Dukan – Consolidation Day 400 or so

Wow, what a few very busy weeks! I am working 4 part time jobs, so time for breathing, much less blogging, is in short supply!

I’m working at the birth house 2 days a week, teaching midwives to be at the college 1 day a week, running my billing business with my daughter 1.5 days a week and teaching seminars and workshops on the weekends!

4th of July was fun! Fireworks riverside in my home town and a move from my small apartment to a big house to accommodate my daughter Tiffany and her husband and kids.

One of my rooms is being set up with a studio and I plan on offering childbirth education, nutrition and exercise education, yoga, massage and other complimentary therapies from there. I also have a good sized pool and plan on offering aqua natal classes, as well.

12th of July was my middle child Jenni’s 30th birthday. I’m still in my 40’s (49) and have two kids in their 30’s I love it!! We had a wonderful Outback Steakhouse dinner together.

I’m back to running and I’m happy about that. My daughter has a boxer mix named Kapone and he’s my running mate 😀 I’m doing interval running and building back up my distance. The area I live in is the only hilly area in south Florida! And they are little hills, but hills none the less. I’ve also been doing a lot of bicycle riding. So the really good news is I’m back under my True Weight 😀 WOO HOO!!! Even though I was eating well, staying gluten free and eating minimal replacement foods, I was struggling with getting my Australia weight off. The problem was I wasn’t getting enough fiber, water OR exercise!! I put all 3 back in and it’s come off. I’m very happy!

I’ve been honored to serve a few women the past month or so at their births and the wonder of it stills overwhelms me. I love that after nearly 20 years in this business I still tear up, get goosebumps and am elated when a baby comes earth side. How fortunate am I to be blessed with such a great task in life?

And finally, a prayer answered, so quickly and clearly I almost missed that it was answered. On Friday night I prayed for clarity on a friendship. I got the answer 8 short hours later when said friend violated one of the moral and ethical codes friends just don’t violate. And even though they wanted to maintain our friendship I couldn’t because of who I am. I’m mourning the loss of that friendship, but I’m grateful that my prayer was answered and I now know that I’ve freed myself up for better things to come and I’m so excited about that! Lesson learned: God does answer prayer, we just need to have our eyes and ears open to hear the answer 🙂

Here’s some pics from the past few weeks:

View during morning walks:

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Bargain on gas using our Winn Dixie grocery store fuel perks card!!

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Best coffee ever, the old fashioned way!

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My new bedroom…

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Kapone and I, out for a ride…

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Sofia using one of our moving boxes for a sofa 🙂

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Love my job!!!

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And Sofia before church this morning… When everyone else was still sleeping, she snuck in the kitchen while I was quietly sipping my first cup of coffee and asked if I would do her hair…

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It’s a Quickie

Just a quickie update… I’m doing well, maintaining my weight. Nick is on the mend after his frightening illness. I’m hoping to be back to regular blogging after next week.
Things that have made blogging difficult:
Having a 9 year live with me Monday-Friday… School ends next Friday so she’s back to her mommy full time then!
Commuting 70 miles ONE WAY to work 3 times a week. I leave home at 655 am and get home after 6 pm.
I know they are excuses, but I’m committing to be back on track June 3. I want to run again… The 9 year old refuses, lol.
Things I have been doing… Eating clean. Walking 3-4 times a week about 5 miles with a friend on the mornings I don’t commute. Lots of family time.
Here’s to a great week!
Ciao!
My mom (GiGi) and granddaughter Sofia. May 17. Mom turned 82 and Sofia turned 5.

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Me and my 3 at the birthday party. Nick did the cooking at his restaurant and I have to say the Sea Bass was AMAZING!

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Travel – Weekly Round-up!

Well, what a week! Going to do a breakdown with pictures.

Current Weight: 149
Goal Weight: 155

Sunday, June 3 – flew Guangzhou to Hangzhou. Flew between the clouds…

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Went straight to hospital and saw 3 patients, rushed home, had reunion with Tits the Cat…

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threw clothes in washer, started to unpack, knock on door… It’s….
KITTY!!!

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I also got to hang out with Velina, Robin and their gorgeous baby and show off the beautiful necklace that Sheila, Greg and Lily gave me…

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Finished repacking, went to bed…

Monday, June 4
got picked up by driver to head airport. Hangzhou to Beijing, Beijing to JFK… Here’s a shot from over Siberia… It really is frozen tundra!

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Get into JFK pretty much on time, only to wait 1 hour and 40 minutes for my bags. Major panic, get through customs, race to airport train to go to AA building, still need to check in, recheck bags, get through security and they are already boarding… Major panic… People get me through quick, I’m trying to breathe, and I get on 2nd to last… Phew! Then we sat on the Tarmac for one and a half hours! Argh! Finally up, up and away and this gorgeous sunset off the coast of NC…

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Finally got to Miami and Miri’s smiling face there to pick me up!

Tuesday, June 5
Up before the crack of dawn and out for a run… I love my hometown!

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Then I had a haircut and color…

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And sushi with my niece, Amanda 🙂 Then off to visit the kids and grandkids, then a run/walk with Michele and Michael and dinner.

Wednesday, June 6
Up early, breakfast with Tiffany and then out to Okeechobee to visit my friend Julia, who is not only a super awesome friend, but is hands down the best massage therapist in the world! Two hours of myofascial therapy, craniosacral therapy and some lymph work. Lunch with her son at Golden Corral and then back to her office for another hour or so of traditional massage. It was all amazing. Then back to Port St Lucie to pick up Sydnie for the night.

Thursday, June 7
Breakfast with Sydnie…

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And dropped her off to school. Then back to motel and Jenni, Sadie, Tiffany and Joey came over to spend time in pool with me. Wore a bikini, LOL… That seems weird to me.

I then headed 90 miles south to check out a 1973 Airstream Land Yacht… I bought it!

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Then raced back up to home to pick up Sadie from camp so we could go to Jammin’ Jensen with my friends… Just writing this makes me feel like I haven’t had a holiday, lol! Here’s some pics from the awesome time I had with my friends…

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Then over to our friend Denise’s house, since she had neck surgery and couldn’t come out to play, we took the party to her…

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Then off to bed with Sadie, so I can get up early to head 5 hours north in the morning!

Friday, June 8
Up early, drop Sadie to her mommy and hit the road. First stop, 2 hour drive to Daytona to see Shauna, Mouna and Fiona. Lovely visit. Then another 1.5 hours to Ocala to register for the 5K and get my BIB… How exciting! My first BIB!!

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Then another hour drive up to get my mom and an hour back to Ocala to meet my friend Teri, who came down to support me 🙂 Dinner Outback, visit with my nephew and his wife and kids and then to bed!

Saturday, June 9 – RACE DAY!

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What a rush! My friend Gail told me I’d start out to quick and she was right… My first kilometer was in 7:12… I slowed my pace, walked some, ran, met a lovely lady named Trisha, picked up discarded cups (I know, I know) and finished. It was awesome.

Then breakfast and back to hotel to pack and hit the road… 9 hour drive to North Carolina with my mom to her best friend Sandy’s house. This is the lady I was named after 🙂

Sunday, June 10

Beautiful , cool, rainy morning in North Carolina. Mom, Sandy and I met Eric for breakfast and then Eric and I went for a hike up Mt. Pisgah.
Hike Statistics
Difficulty: Moderate
Total Length: 3 mi
Trail Tread Condition: Moderately Rough
Climb: Climbs Moderately
Lowest Elevation: 4980 ft
Highest Elevation: 5730 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 750 ft
Trails/Roads Used: Mount Pisghah
Hike Configuration: Out-and-back
Starting point: Mount Pisgah Parking Area, Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 407.6
How to Get There: From Asheville, take the Blue Ridge Parkway south to the Mount Pisgah Parking Area, on the left, at milepost 407.6. Park at the second parking area; the first is for the Buck Springs trail.
Great hike!

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Then back to Sandy’s and I grilled steaks and leeks for dinner…

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So, that’s the wrap up! I’ll try to be a better blogger and update again tomorrow 🙂

Ciao!

DAY 8 – Daily Photo Challenge

Day 08 – A picture that makes you laugh.

Two pics came instantly to mind and I’m not picking one over the other so today is a twofer 🙂

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This is my daughter Tiffany’s eye… Lol. She and my granddaughter Sadie were playing around with my iPhone when I was home on a holiday. I didn’t see it until I was on the plane flying back to Abu Dhabi. I laughed so hard because I could imagine her and Sadie giggling while taking covert pictures with my phone 🙂 Today my daughter and her husband Joey celebrate 7 years of marriage… Happy Anniversary, you two!

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This is my dear friend Cathy. We are on a bamboo raft in Thailand and she is mocking me! LOL! I was terrified on the raft (I have this ridiculous fear of crossing water on anything made of wood products, including bridges). If I’m feeling blue, I open this picture and remind myself that life is grand and full of wonderful friends that mock you… Hehehe… Love you, Cat!
p.s. she and her husband AKA The Big Guy celebrated 33 years of marriage this past week.

Reflections

This post was written on Saturday and apparently didn’t publish… So here goes!

Went with the marketing team to Yiwu today. This town is a hub of manufacturing of clothes here in China and was a 2 hour bus trip southwest of Hangzhou. Lots of Arabs here and that means one awesome thing… ARAB FOOD!!!! I had mixed grill for lunch with a teeny bit of hummus… Mmmmmm Mmmmmm Good!

Time for reflecting… I would LOVE it if you would respond to the question with a comment. I think it’s possible to comment anonymously if you’d prefer 🙂

This is from the site Thoughtquestions.com The picture is mine from visit home Christmas 2010.

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MY ANSWER: TRANSFORMING

My son-in-law Chris was out talking to the neighbor. Nick’s ex Ashlee is marrying a different man, and I’m bursting with happiness for her. Jennifer continues her journey of recovery, Tiffany is going to be a surrogate mother and I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up… But my body is sure transforming!

Tell me about YOUR family… One word is just fine, but if you’d like… elaborate 🙂

Ciao!