Hi Ho, Hi Ho, its off to NY we go!

We are heading out on our 1100 mile road trip at 5 a.m. tomorrow! I am dreading it and so freakin excited at the same time! Steve, not so much! He is so not a morning person but we have to leave at that time in order to get to my sisters at a decent hour...9 or 10 p.m. My hubs does all the driving, his choice, and he likes to do it in one shot. Brutus does a lot of sleepin and mama catches up on here reading.

Here is a pic of Brutulicious on our last road trip to NY! He is secured in a harness that is connected to the seat belt in the back and has just enough room to to sleep with his head on the console between us...he has the whole back seat mind you, but he has to be near us!


I was so hoping to have my new phone for this trip but it didn't happen. I just know we will get a call from my neighbor telling me it arrived as we were entering North Carolina or something! Oh well, I wont' be reading blogs on my blackberry but will do my best to read them at my sisters house as I am taking my laptop.

Anyway, this is a very short post but I am exhausted and I want to get to sleep as I am waking up at 4 a.m. Be well my blogger buds and I will check back here soon!

Love ya!

A little of this and a little of that!

I love this picture of my two babies, Jordan and Brutus.



This has absolutely to do with anything other than I wanted to share with you! Jordan will probably kill me as she had just woken up but I love the picture and its my blog so deal with it Jordana!

I spent a great day with Stephen....we took a drive in the roadster up to St. Augustine and had lunch by the ocean in a very nice restaurant we just happened to find. I had Mahi Mahi on a bed of coleslaw with a little guacamole and melted swiss cheese. It was so good and I ate about 1/2 of what was probably a 4-5 oz portion of fish. Steve had a blackened chicken breast wrap that he said was great. I was so content on the drive home that I almost fell asleep! Actually, it was the first time that I felt comfortable sitting in the car as it has a tiny seat and I always felt like a sardine. Not so much anymore.

Tonight we are going out to dinner with our friends at the clubhouse in our community. We have BOGO free coupons that expire on Saturday and hey, we never let that go by! Its too hot to cook too so thats a plus. I just might stick to the fish theme and get that again!

Tomorrow starts my packing for our trip to NY. I am so excited about this trip. I will be staying with my sister and while I know we will have our share of cry-fests, I know we will also be doing a lot of reminiscing and laughing. She even has a honey-do list for Steve so that he stays busy and doesn't get bored. I think he is replacing her storm door, fixing her ice maker and changing some outside flood lights. He loves doing that kind of stuff and is more than happy to do anything she asks of him. She has come a very long way since the death of her husband, my BIL. She is my baby sister and while I wish I could take away her pain, I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished in the past two months. Ok, enough on this...tears are starting to roll here and this is supposed to be an upbeat post!

On the band front, I am happy that I did not go back to the Dr. for an unfill as I think I am at a good level of restriction and may even be at the Sweet Spot! I have been very careful about not eating before 10 a.m. and when I do eat, I am taking tiny bites and chewing the hell out of them before swallowing. I put my fork down and I even hum the Jeopardy tune in between bites! Last week it was the pledge of allegiance and who knows what it will be next week! The scale is inching down a little bit every few days and that makes me a happy girl! I also bought another "12 pack" of 1/2 hour sessions with my trainer Stacy today! She is so happy with my progress and that makes me happy!

Ok, enough with this happy stuff, I must get off my butt and fold laundry!

Later girlfriends!

I actually smiled in the dressing room today!

No shit! Although I have now lost 25 lbs., I have still been wearing a lot of my clothes that I wore, 25 and even 35 lbs ago. Crazy, right? I asked Steve why he didn't tell me I looked like an Italian sausage in some of the capris. Anyway, most were a size 16 and they start out ok from the dryer but get huge very quickly. Like most of you, I don't have a ton of extra money to go out and buy temporary sizes while I am losing weight. I've been making due.

Today I decided that I wanted to buy two new pairs of Capris and a few tops. I went to the store, picked up three pairs of 14's and two looked great, the third were too big! They were on sale too so that made it that much better! I then bought three tops in a size medium! Holy, schmoly! I used to buy X=Lg because of my big hips and butt but the medium fits great! I cannot remember the last time I was happy walking out of the dressing room in a store.

Moments like this make it all worthwhile, especially when the scale is being such a putz!

.3 BMI points from being overweight!!

Who would have ever thought that I would be excited about being overweight? As of my weigh-in this morning, I not only finally hit the 25 lbs lost mark but the loss brought me to .3 points shy of being overweight! How cool is that? Now, while I know that the BMI chart is a bit ambiguous, thats ok because I also saw 187.6 on the scale and I can assure you, I have not seen any number beginning with a 18 in a very long time!

On the eating front, not so good. I had about 1/2 of a scrambled egg this morning and I got stuck. I think its because I ate a little too early as I am tight in the morning. I've been eating for the first time each day around 11 or 11:30 but today I ate at 10:30 because I had to go out. I than went to Starbucks and had a Skinny Chocolate Vivanno Smoothie with a shot of espresso that went down slowly but went down! They are great by the way. I don't do them that often but I really do enjoy them. They are only 250 calories and pack a punch with 18 grams of protein. I figured that my 1/2 of egg didn't do much for me so I needed more protein.

Dinner was not good either. I mashed up 2 small meatballs with 1/2 cup marinara sauce and a slice of mozzerella cheese and got stuck after two bites! I am getting so frustrated! Yesterday was fine and today was a stucky sucky day! I am now sipping a cup of tea and it feels good!

I am getting ready for our road trip to Long Island on Friday...I cannot wait. My mother keeps calling me and tells me how much she cannot wait to see her grand-puppy, Brutus! He gets so spoiled at grandmas just like the four two-legged grandkids! I will be seeing some friends that i have not seen in a while and it will be interesting if anyone notices that I am almost "over-weight"! LOL

Have a great Sunday night all!

We did it!

Stephanie of Dreams of Skinny High Heels and our husbands finally got together for dinner tonight! We met at The world famous (who knew?) Dixie Crossings restaurant in Titusville, FL. It felt like being with old friends! She is as cute and funny in person as she is in her blog and her husband is such a sweetie. It is so important for all of us to have supportive partners and Steph and I definitely do!

Here are a few pics of us at the restaurant:






Steph and I are not only roomies, we will be travelling from FL together. She has been banded since February and she has been such an inspiration to me. I cannot wait to spend more time with her in Chicago!

Reflux?

I am 47 and I'm not sure if its reflux or not. I know what that back-wash taste tastes like but I just don't know. I've had a little sore throat all day that I hear others refer to and my tongue and lips are all tingly and a litte metallic tasting. I am very tight again and my doctor is out of the country for another week and than I will be away. The next time that I could possibly go see him is Aug. 10. I am eating but not all the time. Liquids take a very long time to go down in the a.m. but by the afternoon, I loosen up. I am only able to eat very little before I get "the backed up feeling". Sometimes it comes up and other times I can work through it. Should I be worried?

Oh, and don't worry...I have no problem gettng those pretzel m&m's down!

Friday, July 23, 2010
BYOC Friday!!!!! **Bring Your Own Craziness**

It’s time for BYOC Friday. Get to know your fellow bloggers better AND give your blogging brain a break! Enjoy!


1. Let’s brag a little….what’s the best perk you’ve ever had in your job (current or past)? Any employment counts - even if you’re a stay at home mom – you have perks (and the hardest job ever in my opinion).

I worked for a bank for 23 years and in the last 5 of those, the company owned a private plane. On a few occasions, I got to use it when traveling to CA from NY. Very cool.

2. Do you ever lie in your blog?

No, I can honestly say I have never lied in my blog.

3. What do you wear to bed?

Usually I wear a nightshirt but sometimes I just wear underwear ;)


4. Where do you go for advice?

Definitely Steve and my sister Sue.


5. Repeat question. Make someone a superstar without using a blog award. What comment or blog stuck with you the most this week and why?

Well, I will have to to say Sandy's blog on the different stages of tightness, sliming and PB'ing. As I have been experiencing all of these things lately, it really hit home.

Speaking of hitting home, Draz blogged about a motorcycle ride she did with her husband and it really hit home as I have been having such conflicting feelings about riding with Steve since my dad and BIL were killed on their bikes in May. Steve and I used to go out for rides and I loved that time that I spent with my husband. Since the "accident" I haven't been on the bike with Steve and its really been killing me. Reading about Draz's day with her husband really made me start to think and with her encouragement, we are going for our first ride tomorrow morning. I'll let you all know how that goes. Thank you Draz for helping me see and understand that my riding with my husband is in a sense honoring my dad and BIL's memory.