H.C.G.

So I started the H.C.G. diet with 2 of my friends from work. It's approximately 30 days long and today is my 5th day. It's worked pretty well considering the first 3 days we were instructed to consume as much fatty foods as possible. hahaha I've lost 5lbs. I'm going off my weight from before the 3 gorge days. A guy from our work did it and has lost 42lbs. I know guys loose weight differently then girls but we're pretty excited. We get teased a lot during our lunch break b/c we're only allotted 500 calories a day. Our 3 ounces of chicken and celery and grapefruit apparently dont look too appetizing to everyone else. and we have to take a shot in the leg of H.C.G. It's a lot easier to do it with friends then on my own. I thought I'd blog about it instead of keeping it to myself so that I can be held accountable if I cheat or quit which I almost did today when Jr. and the boys were having pizza for dinner :-(

Since Jr. and I first started dating I have gained over 70 pounds. He thinks I looked like a 12 year old when I was that weight so my goal is to loose 45 to 50 pounds. After the 30 days of H.C.G. we are supposed to transtion into a high protein diet and then eventually we can eat normally in moderation with diet and excercise and should be able to maintain the weight we've lost. I'm hoping to loose 25-30 pounds on the H.C.G. then when it's up, kick off the rest with exercise. Of course this is my whole year goal but I'm hoping this diet will jump start me. My other goal is to run the 5k on 4th of July. I ran it 2 years ago (well you can say I walked it) but I really want to improve my time this year and just my overall health. That's my # 1 goal this year. I feel like I've gone too long with out doing something. It's time to get moving!!

Kristina and Kayla motivate me so much, I love these girls. Wish me luck because I'm going to need it!!! Oh and a side note, co-ed softball starts in April! We've been playing the last 2 seasons with our friends and family. It has been so dang fun. Cant wait. Another great reason to get in shape now.

Mormontimes.com

Jr.'s profile was posted today on Mormontimes.com operated by the Deseret News. Here's the link to check it out. Vote for Jr. by going to mormontimes.com then clicking on the showcase tab. If it's your first time you'll have to create a login then vote.

http://www.mormontimes.com/arts_entertainment/music/?id=6383

Viva Las Vegas

This past weekend our Management team went to Vegas for our yearly retreat. We always go before the summer because that is our busy season and they encourage us to not take any time off because we get so slammed. It's a great time for us to get on the same page and find things to improve and be prepared for the upcoming summer. We always read a book every year as management team and try to pull and grab things from it that will improve our department.

This is my 3rd year and we've read great books. The first year we read -How to become a 360 degree leader- 2nd year was -7 habits of highly effective people- and this year was the -Go Giver- of the 3 the Go giver has been my favorite. I related to it on so many levels not just professionally. (I'd definitely recommend it to anyone especially Jr. I'm trying to get him to read it.) We also had the privilege of bringing our spouses along for the trip. So it was a great Valentines weekend getaway. We got to stay in an awesome house about 8 miles away from the strip which I was so thankful for. Las Vegas is not usually my first choice to visit and also the smell of smoke for long periods of time makes me nauseous. I was so excited we were renting a house instead of staying in a hotel. We left on Friday the 13th and came back yesterday on Presidents day.

It was a fun and relaxing weekend for the most part. We have some crazies on our team that have to do crazy things or they just wouldn't feel like the trip was crazy enough. Which is usually the opposite of what I try to achieve on trips. For the 2nd time in my life I got talked into riding THE BIG SHOT on top of the Stratosphere. I really dont know how I get myself into these situations but I think it has something to do with peer pressure and not having a back bone to say "Nah, I'm good.....you crazy people go right on ahead and ride a ride that shoots you over 160 feet in the air on top of the already obnoxiously high enough 1000 story casino." The very top needle looking thing is where we blast off at but we did it at night.
It's the tallest building this side of the Mississippi or at least that's what the elevator operator said. I tried not to think about it as everyone talked about it all day on Saturday.
I even smiled for pictures and laughed at the jokes about "what if the ride broke down and we got stuck up there all night" or "what if we just shot up and the ride malfunctioned and we flew off like Charlie did in Charlie and the chocolate factory" but I was freaking out on the inside! When we got on the ride I tried to hold Jr.s hand for support but he said he wanted to try and hold his arms up the whole time. Needless to say he is one of the crazy people I've been talking about. I'm still alive and the ride was fun but I am soooooo getting older because all I could think of was -how I am doing something I'd never want my kids to do.
The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun too. We did a lot of shopping and eating. Here's a picture of our group at the Carnival buffet at the Rio hotel.

We played Rock band on the Wii and a game called signs. It's not easy getting 6 couples on the same page especially because other

then our one big meeting about the Go-Giver we didn't have an agenda. It was really about relaxing, bonding and enjoying each others company. Since becoming part of the Pinnacle team Jr. and I have literally become best friends with several of the people here. We hang out with them outside of work on a regular basis. It just happened that way, we all really get along so well it was not only a really awesome get away for work but also with our good friends. Our boys stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Maile. We're so thankful for all that they do for us. We never worry about them when Grandpa and Grandma Maile have them. Which made it so much easier to enjoy our weekend. They never stop giving. It was a fun filled weekend.

Fun Friday

On Friday night Jr. sang at Ozz in Provo. One of his friends that organizes concerts asked Jr. to come and sing. Jr. sings everywhere and anywhere so usually we're use to just the 2 of us going and I usually sit all by myself and then we run for the door right when he's done. Friday was a different story though. Jr. was going to do his set alone but then Pati and the Fiji twins got there and they decided to sing together. I followed them around like a lost puppy while they practiced and tried to stay out of the way but then to my surprise my brother J.R. and his wife Jane showed up. Thank goodness! Then Lori and Bing came and several of our other friends. I saw a ton of people that I grew up with there also like Isa Fui, Snow and his wife and Nimo and her husband. It was so awesome to see everyone and for once Jr. and I hung out after he sang and just got to have fun with our friends and family. Jr. and the boys did awesome. Our friend Maka took pictures of Jr. while he performed so I'm anxious to see those. All the pix that we have of Jr. performing are off my camera and their horrible. Maka took the picture above of Jr. at another show they had. He's very talented. When we got home there was an email for Jr. from a Deseret News reporter wanting to interview him for a profile their doing on him. I always get more excited about stuff like that then Jr. but I'll post that once it's done. I love watching and supporting my husband do what he loves. I complain about it a lot but it really is so awesome to see him doing what he's so passionate about. Here's a video of Jr. recording his new song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRuv8_yd6sU&feature=channel_page

GNO

Last Monday I got to have a Girls night out (GNO) and have dinner with my friends Jaelyn, Lima and Celina. We haven't hung out in quite a long time (except Lina and I b/c she's my sister in law now) and it was so nice to see them and hear what's going on in their lives. We've been friends since we were in Young womens in the Samoan ward. We went to girls camps together, school dances, and got into trouble (a lot) together. I wish I was exaggerating about that part but I'm not. But I love these girls. They are true friends. I have hundreds of pictures of us together but I need to scan them into our computer. Everyone is married and busy with kids and work but we talked about how important it is for us to get together and keep in touch. So hopefully we'll see eachother a little more!