People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. - Dale Carnegie

I can still remember 11 or so years ago the things people said to me when they found out I was a teen mom. I remember the people who didn't believe in me, and the few that did, I remember the ones who said I would abandon my children and turn to drugs or alcohol for my problems, I would live off welfare, and never finish high school...I was a teen parent, and quite frankly the statistics were really not in my favor.

But to all those folks I'd like to say thank you. You definitely have been a driving force in my life to make sure that I can prove you wrong, and for those of you that were supportive, I'd like to give you something to be proud of.

There is not just one event that has triggered this blog, but a quite a few things have been happening with them, especially with Aaron, going to their conferences just blew me away, and made me think. 'I did this, no Heath and I did this' Here are our results summed up:

Aaron - Aaron last year faced a few struggles, but he was not hesitant at all to leave them lying in the dust somewhere. He is at way off the charts on reading, and comprehending. His writing has made a huge improvement, he is clear, and can stick with the story at hand, while making sure there is a little 'Aaron' in every story. His math is top of the charts as well, he is an active participant, and is never afraid to ask if he doesn't understand things. Aaron has the pleasure of having the same teacher he had last year, and Mr. Volz is really just blown away buy the improvements Aaron has made in such a short time. He is amazing!

Marissa - is amazing at all she does. She is funny, social, smart, responsible, knows when to put on her game face in class. She writes beautifully and has an amazingly strong 'voice' when writing. She is off the charts in her reading...well all subjects for that matter. She is not afraid of trying new ways to solve problems, and jumps right into trying it out when Ms. Farrell shows her different strategies. You could see the passion in her teachers face as she spoke of Marissa.She is astounding!

Not one 'but' or 'we need to work on this' for either of them, both of them are top of their game, and are going to do amazing! I am so incredibly proud of them, words cannot say. I have never walked away from a conference so blown away before. They have always exceeded my expectations, but this time was just amazing!

Anyways,moving on...
I know I am not any where near close to being done raising these kids, and I am truly grateful for that. I see something in them, something great! I know I am just a few years away from the teen years, and many of you will 'ugh' and say those are the hardest, and ya know what...I am not scared at all. For awhile I was, I was afraid, I had heard so many horror stories, and I remember what I put my mom through (sorry mom), but I see something in my kids and it calms me, and I am not afraid. I more than anything am so excited to see where we go from here, what is the next thing they will do that will just blow my mind and make me think 'wow, how the hell did I create something so amazing?'

The past 11 years has been incredibly fun, we have had our ups and definitely our downs, but we always pull through. We have a great family, and a wonderful support system. I am so proud to have these guys in my life. :)

B~

There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them. - Phyllis Battome

Here is my next challenge: Pull ups...easy as it sounds, after a bit of research, people seem to express how difficult they are, even for some fit folks out there, but especially with my body weight. Luckily it is steadily decreasing, and my muscle mass is growing, its still quite a bit to pull up.

BUT...

I am gonna do it anyways.

Gotta love the google, believe it or now, I just googled 'How to do pull-ups'

Wondering if I can post videos on this thing? Well if so, I will post my pull up... :) Oh...maybe I should post my attempted pull-up today to watch my progress...hmmm just maybe :)

Anyways, just throwing one of my goals out there...

The past 16 weeks...

I have successfully completed the first session of the "Human Billboard" Program. 16 weeks of working my ass off (literally) with Becky, and an amazing group of people!!! I have met many new people, with the same goals in mind, and some with different, but all of us working together having fun. I've seen people give up, and go back to living a life of complacency, however I did it, I made 16 weeks, and I have seen amazing changes in me not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.

Unfortunately I have not had the final body pinch yet, but you can bet I will have it posted with everything I started at, to what I am currently at. Just from my last pinch I know I had dropped 4% body fat, lost about 27 pounds, and over 10 inches. When I started I was wearing a size 18/20 and now am about 13/14. I no longer HAVE to shop at the larger lady stores, in fact, I really can't. If I want a pair of pants, a shirt, or a dress I can go almost anywhere. I find new muscles all the time, I can wrap my towel around me, I have inspired others to lose weight, or be more active, I am stronger in general, and my fav...I can run! All of these may seem like little things to you, but to me they are accomplishments no matter how small. I have this whole new sense of self confidence, and am so happy that whatever it was finally clicked, and that I am living this life full of no excuses!

I am still not the best I can be at my food choices, but I choose to eat healthier, eat 'less', and can read food labels and somewhat understand. I don't beat myself up for my cheats, even if not on a 'cheat day', and I just move on and try to make better choices the next go round. I am still learning this, and think that to help out that my next term may involve a nutrition class.

I have seen so much support from friends new and old, but on the same page, I have also seen the ones that aren't supportive at all. I really appreciate those of you that have been there for me, you know who you are. You have offered support, and encouragement, offered to go on hikes, eat the food I eat and just in general listened to all my excitement. I honestly can't thank you enough!!!

Becky...you are an absolutely incredible woman, and such an inspiration!!! Words cannot really put into words what you have done for me, you have kept me motivated through this all, laughed with me at my "cheat" and poor choices, knowing I would get back on track, you kept things positive and fun, listened to some of the struggles I have had, and just in been general always been there for me! You saw my capibilites even when I didn't, you have been a friend, and without you I don't know that I would have made it this far. Thank you for believing in me!!!

So for now this is it, Today was the last class, and on Tuesday I start up a new 16 weeks...until then, I am resting (as per Becky) then I'm gonna come back and rock another 16 weeks!!!

Brandini~

Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.

Some of you have asked how you can help me...

I appreciate that you care enough about me to ask and to be supportive on my journey. It's a tough thing to do, but I'll say a lot easier than I ever thought it would be.

So here are a few ways that are helpful that may be helpful.

Don't tempt me to stray from my lifestyle change, It's not a diet, or a temporary condition. This is how I'm choosing to live.

Be positive... we can all benefit from positivity in our lives, regardless of whats going on in them.

Don't be judgmental - Meaning, don't be my food police please. It's ok for me to cheat, and I get to choose when and what for. Life happens, and I will plan accordingly.

Be an active participant ...It will benefit you and me both. We can cook something new and healthy together, go for a hike or a bike ride, come to the gym with me for the day and see what I put myself through, it really is a lot of fun. It's really a win-win situation too!

Pay Compliments - It's hard to do for some people, I struggle with this myself, but I try. I know how good it feels to receive these, and they really do make a difference. (I feel like I'm asking for compliments here, but I'm not, just throwing out ideas)

It's a bit belated, but wanted to share my first goal

Just wanted to show a few before and afters...I had hit my first goal of losing 20, and being under 200. Now I'm almost to 30, and have new goals set!

To me, I feel the differences more than I see them, but these pictures I found really have put things in perspective for me.

I can't believe I let myself be this way in the past, and I'm so glad that I realized and I am changing things.

This is my first post with pictures, so hopefully I can get these on here right.

You haven't failed until you quit trying...

I am not sure what has happened to me the past couple weeks, but it was like my fitness and healthy eating took a backseat to what, I don't know. Either way I'm not happy about it. I have a million excuses, but that is the thing, is I have been doing this 'No Excuses' thing, so why have I allowed these to slip through and get me down. What it all comes down to is I have made bad choices and I need to change that. Now.

I will be getting pinched within the week or so, and I can tell ya, I'm not looking forward to it. I thinking if I'm lucky I'll be down 1%. I guess that is better than none, but in my eyes its not acceptable.

I have let the 'oh this one thing won't hurt', or 'just this once', but that has to stop. My 'cheat day' really should be a reward for good choices through out the week, and yet I have like clock work made sure I had it, even though my choices weren't the best.

I've noticed I have shut down once I hit my 20lb goal, and got under 200. So now, its time for a new goal. Something that will keep me on track, and keep me motivated.

Today I am going to jump back in full force on the food choices, as well as the fitness. I know good things are in store for me and this amazing body of mine, it will just take time to get there.

Thanks again for all your support!