Poor Silvester! I should have never let him eat anything in the morning. I know better. But he didn't eat much last night, so I let him. *sigh*. We were doing good for about an hour and a half. then all of a sudden Silvester started panting and threw up. I wasn't fast enough this time. It went everywhere..... *sigh*. However, the natural pet travel stuff works fine. He is not drooling as much as he did when I moved from NC to GA. As a matter of fact. Today there was almost none - and he slept for most of the way after he threw up. But I'm a little worried now. Tonight he's not drinking and eating like he did yesterday. And he didn't want to sit on me either. I think he's mad at me. Only one more day ..... and then hopefully they'll rejoice in the new house.

Cedric and Nemo seem content now - getting used to the new routine. Even Lucy tonight is eating and walking around. Sylvi tells me Max keeps hiding under the bed in the other room and Sierra is worried, because I'm not there. I left my sweater on her bed. Maybe that'll help.

I know.... I know.... we crazy kids and our pets. Well.... that's me..... they get taken care of, before myself.

Alright.... so today we started from Monroe, LA, stopped in Shreveport to clean up Silvester, crossed into Texas shortly thereafter, circled around Dallas (that was CRAZY! - People are driving like mad. I thought NC was bad, but that was crazy. I was not mentally prepared for that. As soon as we got past that I found out that really everything is bigger in Texas. A HUGE bug splat on my windshield.... YUK!

So seriously, the first day we do 3 states and the next .... one ... Texas.... OY!

Furthermore..... TX is flat - which is good, because you can see for miles - bad, because it's really windy! Have you ever driven with a load on your top and a car loaded to the gills when a wind gust catches you? Yeah... NOT fun! But we made good time. Little more miles but higher speed limits make for better time! Yay.

Tomorrow - will be LOOOOOOONG. Please keep sending us good vibes - it's working!

Gosh.... I love wifi and my nice laptop (which my BFF convinced me and helped me to get) that allows me to surf quickly and reliably!

PS: Done with Brsinger - started on Bitten.

Yay! for free wireless internet!

I figured it's easier to write here on the xanga and post the link than blog on facebook. So here it goes!

So it finally begins. The adventure, the journey, the first day of the rest of our lives was today! Sylvi and I got up at 5 am. I knew that last "little" things always take longer than you think. Yesterday already we loaded up both cars, save for the air mattresses, bedding, food, kitchen stuff and, of course, the animals. We got up and started pulling everything together .... and it just kept coming. You think you have everything.... but then there is something else, and again, and another little this and another little that. Ughhh... I was sweating it to the very end. Everything is stuffed to the gills, there is no wiggle room! But it's all in there.

Before hitting the highway we had the air pressure in the tires checked, because - well - we were sitting pretty low... LOL

We finally got on the road at 11 am. With a 5 year old and two big dogs some fairly frequent stops were in order. And yes, Cynde, I "was being safe" (LOL) and we stopped about every 2 hours, for pee breaks and doggie-stretching-legs breaks. We crossed Alabama and Mississippi (waving to Angie as we passed by Jackson) and are now settled in at Monroe, Louisiana for the night. I can't believe how hot it is here. I guess we ARE further South. Everything in my room is fairly calm. Nemo, Silvester and Cedric are sleeping right next to me on my bed. They couldn't use the other Queen bed in here.... oh no.... they gotta sleep with me! (LOL). Lucy is the only one that's really unsettled. She keeps walking off and hiding, poor thing. Silvester did a lot better than when I moved from NC to GA. Seems that the natural travel pet remedy helps a little bit. He still threw up a couple of times and drooled a little bit. But he also slept a lot without drooling (which he didn't do last time) and he didn't pant.

Just two more days to go.......

I think that's a good tagline for my blog today. I wasn't going to write this until I actually achieved goal, but I am 1.8 pounds away and I just blew my mind a couple of days ago, so I decided it was time. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here is the story from the beginning:

A little over two years ago my size 20 jeans started to get snug - and really, I needed a 22 but I could never find jeans that I liked on me anyway. I actually had to look into men's jeans. Somehow I had gained 40-some pounds since I moved to the US. Now - I was always the heavy kid, never small by any means. But I thought "well, I'm getting older and I'm likely to gain more weight as the body's metabolism slows down. If I gain at the same rate I'll be close to 300 pounds when I'm 50." That scared me! A LOT! Apart from borderline high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes was another concern for me (runs in the family). At one point my hair actually started falling out like crazy. Then it got greasy so fast and so much that it never looked clean - even right after I washed it. I wore my hair in a ponytail for months, because I didn't know what else to do. I started getting winded just walking up the two flights of stairs to my appartment. I couldn't really blame that on "being out of shape" anymore. I knew I had to do something, but the prospect of having to lose 70 to 80 pounds seemed daunting to me. I have never been able to stay on a diet long enough to lose that kind of weight. And I was afraid that if I didn't lose it fast I wouldn't stick with it.

Then my friend Angie lost a lot of weight on Medifast. I looked into it, but I could not imagine following that strict plan. Nevertheless her weight loss pushed me into more research. Then my sis decided to check out Weight Watchers. I had always thought that all those companies are like little "secret societies" or something. I thought "they are a business and they're only after your money, trying to sell you their high-priced foods." I was reluctant and decided to see if it worked for her. She was successful immediately and was gung-ho about it - she had the best time and loved going to her meetings. So after a couple of weeks I decided to give it a try. I'm not the "rah-rah meeting" type of girl, so I decided to go it on my own and signed up online. I was willing to give it a month or two and see what happens. I couldn't imagine it working without me doing any kind of exercise and because I thought "I'm not really eating that much now - there is no way I can eat less in order to lose any weight"

Well - my eyes were opened. On the program I had to eat sooooo much that I seriously doubted their sanity. Some days I couldn't even get all the points that were alloted to me and I had to drink some extra milk or eat a yogurth at night in order to get them all in. Yet - the first week I lost 3 pounds ... and the second and I kept losing usually at a pace of 2 pounds per week. Turns out I wasn't eating enough and I surely wasn't eating the right kinds of food. Every week, then every month I waited for that point when the shoe would drop and  I wouldn't lose anymore. And I did hit a couple of plateaus - but generally I kept going down. Hallelujah! As I said, my eyes were opened. I learned portion control and better eating choices. I learned to read and pay attention to nutrition labels. I had to restructure my life. But that's what it's all about. It is not a diet. It is a lifestyle change. That is one big realization to make and that thought had always scared me in the past. Why? Maybe because I thought it meant I could never ever have the foods I loved anymore. No more pasta, bread or chocolate..... But now I learned that this wasn't true at all. I could still have all that stuff - just not as much and in different ways. So ... that's what "lifestyle-change" meant.

So here I am a little over two years later and (almost) 75 pounds lighter. Losing is at a much slower pace now and not as easy anymore. However, it is still going down and not back up. I am NEVER going back. I know, I know "never say never" but in this instant I can and I will. I don't EVER want to be where I was anymore. How did I let myself get to that point anyway? I gave away all my big clothes. As soon as they started falling off of me and looked really baggy I gave them away. No more holding on to something "in case" I gain some weight.

So this is where the "mind-blowing" episode comes in. Sis took me to get a new pair of jeans that fits right instead of her hand-me-downs, which are starting to slide down as well. I bought a size 8! ...... I have never in my life been a size 8! I didn't know or think that I could be a size 8. I have wide hip bones, so I thought..... but apparently  I can! It just is mind-boggling to me. I mean - I see my before pictures and I can hardly believe that that is me. And I see myself now in the mirror or in pictures and I can see the difference. But my mindset is still not all caught up. In my mind I'm still the pudgy ugly duckling. And then every once in a while I look at a new picture or I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I go "WOW - is that me?" Like - sometimes I will walk by a picture window and catch a reflection of myself and not recognize myself, I will literally not realize that this is me. It is a very weird and schizophrenic feeling. Don't get me wrong. I am very, very proud of what I have accomplished and I am celebrating. But it is also weird and strange in a way and somehow the brain needs some time to catch up.

For example, the 8 is still snug. There are still some areas on my body that I do not like. There are still a few more fat-pockets than I would like. And I guess that - in my eyes - won't allow myself to measure up to those beautiful Hollywood women with their perfect bodies. (no... no... I know.... ) But if I look at where I have been I am certifiably skinny! That doesn't even sound right - "me" and "skinny" in the same sentence. But I am! And only now do I realize how much I loathed myself, and how much I was in denial then. I still do not "love" my body, but I am definitely proud of what I have accomplished and I do want to show it off. Gone are the days of bulky sweaters and XXL T-shirts to drape over the pants to hide the belly and hips. I will actually buy clothes that are close to my body and that show contours. Who would have thunk it? So what if a little roll still shows above the belt-line? It's there - I'm human. Maybe it'll go away, maybe it won't. I know I have some more work to do. I have to start exercising and try to tone my body, get rid of some of the flab of extra skin and weak muscle tissue.

But for the first time in my life I'm mostly ok with how I look in my body!

Thank you so much to Angie and Sis for inspiring me to start, to Cynde for supporting me and not unintentionally sabotaging me but always being right there with me when I tried to figure out what I can eat - especially in the beginning when I was like a lunatic with my "complete food companion" and my points calculator, and again for Sis for the continuing support and encouragement. We did it SIS!

If I can only inspire one other person to take that step and trust this program to work, then all my hard work has been worth it and it's the best thanks of all!