Training to Run the Sunshine Skyway Bridge!

I've been meaning to write this post for the last few months, ever since I signed up for this race.  Why the time keeps getting away from me or I just don't think of it when I have the time to do it I don't know.  Anyway, let's get started!

Ever since I started running 7 years ago I always said that if they ever closed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge not far from where I live for a race, I would run it in a heartbeat.

A year or so ago I heard of a half-marathon trying to get organized over the bridge.  Unfortunately it didn't pan out.  A few months later I heard of a 10K being organized there.  I investigated as well as I could and after determining that it was legitimate and likely to actually be run, I plunked my money down quickly to reserve my spot in this race.  Then the training began.

I ran a half-marathon 2 years ago.  That's 13.1 miles so 6.2 should be no problem except that for all of 2016 and 2017 I had only rarely run more than 5 miles at a time.  It wasn't until August 2017 that I determined to get back to what I'd been running before.  I started out by running for 2 minutes and walking for 10 minutes for just 3.1 miles.  I gradually decreased the time to 2 minutes running and 9 minutes walking, then 8 minutes, and so on while increasing the distance to at least 6.2 miles.  After I signed up for this race I had to put that plan into overdrive to get to where I'd be running the entire race.  This morning I got to the point where I ran for 2 minutes and walked for 1-1/2.  I plan to be running the entire thing on race day, except that I may have to walk some of the uphill portion.

Now, about that uphill portion.  The Skyway bridge is a total of 5.5 miles so this 6.2-mile race will start and end at rest areas on the south and north ends.  The bridge starts out flat over Tampa Bay then about 2 miles in it starts to incline and goes up for a full mile!



There is a little bit of flatness at the top




and then the downhill part is also a full mile



and then it goes back to flat.  The views of God's creation of sky and sea are awesome all along the bridge, but unbelievable at the top!

I like to prepare for my races by running on the course, but that was impossible for this one.  No pedestrians are allowed on the bridge, so I was driving to the next highest bridge I could find in the area and running that.  It's nowhere near the height or length of the Skyway but it was the best I could do.

Two months ago I bought a membership at a gym to use their treadmills to simulate the bridge.  That's great for the uphill, but these treadmills don't simulate downhill.  One time I turned around and walked backward on it while it was in the highest position but that didn't work the same muscles as actual downhill running.  Oh well.  I'm doing the best I can.

Now we're less than 2 weeks out from the actual race and I'm getting excited!  I know I've prepared as well as circumstances have allowed and even though it's my desire to run the entire race, if I have to walk some (especially the uphill portion), there will be no shame.

As in all of my races and even in my training runs, my desire is to glorify God no matter what.  If I run the entire thing, God gets the glory!  If I have to walk some of it, God gets the glory!  If I end up getting injured (please no!) and can't complete it, God still gets the glory for what I accomplish, how I handle the circumstance, and my training leading up to it.

I'll post an update after the race, so be looking for it!

My First Half-Marathon!!!

One morning in training I planned to do a 10-mile run.  I cook hamburger patties and freeze them to eat after my runs for protein.  This particular morning I remembered to take it out of the freezer but left it on the counter.  I went off without water and without my post run chocolate protein drink.  All I had in the car was the hot tea I’d made as part of breakfast. 
Seriously?  God, what are you trying to teach me?  No hamburger patty is one thing, and no protein drink is one thing, but You let me walk out of the house without WATER?  For a 10-mile run???!!! 
Guess what.  My times were faster that day than normal.  I did stop at a store about half way and get some coconut water and a banana, but God was teaching me that I need a lot less than I think I do.

So early in 2015 I made not exactly a resolution, at least I didn't call it that.  I just said and wrote down that this year I would run a half-marathon.  This paper has been on my fridge all year. 

 

A few days before my half-marathon, I saw an item I was interested in on a Facebook sale site but I’d have to drive 12 miles to get it so I decided not to.  Then it hit me that I thought *driving* 12 miles was too far but I’ll be *running* 13.1!

The morning of the race I woke up to nice breezy weather; a little warmer than ideal, but I’ll take it. 
I felt ready.  Prepared.  This sure beats not preparing well and wondering if I’ll make it.  I was more excited than nervous.  At the start I ran about a tenth of a mile before realizing my music wasn’t on!  Then I had to find the beginning song.  I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of getting that ready before the start.  Okay, all set now!  Running well.  I recognize this area I’ve been running for months.  I belong here.  I wonder if I should move from the blocked-off street to the sidewalk I’m familiar with.  Nah, I’ll stay here.  It’ll be some novelty mixed with familiarity. 

My time is great!  A little faster than usual, but not excessively.  It must be adrenaline and the excitement of the race finally happening. 

 

I’m coming to the first refueling point, 45 minutes in.  I didn’t wear my fuel belt because it’s ugly and bulky.  I see Brianne and Nico!  I’m glad she wore an orange T-shirt; that makes it very easy to spot her from far away!  I swallowed some mashed sweet potato.  It provides vitamins and good carbs.  I drank some watermelon juice/coconut water/salt concoction I came up with on my own.  No energy gels or Gatorade for this runner; I’m going as natural as possible!  I walked while it digested and talked with my daughter and son-in-law, but the total walk time was no more than 2 minutes.  See you at the next refueling place! 

I ran across the blocked-off south span of the Park Blvd. bridge, not the north span with a pedestrian lane like I practiced, but I knew that was a possibility.  No problem; I can handle a little bit of unfamiliarity.  Still going strong.  I started 30 minutes early with the walkers and other slow runners, but the fast runners had already caught up with us.  Many as they passed me said, “Good job!”, “Looking good!”, “Keep it up!”, etc.  Ahhhh, positive encouragement!  And from the fast runners!
I met my support crew again at about mile 6.  Yay!  I’m thankful to them for providing me fuel so I didn’t have to carry it myself or rely on what the race provided.

About the halfway point there were lots of people at Seminole City Park to cheer us!  One of them was my running friend Lisa who took the pictures you see here.  Thanks, Lisa, for the encouragement and picture-taking!  I was feeling strong, smiling, and really enjoying the race!

A thought, one of thousands, occurred to me while I was running.  Everyone knows that it’s not wise to cram for a test and that you really should manage your time well and be prepared, but hardly anyone follows that advice.  Let me tell you, FOLLOW IT!  I’m so glad I put in the necessary time training.  It was still work, and I still didn’t end up with a record pace, but I enjoyed it and felt confident.  That was worth all those 4 a.m. alarms to run before the rest of my day started and all the sweat and sore feet I endured for the last 6 months specifically and the last 4+ years generally. 

 

My phone died at mile 10.3.  Grrrr!  I made sure I didn’t unplug it from the charger until right before I left the house and that I had no apps open in the background and it still died on me.  I’ll have to find out why. 
In addition to feeling prepared with the distance, I’m glad I was prepared with this particular course.  The Pinellas Trail is beautiful!

I entered Taylor Park in a different place than I had trained for.  I’m rolling with the flow so it was fine.  I made it to the 1/2-mile-long crushed shell path and my legs didn’t collapse under me.  Back on concrete now and only about half a mile to go!  I can hear the music at the finish line.  I’m coming, I’m coming!  I finished!  I ran my first half-marathon!  I ran 13.1 miles!

 

My time was 3:13:19, which is a 14:45 pace per mile.  That’s slow, but about what I run in training, so it wasn’t a letdown.  I’m happy that I ran and that I finished!  I’m happy that my fitness club friends and others encouraged me to go ahead and do this race and not wait.  I’m happy that God changed my heart and then my mind and my body so that I would even want to run much less actually be able to do it!

My mom and dad were in the park but couldn’t get to the finish line, so  I saw them soon after.  I walked around for a little while drinking water, got some of both kinds of pasta and an orange and a banana.  It’s amazing how good food tastes when you earn it!  I burned about 2600 calories so I needed to replenish some of them.  Wow, recovery is hard.  There was no time to nap in the afternoon because we drove over an hour to meet some family for supper.  I took a pillow and tried to sleep in the car but sleep didn’t come.  I had a post-race massage 3 days after.  Ahhhhh!!!  My body is just TIRED.  I took the whole week after the race off from running and I’m fine with that.

The overlying feeling for this race and much of the training was joy!  I loved the whole race experience and most of the training, especially when the weather cooled down (well, cool for Florida).  I felt joy each time I ran a new distance in the weeks leading up to the race, starting with 10 miles.  The joy of the Lord is my strength!

10!

In my last post I wrote about not having motivation and wondering if my running days were numbered.  I was just running mechanically but not enjoying it. 

Now I’m happy to say the times they are a changin’! 

I had to ramp up my 3.1-mile runs to 6.2 to prepare for the midnight race I’ve run on July 3 the last few years and then I didn’t want to lose that fitness by dropping back to 3.1, so I held steady at 6.2 for most of my runs although the summer heat and humidity were ridiculous even before dawn.

After contemplating if I should attempt a half-marathon in December, two months ago I took the plunge and signed up for one!  It was exciting and scary at the same time, but there’s a saying that if your dreams don’t scare you they aren’t big enough.  This one scared me so it’s just the right size - big enough to require work to achieve, but still manageable. 

I have a good plan of increasing my distance by a mile every 2 weeks.  Having a goal race to train for has given me back my motivation!  The summer months are just so hot and humid in Florida and I didn’t take that into account when I was feeling so discouraged.  I was going through a dry spell and I’m glad I persevered. 

Last Saturday was scheduled to be 10 miles, the longest distance I’ve ever run.  I ran it and lived to tell about it!

I ran 10 miles, y’all!  10!

I also run on Tuesdays and Thursdays but don’t have the time for long runs then.  They’re less than 4 miles but they keep me in shape so that I don’t become a weekend warrior and risk injury. 

This past Saturday was also scheduled to be a 10-mile run.  When I got to our meeting point I immediately realized I’d forgotten my fuel belt.  It holds four 8-ounce bottles in which I usually have water, juice, smoothie, or protein drink.  It also has a pouch where I keep honey for quick energy.  My heart dropped.  I would have to do 10 miles with only water and I immediately began trying to remember where on the course water fountains were.  Also, I usually bring a hamburger patty (protein) and chocolate protein drink for after my run and I had remembered neither.  I’m going to have to set my fuel belt on my purse the night before these long runs so I don’t forget it.  Or set an alarm on my phone to remember it.  Or both.

 

 

Then I remembered that when I mapped out our route the night before, our turnaround point would be right at a convenience store.  I tucked away my debit card so I could buy something there and decided to make the best of it.  I had previously been fueling every 30 minutes on long runs and over the last month or so had stretched it to 45 minutes.  I’d really be stretching it now!  It would be well over an hour before I refueled.  Well, what could I do?  We started running and I drank water at the first fountain we came to, about 3 miles in.  That wasn’t so bad.  I do almost 4 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays with no water or any other fuel. 

We’d had to add about half a mile early on due to unforeseen circumstances so our turnaround point came sooner than I had planned.  We hit 5 miles but the convenience store was still about a mile ahead.  If we turned back at 5 miles there would be no fuel at all except more water.  If we continued on we’d add a mile there and a mile back and make our total distance 12 miles instead of 10.  “Oops!  We accidentally ran 12 miles,” we’d have to say.  J

We decided to go on to the store and get some fuel.  I chose coconut water with pineapple and a banana except that they were 2 for $1 so I got two.  I ate one right away and drank some coconut water.  Then I was left with carrying the bag, the other banana, and the carton of coconut water, which was a little awkward but I had to make it work.  I hoped I could find someone struggling and offer him or her my banana.  Or a homeless person.  I found neither and ended up carrying both items all the way back to the car.  Amanda folded up the bag and put it in her fuel belt.  She hadn’t forgotten hers.  J

It wasn’t until we were about 1-1/2 miles into our return trip that I realized I hadn’t restarted my music.  So God was orchestrating it that I ran so long without fuel *and* without music.  What was going on???

Here’s what was going on.  In the Bible is the story of Gideon, a man who was not great in his family, his community, or his country.  Nothing distinguished him.  In fact, he seemed rather puny and even cowardly.  One day an angel greeted him and called him a mighty warrior.  That certainly wasn’t how Gideon saw himself!  Later on, Gideon became an army leader.  He had gathered 32,000 soldiers to fight their oppressing enemies.  God said that was too many and that if they won the soldiers would boast that they had done it themselves and not give credit to God.  Gideon told the soldiers that if anyone was scared he could go home.  Then 22,000 took him up on the offer!  God said even 10,000 was too many and to conduct a test.  Only 300 men passed the test and the rest were sent home.  With 300 soldiers Gideon stood still and watched the enemy soldiers destroy themselves in chaos and confusion!  God had taught him that he could get by on and be victorious with much less than he had thought.

That’s what God was showing me.  Having and using a fuel belt isn’t wrong; in fact, it’s a very good idea, but I can’t trust in it.  I need to trust in God and His ability to sustain me. 

Later Amanda and I decided we could cut out a loop we did earlier and not make the run 12 miles.  Then we would decide at 10 what to do.  Ten miles came and we decided to go to 10-1/2.  At 10-1/2 we were so close to where we started that we decided to just run to that spot and then stop.  We ended up running a total of 10.67 miles!  More than half a mile farther than we had planned.  And we’re both still alive to tell about it!

I had the thought the day before this run to get breakfast afterward and now I *seriously* needed some nutrition!  There’s a nearby diner I’d gone to before and is good so I had checked their menu and found steak and eggs on the breakfast part.  Oh yeah!  Protein and protein!  Just what I need after a big workout!  I went there but the waitress said they’ve never had steak and eggs and she would have to look at their website and find out why that was on the menu posted there.  Sigh.  I settled for a 3-egg omelet, home fries, and a biscuit.  My running app said I had burned over 2000 calories on that 10.67-mile run so I should’ve been ravenous to replenish some of them.  I ate my biscuit, a few bites of home fries, and only half the omelet.  What?!  How can that be?  I don’t understand, but I’ve learned enough over the past 6 years to know to stop when my hunger is satisfied, not when I’m stuffed. 

The next two Saturdays are scheduled to be 11-mile days.  We’ll see God has in store and what He wants to teach me.  This is exciting!

An Unexpected 15K

It all started last Tuesday when a friend posted on our church's running team's Facebook page that she couldn't run a scheduled race due to another commitment.  She asked if anyone wanted to take her place.  I asked questions and checked the information about the race and the course.  When I first heard it was a 15K (9.3 miles), a distance I've never run before, I thought I could alternate running a mile and walking a mile and do it with no problem.  Then I found out that they have a 10K and a 5K and the challenge is to run one at 7:00 a.m. and then the other at 8:15 a.m.  Oh.  My two 10K times were between 1 hour and 20 minutes and 1 hour and 25 minutes, so that presented a problem.  With some input from my running partner and a couple other friends, I decided to try it.  If I wasn't able to run the 5K due to taking so long to run the 10K, that would be okay.  Usually Wednesday is one of my rest days from running, but since I now had a 15K to run in three days, I figured I'd better hit the pavement.  I like running two mornings a week in the dark with my running partner, but I realized I missed running a little later so I can see the sunrise.  There were some beautiful ones on those few training mornings!

 

I ran 3.1 miles on Tuesday, my usual distance, with no problem except the blinding sun in my eyes. 

 

 

 

At first I didn't like it, but my perspective changed after a few more times of turning and running into this BOOM SUN! It was the SON saying, "I'm here! I'm more present than this sun that's bothering you. I'm closer than this sun and you don't want Me to go away like you want it to!" No, Jesus, no I don't! Sometimes Jesus is like that - BOOM! IN YOUR FACE! and sometimes He seems far away in the sky and not bothering you. Yesterday, on my first training for this unexpected race, He needed me to know how close He was. :-)

I ran 4 miles on Wednesday, 5 on Thursday, and somewhere between 5 and 6 on Friday.  I tried for 6 but just ran out of steam.  I wasn't used to running so many days in a row, and increasing by a mile a day is a huge jump!  I knew I had done the best I could in such a short time, and God would have to do the rest.  On the way home, though, I started feeling like I should've pushed through then felt like I might have fainted from dehydration if I had.  I asked God, "Why do you keep throwing such big challenges in front of me?"  He answered, "Because I work on a large scale, Michele.  You can't do this on your own; only with my help."  If it was just an easy little 5K, which I do several times a week, no problem.  Even a 10K I've done twice now.  But a 15K, well…that's different.  And only 3 days to prepare for it?  Definitely God.   

This bench sums up my training:

The night before the race I was feeling my usual pre-race jitters.  I decided to pack the things I would need and a few more things just in case.  That took all of 10 minutes and did nothing to ease the nervousness.  I woke up on time, and my mom, daughter, and I made it down to the venue without being late.  I put my watch on and noticed that the band has started to crack. 

 

I got it as a birthday gift and it's had a good three-year run.  Time to shop for another one.  It still works and still straps on; I've just gotta "watch" it.  J  I picked up my race packet and warmed up my legs for the start of the 10K. 

I'm off and running!  It felt good to be among other athletes (it still feels weird to consider myself an athlete).  The race atmosphere was not making me run faster, though.  I walked about 1-1/2 minutes after each water station.  I'd get a cup of water and pour it on my head.  Then I'd get another cup or two to drink.  They had only Gatorade at the second station.  Gatorade = chemicals going into my body.  I started wondering why I didn't make my own Gatorade the night before.  I found a recipe for it on Pinterest and have made it before with only water, salt, Sucanat (less processed sugar), and fruit for flavor.  Well, there was nothing I could've done about it during the race.  I figured I was sweating and would be drinking enough water the rest of the day to flush out the chemicals.  Still…

About halfway through the second mile I smelled wood smoke.  BBQ!!!  Mmmmmm!!!  It was coming from the Saturday Morning Market.  I wanted to stay right there and just breathe, but I had a race to run. 

I saw no one I knew either running or lining the route except my friend's husband from church.  He's a policeman and was stopping traffic for the race.  I called his name and waved as I ran by.  He congratulated me, which carried me quite a while. 

As we rounded Mirror Lake, at about mile 3, I saw a woman ahead of me wearing a T-shirt that on the back said, "True strength is not giving up even when everyone would understand if you did." 

I told her if I had a camera I'd take a picture of it!  I continued running and finally made it past the farthest point I had gotten to in training.  I was in unfamiliar territory.  Well not really, since I was born in this city and have lived here my whole life, but I had never run and probably never even driven on this particular street.  My right foot felt like it was developing a blister, maybe from running on the slope of the road for 5 miles.  I tried to get more toward the middle.  We turned onto Coffee Pot Boulevard, which I've been running once a week for a few months.  I started to run faster the last 1/10 mile when I saw the finish line!  I made it in just under 1 hour and 25 minutes.  I walked straight to my mom and daughter,

took a big drink of water, got a square of Dove dark chocolate, and asked them if the 5K had already started.  One of them said it had and one said it had not because she never heard the announcement.  Okay.  The 5K *had* already started but I saw walkers just past the start line.  My feet hurt but I speed walked and half ran.  The chocolate didn’t seem to give me much energy but it sure tasted good!  I was trying to catch up to the back-of-the-pack walkers.  I wove around people with dogs, people with strollers, and people lined up 8-wide across the entire street.  Sometimes I had to walk because it was so crowded, sometimes because of fatigue, and sometimes because of drinking water.  At certain points I jumped up onto the sidewalk to get around people and sometimes jumped back down to the street for the same reason.  It was almost like an adventure run!  I finished in 2 hours 11 minutes and 41 seconds, but I didn't stop my watch the couple minutes between races.  I ran the 5K in roughly 43 minutes, slower than I usually do, but not bad considering how much walking I did.  I stopped where my mom and  daughter were but then went to get my medal. 

All the way through both races I was prepared for the fact that I might not get a medal because I wouldn't finish the 10K in time and then didn't make the official start of the 5K.  I told myself it was okay and that I had the personal satisfaction of doing a 15K with three days of preparation.  I walked up to the medal tent and they must've seen that my bib said 15K (I really hadn't compared my bib to others) and they gave me a 15K medal with no questions asked.  J  It made me very happy! 

Race organizers had set up about eight kiddie pools filled with ice and bottled water.  After making my way down the avenue of vendors and getting a massage (ahhhhh!), I walked back past the pools.  Several hours after being filled most of the ice had melted and almost all of the waters had been taken.  A few of the pools had just melted ice in them.  I bent down and soaked first one hand and the other in the icy water.  My feet were wet from having poured water on my head at each water station, so it was an easy decision to put first one fully shod foot and then the other in one of the pools!  It wouldn't have taken much to convince me to sit down!  I had brought dry socks and shoes but no dry clothes, so I just got my feet wet.  I stood there for a few moments until it got too cold and then I stepped out and went back to my family. 

We went to lunch at Cracker Barrel and I ordered protein to rebuild my muscles.  Eggs, sausage, and yogurt, along with a blueberry muffin for carbs, a strawberry on the yogurt parfait for yumminess, and sweet tea for...well, because it's sweet tea! 

Terry, thank you for not being able to run the race yourself and giving me another opportunity to let God work through me!  Like I said in my very first blog post, my reason for blogging is to encourage people to allow God to dream big within them so that together they and He can do amazing things, hard things, things that they'd never be able to do on their own.  And to encourage them to give Him the glory and credit for them.

100-pound Celebration!

I had my 100-pound celebration recently, hosted by my friend Melisa.  (She's the one on the right.  The one on the left is my friend Brenda.) 

We had a display area just inside her house with collage frames that show the progression of what God is doing in my life. 

 

 

From this

 

 

to this.

 



 

 

Collage of me from birth to age 18, Made To Crave (one of the tools that helped me lose 100 pounds), and a steak, egg, and cheese on a biscuit from Yuckdonald's (more on that later). 

 

 

 

Collage of me from 19-38, bowl of white rice (what I used to eat when working late at night so I would have energy.  It didn't usually work.), some race pictures, my Gasparilla 8K medal, and the cross that I nailed the word "overeating" to.  (Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.  Galatians 5:24)

 

 

 

 

Collage of me from 39-41 and the questions about my journey that Melisa and I made up.

 

 

More race pics (midnight 5K in 2012), A Hunger for God by John Piper, and the printouts of the questions and my responses when I did The Lord's Table online Bible Study.

 

Some of my race bibs.

My old fat clothes!  The top is a size 3X and the shorts are a size 26/28.  The way they're hanging they don't look all that big, but they are. 

More of Jesus, Less of Michele!  That's what it's all about!

Look at these encouraging friends I have who came to help me celebrate this milestone!

Clockwise, Lynette, Wendy, Rob (my brother), and Cassie

 

Lisa and Pat (Terry's husband - How is there not a picture of Terry in here?)

 

Crystal, Brandice, Melinda, Tatiana, and Fancy

And encouraging family!  I love them!   

My dad and mom! 

 

Randy eating salad.  Yes, salad.  With lettuce and tomatoes and everything.  And no bacon bits (not that there's anything wrong with real bacon).

Jeff, Cheryl, and Sofia

 

How is there not a picture of my precious Brianne in here?  She helped by making a PowerPoint of my past, present, and future (my Ragnar 200-mile relay race coming up in February). 

I had been gathering ideas for food and décor from Pinterest for quite a while.  I wanted the food to taste yummy and be representative of what I actually eat.  I eat mostly real food now, what grows in the ground or on the ground, and very little packaged, processed, fake, food-like stuff.  I don't eat salads all the time, but I do like them so we had a couple different kinds and wraps so people could make a salad sandwich. 

 

 

Lots of fresh fruit (strawberries!) and veggies, but also brownies - dark chocolate brownies with strawberries that I picked mixed in.  Yum!  My chickens (Helen, Jane, and Penny) supplied the deviled eggs.  

 

 

 

My friend, personal trainer, and nutrition coach, Brandice Lardner of http://fitnessinfusiononline.com/brought this plate of veggies with 100# artfully placed!  Love it! 

 

 You better believe there was a chocolate fountain!  It wasn't the focal point of the party, but we did enjoy it!  Moderation is the key. 

Look at that beautiful cake Melisa had made!  I love the colorfulness and the message!

 

I had the idea of making a paper chain with 100 links to give people a visual idea of how many 100 is.  It starts behind the chair, goes up to the top of the window, across, down, drapes, goes up again, and hangs down.   

 

 

Then I decided to make one of the miles I've run in official races.  57!

 

And one of miles I've run in training.  This includes boot camp and fitness club workouts.  1156!!!  I've run one thousand one hundred fifty-six miles/workouts in training!  So that 57 miles I've run in official races is like the tip of the iceberg and the 1156 is like the huge part of the iceberg you don't see because it's underwater.  Wow!

It starts at the bottom of the door, goes up to the top, drapes,

 

 

drapes, drapes, draaaaaapes,

 

draaaaaaapes,

 

draaaaapes, drapes,

 

drapes, drapes,

 

drapes, drapes,

 

drapes, drapes,

 

 and when Brianne and Fancy ran out of room they did this!

 

 

 

 

Look at me serving cake and not stuffing my face with it or licking my fingers!

 

This is one of the things that started my weight loss.  I used to go through the Yuckdonald's drive through and order a steak, egg, and cheese on a biscuit instead of on a bagel because I was saving carbs that way.  I was so deceived.  Yes, I was saving a few carbs but I didn't need that sandwich at all.  There are almost 700 calories just in the sandwich, roughly half of the calories I should have in a day!  Not that I count calories, but still…!

On two different trips to the beach I collected sand, brought it home, and weighed it to get 100 pounds.  It halfway filled this storage bin.  I had to take about half of it out and put it in smaller buckets to transport it to Melisa's house and even then I had to have my daughter help me lift it into and out of the car.  How did I used to carry this around on my body 24/7??? 

 

 

I love color, and Melisa sure provided it!  I'm so grateful to her for helping me plan and for hosting this party!