Thanks, Andrea!

Just check out what I got in my email last night! Impossible to ignore, that's what this is!

Aunt Jeanette!

I am here to demand that you weigh in tomorrow! You cannot tip toe around the issue any more. It is time to face the music.

And you will also set a new short term goal and write a little blurb on the blog about it. We are here to keep you accountable, and we will not let you down. Because if we did not demand this, we would be letting you down. (This is all in love)

So I am excited to see you get back in the game, put in at least 30 min of exercise, weigh in, and make a new goal this week. You can do it! We are all rooting for you.

Love you,
Andrea


So I am pulling myself together! Actually, I had already had a consultation with myself about this very thing, but getting this email was the clincher!

Here's my plan:

• I will weigh in today
  
• I will exercise at least 30 minutes this week, probably more
• I will write down everything I eat (the way that works best for me)
  

As to the new goal, I want to lose 15+ pounds by June 15. That sounds ambitious! And maybe it is. But at least I've said it, so the real work can now begin!

Hang in there!

Well, I hope that we have at least been holding our own this week. I got more exercise than last week, but I also ate very unwisely at times. The day after tomorrow, I am going to get on an airplane and go spend a week in Canada with Carol-Ann and her family and my mother. If it is like previous trips, I will get there, turn around twice, and it will be time to fly back again! And who knows how the exercise and eating will go while I am gone... Hopefully better than when I am at home, but we shall see!

This is not just about how we look; this is about something even more important -- our health. The older I get, the more I can feel it, too.
We can do it!

Weigh-In Day!

(Click on the cartoon to see it better)

All of our active members have had a GREAT week!
Congratulations, everyone!

I have to admit it...

This has been a failure day for me. I hope the rest of you have done better. In my defense, I typed nearly 100,000 characters today. That is probably not much compared to what some people can do, but that was a lot for me. The energy had to come from somewhere, and my own fat cells just would not give it up!

Weigh-In Day!

Here's a cartoon for weigh-in day, just in case we need a little humor to lighten things up! Andrea and I have been searching these out and plan to post one each Monday if we can.

There's a grain of truth in this, even when it makes us laugh...
Any cutting back from what we have been doing is progress, so let's give it our best shot this week!

Happy Birthday, Jeanette!

You'll have to let us know after spending time lifting those weights: the biceps that now hang beneath the arm in middle age -- do they surface to the top again with exercise or do they just continue to swing low only with more bulk?

Happy 55th!


Jeanette's answer --

Thanks, Carol-Ann! I have had a very happy birthday. Funny thing, I don't feel any older than I did yesterday!

This afternoon I used my new age of 55 to my advantage!

The phone rang, right when I was in the middle of busy kitchen cleaning. Riiinnnggg.... "Hello," I said politely. A man with a slight accent answered, "This is Tom from the Delightful Research Company [or some name like that]. I have some questions to ask about what you watch on TV." Without pausing for breath, he rushed right on. I'm sure experience has taught him what will happen if he stops to gasp for air! "Is there a female in your household between the ages of 18 and 54 [note that he said 54....54!] who could answer my questions?" I just could not hold back the glee in my voice! "No, I'm sorry! The only one here in that age group is disabled and would not be able to answer any questions!!" Now he could breathe! "Thank you for your time. Good-bye!" Click! ... Yippee! That was easy!

Thus I have embarked on life as a senior!!

(Sagging biceps? Flapping upper arms?? Swinging wings??? Of what dost thou speak, dear sister???)

An Encouraging Story!

Thanks to Andrea, Anthony, and Paula, our little blog has some new life! I think the exercise log may have a lot to do with it. Since our son Trent moved out on his own, we have an empty room in our basement, so Barry repainted it, put in a new light fixture, and moved our exercise equipment in there. We have the treadmill in one corner, and next to it is the HealthRider. Then there is the weight bench with every imaginable size of weight that can be added to the bar. So now I have no excuse, not even bad weather!

Andrea enjoys watching "The Biggest Loser," and she sent me this link. What an amazing story! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did!

Ali Vincent's Story

If Ali can do it, so can we!

(Thanks for the link, Andrea!)

Here we go!

Happy weigh-in day!

I got on the scale this morning... covered my eyes... took a deep breath... and squinted down through my fingers... Yes, just as I thought! Over this long food-filled break I have taken, I have definitely lost ground. But things could have been MUCH worse, I know. So I am feeling encouraged. And I hope you are, too.

With this new start, I am trying a different approach. I have set my goal weight at 10 pounds less than my weigh-in today. I am only trying to lose 10 pounds right now. When I get there, then I'll decide what to do about the next 10 pounds.

This last week, as I have been doing my medical transcription work, I have had to chuckle several times over the thoughts the doctor just cannot keep out of his tone of voice... "The patient's weight is up a WHOPPING 33 pounds since his last visit!" I grin, but I can identify with that patient. It is much easier to go up that whopping 33 pounds than down, isn't it! Let's make sure we are moving in the right direction!

Suggestion for this week: Try to make some food substitutions. This is not about starving but about making some healthy changes. Last week when I went to the store, I bought some mangoes, something I don't usually get. Several times since then I have found that one of those cut up and eaten piece by piece at my desk as I work is a really satisfying alternative to snack foods. I am going to try a different fruit next time I am at the store.

A Little Bird Told Me...

...that there are big happenings over here at the Winners blog! Just to look at it, you won't be able to tell just yet, but there will be some new additions to our sidebars, and I'm feeling pretty excited about it!

We have been struggling along, each of us fighting our own battles. Through this blog we have tried to join forces and work together, but our failure (what a nasty word!) has been really discouraging, not to mention the extra pounds we are still carrying around.

So... as you already know if you have been keeping up with us, Andrea called us back into action. She posted comments here, and every Monday morning a message from her popped up in my email: "Are we in?" I have to admit that I looked around at all of us and didn't see anyone responding, so I half-heartedly and without much confidence took a timid step forward and raised my hand! "Okay, Andrea, let's be a team of two," I said!

Last week, I cut out all the over-abundance of sweets that have taken over since the beginning of December. That was tough! Then this week I started writing down most of what I ate so I could try to get a handle on it. Second tough week. The lady at Wal-Mart must have wondered why anyone needed that much gum! I'm not sure the scales are showing anything yet except for the horrendous backsliding I have been doing, but I do feel a bit better and less achy.

Then imagine my excitement yesterday morning when my phone rang! It was Andrea! "Guess what?" she said after our pleasantries were over. "Anthony wants to come on the blog with us!" Anthony is Andrea's boyfriend, and he has thrown down the gauntlet with his claim that he is going to beat us all at weight loss!! I am so pleased that he is going to join us! But I know I am no match for the two of them on weight loss, so it took the next thing to REALLY lift my spirits!

Another email popped up in my inbox...from Andrea!

GUESS WHAT???!!!???!!!!

I have been recruiting, and my mother has agreed to join us! Attached is a very flattering picture taken of her at my graduation :) She says that she weighs in on Saturdays, and I am guessing that she will either tell you or me to post it for her. I really wanted her to join so that you two would have some support and accountability. You know, during those way-too-delicious-to-say-no Sunday lunches you put on every week or the calorie-laden Monday nights, you two will be able to join forces and help each other. AND even exercising for a mere 30 minutes together would be no problem!

I'm excited for our revamp of the blog!

"YES WE CAN!!!"


Now I am REALLY encouraged! Today Paula, Andrea's mom, called and asked if I wanted to walk this evening, so we put in 30 minutes of brisk walking around the neighborhood, and we made plans for a regular exercise regimen. (I'm afraid my legs will not like me in the morning, though!)

In the next few days, we will have new faces on the sidebar. So if anyone else would like to make a new start along with us, come and join in! And if you can, convince a friend to be your partner and join us, too. That just might make all the difference!

WHAT'S UP??

Fact #1: Andrea is pushing forward on her weight loss. She is putting the rest of us to shame!

Fact #2: For 2 weeks now, on Monday morning I have received an email from her entitled "Are we on?" (The question is: On what? Certainly not the scale, as I am afraid to do it!) But I know what she means...

Fact #3: I definitely need someone like Andrea prodding me to get moving, so here I am, challenging anyone else who would like to get busy again to join us. I am going to take the challenge from Andrea and start up again.

I know this might just be Andrea and me. Believe me, if you decide this is not for you, that is totally okay. Andrea and I have made a good team on lots of things in the past and had an awfully fun time doing it. (Cooking Sunday dinner comes to mind!) So if it is just the 2 of us, that is okay, too.

For starters today, here is some of Andrea's email to me last week. I think she is right about the short-term goal, so I'm thinking about it...

"I know its kinda dead on the blog right now, but I want to share my success anyway! Although I want to lose weight for myself I also enjoy telling my friends how I am doing. I have a new short term goal that I really think I can accomplish. I want to be down to 160 lbs by the time I graduate (May 15). So I have 17.6 lbs to go. If I keep eating right and saying "NO NO NO" to all the sweets I just might make it :)

Maybe it would help you to have a more short term goal to spur you into action. I know you really want to lose weight so if the blog is no longer a source of inspiration then you need a new one. I just went grocery shopping and I was soooo tempted to buy some goodies, but I walked away instead. I think to myself, "What harm could some cookies really do?" But then when I see progress and success I am so glad that I didn't do it.

All of this to say, if we still want to lose weight we need a new game plan. I would like to exercise more, but realistically I know that I have a hard time motivating myself to get out there. However, it isn't too hard to just not fill my cupboards with sweets. That is my new outlook, so I'm adjusting my focus. Don't give up! I know you can do this!"

How is that for a cheerleader/encourager? So... let's do it!

And here's a little thought for the day!

Proverbs 25: 27-28:
It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor.
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

ANDREA IN THE NEWS!

Here is a copy of a news item that includes Andrea! Way to go, Andrea! Besides your great success at weight loss right now, you are also making us proud in your chosen field! Great job!! (USC is University of Southern California)

The Importance of Doing the Math

10/15/08

With the national shortage of math teachers, a new fellowship program offers graduates incentives to remain in the classroom, including graduate education and a five-year stipend.

By Andrea Bennett

Andrea Hodgson, a Math for America fellow, works with a student.
Photo/Stephanie Erickson

Few can dispute that capable math teachers in the classroom are keys to the next generation’s ability to keep the U.S. economy healthy and globally competitive.

But the pool of highly qualified math teaching talent has been shrinking, and there are incentives for math-savvy instructors to pursue fields other than teaching.

Math for America Los Angeles launched this year to address the shortage of high-quality mathematics teachers by attracting top math majors to greater Los Angeles area classrooms – and keeping them there.

The program, which is primarily funded by the Simons Foundation, recently held an informational luncheon in Los Angeles hosted by philanthropist Eli Broad. The USC Rossier School of Education is a member of the Math for America partnership along with Harvey Mudd College and the Claremont Graduate School.

Math for America originated as a pilot for New York City schools and is the vision of mathematician, businessman and philanthropist James H. Simons.

While Los Angeles is one of the most expensive cities to live in the United States, the starting salary in the Los Angeles Unified School District for a credentialed teacher with a master’s degree is about $46,600.

In contrast, the starting salary in other mathematics-related fields for recent master’s degree recipients was on average between $60,000 and $70,000.

Math for America aims to curtail the trend of fleeing math teachers by offering its fellows an annual stipend of $20,000 for five years, in addition to paid tuition and teacher salaries.

In the first year, students pursue a master’s degree and teaching credential from USC or Claremont Graduate University.

Mariam Youssef, one of Math for America’s 11 inaugural fellows, said tuition to attend the USC Rossier School of Education was more of a selling point than the stipend.

“I think I would’ve still taught and been OK with the (teacher) salary being less, but the issue for me was paying for grad school,” Youssef said. “I wanted to go to a good program, but they’re expensive.”

During the subsequent four years, fellows teach in the greater Los Angeles area and receive the annual stipend in addition to their teacher salary, reducing the urge to drop teaching for a better salary elsewhere.

Stephanie Erickson, another Math for America fellow, said she earned her bachelor’s in math and applied to USC with the goal of teaching in Los Angeles when site director Pam Mason told her about the new program.

“I got a phone call that felt a little like Christmas,” Erickson said. “I was going to put myself $80,000 in debt to do this, and they were going to pay me to do it.”

Each fellow is assigned a master teacher, who mentors him or her during the process and provides the support and encouragement many teachers never receive during their challenging first years.

Professional development opportunities are provided through Harvey Mudd College. By the end of the five-year fellowship, every Math for America fellow is expected to strive for national certification – the highest achievement for an educator and one that generates larger pay raises.

With new sites opening in Los Angeles and San Diego this year and another due to open in Washington, D.C., in the near future, efforts to expand Math for America nationally are under way.

Lee Umphrey, interim executive director of Math for America, said John Ewing recently was appointed the first president for the national office.

Future sites may take longer to come to fruition due to the financial climate.

“Many cities and states are interested in starting MFA sites, and everyone agrees there’s a definite need,” Umphrey said. “Federal funding is tenuous for the next couple of years because of budgets in Washington. And given the recent financial situation, private funding will be scarcer, making it more challenging for new sites to start up.”

Andrea Hodgson, another of the first crop of Math for America fellows in Los Angeles, said her experience in the classroom has been positive thus far, and she sees the program making a real difference in math education for the area.

“I’m learning so much, and I can really just focus on learning how to teach and being a good teacher,” Hodgson said of the fellowship program. “(Math for America) has the potential to change the area with the talent, drive and education from USC. It’s helping the math curriculum (in local schools) get stronger.”

Coral's Birthday Update!

Coral has been celebrating to her heart's content, and since we have not mentioned one of our members -- Elmo -- for quite awhile, I thought I would give him a little space! In fact, he is the only one of us who is maintaining his ideal weight! (See the bottom right sidebar!)

We celebrated at Uncle Gord's and Aunt Paula's usual Monday night open house with this birthday cake which is perfect for Coral! That is one of her little Elmos standing in the middle, propped up by the plastic card holder from a floral arrangement !

(And yes, I ate too much!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Yet another one!!

Happy Birthday, Andrea!

This is just amazing having this many birthdays in a row!

Have a wonderful day, Andrea! We wish we could be with you and have a great big party, but we hope these long distance best wishes will let you know we are thinking of you!

CELEBRATE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ANOTHER ONE!

Can you believe it? In our little group, we have birthdays two days in a row!

Today is Pat's birthday!

We all hope you have a WONDERFUL and HAPPY day, Pat!

(And please eat a little birthday cake for all of us!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

This is Carol-Ann's BIG day! She is a whole year OLDER than she was yesterday! When we were kids, we could hardly wait to be older, but these days... well, it is just not quite as exciting as it used to be, is it, Carol-Ann! However, we do like to celebrate, so today we are celebrating you!

Have a WONDERFUL day... and, of course, don't eat too much!

NEW MEMBERS!

This has been a VERY exciting week for the Winners! If you have not already noticed, check out the new additions to the sidebars. I'm going to introduce my friend Renae to you, and actually, there is a connection between her and Amrita.

Some time back, I began visiting Amrita's blog (which I really enjoy reading, I might add), and one day I left a comment there. Renae saw my comment and clicked on my name to visit my blog! She and Carol-Ann and I all got into lots of interesting conversations there and became good friends just chatting.

Of course, I then stopped by Renae's blog, Morning Coffee, and found out that I love reading her wonderful devotionals. She is an excellent writer; in fact, she has articles published in local and national magazines and is writing mysteries for girls 8 to 12. She also writes a weekly column that is currently carried in 4 newspapers. For all the scoop on Renae, click here. One of the biggest surprises of my year (maybe even this decade!) was when Renae invited me to be a guest writer on her blog, so now I have 2 posts over there on Morning Coffee which, let me tell you, has stretched me right out to my limit! It has been good stretching, only I haven't been able to claim it on the exercise chart!

Welcome Renae! I am SO glad your are joining us!

Exercise Update 3

The "Get More Active" Club!

Jeanette: Unfortunately for me, my exercise this week has not been of the helpful kind. Yes, some of my muscles are being stressed -- over and over and over until they are aching...

Ka-choo! Ka-choo! Ka-choo! Ka-choo!

I have had the sneeziest cold ever, and my head has been dopey. I've just wanted to go to bed, but that hasn't happened because everything has been taking me longer to get done than usual due to my fuzzy brainpower. This probably is working against me because I've had to work late and then Coral still has to get up in the morning to get to her day program... Well, you get the too-fatigued-to-even-think-about-exercise picture! So I have nothing good to report for exercise this week. I am beginning to get better, though.

Andrea: I don't think Andrea has had any better week than I have. She has been very tired, and so I'm guessing we are both in the same boat.

FINAL REPORT: Andrea and I are both hoping to report a much better week next Saturday! We are still hoping for exercise companions! (Hint, hint!)

Exercise Update 2

The "Get More Active" Club!

Like it or not, it is already a week since our last update...so here goes. I don't have anything to report for anyone else, so it is just me this time.

Jeanette: On Tuesday, I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill, and it was quite a workout! As I mentioned several months back, my treadmill is not working right. I cannot control it manually except to slow the speed down, so my only choice is to pick one of the preset workouts and let the thing go! I picked the first workout today, and it just ran away with me! It tilted up to an 8 percent incline and had me jogging! I slowed it down, but that incline took its sweet time to come back down, and there was nothing I could do about it! I had to step off to the side two times for a minute each time in order to make it through, but I felt like I REALLY pushed myself, so that was good.

On Saturday, I tried a different auto setting called "Light Jog." That sounded a lot scarier than the Tuesday one, but was actually much better because the incline never increased, and so when it got too fast, I just slowed it down to a more comfortable pace. Even so, it was fast enough to really get my pulse going. I might save that incline one for another day -- a long time from now! (I have to be honest, the only reason I got on the treadmill on Saturday was because I had to give this report.)

So that is it for this week... I have to admit it feels a little lonely on here these days, so I hope one of you will soon join this little Get More Active club!

Exercise Update!

The "Get More Active" Club

So far, it is just Andrea and me who have joined the "Get More Active" club! So here's the update...

Andrea: Andrea walked 3 times this week for a total of 5 to 6 miles. This was intentional exercising over and above the walking she might normally do with all her school and student teaching activities. Since she lives right by the Pacific Ocean, she loves to walk on the beach, so this is a real plus for her! I just wish I could run over there and walk with her!

Jeanette: On Wednesday, Barry and I rode the train from Denver to Glenwood Springs where we stayed overnight. We had to do a lot of walking -- from the train station to the motel (got lost and walked a LOT longer than we really needed to!), to the restaurant, back to the motel, back to the restaurant, back to the train station, and then up and down the main streets while waiting for the train back home on Thursday. Barry estimates we walked at least 5 miles, so I think that was a definite increase in activity this week.

Anyone want to join us for next week?

Some more info: Weights will be posted by Tuesday morning, and this Tuesday's main blog post will be by Pat!

CLUCK-CLUCK UPDATE!

Well, we two chickens have been bolstering each other up this evening! We (Andrea and Jeanette) have been burning up the computer keyboards with our instant messages. We admit our failure, and we are ready to step on the scales on Monday morning, actually open our eyes so that we can read the weights, and then sheepishly post them here for all to see! Ouch!

At the same time, though, we are also prepared to take ourselves in hand. Our big question to each other is: How can we be exercise buddies at a distance? That is hard, but this is the plan we came up with:

THE PLAN: We have to make exercise a priority. For starters, we are going to add walking to our weekly regimen. We are hoping to walk at least 3 times a week, hopefully at least a mile each time. We will send each other a quick email each time we do this. Then on Friday evening or Saturday, Jeanette will leave a quick update here so that we can also be accountable to our group. We are hoping that our exercise plan will catch on, so please join us if you can. Feel free to walk or be active in whatever way you want and be exercise buddies with us! Let us know in the comments section if you would like to join in, and we will work out the details!