Uh-oh...I've been a slacker!

I just realized how long it has been since I've posted anything on here.  So, I figured I should do a quick post about what's been going on.
Well, as far as my weight loss journey is concerned.  I am now down about 14lbs!  I've also started the couch to 5k program and I am slowly moving my way through it.  It's definitely a challenge, but one that I think I'll find very enjoyable the more I continue it. 

Also, I'm very excited that Russ and I will be heading back to Maui again in February to celebrate my 30th birthday!  When we were originally planning our first trip, we never expected that we would go back...But within a half of a day on the island...we both knew that a return trip (or two) would be completely necessary.  When I tell people about the fact that we are going back, most people just say, "Yeah, I know it's great but why would you want to go back to the same place again when you could go somewhere new?"
There is no possible way for me to tell you just how completely amazing Maui is.  You can imagine it in your head, but there is this feeling you get when you are there that is completely unable to be replicated anywhere.  So, as soon as the discussion started as to where we would go for my 30th birthday...Maui was quickly put on the list. 
Also, Russ and I are very excited that next fall we will be headed down to Key West, Florida.  My dear friend Laura and her husband Matthew will be renewing their vows and having the reception (party) that they didn't get to have the first time!  I'm VERY excited for this, as Laura has been living in Key West for a few years now and I don't get the chance to see her very often...let alone in her own environment! 

Other than that, I've just been working a lot.  Between my "day" job and my photography I've been a very busy woman...But that's okay with me.  I've been buying myself some new photography gear and I'm really excited to truly get the chance to put it to use.  So, you can bet that you'll be seeing some pictures from me soon! 

Well, I guess that's it for now! 

Here we go again...

So folks, I'm ready to embark on the weight loss journey once again. 
Last year, I did the Nutri System program and lost nearly 30lbs with the program.  I went off the program this past September when I was planning a trip that would make it not possible to eat the plan food and I didn't want to spend money on something I wasn't going to be using. 
Then, 2 weeks after returning from my trip...I was in a car accident.  To consider that accident life changing would be an understatement.  It changed me, not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually.  It re-defined life for me.  I went with the mantra of, "Life is short", so why not indulge in the things about life that I enjoy...Well, that includes food.  So, I have now put back on every single pound that I lost.  But, I am no longer in the post-accident haze of indulgence and am in a post accident swing of realizing that, "Yes, life is short".  Why waste it by being unhealthy, without energy and yes...unhappy? 

So, just moments ago...I re-joined the Nutri System family.  It worked well for me before and I have no reason to believe that it won't work again.  I also just purchased Tony Horton's 10 minute trainer.  He is the maker of the P90x and insanity workouts.  While we have P90x and I know it would work...It's just not for me.  So, I will throw myself into the 10 minute trainer workouts that are specially designed and "stacked" to include a fully body workout in only 10 minutes.  I will also continue to go on frequent walks with my dog and once I start dropping some weight, I will begin the "Couch to 5k" trainer program as well. 

I can and WILL make this work for me...
I will take before and after pictures so once my journey is done you can see how far I'll have come. 
I'll post on here as frequently as possible about my journey...The ups, the downs, the achievements and disappointments (hopefully not too many of those...). 

Stay tuned...A new me is on the way.

Valentines Day

So, today I have seen post after post on Facebook from so many people complaining about this holiday.
People talking about how it's just a "Hallmark" holiday, that it's a silly or ridiculous holiday. Many mention that they would rather their significant other would do loving things for them every day.

I just have to say, what's wrong with having a special day that allows you and the one you love to pamper, spoil and treat each other to something special.
With that said, I will say that my husband is fairly romantic year round. He takes every opportunity he can during each and every day to tell me how much he loves me. He holds my hand while we are watching tv, carries bags as we are leaving the store, he likes to do the "dirty chores" around the house. He will take the car and full it up with gas for me when it is really cold outside. He is very good at showing me each day just how much I mean to him. And I feel that I'm pretty good about showing him the same thing in my own ways.

So why does Valentine's Day have to be a silly, commercialized day?! Why can't we think of it as a day that we can all share together to be able to shout from the rooftops about those in our lives that we love.

I love my husband...

Reflection in the mirror...

It's been 112 days since my accident and still, the first thing my eyes go to whenever I pass by a mirror is to my scars.  Whether I'm walking by a mirror in the bathroom, past a mirror in one of my patient's room or spotting my reflection in the glass of a store window...It's the first thing I notice about my reflection. 

I'm really not that vain... It's just that I believe my subconscious mind can't seem to let go of this event that changed me so completely and altered my appearance (how ever so slightly).  I don't even know if I can properly explain myself without coming off vain.  I've spent more time staring at my reflection in the mirror over the past 112 days than I EVER have before.  I notice the slight imperfections that cross my forehead now.  Some days those little scars that are scatter above my brows are hardly noticeable and other days they stare back at me. 

I wonder if though, once my hair grows back completely if I will have less of an issue with this.  The hair that covers the worst of the scars is still in the process of growing back and right now it's in a stage of not cooperating with me (photos at end of post).  So, generally it has forced into behaving with a couple of clips and some hairspray, so throughout the day I'm adjusting the clips (as they tend to slip out of place).  This constant fussing and attention to this area probably isn't helping the problem.

What a lot of it boils down to is that I don't see myself the same anymore when I look in the mirror.  At least half of the time that I look at my reflection I'm reminded immediately of the day that changed that reflection.  I have definitely been dealing with anxiety since the accident and don't worry folks, I am working my way through all of that.  But I struggle constantly to find a deeper meaning in what happened to me that day and maybe my lack of clarity is leading me to a misperception of myself.  I just don't quite know how to find my way through that. 

So, I want to leave you with a poem and the photos that show the progression of healing of my lacerations.  I will warn you that the first few photos aren't exactly pleasant to look at.  I will post the poem first so that if you don't want to view the photos...Then you don't have to scroll down that far. 

Here is a poem that I wrote about my accident. 

A moment without caution

A drift too far

Sudden change of direction

I lost control of the car

It happened so quickly

But I remember it all

I was jolted so harshly

It's so easy to recall

The pound against the ground

The screech of the metal

I'll never forget the sound

As my car hit the earth and gravel

I remember the spin

I remember the roll

As the glass tore my skin

And it ripped through my soul

When the car finally settled

And it came to an end

My mind, how it struggled

To understand, to comprehend

Warm and wet and unable to see

I reached up to check

I just knew what it'd be

From such a horrible wreck

My blood flowed freely

And my body was distressed

But I realized very quickly

How much I'd been blessed

My body has been hurt

And my mind won't forget

But my life gives me comfort

With the second chance that I get

And now I'd like to share with you all some photos that I've taken of my lacerations so you can see what I've been talking about.  

These first few photos were taken 3 days after the accident on October 27th, 2011

These next few photos were taken exactly one week after the accident on October 31st, 2011.  This was also the same day that I got my stitches removed (12 total, as the 3rd laceration couldn't be closed with sutures and had to be left to heal on it's own). 

This photo was taken just one day after these last few...but the big scab over the large laceration had come off and I wanted a new picture!  

These last photos are photos that I just took today (February 13th, 2012)...exactly 112 days after the accident.  

Here's a great angle to show you how uncooperative my hair can be sometimes...  ;-)

Duluth ~ An anniversary trip

Duluth has been a long standing tradition of mine.  It started when I was young and my aunts Gloria and Janet (my dad's sisters) would take my sister Melissa and I up to Duluth for weekend excursions. 
I'd spent a lot of time trying to convince Russ to take a trip there and October of 2007, he finally gave in.  He took me to Duluth during an MEA break when I was in nursing school.  It was during that trip that he proposed to me.  So, it's needless to say that Duluth holds a very special place in BOTH of our hearts now. 
We've been back there several times together now, in fact, this trip was our 4th trip to Duluth together. 

When trying to figure out how to celebrate our anniversary (our 3rd) this year, I actually settled on Duluth pretty quickly, despite the fact that it was winter and Duluth can be chilly in summer even.  So, Russ and I decided on a hotel that we'd eyed a few times but hadn't stayed at yet...The South Pier Inn.  It is nestled into the south side of Duluth's famous Aerial Lift Bridge.  We treated ourselves to a harbor view room that had a fireplace, whirlpool and a private balcony looking out onto the harbor of Lake Superior in Duluth.

This will be a little picture heavy, as I had a hard time narrowing it down...LOL.  But here are some of my favorite photos from our anniversary trip to Duluth.


These first photos are from the Glensheen Mansion, which was home to the Congdon family in the early 1900's.  They don't allow you to take photos inside the house, but I was able to take photos of the grounds and inside the carriage house (not pictured below). 

The rather large, beautiful front door.  Where you would enter if you arrived by carriage or automobile.

The back of the house, which had the "second front door".  This is where you would enter if you arrived by boat.  Mrs. Congdon felt it was rude to have guests enter through the back door, so a formal "second front door" was made.  It entered into the same large foyer

A GORGEOUS bridge on the grounds of the Glensheen Mansion

After we finished visiting the Glensheen mansion, we went for lunch at Grandma's restaurant.  A local favorite, and a famous tradition.  From there we hopped across to the other side of the lift bridge to check into our hotel.  When we arrived I already knew we were in for a treat.  It was LITERALLY on the other side of the bridge.  We entered the lobby and there were treats, pastries (put out fresh each morning), microwave popcorn, microwave oatmeal, fresh fruit, coffee, etc all for the taking!  YUM!  We got to our room and I was even more excited.  The room was perfect...

That whirlpool was thoroughly enjoyed.  

Here's Russ out exploring our private balcony overlooking the harbor.  The inn provides binoculars with the stay so that you can further explore the harbor and the surrounding sights.  

A panoramic shot of the view from balcony

The inn...Shows you just how close to the bridge it is.

Here are a couple of shots of the bridge...I can't have a blog post about a trip to Duluth without including a few shots of the bridge.

This one was shot from Canal Park...On the north side of the bridge.  

This one was shot from the street right by our inn...On the south side of the bridge. 

When we woke up, a large group of ducks was noticed out in the frozen water.  They were fun to watch.  After we checked out of the hotel, we explored a little bit.  I took some very frozen, very cold looking photos. 

 Not your average "beach" shot.  :-)

 The ice seen here, was moving, propelled by the motion of the water underneath.  It almost looked like it was breathing as it heaved slightly upward and then down again.  As it moved, it creaked and moaned almost.  I took video of it, because it was in interesting experience. 

One side of Canal Park.  

The other side...

Little Angie's...This is a must for me whenever I visit Duluth.  I highly recommend it.  It's in the middle of Canal Park, just across the large parking lot from Grandmas and directly across the road from The Inn on Lake Superior. 

Goodbye Duluth...We'll miss you. 

Just a little something to celebrate!

Man, I got hit hard this month with illness and I hope that I've paid my dues for the year. Started at the beginning of the month with a sinus infection an then only about 4 days after that, I got hit with a stomach bug. I'm finally feeling better today, was actually able to eat a normal size meal for lunch and I feel like I got my energy back. I'm actually just taking a break from cleaning...gotta get the buggies out of my house!
So, my feeling like a normal human being is the first thing I feel like celebrating!
The second item would be my upcoming wedding anniversary! This Tuesday will be our third anniversary! We are heading to the South Pier Inn in Duluth tomorrow to celebrate. We will have a room overlooking the harbor and will have a fireplace an whirlpool on the room! We LOVE Duluth. It's where we got engaged and have returned many times together. It's been almost 2 years since we've been due to our other trips that we took last year, so it'll be a much overdue return!

Then depending on how up to it we feel on Sunday morning (if I feel I have my strength back), we will be heading to Spirit Mountain for some snowboarding lessons! Yes, me...

I'm super excited for this as it is a much needed little getaway! You can bet that I'll be bringing my camera with. I haven't been to Duluth in the winter before and I'm eagerly anticipating its beauty. I'm just hoping that they've got a little bit more snow up there then we have.
Stay tuned for a trip review with pictures of course!
For now, I'll leave you with a phot from my wedding...three splendid years ago in a Minnesota winter wonderland.

Photo Challenge/Family Fun

So, this weeks photo challenge over at www.iheartfaces.com is all about family fun!  I had to really think about what photo I wanted to submit for this one and that, what better photo to use than one of my OWN family.

This photo was taken summer of 2010 at the wedding of one of my cousins.  I have some wonderful family that are just as quirky and weird as I am.  Here is a photo of 2 of my cousins and my sister as we entertained ourselves at the reception.

I love these ladies...  ;-)

Head on over to I Heart Faces to see more fun family photos!!!