2 DAYS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey guys,

So sorry for the absence yesterday, I was down most of the day with a migraine - last thing I wanted to do was stare at a computer screen! Anyway, I AM much better today!!!

I am, have been and WILL BE so busy this week! It's awesome. I am so happy and feeling wonderful...........it's crazy!

FIRST, my final journey article will run in tomorrow's edition of the Ottawa Citizen!! For those in the Ottawa area pick up a copy and check it out - looking forward to your feedback. I will also post the link as soon as it becomes available. I am so excited to see it! :) A special thank you again to Alison Korn for doing such a wonderful job with the series of articles on this journey - I really appreciate it!! Thank you! :)

SECOND, I have been feverishly taking "AFTER" pics!! I will be posting a few before shots and have attempted to replicate those shots wearing the same outfits/clothing and trying the same pose so you can truly compare...excited for you to see those ones. I will also be taking my standard pics in the same outfit that I took the very first pics back ALMOST 1 YEAR ago!!!!!!!

THIRD, you will notice a HUGE difference in my pics and I'm not talking about the weight loss!! :)

FOURTH, putting on the final touches in the planning of the Journey Celebration Dinner on Saturday!! Looks like it will be loads of fun!! For any of you interested in coming, please confirm by Friday December 11, 2009 - 4pm THE LATEST!! Thank you - Looking forward to see you all!! I will post the pics from the event on Sunday...I doubt that I will be in any shape to post on Saturday night (or should I say the wee hours of Sunday morning)! :)

I'm going to take the morning off on Thursday and here is my plan for Thursday December 10 (THE DAY):

5:15 am - Wake up! Take off ALL my clothes and STEP on that scale for what will probably be the last time this year (maybe).... and hope for a nice loss!!

5:30 am - Head to basement for an awesome Weight Training Session (even though Thursday is not a "scheduled" weight training day, I JUST WANNA DO IT!!! Drink water!

7:05 am - Then head to the shower and have a nice long shower (long for me is 20 minutes!)

8:00 am - Make and have an awesome breakfast with my son and husband (with a special prayer that morning - one of "thanks" more than anything). My husband will take our son to daycare and head off to work. I will then hit the computer and start blogging!!!! Hopefully I will have all the pix uploaded by 10:00 am that day (probably way earlier)!! Then head to work for the rest of the day. I'm planning on getting my Jiu-jitsu class in at lunch time!! I don't want to miss it!!

Anyway, that's it for now!! We'll be on tomorrow!!

Until next time
Joania (2KMINE!!!)

Day 24 of My 30 Day Countdown

Hi everyone...

quick post today as I have to get off to bed!

Jiu-jitsu (JJ) class was absolutely PHENOMENAL today! I learned so many cool self defense techniques and JJ moves. It was amazing. Sensei Derek actually used me to demonstrate some of the techniques and let me just tell you, he had me screaming!! LOL!

Food was great today...although I was a bit late eating my lunch (about 2 hours) boy did I ever feel it!! My body was screaming at me to eat. It's really funny, because just a short year ago, I could eat a meal and not eat anything for HOURS after and not even feel it.

I had my interview with Alison Korn (the writer from the Ottawa Citizen) today and it went really well. I can't wait to read the article. Tomorrow, the photographer will be coming to the dojo (the gym where I do Kickboxing and JJ) to take some pix. They want me in the pix but I'd really like to get a shot with my trainer Rob and Sensei Derek! Unfortunately, I don't get a say in which picture (s) is used nor does the writer - it's all up to the editor. I will invite Rob and Derek to join me at the dojo and hopefully the editor might slip the shot in!!

The article should be published early next week, possibly Monday. I will certainly keep you all posted and post the link on the blog!!

In other fabulous news, I've decided on a date, time and place for my 1 Year Journey Celebration dinner!! December 12, 2009 at Big Easy's Seafood and Steak House (http://www.bigeasys.ca) here in Ottawa at 7 pm (until midnight)!! For those of you on FaceBook (FB), I've created an Event in the "Joania's Weight Loss Journey" group. Look me up on FB or send me an email for details or leave me a comment confirming your attendance. Looks like it will be about 30 or so people (so far!!) Should be a good time!

I FEEL GOOD!! Looking for a little hot black dress to wear to the dinner!!! Whoo hoo! :)

Until next time...
Joania (2KMINE!!!)

Day 23 of My 30 Day Countdown

Hi guys!!

Great day today!! Had a great kickboxing class. Unfortunately, Ingrid (the instructor) hurt her foot and as she said, "that would slow her down a bit today!!!" Well, it didn't seem to slow her down one bit, she still worked our butts off!! That woman is tough as nails!!! She's awesome!

Food was great today as well as water consumption. I'm in a groove right now and loving it!

On another note, I received an email from Alison Korn - the writer from the Ottawa Citizen newspaper who has been chronicling my journey with periodic articles on my progress. She wants to do the follow up (final) article which should run in the paper, early next week. The photographer will most likely be coming by on the weekend. Since the article will run in the paper early next week, you will get a sneak peek at the new me :)!! Exciting! I'll keep you posted with the details and post the link for all of you not in the Ottawa area! :)

I really want to take a pic with my trainer...I'm hoping they'll allow it or maybe if I could take it at the dojo doing some kickboxing/Jiu-jitsu move or something!! Who knows? I'm doing the interview tomorrow, so I'll see what she says! :)

Until next time...I am only 7 DAYS away from the BIG DAY!!!

Joania (2KMINE!!)

Updates and Things...

Hey guys,

I just wanted to come on quickly to thank all of you for all the nice comments regarding the citizen article and just the support in general. Thanks!

On another note, I just finished my very first run today (as part of the C25K -Couch to 5K Training program) in quest of my first 5K race later this Fall. Check out my training blog for details here. It was quite intense.

Tomorrow I will be heading out of town once again on business. It won't be a long trip, I should be back home Thursday evening (Friday- the latest). I will take my lap top with me so that we can stay connected.

It's a really busy time for me at work right now, however it should hopefully quiet down next month.

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

Follow-Up Newspaper Article

This picture was taken by Wayne Cuddington for the Ottawa Citizen article .

I didn't get a chance to post this on Wednesday, but here it is! Enjoy!! Let me know what you think....

It's the link to the follow-up newspaper article in the Ottawa Citizen, written once again by Alison Korn (thank you Alison - great job). The story ran on Wednesday!!

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Health/Joania+journey/1679889/story.html

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!

Hi guys,

So sorry that I haven't been able to post anything this week. I was away on my conference with work and I was also having some computer problems.

I have lots to post and I will later this evening. I will also weigh myself in the morning and post that information tomorrow.

I hope some of you gotg the chance to hear me on the radio show (hopefully, I will be able to get a copy and post it to my site) if not, no biggie!!

Also, my article ran in Wednesday's citizen. I will post the link.

Until next time (very soon)

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

The Ottawa Citizen Interview

I had the follow-up interview with Alison Korn of the Ottawa Citizen today. It was really good talking with her. She asks such great questions and I really liked the last article she wrote. So I am looking forward to this one as well. I will provide them with a current picture as well!

The article should run in either the June 11 (Thursday) or June 13 (Saturday) edition of the paper. As soon as it's confirmed, I will let you know. I will post the link to the on-line version as well!

I've had a great day today! A good workout; good, healthy food and two great telephone interviews!! Awesome!!!

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

Radio and Newspaper

Hi all,

Well I have both interviews tomorrow morning. First the radio interview for Live 88.5. It will be pre-recorded so I will find out the details as to when it will air and will inform you as soon as I know. I'm excited! :)

I will also be doing the follow-up interview for the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow. It should be a busy morning but fun as well. I'm really looking forward to it!

Thank goodness for technology so that I'm able to do both these interviews via telephone and/or computer!!

Anyway, that's it for tonight...wish me luck!! :)

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

The Ottawa Citizen Follow-up Article!!!

They're checking up on me y'all!! lol!! Glad I kept my butt in check the past few months!!

I received an email yesterday from Alison Korn, the Ottawa Citizen writer who wrote the feature on my story about 5 months ago. Check it out here: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Health/Joania+journey/1238813/story.html

Anyway, they're interested in doing a follow-up interview to check on my progress etc. I'm so happy that they decided to do this, more importantly,I'm so happy I've been able to stay on track!! I'd feel like such a turd if I hadn't! :)

It was always in the back of my mind that they might do a follow-up. I'm actually quite excited to show my progress. The article was done back in January (seems like such a long time ago) and SOOOOO much has changed since. At that time, I had completed only 7 weeks of the journey and had lost 22 pounds. Now, I'm down 30 additional pounds for a total of 52 POUNDS lost and feeling great, and there's just so much to share, including my new plans of training for a 5K run!!!

So I am looking forward to it. They will be sending a photographer to take a current picture....proof is in the pix, right?? I will do the interview next week and keep you posted (as always) as the details become available.

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!)

Awesome News #1 - Mini Documentary!!

Here's my recent exciting news regarding this weight loss journey. I was contacted a few weeks back by a couple of students from the Carleton University School of Journalism. They came across my article in the Ottawa Citizen and were interested in filming a mini documentary staring yours truly (and my trainer Rob and husband and son)!! Can you believe it???? I think the finished product will be between 5-7 minutes long and will be posted on line (podcast) on Carleton Journalism Television (CJTV).

Carleton Journalism Television is a news network featuring content created and produced by journalism students as a part of their curriculum at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.

Check out their website here: http://www.carleton.ca/sjc/cjtv/index.shtml

Anyway, on Sunday, the students met me at Rob's training studio bright and early, where they filmed my entire workout. Rob really pushed me to the max - it was awesome!! My arms were on fire; I am still store from it!! The girls were very professional and the whole experience was interesting and fun. Since my husband was not feeling well, I had to get back home. They came to my house and filmed the interview portion with me - i was still in my workout gear y'all - looking all athletic (not)!! It was cool, they had great questions and even briefly interviewed my husband (who was such a good sport - because he was so sick). One of my favorite parts of the shoot was when they filmed me slicing cucumbers and boiling eggs - funny; Martha Stewart, I'm NOT!! So that's my news...isn't it awesome???? Can't wait to see the end product...you guys will get a glimpse of the pain that Rob inflicts on me!! Kidding...but it is very hard, but it works!!

So as soon as it's completed and available on line, I will post the link and let you know!!

There's more good news...see my next post!!;)

Until then.....

Joania (2KMINE!!!)..