Snow Day!

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Merry Military Christmas!

I love the MWR! For those who don't speak military acronyms it stands for Morale, Welfare, and Recreation. Basically, it's a group on the base that is in charge of hosting parties for families, providing discount tickets, and helping out with deployments.

This year, we went to a MWR party on the nearest base, which happens to be an Army base (Carlisle Barracks). It was their annual tree lighting ceremony and it was a hoot.


We all bundled up and even though we missed the actual lighting of the tree, we had free cookies and hot chocolate. A booth was set up advertising all the programs available through MWR including a Christmas bazaar.
They handed out free Christmas ball ornaments and even Santa was there ready to pose for pictures and hand out candy canes.


Then, we waited our turn for a horse drawn carriage ride around the small base. It was so festive and made me appreciate all that the MWR does for its military families.

First Snow

Brrrr! It's COLD here in Pennsylvania! William finally got to experience snow first hand. It didn't really stick so we'll have to wait until next snow for the real fun (ie. sledding, snowman, snowballs, etc.)

Melissa Fowler!

My friend Melissa is the best! She was the first friend I made when I moved to California as a 12 year old and we've been friends ever since. In middle school, we did everything together. My personal favorite was taking the video camera and making mock commercials or TV shows, then laughing until we cried watching them later. We loved watching Star Wars Return of the Jedi and even pretended a kid in school was friends with Chewbacca. We'd try to speak 'Wookie' to him and laugh and run away while he stood there, thinking we were crazy. We were always tent buddies at Girls Camp. She taught me how to sing alto and I taught her how to scrapbook. For Valentine's Day in the 8th grade, we went around and kissed all the boys with brightly colored lipstick to leave lip prints on their cheeks and started the Great Kiss Fest of 1992. We'd sing songs with our own lyrics ("Bulgy Land," "Greatest American Bulge," "The Bulgy Connection").

In high school, we did cheerleading together, went to EFY, and Church dances. We would play games like "20 Questions" but referring to a specific memory we shared. We playfully referred to each other as "pre-existent" twins. She was there for me when my heart was broken and I went to her when she was sad. We lived together briefly in college until she got married. We were each other's bridesmaids. Now, she lives in Minnesota and I live in Pennsylvania. Fortunately, we have the phone and internet to keep in touch. She has never missed my birthday and this year was no exception. She sent me Chewbacca and a hand made key holder. I giggled for a long time remembering our silly adolescent days. Thank you so much, Mel, for the laughs, the memories, and the friendship!

I didn't have a picture with me not looking like a fatty-boomba-laddy!

Gingerbread House

It wouldn't be Christmastime without decorating a gingerbread house. This year, I had my dad and William help out. It wasn't as fancy as what I've done in the past, but it was more fun sharing it with my family.

Happy Thanksgiving

Yeah, it's December now and Christmastime but I finally figured out how to get my new camera's pictures uploaded so Happy Thanksgiving!

The meal before the feast
(shrimp cocktail, pumpkin bread, artichoke dip, pistachios, crackers and cheese)
Pals
Cousins and Grandpa
A little gun play after dinner

What a ham!

I figured out how to use auto focus now.

The turkey kicked in

Ryan and William's favorite ride, Uncle Sean!

Christmas Candylane at Hershey

We've gone to Hershey Park for their Christmas-themed attractions for 3 years now. This time was even better because we only live about 20 minutes away. It makes it so much easier to continue this family tradition. We went with my sister, Robyn's family. William loved having his cousins to ride the rides with. I liked going on a few rides, myself. It was definitely good times!

It's the New Me!

Okay, I know most of you have already seen the 'new me' but I am still getting requests for pictures of just me. Since I'm always the one behind the camera, it was hard to find a decent one to show my weight loss progress. I finally got someone to take pictures of me while I posed for the camera. Here's a little time line of the last 7 months.

March (2 weeks before surgery)

April (2 weeks after surgery)

May (-30 lbs)

July (-60 lbs)

August (-75 lbs)
September (-80 lbs)November (-100 lbs!)

So to recap, I've lost 100 pounds, gone down 14 sizes, and 1 shoe size. In addition, I have gained a whole new outlook on my life and tons of confidence and energy. Good trade off, I'd say. I'm still losing weight, although not at the incredible speed like before. I have about 25 more pounds to go. I LOVE my new body and I'm so very glad I decided to go through with the surgery. I'd do it again in a second and I'd recommend it to anyone who is willing to do whatever it takes (and it takes a lot!) to lose a large amount of weight.

Halloween in Yuba City

I love Northern California in the Fall! I forgot how great the weather is out there. It was at a constant sunny, 75 degrees for 2 weeks. We went to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm, Sacramento Zoo, Funderland, Trick or Treating with my dad and of course, my mom's house for the annual Halloween Night Doughnut Party. It was a fun trip and I can't wait to go back.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook