Christmas

Christmas starts early for us.  Every year, we go to John and Kathy's to celebrate with them.  John made us a yummy breakfast!

Then we dug into presents!  We are super spoiled and they go a bit nuts every year!  It's like they like us or something! We had a very nice Christmas and got some cool suprises! 

The joke is that Nick and I are TERRIBLE at suprises, but we were determined to suprise each other this year.  I got him an IPad and he got me my first Coach purse!  Needless to say, we were very suprised!!  John and Kathy got us a Kehrig coffee maker, and X Box with Kinect and dance game, clothes, gift cards, and all kinds of other neat stuff!  We put together a little travel package for them to prepare for our upcoming CRUISE!!  Here are some photos from the morning:

I was wearing a fabulous outfit for the occasion!  LOL!

Then we headed to my Mom's for our Christmas with her.  We had a spectaular dinner.  There is no food in the world like Mom's food and she made all of my favorites!  It was a beautiful meal!  We played and opened presents and had a super fun time!

It was a fabulous Christmas and I can't even describe how blessed I feel that I got to see my family and friends.  There are so many amazing people in my life and just spending time with then is the greatest gift I could ever receive! 

For now, I am looking forward to all of the possibilities of 2012!  It's going to be a great year! 

Holiday in review...

To say that I had an amazing Christmas might be the biggest understatement ever!  It was perfect!  I got to visit with my family and friends!  I got some very thoughtful and special gifts!  I pulled of a suprise for Nick. 

Instead of describing everything step by step, I will share some photos and hightlights.

I already talked about my Hollenbaugh family Christmas and Yuletide, both of which were awesome!  I will start with last weekend. 

The 15th was our 2nd  annual stamp club cookie exchnage.  I have been in this stamp club for a few years and some of the people have changed, but it is still one of my favorite days of every month.  I love the ladies I get to create with and we have a wonderful time together.  This photo is fuzzy, but here were are!  And the cookies were amazing!

The 17th I finally got my hair done!  It was long overdue for a cut and color!  Here's my new "do!



The evening of the  17th, Nick and I went to the Melting Pot with our friends Matt and Trina.  We did a gift exchange and had a wonderful time with them.  Here are some photos from that evening:

The 18th, my Dad and Claire came over and spent the day hanging out with me.  We watched Harry Potter and had a relaxing visit.

On the 20th, I got to catch up with my friend, LouAnna!  She looks awesome and we had such a nice chat.  She is good for my spirit.  I can't beleive we totally spaced getting a picture!

On the 21st, we did our exchange with my aunt Jill's family.  They made Nick and I a really beautiful wall hanging with the words "Loving the Journey" and some meaningful words that Nick and I used to define the journey we are on.  It means more to me than Jill will ever know and it was one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received.  I will post photos soon!

On the 22nd, I did my annual Mommy/Daughter Christmas.  We go to dinner and do a private Christmas each year, just the two of us.  We went to the Cheesecake Facotry and had a nice time.  Here is my pretty Mommy!

The 23rd, Jake and his family and Nick and I celebrated Christmas with my Dad and Claire.  We had such a nice evening and some really fun times!  Dad and Claire gave us a neat frame and a photo shoot certificate.  I can't wait to do a photo shoot with them!

The 24th was the PERFECT Christmas Eve!  Nick and I slept in, we watched Christmas movies in our jammies for the better part of the day, and then we had the annual Doty family Christmas with Nick's Mom's family.  They are such a cool group of people and we had a great time with them!  Here is a photo of some of the silliness of the evening!  This is a sock monkey wearing sock monkey slippers!

The evening of Christmas Eve, Nick and I went on a drive and looked at lights.  We also did a small exchange for each other.  Earlier in the month (because we are impatient!) we exchanged one other gift.  Nick got me a gorgous pair of earrings and I got him a Colts hoodie.  Then, a few days ago, he gave me a very cool scarf and some fuzzy slippers and I gave him a huge elephant!

On Christmas Eve, I gave him a letter I wrote him telling him how much I love him and how much he means to me and he gave me a REAL pair of Ugg boots that I've been drooling over.  We went a little overboard for each other this year, but we had so much fun!

I will do another post for Christmas as I'm afraid all these pictures won't load!  



Fun and BUSY week! Happy Anniversary to my MOM and DAVE!

I am in the midst of my fun and busy week!  Having a great time and making sure to keep my head on so far!

Happy Anniversary to my Mom and David today!  Ther have been married 10 years and I am so happy for them.  They are truly on a journey together and they are so united and commited to each other!  My Mom is so happy and content in her life after her own hard road and David has been so good for her and for our family.  He is an amazing man and is very special to me.  They are an inspiration!

I am having a good day at work today.  The past year has been very bumpy for me, but I recently had a "big girl" chat with myself and I am feeling alive again.  I discussed my future plans with my leader last week and discussed moving in to our training department.  I am very excited about the possibilities of that and my leader was very enthusiatic!  Well, I just found out that I might get an opportunity in that arena sometime soon.  Very fun!

I am going to the doctor today to see how my iron infusion worked and I am keeping my fingers crossed about it. 

Tonight I have stamp club and a cookie exchange with some super cool ladies.  It's always a lot of fun!  My cookies look awesome!  :-)  I will post some photos from tonight.

Have a super day! 

Fun weekend! And Happy Birthday John!

I had a super fun and a super productive weekend! 


Friday night, Nick and I went to dinner with my Aunt and Uncle and our very good friends, Tricia and Jeremy.  We started with dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  Yum!  Then they surprised me with tickets to Yuletide Celebration.  It's a very fun Christmas concert with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and dancing Santas.  It's a beautiful musical celebration and it always gets my so pumped for Christmas!

Here I am at dinner with my birthday bow: 

Here are Nick and I getting ready for the show.  We had great seats on the 1st row of the mezzanine. 

Here are Jeremy and Trish preparing for the show:

And here are Nick and I holding a present by a huge Christmas Tree:

Saturday was a pretty laid back day.  I wrapped Christmas presents and got all of my Christmas cards ready to mail today.  Nick and I went to dinner at our favorite, Texas Roadhouse! 

Yesterday I had breakfast with my Dad and Claire.  We spent a few hours catching up and we had a nice visit.  Then I went home and watched some fun Christmas movies.

This is a busy week for me. 

Today is my DFIL's birthday.  We are going over to their house tonight for pizza and pressies. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHNNIE!!  I am so grateful to have such an amazing Father-In-Law.  John is an awesome Dad and he is a really great man.  He's a lot of fun and he loves with all he has.  He's sincerely a gift to his family and I am happy to have him in my life.

Tomorrow is class.  I am taking a Health and Wellness class.  It's a lot different than the more "structured" classes I've been taking, but I think I will really like it.

Thursday I go back to the hematologist to see how the iron infusion worked.  Fingers crossed!  Thursday is also my Mom and David's Anniversary!  They are so great together and I am so happy to see them more in love than ever!

Have a great week, everyone!

My ba-ba-ba-ba-ba Birthday!

I come to you one year older!  31...  Good grief!  I'm now IN MY 30s!  Ay, Ay, Ay!  I had a fun weekend! 

Friday night was the Allstate leadership dinner at the Skyline Club.  It's a resteraunt on the 36th floor a building downtown and it was a beautiful view.  The food was good and we had a nice time.

Saturday was my Dad's side Christmas celebration.  We went around to some "Christmas" things around town.  We went to a very cool live nativity.  Nick almost got eaten by a camel!  LOL!  Then we went out to the Christmas version of the covered bridge festival and walked around some.  Nick and I got our picture taken with Santa!  We stopped to look at a neat light display on the way home and finished at my Grandma's house with hot cocoa and doughnuts. 

Yesterday was kind of a strange day.  Nick hurt his back pretty bad at hockey, so we just hung out at home for most of the day.  We went to my mom's last night for a delicious dinner and good times!  My SIL's birthday is the 7th, so we did a combined party.  Fun stuff!

Yay for birthdays!!

Happy December!

It BLOWS MY MIND that it's December already!  Time has absolutely FLOWN this year!! December is my favorite month.  I love it!  My birthday is early in the month and I am so spoiled, I normally end up celebrating for about a week!  Then comes Christmas.  I love this time of year.  I love to shop for my friends and family and try to find something I think they will like and appreciate.  I love the cool, crisp air and the Christmas music and all the neat decorations.  It's so festive.  My month is packed with festivities and I look forward to all of them!

Tonight starts the month out right.  My DMIL and DFIL are taking me to my FAVORITE resteraunt, Texas Roadhouse, for a birthday dinner.  I love spending time with them and I am anxious to catch up with them!

Tomorrow night, Nick and I are having a super nice dinner at the Skline Club downtown with the Allstate managers.  It's always a very nice time.

Saturday we are celebrating Christmas early with my Dad's side of the family.  I am not sure what all we are doing yet, but I am sure it will be a blast! It's always a lot of fun to hang out with them.

Sunday I am having a birthday dinner with my Mom's family.  My DSIL and I are born 3 days apart, so we will do a combined party.  That will be really fun, too! 

Monday night, my good friend Trina is making my favorite dinner for me.  She makes amazing meatloaf and mashed potatos!  Mmmm!

Then Tuesday is class....  Fun times!! 

So much to look forward to! 

November 30th - Thankful for

Well, today is the last day of November and the last day I will post my "Thankful fors"...  But I want to let everyone know how truely blessed I am each and everyday.  I may not share a "thankful for" on my blog, but I will try very hard to express my gratitiude to the people I am thankful for as often as possible.  My life is full of amazing friends and family members whi inspire and lift me constantly.  I am thankful for every person who touches my life, from Nick, to my family, to total strangers who share a smile or who's misfortune reminds me to be thankful for the blessings I enjoy.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to give Thanks for the blessings in your lives.

November 29th - Thankful for...

Today I am grateful for my 5 senses.  I have terrible eyesight, but I am glad that I can fix it with contacts. I have seen and hope to see some really amazing and beautiful sights.  

Nick likes to tease that I could hear an ant fart.  I can hear pretty well. I love music and the sound of laughter and rain drops on the roof.

I am also glad that I can taste.  I love the taste of food and sometimes enjoy it too much! 

I love that I can smell.  This time of year is full of wonderful smells!  I love to smell pine trees and Christmas cookies and banana bread.

And I love that I can feel things.  I am wearing a soft sweater today.  I love the feel of my sheets on my comfy bed.  I love it when Nick holds my hand and I can feel him squeeze it.  I love a cool breeze on my face. 

I am glad for all the things I experience because of my senses.

November 26th, 27th and 28th

November 26th - Today I am thankful for lazy Saturdays.  By lazy, I don't mean we didn't do anything.  We just didn't overbook ourselves.  We slept in, then went to John and Kathy's to check out Kathy's pretty new car.  We got to visit with them for a while and then we headed downtown.  We walked around Circle Center Mall for a while and had dinner at PF Changs.  I got a new outfit for some of the "nice" things we are doing this month.  I got a nice sweater dress and leggings with a pretty scarf.  I get to wear it this Friday to a nice dinner I get to attend with Nick for the Allstate managers.  We had a nice day with no stress.

November 27th - Today I am thankful for modern technology.  I had to write a big paper for school today as part of a group project.  I am very thankful that I can do all of my research on my home computer and I don't have to spend hours in a library trying to find information.

November 28th - Today I am thankful for warm clothes.  It was very nice on Saturday, rained all day yesterday and it's very cold today.  I am thankful for my sweatshirt and my coat! 

November 24th and 25th - Thankful for...

November 24th - Happy Thanksgiving!!  Today I am thankful for so many things...  I can't even begin to describe how blessed and rich my life is.  I have an amazing family of talented, supportive, thoughtful and loving people.  I have the best in-laws anyone could ask for.  They enrich my life and I love them as my own.  I have the greatest husband and best friend I could ever have asked for.  I have a good job, a comfortable home, 2 great fur babies, and nice vehicles.  I have wonderful and beautiful friends who lift me and build me.  I am a lucky girl through and through.  I am glad to have today to refect on these blessings.

November 25th - I am thankful for challenges and accomplishments!  Our good friends, Matt and Trina, Nick and I comleted a 4.5 mile marathon yesterday morning.  It's called the Drumstick Dash and it benefits the Wheeler Mission, a local food pantry.  It was great to see so many out for a great cause.  We finished the race in 1 hour and 15 minutes.  That was our goal!  We wanted to maintain 15 minute miles.  It was pretty cold, but we had a lot of fun!  Here are some photos.

Here are the 4 of us before the race.

 Here are Nick and I before the race.

And here are the 4 of us after the race.



November 23rd - Thankful for...

Today I am thankful for the relationship I have with my husband.  Nick is very sincerely the best thing that's ever happened to me.  My life changed when I met him and I am so blessed to have him in my life.  He encourages me to be the best I can be, while being true to myself.  He encourages me to maintain my sense of individuality and my own independence.  He is my partner and lives by the standard that he always gives more than he gets.  He doesn't look at his part of relationship as being 50%, he always says that he considers his part 60% and he honestly does always make sure he's putting me and us first. 
He is very strong, but very sensitive at the same time. He is brilliant but humble.  He is so much fun and so outgoing, but never obnoxious.  He is the emitome of balance.  Nick is my very best friend.  I know I've had blogs dedicated to him in the past, but I felt compelled to mention him again today.  I am grateful for Nick in my life every single day and I am grateful for every day I get to wake up in my life with him.

November 22nd - Thankful for...

Today I am Thankful that I work inside.  It's raining pretty hard today and I am so glad I get to sit in a nice, warm, dry building at a nice, comfy spacious desk.  I always wonder what it would be like to have to stand outside all day, regardless of the weather.  I am glad I don't have to do that.

I hope everyone is having a great week so far!  Thanksgiving is very quickly approaching!  :-) 

November 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st - Thankful for...

Wow!  I have some catching up to do!  It's been a busy couple of days...

November 17th - I am thankful for my 1 year surgiversary!  One year ago today I was taking a major step to change my life.  I had Roux En Y bariatric surgery on November 17th, 2010.  To date, I've lost 168 lbs from my starting weight.  I am in a size 12/14 pant and an XL shirt down from a 28/30 pant and a 5 XL shirt.  I have completed multiple 5k run/walks and I feel wonderful!  It's the greatest thing, other than marrying Nick, I've ever done for myself.

November 18th - I am thankful for good friends that touch my life.  I have been blessed with many friends along the journey I've travelled. Some friends came and went quickly, but left a lasting impression on my heart.  Other friends are still a part of my life and I love any time I get to spend with them. I don't get to see many friends as often as I like, but there's amazing beauty in being close enough to someone that weeks, months, or years can pass between visits and you will always be able to pick up where you left off. 

November 19th - I am thankful for close family ties.  I got to visit with my darling in-laws for a bit today and I am thankful for the relationship that Nick has with his parents.  I am also thankful for the bond I have with John and Kathy.  I adore them and they are my family as much as my own family is.  I also got to visit with my Mom and Dave, my Grandparents, Jake and his family and Chris.  I love that Nick feels close to my family and I love that through all the ups and downs, we have remained close and in many ways, have grown to be closer than ever.  I am thankful that my Grandparents are still with us and we get to visit with them often.  I am so proud of my brothers and the lives they have created.  I am so happy for my Mom and the place she's in in her life.  I am thankful that she has David to share her journey with.

November 20th - Today I am thankful for sleeping in.  I slept in sinfully late today, but still managed to get a lot done!  I cleaned the house, did all my laundry and spent several hours doing homework.  Tonight, Nick and I were able to hang out and watch some TV together.  It was a nice day at home and I never even changed out of my jammies!

November 21st - Today I am thankful for my back up at work.  Nicole has been a great help and relieves a lot of pressure from me at work.  I will have her help this week and it's a huge weight off my back.  It's nice to have a good working relationship with her.

November 15th and 16th - Thankful for...

November 15th - Today I am thankful for modern medicine.  I have been feeling especially drained for quite some time now and I have been having dizzy spells along with some other weird stuff.  I found out why.  I am severely anemic.  My iron level is at a 5 and I'm told my hemotologist likes that reading at over 100!  Yikes!  It is good to know that there is something going on and I'm not just crazy!  I am getting an iron infusion this week, Thurday.  It will be a 6 hour infusion and I am hoping it helps pretty quickly.  As the doctor put it, I have no reserves.  I am worn out!!  lol!

November 16th - Today I am thankful for my co-workers.  We have our ups and downs, but I do enjoy my co-worker friends.  At least one person everyday does or says something that makes me genuinely happy.  I am a lucky girl.

November 12th, 13th and 14th - Thankful for...

November 12th - Today I am thankful for having a family full of friends.  I went on a fun "girl's" day with Ashley, Chris' girlfriend.  We went to the mall and had lunch and chatted.  She is a good friend and I am so happy for her to be in Chris' life.  The truly bring out the best in each other.  In the evening, we went to Isak's birthday party and had a lot of fun catching up.  I  love that I can always pick right up wherever we left off with my family.

November 13th - Today I am thankful for sleeping in and relaxing days at home.  Nick didn't have hockey today and he was off work, so we stayed in most of the day.  We did run to Target and we grabbed lunch, but we were lounging at home the rest of the day.  We don't do lazy days all that often, so it was nice.

November 14th - Today I am thankful to have my beautiful new car back.  It was in the shop for almost a month and I really did forget how much I love this car.  I know that sounds silly, but I am thankful for it!

11-11-11 - Thankful for...

Today I am grateful for Veterans.  There are a lot of very selfless men and women that have fought and continue to fight for our freedoms.  I am proud to call myself a military brat.  I have been able to travel the states and live in Europe while my step father served.  Randy served in Somolia as part of Operation Restore Hope and didn't talk much about his time there, but even in his position (not on the front line) he had several close calls.
My father in law served as a Marine in Vietnam.  My good friend Therron did two stents in Afganistan.  My Grandpa served in WWII. 
The time I spent on military bases was humbling and powerful.  So many strong men and women dedicated to protecting what we so often take for granted.  I will never forget the sacrifices made and encourage all to honor these brave soldiers today and everyday.  Be glad you don't have to walk in their shoes to reap the benefits of their sacrifice. 

November 9th and 10th - Thankful for...

November 9th - I am thankful for my pets.  I have a very fun doggy named Peyton.  He's a German Shephard mix and we've had him about 7 years.  He's the best dog!  We adopted him from the Humane Society shortly after moving in to our house.  He's been a really good friend.  You can normally find him laying around somewhere close to Nick.  He just loves Nick and follows him everywhere he goes!  We just recently got a kitty named Sasha.  She's about 5 and has been a fun addition to the family.  We've only had her a couple of months and she is really warming up.  She sleeps on my feet every night and keeps me warm.  You can always count on Peyton coming to meet you at the door and it's always so nice to see him after a long day.  Pets are so neat.  They just love you no matter what else is going on in your world.  They are always happy to see you!

November 10th - I had a powerful dream last night.  I dreamed that Nick and I had to move to a homeless shelter.  We walked around our new home and noticed awful cots we would be sleeping on, dirty community bathrooms, and some pretty mean looking people we would be sharing close quarters with.  It was very scary.  I was very happy to wake up in my nice soft bed in my very nice house.  I spent a few minutes this morning reflecting on how blessed I am and I am so grateful to live so comfortably.

November 8th - I'm Thankful for...

November 8th - I am thankful for my opportunity to go to school.  I started taking classes this year and I am working towards my associates degree.  I am glad to have the chance to gain an education and increase my knowledge.  It's a lot of work, but I am having a lot of fun, too.  I really like my study group and I am enjoying the challenge (for the most part). I am also very lucky that my job pays a decent tuition reimbursement, and I am really crossing my fingers that I will still have that benefit moving in to next year.  It's on a freeze at the moment.

Happy Tuesday!  Make it a great day!

November 5th, 6th and 7th - I'm Thankful for...

November 5th - I am thankful for my amazing family.  I am so blessed to be close to my family. I see my immediate family pretty often and I am also blessed to see most of my extended family on more than just the holidays.  Today was my niece, Makayla's, 5th birthday party.  I got to see my Dad and his lovely wife Claire, my Grandma and her wonderful husband Dan, my Brother Jake and his awesome wife Jenny, my beautiful neice and nephew, Makayla and Nathan, My Mom and her terrific husband David, my really neat younger brother, Chris, and then my sister-in-law's fun family too!  I am blessed with an awesome support group that extends to aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and so on.

November 6th - I am thankful for weekends!  I love weekends, especially weekends Nick gets to be home!  I normally have my weekends filled to the brim with stuff, but this weekend was a little more relaxed.  I was able to sleep in, do my homework, do some Christmas shopping, have dinner with my Grandparents, Mom and Dave, Nick and Chris.  Then we did some more shopping and vistited with my Dear in laws.  A good day!

November 7th - Today I am thankful for my doctors and my weight loss journey.  I had my one year check up today.  I am down 80% of my excess body weight and as far as the doctors are concerned, I am "done".  I am not there by my standards, but they consider 70-75% weight loss a "sucessful" surgery, so they are pleased with me.  :-)  They are a little concerned with my anemia as it's not getting any better, so they've referred me to a hemotologist and I may need to get an iron infusion.  I will meet with my new doctor on Nov 15th to see what I need to do. 

November 3rd and 4th - I'm Thankful for...

November 3rd - I am so thankful for my amazing husband and the man that he is.  He is a source of tremendous strength and support in my life.  He holds my hand firmly and guides me through life, right by my side the whole way.  I could not be any more blessed.  He is a wonderful friend and partner in life.  I love him more and more everyday.

November 4th - I am thankful for FRIDAY.  I know it sounds silly, but some weeks sure are longer than others and I am always so happy for the weekend.

November 1st and 2nd - Thankful for...

I am shamelessly stealing this from my DMIL and lots of others that have started this fun tradition.  I will "TRY" to post everyday in November with something I am thankful for. I am starting a day late, so I will catch up...

November 1st - I am thankful for modern medicine!  I have been fighting a cold for about a week and I am glad I've had medicine to help me get through it.

November 2nd - I am thankful for my warm bed.  I am very tired today and all I can think about is being all tucked in to my warm bed.  I am very thankful to have a warm comfortable place to sleep every night.

Have a great day! 

I love fall weekends!

It's FRIDAY!!  Yay!!  I am looking forward to this weekend!  Tonight is my class bonfire.  I am excited for Nick to meet my classmates and I am anxious to meet their families, too.  We spend a lot of time together and it will be nice to get to know them more as "people".

Tomorrow is an up-in-the-air kind of day.  We have some chores to do, but we are hoping to get to join the Matis for Zoo Boo or a pumpkin patch!  It's supposed to be a beautiful day!  We are also celebrating my Dad's birthday tomorrow night and that should be a lot of fun!

Sunday I have a free day from homework!!  YAY!  I have an off week this week, so no homework!  :-)  I will get to go to my Mom's for dinner and then to my cousin, Vincent's, Eagle Court.  That will be neat!

YAY for weekends!! 

Fun times!

Class last night went well.  It was very short and we were done by 8:30!  It was very nice!  I went to dinner with 4 of my 5 team project members to celebrate.  We have gotten to know each other very quickly and they are fun people.  We all consider ourselves very lucky to be project team mates and we learn a lot from each other.  We had a nice dinner.  We are also having a class bonfire on Friday night so we can meet each other's families.  This is (from left to right) Kayla, Michelle, myself, and Dustin.

Today is my Dad's birthday and I hope he is having a wonderful day!  He had a fall at work last week and broke most of the ribs on his left side.  He's recovering, but it's a slow and painful process, so I hope he's enjoying his day as much as possible.

Celebrations!

I have a few celebrations this week!  Last night was my Dear Mother In Law, Kathy's, birthday celebration.  She likes a local Chinese resteraunt called Lotus Gardens, so we went there for dinner.  It was so yummy!  Always a fun time with them! 

I am also celebrating tonight as it's the final Comm II class I have!  Communications 1 and 2 have been intense, so I am glad to put them behind me.  My teammates and I are going to dinner after class tonight to celebrate!  I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to hold on to my 4.0 GPA after this class.  YAY!  I have one week off class, then I start Intro to American Business on Nov 1.  Weeeeeeeee! 

Great weekend... And HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY!

First and foremost, today is my wonderful Mother-in-Law's birthday!!  Happy Birthday, Kathy!!  I am so blessed to have amazing in-laws.  They have truely welcomed me into their lives and into their hearts.  I could not have hoped for more supportive, loving, and open people in my life.  Kathy is one of the most honest, loyal, devoted, generous and supportive women I have ever known.  She is an amazing mother and I strive to be more like her as a woman and a person.  Love you, Kath! 

I had a wonderful weekend!  My mom and I got to go to Time Out For Women.  We have made the trip an annual tradition and I needed the time with my mom so badly.  TOFW lifts my spirits and refreshes my mind and heart.  I always have so much fun with my Mom and it's so fun to get away with her.  We enjoyed uplifiting talks and music.  We had a gorgous drive over to Cincinnati.  The leaves were awesome!
Here are some photos from the weekend:

I enjoy this time of year so much!  The colors are beautiful!  The air is so crisp!  Saturday night we went to the annual Doty family Bonfire with Kathy's family. It was a wonderful night for a campfire.  I snapped a few photos on my way to work this morning.  I love my morning drive!

Family pictures

Hey!!  Here I am again with another "Long time, no post" post.  I have been keeping super busy and trying to have some fun!
Last weekend, DMIL, DFIL, DH and I did family pictures.  It was a PERFECT day and we had a blast having fun and posing for the camera.  Even DFIL posed and played along!  LOL!
Here are a few from the day!  They turned out GREAT and I can't wait to see the rest!

Whew! What a week!

TGIF!!  I am so glad this week is over!  Whew!! It's been a rough week.  It came to a head last night when Nick and I got rear ended it my brand new car!  Booo!  What a bummer.  I know it will be fine, but the timing stinks! (I guess there isn't really a good time for this, but ya know...)

The girl that hit us has insurance and her company already has things moving.  Because the car is brand new and because it's having computer issues, I want to have the repairs done at the dealership.  Unfortunately, the dealership is booked up and can't start the work for 2 weeks!  The repairs will take about 2 weeks, so my pretty car won't be pretty again for at least 5 weeks!  Double bummer!

Here's hoping for a better week next week!

Happy Anniversary!!

8 years ago today, I married my best friend and my soul mate.  Nick has been the greatest blessing in my life.  The moment I met him, I knew there was something special about him.  He is the most supportive and wonderful husband and I don't think I could have crafted a more perfect fit for myself.  I truly believe that we wished on the same star for each other years and years before we met and our destiny's were linked from the beginning.  My life is amazing and I thank God for all that Nick is. 

Being Nick's wife has brought so many other blessings into my life as well.  I inherited his family and I love them like my own.  John and Kathy have been an amazing source of support and love and I cherish them.  Not to mention all of Nick's extended family.  They are so awesome!

Nick is one of those people that is sincerely good to his core.  His parents should be awarded some kind of Nobel Peace Prize or something.  They should certainly teach classes!  People can't help but be drawn to Nick.  Animals love him.  Kids adore him.  He is genuine and sincere and honest. 

I am not sure what I did to deserve him.  In fact, I am sure most days I don't deserve him, but I am so thankful that he loves me just the same way I love him.  8 years and each day gets better. 

I got some very nice anniversary gifts...

Beautiful Flowers:

And a new car.  Yes, really.  It's a 2011 Outlander Sport.  I love it!  I will post pictures soon!

What a great weekend!

Our weekend was everything I was hoping for!  We left right after work on Friday and drove to Bloomington, IL.  It was a beautiful drive and we made great time!  It look us about 2 1/2 hours to get there.  We found the hotel, unloaded our stuff and went for an adventure. 
First, we wanted to find the location of the MOD.  We knew we were meeting up with people early Saturday morning and wanted to have some idea where we were going.  We drive around town for a while with the help of "Ella" (our navigation system).  Once we felt comfortable with where we were going, we had dinner and headed to bed.
The next morning, we got up early and went to meet the "guys".  Nick has been talking with a lot of these guys online and was looking forward to meeting them.  We all met up and "oooh'd" and "ahhh'd" over the cars for a while.  There was another couple there that we hit it off with quickly and we spent most of the day with them. 
MOD itself was really cool!  Some of the cars were amazing and you could tell that people put a lot of love into their cars.  There were door prizes and Nick ended up winning a $350 cold air intake filtration system.  That was really cool!  They served lunch and we took a factory tour.  We got to see the assembly lines and got to see a real robot work.  It was neat! 
After MOD, we went to a local mall and walked around and then had Japanese for dinner.  We went and saw Money Ball.  Good movie! 
Sunday we slept in, had breakfast and hung out until check out time.  The drive home was uneventful.  Last night, we watched the Colts game and had dinner with Matt and Trina.
It was just the kind of weekend I needed!  Relaxing!  No stress.  Just nice.  I was able to get my homework done before we left, so that was really nice to not have to think about!
Today, back to the grind...  :-)  I did move desks at work and now I have a much bigger cube.  I love it!

Flying by... And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOMMY!

First things first...  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!  :-)  Today is my Mom's (undisclosed #) anniversary of her 21st birthday!  :-)  We are celebrating with some yummy Chinese tonight.  My Mom is an amazing person and I am so proud of her and I am so blessed to have her in my life. 

Holy cow!  Is it really September 22nd??  Time is FLYING by!! I feel like I am really struggling to keep my head on lately!  I have been super busy and I feel like my weeks go faster all the time!  It blows my mind.  I keep thinking I need to slow things down...  You know, stop and smell the flowers...  That kind of thing.  It's a work in progress.  LOL!

We went for another walk/run last night.  I jogged a bit more than I was able to Monday and I keep reminding myself that I have to push it a little more each time.  I will say that it feels great!  I am really proud of myself and I am really proud of Nick.  He amazes me. 

Tomorrow Nick and I are heading to Illinois for the weekend.  We are going to a Mitsubishi Owner Day.  Mitsubishi sponsers this event every year and Nick is really excited to go this year.  He's made a lot of neat modifications to his car and he's been really enjoying his new hobby.  We will be in Illinois for the weekend and I am looking forward to having a little downtime.  I am hoping to get my homework done today so I don't have to worry about it this weekend.  Our anniversary (8 years!) is the 27th, so we will probably celebrate while we are there. 

I am really hoping our bank issues are resolved by the time we leave.  I got a call on Tuesday afternoon from the fraud department at my bank.  They noticed some strange activity on my bank card and cancelled my card right away.  Apparently someone stole my credit card number and racked up about $450 in fraudulent charges.  I was SUPER impressed with how quickly the back caught it, took action and notified me.  They had to issue me a new card and they are doing an investigation now.  Hopefully all the money (and subsequent NSF fees) will be refunded to my account soon.  It's freaking me out to see a LARGE negative number as my account balance!  The bank has been great to work with so far.  Luckily, it was just my card that was compromised.  The account and Nick's card seem to be ok.  Thank goodness they caught it so fast and moved so quickly!  Way to go Huntington!!  :-)

Now, on a random side note, I have a statement I would like to make to all of my friends and family that follow my blog...  I know this is a generic format and I will try to say this to each of you in person, too....  But I need you to know that I love you.  If I am busy, or disconnected or flightly or seem to have put you on the back burner, it is no reflection of how I feel about you.  I am doing the best I know how to do with my life right now, but I feel like my best isn't good enough and I am letting down people in my life that are important.  I knew school would be hard when coupled with work and some other life changes, but I feel like it's something I need to do right now.  Unfortunately, I have had to make a lot of changes with how my time is used and some of my relationships are suffering.  I don't love it, but I hope you will hang in there with me while I try to adjust.  Please know that I love you and you are no less special to me.

Good workouts!

So we have finally done it!  We are getting back in the groove of working out.  We walked our 5K on Sunday.  Monday night we worked out on the elliptial.  I did 16 full minutes!  I haven't ever been able to do more than 10 at a time without dying!  And I did 16 right of of the gate!  I could have gone even longer.  It wasn't bad at all.  Last night we actually walked to Matt and Trina's and home (about 5K total).  We jogged about 1/4 of the way there total.  It felt great!!  We are going to keep at it!
Nick finally broke his stall at last weigh in.  He's been hanging around 215 for a long time and had a 3 pound drop last week!  He's at 212 now and looking great!  He'll be in onderland in no time.
I had a great talk with Trina last night and I got some great ideas for protein from her.  I've been doing a lot of fruits and veggies lately and have been slacking a bit on protein.  She gave me some good, workable ideas and I am re-energized on all fronts!  175 - here I come!!  :-)

Great weekend!

We had a really nice weekend!  Friday night we went to the Cheesacake Facorty with Katrina and her family for her birthday.  Saturday we drove up to Muncie and walked around campus and went to a Ball State football game.  It was a lot of fun!  Yesterday was mainly homework and family day.  Good times! 

I got an A in my Comm 1 class and I am super excited about it.  This class has been a bit harder for me and I am so glad I got thru it.  Tomorrow is my first Comm II class and I am ready for this 5 weeks to be over!  LOL! 

We rocked!

Nick and I spoke at the St Francis weight loss center last night.  It was so neat!!  There were about 40 pre-op patients there.  We told our stories and it was so fun to reflect and remember what the past year has been like!  There have been so many "wow" moments for us!!  We are down over 150 lbs each!!  We are down several clothing sizes.  We are more active than ever and we have so much energy!  Nick and I are really enjoying our new lives and we love sharing our stories. 
We had a lot of great questions and a lot of really nice compliments!  It was so neat to remember sitting where they were a year ago and feeling all the things they are feeling.  I remember sitting in our pre-op groups well and it was so flattering to be asked to share our stories.  The dietician wanted me to share some the issues I had to help people know what issues to look for with a stricture and I hope I was able to help them.

This weekend will be great!  Today is my good friend Trina's birthday, so we are going to dinner.  Tomorrow we are going to Muncie for a Ball State Football game.  That should be a lot of fun!  Sunday is homework/Colts/family day.  All good stuff!!  Here's to the freakin weekend! :-)

Gorgeous day!

We are getting an early taste of fall today and I WANT TO PLAY OUTSIDE!  It's so nice out!  It feels extra cool since I don't have any insulation anymore.  But I love this time of year.  The crisp days, the colors!  Fall is my favorite!  I can't wait to go to the apple orchards and put out my fall decorations.  SO fun!

I am still nervous about our presentation tonight.  I am excited about it too!  I am also planning on dragging Nick on a shopping adventure.  I am on the hunt for the perfect calf high boots, black, no heel, riding boot style, no slouch.  I am going to find them!  LOL!

Reflecting

Nick and I have been asked to speak at the Weight Loss Center's pre-op support group tomorrow night.  I've spent the last few days reflecting on the past 10 months since surgery. 

I've officially lost 150 lbs!  :-)  It has been a really interesting ride.  I am very happy I had surgery and I have no regrets about my decision.  I had a couple of rough spells.  Physically, emotionally, and pshycologically.  But there have been amazing wow moments along the way, too!  Like today, I am wearing a size 15 junior jeans!  And they look great!  My thighs aren't running!  I am in about a 14 pant and a large or XL shirt.  I can walk in to Target and buy anything I want!  I feel great!  It's been so fun to watch Nick.  No more sleep apnea!  He sleeps like a baby!

We are taking some "before" pictures with us!  It was fun to look at those.  It's easy to look in the mirror and think you are just as big as you always were - but when you see those pictures, it's amazing! 

I hope we can help the pre-op patients feel excited and that we get some of those "wow" reactions that I gave the post op people when I saw them.  It should be a lot of fun!

Catching up again!

It seems like all I've been doing lately is catching up!  Lots of fun happenings!  I had a great visit with my younger brothers and sisters that live out of town!  We really had a great time enjoying each other and catching up on all that's new!  They are all beautiful and talented and amazing and I was so glad to see them!

Work is going better than it had been .  I have been very busy at work, but my days go so fast it works out ok! 

School is going well, too!  Tonight will conclude my third full class!  I am having a good time with it.  I enjoy my project group a lot and I am learning so much! 

Nick is wonderful!!  He looks amazing!  ( I will post some pictures soon!)  Things are going well for him, too!  We are taking a road trip next weekend and I am really looking forward to it!  We are going to central Illinois for the weekend just for fun.  Our 8th anniversary is in 2 weeks.  I am so blessed!

The weight loss is going ok.  Slower, but I suppose that's normal.  I weighed in at 199.6 today.  I am still not celebrating onederland as I tend to fluctuate within a pound or so a week.  I will "officially" be at onderland in my book when I hit 195!  :-)  I am only losing about a pound or so a week at this point.  Just a little slower than I am used to, but when I consider that I only have about 30 pounds to go to be at goal, that helps keep it in perspective!

All is well.  I will try harder to write more.  For me, mainly.  I have the worst memory ever and I need to use this as a journal to remember fun stuff that happens!  Tata for now!  :-)

Catching up

Let me start by saying that it is a beautiful day! I have windows all around my cube at work and all I want to do today is lay in my bed with a good book with all of my windows open.  I could use a nap, too.  No such luck, sadly.  Today is my busy day.  I have work all day then 4 hours of class tonight. 
We had a really nice weekend.  Friday I had lunch with my Aunt Jill.  I always love catching up with her.  She's so much fun to talk to!  Friday evening I had some bonding time with Chris' girlfriend Ashley.  Then Nick and I went to a movie and dinner.  We saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  It was really good.  Saturday morning we went to Matthew's first football game.  Matt is coaching him this year and it was fun to watch them.  Saturday afternoon, John, Kathy, Nick and I went to the State Fair.  It was wonderful until right at the end.  We were just about to head out about 8:45 pm and a huge storm brewed up out of no where.  There were very strong wind gusts.  We raced to the car as fast as we could go and as we were heading out, a bunch of emergency personnel were running in.  We thought something may have happened at the midway due to the wind.  We found out later the main stage had collaped.  It was awful.  5 deaths and several injuries.  My prayers go out to the families of those effected. 
Sunday I did homework literally all day long.  Tonight I start a communications class and it's no joke so far.  I am a little nervous about this class, so I am anxious to see how tonight goes.  It's a lot of reading and writing.  Quite a bit different from my personal finance class.
On a fun note, I lost 3.4 lbs last week!! I am 3.8 lbs from onederland!!  I went to Old Navy and I am very close to a 14 pant and I am in an XL top.  I bought a 16 jean, but they are already a bit loose, so I may exchange them for a 14.  Yay!!

Wednesday update

I had a great visit with my friend, Laura, last night.  It was so good to catch up with her!  It was just like old times!  We picked up right where we left off!  We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  It was so yummy!  I had some chicken in lemon sauce with asparigus and garlic mashed potatoes.  I ate about 1/8th of what was on the plate but it was so good!  I also had 3 bites of carrot cake cheesecake.  Yum!! 

Exciting!

I recently got in touch with an old friend and we are meeting for dinner tonight.  I haven't seen her in years and I am really looking forward to catchin up with her.  I am excited to see if she will notice the changes in me.  The last time I saw her, I was really putting on weight and I was still in my "tom boy" stage.  I am a lot "girly-er" now and I feel like I carry myslef a bit differently.  She was always a "girly-girl", but she was so nice to me.  It'll be so fun to see what she's been up to for the last several years.

I had my 9 month check up with Julie yesterday.  I talked to her about the "spells" I've been getting.  It happened again over the weekend and it's making me a bit nervous.  It seems like it happens when I stand in one place for a long time.  I get really light headed and almost pass out.  It's happened 3 times now and I'm not sure what's wrong.  I did labs last week and I'm anemic.  I'm not suprised, I've always had iron issued.  I am not sure if I am not absorbing any iron or if there is something more wrong.  I had to do some more labs yesterday, so hopefully I will learn something soon.  I may have to go to a hemotologist to figure out what's happening. 

I am happy to report that I've officially lost 72% of my excess body weight.  Yay!  I'm already considered a successful surgery patient!  I'm not done...  I'm not at my goal.  I still have about 30 lbs to lose before I am at the high end of my goal for myself.  But according to the doctor, I am a successful surgery patient.  Their goal for us is 70-75% excess weight loss.  That was pretty exciting to learn.  I did learn that I am going to have to stop supplementing protein and I have to get it through real food versus powder.  I am a little nervous about that, but I will work on a new menu this week to try to get all the protein in.

Monday check in

We had a blast at King's Island on Saturday!  It never rained and it actually ended up being a nice day!  We rode quite a few rides and really loved the water park!  Here is a picture from one of the rides.  It's called the Firehawk and it's one of the most intense coasters I've ever ridden.  My mom was terrified!  This picture cracks me up!

Fun Weekend!

We are going to King's Island tomorrow and I am so excited!  It'll be great!  We are renting a van and going with my Mom and David, Chris and Ashley!  The last time I took Chris (about 4 years ago) for his birthday, I wasn't able to ride any of the rides with him and it was an awful experience!  I am so excited to go and ride everything!  I haven't been on a water slide in years and I can't wait to have a great day!  As much as we need rain, I am hoping it will hold off long enough for us to have a wonderful day!