Remembering Army Private First Class Erin McLyman - A real war hero

Driving home tonight I noticed the large flag next to the ball field was flying at half mast. The wind was blowing hard and the flag was at 90 degrees from the flag pole, as though it was saluting those passing by. Every time I see a flag at half mast my heart sinks because in Washington state that usually means another fallen soldier.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIUbvZ9KMT4IgBu71mI2W4ZhJ4h1zJuPy9NW3_XgPDSbu_UmrnlgkXqLrBnJEkPI6GUa_t6QuOlvKrPdRhADppVRaxDwsUuDuw9I5wiOgByxdjIKhkAjEFhOZ3-iKgmcMfG37EM8R5siY/s1600-h/erin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIUbvZ9KMT4IgBu71mI2W4ZhJ4h1zJuPy9NW3_XgPDSbu_UmrnlgkXqLrBnJEkPI6GUa_t6QuOlvKrPdRhADppVRaxDwsUuDuw9I5wiOgByxdjIKhkAjEFhOZ3-iKgmcMfG37EM8R5siY/s320/erin.jpg" vt="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This young lady, U.S. Army Private First Class <a href="http://www.kval.com/news/88487962.html" target="blank"><span style="color: blue;">Erin McLyman</span></a>, died in Iraq last week from a mortar attack supporting Iraqi Operation Freedom. A real war. Her story is amazing because she completely turned her life around as a teenager, but her life has had a sad ending.<br /><br />My heart and prayers go out to her new husband and her family and all the other soldiers fighting for freedom.

Remembering Army Private First Class Erin McLyman - A real war hero

Driving home tonight I noticed the large flag next to the ball field was flying at half mast. The wind was blowing hard and the flag was at ...

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Guest Post #2 - Jenna

<p>Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed my SIL Melanie’s post. If you happened to miss it you need to go back and check it out <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/03/guest-post.html">here</a>.</p> <p>Ok, you guys are in for another treat! Today’s guest post is from one of my best friends, Jenna. I met her at my job about 6 years ago, but we didn’t become close friends until right when I started my weight loss journey back in November 2008. She was a huge support & inspiration for me and continues to be even though she has moved. I know she will inspire you guys as well!</p> <p>So sit back & enjoy! :)</p> <p>**********************************************************</p> <p><strong><u>Jenna’s Weight Loss “Journey”</u></strong></p> <p>Have you ever gotten to the point in your life where you just didn’t feel “accepted” and just felt, “out of place”? Well, I have! <img alt="jennabefore1" border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANVV_7nSUM5aGPhUaf3Nq37X4uZeu6F5MFtQG6QZqgOzItJ84uyO5H3fTblceKu0j2ASRCFXH8hwj8mhgkAXgqLPEkrUR67_KX3psL1amDdlHpUNk_cnoy0DaumxcRcq7SD_1tzJBfHwu/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="jennabefore1" width="204" /> </p> <p>Throughout high school I was always that girl who seemed to be out of place because believe it or not, all of my best friends in high school were pretty and skinny! (ugh) I graduated from a class of 18, so all the other girls in my class were average size as well. Back in those days, I just never thought losing weight was possible, or maybe that it was too much work to accomplish.</p> <p>I was one of those that came home after a long day at school, popped in the recorded soap opera, Days of Our Lives, grabbed the bag of Oreos, and just sat in front of the TV and ate… and ate… and whoa half the bag is gone already, oops better save some for the rest of the family! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgam4F1PSKcIOnJKKpSVMFB54qKa9k1xfuVFM1C4f6fqUmceP6r1KqDNvDusrLYS9HxRAZQbsFmmCL6c5ZimfP-vckgVOLFghENivD2olb942iedwg65xSVN6-flYMwJtQOLADfDHkQ7VGe/s1600-h/jennabefore3.jpg"><img alt="jennabefore" border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3DFLbns-pa_ij-DmMRvYZNZQN0MDiYpu2JBKAPR1R64DAvOZXxzvP-EyO3X9vuI0hY2x89WGT-tH6oKeTTlo3EAuv0q6HMHZIXbzbzDXmAeWdCE26p_24WwZESJqJoNk7wD-d74UFOHa/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="jennabefore" width="204" /></a></p> <p>I look back, even my freshmen year in college, it was like nothing to come home after class, eat a Totinos pizza or a box of mac and cheese, or a bag of chex mix and then take a nap and lounge all day! Also, I do have to admit, I even bought weight loss pills and would take one every morning. I must have thought they were magic pills though because I didn’t do any cardio or eat right while taking them!! That shows just how much I knew about them hehe.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhP7lB-xvpdarECroAD-aQZVw96PCi6AObwZY9SBNZTwr-mkUN4J55L0bFtbwLoeOvMOQ7Y_0eio2RsFIp6sDBKprpYFMCxxCJglxS2TKKrKUMkvvUmwy7Dt5ssyJ782y_U-mlIxecdScz/s1600-h/jennabefore24.jpg"><img alt="jennabefore2" border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPKrgGbf3Q6V74FXpqBQg0F7HDUIEeLMCBWLhmU6STeWhB2ezQ0HlIZiPs4er4SnZBUAO-ECmzK2XmE3xB-3XpQ8-SDuFhVgIervXlQx05ormp5EBmXI8IwEv_daaQcSu8Sy0Hm45zvJg/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="jennabefore2" width="179" /></a></p> <p>So my journey all started the summer after my first year at college, in 2004. After college let out in May, I stayed living in the college dorms and worked for the college, where I met my truly amazing friend… Darci! </p> <p>I had gone back to my parent’s house for the weekend, and my mom had informed me that she had joined Weight Watchers online. I don’t know exactly what made me decide to start that very day, maybe it was my mom’s inspiration, knowing she was going to be losing all this weight and knew that I could have the opportunity to as well! It was just one of those things where I just woke up that Monday morning before heading back to college and decided I was going to start, THAT day! And I did!! </p> <p>The highest my scale ever read was 185. I am only 5’7, so that was a little high for me. With the help, support, and motivation from my dear mother, I started counting my WW points and started doing about a half hour to 45 min of cardio every day. On the weekends that I went back home, she always had new and amazing eats for us to try together, and then of course she’d send food back to college with me! Yay :-]</p> <p>Throughout the rest of my years of college, I ate as sensible as I could and tried to limit myself on alcohol and liquor, but sometimes it got tough with living in a dorm room with four other girls who loved to party, and of course they were those type of girls that could eat anything and stay skinny! I managed though, I still had my fun nights out with friends and I thank God I didn’t give those up because those are memories that will be with me forever!! </p> <p>I have been maintaining my weight at about 125-130 for about a year now. I do have to say though, it has been tough, maintaining is not as easy as it sounds! I made a big move in September; I moved down to Kansas City with my boyfriend and that kind of took a toll on my weight with added stressors of being away from my family, who I am very close with, close friends, a job that I loved and enjoyed going to everyday, partly because I worked with Darci!! And just my comfort zone in general!</p> <p>I had gained about 7-8 lbs since the big move and the holidays just had to be thrown in the mix of things as well, but I have been working hard doing an hour of cardio for an hour about 5 days a week and for Lent I am only eating 1-2 pts after supper and drinking 64 oz of water a day, not including crystal light. That may not seem like much water to some of you, but it’s a lot for me because I used to hardly ever drink water, eek.</p> <p>I cannot even begin to describe how good it felt, and still feels, getting compliments left and right from people saying how good I look, ect. Although, I have a couple people in particular, say that I was getting too skinny. Are they just jealous or am I not seeing something in this picture?! You know how it is; sometimes you can’t see it in yourself and just want to keep going hard at it but others DO see it.</p> <p>I would have to say my biggest motivations throughout my journey to weight loss were my mom, who always encouraged me and proved to me that I could shed these lbs by watching her shed lbs!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwXlLqtbd_UZaY8T9Qc_3NmTW2PkXz4WPLIZ06Qt2nfRzRnFcwFjypNOeldscdLodDy3uKOikWAA3jesGN64OibjcixrMBy2aTJOr5nNqxTmi0F3xoGu7t3SmHc9xW2p6HmPBYrVEVXf_/s1600-h/untitled1.png"><img alt="untitled" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDKlH52APtmtHKyKQxbO_5M7lU4rsHNaKJ3j7Dnmjwi41ncfAEclA1jUYxX0M8OwOuidug6okngcphUs3MTC68Pci2ljn_BTBKZnMrBI_CT5sbQYfdkRqYlvmOjkZHQvDUVHnJIeH8a4e/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="untitled" width="354" /></a> </p> <p>My amazingly best friend Darci, who has inspired me with her new eats and going to the gym daily! It was great when we worked together because we would chat every day about our struggles and frustrations, ect. I have not gotten to the point of running 5-10Ks yet though!! ;-)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqP46582BqVl56Ozy7zOwWN8tkmdc94aEenoqBeikVA91Fo0So4CXUX7uLPKbjMq834woY3tzAUqQ5d5oGksaxul1W0emDidibax67OIhks9i1GPv1GYqYm_b-UrhSN9-rR3nzlCvHPb8p/s1600-h/6010_523465091703_210200105_31034069.jpg"><img alt="6010_523465091703_210200105_31034069_4655097_n" border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuuZUpwNk6iNfOr6HBAuCDgKv8Oq-Y87jETZY7wcE3aq-aPeJ-kKfIE-OHMSzkRBbtEdApgLTGeQXE7ADrQFLEhPygvW-nIyK3_2nkX4myLEdd9S82rTTqx5rLLjfc6-zXd4RYbW9JbCk/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="6010_523465091703_210200105_31034069_4655097_n" width="254" /></a> </p> <p>And last but not least, my boyfriend Mark, who always makes me strive for more and encourages me to do cardio when I need a good kick in the butt to get going! It feels great once I’m all done; it’s just getting the motivation to ‘do’ it! He is big into body building and loves spending time at the gym; he could easily spend 3 hours there if he wanted to!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsKGIuMc_VtXJAYXa2zGENKiRwwFuF1ezknRQieBXSVC-zxmM4zC65i-TTd_1Kvxtz4gwQKnRQdqEQgrUQGEVgwVDNXiOncmtQG8W-WIRiFy8AF4jA53E9TQHHE5wcGaFTqqDOJn_0vFF/s1600-h/2490_516789769103_210200105_30925850%5B2%5D.jpg"><img alt="2490_516789769103_210200105_30925850_1771520_n" border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAuSFJZX7H3DxGWC7jesdJ0msz2wupSb5o1pFmQUIB-0lW_x1MSLCW9AYcC5b9y8KXt9Abw5BKliJNWtc_RMIyJdn-3dPgkx5t0owFTK0CJnr5CRW3E4lvfHlR5xuygu_RGhnx4jaeXJY/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="2490_516789769103_210200105_30925850_1771520_n" width="254" /></a> </p> <p>So, my final weight, to this day, is 131.8. So all in all, I lost about, I’m going to say, 55 lbs ;-) I used to wear size 18 and now I wear between sizes 6-8. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIypAdB_ZAazDCxjzgmPJ7FsJiwOMep5D9AgC1faWEczGIabPG02_a5HVys3JeorC1b5BeYQF8ZUxeNkSRT6b4iupPc2VdmTF9IqGwc1ap7ACVm_Cq4tZeV07KViD-67-gQTIr4Ufae64p/s1600-h/n210200105_30795084_26383.jpg"><img alt="n210200105_30795084_2638" border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9VyEbs9E4FNVX2wqBJjzblb381LBp66yb38aYn1lvFy6HUVuXNSyLtfgaZDfi3-6I77JtrF-AUqU8uVUN9jK2k0LWRAHf_1r6h5m3UZxckiEdHT5iGQltPACy604yc2jZU-YGToyAHQP/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="n210200105_30795084_2638" width="254" /></a> </p> <p>I just want to add that I thoroughly enjoy reading all of your blogs and can honestly say that you all have been an inspiration for me as well! I love seeing and trying new eats and different cardio routines! </p> <p>I am one of those that have a problem with weighing myself, everyday, eek! It’s terrible; I just want to throw the scale out the window!! A VERY good point was made though, and that keeps replaying in my head, “It’s not about the number that’s on the scale, it’s about how hard you are working and how well your clothes are fitting!” </p> <p>Again, thank you all for your inspiration, keep up all the hard work, and I hope you enjoyed reading about my journey!</p> <p>P.S. Do any of you feel like you are a little too obsessed with your appearance at times and feel so self conscious? It is hard for me at times, especially around that TOM, and with me have the total “pear shaped” body, it doesn’t make it much easier. Don’t get me wrong, I like curves, but with me being so small on top, it makes my bottom half look so much bigger! </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>**********************************************************</p> <p>Thanks for sharing your story Jenna! What I find truly inspiring is that you are able to keep the weight off, that is key and isn’t always the easiest part! I hope to get to that point one of these days & stay there as well!!</p> <p>Oh and if you missed it, I’ve had a few Florida posts: <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/03/day-1-in-florida.html">Day 1</a>, <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/03/friday-in-florida.html">Day 2</a>, and <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/03/fun-filled-florida-day-3.html">Day 3</a>. </p>

Guest Post #2 - Jenna

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed my SIL Melanie’s post. If you happened to miss it you need to go back and check it out here . Ok, you guy...

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