My FIRST Guest Blogger!

While I never get tired of listening to myself (LOL), I figured it would be fun for my readers to have a change of pace. :0) I am hoping to have at least 1 guest blogger per month. January wasn't a difficult month at all to find a guest blogger...after all, it's the first month in a year, and (most) everyone seems to be focused on slimming down. I thought it would be fitting to have my #1 (girl) be my first guest blogger!

My sister Jenni didn't include any pictures in her blog post, so here are just a few that I will showcase. She is pictured on the right in all photos below...











And in true Chubby Diaries fashion...



Look for her post entitled, "I REFUSE TO BE THE FAT SISTER!"

I REFUSE TO BE THE FAT SISTER!

My name is Jenni, but many of you already know me as Elizabeth’s #1 (jealous?)…lol

Sticking to the theme of the chubby diary, I will introduce you to the beginning of my weight loss journey. I must let you know that I really hate that I even have to lose weight. The majority of my weight gain came from having 3 kids in the last 4 ½ years. It just doesn’t seem fair! Why can’t I be one of those Mom’s that “snaps back into shape” after having kids? From my first 2 pregnancies I kept on 20lbs, and with my daughter, I’m embarrassed to say I never even lost her birth weight! In my mind (and according to the scale) I have at least 43 lbs to lose from all 3 pregnancies.
While I have tried some diets here and there, exercised here and there, I have not lost a single pound in the last 9 months. I started Marathon training back in November…I have not lost a single pound. UGH! Meanwhile, my 2 older sisters have gotten more focused, and MORE motivated and have been putting in the sweat and hours at the gym and dieting to melt the pounds away and look AMAZING! My whole life I’ve always been the little sister, but for much of my life I have also been the thinnest sister. I came to realize that as my sisters were losing the weight, and looking great, I was do nothing and getting NO WHERE fast! So that’s my motivation…to look better than my sisters (I’m so mean)…LOL! We will all be going on vacation with each other (along with my Mom) in about 4 months. I REFUSE to be the fat one in the picture. I REFUSE to be the fat one in the bathing suit. I want us ALL to look good, and feeeeel good!

So what am I doing to lose the weight? (drum roll please) MEDIFAST! You do need to buy their food though (and enough for 30 days). I eat 5 of their meals a day, and then 1 lean and green. The lean and green consists of chicken/steak/or fish and then 2-3 cups of green vegetables. In the first week I lost…(another drum roll please)…7 lbs.!!! I love not having to choose my own food throughout the day (like on Weight Watchers). I have SO MUCH energy now that I’m not indulging on sugar and carbs. The diet has been pretty easy so far as long as I’m at home. Going to Disneyland was tough, going out to eat is tough, but I stayed strong (barely). I’m excited to see what more weight I lose in the next 3 weeks!

Bring.It.On.

So my girlfriend Katie signed up to do the 6 week weight loss challenge at her YMCA. For a fee, you will compete in teams, Biggest Loser style, for 6 weeks to lose the most weight. You workout with a personal trainer twice a week, and you meet with a nutritionalist who is on-call to assist you throughout the entire 6 weeks. I did not sign up for this callenge. My Y doesn't offer it. And I'm too cheap to pay for it anyway, LOL! HOWEVER, I told my friend that she is getting a 2 for 1...I'm gonna compete against her! I consider it research for my blog, HAHAHAHA! So here we go...Week 1 baby!

Be ready to feel good about yourself, here is my before picture (EEEEK!)...



Katie's goal is to lose 20 pounds in the next 6 weeks...I suppose that means that I will be losing at least 21 pounds! ;0)

When the LONG becomes the SHORT

We are in the 12th week of marathon training...I can't believe it! The time has just FLOWN BY! When we started the training 3 months ago, "3 miles" was the LONG run. I think there was an occassional 1.5 mile run in the begining, and up until this week, there was a 2 and a 2.5 mile run thrown in there as well. Those days are no more. From here on out, there is nothing less than a 3 mile run! The 3 mile run is now the short run, and the long run this week is a 6 miler. I'm stoked to conquer that! I have always been comfortable running 3 miles, but I am now getting into a territory that I had panicked about when I browsed the entire schedule in the begining of all this. I have no doubts about participating (and completeting) the marathon itself, but for some reason the upcoming 8 mile run and the 20 mile run on the schedule have always freaked me out. I'm begining to have faith that I will be able to run the 8 miles comfortably, but the 20 mile (and many of the runs in the teens, for that matter) seem unreachable to me. But, as always, I will just keep plugging along, and have faith in the training program.

This past week was difficult and exciting all at the same time. As I mentioned in a previous post, Beatrice has been sick with a cold. She had a fever early on in the week that only lasted 24 hours, but she has a nasty cough and other cold syptoms that are hanging on, so I can't bring her to the childcare at the gym (or to church, waaa!). I have only made it to the gym 1x in the last week (and that was when my hunny could watch the kiddos). However, I rocked my runs old-school style this week. I busted out the double jogger and made it happen. Luckily, all of the runs last week were 3 miles, and Beatrice came with me on every one of them! I was able to do the hills fine, and it was so thrilling to have a new challenge. And then, on Saturday, I decided to let Rick sleep in, and I took BOTH kids in the double jogger and did my 3 mile run. This was A LOT harder! I had to be referee a few times, and Wyatt adds quite a bit of weight to the run! (Not that he is a chunker, it's just that he's 6!) But, despite the added "bonuses" I was able to run the ENTIRE 3 MILES non-stop! This was something I was 100% unable to do just 3 months ago!

I LOOOOOVE experiencing cool changes like that!!! :0)

Cupcakes, and Cookies, and Ribs, Oh My!

Nothing like a fatty weekend to crush your weight loss spirits! I wish I could just go to a party or gathering and not indulge. I wish I could be one of those skinny people who just puts salad on their plate, and passes at the opportunity to eat a piece of celebratory cake. I am not that person. It was so much easier when I was fasting. I was contracted to God to not eat. Now, I'm only contracted to myself, and believe it or not, I'm not as important as God! ;0)

This weekend I had a Bridal Shower sugar cookie order, and I love to eat me some scraps...



On Saturday, I went to an adorable baby shower. The food was GREAT! I have never eaten at "Chick-Fil-A" before, and at the shower they had some little "Chick-Fil-A" tenders with an incredible sweet tangy sauce on the side! There was also my favorite drink EVER...Strawberry Lemonade! And then...the cupcakes! They were every bit as delicious as they looked! They were so stinkin' cute, and they were soooooo GOOD! It was a homemade strawberry cake (with homemade strawberry jam) with a strawberry whipped frosting, that also had the homemade strawberry jam. Have I mentioned that they were good!?







After the baby shower my dad had us over for dinner to celebrate my cousin being in town from NYC. The food was A-MA-ZING! My dad grilled up some incredible baby back ribs, my stepmom made some great mashed red potatoes, and I brought the most delicious brownies from scratch for dessert! I found a bag of mint chocolate chips, and I threw those in the batter as well. Sooo GOOD...and yet sooo BAD (for me)!



I guess there is always tomorrow (which is today...and today?...so far so good!)

JUICY...burger?

In true chubby diaries fashion, when the topic of "Juicy" would come up, I would normally be referring to a Juicy Cheese Burger (on a "bad" day), or a Juicy piece of watermelon (on a "good" day)...but on a birthday the only Juicy I'll be blogging about is, Juicy...as in "Couture"!

I have never been a labels kind of gal. Especially in the last 2 years when necessity has been the key to survival, I have chosen "generic", or "left overs", or "Hand Me Downs" over any name brand. And in particular, with regard to accessories I am the lamest of them all! I very RARELY remember to wear jewelry, and since I am a mom on the go, I for-go a purse, and rock a "Jansport" backpack like nobody's business! (How's that for name dropping!?)

My family makes fun of me on a regular basis for sporting the backpack, but I don't care, I can hold my own...and seriously, it's just so practical.

But, with all things in life, the seasons are changing. :0) As Beatrice is growing up, we are done with pretty much all things baby...diapers, wipes, bibs, sippy cups, etc. My need for a large bag that can be worn on my back, is no longer there! For the last month or so, I have put away my Jansport backpack, and have now been using the only purse I own...its a generic, fairly small, little black purse that was handed down to me by a co-worker about 10 years ago. It has been fun and feminine to be carrying a purse again. :0)

But over the weekend, my brother surprised me with $30 worth of lottery ticket scratchers for my birthday, and I ended up winning over $100...it was SO thrilling!!! And in a moment of "Un-Elizabeth", I decided to combine my winnings with some of the birthday cash and gift cards that were given to me, and I not only bought a new purse, but a matching wallet too!!!



I absolutely LOOOOVED the purse yesterday, and while it's really neat to have an item that is considered to be "cool", this morning I feel a little bit like, "I really should have given the money to a homeless person...or, I could have put this money towards stuff for our family...or.......

But, I'm sure eventually I will start believing the inscription in my purse that states that "I am the fairest of them all", and everything will be right in the JUICY world! ;0)

More Party To Be Had

After Saturday's big party, I thought the celebrating was done. I was moving in to "hostess" mode. My in-laws had arrived earlier in the week, and becuase there was still much to be done with party preparations (and I had to work 2 of the 5 days they were here), I left the guest-entertaining to my hunny and the kiddos. I got 3 hours of sleep on Sunday morning, and then we were off to breakfast at IHop! The waitress messed up my order, and instead of returning the food that was put in front of me, I chose to enjoy the most delicious cinnamon roll french toast ever...YUM! We then hung out for most of the day, and then we tackled Costco for our dinner ingredients (and in true Costco fashion, I ended up buying $50 worth of product that I had no idea that I "needed" when we arrived.) I made the family an amazing dinner of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and salad...but I didn't save room for the salad. :0) We stayed up late playing our usual "Brumbaugh's Tournament of Jenga Championship", and munched on some cinnamon apple pastries.

When I woke up on Sunday morning (after my party) I had only gained a half pound, but when I woke up on Monday, I had gained 5.5 pounds in just the one day!...YIPES! I hadn't exercised since the 5.5 mile run I did on Saturday morning, and I was determined to go to the gym...even if it was on my actual birthday! The kids and I took the last of the items back to the party rental place early on Monday morning, and when I came home real quick to drop the kids off with Rick, I was bombarded in my street by my sister Anna and my nephews who live in L.A.! I was shocked! I didn't know what was going on!? I didn't know what her plans were for me, but after I stopped crying (I was TIRED...I told you, I'm a total cry baby when I'm tired), I asked her if I could still go to the gym and get a workout in. She replied, "Absolutely NOT!" She proceeded to bring me inside my house, dress me up in "30" flare, and then had all of the kids hose me down with silly string!



Apparently she had been conspiring all week with my hunny to make this all happen. After she put a Starbucks coffee in my hand she said she needed to go back to L.A. in a couple of hours, but that she wanted to take us out for a quick breakfast first. Still in a whirlwind of disbelief that my morning was completely off schedule, I just went with it, and followed her to the restaurant. And yet again, I was 100% shocked to have my entire family yell "SURPRISE!" when I walked back to our table. At that point, I gave up on the notion that I was going to eat well on my birthday, and that I was going to burn many calories at the gym!









After breakfast, we left my family, and joined Rick's family at the Zoo. We did a lot of walking, but I was still feeling every pound I had gained. I know it's hard to find me in the next picture...I tend to blend in with the elephants...



After the zoo, we went home, and our guests went to their hotel so we could all get ready for dinner. They were taking us out! :0) We went to BJ's for dinner where Rick & I shared a small deep dish pizza, this time I made room for a salad, and then we all shared the "Pizookie" sampler for dessert!





Tuesday I was back to reality though...our guests left on a plane that morning, I had to be to work at 7:30am, Wyatt had hip-hop class and school, and unfortunately my Beetle came down with a cough and fever. Apparently the party had to end at some point. :0)

"Girls (and boys) just wanna have fun..."

I doubt you heard about it on the news, and I don't think I remember seeing a billboard about it, but you may have heard...I turned 30!!! I have been planning this party for about a year, and the impossible happened...my birthday celebration FAR EXCEEDED my GIGANTIC expectations!

I'm going to give it a good try, but words cannot due justice to the overwhelmingly joyous feeling I have!

I received little (and big) birthday gifts from Jesus all week long...Seriously. I felt 100% loved by my Savior...He was in the DETAILS!

My in-laws flew in from Indiana on Thursday, and we were so blessed by their company!

I had such special moments with my mom on Thursday and Friday night decorating for my party. We were both excited, silly, and in our creative element!

As if I couldn't have been more pumped-up on my own, I was getting some of the best text messages all week from my party guests! Their excitement was only boosting my own excitement up a few notches!

The backdrop for my party was spectacular! The Adam's (the friends who let me have the party in their home) were incredibly GRACIOUS! Their home is SO beautiful, and the weather was PER.FECT.

My sister Jenni made an amazing video of my first 30 years. I loved watching the video for the first time at my party, but the following 50 times at home have been even BETTER! I am a total cry-baby when I'm tired, and you should know, I'm EXHAUSTED! The video summarized my life in under 10 minutes, and I feel beyond blessed to be who I am, to have made the choices that I did to get me to this point, and to be loved and supported by the people that do just that.

To have people at my party from all of the different areas of my life was 5% challenging (I wanted to spend more time with everyone) but 95% AMAZING! The food was delicious (although, I was surprisingly not hungry, nor did I have much time to eat), the costumes were AWESOME, and my guests were just so much fun!

Many people have asked me what my favorite part of the night was, and I am surprised to admit, that it was my 60 minute+ Karaoke Concert/Performance! When I had decided to have karaoke at my party, I knew that this was only for my guests...I would just be a spectator. I can NOT sing. And I have ZERO "moves"! Although some might have a different suggestion, I'm gonna blame my karaoke experience on the confidence that Zumba has given me!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures...

Yes & No

I love a good "Yes & No" answer!

Q. Did you eat lunch yet?
A. Yes and No. Yes, I did just eat enough calories to equate a meal, but no, I don't think 4 pieces of Sees Candy are going to hold me over until dinner.

Q. Did you get the mail?
A. Yes and No. Yes, I went to the mailbox to check and see if we had any mail. But no, there wasn't any mail, so I am not sure if the mailman came yet.

As you can read (somewhere) on this site, when I started this blog, I set out to lose 70 pounds by my 30th birthday. Over the course of the last 3 days (my 30th birthday weekend) I had quite a few people ask me if I had accomplished this goal. The answer is..."Yes and No."

Yes, I lost 70 pounds, in fact MORE than 70 pounds over these past several months. However, I would lose 10 pounds, and then gain 6...I would lose 3 pounds and then gain 12...I would then lose 2 pounds, and then gain 8...and that weight loss/gain roller coaster would go on and on and on...

At the peek of my weight gain (returning home from beach camping in September of this year), I had gained 23 pounds since the start of this blog. And on the morning of my party, I achieved a personal weight goal (separate from my blog goal) and my total weight loss since beach camping was 42 pounds.

So No, I am not 70 pounds lighter than when I started this blog. My net weight loss is 18 pounds. I wanted to lose those 70 pounds so I would feel beautiful. I wanted to be slimmer. I wanted to be healthier.

And while I did not lose 70 pounds...I did lose some weight, and I did accomplish all of my other goals! I was definitely slimmer, I am MUCH healthier, and this weekend, I felt TOTALLY BEAUTIFUL! :0)

"I get to eat birthday cake in 6 days!"

This is the last week I double up on exercises each day! Just 5 days until my party, and 7 days until I turn 30! It's crunch time. And with crunch time comes MANY funny comments & happenings!

Last week at "Pump it!" I totally "ate it!" And not just once...but TWICE! Friday "Pump It!" classes are NUTS (thank goodness I can only attend every-other one, as I work every-other Friday morning)! The instructor always has us wear slippery cloths under our shoes and we have to go across the gym floor doing many almost-impossible-tasks while wearing them...lunges, side squats, dread drops with a dumb-bell, high kicks ending in a lunge, yada, yada, yada. Well on Friday, while wearing these Satanic devices, I went to do a "slide squat" (you are standing up...you slide your right leg out to the side in a squat, and then you have to slide your left leg in to meet it)...and as soon as I slid the first leg out, I went too far, and I totally slipped and did the splits...except I'm not that "bendy" and so when I went down, I thought for sure that I had jacked my ankle. I did a mental check-up, and then I got up and did the exercise again. And again, I slid my right leg out into the squat, and AGAIN, flippin' fell! The teacher asked if I was OK, and and I said, "I'm OK, only I think my ego is a little hurt!" But who doesn't enjoy watching a good fall!? I just wish I wasn't the one falling!

Chubby diary related texts...

My Sister: (6:45 PM) I'm eating tic tacs so I won't binge, LOL

Me: Ummmm I had pizza and ice cream. Sigh. AND I just called the Y to c how late they are open and they close at 7. I am so screwed!

My Sister: Sorry it took me so long to reply...I had to compose myself after laughing so hard from your text! But don't u worry...U'LL STILL LOOK BETTER THAN ME! ;0)

Me: I know THAT! But I wanna be hotter than ME! :D


- - - - -


My Sister: How has your eating been today?

Me: I'm officially binging :0( The lifesavers are glued to my cheeks, and the cheese puffs have gone straight to my rear! :0(

My Sister: NEAT! I'm chewing gum to keep my mouth busy. ;0)

Me: (an hour later) I'm gonna go for a 3 mile run with Bea. Except for the lack of vomiting, I'm pretty sure this is considered bulimia! HAHAHAHA!

My Sister: Yes, I would agree.

Dear Jessica Simpson

Dear Jessica Simpson,

You need to hook a sister up with some of your acne treatment! I turn 30 years old in exactly one week from today, and my face is breaking out like I am a teenage boy! I'm not sure if it is due to stress, due to a LOT of sweating, or if it's from PMS-ing, but regardless, you can play dot-to-dot on my forehead! I hope these 4 monsters go away before my party!

And while I think you look FAB, the tabloids seem to think you know a little something about struggling with your weight. If I can take a moment of your time to complain, I would REALLY appreciate it! I have been BUSTING MY BUTT all week, and it is all pretty much for nothing! I was down 4.5 pounds by Friday and then for NO REASON I gained 1.5 pounds by Saturday morning!? I thought for sure that Aunt Flo was arriving on the 10 o'clock train, but she has STILL not shown up! Her luggage has preceded her though, and of no surprise, she packed more weight gain, and "the munchies"! After 7 days of dedicated exercise, I am only down 1.5 pounds for the week. Sigh.

Now, I will say that there is SOME good news to share with you. Despite my low weight loss for the week, I have lost several inches. I'm not usually a numbers person when there are other positive results (ex. loss of inches) but I was so close to a goal weight on Friday, and now it seems too far off in the distance to accomplish by my party. Waaaaaaa.

Thanks for hearin' a sister out!

Your Fan,
Elizabeth

The Year of The Brumbaugh's! *

I don't know if you all have realized it yet, but you are now in 2011, the year of...The Brumbaugh's*!!!!

1/1/11 was the day I ran 5 miles!

This is the month I turn 30!!! (Exactly 2 weeks until my birthday, and just 12 days until my big par-tay!)

This is the year:

* I quit working!

* We are DEBT FREE!

* We get to travel (after a 6 year+ drought)!

* I.run.a.freaking.MARATHON!

2011 is filled with HOPE, and is an EXCITING time for the Brumbaugh's!

I have been torn as to whether I would like to return as the Coordinator of our church's MOPS group for the 2011-2012 year, but after much prayer, I have decided that I will continue in this role. I am so thrilled about the things we will be doing in the church this year!

*Disclaimer: "The year of The Brumabugh's" is just funny...at least I think it is. I know I am nothing without my faith in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 21:20- Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

As a family, our faith has been tested greatly over the last 2 years, and I am praying this, 2011, is the time we MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Workout

My plan to workout twice a day, worked-out great! I did not plan to eat poorly each day...but it just kind of worked-out that way...and even with that, I lost 1 pound every day. By Sunday morning, I had lost 7 pounds for the week. But then, on Sunday morning, the last day before my official weigh-in on Monday, I continued to not make good food choices, AND since Sunday is my day of rest from exercising, I ended up gaining 2.5 pounds yesterday! My net loss for the week is 4.5 pounds. Not bad...but shoulda, coulda, woulda been better.

The kids, my mom, and I went up to L.A. yesterday for me to have a fun moment helping my sister Anna try on beautiful evening gowns for a black tie event she is attending in a couple of weeks. After my mom and the littles were settled in at Anna's house, we headed to the mall. Only, my sister misunderstood the hours of operation at the mall...we were an hour early. What do we do for an hour!? BREAKFAST! She took me to this amazing restaurant named "Jinky's!" Everything on the extensive menu was creative and sounded incredible. We had a hard time choosing what to eat, but in the end, we decided on sharing the "Banana Fosters Pancake Breakfast"...we made a GREAT choice!



After we each tried on over 25 gowns at Bloomingdales and Macy's, we went back to her house where she introduced me to Costco's delicious Jalapeno Artichoke Dip, and my mom intruduced us to William Sonoma's Peppermint Bark COOKIES...HEAVENLY! After we said goodbye to my sister and her family, we started our drive down South. You wouldn't believe what we found! The sandwich that had left San Diego, was now in Riverside for just a short amount of time...The McRib...YUM!!!

What do Hot Dogs, Potatoes, Gingerbread and Darth Vader Have in Common!?

The Big Bay Balloon Parade!



As a native San Diegan, I am embarrassed to admit that this was the first year I have been to (and heard of) this massive annual balloon parade event that our city hosts in celebration of
"The Holiday Bowl", a college football game that is played later that same day.

The kiddos & I put on all of our warm clothes and headed out on a CHILLY morning to catch the trolley down to the big event. See them holding hands!?...AAAAAWE...I have to capture these rare moments. :0)



We had the MOST fun at the parade! Some of our friends joined us, and we all gathered curbside to take in the sights...





Wyatt loved marching (in place) with all of the marching bands...



And Beatrice loved the eats...



Here were some of our favorite balloons...









Despite having a HORRIBLE hour and 15 minute (standing room only) ride home on the trolley with our new friend named "Tailgate" who was a self proclaimed ex-drunk, that actively smelt like booze (and B.O.), I would TOOOOOTALLY go again next year! :0)