Highs and Lows

7 months. 7 MONTHS!!! That is how long it has been since I've written anything...shameful lol. Anyway, one of the reasons I haven't been writing is because there is a traffic jam of thoughts and stories in my head, and I feel like I need to write about all of that before I can write about the present. It's quite a dilemma!

So I was thinking "How can I let everyone know what has been going on the last 7 months?". Then it hit me: I'll give you a quick rundown of some of the highs and lows of the last 7 months so we can all get caught up and move on. I mean it's not good to be stuck in one place! BTW I must give credit to my niece Drea for teaching me the High/Low game at dinner with her family :-) So here goes...

January
High: I ran a 5K in Walt Disney World!!!!!! It was an awesome experience and I'm so glad I got to run with my Sister Jonna (she beat me by the way, skinny biatch! ;-) and that we got to share it with our Mom. We stayed in WDW for a week and had so much fun together. One of my favorite moments (other than the race) was just being in our room and the 3 of us being silly and laughing so much! It was great and I plan to run in that race again. Here is a pic.

Low: I came home from WDW (again, after running a 5K) AND HAD GAINED 10LBS! Seriously, WTF people! That got me a little down; well, ok fast food and gallons of ice cream down, but I bounced back. AHEM, NO FAT JOKES JUST BECAUSE I SAID "BOUNCE"!

February
The high and the low for February are one in the same. We began a special training program at work and it went into full swing the first quarter of 2011. I spent weeks and weeks in Charleston helping design curriculum, and then took the show on the road and traveled the state (along with my coworkers) teaching the grateful masses. Although this was mostly a high because I love to travel and enjoy teaching, I was T-I-R-E-D when it was all said and done!

March

 High: March was a good month. The training road show continued, but I had a great St. Patty's Day with friends! Oh and I also started sleep better (see Low).

Lamb Stew and Irish Soda Bread

Guinness...Need I say more?

Low (kind of): I also had a sleep study in March and found out I have a mild sleep disorder. It is very treatable though and it was nice to finally know why I was tired all the time. Oh, and I get to wear this very fashionable apparatus!                                        













April
High: April was busy! The high would have to be Easter and my spiritual community's (renovate: www.facebook.com/renovate) presentation of The Way of the Cross. This is an interactive presentation of the path of Christ from the Garden of Gethsemane to the cross. It is always very moving and our team really came together to pull it off (we always do)!

Low: I shouldn't even tell this story...Ok, so I got a bad haircut. I've accepted it. So bad in fact that it became a joke among my "friends" that I looked like Rihanna. Seriously, it was bad. The guy told me he was going for, and I quote, "business in the front, party in the back". REALLY! I can't make this up. He also hit me in the head several times with a hairdryer. It was BAD. Thanks to my friend Lisa for fixing me up.

I really don't see the resemblance...

May
High: May was a great month for several reasons. One IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!!!!! Also, my baby sister Jonna graduated from WVU and we took her to begin an internship at...wait for it...WALT DISNEY WORLD!  This really was the best part of the month because my Mom, sister and I went on a road trip to get her to Florida. We had so much fun! We stopped in Savannah on the way and ate at The Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant. Wow. Delish! We also went to Universal Studios for a day and of course to Magic Kingdom. Here are some pics.

Staying in a hotel in Orlando

May is also my friend Sarah's birthday. We all went out for a fancy night on the town!

Low: Universal Studios. It was hot, packed, expensive, run down, and my fat ass wouldn't fit into the ride seats for the Harry Potter ride (that we stood in line for two hours for). UGH!

June
High: The high for June was hard to decide, so I picked two. In early June renovate participated in Relay for Life. I'm so proud of us, in just one month's time we were able to raise about $900 for the American Cancer Society. It was really fun.

My godson and I at Relay for Life

Relay for Life Luminary in memory of my Grandma

Our (renovate's) table at Relay for Life

 As I was uploading these pics I realized I forgot the highest high of them all for June...I was finally approved for and had Lapband weight loss surgery! Things went great and I've lost about 42 lbs so far :-) Take that Universal Studios!
My other high for June was our annual Man Camp, where my group of guy friends and I go camping somewhere and eat, among other things, bacon (12 lbs this year) and drink beer and relax. Always a good time.

Low: June was pretty great. If I had to pick a low (which really isn't one because of the results) it would be my 2 week pre-op liquid diet. 5 slim fasts a day, broth, and Jello get pretty old. I really can't complain though because it really helped me prepare for my big day.

July
High: I hit the 30 lbs lost mark! I also love to celebrate Independence Day so that of course was fun.
Low: The heat! We definately had a summer heat wave. I'd rather be cold any day...remind of that in 5 months.

August (so far)
High: I got to attend a second version of "Man Camp" for a friends bachelor party. We had a great time at a cabin in Ohio.

Snuggling...he's so cute!

Low: My baby Cooper (my dog) was sick :-( It was, well, a stomach sickness...let's just say i had to rent a carpet cleaner. He's all better now though!














So that's it, you are now up to date. So many other good things happened; babies were born, I spent quality time with friends and family, and I'm enjoying life. Stay tuned, lots of fun stuff is coming up. WVU Football, Disney World (yes, again) at Thanksgiving. It's gonna be a great rest of the year!

Whew! Now that I got all that out I feel like I can start blogging more regularly again. Please comment, and I'll talk to you again soon :-)

Catching Up!

Wow! Has it really been since November? Well a lot has happened since November...I need to catch you all up. It may take more than one post, so bear with me :-)

So Thanksgiving was fun, one of my fav holidays. Had dinner at my Mom's house which was fine. It was a little tough because some traditions that I'm used to didn't happen (see a few posts back). I made it through though and was of course thankful for all I have. My friends and I did have our annual "Gobbling" get together. We had a really good time and some DELICIOUS food. I love getting together every year with these folks!

Christmas actually is my favorite holiday, and I had a wonderful one.  I had some friends over to help me decorate my tree and we had a great time! Here are some photos. Click here for more.

 

This is one of my favorite pics of my Mom and I.

My sister and I came up with a new tradition this Christmas. Instead of the adults in our family exchanging gifts, we decided to join the Advent Conspiracy and have a family game night for charity.  We all got together at my sister's house and played all kinds of games. We each chose a different charity to play for, and at the end of the night we would all donate to the charity of the person who won the most games! It was so fun and we were able to give over $300.00 to the Morgantown Area Youth Service Project. Congrats to my Brother in Law Chris for his win! Click here for some more pics from Christmas 2010.

Well that takes us up to January. Exciting things have happened so far in 2011, including a 5K! That will have to wait for another post though. Night!

It's Embroidered!

     They say that you can't adequately deal with a problem until you acknowledge it. Well, I have a problem. An addiction really. I'm addicted to reusable shopping bags! Whew, it feels so good to get that off my chest...
Seriously! I probably have have upwards of 15 to 20. I think the problem is twofold:
     1. I have a "green" conscience, so anytime I'm in the store and I forget to take my bags in I feel like I have to buy another, and
     2. the stores are always coming out with a newer, upgraded model!
I mean, Ikea has an insulated super-deluxe model with pockets inside and out! Target just came out with a really nice canvas one that is very roomy and has an embroidered logo! (Yes, I realize that statements like the two previous do not do ANYTHING to help me maintain my Mancard; don't judge me!)  Plus these bags are very handy for just carrying "stuff".
     So there it is. Let the comments commence, I can take it. PS, here's the new Target bag:

What About Love

I'm very sad right now; I feel like part of my family is falling apart. My family, the family I'm so proud of because we have been able to work things out and stay together all these years. The family I've always turned to. Well, part of that family is changing quickly. Sadly. Maybe for good. And dammit, I don't like it!

And I don't understand it. I don't understand how two people who have been through so much together can just decide not to try any longer. Let's separate; let's move my stuff out; let's sell the house. Let's quit...

...well excuse my language but Fuck that!

It's all so fast!  What about the holidays?  What about card games and cookouts and waterfalls and grand kids and Christmas lights and flowers in the summer and fall and Volkswagens and vollyball and too much food and...
At least no one is saying the "D" word yet. Maybe there is hope. I know there is with God. I just don't like the uncertainty.

I didn't have a title for this until the end. Reminds me of the song of the same name by Heart. Enjoy.

Full On Double Rainbow!!!

Okay, so I've wanted to write about this for a while. How many of you have seen the "double rainbow" video on YouTube? That many? Wow! Well if you haven't seen it you should watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI&feature=youtube_gdata_player before you read any further.

Now that we're all on the same page let's discuss. Here are my thoughts. Many folks have made fun of "Bear" Vasquez, the guy in the video ("Aaahhhh" you are thinking, "he's done his research"). Some have said he must be high or something. FYI in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live Bear denied being high, well at least in THIS video (his words) LOL. I'm with ya, it is some pretty funny stuff! Let's look at it from a different POV though.

Here's what I see when I watch the video: I see (well, hear) a guy so amazed by something so beautiful and wonderful and even magical that he is overwhelmed by it. He is overcome with emotion. He laughs, cries, and even seeks to understand what this "sign" means.

I say what's wrong with that. I felt like I was listening to someone being told that everything is going to ok. Maybe it was an answer to prayer? Who knows. My point is this: what could the world be like if we all lived each day with this sense of wonder?

What do you think of when you see a rainbow? "Oh, I see that the sun is refracting through the moisture in the atmosphere again" or "Wow, that is beautiful! And amazing! And maybe even magical! Thanks God!" I think I'd like to try and choose the latter.
BTW, Bear also said on Jimmy Kimmel that he did feel the universe was saying something to him that day, hence the reaction. The reaction that is happy and funny and makes me laugh.

If you'd like to see a great dramatic presentation of this video check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2FiiMWNHU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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What Week Is It Again?

Let me start by saying I love "the Facebook" (as my friend Andy calls it). Have you ever noticed though that it always seems to be some sort of "theme" week? I mean I've seen Sons week (which I appreciated, thanks Mom!), Daughter week, post the color of your bra week, School week, etc. I can't keep up with it all! Here is my question though: Who decides what week it is? I mean, what if I want to be the one to choose!? What if I want it to be "Send money to Dave week"? Or, "Fat guys are sexy week"? What about "Moon someone week" or "Free iPhone week"? I'm just sayin...

What week is it again???

God Goes to Dance Recitals

As I write this I'm sitting at a dance recital that includes several friends and their kids. I go to these about once a year and love supporting my friends and their kids. They are always very good.

Anyway, I didn't realize until I arrived that this year's recital was dedicated to a little girl, a dance student, who died of cancer late last year. They are raising money for a charity in her name, which is very sweet.

We're about 3/4 of the way through when the emcee announces, her voice breaking, that the next little girl is dedicating her dance to her friend Brogan (the little girl who passed away) and that she is wearing the costume that Brogan had picked out for her next performance.

As she took the stage everyone got silent, and you could tell she had tears in her eyes. She danced beautifully to a song about a butterfly flying away. When she was done everyone stood and clapped, as she ran to her mom and hugged her and cried. It was a beautiful, bittersweet moment.

And yes, I cried too. Was there any doubt? It struck me though that this was a "God moment", one of those times when we as humans, even for a brief moment, can become aware of things beyond ourselves and feel God with us. It got me thinking, maybe God is with us all the time, like scripture says, but we are too caught up in ouselves/lives to notice. But then something interrupts us and makes us pause; we realize what matters and tap into our real emotions; and there He is. Then, we move on to the next dance and the moment is over. Hopefully though we are aware enough to recognize it and it sustains us to the next time.

This leaves me with lots to think about; too much for this blog. Suffice it to say this: try to be more aware of your God moments, and thanks, Brogan, for helping me see what matters.


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