In This Life,,,,,

Good Afternoon friends,
I know it's been a while and I really have no excuse for not posting! I haven't been excessively busy or anything...I have been lazy!
I last posted at the end of August and things have definitely been happening (duh, Lisa!!) in our lives...September and October were relatively quiet for us....November, however, was a GREAT month. In November, we (Mariah and I) went with Darcie, down to Los Angeles for another trip to Disneyland, for a couple of days and then headed to West Los Angeles for The Twilight Breaking Dawn Convention, at the Hyatt Regency Century City!! What a trip!! Some of you are rolling your eyes and shaking your heads, right now, but in our house, Twilight anything is a big deal!! Mark and I find that it's a way to connect with our sixteen year old daughter and it's something we can do together, as a family. It's important to me, to be able to connect with Mariah and share something that we both love.....I never had that with my parents and it's something I want, for my daughter and myself. We met some lovely people and made a quite a few new friends....We made memories that will last us a lifetime. I am thankful for the time I got to spend with Darcie and Mariah....and meeting a bunch of my new Twi-sisters was a big big highlight of the trip. The convention itself was a blast....We got to sit and listen to a large number of the stars talk about their lives and their experiences while filming the movies, we got to meet some of the stars, themselves, we attended a ball and got to dress up (Something we don't ever get to do, in real life) We laughed and laughed and I got to sit in the same general vicinity of my two favorite film stars, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson! I had the time of my life and I got to experience something I have never done before. We're planning on going back to the convention, this year, but this time, Mark is going....along with Mariah, Darcie and Darcie's cousin Jerrica. I'm looking forward to seeing all of my Twi-sisters and just getting to be among a large group of women (and a few men) who are just like me....a lot of them, waaaaay more obsessed than I am (yes, such people do exist in the world, at large)
The ten days following the Con were fraught with anticipation for the release of Breaking Dawn Part 1, on the 18th.....We went to the midnight show, on November 17th/18th and brought our favorite neighbors, Shane and Sandra with us....We had so much fun, even though it was freezing cold. Mark took the next day off of work, so that we were able to stay out and not have to worry about when we got home. To me, the movie, the first time was a big disappointment! They left out quite a bit and the film was just lacking in the vibrancy and energy that the other three films had. (I did see it three more times, after that and it did get better) I loved the soundtrack though....Funnily enough! I'm not one to listen to Top 40ish/mainstream pop music, but I really did love the soundtrack.
Also in November, my little blue gumdrop of a car gave up the ghost and died.....Not wanting to repair and replace and truss up with duct tape and bailing wire, Darcie helped us get my mini-van repaired, so now, I'm driving around in my Taxi-Tank again and quite happily, I have to admit!! I missed not having a working stereo, cruise control and cup holders for the last five years....
In December, I went back to the doctor for tests and in regards to some female difficulties I was having.....I won't regale you on those issues, there are things even I won't talk about in a public forum....not many, I admit, but there are some things that just need to be kept quiet. Dr. Star took 4 vials of my blood and then a week later, was yelling at me for my crappy cholesterol numbers and all that....I've been suffering from edema in my feet and ankles for way too many years and I'm really tired of being fat and making excuses for my poor health, as related to my weight....The picture at the top is Mark and I in July.....At the time, I was wearing a size 28 pants and weighed 340 lbs.....Not good!! I went back to low carbing....My total cholesterol, in July was 210....about 10 points too high....When I went to the doc in December, my weight was 299 and I was wearing a size 24 or 26....but my cholesterol was up to 278.....This hit me hard and I was quite scared. After talking with Dr. Star, I decided that I'd try the Weight Watchers program again! Atkins was working, but I needed to stop the upward climb of my cholesterol. I also asked for a referral to the weight management program at the hospital and three weeks later, I went to see Jim Warner at the hospital....I weighed in at 286 and was wearing a size 24....I don't know what my weight is today....I'll go and weigh in with Jim again, next Thursday....What I do know is that I am now wearing a size 22/20 and I was able to wear my smallest jeans, a pair of Old Navy flirts on Sunday, without laying on my bed and doing the fat girl crawl, to get them buttoned and zipped.....Let's face it kids, the pants don't lie.....I also tried on my size 22 Levis and they fit too..It's my first pair of fitting Levis since 1987.....Needless to say, I'm very happy, overjoyed even, with my progress....I won't have any new pictures til the end of the month, but I'll keep you updated with the numbers....
At the end of the month, the girls (Tara and Darcie) and I are going back down to Los Angeles.,...a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland, to celebrate Darcie's birthday! It's going to be a fun trip as I will not have to be a wife or mom, at all, for five days....Mark and Mariah are staying home. I'm looking forward to no responsibility and spending the time with my girls.....We're also meeting up with some of our southern Twi-sisters for dinner one night and I'm really looking forward to that! We haven't had a trip, just the three of us, in a lot of years, so reliving the moments of our younger days together, when we took these trips, three times a year is going to be such fun!
God is blessing us so richly, too, as a family....We share such closeness! Mark just had his one year anniversary, with his job and is still loving it, everyday! I am so very proud to share the days with him, as his best friend and his wife. Mariah is doing excellently in school and has begun to make preparations for her future career....She wants to study either engineering or something to do with children....as she is a sophomore, this year, she still has time to investigate things further....she is still entertaining the thoughts of being a chef, as well. The biggest battle we have with Mariah is her cell phone....the child is permanently attached to that thing! All in all, though, I couldn't be happier with the young woman she is becoming....She's well mannered, well spoken and never ever creates a ruckus! She is not your typical teenaged girl and I praise God daily, for allowing us to tuck her into our lives.....Being her mom is my greatest accomplishment and my second greatest joy. Second only to being a servant to the most High and my husband!! And even though she did not grow under my heart, she has grown in it. I love her as if she had grown inside me....Mark's son Donovan is now living in California, with his maternal grandparents, helping them to prepare to sell their house and move from San Jose to Vacaville. He only planned on staying for three months, but it looks as if he's going to be staying in California and living with his uncle, after his work with his grandparents is done. There is a deep canyon between Donovan and I and I am praying for a way to fix things, so that he can become a part of our family. Pray for us, friends! The damage done has hurt both of us and only God can bring the sides of that chasm together and heal the damage done.
Well, it seems as though I have gone on and on, for days, so I'll close for now.....Have a wonderful evening friends and love each other as He loves!!
Blessings in Him,
Lisa