Well, I went and got weighed in and either left the paper at curves or lost it in the parking lot . hmm very perplexing because I swore I put it in my purse. Well From what I remember i lost a little over 1% body fat, and Lost 1 lb. which is REALLY good considering I was ona  break for a month.

I will update My stats monday wen i go in for my work out.

Till then

God Bless

Just wanted to stop in an update. Homeschool has started and I got a job working from home I have had zero time for the computer between the kids, hubby, house , homeschooling and the job.

I transfered to a curves that just opened across the street and down a light so I am very excited about going back. Andrew is homeschooling through a distance learning program through a local charter school. So he has a mandatory 1500 min he has to meet each week broken up into a certain amount of time for each subject. takes 3-4 hours a day. They have a great program and the teacher comes to our home once a week to look over his work and give him grades. Majority of the responsibilty still falls on me to teach hima nd grade his work. He also goes to a math class and a music/choir class on campus. you can see his school here

I found a job as an independent teleservice contractor and its alot of fun. they have 24/7 shifts and different projects. I only work one project and its my favorite. You can check out here.

Im back on phase 2 of south beach and we bought tons of meats and yummy steaks I have a measure and weigh tomorrow, Im a little worried being I was off on maintenace for over a month, but its a deciosion i made and i need to be ok with whatever the results come to be tomorrow. Im going to try and update once a week and will def update tomorrows results.

Love and prayers

Chrystal

In this 30 Days That Will Change Your Outlook on Life with Joyce Meyer she has been teaching on attitudes. Positive and Negative. I have got to tell you that my outlook has already changed so much in the two weeks we are in so far. Let me tell you I am a nice and caring person, im also not a very mature chritian, what they call a baby christian.. but God has revealed some very unpleasant attitudes in me. Bad to have to face them but good that i know what they are and I can work to change it.

So far she has taught on: 

 The Power of Attitude, A Positive Attitude, A Responsible Attitude, A Contented Attitude, A humble Attitude and a Thankful Attitude.

Now all these are taught in two parts and things very deeply hit me in each area but A Humble Attitude had a major impact on me. I realized as nice as i am and caring I am really not a humble person in the way that i should be, I am also not content with my life the way I should be and I have not had a very good responsible attitude especially when in the area of relationships and more specificaly in my relationship with my husband who is an unbeliever. Awesome news is that I am now aware of things and with God I can do something about it and change it. Majority of all my flaws as a christian stem from not taking the responsiblity to learn and grow the way I should in christ. If I had taken responsiblity to study the word and reach out to others who can teach me I would of known nmost these things I am learning now. BUT! All in Gods timing I am learning them now and I will continue to learn so that I can grow and every day and  have more godly attitudes in my mind and heart

Joyce is also teaching that life is about the journey and NOT the destination. I am determined to enjoy where i am on the way to where God is taking me

Here are 10 characteristics of Humility.

1. The Humble will ask for help when it is needed

2. Humble men and women give credit where credit is due.

3. A humble person is quick to forgive, difficult to offend and waits on gods vindication.

4.  The humble person is patient and long suffering with the weakness of others.

5. The humble are peace lovers, they are makers and maintainers of peace.

6. the humble are servants

7. the humble person has a tender conscience and is quick to repent.

9. the humble person sees and readily admits their weaknesses.

10. the humble person gladly recieves god's chastisement,

There is so much I could share, the activitys the teachings and the scriptures are so awesome! Some scriptures that have really hit home can be found in Mathew chapter 5 verses 3 through 11. If you have an amplified bible these verse are really put into perspective!

I must tell you I am even more a thankful person today then I was 2 weeks ago!

God Bless

Ok so been really busy with our family's august birthdays

My husband turned 27 on the 9th of August. We had a surprise dinner for him with his two favorite food and his favorite cake  

They are alls o stuffed. On the left is My hubby, Andrew in the middle and Brendan on the right. We Will be celebrating my birthday with brendan's and also my mother in law. WE will be spending the weekend at the lake. BUT...I did get to bring my birthday present home on my birthday!!! He/She isnt sexed yet so havent named him or her yet but he or she is a beautiful Peach Face Lovebird

Couldnt find a local breeder and the one place we found the poor birds where in horrible conditions which I will be contacing the african bird society about. So we found this guy at Petsmart so he wasnt hand raised BUT with time and patience I know he will love us  I am currently searching for a companion for him/her as petsmart only had one and they didnt know our babies sex. They did know however that he was born in may so he or she is still a baby. "The Baby" (as we are calling him or her till we know the sex) has a first dr. appointment on friday to be looked over and flight wings clipped to make taming and training easier.

Well as I expected, didnt lose any inches but did lose 1% body fat and 1 lb bringing me to 218 according to curves scale. but a loss is a loss  and maintaining is better then gaining!

Ive decided to add running to my weekly scedule starting next week. I can use the treadmill here at the complex. Still trying to get use to my new schedule with work so If i dont make it to curves atleast i am running. I am going to start off slow with a 1/4 then add a 1/4 everyday so by the end of the week i should be at a mile. I will let you know how it goes, I feel good about this goal and that it is a reasonable one. I have felt an increase in my stamina and strength after 3 weeks with UPS, When i went to curves the other day i had to work my butt off just to get my heart rate to my fat burning percentage.

till next time

God Bless

well tomorrow is my official measure and weigh ion date at curves. I am really nervous. Only made it to curves once since starting this job and even though this job is very physical with bending, stooping, stepping, lifting etc for 5.5 hours straight except for a one 15 minute break i have no idea whqat to expect i know i dropped two sizes in pants and i can see a little difference in my arms. So I have had to of gained some muscle and dropped some body fat atleast.

that and one more day of work, this will bve my third completed week with UPs but only my second actually out there working. First week sat in a class majority of the time for training and certifications. I dont wakew up sore or stiff anymore but i do need better shoes with insurts. my feet scream at me all the way home . ANother thing is the sweat i pump out, i swear its atleast a gallon, although i have to say my complexion and skin have never looked better, usually with aunt flow around the corner i am a pizza face  lol

i am really ;iking my job once i am home and weekly paychecks you cant beat that either which is exciting becuase i make my own money to tithe now

other then that i have to catch up pn joyce meyers 30 day, have two videos to watch and activities to do for yesterday and today. Good news I found my power cord for my camera and my camcorder so i will be posting pictures soon.

God Bless

little snippet from joyce meyers website

During the month of August, we are focusing on 30 Days to Change Your Outlook on Life, based on Joyce's teaching series Attitudes of the Mind and Attitudes of the Heart, designed to help you develop more Christ-like attitudes.

I cannot tell you that this couldnt of come at a better time in my life. I recently was made aware of my bitterness and rezentment i have in me and most of it is directed towards my husband. Which is completely unfair and i wasnt aware of the time that the struggles we face in our marriage becuase he is a non believer was the main source. With prayer and faith my husband recently agreed to go with us to church once a week and take us as a family. He ahs always supported my decisiona nd my decision to raise our kids to know and love jesus and god but he asked he not be made to partake so for so long i was really living two lives. It was so hard to be involved in childrens ministry, the choir adn learn exciting things then coem home and want to share it so bad with everyone i love and couldnt. It was like check jesus at the door. then it sadden me and i became frustrated because i felt i couldnt be eho god wanted me to be at home and as soon as i went out the door there i was, the real me waiting with jesus. I wont go in to details but something really bad happen in our marriage, it hit rock bottom and i was ready to call it quits and have him move out and it broke my heart cause i knwo down deep it isnt what i wanted so i prayed and prayed and believed through faith god would provide a way for our family to stay together. Well my husband pleaded with me to not make him go and knew what i wanted to do out of anger but i listened and did what god wanted me to do. I said he could stay and i made alot of compromises and decided i wanted my family together no matter what and i had God in my corner how could i lose. Well out of that conversation the only thing i asked chris was to be able to be myself and be who go wanted me to be. and that we go to church as a family. God is truly amazing and i am gratefull for the next 30 days, I know god is going to do something great in me and something truly wonderful to our family.

As a christian mother and wife I have responsibility to lead a godly character with a godly attitude for my children and my husband. Part of the 30 days we are to journal and i decided i would do that here and on paper.

You can find out more about the 30 days to change your outlook

God Bless

We found out a couple well actually three weeks ago that my mother in law has cancer. Lymphoma Cancer Stage 2. I have had other family members hit with cancer of various types but they either passed on when i was young or live back east. My uncle randy actually has the same cancer and he has been fighting it for almost 8 yrs now. He is really bad off and is in need of a bone marrow transplant but finding a match is almost impossible.( please pray for his salvationand for his health) but this is the first time i have had someone i love and care about be sick and live near by. I dont know if i just didnt think about it, ignored it or because she looked so healthy on the outside that was totally in denial. Well she had her first chemo treatment 3 weeks ago, she has to go back and forth between here and denver for treatments (long story and she cant have treatment here) Well yesterday waas a really bad day, she got up yesterday morning to take a shower and all of her hair just fell out i know its just hair right and it will grow back but i cant tell you how hard emotionally it was to look at her. I cant even begin to imagine how she is doing on the inside. Those of you who been to my journal before know my husband isnt a believer yet, and my heart just breaks for him, he wont talk about it, think about it. and i feel so helpless to help him and its not good for him to keep this bottled up and not deal with it. All i can do is pray for him and our family. on a more happier note, at the oncologist they had her order a wig and it looks beautiful on her, even more then her own hair did. She even looks younger too. They call the wig raquelle so she jokes that for now.. that is who she is now..lol and a praise repot on my husband..he takes us to church now as a family . coming from a man who said besides to support me in having them dedicated he would NEVER step foot in a church again...he will eventually learn that God calls the shots .

and for whatever reason and not sure where he got it from for the last two nights instead of just telling me goodnight and a kiss he tells me " goodnight...Jesus and I Love you!" and gives me a kiss!!

PRAISE GOD!!

Ok so 2 weeks ago I started a new job at UPS. I went througfh training the first week and spent most time in the class and every day we spent more time out in the operation. I have to tell you that this job is very physically demanding and I found out just how much this past week.  It was my first week out in the operations for my full shift. I am a preloader so i load the truck for that days deliveries. My hours are 3:30am tp 8:30 - 9am. Now i have to say getting up at 2:15 am wasnt hard like i thought it would be. I manage by my second week to get the kids in bed by 8:30 pm. So what does this have to do with a weight loss update ill tell ya...

for 5.5 hours atleast i do what they call splitting hte belt and loading. Now splitting is packages (2000 per hour) come down a conveyor system my truck is the first truck on one side of the belt. then there are trucks lined up on each side of the belt and they are numbered. now as the packeages come down the system and down the shute onto our belt depending on the label a package is pulled onto my side of the belt or pushed to the other side. that way as it goes down whichever truck it belongs to that person can grab there package and load in the truck where it belongs. NOW so i push and pull packages and sometimes have to lift and move them i do this with 2000 packages and average pkg being 25-35 lbs but we have alot of bulk packages and 70lbs pkgs that come as well so on top of that i have to pull my packages and load them as well. On heavy we days we do 3000pkgs an hour. Man when i get home i am filthy black and sweaty and i go through a gallon of water while i am there. So I do this m-f. I can only imagine how christmas season is going to be

but i have to tell you something about how you feel after a laborsome job like that. Makes me feel really good. so anyhow i decided to buy a scale and weigh myself weekly to make sure i am still losing 1-2 lbs a week. I didnt make it to curves at all the last two weeks due to starting this job and how sore i got, but i am hoping to go back soon, in the meain time i am getting one mean work out. The size 22's i bought are already falling off and i need a belt so earlier in the week i bought a size 20 and they now to are slipping and falling to my hips

on 7/23/05 I weighed in at 216 lbs LOST another 3 lbs!!!

Today I weighed in this morning at 214lbs!!!! lost another 2 lbs this week

monday i am going shopping and i am 100% certain i will fit into a size 18

I do not know my measurements as my next official measure and weigh in at curves is on aug 5th.

Ok so last time i was measured and weighed at curves was 12/6/04 

here are those stats

Weight: 224.50lbs  Body Fat %: 39.10%

Bust: 45.50"

Waist: 42.50"

Abs: 57.50"

Hips: 50."

Thighs: 30"

Arms: 15.50"

After several months of feeling sorry for myself on May 5th 2005 I had my first day back at curves. I was not measured and weighed in at that time but my clothes where snug and i could just feel it on my body that I had put on some extra weight.

On June 6, 2005 I was measured and weighed again. I really didnt do anything with my diet then lay off the fast food and soda. and just made it to the gym, I was really surprised by my results.

Weight 226 lbs -------- gained 1.50lbs  Body Fat %: 39.80--------gained .70%

Bust: lost 3.50

waist: lost 5.50"

abs: lost 10.50"!!!

hips: lost 2.50" 

Arms: lost 3"

new measurements

Bust: 42"

waist: 37"

abs: 47"

hips: 47.50

thighs: 26"

arms: 14"

so despite i showed weight gain and body fat gain I felt great and my clothes felt better. I was very encouraged byt he fact I lost 33"!!!

ok so after all the excitement i was really motivated and went full force to the South Beach Diet it is very similiar to the curves eating method and since my mother in law had the book i just went with it. Plus meals are now in walmart stores so i just buy them for the most part. The pizzas are great and the lucnh wraps are really yummy!!

ok so after my first agonizing three weeks first 2 weeks being in phase 1 whcih means NO carbs, NO starch and very limited good carbs. Now i cant tell you how hard it was but i did it and i survived and my body was flushed of its carbs and starches nad made it through the horrible cravings and withdrawls and it was worth it.

Measure and weigh in for 7/5/05

Weight 219lbs ----lost 7 lbs !!             Body Fat % 39%------lost .10% 

Lost another 9" !!!!

Bust lost 1 inch now 41"

Waist lost 5.50" now 37"

Abs lost 2.50" now 44.50"

Hips lost .50" now 47"

Thighs lost 2" now 24"

Arms lost .50" now 13.50