No Annoying Fans, One Great Hit, and Great Officiating

Well, Saturday was another BYU football game. We stayed in our own seats this time for most of the game, but did sneak down two rows eventually to the slightly roomier seats with Justin's parents. The "unbelievable" annoying fan was not there this game - thank goodness! The game was enjoyable. It's always a bit more exciting when it's a close game (although nothing will ever hold a candle to the orgasmic UCLA game - yeah, that's right! I said orgasmic!) But it is still frustrating when it shouldn't be a close game; when we should have no problem at all taking that team out. Justin and I had great seats for that amazing hit by two BYU players on one UNLV player. Anyone who saw the game knows EXACTLY what hit I'm talking about. We could hear the crunch of the pads from our seats and it was sickening!
I also have to say that the officiating was the best that we've seen all year. Especially the referee - he was AWESOME! (It was great to see you, Land!)

My Wall

My apologies to those of you who follow both of my blogs because I will on occasion post the same thing on both blogs.

I have this wall - Maybe we all have our walls. I've hit my wall twice in my life. The first time was when I was 27 and I stepped on the scale one morning and saw ZZZ lbs. For my height and body type - ZZZ lbs is 5 lbs from clinically overweight. I made the decision right then and there to make some changes in my life. And for the first time EVER I seriously dieted and I lost 25 lbs. I worked out a little, but not really hard, my main focus was on my diet. The weight came off in about 6 months and once it was off - I went back to my same lifestyle. I was very fortunate in that I didn't put it all back on, at least not immediately. The second time I hit my wall was this past March. I had gone from a size X to a size Y and I needed to move up to size Z. I stepped on the scale one morning and I saw ZZZ lbs AGAIN! ZZZ lbs is evidently my wall. My do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to unhappy. I had two choices - go out a buy a new wardrobe or lose weight. I had two choices - given in and accept that this was me or get to work. I didn't want to spend money on a new wardrobe of even bigger clothes. But I also wasn't ready to just give in and be completely unhappy with myself, my health, and my body. The difference between this wall and the last one? I didn't want to simply lose weight – I wanted to get healthy, I wanted to get active. I’ve never been athletic and I asked myself why not? Because I never wanted to work for it. (My cross country experience being a perfect example of this.) Now I want to work for it. Now I’m willing to work for it. I didn’t want to just lose weight – I wanted to make a major transformation.
Not only am I down more than 15 lbs and 2 sizes, but just as important - I'm in the best shape of my life. And I'm not even finished yet.

Shout Out - Hubby Tag

Thanks Lyndee for tagging me. I can always count on you! I do like this one because I get to talk about my favorite person – my cute hubby. I always tell Justin to check out my blog because I gave him a “shout out”. Well, baby, this is a serious shout out!


Where did you meet?
At work. We both worked for Convergys and we were in the same training class.

How long did you date before you were married?
We met on December 11, 2000. Our first date was Valentine’s Day 2001. And we were engaged exactly one year after our first date. We were married in September 2002. So about a year and 7 months.


How long have you been married?
Right now? 6 years, 3 weeks, 4 days

What is your favorite feature of his?
The first thing I noticed about him was his broad shoulders and his height. I am very attracted to guys who are built like football players. I love his big broad shoulders, his height, his great mouth, his blue eyes, and his contagious laugh.

What is your favorite quality of his?
He might be surprised to hear this, but his sense of humor. He is hilarious! He’s also amazing with kids. I love to watch him interact with our nieces and nephews – they absolutely adore him.


Does he have a nickname for you?
Oh, sure – lots. Babe and Baby are the most often used.

What is his favorite color?
Green

What is his favorite food?
:-) Just about anything. He is not a picky eater like me. Some of our favorite restaurants are Baja Cantina, Asian Star, Olive Garden, Iggy's.

What is his favorite sport?
Justin loves all sports. He just loves competition of about any kind. Some of his favorites are football, softball, and golf.

When and where was your first kiss?
It was January 25, 2001 on our lunch break at work in one of our cars - I can’t remember which and I think it was in the back seat ;-) What? It's much easier to cuddle and make-out back there.

What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
PG answer? BYU football games, watch TV and movies, travel.


Do you have any children?
Just Hiro. But he's awesome


Does he have a hidden talent?
His amazing ability to make anyone feel at ease with him. He is just great with people. But more important – he is great with me. He has the ability to make me feel confident, beautiful, and secure like no one else ever has.

How old is he?
32 years

Who said “I love you first”
I did, but I didn’t mean to. I was certainly thinking it, but I wanted the moment to be just perfect when I first professed my love for him. And at the theatre in the middle of Miss Congeniality was not the perfect moment. I blurted it out and then immediately covered my mouth in surprise.

What is his favorite type of music?
Justin has an amazing voice! He is very musically talented. (I just wanted to throw that in.) His taste in music is very diverse because of his appreciation for music. He likes just about everything except Country and Jazz. Probably more pop, rock, r&b, and alternative than anything else.

What do you admire most about him?
His confidence. He doesn’t seem to be intimidated or afraid of anything.

"Unbelievable!"

Justin and I sat with his parents for the New Mexico game on Saturday. We're only 3 rows behind them so it isn't like their seats are much better, but they are right on the front row and that makes it easier to get in and out if you need to run to the concession stands or the restroom. They also have that lovely railing you can put your feet on to kick back and relax while enjoying the game. And the people who sit next to them aren’t usually using all their seats so we can spread out a bit. Those little luxuries, we discovered, are not worth it! We had the most obnoxious fan behind us. He was part fan, part commentator, part coach, part pessimist. This guy NEVER shut up! Every single play that was run he’d comment on. How many yards they’d picked up, who carried the ball, what down it now was, how many yards we still had to go – you get the picture. He’d also throw out little statistics about the players. Commentator.
Every play we ran was wrong. On offense if we ran, he thought we should have passed, if we passed, he thought we should have ran. On defense someone always missed a block or wasn’t covering their man like they should have. “Unbelievable!” He wouldn’t stop saying that. “Who’s covering the quarterback? Unbelievable!” Coach.
We held Wyoming to 3 points and we managed to score 21, but the way this guy was talking you would have thought that BYU was the dumbest and worst team in college football, that our offense couldn’t score, and that our defense was worthless. They just couldn’t seem to do anything right. Pessimist.
But I couldn’t help wondering – is he even really a fan?
Next home game – if this guy is there – I’ll stay in my own seats even if the “better” seats are available. Unbelievable!

Change in Vocabulary

Ok, I want to clarify on my previous post. No, it's not just about the weight. It IS about being healthy. It's also about being happy with myself. Do I think I need to lose weight? No. Seven months ago when I was near "clinically overweight"? Maybe. And I lost it. Nowadays I may say that I need to lose weight and it isn't about the actual weight it's about being tone. I could never lose another pound and be perfectly happy as long as I continue to get tighter and firmer. But also, even if THAT NEVER happened. I could accept that and be happy as long as I knew I was strong, healthy, and in the best physical condition I was capable of.
I know that when people hear, "I want to lose weight" they equate that to "I'm fat". Because of this I need to make a change. I need to make a change in my vocabulary. I need to stop using phrases like "lose weight" or the word "fat" (not that I use it often). And I need to start using words like healthy, fitness, tone, active, endurance, and strength.
To those of you who have offered and continue to offer me support - thank you!

Why Can't I Be Incredible?

How much would I have to weigh or how big would I have to get before I can say I'm trying to lose weight and people would be supportive and say "good for you" instead of "you don't need to lose weight"? Am I expected to get to clinically overweight, socially overweight, obese, or morbidly obese? I do know from personal experience that if you're simply approaching clinically overweight you can't expect any support from others. But why is that?
I'm all for loving yourself no matter what size, shape, or weight you are. But why should I have to settle? What if I'm not happy with sitting on the fence of overweigtness? (if I may be so bold as to make up a word here.) Why should I be fine with a weight that is still within "healthy" (albeit JUST barely) when my lifestyle isn't healthy and my diet isn't healthy - I've just been fortunate thus far with my metabolism and my genetics? I don't think I should wait until my metabolism is no longer in my favor to make a decision to change and actually get a little support.
Justin has always been amazing anytime I've decided to "lose weight" by telling me that he thinks I'm beautiful, but that he understands that it's about what I think - that it's important for me to be happy with my body. (BTW - Thanks, Baby, you are wonderful and I love you very much!)
My doctor told me I have an 80% chance of developing diabetes in my lifetime. Do I sit around and wait to see if I’m just lucky enough for that 20%? Do I wait until I’m pre-diabetic or diabetic to start taking control of my health? At what point is it acceptable for me to decide that I’m going to do everything I possibly can to avoid that 80%?
When I've told people I’m trying to lose weight, or I’m trying to make better food choices, or I’m going to the gym everyday they often say, “You don’t need to do that.” “You don’t need to lose weight.” “You can eat this.” “You’re ok.” “You look fine.” What is their purpose to saying those things? Are they just trying to be polite? Do they say that because they think I want to hear that? They certainly aren’t doing me any favors and they come off as very discouraging. Why don't they want me to be the best that I can possibly be? Why should I settle for ok? Why should I settle for fine? Why shouldn't I be amazing? Why can't I be incredible?

6 Random Things

I laugh when I’m uncomfortable. This leads to much embarrassment and many awkward moments in my life, but it’s true – I laugh when I’m uncomfortable no matter how inappropriate it might be at the time. This has also gotten me into trouble as many people have misunderstood and thought that I was making light of a situation that I didn’t mean to. Or that I was enjoying something when I really wasn’t.

I hate tomatoes, onions, and peppers – and yet, I love SALSA. Go figure! I am pretty picky about my salsa, but still – it makes no sense at all.

I took down a bison in the Henry Mountains with one shot right through the heart. It was the kind of hunt that should have been televised it was so perfect. But you really need my older brother DarRell to tell you the story because I don’t remember much. Besides, he tells it so much better than me - much more animated!

My favorite pet name is “Love”. This is a pet name that is rarely used outside of the UK, but every time I am fortunate enough to run into a Brit and he calls me “love” I just melt.

I joined the cross country team in high school just to get out of town once a week. Honestly, I joined everything I could in high school just to get out of town, get out of classes, meet guys from other schools, or meet back up with my guy friends from other schools. Drama, Speech and Debate, Show Choir, Cheerleading, Dancing, took stats for Baseball and for Football. But this is one that I joined and then didn’t really participate in. I never practiced with the team – I couldn’t even run 1 mile, let alone 3+. And I only ran in one event because the coach threatened to kick me off the team. I came in 2nd to last – was horribly embarrassed and quit the team the next day anyway. Please imagine that I am laughing uncomfortably right now – because I am.

I’m darn cute. Seriously! Have you seen me lately? I am so darn cute. ;-)
And you don’t have to take my word for it – I have references.

TAG

Ok, I've been tagged twice now - I guess it's time I did something about it. I won't overload you all with two different tags at once so I'm going to space them out. Sorry, Mj, but I was specifically named in this other tag so it goes first.

3 THINGS ABOUT ME

What are the last three things you purchased (aside from groceries?)
1. Halloween Decoration -even though I swore I wasn't going to buy any more Halloween decorations for a LONG TIME!
2. Underwear - how fun am I?
3. Cotton rounds

What are the last three songs you downloaded on your iPod?
1. Leave Out All the Rest - Linkin Park
2. Rise Above This - Seether
3. I'm Going, I'm Gone - Lesley Roy

What are three of your favorite movies?
1. Gladiator
2. Sleepy Hollow
3. Band of Brothers

What are three things you have not done yet?
1. Attended a pro football game
2. Been to Europe
3. Gone skydiving

What are three things you can't live without?
1. My family
2. My friends
3. Chocolate

What are your three favorite dishes?
1. Oval strawberry plate
2. Pedastal cake stand
3. Rectangular white procelain plate
(Oh, is that not what that meant? "Dishes" is sort of vague. Ok, I'll play along.)
1. Justin's dad's pork tenderloin
2. Justin's mom's chicken noodle soup
3. My mom's sour cream potatoes


What are three of your favorite tv shows?
1. Pushing Daisies
2. Survivor
3. The Big Bang Theory

What are three of your favorite desserts?
1. Reeses Peanut Butter Bars
2. Red Velvet Cake
3. Peanut Butter Cookies

What are the last three places you traveled to that are more than 100 miles away?
1. St George, UT
2. Whistler, BC, Canada
3. Maui, HI

What are three things you'd buy if money weren't an issue?
1. A country cottage in Ireland
2. A flat in London
3. An home in Africa

Three people you tag
1. Sarah (this makes two, Sarah, you'd better get on the ball. But you seem to like things in twos, don't you?)
2. Janis - hehe ;-)
3. Anyone else reading this blog who feels so inclined.

There's more

It has just occured to me that I have left a few things out of my long list below ...
cry with me, grow strong with me, get through trials with me (yours and mine), show me compassion and empathy, pray with me, pray for me, allow me to pray for you, think about me, be considerate of me, post inspirational and touching things on your blogs for me to enjoy, laugh about, cry over, and learn from, understand me, acknowledge me, listen to me, make me feel beautiful, make me feel sexy, make me feel appreciated, make me feel confident, make me feel invincible, make me feel like a hero, make me feel like a villian (not necessarily a bad thing), tell me I'm cute when I'm being ridiculous, go to lunch with me, go to dinner with me, go to breakfast with me and sit and chat until lunch with me, reminisce with me, and give me much needed attention.

Jumping on the Bandwagon

A few of my fellow bloggers have recently posted something about friendship and friends. There must be something going around because I have got the bug as well. Yesterday I just felt so overwhelmingly grateful to have the incredible friends that I do. They always seem to be there just when you need them. I'm a bit emotionally high maintenance and it is a godsend to me to have such an amazing group of friends who put up with me, encourage me, support me, laugh with me, make me laugh, shop with me, hike with me, lose weight and inches with me, lift me up when I'm down, compliment and praise me when necessary, go to movies with me, go to chick-flicks with me, go to football games with me, watch football on TV with me, discuss Heroes with me, discuss Survivor with me, discuss Big Bang Theory with me (the TV show - not the scientific theory), discuss Religion with me, attempt to discuss politics with me (you know who you are ;), superpoke hug me on facebook at just the right moment, IM me just to say "hi", comment on my blogger posts, smile at me as you walk by, call me pet names, teach me, debate with me, challenge me, make me think and analyze, and apparently - like me (maybe even love or adore me)! Go figure!
But thank you to you all - for being such amazing and incredible people! I am so glad I have you all in my life.