7/27- It's just a jump to left, and then a step to the right

Weight Loss for the Week: Unknown- hotel doesn't have a scale apparently.

Counting points went fine this week. And I got in all my workouts, so I am hoping that I at least maintained if not lost a little. I did end up using some of my weeklies, but not all of them like last week, so that was good, I kept to my goal for the week since I knew I was celebrating my birthday for a few days.  I did have to realize that it's the last week I got to go to all the morning Zumbas for quite some time. That was a sad moment. I really like starting my days off with Zumba. Back to the evening classes.

Okay, onto the week. Tuesday, I got to see Amy and the kids for most of the day. It was really nice. We went to Pizza Cafe as an early birthday celebration, and followed with some dessert at Sweet Noshings (where else?). The owners at SN were so nice- they gave me some free candy for my birthday, and they gave us free ice cream just because :) I got to see Daniel walk! And Lizzy was having a lot of fun with her new fishing rod. I swear, those kids are growing up too dang fast! It was nice to have a long catch up with Amy as well. We haven't had a long day together like that in quite some time :)

I turned 28 on Wednesday. It sounds a bit old to type that. I woke up to some shoulder and neck pain. Definitely made me feel a bit old. Did some stretches and they helped. Went to Zumba. Then, Mom and Deborah got me and we went to lunch at Saigon Lee- very tasty! I opted for an afternoon nap because... nap. That evening, I went to the last session of my catechesis class. It was a better session, he gave us some good ideas for application. I got a lot of nice wishes on Facebook, my phone, etc. It made me feel very loved :)

Thursday, I wound up going to see my PT to get him to work on my shoulder and neck. Feeling much better. That evening, my family celebrated my birthday, and I was so glad Sean was able to come. We got some Garabaldi's for dinner (YUM), and had brownie sundaes for dessert. I got some really nice presents from all of them. I also gave Sean his birthday present a little early since I'll be out of town on his birthday (it's tomorrow). He liked his present as well :)  After dinner, Mom, Memaw, Ashly, and I went to Pinot's Palette for a Girls' Paint Night! We had so much fun, and our paintings all look so nice! Friday, I went to Zumba (WOOT), and started cleaning and getting ready for my trip. That night, I went to Frida's with a lot of my friends for a birthday dinner. We wound up being at two big tables since there were so many of us. After dinner, most of us went up on the roof for some more drinks and brownie sundae leftovers. It was a really fun night. I hope they all enjoyed it as much as I did. All these celebrations and well wishes really let me know how lucky and blessed I am to have so many family members and friends who love and care about me. It's a rather amazing feeling, gotta say :)

Yesterday, I finished packing and taking care of some last-minute things before hitting the road for my last vacation before the school year starts again. My dad and Diane let me use their timeshare again, so I decided to go somewhere I could drive that has an outdoor pool. And I found a nice resort in Branson, MO. The drive was nice, rather winding at the end, but nice, and not too long. The resort is really nice. It has three pools and two hot tubs :) And a fitness center, and plenty of options for activities during the week if I want to participate. My suite is very nice. It has a separate bedroom and a full kitchen which I like since that means I can stay on track food-wise even though I'm on vacation.

Now, time to relax :)

Photos of the Week:

Lunch at Memphis Pizza Cafe

 Walking boy!

 Hugging Mom

 Kissing on Sean

 Girls Night!

 Birthday Beer at Frida's!

How I intend to spend this last week of summer

Tip of the Week: Preventive care is always a good option.

Recipe of the Week: Skinny Queso - because I have been craving cheese dip for a few weeks.

7/21- Slightly less for people we don't like, and a little bit more for me

Weight Loss for the Week: 0lbs

Another busy week! I did count points, and I did get in my workouts. I also used all of my Weekly and Activity points up for a change. I'll take maintaining on a week like this. Back to norm now (i.e. lots of water and salads.) There will be a little splurging on my birthday, but no where near the splurging of this past week.

Dad was in town from Tuesday afternoon through Friday morning. I had so much fun getting to see him and hang out with him while he was in town. Tuesday, Conor and I went over to his hotel once he got in. Then, we went shopping in Overton Square, and we got some new workout clothes and shoes- I love mine! I finally have some dry wick workout clothes which are musts in this heat and humidity.  After that, we met up with the Pizza Group, and Memaw, for dinner at Memphis Pizza Cafe. We had a really nice time, and I know Dad was glad to get to see all those old friends. Wednesday, I went to my optometrist for the first time in a long time to get my eyes checked and get some new contacts. I found out that my insurance covers all my contacts for the year! Score! After I was done there, I met up with Dad and one of his friends to go walk the links at Galloway. It was such lovely weather for it too. Then, Conor, Dad, and I got an early dinner at Cheffie's before they headed out for a guys night and I headed to Catechesis class. After class, I was able to meet them for some drinks and dessert.

Thursday, it was Mom's birthday. She and I went to Memaw's for lunch. We had a nice time chatting, and Mom got to open her presents. Memaw even surprised her with Muddy's cupcakes :) After leaving, I came home and took care of a few chores while Dad finished up with work. Then, I went to his hotel and finished getting ready for dinner. We went to Paulette's (my all-time favorite restaurant here) for an early birthday dinner. It was such a nice meal- the manager even came over to wish us happy birthdays :)  Once we were good and full of all the delicious food, we left, got Memaw, and went to Mom's to play Phase 10. We had fun trying to make phases, determining who to skip (usually Dad or me), and hoping for Wild cards. Finally, it was late, and time for everyone to go to bed.

Friday, I went to Zumba since I absolutely needed it after my dinner at Paulette's. Then, I got ready for my weekend trip to the Gulf. Jen, Kristin, Mark, and I drove down Friday night to Gulfport, MS. We stopped for some dinner in Canton, MS at a Mexican restaurant and happened upon their karaoke night. It was so funny! Jen ended up singing "Mercedes Benz"- and rocked it! We made it to Jen's parents condo around midnight and went pretty much straight to bed. The next morning, we started our day with a walk to and down the beach. It was a very nice beach, and not crowded at all. I do love non-FL beaches on the gulf for that reason- nice, and never anywhere near as crowded. Then, we got beignets for breakfast at a nearby cafe. Afterwards, we got cleaned up and headed to NOLA since it was supposed to be rainy at the beach that day. NOLA was such fun! We stopped for lunch and drinks first. Then, we went to the aquarium- best way to go, I must say. The fish were so shiny! Then, it was time for more beignets (no judging) at Cafe du Monde before hitting Bourbon street! By the time we left, we were full of more than enough fried food and alcohol (minus Kristin).

Sunday morning, we walked to the beach again, though we did a different route to do some geocaching along the way. After our walk, Mark and Jen made up brunch featuring Bellinis, bacon, fried hush puppies, and scrambled eggs with cheese and fried onions. Yes, it was a heart attack on a plate, and yes, it was delicious. After we were able to move again, we got ready and went back to the beach. We had a nice time walking/swimming/floating in the ocean. And we got to lay out a good bit too :) We finally peeled ourselves off our beach towels and chairs, and went back for a little happy hour noshing before getting ready for dinner. We stopped at a few nice, scenic places along the way, and then had a delicious last seafood dinner. We did decide to go back to the beach one last time to watch the sunset. Today, we got up early enough and drove home.

Now, I'm just making sure I will get in all my workouts for the week, and that I will only splurge the once this week.

Photos of the Week:

Dad and Memaw

Mom blowing out her birthday candles (note that there are only three...)

Dad and I at Paulette's for an early birthday dinner :)

Family photos after Family Game Night

First drink in New Orleans!

 

Enjoying a beignet at Cafe du Monde

At Pat O'Briens!

 

Beach!

I claim this land!

Being devoured by a shark. 

Group photo at our last dinner

So many pretty views...

Tip of the Week: Fried food, while delicious, is the devil.

Recipe of the Week: Panera Bread Under 500 Calories

7/14- Don't go crying to your mama 'cause you're on your own in the real world

Weight Loss for the Week: 1.5 lbs

So, this summer is just flying by. This past week, I went to Zumba 4 days, and did my walks. I also meticulously counted points since I knew I had a number of weekend outings featuring food. It worked :) And since it will be the same this week, I will have to be just as on top of it. Wish me luck!

Aside from all the Zumba workouts (btw, survived all the instructors this week- and I do mean survived), it's been a busy week. We can start with the worst part of it- ants invaded my car. Ant invaded my car. While I was out of town with Mom, I had parked my car at her place near a tree. During that two plus weeks, ants invaded and began colonizing. Any of you who have teased me for hating bugs in my spaces, if you're amused right now, then I know you've never had to get rid of that amount of bugs at one time. It was annoying, creepy, gross, embarrassing, and horrific to say the least. I have now cleaned out my car- some things had to be thrown away because that's how many ants were deep in them. I have used three different sprays and a ton of cinnamon to kill them and keep them away. It seems like this hell might just be over, but I'm giving it a few more days before I wipe all of the cinnamon off of my car (it is seriously everywhere, my car smells like a giant cinnamon roll).

Aside from that, this week has been fine, good. I went to Humdinger's for trivia on Tuesday. Sunshine and Cat had expressed interest, so we made plans to go. Then, I found out the folks I go there with from time to time would be there too, so we just joined their team. We came in fourth. We tried our best, but oh well- can't always win first or second, right? Wednesday, it was time for the second round of that Catechesis class on Scripture. It was about the same as the first week. Thursday, I went over to Memaw's to lay out by the pool for a bit in the morning. Then, I did some cleaning for her, and we enjoyed some lunch together :) . After running a few errands, I came home to relax before Bible study that evening. Bible study went well- a few new people have started coming which is nice. And it was the first time I'd been able to go in about a month. Friday, we had another CYA dinner at Memphis Pizza Cafe. It was a lot of fun- our new priest was able to join us which was really nice.

Saturday, it was time for Sean's cousin's wedding. It was at Savannah Woods Plantation- a place where one of my cousins got married a few years ago funnily enough. It was a lovely ceremony and reception. And I was glad to meet more of his family. I spent a good while talking with his grandmother. She's really sweet. Overall, we had a really nice time. Since the reception ended in the evening, we went back to hang out at his place afterwards.  Then, we had our first real fight. It doesn't matter what it was about, what matters is that we each said what we had to say, and we listened to what the other person had to say.  At the end, we were fine again, and we know what we need to work on for the future. After that, we watched a movie :)

Saturday, it was time for another CYA event (this was a big weekend for us). We all went to Mass together. Then, we went to brunch at Bryant's- so filling! I splurged and got bacon pancakes. It was a big meal, and it was my main meal that day, and it was so good. After brunch, we went to Putt-Putt to play mini golf! Playing in the heat and humidity right after a big meal might not have been the best idea all things considered, but we still had a good time. We sweat like crazy, but we had a fun time.  After I got home and rested some, I went back to Sean's since I had accidentally left my cell phone at his place. We hung out, watched another movie, and he made dinner- I had to explain how much I had eaten earlier so that he'd understand why I was eating so little then. It was a nice way to end my weekend :)

Now, to get ready to see Dad this week!

CYA dinner at Memphis Pizza Cafe

Sean and I at the wedding

 Putt-Putt outing!

Tip of the Week: Be open. Be honest.

Recipe of the Week: WW Skinny Chimichangas

7/6- Going to the Chapel of Love

Weight Loss for the Week: .5lbs

I did not workout nearly as much as I did walking all over DC, but the gym and neighborhood walks are still pretty good in my opinion. Counted points pretty well until the actual 4th of July when I suddenly had a lot of events going on- fairly rare for me since more often than not my peeps don't do much to celebrate it. But this year, we did, and they were all back-to-back, so it got complicated, and I was unable to keep track by the end of everything.

Monday, Mom and I finished our trip and made it home midday. I got the bulk of my unpacking done that afternoon, and then I crashed. I crashed until the next evening actually. I think finally being back in my old bed just let me completely unwind and relax in a way you just can't do in a hotel bed- no matter how nice it is. Tuesday night, I went to trivia with my Church group- and we won! So much fun! Wednesday, I made it back to the gym for a workout on the elliptical. That evening, I went to a Catechesis class (since I will be teaching a few Theology II classes again after all : ) ). It was fine, I felt rather antsy from all my travels though I think. Thursday, I went up to SBA to get books and to start moving into my new classroom- it's so spacious and has three windows! That afternoon, I joined Kristin and the gals to get my nails done and have dinner as her bachelorette activity :) Lots of laughs were had. Then, I went to Sean's to see him finally. We had a nice time catching up.

Friday, I made deviled eggs and got ready for my Fourth of July activities. Mom hosted a cook out for the family and some friends. We had plenty of good eats, lots of laughs, and a few moments of worry while the men folk figured out the grill (SO MANY FLAMES). After we had finally finished gorging, it was time for my next activity- Kristin and Mark's rehearsal dinner at the Redbird's game. More food, lots of catching up and laughs, and at the end- FIREWORKS!!! After that, I went home and went up to the roof to watch the 360-view of fireworks with the others in my apartment complex. Wound up chatting for an hour with some of them. Then, finally went to sleep.

Saturday morning, Mom and I went to Memaw's to lounge with her by the pool. Then, I got ready for Kristin and Mark's wedding ceremony. It was very lovely. After that, I rested up some before the reception that night at the Zoo. It was such a fun reception- complete with a sea lion show, a polar bear feeding, and so much dancing that my feet are still recovering today. Today, I got up and made myself go to 8am Mass. Then, I came home and went back to sleep for awhile. After my nap, I did some cleaning and organizing before my CYA Leadership meeting. We got some good stuff accomplished :)  Then, it was back home for some more resting and finally soaking my feet to get them functional for tomorrow.

Now, to rest up and see what this week has in store.

A few photos from the wedding- Me with Kristin, Kristin and Mark

Tip of the Week: Let yourself rest when you need to do so- otherwise you may burn out and suffer worse consequences.

Recipe of the Week: Crock Pot Salsa Chicken