Once you hit 35???

I turned 35 this past June and it seemed to me that it was kind of a turning point from the way I knew things to be. I feel great but since that time I noticed that my metabolism has changed and things have shifted. Hormonal things are changing too but I am not getting into that.

I have had it great all my life being able to eat anything whenever and never gain a pound. I know not many people have it so easy. Then with pregnancy I would gain weight but would be able to loose it all by nursing and just keeping active. This time after having Seppy I never did get back to my starting weight and now over the winter for the first time in my life I gained weight. Okay, those of you who know me I know you think I could use the extra weight, you can't see it, whatever. I can see it! I can feel it as my clothes no longer fit and I am bulging out in places I would rather not and look pregnant constantly (I know you can't tell) unless I am sucking everything in, which I try to do constantly because on smaller people a big belly sticks out much farther. While I do have a excess skin (reminds me of chicken skin all wrinkly) after having twins that the doctor said would never go away except with plastic surgery, I still know my muscles are not toned to keep that pulled in.

Do you feel sorry for me yet? Just kidding! Anyway, before this spirals out of control and I keep gaining weight I started working out until we get back to summer and being able to go for walks and be more active. I am using one of Jillian Michaels dvds to tone the trouble spots but really only have had the chance to do it twice a week. The first time I was so sore the next day I felt as if I was waddling when walking. John encouraged me to keep it up as the pain only gets less the more you do it. And he was right, when I keep up with it I get stronger and stronger. But then when I skipped last week and began again this week, I was again so sore! Consistency seems to be the key.

Have I lost you? Maybe a boring post but honestly what is on my mind lately. My goal isn't necessarily to loose weight although it would be nice to get back to my license weight. I really want to fit in clothes I can't get into without having to buy up a size.

I took a picture of my starting mid-section but there is no way I will share that! It is quite cute though as just when I was ready to take it Seppy walked in the door and stuck his finger in my belly button. Ha ha!

What about you? Did things change for you when you hit 35?

Travel Plans

John came home from work a few weeks back telling me that some of his frequent flyer miles were going to expire at the end of this year and that he wanted to go on a trip with me to someplace warm. At first I wasn't so sure we could work it out but the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. For our honeymoon we rented a cabin in the Smoky Mountains of TN and had always said that for our tenth anniversary we would go to a tropical destination. That milestone came and I was pregnant at the time so we ended up going to a homeschool convention instead. The change in our "plans" really made me laugh but we did enjoy the time together.

John and I began to look at various locations and flight length as there are only certain ones available with the award miles and they all seemed to be longer than a regular flight or had more lay-overs. We contemplated the Riviera Maya area in Mexico but then found our dream location in Jamacia -- a bungalow on a rocky cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Ahhh! I got shivers just looking at the pictures.

But then came the logistics of working everything out on the homefront...

-- We are getting our puppy the end of March so it is ideal to travel before.

-- I need a passport and we don't want to spend extra to get it expedited.

-- John realized his vacation is used up and it won't begin again until April, meaning March is out.

--  Figuring who can stay with the kids or if they went somewhere who would take care of our puppy was a challenge.

-- Prices of our ideal location were adding up and we really want to take a nice family vacation this year too.

Ultimately, John began to think a long weekend in a tropical destination wasn't meant to be at this time in our life. I was disappointed but only for a short time as in the back of my mind knew it wasn't time.

So, after looking more into the miles that need to be used found that they can be put toward accomodations. We found a wonderful log cabin in the Smoky Mountains to use the miles on for our family vacation this fall and are putting our efforts into making it a memorable time together.

One day John and I will whisk away for a long weekend to a tropical destination. Right now I'll be content to dream.