Weight Loss Update: Julie's 100-Pound Weight Loss, 3 Years Later

Today, I have a guest post from Julie. A few years ago, she shared a bit about her weight loss for the 100th Motivational Monday post (20 people who had lost 100+ pounds). I always love to hear from people who have been working at maintenance for a while, and I'm excited to share her update with you! Here is what's been going on with her, and her weight maintenance, for the last three years. 

I am so excited to be writing this update for you on my weight loss journey. Not for the reasons that you might be thinking, however.

Since writing the first story about my 100 pound weight loss for Katie’s blog three years ago, I have struggled to keep the weight off! Yep, people, the struggle is real. However, losing that 100 pounds has changed my life so dramatically that sometimes I still have to pinch myself because I can’t believe that I am living this life.

After losing 100 pounds in 16 months, I did pretty good at keeping my weight at or around 140 pounds for a solid three years. I was running five days a week and entering a lot of road races. I went from 5K's to 10K's, and eventually signed up for my first half marathon.

I was enjoying my new body! I started a fashion Pinterest board and began to buy beautiful new clothes. The day that I was finally able to shop at Ann Taylor Loft and White House Black Market was magical. Being able to pick out clothes that I wanted to wear instead just buying whatever fit me was a game changer. I was feeling so good about my life!

Then, my weight crept up to about 147 pounds 2016. However, it wasn’t so bad. I still felt great! I was still running 4-5 days a week and I began lifting weights three days a week, working with a trainer. I was feeling very strong.

I turned 50 that year and never felt better. I felt better at 50 than I did at 40, for sure! The year that I turned 50, I decided to check an item off my bucket list by walking the Camino de Santiago. The Camino de Santiago is a 500 mile walk across Spain!

I started my walk in June in St. Jean Pied de Port, France, and reached Santiago, Spain 31 days later. For me, it was a spiritual journey that changed my life in so many ways, but that’s a story for another time. I know, however, that I would not have been able to complete that pilgrimage if I had still weighed 243 pounds.

And, by the way, when you are walking 13 to 20 miles a day, you can pretty much eat whatever you want and NOT GAIN WEIGHT. I ate ice cream every day! Sometimes more than one. Funny, though, other pilgrims were losing dramatic amounts of weight, but nope--not me. On the bright side, I didn’t track my eating for 35 days and I didn’t gain any weight! That was a new concept for me.

In 2017, I began to slowly gain more weight and I was weighing in consistently at about 153 pounds. I was trying to get that 10 pounds off, but nothing seemed to be working. I continued to run and lift weights, so I was still feeling strong--pretty good, actually. But the weight was just not coming off. Since I still felt so good, I guess maybe I wasn’t trying too hard to lose it!

Weekends have always been so hard for me. I love to have good meals with my family, which usually include beer or wine, and I just haven’t been willing to give that up. I was still signing up for road races and by this time, a few of my friends had taken up running, too. We made it a goal to sign up and run at least one road race per month.

In 2017, I also decided to start a 5K road race here in the town that I live in, San Juan Bautista, with the proceeds benefiting the students of San Juan School (where I teach 3rd grade). Thankfully, the race was very successful! (We actually had our 2nd Annual Fiesta Fun Run this past May. We included a 5K, 10K, and 1 Mile Fun Run and doubled our participants!)

Then came 2018--the year I decided to run my first full marathon. Yikes!

The training was much more intense than I thought it would be. It was hard to get all my runs in and and continue to work full time. I was always exhausted and I got sick three times during the winter and spring.

During my marathon training, I decided to take a break from weight lifting. I just didn’t have enough time (or energy!) in my day. My appetite amped up right along with my mileage. I was always hungry. So I started eating more and was not able to stay within my daily Weight Watchers points goal and earn my blue dots (which are earned by eating within a certain healthy range every day).

It was frustrating but I needed the calories! I was still weighing in at about 153, not gaining weight but not losing either. (Don’t most people lose weight when they train for a marathon? Ugh!).

I finally ran my first marathon on April 28, 2018. It was the Big Sur International Marathon and the route was majestic! But it was SO. FREAKIN’. HARD. There was hill after hill after hill!

For a brief moment during the marathon at mile 21, I thought that I might not make it to the finish line. Yep! I hit that proverbial wall. But, I pulled up my big girl panties, prayed a couple of “Our Father’s” and “Hail Mary’s”, and was able to shuffle my way across the finish line. I earned that coveted medal!

Needless to say, I stopped running the next day. At first, it was just for recovery. I kept telling myself that you’re not supposed to run for three weeks after a marathon, right? And remember, I was no longer lifting weights either. So, basically, I wasn’t doing anything. But, I was still eating. A lot! I still had a huge appetite.

You know what happens when you don’t exercise but you still eat like you are, right? You gain weight, people! And that’s just what I did. The scale crept up to 163 pounds. YIKES!!

Now that it is summer and I am on vacation (the benefit of being a school teacher), I have gotten back into running and weight training. For the past month, I have been running 4-5 days a week as I train for a half marathon in September.

I’ll being running The Giant Race, which is a half that I love and have run for the past 3 years. It’s in San Francisco and the finish line is on the Giant’s home field at AT&T Park. It’s so fun and I am totally motivated to train for it!

I’m also back to weight training at the gym three days a week. I missed weight training and I like the way I feel when I am doing it consistently. I feel strong and I love the way my body looks when I more muscular. It’s not perfect, my body. Never has been and never will be.

But after losing 100 pounds, weight training is the one thing that has made me feel more confident about the way my body looks. The muscles help fill up the loose skin, kind of.

I have been working very hard at eating to lose weight. The scale is going down slowly. I am at 159 pounds right now. Though every day is a struggle, I am not going to give up! I will never give up at this weight loss thing. My weight may go up a little and down a little; it’s the ebb and flow of life. But I will always work at being healthy and strong and living my best life!

Julie Castaneda-Hicks lives in San Juan Bautista, California, with her husband of 28 years, Micheal Hicks. She is the mother of two adult children, Ashley, who is 25 years old, and Zachary, who is 23 years old. She has been teaching at her local elementary school for 25 years, where she currently teaches 3rd grade.

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Currents: What I've Been Reading, Watching, Listening to, etc.

As you know, one of my 40 Goals by 40 Years Old is to read more--I have a goal to read 40 books (before I'm 40) and to read the Bible from cover to cover. As someone who is a very slow reader and easily distracted by pretty much everything (not to mention bipolar), it takes me forever to finish a book (if I finish it at all).

However, I would really like to reach these long term goals, so I've been chipping away at them slowly. Already this year, I've read more books than in the last three years combined!

Anyway, I still have other forms of entertainment--podcasts, a few digital games, and TV shows--so I'm trying to balance out the vices (mainly TV) with some reading. Here are some current things I've been reading/watching/listenting to/playing...

What I'm Reading...

The Gender Game - This is the first book of a young adult series written by Bella Forrest. I was told that if I liked The Hunger Games and Divergent, I would love this series. It took me about half of the book to get into it, but but I'm almost finished with it and I'm definitely hooked! In fact, I told myself I can't finish it until I write this blog post, haha. (There really should be a better title for the book--I put off reading it for so long because the title sounds dumb.)

(Don't worry, there are no spoilers here) - In a nutshell, this book is a dystopian story about a divided nation--there is Matrus, a kingdom ruled by women; and Patrus, a kingdom ruled by men. Each has its own set of laws and ways of life. The main character, a girl (I think she's about 18?) named Violet is on a quest to reunite with her brother, who was taken from her in Matrus when she was 8 years old. She has to perform a task for the queen (by going undercover to Patrus) and the queen says that if she completes the task, she'll be able to see her brother.

It sounds cheesy and kind of ridiculous, but what post-apocolyptic young adult book doesn't? To be honest, I am mostly hooked on the romance subplot--it's along the same lines of the Katniss/Gale/Peeta drama in The Hunger Games, Tris and Tobias in Divergent, and Bella/Edward/Jacob in Twilight. Teen drama, being torn in two directions, forbidden love, etc. I'm a sucker for that.

Now that I'm hooked, I'm sure I'll be reading the next (six!) books in the series. Anyway, here is a link to the first of the book series on Amazon: "The Gender Game" by Bella Forrest.

What I'm Listening To...

I never, ever listen to audiobooks. When I've tried, I always found myself getting distracted and realizing that I missed everything in the last couple of chapters. So, I usually don't bother with audiobooks; I like short audio (like podcasts).

However, now that I'm going to be in the car for two hours a day (driving Noah to and from school), I decided to give audiobooks another try. Amazon was always advertising a free Audible trial, which included two free audiobooks (to keep, whether you continue the trial or not--I'll link to it below). To be honest, I signed up for the free trial, got my free books, and then canceled the trial (knowing I probably wouldn't use it enough to justify the cost). But I figured it was worth giving audiobooks another try.

(Here is a link to sign up for the free 30-day trial--you have to give them your credit card info so they can charge you if you decide to keep the membership, but you get two free credits to "buy" audiobooks that you can keep! In full disclosure, I get a commission for the referral, but I honestly didn't even know about that until I just went to look up the link to post here.)

Anyway, one of the books that I chose with the free trial is called "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah. I started it yesterday, listening to it solely while I'm driving, and I love it so far! Maybe listening in the car is my solution to audiobooks, because there aren't any other distractions--I just watch the road and listen to the book.

I didn't know this when I got the book, but apparently Trevor Noah is a celebrity--he is the host of The Daily Show. I'm not sure what drew me to buy that particular book, but it had really great reviews, and it was a memoir--I love memoirs!

I'm really glad I got the audiobook version, because I think that his voice (Trevor Noah is the narrator) makes the stories so much greater. His South African accent brings the stories to life and makes them even funnier (the accent is only mild, and he's very easy to understand). He changes his voice when reading conversations between people, which is entertaining.

Anyway, I'm not very far into it (about two hours out of eight), but listening to this book has made me rethink audiobooks in general--I will definitely give another book a try after I'm done with this one! (And luckily, my library lends out digital audiobooks--there is usually a waitlist for the popular ones, but I don't mind waiting)

I've also been listening to some podcasts, but haven't searched out any new ones in a while. When I was scraping the ceilings last week, I turned on a podcast and just listened for hours. My very favorite is still This Is Actually Happening  (and thankfully, there are so many episodes that I still have several that I haven't listened to yet). I have been listening to Risk! recently again as well (which is a pretty similar show--true stories by everyday people).

   

What I'm Watching...

I've been really excited for the fall season of shows to start back up, so I haven't been watching anything super interesting lately. I've actually been watching more movies than I have TV shows.

I discovered the coolest website/app several months ago that made me want to watch more movies... it's called Letterboxd, and it is basically like GoodReads--only it's for movies instead of books!

Below is my "diary" page--where it keeps track of all the movies I've ever seen (I backlogged a lot, but obviously I can't remember every movie I've ever seen, so I just add to this whenever I think of it).

You can keep a list of movies you've seen; rate movies; review movies; read reviews from others; make a queue of movies you want to see; create lists of movies (for example, I have a "Tom Hanks" list so that I can keep track of the Tom Hanks movies I've seen as part of my 40 Goals list); search through/follow other people's movies; see what movies are popular this week; browse similar titles; and even see where you can watch each movie! (Netflix, Amazon, in theaters, etc.)

If you're going through movies on the app and you find one you want to watch, you can just tap on "Go Watch It" and it'll show you all of your options...

When it's still in theaters:

This is the greatest app ever for people who like movies. (Unfortunately, I don't get commission for recommending this--because clearly, I'm am very excited about it, haha.)

Over the summer, a few of the movies I've watched (for the first time) are:

The Meg (I went with Eli, who had been SO exited for months to go see it)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
47 Meters Down
Patriots Day
John Wick 2
Friday the 13th (the original)
The Money Pit

I really liked The Meg and Jurassic World. Ever since the first Jurassic Park movie came out, I've been in such awe of what they are able to do with movies like that and have it look so realistic.

The movie 47 Meters Down was terrifying! I didn't mind the sharks as much as the thought of being stuck in a cage at the bottom of the ocean--that is one of the scariest scenarios imaginable.

Patriots Day was amazing! I can't believe I hadn't seen it before.

Loved John Wick 2. I've always liked Keanu Reeves.

Friday the 13th was fun, because Noah's birthday fell on Friday the 13th this year and he wanted to have a viewing party for all the movies. The kids only ended up watching two of them, but I'd never seen them before, so it was fun. And listening to Noah and his teen friends watch it was so funny!

The Money Pit was HILARIOUS. I loved the banter between Tom Hanks' character and his wife, especially at the end.

As far as TV shows, I can't think of any that I've watched lately! I think the last was the second season of The Handmaids Tale. I'm really looking forward to the return of This Is Us, Shameless, and the Chicago shows--Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med. Jerry and I watch them together, and we're excited for them to start up again.

What I'm Playing...

I've never been big into playing games on my phone; it drives me crazy enough when I see my kids doing it! But, I was bored one day and decided to start back up playing a ridiculous drawing game. It's cleverly titled "Draw Something (Classic)". And it's basically like Pictionary except you draw it on your phone and then it sends it to whoever you are playing with.

That person has to guess what it is, and then it's their turn to draw something for you. I'm really terrible at it (it's so hard to draw any sort of details with my fat fingers on my tiny iPhone) but that's what makes it so fun. Jerry and I make fun of each other's drawings and basically act like children.

I also started playing the games on "Lumosity" again. I used to play them a long time ago, but just kind of forgot about the app. I like these games because they are more "grown up" and there is a reason behind playing each one (memory, problem solving, attention, etc.). As I've said a thousand times, my biggest fear is getting Alzheimer's disease one day, and whether "exercising" my mind actually helps or not, I like to think that it does! And some of the games are fun.

My favorites are the train game, where you have to correctly direct (by flipping the track) different color trains to the corresponding stations within a certain amount of time (when all the trains are there at once, it's SO confusing and everything happens so fast). I finally unlocked the last level (level 14) on that game, and I was super excited when I did it! haha

I also like the coffee making game, where you have to prepare a ton of orders of coffee--some with one cream, some with two, one or two sugars, one or two cinnamon sticks, and a few other things. You have two minutes to complete all the orders, which is just ridiculous when you get to the last level (I just unlocked that one yesterday)!

Another favorite is where you have to direct your "ship" to the X using the shortest path without getting hit by any of the other ships. You have to think several steps ahead, and it's challenging, but I love problem solving.

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This turned into a much longer post than I anticipated! Anyone else reading/watching/listening to/planing something good? Please share!

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A Personal Check-In

I haven't written much about my personal life lately, mainly because I've been so busy the last few weeks. But also because there really isn't much to write! I'm not sure if that's fortunate or unfortunate, but I'll try to catch up with whatever comes to mind.

My kids started school today. Noah is now in ninth grade and Eli is in seventh. Can you believe it? Check out this post--their first day of school way back when my blog was brand new. Noah was going into second grade and Eli into kindergarten! Now, the boys are taller than I am. This past year, they shot up like rockets, and definitely look more like teenagers than kids.

As I wrote before, I didn't finish any of the challenges I made for myself this summer! I decided not to even start any more challenges for a while, mainly because it's embarrassing to announce that I'm going to do something and then not follow through.

Fitness

At the beginning of the summer, I was very excited about doing the Runs for Cookies Summer Running Challenge--but then it got super hot and humid, and I just wasn't excited about running. So, I only lasted a few weeks. I am in awe of all of the people who are continuing to do it. It's inspiring to see their posts on social media.

Speaking of running, I haven't been. I HATE to sound whiny about it because it drives me crazy when other people rattle off excuses about why they don't do something. So, I'm not trying to whine or make excuses. I want to run--I genuinely want to get back to running regularly--but I am just having the hardest time getting myself back to that mental place where I didn't even think about whether or not I was going to run. I just did it.

I think part of the problem is that running feels so hard now that I'm basically starting from scratch again. I can't keep my heart rate where it should be unless I'm walking. My breathing is labored and my legs feel heavy. Just running two miles at a very slow pace is challenging for me!

I know that I need to keep in mind that it will get easier (I even wrote a post years ago about how it gets easier!) and that I need to just run consistently to get there. If I continue to do it, I can eventually get back to the fitness level where running three miles at a low heart rate is no big deal and running 5-6 miles for a "long run" once a week doesn't feel like a chore.

Just writing that out (and reading my previous post) makes me feel excited--like I want to do it! Now I just need to carry that excitement over to the morning ;)  Noah is going to the community college for school (a dual enrollment program) and it's much farther away than the high school.

There are several places that are great for running between the college and my house, so my hope is that I'll dress in running clothes before taking him to school, and then I'll stop somewhere on the way home for a short run.

Anyway, that's where I'm at as far as fitness/running goes right now. The desire is there! I just have to make it a habit again.

Diet

Again, this is something I've been struggling with lately. To get back down to my goal weight, or at least my "happy" weight, I know that the best way for me is to count calories. That has always worked in the past. And I honestly don't mind the calorie counting! I especially like the Fat Secret app for tracking my calories, and it really doesn't feel like a chore once I get some momentum.

I've been making attempts at getting back to it but because I haven't done it in so long, I'm having a hard time getting back in the habit. I enjoy cooking without measuring out ingredients, and I think that is the hardest part about getting used to calorie counting--measuring out ingredients.

I just have to be prepared to take a little extra time to plan things out. Also, I don't have to be super strict with it--if I have to guesstimate the calories, I'm okay with that. It worked out well before! (When I was first losing weight back in 2009-2010, I was very meticulous about weighing/measuring everything. The last time I counted calories (2015-2016), I did my best and I didn't fret about having to estimate things when needed.)

I hate to sound cliché, but now that the kids will be back in school, I feel like I can get myself into a good routine again--eating at particular times, cooking dinner for all of us to eat together, planning out meals for the week to fit around cross country (Renee and I are coaching again, and we have practice three times a week), etc. And, most importantly, a good sleeping schedule!

I have always felt best when I'm in a routine, so I'm hoping that I can redevelop some good habits this fall. There are several things that I'd like to make a habit again, so I'll work on those. Fall is my favorite time of year, and I'm looking forward to it!

Mental Health

I think that the medication change that my psychiatrist made the last time I saw him has been working really well. I don't feel depressed at all anymore; I still feel down sometimes, but I definitely wouldn't call it depression.

Unfortunately, my anxiety has still been a big problem. I think that a lot of it could be resolved by my diet and exercise, though. When my weight is up, and I'm not consciously eating the way my body responds to best, I just don't feel good about myself. And it causes me to constantly worry about what it's doing to me. So, I think that if I can get back in the good habits of diet and exercise, my anxiety level will be a lot lower.

In a nutshell, though, I'm feeling pretty good right now compared to how I felt a couple of months ago. I'd had mild depression for a long time, but I feel like that is under control. If not for the anxiety, I'd say I was feeling great!

Budget

August was our first debt-free month after paying off our credit card in July, and it felt so good! I adjusted our budget a little to meet new goals (pay off our Jeep and save money for doing projects around the house).

We stuck to our budget for August, and we put the leftover money (what normally would have gone toward our debt) in a savings account for our house projects. Since we're working on the house, we want to be able to pay for things as we go as opposed to racking up debt again. We are going to pay cash for everything, even if it means saving up for months to get enough money.

Needless to say, being credit card debt free feels amazing, and I love that we are continuing with our new spending habits.

Other Stuff

Renee and I began coaching cross country a couple of weeks ago, and I'm really enjoying it! It's different for me this year because neither of my kids are on my team (they are both too old for our team now). Renee's kids are too old, also, so neither of us has a kid on the team.

I came up with a fun incentive for the kids this year, but I'll write about that in another post. I'd like the kids to really work on setting and reaching for goals, so I hope that this new incentive will work to motivate them.

I'm still working on the ceilings and kitchen in my house. We removed all of the texture (similar to a popcorn ceiling) from the ceilings in the living room, kitchen, dining room, and hallway. Now, it's just drywall. It would look great as it is if you couldn't see the drywall seams, but now we have to go over the seams with drywall compound. Once we do that, we have to sand it to smooth it out, before finally getting to prime and paint it.

In addition to the ceilings, we took out three cupboards and two small walls in the kitchen. Here is a before and after with the small wall we took out (the only purpose of the wall was to hold the cupboard up). I didn't take a photo of the cupboards before we took them down, but you can kind of see them in this photo of Jerry and me right when we were moving into the house (in 2003!)

This is after removing the cupboards:

And this is after removing the wall:

My kitchen is pretty big as it is, but taking out that wall and cupboard made a huge difference in opening it up. I like it so much more!

We had another cupboard with a small wall that was kind of useless, so we took that out as well:

Just taking out that little wall really made some space in the kitchen, and we were able to move the dining table over quite a bit so it doesn't feel like it's in the way all the time.

We also took off the strips that covered the drywall seams in the kitchen (you can see them in the photos above), so I had to use fiberglass tape and drywall compound to fill those in. It's a lot of work!

And the mess. Oh, the mess. It was awful when we were scraping the ceilings! There was dust/drywall compound everywhere. It's going to be messy until we are done sanding and we can finally clean up well and paint.

When we were working on scraping the ceiling in the living room, I was laying out some sheets to try to contain the mess (haha!) and Estelle was sitting on the coffee table. I draped the sheet right over her, expecting her give me a pissed off look, jump up, and run away. Instead, she just got comfy under the sheet and stayed there! She was there for about 25 minutes, even as I scraped the ceiling right over her and the shavings were falling on her.

Estelle is so funny. Jerry and I were cracking up.

Even though this project has been a lot of work, it's been fun--and I love the way the ceilings are looking now that we removed the texture. I had no idea what a difference it would make in the lighting of the room, too. The texture made a lot of little shadows, which made the room appear darker. Without that, the rooms look bigger and brighter.

(We obviously aren't going to leave the ceilings like this... we have to add a little more drywall compound; then sand, prime, and paint.)

After working on the house non-stop for five days, I took a break for the last couple of days to recharge. I really didn't want to get burnt out before I finished (like I did with the bathroom, haha!). I'll start tackling it again this week.

Yesterday, I finished transferring my knitting/crochet patterns to this blog (I realized that if I backdate them, they won't show up in my feed--I didn't want to bombard you all with patterns that have nothing to do with my blog).

However, since I do love crafts and I'm usually working on something, I am going to make a separate "Crafts" tab on my blog to organize that stuff there. So, I may occasionally post about something I'm working on. Over the last couple of years, I've really branched out my blog to include topics other than weight loss and running, so this is just another topic that is a part of my life.

After posting the patterns yesterday, I really got the urge to knit something. I used to love knitting when I first started losing weight! I would knit in the evenings while watching TV instead of eating, and it really helped to control my binge eating. I would get so involved in a project that I didn't want to stop. My blog usually keeps me busy in the evenings now, but it would be nice to start knitting a little again.

So, that's what's been going on with me lately. I expect that things will change quite a bit now that school started and I'm coaching cross country. Overall, I feel like things are going good!

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Cabled Mug Cozy: A Free Knitting Pattern

(Over the next few weeks, I may be posting some seemingly random things like this. I have a separate blog that I created years ago to share some knitting/crochet patterns that I'd written. I used to knit and crochet a lot while I was losing weight--when my hands were busy, I wasn't eating! ;)

There aren't many patterns to transfer to this blog--I think about six or so--and I'm going to move them here instead of having a separate blog. So, I apologize for the excessive number of posts that you may see! Once I get everything transferred over, my posting will go back to normal.)

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I love to wrap my hands around a hot mug of coffee or tea... unless it's TOO hot. I found myself wrapping a paper towel around the mug to hold it how I wanted without burning myself, so I decided it's time to make a cozy...

This is made in one whole piece, without any sewing or seams--yay! (Here is a link to the pattern in Ravelry, in case you want to add it to your queue. And here is a link to my Ravelry profile.)

Here is a printer-friendly version of the pattern

Materials:

• small amount of worsted weight yarn (I used Patons Classic Merino Wool)
• set of US 5 double pointed needles (or US 5 circular needle for magic loop if preferred)
• cable needle (or you can use an extra double pointed needle for the cables)
• crochet hook size F for casting on
• tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Gauge:

6 sts and 8 rows = 1 inch

Abbreviations:

dpn- Double pointed needle

K- Knit

P- Purl

Sl- Slip the stitch

BO- Bind off

KFB- Knit front and back of each loop. Knit the stitch as always, only do not slide it off the left needle. Knit into the back of the same stitch. One increase made.

KLL- Knit left loop. With your left needle, pick up the left loop of the stitch TWO ROWS BELOW the last completed stitch, and knit it through the back loop. One increase made.

Special stitches/rows:

Cable row- Place the first two sts on a cable needle and hold to the front of your work. Knit the next two sts, then knit the sts from the cable needle. Purl the next stitch. Repeat around, ending with the cable (there is no purl on the end).

4x1 rib- K4, P1 across on the right side; P4, K1 on the wrong side.

Directions:

CO 8 sts and join in the round, using a circular cast on method

Rnd 1: KFB each st around. (you should have 16 sts)

Rnd 2 and all even rows: Knit.

Rnd 3: (K2, KLL) around. (24 sts)

Rnd 5: (K3, KLL) around (32 sts)

Rnd 7: (K4, KLL) around (40 sts)

Rnd 9: (K5, KLL) around (48 sts)

Rnd 11: (K6, KLL) around (56 sts)

Rnds 12-14: Knit around.

Row 15: BO 2 sts, K4, (P1, K4) across. Turn (you'll be working in rows now--but you'll still have to use either dpns or magic loop)

Row 16 (wrong side): Sl1, P3, (K1, P4) across.

Row 17: Sl1, K3, (P1, K4) across.

Rows 18-20: Repeat rows 16-17 once, then repeat row 16 once more.

Row 21 (right side): work cable row.

Row 22-26: Work rows 16-17 two times, then work row 16 once more.

Row 27 (right side): Work cable row.

Rows 28-37: Work 4x1 rib, slipping the first st of each row (for a nicer edge).

Rows 38-43: Knit each row (garter stitch). Break yarn, but DO NOT BIND OFF.

Work i-cord:

Set aside the cozy, and pick up working yarn. With an unused dpn, CO 3 sts. Knit across. Now, without turning, slide the loops to the other end of the needle, and knit across again, pulling tight to form i-cord. Repeat until you have about 33 rows.

Now attach i-cord:

Pick up the needles with the cozy on them. Slide the 3 sts from the i-cord dpn onto the cozy needles, with the working yarn sandwiched between the i-cord and the cozy. Now, with an empty needle, knit the first 2 sts, then knit the next 2 sts TOGETHER through the back loop. Slide the 3 sts you now have on your right needle back onto the left needle as they are. Repeat knitting the first 2 sts, then knitting the next 2 sts together through the back loop until you have 3 sts remaining. Work the i-cord for about 33 rows and BO.

Weave in ends. Enjoy your coffee or tea without burning your hands! ;)

(This pattern was my own creation, and I am happy to offer it for free! I just ask that if you share it, please link back to it here instead of republishing it elsewhere. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!)

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Recent Eats: Some yummy food I've been cooking lately

This is kind of an odd post for me, because I stopped posting food journals a long time ago. But I just transferred a bunch of photos from my phone onto my computer, and I saw that I had several pictures of food I've cooked recently. (I have a private Instagram account where I post food photos, more for myself than anyone else, so that I can look for ideas when I make my menus. So, I usually take photos of things that cook.)

Some of the things I've made lately have been SO good, so I thought I'd share the recipe links in case anyone is looking for something new to cook!

(As you all know, I am neither a food blogger nor a photographer, so these photos don't make the food look very appetizing. But I promise it was delicious!)

Chicken Fajita Pasta - I made chicken fajita pasta before, and it was good; but this time I made it with my own homemade fajita seasoning, and it was mind-blowing! Here is the recipe for the fajita seasoning, and here is the recipe I followed for the pasta. (Instead of the envelope of fajita seasoning called for in the recipe, used 1/4 cup of the homemade seasoning.)

Sweet Bean Salad with Fritos Scoops - I have no idea what to call this appetizer--it's kind of known as "that good bean dip" in my family. My mom got the recipe from a woman at an Army-moms support group. It's perfect for summertime! It has a sweet taste (oil and sugar make up the "dressing") and it must be served with Fritos Scoops ;)  This is one of those dishes that everyone asks for the recipe. So, here is the recipe for "that good bean dip".

Chicken 'n' Noodles - I used to work at Bob Evans, and they had a dish called Chicken 'n' Noodles--it was basically chicken noodle soup, but with less broth. I had some leftover chicken one day several years ago, so I threw this together and holy smokes it was so good. It looks very plain, but don't let that fool you! If you have chicken that is already cooked, this is a super fast and easy meal. Here is my recipe for Chicken 'n' Noodles.

Chicken Yakisoba - We were going over budget with our grocery money last week, so I was looking for cheap recipes. I came across this recipe that uses ramen noodles (I like the Maruchan brand). You don't use the seasoning packets that come with the noodles; instead, you make a sauce out of some condiments that you probably already have on hand. Here is the recipe I followed for Chicken Yakisoba.

Chickpea Tikka Masala - This recipe was a huge surprise for me; I honestly didn't expect to like it, because I'm not a big fan of chickpeas, but I do like to try new things. Again, I was looking for cheap meals, so I chose this one that uses chickpeas instead of meat. It ended up being not-so-cheap because I had to buy some spices, but the dish was SO GOOD that it was totally worth it.

And now I have the spices on hand to make this several more times. The kids didn't care for this, but Jerry and I loved it! Here is the recipe that I followed for Chickpea Tikka Masala. I made it as-written, except I accidentally only used two cans of chickpeas instead of three. I wondered why it was so saucy!

Meatball Soup - This is Jerry's favorite soup, and a big comfort food to him. I usually make it with ground turkey, but ground sirloin was on sale this week, so I decided to use that instead. I am not usually a big beef fan, but I think the ground beef was really good here. This soup is hearty and full of flavor! Jerry and the kids all insist that it be made with orecchiette pasta. Here is the recipe for my Meatball Soup.

Meatball Stroganoff - I use frozen meatballs for this (and canned mushrooms), so it comes together VERY fast. I hadn't made it in a long time, but when I was organizing my recipes page, I suddenly developed a craving for it, so I decided to cook it last week. I forgot just how good it is! Here is my recipe for Meatball Stroganoff.

Udon Noodle Stir-Fry with General Tso's Sauce - I had some udon noodles in the pantry, and it was just Eli and I for dinner one night. We both love stir-fry and spicy food, so I threw this together--I didn't have any meat, so we just had the veggies and noodles in the sauce. It was so good! Here is the recipe for the General Tso's Sauce. I used one package of udon noodles (these are ones I buy), one bag of frozen Birdseye Asian Medley veggies, and one recipe of the sauce--although next time, I think I would cut the sauce recipe in half. Eli and I both loved this!

Unstuffed Peppers - This was actually based on a stuffed pepper soup recipe, but I added a lot more peppers and it somehow had very little broth by the time I was done. It tastes just like stuffed peppers, so I just call it "Unstuffed Peppers" now. Here is the recipe for my Unstuffed Peppers!

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And there you have it! I've been loving spicy food lately, so I'm going to try some new spicy recipes. I think I pin more recipes than I could ever cook in a lifetime! haha

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RECIPE: Sweet Bean Salad with Fritos Scoops

This is a go-to recipe that I make frequently to take to parties. People ALWAYS ask for the recipe, because it's fantastic--and it tastes so much different than it looks. It's surprisingly sweet (which is thanks to the oil and sugar dressing) and serving it with Fritos Scoops is a must ;)

I have never known what to call this (my mom got the recipe a long time ago, and we've always just called it "that good bean dip"). So, call it what you will. Hopefully more creative than "that good bean dip"!

Ingredients:

1 cup celery, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
1 (14 oz) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 (14 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 oz) can white corn, drained
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

Combine all in a bowl and serve with Fritos Scoops! 

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Removing a Textured Ceiling: A Huge DIY project!

My arms are dying--my shoulders feel like they are bruised beyond repair (they aren't). My neck hurts horribly to just turn my head.

I mentioned on Tuesday that Jerry and I had quite an adventure. I don't know if "adventure" is really the right word, but we definitely had an interesting afternoon.

Was it from my bipolar? I have no idea. It definitely sounds like a very bipolar thing for me to do--knocking out a wall on a whim--hahah! But I'm pretty excited about what we've been doing for (as far as home improvements) for the last few days.

It started very simply--"Let's take out these cabinets!"--so that we could (eventually) turn the snack bar into a real snack bar, and put stools next to the countertop. The cabinets were hanging right in the way, so that if you were sitting on a barstool, your forehead would be in line with the cabinets. We have a very large kitchen, so I knew we didn't need the cupboard space; I just decided to move the glasses out of that cupboard and see what we could do.

I got everything prepared for when Jerry woke up, so that he could help me remove the cupboards (I knew I'd be stupid to try that alone!). I had everything prepped, and Jerry just sleepily said, "Sure!" when I asked him about it. Poor guy ;)

We removed the cupboards. Then, I felt like the wall was in the way; the only reason it was there was because it was holding the cabinets up. So, I said, "Hey, let's knock down this wall!" We verified that it wasn't a necessary wall to hold the ceiling up, and then we took it down.

This is after we removed the cupboards--I wish I'd taken before photos!

Jerry loved this part! He kept blaming my bipolarity, but honestly, he was thrilled to do something so "crazy". So, this is what it looks like after removing the cupboards and the wall:

Once the cupboard and wall were down, we couldn't stop exclaiming how much better it looked! (Since I forgot to take a before picture--I always do--so I searched and found one of Jerry and I before we even moved in. It's not great, but it'll do.)

We clearly have to mud and paint and all of that, but I love it so far.

Since we had to prioritize the kitchen, we decided we would do the ceiling first, then paint the trim and cupboards, then paint the walls, and finally replace the floor.

About the ceiling... I hate it. It's the thing I hate most about our house, but it has always sounded so impossible to get rid of it. We have a textured ceiling--not a popcorn ceiling, but something called a "stomped" ceiling. It looks like someone put sponges on their shoes and stomped around on the ceiling. (In the picture below, you can see the texture versus where we started to remove it.)

From everything I've read, removing a stomped ceiling is nearly impossible, and it's a TON of work. Removing a popcorn ceiling seems fairly easy, but of course our house wouldn't have the "easy" fix. Which is why I've never attempted it. But yesterday, I was ready to just give it a whirl. My method was simple: Spray the ceiling with water, and use a scraper to scrape it off.

It was a little messy. We had a huge plastic sheet to cover things, but we found it really didn't help that much anyway.

The scraping actually worked really well! The texture was coming off pretty easily. There were several places where I made little nicks that would need a touch of spackle, but otherwise, it looked a million times better. It made a HUGE mess, which was unavoidable. I had tried using a special sort of textured ceiling remover tool (which caught the mess in a bag), but it didn't work nearly as good as the regular old scraper.

I got the hallway, dining room, and kitchen done yesterday. When I looked at it today, I realized I'd have to go over it again to smooth the whole thing out (and fill in the nicks with spackle). I'm very happy with how it looks, though, so once we get these rooms prepped, we're going to do the bedrooms and living room.

Jerry and I made a new budget after we paid off our debt, and it involves home improvements. We'll pay an extra $1,000 on the Jeep each month, and anything leftover from that will go toward home improvement. Removing the textured ceilings takes very little money, so it's a good place to start.

I worked on the ceilings again all day today--trying to make them as smooth as possible. After talking to Becky about it, she insisted that we would need to sand the whole thing before painting, and I hate the thought of that--so much dust!--but we certainly don't want to have to do this again any time soon, so we're going to do it right!

So, removing a textured ceiling is simple: spray with water; scrape with scraper; repeat. I wish is was as easy as it is simple, but it's actually not! I'm going to spend the next few days sanding the ceiling, prepping it for paining. I also need to get the ceiling in the rest of the house ready to prime and paint (i.e. I need to remove the textured ceiling from the bedrooms and living room).

Anyway, I just wanted to check in... this is why I've been too busy to blog! ;) My shoulders are so sore that it actually hurts to type, hahaha. But I will continue to post progress pictures (hopefully it looks better as we progress! haha). But so far, even though it has a long way to go, I like it so much more!

Have any of you removed a popcorn or "stamped" ceiling? Any advice? (I'm falling asleep as I type this, so I'm not going to proof read. I apologize for grammatical or spelling errors!)

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I have a niece!!

As the title of my post spoils, I now have a niece!

I only became an aunt 17 months ago, and ohmygosh--I LOVE it. Luke is seriously the cutest. kid. ever. He's actually staying the night at my house right now, for the second time this week!

On Saturday evening, Becky called me and said that she was having some contractions. Nothing crazy, but because her labor with Luke was so short (I think it was only six hours from the time she first started having contractions until he was born) she wanted to be prepared. My mom and I were "on call" to take care of Luke if Becky should go into labor.

So, I got the call, and then I went right to Brian and Becky's house (Brian was just arriving home from a work-flight from Mexico City). Becky wasn't in pain or anything, but her contractions were gradually getting more intense. Brian went to bed to hopefully get some sleep before anything major happened, and Becky and I stayed up and chatted. Until 3:00 in the morning, haha.

(It was kind of fascinating that, as we were having conversation, I could literally see her contractions in her belly. At first I thought it was just the baby moving around, but when I noticed it was very regular, she said it was the contraction. So I could see it each time she was having one! I was so obese during my pregnancies that I could never see anything cool like that.)

I finally went to bed (at their house) and thought for sure I'd be waking up with Luke in the morning. But Becky's contractions stopped, and it turned out to be a false alarm. I still brought Luke home with me to stay the night, just in case things happened for real.

Sunday, nothing. Monday, nothing. Luke had been almost two weeks early, so we were all so sure that baby girl would be early, too (Becky's due date was August 31st).

Tuesday, I had cross country practice until 8:00. I was completely exhausted from all of the events of the week (aside from lots of things going on, I got almost no sleep for three days in a row). After cross country, I was so looking forward to a chill evening. I had just changed into my pajamas when I got a call from Becky.

I could tell just from the way she was talking that it wasn't a false alarm. She sounded pretty uncomfortable, but she said it wasn't a huge rush-out-the-door-right-now kind of thing. Since I had gone last time, I asked my mom if she would like to go, and she headed out immediately (she even realized later that she forgot her purse at home, because she rushed out the door so quickly!).

Becky's call had been at 8:50. My mom was out the door by 9:00, and it's about a 35 minute drive to their house. When my mom got there, Brian and Becky were in the car in the driveway, waiting to leave--apparently, things were progressing FAST.

My mom stayed with Luke, who was sleeping. Brian and Becky went to the hospital, and got there at 10:08. They learned it was too late for an epidural or... anything, really... because baby girl was born at 10:31!! Literally just 23 minutes after they got to the hospital.

I was so glad that my mom had gone instead of me, because when Becky said it wasn't a huge emergency, I probably would have put together an overnight bag and left about 15 minutes later than my mom had.

Brian and Becky hadn't decided on a name for her, so all I learned last night was that she was born at 10:31 and she was 6 lbs, 14 oz. Today, I learned that her name is Riley Jo.

Brian brought Luke to the hospital this morning to meet his baby sister, and then my mom went down there to pick him up and bring him to my house. So, I haven't even met Riley yet! But I've had so much fun having Luke over. (A 17-month old is a little more entertaining than a 1-day old baby, so I'm totally cool with it.) Also, Jerry and I had quite an adventure this afternoon, which I'll write about later. ;)

I'll meet Riley tomorrow when I bring Luke home. But for now, Brian said I could share a few photos!

Brian took this photo for Jerry--Riley is already doing the "Jerry face" for her photos ;)

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My 8-Week Challenge: First Month Update

Well, I'll start by spoiling the ending: there really isn't much to update.

(I also don't have any photos to go with this post, so I'll just share this picture of my cats making themselves comfortable. Jerry and I were watching a movie, and I had my feet propped up on his lap. The cats took over, as usual.)

A month ago, I wrote about starting "fresh" with diet and exercise--following a training plan and counting calories. After feeling mildly depressed for several months, and having picked up some weight, I was feeling fired up and ready to just get back to feeling better about myself. I'd been having such a hard time getting back on track with... well, my whole life, basically.

I did great at first! I started counting calories again, and it was really hard to get used to. But mostly, I was happy that I was following the training plan (Hal Higdon's Novice 8K plan). I was doing the cross training, the strength training. Everything!

And then I missed a day, and I can't remember why--I know I was busy with something, and I just told myself I'd do it the next day. I didn't end up doing that, and you know how it goes (or maybe you don't...) missing one day made it easier to miss a second, and so on.

Thankfully, I haven't gained any weight since starting the plan! But I haven't lost any, either.

I am most definitely not going to start any new "challenges" for myself. I can't even count how many times I've started a challenge, posted about it on my blog, and then quit. The first time is embarrassing. The fourth, fifth... (thirtieth!) time is just shameful.

So, I haven't totally quit trying--I try every day!--but I'm not officially doing a particular challenge or anything. It's been a crazy hot and humid summer, which has made running a pretty miserable experience. I did run in the worst of the heat and humidity, but I didn't enjoy it at all.

When I started feeling really good about myself last year, after my diagnosis, medication, and a great therapy session, I vowed that I would only do what makes me happy. Running does make me feel better, almost every time I do it; I wouldn't do it otherwise. But, running when it's 90 degrees and the moisture in the air is actually palpable is dreadful.

I'm not trying to make excuses, even though it sounds like I am. Over the years, I've said lots of things and then changed my mind later. I had hoped that by posting about my plan, and creating a challenge for myself, I'd be motivated to see it through. It was only eight weeks, after all! While it's embarrassing to admit that I didn't even make it halfway through, I like to think that it wasn't totally useless. Maybe it contributed to my not gaining any weight--and that's a good thing.

Last year, I felt like I had finally found the perfect balance--eating like a "normal" person, not worrying about calories, not forcing myself to run when I didn't want to, just doing what felt "right". I don't know whether it was feeling depressed that made me stop doing what felt "right", or if it was the other way around--if I started to run again because my body felt "soft" and I wanted to get back in shape, and then became unhappy.

Right now, my gut instinct is telling me to do what makes me feel happy--regardless of everything--but I'm feeling really torn. So, I'm not going to make any plans right now. Clearly, writing out my goals hasn't been helpful lately. It's also caused me a ton of anxiety. I'd like to just stop and take a breath and figure out what it REALLY is that I want. Do I want to work really hard and get back in shape? Or do I want to just do what makes me feel (genuinely) happy? Or, best of all, can I find some place in between?

I realize how irritating this must be to read... "Seriously, Katie?! Make up your mind for once in your goddamn life!"

I agree. I'm just as frustrated with my lack of decision-making ability about everything lately. So, I'm going to try to just go with the flow right now, and see what happens.

Interestingly, I'm actually not feeling that bad about myself right now, and I'm certainly not beating myself up about it--in fact, I feel pretty good about accepting this (never-ending) struggle. I know that sounds odd, but maybe I'm finally making a turnaround after switching up my meds. Let's hope it continues!

(Cross country season started yesterday, and I'm coaching with Renee again. I'll write more about that later, but it'll be nice to have a new focus!)

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