On a personal note....

A little over a year ago I had an appointment with my doctor.  I had Charlie three months prior to this visit and he was meeting with me to check on my postpartum health.  he was very concerned with my weight and consequently my sugar levels.  He figured that I may be pre-diabetic.  The thought of this was obviously very scary to me, especially given my family history.  I came home from this check-up with a request for some blood work and quite disappointed in myself.

While I was on facebook I noticed a status posted by a friend that she had lost 51 pounds and only had 9 more to reach her goal.  That was all the kick in the pants I needed.  I decided that it was time to start taking better care of myself.  So, I found a few fabulous apps for my ipod: "My Fitness Pal" and "Couch to 5K."  These were ultimately the tools that lead to the success story that has been my last year.

Here is a family picture taken on our vacation last summer (September 1st, 2011):

Steve and I both began to watch what we ate and started to exercise more.  It was not necessarily hard work but it did take dedication.  At the end of the year, we lost over 90 pounds between the two of us.  we fell just short of our combined goal of 100 pounds.   I honestly don't think I could have done it without his help.  He has been so supportive and wonderful throughout this whole thing.  I am very proud of the hard work he has put into our new lifestyle.

Here is the family picture taken on our vacation from this summer (August 28th, 2012):

Today I participated in the Run for the Cure.  I ran the 5K with a friend of mine and we both finished in just under 30 minutes.  This is a huge accomplishment for me on so many levels.  First of all I ran in honor of my Aunt Bonnie who bravely battled breast cancer.  Not only did she fight it as a blind woman, she beat it!  She was such an amazing woman and I am sad that she could not be with us to know just how wonderful I thought she was.  I hope that somehow she knew and would have been proud of my run.

After the year of dedication to making myself a better me, it seemed like a good way to end it.  Also, I had my 4 favorite men, Mom-I and Pop-I as well as 2 nieces and a nephew there to cheer me on.  I also had a few friends who participated and some who were there to cheer for us.  To top that all off, a lot of my family supported my run with donations that are going to such a great cause.

Only time will tell but I cannot wait to see what the next year will bring...