Spa weekend and other things...

I've been a bit remiss lately about the blog. Sorry folks, life is getting in the way. Last weekend was our girls weekend in Columbus. Six of us, sans husbands, went to the Hilton Polaris on Friday for massage and pedi's, dinner, dancing, and shopping. And well, some libations were apart of the festivities.

We had so much fun, or at the very least, I had so much fun! Lunch at BJ's (martini), wine in the room, wine and water at the spa, wine in the room, cosmo with dinner, and vodka and pineapple juice (several) while listening/dancing to the band. Now, I'm not much of a drinker these days. I'm usually the DD when hubby and I go anywhere since we always have a 40 minute drive home when going out with most of our friends. But I must still have it in me from the old days, because people, I can drink. The massages and pedi's were sinfully good, and the band was excellent and very well liked by the ladies. We stayed at the bar until the band was done with their set and by then I had my shoes off and went around trying to get everyone at the bar on the dance floor. I'm normally not the social butterfly that somehow came out that night, but it's amazing how much fun you can have when you put yourself out there. Had a couple of guys that seemed to be a bit more interested in something other than dancing, but I was a good girl. No hanky panky....hell they were married too! Besides I was with 2 of the SIL, how stupid would that have been. But the attention was certainly nice I will say. I don't think they realized how much they made my day!

When I finally went to bed that night I have to say the bed felt like a raft in the ocean. I can't say I ever felt loaded, but I finally realized when I laid down that maybe the vodka and pineapple juice combo went down a little too well. Sure enough, 6:30 am rolled around and I was wide awake, and feeling pretty lousy. I spent the next 3 hours going back and forth from my bed to the bathroom floor trying like hell to avoid throwing up. I can't remember the last time I had a hangover but I'm pretty sure that was my last one. The hot flashes, the shakes, the nausea, headache, heart racing, and general "I'm going to die" feeling is not one I wish to relive anytime soon. I missed breakfast. I idea of food was excruciatingly sickening to say the least. I nibbled on "gold fish" and water for awhile and then we went off shopping.

Now mind you, I LOVE Polaris mall. I did manage to find a couple of pairs of jeans at the Gap, then ended up sitting in the dressing room at Penneys several times just to gather myself. Finally I ended up a the food court and got a lemonade since I felt like I came as close as I want to passing out. If that young man had taken 10 more seconds to get me my drink, he would have been scraping me off the floor right there. That was the extent of my shopping trip. No Saks, no Macy's, no boutiques. Just sat in the food court for 2 more hours before we all decided it was time to head home.

This weekend it was friday night under the lights for the first game of the season. Last night, a party for my youngest nephew Craig who will be heading overseas to Azerbaijan in a couple of weeks for the Peace Corps. He is ready to go, although kind of having a few regrets since he has been dating someone since May that he really cares for and now he is leaving for 2+ years. He is such a great kid and I am going to miss him. I just want him to be safe over there and cared for. Apparently he lives at least 6 months with a host family and will be teaching English. After that, he can continue with a host family or move out and live on his own. I just hope it all goes well.

On the weight front, I was ranging from 148 to 149.5 all last week. But this weekend was a free for all so I'm sure I'll be up a couple of lbs tomorrow morning. It's truly amazing how that doesn't bother me. It's like now I know I have the determination to remain where I am. And once I'm back in my weekly routine my weight will start to fall again. This band has given me so much more than just a limitation to my eating, it's given me the confidence that I can sustain my weight loss and have the control to keep my weight within the range I'm comfortable. And that is priceless.

Bubba did good...

So last night hubby surprised me with dinner at Fleming's Steakhouse at The Greene with 2 other couples to celebrate my birthday this week. So, needless to say, it wasn't a great "diet" day. But ohh so worth it. I dined on roasted mushroom ravioli, bleu cheese mashed potatoes, filet mignon, chocolate lava cake, and 2 martinis. Later we walked around The Greene and he bought me a pair of Revo's I had my eye on for a couple months. Sweet! And we topped it all off with a slice to go at the Cheesecake Factory...which didn't see Sunday. All in all, a wonderful night out and oh so fun!

Today has been back on the bandwagon after the Cheryl & Co cookie this morning....but it was just one and I've been good since. So, hopefully the scale isn't too punishing tomorrow morning. I ran a few errands today and got some new pj's for our spa weekend. And a couple of shower wraps (smalls!) that were like $10 apiece. The sales at the stores are so great right now with the back to school incentives going on. Man, clothes shopping is so much more fun these days, and so much more affordable. They actually have things in my size on the sale racks now that are still great looking items. So I have to admit I bought a few jackets and pants today to at least get me started with the cooler weather to come.

We went hiking at the prairie tonight...no deer this time, just bunnies everywhere. It's still hot and oh so humid. The horseflies are horrible if you don't wear a hat on the paths. All in all, a great weekend. Bubba has a toothache that's been giving him fits now for a couple of weeks and just now mentioned it today. He has a phobia about anything dental....so let's just say it's been awhile since he's made it to get his teeth looked at. I'm afraid he's in for some major pain by letting it go for so long and trying to get this teeth and gums back in shape. It would be great if they would just knock him out, but I doubt if it would be that extreme. So, we'll see how it goes and what the damage is. He's thinking it needs pulled, I'm thinking he may need dentures at this point since he has hardly any back teeth left that are any good and has a crown or two that is damaged. So, hopefully not like a college tuition bill for the charges. Crossing my fingers...

Are YOU feeling hot???

Okay....I need a break. This hot humid weather can go away and bring some fresh air back here. It's hard to breathe out there in this crap. Hubby likes to go biking in the evening and then we stop by the track and walk a few laps, but twice this week I told him to knock yourself out cowboy, I'm going to the "Y". At least I can sweat because I worked one up, not because I'm existing. I'm simply not like Drazil....I do not look "hot" when I sweat, I look like I melted. And once that happens, only a blissful shower sets things right again.

So, last week I hit goal....actually got down to 149.5 at one point. Saturday we met with some friends and biked 23 miles on the Piqua bike trails. Hubby says he has only a 15 mile ass. Me...only 10 mile knees. Saturday night I paid for it. I woke up several times with my knee just aching. So much for feeling like I was half ass in shape. We went faster than Bubba and I normally do, and I was in my highest gear most of the time. And towards the end of the ride we had to go up the widow maker (the highest hill on the trail). 10 feet from the top, I had to bail. Nothing left in the tank. If I had a tail I would have stuck it between my legs, but I trudged up to the others, got a drink, and finished the last 4 miles. The scale rewarded me Monday morning by reading 154.5. I'm thinking of getting a new one.

So this week it's been back on the straight and narrow, logging my food choices, working out religiously and writing down my weight. Maintenance is going to show me what I'm made of....not the process of losing the weight. I'm so glad Bubba is there for me to nudge me when I really feel like being a slug. We keep each other honest when it comes to exercising.

Bubba has something planned for tomorrow he won't tell me about. But I have to be ready at 4 pm and dress "smart casual". mmmm....those are words that don't normally come out of this mouth, so I'm thinking it's more than just the two of us. And the fact that he isn't wearing shorts or jeans tell me it's something special. I've got a birthday coming up so I guess that's the reason for all the secrecy.

Next weekend 6 of us "girls" are doing a spa weekend in Columbus. Our first was last year and a great one, so we added 2 more people and it's a day of pampering and then dinner and going to see a new band Bubba and I saw at Put-in-Bay a couple of weeks ago. Here is the really weird part. Bubba and I really liked their music. At one of their breaks, the female singer came over to us and chatted and gave us their show dates for the next few months. Since we have plans to be in the Columbus area a couple of times coming up, I checked out their website and lo and behold, the girl grew up like 3 miles from where we live. And to top it off, I know her mom. We belonged to the same photography club about 15 years ago. Talk about small world.

Bubba is up at the ball diamond tonight and his friend from way back stopped by unexpectedly. He's never been to our house before so we chatted and I walked him over to where Bubba was so they could hang out. So it's just me and my laundry basket this evening. Okay and maybe a glass of wine. I'm toasting to Judi....congrats girlfriend~!

Goal!

This morning I did my usual routine. Wake up, put in my contacts, go tinkle, and then step on the scale. Well today was THE DAY! 150. Step off, step back on...150. Do it again...150. I knew if I put a camera in my hand the damn thing would read 150.5 so no picture here.

I e-mailed my surgeon this morning thanking him and his staff for all of their encouragement, support and efforts in getting me to where I am. He replied that I should get something to signify my achievement....like a diamond or something else incredibly expensive that I don't even remember. Since that is out of the question, I went to the mall this evening and looked around for something. After an hour, I came up with 3 tubes of hand cream from B&B. I really realized that I have everything I need and sure I have "wants" but, being practical at this point, didn't have anything I felt like spending money on. So I thought about the SHRM conference in September I'm going to and bought an outfit to wear for the conference. The pants look awesome and actually do make me look really nice. Something about seeing myself in a 3-way mirror kind of gives me a better idea of what I look like and I liked what I saw. For once, both my jacket and pants were a size 8. Another goal. Getting clothes in single digits. Doesn't even have to be all of them. But having a few and they fit well, that's hard to beat.

I felt very blessed to be where I'm at. I have to thank my wonderful husband for his support as well. He has been encouraging all the way, even when he had his doubts initially. He's also lost 25 lbs from both of us pushing each other to exercise. He has made this journey with me together and endured all of the plateaus, doubts, fears, periods of frustration and struggles at times. I am forever grateful to have him in my life.

I'm thinking about continuing to track my calories, weight and exercise for a few more weeks and see if maybe 5 more lbs lost can be a reality. I'd really like to see 150 at the doctor's office the next time I go, but I don't think they would appreciate it if I would strip naked in the hallway to see it. Then I will officially be 1/2 the person I used to be.

It's amazing how my overall outlook has changed since beginning this journey. I used to just kind of muddle through the day, not particularly happy and pretty disgusted with myself. Now I am better able to handle anything thrown at me, and like what I see when I look in the mirror. Sure I have saggy skin and my legs will never win any prizes at the fair, but I'm okay with that. One of my bosses today asked if I have reconsidered my decision not to have any cosmetic surgery done (we've talked about this before). I told him as much as I would like to get rid of it, that the 4-6 week recovery period, the cost, and the chance of complications or worse is something I'm not willing to put myself through. I'm happy now. I will never be perfect, but I never was and don't expect to be. I'll look at them as my battle scars and do what I can to minimize them. But what I'm able to do and how I feel right now is enough. Life is sweet!

Put in Bay...a drinker's paradise!

Hubby and I went with 2 of my friends from high school and their husbands to Put in Bay over the weekend. If you like drinking and fishing...this is the place for you. Lots of entertainment, both musical and from the crowds. We tried to do our best to party like the young'ins, but for some reason I still think we came up short.

My hubby, Bubba, decided to get his load on Friday night and ended up back at the bed and breakfast by 10:15 pm. Seriously - can you be more of a lightweight honey? I myself do not drink very much at all anymore since I'm normally the designated driver. But it was my chance to pickle my liver this weekend so I tried to take full advantage.

Saturday Bubba didn't make it out of the room until we went to dinner around 7 pm, but I sure as heck wasn't going to ruin my short weekend sitting there watching a 19" tv, so off we went in search of some fun in the sun and found it as you can see. I sure as hell wouldn't have went to one of these places at 300 lbs. So it was nice to be able to feel just as one of the "old farts" at the part instead of old and fat. Bubba missed it. There was plenty of oogling to be done from all of us. I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time we were there.

Luckily, both Friday night and Saturday afternoon I got a pretty good buzz on, but knew my limits. I do have to say the 20 minute power nap before dinner was a bit unsettling, sort of like being on the ocean on a life raft, but necessary and totally helped me last the rest of the night.

It was great to catch up with friends I don't get to see very often even though they live close by. This was the first couples trip we ever took and it went well. I hated it that Bubba couldn't join us most of the day on Saturday and hope they didn't feel like he was dissing them. But I know he was sick since the remnants were in the sink yet on Saturday morning. Ewwwww! Long gross story, won't go into details, but he was SICK!

We went to visit his folks on the way home and also stopped in to see mine to thank them for checking on the cat. Dad mentioned to me that my newly married godchild is going thru some tough times starting out her marriage. Apparently, her new mother-in-law somehow convinced her son to delay putting $7,000 they saved for wedding expenses into the bank and she ended up paying her back taxes with it, all the while my niece was writing out checks to pay for wedding expenses. And then she had the nerve to say, "oh well, you're young, you'll get over it". Wow. That is just wrong on so many levels. And to top it off, his Dad left the morning of the wedding to go back home (out of state) because his car was acting up and he didn't want to have to pay for a tux. Didn't go to his only son's wedding. I'm sure there is alot more to the story but geez. I was so upset for my niece to be having to deal with all of this as her marriage is just beginning.

I sure hope they are able to put this behind them. I know it will take alot for her to have a good relationship with her in laws at this point. It's just too sad for words. I have never even had to question or have ever given a thought to the trust I have put into my in laws and family, and so inconceivable to me that something like this could ever happen (to me). So, I'm sure my niece pretty much felt the same way from everything she has ever said to me about his family. I just pray this will be resolved peacefully and without too much animosity. Not a great way to start your life together.

On the weight front, I'm going to stay off the scale for a few days with all the liquor and gluttony over the weekend. I need my routine back, so I'm actually looking forward to Monday!