Pumpkins and Wii Fit

DM and I went to the pumpkin patch last weekend with some friends and the weather was amazing. I am leading off with the weather comment because if you live in the Northwest you know what it's normally like around here in October - cold, wet, foggy and did I mention wet?  But last weekend was sunny, warm (almost...too warm...!) and perfect.  We found some pumpkins along with super cheap produce (I mean, seriously - 1.50 for a cabbage bigger than my head?  SCORE.) and did the corn maze, which was pretty fun.  And a lot of seriousness, if you ask DM (though I can't poke too much fun since he actually navigated us pretty well through it.)  All in all, an awesome way to spend a Saturday.  And if these pumpkins are anything like the ones we got last year, they will last forever.  Seriously - we still had the pumpkins from last year when we moved (we moved in the spring - are you frightened yet?)

The last things our pumpkins saw...

I also wanted to share this photo with you, because it is a huge personal triumph for me:

I've pretty much been overweight my whole life from a combination of bad food choices (fast food, soda, etc) and a total lack of exercise (exercise is considered a profanity in my family...) About a year ago, I stepped on the scale and I was 170 lbs.  To put that in perspective, I am 5'2".  Of course I felt terrible and contemplated eating an entire pint of ice cream, but instead decided I was better than this and told DM I wanted to do something about it.  So being the awesome husband he is, DM got me the Wii Fit Plus/Balance Board for Christmas.  This thing is awesome - you work out, but you feel like you're playing games.  Not difficult games, either - these are games that are accessible for everyone.  Flap your arms like a chicken to fly.  Step on the balance board to simulate pedaling a bike.  There's also yoga (which has 100% helped me limber up and improve my balance), and strength training.

This is a screenshot from the game that shows my daily weigh-in progress.  I am less than 4 pounds from a normal weight, which is a huge deal for me, as (like I mentioned before) I've pretty much been overweight my entire life.  But what I really wanted to share was how much this little thing has improved the quality of my life overall.  When you change one part of yourself, the other parts of you can't help but shift in response.  We eat so much healthier than we used to - I remember a time when DM and I could eat an entire pizza together in one night.  Now, it's an odd thing if we go back for seconds.  We always have vegetables in our meals.  We eat smaller portions, and drink more water.  I work out every morning, and things feel strange if I don't.  I love the people we've become, and are changing into each day - it's amazing to look back at who we used to be; I feel like I'm looking at total strangers.  Have you accomplished something in your life that's changed the way you look at things?