Happy Hump Day

Happy hump day to you all!

I am soooo happy it is hump day! I thought I had the rest of the week off but I screwed up my vacation days and I am actually not off until Friday and that is only a half day.

So, needless to say, I have to work for 2 and 1/2 more days before vacation starts :-(  (thats a BIG old sad face - HA!!!)

Hopefully, it will go quick for all of us!!!!!

Zumba groupie!

I am such a huge fan of Zumba! I love it and I will follow certain instructors to the ends of the earth for a good workout.

Tonight, a young lady I met in Zumba who just get certified to teach, actually got to teach her first class!

She did amazing!! Soooooo much fun and a great workout!

Here are the pics.....,below is Amy - she is the new teacher!!

And this is a lovely photo of me and my Zumba besties....on the left is Sam, middle is Amy the new instructor and on the right me. Please keep in mind we are drenched with sweat...scary pic! HA!!

Is you get a chance to try Zumba....do it! You will love it! Promise!

I hope ya'll have an amazing week!!

 

 

 

 

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WOW! Seriously 16?

Today marks 16 years sober and clean!

I am simply grateful and blown away daily that this is even possible!

Thank you to all the Friends of Bill have have guided, led, and suggested to me along the way! I love you all!!

I am soooooo very grateful for the life that has been made possible by the 12 steps and those that have gone before me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fun day with a good friend

I spent the day with a work friend that I truly enjoy hanging out with! We make these trips down to the strip district in Pittsburgh about every other month and it is always so much fun!!

This is just a picture as we were walking to the legendary Wholeys to buy some fishes!! Yum! It looks yucky outburst was actually about 55 degrees and just quick rain at 8:30 am as we were driving down....the rest of the day was rain free and awesome for December in Pittsburgh!

This is my lunch!! Amazing! We at at Bright Pho Van on Penn Avenue. It was rice noodles and chicken (our server said it is the Thai version of chicken soup). It was served with a plate of sprouts, lime slices and Thai basil you could add-seriously sooooooo yummy! I had half of my leftovers for dinner tonight and the other half will be tomorrows! Did I mention huge portions too!?!?

And then we stopped into the always popular arsenal. They make cider wine (the Santa Cinnamon) is not on tap. Although I do not drink, apparently this stuff is awesome! You should check this place if even just to see the building....it is pretty amazing and historical.

All in all, pretty great day with a good friend!

Thanks for hanging with me Jenna!!



 

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Best run time yet!

TGIF

It has been a productive day already.

I took an early lunch and hit the gym for my fastest 5K run yet (31 minutes and 39 seconds). It helps that I keep getting lighter...I can totally tell when I run...easier and easier each time. I am down 5 more pounds from last week...yippee!!!

Had to work out early as one of my best friends is taking me to the movies and dinner for my anniversary! I am clean and sober for 16 as of this Monday!! Feels like yesterday....I am soooooooo grateful!! Thanks to the many that have helped me get here!! It was not alone that is for sure!!

Hope everyone has an amazing day....I am off the get my tootsies rubbed, buffed and painted....happy anniversary to me! HA!

Happy weekend y'all!!

 

Ps- yes, I am still tanning.......I am soooooooo weak!

 

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Christmas prep

Today I completed a little Christmas prep.

Every Christmas (and some Easters) I make hardtack candy. My mother made it all the time when we were kids and it was always my favorite so now I make it a tradition. The recipe is HERE if you are interested.

This is a photo of the completed product. I made anise, wintergreen, cinnamon and clove and packaged it all in these cute little treat bags from Hobby Lobby. They turned out adorable! Thanks Hobby Looby as usual!!

This is my tree all lite up...Love it! Finally went back to a real tree this year and I am sooo glad I did....it is perfect!

And this is a new decoration this year. I got these on clearance last year after Christmas and they are my new favorites....it looks soooo cute with the stencil on the wall!

Nothing new to report on the exercise or man categories. Will be going on a date soon with someone new....we shall see....not getting excited....time will tell. Worked out tonight at Southside again, the instructors are sooo good there - I got in a hip hop class and Zumba so I a set for the night.

Off to bed! Happy dreams all! And happy Friday!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Polar plunge!

Wow! Has it really been that long since I posted here!?

I have been away in a little re-focus mode ... Refocusing my diet, food choices, and life choices. What I HAVE been doing is keeping up with all of you in the meantime- that means you...Sara, Julie, Kelly, Michelle,etc. etc, etc.

So, thanks for keeping me checking back and I will try to sum things up.

I think I hit a little personal wall per say. I was working out every day and then coming home to a quiet house and eating my loneliness away each night. Not good recipe for weight loss. Then I feel sorry for myself for being alone but take no action to even meet anyone new. I finally made a decision to get serious about the food intake and exercise at the same time....so.....

I am happy to report that by working out daily, not eating ANYTHING after 6pm, and logging it all into www.myfitnesspal.com each day; I have lost over 15 pounds and am back on track!! Whoop whoop! Finally!

Also, I am feeling good about me and feeling very open to men and possibilities should they present themselves. I am done with any man that is not what I am looking for....I want someone to share my life with not someone that needs trained on how to be a good or decent boyfriend, etc.

So, moving on,I will again begin blogging my exciting life...ha totally kidding but it feels sooooo good to be back!

Last weekend I participated in the Pittsburgh Plunge for Special Olympics. I signed up with a few other hundred people to jump into the river behind Heinz Stadium to raise money and I did it!! It was strangely warm out that day (about 50 degrees-compared to the normal 30s for this time of the year) but the water was a freezing 39!!!!!! Took your breath away, literally!! One more thing off my bucket list! So, here are the pics from the weekend...

This is me and Jaden. Jaden is the son of Becca that was killed a few months ago. I wrote about it in an older post. I have been hanging out a lot with him and his his Grandma...he is such a sweet boy!! They came to watch me jump in the river!

This is the crew, minus Rose who also came down to give me moral support! I have the worlds best friends! This is me, Jaden, Kimmy and the Pittsburgh Parrot that snuck up behind us!!

This is a picture of me that they got from the jumbotron screen of me on the way out.....really, really cold! I almost feels like your heart slows down to nothing.....kinda scary! I wore my fluorescent yellow to make sure they could not miss me.

And finally, I will leave you with my favorite decoration of the holidays! My nieces and nephew got me antler ears and a Rudolph nose for my car- LOVE IT!

Hope you all have wonderful day!!

Be kind and spread love!!

Can't wait to chat tomorrow, I missed you all!!

 

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Checking in...

Just checking in.

Still breathing just no excitement...

Had a presentation at work in from of my whole department and that went really well.

The video I did at work was released and that also went really good.

I am losing weight like crazy again - YIPPEE!!!! This is after a two month plateau...it was getting really frustrating!

Back on track!

The man thing sucks....I thought he was this great guy friend for years but reality is some people are just very selfish and should not try to be in a relationship. He was extremely self-absorbed and has NO time for anyone in his life. What a pity! He's just a dumb, old jerk!

So, that's over, really before it even began - HA!!!

It's all good. life is life and I am happy to experience it ALL today!!!

I will have exciting posts from this weekend as I will be going to Jackson's Mill in West Virginia with a bunch of friends for a conference - sooooooo excited!!!

XO - almost the weekend!!!!!!!!

Weekend wrap up

So this post will wrap up my highly disappointing weekend! Seriously!

Friday I was so excited for a blog swap I participated in and my swap gift arrived and I got screwed. This is my second screw-over on a swap so I officially retire from them....ha! I debated on saying anything but I think if we do not then these people can continue to rip off others in other swaps....oh well, lesson one!

Then I went to the baseball game and dinner and fireworks and it was great except for the big let down there. I am not going into details but lets just say I have again decided to be single...I do not have the motivation that is required to participate in a relationship right now. It is far too much work and I am just way happier being single....so I am done dating again!

On a happy note, I bought myself new boots for my last date and I love them.

Also another happy note...my sister sent me a Halloween care package from her kids...soooo awesome! A cute cat witch card, some candy corn hand soap, a glitter bracelet, a spider web and some homemade chocolate chip cookies! YUM!

I love her and those kids,they NEVER fail to make my day!

This is a photo of them in their Halloween duds...awesome, Hugh!?!? Ha!

Lets all hope and pray for a great week.

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Biking Tuesday

I finally made it on a 20 mile bike ride today after work...alone but it is all good. Look at this view...simply God's Awesome handiwork!

Saw Marky tonight after Mitchell's Corner meeting and got a sweet kiss goodnight...love that man!

Off to bed....

Happy hump day to all tomorrow!

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The elusive ride

Well, after that fantastic weekend and lots of bonding with Marky, we are back to the big blow off.

I get that he has a company and MANY times gets stuck at work late but I don't think it is too much to ask to just get a call or text if his plans need to change.

So, we were supposed to go bike riding after work on Monday. I got home at 4PM and let him know just to text me when he was ready. So 5:30 rolls around and no word. I texted him saying "still working?" and no reply. Then at 7PM texted him to say that I was giving up on the ride as it was getting dark and headed to the gym. Got a call at 9:30PM when I was on the way home from the gym just like nothing ever happened!!

Is it me or was this horribly disrespectful??

I was just going to let it go and give up on seeing him anymore however, I decided to be an adult and communicate clearly and see if it changes and if not, then i guess I will then walk away.

So I called him and explained that I felt hurt and asked that he, in the future, please just call or text if he is not able to make it so I can adjust my plans. He was very receptive and felt bad that I was hurt so I guess time will tell.

I hope I get to stay in this thing...I really like this man!! LOTS!!

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Saturdays Rock

I spent my morning in the Strip District in Pittsburgh, PA. If you ever get a chance you should go here - it is awesome! It is only 20 minutes from my house-i am soo lucky! Got lots of fresh produce, great homemade donuts and some cheese and olives to DIE for!!

Marky (HE-the new man) picked me up and we went to Canonsburg to help a mutual friend move. We got her moving van loaded up and out to Mt. Lebanon within 2 hours and then got her all unloaded and headed home to our mutual homes to shower.

Then on to camping! Marky picked me up and we pitched our tent and built our fire and talked, and talked and talked! This is our tent after we got it put up and Markys arm in the right side of the picture. Ha! We stayed until about 5 am and the temp went down to 40 degrees. It was sooooo cold and we did not bring enough blankets and had to bail. Mark dropped me off and we each slept at our own homes and then he came back at 9am and we went back and cleaned up the tent, etc.

This is the campsite when we went back on Sunday morning to retrieve everything! Ha!

This is the site after we left this am... :-(. All cleaned up...what an awesome weekend!! They go way too quick!

PS -Marky already called and asked me to ride bikes after work tomorrow...this is going very well! :-)

Back to the grind tomorrow....happy Sunday night all!

 

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Bike ride cancelled

Oh well.

So much for that.

The bike ride is cancelled for today :-(

HE owns a company and got stuck working late this afternoon.

I'm soooooo bummed but by the time he was done working we only had an hour to ride before dark so we decided to nix the ride for tonight. We are meeting later tonight at a meeting and still have plans for helping a friend move tomorrow afternoon and camping tomorrow night.

I better find some more patience somewhere because I am starting to remember why I am single...I get soooo frustrated when people can't or don't follow through. I think that this will happen a lot if I continue to date HIM since he is "the buck stops here".

 

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Friday frenzy!

Yes! It's Friday-my favorite day of the week!

I went to Trax Farms yesterday evening to buy my pumpkins. It is such a fun place and I always try to take a niece or nephew each year but it does not look like anyone will be coming into town this year so I went alone and it was still fun!

I got honey crisp apples. I heard sooo much about them from other people that I decided to buy them instead of my usual Jonagolds....so sorry I made that choice! They do not compare to Jonagolds....I am actually going back today to get my Jonagolds.

These are my pumpkins I got-Can't wait to have my annual carving party with myself...maybe the new man can do this with me this year....time will tell.

Today is our bike ride day and I am waiting to hear from HIM about when we are going. I will keep you all posted.

This is my view from the elliptical last night at 9:00pm....ha!

Below is a view out to the patio. The huge yellow mums are from Costco (10 bucks a piece!) and the smaller one below it are just now blooming...they are from a friend of my sisters that has a nursery in Columbus, OH.

happy weekend y'all!!

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Lovin' Blogsy

So today is just another run of the mill Thursday.

I almost didn't post but I decided to write a quick blurb for Blogsy...I was unsure about buying and trying this app for my iPad because I am cheap and it was like $5.00.

I am soooo glad I bought it! It has made blogging so easy on my iPad that, see, I even do it when I have nothing to say. HA!

I am participating in the Fall Blog Swap and I will be sending the package in the picture below tomorrow morning out to Nicole. I hope you love everything I picked for you!

An update on my new man...me and HIM will be going on a bike ride tomorrow for our second date and camping overnight in a tent Saturday night for our third date. We have been friends for over ten years so I know I am safe and he is a bonafide gentleman -I am sooooo excited!

Happy Fall y'all!!

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Loving' Life

So this morning I got a good morning text from HIM!

Yippee! Soooooo cute!

Then he called tonight and we chatted and we have planned a bike ride for Friday afternoon and camping Saturday night! Sooooooo excited!

That's it for today's update!

Woo hoo I will soon be checking out those campsites I am so excited to try!!

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Men redeemed

Tonight was my first REAL date in years!!

What an awesome night!

These are photos I took before I got dressed for the date....hair and make-up done....

I wore my new black pencil skirt and a flowing neutral tone sweater.

HE picked my up in his white convertible Corvette (he hardly ever drives it and I had mentioned a few months back in a passing conversation how I liked it so he drove it for the date :-) )

We have been friends for many years so the whole night was so comfortable!

We went to an awesome restaurant In Speers, PA called the Back Porch and it was amazing. The ambiance was beautiful and so comfortable and peaceful! The food was fabulous! I had red snapper and scallops and HE had filet topped with crabmeat-yummo! We shared-how cute!?! Right?

Then we shared a dessert ...death by chocolate... Yes, a man after my own heart! Again sooooooo yummy!

Then we drove home the long way and he showed me the house he grew up in and different neighborhoods that held memories for him.

Then we got to my condo and I asked if he wanted to come in-he has never seen the inside and I have all my Halloween decor out and he said yes but another night (he is a total gentleman). So then he leaned over and kissed me quickly and sweetly goodnight (again, he is such a gentleman...no slobbery mess or just in for the attack...just a sweet kiss). Then I could not get out of the car (the electric button had me confused; that or the kiss HA)..he flipped the lock and as I opened the door I leaned back in and kissed him quickly and sweetly!

These are photos I took before I got dressed for the date....hair and make-up done....

It was sooo comfortable and natural...I can't wait to see where this goes.

SWEET DREAMS...I know mine will be!

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Enbrel Update

Today was a really crazy day!

I won't get into detail but lets just say that each year when my Enbrel prescription runs out, I am never told ahead of time and it turns into a day of doctors and bloodwork and TB tests just to get the ok to take it another year.

So I was at work for a few hours and had to leave suddenly and rush to the doctors.

I get that these tests need to be run but I wish somehow they could be proactive and schedule it all a month before it runs out and not a day before. I have to be tested for AIDS, TB, liver levels, etc.

Oh well, I also got informed that this year I also had to get a full-body check for skin cancer. Yes, it is a good thing but WOW! I don't even want to see that much of me....ha!

They saw nothing except this dry patch on my face that I have been watching for a while so I have a prescription for cream that they said will clear up those pre-cancerous cells. Not fun stuff but I guess that's life.

Tomorrow night is my dinner date. I am soooo psyched-this guy is so sweet and adorable! He has called me every night to say good night to past several days since he has asked me out :-)

I will give you all status! Wish me luck!

Also, please say a prayer for a really close friend of mine, Kimmy. That friend that just lost her daughter and is getting divorced....she just found a new apt and a new job and she was let go today as they did not think she was learning the computer stuff at the dentists office fast enough :-(. She is really sad and down on herself....please send prayers of courage for Kimmy!!

Much bloggy love to you all!!

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26 Mile Solo Ride

Today was supposed to be my 50 mile ride on Montour Trail with Glenn. He was supposed to work in the am and we would leave around noon to ride.

Well at 12:30 he finally called and said he would not be ready to go until 2PM. Well, call me selfish but I did not want to sit around and wait any longer so I went by myself.

I encountered this cool contraption on a portion of the trail where you have the walk your bike across a road and then up steps...pretty tricky!?

Right after this picture I ACCIDENTLY ran over a little black and yellow snake. I felt sooooooo horrible but I thought it was a little stick and I could not veer fast enough...I felt awful!! This is at about the 20 mile area. My blackberry picture does not do it justice but it was sooooo awesome looking up!

And the this happened! My stupid chain falls off sometimes when I shift from my level three gears to my level two gears...so I got a LITTLE messy fixing it! This is when a guy comes in handy...they feel bad and do it for me! Ha! This is also why I do not wear cute biking clothes to bike...I bike in ripped shirts.

This is when I turned around. I started at 27 and went down to 14 and turned around. So total mileage was 26 miles on the trail.

This is one of the new campsites along the path around Cecil. We are planning to put up tents and stay here some weekend soon!! So far camping it will be me and Glenn and Rose...we will have a girls tent and a boys tent.

And finally, my sister just sent me this picture while I was typing this post. This is me playing pack mule t the beach this past summer. It is just easier to carry lots of stuff rather than beg the kids for 40 minutes to carry it, right? Wow! I miss that beach already!!! The condo we stay in is at the top left of the picture...love Stone Harbor!

Where does the weekend go sooooooooo fast!?

PS-while typing this post I was also texted and asked out on a date for Tuesday night by a guy that I have known as a friend for a long time! And no, it is not Glenn, he is just my friend. I am so excited! I will keep you posted!

 

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