I knew that there would come a point where changing what I eat was not going to be enough to lose weight.  I also knew that I was going to need to be in much better physical condition to even host the idea of The Great Race.  Boy I had no idea how far I had to go.

Shane and I are cousins. But it's really closer than that. Shane, his brother Chase and I grew up separated by only a moderate sized field with a small cottage between us. With us being relatively close in age, we grew up together. Our summer days started usually with a short Nintendo session, some G.I. Joe battles, then a swim in the lake. After the swim, it was whatever sport was in season at the time, or the old fallback, basketball.

It seems like blog posts come in spurts don't they?

We're well into...week 6? I think?  I dunno something like that.

The exercise has been taking a bit of a toll on me, I must say.  Sure, it's less than 2 miles of walking a day, and some light weights and crunches, but when you go to that from your most exertion being mowing your lawn or shoveling snow, well, its quite an adjustment.  I hope it gets better.  I'm sure it will.

"In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility"  -- Eleanor Roosevelt.

For me, Thursday night is often "attempt to use up whats in the fridge night".  Last night certainly was. 

I started out with some pre-made ravioli.  You could certainly use whatever pasta you want.  Gnocchi would be awesome, as would a whole wheat penne.

So this is approximate what I threw together.  I wanted to write it down and slowly formulate it into an actual recipie because it was awesome.

  What a week.  While most of the team members were having food related challenges, I had a different challenge all together, Man Vs Nature.  I felt like I was in the middle of a really bad, really cheesy Sci - Fi Saturday night C rated classic movie made for TV-  titled YELLLOWJACKETS!

Fellow AOP teammate Emerald found the below article in the April 2009 issue of Good Housekeeping.  Thanks Emerald!!!

I knew this would be a rough road.  I knew there would be hills and valleys.  So far I've experienced some pretty big highs on this journey.  I've had some real success.  I've been so encouraged by how this has worked so far, that I guess I got arrogant. 

This weekend, I slipped.  No.  That's wrong.  This weekend I fell flat on my face.

So, I've been at this for a couple of weeks now. 

I have no idea what my starting weight was.  I have no idea what it is now.  Lower I hope.  I feel like it's lower.  I should probably buy a scale one of these days. 

Each person has a different reason for losing weight.  Some for health reasons, some for vanity.  The list is endless.  We each work with a specific goal in mind.  My goal is to lose enough weight to at least what I weighed when my husband and I started dating.  145 lbs.   Only 50lbs to go more or less.  The first week I was elated with my 2lbs.  Then the next