Hi blog friends!  I don't have one particular subject to write about today.  Just some miscellaneous thoughts and updates.  Here we go!!

 

My truck is now in the shop being repaired.  I will be soooo excited to get it back!  One of the girls from our other office (I am in a "satellite" office) had gotten me a little gift for my kick butt truck.....a pair of hot pink fuzzy dice!!  I hung those suckers in the front window and told my hubby that he could take them down when HE drove the truck.  But when I am in it...I love my fuzzy dice!!  My co-worker got a kick out of the fact that I was so pleased with them.  When I get said truck BACK, I will have to post a pic so you can see them!!

 

Weigh-in/measuring day for the fitness challenge is next Wednesday.  I am proud to say that I have exercised faithfully, both at the gym and at home.  My big disappointment has been the lack of help at the gym.  If you could not afford to pay for extra "personal trainer" sessions, well, you were just ON YOUR OWN BABY!!  Not letting that deter me, I have just plugged along all by my own little self.  I can see results and I am thrilled!!  My hubby has been my biggest, bestest, most steadfast cheerleader!!  Yay hubby!!  He says he can see differences as well.  So, even if I didn't get quite the support I thought I might at the gym, I am still pumped, am feeling much better physically and starting to look better as well.  Nothing wrong with that at all!!  I will let you know the actual results next week after they weigh and measure me again.

 

Grand-dog sitting is coming up!!  If I am not mistaken, our kids and grandkids are leaving for a trip to Mexico next week and I get to keep my Grand-dog Lucie.  Lucie is about 7 months old....a cute as a button teeny tiny Shitzu!!  She LOVES me!!  I can hardly wait to have her.  I may even bring her to work with me during the day.  Since I am here in my office by myself most of the time, I think I can safely do that.  On the afternoons that my boss is in, I will just leave her at home.  I envy the kids this vacation!!  I never got to do anything remotely resembling this trip when I was a kid.  Our family "trips" were never farther than a 100 or so miles, if that much.  I hope they have a great time in Mejico!!

 

Yet another high school reunion is coming up as well.  Geez....am I THAT old????  This is the 35 year one.  I have been working on the committee that has done the planning.  We have NOT had great response.  However, I am looking forward to seeing those who have decided to come.  We have rented the Tulsa Trolleys and are taking a "trip down memory lane."  We will be hitting all the old haunts from our high school days as well as paying a visit to the alma mater!!  My BFF will be coming in for this and hopefully, will be staying with me.  I haven't seen her in TOO LONG and am looking forward to her visit.  We talk just about every week.  But there is nothing like some "in person" time with her!    Did I tell you all I am THAT old???  I really am.  It feels strange!  Strange to be on the other side of 50 already.   But, hey, I am getting better as well!!  Kind of like fine aged wine as someone said!

 

I hope everyone has a great day today!

 

Later 'gators!!

 

BBB

Movies and TV shows, some of the greatest songs ever, and some of the greatest books ever written deal with the subject of goodbyes.  We all say our goodbyes to numerous types of people in our lives.  Friends who are moving.  Loves that have just not worked out.  Travelers passing through.  From an early age, we just learn to say our goodbyes.   Many of them, by their very nature, just suck big time.  Some are very difficult and others we know are just more like farewells...till I see you next time kinda goodbyes.

 

Today, God was gracious to me and I was able to go and visit my ex-mother-in-law and tell her goodbye.  I have to say that my ex was more than gracious as well, telling my daughter to please tell me it was okay to come.  It didn't matter if he was there or not....just go ahead and come.  For that I will ALWAYS be grateful to him.  I got off work and went straight to the hospital.  My daughter, her beautiful daughter, my ex-father-in-law, and MIL's sister, Aunt M were all there.  It is amazing to me after all these years how close I still feel to each and every one of them.  We sat and visited like long lost friends.  All of a sudden, I see my MIL move her hands and I look at her and she has awakened and seen me there.  She was excited to see me.  I held her hand and told her I had to come check on her.  She tried to talk but because of the oxygen mask, I could not understand her.  Just as quickly, she was back asleep.  I continued to visit with these loved ones who were my family at one time, and I realized that truly, family is not made or broken by marriage/divorce.  I have a piece of paper that says I am no longer "family", but my heart knows differently. 

 

Just before I got ready to leave, my sweet, dear, lovely MIL awoke again.  I was able to take her hand, look at her sweet face, and tell her that I love her dearly.  She tried to say something....and I believe with all my heart she was telling me she loves me too!  I would be even more sad if this were the end of the story, but I know it isn't.  I know that some day when I go to meet my sweet Lord, that I will again get to hold that beloved hand and kiss her sweet face and tell her I love her.

 

Thank you Gracious God for this gift that I humbly asked for....to be able to say my goodbye.

 

BBB

I got a call from my daughter a little while ago.  She says that my ex-mother-in-law has taken a turn for the worse and it looks like she has just days left with us.  I am so terribly sad at this news.  I love her dearly even if she is not a big part of my life any more.  I loved this woman from minute one that I met her.  She is one of the sweetest, warmest people I have ever met.  I know that I was not the only one who was heartbroken by my divorce from her son.  She was as well because we had grown amazingly close over the five years of our marriage.  She told me that I was the daughter she never had.  It is one of the highest compliments I have ever been given.  To think that this woman loved me as her daughter was such a privilege to me.  She is the one who helped me pick out my wedding dress.  She loved to spend time at my house and I loved visiting her.  She loved my lasagna and apple pies like no one before or maybe even since.  I could tell her anything.  We shared our heartbreak over the divorce and then had to make lives without each other for the most part.  I treasure the times I have seen her since, and I have been blessed to see her a couple of times since her recent diagnosis.  I hope to be able to go see her tomorrow and to say my goodbye to her and to tell her what a blessing she has been to me.  I pray that God will give us the time so I may do so.  But I know in my heart that she knows I still love her.  I just hope to be able to tell her once again.

 

Please say a prayer for my ex's family, particularly my daughter.  This woman means the world to her and she is going to be particularly devastated by the loss. 

 

Thanks friends.

 

BBB

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday this year!  Hopefully, we have each taken some time to reflect and remember those we love who are no longer with us.  I took some moments to remember my beloved grandparents.  My Grandma M...my Dad's mom, was a widow for most of my formative years.  My Grandpa M died when I was 2 or 3 years old and I have no memories of him at all.  My parents tell me that I was his pride and joy and that he carried me everywhere when we went to visit them.  My only memories are via pictures of the big, rather gruff looking man.  My Grandma was a tiny little woman.  Probably about 4'10" if she was an inch.  She lived in a little two bedroom one bath home here in Okla.  For such a small house, it amazes me still, that the kitchen was huge!  That was where we usually gathered.  Oh....and there was NO air conditioning....only a water cooler for those of you old enough to remember those.  We had wonderful gatherings at Grandma's and there was always fried chicken involved with tons of good side dishes, including homemade hot rolls that were just melt in your mouth good!  When I think of Grandma M there are several very vivid memories.  One....her cookie jar (which I still have)!  She was the original cookie m*onster!!  That jar ALWAYS held some kind of good homemade cookie.  But most usually it held home made ginger bread cookies which were her favorite.  Those were always eaten by her along with a cup of strong coffee into which she dipped the cookie!  Another memory is of Grandma's plants.  This woman could and did grow everything!!  She had the most beautiful flowers and all kinds of house plants.  Her home was small and humble, but very alive and vibrant with plants and flowers of every kind.  The other vivid memory of Grandma was her egg timer.  I loved that thing.  It was small and plastic and looked like an hour glass.  She kept it by the phone and used it to time her long distance phone calls to the rest of the family in Iowa and Nebraska.  Ever thrifty, she never went over her three minute limit!!

 

My Grandma and Grandpa B, my Mom's parents were very much present in my life.  My Grandpa was a printer for the local paper.  Grandma was a home maker, and one of the absolute BEST cooks around!  Was she ever messy though.  When Grandma cooked a meal....it seemed like every pot and dish in the kitchen would end up dirty.  But it was oh...so...worth it!  Both my Grandmothers ended up being very good friends to each other.  My Grandma B did remarry after Grandpa died.  But during my teen years...she just dated a lot.  It is pretty sad when your Grandma has MORE boyfriends than you do!!!  The man she remarried was just a lovely little man and we all just loved him to pieces.  They were so cute together!  Grandma died in March of 1988, about a month before my wedding, and her sweet hubby died in June.  He just didn't want to live without her!!  My Grandma B is the one who taught me how to cook!  She was so very patient!  She cooked everything from scratch, without recipes!!  To this day, I do most of my cooking that way.  People will ask how I make things and it is hard to tell them....well a little pinch of this....a little dab of that.   It drove one of my room mates absolutely crazy because she could not cook without a recipe at all!!  One of my fondest memories of Grandma and Grandpa B is that for a while, they lived in a trailer in one of our State Parks.  They and their retired friends, would fish all week long.  On weekends, when all the kids and grandkids came, we would have HUGE fish fries!!  Everyone made all the side dishes and we woud just eat till we dropped!!  GOOD TIMES people...let me tell you!

 

Yep...I have some wonderful memories of loved ones long gone.  It is wonderful that they live on in my memories as vividly as if they were standing right here with me!

 

I hope you all have a great "rest of the holiday" and a wonderful week ahead!

 

BBB

For those of you who visit my site, you will see that I have added a picture for my profile.  It is of my two favorite girls, my two beautiful granddaughters.   Both hubby and I love this picture which was taken about a year ago on a camping trip we took.   I had a hard time deciding what to put up there besides the blue "bobble head" that comes standard with your space, and was prompted by Weimie Girl to put a picture up. 

 

So there ya have it my friends!   Two very lovely girls!

 

Enjoy!

 

BBB

Ummm....if you read my post of a few moments ago....you read that hubby had a wreck and that, thankfully, he was not injured.  Guess what he was driving???  Uhh huhhh....yepper...you are absolutely correct....it was my brand spanking new truck.  I know he was just SICK....he told me so...but I could also hear it in his voice!!  After an expletive of shock (heard probably by anyone who was standing by the truck since we have hands-free wireless phone that comes through the kick-butt speaker system in it)....I said....Hey!!  That's what we pay those outrageous insurance premiums for right??   The truck can be FIXED!!  So my new truck...with no license tag as yet...will be going to the SHOP next week!!  How crazy is that!!

 

Later ya'll!!

 

BBB

From my earliest memories, there have been two words that I have heard from everyone from my parents to teachers, friends, geez...from people I barely knew.  Those two words.....PAY ATTENTION!!  I was laying in bed thinking the other morning (Yep....like our friend Texas Girl Jen, I am a thinker).  I was thinking that I need to pay attention.  I tend, like most of us, to get caught up in the everyday, mundane tasks of life.  I cruise through on auto-pilot from day to day, just doing from one day to the next, pretty much what I did the day before.  I realized this last week, thanks in part to a discussion with my hubby, that I need to PAY ATTENTION!  Because of articles I read in my daily newspaper I realized I needed to PAY ATTENTION!  Because of heart-wrenching pleas from hurting people on a prayer chain I am on, I know I need to PAY ATTENTION!

 

Some of the things I need to pay attention to:

 

My husband - he is the most important person in my universe of family and friends.  He is my BEST friend, my soul mate, my lover, my strength, my compass in many things I think and do.  I need to pay attention and pull my head out sometimes.  (I know you will read this honey, thank you for loving me even when I may not be very "lovable"!!)

 

My parents - they are truly in the sunset of life and I know not how much longer I will have them.  They are two of the best people I know.  I need to certainly not just say I love them, but show it more.

 

My immediate family - sisters, kids, grand-kids, nieces, nephews.  They are what makes my life so rich!  I may not have lots of money, but that does not matter.  I am fortunate to have such wonderful family.  I am rich in the things that count!

 

My friends - I have not been the best at keeping in touch with my friends lately.  I have had a pretty bad case of head up "you know where" with all that has been going on in my life.  Without certain of my friends....I can say with certainty, that I would not be here today.  I have friends that are THAT GOOD!

 

Co-workers/business associates - I just spent yesterday evening with one of these whom I also call friend.  She is separated from her hubby and really going through a difficult time.  I think she was glad to just have someone to hang out with who would listen to her.  My heart hurts for her....I have walked in similar shoes. 

 

I know that I cannot be all things to all people.  I know that.  I am not naive.  However, I do think that I can take the time out of my self-absorption to look around me.  Really look and take a few moments for the people with whom I interact with from day to day.  To not just half-way listen to them politely....but look them in the eye and give them my full attention....even for a few moments.  Sometimes those few moments with a listening ear, a kind word, and maybe even a hug given, can mean all the world to someone else.    There are two families in our area who within hours of each other.....lost their 18 year old sons to drowning.  Two more families have lost babies to senseless acts taken against the most vulnerable.  My hubby was in a wreck last night.....he wasn't hurt thank goodness and neither was the other driver....but it could have been very different.

 

I say this to myself and to you....PAY ATTENTION!!  This minute is the only minute I KNOW I have!!  I best be paying attention to those I love because there is no guarantee of another day to do so!!  Make that call, take those few extra minutes with a friend or loved one, give that hug!!  We will all be better off for doing so!! 

 

Have a great day people!!

 

BBB                                  

I have a confession to make.  I cannot deny any longer.  I am a Dancing With the Stars junkie.  I just LOVE that show!! I have always loved dancing and watching dancing.  One of my earliest memories is of one of my Dad's brothers dancing.  He was a dance instructor who gave private lessons at my Grandmother's house.  When we would go over to my Grandmother's house, if my uncle was there, I would beg for him to dance with me.  I was only about 3 or 4, so what he would do is put my feet on top of his and he would do some simple steps while holding my hands.  I was in absolute heaven!!  The other thing I liked about dancing with my uncle was that he always had mints in his pockets.  A dance instructor must always have fresh breath!  So I also begged for a mint, which I always got, of course.  When I was in my teens I did not dance.  I really didn't dance much until my college years.  Disco dancing was all the rage.  However, I never learned to do the partners type dancing.  I had friends that did, but I just did my own dancing thing like most of us.

 

After college, I didn't dance again until I was in my mid-twenties.  I remember my friend P trying and trying to get me to go country dancing with her.  I had just broken off about a 3 year relationship with a guy.  She thought I needed to get out and have some fun.  Have you ever had someone just bug and bug and bug you to do something you didn't want to do....and you finally did what they wanted just to SHUT them up??  Well, that's what I did.  I went with P to one of the popular country dancing spots, most begrudgingly I might add.  The first few times I went, I just sat and watched everyone dancing.  I did know one or two line dances that had been popular during my college days.  That was about the extent of my dancing.  Guys would ask me to dance, but I was afraid of looking stupid.  Enter one particularly stubborn little cowboy (he really was a cowboy!) who would not take no for an answer.  That poor guy!  I stepped all over his feet, but he just kept on dancing with me.  Gradually, I learned what I was doing.  Other guys started asking me to dance and I would do a few dances during the evening.  Fast forward about 6 months and I just could NOT get enough of dancing.  P and I went dancing at least 3 times a week!!  I got to be pretty doggone good at it and ended up with a really great "guy friend" who was my regular dance partner.  We didn't enter contests or anything, but just had a blast dancing with each other.  People thought we were a couple....but we were just really good friends and never ever crossed that line.  I still love L to pieces!  I no longer dance though.

 

When I watch other people dancing, especially dances so technical and beautiful as the ones on DWTS, I am just fascinated.  It makes me nostalgic for my dancing days, even if they were not anything like the dancing on that show.  So, there are only a  couple of weeks left in this season's competition, and I am enjoying watching.  There is some awesome talent this season.  My uncle would have been a contender.  He was a fabulous dancer.   I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I guess because of my uncle and my lifelong fascination with dance, it has been a fun time each week (except for the cheesy guest singers and special numbers). 

 

Does anyone else out there in blog land want to admit to being a DWTS junkie??  Or am I the only one??

 

Let's hear from you people!!  You won't hurt my feelings.  I know I am a little weird.  Lovable...but weird.

 

Gotta run for now.  Later ya'll......

 

BBB

Several weeks ago I sold the SUV that I'd had for about 4 years.  I was longing for a new car.  In particular a Chrysler 300.  I could see myself in that hot car....as my daughter said....a Bree Van DeCamp car.....how cool!  I put the money I got from selling my SUV in savings and was adding to it until I could get what I wanted.  We had two other vehicles, a truck and PT Cruiser, so I just drove one of those daily.  As the weeks have gone on, I got to thinking about summer and specifically, a trip hubby and I have planned to pull our trailer to Destin Florida for a week.  The more I thought, the more I had visions....not of the beautiful Florida sunshine and sugar sands of Destin....but of sitting beside the road with a DEAD truck....somewhere near a swamp if my luck were to run true to form.  Talk about bursting your bubble!!  Now, I realize that if we broke down, we have cell phones.....ummm....SURE.....those things ALWAYS work.....NOT.  Well....we would be pulling our trailer....so we could just LIVE in it until someone could rescue us.   I gave this a LOT of thought people.  As I told Texas Girl Jen, I am a thinker like her.  I can just think things to death!!  But sometimes after my thinking a light bulb comes on and I come up with a solution to what I am pondering.  Doesn't happen ALL the time...but every now and then.  When the lightbulb came on after pondering the horrors of a trip with an old truck, the obvious solution was to NOT buy a car, but rather to buy a truck.

 

So I mentioned my idea casually at a Sunday lunch we were having with some friends.  Hubby was like..."yeah...uh huh....sure....okay."  I think he knew how much I pined for my 300.   The following day, being the "go to" girl that I am, I got on a website that trades in autos (which I had been scoping out for my 300).   I call up hubby at work.  "Well, I have been looking at trucks and they have a really nice Ford F250 at this page"....which was met with...."You are seriously looking??"   "Of course I am seriously looking....I just told you they have some really nice trucks listed."  Folks, let me tell you it didn't take hubby but a heartbeat to be on board that horse!!

 

We found a truck on line that we liked.  Hubs traded e-mails with the seller.  Seller says...you know you should really go drive a similar truck to see if you like it.  Long story short....I liked the truck we drove.....really liked it....liked it so MUCH we bought it!!  We are proud owners of a new F-250 Diesel which is totally tricked out.  I LOVE IT love it love it!! 

 

Those visions of our trip in August have now changed.  I see a sandy beach and a long cool drink in my hand...watching the people frolick in the ocean.   Life is good!!

 

Have a great weekend people!!

 

BBB

I am not sure if you have read in some of my first posts, and maybe I just think I mentioned it, but it took me several tries at it in order to finally get a college degree.  My second try at college came not long after my friend I told you about in earlier posts had his diving accident.  I had been working for a large insurance company, and really I had advanced as far as I could without a college degree.  So, I talked to my folks, we found some money (a grant) and Mom and Dad agreed to help me again with expenses.  I decided I would get my secretarial certification.  So, off I went to the same university I had quit a couple of years before.  Now, it turned out that I still had a number of friends who were attending this university.  One of the activities I had been involved in previously was a women's auxiliary to one of the fraternities on campus.  Not only had I been involved in that auxiliary, I had helped to establish it.  When some of the guys found out that I was back on campus, they contacted me and asked me if I would join the auxiliary once again.  Since I saw it as a way to make some new friends and knowing that I had previously enjoyed it, I thought, what the heck, let's do it!!  Several of the guys took me to the next meeting and introduced me to the girls who were at that time active in the organization.  They were very impressed that I was a founder of the organization and were all very nice to me.  I began to make a lot of new friends and it was really a lot of fun, especially after having worked for a couple of years. 

 

I had an apartment off campus and so it soon became the usual gathering place with my new friends, most of whom lived on campus.  Now, unfortunately, when I moved into the apartments, they just happened to put me in an apartment just above a little elderly lady who was quite cranky on a good day.  Can ya see where we are going here??   Now, mind you, I was not one to throw wild parties, but I did enjoy having my friends over and we would cook meals and do a little (well maybe not just a little) drinking.  I only had a very SMALL stereo that my folks had gotten me when I graduated high school.  It could play rather loud, but, for the most part I tried to keep it down.  Especially knowing who lived downstairs. 

 

One of the people who I became fast friends with was Golden Dove.  She was a few years younger than me, just off a pretty bad divorce, she stood about 5' and was about 98 pounds soaking wet.  She had long blond hair...thus, her nickname.  Now the Dove was no wimp, even though she was small.  She was one of the most spirited people I had ever met.  You never, ever had to wonder what she was thinking, because she would just tell you...straight up....good or bad.  She was the daughter of a coach, and had two brothers.  So  Dove could MORE than hold her own in any situation as I would later learn.

 

The first party I had with my new friends at my apartment was just really a bunch of us getting together to eat pizza and drink some beer.  We did play a little music.  I would say there were probably 8-10 people there.  Not long after we ate, there came a knock at my door.  The apartment security goon was standing there.  They had received a complaint about my noisy wild party.  Well, I invited the guy in.  He took a look around and didn't see anything vaguely resembling a party.  Just some kids who had obviously been eating pizza and drinking a few beers.  He had me turn down the music even though he agreed it wasn't that loud.  He told me if I got three complaints, I would be out of there.  Now the Dove was really hot about this.  It seemed really unfair to her because we really weren't having a wild party....really!! 

 

Fast forward several weeks.  The Dove and I have gotten to be pretty good friends.  I just loved her spirit and she was just absolutely one of the funniest people I had ever met.  Her parents had a home on the river not far from our small campus.  Many times, after our classes were through, we would go and just hang out with her folks.  They eventually adopted me (unofficially of course) as another daughter.  Those were such fun times.  Now I continued to have people over, but we really tried to keep things reasonable.  However, one night, I invited a few friends and word just kind of got around that .....hey....there's some chicks hanging out at B's house....let's just go by.  Before I knew it, I had apartment full of people.   And....before I knew it....there was the security goon at my door once again.  He said everyone would have to leave.  Now, I thought that was really unfair.  We had John Denver on the stereo for crying out loud.... and were just sitting around talking and having a few drinks.  But, the goon would not leave until my friends did.  Not helping the situation was the fact that to a person, they ALL put their hands on top of their heads like they were going to jail, and filed out, one by one, lead of course, by the Dove.  I was told to see the Apt. manager the next day. 

 

The Dove knew I was in big trouble here.  So she went with me the next day.  The manager said they were asking me to move.  I told her where she could stuff her apartment and that I would be out in the next few days.  I promptly left and about had a meltdown.  How in the WORLD was I going to tell my folks I had been booted, and where in the world was I going to move!!  Enter the Dove to save my sorry self!!  She said...have no fear!! You can move in with me.  We will have the guys in the frat move your stuff to a storage until we could get a bigger place.  Now, I was so upset that this little factotum didn't really sink in....till we could get a bigger place.  Hey...I had been evicted (the first, and ONLY time) and I had no options so of course I took her up on her offer.  I will never forget the call to my parents.  Boy, was I a S P I N doctor deluxe!!  I made those people sound so unreasonable.  I didn't do anything...couldn't help if I had a cranky old woman downstairs....you know the drill if you are a parent. 

 

So, I moved in with the Dove and her dog.  Into an ITTY BITTY, miniscule, blink and you'll miss it about 15 foot travel trailer!!  She had a couch that folded out, and a little bunk thingy, a tiny tiny kitchen (un huh if you could call it that) and the ittiest, bittiest, tiniest bathroom I had ever seen.  But you know what?  We had an absolute ball!!  We lived in that trailer until her folks and her Nanny had pity on us and moved one of Nanny's trailers to a little park just off campus for us.  Yeeeeeehawww!! It had two whole bedrooms, a big (to us) living room, and a huge bathroom.  It had NO air conditioning.  It did have heat.  My parents finally took pity on me and bought me a tiny little window unit to put in my bedroom which was just off the living room.  I always kept that room neat as a pin because all that summer, when our friends came over, guess where we ALL hung out!!!  In my bedroom!! 

 

Our little trailer park was mostly inhabited by college students who were college poor, and if you have ever been to college, you KNOW what I'm talking about here.  The Dove and I didn't have a lot of money, but we ALWAYS had something good cooking even though we were on a budget.  Both of us were really good cooks.  And the guys in the trailer park never ever failed to be "happening by" just about dinner time.  The windows had to be open, so they could smell the food.  The typical conversation went something like this.  "Hi ladies....sure smells good in there.  Man, it smells like my Mom's home cooking.....don't suppose you'd want to share would ya???"  Always something along those lines.  And, of course, we always shared, especially if it was certain really hunky guys that we liked.  No fools B and the Golden Dove!!

 

So this is how I met and became the best of friends with the Golden Dove.  There are more stories coming.  We became like sisters!!  In fact she calls me "Sis" when we talk.  Good times my friends!!  Poor as church mice.  Lived in not the best of conditions....but we loved every minute of it.  I wouldn't trade those times for all the money in the world. 

 

Stay tuned for more adventures of B and the Golden Dove!

 

Later Gators!

 

BBB

Buff/fit friend went by the gym today to see the owner.  She told him how much weight I have lost so far, and he told her that as far as weight loss goes I am NUMBER TWO in the standings!!!!  Woooooohoooooo!!!  Yeeeeehawwwww!!!  I am SO pumped!  Now they are looking at other factors over all...like inches lost, BMI, etc.   But in weight loss to be doing that well is just exciting!!  Just thought ya might like to know.

 

BBB

For those who are following my progress towards fitness (and you know who you are).....I just did my morning stint on the treadmill.  I thought I would just post a note before I toddle off to the shower.  This evening I have my next torture....errrrr....ummm....fitness training session at the gym.  All kidding aside, I am kinda looking forward to it.  I really want to learn the exercises and I REALLY want to make the most of my six weeks since they appear to be all I can afford to do at this point.  I am a little less sore than yesterday, and a whole LOT less sore than I was on Tuesday.   So it looks like I will spend a few days each week in a little pain.  But, hey, it was tolerable and I made it through it!  I talked with my buff/fit friend yesterday and she tells me there is new "eye candy" in the form of a new fitness trainer at the gym.  Although I am married, I like "eye candy" as much as the next lady!!   Buff/fit says this guy was eyeing her as she worked out the other night.  As a young, single person, she was pleased to say the least.  So I can't wait to see if I can pick out this guy from the seven new fitness trainers at the gym.  Ah... the little things we look forward to.   :)

 

I am working on a post about another one of my long time friends.  I'll call her the Golden Dove.  Not sure when it will post.

 

If'n you are interested......stay tuned folks!

 

Have a great day!!!!

 

BBB 

I thought I would update any of you following my quest for fitness.  Last Thursday I went to the weigh in/measuring session.  To my surprise, most of the people who showed up were women....like 90%....WOMEN!!  We rock!!  As part of our measurements they took our body mass index.  They haven't said what is optimal, but I know for sure mine WASN'T.   After the paperwork, my buff friend had come earlier than usual and took me through just a PART of her workout routine.  Can you say....OOOUUUUCCCHHHH!!!  I now understand why my friend is buff and toned!!  She literally has worked her toookus off!  My admiration rate went up even more for this young, single mom.   The last thing I did before I left last Thursday was set up for my free "boot camp" session.  It was last night.  A personal trainer (actually - the gym's owner) took me through exercises that, if I follow for six weeks, should help me to tone and firm.  Certainly I have no expectation that I will be toned like my friend....she's been at it since November.  But I should have a good start.  The only problem I can see, I can't remember HALF of what the personal trainer showed me.  So, I have decided I will go and do what I CAN remember, and just make a pest of myself asking questions.   Of course, the owner of this gym, which, by the way, is awesome, wants everyone in the challenge to JOIN his gym.  Of course he does!!  Most probably will.  But hubby and I took a look at the budget last night and, in my case, the money just is NOT there at this time.  If I don't join THIS WEEK, the price goes up considerably after the Challenge.   So, unless I win the lottery, or come up with some other windfall, I do not see a permanent gym membership in my immediate future.

 

That said, I fully intend to make the most of my six weeks for $20!!!  I intend to learn all I can about the exercises, and shall try to develop a routine that I can follow from now on.  The owner did say when we were talking that first day I met him, that for about $150 I can get most of the things I need to do the workouts on my own.  I am continuing my morning treadmill (it was just a little painful this morning...but I DID it anyway!!).  Since I worked out so hard yesterday, the owner suggested that tonight I hit the ellipticals, and the treadmill there tonight.  So, that is my plan.  I know I will be at a disadvantage in a sense, because most of the people in the challenge will buy more sessions with the fitness trainers.  And, if I can, I will do so as well.  But I am going to make the very most of my six weeks of working on my own.  I really want to do well, and I think if I try hard, all be it ....on my own....I believe I will get results of some kind.    I mean....we are talking about a totally inactive couch potato doing exercise at least five times a week!!  So, we shall see.  I need to haul my sore tushie to the shower!

 

You all have a great day and great week....and STAY TUNED!!!

 

Later gators!

 

BBB