So today is a day to think about the past and the future...

It is totally my BIRTHDAY!  I know there are a couple of other band"stars" out there who share this day with me and to you I wish a wonderful day to you also! 

It being my birthday and less than a week until Bandiversary, I have really spent a lot of time thinking about this past year.  On my birthday last year we were on a mini vacation and I was on my pre-op diet.  That wasn't a fun trip, but was it worth it???  HELL YES!  I would have never thought that I would have been as successful as I have been this year.  If you could have told me on my last birthday that next year I would have dropped from a size 20 to a 4, I would have thought you were on crack.  I didn't believe that it could happen to me. 

It DID happen to me, because I MADE it happen and I am so glad that I did.  I feel amazing. I look amazing.
What could be better? 

I have realized as I have poked through pictures that I spent too much time fat.  I wasted so many of my years making excuses for myself when I should have just taken control.  I feel 10 years younger now.  It is amazing.

This year also met me with the hardest challenge I have yet to face in my life...  the loss of my dear brother.   I have been adjusting to life as an only child, but I miss him terribly.  His passing has changed more about me than the weight loss.  I live life to the fullest everyday now.  I do not wait until it is a better situation to do things I want to do.  Waiting is not in the cards for me anymore.  Life is too short to wait until you have more money, or lose 10 lbs, or the sky is bluer. 

The next year will be an adventure for me.  We are living life and moving on.  The kitchen remodel is going well.  We are still waiting on a few cabinets that are ordered to come in before we can move on further.  It is looking AWESOME!  Maybe, just maybe, I might just want to cook now.  I realized that this kitchen was so dysfunctional, that I just didn't want to spend any time in there.  I used to love to cook. 

Well I have rambled enough now.  I am working on my one year post with all kinds of pictures and such.  I will get that posted next week!