This was a whirlwind month that kept me so busy I didn't even have time to blog! The month started off with a Sara's 30th birthday celebration followed by spending a night at Sara and Zach's to babysit Sophia. It was the first time both Mom and Dad were away for the whole night! Sophia did quite well, too!
We loaded up the car and headed for the East Coast on January 9th and didn't get home until January 25th. During that time we stayed with Mom and Gene, my sister, Julie and her husband Ray, and my brother, Larry and his wife, Stephanie. We were so excited to meet our new niece, Samantha Solimini and to see our other nephews, Lucas, Alex, and Zachary! As always, it's GREAT whenever I get to see family! And, we also got to have lunch with an old college (and AF) buddy of mine, Louie Botta while we were at my Mom's. He lives just a town over from her!
Our main purpose for the trip was to photograph Stephanie's sister, Melanie's wedding in Wilmington, Delaware. Mark and I shot the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding day preparations, the ceremony, formals, and reception. It was a lot of fun, but admittedly quite stressful and tiresome. We were on our feet most of 12 hours and had some restrictions on photographing during the ceremony. When we awoke the next day, both of us felt like we were hit by a Mack truck! Our feet were sore and my arm and hand muscles ached from holding the cameras so long! We did get a lot of nice pictures...took about 2,000! We're in the editing mode now. Check out the beautiful bride and groom on the right!
Mark had a New Horizons Band swing band gig this past Friday night and now we're preparing for a concert band performance this Thursday! (Because we missed a lot of rehearsals, I'm not playing on 3 of the songs because the parts were handed out after we left.)
Sara and Sophia visited with us yesterday and I can't believe how much Sophia has grown! She's 8 1/2 months now and is always pulling herself up to a standing position! I think she is going to be an early walker! Her two bottom teeth look like they are completely in now. I imagine we'll be seeing some others pop through soon! Thankfully for her parents, she is now sleeping through the night!
I updated our white board "to do" list and it's completely full! We have wine tasting events to plan, a newsletter for the New Horizons International Organization to prepare, upload photos to sell in my Etsy shop, lots of photography tasks to do for my business, in addition to drum practice and band rehearsals! And, this month is Mark's birthday, my brother, Larry's 40th birthday, Ezra's 4th birthday, and Valentine's Day! Whew...lots to prepare for!
And, certainly not last on my list...I'm still working out with a trainer twice a week and working out additionally on my own a total of 6 days a week! I started with my trainer on Dec 14th. In addition to working out with him, I use the online program, myfitnesspal.com, to track my daily calories and workouts. (Thanks, Michelle for the suggestion on this app!) This program is available on a smart phone, too and automatically syncs. So far, I've dropped a size and almost 12 pounds! I've also lost 5 inches in my waist, 1.5 inches in my hips and 2 inches in each thigh! IT WORKS!!! There is absolutely no mystery as to how to lose the weight...you must be dedicated to watching what you eat AND workout 6 days a week! That's it! There are NO shortcuts! My goal is to lose another 10 pounds and then to MAINTAIN. I know the 6 days a week of workouts will need to continue forever. That's what it takes to be healthy. (And, that's what the medical community recommends for exercise.) When I was on our trip back East, I couldn't always do a cardio workout but for many of the days, I found ways to do strength training in the house. And, I used the hotel fitness rooms when we were traveling. You can check on my weight loss progress at the bottom of this blog...you'll see "myfitnesspal" tracker there.
As busy as the month of January was, February is starting out to be even more so! I'll check in as I can.
Showing posts with label birthday celebrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday celebrations. Show all posts
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Monday, August 29, 2011
Ah, Colorado!
We finally arrived home on Thursday, August 25th after almost a month on the road! Our travels started earlier than we'd expected due to the passing of my father-in-law, Walter, on July 29th. Itineraries took us to Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota (in that order). Lots of driving back and forth but it was well worth it as we got to see our families! And, I finally got to meet our new nephew, Lucas! He's 8 months old and what a happy little boy...so cute!
Walter's funeral service in the cemetery chapel was very nice...his brother, John did the eulogy. The graveside service had to be cut short due to a thunderstorm. After the service, we all went to John and Marion's house (Mark's uncle and aunt) for a family get-together. It was nice seeing Mark's side of the family even under the circumstances.
After spending a week in Minnesota, we drove to Pennyslvania and stayed with my Mom and Gene. The next two weeks were spent with them alternating time with Julie, Ray, and the boys, and Larry, Stephanie, and Lucas. We racked up a lot of good memories with fun times spent at Ocean City, NJ, Cape May, NJ, Rehoboth Beach, DE, Lewes, DE, and Chesapeake City, MD.
We also enjoyed watching Alex play clarinet in a summer concert band and Zachary play street hockey with him scoring 2 goals and 2 assists! And, we've heard so much about "train club" and finally got to experience what Alex and Zachary do there, as the club was part of the annual 4H fair that we also took in.
We also were lucky enough to celebrate my sister, Julie's 50th birthday, my brother-in-law, Ray's 45th birthday, our nephews' Alex's 11th and Zachary's 9th birthdays! We had a fantastic dinner at Magianno's at King of Prussia for Julie's birthday and then back to Mom and Gene's for cake and presents...fun time!
We also got a chance to eat real fried clams (not just strips) at a favorite childhood place of Ray's...very good!!! Larry and Stephanie took us to one of their favorite places, too, and we ate along the water in Chesapeake City, MD,...very nice!
We had a nice photo session with Melanie (Stephanie's sister) and her fiance, Nick in Delaware! They are a cute couple and we are looking forward to shooting their wedding on January 21st!
We left the East Coast the day the 5.8 earthquake hit Virginia and that was felt throughout the northeast! Talk about timing! Made it to Minnesota for one more day (went to the Mall of America) and then departed for home.
The day after we returned, we just had to see our new granddaughter, Sophia, so we went down to Sara and Zach's. Sophia is so cute and seems to have grown longer; she's interacting even more! It was great seeing all three of them! Sara looks great, too! Looks like she and Zach have settled well into the daycare and work schedules.
Now that we are back home, we are settling back into our routines. Mark and I are both counting Weight Watchers points again to get the excess weight off that we gained on vacation as well as to try to get a few more pounds off. I'm trying my best to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in a day, whether it be power walking, spinning, elliptical or bicycling. If I can keep this up, I'm hoping my body will be kind to me! :)
I'm back into the swing of practicing drums daily and am busy gearing up for the start of the band season--working on my secretarial duties for the board and newsletter editor for the international band organization (the New Horizons International Music Association). And, one more new responsibility...I'm working with Mark and another couple, Bob and Karen as chairpersons this year for the Fort Collins Newcomers Club Winetasting Club!
I think I have enough on my plate right now. It's good to be home and it's refreshing to be in Colorado! Check out some new photos on the right from our trip!
Walter's funeral service in the cemetery chapel was very nice...his brother, John did the eulogy. The graveside service had to be cut short due to a thunderstorm. After the service, we all went to John and Marion's house (Mark's uncle and aunt) for a family get-together. It was nice seeing Mark's side of the family even under the circumstances.
After spending a week in Minnesota, we drove to Pennyslvania and stayed with my Mom and Gene. The next two weeks were spent with them alternating time with Julie, Ray, and the boys, and Larry, Stephanie, and Lucas. We racked up a lot of good memories with fun times spent at Ocean City, NJ, Cape May, NJ, Rehoboth Beach, DE, Lewes, DE, and Chesapeake City, MD.
We also enjoyed watching Alex play clarinet in a summer concert band and Zachary play street hockey with him scoring 2 goals and 2 assists! And, we've heard so much about "train club" and finally got to experience what Alex and Zachary do there, as the club was part of the annual 4H fair that we also took in.
We also were lucky enough to celebrate my sister, Julie's 50th birthday, my brother-in-law, Ray's 45th birthday, our nephews' Alex's 11th and Zachary's 9th birthdays! We had a fantastic dinner at Magianno's at King of Prussia for Julie's birthday and then back to Mom and Gene's for cake and presents...fun time!
We also got a chance to eat real fried clams (not just strips) at a favorite childhood place of Ray's...very good!!! Larry and Stephanie took us to one of their favorite places, too, and we ate along the water in Chesapeake City, MD,...very nice!
We had a nice photo session with Melanie (Stephanie's sister) and her fiance, Nick in Delaware! They are a cute couple and we are looking forward to shooting their wedding on January 21st!
We left the East Coast the day the 5.8 earthquake hit Virginia and that was felt throughout the northeast! Talk about timing! Made it to Minnesota for one more day (went to the Mall of America) and then departed for home.
The day after we returned, we just had to see our new granddaughter, Sophia, so we went down to Sara and Zach's. Sophia is so cute and seems to have grown longer; she's interacting even more! It was great seeing all three of them! Sara looks great, too! Looks like she and Zach have settled well into the daycare and work schedules.
Now that we are back home, we are settling back into our routines. Mark and I are both counting Weight Watchers points again to get the excess weight off that we gained on vacation as well as to try to get a few more pounds off. I'm trying my best to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in a day, whether it be power walking, spinning, elliptical or bicycling. If I can keep this up, I'm hoping my body will be kind to me! :)
I'm back into the swing of practicing drums daily and am busy gearing up for the start of the band season--working on my secretarial duties for the board and newsletter editor for the international band organization (the New Horizons International Music Association). And, one more new responsibility...I'm working with Mark and another couple, Bob and Karen as chairpersons this year for the Fort Collins Newcomers Club Winetasting Club!
I think I have enough on my plate right now. It's good to be home and it's refreshing to be in Colorado! Check out some new photos on the right from our trip!
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