Long time no blog (Long post)

Hey.  Ok so it has been a while since my last post.  Time to catch you up with what has happened to me over the past two months.  First let me start with, I have continued to lose weight.  I have now lost just over 90 pounds as I approach my fifth month of this journey.  It has been a busy two months since my last post. 

Shortly after my last post back in early May I packed up my belongings and returned home to Maryland.  Three months at my parents house was amazing.  They got me started on my journey and gave me lots of support in those first and probably the most difficult months of changing your life.  I do not believe this would have possible without their love and support.  I had to return to Maryland for other business and I felt that I had the tools and my routine down that I could continue to success on my own at home.  My parents were worried and made sure I knew that their door was always open and I could return if I need to. 

The first week of my return was crazy as my house was in pure chaos with unpacking and just cleaning up the mess I had left behind.  It took about a week of hard work to get the house back in order so I could start my routines back up again.  But the great thing about it was that I was able to do the cleaning!  Being able to move again is so amazing that only someone like me in my former state can truly appreciate.  I don't remember the exact weight losses I had per week but I continued my average of about 5 pounds a week.  Some weeks higher, some weeks lower but I keep slimming down and that's the point.

Just two weeks home and I was heading back to South Carolina.  But I was driving down!  I met one of my first goals of getting on a plane again!  It had been a good decade since the last time I flew.  Not because I am scared, I love it actually, I wish I could be in the cockpit flying it.  (That's a future goal)  Anyway, I was a bit nervous about the whole experience.  I had not flown since before Sept. 11, 2001 so I didn't know the new security procedures and standing in long lines and walking great distances had been a nightmare for me over the past several years.  I gotta tell you, I got thru it all so easy!  Standing in the ticket and security line wasn't a problem.  My back would have been hurting 5 minutes in and the sweat would have started dripping soon after.  These issues were no more.  I was able to endure the lines AND walk to my gate with barely any discomfort.  That was one hurdle passed.  Now to get on the plane and hopefully sit in my seat.  It was a tight fit to squeeze into the coach seat and it was a good thing I had gotten a second seat so I could lean over into that second seat.  My shoulders along were too big for one seat.  It was a short flight to Charlotte so hurdle two was passed.  Now I just had to claim my luggage and meet my ride.  Even though I couldn't find where my baggage was coming out and walked up and back in the whole baggage claim area looking for it, again with little trouble before finding it and meeting my dad outside. 

So the reason I flew back down to my parents was because we were having a family vacation to the Outer Banks!  The last time we were there was for my sisters wedding four years prior.  It was a lovely week but full of struggles for me.  The wedding was on the beach and I could barely walk down there even with the help of a walking stick.  This time none of those past struggles were a problem.  Not only did I walk down to the beach but I actually got into the ocean.  Something I haven't done for probably a good twenty years.  Me and my brother in-law went boggie boarding several times, flew kites on the beach, swam in the pool, went bowling and played at the arcade the day it rained and even played a round of mini-golf and hit some balls on the driving range!  It was a great week but ended too soon. 

Once we returned to Charlotte me and my dad drove back up here to Maryland where we stayed for just a day as we then headed up to my parents summer place in the mountains of Pennsylvania.  The trailer had been closed up all winter and needed to be cleaned and stocked up for the spring/summer/fall and the grass was way over due for a cutting.  My father handled most of the outdoor stuff while I cleaned and organized inside the trailer.  We only spent a few days up there but I enjoyed myself as I hadn't been able to go up there for several years.  Another goal met! 

So after returning to my home and my dad headed back down south it has been about two weeks that I was off my routine.  I didn't dare weight myself but just started back on my routine.  After a week of that I was back to my Wednesday weigh-ins. Thankfully I did weigh less than when I left for vacation.

So the next two weeks or so went by ok.  I just focused on my routine and continued to lose weight.  Then the curveball came.  My god-daughter was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.  She's thirteen and the daughter of my best friend.  I couldn't really focus on me and what I was doing any more, my thoughts turned to them and how I could help them.  I spent several days up at Johns Hopkins Hospital visiting her and my friends during this time.  The charity and fund-raiser in me popped his head up and I had to do something.  So I focused on building a web site for Catie to try and collect donations to help pay for the medical costs.  www.helpcatiefighthodgkins.com was created.  So far we have received some donations and that's great.  We started a raffle for her and I helped her family clean and paint a new bedroom for her and I was able to purchase a new bed for her so when she comes home from her chemotherapy appointments she will have a comfortable place to recover.  During this week or two there was some stress eating and I had my first no loss week since I started my journey.  It's understandable with what was going on but I needed to refocus on me now that I had set things in place for Catie.  I can maintain the web site and the other things going on while I get back to my routine.  So that  brings us up to date.  Today's weigh-in was great.  7.4 pounds lost this week once I refocused my energies.  I am about 9 pounds short of my first major goal of lossing 100 pounds!  I'm gonna push hard this week and see if I can hit it next week.

Stay tuned!

Take care, until next time!