Friendship

I was reminded (again) this past weekend how blessed I am to have a great group of close girlfriends, many of whom I have known since my college days, and are now more like family than friends. I spent last weekend in beautiful Central Oregon with six of these women on our second annual "Ladies Getaway" (Jennifer, Janelle, Joani, Lisa, Erin, and Anna Marie). We were also joined by two of my other favorite women who happen to live in Bend (Sam and Sharon). I must say, women's retreats at church are fun but it's even better when you are together with many of your closest friends! Let's just say there was a LOT of (non-stop)chatting as well as giggling, eating, praying, crying (good tears of course!), and shopping. We had a fruit-filled time listening to messages about finding our identify in Christ and I think each of us were blessed by the weekend. I'm sure hoping that we can keep this tradition alive as I came home feeling refreshed and filled to the brim with love for my great friends! (Maybe next year I'll even remember to take more pictures).

Future Action Hero

As I have briefly mentioned before, Yours Truly officially started P90X, an extreme form of torture...errrr...I mean exercise. Many of you have probably heard of this intensive 90 day workout program and some have likely even done it. I personally had been avoiding it because, well...I am a wimp. I am perfectly happy doing my elliptical and light weights at home where I can comfortably watch TV (most often The FoodNetwork. Counter intuitive I know but it keeps me occupied!). Recently I gave into peer pressure, having been convinced by my good friends Erin and Janelle (both of whom have done the program a couple of times in the past) that it would be "fun" to all do it at the same time and help encourage each other. I am now officially almost at the end of week 2 of the program (only 11 more weeks to go!) and here are a few things I've learned:

1. I really am a wimp. OK, so I already knew that but let me tell you, six straight days of Yoga, Kenpo (basically kick-boxing), strength training, ab work, and plyometics kicks my can!


2. I am as flexible as hardwood. This is a bit embarrassing to admit considering I used to do gymnastics and was a cheerleader but my flexible days are long gone. Have you seen the crazy, bending, twisted poses they have you do in yoga? Downward and Upward Dog, Spinal Twist, Crane, Royal Dancer, Tree...who thought of these names? My body just doesn't easily contort into those positions but thankfully I've seen improvement in even just the short time since I started.


3. You shouldn't trust anyone or anything associated with word "extreme" in the title. Actually, you should believe them but should AVOID them.


4. Did I mention I'm a wimp? Kenpo kicking and punching the way I do is about the same as watching Minnie Mouse. I like to pretend I am an action hero but truly am not intimidating in the slightest.


5. When friends say an exercise program is "fun" and they will do it with you, they are just setting you up. So this is a slight exaggeration as I know Erin and Janelle do honestly intend to do P90X with me and have just had a few snafoos that have gotten in the way (i.e., bad colds, busy at work, selling a house). Thus far, this P90X "newbie" has been the one trying to hold them accountable and motivated. Time to get it in gear ladies!


6. I am stubborn. I already knew that as well but in this case it may pay off. It's hard but I have no doubt that I am going to stick to it simply because I'm too stubborn (or proud?) to quit. This may come in extra handy considering #5 above.
   

All complaining aside, I am (mostly) enjoying this program. It's not easy but I have already seen improvement in both flexibility and strength. I'm motivated to keep going! Maybe by the end of the 90 days, I'll actually have the action hero moves down! Watch out Hollywood.

Harvest Carnival 2011

Oh the woes of a five year-old girl...Would it be Rapunzel? The Sugar Plum Fairy? That was the question of the day yesterday. By the time the late afternoon rolled around, the Little Miss made a final decision and landed on Sleeping Beauty (a.k.a., Princess Aurora). This is why Yours Truly has (thus far) avoided buying costumes and is sure thankful for dress-up clothes and hand-me-downs. As in years past, we enjoyed our evening at the Harvest Carnival our church puts on each year. The Little Miss had a lot of fun at the game booths, riding an old fire truck, a draft horse hay wagon ride, holding a guinea pig in the petting zoo, and visiting with her good friends (including Logan the Fireman and Sophie the Fairy below).Of course being the horse girl she is, her favorite part of the carnival was riding "Sparrow" the spotted appaloosa. She was even prepared with her pink sparkly cowboy boots (What? Didn't you know Sleeping Beauty wore cowboy boots?).


Thanks to all who helped with the Harvest Carnival! It is always such a blessing to see such a great turnout from across the community and to watch the light of Christ shine!

Oklahoma 2011

The Little Miss and Yours Truly made it home safely from our trip to Oklahoma City to visit my dad ("Papa") and stepmom ("Mimi") who are living there for the year. We really enjoyed the visit and had a great time site-seeing, visiting with Mimi's daughters and their families, and most of all, just spending time with Papa and Mimi. I made the mistake of not taking my good camera so I didn't get the best of pictures (lesson learned!).

A good friend from college, Laura, drove up from Dallas to visit one day when we were there. Laura and I spent the day catching up while we walked around downtown visiting the botanical gardens, Bricktown and the OKC Memorial. The next day the Little Miss and I took Papa to the children's part of the botanical gardens and then visited the Bass Pro Shop (making Mr. Wagner proud...and a bit jealous). We also made our final pumpkin patch visit of the year later in the week when the Little Miss and I took Papa to the Orr Family Farm. We enjoyed their carousel, train, tractor ride, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, play ground and pony rides (I admit I really didn't want to pay the extra $ for a pony ride being that our girl has a HORSE but what horse-loving mom can resist when their girl asks if they can ride?). We spent a couple of evenings with Mimi's side of the family and even had a pumpkin carving party where the Little Miss and her Papa carved our girl's very first pumpkin together. The Little Miss also had fun decorating a fancy tea hat and enjoyed having "warm chocolate" at a tea party with Mimi and her other grand daughters (twin girls the same age as our Little Miss).

Even with all of the fun activities, our girl's favorite memories are all of the time we spent just relaxing with Papa and Mimi. The Little Miss literally spent a whole day just sitting in Papa's lap where they had fun drawing together (a wonderful vision for this mom to watch since I have many memories drawing horses and boats with my dad as a young girl). She also made sure to help Papa with the dogs ("Buddy" is her new BFF) and enjoyed helping him make (and eat!) blueberry pancakes in the mornings.

Thanks for the fun visit Papa and Mimi! Enjoy your time in OK and we'll be looking forward to your return!

Pumpkin Patches 2011

As in years past, my favorite Fall tradition is to visit several local pumpkin patches with our girl. There is just something wonderful about the bright orange pumpkins, tractor rides, and hay bales (not to mention the freshly made hot apple cider and homemade cider doughnuts that several of the farms offer this time of year). We started off the pumpkin patch season by taking advantage of a warm, sunny day and made a family outing to Bauman Farms. It's a bit of a drive from where we live but well worth the time for the beautiful setting and the abundance of harvest festival activities.

The second pumpkin patch visit of the year came with the Little Miss' first school field trip. Yours Truly got to join in this adventure and had a lot of fun riding the school bus with our girl for her very first time. If you recall, I was anxious about the Little Miss starting school but I have to say, it has been such a blessing to see how much she enjoys it. Here she is with a few of her classmates and Mrs. Lang, her teacher (whom she adores). Elle, the other curly-haired girl in the picture is our girl's best school friend, also the daughter of one of my good friends. They have known each other from the time they were babes but their friendship is really blossoming now (I often pick both girls up from school and they don't stop chatting the whole way home!).
Finally, our last trip (thus far) was another family outing to our favorite "tractor ride" farm, Davis Family Farms. The Little Miss looks forward to driving the tractor each year with her daddy during this visit (second only to driving with her Grandpa when we visit Mr. Wagner's family in the Midwest). We met Allison and her dad there (her mom was away at a college reunion) and the girls had a lot of fun searching for the perfect pumpkin (along with their daddies!).



That completes the pumpkin patch outings for this year, at least in Oregon. The Little Miss and Yours Truly are getting ready to board a jet plane to Oklahoma and are hoping to take Papa on at least one pumpkin patch outing while we are there!

Habits of Health

We have gotten quite a few questions about how we shed the lbs and what we have learned through the process so I thought I'd share a little more. Again, we started Take Shape for Life (TSFL) in June and had the opportunity to work with an experienced Health Coach that we have known personally since our college days. It really helped to have someone to share hints, encourage us and hold us accountable. I have also been reading a book written by the physician who founded TSFL called "Dr. A's Habits of Health" and would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about reaching and maintaining optimal health. Now, for just a few hints that we learned along the way (all habits we hope to maintain):

1) Drink a LOT of water - I'd always heard this but had never been good about it. Now I can't do without. Water helps to clean out your system and flushes the toxins (and fat!) out. Needless to say, we now make a lot of potty breaks when we travel as a family and it is not because of our Little Miss.

2) Eat every three hours - Another recommendation I'd heard but had never been good about. I was a 3 meal-a-day sort of girl but now recognize that eating small meals regularly better helps to maintain your blood sugar levels and your metabolism.

3) Focus on lower-glycemic foods - Dr. A does a good job in his book explaining how lower glycemic foods help to better maintain our blood sugar and insulin levels (and thus our metabolism).

4) Keep active - We have always enjoyed being active and even like to exercise for the most part. Now being at healthier weights, we enjoy it even more. Mr. Wagner headed back to the gym (for the first time since his college days) and Yours Truly made good use of our elliptical and light weights. I am now getting ready to start P90X with some good girlfriends (I've heard it is really hard core so this may be mild torture...I'll keep you posted!).

4) Do it together - I truly believe that our success was in large part due to the fact that Mr. Wagner and I had each other to encourage and help hold accountable. Even if you don't have a spouse needing to lose weight (or wanting to start a new exercise program or other healthy habit), find a friend to partner with (see point above where I am going to be torturing myself...errr...I mean...starting a new exercise program with friends).

5) Stick with it! - When the going gets tough, recognize that it will get easier! The longer you stick with your healthy change, the more it becomes a "habit" and the less you have to think about it.

The "Big" Reveal

Actually, a more apropos title for this post may be the "Smaller" Reveal. Most of you who have seen the West Coast Wagners in the past few months already know but those that have not seen us for awhile may be a little shocked to see the transformation. You see, Mr. Wagner and I decided to Take Shape For Life starting this past June. We were skeptical at first but as you can tell below, it worked for us. I am proud to say that my handsome husband lost over 70 lbs and I shed over 33 lbs. We each surpassed our original goal weights. We both knew that we felt much better about ourselves (and have gone down multiple sizes in clothes) but did not realize just how drastic the change was until we looked back at our "before" pictures. It makes me so happy to see that we have taken seriously our goal to achieving, and now working on maintaining, optimal health.