Still here....

I know, I know, I go off and live my life but leave you all hanging here. I left off to conquer the world of weightloss. I didn't do badly but I definately didn't see the results that I wanted. But I realized a few things about myself and where my diet goes down the drain so I am working on that. I didn't step on the scale for about 6 weeks and when I finally did I had lost 3 pounds. At first I was ticked off and wanted to heave the scale out the window but I finally realized that 1/2 pound a week while it isn't the lightning speeds that I want, it's something.

I have also figured out that I need to be consistent in my workouts and eating because it isn't a diet it's going to be a new lifestyle. So to help me on my journey I have joined up with a few great lady friends for a weight loss war. It's very motivating to have a competition and while the prize money would be great, far greater will be the rewards of actually losing the weight. So here I go again....reminds me of that 80s hairband song. Many more posts about this to come, I assure you. The preliminary news is that day one went AWESOME right down to the last calorie and the trip to the gym. Though I had to go to bed at 8PM last night and read just so I wouldn't be tempted to eat anything else. So feel free to leave me any inspirational comments as well as tips that you may have. I will say that going upstairs last night at 8PM allowed me to do a ton of reading in my latest book but that this morning I woke up famished and with my thyroid meds I can't eat for a whole hour after taking them so it's been torture waiting this morning and my stomach is doing something it hasn't done in a while....growling.

In other news that isn't all consuming as my weightloss attempts, the girls and I made a trip to Florida at the end of March. Gary couldn't come because work has been unpredictable and he didn't want to miss out on a big job because he was away. So the girls and I went to visit my parents without him. It was sad not to go with him, definately but I think a small part of me was just as happy to have my parents share in the girls with me for that week. Since my they are my parents and I am an extension of them it's fun to see the youngest generation of "Santoros" (my maiden name) with the older one. My father has waited for grandkids forever and my girls did not disappoint. I even see a bit of the kid in my father as he is down on his hands and knees doing driveway chalk with them.

The girls did awesome on the plane. It was definately a lot of work to get on the plane with them and to have to organize all of our stuff to take as minimally as possible but still be able to entertain them for the 3 hour plane ride. They each had their own backpack with wheels that they could wear or drag through the airport and I took Nicole's car seat on a little dolly made specifically for carseats and we dumped everything into it and hauled it through the airport. I was also able to get gate passes so that Gary could take us to the gate in Boston and my mom could meet us at the gate in Sarasota. Worked perfectly.

The winter thus far in Florida has been nothing great, better than New England definately but still not typical Florida in postcards weather. But when we arrived, my father said it was like a switch, the weather was warmer, we took him to the beach for the first time this winter and we had time to play outside and enjoy the summer-like conditions.

We even came home on Easter and didn't blink an eye because it was just as beautiful in Boston as it had been getting on the plane in Florida. It held for a few days even and my girls were tickled thinking that this was it, summer arrived. Though being the seasoned New Englander that I am I know it was only a tease and the flip flops and painted toes would again make their retreat beneath socks. But my girls have still not given up on their skirts sans tights and short sleeve shirts.

So come on Spring/Summer. Please don't leave us in the cold and wet like last year and show some sun to us that warms us up!