Big Goals

This morning I was looking through my journal and found an interesting entry.  It was written May 31, 2011, and I would like to share it. Although this is a similar post to the last one.


"I've been reading a book on my Kindle called The Simple Dollar, a budgeting book. The chapter I most recently finished was about the importance of having written down goals. Things you can measure and see the finished result.

One thing that was very interesting to me was that we need to have BIG goals. He said if we have normal easily-achievable goals we will only do a half-hearted effort. But if we have MAJOR goals then we will know we need to put in MAJOR EFFORT. It is an intriguing idea.

Before in my weight loss goals I had the goal to get to 160 pounds and ultimately to 150 pounds. I got very close to 160 before I became pregnant with Noelle.

I think he is saying I need to make it my goal to weigh 150 pounds. Then rather than have my small goal be 160 lbs, make my small goals be about exercising, and diet. Those goals will help me reach 150 rather than having a stopping point at 160 like before."



On May 11 2011 I weight 196 pounds before giving birth to Noelle. On January 16, 2012 when I started my new diet and exercise program I weighed 183 pounds. (I checked my journal to make sure.)

Today, six months later, July 17 2012 I have reached my goal and weigh 150 pounds.


I am so glad that I made the mental change for a big goal. Who would have thought that a budgeting book would help me lose weight. I have realized that everything is related. I need to have good mental health, spiritual health, financial health and physical health to be the best possible person that I can.


I already wrote about my previous goal, but I am going to say it again.  I now have a goal to reach 140 pounds so that I am no longer in the 'overweight' category.  It took me 6 months to lose 33 pounds, and my goal is to get to 140 before Christmas, but maybe it will happen sooner.

Learning About Myself

I am weird.

I think I always knew this, but it is becoming more and more clear to me.

Also, I don't mind that I am weird. In fact, I like it.


Part of my acceptance of my weirdness comes from the fact that I really enjoy reading diet books, fitness books, health books, money books, and budget books. If there is a book on how to improve yourself (in something I am currently working on) then I will read it.

I am currently reading my 5th health/diet book since January. I thought it was only the 4th but then I checked my Goodreads account and noticed another.

The first book was The 17 Day Diet.  I loved it, and would recommend it to anyone. I love his ideas so much better than The South Beach Diet which have done previously.

The I read Unlimited by Jillian Michaels. I love her workouts because they hurt so good. Her book was more about overall motivation and not exactly what I was looking for, but still good.

Then came Drop Dead Healthy, which was just snippets of information. It was like I got appetizers of things to change, but no real meat.

I read The Skinny Rules this past week by Bob Harper of The Biggest Loser. His 20 rules were pretty good, I agreed with many of them. However, I couldn't get past his tone...it just threw me off a little bit.

Now I have just started Mindless Eating about the cues that make people eat more even when they don't need it.



All of this work since January has paid off. I came home from Christmas weighing 186 pounds and made a goal to get to 150. I actually made that goal this time around.  Previously when I tried to lose weight I said that I would try to get to 150, but really I wanted to get to 160. I just didn't believe that 150 was really possible.

Well, this morning I weighed myself at 152. It is only a matter of time before I hit 150. Now I have made a new goal of getting to 140, and possibly below. If I hit 140 I will officially no longer be "overweight" on the BMI scale.


I have changed my diet to lose weight, but I am also exercising so much more, and I am exercising smarter too. I actually love to exercise now. Or rather, I love the way it makes me feel and results I see from it. I love that I am stronger and can do more things with my family. I love that I hiked Lightening Ridge without too much trouble. I love that I can go on really long bike rides and not be dead the next day.

I used to do a Walk Away the Pounds DVD. (I still do it sometimes.)  I started doing it after Eli was born, and it was what I needed at the time. I needed something to get me moving. I was still doing it five years later and it wasn't giving me much challenge. In order for me to get a difficult workout I have to do the 3-mile walk, and I usually only made time for the 2-mile.


Then I started doing Jillian Michaels DVDs. It hurt and was hard, and I loved it. I needed her tough love saying that I can do hard things. My body is strong and can push through the pain to be stronger. I got to the point where I needed a difficult challenge.

For the past few weeks I have been going to a high school track at 6am to exercise with my friends. Three days a week we work on the Couch 2 5K program, and two days we do strength training. It has been great to push myself in new ways and realize that I actually can run.


Anyway, I know this post has been long. I didn't plan on that, but it just became more like a journal entry of how I am changing my life. Change is good. I think I am a better person now because of the changes that I have made.

20 Miles

Ever since Morgan and I went on our big bike ride to Cedar Rapids Eli and Josh have been asking to go on a big ride too.  We heard that the Gilbertville Depot was going to have a fundraiser/100th birthday party to raise funds to protect the building. It is right on the bike trail and we figured that would be a great time to have our big ride.

My only hesitation came as the day got closer.  The heat. It has been so hot here lately and yesterday was no different. We left at 10:15am and the temperature was already 92 degrees.

We took lots of cold drinks for the kids and took plenty of breaks. Eli and Josh both rode their bikes and Morgan pulled Noelle and a cooler in the trailer.

The Birthday party at the depot was pretty fun. They had live music, birthday cake, cookies, popsicles, and plenty of water.

The ride home seemed a lot faster, and better. Eli was complaining a little on the way home, but he made it.


Morgan told me that he thought 20 miles was a perfect ride. Enough to make you feel like you've done something challenging, but not too much that you are exhausted.

It is great doing healthy things with my family.

Summer Vacation

Can you believe that we actually went on vacation!  This vacation started out as a way for Morgan and I to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We decided that if we went to Utah for our anniversary we could ask my parents to watch our kids for us while we enjoyed ourselves.

After we decided to go to Utah we called my parents to make sure they could watch the kids and to find out when Big Springs was happening this year. My dad runs a 5th grade summer camp and I wanted my kids to be able to experience it.

We started planning and had a great time. Warning** This post has a lot of pictures of some of the great things we got to do on vacation.



First we stopped at the Dix's house in Colorado.  Morgan went to Law School with Taylor and we had not seen them since they graduated.  It was nice to spend Father's Day relaxing with them. Eli and Josh loved playing with Warren and Cami and baby Clare did not mind Noelle too much.

Crazy kids at dinner. 

We always went outside at gas stations to move around a little. This gas station had this fun bear statue.   It was a sign of things to come. 

Up at Big Springs my dad showed the kids the "Mongoose." Eli and Josh had a fun time seeing how to trick worked.

Big Springs has a rope swing for the staff/teachers/and guests to play on. Morgan is showing off his amazing standing-up swinging skills.

Benjamin and Melinda let us borrow this stroller which was a life (and back) saver. 

Eli is getting pushed higher on the swing. 

Eli loved getting on the swing. 

Josh was a little nervous, but after he did it one time he was ready to go.

Noelle could not get enough of the swing. She would cry when we put he back in her stroller. 

Eli was able to go from sitting to standing on the swing all by himself. 

Eli is playing on a bridge with his cousins. 

My two boys. 

Jaxon, Hope, Eli and Josh

Big Springs is named for an actual set of springs. We climbed to the top of the spring where Eli and Josh both got a drink out of the water.

Morgan is helping the boys cross a stream over logs. 

Eli decided to run back through the water. 

So did Josh. 

Eli was tall enough that he got to go on the Monkey Rope Bridge and Big Springs. 

Josh is all ready to go on the Zip Line at camp. 

Here comes Josh, down the zip line! You can see Morgan on  the platform in the trees. 

Josh wasn't able to turn his body when he got to the catcher....he only went down once.
But he has told me that if we go again he will go down 4 times and get licorice. 

Eli loved the Zip line and went down several times. 

We had some free time on Wednesday the 20th so we went to Bicentennial Park in Provo to go Disc Golfing. After we played 9-holes the kids and I went to the playground while Morgan played 9 more.

Of course, Eli and Josh spent most of their time climbing trees instead of playing on the playground.

Thursday morning we were back up at Big Springs bright and early so that we could hike Lightening Ridge.

The Peak is at 10,056 feet and is a really difficult climb.  Morgan carried Noelle in a pack that we borrowed from Benjamin and Melinda.

We left around 8:30am after the early group of 5th graders and before the main group. Eli and Josh did amazingly and we actually got up to the early group and passed them!  Eli was the 3rd person to make it to the top of the mountain.

Eli was actually kind of annoyed that he had to stay with us. Josh had a much more difficult time and Eli didn't want to have to wait for us.

Fresh and ready to go. 

Here we are almost to the summit. The snow on top behind us is where we finally reached the top. 

On top looking over Provo and Utah Lake. 

Noelle took several naps during our hike, but unfortunately lost her pacifier somewhere on the way down. 

My brother Daniel brought his dog Maggie up to the top with him. 

This is a picture of all of the Palmer's who made the hike up that day.

Kimberly (holding James -2months old), Kylie (2years old) was carried up by my brother Daniel. Melissa, Noelle, Morgan, Josh, Eli, Kimberly (she was a teacher up at camp) Braedon (my nephew) and my mom Laura. 

We made it!  Look how dirty the boys are!

Dirty family!  We were definitely ready for some water play. 

After the hike the boys are girls are challenged to a tug of war with a hose of water in the middle. Eli joined the boys team and they won!  (This is unusual because the girls get to start on a downhill.)

Showing off his muscles. 

After the tug of war there is a contents to see if more boys or girls will dunk themselves in the FREEZING cold glacier/spring water.

Morgan, Eli, Josh and I all went in together

After dinner on Thursday nights is a big Mush Ball game, teachers verses students. Eli and Josh both got to hit and run the bases.

Finally the Thursday night campfire is the best of the entire week. The teachers and staff put on the program and it is amazing.

Eli and Josh sat in the front row ready to watch the action. 

Singing a song with the campers. 

Later we had fun with cousins at Seven Peaks. 

We played at a Splash Pad 

And on a playground. 

My brother Daniel blessed his little baby James the Sunday we were there. We were so happy that we got to be there with family for that special occasion.

Noelle enjoyed the swing at Daniel & Erin's house. 

One of our favorite things was Daniel's birthday party on Monday the 25th.  We got to go down a HUGE slip-n-slide.

Josh went down with his cousin Nathaniel

Noelle loved the slide!

Eli was doing crazy moves!

Tuesday the 26th through the 28th Morgan and I got to have our anniversary time up in Park City. My sister-in-law Kimberly told me about a Travelzoo deal at the Goldener Hirsch Inn. It was a really nice, huge, hotel.

Here you can see me in the living room area, and the dining area behind me. 

The bedroom area was the other way.  There was also a big bathroom with a huge jetted tub and a  relaxing shower. 

I had planned for Morgan and I to go to the Olympic Park. We decided to go on the "Comet" bobsled. The driver led us down the track.  I got very motion sick from it, and Morgan smashed the camera against the sled on the way down.

So these pictures are the last from our trip.

After going down the bobsled Morgan and I went to a Ropes Adventure Course that recently opened. The lower course (30 feet up) was really fun and only had one challenge that was difficult to get through.

The advanced course (Another 15 feet above that) was much more difficult. I ended up getting some rope bruises on my arms from hanging on, and climbing through nets.

One of the final challenges was a set of about 8 stirrups you had to work through. I got twisted up in the 2nd stirrup and knew I wouldn't be able to get out of the mess. So I let go and just pulled myself to the platform where Morgan pulled me up.


After that I was still feeling a little sick, but we walked over to the Nordic chair lift and rode it to the top of the mountain so we could do the Extreme Zip Line. I was not feeling 100% so I asked Morgan if he would go down the Alpine Slide and then I would be ready to do the Zip Line with him when he got back up.

He had fun on the Alpine Slide, but said that it did not go fast enough for him. I am sure it would be quite a difference from the Bobsled.

We got loaded on the Zipline and it was So. Much. Fun!  We had to go back up the chairlift and do it again. My cable was faster than Morgan's so we decided to switch places for our second go around.

They opened the gates and we were ready to go.  However, the guy helping me forgot to unhitch the caribeener that held me to the platform, so I went 2 feet and then stopped. The guys had to pull me back in a little, unhook the caribeener and let me go again.

When I got down I told Morgan that his cable really was faster!


We also ate at 3 Japanese/sushi restaurants, and watched The Avengers.  It was a great get-away.  I am so grateful to my parents for watching the kids for us.

While we were gone Noelle learned to walk by herself.  Josh got lost for a minute at the Zoo, and all of the kids learned that they can live without Mom and Dad by them every second of every day.

Our drive home was nice and easy. We stopped by the Dix's again and enjoyed their wonderful hospitality. We stayed in Omaha Saturday night through Sunday and visited the Winter Quarters Temple and the Mormon Trail Center.

Sunday was my 30th birthday. After seeing the temple Morgan drove home and I read The Help to him.  A friend of ours had turned on our air conditioning for us and put a pre-made casserole out of the freezer and into the fridge. So all I had to do was turn on the oven and we had a hot wonderful meal ready to go.  I had already bought ice cream and a lemon cake mix for dessert.
Morgan got me 2 new watches for my birthday (I lost my old watch on top of Lightening Ridge.)  It was a great day, and a wonderful vacation.