Julie Anne's Introduction

Hi, there.
I'm Julie Anne & am very glad to be a part of this group. I've been in the "I really need to do something" mindset for so very long, and this has finally given me the impetus to get off my duff and actually start making healthier choices (thank you, Heidi!).

I am one of the rare native north Floridians. I grew up about 30 miles away in Starke (I'm a 5th generation Starkite). I'm the oldest of 4 kids. The rest of my family still lives in Bradford Co, which is nice as they are close (and my kids have lots of cousins with whom to play). I moved to Gainesville in 1994 to start graduate studies in Botany. While in graduate school, I met my husband, Chris. He is from Saratoga Springs, NY. After graduating with his forestry degree from SUNY, he came down here to visit his best friend (who introduced us), and luckily decided to put down roots here and has adapted very well to the Southern life. He got his master's in forestry from UF, I got another one in PA studies, and we've lived in G'ville ever since. We've been married 17 great years, and have two children- Magnolia (above with me in the picture), age 9, and David, age 6. Rounding out our household is our elderly cat, Mewl (named after a blues song, but spelled like the sound he makes).

I enjoy reading, gardening (I have dreams of an "edible yard"), swimming, stand-up paddle-boarding, walking, and I have aspirations to be a knitter. Thus far I can only make scarves, but they're pretty, mistakes and all... I also love antiques- I collect Depression glass and teacups. I love a good estate sale, so if anyone hears of one and would like some company, give me a holler! Chris is a musician, and plays in a local bluegrass band called Boilin' Oil (they play at Satchel's the second Friday of most months). So a couple bluegrass and folk festivals also play into our family schedule each year.

My main goal for this challenge is to lay the foundation for healthier lifestyle habits, to start to lose enough weight that I'm comfortable with myself again, and to get back into a regular exercise routine (not necessarily the SAME exercises every day/week, but just to be doing something most days of the week). I've lost significant amounts of weight in the past (fen/phen back in the day, phentermine combined with 500 cal protein/day, and oddly enough after both pregnancies), but have never managed to keep it off and now am back again at my max weight (*sigh*). I'm the only overweight member of my family, and don't seek to be thin, but rather to be healthy and comfortable. For the past year or so my perfectly-proportioned 9 year old little girl has made the occasional weight-related comment about herself, which makes me sad and angry at the same time. I want to be an example that you can be healthy and happy at a range of sizes, but have some work to do regarding the 'happy' portion of that phrase. Baby steps...