It's Official...

I've really lost weight! For the past 7 weeks, I've been getting B12 + Lipotropic injections and taking an appetite suppressant. I always wondered if that would work for me. I decided at the beginning of January I was going to give it a try. My first appointment was January 8th, and I've been faithful to go back and get the injection every Friday since then.

I did think it was weird to want to get a shot once a week because I've never really been a big fan of needles, but it hasn't been bad. I hardly feel it anymore! I get such a thrill out of going there each Friday because they weigh me first thing when I get there. It's very exciting to see my weight go down each week! My first appointment I set a goal to lose 45 pounds. I hadn't thought about it before the nurse asked what my goal weight was. I just threw out a weight I was before (about 2 years ago) and she said, "Okay, you can do that!" I thought it was crazy to set that big of a goal at first, but heck - I'm 1/3 of the way there already! I can do this!!!

This past Friday was my 2nd appointment with the nurse. I'm supposed to go every 4 weeks for a nurse visit to take measurements, talk about my progress, and get my pill refilled. I didn't get an appointment when 4 weeks came around, so I had to wait a while longer. I was really excited for this 2nd visit with the nurse because of my measurements. She told me losing inches is really easy! And she was right! I've lost 6 inches total (bust, waist, and hips). I'm so excited about that! I mean... I know my brand new jeans are fitting VERY loosely, but it was just really cool to have that confirmed with measurements! I even wore the same outfit that I wore to my first appointment to make it more accurate! I'm just really excited about the weight coming off, and I am looking forward to losing more! It sometimes seems to be all I talk about, but it's just really cool right now!

On this weight loss program, I've been eating different. I wouldn't say healthy though. I still don't eat veggies like I should... but I have been cutting WAY back on how much I do eat. A lot of that comes from the appetite suppressant I'm taking, so I can't really take all of the credit for having so much self control. The pill definitely controls my hunger. Some days I could go without eating lunch even though I know it's horrible! I really try not to do that, but when I've been super busy at work, it works for me. I really haven't done it that much though. I really do notice myself getting fuller faster which is great! I wish I could do that without the pill though.. that would be nice!

Through the first 6 weeks of this, I hadn't worked out a single day and still lost all of the weight. That just goes to show you how crazy it is! But.... last week I finally started doing physical activity! Some friends of mine from church go running around in their neighborhood. I've NEVER been one to run. For one, I can't do it without my side hurting. Seriously... I could only go like 1/4 a mile before I have to quit. And sometimes my knees and/or ankles would feel like they would just give out under me. I've always been scared to run because of that. Well, last Tuesday I decided to meet up with my friends and try to run. I warned them that I'd probably be walking way behind them, but they encouraged me to give it a try anyway. They didn't tell me how long the route was until afterward. I had run 1 mile without stopping. I walked for about another 1/4 a mile at the end because my feets literally stopped running without me even knowing it.. it was kinda funny... I wasn't disappointed because I'd gone farther than ever before!

The next day, we met up again, and I ran 1.5 miles - and that time I didn't walk at all!! Thursday, I ran 2.5 miles, and Saturday morning I went 3! The rest of the girls ran 4... but I quit! haha... I wasn't feeling 4 yet, but I was proud that I did 3 without stopping! It was HARD too. I thought it was never going to end. They are trying to talk me into running the gusher May 1st, but I don't know about. They want to sign up for the 1/2 marathon which is 13.1 miles... ummm... what? I can barely do 3 without almost dying... how could I do 13.1 miles? Well.. they give you 7 hours to cross the finish line, so I could walk a lot of it I guess. It wouldn't be tooooo bad. But still... that's a long way! Not sure yet if I'll do it.. but I do know I'll keep running with my girls! It's been really fun, and I'm glad I'm finally exercising!

And... I was trying on some of my old pants tonight, and I can fit in some of them again!! WOOHOO!!

My First Wedding

This weekend was my first wedding as the wedding coordinator for the church. It was a really busy weekend, but I had lots of fun doing it! Peniel Roxas and Justin Griffin are long time members of our church, and their dads are both ministers at Calvary. I've known Justin most of my life Peniel for a long time too. It was fun to be a part of their wedding!

As wedding coordinator, I don't do much planning, I just make sure everything is ready to go. I have to reserve the room they are using for the ceremony and dressing rooms. I have to get with the media guys and make sure they have everything they need. I have to get with maintenance and figure out when to open and lock doors and figure out who is cleaning when. I have to make sure on rehearsal and decorating day everything is in place. And on the wedding day I run around like crazy!! They were starting their wedding at 4:00, and boy, did that come quick! I had to race to my door to open it up, tell people when to walk, and then run back to the other door and make sure the father of the bride has his lighter (which he didn't - my fault)... it was crazy there for a little while! But we made it through! They hired another lady to coordinate also, so it was GREAT that she was there too for my first wedding! : )

Friday was the rehearsal dinner which they had in V2. Peniel and Justin went to Baylor, so it was all a green and gold theme! It turned out really cute! I didn't get a picture of the entire room which I could just kick myself for forgetting to do that! I'm trying to keep up a photo album to show brides different set ups... oh well. I did get a picture of the table though..

Saturday was a long, but really fun day! I got there early to let the flower ladies in to set up. I got a few pictures before everyone got to the church. It looked really great. During the wedding, the lights were dimmed, and it was really pretty!! Here's a few from the back of the sanctuary.

A view from the middle....

I just LOVED the flower arrangements! They were so huge and pretty!

Mr. and Mrs. Griffin!!

After the wedding, I had to wait until the pictures were done to start cleaning up. I thought clean up would take hours, so I just thought going to the recption was out of the question. I had organized the way I would clean up a couple of days before, so it made the clean up go really quickly! It took me about an hour. I had the help of 2 maintenance guys who helped me with heavy boxes and stuff that was just too heavy to carry back to the wedding closet. The media guy cleaned up his own stuff. But I was surprised that I cleared the stage and the bride's room really quickly!

I decided I would try to run over to the reception to see if I could hang out before they all left. To my surprise, right when I got there was the time when they were starting to serve dinner. So I didn't miss anything after all! I was excited to get to go! We had a great dinner, delicious cake, bubble tea (which I did not try - eww), and dancing! Now.. I usually do not dance at weddings because I just don't know how. I've never really liked it. I decided what the heck - everyone else looks like a fool, so I met up with Amber, Jerri K and Sabrina and we danced the rest of the night! It was really fun, and I'm glad I wasn't just sitting around. It's good to let loose like that every now and then! I was completely exhausted last night, and I yawned my way through church this morning! It was a fun weekend, but I'm very glad I have until May until the next wedding!!!

One of my cat's favorite toys...

Is a DOOR STOP! And let me tell you, it's SO annoying! The only time she ever decides to start playing with the door stop in the bathroom is in the middle of the night. You know the sound it makes... boing. And she does it over and over and over! And does Cody hear it? No, of course not! I'm the only one waking up, kicking the cat out of the bathroom, and closing the door so she won't go back in to play with it. I hope this is not a sign of how it's going to be when we have kids.....


Her other favorite things to do in the middle of the night are to bite our feet if they happen to stick out of a blanket, throw her moose in the air and attack it, play with the blinds, play with the space saver bags under the bed, and walk on top of your entire body to purr in your face. But occasionally she will snuggle up next us, fall asleep, and look just as cute as ever!

December 2009

I haven't blogged in forever and finally something happened that was blog worthy. Snow, Christmas and New Year's Eve! In early December, we had a little snowfall. I was at work, and we waited all day for the snow to come down. On our way back to work after lunch, it started to sleet, so we knew it wouldn't be long! Finally, around 2 or so, the snow came. We quit working, and headed outside to play! Or.. really we just stood there and watched. Here's a few pictures from work and at our house from the snow day!

Here is Jerri K and I enjoying some time off of work in the snow!

Cody at our house... it was pretty!
Our house! I love the snow-covered roof with the Christmas lights!

Cody and I had a really great Christmas, too! We got to spend lots of time with both of our families during the holidays, and had lots of fun. I finally got that Coach purse I had been wanting for so long, too! That was really exciting for me! : ) Cody got an electric hedge trimmer from his parents, and during his week off, he's already started playing with it in the bushes and loves it! He wasn't really thrilled about trying to trim all the bushes with big clippers, so this is going to be very useful for him (we have LOTS of bushes)!!

We also got to see all the kids become more involved in the gift opening. Aimee, of course, was an expert gift opener and helped pass out gifts. Aidan also helped pass out gifts and seemed to think everything he opened was the coolest thing ever! Instead of opening the gifts, Logan crawled all over them! It was so funny, and when he'd topple off of them, he'd just get back to climbing. And then there's the newest baby - Katelyn. She didn't do much of the opening, but she did like to grab on to the wrapping paper. She will have tons of toys now to play with when she gets big enough! Here's a few pictures from Christmas at the both of our family Christmases.

Murphy girls on Christmas Eve

The kids... it was very difficult to get them all together for a picture!
Aimee posing in front of the tree
Katelyn playing with wrapping paper in her Christmas pjs
My lovely Coach purse

New Year's Eve was a blast! We went over to Don and Tina's house to celebrate, but what Don didn't know was that it really was a surprise birthday party for him. We ate lots of good snacks (even though we had just eaten at Outback), talked, had a gift exchange game, and had a really great time visiting with everyone! Here's some pictures from the bash:

The birthday boy and me! Happy Birthday Arthur : )

From the gift exchange, I got a tea light lamp, but another lady heard I wanted her scarf. Good thing she doesn't like pink! I ended up with a pretty scarf (which I licked because I didn't want anyone to take it...haha) and Cody ended up with grilling stuff. He started off with the Jelly Beans, but someone stole them even after I ate some of them....

Carrie stole this from her mother... how rude! : )
I caught Casey drinking potpourri!
Aimee and me!
Two of the kids... the others aren't quite old enough to make it to midnight yet!
Aidan and me!
My hubs and me having a grape juice toast at midnight! Love you Cody!

We've had some really great times this year, and can't wait to see what will happen in 2010! Happy New Year everyone!

Halloween 2009

We had Halloween at our house this year. I was hoping for some trick-or-treaters now that I had my own house, but that was not the case. We had like 12 the whole night, and half of them were teenagers. We still had fun though. We had a feast for dinner! Everyone brought over something to eat, and it was soooo good! For desert we had Stephanie's dirt - yum, smores, and Rice Krispie treats decorated like pumpkins! We tried to take Aimee trick-or-treating on my street, but it wasn't her favorite thing. There were only like 3 houses with their lights on anyway. We brought over Cody's parents' fire pit to cook smores in, so we sat outside around the fire for a while visiting and having a great time! I didn't get tons of pictures, but I did get a few.

Cody's mom made lots of things - one of them was a monster looking cheeseball .. haha!

Stephanie and Aimee - such a cute angel!

Cody's dad has had this mask for years and scared the mess out of Aimee. He made it look even creepier with his tongue sticking out.. gross.

This is my favorite picture of Katelyn taken a week before Halloween at the pumpkin patch - precious of course!

I think for Halloween, she really wanted to be a rock star. Cody found her like this asleep in the kitchen, singing into her "microphone" and throwing up her rock fist.

My cat was supoosed to be a vampire for Halloween... she didn't really enjoy the costume I got for her.

By the end of the night, she realized she'd rather be a Diet Pepsi for Halloween than a vampire! She was locked away in the laundry room to keep her out of the food, and this is how we found her by the end of the night...

Overall, we had a great night. I wished we would have had more trick-or-treaters because I still have TONS of candy left over. Oh well... more for me! : ) In other news... I got a new job. Starting the week of Thanksgiving, I'll be working at church as an assisstant to the children's minister. It's nice to know that I will have a full time job finally, and I'm looking forward to working there again!

It was Justin's birthday party....

but I didn't take any pictures of him - just Katelyn! She's getting so big and cute and I just love that little girl. Pretty soon I'm going to have to fight off Mimi to get a chance to babysit! So here are my recent pictures of Katelyn.

She was smiling and laughing really big tonight - so cute!

Uncle Cody and Katelyn - they matched!

Looking for ducks

With our beautiful niece!

Welcome Fall!

It's FINALLY here! I have all my stuff out and decorated... I love all the pretty fall colors. I finally have a house where I can put cute little signs in the yard and decorate the porch. So here's a little preview : ) We'll be handing out candy this year, so if you have kids, bring them to my house!

I bought this yard sign during the summer, and I finally get to put it out. Welcome to out house!

Our front porch... I probably should have gotten different color mums, but I like orange.. haha.

My mom bought me this Halloween wreath that I just thought was the cutest!

I'm having trouble with my cat and the decorations though. She already ate one ball off of a candle holder.. she's going to need to be declawed before Christmas for sure! I can just imagine her ripping all of the wrapping paper to shreds and playing with the ornaments... ugh. Maybe she will grow out of that need to play with EVERYTHING by the time December rolls around. But I'm sure she won't.