Hello Darlings! It’s Been Awhile…

So, here we are in mid-April trying to play catch-up with each other. It’s been a roller coaster of a life since the last post but all’s well. I’ve been off the Beachbody wagon for many reasons but with the wedding just around the corner, an adjustment is imperative! The dress is hanging in my closet (a beautiful deep pink/magenta satin number) & it still fits, mercifully. I start back up with ChaLean Extreme next week after my trek up to PA to visit some girlfriends. I suspect there will be a few no-no meals during that weekend so I’ll be back at the workout with a vengeance. I’ve been eating way too much candy…until now when I realized this body can’t handle that much sugar & still function with vigor. Twizzlers and M&Ms, I’ll miss you L

Anyhow, back to some recent thoughts. My life turned upside down when I decided to enter a treatment center in February. It was the best decision I ever made which turned into the best month of my life, truly. I learned some valuable lessons & gained some tools to navigate my new life with less anxiety, fear, & adverse consequences. Some of my friends & family members aren’t keen on the New & Improved MO but hopefully they’ll eventually be able to tolerate her at least. I don’t relate in the predictable way I used to. That bothers some people but I like it. My new friends have proved to be essential in my recovery & I suspect they will be lifelong friends from here on out. Other relationships are tricky…I’m not doing too well in that department.

On another bright side, I’ve been out on several photo safaris & have come back with some fairly good snapshots. I’ll be out in the wilderness next week to catch some Springtime scenes. I really need to learn more about the camera before the wedding. If the weather is cooperative, the wedding will be outside so I’m hoping my forays in the next few weeks will give me the experience I need to capture some beautiful pix as my eldest walks down the aisle. There will lots of wonderful subjects…relatives & friends I haven’t seen for too long. I always love looking into the eyes of relatives & see our common ancestors. And to observe them to see how we all move, speak, look like each other. Gene pools are extremely interesting! For the most part there’s no denying my heritage and I’m ok with that…mostly! We’ll see if the feeling is reciprocated :-/

So where am I going from this day forward? Not sure. But it will be a good journey. There will be some fallout, already has been, but through diligence & desire for a better life, there’s no doubt I’ll be ok. Some of you will come along with me, others won’t. But, I’m going anyhow.

My 55th Birthday

I was already thrilled at the notion of being 55, 5 being my favorite number. My friend/Beachbody Coach Richard & I drove down to Bedford VA to pick up a new Beachbody pal, Tammy, so she could spend the weekend with me & go to the Tony Horton book signing. It was a pleasant journey through the countryside, flowing conversation about this & that, some serious, some not. We got Tammy, went to the D-Day Memorial, then headed back North. I made dinner, we chatted, then crashed. As I was getting ready the next morning I heard Sarah come in the door (she always makes a grand entrance!), come upstairs bang on my bedroom door. I thought that was pretty odd as she never knocks. When she came in, who was right behind her? MARY! The little sneak had taken the bus down from NYC the previous night, staying with Sarah. What a GREAT surprise! Truly, it never crossed my mind that she’d be there for this birthday. But, there she was ☺ She knew I was going to be away all day but that was ok. She had pals to visit. Steve, Tammy & I met Richard & Stephanie at the event. We met up with some of our other Beachbody pals & then the fun started. Ira Winkler (our upline Coach) introduced Tony to a resounding hooray. The workout was awesome! I made it through most of it. It was a challenge to be sure. Apparently I am completely lame at Kenpo & got several comments about how badly I suck. That’s ok. When there’s no more room for improvement you’re dead, I suppose. Anyhow, we all had a great day! Tammy & I went to Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s as she had never seen either market. I made some chicken for dinner, we chatted until 10:30-ish at which time I had to go say hi to my pillow. It was a wonderful birthday.

Tammy & I were up early so we could get on the road in time for me to make the trek there & back by 5:30pm. More fine conversations. Sarah had cooked up some surprise birthday scheme for Sunday since I had Tammy over Saturday night. The surprise was dinner at The Tortilla Factory! Oh boy, she couldn’t have chosen anything better for me. LOVE LOVE LOVE Mexican food! She had a silly Birthday Girl crown that I wore until I went to bed. Afterwards we had 31-Flavors ice cream cake. It was one of the best birthdays I can remember.

Here’s something about me: I love growing relationships. This li’l ol’ heart of mine is so full of love. It feels warm & wonderful to give that love away. And those special people in my life who accept it so freely make my world a sweet place. One of the best gifts of this birthday has been the chance to grow & nurture some really deep relationships with people who choose to love me back. You know who you are & I want to make sure you know I love you with all my heart. Thank you to everyone who made this birthday so joyful.

Ireland! (long)

Good grief, what’s wrong with me?! Ireland was months ago (6/11/10-6/21/10 & I still haven’t posted anything on here about that. I have to say that this trip tied for #1 so far. Hawaii & Ireland. Overview: the Irish are THE MOST WONDERFUL PEOPLE ON THE PLANET! Beck & I went over to visit Mar & Beto before they left the Emerald Isle. Below is Mar’s itinerary for us ☺ These are Mary’s words:


OK, I've been majorly geeking out lately and planning everything so we can get a good taste of Ireland. I've already booked most of our accomodations too; We'll be staying at a hotel in Killarney, hostels in Dingle and Galway and a guesthouse in Belfast. I still need to figure out 2 more nights. We need to get from Galway way north so we can see the Causeway. I was thinking Co. Donegal would be good. We were there at New Years and it's amazing, there's also the highest cliffs in Europe at a place called Slieve League that I'd like to check out. I think we should go straight from Galway to Donegal (not sure how long the drive would be, probably about 4 hours is my guess) and stay up there for 2 nights. We could stop somewhere along the way (somewhere in Connemara, maybe), that would mean staying at 4 different places for 4 nights, which is kind of a lot of moving about in my opinion.

Anyway, here's the agenda as of now. What do you think?? Also I think it would be good to get a book about Ireland, so see if you can find anything good at the library or something and I'll do the same.
June 12 Mom and Becca arrive in Dublin. Our place


June 13
Get car, drive to Killarney. Via N7 to Adare and then N21 to Killarney or maybe quickest route is Dublin to Limerick and then to Killarney (4.5 hr). See national park and enjoy town. Maybe see Torc Waterfall, Ross Castle, Muckross House etc.
Booked
June 14
Drive the Dingle Peninsula (Slea Head Drive and Conor Pass drive) and stay overnight in Dingle Booked
June 15
Drive to Tarbert to get the 10:30 ferry over to Killimer, Co. CLare. Then drive up the coast to the Cliffs of Moher. Have lunch there. Afterwards, continue on N67 up the coast via The Burren and Ballyvaughan and Kinvara to Galway. Wander around city and spend the night Booked
June 16 Day trip to Aran Islands. Overnight Galway Booked
June 17 Tour Connemara and Co. Mayo, then onto Donegal.
June 18 Drive to the fishing port of Killybegs and on to Teelin to view Slieve League sea cliffs, which reach 1,972 feet, making them the highest in Europe. Continue through the majestic Glengesh Pass to Ardara. Overnight in Donegal
June 19 Drive to Giant’s Causeway then drive via Antrim coast to Belfast for the night Booked
June 20 Drive back to Dublin, return car.
June 21 Mom and Becca leave :o(


6/13/10 We headed off on our trek around the Emerald Isle, first stop Killarney. Mar fixed the itinerary & I have to tell you that if you ever need a ‘fixer’ for wherever you want to go, she’s the ONE! We taxied to Dublin Airport to pick up our rental car. (taxi drivers share their life stories, like it or not. I like it.) The guy at the rental place gave us an ‘upgrade’ to a larger vehicle since there were so many of us…he didn’t want us to be uncomfortable in the compact car I ordered. BIG MISTAKE! We got a minivan that didn’t fit on the tight Irish roads. More on that later. We headed south to Killarney & ended up at Darby O’Gill’s . Yes, of the ‘little people’! The bathroom was full of mold but the rest of the place was ok. First to Muckross Estate, Torc Waterfall, Ross Castle.

6/14/10 A leisurely morning included internet & breakfast. Off we set to Dingle Peninsula. We drove through Conor Pass which was absolutely harrowing in a minivan. I was struck by the incredibly green hills, cows, sheep, stone houses & fences, beautiful roses EVERYWHERE! Regarding the sheep…Beck said to a sheep “Get a haircut!” To which Mary replied, “You can’t heckle a sheep!” We had lunch in the car at the beach at Slea Head because it was very chilly & windy. We stayed at a charming hostel in Dingle called The Rainbow Hostel. Dinner was in town at The Diner after which we went back to the hostel & made reservations for our stay in Donegal. Hit the pillow hard ☺

6/15/10
We traveled to the Cliffs of Moher on a warm, sunny day. What a spectacularly beautiful spot! We had a picnic on the edge after we hiked up a trail next to a pasture full of cows & 1 handsome bull. Bet he was a happy guy. Beto would walk a few steps & then find something interesting to photograph, take a few more steps & repeated this all the way up the trail. It took him FOREVER to reach us. Yes, he got some fantastic shots. Gas cost just over 1euro/litre. That’s right, I said per LITRE! That evening we drove to Galway & found our hostel, The Sleepzone. It was VERY nice. All of us piled into 1 room with 2 bunks. We did a little shopping then found a neat pub, Taafes, for dinner. There was traditional music to entertain us. We thought about adding the Aran Islands to our itinerary but decided against it after talking with the guys at the hostel desk. They said there really isn’t ‘much’ there. We could use our time better.

6/16/10
This next day was spent motoring around to the beach. The sand was composed of large particles of all kinds of shells. The seaweed was colorful & beautiful Beto must have taken hundreds more pix! We had out picnic in the car because it was pretty nippy out in the wind. We decided to fix dinner in that night. We walked to the market & bought pasta, shrimp, pesto tomatoes & lunch for the next day on the road. Beck, Mar & Beto went out for another night on the town while I zonked.

6/17/10
Beto left us at this point in the journey. Ha had to get back to Dublin to work during the FIFA finals. Off we went on the road again, this time to Killybegs in County Donegal. What a cute name! We dropped our stuff off at the Fintragh House, a private residence acting as a bed & breakfast. We then trekked to Slieve League, another beautiful natural attraction. We hiked to old towers, up & down hillsides, took some beautiful pix. We had dinner at the Tara Hotel in town then back to the b&b to chill. We agreed to mover on to Derry rather than spend another day in Donegal.

6/18/10
Breakfast was delish. A traditional Irish breakfast. On the way to Derry we stopped at Glenveagh Castle & National Park . It was actually built by a wealthy guy from Philadelphia. It was a smallish castle but still beautiful. The gardens & grounds were stunning. We had a picnic lunch before heading on to Derry. Our accommodations in Derry were rather icky. The place smelled terrible & everything was dingy. The bed was terribly uncomfortable, too. Just awful. But oh well, it was home for a night. We took a walk around the old city walls, which was really cool. We had dinner at the restaurant SPICE. The food was pretty good but a bit too salty. Gosh, I sound like such a complainer all of a sudden!

6/19/10
After breakfast we took off toward Belfast. On the way we stopped at the Giant’s Causeway, which was totally awesome! We toured the Bushmill’s distillery. Very interesting tour. Mar & Beck got a sample taste of the whiskey…they hated it! None for me, thanks! Ikk. We shopped around Belfast, got food to fix dinner, watched tv (Kardashians, haha) until 11:30pm when we all crashed.

6/20/10
Bright & early is was back on the road toward Dublin. We had to skedaddle in order to get the car back to the airport on time. I was absolved of ALL damage done to the car! The agent looked it over & said, “Oh, this damage was already here when you picked it up.” Which, of course it wasn’t but thank goodness I purchased unlimited insurance. We were all pretty tired after our circumnavigation of the Emerald Isle. It was a wonderful trip. I could not have asked for better traveling companions. Those kids were delightful. I was relieved when they took the steering wheel away from me early in the journey. I AM A TERRIBLE LEFT SIDE DRIVER & I don’t ever want to have to do it again!

6/21/10
Beck & I tearfully packed up & said our goodbyes, hopped in a cab & got to Dublin Airport in plenty of time. There was a snafu at Newark Airport but we got home safe & sound. Overall impressions/ The Irish people are the most friendly, helpful, delightful set of people I have ever encountered. I’d go back in a heartbeat. I owe so many thanks to Mary for her exemplary planning & research that made the trip pretty much seamless. The itinerary gave us a chance to see many of the highlights Ireland has to offer. And thanks also to Beto for putting up with me & Beck for so many ‘cozy’ days at their place & out on the road. I could be the luckiest Mom on the planet. Yes, I am ☺

Now, to plan the next journey.

New Venture. Join me?

These previous posts are from my Team Beach Body website: www.beachbodycoach.com/Maura5
Also check out www.shakeology.com/Maura5
I’m on a new path ☺

1/2 Way To 30 Days!
November 11, 2010 11:04 AM

Good morning!? Yes, it is. A day of celebration for me here at the homestead. I'm 1/2 way to my first 30 days with Beach Body! I've met with my coach & we're coming up with some exciting ideas to grow our biz. Stay tuned. (I'm supposed to be doing my homework now but words keep popping into my head, begging to be let out to jump onto the page) I connected with my upline upline coach Dave Hunt who seems to think my blog posts are spunky (I like that :-) & several other BBers I met at the Craig Holiday event, referrrals from Richard & random requests. All good people.
My last blog entry was about the new hole in my belt. That was so significant that I've been speechless since then. (shut up, everyone who knows me :-/) There are many postings by other BBers saying, "If I can do it, you can too!" It's true. The neatest thing about BBers is that they're all so friendly, encouraging & accepting. If you decide to join us here in this wonderful enterprise, you'll find countless other people just like you who are looking to improve their time here on this lovely planet. With better nutrition, fitness, wellness & energy you'll find that your days are much more pleasant than when you slogged through your days waiting to greet your pillow. Generally it's an hour or less out of your life everyday that gives you exponential benefits. If you can't keep up with the workout hosts, no biggie...they'll inspire you to do WHAT YOU CAN DO & keep coming back to try harder next time. You can do it! And you'll be happy you did. We BBers are all ages, shapes, sizes but what we ALL share is a desire to make life better physically, mentally & financially for those we care about.
Ok, going to do my homework now..
By Maura5

Addendum
November 9, 2010 7:03 PM
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Belt:
It's on the last hole. Thank goodness I have a leather punch to add another. I'm cursed with a body that gains & loses weight proportionately. Result, few can tell there's been a change. Well, I see my body every hour I'm awake so I can see results. That's what really matters here. That & helping others realize those changes in themselves. On that note, I need to buckle down...get it?...on my business.
By Maura5

So...day 13!
November 9, 2010 5:50 PM
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Last night I heard Craig Holiday 's presentation to the NOVA contingent. Thanks to Chris Batu. And thanks to my coach Richard Harrison who steered me to this event. What came through mostly for me was not Craig's successes with his various biz associations but his passion for helping others. I can relate. So me.
Back to MO's day 13. Still on track fitness-wise. Biz-wise I'm still working. Reaching out...
Working on getting my push-ups lower. Oh man, that's difficult. Hurts.
Tomorrow is 2 weeks...Nobody's more thrilled than I!
By Maura5

Ok! Ok!
November 5, 2010 5:46 PM
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Putting pix up this weekend. I've been crushed under the pressure to do so...
By Maura5

Friday Fixin's
November 5, 2010 1:33 PM
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Nutrition has become an issue for me now more than ever before except when I was pregnant. That pot of potato leek soup I made on Wednesday became potato leek turkey bacon soup. I was feeling low on protein despite enjoying Shakeology most days. This morning's Burn Intervals taxed me more than I liked. My body was craving protein. After a bowl of that tummy-tickling soup I feel great again. So what am I going to do with this renewed sense of wellness? Work on biz cards & those stickers I mentioned yesterday, but not until I do soome yardwork on this beautiful Fall day. If you're looking for a fun way to spend a spare hour (unless you're already in Super Gym), come on by! I have an extra rake & broom. You can use the broom I don't ride on ;-)
By Maura5
1 Comments

Alrighty Then
November 4, 2010 4:32 PM
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So, here I am at day ? I've lost track of time and that's usually a good thing for me. You guys go ahead & calculate my numbers if you want. This AM at TNT the news was very good. Since our last weigh-in/body fat check 6 weeks ago I've lost 6 lbs & 1% body fat! I attribute 3 lbs at least to ChaLean & Shakeology. The body fat loss I think is prob 50/50 TNT & Beach Body. My TNT Coach Chris works me so hard cuz he knows I want it. Today was a day of increased weights & I could. If I can, you can. Besides it's FUN!

My next thing is to get biz cards to pass out at any moment's notice & stickers to attach to those handy Shakeology pouches as my main marketing tool. (This morning was a lifesaver green shake w/pineapple tidbits. If I hadn't done that I woulda died. At least it felt that way) I haven't had any 'wow' moments yet as far as friends/colleagues noticing any difference. My problem is that I gain/lose weight proportionately so the changes aren't obvious. A blessing to some extent but eventually, not so much. Gotta get ripped like my cuz Evodna beachbodycoach.com/espringer
Where to go from here? Well, I'm kinda hungry so I'll be going to the kitchen. Recently got an email from Richard's upline Dave Hunt. NEAT! Thanks Dave!
Ok, going to live the rest of my day fully present. Try it, you might like it :-)
By Maura5

The Journey Has Begun
October 28, 2010 12:16 PM

So, this is Day 3 already! C'mon, don't laugh! I know there are still 27 days left in my first transformation month but heck, I need to encourage myself because who can do that better than moi? I decided to start out with ChaLean partly because it seemed geared more toward women than P90X. Don't know if that's intentional. Anyhow, the 5 workouts I've completed in these first 3 days are just perfect for me. I'm a bit clumsy when the movements switch really fast. Practice practice practice, eh? Yesterday especially, I cracked myself up big time when arms & legs were supposed to be doing something 'abnormal'. <------at least for me at this stage. One thing I really like about this program is that Chalene gives tips for neophytes, not just technique-wise but how much weight to use, correct body mechanics, tips to avoid injury & the like. I already know a lot of stuff of that nature since I've been in a weight-training class at the Y for 5 years but it's helpful to have those reminders. I have yet to take measurements & take pix. Am I embarrassed? Yes, to do them & that I haven't done them. Maybe tomorrow...

Until then, I'm off to the rest of this beautiful day feeling strong, healthy & FIT. Have a good one y'all!
By Maura5
1 Comments

RichardHarrison I'm liking this. Maybe you could ghost my blog for me? And get those pics done girl! Don't think about what they look like now; think about what they'r going to look like in 30-60-90 days. Ninety days from now you're going to be pleased about how "embarrassing" those Day One pics were.

Posted on 10/29/10 10:23 PM.

Sad Times

Death has always been a difficult reality for me. Yeh, I know everyone gets there themselves one day & we all grieve for those who go before us but I’ve not yet figured out how to process all that. Today was the memorial service for my neighbor/fellow HOA Board member, friend/ally/enemy/stupid little brother-type guy who found his own way to escape this crazy thing we call life. This prompted my facebook status, “Remember to say 'I love you'. Especially to people who don't think they need to hear it from you...again.” I think most of us need to know we’re special in some way to someone(s) & that makes all the difference sometimes. Most days go by & you’re just some schmuck who has to go here or there for this or that & little things don’t matter. But during those times when little things really DO matter, it’s good to know someone cares & that the person who shows that caring gives a good god damn about you. I must admit that I’ve not followed through on some of those times for other people. Still figuring out how. Until now I hadn’t really thought I had any regrets (well, not big ones). This time around I have one, BIG TIME. Not claiming anything egotistical here by saying anything I might have done or said would have changed anything for this fella, but the fact that I didn’t follow through on showing that I gave a good god damn bothers me. In retrospect, he was my polar opposite. Maybe that’s why this is so difficult. Anyhow, he’ll not get a second chance in this lifetime & I will. Who knows where he’ll show up next? Hope it’s somewhere near me. Gonna punch him in the face.

 

Glass breaking

Breaking Glass:
So, I have some ‘ability’ that allows me to break glass randomly and make structures release. Some of my family members have been witness to the result of this. Recently my right side fireplace door glass burst while I was sitting at my laptop in the dining area. The glass just broke & fell to the floor in front of the door. Nobody was in danger or hurt. This is the usual scenario. Past breakages were never a threat to anyone either. The glass objects just sort of imploded. In the cases of structural release, a shelf in my cupboards just gave way & all the contents came flowing down upon me. Oddly, nothing broke. There are other people to whom this also happens but so far in all of my searching, there’s no explanation. This recent glass-breaking incident happened 10/8/10 just a day after I’d visited a residence previously inhabited by my Reid relatives. From now on, I’ll note my circumstances. Anyhow, I’m kinda glad I have some weird thing going on here. Clearly.