Thursday, August 9, 2012

My Crazy Summer

It's been a month and a half since I last blogged. Things have been a bit crazy around here. We are still living with my mother and father-in-law. They are so sweet to let us stay here until we get on our feet. Retiring from the Navy left us with benefits, but not much in the way of money. Don't get me wrong. We do get a monthly retirement check. But once the care payment comes out of it, it doesn't seem like much. LOL I had a job for about a month. I won't go into details, but lets just say that my co-workers and I had different ways of handling issues with the children. It was frustrating beyond belief, and I was so stressed out that I was getting physically ill. So, I've spent the last month trying to find a job, without much success. But I'm not giving up.

Ryan has found two part time jobs. One he loves. It's in a gun shop, and he gets to play with guns all day. A man's dream job right? LOL The other job is in a large chain store, and he doesn't care for it much at all. But there is hope on the horizon. While working at the gun shop he met a customer who happens to be the son of the owner of an oil field company. They got to talking and it turns out Ryan has some skills they can use in their training and/or safety departments. He has an interview on Friday, but it sounds like it's just a formality. Ryan spoke to the owners son again this week and while he wouldn't come right out and say it, he seemed to be hinting very strongly that Ryan already has the job! It will be a huge blessing and will mean that we can finally find a house and get settled! Yay!

This week I'm working on getting the kids enrolled in school. Steven will be going to Ryan's old middle school and Tori will be going to our old high school. I'm excited and nervous for them. Now if I can just get all the required paperwork rounded up, we will be in good shape!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to update you on my weight loss progress. I'm just saving it for last. :) As of today I have lost a total of 99 lbs! I actually spent about an hour and a half going through clothes my sister passed on to me as she was losing weight, and it seems my size has changed once again. At the beginning of the summer I was wearing a 16w/18w in pants and an XL in shirts. Now I'm wearing regular 16/18s (the 18s are getting kinda big though) in pants. And I'm wearing a large in tops! I'm so excited!!

This past weekend was our 20 year high school reunion. I had an outfit picked out from my closet for the Friday night meet and greet. On the day of, I tried them on and they were swimming on me!! So I went into panic mode trying on things that were cute enough to go had drinks with people I hadn't see in 20 years, but not so loose that I'd lose my pants before the night was over. Luckily I found something...a size large blouse I had bought in a REGULAR store at the mall, and a pair of capris passed down from my sister with some cute accessories and sandals, I was good to go. For the Saturday night banquet I bought a new dress. It was a 14/16, and showed some leg. I got compliments all night long! I'm seriously not used to that!

I did NOT lose this weight to look good for my reunion!! When I made the decision to have he surgery, our reunion was the farthest thing from my mind. But losing almost 100 lbs in time for it was a huge bonus! It made going to he reunion into something that was truly fun!! I danced! I talked to classmates that I've been in touch with the last few years as well as classmates that I hadn't talked to since middle school and classmates that I had never talked to before. There was a streaker! there was dancing, there was an after party. We had an amazing time! And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I had gone to this reunion with those extra 100 lbs on my body, I would not have had nearly as much fun. I wouldn't have danced. I wouldn't have talked to hardly anyone. I wouldn't have gone to the after party, etc. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun! I've made new friends and reconnected with old. I knew that moving back here was the right idea!!

Exercise. It's like a dirty word. Not just because I've never liked it, but because with my fibromyalgia it can leave me in pain for days. But, I have a new plan of attack to keep me moving, limber, and strengthen my muscles. I'm going to start a beginner's yoga class the first of September. One of my old classmates is a yoga instructor here in town and she's familiar with fibro. I'm so excited to have her help with this!! Thanks, Angie!

I think that's about it for now. I've got some other things to talk about, but haven't decided if I'm going to blog or do a video. Either way I'll try to have it out next week.

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