Blast away the Blubber cruise!!

[lmhall2000]

All Right Now ..... Sweet Emotion

Little obsessive, but I check Disneycruise online almost daily to check GT trends and to just 'see' if an Oceanview for 5 would pop open...nope always over 7k for a Verandah. Tonight for the first time in 2 months an 8D popped up!! What?? I had to blink and make sure, I immediately pull up another tab to convince myself that we should just bite the bullet and pick this one. I quickly pull up GT rates on existing dates (March/April) and quickly figure out that for two IGT rooms at the lowest existing April rate, it would cost us $5900!! WHAT?? That is horrible! The 8D is just 3-400 more and we all get to be in one room (we prefer this actually). So, I quickly go back to my original screen and click on the button that says..."Late Dining Seating" or something like that, it takes me back to the home page!! What????AAGH! I've been booted out or timed out? EEK!
I nervously retype it in, and...whew! It's there again! This time, no hitting any buttons other than NEXT NEXT NEXT!! I get to the 'book this room' page and hit 'NEXT!' What?? I get an error code at the top of the page..."Sorry for the difficulty, but this room can not be booked online at this time, please call customer service or try again later" (or something to that effect)...aaaagh!!! Really???

ALL RIGHT NOW!! I am going to try one more time...Again, the room comes up!! I again hit BOOK THIS ROOM! Then I hit NEXT, so far so good, then it asks for passenger information. I'm too afraid the time I'm taking to enter all five in, the room will once again show Unavailable...but I'm also afraid that if I skip this step it'll start me all over...so I hit every field...not time to find passport numbers, I'll do that later!! I'm still before the 75 day period so it lets me just put the deposit down..that is even sweeter!

Within a few anxiety ridden moments, we are officially booked!!!!

SWEET EMOTION!!!!

Now, I just really must focus on healing this hip and getting this weight off!! This light at the end of the tunnel is shining now!! Bring on the cruise, officially 100 days from today!!! YAHOO!!!!

 

[lmhall2000]

One Way or Another....

Here's that moment where you've knocked a big 'check' off the vacation planning list (booking room) and reality hits. I am a stick to budget kind of person. Since the odds of a GT coming out are good, they're (as discussed with an uber GT planner) likely 99% only going to come out with VGT rates...so my dreams of getting on this ship for my budget of 5k is out. The room I have reserved is the cheapest option, even over 2 VGT. But it's still above my budget...so something has to give and that means excursions. They sounded sooo fun!! But, do you cancel the cruise until you can save enough to afford it all? Nah, you just go and find something to do that does not cost $400 per port for a family of five. So, now I am off in earnest seeking mode to identify really cool activities/sites on a really tight budget..I hope it may help others who may just want to take it easy on the pocket book for 1-2 ports.

I also learned more about how the ships book. When I found the Oceanview for 5 available..I was able to also reserve a hold with a travel agent to add on board credit option ($300), but then another TA from cruisecompete query popped up and said he could give me $450 if I could find the room again and book through their website. If it's a transfer, most only offer $150. When I called Disney asking the how to's of dropping an existing ressie and hoping to catch it when it went back into the system to hopefully book with the higher OBC, he realized what was wrong with this particular ship's sailing is the lifeboats. (Also the Diser who is uber good at GT pricing tried to explain it to me) While the ship may have room occupancies that on paper can hold 4000 passengers, the lifeboats can only hold say $3600 (just guessing), they expect some cabins to have 2 passengers even though they can hold 4...so when I search for a room to hold 5, it's not that they don't have the rooms 'available'..it's that they don't have space in the lifeboat for them so they have to pull those rooms from the available list. There's that little voice in my head saying, "I don't need a lifeboat, I'm a good swimmer, just make sure I have a vest and I'm good! Just give me the best rate!" That is where I realize I have taken my budgeting too far!!

So, tonight at midnight, I have a plan...I am going to release my reservation (also have one with TA) I booked online back into the system and see if it 'might' pop back up into the system, because my conversation with the Disney rep looked up all 'holds' on rooms, and there are 5 rooms being held right now for families of five. One expires at midnight...so I might get lucky and up my OBC!! Then maybe one port we'll have enough to do one fun event And go cheap on the other two I am charging it all on Disney visa, but now their policy is $50 for drinks! huh? But, we also have 2 months to rack up dollars on our Visa points card, at just 1%..it's not that much, but will help cover the expense of one excursion.

So, the ridiculous over planning continues, but as this hip heals..there's not much else I can do than use my 'free' time lying recumbent researching options So ready to be back to moving without pain...I'm close!!! I'm at a 3-4 instead of an 8-10...it's getting there...Send those pixie vibes for when we try to renab the room with a better OBC

 

[RooRach0906]

Joining in! I am trying to lose weight for the cruise as well, I have been doing pretty good til I got to these last 5-8 pounds left to go and now I'm struggling.

Glad you hip is starting to feel better, I will pray you get to 100% soon.

Woohoo for booking! Hope you end up getting your OBC.

 

[lmhall2000]

Joining in! I am trying to lose weight for the cruise as well, I have been doing pretty good til I got to these last 5-8 pounds left to go and now I'm struggling.

Glad you hip is starting to feel better, I will pray you get to 100% soon.

Woohoo for booking! Hope you end up getting your OBC.

That is amazing!!! 5-8 pounds!! You can do that!! When I get to that last bit (been years!) if I reduce salty foods, no caffeine, no sugar, and stick to fresh foods/grains...3-4 pounds comes off within 2 weeks...those last 4 I have to ratchet up my cardio...I think it'll be September before I get to my last 6-8 pounds but I know I can do it!! Thanks so much for the prayers!!! This morning, I woke up and ZERO pain in my hip joint, it's now migrated a bit over to my spine (deteriorated discs from a bad car accident in college) but that pain I am used to and know how to manage...I went out and walked the dogs, puppy is doing GREAT! And it felt GREAT to walk and move without the 3-4 pain!! I know not to overdo it, so am resting now, but am soo excited to finally see some goodness from all this resting, and no doubt those prayers!! Thank you!!! I'll pray for your last pounds! You can do it!!

 

[lmhall2000]

Ooh Ooh Child.....

Yes!! Things are getting better and brighter!! No pain in hip this morning! It's migrated over to my lower back, but that I can handle!! That SI joint pain was wrecking me! I'm going to do my 15 minute workout and hopefully the ab/planking will help support my back by building my abs...but soo thankful, still going to take it easy and not do a lot of sitting/standing, but I will get back on treadmill and get my 45 minutes in...it may be slow speed, but I know I can do it!!

No chance to get the OBC...I called last night to cancel...I honestly thought I could cancel online, but if you read the fine print it says you must cancel by phone or writing only. They closed at 8pm (Eastern) and I called at 8:03 ugh. I find that interesting, because I remember a Diser who was upset because she had paid her deposit and 'expected' correspondence from Disney telling her when final payment was due...or at the least using her cc to charge the remaining (I understand why Disney can't do that, but they should have notified her in writing or phone call before cancelling) especially if they require us to do so. I think they're closed on Sundays?? I will check that in a minute..but will have to wait to drop my other ressie. I did write to the TA I have the $300 OBC and asked if they would match the other company, but they said, "no." I figured, but thought they would like the chance to keep my ressie instead of switching if I do get the other one booked.

Some great suggestions on cheap options for ports are coming in from cruise critic forums...So, our plans for Grand Cayman are awesome and FREE!!! Well, mostly, we can snorkel (after 10 minute walk from port) at Eden Rock..we have all our snorkels but need fins, so we can rent them for $5 a pair...my son has never snorkeled, but hoping he'll try...Grumpy has said he will not do it...he has tried in the pool and he just starts gagging...he gags brushing his teeth! The girls and I had such a great time snorkeling for our first time off St. John's coast, to do it here would be awesome!! I'm hoping we might be able to work in some practices for Grumpy. But $15-20 for fin rentals is a very doable excursion!! I'm so excited!! I'm thinking we'll do ziplining in Jamaica because the options for 'free' stuff near Falmouth are not great, we could do Nacho Cocum?? (spelling?) in Cozumel for the day and Grumpy would like that...so things are looking brighter! About to call Disney and see if they are open on Sundays

 

[lmhall2000]

Pressure Drop! Has anyone heard of the Toots and the Maytals? What song is this? It does fit, so we'll use it!

Whew!! Another near miss, but nailed the $450 OBC!! Wahoo!! Here's how it went down. Called Disney, yes, why they are open on Sundays! Nice rep (I honestly have only had one stinker in 10 years of using Disney reservations) told me that it would go back into the system instantaneously! What? I've got to jump on it, so I go to the TA (won't name them out of respect for DU who offers this great site) website and yes!! It pops up in their system, that beautiful 8D! It's BACK, just seeing 20k Concierge availability only for five the past two days had me price shocked...I go through and enter everyone's name/birthdays/credit card information and hit "Pay"...what??? It says, an agent will call me and thanks me for my interest...no confirmation number no nothing?? EEEK!!

I immediately call the agent, his line says he's out until the 8th..well, today is the 8th...aack! Starting to panic a bit...transfer to another rep...they're in New Jersey and the agent comes on with that Jersey accent (I actually love the Jersey accent, makes me think strong, confident, no-nonsense!). I'm feeling encouraged already! She says my agent is in but is on a break and she can work to get it secured. She finds the 8D!! YAHOOEY!! She is even panicking a bit b/c she knows how hard it is to book this room for five...so she's racing through all the names/birthdates etc. Then she says the Disney cruiseline site lags so much, she's just waiting on confirmation she's 'held' it b/c she wanted to race to hold it then let my guy take payment and I think I was more nervous waiting on her to say "Confirmed" that I was at any deliveries of my babies. I owned labor, I was in control, or the natural process of birth was in control..but awaiting a coveted 8D with a promised $450 OBC...I am in NO control at all!

Finally, she sighs a relief sigh and confirms I'm good! Thank you Jersey lady!! She transfers me to my agent, who I just really adore...he's aided by the fact I've now had a major pressure drop and that Disney joy of having booked is finally achieved...but still an awfully nice guy, genuinely sincere, and positive..he really needs to work for Disney! He confirms the $450 OBC...goes through listing all names again and birthdates...this makes 6x I have done this just to finally secure the ressie I want...but, little chores for big thrills He lacks that Jersey accent, but his congenial personality wins him big points on the confidence scale. I will wait for the email confirmation before cancelling the other TA...just in case...I'm worried my Disney Visa may think I've gone haywire, that's 3 deposits on the same cruise...sigh. Hopefully, refunds will come as quickly as charges

Honestly, that little sensible side of me thinks what a lot of hooey for $150...but the 9 year old kid in me who thinks $1 in my Birthday Card from Mamaw is a treasure...jumps up and down and giggles with glee! I do a little jig into the kitchen to share my feat, and I get a, "That's nice" from Grumpy...and the kids running out of the house shouting, "Yeah, great, mom" as they go off to film their next segment for their duct tape swords saga of which is better, The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lord of the Rings, or Hyrule, Legend of Zelda...literally they made helmets with Hobbit ears, 3 swords fashioned out of foam and cardboard covered in duct tape and running around our pastures like crazed valiant fighters...and these are girls...but while they're all finding their fun, I'm having my own giddy party knowing I nailed it! Joy and silliness run in this family like holes in stockings!

[/URL]

 

[lmhall2000]

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

This is probably one of my top five pet peeves. Consistency. Amended: I'm going to amend my 'ch-ch-changes' post mainly because I was ranting about inconsistencies with Travel Agents. But these people really do work hard, it must be as hard for them to find bookings as it is for me to find a fare we can afford. So, good luck to all finding their fare they can afford and a TA who can help them get there!

I also booked our travel insurance today. $160 for all of us comprehensive. I used insuremytrip and compared 5 quotes from Allianz, Travelguard, and three others..I opted for Nationwide b/c they had the best coverage for about $50 less than the rest. We always get insurance and have never had to use it, but that is one area I won't travel without...I have little doubt we'll not get on the ship, but accidents can happen, and the minute I do not buy insurance...it will. They offered more for baggage loss (doubt that will be an issue since we're not flying) and better emergency evacuation...that's really all I see us 'needing'...don't want to get stuck on an island with a broken leg!

Hip took 2 steps back, I did not do treadmill, just up and trying to get stuff done around house, forgot to take my anti-inflammatories and this morning it was as if I was back at step 6 on a 10 step ladder...immediately took my AIs and trying to not inflame it. It's honestly like walking on trapeze...one to two steps forward then one to two steps back to regain balance...good note, eating is spot on!! I have had no cheats..(nailing the room confirmation spurred me on) and actually enjoying the clean eating! Wonderful berry smoothie yesterday and likely again for dinner tonight...blackberries/raspberries/blueberries/strawberries/yogurt and a splash of orange juice...it's yummy! Just checked again, no response from first agent, sigh.

 

[RooRach0906]

Woohoo glad you were able to secure your reservation with the bigger OBC!

I hope that the TA finally contacted you about cancelling your other reservations.

That is amazing!!! 5-8 pounds!! You can do that!! When I get to that last bit (been years!) if I reduce salty foods, no caffeine, no sugar, and stick to fresh foods/grains...3-4 pounds comes off within 2 weeks...those last 4 I have to ratchet up my cardio...I think it'll be September before I get to my last 6-8 pounds but I know I can do it!! Thanks so much for the prayers!!! This morning, I woke up and ZERO pain in my hip joint, it's now migrated a bit over to my spine (deteriorated discs from a bad car accident in college) but that pain I am used to and know how to manage...I went out and walked the dogs, puppy is doing GREAT! And it felt GREAT to walk and move without the 3-4 pain!! I know not to overdo it, so am resting now, but am soo excited to finally see some goodness from all this resting, and no doubt those prayers!! Thank you!!! I'll pray for your last pounds! You can do it!!

Thanks for the advice; I actually cant consume caffeine. I admire you for being able to cut out sugar; I can not but I do limit, only one a day and I do calorie count so no going over. I have been good the last two days hoping to keep it up and hoping to find a good workout DVD when I go shopping on the Thursday. Thank you also for the prayers.

 

[lmhall2000]

Woohoo glad you were able to secure your reservation with the bigger OBC!

I hope that the TA finally contacted you about cancelling your other reservations.

It was in the 26th hour later, I explained that was confused why the confirmation of cancellation from Disney showed a quote $500 more than I agreed to, but all she did was send me the original quote I had agreed to. They both had the same account number, so not sure why that messed up. But, I've checked daily and no refunds from even the one I cancelled on Sunday to my credit card. I called Chase Disney and they said it could take 30 days?? Huh? I find it frustrating that the charge is shown on my account in less than a day, but a refund could take that long?


Thanks for the advice; I actually cant consume caffeine. I admire you for being able to cut out sugar; I can not but I do limit, only one a day and I do calorie count so no going over. I have been good the last two days hoping to keep it up and hoping to find a good workout DVD when I go shopping on the Thursday. Thank you also for the prayers.

You are lucky to not be able to consume caffeine, it is often my bane!! I can go about 3 weeks without sugar then I have to have something! I have really loved most of Jillian's videos..they get my heart rate up, and move muscles that need to be moved, just don't push it if one move hurts..I overdid the downward dog/burpee on her Yoga Meltdown video..won't do that again! Let me know if you find any you like!

 

[lmhall2000]

Another Brick in the Wall....

Each day hip is getting better, weekdays I'm staying on eating plan, weekends go to pot...now that we're at the 90 day mark, I have no room for cheat days...so the push is on to maximize my weight loss..

The good news is our little foster pup went to his forever home. I am way too tenderhearted! I know we did the right thing by fostering him, but it bottoms me out to say good bye, even though I feel that he will be so happy in his new home. The rescue organization has hinted they would like to keep us on their call list for future rescues...my kids are all for it, and I'm sure I won't be able to say no, but I sobbed saying goodbye to this one on the drive home...which in turn wrecked my food choices for Valentine's Day...yes, he found his forever home on Valentine's Day...which is really sweet in itself...but come on! No goodbyes on Valentines!!

I was excited to do our online check in at the 90 day mark. Since budget is key, we really don't book anything online...I did reserve Palo for three, but likely we'll cancel that and use the $75 to maybe do Nachi Cocum with the kids at Cozumel. Just the opportunity to be with our family for one week without interruption is heaven! What a blessing to have a week to focus on the sweet strengths each of our kids/spouses have and rejoice in the beauty that is life! If I can do all that and be 50 pounds lighter...it'll be that gold brick in the wall

 

[RooRach0906]

I am glad your hip is getting better. I will pray for your weight loss.

You can do it; just keep remembering the result. I like to imagine myself on the boat wearing a cute outfit.

We are thinking about doing Palo brunch as a date morning, since DD can go to the kids club, and we rarely do a date night.

 

[lmhall2000]

I am glad your hip is getting better. I will pray for your weight loss.

You can do it; just keep remembering the result. I like to imagine myself on the boat wearing a cute outfit.

We are thinking about doing Palo brunch as a date morning, since DD can go to the kids club, and we rarely do a date night.

YES!! You must do Palo!! It is an odd feeling to have dinner out with just you and dh when you have kids, at least for us! Thanks for the tips on the cute outfit! I would love to get one, I'll keep my eyes out for sales Let me know when you get to goal! It inspires me when other's hit their mark!!

 

[lmhall2000]

Stayin' Alive....geez!!!

I'm okay, but this poor gentleman in this truck not having a good day. Alabama gets snippets of flurries/freezing rain...this morning my area was hit with about 1/2 inch of snow...people are easily fooled! I went ahead and cancelled my class today b/c many of my students live in outlying areas...but I had a 9:00 meeting that I needed to make and hoped if I left early, I would be able to make it. The roads looked like this....

I was going 35mph in a 45mph and this driver comes speeding at least at 50mph and passes me in a NO passing zone...the second his truck tires hit the icy patches, he careened left then right, then crossed back in front of me...hit a raised above ground tornado shelter mound which sent him vertical then flipped 2x through a tree and landed on its wheels...it was just him and me on the road, I immediately called 911...pulled up in front of his wreck and he miraculously was walking, but in shock...blood from glass and he apparently busted his knee badly from the dash and his back...he had no jacket on in 25 degree weather and no cell phone. They were sending an ambulance..so I talked to him trying to get him to sit in my heated car...he was just in shock...within 5 minutes the local volunteer fire dept reached us and they convinced him to get in their vehicle...while the ambulance came, it was already at another accident just 3 miles down the road...I felt so sorry for this gentleman, he didn't want to call his wife b/c she would be furious, I explained any accident you can walk out of is worth rejoicing about, trucks can be replaced. I gathered his stuff from his truck and will keep it until he gets out of hospital or until his wife can come pick it up.....it was just frightening seeing it all happen in front of me. More for him, please send out a little prayer he recovers quickly from this split second decision.

I am staying home, never made it to meeting, took me 25 minutes to get home going only 8 miles...crazy day...but thankful no one was hurt worse!

Update: The gentleman is out of the hospital and took his belongings to him..he looked pretty knocked up but he's moving! It's a blessing he had on his seatbelt and the airbags probably helped prevent more serious injuries....

 

[RooRach0906]

Oh no! Glad you were not hurt; Will be praying for that man and his family!

It always amazes me when people think they can drive the same in snow and ice.

I will tell you when I hit my goal. I am writing about it on my Cruise PTR (the link is in my signature).

I got a reservation for Palo Brunch this morning on our Nassau day. Horray!!! (Today is my 75 day mark)

 

[lmhall2000]

25 or 6 to 4....

Chicago is one of my favorite bands...this song never made sense to me as a kid, but now it pretty much does...they're up late writing lyrics to a song and one of the guys remarks "It's 25 or 6 to 4"....meaning it's almost 4am and they had to get this song finished. That's kind of how I feel...I've been dealing with this hip injury for a proverbial day and it's about time I just plug on through the rest of this day so I can start anew.

It hurts about 80% of the day, okay it 'feels' like it does, but if I truly think about it, it's probably just 60%..but I can't sleep without pain, I can't get up without pain, and moving without pain is a challenge...luckily it's only a 2-3..but it never leaves (it seems), the good news is that I KNOW it will end so I'm just moving on as if it's gone Many people have chronic pain, they deal with it and move on...so moving on, I am not mentioning hip pain (let the cheers begin! ).

The great news is I have been solid on my eating plan this week, not a single cheat, high value fresh foods, no processed/sugar/diet drinks...in fact, I think I'm pretty much weaned off diet drinks (sort of...now I drink one ICE a day...black raspberry is my choice) but have only had 1-2 Diet Dr. Peppers in the past month Baby steps. Grumpy and the girls are in Baton Rouge for a debate tournament, I am testing my fitness with all the farm chores...so far managing...if only the temps would go above freezing I wouldn't have to hand carry 20 gallons of water to the horses each day...no easy way to carry those and balance the weight...but it does give my upper body a workout

I'm also fretting (needlessly when I look back at this 10 years from now) about the cruise price! April 26th came out with incredible IGT/OGT/VGT rates...if those rates were applied to the May 16 cruise, it would mean a savings of $1000 and we could then afford excursions..but what a risk! EEK! I don't gamble, the only time I've played lottery was when I found a lottery card in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven...scratched it off and it said "Free Card"...so I exchange it for the Free Card..guess what, I got another Free Card! Did it a third time and got ANOTHER free card! My imagination catapulted into a fantasy world of my luck and visions of winning a great score having never paid for a single card. But, alas, my last attempt yielded nothing. That's pretty much how gambling works, right? So, my brain says hold on to the Ogty I have, make the best of the ports on the reduced funds...but my adventurous reckless side says, Aw...take the gamble! Sigh.

I feel like I've already lost 4 pounds in the past 4 days, but will weigh at the end of this 28 day (fourth attempt) to stay on plan with no cheats..the fact there are only 86 days left to cruise is keeping me honest...I will have 3 28-day periods to knock this weight off..instead of thinking of staying on plan for 3 months..I focus on 4 weeks at a time....I know I can make this my first FULL week without a single cheat and making my 5 day a week workouts even if it's pretty slow on the treadmill

 

[lmhall2000]

Hey Hey, My My!!!

Doing a little jig today!! I made it 7 days (barring any no no cravings tonight) on plan!!! So excited!! I did not get my required 5 hours of workouts in, managed about 3 hours...but really was going easy for the sake of the hip...I pushed it yesterday and normally I'm in excruciating pain the next day, but I'm hanging in there! Instead of a thorn stabbing my hip, it's more like a thorn just sitting in my hip....so happy to see steps forward!!

My go to snack (enjoyed them 3x this week) is the Dole frozen chocolate covered strawberry, one package has 4 halves and is only 60 calories! It's just the sweet something I need if I'm craving sugar...it's really dark chocolate so not a lot of sugar but the sweetness of the strawberries makes it a perfect combination! Hold on to your hats, but TWO packages of double chocolate milanos were in my pantry and I did not eat a single one!! I am sooo proud!

The bad news...just perspective..I washed a sweater...what is it about these High Efficiency washing machines that shrink everything?? All my kids' t-shirts are 1/3 shorter than when we bought them! Well, my sweater shrunk as well, probably meant to lay flat to dry, but Grumpy missed that detail trying to help me out with laundry. I put it on heading to church this morning and it just highlighted how much weight I have put on in the past year of weight gaindom...I can easily recall being 180 (and only 30 pounds from goal) and ballooned back up with nerve damage I suffered last year and now the back/hip injury...I just can not let it get me down and feel defeated. This sweater would have hung on me little over a year ago...today it clung to each curve...but I will OWN it! I will accept it and know that each day from here to goal I am that much closer to a healthier me and not the former me.

Still fretting about what to do with the cruise...right now it is looking like I stick with one room Oceanview...or risk VGT (at least) coming out and getting two VGT..my ideal would be to book one IGT and one OGT so that my claustrophobic tendencies won't kick in by being in an IGT, more rooms are opening up on our cruise, all categories showing available today...very curious to see what happens with the two earlier Fantasy cruises in May, as they'll be hitting 75 day mark before us and can gauge if they pop up with IGT or just VGT...oh oh oh...

One thing I did do, I NEVER buy jewelry, I own 3 pieces..my engagement ring (we bought on our 7 year wedding anniversary..never had one as we were poor and in love when we met ), a ring my mom and dad gave me when I graduated college, and a silver cross pendant. But, I used my Kohls coupon and bought a bracelet that I can wear each day to help me stay on plan...some people say to get a rubber band and snap yourself if you want to cheat...but that's just cruel...I bought a bracelet with smooth stones that I could just turn on my wrist as a reminder of my goal and how no food is better than the goal of being fit and healthier. I got it for $30 with my coupons, I think it was originally over $150...aquamarine or something like that. Oh! Here it is, my latest tool to help bust the pounds by helping me focus on the benefits of eating healthy...the stones reminded me of the color of the ocean on our last cruise...and how great it felt to snorkel being down to a size 12

 

[lmhall2000]

Oh no! Glad you were not hurt; Will be praying for that man and his family!

It always amazes me when people think they can drive the same in snow and ice.

I will tell you when I hit my goal. I am writing about it on my Cruise PTR (the link is in my signature).

I got a reservation for Palo Brunch this morning on our Nassau day. Horray!!! (Today is my 75 day mark)

YAHOO YOU!! Palo will be amazing! I really should try Brunch, but I love that nice hot steak! I checked in on your PTR...you have done sooo beautifully and are an inspiration!! Keep it going girl!!

 

[lmhall2000]

One Singular Sensation!!!

Every move that she makes!! Oh my goodness! I can't contain my enthusiasm!! I'm Baaaaaack!!! For the first time, in probably 6 weeks, I have moved, I mean really moved!!! I was stunned that rolling over in bed did not cause the grimacing pain...then I put my first foot on the floor, and still NO PAIN!! I moved that first leg waiting for the numbing nerve pain to catch my breath...but NOTHING!! I walked the dogs even going down the steps did not cause me pain! I felt like the Grandfather in Willy Wonka when he started moving after being bedridden for so long!

I did what every fantastically shocked middle aged woman would do, I got on the treadmill!!! I claimed today as my first workout for couch to 5k! Three weeks ago I couldn't even make it faster than 2.0! Today I started at 2.5, went up to 3.2 for eight minutes...then jogged at 3.8 for 60 seconds and back to 3.2 for 90 seconds and repeated that 8x...then cooled down for 5 minutes..total time on treadmill was around 29 minutes. The scary part was my heart rate hit 177! EEK! The highest it usually is would be 162...but mostly stays in the 140-150 when I'm heart training...so it just goes to show you what 6 weeks of rest will do to a heart! It cooled down to 128 by the end of the cool down..but it felt amazing to finally be able to move!!

Castaway Cay 5k is a reality in training! So excited to feel better and thankful so thankful for the miracle that is the human body...not to move on and keep the progression going forward!

I saw a Disney Magic cruise go for an incredible low rate at the under 10 day mark!! $760 for first two and $500ish for the second two!! Oh, if we could only cruise that week! If they only offer VGT...I would be paying the same as I am for Oceanview..and that's 'if' they offer it...aagh! what to do what to do...

 

[RooRach0906]

YAHOO YOU!! Palo will be amazing! I really should try Brunch, but I love that nice hot steak! I checked in on your PTR...you have done sooo beautifully and are an inspiration!! Keep it going girl!!

Thank you so much; I could not have done it without God's help! I didn't know if we would like Palo for dinner plus on this cruise we want to do dinners with DD.

You are doing well to and Woohooo to no more pain!!!!!! I am sure you will be able to lose the weight!

I love your bracelet; it is beautiful! I need to get some of those chocolate covered strawberries!!!

Can't wait until your next update!!!

 

[lmhall2000]

Ain't No Sunshine.....
when it snows.....

We interrupt this pre-trip report for an important weather update (and this is Alabama not Boston)

And just how many days until we hear the ocean and soak in the rays?