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Introduction Text january 2010 Update: It's time I get back on track. Had such a great restart last September and then I let my grand mal seizures sideline me. Not a very valid excuse, but I'm sticking with it. The weight has crept back up and I realize I need to take this in smaller chunks, 10% of my weight at a time, instead of everything at once. Plus, I clued my husband in on my dissatisfaction with how I look. His response was "what are you going to do about it?" I said I need to cut out the junk that I eat and I have the impression he is willing to support me in that. I've changed my ticker to show pounds lost, starting back over at zero, because that really is where I am, as much as I hate to admit it. tired of the clothes fitting so tight and not willing to buy a size larger (hate to spend the money!) Besides, this isn't a healthy weight for me. I need to get healthy for me. My sons are both graduating HS this year and I want to be able to celebrate with them, be there to support both of them in their college endeavors and be able to enjoy the empty nest time with DH. After just over ten months with SparkPeople, I am finally creating my SparkPage! My original weight has changed, unfortunately in the wrong direction. I now have more weight to lose than when I originally signed up. I'm not going to make my goal weight by 12/11/08, but there have been several curve balls thrown my way this year. I traveled to India for three weeks the later half of February into the beginning of March. I work for India Partners, a Christian relief and development organization that partners with six indigenous partners in India. Part of what I do is lead teams to India and I feel blessed to be able to do so even though I find it very difficult to diet on Indian food! Then in May, I was hospitalized with a multiple drug resistant e-coli infection (not related to my travel to India at all!). We still don't know how I got it. From the middle of May to the beginning of September, I have been in hospitals four times for various problems (e-coli, benign brain tumor removal, bone flap in skull removed due to bone infection and, finally, an adverse reaction to the antibiotic infused to fight the infection). I currently wear a helmet whenever I am not in bed to protect my head where the skull area is missing. I will get a prothesis implanted in January. One more surgery, one more hospital stay. I am praying for no more complications so my recovery will be swift and life will return to normal. (For all the details of my medical saga, if you are so inclined to read it, go to www.caringbridge.org and enter donnaglass and you will be able to read the journal entries my husband, Kevin, has posted since May) Since September, I have felt better than I have in months (hadn't realized I wasn't feeling at my best before May!). I have more energy and am working to get back on track in regards to my weight and overall health. My current short-term goal is to lose at least 10 pounds before my surgery in January. I think that is doable. I am paying closer attention to portion control, drinking a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day and walking our dogs along the Columbia River 4-5 miles a day. 1/17/09 Update: I leave for Seattle next Friday, the 23rd, for my pre-op appointments prior to surgery on Monday, the 26th. I can't wait for this last surgery (please, God, let it be so) to be over with and I can get rid of the helmet I've worn since August. Then just a couple of weeks later, I'll get rid of the cast on my right leg and be able to start some serious cardio exercising again. Thank you to everyone for the support and encouragement. 2/2/09 Update: Surgery was put on hold for two weeks due to a bladder infection. What a disappointment! We traveled to Seattle on the 23rd, went through pre-op and the lab work, found out sunday evening about the infection, took antibiotics Sunday night and Monday morning, still tested positive on Monday. UGH! We were in the surgery waiting room area for five hours on Monday morning before we got the word that surgery was being rescheduled! If my tests come out negative this week, after a full week on antibiotics, then surgery is next Monday, 2/9/09. I'm praying that that will be so. Then the cast comes off on Friday morning, 2/13/09. Life will be much better. 6/18/09: Life is better, but I have unfortunately put weight back on. Just haven't been watching what I eat since I got out of my cast. I wore a boot on my right foot for a few weeks, had PT to increase mobility and strength and that helped. Unfortunately, I was so enthused about walking, even with the boot on, the dogs and I were back out doing 4 to 5 miles a day. Well, I overdid it and ended up with planar facaitis in my right foot. That laid me up for another month!! Good news, I finally got the all clear from my neurosurgeon! I can ride my bike again, fly on an airplane, swim, just whatever I want to do! God is good! So, most mornings, I ride with DH to work and then ride back home again (six miles RT). When I need to run errands during the day, I seriously consider whether or not it's feasible to ride my bike for (I have two paniers to hang off the bike rack to carry things in). If I can't get a bike ride in, I try to find time to go to the community pool across the street and swim laps. The dogs and I are back to walking 4 to 5 miles a day with minimal, if any, flare up in my foot. I'm working on portion control, trying to get back on track. DH had to go on a bland diet for stomach problems so cooking has been a whole new adventure. Of course, he's lost about 16 pounds (I think they found their way to me!) and wants to loose another 30 or more. So, he's now more interested in a life style change than he was before.

Short term goal: Lose 10 pounds by the end of January, before my next surgery. Goal met 12/18/08!! Oops: Put a couple of those pounds back on. Not going to lose another 10 pounds before the surgery since I'm laid up in a cast. DRATS! New goal: Lose 10 more pounds by 1/26/09 (surgery date) Long-term goal: Lose 50 pounds by 7/12/09 (my 53rd birthday) Start doing Tae Kwon Do training at home to help overall toning (I have my black belt). Haven't been training in several years and miss it. There isn't a school here in Richland that I like.

Walking Daily 4 to 5 miles to exercise both the dogs and myself. Drinking LOTS of water, at least 8 glasses per day. Controlling my portion size, avoiding second helpings. Tracking my food intake. Tracking my exercise. Blog daily to keep me focused.

I am originally from the Seattle area. Moved about during my 21 years in the Air Force. Spent 11 years in Eugene OR during which time my husband got his PhD at the UO. We moved to Richland WA two years ago where my husband works at the National Lab.

Favorite movies: musicals from the 50's and 60's. We would watch "The Wizard of Oz" as a family every year when it was on television. Favorite music: I'm stuck in the 60's through 80's and classical music. Quote: "Happiness is like a butterfly. When pursued it remains just beyond your grasp. But if you sit down quietly, it may alight upon your shoulder." We are each responsible for our own happiness, it's not up to anyone else. Why would you want to give anyone else that kind of control over your life? The only one who I have given control over my life is Jesus Christ. A quote I just read: "Vital religion is like good music. It needs no defense only rendition. A wrangling controversy in support of religion is as if the members of the orchestra should beat the folks over the head with the violins to prove that the music is beautiful." Harry Emerson Fosdick

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