An Honor!

While I was on Vacation my friend Camille nominated me for a blogging award. I think it's so sweet of her. She started blogging after I did and has blown by me in followers. She even has Amy Workman who is famous if you ask me. (Come on, Amy..follow me puuleaase??)

She has so many followers because she's funny, witty and smart. We crack up inappropriatly at work and I'm proud to call her my friend. Thanks for the nomination Camille. :)

So it goes like this...

* Thank the person who nominated you for this award.....check

* Copy the award and post it in your blog.....check




* Link to the blog of the person who nominated you....check

* Tell seven interesting things about yourself.....check

1. I WILL NOT put my purse on the floor. Not at home, at work, in a restaurant, in a box, with a fox, on a train or in a plane. Forget it! Not without a court order!

2. I will, however, sit on a public toilet seat. No problems. No issue with that at all.

3. I file, label and organize as a hobby. Lame, I know, but I can put my hands on almost anything I could EVER be asked for.

4. I am not afraid to travel to completely foreign countries alone and have done so several times. I am, however, terrified of opossums. :)

5. I sleep on my stomach. Flat on my stomach, hands down by my sides like a crime scene body. All that's missing is the white chalk outline.

6. I think I am pretty funny, but my sense of humor is lost on many. (See # 4) I am misunderstood.

7. I think the correct way to hand toilet paper is OVER, not under. I will change it if you accidentally did it wrong. :)

* Nominate seven bloggers.....sortof check. I only did 5. :)

* Post links to the blogs of your nominees...check

And now here are my nominees:

Janelle: She is so cute. I love the wedding photos. A new bandster!

Camille: My favorite Anesthesiologist! One of the funniest, wittiest people I know. Rockin' the pre-op nightmare right now! Bonus points for weekly beauty product reviews.

Robin: Another sweet co-worker! I love beautiful Robin. She has a heart for Christ and is an excellent nurse! I'm wishing her luck and good vibes as she navigates pre-op.

Kinzie: A fellow Texan who has also named her band! Her surgical date was close to mine. We tend to gravitate and compare to others whose dates are close to our own.

Amy: Amy's blog is one of the first that I started reading. She is a successful 1 year bandster. She is open and sweet and seems like someone you would want to hang out with. I think she's "band-ulous". :)

My first post as a 40 year old.

So much has been going on lately. I just got home from Vacation with my kiddos. What a good time we had! A 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean. Zip Lining, swimming with Sting Rays, snorkeling and room service cheesecake. Wow!

The best part of the whole trip was being in the moment. I had a friend die suddenly on the 3rd of February. At her funeral they played a slide show of her life with her family and kids. I got to thinking that I have not allowed myself to be photographed for so long because of my weight. If I died, there would be no slide show. I cut out that little picture of my friend from the service program and put it in my console where I see it everyday. It reminds me that life is short and I want to live it. I was rockin' my fat self in a swim suit on vacation! And when I die...I want a slide show dammit!

It was my first cruise so I was ill prepared for the food availability. I actually pb'd 3 times on the trip. There was so much that was off limits for me. I managed to discover a few ways to "cheat" my band though. The 24 hour soft-serve machines and cheesecake didn't seem to bother my band at all.

All in all, I only gained 4 pounds in the week and had all but 1 off by this morning. So I'm back to real life and back to the grind. I'm just awfully glad to not have to obscess over my weight anymore. I knew that just getting back to my normal life would pull the pounds back off. What a blessing to be rid of that shame and torment.

I leave you with a few pictures...



Me with a pirate in Cozumel









That stinkin' room service cheesecake...it made me stupid silly!












My beautiful, hilarious kiddos.










All of us in Jamaica.

A big milestone!

I turn 40 this week! I am super excited.

I have also hit 45 pounds lost! Man-o-man. Life doesn't get better than right now. :)