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We made our vacation plans. Every year, we like to take a real vacation (meaning "leaving on a jet plane") in April since it is our anniversary and Chris' birthday. This year was our 8th anniversary (4/4) and Chris will be 43 (4/19). I guess the whole "need to get away in April" thing started with our honeymoon (San Diego & Los Angeles). Then it kind of died out for a few years until 2003 when Chris turned 40 and it was our 5th anniversary. We went to New Orleans that year. Awesome time. 2004 was London. 2005 was Las Vegas. And, 2006 will be KEY WEST, baaaabbbbyyyy!! We will be spending 6 days and 5 nights in sunny Key West -- leaving on Sunday, 4/23 and returning on Friday, 4/28. We will fly into Miami, pick up the rental car and drive to our historic bed & breakfast, The Curry House. I wanted to experience the drive through the islands. We won't be driving back though -- we'll be flying out of Key West with a brief stop in Miami. We soooooo need this break. It can't come fast enough.
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Food has been my enemy these past 2 months. My lowest weight of 214.5 was on 2/26. As of 4/8, I am back up to 224.8 lbs. I got a new scale. I wanted to see more than 1/2 lb increments. Exercise has been non-existent except for an occasional - maybe 1x per week - stint on the elliptical. I am getting some of my motivation back though. I did my free weights today. I use an elastic band for some leg exercises and the bitch broke right in the middle of my workout -- snapped right onto the left side of my face. I determined that I was lucky it didn't take my eye out and just moved on. I also started using the stairs again at work. Next, I will start my lunchtime walks.
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On another note, I had a bit of a health issue arise a few weeks back. I was toweling off after a shower when I see a lump through the skin on my right breast. Needless to say, my stomach dropped and my heart started racing. I waited a few days to see what it did -- which, incidentally, was nothing. So, I scheduled a look-see with the doctor's office who, in turn, scheduled me for an immediate mammogram with an ultrasound on the side for good measure. Now, breast cancer does not run in my family so I wasn't too worried, but you know, it is a freakin' lump in my breast!! So, the big day is 4/4 -- yes, on my 8th anniversary, my boobs were manipulated in unnatural ways and then subsequently squished between 2 plates. The radiologist says, "wow, you have really dense breasts!" WTF does that mean? It means, the doctor in the clinic can't read them too clearly, so let's squish the lumpy one just a little bit more, only this time, let's do it at a 45 degree angle and press harder. YAY! This was still not enough, so off I go to the ultrasound room. That was less dramatic -- no squishing there. The doc says -- looks like a cluster of benign cysts and "that's a good thing". No worries, thanks for stopping by, see you next year - same time, same place. Then, my doctor calls me 2 days later with her analysis. They are cysts, but I have 2 rather large ones - 2.5 cm is the larger one with the 2nd one just a little bit smaller. She is concerned that they might mask something in future mamms, so she wants me to go to a surgeon and have the fluid removed -- this will make them shrink and disappear. Translation: go have a stranger stick a long needle in your breast and extract fluid. Fun. I still have to schedule that for sometime next month. Doc says to get it done within the next 2 months. I'm waiting until after vacation.
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That's all I can think of for now. There were a few other things I wanted to write about, but I can't seem to remember what they are right now.
I'd like to give a special Philly "Yo!" to Sheryl, Bob, Scarlett, Danica, Bear, Jen, Emily and Heaven for leaving me comments and/or emails just to "check" on me. Even though we have never met, I think of you all as my "buds".
I also dedicate the current Bon Jovi tune on here ("Thank You for Loving Me") to Chris -- thanks for being my best friend for the past 8+ years. I love ya lots no matter what I say to the contrary!
I leave you with this -- the happy couple -- April 4, 1998:
