Getting Back to It!

After Spencer's diagnosis with AML in 2012, Glen and I both packed on the pounds.  I think we both had some PTSD and probably some mild depression going on too.   Finally, about two years ago, I was at my heaviest weight yet and my blood pressure was high.  

The high blood pressure was a wake-up call to me that it was high time to get a handle on things, so we started exercising again and being more cognizant of what we ate.   It's been a slooooooowwwww process regaining our strength and getting back to it, but I feel like this summer I  finally hit my stride and  I'm about to the weight and fitness level I was before Spence got sick.    It was so exciting to fit into my old clothes again, that I decided it was time to buy some new clothes.   Here are some of the outfits I've got for myself over the last several months.   

And this is usually about how I feel when I'm about to get on the treadmill!   

But I broke my record today and am feeling quite proud of my six mile an hour average (especially since about 15 minutes of that was walking)!    

Right now I walk about 1/2 hour three days a week, walk/run for an hour twice a week, and try to get on a 5-7 mile long walk on Saturday. Next thing I want to do is sign up for a race.  Probably just a 5k or 10k and maybe eventually another half-marathon!   Race or not though, my main goal is to stick with it long term.    I still have some pounds I can lose, but my goal at this point isn't hitting a certain weight, it's about my long-term health and being fit.   

Go us! 

********************************

New Beginnings 2017

After 4-1/2 years as Young Women's president of my ward, there have been a lot of things that have gotten a lot easier as time as gone on.   For instance, big events, like New Beginnings and Young Women in Excellence.   They used to stress our presidency out to no end, but now they seem to come together with a lot less stress.  

 I think this year's New Beginnings was the best yet.  It had a theme of Ask, Seek, Knock.  The decorations were simple, but cool enough to have "wow" factor.   The girls really came through and did their parts well and I loved that the theme really came together and we all left that night feeling inspired about how to seek answers our questions.  

Here are the wonderful Young Women I have the privilege of serving ... 

Ellie was thrilled to be one of the newbies (girls that turn 12 this year),  which meant that she got introduced to everyone and got lots of special attention!   She is sooooooo excited to be a part of YW!  

It was also so cool to see Nicole (who was just baptized in December) be introduced too.   Her and Maria even dressed in matching dresses and were cute as can be together! 

I am blessed to work with these wonderful women.  They've been in the long haul with me and I am grateful for their great ideas, willingness to work hard, and friendship!  

Here's the introduction that Emma read about Ellie:   

(Ellie opted to have her skip the part about her seizures)

When Ellie turns 12 in a couple of weeks, she will become the first new beehive in our ward in almost a year and a half. Energetic, cheerful, and creative, Ellie is the youngest of the five Goold kids and as such is an expert when it comes to dealing with annoying older siblings and delayed bedtimes. She loves all Broadway music, but especially Hamilton. When she’s not listening to Hamilton songs, that means she’s probably SINGING Hamilton songs, perhaps while cooking herself a quesadilla or playing with her Legos. Ellie is a world traveler who has been to 13 different countries and about 40 states, but she still hopes to get to Florida and Australia someday too. One thing Ellie would like everyone to know is that she has a form of epilepsy that causes her to have frequent seizures that cause her to pause in the middle of what she’s doing. They’re nothing to be nervous about, but if you happen to notice one, just be patient, and when her seizure is done you can remind her what she was saying, and Ellie will pick right back up where she left off. Ellie is very comfortable talking about them, so if you’re ever wondering something about them feel free to ask her questions. Just remember to be nice and be patient. And, on a more light-hearted note, I’ll finish up with a funny story about when Ellie was young. When she was a baby, she loved to suck her thumb. One time we were visiting one of our cousins who is only a couple weeks younger than Ellie and they were both lying on a blanket on the floor taking a nap. A little while later we checked in on them and found that Ellie was wide awake and had wiggled her way around and was happily lying there, not sucking on her own thumb, but happily sucking on her cousin’s big toe. All the while her cousin was still soundly sleeping. I promise, though, that she hasn’t sucked anyone’s toes in about 11-½ years or so! We are so happy that after years of tagging along with Mom and me to mutual, that Ellie will finally be an official young woman later this month. Welcome to Young Women’s, Ellie!

*************************************

La Spezia and Cinque Terre

FINALLYYYYY.....It's taken me four whole months, but here is the blogpost recapping the final leg of our trip that we went on in October/November.    Writing it up made me nostalgic and kind of antsy to go on another cool trip someday.    

*****************************

Sunday, November 6, 2016

(as taken from my travel journal)

The day started blustery, cold, and rainy.  We got quite wet as we made our way to La Spezia for church.   We had to descend the gigantic staircase to the train station in Cornelia, take a train to La Spezia, then we took a taxi to church.  The La Spezia Branch was pretty small--maybe about 30 people or so and the Branch President was all of about 25-years-old.  After church we wandered through La Spezia and discovered that it's a much cooler, more charming town than we realized from our trip there in May.  We went all over creation, constantly looking for ways to go up, up, up the hills to see a better view.   Eventually we headed back to Cinque Terre and we visited Manarola and Riomaggiore.  Both were great little towns with their own charms.  We got a little more hiking in, ate dinner in Riomaggiore, and just enjoyed exploring some more.  

HIGHLIGHTS

The pianist in the La Spezia Branch was blind and played all the music from memory.

La Spezia really was an unexpected surprise.  Our time there in May was so short and so close to the train station, that we didn't realize how beautiful and charming it really is.  

We logged 127 flights of stairs and about 30,000 steps today.

The rain eventually stopped and the end of the day was much more pleasant than the beginning.  

LA SPEZIA BRANCH

Of course, we had to get pictures with the missionaries.  :) 

After church,  we explored La Spezia.  

We'd stayed in La Spezia on our trip in May and honestly didn't think much of it, but actually being able to explore it this time, we found that we really liked it.  

It was bigger than the official "Cinque Terre" towns, but was still quite picturesque.   

Some of the 127 flights of stairs we climbed that day.   We were obsessed with going up, up, up the hillsides to get a better view.  

THE VIEW!!! 

The rain let up and we finally got to explore Manarola and Riomaggiore....

Dinner in Riomaggiore! 

Monday, November 7, 2016

The weather stayed clear and we woke up early and went on what we thought was the Corniglia to Vernazza hike.   Too bad we messed up and got on the wrong trail.  We ended up hiking 1-1/2 hours to some point called Ciggaletto before officially realizing that we were definitely on the wrong trail.  So we turned around and headed back (about 2-1/2 hours in total).  It was disappointing to have taken the wrong trail, however we still got to enjoy some lovely views and I liked being able to push myself as we hiked up about 1500 feet in elevation.   Spence got annoyed in the middle and went back.   

Afterward, we packed up all of our stuff and got on a train to Pisa...

In Pisa, we got gelato one last time....

Got a little silly...

And then headed to the Pisa airport and flew to London....

Adam and I didn't do anything in London, and just flew home the next day...just in time for me to vote in the presidential elections.  Ugh.  

Kristina and Spence stayed a couple of extra days and explored London and visited with Matt and Karey.   It was a great 8th grade trip for Adam and we were happy to have had the opportunity to have gone.

I think we may have officially caught the travel bug now, because I'm already daydreaming about what our next trip is going to be.    

****************************