Its Good to be Home

Confession: As much as I love weekend road trips to get away from it all, I have mixed emotions about them upon my return home to reality. For example.....

Last Friday evening after work, we loaded up my car and headed up the interstate to beautiful Lake Martin, AL for the holiday weekend. It was fabulous. Our whole family was there; the four of us, Brent's parents, his sister and her husband and their two girls. We spent the mornings drinking coffee on the porch overlooking the lake and cruising around on the boat. In the afternoon we took the little ones swimming at the pool. We dined on home cooked meals at night and on the 4th we feasted on the traditional smoked ribs and grilled corn. YUM!! The weather was perfect, and thanks to that I can actually claim to have a tan this year.

It was a relaxing getaway that I hated to see come to an end. Because as usual, I knew what would await me upon our arrival back in Mobile: last week's laundry plus the laundry that accumulated over the weekend, a kitchen with no groceries, and a house that needed a little more cleaning that was done before we left. So as has become my custom I have spent most of my weeknights playing "catch up" on all of the things that I normally do on the weekends, but couldn't because we were gone. I do this so that the upcoming weekend will still have hopes of being somewhat of a weekend..meaning I am not dealing with not one but TWO weeks of piled up laundry and cleaning.

Luckily we are in town the rest of July. This is good for several reasons.

1. We have been out of town 3 of the last 6 weekends. I am tired and need a break from traveling. Especially in a small car with two small children, a husband, and all of our stuff - half of which never seems to make it out of aforementioned small car which creates one more thing to add to my "to-do" list.

2. I am not too proud to admit it gets expensive traveling so much by the time you factor in gas, boarding my 60 lb chocolate lab, food, and the inevitable unexpected necessary (and sometimes unnessecary) purchases that tend to get made on the road.

3. I need time to prepare, and I mean seriously prepare, for our next out of town road trip. We will be spending the entire first week of August at my absolute favorite place in the whole wide world (more about that later). I can't wait and I have LOTS to do!! I need to make packing lists. From the packing lists I will need to make shopping lists. A shopping list will mean that at some point I will have to actually go shopping to purchase items on the shopping list. Then I will have to pack. Pack bags, pack the car, you get the idea. Oh yeah-and lets not forget about doing as much laundry and housework as I can so its not staring me in the face when I return.

So there you have it. My love/hate relationship with traveling all summed up in this post. I know it may seem complicated, but traveling and I are working it out one trip at a time.

The Boot Camp Experience

Four weeks ago I began what I like to think of as a new chapter in my life. For those of you who have been reading what few posts have actually made it to this blog, you may recall this post. And shortly after, I wrote this post. I am sad to say that as determined as I was I did not go cold turkey with what my friends and I now refer to as "The Meagan Diet" on May 1. However, I can still say that I am 10lbs lighter than I was that day at my Dr. appt. So that just goes to show that even small changes in your diet can have a big impact without you even realizing it.

Anyway, back to the new chapter in my life. Four weeks ago is actually significant for two reasons. First of all I turned the big 3-0. I don't think this milestone warrants much more explanation; although, some great friends helped make it a super special day! The story is definitely blogworthy and I promise to write about it later. Second of all, three days after my birthday, I attended my first boot camp class. If you have not heard of boot camp, let me give you a brief explanation. It is four weeks of high intensity, kick your butt, make you sore in places you never thought possible work outs. I LOVE IT!! And I want to give a big shout out to my friend Abbie for inviting me to sign up and do it with her. We signed up for three days a week, but you can also sign up for 4 or 5 days a week. The classes are 45 min long and offered several times a day at various locations. You can go whenever and wherever its convenient for you. The one Abbie and I do is on our lunch break at Pump It Up, here in Mobile. Don't let the pictures fool you. Those inflatables that my 3 year old would jump in for hours are not that fun when you've got a trainer pushing you!!!

But I have to say, the results speak for themselves. In four weeks I have lost a total of 9 inches!! My clothes fit better (and bigger!!). I feel like I have more energy and I can tell that my endurance is building up with each class. Another reason I find myself attracted to this boot camp thing is that I love seeing so many different women (and some men) with different body shapes, sizes, and athletic ability come together with a common goal and really encourage each other. I have made friends these past four weeks I wouldn't have made otherwise. Oh - and I forgot to mention that when you sign up you also get nutritional counseling. It sounds corny but it really is a lifestyle change. I signed up for the next session the other day when I went for my assessment. It doesn't start until July 12 and I just know I'm gonna miss it next week.

If you live on the Gulf Coast and are interested go to http://www.bodiesbycindy.com/ and check it out!!!