On missing #Fitbloggin and how real life takes over...

There's a lot of buzz going on this week on the interwebs about Fitbloggin. I remember hearing about it a couple of years ago from fellow fitness/health/weight loss friends. Timing wasn't good for me the first couple of conferences because of family events. Last year, though, timing was good. I saved my money, bought my earlybird ticket, and then put it out of my mind until the conference drew near. Then I started freaking out. I'm not an extrovert by any stretch of the imagination. If I'm comfortable with you and it's a small group, I'm ok. If I don't know many people and it's a large group, I'm going to latch on to familiar faces and stick to them like a barnacle. Whether they like it or not. Just ask Steve, Meegan and Tara, and Jack. Oh, no. It's you again.... sigh.

Much as I will miss seeing old friends I met at Fitbloggin 12, meeting new friends, hugging lots of friends, and posing for pictures while wearing a purple wig and pink feather boa, I will not be going to Fitbloggin 13. This year, my life has been turned upside down and taken turns in directions I never thought I'd be heading. (See my new blog page to see the first glimpse of what I've gotten myself in to.) I've also not been blogging very much these last several months, so I could scarcely justify needing to go, or the expense. Heck, after I got back last year I went and got myself a wordpress site. Have I blogged there? Once. Did I buy Wordpress for Dummies recently in the hopes of getting off my ass? Yup. Some day, when I'm not hauling brush, digging up stuff and pruning overgrown shrubs, I'll get back to it. In the meantime, I hope everyone has an amazing time at Fitbloggin 13. Tell Roni I say hi. Oh, and be sure to tell her "thank you." She works her ass off putting this together.

Better than a parking lot...

Yesterday afternoon on FB, I posted the following:

"Feeling nauseous. I just "liked" a particular marathon page. It may be time to get my act in gear and start running again. The marathon is December 1st. I haven't run, if you call my turtle pace running, since June, when I did the Wounded Warrior Half. Is this enough time to train?"

The responses were very positive, and a friend from church who is a marathoner said "Yes!!!" So I started looking in to various training plans. I am not looking to push it, especially since I haven't run since June and I'm a little bit more creaky in the knees and hips. Hell. I'm closer to 50 than 40. I'm happy I can get off the couch some days, given as spastic and clutzy I am.  What I found is Hal Higdon's Novice Supreme marathon training guide. It's a 30 week schedule. This gives me plenty of time (knock on wood) to prepare for and train for this race.  It even gives me time to complete all 9 weeks of C25K beforehand.

Last night after dinner I told The Aussie to visualize spending a few days in Florida at the end of November/beginning of December in Florida. He says "okay, sounds nice." I then told him why. I said "I promised you that when I was ready to do a full, that you'd have something nicer than the parking lot at Fair Park to look at."

source: Pegasusnews

 

BTW, I'm feeling nauseous again. I just finished copying the training plan in to my calendar. Yikes.

My Fitbloggin Memories

So, how do you process something like Fitbloggin? I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was looking forward to meeting a lot of twitter and facebook friends that I’ve made over the last few years.  I was also scared to the point of panic attacks, wondering if I should bother going. I am so not an extrovert. But, as the saying goes, nothing can happen if you don’t show up.

I shouldn't have worried. Hug #1: @FoodieMcBody As soon as I saw her, I squealed and ran to meet her. That first hug was so wonderful. Her warmth is contagious.

While I was standing in the hotel lobby, waiting for my turn to check in, I saw a familiar face walk in to the lobby, lugging her bags. Leave it to me to make a brilliant observation out loud and solidify my dork status, but I walked over to her and said “It’s Dubyawife!” Luckily she laughed. Hug #2 complete.

Up in the room, I decided to check twitter and see what was going on. OMG,  @Tidbits_Of_Tara posted a picture of herself in front of the Fitbloggin banner. Tara and Meegan were here!!!  I rushed down to the check in area and stalked tracked them down. It was so amazing to finally meet these two wonderful people in person. I squealed like a little girl when I hugged them. Hugging Tara and Meegan: Pure awesomesauce. Bit by bit, and hug by hug, I began to relax and feel less freaked out  more comfortable.  Sure, I was still having a lot of dorky, wallflower moments, but I was dealing with it.  Hugs from @FatgirlVsWorld: just as amazing as I'd heard they were. And, man, she should charge for her shoulder rubs.

I absolutely enjoyed meeting so many of my very early twitter friends, many of whom have transitioned in to Facebook friends. The best way to describe meeting the friends I’ve made online came up in a conversation with @KCLAnderson. She said it’s like “Oh, of course, it’s you.” She was so right. After a little while, you don't even think that you haven't actually met some of your friends in person before.When @Mizfitonline showed up: huge hugs and "Texas is in the house." So much laughter. More awesomesauce: meeting @SteveGrayFTW in person! Just as warm, fun, with as warped a senses of humor in person as he has online. (Cat, I'm a kitty cat...) And even though we didn't get a chance to have a wigs and wine party, I dearly loved meeting @MrsFatass and being able to Zumba (it's pronounced "zoomba") with her, @simplifyingsam (these girls got moves!) and 100 or so of our closest friends on her birthday.  Meeting my roomies @ItsMeVsMe and @ChristieO who I've stalked known through the Sisterhood, and @sweatismysanity was great. Very cool ladies that I am so thankful invited me to be a roommate.  I've learned that you can't cry and do jumping jacks at the same time, thanks to Thea. And she's right, she does kinda kick ass! Hanging out with @TJsTestKitchen, @JackSht, @SushiJammies, @IrishEyes1982, @bitchcakesny and so, so many others was beyond amazing.

I think Friday was the best day at Fitbloggin. You see, that's the day my girl @mendingjen arrived. I was hanging out, waiting for the lean beef session to start, when I hear “Kirsten!!!!” (my real name) I see Jen making her way through the tables and we gave each other the most amazing hugs. My heart was so full. She is one of my early twitter friends, and all of my stress leading up to Fitbloggin was worth it, just because I got to meet her and hug her in person. (I'm sorry I stood her up on Saturday night when it was time for her to leave. I think I did it subconsciously, because I didn't want her to leave, and I knew I'd be really ugly-crying.) Friday afternoon, Jen, Heather, and I decided to go for a walk. The weather was gorgeous, and we really needed to get outside. I don't have a lot of girlfriends in real life, so being able to just hang out, walk, have heartfelt talks with these two wonderful women, was so special. And, I can now say I've had a water ice. Pronounced "wah duh."

The memories I take away from Fitbloggin are more than just meeting wonderful people, taking part in some fantastic workouts, or just hanging  out. I take away the realization that no matter where you are on your journey or what your back story is, we are all the same. As @Mizfitonline recently blogged, at our very core, we are all the same.

You see, we are a cobbled together family. We have each others' backs. We're here for each other. So think about this when you see comments posted by unhappy people looking for attention (I won't link to the blog because I don't want to drive traffic to it). Do what you can to lift someone up, don't put them down. A heartfelt kind word can mean the difference when someone is having a bad day. 

Shrinkvivor - And Now For Something Completely Different

You may recall (if you're old enough) the Monty Python skit where the John Cleese, as the announcer, turns to the camera and says "and now for something completely different." Well, I wish I had something completely different to report. I'm up .4 of a pound. This week was not a big exercise week due, in part, to the fact that we drove 1200+ miles from Texas to Tennessee and back for a wedding. Can't log a lot of exercise miles in a car. You don't always eat healthy meals during roadtrips either. Add to that, I'm still sick. I was feeling better on Saturday, but woke up with another sore throat and congested chest on Sunday morning. My abs are certainly getting a workout with all of the coughing I've been doing, but I'd like to be healthy again.

Congrats to all of the Shrinkvivors that are kicking butt in this challenge. You're amazing and inspiring.

I can finally share!

This weekend, The Aussie and I travelled to Tennessee for the wedding of Mary and Kepa, one of the most fun and inspiring couples in blogdom. We had a lovely time, the ceremony was sweet and fun, and we are so happy for them.

Now, some of you may know that I dabble in quilting. I haven't been doing it for years and years, but I find it enjoyable. Earlier this year I asked Mary what their favorite colors are, and she replied "purple and blue." I had decided that I wanted to make a quilt for them, and it would be in their favorite colors. Bit by bit, over the long, hot summer and fall, The Quilt came together. I was so excited as it grew, but I couldn't share on FB or twitter because Mary and Kepa might see the post! I took a class to learn how to use a longarm quilting machine at my local store, because I wanted to make the entire quilt, start to finish. This was quite an adventure, and both The Aussie and I fell in love with this quilt along the way. It made me smile just to look at it, and The Aussie said that it glowed, which was such an amazing compliment for him to make about The Quilt. The dogs, two of whom met Mary and Kepa last summer when they stayed with us on their cross country trip, were my faithful companions through the the entire process, from cutting to piecing to binding. (I must admit that, yes, there is dog hair and love sewn into the quilt, which should make Senor Kitty Snugglepuss feel right at home when the quilt arrives in New Zealand at the end of this week!) I hope they love this quilt as much as I loved making it, with happy thoughts sewn into it the entire time.

All Quiet On The Southern Front

I've been quiet lately. Out of sorts may be a better term for it. The Aussie has finally gotten home after his trip to visit the family overseas. It was sooo quiet in the house. I missed him, the dogs missed him. The parrot, maybe not. I'm sure she thought about it though.

While he was in the Sydney airport on the first leg of his trip, he bought me a snowglobe. On the return, the security personnel confiscated it. He was seriously P.O.d. Well, wouldn't you know that there was a gift shop on the other side of the security checkpoint that had the same snowglobe, so he bought me another one. Hah! He said he'd have to remember to put it in his checked baggage once he reached the U.S. It's really difficult to remember things when you've been travelling for over 20 hours. Needless to say, he forgot to put it in his suitcase before it was re-checked. Thankfully, they had a storefront in the airport where you could mail things rather than have them confiscated, so he had it packaged up and mailed home. So, thousands of miles later, my snowglobe!

Memories of Egypt

Along with the rest of the world, The Aussie and I have been watching the events unfolding in Egypt on television. This is a new chapter in their history. We had the privilege of travelling to Egypt several years ago and met many lovely people. We wish them well.

The view of the Nile from our hotel. Tahrir Square is to the right of the first bridge

Outside the Muhammad Ali mosque

My first glimpse of the pyramids

Cairo at night

Entering the Khan el-Khalili market

The Great Pyramid

The Aussie and the pyramids

First camel sighted

The Sphinx, with the pyramids in the background

The crowds at the Sphinx were overwhelming

The Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel shortly after dawn

Carvings at Philae

Philae - stunning place

Balloons at dawn on the Nile

Valley of The Kings