Finally Feeling Stronger and Wednesday Hodgepodge

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all still here and reading... I have been MIA dealing with a breakup lately. Little sad...little depressed...little stronger.  I knew it was the right thing to do. I had to walk away to save myself! It sux for today but life goes on!

I am truly happy that I am returning in time for Wednesday HodgePodge this week!! This is another awesome link up - you can join in also! Just answer the questions below and go visit Joyce at From This Side Of The Pond to link up!

1.  On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your summer so far? Why? (1=eh; 10=best summer ever).  Let's see...I broke it off with the boyfriend (I thought he was a 10) but it turns out that was really bringing me down and causing me to let myself go and lower my standards or what I would tolerate in my life (which made him a 0). As far as travel, I have gone to the lake, New York and Stone Harbor, NJ already for vacations...we are having record high temps here in PA which I love....so I am going to have to give it a 10 so far and I am expecting it to get better and better!!!

2.  July 26th is National Aunts and Uncles Day. Did you have any aunts and uncles growing up? Were you especially close to any one of them or maybe all of them? Are you an aunt (or uncle for the men who join here on Wednesdays)? Share a favorite memory relating to one of your own aunts and uncles or relating to a niece of nephew who call you aunt (or uncle).  I have many aunts and uncles and I am am also aunt to many children! I have a big close family. My Aunt Marti and Aunt Kathy are the ones that I am closest with. They are both not married and would go with us every year on vacation! Those are awesome memories!

3.  What's your favorite food dipped in chocolate? My favorite food to dip in chocolate is bananas! I love to slice them and cover them and then freeze them for great summer treats!  What's your favorite food dipped in cheese? I love tortillas in queso!! YUMMO. That will be my treat to myself when I hit goal weight!


4.  When were you last astonished by something? Explain.  I guess I was astonished when I realized how much pain addiction causes the family of the addict! I am in recovery but to see the other side first hand really blew me away!  I recently learned, first hand, how addiction harms everyone close to the addict but the addict himself sees no issues AT ALL with what they are doing! It is like a path of destruction for years and years and years and if you ask them, they are not hurting anyone but themselves. I have a lot of sympathy for the families of active addicts and alcoholics. It is so hard to let go and walk away but it has to be done or you will go down along with the addict mentally, physically and spiritually.

5.  Surf board, paddle board, ironing board, Pinterest board, scoreboard, clip board, bulletin board...which board have you most recently encountered? Having just been at the beach in Stone Harbor, I will go with paddle board! We rent paddle boards every year on the bay. Here is a photo from last year...I spotted a baby shark while I will riding and I turned around and came right in! My knees were shaking like crazy. I am sure it was harmless but I knew I would lose my mind if I fell in and knew it was there! LOL! I am a big chicken!!

6.  What's your favorite story from Scripture? Why that story?  Matthew 6:9-13 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Anyone that has ever been a "Friend of Bill's" will understand why ;-)

7.  If you were to travel from the east coast to the west coast in your own country, which five cities would you most want to see?  I have to look at a map for this! LOL! I would start with Florida (I love it there in The Villages!) then to Michigan (Going to hunt for Kidrock) then Oklahoma (I have a good friend Mark there and he swears it is a must see) then to Arizona (I was there for training a few years ago and I did not want to leave) and finally to Washington (I have a wonderful friend Mariela in Seattle and I HAVE to get there soon to visit)!



8.  Insert your own random thought here.   I love my life! I do not have everything I want but I truly have everything I need! Thanks everyone for reading and being my bloggy friends!

Dance Like No-one is Watching

Another great weekend in the books!!!

Traveled to Columbus again!!! My nieces had their yearly dance recital on Saturday and it was completely amazeballs!

Also, since I was already there, I had the honor of being invited to my nieces birthdays party that was scheduled for Sunday - I am one lucky chick!

May I present to you two of my favorite dancers on the planet!!! Not to toot my own horn (TOOT TOOT) but I am official hair and makeup lady! Whoop! That is me on the left and the girls on the right - HA!

My adorable nephew - it's a little dark but he fixed the front of his hairdo also - he was pretty styling for his sisters show!

 Here is the after show celebration! I used to dance and we got applause - that is all - applause. Now they get flowers, balloons, candy and cars - WOWSA! The girls did awesome!

This is all five kids (my little sisters three and my brothers two). Everyone came to watch the show!

My nephew spent a lot of the weekend showing off his magician skills! That is his stage! Ha - One of my facebook friends remarked that it was strategic how he blocked the exit with his stage - LOL!!!

 Then on Sunday I was honored to attend my nieces birthday party that was held at Joann Fabrics. They did two great little crafts that the kids got to take home with them!That's her, sassy and eight now!

Here's a shot of the kids at the snack table!
 

 And the kids working on their crafts...

Thanks to my sister for having me out again! And for feeding me and giving me shelter all weekend! My family is my EVERYTHING!!  More exciting events to post I hope! Happy Tuesday!

I love when I hear from you guys!

What creative and different places have you had parties for your kids or yourself?
Any exciting this weekend?

GOTR Columbus 5K

I spent last weekend with my family! We all went to Columbus to enjoy a little family together time and a little race time!

This is the welcome my sister and I got when we arrived! A welcome banner in chalk that covered the WHOLE driveway! Awesome!!!

 We started the weekend by going to a few games of soccer for this little cutie! She had a tournament and played A LOT this past weekend!

Sitting in the rain and enjoying soccer!! LOL!

This is Saturday morning! We were all registered to run in the Girls on the Run 5K in Columbus! It was both of my nieces first 5K's and they killed it! This is my sister and her running buddy my niece!

And my other sister and my other niece (her daughter)...

 This is a group shot with our running buddies! Basically Girls on the Run pairs up one girl with one runner that goes at their pace so the girl is never running alone! You can encourage the child and also just plain keep them safe!

Girls on the Run also tries to show that exercise and running is fun! The girls wear removable tattoos and color their hair - they also wear tutus and design their own shirts!!! So cute! 

My other nieces hair...

So stinkin cute!

The matching rainbow Dash sock girls!!

This is the view of the Start right before we took off! There was a light drizzle the whole morning but the crowd was so excited!

And the crowd behind us.... it was packed!

 Our group!!!!

And we finished!!! Aly and Kyleigh's first bling!! Love running for medals! HA! My niece did great and did not complain ONCE!  If anyone is looking for volunteer options this is a great one! Almost every school has the program and you can volunteer to be a running buddy there!

The exhausted car on the trip home - LOL!!!

 Sunday was spent watching more games! We got to to see my other nieces soccer game!!! Pink number 12!

So cute!!!!!

 And my nephews soccer tournament - they won! WHOOP!

Thanks for reading!

Anyone running their first 5K, 10K? Anyone else a running buddy?

I hope everyone had an amazing weekend and I wish everyone a great week!!!

Happy Birthday Donna

I cannot beleive I never posted this! I left it in draft and I HAVE to post! I had an awesome night out last week with two of  my two favorite girls!!!  

It was a Girls Night Out for Donna's birthday! She is an amazing woman and friend! She gives me guidance and direction in my life often and it is SOOO appreciated! I am proud to call her my Sponsor and Friend!!

We went to her favorite place...Saga!!! Here is our entertainer and chef!!!

Making the signature onion volcano!!!

He did a little I HEART U with the noodles and rice!! LOL

This is the best group shot we got!!! Love these girls!!!

Oh, and by the way, I decided to take myself out on a date! So I am taking myself to the Pens playoff game next week!!!!!!!!

YIPPEE for me!!! Best date ever!

So very true....LOL!

I hope everyone has an awesome week!!!

A Little Sports, A Little Hike and A Lot Of Love

I had to honor of traveling to Columbus, Ohio this weekend to spend time with the youngest of my nieces and nephews! My family is amazingly close and I love that! My niece had a soccer tournament and we all went to watch that! Along with soccer we also got to see many exciting games of baseball and softball!

Here is my nephew at his baseball game running to be safe on first base!

And my niece at her softball practice...gotta love the hot pink shorts and bat! What you can't see is that her bag has a hot pink Nike stripe! TOTAL coordination for this Diva!

Here is the main reason we were there to watch! My niece playing goalie at her soccer tournament!

And - as if there were any doubt - her team won the WHOLE kit-an-caboodle!!!! Yea~~~!

This is just one of MANY hilarious pictures I find on my phone after a trip to Columbus! Love these kids!

We decided on a family hike for Sunday with my brothers family and my parents. We hiked a trail at Highbanks Park called Overlook Trail - when you get to overlook on the trail, you can see a bald eagles nest! Majorly cool! Here is me leaning over a bridge railing so you can see how high up we were along the hike! LOL!

At the overlook, without binoculars, here is the view. I circled the nest in the picture below. Note to self - next hike take binoculars! HA HA  - Here is a link to the Camera they have pointed on the nest from the overlook!

It was mothers day so it was very fitting that I got a good photo with my Mommy!! I have the best Mom ever - LOVE her soo much!!!!

Here is my brother and his adorable family - minus his little boy - he was probably hanging on Poppy!

And lastly, a little snippet of my and my sister-in-law and niece!

We had a great weekend and I am so grateful for my family! They are and always will be my favorite people! I am sooooo blessed!

Say No To Sugar!!! Day 1!

Time to get really serious! Back on Track!! Take Care of ME!

It is Day One of no sugar and no white flour!!!

I am actually excited because I know how good I will feel in a few weeks and the pounds should start heading in the right direction as long as I keep up with my daily exercise!

Yippee!

Who wants to join me?!?!?! Two months of clean eating.

Rules are simple:

1) no sugar

2) no white flour

3) eat healthy and clean whenever possible

4) exercise everyday

5)drink AT LEAST 8 glasses of water a day

For two months...8 weeks... 56 days! That's it!

Then summer will be here and we will look amazing!!

I will do a weekly post of how much I lost that week.

Let's get it on!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Welcome to another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer the questions on your own blog, and then be sure to leave a comment for the blogger who linked before you. Here we go...

1. What's something fun you're looking forward to on your May calendar? 

WOW! That is easy! The entire month is filled for me with a bunch of family birthdays and MY BIRTHDAY! I also have a soccer tournament for my niece, Mothers Day, a Girl's On The Run Race in Columbus, and we will be putting the boats in the lake at the end of the month and celebrating Memorial Day!!! How can this not be a rocking month????

2. What are some images that come to mind when you hear the word mother?

My beautiful mothers face and the faces of my beautiful Grandmothers! I immediately feel unconditional love and comfort. I cherish every day I get spend with my mother! She is my biggest cheerleader and one of my best friends!

3. What's something beautiful you own or have seen that's made of glass? 

I own a friendship ball. I actually watched it being made too! It is from a little shop in Jane Lew, West Virginia! It is beautiful!

4. Was today typical? If not what made it unusual? 

It's only 9 AM so it has been so far. We shall see. So far I went to Pure Barre class at 5:45 and then to work at 7AM. So far, no fires at work so maybe it's not typical....HA HA!

5. What is a quality you wish you could have more of?

 I wish I had more self confidence. I have worked on this a lot and it is getting better but I can be a very possessive and jealous person sometimes and I hate that about myself.

6. What's the next major purchase you need to make? Will it happen in the month of May? 

I wrecked my car and the deductible is $500 - does that count? I will be picking my car up on Friday hopefully!  It's not a purchase I wanted to make but I do not have a choice! UGH!

7. What responsibility/job/work did you dislike while growing up but has proved helpful to you as an 

adult?

I think just chores in general helped make me a responsible person that helps out when needed but specifically cutting the grass. I think cutting the grass is very therapeutic and others hate it! LOL

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My mind is blank...