems everytime I was on top of the world and doing great, something would happen to knock me down and I would fail and fall back into bad habits.  Everytime this happens I always have weight gain.  Over the years I have dealt with many hard times from children's illnesses, hospital stays, divorce, and to losing both of my parents within a two year span.  I realize that I would just make excuses for being overweight.  NOW is the time for NO MORE EXCUSES.  I am alive and I am worth it.  So I have made up my mind and putting in the effort and making a commitment to myself to do whatever it takes to get to my goal weight again.

However messy life can be at times we need to remember everyday is a new day.  Whatever happened yesterday is done and gone.  I thank God everyday for another day to enjoy what it in store for me and to put my energy into making it a TERRIFIC day!

I have a job as a bookkeeper and is sometimes very stressful.  When I get stressed I am an emotional eater and tend to want to eat something, anything.  I am working on redirecting and trying to do something productive and healthy for me instead of reaching for some kind of food.  Trust me it is a challenge, but I know in the long run, getting healthy will extend my life and I will have more time here with my family and friends.

I am going to do my very best to record as much as I can everyday.  In a nutshell, I want to share my progress on weight loss, food, exercise and events that happen that day.  I am currently using My Fitness Pal to record my Food & Exercise diary.  It is a very helpful tool that helps me monitor my daily progress and how much exercise I need to do to stay well within my calorie intake.  Plus writing everything down helps keep me honest and held accountable for every calorie I intake.

I encourage everyone to find something to use as an incentive, something to keep you going in the right direction.  Every day that goes by, is going to go by whether your dieting, eating right, working out or not.  It is better to make small changes everyday, you will be surprised at the weight loss you will see.  I hope you will join me while I go on this life changing journey.

STAND UP, GET MOVING AND MAKE IT A TERRIFIC DAY!

Thank you for reading!

Gina  (Lovey Howell)