Where I am today

I am not proud of where I've been. I am, let's face it, a food addict. I would like nothing better than to just shove my face into a bucket of chocolate and go to town, but I prefer living.  And this is what it got me... I was miserable in my body. I wanted to be healthy. I got a wake up call a few years ago after having my third child. I was at risk for diabetes. I fought like hell to overcome it. Nothing I did worked. I tried diets after diets...fad after fad and I failed.

I finally found one after talking to a nutritionist...eating a diabetic way. I should have just stuck with that, as I had gestational diabetic with pregnancy and then again with my third pregnancy. But let's face it, who wants to be on a diet? Not me. But this isn't a diet. This is a lifestyle change. You want to change? You change your life. You want this weight off, then make changes to do it. Start making little changes. If you focus on a high goal, you will fail. I did for a long time. This did not happen overnight. This picture above is of my oldest son. He's 11 today. It took me years to get this off. The last of it came off in the last 2 years, when I really started to focus on making myself healthier for me. I want to live a better life so I can be there for my kids. I really think that's important. People can tell you all this information. I can sit here and blog all day long about how you should do this and that and blah blah blah, but until you want to change, nothing will happen. This is what I look like today. I am down nearly 150 lbs. I am very very close to my goal weight. It's not about what I want to weigh anymore. It's about living a healthier lifestyle. I want to live a healthier me so I can be there for the important moments for my kids.

When friends become family

I got a call from the Autism Speaks committee after completing the walk in Denver. They asked if I would be willing to help put together the walk in Colorado Springs. It was the first walk in Colorado Springs to be done by Autism Speaks. This was a pretty big deal. Overwhelming would be a better term you could say. I have done charity work, but not on this scale. Holy peaches this was crazy. I didn't realize how much responsibility entailed a walk for charity. There are so many details and they have to be done in a very quick amount of time.

I was in charge of the corporate sponserships. First off, I am..not the best at getting people to give money. Honestly I am terrible at it. I don't really feel I lived up to my end of the deal, I really tried my best to get businesses to donate. In the end, I found one. My son's therapy clinic. They donated between $2-2500. I was pretty darn proud of that. They also sponsered my entire team's tee shirts and I was so excited.

The best part was these people in this picture. 

They came from all over Colorado Springs. They raised nearly $700. I can't take credit for any of this. They came and supported something that means a big deal to me. Some of them are connected to Autism, others were not. They came to support us, and it was our first time meeting. We met on Facebook through a support group called Support for Special Needs: Military or Not. 

I'm not one to get mushy or...emotional, but this meant a lot. To have people come and support you, it means the world to me. I didn't know them well, but they came anyways. And to that, I will be forever grateful. You have shown me what it is like to have family out here.