Biggest Loser Princess and Tinker Bell 2011 and 2012 -- OLD please see NEW thread

[Worfiedoodles]

It would be so easy to blow off my run this morning...but in honor of Lisah!, I'm going to go hit the TM. Just 3M, and then I'm getting started on my regrouping day. Actually the run is integral to the regrouping process!

I printed Tracey's QOTD articles so I can read them and respond, I have loads of laundry ready to go, I have a list of things to get done and Flylady digests for 4 days, I am ready to get my day started! Now where is that TM?!

Maria

 

[dumbo_buddy]

lisah - congrats on the half marathon! it feels like you JUST finished one and here you just did another one! fabulous job! i can't wait to hear all about it. do you have any race pics? how big was the race? did they have any entertainment along the course? you know, other than the longest bridge known to man??

lindsay - i'm late to this but sorry about the mommy wars crap. i just file all that stuff under "why i hate people, especially women" people say nasty things because they aren't happy with their own lives. they need to put people down in order to make themselves feel better. and the answer to "to stay at home or not to stay at home" is simple: whatever you're doing is the right thing. i never thought i'd be a stay at home mom. and yet, here i am. sometimes i love it, sometimes i hate it. and i'm pretty sure working moms can say the same thing. and anyone who has something nasty to say can just shove it up their pie-hole! glad ryan's rocking football. and i agree with lisa, maybe nick just wants to chill out and explore his options before committing to an activity - wouldn't it be nice if all kids did that??

kathy - how is michael doing? i'm glad his first football game went well. i really don't know the football positions either. i never pay attention enough! my husband is not into sports AT ALL so we don't watch all that much - only the sports that i like what's going on with the seizures? what kind of follow up does he need? how is he feeling on the meds? not operating any heavy machinery i hope

maria - enjoy your mental health day today! sounds nice to me i hope that means you'll actually relax and not try to do housework or any of that stuff - ew! i meant to ask - how is the llbean store? how far is it from you? i'd like to go there one day. alot of the people i went to hs with in CT went north for vacations and they were always talking about the llbean store.

rose - how was your visit? sounds like tom's rocking his classes! 130%?? wow! how much longer til wine and dine? how's the foot? what are the next...steps...for treatment?

liesel - have a wonderful time in hawaii!

good morning princesses and lisatinkers!

i can't believe the disney trip came and went already. i hate that. it was a really nice time but the heat was very intense. a few times i needed to stop what i was doing and find the nearest air conditioned seat. shoo! and the other problem with the heat was that i didn't feel like eating most of my favorite disney snacks! still, i managed to gain 4 lbs or so. cuz, you know, god forbid i not gorge myself at the buffets and restaurants. john and i did our usual disney trip fighting (you know, like, how we have been to disney together more than 10 times and he still has no idea where anything is or how i'd have to ASK him to go chase thomas who was running away since it was a million degrees and i'm almost 8 months pregnant and wasn't feeling great, etc) but i think alot of it had to do with the heat. we weren't the only couple fighting, that's for sure! i'm going to download my pics and start working on a trip report soon.

i need to get ready to leave in a few minutes - we were supposed to start our mommy and me class today. my leader partner graciously said she's set up the classroom last week since i was going on vacation. i didn't mean to leave her hanging - the principal said we couldn't get into the classroom any earlier. partner texted me on vacation telling me that the principal told her that not only can she not set up the room but she's MOVING our room to the 2nd floor! so that means we have to completely set up a new room - decorate, organize, bring up the millions of toys, etc all before the class starts. why you'd ask a mommy and me class full of toddlers and babies to go to the 2nd floor with all their gear is beside me. it just makes everything so much more difficult. anyway, i'm meeting her a little after 9 to get the classroom ready for a wednesday start. yes, i get paid for this "job" but the 150 or so bucks a month i make at this does not warrant all this headache! oh well, at least there will be some toys for thomas to play with!

other than that, not much is going on. i have the back from vacation blues and feeling a little overwhelmed that really the next big thing in life now is the new baby. i hate to admit it but i'm feeling way more anxious, worried, and, if i'm being honest with myself, depressed about it. i know it's coming - i need to get a grip!

ok, stop typing nancy. have a great day all!! xoxo

 

[Rose&Mike]

Hello! We are back, and I am tired and so do not want to go to work. It was a good weekend--the gamecocks won. So that was exciting. We had a really good time at the game. We ended up spending time Saturday afternoon with Tom and one of his roomates and his parents. Is there something wrong with me--the parents just drove me a little crazy. The mom is a new runner so we talked about that for a little--but in less than two hours she insulted me because I didn't work when Tom was in school, told me I only lost weight cause of gluten issues (because it's much harder for her to lose weight) and the husband basically came up with reasons for why we couldn't possibly want to live in KY--eewwwww----of all places. There was something else, but I can't remember what it was. Of course it was much more subtle than that. I was singing the "not enough alchohol" song in my head which means she probably thinks I'm a drunk. (We took a bottle of maker's mark to Tom's house--it was a tailgate for goodness sakes!) It's probably my fault cause I am too much of an open book!

Anyhow, we had a nice visit. There was some drama--there always is, but Mike thought it was the best visit yet, so that's good. I think sometimes it's about Tom learning to let us say what we need to say--and then ignoring it. And about us realizing he's his own person. We are a work in progress.

Lisa--I don't know how the race went, but I think I saw on facebook that you finished-- Congratulations!

Lindsay--When I saw the trailer for that movie I immediately thought of you. Woohoo for grapes at the movies! And I hope I fit into the Nancy category of SAHMs.

Maria--I hope you have a calm day today!

Pamela--I second Lisa. Please don't lurk. We'd love to have you join us.

Liesel--have fun in Hawaii!

Kathy--So Saturday my sister called, but I didn't take the call and she didn't leave a message. Then yesterday she sent me a text asking if we had a history of seizure disorder in our family. I finally talked to her last night. My almost 20yo niece has had two seizures in the last 3 weeks, one of which was a grande mal (sp?) which left her unresponsive for 20+ minutes. She is doing ok, and actually back at college and cleared to play soccer. They took her license and she is going to see a specialist at Penn. But how, crazy that Michael went through this and now my niece. Before last week I only knew of one person (a friend's niece) with seizure issues and now look. They live in Lancaster, but my sister has been working in CT so she had to drive 300 miles to the hospital. How scary!

Anyhow, I'm so glad Michael is enjoying football! And I am glad you are going to do your race.

Ok, I really need to get ready and go to work. Have a great day everyone!

****
Oh, Nancy. I just saw that you posted. I will catch up with you tonight!

 

[mikamah]

Good morning princesses and lisabelles!!

We had a fun weekend, not too busy, lots of down time, I sat reading on the porch and needed a sweater which I love. It was such a nice fall feeling to the weekend here. We didn't make it to apple picking, but michael biked and I walked and we went around a big cemetary in town and there a little stream where we played Pooh-sticks. Do any of you remember that from the winnie the pooh movies? You drop the sticks off the bridge into the water and go to the other side and see who's comes out first. Brought me back in time.
Yesterday we went to church since we hadn't been in a while, like all summer, and then picked up sandwiches for lunch before football. They got creamed. 36-0. The coaches started the game off rather strictly, when the defense went out to play, the offense went to sit on the long bench by the field, and they told them this was football, not crocheting, get up and stand or kneel. Guess they're trying to make men out of them. The were a little too much during the first half when they started losing, but at half time gave the team a nice little speech about doing your best, and don't worry about the scoreboard, etc. So that made me feel better. I asked michael if he wanted to take up crocheting when we got home, and he didn't even know what it was. He's fine, and got over the loss probably better than the coaches.

Rose- Your poor niece, how scary for her to be at school, and your sister must have been so worried. I hope everything works out ok for her. It is so hard to be her age and not be able to drive. Did they put her on some medication? I didn't know anyone personally with seizures either. Sure I've seen plenty of patients, and since they usually have other issues, I try not to think about them. I hope your niece's work up gets done quickly, and she is ok.
Sounds like a nice weekend with Tom, except for the witchy woman. Some people don't think before they speak. Funny on friday a woman came in that me and another girl used to work with and she was always insulting everyone, so we sort of fought over who had to admit her, but I said to my friend, "does it make me a bad person that i'm happy she's fatter than me?", and we laughed because this girl always had the perfect life, husband, kids, better than any of us. Some people.

Nancy- Post vacation blues are the worst, and prebaby jitters, not fun either. Everything will be ok.

Sorry, I'm out of time, but
Lisa- Congratulations on your half yesterday!! I am so happy for you, and so inspired by you!! I hope you are able to get some rest today, and you're feeling good!!!

 

[dumbo_buddy]

Hello! We are back, and I am tired and so do not want to go to work. It was a good weekend--the gamecocks won. So that was exciting. We had a really good time at the game. We ended up spending time Saturday afternoon with Tom and one of his roomates and his parents. Is there something wrong with me--the parents just drove me a little crazy. The mom is a new runner so we talked about that for a little--but in less than two hours she insulted me because I didn't work when Tom was in school, told me I only lost weight cause of gluten issues (because it's much harder for her to lose weight) and the husband basically came up with reasons for why we couldn't possibly want to live in KY--eewwwww----of all places. There was something else, but I can't remember what it was. Of course it was much more subtle than that. I was singing the "not enough alchohol" song in my head which means she probably thinks I'm a drunk. (We took a bottle of maker's mark to Tom's house--it was a tailgate for goodness sakes!) It's probably my fault cause I am too much of an open book!

um...so where are these perfect parents that felt the need to insult kentucky from??? cuz i'm sure i'd have some good comebacks for wherever they live! ick. sorry they were such losers. like i said in my previous post - this can all be filed under: people suck!

sorry about the little bit of drama with tom but it sounds like overall it was a fun weekend! was it parents weekend too? my aunt and uncle across the street are visiting my cousin who goes to michigan next weekend. i was texting her joking that she needed to hide all her booze hehe. she's the one who went to hawaii with us. she doesn't drink in front of adults and never even had anything while we were on vacation (she's only 20 but we were fine if she had a beer or something on vacation!!) but i know she parties in college and my uncle kinda sorta doesn't think she does!

you brought booze to a tailgate?? what is WRONG with you???

so tell me - do people dress up for the football games down there? i will never ever forget my first football game at wake. people told me that everyone dressed up for the tailgates and i just didn't believe them. that is definitely something people do NOT do up here! so, i wore my WFU football tshirt and jeans and showed up to the tailgate with girls in dresses and guys in ties! let's just say this gal never really quite fit in down there

We had a fun weekend, not too busy, lots of down time, I sat reading on the porch and needed a sweater which I love. It was such a nice fall feeling to the weekend here. We didn't make it to apple picking, but michael biked and I walked and we went around a big cemetary in town and there a little stream where we played Pooh-sticks. Do any of you remember that from the winnie the pooh movies? You drop the sticks off the bridge into the water and go to the other side and see who's comes out first. Brought me back in time.
Yesterday we went to church since we hadn't been in a while, like all summer, and then picked up sandwiches for lunch before football. They got creamed. 36-0. The coaches started the game off rather strictly, when the defense went out to play, the offense went to sit on the long bench by the field, and they told them this was football, not crocheting, get up and stand or kneel. Guess they're trying to make men out of them. The were a little too much during the first half when they started losing, but at half time gave the team a nice little speech about doing your best, and don't worry about the scoreboard, etc. So that made me feel better. I asked michael if he wanted to take up crocheting when we got home, and he didn't even know what it was. He's fine, and got over the loss probably better than the coaches.

well, bummer about the game but overall sounds like a good weekend. i don't know about the pooh-sticks but i will have to rent the movie to see it for myself! sounds like a fun activity

i had to giggle about you guys going to church - you sound like us. we took the summer off from church and we HAVE to get back! summer's over so we don't have an excuse.

***
phew, back from working on the classroom. let me tell you that was a b*tch and we still have to go back tomorrow morning! the room is almost all set up so hopefully tomorrow we won't have too much to do.

i got home from the school and had a voicemail from...my dad. you may recall that i haven't spoken to my parents since the hurricane. i don't know, i just don't see the point. the day before we left for disney my dad emailed me telling me he and my mom were going to ocean city for the week and where they were staying in case i needed to reach them. also wished us a good vacation. and today's message was all happy "hi it's daddy call me at work i want to hear about your vacation." it's ridiculous really - just pretending nothing is wrong. part of me wants to call him and just lay it down why i'm not calling. tell him i'm done with the bs of them being terrible parents and grandparents. but then the voice of reason in me reminds myself that they just aren't going to change. so why bother? plus, there's no way i could talk without crying. i'm not very good at holding it together.

anyway, that's what's going on. i don't know what to do about the parents thing. blah. oh and john's sister has an appt today at sloan kettering cancer center. john's brother is going to take her. which is completely ridiculous because the two of them are both mentally incompetent so they won't get all the info they need. i even offered to meet kathleen there but that wasn't good enough - she wanted someone to drive to queens to pick her up and take her to manhattan! let's just say that makes no sense. she doesn't want to take public transportation so other people have to drive over bridges and fight traffic and pay for parking. whatever. i offered. can't do much more than that.

have a lovely day all. i swear one of these days i won't be a debbie downer...jussssst....not today

 

[lisah0711]

Hello Princesses and Belles!

Thanks so much for all your nice comments about my half yesterday! More on that in a minute . . .

Lisa, hope you are having a wonderful time in Hawaii!

Rose, glad that you had a good time with Tom. So sorry about your niece. Hope that the meds do the trick.

And what fun is a tailgate without booze?!? Isn't that the whole point so you can drink and be safe?

I don't know what is up with people and what they say these days. I try and give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that they don't mean to be rude when they say stupid things. Or if they are being deliberately mean who cares what they think anyway? Maybe it's just one-ups-manship in the mommy wars college style?

Lindsay, glad that the Beast had a good game and that you got to do a bit of relaxing this week-end!

Maria, thanks for the good wishes yesterday. I got to read them but didn't get a chance to reply as my friend, Kathy, had popped up in chat on FB in the nick of time before I headed out the door.

Kathy, thanks for your good wishes, too, and thanks for getting me through those last few minutes before I left yesterday! Glad that Michael had a good time at the game, in spite of the results. Maybe he would prefer knitting . . . Loved the story about the Pooh sticks.

Nancy, post vacation blues are the pits! Anybody who tells you that they didn't get a crazy, panicked, "what the heck were we thinking?" feeling periodically during pregnancy is blissfully ignorant or lying. You know that you are a wonderful Mom and while it will not always be a walk in the park or a bed of roses, it will be wonderful to have another little person in your life to love and take care of.

I don't know what to say about your folks. I mean they probably have no idea what is going on and, as you say, they aren't going to change. So you have to decide if you can continue on with the relationship that you have, that is less than ideal, or not have a relationship with them for now. Here is some for you no matter what you decide, and you certainly don't have to decide anything today.

Hope things go okay for John's sister.

I had a good time at my half yesterday. I didn't quite get the time I wanted in under 4 hours but I just looked at the results and I was 4:10 so I can live with that.

It was cool and rainy when I woke up yesterday. I was feeling a bit nervous about it but then Kathy chatted with me on Facebook for a few minutes until it was time to go. There were about 700 people in this half. They also had a 5K and 10K going on at the same time, which I, of course, was wishing I had signed up for instead.

Here's a picture at the start:

Notice I'm at the back of the pack, yet remarkably close to the starting line.

I did well at the start and was keeping on pace but even then I truly thought I was DLF but I was on time so I didn't worry about it. I met people coming back all the way through the half way point so I knew I wasn't really that far behind.

After I got through the half way point I realized there were about half a dozen people behind me. I just kept going. I got a bad cramp in my calf about mile 7 but thankfully I had a teeny, tiny pack of BioGel in my belt and that did the trick. The course official on the bike talked to me for a few minutes about mile 9 and told me I was at least a mile ahead of the rest of the group. That perked me up a bit.

But as I got to mile 10 I hit the wall and started getting asked repeatedly "are you the last one?" I would just say "no, ask the guy on the bike" and keep going. A first aid worker said "oh, we were told the last ones had gone through so they closed the aid station." Thanks, thank a lot. Luckily I carried my own water. It was a little long on the bridge on the way back.

But I thought of you all and that got me through. The last mile was a bit better because that was where all the cops and firemen were and they were very nice and positive. I was very glad to see the finish line where they gave me one of these:

As you all know, these races tend to be a metaphor for your life as you log in the miles and hours. I tried very hard not use that time to regret things, like the missed runs, the short runs and the amount of weight I was carting around. It really was easier than the last one but a good reminder of how hard I am going to have to work if I want to make it to the Tink and have a good result. I feel quite proud of myself for pushing through and doing it, even when I really didn't want to and was so dang tired. I know that I feel strong and I'm glad I did it feeling is right around the corner . . .

I think having the 10K on the 9th will be nice so I can see that I can keep my pace for at least the first half -- it's the second half that I have to concentrate on. Of course the thought of running one single step right now is a bit painful. Chafing, derriere, 'nuff said. Thank goodness I didn't feel it until I got in the shower.

I thank you all so much for your encouragement and kind words! I could not do this without you all!

 

[Rose&Mike]

Lindsay--I'm not a hundred percent sure what is going on with Nick--he's not wanting to do activities, is that it? Tom was so like that. He didn't want to do anything. He was such a homebody. He loved going places with us, but mostly he loved being at home or having friends over, etc. He's still like that to a certain extent. Anyhow, when he was in school (I know Nick is still in preschool), we told him he had to have an activity--wasn't optional. Either we would pick it or he could pick it. Sometimes we picked and sometimes he did. A lot of times after he tried something, he was happy to keep going back, like soccer and band. Sometimes we told him he had to try something for a certain amount of time--just for the exposure and sometimes cause we thought he would like it. Not just for one time, but for x amount of time. For instance in 5th grade we told him we wanted him to try an instrument. We didn't care which one. He did not want to, but he did it and he went on to play both french horn and trombone (two very different instruments) in high school. He was an all state jazz trombonist for 3 years. We made him try basketball camp one summer with a friend of his--it was a DISASTER--so we let it go, and never asked him try anything like that again.

We had to DRAG him to summer camp with the promise that we would pick him up if he hated it--he loved it!

The point of all this--some kids, sometimes, just need a little push. We strongly believed that activities were important, especially for an only child. Tom's best friend never wanted to do anything, his parents didn't really encourage him and guess what, he never did anything.

None of this is to tell you how you should or shouldn't parent. You know your kid, more just to give you an example of what we went through. Eventually he picked his own activities, but up until middle school, he would have been ok with doing nothing. And maybe we should have let him do nothing. But I was so worried about raising one of those uber-smart nerdy kids, that we really pushed him to do stuff. And he has thanked me for "socializing him well." He told me he is the only one in some of his computer science and math classes who can carry on a conversation and wears deodorant.

Nancy-- No words. I think I would be a little scared, overwhelmed and tired too. After all we went through, I was still having the "what have I done" thoughts when I got pregnant the second time, but then I had the miscarriage so it didn't matter. Hang in there.

Kathy--loved the Pooh sticks. Just the story I needed today! And nope, you are not a bad person, I would have been happy she was bigger too!

um...so where are these perfect parents that felt the need to insult kentucky from??? cuz i'm sure i'd have some good comebacks for wherever they live! ick. sorry they were such losers. like i said in my previous post - this can all be filed under: people suck!


you brought booze to a tailgate?? what is WRONG with you???

so tell me - do people dress up for the football games down there? i will never ever forget my first football game at wake. people told me that everyone dressed up for the tailgates and i just didn't believe them. that is definitely something people do NOT do up here! so, i wore my WFU football tshirt and jeans and showed up to the tailgate with girls in dresses and guys in ties! let's just say this gal never really quite fit in down there

People totally dress up for football games--the girls usually wear teeny tiny black dresses and either cowboy boots or flip flops and the frat boys wear bow ties. Tom usually wears khaki shorts and a Carolina shirt. It was cold so he had on jeans. The family was from MD. Really they were polite, it was just a couple of times I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Who knows, maybe I was being obnoxious too! Parents weekend is this weekend coming up. We debated going down for it too, but we are pooped and need some rest before W&D!

Lisa--Congratulations! I am really very proud of you. That had to be so frustrating at times with the where is the end of the race stuff, but you did it! It takes me about a week to really process a race, and I have found that I learn something about myself every time. I'm glad you are not beating yourself up and instead celebrating the accomplishment. You can do the Tinderbell--you just have to put the time in--but I know you know that. I'm guessing that it kind of feels to you like the Kentucky Derby Half did to me--I really felt like all my other accomplishments would be pointless if I didn't finish that one race. And it was UGLY. Don't look at it that way. Look at it as just another race, that you can conquer! Cause I know you can. I want it to be a wonderful happy thing for you and not something that causes stress.

Maria--

*****
So about the weekend.

Thursday night we stayed in Gatlinburg. It was rainy but fun. We tasted Tennessee moonshine--very interesting. We bought a "jar". Not sure if we will drink it, but I thought it was really interesting and wanted to be supportive.

Friday started off with drama in the car. 10:30 when we are almost to Carolina I get this text--can you come after 1:00pm I have to clean my house. Uh, no, we are almost there, you told us we were hanging out with your friend Jessica at 1:00 so we rushed to leave this morning. I asked him what he did Thursday night--nothing. Watched a season and a half of entourage--he was in a mood, so he didn't want to do anything. Whatever.

Friday afternoon we went shopping for stuff for his room. Then we came back to his house and helped him do some stuff and he threw a FIT cause I was sweeping the stairs--it was DISGUSTiNgly dirty. It's his house, and I'm being disrespectful for cleaning. OK.....We ended up going out for pizza Friday night and his roomate joined us. Eventually we worked out everything, but boy it was drama ridden.

Saturday we went shopping for food for the "housegate" party. The publix had nothing gf--one box of crackers that I found--it was a small publix. At that point I was on the verge of losing it. Too much drama and nothing to eat. We ended up going to this store called Earth Fare and it was amazing. Tons of gf stuff. I got way too much junk. Saturday afternoon we had the party. Then we took the University shuttle to the game. The game was fun. His roomate and parents were taking the shuttle back but we ended up walking. My foot hurts if I sit still too long, so I really wanted to walk. I think they might have been po'd that we didn't wait with them, but I didn't care at that point.

Sunday--we went to Target and bought Tom a vacuum cleaner. I was going to bring him our old one, but the roomate's parents said they would and they didn't. So instead of me getting a new one and Tom getting my old one, Tom got a new one. We spent a FORTUNE this weekend. More than we will spend at Disney on two trips, probably!

And as for the foot. It is doing ok. After not running at all last week--or working out for that matter, I am going to try a couple of miles tomorrow. We actually according to the pedometer walked over 8 miles Saturday. So I'm happy with how it's feeling today. Hopefully the race will be doable!

I hope everyone is well. I need to figure out what is for dinner.

 

[mikamah]

Lisa- Love, love the race report and the medal. I am so proud of you for pushing on, and finishing, and I know you will be there with me in spirit next week. Heck, I may even call you around mile 10. Saturday, michael and i drove the route of my half, so I could see where the hills were, etc, and when we got to mile 2, I started panicking thinking it should have been so much further, but it's also a turn around so I only have to go 6.5 miles out and then we come back. But even driving, 13 miles is very far. I know you can set your mind to this and get your speed up there for the tinkerbelle. I'm so happy you see progress and felt this one was easier than the May half. Hope it wasn't too rainy for the race, and that bridge can get cold, I'd bet.
We watched the Haunted Mansion last night, and at the end they are driving off over this very long bridge, and michael said, "wow, I wonder where they have bridges like that?" and I told him that you just did a half marathon that took you over and back a very long bridge over a lake, and he started singing the Idaho potato song. Did you know there's an Idaho potato song? I didn't and maybe he made it up, but he was singing it all evening. So funny.

Rose- Sounds like you had a few stressful moments, but overall a nice weekend. Glad you were able to find a store with more gf stuff. That has got to be so frustrating. Kids are expensive, but it doesn't get any cheaper when they grow up, eh? Glad the foot is holding out ok. I know you'll be able to do the w&d, and hope you'll feel good enough after to enjoy the parks. And those sound like some fancy football games. I guess around here if you want to get dressed you'd go to a polo match. Football is jeans and sweatshirts as it should be.

Lindsay- Hope you're having a good week, and not too crazy. The whole footbal thing consumes a lot of free time, doesn't it. Glad the beast is doing well, and undefeated, right? Impressive. Nick may want to be more involved in things as he gets older too. My thoughts on it, are once Michael's in middle/high school, I want to keep him busy after school, especially if I'll be working later than he gets home figuring he'll get in less trouble that way. I'm lucky, he's like Ryan, and wants to do everything. We aren't going to do cub scouts this year. With football, and band practice, and school, it's just too much.

Maria- Hope you enjoyed your mental health day and didn't over do it. We watched your patriots sunday night. Michael wasn't into it as much as I was. It was a good game, and I thought he'd watch it more. Lucky for him, I could point out all the good plays, and he watched the replay. I was thinking of taking him to a college game, and wondered if you have any suggestions. It looks like you can get tickets to BC online, but I wonder if you know do they sell out, or can you get them at the gate?

Nancy- These guys wish you were still with them, and can't wait to see you real soon. Hope you're all adjusting to being home. It's so unfair that we have to come home at all. Now you can start reliving it by a trip report, posting pictures for us to all see on facebook, and scrapbooking. I just ordered a bunch of pictures from the princess trip because I want to make a big scrapbook of that trip. I figure it will help me as time goes on and i don't have a trip planned. And here's a hug to you on the whole, frustrating parent thing. Hang in there. Hope today is a better day all around.

At least I feel caught up here. I'm a bad BL member this challenge. Oh well, it is what it is, and unless they can increase our days by a couple of hours, I won't be able to do it all.

Today I work 830-5, and get school michael will change and eat a sandwich in the car and have football 530-7.

Have a fantastic day!!

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Hi all.

Lisa- Loved the mini TR of your race. What doesnt kill you makes you stronger right. I would have been so annoyed at those people thinking you were the last one. I think you handled that with class. What happened to the supporters being supportive. Idiots. Sorry.
I agree with your attitude of not beating your self up and thinking about all the didnt do's and wish I woulda's. I have been doing that on my runs lately. I ran twice now since sat. only 20 min each and they felt miserable. I cant even type the things I was saying to myself. I am so very proud of you though for signing up, completing it, and giving it your all. You are one amazing women.

Nancy- I agree with whoever said you should do a TR and/or scrapbook. That will help with the funk feeling. Plus we all want to see and hear about it too. Your dad must know something is up since he is calling you so often. I agree they probably will never change and its not worth getting all upset and crying on the phone to them because they will still see it as your issue not theirs. I know its tough no matter how you look at it. Know that you are an awesome person and it is truly there loss. About the baby stuff.....all those feelings will go away once that little baby is in your arms. I had alot of anxiety too. Like the oh god what did we do feeling. Those feelings are so normal. I will say it wont be easy but it will be well worth it. Hang in there!!!!!!

Rose- Yes you are definitely in the same SAHM category as Nancy!!!! I think I just thought of Nancy because she is currently in the moment of it.
As we have both learned this past weekends people are just plain idiots sometimes. Whether they truly mean the comments to be hurtful or not they just dont think. I really hope I dont say things that upset people. I try to be sensitive.
Oh and you know Tom is totally trying to be his own guy right now. I remember being like that at his age. I lived at home through college but I can remember going grocery shopping and reorganizing the fridge so I had one whole shelf to myself. I wouldnt use any of my parents groceries and I made my own dinners. I think I had to prove to myself that I could do it on my own. Im sure he is going through similar things. Dont worry in another 5-6 years he will be wishing you were there to clean his steps.
Glad you had a good weekend though excluding the bit of drama.

Oh and we laugh all the time when we go to sporting events and see people dressed up. I would always say who the heck does that. Now I know. Never been to a game down south before.....but that is definitly not how they do things in Philly. You could get beat up for something like that.

Oh and the whole Nick thing....I think right now its more of the parent guilt of Ryan being involved in so many things and Nick just watching from the sideline. He seems totally fine with not participating. He mostly has anxiety about it like if you remember my story from when he did the kids races. He wouldnt even run by himself so I would run aside of him. He would cry for the first half and be laughing and smile by the second. So hopefully as he ages the anxiety will fade. He wants to do tball this year but I am afraid to pay the money to sign him up and then he gets there and crys and wont participate. We will see....its a year from now so maybe he will mature a little. I can see him getting into music or dancing someday that is really what he likes. Im sure he will find his thing and I agree sometimes they need a push and we will be there to push him.

Hi Maria and everyone else!!!!!

Wow Im a bit wordy today. I got my flu shot yesterday and I am actually feeling kind of achy today....wonder if it is from that or running last night. This week started homework for Ryan so that will throw a whole new wrench in my tight schedule I run. My mom is getting him today and taking him to football so hopefully she can get him to do his homework. Otherwise we will be doing it at 830 tonight.

I would like to say that I love My Fitness Pal....Love Love Love it. I was totally within my calories yesterday!!!! and I have my day planned out today. We are getting a lunch from wegmans for our celebration of our high patient satisfaction scores. So now I just have to only eat what I logged in....thats the real challenge.

Alright I better get back to working here! Talk to you soon.

 

[lisah0711]

Hello Princesses and Belles!

Maria, hope that you are not paying the price today for your mental health day yesterday. Hope that it was a wonderful, relaxing day.

Nancy, how's it going today? I'm hoping to hear a bit about your stay at BLT when you are ready to share.

Rose, glad the foot is doing okay! 8 miles is a lot of walking. And about the housekeeping standards at Tom's -- it's probably better not to know. Oh, and good practice for when you really have to bite your tongue when there is a spouse involved.

Kathy, I'll keep my phone with me on Sunday so you can call me if you need too. But I bet you won't need to. You'll do great! It does help to have it be an out and back -- you'll be surprised at what you missed the first time out. I loved your message to Nancy.

What doesnt kill you makes you stronger right. I would have been so annoyed at those people thinking you were the last one. I think you handled that with class. What happened to the supporters being supportive. Idiots. Sorry.

Thanks, Lindsay, at least it wasn't as bad as "you know you're behind the pacer, don't you?"

I, too, am absolutely loving myfitnesspal. It tells me that I need to do much better in the fruit and veggie department. Between myfitnesspal and runkeeper.com I really have no excuse for not doing exactly what I should.

Hey I just figured out that the new BL starts tonight. Should be interesting with new trainers.

Have a great day ladies!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I am so sorry I've been MIA -- I wanted to congratulate Lisah on the gorgeous medal, chat about my beloved Patriots, welcome Nancy back, weigh in on kids activities, and snotty college parents -- I'm totally chicken fried. I got up at 5am and I haven't stopped. I am beyond busy at work -- I'm working on 11 renewal applications and 3 new ones, all with a due date of October 3rd. I'm working as much as I can with my company coming -- so no weekend work this weekend. Dennis's sdad and his wife arrive tomorrow. My dad and smom will be back Saturday. I was supposed to be off Mon. and Tues. next week -- I don't think so. I'll be working the 1st and 2nd, and hopefully that will be enough...

Thanks for all the good thoughts. I am thinking of you all, too. I'm Tivoing BL so I can watch Glee with Ben.

Everyone have a great night!

Maria

 

[dumbo_buddy]

i mean seriously lisa, you so totally rocked that half! love the pics, love the medal! sounds like a much different experience than the princess half which had a bazillion runners and water stations every 5 seconds. can't believe they just shut down the water stations.

maria - good luck with all those work projects! i really hated when work got in the way of fun. did you watch glee? i watched it last night.

rose - i suppose i get why tom had a fit when you cleaned. but still, you were just trying to help! heck, i'd love it if someone came and cleaned my house for me! and i'm jealous of his new vacuum cleaner! i giggled at lisa's comment about having to bite your tongue when spouses are involved. i wish my MIL would just bite her tongue OFF!

lindsay - glad i'm not the only one with anxiety over baby #2. sounds terrible but i'm just not ready to give up sleep! and i hate that newborn stage! maybe this one will be easier than thomas though. at least i'll know more of what to expect. i got a flu shot yesterday too and my whole arm hurts! i usually don't do the flu shot but i guess pregnant people are supposed to get them. oh and isn't that funny about the dressing up for football games? i'm telling you i couldn't believe my eyes when i went to my first game down at school. i just couldn't get into the dressing up! i mean, people still tailgated big time but there's just something weird about shotgunning a beer in a sundress! lol!

kathy - michael's pics on facebook from football are so cute! cute is obviously not the right word but just don't tell him i said cute so...tell us about YOUR upcoming half!!!!

good morning everyone! we've been kind of go-go-go lately and i haven't been a good thread contributor. the BL challenge has totally gotten ahead of me and i hardly recognize anyone. i better buck up as i'm coaching beginning on friday!

yesterday was john's birthday and also my uncle eddie's who lives across the street. we went out to dinner with them and of course i stuffed myself to the point where i felt sick. you know, the usual i got john the full series of the sopranos on dvd. found a great deal for it on ebay. he asked for it so it wasn't all that much of a surprise but, hey, when you turn 41 the days of big surprises are kind of over, aren't they?

i have some good news and bad news to share - good news is that john's sister went to two different doctors this week and both are extremely optimistic about her breast cancer. she has stage ZERO DCIS. i didn't even know it went as low as stage zero. and apparently dcis means something along the lines of a tumor that is only in the ducts and not spreading. she will have a lumpectomy and some chemo. thank god. i don't think she'd be able to handle anything else. of course, she hasn't scheduled the lumpectomy or follow ups but whatever. the bad news is a little scary. our neighbor across the street was hit by a car on his walk to the bus stop two days ago! he's john's age and has a wife and 1 year old son. we see them and talk to them everyday. as of last night he is stable but will major head trauma. i've only been texting with his wife so it's hard to know exactly what's going on but it's very scary. people drive like maniacs around here. and he took the "safe" way that john always took (there are two ways to get to the bus and apparently i took the not safe way) and still he was hit. and so far it's a hit and run. i keep saying if they need anything to let me know. but i feel like i need to do something. you guys have any ideas???

oh and i had an OB appt yesterday that included getting retested for gestational diabetes. was there for an hour and 15 minutes and the parking was $23! ugh. i have to go every two weeks now. getting close! and i'm going to have a growth scan next friday just to check things out. should be fun to get a peek of the munchkin.

running into the shower and getting some breakfast before first day of mommy and me today. should be interesting with having to get everyone to the second floor!

i posted some pics of our trip on facebook and will start a TR hopefully today. lisa - i have alot to say about BLT actually so stay tuned!

 

[lisah0711]

Hello Princesses and Belles!

Maria, sending good thoughts and tons of for you for this busy time. How wonderful that they think so highly of your skills and abilities to pull this all together on time and in spite of a computer that doesn't always work right.

yesterday was john's birthday and also my uncle eddie's who lives across the street. we went out to dinner with them and of course i stuffed myself to the point where i felt sick. you know, the usual i got john the full series of the sopranos on dvd. found a great deal for it on ebay. he asked for it so it wasn't all that much of a surprise but, hey, when you turn 41 the days of big surprises are kind of over, aren't they?

Eh, how the heck were you going to top the surprise gift of Bronxbaby this year any way?

Glad to hear that the news sounds positive for John's sister.

Sending you lots of for your test results this week.

I saw your pics on Facebook -- looks like you had a great time!

Busy day here. Still a bit sore from my race on Sunday. Maybe taking the whole week off even though Tink training is supposed to start this week. I'll start in around the 10K mark and should be fine.

Have a great day, ladies!

 

[dumbo_buddy]

TWO emails from my dad today. TWO! and not one saying like, "hey, let's talk about what's bothering you." first email was subject: please call mommy and the body just said, "love daddy." the second email was subject: federal reserve and the body, "Do you understand quantitative easing or ‘Operation Twist?” Some things I understand, but I can’t get my head around these." i know, it's hard to believe, but pre-thomas i was a huge finance geek. so this is exactly the type of question i could probably write a book about. maybe he's reaching? trying to see if i'd take the bait?

i still haven't figured out how i want to move forward with them. of course neither called for john's birthday and no card. not that they normally do anyway though.

onto some good news - mommy and me class was a success! we had a great first day and i think everyone was happy. we did find out that two of the children have a peanut allergy. poor things. that totally stinks. i need to send out an email to the parents/caregivers to let them know to check things before bringing in food for bday parties. i don't remember anyone having peanut allergies growing up and now it's SO common. and peanuts of all things! i love my pb&js!

lisa - take that break! you don't want to push too much or else you'll burn out before you get into the juicy part of the training for the tink! hopefully the soreness will go away soon. i was VERY sore after the princess. sitting on a plane the same night as running a half marathon probably wasn't the best thing!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Quick post before shower and bed -- I'll do a real one by Saturday, I promise!

Dennis's sdad and his wife (my MIL passed in 1999) arrived after 6 tonight. She brought her own bottle of lime-flavored vodka. You can't make this stuff up...

Going in at 6:45 again tomorrow. I am feeling much more in control today. I found out why I was having trouble accessing a system and was able to fix the problem. I've gotten just about everything out to the people who need to do things, now I can write and let the information flow in for most of my work. Still have one new application I don't have parameters for, but I should be ready to go when it's released on Monday.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good week, and a great night. I had an incident with pizza and chocolate cream pie tonight. Not exactly on the low carb poster...but I needed something to counter the shock of the vodka!

I am thinking of you all and I have so much to say -- but I'm going to pass out if I don't go to bed. Here's a big --

Maria

 

[mikamah]

Good morning, princesses and lisabelles!!

It's a muggy, rainy morning here, and looking like showers off and on til next wednesday. Really?!? Oh well, a good excuse to watch movies. But the bad thing is the whole football rain or shine, right Lindsay? I have a work dinner tonight, every 5 years of employment they celebrate with a dinner and you get a pin, and I've been there 25 years 26 now since they're behind on the dinner, so I get to pick a gift from a catalog too, and bring a guest to the dinner. A friend from work is coming with me as my guest and theres about 10 of us from my unit going. Michael wants me to get a trampoline if it's available as my gift. My sister is taking michael to football practice for me and bringing him home. I'm excited to go out, it's always a nice meal, and free to boot. It's also fun to catch up with other people I used to work with.

Of course, I didn't think I had anything to wear, my wardrobe is limited to scrubs and jeans, and a few nice things in various sizes, but when I looked I had a dress I bought for michaels' first communion 2 years ago that fits, so I'm all set.

Lisa- Thank you so much for the offer of keeping you phone on. I am sure I will be just fine, and if I do need to call someone, it will be my sister to come and pick me up. How are you feeling today? Getting some rest this week, I hope, and you are smart to take it easy on the tink training for now. You just did a half marathon, you will be fine. Isn't it 1 day of recovery for each mile run? Or it could be 1.5 days, I seem to remember think after the princess i needed to rest for 21 days. Rest and recover, and then you will start that tink training with a vengeance. Did I see something on facebook from galloway, the training plan to increase your time? Is that what you will be following? I am so excited for you doing the inaugural race in your beloved DL.

Nancy How is your neighbor doing? How frightening, and his poor wife must be so overwhelmed. I hope he recovers ok. I think the offer to help is perfect, and I'm also one to drop off food, stuff that can be frozen is nice. If I can I'll make a casserole in a disposable dish so they don't have to return anything, but if not, we have a few good store around that sell homemade meals that can be frozen.
Glad your sil got good news on her prognosis, though it sounds like it won't be easy for her. I hope she surprises you all and is able to handle the treatment well.
Oh, and your MIL, biting her tongue off. You are too funny.
Hugs on the mom and dad stuff. It ain't easy, but whatever you do will be the right thing, and you will be ok. Take care of you. Do what you need to do to keep sane.

Maria You mil sounds like fun. Lime flavored liquor is delish. That makes me think of last year, my sister and I were visiting my sil and brother and after a few drinks they went online and signed me up for a dating service, to find me a man, and the name they chose for me was Princess Limon. Limon is the lime flavored run we were drinking that night, and I was getting ready for the princess. Wonder what kind of men might have responded to that.
Today is a new day, forget about the pizza and pie. With the elderly convention in your house this month, a little slip is to be expected.

Lindsay-Hope you're having a good week, and Ryan's doing his homework with a minimal battle.

Rose- Hello there, hope all is well in KY!!

Hello to everyone else!!

Oh, yeah, about my half. I'm not freaking out about it anymore at all, and am going to just do the best I can. I got a big email about it, and am actually a little excited. I hope to finish within the 4 hours so I can get a medal. I could start 1 hour early with the walkers but I noticed how dark it would be and have decided to just start with the rest at 7am. I also figured if I started early, it could be very painful to have everyone passing me when they start at 7. Though instead I'll probably be at mile 3 when they start coming back. That could be fun too. My friend Karen doesn't know yet if she will walk/run with me, or run for her time. She hasn't done the training either, but even without training, I know she could finish at least an hour or 90 min before me. I've made it clear to her that I will be happy to finish within the 4 hours, so she knows how slow I will be. When we run together, she will often run ahead and circle back at times, so i don't know what she'll do. Either way, I'm going to do my thing, and go out slow and steady.
Ok, maybe I'm freaking out a little because there are only bathrooms at 4.5 and 7.5 miles. I should be ok, but may take some immodium to be sure. I'll drink some extra coffee friday to get as cleaned out as possible.

Michael's doing fine on the meds, and we'll double the dose starting friday, so fingers crossed he tolerates that too. I talked to an old friend who's daughter went through this years ago, about the same age, and that was helpful. I remember her being freaked out at the time, but didn't remember that they had put her dd on meds as well. She was on them a few years and came off without any problem or further seizures. She's in her 20s now.

Oh, I almost forgot, Maria- Could you hear michael playing his saxaphone from your house last night? He had his first band practice monday, and is so excited. It's a beautiful instrument. But I'll be needing some earplugs for the neighborhood.

Well, I've been rambling. Guess this is like the blog of my life.

Phew, hit the wrong button, but luckily it posted instead of poofing away. That would have made me go searching for some lime vodka.

Have a fabulous day ladies!!

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Nancy- Im so sorry to hear about your neighbor. I guess the stigma that is given to new york drivers is really true. Very sad and I hope he recovers. I agree with Kathy that a frozen meal is a great idea. If he is missing work and depending upon any time of sick/disability benefit they may also be in need of money...so a gift card to a local store or gas card may be appreciated as well.

Boy your dad must really sense something is wrong but why not just say it then. Like a phone call message saying I can tell something must be bothering you since you havent returned our messages and please call so we can talk about it. I can really understand your frustration.

Kathy- Yep football in the rain...not so fun for us. Ryan of course thinks its great. He was mad they called practice early when it started pouring because he was hoping to get good and muddy. Im glad Michael is doing well with the meds and that you had someone to talk to. We are trying to set up a program at work called parent partners. It would be a database of patient parents of children with chronic conditions. When we have a patient newly diagnosed with a certain condition we would give the parent the email of a parent partner who has gone through the same thing. I think sometimes just talking to someone who has gone through the same thing just really makes a person feel better. I know it does for me anyway.

Lisa- Definitely give yourself time to recover. Next up is the TINK....that is so exciting.

Maria- Needless to say she probably should have brought the bottle for you. for having to hold the senior fest. Im glad you have things better in line at work...always is good to feel in control.

Hi Rose how is it going being back home?

**********************************************************

Well yesterday wasnt so good on My fitness Pal...I had a run in with Yocco's Hotdogs and that took about 1/2 of my calorie alottment for the day. The rest was downhill from there. Today seems better if I indeed can control myself through dinner. I do plan on leaving practice early tonight to get home and run so as long as its not pouring or thunderstorming I should be ok. My next 5K is on 10/15 so I am trying to get to the point where 3 miles feels good.

I spoke with Ryans teacher again yesterday to follow up on how he is doing. She said he is improving but still has a really hard time focusing. She has him in a small group in the morning to go over their sight words/spelling words because he cant focus when they do it in the group. He is also in a group with a reading specialist. There are 5 kids in the group and she said Ryan is the strongest out of the 5. She said he is right where he should be with his reading but she feels he can do so much better and has him in the class just because of the focusing issues. So I am really on the fence with doing an ADD eval. I hate to start this so early but I honestly really feel he cant control it. I dont think he is not focusing because he doesnt want to I truly feel like he cant help it. So I think I am going to give it another month or so and follow up again with her. She feels fine with that as well. She said he is a great kid and very positive and friendly, doesnt distract others but is easily distracted. So will see how it goes. Whoever said parenting is easy.....Never had kids!

Also I have been talking with a friend of mine I went to college with and then worked with for years. She now is a SAHM for her 2 year old and is on the verge of divorce. She is calling me in tears and I feel so bad for her. Her husband is verbally abusive and is now threatening to divorce her and take their son away from her. She feels like she is only staying there for her son and doesnt want to be the one to file for divorce. She cant eat or sleep and she looks horrible. She is seeing a counselor and on meds. I feel bad and dont even know really what to say but I am there to listen. Any suggestions of what I can do or say to her? I just feel so helpless.

Well I feel horrible that I havent gotten over to the main thread. I will try to do that later. I just cant find enough time in the day sometimes.

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning Princesses and Belles!

Rose, how is your week going? Are you starting to get excited about W&D? It looks like there will be a lot of WISHers there. I hope that you get to meet Cam and her DH. There are quite a few people who are doing the Tinker Bell who will be there, too. It looks like a lot of fun!

Nancy, looks like you are off to a great start coaching this week! Lots of and for the parental unit situation. When will you get to see Bronxbaby for the growth test? I was laughing about your FB about "Wilbur." I used to call Robert "Eggbert" or "Eggberta" long before we knew whether he was a boy or a girl. For some reason it used to really make my sister mad.

Maria, so did your houseguest bring the lime-flavored vodka for you? Or she couldn't get through the visit without it? Hope that you can get some rest this week-end.

Kathy, you are so going to rock your half this week-end! It's kind of fun to see people coming back and some of them may give you high five's, which is entertaining for a few seconds. How was your dinner? Has it really been two years since Michael's communion? Where does the time go? Glad that Michael is adjusting to the meds.

Lindsay, guess it's more football in the rain for your this week-end. Sounds like Ryan's teacher is working hard to help him and work with you to do what he needs. It's good to give him some time to see if he adjusts. And your poor friend. You are listening and being supportive and there isn't much else that you can do. You might suggest that she talk to an attorney so she can get a reasonable idea of what the process is and what she can reasonably expect. It's a tough situation.

I slept wrong and my neck has been hurting a lot -- even ibuprofen or aleve doesn't seem to help. It is slowly getting better but there won't be any running this week-end unless it magically goes away as fast as it came.

The weather is going to be nice here this week-end so we are going to do the first part of fall cleanup. There isn't much to do. I feel a bit sad putting the plants and chairs away but in a week or two when it is cold, rainy and in the 30's, I'll be glad that we did it when it was nice. The second part of fall cleanup will wait until after MIL and BIL are here in a couple of weeks. That is when you leave the gate open and let the deer come in an eat everything down to a nub in the backyard for a few days. Idaho entertainment!

Have a great day ladies!

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Lisa- Now that is something we dont see here in the city...deer eating things in our backyard. We have rabbits and I swore the other day I saw a red fox (although my husband thinks I am crazy and it was probably a dog.) But no deer. The deer I see are dead on the road. Anyway sounds like fun to watch. It is sad to be putting away the summer things...boy it went so darn fast..I dont think I am ready for the blah days and nights. Make sure you get some Moist heat on that neck either in the shower or a wet wash cloth as hot as you can stand it. That will help to along with aleeve or motrin. That is the worst.

I am so done with work for this week.....as rose says I am chicken fried.

Tonight is Ryans back to school dance. I hope he learned last time that getting up and dancing and running around with friends is so much more fun than sitting at the table attached to your moms hip. I think now that he knows more kids he should be ok. I am helping out tonight at the craft table. It should be fun.

Tomorrow is football but its been raining all day and is expected to last through tomorrow....now we know that does not mean much but hopefully the field will be so flooded they cancel. Thats me praying for it.

Nick asked if he could have a sleepover at meemaws this weekend and I said absolutely. The problem is he didnt ask my mom yet. So I am secretly wishing she agrees and Mike and I can enjoy some quiet time together. I feel like its been years since we have had that.

Well I hope you all are doing well. Have a great night/weekend.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Kathy--good luck this weekend! I can't remember which day it is, but I hope you have a fun race! Remember to smile for the finish line.

******
So I have been very mia, this week. Just not dealing with life very well. I haven't been feeling great, but I started taking a b-complex supplement this week and that seems to be helping. And I have barely been on the computer this week, which I think is a good thing, though I have missed you all.

I know in the big scheme of things we have had a good year, and really we have, but I am tired, and feeling very beat down still. The weather here has been very gloomy and gray already which is not helping things.

Anyhow, I think I just needed a couple of days to feel a little sad, if that makes sense, and hopefully I am getting back to my old self. I have decided not to help with clean up the clutter on the fall challenge and to really just take a break from most responsibility for a little bit and deal with some of the stuff that I have been shoving to the background. This year seems to have been a lot about putting out fires, and not so much about fire prevention--I just finished reading a trashy novel about people who parachute into fires to put them out.

Anywho , I am probably making no sense, but hopefully I am done being an absentee friend.

I hope everyone is having a great Friday. I got in two fast 4+ mile runs in this week, but my foot has been sore today, so that might be it until the race. Those really unattractive Merrell shoes I bought and live in seem to really be helping. Tom said they look like old people orthopedic shoes. I told Mike he is carrying a string bag with my cute shoes on the trip so I can at least change when we get to a restaurant.

Ok, I guess I've rambled enough. Have a good Friday!