Mama Sue's Place

One year later: Living my Best Life

I hesitated sharing this "before" picture with everyone because it is anything but flattering.  What it does show, though, is not only what I looked like one year ago today, but also how I felt: disgusted, unhealthy, unhappy with myself, and finally motivated. After spending nearly a year planning in my head how I was going to become the person I was meant to be, I finally had had enough and put a plan into action.  I did it the day before the 4th of July and six days before a week-long family reunion in Texas.  It meant giving up Diet Coke, alcohol, junk food, and white flour products. I had to begin an exercise program. I needed to commit to eating three meals a day, two snacks and a very healthy, hearty breakfast.  And I did it.

I joined Curves at the end of last summer after going with Julie while visiting California. It's reshaped my body. In 12 months time I have lost 27 lbs. and over 28 total inches off of my body. At the age of 51, I feel healthier than I have in my entire life.

This has become my way of life. I may be following the Best Life Diet plan, but I am not "on a diet."  I wish it hadn't taken me half of my life to figure this all out, but hey, better late than never!  :-)

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and love through my healthy transformation.

Baseball as America

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has an exhibit right now, Baseball as America, at the Boston Museum of Science. It includes 500 artifacts from the Hall of Fame, including items from the 2004 and 2007 World Series games.  We also saw Hank Aaron's jersey when he hit his 715th home run, Rickey Henderson's cleats when he had stolen his 1,300th base, Manny Ramirez's helmet the day he hit his 500th home run last month, Schilling's 'bloody sock' from the 2004 World Series, a "World's Champions" jersey the Giants wore the season following their 1905 World Series win, and a whole lot more.  If you have a chance to go, I recommend it. Cooperstown has so much in it that it's hard to see and take in everything.  Having a subset of that to enjoy was a lot of fun and a much easier drive than going to Cooperstown.

So long, New England

Tom, Dusty and Tommy are off on their next adventure to Virginia.  Paul and I both feel so privileged that we had three years to share all that is New England with them.  Only two states away (you really have to live out here to understand that isn't too far to drive), we were able to share holidays, the arrival of Tommy, and many other visits together.  We linked each other to the heart of home (California) and an understanding of how special New England is.

I was working in CT last week, so they drove the U-Haul and minivan up to my office so I could give them love, hugs, and best wishes and say so long for now.  Paul and I love Virginia and will definitely make our way there to visit them.  Here's a picture of Tommy on the car trailer the day we said so long for now.  We wish all of them the best of everything, and we hope to see them soon!

If you don't like the weather, look out a different window

We had a crazy thunder and lightning storm earlier today, and then the skies turned blue. Awhile later, I heard what sounded like thunder, but I looked out the window and saw what you see in the first photo.  Still hearing thunder, I decided to check the backyard. This is what I saw there.  Crazy day!

Margarine to the crust of the toast

Paul and I had breakfast at the Freeport Inn Cafe while in Maine. It's 20 minutes from where we were staying and my office, but the food there is fresh, tasty and wonderful, and the wait staff every bit as friendly as you may have heard that Maine folk are.

While enjoying our breakfast (and their coffee that I love), I said to Paul, "This place reminds me of stopping by my mom's house to have breakfast with her before I would go to work."   I would have done this while Jake and Julie were still in elementary school. I'd swing by my mom's, usually because she would have made her delicious chicken and rice soup or chilled asparagus that she wanted to share with me.  "Come by on your way to work to pick it up," she'd say, "and I'll make us some breakfast."

It often was just tea and toast for me then as I was short on time (I wasn't a coffee drinker back then). Even though I was rushed, I always enjoyed that special time with my mom.  I was able to not be someone's employee, wife or mother for that short time and just be someone's daughter. She'd make my toast and tea and bring it to the table.  She always put the perfect amount of margarine on it (which was very little), and she always spread it all the way to the corners of the crust.  I would tell her, "Even toast is better when your mom makes it for you."  That extra step of spreading the margarine is something I still do today because I remember how I felt when she did it for me.

The Freeport Inn Cafe has that having-breakfast-at-mom's feeling about it, even though these days I eat my toast dry, and it reminds me of that special time.

From AA to AAA

Saturday night at McCoy watching the Pawsox.

Taking in a ballgame

I'm up in Maine for work and Paul joined me on this trip. We're at a Portland Seadogs game, the Red Sox AA team.

Car crash update

First update is, thanks to my local, friendly police officer, they no longer refer to it as an "accident." Now it's called a "crash."

After 2+ weeks of driving a new Ford Focus that averages 31.6 mpg (it shows you that info on a display), complete with new-car smell and air conditioning that is cold before you turn the corner in your neighborhood AND this thing attached to your key chain that unlocks your car door without using a key, my trusty 10-year-old, 200,100-mile Honda CR-V was ready for pickup after $3,300 worth of repairs.  (Gotta love Hondas and their resale value; that wasn't enough to total the car!)

On the drive home from the auto body shop (which was just about closing time for them), I noticed the sun panel on my sunroof was completely closed over. I never leave it that way cuz it sometimes gets stuck, so I tried to open it. Upon inspection when I stopped at the pharmacy parking lot, I saw that the entire thing was out of whack and would not properly close. I also noticed water stains on the inside hood of my car.

I called the shop when I got home and was able to catch the owner at his desk. Everyone keeps telling me how hard my car was hit, but none of us noticed that it wigged out my sunroof.  I went back this morning, they took one look at it, and asked me to leave my car.  Hertz hadn't picked up the rental yet, so they gave me back the keys.  Now I have to wonder:  If they knew this when they estimated damages, would the car have been totaled?

On the health front, I continue to make slow improvement in my back and neck and the tingling in my right foot and hand still occurs but less often. I am exercising and moving every day which I know helps, and my second massage therapy appointment went well; I am on the mend. I am not in any bad pain; I'm just still experiencing some stiffness, so I keep moving.

6:30 this morning

Our heat wave has passed, and the last two mornings have felt more like September than June or July.While having our coffee, we saw a hot air balloon making its way through our neighborhood. This isn't uncommon; we are right in the path of where they ultimately land, but it never ceases to amaze me as they go by. We could hear those distinctive sounds they make and the voices of the passengers. What a great way to start your day -- for them and for us.

Watch it pass by

The graduate

Our sweet Monet graduated from preschool this weekend. Here's a shot of the proud family.