Thursday, July 31, 2014

Mid-Year Fitbit Goal

My 2014 new years resolution:

1. To have 10k steps a day.

2. If I did not get to10k, the negative balance rolls forward until I made up for those lost steps.

3. If I walked over 10k steps, the positive balance does not roll forward. It is just lagniappe.

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We are now half way through the year (I am writing this on June 26) and I have been tracking my steps each day (with help from my Fitbit).

Here is my weekly average since January. Each bar = a week.

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There are 178 days from Jan 1 to June 26.
178 x 10,000 = 1,780,000 steps is what I should have so far. According to the chart above, I have 2,049,966 (as of June 26). I am ahead of my goal!

That is a difference of 269,966 steps ahead of my midyear goal. As the rule states, I cannot roll the positive numbers forward, but it is interesting to know that if I could I would be 27 days ahead of my target!

Each day I track my steps:

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As of today, June 26, I am caught up. As this blog will post at the end of July, I hope I will still be caught up then!

I am very please and proud of my dedication to this goal.

I will have a huge step year if I keep on this track. Want to join me?

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Fitbit Weight Loss Badge

I hopped on the scale on June 26 and was very pleased.

A few minutes later I got this in my email!

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I went online to figure it out and this is what I found:

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Evidently, my highest weigh this year was in was February and as of this morning, I have lost 15 lbs since that date.

YEAH!

Now, this does not match my Weight Watchers numbers exactly, but the idea is that I am trending down and that is a good thing.

Just wanted to share!

YAY!
Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Boudin Balls!

Kenny had to miss our first volleyball game of the season. He was in Lafayette and we gave him all kinds of trouble for missing our first game. Smile Doug said he would forgive him if he brought home boudin balls from laffy. All of this was said in jest, but Kenny made it happen and he brought us boudin balls!

Jamie LovesBoudin was so excited too!

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Once we got home, Doug baked them in our little oven. He ate two and I ate one…

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They were DELICIOUS and had quite a kick. So much so I had some milk too.IMG_2813

Thank you Kenny! You made all of our night! You rock. And you played well tonight too. Smile

My only question is how many points large, fried boudin balls are?!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Monday, July 28, 2014

Jacque’s Bridal Shower (June 22)

I was honored to be invited to Jacque’s bridal shower at Tableau last month. I just love Jacque and I think she is perfect for Scott.

Courtney offered to pick me up and I was ready for some extra Courtney time so it was perfect. She picked me up and we headed to the Quarter.

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We arrived at Tableau a few minutes early so I headed out to the balcony to enjoy the view. It has a beautiful view of Jackson Square! I really enjoyed the space and hope to sit out there one day. Not during the summer. Smile

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We headed into “The Library” where the shower would be held. Courtney and I grabbed a seat at a corner table and I got a few shots of the favors and beautiful cake!
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Look how beautiful. It was carrot/red velvet and it was delicious!IMG_2796

I just loved the room’s beauty. IMG_2801

I especially loved the ceiling!IMG_2800

Sadly, the AC was not working so well in the room (it was quite warm), so the Maitre d’ moved us into another beautiful room to dine. It was much cooler in there and we transitioned very well.

Right before we moved, a wonderful lady named Ms. Jackie came and sat with us. When we moved rooms, she continued to sit with us and it ended up being just us 3 at our table. Boy, did we have a blast.

Lunch was served and I enjoyed delicious seafood gumbo, a salad and veal grilliads and grits.  Then we ate that amazing cake. When it was time to watch Jacque open her gifts, Courtney had to leave to get Bean to a birthday party. I elected to stay (with Doug offering to pick me up later) and watched the gifts!

Right before she started opening presents Ms. Jackie said we should write down what she says and read it back to the whole group and imagine she was saying it on her honeymoon or wedding night. So we did. We giggled so much Jacque noticed we were up to something and said we were trouble.

 

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After she opened her gifts, Ms. Jackie asked Jacque if we could read out our list and she approved. Ms. Jackie explained what we had done and I read out the things she had said. For example, “Oh! That’s cute! It’s really cute” and, “it’s sturdy!” The girls enjoyed the little silly game.

Congrats Jacque! I had a great time. Thank you for inviting me!

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I also stole a photo with my new favorite person, Ms. Jackie! Isn’t she adorable?!?!

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She was so fun and I enjoyed meeting her so much.

Fun photo of the day: IMG_2802

Christy cracks me up. This ended up being a really cute photo and we can blow it up to 10 feet if she wants! Smile

To sum it all up, it was a beautiful shower and I was glad to be there. Congrats Jacque. I can’t wait for your big day.

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Dinner with Ryan and Courtney!


Ryan and Courtney had just gotten back from Italy so we went to eat Italian with them and hear all about their trip!

We ate at the Oak Oven with them on June 21. When we got in there it was PACKED. Luckily, I had called a few days before and instead of a 45 minute wait, we waited less than 5 minutes. Winning! (We did get “the eye” from others waiting longer than us, but oh well. They were just jealous they did not make reservations too!

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We got to hear all about Ryan and Courtney’s trip. We went to many of the same spots, except they went south of Rome to Pompeii and Sorrento while we went to Cinque Terre and spent a bit more time in Tuscany.

I went home and watched their Italy picture show. Now I want to do one of those too! I need to make a book for sure.

I am pretty sure both couples took over 3k photos. Winning again! Smile

It was a lovely dinner and we always enjoy time with Ryan and Courtney. They were also our second double date for our goals. We only need 4 more by May. Should be pretty easy.

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Tubing! June 2014


Jamie invited us tubing at Tiki Tubing (in Denham Springs on the Amite River) a few months ago and we had no plans on the date she picked! We discussed it and I decided we should give it a go. Doug likes tubing, but I was concerned about the Princess Lizzie side of me disliking it and making Doug miserable.

I think I have been tubing once when I was much younger, but I can’t be 100% sure. I have no proof (photos).

When we told Jamie we were going she got really excited as she has invited us many times before and we have always declined (usually because we already had plans).

I told her I wanted a big, two man tube or I was not going to have fun. She assured me they would have them so we planned to go.

I wanted one of these tubes:

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Not one of these:

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Funny Side Note: I even called Tiki Tubing and left a message that I wanted to reserve a two man tube and asked them to call me back. I never got a call back and when I got there I understood why.

We had spent the night in Hammond (after Nikki’s wedding) on Friday night and headed to Tiki Tubing the next morning. We left Hammond on time and beat everyone by about 5 minutes. Pretty perfect timing.

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We parked and that is when I saw the old, sad school bus that would drive us to the drop off point. If you know me, you know I hate public transportation and I had a mini freak out. I (in my little princess mind) thought we would be riding in these pretty white 10 person passenger vans with AC. Well, that was silly. The funniest part is that Doug knew we would be riding on an old, dirty school bus, but he never brought it up. Smart man. See, he is sneaky.

We got there and waited for our whole party. The line was incredibly long. 10519728_10152140170520919_8209726407451132067_oWe waited, got our forms signed, our bracelets and wet to get our ice chests checked. No one was there so we kinda skipped the line and headed to the busses. We are bad.

I wanted a front row seat to prevent car sickness/anxiety so I hopped on the bus that was there, but then no one else did. I made some friends and hopped off the bus a few minutes later.

We hopped on a bus and got to the spot where we could pick our tubes. 10355598_10152140170525919_5470560411595951517_o10483307_10152140170620919_4748990941956722900_o

Of course, they had just run out of the big two man tubes I wanted, but the bus driver recommended 2 comfy tubes for Doug and I. After much debate, we drug our tubes to the water, got our our bungees and connected our tubes to the group. I had a tube that let me sit in the water and it folded out to support my legs. It was awesome. I was not even upset they ran out of big two man tubes.

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We started floating. I popped out my BIG umbrella and sat in the shade the entire ride. 10494494_10152140170635919_6799230037916775471_o

We stopped at a few sand barges and ate, played football, chatted, etc.

Doug rode in a hot pink tube the entire time. See it on the far right?

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I rode in the tube closest to the bottom right corner. See how it folded out and sat like an arm chair? WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY!

I reapplied sunscreen only once as I was under the umbrella the whole time. P6210078

Everyone brought food and fried pork chops, jello shots and other random foods were passed around. We shared our watermelon and healthy fruit we brought. 10404002_10152140170690919_738272714476327441_o10515178_10152140171305919_2285663712794692833_oP6210079

We brought Doug’s manly camera that is water proof and sweat proof. It is the camera he brings with him to run marathons.

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We had stopped on a sand barge and asked some random guy to get a group photo. Here we are!P6210081

I wore tennis shoes that were super old. Once we got back to Nola, they went right into the trash. Smile

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I think one of my favorite things is Shelly singing. I wish it never ended.

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I am happy to report that I had a GREAT time. I loved it. It was really fun and relaxing – we tubed for almost 5 hours. My inner princess would have changed a few little things, but now I am prepared and I know what I need to do next time. AND YES, there will be a next time Jamie!

Thank you for inviting us. We had a great time!10468006_10152140171550919_3629288109393482285_o

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Friday, July 25, 2014

Nikki gets hitched!

One of my grade school friends, Nikki, got hitched June 20 and I was honored to be there.

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She got married at Holy Ghost in Hammond…in what we old timers call “the new church”.

Her parents look just as I remember them from 25 years ago!IMG_2573

The groom was ready!

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She looked beautiful!IMG_2589

Nikki’s niece, Maddy, was the flower girl. She was adorable. IMG_2592

I love this shot! The bride and groom with her parents watching. Smile

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Sweet Maddy and Marcie. IMG_2603

Then it was time for the vows:
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This is how you keep a flower girl busy! Smart parents!IMG_2622

Nikki’s parents. Awww.IMG_2627

They said I do!IMG_2641

Now for the kiss!

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As Nikki and Cheyenne left the church, Maddy grabbed her partner in crime and they picked up all the flowers they dropped on the way in. It made the whole church giggle.

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Then we headed across the street to “the old church” for the reception. They have turned it into a public hall, but still clearly resembles the church I remember from my youth.

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Above was the altar and below is where the pews were. IMG_2674

It was surreal being in there.

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We and the happy couple arrived for the first dance.

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Dancing commenced! I took a bunch of photos of these two. They are so sweet and love each other very much – sweet cousins.

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Having a blast SmileIMG_2719IMG_2769

As the bridal party got ready to take photos by the cake, I grabbed the cousins and snapped a few photos!

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Nick was the DJ, so I got to catch up with him and Doug finally got to meet him. IMG_2759IMG_2760

Congrats sweet Nikki. I wish you all the happiness!IMG_2765

Garter and Bouquet toss was hilarious!IMG_2773IMG_2774

Thank you for inviting us! We had a blast! Congrats lovebirds!IMG_2788

Love and Hugs, Lizzie