The UPS and downs of life...

This week was full of blessings and sadness. I hit a new high on Monday: 45lbs gone! I was elated!!!!
But Tuesday brought sadness. My Uncle Jerry passed away. He's the second Uncle I've lost in two months and I only have THREE!!! I hadn't spoke with him in a long time and don't want to go into details. I miss him very much. Right after that, my Grandfather was rushed to the hospital. He's my only Grandparent. I am grateful that he is going to be OK, but I hadn't seen him in awhile, so I spent some time with him on Wednesday.
Thursday brought new friendships. Brandon, a new friend from HDI, spent some of his valuable time with me showing me his Call Logging system (what we use on the Help Desk) and discussing best practices as well as our mutual affection for HDI. (Brandon and I are both Local Chapter Officers for HDI) I really appreciated seeing how a larger Help Desk is run and him taking the time to discuss issues with me. Thanks Brandon!

Lost Luggage.....

So, last weekend I'm in Colorado Springs for a Local Chapter Officer Summit for HDI (formerly the Help Desk Institute). I am a member of this awesome organization and they have taught me everything I know about running a Help Desk (more about this later). I had a flight on Sunday from Denver to Oakland that was delayed, delayed, delayed. (Thanks UNITED!!!). My plane finally took off at 11pm from Denver and we arrived (yawn) at 12:45am Monday. Lucky me. By the time the baggage carousal finally stopped, it was 1:30am. No luggage for me. For the average person, this might be a slight inconvenience as they probably have many other clothes at home to wear. I....do not. I buy so few clothes per size now (until I hit my goal weight) that ALL OF MY CLOTHES were in there!!!! The nice lady at the baggage claim rushed through my paperwork and assured me I'd get it later that same morning. I was exhausted so grabbed the bus back to the parking garage and headed home. Head hit the pillow: 3:00am. Head woke up from the pillow: 5:30am. Needless to say, work was a CHALLENGE on Monday!!! ANYWAY......I tracked my luggage all day Monday and it was enjoying a fine stay in the lovely city of Denver. Tuesday comes and I'm wearing....the same clothes again. Two days now, same outfit. (YES, I washed it!!). FINALLY on Tuesday NIGHT, as I waited patiently outside my work, I got my luggage. Slightly rifled through, but it was all there. Note to self: CARRY ON!!! PS I fly UNITED back to Colorado Springs on Sunday. Wish me luck.

Batting .1000

Oh how I love SOFTBALL!! We played again last night and even though I'm not very good, I had a blast. Last night I got two RBIs and hit twice! I am playing for the exercise and the camaraderie and I am getting a lot of both. It's a co-ed team from work and we're having a good time. I am not exactly thrilled with the 8:40pm start time (there are 3: 6:00, 7:20 and 8:40) it's still more exercising than I had before.

Short and sweet and to the point...

Big day today....as of this morning, I've lost 40lbs!!!! Woo hoo!!!

A long weekend alone....

Hubby and family headed out camping this weekend and I stayed home alone. I pondered heading up to Plymouth (about a 3 hour drive - 5 this weekend!) after work on Saturday, but the thought at sitting in the car listing to my iPod for that long was a bit much. So, I stayed home with the dog. Me and him. I loved it. No one to bug me, no one to nag at me, no one to talk to.....I got so much done! I haven't been home in so long because of all of my trips. It was nice to get some housework done. Speaking of trips.....
My Mom and I got back last Monday from our cruise to Mexico. I got MORE tan (just love being so tan right now) and I gained a couple of pounds. That part stunk. My friends kept telling me it was probably "water weight" and they were right!! By Friday it was all gone....and as of this morning, I'm at 38lbs gone. Two more to go to 40!! WOO HOO!!! My Mom and I had a great time. She loved all the fun things we did. Bingo, playing the nickel machines in the casino, lounging by the pool, and of course my all time favorite: The Austin Powers dance class!! Yes, Mom and I went up to the Lido deck and learned the Austin Powers dance in front of everyone lounging at the pool. It was a BLAST! She left with a big smile on her face.
Next trip: Colorado Springs first weekend in June. :)

I did it!!!!!!!

I can't believe I did it, but I did!! I walked 6+ miles today (10k) in under 2 hours. My goal was a 20 minute mile and I did better than that. 5 months ago I would have never been able to do this!! I started off with a brisk steady pace and kept it going throughout the whole walk. I took opportunities to jog when I could (mostly downhill!) but it helped with my time. I ran to the finish line and WOW it was exciting! I did the whole race alone with my iPod. Nothing better than dancing along to your own tune and having people look at you like you're crazy!

This is a picture before the race of me and "Mini Me". My friend Andrea reminds so many people of me at a younger age (is that a compliment???) that she's been dubbed "Mini Me". So, to her credit....she couldn't be Mini Me alone. I got a moniker too. "Mega Me". I laughed so hard when she pinned that name on me!

And just for Vicky, here's the view of Spring Lake I had while I was walking today..

Lighter and lighter...

Coming back from vacation was difficult. I really enjoyed the relaxing and swimming and the general "do nothing" attitude. The hard part was coming back to diet and exercise. Surprise surprise...it wasn't as hard as I thought it was! I've lost 3lbs since I've been back for a grand total of 35lbs!! I've gone from a size 20 pant (OMG I can't believe I just admitted that!) to a size 14!!

This weekend I'm walking in our local "Human Race". It's a walk-a-thon where we get to choose the charity we walk for. With heart issues in my family and with it being a concern for me, I'm walking for the American Heart Association. It's a 10k walk around Spring Lake and I can't wait. I'm going to have such a big meal afterwards. Walking the 10k burns 2000 calories! WOO HOO!!