one year today

I just realized that today is the exact one-year anniversary of the day I started on this weight-loss journey. Wow! And if you average out my weight loss, I have lost a pound a week, which is pretty good. I've come a long way, baby! I'm still not officially at my goal yet, but I'm feeling pretty content with the way things are, and I'm happy with my appearance now. I'm just so proud of how I've improved my level of fitness, my endurance, and my strength and muscle tone. Go, me!

I'm having a very nice time in Effingham. It's been low-key, but then I didn't expect high excitement. :) I've really been enjoying hanging out with my Patty-friend, and also very much enjoying my downtime in the hotel - just chillin' on the bed, reading, watching TV, working out, taking a dip, etc. For lunch today, Patty made this delectable dish involving asparagus, Italian sausage, potato gnocchi, and Parmesan cheese. Shut up! It was muy delicioso. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go to a spinning class and an abs class with some friends, and tomorrow evening, some of us are eating out at this really fabulous restaurant called the Firefly. There might be a kaffee-klatch Tuesday morning, and Tuesday evening, Patty and I are going to hit a kickboxing class. So, I'm not slacking off on my exercise while I'm here!

OK, I've been saving the really cool story for the end. Yesterday, Patty and I were driving around doing some shopping, and Patty nonchalantly turned to me and asked "Do you remember how you felt when you were at the very beginning of your pregnancy?" I said "Why? Do you think you might be pregnant?" She said "maybe," and I asked her how late she was. She revealed that she was about a week late, and I asked if she had taken a pregnancy test. When she replied "no", I just about jumped out of my seat! To me, the concept of sitting on that uncertainty and not rushing out to buy a test is completely and totally foreign. I would have taken a test the minute I had the slightest inkling I might be prego! So, I immediately declared that we must drive right to Walmart, purchase a test, and take it in the Walmart bathroom. :) Amazingly, Patty agreed to this like a trouper. Later, I felt a bit guilty at making her take the test in such an unsavory setting, but that's neither here nor there. We procured the test and proceeded, together, into the handicapped stall in the bathroom. I turned my back and studied the instructions while Patty peed, and when she was done, she set the stick down on the TP dispenser. I immediately whipped around and grabbed the stick to read the result. What I didn't know was that rather than just peeing on the absorbent tip of the stick, Patty had lost complete control of her bladder and had crazily sprayed pee all over the whole darn thing. So, I actually touched her pee! No big whoop, really, but boy, we got laughs out of that for the rest of the day! The way it unfolded was this: I whipped around, grabbed the stick, read the result (which had appeared instantaneously), and said to her "You're pregnant! And by the way, I just touched your pee." :) It was pretty neat to actually be with someone at the moment when she found out she was pregnant. We went back to her house and told her husband, who is, of course, thrilled. This will be child #3, joining Danny and Charlotte. Congratulations, Patty and Bil! And now that I've touched your pee, we're truly bonded for life. :)