Leah Stirewalt

Out of Deep Waters

Bet Ya Didn’t Know (a Whimsical Wednesday post)

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Happy Wednesday blog friends! For today’s Whimsical Wednesday post, I thought I’d share some “fun facts” about me. You know…a few little tidbits I bet ya didn’t know. These are not your typical, “my favorite color is…” type facts. These ten represent those rarer peaks into the life of Leah.

Here we go…

  1. Many of you know I’m a HUGE Carolina Panthers fan, but did you know that I used to “play” in a Fantasy Football league and made the playoffs both years that I played?
  2. I can’t stand applesauce! I love raw apples, apple pie a-la-mode, apple fritters, apple cake…but, applesauce…well, it simply makes me gag (must be a texture thing).
  3. On the other hand, I LOVE Mexican food! The hotter, the better. And, I’m a bit of a “salsa snob”.
  4. I’m also what some would dub a “thrill seeker”. I’m actually hoping to skydive one day! I’ve already been parasailing and would do that again in a heartbeat!
  5. One of my most favorite vacations ever was eight years ago when my little munchkin and I toured Laura Ingalls Wilder homesites in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa. We traveled over 2500 miles in less than a week, and she was such a great traveling companion (at the age of eight!).
  6. My husband and I honeymooned during a hurricane. We were stuck in Miami for a few extra days, as a result!
  7. The very first concert I attended was The Go-Go’s in Asheville, NC when I was a young girl. My mother’s boss at the time (an attorney for a large law firm in town) treated his two girls and me to the show.
  8. I rode an elephant (when I was two).
  9. In 1988, I was in two automobile accidents and one skiing accident resulting in having to wear a neck brace all three times. I guess you can say that year was a bit of a “pain in the neck”. 🙂
  10. On a whim, I once traveled to Pittsburgh, PA (from Asheville, NC) just to eat at a seafood restaurant that I first encountered on a business trip three weeks prior. Got there in time for a 5:30 dinner reservation, spent the night and headed home by 5:30 am the following morning.

There you have it…10 random Leah facts! Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday…Friday’s just around the corner. 🙂

Slowly but Surely (a Makeover Monday post)

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Welcome (or welcome back) to Makeover Monday!

Last week was…well…interesting. I think I might have worked harder on my weight loss journey this past week than any so far. As for the goals I set…

Goal 1 – Lose 3 pounds. Well, this was the most disappointing part of the week for me. Wouldn’t you know the week I worked the hardest…exercised the longest…and stuck to my food plan the best would be the week I only lost 0.5 pounds?! Yes – half a pound. BUT…it’s still on the downward spiral. Even the good doc was a little surprised, so we’re both hopeful that this next week will reflect big numbers! All-in-all, I’m now up to a 31.5 pound overall weight loss!

Goal 2 – Exercise 4 days for at least 40 minutes. I exceeded that goal!! I exercised 5 days for 40+ minutes each day. Three of those days were in the gym, and I have to admit it felt GREAT! There are many of you, like me, that just really have no motivation or desire to exercise. Maybe you find it boring, time-consuming, and the list goes on (I’m sure). I TOTALLY understand that. But, I’m finding that even when I don’t feel like it, if I can I just get over that hump and get started, then I’m pumped. For me, I love the increase of endorphins (makes my mood so much better)! I love the fact that the exercise is doing far more for me internally than I can even remotely see. I’m getting stronger. And…even though the pounds may not reflect all my hard work, my clothing definitely does! I’m losing inches (and quite drastically all of a sudden).

Goal 3 – Try to reach my goal of 7 days of drinking at least 64 ounces of water. I almost hit that…did 6 days. I’m definitely getting in 64 ounces of liquid – just not all water. I’ll hit it eventually. 🙂

So, it’s been a strange week indeed. Met one goal…came close to another. Felt really great about the week, but the scale didn’t reflect all my hard work. BUT…this girl is not a quitter. I’ll keep going and going and going until I reach my goal. Slowly but surely…