Ladybug

Monday, June 22, 2015

Life Is Good

Settle in, folks. I've been busy!!

When last I left you, I was busy. I guess I still am busy! Ha! This is how June always seems to go for me. Not complaining though because it is always so fun!!

First up was my eldest godson's confirmation. Well, in all fairness I'm his sponsor, not his godmother, but close enough. He is one of my flock. It was long, but lovely and I totally enjoyed spending time with him and his family.


Saturday night, BFF & I celebrated my birthday. First, dinner at Saint Ann's...



Then, House of Blues to see Bowling for Soup which is my most favorite band. Hold on a minute, I gotta go put my computer a BFS playlist...  Okay, I'm back. I love them.



A few days after my birthday, BFF & I went to Chicago. First up, we met up with some of my long-time blogger friends...



I swear, I can not see these girls for years, then meet up and it is like no time has passed. I have so much love in my heart for them. Also, I may have been a little drunk because I found this selfie I took in the bathroom...heh. I have absolutely no idea why I took that.


The next day we headed out to Hoffman Estates to watch the men's Team USA volleyball team play Poland. If you have known me long, you know how big of a fan I am. As far as the actual games go, this trip might have had the most exciting yet. The crowd was probably 75% Polish so it was almost like an "away" game for us. I think I still have "Polska *clap*clap*clap*" running through my dreams. We went 5 sets the first night and squeaked to a victory. The next night it wasn't as close, but it was still competitive and fun. We were undefeated (6-0) in World League play when they left the USA, but I heard that we lost both sets in Iran last weekend. I think they miss us.


Ducky enjoyed the game...
 On Monday of last week, I was home and got a chance to do some laundry and rest up because on Tuesday I headed to DC for a work trip. I did get to have a little fun while I was there, but it was mostly work. I got home on Wednesday night and Thursday early morning, I left with 3 coworkers to head to the Wildcatter Ranch in Graham, TX for a work retreat.

The retreat was a lot of fun and we learned some things too. We did some behavioral exercises which helped us understand how to communicate with each other. I also found out that I am a master stool builder. Seriously. One of the events in a team competition we had was to build a stool. Our team of three had eight large dowel rods and a roll of duct tape. We had to build a stool that would hold one member of the team in a sitting position with one leg off the floor for 30 seconds. We had a time cap of 16:00. My team finished in 4:00. We smoked the other teams (some didn't even finish) and it was awesome.

After the retreat, BFF & I went straight to the Hilton Anatole in Dallas for the Jazzercise convention. Friday was a bit low key, but we did a Jazzercise class that evening before dinner. We cleaned up nice though...
It was a miracle because every single one of us loved this picture!!

On Saturday, we worked out for 5 and 1/2 hours. That is a REALLY long time. We did 2 and 1/2 hours of Jazzercise in the morning. Then had lunch. Then we planked for 2 full minutes for which I was totally stinking proud. I had never done that before!! Two minutes is a lifetime when you are on your elbows and toes.


In the afternoon, we did a hip-hop dance class, then a country/hip-hop dance class, then finished with an hour of Jazzercise. My feet were so sore I can't even put it into words. We still managed to get dressed for dinner though. Food and drinks were calling my name!!


Okay, now for the current part. I have learned to be less critical of myself in pictures. YAY if I can get a flattering pose and but if it isn't, I deal. No problem. But someone took this picture of me at the work retreat and I almost cried.



Now don't get me wrong. There was a time when this size was a dream come true. When I was pushing 300 pounds, all I wanted to do was shop in normal stores. But now that I have gone beyond that, just fitting into a 14/16 isn't okay anymore. I'm not packing on pounds, but I'm just not losing anything and I seem to fluctuate higher and higher. So what am I going to do about it?

More to come...

Hugs!

4 comments:

Amanda Kiska said...

Wow! I'm tired just reading all that!

My daughter was just confirmed last month.

Your bow-holding posture is amazing and you look beautiful!

Amy W. said...

Well that was a nice little post dude! First, I am jealous of you getting to hang out with some lovely Chicago bandsters. Did Jen drink a Moscow Mule? When I met her in Arizona I had never heard of one (and she drank them) and now whenever I see a mule copper cup...i think of her.

Second. I am starving. That has nothing to do with you but I needed to share.

Third, I love all the dresses and tops you have on in these pictures.

The end.

Jen said...

Loved, Loved, Loved (is that enough loves??) seeing you and BFF!!! I feel the same, it's so easy to just jump right in as if it hasn't been a year seeing you!
And AmyW - nope I didn't have a Moscow Mule (that Night) but it is my signature drink!! :)

XOXO! (and don't be so hard on yourself! you are and look FABULOUS!)

Bonnie said...

Sounds like you have been having a blast. All the pictures are great. You know you are feeling good about yourself when you take a selfie in the bathroom. You go girl!