Friends for Life

Happy Wednesday! Today was the first day my son and his best friend walked to school together. I have to say this made my heart melt. When I was younger my parents moved due to my Dad's job. We started in California, then Arizona and then Colorado. It was difficult for me since I wasn't very outgoing in school and trying to make new friends didn't come easy. Many of the kids had their friends since kindergarten and unfortunately for me I was the outcast. I am very fortunate in that I have a home that we don't plan on moving until my son is out of high school. He will be able to walk to grade school, middle school, and high school from our house.

Last year when I left work I met a new friend. She happens to be the mom of D-Boy's best friend. I 100% believe that God brought her into my life at a time I really needed her. She lives 4 blocks from us and just last night we all walked over to visit. Me, D-boy, the pilot and our dog. We've watched each other's kids, we've gone to concerts, we've joined the same gym and pool. She has enhanced my life in more ways than one. Friends are important to have, especially ones that don't judge you. My best friend gave my husband a kidney, not in a million years did I ever think that was going to happen when I meet her 12 years ago. She has been there for me in good times and bad. She inspires me to be a better person. I don't have a lot of friends but the ones I do have I truly cherish. 

Take a moment today and maybe tell one of your friends how thankful you are to have them in your life. 

First day of School, for real

Last year I started this blog with D-boy's fake first day of kindergarten. This year today was his actual first day of school. It felt different this time, I wasn't in a hurry to get him there. Once we were close he wanted to run as fast as he could to get into his new classroom. First grade is a big deal, he gets his own desk with his name on it. I had to slow him down to walk with me. The truth is over this past year I've spent so much time with him, I miss him already. It's different when you don't work. Before I was used to dropping him off at daycare, or preschool before I went to work. I'd have my own day and he would have his. Since the pilot is gone 3 to 4 days a week, I spend 24/7 with my son. And I have to admit I love being with him.
That said here is how our morning started. D-boy crawls into bed with me at 7:09 am, I know this because he decided to let me know what time it was "Mommy, its 7:09, Mommy its 7:12, Mommy its 7:14" You get the idea, he did this until my alarm went off at 7:30. I tried to convince him to go make his own breakfast but he didn't want to go alone. We weren't leaving the house until 9 am so you can imagine how long our morning was until then. I finally took us both out at 8:30 to take the dog for a walk, just so I didn't have to hear the time updates anymore. I wasn't surprised when we got back to the house that D-boy informed me it was 8:55 am. At this point I thought maybe I was ready to take him to school.
I am excited for him to start a new year with a new teacher and maybe some new friends. Now I just have to figure out what I'm gonna do....

20 YEARS

First of all I have to say I can't believe its been 20 years since I graduated high school. I feel so much younger. Anyway Saturday I took D-boy to my high school reunion which was lunch at a park and then we did a tour of the high school. What did I learn? I didn't have very many friends in high school and I still don't. I was happy to see a friend of mine that I hadn't seen since I left but she was really the only person I talked to. It was fun to take my son to the high school his mommy and daddy graduated from. It really made me think about how my son will be in high school. For starters he is much more outgoing then I was in school, he is funny, compassionate, sweet, plays the guitar and already has 6th grade girls signing his t-shirts! I have a feeling he may be in the popular crowd. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but as long as he is happy that is all that matters to me. One of the things I liked about our reunion is that it was very casual. Most of the people were wearing shorts and t-shirts. Our 10 year reunion was at Dave and Busters. I didn't go to impress anyone and I felt that most of the people there felt the same way. At one point though I was ready to scream "I married the pilot, bitches!" A little bit of my sassiness coming out.
The truth is my life has been incredibly rewarding since high school. Back then every thing felt like the end of the world, if only I could tell my young self that life gets better. You won't always be the outcast with only a couple friends. Life is not about how many friends you have or who doesn't like you. Instead I can share this life experience and lessons with my son. However I have a feeling his high school years will be much different than mine were. The best thing that ever happened to me in high school is I found my husband. I didn't know then that I would have the best adventure ever in marrying my best friend. I almost didn't go but in the end I was happy I did.

Roller Coaster

This picture made me think of how I've been on a constant roller coaster with my health and my weight. In the past I would work out (hard I thought, but not really) and eat "good" and absolutely nothing would change. I wanted to bash the scale with a sledge hammer on a daily basis, I wanted to kick all the skinny girls at the gym, I wanted to scream that I was trying so hard. So when I didn't see any results or progress I went back to eating what I wanted and worked out even less. This was me for the last 6 years.
Tonight I put on my new bathing suit to relax in our hot tub and I felt amazing and confident. In fact I wanted to shimmy my way down the street to yell at the top of my lungs I weigh 136.7 pounds!! I don't want to live my life according to the scale but I'm just so surprised to see I'm losing weight. I didn't think it was possible. I read an article the other day that said research shows the best way to lose weight is diet and exercise. Really, isn't that just obvious? Anyway I realized I never was really trying that hard. I didn't push myself and I didn't make an effort to change my eating habits. I've been tracking my calories for 24 days, and it has changed my perspective. Yesterday I burned 500 calories in my spin/yoga class. I was dripping sweat after the 30 minutes of spin and I felt incredible. I truly enjoy my classes and the gym I go to, the teachers are fun and incredibly positive. I want to be surrounded by positive and encouraging people.
I have found the treats that fit into my budget of calories and I know at some point I won't have to track my calories anymore. For now though it is keeping me accountable and I can't complain anymore about how I'm trying so hard and nothing is happening.
One of my favorite shows is Extreme Weight loss on ABC. The reason I enjoy this show is the trainer works with an individual for over a year. It is amazing what these people can do with just one person having faith in them. Whatever it is in your life whether its a weight loss goal or a life goal, look around I bet you have at least one person who believes in you. One person who would say "Yes, You can do it!! Just believe". If you don't, let me be that person that says to you - you can do anything that you believe is possible just have a little faith.

If you haven't seen the show, check it out. It is very inspiring and encouraging.
http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-weight-loss/episode-guide