Someone once told me it is because we are older. Kids tend to take the time to smell the roses and for some reason, the fact that they take the time to do and experience things makes it feel like time is going by slower. JOE told me last week she couldn't wait to be older so she can buy her own dog. As much as that comment made me laugh, it also reminded me that she doesn't see the passage of time the same way I do.
I on the other hand look around me and wonder how things have happened so quickly. My oldest niece just graduated from middle school and starts high school in the fall. She was born right after I moved to the DC/MD/VA area so it feels like I blinked and she is about to start high school.
Feeling like that makes celebrations even more important. I look at celebrated events as a forced comma in life. Where you are forced to take a break, look back and appreciate how far you've come.
Each day is a blessing. Each breath is a blessing and each moment should be treasured because like time, you can never get it back BUT you can certainly take a moment to appreciate just how far you've come.
With that in mind, the next series of items below are just some of the beautiful gifts being offered through AyoBE Boutique in celebration of Father's day this year. So often, you hear more about the dads that don't live up to par. How about celebrating the dads that do?
These bracelets are beautiful gifts that dad will be sure to treasure. They include an elephant charm which is a symbol of good-luck. We could all use some good wishes in our everyday lives.
Let dad know you are thinking of him and he'll be reminded every time he looks down at the bracelet of just how much you care.
Speaking of the passage of time. In the summer 1996 (yes, I remember because it was the summer before my junior year of college) rollerblading was all the rage. I stayed on campus that summer to take some courses so I could graduate with both my major and minors on time.
Anyways, I spent the summer rollerblading with my friends. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED it. The campus was not as busy with a ton of cars and since the roads were paved, it was always a good workout. Well, one day, I fell and sprained my ankle. You'd think that would stop me right? NOPE. I kept on rollerblading and refused to go to get it checked out. I spent the summer wrapping up my ankle, padding it with extra socks and going rollerblading. It wasn't until one day when my leg got swollen and I couldn't even step on it that I finally decided to seek help. Truth be told, some of my friends had to carry me to the health center to get checked. It was that bad. Anyways, I was given a brace and told to stay off the foot to let it heal. I didn't. Once the swelling went down, I went back to rollerblading. Of course, to be young and stupid!
Anyways, fast forward 21 years and I am now paying for it. I have always had flat feet which didn't help the situation. But with the birth of my daughters, my feet spread out and the extra weight just made things worse. Since I recently started walking and exercising more, it was putting more pressure on my feet. I started having back pains in addition to shooting pains up my foot. NOT GOOD!
I finally decided to see a foot specialist. I was x-rayed and left the office in an air cast. Turns out the injury never healed! DAG IT! Anyways, it caused a tear in my tendon and now I have to get that fixed to get fitted for feet inserts. WONDERFUL! Needless to say, this oh so trendy Jimmy Choo will be my footwear for the next 4-weeks. Was supposed to be 3 but the doc just called to postpone my appointment. OI!
The brace comes complete with a pump! So yeah...I pump up my feet to walk. Kinda funny!
For those wondering, I am still on Atkins. I have made the transition from phase 1 to phase 2. I am not doing so great on phase 2 because I often forget to count my carbs. However, I am still sticking with low carbs and the weight continues to fall. I have now lost 16-lbs since being on Atkins. WOOHOO!!! Definitely not a weight loss I have experienced in at least 10-years.
Lunch for the week.Chicken and lettuce. The chicken was so good. I sauteed it in taco seasoning. Quick, easy and healthy.
Last weekend after I did JAE's hair, I was pleasantly surprised as to how much it has grown and how much thicker it is. Doing her hair isn't as much of a chore and she can be distracted so it goes by much faster. Which is not to say she never has her moments because she sometimes does but they are often few and far between.
This was also the first time JAE got to pick out the band color for her hair. Often, I do JOE's hair first and JOE picks the color for the week so they often match. But since J was going to be taking JOE to the hair salon to get her hair done, I let JAE choose. She chose purple on both sides.
Funny enough, when JOE went to get her hair done, she choose pink on both sides. Often, she chooses different colors.
J went to see a race with his dad and brother on Sunday. It is something they do every year. So while they were gone, I took the girls out for a long walk. JAE insisted we bring her PAG doll with us and wanted her doll to have on shoes. Check out the shoes! They didn't even match but she wanted them and to avoid the tantrum that was sure to ensue, I obliged her.
When we got back, they created master pieces in front of our garage. Check out JOE and her masterpiece.
And JAE undoing the masterpiece :-).
After we got back in the house, JOE decided to make a bracelet for her grammy. She strung the beads and I helped her secure it. Then we put it in a bag and she wrote a label for her grammy's bracelet.
Earlier this week, I walked into my room and saw this. JAE arranged the Lion King plush toys on our bed. From right to left is Simba, Kion, Nala and a horse facing backwards. It was kinda funny because I was wondering if secretly she set it up like that on purpose. And since J got JOE the horse, I was wondering if that was JAE trying to tell us something. LOL...
So, as mentioned earlier, J took JOE to get her hair done and he took JAE with them. He sent me the below.
Clearly, my daughter was a bit confused :-D.
Hard work pays off. I have been working on my weight for YEARS. As in the last 6+ years. And all I succeeded in doing was to pack on more pounds. This is the first time I have had consistent loss and it feels good. I got myself some dresses to wear to work. I love this dress. I got it from Zulily at an awesome price and it is so flattering!
That's been our last 10-days in a nutshell. Reminiscing about the passage of time, keeping busy and working on my weight loss. FUN FUN.
Have a FABULOUS weekend and remember to be kind to strangers!
OH no about your foot! But glad that you're taking care of it now. It's amazing how when you are young you don't realize how some things we choose to do is just plain ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteYou look amazing! Congrats on the 16 lbs loss, way to go!!
And I agree about time. It really does seem to fly so much quicker as I get older. I look at my niece and nephews and just can't believe that to me they were just babies!