About six weeks ago Seth and I decided we wanted to get serious about getting in shape. We have both been going to the gym for a while and felt like we were making healthy lifestyle choices but there was very little progress on the scales. My parents in the last year have become health nuts. I think this is a common occurrence at the mid-life crisis. My dad has lost 50 pounds in two years and my mom has lost 10 pounds in three months (my mom looked really good before so this is significant). When I told my dad I wanted to finally get back into shape and lose the rest of this baby weight he was excited to help out (more excited than I wanted but that is besides the point).
He bought me a Body Bugg to help with the process. In seven weeks Seth has lost 12 pounds and I have lost eight. We aren't really dieting, we exercise but not excessively. The difference really is just accountability. The Body Bugg enables you to track exactly how many calories you are burning in a day. It has several different sensors that measure your movement, your sweat, how fast you dissipate heat and is able to give you an accurate idea of how many calories you are or are not burning.
So here is my recommendation, if you are to the point that you are thinking about getting a trainer, get a Body
Bugg instead. Here is the link:
http://www.bodybugg.com/
I haven't really been able to see the difference because it is gradual but my clothes tell the truth. They are getting baggy and I don't mind getting new ones at all.
In other news, we are leaving at the end of July. It sounds like a long ordeal, made longer by a soon-to-be one-year old. And sadly, no, I will not drug my child for 22 hours to get through it, that is just scary.
We were recently assigned housing at our post. Pretty much anything in Manila is better than what we are at now. Our little apartment is feeling tight and I am looking forward to a bigger space with, get this, washers and dryers IN the home! But the best news is that if I want to, I could hire someone to help out. I am really looking forward to this adventure, at the same time I am feeling really sad about leaving my life here in DC.
Stella is really growing fast these days. She is not as easy to read anymore. She is becoming more complicated. To show these new emotions we have started to see new expressions. The most shocking is the scowl. She does the scowl anytime she wants something but knows she can't have it. If you tell her 'no' she walks away and scowls. Even if you don't tell her 'no' she scowls as she looks at forbidden objects (such as plugs or cords, or in the case of these pictures a camera). 
