Time to shut down the Pillsbury roll production line

Time to get back to eating right and exercising. It seems like the roll factory has been in full effect for far too long and it isnt looking pretty folks. Yep that is right, my diet vacation must come to an end.

Have you ever heard of Dietbet? Basically it's an on online diet game where you set a goal to lose a certain percentage of your starting weight in a predetermined amount of time. Whoever acheives the goal has a chance at winning the money that everyone put in. The bigger the game (as in more participants) the higher the overal winning money pot gets.

Well I am giving this a try & have paid my $25 to play. The game starts Monday & ends in 4 weeks. If I can lose 4% of my starting weight I will get to share the pot of money with the other winners. The total amount in the pot is $10,000 & growing!! I realize that 4% in 4 weeks is going to be a challenge but if it was meant to be easy then it wouldn't be a challenge right? Plus I NEED the motivation and if I can lose weight and make money at the same time that is even better.

Where are you motivation?!?

I seemed to have lost motivation to do any form of exercise. I guess my last 3 attempts at running pain free have caused me to just say screw it! I can't seem to get beyond 2 miles without knee issues. I went to a spin class last week and it was ok. My eating has not been the greatest and I can tell my lack of exercise and bad eating is catching up to me.

I need to quit eating stuff like this ^^

My jeans are so tight it's not even funny. I am so mad at myself !! I am gaining back the weight that I worked so hard to lose & it's frustrating. I could sit here and blame it on work, kids, packing the house up to sell, the weather etc... but when it all comes down to it, it's me. I am the one in control of myself & I NEED to pick MYSELF up off the ground and do something! So if anyone who happens to read this blog ignore the crickets I am declaring that I am going to make a true effort to start eating better and do some form of exercise.

Wordless Wednesday ~ A series of photos recapping my Memorial weekend at the park & watching Rolling Thunder

A 2014 senior portrait session with Ms. "A"

Lately my running & exercise has been pretty much non existent but I can definitely say that my camera has been getting quite a workout. From my recent Florida trip to doing a portrait session this past weekend for an upcoming 2014 graduate.

We decided to make the drive down to Historic Fredericksburg, VA to do our shoot. I remember coming here last year with my daughter and absolutely loved it! What I love the most is that it is not packed with people and it provides plenty of good spots for photo opportunities.

It would have been a shorter drive by simply going to Old Town Alexandria. Old Town Alexandria is beautiful & the water scenes are nice but the last time I went there, I found it to be such a hassle finding a decent parking space, plus it was crowded. I don't mind crowds but when your carrying a bunch of camera equipment it can be a pain.

Here are a few from our session.

While walking around I ran into the manager of my local Starbucks. Years of stopping at his store every morning to get my fix (aka dark roast) and chit chatting, you learn quite a bit about someone. I already knew that he lived in the area and so I asked if he could recommend any other good photo locations. He recommended that I check out Chatham Manor. I am so glad I took up his suggestion, definitely worth the visit.

my lovely daughter

Chatham Manor is a Georgian style mansion that sits on a hill that faces Old Town Fredericksburg overlooking the Rappahannock River. It is free to walk the grounds & has some beautiful views. We got there well after 4pm & did not have a lot of time to really check the place out but I will definitely go back when I have more time.

Until next time.....D

Our two furry hosts while visiting Florida

I was going through the rest of the pictures from our trip and totally forgot about my brother & his girlfriends little doggies.

 

Meet Gizzy & Breer (aka Margaret). Long but funny story about her bad haircut on why she is also known as Margaret.

Cape Canaveral ~ Cocoa Beach (Day 4 our last day)

Our flight back departed at 7:50pm so we spent part of our day going to the beach. We drove to Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral.

It took us about an hour of driving from Orlando. We decided to go get something to eat before heading to the beach, so we stopped at Subway.

We happened to have parked next to a huge monster truck & I had to get a picture to show the comparison.
I really enjoyed the beach, it sort of reminded me of the Outer Banks where you pretty much have the beach to yourself. I much prefer the quiet low key beaches verses the touristy overcrowded beaches like Ocean City or Virginia Beach.

When we left I couldn't help but notice the bug war attack that was launched on my brothers windshield from our drive to the beach. Crazy how many bugs there were!

We stopped to get some ice cream & they had this sign outside of the shop. 

When we arrived back at my brothers house his girlfriend had a surprise birthday cake and presents for J. That was so sweet & he was so happy!

After eating cake and packing up our suitcases it was time to head to the airport to say our goodbyes & head home on our flight.

The flight home was good and J kept occupied with the tablet. We arrived at night and I had to take a picture of the dramatic looking clouds from the airport parking garage. 

Overall it was a great trip and J loved his surprise birthday present. A big thank you to my brother D & his girlfriend M for hosting us and letting us stay at their home. We love you guys !