I am Having the BEST Day!!!

I know I've been a bit quiet on the whole blogging business for the last week or so, but things have just been pretty quiet around here. We've done a lot of swimming and a lot of having friends over to play.

Last Wednesday, the girls and I went over to Mimi's, so I could walk and they could swim. What was supposed to be an 8-mile walk with my walking buddies turned into about an 11-mile walk. My shoes had maybe 1 mile left in them, so by Thursday morning I was paying the price. I always try to make my shoes go farther than I should! So Thursday I was at Luke's Locker when they opened buying yet another pair of shoes. What fun!

Biggs was in Spain all last week, so the girls and I just spent Wednesday night with Mimi & Pa. Lots of fun all the way around. The girls conned Mimi into a trip to Learning Express for more Webkins. As if we don't have enough!

Friday morning I woke up and decided the girls and I needed to do something healthy. Sooo... we rode our bikes to the donut shop! We stopped back by the playground at Ault for a little while. Kaitlyn loves playgrounds. Abbie's getting a bit past them, I think. But Kait's all over it.

So now we come to today. A REALLY cool day. I'm kind of in the middle of a Perfect Storm -- but the good kind.

I know ya'll have all heard me talk a ton about working out and losing all this weight. Part of the reason why I share it all is because I want to share that it doesn't matter where you are in your life -- it's never too late to start getting in shape. In our family, the gene pool where our health is concerned is nothing to brag about. And that's part of the reason I take the girls with me when I go to water aerobics -- I want them to see me having fun while exercising. I want them to see me making it a priority in my life.

So this weekend I hit another milestone. Since March 2007, I've lost 20 pounds!!! That's right! I've gone from 150 to 130. From a 10-12 to a 2-4-6. (Okay. I have one pair of size 2 shorts that fit -- so that counts. Right??) I don't have any hang-ups about telling you where I started. If you don't know where you started, there's no way to know how far you've come.

I haven't weighed 130 since Grease was re-released into the theaters. That means that SO many of my friends have never seen me where I am now. But I guess you could really say no one has ever seen me here ever. EVER. Even though my weight has been "down here" before, I wasn't in the shape I am now -- with my two little biceps and my "one-pack!"

So anyway, after stepping on the scales this morning and seeing that I was still at 130, a lightbulb went on.

"I wonder if that dress fits."

You know what I mean. You have a that dress. Everyone does. The one that hangs in the back of the closet. The one you just can't get rid of no matter how many Good Housekeeping articles you read about purging your wardrobe.

My dress is black. Sleeveless. Has crocheted lace around the waist. Mid-calf length. Talbots, circa 1996. A classic, according to my Mom.

Some of you will remember it. I wore it a lot.

I wore it to Kelly Lyon's wedding. My "intro" night into the Nimitz crowd. The night Mrs. Sullivan said, "I think we've met before." And I said, "I think that was one of the other girlfriends."

The night I got a little tipsy and Alan got more than a little tipsy, and we sat on the steps at the Majestic and had a heart-to-heart. And he told me I'd better not break his big brother's heart -- that Biggs was sensitive.

The dress.

And it Fits.

Wow.

I went upstairs and had a big party with a box of old clothes I just can't part with. Memories. Many of them outfits my Mom made me.

White linen. Talbots. Wore it to all my wedding showers. Zip!

Way too short dress from Old Navy. Bought it while Biggs and I were dating. On a shopping trip with Jenny Wilkins before she and I had the world's biggest falling out. (Well, the world's biggest at that time.) Zip!

Black and cream long dress with short sleeves that originated in Kayren's closet (I think.) Zip!

Haven't found my hunter green still-starched Rockies, but I'm looking!!!

Ring Dance Dress. Okay. Confession time. Still won't zip. But what was I back then? Maybe a buck-ten??

Anyway, I'm having one of the coolest days ever. And I just had to share. And I have to say that the whole Facebook thing really has kind of helped make this a "good" perfect storm! I love it that it's so easy to reconnect with so many people I haven't heard from in forever!

Today I touched base with Janet Laminack -- one of my old buddies in the AFC. Janet just got back from two years in Ecuador with the Peace Corps. How cool is that??

They had a Facebook and MySpace seminar yesterday at church -- it was geared at protecting your teenagers. I really needed to go to pick up some tips on how to use the thing. But I'm guessing sending "Flair" probably wasn't on their list. If you haven't joined Facebook I recommend it! It's great for reconnecting with old friends while you sit here in a dress you haven't worn since 1997 -- that isn't in style enough to wear it to church, but who cares???

Deep Thoughts. By Kaitlyn.

K: Mom, I think my right foot was born before my left foot.


Me: I don't think so. I'm pretty sure they were born at the same time.


K: Nope. My right foot is bigger.

What's the Plan, Stan??

Okay. If you know me at all, you know I missed the "planning" gene when God was handing them out. I tend to jump in with both feet before I'm totally sure where I'm headed -- and it does make for some interesting adventures!!!

I just did the "jumping in" exercise again!I signed up to walk in the San Diego Breast Cancer 3-Day.

I have no idea how this is all going to work out. It's two weeks after Dallas. So I guess that's 120 miles in 6 days, even if those 6 days aren't all together.

The walking doesn't worry me. I'm in better shape than I've ever been in and have been wanting to take on this challenge for a long time.

The fundraising doesn't really worry me. I'm not afraid to sit outside Wal-Mart with a bucket every day if I have to!

It's the logistics that have me a bit worried. That's two weekends out of November that I'll be gone. Two weekends where Biggs will have the kids. He and the kids would probably have a blast, but it's the guilt factor that would do me in.

I've got to get there somehow, although once I'm there things should be easy. I'll be sleeping in a tent, after all.

And I've got friends on three different teams in San Diego, so surely I can find a couple of couches to surf the night before and the night after.

But I've taken the first step, I'm excited about the adventure, and I guess the plan will just have to work itself out. Right??

You can visit my San Diego fundraising page at http://08.the3day.org/goto/formymom

Catching up....

We've had a hectic week or so, so I'm just now getting these up on the blog.


Here's Kait in the middle of Powdered-sugar donut Heaven!

We went to Dallas last weekend for a whirlwind of activity. Friday night, the Tiara Gang gathered at Rudy's BBQ in Frisco. It just happened to be the day after Anthony's birthday, so we thought we were surprising him with a birthday cake. Turns out, it would have been a surprise if Biggs hadn't told him about it!!!!

On Saturday, we celebrated Kodie & Kamy's birthdays at Amber's house. We were supposed to host a baby shower for Amber on Sunday, but the kids and I had to leave to get to Snyder for Uncle Keith's funeral. While we were at the church, we got word that Jack Martin had passed away. Jack was Jacquelyn Wills, Jeffrey Martin, Judy Church and Janet Merritt's dad. So the girls and I adjusted our schedule to be able to stay an extra day and go to the visitation.

Uncle Keith's funeral was so sweet. They had put his saddle on his casket -- so fitting. We got to spend time with Grandpa Weldon, and a lot of the aunts, uncles and cousins. The girls were thrilled to meet "new cousins" their age -- Jon's girls Sidney and Abigail. We're going to the Lloyd family reunion at the end of July, and the girls are really looking forward to getting to know Sidney and Abigail even better!

On Monday, Abbie & Kait rode Simon out at Uncle Max's. That Simon is a horse with a mind of his own. It's virtually impossible for the girls to get him out of walk -- which is an especially good thing when Kait is on his back! Max decided it was time for the girls to learn to ride poles, and they did a great job!

Jane and Don worked really hard on the riding lesson! :-) Don is doing better -- but still not 100%. Please continue to pray for his recovery and for strength and energy for Granny Nelva.

Here are a couple of video clips of the girls. Max and I both tried to run Simon around the poles. It was kind of a contest, but I'm pretty sure neither one of us won.

Things are so dry out there right now. The winds have blown hard, sapping all of the moisture out of the fields, and they aren't going to have much of a cotton crop this year -- if at all. The one bright spot is in our pastures. After the fires, God blessed us with some great rains. We have great grass, and the tank in the Home pasture is comepletely full. The tank in the Park Pasture also has water in it -- not a common occurrence! The guys may have to hunt around water this fall, but at least they'll have some to hunt around!

We spent Tuesday night with Carla in her new house! We were their first slumber party! Then, we got back here late on Wednesday. Here's the annual July 4th Parade picture. We may not have been at "Our Tree" in Plano, but we're blessed to have good friends to go to the parade with us!!! From the left, Meghan (Amanda's best friend from Canada), Amanda, Abbie, Hannah and Kaitlyn. Amanda and Hannah live across the street and have been a huge blessing to the Biggs family!

So that's it!! One really cool thing happened while we were gone! Team Tiara's goal was to top $38,000 in fundraising by the end of June. That would mean we were topping last year's total. Well.... We topped $39,000!!!! How cool is that?? We still have five months to finish our fundraising. Hang on to your hats!!

Big Hugs,

d.

Money for Nothing & Your Clicks for Free

Money for Nothing and Your Clicks for Free

Please visit http://www.booksforboobies.blogspot.com/ and click on the google ad. Every click earns a few cents to find a cure for breast cancer.

Top Ten Reasons to Tap it for the Ta-Ta’s

10. It don’t cost nothin’
9. You don’t have to sign up for nothin’
8. You can tell all of your friends about it and you get to say “boobies.” The more friends you tell, the more times you get to say “boobies.”
7. It’s better than a sharp stick in the eye.
6. If you’re going to click anyway, you might as well click for a cause.
5. It’s fun and all the kids are doing it.
4. There are 0 carbs in clicking for the cause.
3. It does not require any special skills – just a working mouse.
2. No animals will be harmed in the clicking for the cause.
1. You are raising money to find a cure for breast cancer!!!

Seriously. Go to the site. Click the ad. That’s it! One single click yesterday earned 67 cents!

-- From my precious friend, Caroline

Update from Caroline:
The only rule I'm aware of is that I can't click on it because I set it up. You can click several times, but then it won't allow you to click any more. You don't have to be on the site for any certain amount of time. So far it shows 37 clicks, which has earned $26.65.

From D'Lyn again:
I do think it earns more the longer you stay on there, but I'm not sure.

I'm Walking!!!

If you're one of my 3-Day sponsors, you might wonder if I'm really out training in the summer heat. Well, here are a few pix to put your mind at ease!

Porta-Potty training is an essential part of the 3-Day!!! :-)

Prayer Request

Hi all,
My Uncle Keith passed away this morning. The girls and I are going to stick with part of our original plan for the weekend and go to Dallas tonight for our Team Tiara social, then to Waxahachie tomorrow for Kodie & Kamy's birthday. We'll probably drive to Snyder on Sunday morning.

Please pray for safety for all of us as we travel this weekend.

But more than that, please pray that kindness and love will prevail this weekend. Our extended family is one with some very strong personalities and very passionate people. And I love that. When you need them to go to bat for you -- those are the kind of people you want on your side.

But at the same time, when you have such strong spirits, we tend to clash now and then -- especially when we're grieving and don't know how to deal with it.

So please pray that everyone has a sweet spirit -- one of love and support.

Big Hugs,
d.

Books for Boobies

Hey Gang!
One of our team members is a real, live, published author -- and she has launched a new blog called "Books for Boobies." http://www.booksfor boobies.blogspot .com/

Check it out. And be sure to click the Google ad on the right. She's already made $15 off Google ad clicks for the 3-Day!

Silly Cancer, Boobies are for Boys!

This is so cool!!!

Team Tiara's goal has been to reach $38,000 in donations by the end of June. That's the total we raised last year -- and to accomplish that in just six months would be so cool!

Right now, Team Tiara is at $37,538.74.

But....

My sweet friend Nichole pointed out -- if you add in our California Dreamin' team from the San Diego walk, that adds an additional $11,876.65.

That brings the "Tiara Footprint" to $49,415.39!!! And it's just June! We still have five more months to go!

How cool is that???

When Mammograms Aren't Enough

Biggs just sent me this article:

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB121424766186097419-lMyQjAxMDI4MTI0MzIyNDM3Wj.html

While I'm on here, please continue to pray for my Uncle Keith's family. The brain tumor has now taken his sight. His blood pressure is very low. He doesn't have much of an appetite. And his breathing is now taking these 30-second breaks every so often.

Big Hugs,
d.

Silly Cancer, Boobies are for Motor Boatin'

No post, really. That quote just popped in my head this morning while I was out walking -- 15 miles between yesterday and today. In the get-in-shape realm of things, I'm in 2-a-days. Yesterday I did my bikini class, walked a total of 9 miles and did my weight training. And grand-total-wise, I've lost 18 or 19 lbs. since March 2007. Still working on it!
- d.