Teeters spread out again

First off, I'd like to send a shout out to Madi - she turned two on Wednesday! Happy Birthday, sweetie.

Earlier this month the Calica's bid adieu to the Pacific Northwest. Roy had orders in hand to PCS to Hawaii, where he'll return to Military Police duties. It was a tough three-year assignment in recruiting, but I'm sure Roy came away with lessons that will carry him through his career and make him a better Marine. By the way, the Calicas are stationed at the Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe Bay, which is located on the windward side of Oahu, approximately 12 miles northeast of Honolulu. So far the Calicas are digging the locale, as you can imagine. We can't wait to visit (especially Ma and Pa Teeter - they miss the boys).

A few days after the Calicas departed, KC flew from Wisconsin, where he'd been going through deployment spin-up training, to the Middle East. By the end of the month his unit will be working from a forward operating base near Mosul, Iraq. I'm for sure going to spoil my brother while he's gone! I love putting together care packages... Please keep KC, Steph and Madison in your thoughts and prayers.

Posted thesis online

Thank you to Michelle Anaya for compiling my monstrous thesis into one pdf doc (due to pagination issues, it used to be three Word docs). I went ahead and posted it online here. If you don't want to take the time to read the whole thing, skip to the last chapter.

Argh, I miss school! I'm such a nerd.

Ma Teeter and the Calica's visit to Cali

Ma Teeter, Jill and the boys drove to Sunnyvale last week to visit with James and I. We were soooo looking forward to the visit. I absolutely adore my two little nephews, Reece and Rylan. They are cute, charming and rambunctious...uh uhm, I mean, energetic! I give Jill a ton of credit for being a stay-at-home mom. Wowza! Here are some of the 3,000 photos James snapped during their stay.

Roy, Jill and the boys will be moving to Hawaii next month because Roy will be taking on a new duty assignment on Oahu. It'll be great to visit the Calica's in Aloha Land, but the Teeters will be sad they'll be so far away.

A Teeter is set to deploy

The Teeters gathered last weekend for K.C.'s farewell parties. The Teeter son departed this week for over a month of spin-up training in Wisconsin. Straight from WI, his unit will travel to Iraq and will be based in Mosul. K.C. was recently promoted to Staff Sgt. (Army E-6) and will be in charge of over a hundred people. He seems excited for the leadership challenge, and I think he'll do an outstanding job! I'm very proud of my brother.

Back to the parties. K.C. had a friends party and a family party last weekend. The turn-out for both parties was overwhelming, and goes to show how much K.C. is cared for. James took over 7,000 photos during the weekend, and the best 100 or so are posted here. Some people who didn't know James asked if he was the official event photog - too funny. James wouldn't put the camera down, but I think he captured some beautiful images. There are lots of cute kid pics as well...

Over the course of the next year please keep the Teeter fam in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your service, K.C.!

And the biggest loser is....Jillian!

The 15 members of Teeter-Baker-Calica-Cole fams returned from their Maui vacation Sunday night. We snorkeled, body surfed (or even surfed), sipped Mai Tais, relaxed, hiked, and ate delicious Hawaiian food. A few of us also spent some time in the ER with little Rylan, who was suffering with a fever/pink eye/sinus and ear infection. Thankfully the little guy recovered by the end of the vacation. Overall, we all had a wonderful stay on the Valley Isle. Thank you to Ma and Pa Teeter for their overwhelming generosity!

The grand prize was also presented to the winner of the Teeter Family Maui Weightloss Challenge. Jillian was the biggest loser - she lost 37.2 pounds! Linda and KC were the runners up, with losses of 20 and 19 pounds. They all looked stunning and we are so proud of their efforts. Overall we all lost 104 pounds. I hope that everyone can continue to live healthier lifestyles, and perhaps lose more weight (I know I need to).

On another note, if you'd like to take a look at the photo shoot images, please let me know (I'll send you an invite to the gallery). James also posted photos - you'll find the link on this blog.

Now that the MWC has concluded, this blog will now transition to the permanent new home of teetering.org. James and I plan on utilizing Google Sites to make teetering.org a better source for all things Teeter. Stay tuned!

One last post before the big announcement

Hey everyone - we're almost done with the MWC. Can you believe it? We started over 26 weeks ago! Cumulatively we've lost nearly 100 pounds. Only 3.5 pounds to go and we're there. Make a strong push to the end and let's get over the century mark.

You'll notice that I deleted the sidebar ranking. I'll post the final ranking on Saturday, and will notify the winner by phone. The winner will receive $200 cash after we arrive in Maui.

We're almost there! Thanks for your continued participation and endurance. It definitely pays off because no matter how much you've lost, you're now living a healthier lifestyle.

Entering the home stretch

Wow - only two weeks left until we're relaxing in Maui wearing our bathing suits. We're in the home stretch of the Teeter Family MWC. We're in the 25th week of the competition, and we have two weigh-ins left.

Most of us have done an outstanding job shedding the pounds. I can't wait to announce the winner and how everybody stacked up.

On another note, this week four of us did not submit weights. What's the dealio? We're so close! Steph was the biggest loser - she lost one pound! Every little bit counts at this point, so keep it up Steph! We're still under the 100 total pounds lost mark at 95.2 lbs. We MUST get over it!

So close to the century mark

Great week everyone - we're up to 95.8 pounds lost! K.C. helped us all get closer to the century mark by losing 4 pounds! He must workout a bunch during Guard drill or have slim pickins on food. C-rations or MREs...hmm?

Less than four weeks are left until we're laying on the beautiful beaches of Maui. Like I've said before, make these last moments in your weightloss count!

One month left - make it count!

Can you believe it? The Teeter clan and compadres will be in Maui in less than a month! That means we're in a critical moment for our weight loss competition. I know a few of us have asked to throw in the towel. You still have time to lose a few pounds - don't give up!

One participant who hasn't given up is Linda - she was our biggest loser this week with a loss of 3 pounds! Awesome job, Linda. If each of us loses three pounds a week before the end of the competition, that's 12 pounds gone, which makes a difference!

It's official - most of us are slacking

Ok, so most of us are slacking. I'll be the first to admit that I'm slacking. I feel like a slob.

What's it going to take to get our butts in gear? I'm thankful that I signed up for a half marathon in April. I know that I'll have to start working out again in a couple weeks if I don't want to seriously hurt myself during the race.

At any rate, I only said that most of us are slacking. There are a few shining stars. Jillian was the biggest loser the past two weeks. Jillian lost 3.2 pounds! Keep up the great work, Jillypoo. Your weight loss motivates me to want to do better. Thank you!

Your mission this week is to take the time to really think about your weight loss progress. Do you want to lose more, or are you content? Analyze the situation and come up with a gameplan for this last month of the competition. It isn't too late to lose a couple notches in your belt.

Let's keep going, I know it's cold and you'd rather just do what you want

It was not a good week for the MWC participants. Even though there was a challenge posted last week to lose ten more pounds, collectively, and reach 100 pounds lost, we instead gained weight! 2.2 pounds, to be exact. The biggest loser was me, with a measly .2 pounds lost. OUCH!

I keep thinking about wearing a swimsuit. To increase the motivation to lose, I'm going to go to a department store in the next week and try on some Spring fashions. The thought makes me sad because I want to lose so much more and I know I won't feel as good as I had hoped to feel.

My problem is that I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to fit in exercising. It's also cold. If you're having a hard time exercising because of the cold weather, here are some tips for getting the blood pumping. Window shopping and people watching? What a great combination to keep you entertained while exercising!

Taking Your Walk Indoors
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=45391

Daily exercise is a habit, which can slip-slide away as temperatures dip and snow or ice cover sidewalks and footpaths. What's the committed walker to do?

Mall Walk
Many people live close enough to a shopping mall to take advantage of those safe, well-lit open spaces during inclement weather. And plenty of malls open their doors early so that people can walk at a good pace without having to navigate around shoppers.
The pros of mall walking are abundant:

Safety
They're well lit and have a temperature-controlled environment, with no cars or dogs to dodge. You can wear headphones without worrying about thugs, dogs, cars or tripping over sidewalks or curbs.

Convenience
Bathrooms and water fountains are nearby, and there's plenty of parking.

Motivation
There are other walkers, and some malls even have incentive programs.

Scenery
Mall window displays provide interest and distraction.

Admittedly, however, mall walking may have a downside. The walkers in malls appear to mainly be silver-haired seniors, which is great if you are one. But if you're far from silver, don't let the age gap stop you.

"Bring a friend your own age," says Sara Donovan, creator of the Mall of America walking program. "Mall walking is for anyone committed to walking despite the weather. You can get a great workout. Run up the stairs or escalator to bump up your heart rate, and race walk on the smoothest surface you'll ever find."

Indoor Tracks
Check to see if your local YMCA, high school or college gym has an indoor track you can use. Sometimes the tracks are balconies that encircle exercise areas, squash or basketball courts, so you have a bird's-eye view of people working out.

The same pros as mall walking apply; in addition:

Motivation
You're close to other workout opportunities.

Convenience
You may be able to shower afterwards and store belongings in a locker.

Social Network
You'll probably see a more diverse population than at the mall.

Safety
If the track is rubberized or has a more forgiving surface than the mall, it may be easier on your feet and back.

Some cons include:

* It may be harder to walk and talk with a buddy. Ambient noise can make it hard to hear each other, and walking side by side may block runners who want to pass.
* You may feel a bit dizzy going round and round if the track is small.
* The track may be slanted. If so, be sure you turn around and go in the opposite direction every other lap, to avoid injury to muscles or tendons.

Local Large Buildings
Find out if you can get access to a large public building, like a high school, where you can walk the halls and stairwells after hours. (You might have to go to a school board meeting with a group of interested friends and neighbors to see if the school will allow this activity.)

If you have access to a building with several stories, try going up one flight of stairs, walking around that floor, then the next flight of stairs, etc. Alternating stair climbing with walking will be a great interval workout.

Next week, let's break 100!

This week there was a tight race for the biggest loser spot. It's great because we were all pretty consistent - no big weight losses, just incremental steps. Every little bit adds up, don't you forget it!

Our biggest loser was Jillian with a weight loss of 1.2 pounds! Jillian has been especially consistent. She works out on a regular basis and that's definitely a smart strategy for this competition.

Our total weight loss for the MWC is 89.2 pounds. We are so close to 100...let's go for it this week. That equals to a little over a pound loss for everyone. We can do it!

First week in 2008

Happy New Year, everyone! This last week included New Years, which is always an indulgent holiday eating/drinking-wise, so I can understand why some of us didn't lose as much as we'd wanted. But on the whole, we improved from Christmas week; we all lost 5.5 pounds! Helping contribute to the overall weight loss were our two biggest losers,Linda and me - we each lost two pounds! Thankfully I lost a bit of what I gained over the holidays, but I still have more to go. Great job everyone, and let's kick our weight loss in to high gear!