Posts tagged sunset

Let’s all go to The Pig!

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We had more fun yesterday, with dinner at a family favorite, The Ozona Pig, which my niece calls The Pig. It was great evening, we sat outside at dinner and enjoyed the breeze, the food, and ice cold beer. I love family dinners, and this week has been extra special with my Aunt Darlene here.

 

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After our delicious meal, we headed north a few minutes to our beloved Crystal Beach. It was cloudy and overcast when we arrived but the sun kept peeking out of the clouds during sunset. Autumn and I had a fun time playing in the water (chilly!), finding shells and rocks, and running along the sand. Autumn always makes me laugh… She fell in the water at one point and then took off running towards the steps yelling “Um, I have a problem!!!”. That kid cracks me up.

 

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Our evening ended perfectly with a trip to Cold Stone for ice cream. I haven’t had Cold Stone in quite awhile and it was GOOD!! Hubby and I shared a Cake n’ Shake milkshake. Oh heavenly sweetness in a cup. Cutie pie Autumn had a cotton candy milkshake that was almost as big as she was!

 

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Do you have a family favorite restaurant that you go to? What do you do for fun when you have family in town?

A Weigh-In and a Glow Run!

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Yesterday was a stellar day. It started out with the super early Weight Watchers meeting, 6:45am to be exact. I’m up anyway, so I like going early. I was so excited to go because it was with Beverly, the leader who’s meeting was the very first one I went to back in 2006 and she saw me through losing weight and making lifetime. She wasn’t there last Saturday, so I had to wait till today. It was so good to see her and she has not changed a bit. She has the most amazing energy I have ever known in someone.

And as exciting as seeing Beverly? Seeing the scale go down again for the second week in a row! Another 2.6 pounds gone – hopefully never to be seen again. I really stayed on point this week, eating fruits and veggies with each meal and snack.

I’m so happy with my progress and the willpower I have found. I truly believe you have to be in the right mindset to lose weight. If you are not prepared to give it your all and fight for results, than you are only fooling yourself. I am giving it my all, and it is paying off. Here are my stats, which I will post weekly, whether a loss or gain, as another way to keep me accountable.

WW Weekly weigh-in

 

After my meeting, a yummy breakfast at Village Inn, some errands, putting the Christmas tree away, cleaning, and then dinner (holy busy day!), it was time to head to downtown St. Petersburg for my first 5K of the year. And bonus, hubby was doing this one with me! I was pretty excited to get ready to go, especially since this was my first night race.

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We knew from all the people we saw that it was going to be a busy race. Everyone was dressed in different degrees of bright fluorescent neon color and more. There were wigs and costumes and tutus. It was going to be a fun time!

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We put our glow necklaces and glasses on. My glasses were weird, the arms were too short so they kept falling down my face. But we got the obligatory pictures with them on.

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I have to say that downtown St. Pete has become one of my favorite places over the last year. The waterfront is beautiful with a nice breeze. I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of it last night. But I did get this wonderful shot of the sunset.

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Once the sun went down and everyone started glowing, the crowd was all pumped up and ready to go for the 6:30 start time. We met up with Steph from Kitchen Kilometers and her love. I have to laugh at the picture of us… Look at my glow stick glasses. They were just not made for me to wear. I look like Scuba Steve, right?

 

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The darker it got before the race started, the more fun it was to take photos of our glowing selves. How can you not have fun with glow sticks? I highly recommend a race with glow sticks. We even saw a guy dressed as Hulk Hogan and he sounded like him.

 

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And then we were off! Even though this was not a timed race, I had my Garmin on me just to see how I did. We walked and ran. The run through downtown St. Pete was pretty cool. Everyone was having such a fun time and it was cool to see the blur of glow sticks as people ran by. I tried to get a picture when we were close to the turnaround and it came out blurry, but you get the idea.

 

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We crossed the finish line at 44:16 and were given our medals. At this point, the crowd was CRAZY. There was music playing and everyone was glowing. We guzzled out water down and took some more pictures because you can never have too many pictures of yourself with glow sticks on.

 

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All in all, it was a fun night. I would definitely do another night race. Hubby had a great time too and did a great job. I was running to keep up with him! First race of 2013 is in the books!  #10in2013

 

Have you ever done a night race? Are you doing the Glow Run 5K in a city near you this year?

Remembering Daddy…

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Two years ago today, at 1:53pm, we said goodbye to Daddy. There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t think of him and wish he were still here with us.

After four weeks in the hospital, the last two in ICU, we had to make a very difficult decision to let him go. While it was very hard to so, I still believe it was the right decision. How quickly he passed was proof of that.

Two weeks after his passing, I made a memory book that I still look at often. I took all the beach photos in it – this is the true meaning of the sunset pictures I post every month on the 4th. I thought today would be a good day to share it again. For my dear family and friends, this will be a reminder of those special days. For those of you who didn’t know him, this is a small glimpse into the love that my family had for the most amazing man and father ever.

 

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Today we will go to Crystal Beach for sunset and to Ozona Pig for dinner, just as we did the day he passed away. These were two of his favorite places to go and it is just one of the many ways I keep his memory alive. 

I love you Daddy, and I miss you always. You are my hero, my guardian angel, always just a thought away…

Thankful Thursday

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What I am thankful for today…

 

My hubby…. I am such a lucky girl to have him in my world. He loves and adores me and stands beside me as we make our way through this world, no matter how hard or easy it may seem at any given time. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find him but I would be absolutely lost without him.

 

A roof over our head…. This month marks 9 years in our home and there are times it still feels like we just moved in. It’s not the perfect house and we have a list a mile long of things we want to do, and realistically may never get to do, but it’s our home. When we’re home at night, curled up on our comfy couch watching TV, with Blue and Ozzie snuggling with us, there’s no place I’d rather be.

 

Family… I have an amazing support system in all that I do and I am fortunate to have family behind me. You know who you are and I love you all.

 

My health…. Sure, I have a love/hate relationship with my body and I have aches and pains that sometimes seem too much to bear, but I am so very lucky to be healthy. (***knock on wood***)

 

My friends…. Old friends, new friends, and in between – you all bring something special to my life.

 

My mommy…. I’m 40 years old and yes, I still call her Mommy. Somehow she endures working with me and seeing me 5 out of 7 days a week, sometimes even more. She is one of my biggest supporters. She is more than my mom, she is my friend.

 

My mom’s health…. After quite the scare earlier this year, my mom is thankfully cancer-free after surgery.

 

38 years worth of memories of my dad…. I am so blessed that nothing was left unsaid and he knew how much I loved (love) him. All the memories over the years have more meaning now since his passing and there are days when I remember something that I had put away in the way-back of my memory bank. It’s amazing how memories can come rushing back. I am so thankful to have those memories that are all mine.

 

My two crazy dogs…. Yes, there are days that Blue and Ozzie test every bit of patience I have and I swear they will be the death of me, but I love them and can’t imagine not having them here to drive me nuts. I love snuggling with them and taking them for rides and showing them off to everyone who thinks they are the coolest dogs ever. They are our babies.

 

Sunsets, beaches, and the beautiful area we live in…. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day stuff but all it takes is a walk or run at the park or beach, or a drive along the gulf, or an evening out for a sunset and I am quickly reminded how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful state.

 

What are you thankful for today?

18 months ago

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Dear Daddy,

18 months has passed since I said goodbye to you, since I held your hand, since I kissed your cheek, and since I gave you a hug…

But not a day has passed that I haven’t missed you, thought about you, or wished that I could have just one more day with you…

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I can’t believe that it has been 18 months since we said goodbye to you. How is that possible? The first several months were a blur, I was numb. The one-year mark seemed to arrive much too quickly. And now here we are, a year and a half later.

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I still remember ever single day of the month that you spent in the hospital, as well as your last day. The sights, the sounds, the emotions, and everything in between are all still very vivid. I am lucky to still be able to hear your voice in my mind, and I feel very strongly that you are with me often.

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You were taken from us much too soon and I miss you so much. I will be at Crystal Beach tonight, as I am on the 4th of every month, to watch what is sure to be a glorious sunset.

I love you, Daddy, and I miss you every single day.

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