Good Bye Body Pump

I've been doing body pump classes for the last 3 years. Today I experienced something I never have before, while I was doing a row, I stood up and it felt like hot fireworks had gone off in my lower back. Being the bright person I am, I continued to do the rest of the back exercises. AND I did the next set of triceps and biceps. By the time we got to the lunge segment I couldn't move anymore. I put my stuff away and called the pilot. He called his chiropractor and I drove straight to the doctor. Apparently I sprained a nerve in my lower back. He told me to take a break from exercising, no housework or yard work for several days. So I officially have permission from the doctor to not clean the house or pull weeds. Not that those things were in my Memorial day weekend plans but it was nice to hear anyway.
Goodbye - lower halves, skull crushers, clean and presses, power presses. Its been fun but its time for me to move on. The truth is I was getting burned out, did I mention I've been doing the class for 3 years?! I've decided to try some new things. And I really need to change it up for my own sanity. I bought a Groupon for Barre Fit classes at a local yoga studio. These classes really burn calories and tone muscles I didn't even know I had. Who knew a class where you don't wear shoes could be so intense?? The weather is nicer too so I may go back to running. I don't want exercise to ever feel like a chore, I want it to be part of my healthy life style. So on those days I feel like having a strawberry cheesecake shake I don't feel guilty. Body Pump is a great class and maybe someday I'll go back but for now my body is ready to move on to something else.

Happy Birthday

I absolutely love birthdays. When I was younger my mom always made me feel so special on my birthday. She would ask me to give her a list of three things I wanted and she would buy me one of the items I told her. She would make me a cake then my dad, brother and sister would sing Happy Birthday. It wasn't that I received some extravagant gift, it was just the way she made each of us feel on our birthday. I like doing the same thing for other special people in my life. I want them to feel the way my mom made me feel, loved.
So begins the tradition of the birthday "week". Now I have to say that I didn't intend for this to happen but somehow it happens every year. My birthday isn't until Thursday, however my friend took me out today for sushi. Thursday the family will go out to dinner, Friday my dad is taking us out to lunch, and the following week I have another friend I'm meeting for a birthday lunch. I use to joke with the pilot that every year I would have a birthday week.
The best gifts are the thoughtful ones, the ones I know that my friends really thought about. At Christmas time I received one of the best gifts ever. When my friend came to visit, I tortured her by making her watch an episode of the Cowboys Cheerleaders. This is a show I watch every year with my son. Anyway for Christmas she had a magnet made especially for me that is a cowboys cheerleader with curly hair and hazel eyes. It made me laugh and it was perfect. Gifts are not about how much you can spend to impress somebody, they are about the thought. Really thinking about how someone will feel when they open it. Will they know you were thinking of them as you picked it out?
So here goes another year, another birthday, and another reason to eat lots of good food and yummy cake :-)

A Fun Adventure

The pilot had a layover in St Lucia, we decided we would all go with him. I didn't realize however that the flight from New York to St Lucia would be close to 5 hours. For us to get to New York it takes close to 4. So we flew about 9 hours to get there to spend 24 hours in St Lucia. It was worth every minute!! This was also mine and D-boy's first stamp in our passports. My thought along the way was how cool is it that we could do this?? My son is 6 and went to St Lucia, some people will never go there in their lifetime. I'm incredibly thankful for my husband being a pilot and that we could go on such an adventure.  Since the resort was all inclusive we ate as much as we could. We left midnight Friday night to arrive at 1 pm Saturday. Then we left Sunday at 1 pm to get home at 1 am. Lets just say D-boy and I were a little tired. Once we arrived at the resort however we couldn't get into our swimsuits fast enough.
On the way home I watched Stanley Tucci board our plane. The pilot was flying us back from St Lucia to New York. I ran to the front to tell him of the celebrity on board and he informed me that Matt Damon was also on our flight and he had just met him. What?? As I very slowly walked back to my seat I looked and their Matt was sitting with his 2 little girls. Honestly in my lifetime I never thought I would see a celebrity that close. No one really bothered him during the flight and I saw him get up a couple times and talk to the flight attendants. My one big moment is I used the restroom after he did. That sure is a story to share with my future grandkids ;-) I have one picture of him carrying his daughter on the plane. I thought it was amazing that Matt Damon had paid 1 million dollars to rent out an entire resort on St Lucia and still flew back to New York on a regular airline. Many of his guests had flown in on private jets.
Again I had no idea that when we decided to join the pilot to St Lucia that their would be a celebrity on the flight on our way home.
I have to say that was the best weekend I've ever had. And it looks like at the end of May the pilot will be flying to Aruba. Not sure we will join him, but I've looked at the photos of their hotel and they have a private island with flamingos and iguanas. I'm going to have to give it some serious thought!!

Life Changing

The moment I walked out of my last job I knew my life would change. I wasn't sure how but I knew things would be different. At first I struggled, I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't know what would define who I was as a person. If somebody asked me what I did, what would I say? I do nothing? I wake up after 8, get my son ready for school, if the pilot is here we spend the day together. Doesn't sound very exciting, but to me its wonderful. The truth is I discovered that I could be a better wife and mom. I started to focus on spending time with God daily and reading His word. Just having a little bit each day reminds me of the person I want to be. I want to be loving and kind to the people I encounter. I want to have a happy family and a happy home. I want to find ways for people to wonder why I'm different, why am I so positive and how is it possible to have such an amazing marriage after 18 years? Its because of Jesus. That sounds too simple but the truth is my relationship with God has become deeper since I left work. And I've noticed because of that relationship, my relationship with my husband, my son, my friends, and the rest of my family have been better as well. I still consider myself a work in progress. I don't know what my next steps are but I want to be open to anything God has in store for me. The truth is leaving my job allowed me to become a better person. I no longer focus on negative co-workers or petty daily things that don't mean much in the grand scheme of life. I enjoy every relationship I have in my life. I'm thankful for the blessings my family has and I hope that I can share those with those around me.

Tedward Edward

Yesterday D-boy came home all excited with a back pack I'd never seen before. Apparently it's his turn to bring home Tedward Edward. Now the picture above is not the actual picture of this little teddy bear D-boy brought home but it looks very similar. Tedward also came with 2 journals that include notes from every home this bear has been to, it started in September of 2009. My first question for D-boy is can we wash this bear?  Honestly all I could think about is how many germs does this bear have and when is the last time it got washed. The idea is super cute but how many diseases is this thing really carrying?? Of course he wants to carry it every where and sleep with it every night. Would it be wrong to bathe it in anti bacterial soap? Just our luck he gets it right before spring break. Every other kid only had to keep it for the weekend. We get the privilege of having it for almost a week and a half. We are going to my sister n law's wedding next week and he wants to bring it to the wedding! Which means we have to bring it on the plane with us. I don't mind bringing it on the plane and taking pictures, but it won't be making an appearance at the wedding. Sorry D-boy, I'm having a hard enough time letting it sleep in your bed. I admit I need help, maybe I should just put it in the washer to make me feel better. I blame our anti bacterial society, every where you go now you can use this stuff. At Target they have wipes you can use before you push your cart around the store. Its at grocery stores, the gym, the doctor's office (ok it should be at the dr's office), but really its every where. I don't think I worried so much about germs before I had D-boy. So this is our adventure for the week, taking care of Tedward Edward. And D-boy forgot to ask his teacher if we could wash it, we'll see what happens :-)

What are you thinking

Sometimes I feel like my mind looks like this, so many random thoughts. The truth is our thoughts have a huge impact on how we live our lives. We are in control of what we think and it is important to remember we are free to think positive thoughts. When I'm upset, I can choose to think about it over and over and the outcome is I become even more upset. Or I can decide that I'm going to move on with my day and my life. I have to admit I tend to obsess over things and I'm working on that. I've notice with my daily devotional it truly has helped me understand how to change. Number one thing I needed help with was my thoughts. For some reason I believed that I had no control over them but that just isn't the case. So now that I've figured that out what do I do next? I let go of the things I'm angry about. I talk to God and ask him to help me see things from his perspective. I take the focus off myself and try to think of things I can do for others. Yesterday I took a meal to my sister n law who just had a baby. I've been writing things down that I can do to help brighten somebody else's day.
Next time you are in a bad mood try to remember what thoughts got you there in the first place and maybe, just maybe you can change your mind.

Baby Madness

This is by far my favorite picture of me and D-boy. This past week in my family twins have been born and another baby girl 2 days afterwards. The pilot and I started looking at all the pictures we have of our baby boy who is now 6. When he was born all I could do was stare at him and wake him up because I wanted to see his eyes. If you're a parent you will completely understand, when your baby is born it is such a miracle. You look at this little life and really are amazed that your love created a little human being. Its been a while so I tend to forget that feeling but when new little ones come into your life you are reminded. I know many parents who get sad when their babies start to grow up and time goes by so fast. But for me I love that my son is growing up. I love being able to talk to him and answer his questions. Its wonderful to watch him figure things out. He is a hugger and is very good at charming people. I'm thankful for the new babies that have arrived and I'm happy that it has reminded me of all the wonderful times I've had with my own son.