I was updating my blog and the site and became very depressed.  I only weighed in once in the month of May.   What Happened?   I was on track in April.  I lost a total of 74lbs.  I was so close to 75lbs.   Then Europe, me sick, Spicer sick, crazy work.  I didn't give up all together but I sure did SLACK.  Last night I was bringing my rent to my landlords and letting them know that my disposal in my sink wasn't working.  They informed me that I needed to try hitting the reset button first before he came out to look at it.  A RESET BUTTON!   Perfect!  I started thinking about that today.  It is time to hit the reset button on my diet.  I have gotten too comfortable.   Time for a change!  Yesterday Spicer and I walked to Food Giant.  I realized I can do this all the time.  I can walk to Food Giant, I can walk to the bank, I can walk to Sonic even.   I can ride all over town.   I can do this!   I am also eating breakfast.   I am going to make myself eat at least a small bowl of ceral with soy milk or some turkey bacon and fruit everyday.  RESET!!!!

I have been a bit busy as of late.  (This seems to be a trend with my last few posts)  I turned 32 year old on the 14th. I spent my birthday with my to fave guys and had pizza form Max's, Meet Your Maker Cheesecake from Shandies, Spicer was given an award for Math, so proud of my sweet boy. Tommy and I have been enjoying our nice country bike ride to the TN state line. I finished all of my spring planting and cleaning including having my carpets cleaned. Tommy and I took a little trip to Nashville last night for some fun and woke up this morning and went on a quest to find new/used road bikes. Our quest continues but we had a blast. How you doin?? :)p

In the movie Bambi when the spring comes the friends notice everyone falling in love. Owl informs them that everyone is "twitterpainted" and they all inform Owl, "It's not gunna happen to me." During my weight loss journey several people have told me I would hit snags, I would gain, I would backslide. For quite some time I had the same attitude as Bambi and friends. "It's not gunna happen to me!" I was wrong, it did! I have gained a few pounds since Europe. I'm not proud of it, I'm not ashamed of it, it simply is. I am working to shed the pounds I gained. I know I am back on track and I feel confident in my ability to rid myself of these few pounds. Tommy and I have started taking a new 15 mile bike ride. It is the most scenic ride I have ever taken and it is my favorite exercise we do. I love the route because it's so pretty and so peaceful. When we ride in the country I can be still and quiet. I can ride and only worry about the ride and the bike. It is such a wonderful time for me rest my mind. When I finished my ride I thought about this blog. I thought about how much it keeps me going, how good it feels to get my thoughts down. I am so lucky to be able to express these thoughts. What do you do to help get back on track?

From time to time I get frustrated in my weight loss journey.  Someone posted this yesterday and I really needed it.  Yes I mess up, yes there are days I want to give up, yes there are time I don't eat as I should, yes there are times I don't work out like I should.  But overall.  I am doing well.  I have come a long way.  Everything in my life up to this point has made me who I am today.   Don't beat yourself up, just do what you need to do and move foward!   I took this picture last week and I saw it again today.  Just a few pounds shy of 75lbs lost!!!  Almost there!!!

It's been a bit since I blogged.  These last few weeks I have been playing catch up at work.  I have also been doing lots of fun stuff.  Tommy and I attended the Springtini and had a blast on Deby Day.  Spicer have been doing very good in school.   I have continued to keep up with my excercise.  Tommy and I have found a new route in the country that goes to the TN state line.  We mapped a new one out we might try Friday that is 23.5 miles.  I am so excited.   Here is the last few weeks in pictures. 

From time to time on this Journey I have mentioned Eat, Pray,
Love. This book has been my bible throughout my divorce, my weight loss journey, and my life journey. Every morning after I drop off Spicer I drive over to Tommy's house and we have our little morning routine of cuddle time and then we
ride to get coffee and start our respective work days. It is one of my favorite times of the day. It's a time where I can shut out the entire world around me and for just a few short moments have peace and stillness. Then the reality of the day crashes in but for that moment I have peace. I am not sure I can put it into words but I can't tell you how much my heart swells that I have reached
this contentment in my life. That I have found this peace. I look back at this journey in my life and although I know I have many more roads to travel and many more journeys to end and begin. I love this feeling, this peace. I leave you with the physics of the quest.

“…I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call “The Physics of The Quest” – a force of nature
governed by laws as real as the laws gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: “If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself….then truth will not
be withheld from you.”

Having traveled all over Europe twice I have come to realize I love looking at large landmarks and historic points of interest at night. At night there is a different perspective. Everything is quiet and there are few people out. Your focus is able to be only on IT.   For example I was able to see the Doma in Florence and the Coliseum in Rome at night. There were no people there taking lots of pictures, no loud talking to distract you, just the beauty and glory of these amazing landmarks. If you ever have the honor and privilege of traveling overseas to see any of these greats, I suggest you try seeing them at night. Look at them, see them, and touch them. Appreciate the age of these massive structures, that they have been preserved and sometimes even destroyed to ruin and then built back up again. Realize the beauty in their ruin and restoration. Look at yourself and see the beauty in your own ruin and restoration. What do you do to find Peace?

Ok so I don't have the plague but I have been under the weather.  I have been sick with the flu since I have been back from Europe.   I still don't feel 100% and am still taking meds and eating cough drops like candy but I do feel like I am on the raod to wellness.  Tommy has been so swweet and taking care of me the whole time.  I was off work for three days last week.   This week I am trying to take it easy.   I exercised fior the first time since vacation.  It felt good to lift weights today.   I am just ready to feel better and feel ok.  

It has been a long time since I have blogged. My first trip to
Europe was the trip of a lifetime. I never would have thought that I would be
returning six months later. For our second trip to Europe we traveled to the UK,
Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. This time we traveled with Tommy's partner
and his wife. Although a little chilly, Europe was breathtaking in the
springtime. It is amazing to see everything bud out and growing. Here is a
summary of our trip.

Travel to Europe: This time we flew from Paducah to
Chicago to DC then to London. Having an extra flight helped break up the travel.
The long flight to London was a bit eventful including a medical emergency and
projectile vomit. But lucky for us we were nowhere near either incident. We also
had a bit of turbulence but nothing too bad.

London: We had an easy
landing at Heathrow and took a cab straight to our hotel with a ride through
Hyde Park and right at the changing of the guard. We took a little break to
freshen up at our hotel, the Bloomsbury. We stayed there last time and it did
not disappoint. We took a quick bus ride to the theatre district to see a
production of A Clockwork Orange. The play was very interesting and I loved the
intimacy of the small theatre. We headed back to the hotel and had a little rest
then traveled on the Tube to Camden Town. We visited several bars and pubs. One
of the bars had a great bartender who made amazing drinks including one with
burnt sugar. AMAZING! We walked back to our hotel and enjoyed the night air and
the hustle and bustle of the city. Our second day in London we enjoyed some
traditional pub food and visited the British Museum and the St. Giles Cathedral.
We popped in a little bar in SOHO to catch a great little drag queen performance
where the entire bar sang! We also found a metal bar and enjoyed the music. We
finished out the night with dinner at a great little restaurant with great food
and drinks and Carla was able to get her fish and chips. We barley slept a wink
and it was time to wake up at 3am to take our cab to the airport for Italy.


Italy: We arrived in Naples early in the morning. The airport is tiny but we
  were able to find a rental car (the last one they had) and headed to Pompeii.
  We had quite the time with traffic but it was a fun experience from Naples to
Pompeii. We parked at a free parking area in Pompeii and walked to the site.
Pompeii is inspiring with the whole city trapped in time from the volcano. It is
both eerie and breathtaking. We finished our day in Pompeii with some pizza in a
little coffee. The square was full of hustle and bustle in this interesting
little town. The view of the mountains is amazing. We drove to Rome and made it
to the Hotel Una Roma. The hotel is just a few blocks from the Coliseum; I loved
seeing it at night. We ate at a little restaurant where they treated us to a
Roman feast including Lamb, Chicken, Pork, roasted veggies and potatoes. We also
had an amazing bottle of wine! Our waiter was Russian and his girlfriend lives
in Lexington. The owners are going to be opening a castle in Pisa and we plan to
  stay with them the next time we visit Pisa. We finished off the night with some
  yummy Gelato, You can't be in Italy and not eat Gelato, We awoke the next
  morning to a great view of Rome from our balcony. We enjoyed a yummy Italian
  breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We jumped in the car and headed to Tuscany
  via the coast. We visited a little island and had a wonderful meal at a
restaurant right on the water. I have never seen water so blue. I could retire
on this little island! We traveled through Tuscany and arrived in Florence at
our hotel. We were in for a surprise when we were offered the Tower room. The
Tower room is the highest views that are not a church in Florence. The Tower
room offered us a panoramic view of the city. We walked around the city and
night a saw the Doma and the Cathedral, We woke up the next morning and enjoyed
  breakfast and went to see David. We checked out of the hotel and took the train
  to Pisa. We walked to the Leaning Tower and enjoyed some yummy pizza. From
  Pizza we flew to Frankfort-Han Airport.

Germany: We arrived very late
in Germany. We found our rental car and BURGER KING!! Then we drove to our hotel
Bellevue through the twists and turns of the wine country. We awake to the
beauty of the mountains and had a wonderful breakfast with breathtaking
views.  We traveled from the hotel
to our appointment at Dr. Loosens. We learned about the wine and the grapes. We
sampled and purchased some amazing wine. We had dinner at a hotel restaurant and
enjoyed some very yummy dishes. We drove through the wine country to Dusseldorf.
We stayed at the hotel Melia and enjoyed the views of Europe's oldest park. We
had fun in downtown Dusseldorf and ate at a Hungarian restaurant where we were
entertained by a duo violinist and pianist. I had the best stew I have ever had
in my life! We took a bullet train in the morning from Germany to the
Netherlands.

Netherlands: We arrived in the afternoon at the Central
Station in Amsterdam. We stayed at the Mint/Double Tree hotel just across from
the station. We took a little rest and then headed out to our favorite little
bar inside the Renaissance Hotel. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city
and had dinner at a yummy steak house. We awoke the next morning and had a
wonderful breakfast at the upstairs pancake house. I have never had such a
wonderful breakfast! We visited the Vangough Museum and enjoyed the park. It was
amazing to see all the greats in the Museum. All these great works moved me to
tears. We finished off our night at a little restaurant recommended by a couple
from Boston. We enjoyed a feast on Nes street where the waiter says, "I am the
menu, try to remember the things you like!" I had a fillet with a cream and
strawberry sauce. It was so yummy and tender.

Travel back home: By the
last day of our trip I was starting to feel bad. We flew from the Netherlands to
the UK and then caught a cab to Heathrow and flew from Heathrow to Chicago to
Paducah. The flight home wasn't too bad. We had a bit of turbulence on the
flight back to Paducah. The fasten seatbelt sign was on the whole time. But our
pilot landed us safely and we were able to beat the weather and make it back to
Murray. I was so glad to be home. Even though I was sick it felt good to be
back,

I loved this trip to Europe just as much as the first one. I loved
all the time we spent in Italy, I loved Germany! I loved the British Museum and
seeing the Rosetta Stone! I loved the Vangough Museum. I loved all the food we
ate! The pancakes, the Roman Feast, the wine at Loosen, the fresh seafood on the
water. It was yet again the trip of a lifetime. I am so honored to have traveled
with such a great group and most of all my partner in crime. I love you
Tommy!