Friday night hubby brought home goodies.
I have only had a Sprinkles cupcake one other time and it was darn good so I was excited to try these. From the top left, there was chocolate on chocolate, chocolate on vanilla, vanilla on vanilla, red velvet and chocolate marshmallow.
Chocolate marshmallow definitely is my favorite. It tastes like a fancy ding dong! The doggies even got their own treats.
Hubby's flying survival kit 
Best shaved ice ever...
Black Sand Beach
Akaka Falls
Here is where the free trip began...
Boooooring dinner where all booze and food was withheld during any presentations.
Spending a day out by ourselves
Cracking a macadamia nut
Lamest shaved ice ever
Botanical Gardens w/ Hubby's co-worker and his wife
BJ Penn's gym in Hilo. I've never seen 2 boys so excited about a gym.
Yummy room service
Waiting for our shuttle to the airport.
Overall, a great vacation and much needed break. Now back to life living at the In-laws. Five months to go!
We just got back the other night from Hawaii and I'm am still catching up and adjusting to the time change. I came back to a bazillion emails at work and have to spend part of this weekend working on some projects that need to be done by tomorrow. I'm going to post about our trip with some pictures as soon as I have a free moment.
We had a great time and wouldn't you know it, I got sucked into the Twilight series. I finished the books I had brought on vacation early, so a friend that was with our group lent me her copy of Twilight. Even with all of the hoopla and craziness surrounding the series, I really didn't have any interest. I really don't do anything besides classics and chick lit. However, the thought of a 5 hour plane ride with nothing to do was enough reason to give it a try. The first bit of the book I was still somewhat skeptical but after awhile it got good! I am definitely hooked! So as with anything that I get obsessed with, I like to scour the internet for more information. I know there are message boards but when I googled it, it brought up so many. If you have any recommendations of good ones to go to, please please let me know!!
As much support as there is out there for losing weight, there isn't much for maintaining. No one tells you how much harder it gets once the excitement of losing is gone. The scale has basically been at a standstill for the last 4 months. It is such a struggle because so easily I can convince myself that there is no point in exercising and eating right if I won't wake up the next day any lighter or eventually fit into a smaller size. But then my other side reminds me that if I stop, I will wake up heavier and will eventually need a bigger size. It's a constant argument back and forth in my head.
Because of this I'm trying to find excitement in other areas of my life affected by healthy eating and exercise. This past weekend when we moved, it took the WHOLE weekend. In the past when I have moved, I am wiped out and hurting for a few days. I was prepared for that this time but was amazed to find how much easier it was. Now, I'm not in gnarly shape where I could carry heavy boxes one handed or anything. But what I noticed was how much quicker I bounced back and how much faster I worked. Before, I would take a few loads to the car or into the house and then need a break. This time I could keep going and when I did finally take a break, I was ready to work again after a few minutes. Monday morning I expected it to catch up with me but surprisingly, I woke up feeling fine.
It was such a great reminder that there are so many other benefits besides watching the numbers on the scale go down. This time it was a real indication that I am healthier, not just thinner. I think back to the only other time I've gotten down to this weight. Not only was it really temporary (like seriously a few weeks) because I lost the weight the totally wrong way, but since I was in such a deprivation mode, physical activity was beyond exhausting. I remember feeling like I was going to pass out at the gym because I was only eating 400 calories a day. It got to the point where getting off the couch was work. Back then, this move would have killed me. So even though I was the same weight I was not healthy.
So I'm learning to find joy and excitement in other ways. When those moments come where I think, "Oh @%#&#%$$! This is going to be a struggle for the rest of my life," I can look beyond the scale for motivation.
We are all moved. It took ALL weekend. I'm exhausted, mentally and physically. That's all I really have to say...
