Pollyanna Week 3/28-4/3

Let's just start out by telling you that this week's main goal is to put a positive spin on everything this week, or at least trying to, I'm calling it Pollyanna Week. Secondly, can I tell you guys how glad I am to be back to my regular schedule. This week is going to be KICK ASS!!! There is nothing out of the ordinary going on this week, but I am definitely planning on making it great. What are you doing to make this week great?

Last week completely drained me. The stupid car issues completely stressed me out and I let it stress me out a lot more than I should have... NOT GOOD. I did not stick to the work out plan like I had wanted to, but I managed to work out regardless. I did journal my food, I took my iron supplements and did ok with the not eating after 7 but that one was tough. I didn't do my push ups daily but I will change that this week for sure.

Here are this week's goals...

1. Keep the food journalling going
2. Keep up with the iron supplements, have to remind myself that I enjoy not having my hair fall out.
3. Get the daily push ups done
4. STICK TO THE WEEK'S PLAN!!

3/28 Running, training and Zumba (Ran 1.02 on the tm, 1.65 outside, plus got the training and the Zumba in, also got my push ups done)

3/29 Run

3/30 Run, Training, and teaching my Zumba class

3/31 Pilates, Groove

4/1 Teaching my Zumba class

4/2 Running the Knock Out Cancer 5K 

4/3 Groove 

Bringin' The Crazy

On Sunday, my mom let me know that she was coming from Toronto on Monday. Talk about short notice!  Not a huge deal, I love my mom and we all enjoy having her visit. That being said, it sort of threw a bit of a wrench in my plans for the week, but that's life and I have to learn to work with it... right?

Monday - Ran 3 miles (as planned), and my mom and I went to Zumba
Tuesday - Unscheduled rest day. Alright, it was more like I went shopping and got some new real clothes, not workout clothes. Hoping to make up the miles later this week.
Wednesday - Trained with Amy and taught my Zumba class.

So you see, not a complete diversion from the plan but still just a little off.

What I didn't plan for was my car breaking down. FAN-FRIGGIN'-TASTIC! Now, I have to take the car in tomorrow morning, and hope that it makes it there, plus, hope that it isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg. I love my volvo, but when that car needs anything done to it, I end up spending a small fortune. The car stress was enough to send me to crazy town today. Add in the stress from the last minute visit and I am officially back to being the Mayor of Crazy Town... good times.

Goals and Schedule For The Week Of 3/21-3/27

Alright, since the half I haven't been very focused on anything and it's time to get back to work. I have to be accountable and what better way than to put it all right here.

Overall Week's Goals

1. Food journaled daily, if I bite it, I write it.
2. Take my iron supplements daily, I have been awful with this and I need to get my iron issues under control.
3. Stop eating after 7 p.m., I had such great results when I did this in the past.
4. Daily push ups, working towards being able to do a real push up in a few weeks. Don't ask why, because I'm not even sure why I want to, but I just do.

Daily Schedule


3/21 3 miles
3/22 3 miles
3/23 Train w/ Amy and teach my Zumba class
3/24 REST
3/25 Teach Zumba and train with Amy
3/26 Teach Zumba
3/27 6 miles, and a Groove class

Back In The Land Of The Living

Alright, since I feel so much better, I've rejoined the land of the living. So, let's address the post from Tuesday, I will fill you all in on what that was about. I received a message from a lady who works for Zumba's PR team, and she had seen where I had posted about my weight loss on Zumba's Facebook Page back in October. Anyways, she wrote that she was working on getting some other stories like this out there, and was looking for someone for a very big TV show. She asked me if I was interested in the opportunity and if I would get in touch with her. I called her and she was in a meeting so couldn't chat for long but her first question to me was if I was an instructor, which automatically disqualified me for the TV show she was working on at the moment. Apparently, the TV show does not want people who are instructors, so big bummer for me. That being said, all was not lost, she did ask if she could contact me when other opportunities come up, and apparently these do come up, maybe just not on the large scale as the TV show she's working on right now. So, there is still a possibility that I will get to do some cool stuff with regards to Zumba. Here's a question for you. I did not get to chat with the PR lady long, and I did not tell her my updated stats and such. Would it be pushy to send her an e-mail with updated stats? I just don't know.

After Monday's visit to the doctor, she had given me the ok, to return to the gym on Wednesday as long as I felt up to it. Believe me, when Wednesday rolled around, I was ready to get to the gym and at least be quasi active. Karen and I trained with Amy, and she didn't push me too hard was aggravating but she had a good reason. She didn't want me pushing so hard that I broke down again and possibly get worse before I got better. After the workout, I went straight home and back to bed, because to be honest I was wiped out. I had to sub out Wednesday night's Zumba class because there was no way I was going to be able teach that class, I really was just not well enough yet. Thankfully, Thursday morning I was almost back to normal. I went to pilates Thursday morning, and even ran a little with Karen after class. Now, the run was less than stellar but you know what, WHO CARES?! Getting out there makes me feel good, and I was active. By Friday morning, I was feeling like a real human being again.... SCORE!!! Especially important because I had a Zumba class to teach that morning. After class, I again met Karen and got some miles in. What's not to love about that?

At some point on Sunday, I am going to post my week's goals, update my weight because I forgot to weigh in Saturday morning. Also, updating the upcoming races page because I have some things lined up, and I need to refocus on training towards a goal.

Have you seen this ad? This chick is totally stealing my moves. LOL

INCREDIBLE NEWS!!!

OMG you guys, I just got a very cool message with some news that could be HUGE for me, like nationally big. I am so excited I could burst, but I am not sure if I can/should share the details so I won't just yet. I just had to let the excitement out somewhere!!!

ShamRock N' Roll Race Report

Alright boys and girls, are you ready for a race report? Sunday morning I ran The Junior League Of Atlanta's ShamRock N' Roll 5k. First and foremost, let me tell you the awesome news... according to ye old Garmin, I PR'd, by a second but I PR'd nonetheless. Their results were not chip time, they went by clock time which sucks for me but I am claiming my PR. That is a rant in and of itself because they had the foam timing chips that are attached to your bib, and one would assume that they would be using chip time, but I digress. 

This was my first race without Karen, but I was going to run with another friend of mine, Brooke. Brooke is one of my dearest friends, I just love her. Also, I brought Patrick and Bella along for support and so Bella could enjoy the activities that they had for the kids. Let me just tell you, the kid cleaned up with regards to swag, when I saw them after the finish Patrick was acting as her swag mule. She thought she was super cool, and it made up for the fact that I didn't let her run this race with me. Anyways, back to the race details. The race was in town at Atlantic Station, so it was a 40-45 minute drive for us. I had made plans to leave around 7-7:15 to get there close to 8, giving us more than enough time to park, and for me to go through my pre race insanity rituals. We ended up leaving around 7:45, and made it to Atlantic Station right at 8:30. Once we found parking, my first prerogative was to get to the restroom as quickly as possible. Somehow, I was making my way to the restrooms when people were getting ready to warm up and line up. I ran into Brooke just outside the porta potties, this is becoming a theme with me, and I am not sure if I like it but I do find it comical. She went ahead to the start and I got in line for the potties, well, next thing I hear is the start and I still hadn't had a a chance to pee. I ran to the start and managed to get going. I didn't end up being able to run with Brooke because she had to drop out, one of her boys had to be taken to the ER, and her husband called her to meet them there. The little guy is fine now, but she definitely needed to be there with him. 

Off we went...

I started strong and with a plan, I was going to run 4/1 intervals and if it got to be too much I was going to drop it back to 3/2 intervals. I even wrote out S.T.T.P. (stick to the plan) on my hand in sharpie. I had my music going and I was lip syncing along, because I fully intended on enjoying myself as much as possible during this race. I looked like I had moved to Crazy Town, I was lip syncing, sort of dancing, and thanking the police officers and volunteers. We started on a downhill, so I knew that at some point we were going to have at least one hill, plus, this is Atlanta and hills are inevitable. I was chugging along, sticking to the plan and I think that the good attitude probably helped with the PR. More importantly, I knew that the faster I finished, the faster I could pee, and that was pretty darn important to me because the last thing I wanted was yellow socks. So, I have found my PR formula, having to pee and having the beginnings of strep throat. I was feeling a little off, but I thought it was just my allergies, then Monday morning after the race I woke up feeling like garbage. The good doctor was kind enough to tell me that I have strep throat... good times. 

We passed one of my favorite places... too bad it was closed
I would have pulled myself off the course to do a little shopping,
and possibly pee. 

Gorgeous morning!

I love Atlantic Station

Millennium Gate

Guess what?! I had a bad ass moment during the race. You know my whole blood = bad ass rule. Shortly after we started I felt something in my shoe, and I knew right away that my toe was bleeding. I looked down at my shoes a few times through out the race, I didn't want to stop unless I saw blood on the outside of the shoe. As long as it was contained, I assumed I was fine. I rocked it out, and pushed to the finish when I looked at the Garmin and saw the possibility of a PR. I was elated to cross that finish line knowing that I had PR'd even though it was only by one second. My first priority was finding a bathroom, then getting some water, a banana etc. Can we talk about the glorious feeling of going to the bathroom? Seriously... just glorious. Other mothers out there know what I am talking about. Too much bouncing = no fun with the bladder. As for the toe, when I checked it after the race, I couldn't find the cause of the cut, but there was a cut on one of my toes. It was so weird.

Didn't get any pictures of myself, or with the family because by the time I was done, they were ready to leave. They had done the rounds at the booths, like I said before Bella cleaned up with swag, had her face painted and bounced her little heart out in the bounce house. She and Patrick were ready for some breakfast. 

Fabulous Friday

Here is today's list of all things FABULOUS

• Going to do the Shamrock N' Roll this Sunday. Only doing the 5K, although I considered the 10K.
• Had an awesome Zumba class this morning and teaching again tomorrow morning. Love teaching Zumba!!
• I've been working on some choreography for my classes. I need to record them asap before I forget what I came up with.
• Fresh Market opened this week in Peachtree City. I might have to pick up more Zumba classes just so I can shop there every week.  
• I'm going to West Stride tomorrow after my class... my wallet might come home a little lighter.
• Hoping to get a small run in at some point tomorrow as well

Jumping On The ABC Bandwagon

Here are the ABC's of me


A. Age: 30
B. Bed Size: King (wish they made like UBER king sized beds)
C. Chore You Hate: Do I have to pick just one? Has anyone seen my cleaning fairies? Where did those lazy b*tches go?! 
D. Dogs?: Would love to have one but we live in an apartment, and I want to wait until we're in a house
E. Essential Start Your Day Item: Have to have my coffee or water
F. Favorite Color: Pink and black
G. Gold or Silver? Silver
H. Height: 5'10"
I. Instruments You Play: Guitar, violin, tenor sax (although I play none of them particularly well)
J. Job Title: Captain Awesome, Mom, Photographer, Zumba Instructor
K. Kids: 1 girl, 6 years old
L. Live: Peachtree City, GA (AKA- The Bubble or Stepford)
M. Mom's Name: Lucia (also my full name, made for some interesting scenarios growing up)
N. Nicknames: Luce, Lu, Hey You... etc.
O. Overnight Hospital Stays? Yes, a few 
P. Pet Peeve: Hmm, good question. Too many to list 
Q. Quote from a Movie: "I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is." Zoolander
R. Right or Left Handed? Right
S. Siblings: 1 younger sister
T. Time You Wake Up? 5:45
U. Underwear: Yes (if you've followed me for a while, you'll know mine give me some trouble from time to time)
V. Vegetable You Dislike: Brussel Sprouts, I have tried to give them a good shot, but ugh.
W. What Makes You Run Late: Shiny things, buttons, unicorns, just about anything but I am working on getting better. I was Miss Punctual before I had B.
X. X-Rays You've Had Done: Chest, shoulder, hand, wrists, feet, ankles, knees, arm.
Y. Yummy Food You Make: I make an awesome baked ziti
Z. Zoo, Favorite Animal: Pandas, especially now that there is a new panda baby at Zoo Atlanta.

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend Race Report - My First Half

The race report... FINALLY! *Warnings- Picture heavy post and a bit of TMI*


All the Garmin stats are HERE


So, I had set my alarm for 2 am, and I woke up before that. Only I would take my phone and take a picture of the alarm clock when I got up.

I got myself dressed, and made my breakfast, but sadly my breakfast exploded. See, the evidence of said explosion. We ate, and headed out to meet the driver from the car service that took us to Epcot for the race.

We got to Epcot and were pretty sure that we were the first people there. We actually weren't that wrong, we were some of the first people there, but I felt a lot better knowing that we were there, even if it was ridiculously early.

This pic cracks me up because it looks like I'm droppin' it like it's hot.

In case you didn't know, Saturday was the Day of Dance and we had to celebrate, even if it was a day late. There was a DJ, music and lights, so we had to dance. We requested a few songs, and I started teaching a little impromptu Zumba class. Ok, so it was more like me dancing but eventually I got a couple of princesses to join in. Someone was recording it, and I would love to see it. After a few songs, I decided that it was time for a potty break, so in the ever growing lines we went. You'll never guess who I happened to run into while I was waiting.... none other than RR and Lesley! It was a meeting none of us will ever forget. 

So, before I forget, I wrote on my arm to remind me of a few things during the race. First of all, was a reminder to STICK TO THE PLAN. Sadly, I didn't stick to the plan, I let me brain get the better of me towards the end, but I will definitely do a million times better next time. I am going to win this mental battle I seem to have every race. The other stuff I wrote on my arm was inspired by Kelly, ok, I totally stole her idea and dedicated each mile to someone. My first mile was dedicated to God, and each mile after that was dedicated to people who have been influential in my weight loss and running journey. Just so you know, I ran a mile for all of you, you guys were mile 8. Sadly, there weren't enough miles for every person that I wanted to run for, but there will be more races.

We made the seemly endless trek to the start, but not without two more stops at the porta potties. I was so scared to lose time stopping to pee during the race, little did I know that I would have to stop during the race regardless. Once we finally made it to Corral F (F for F***ing FAR), we tried to shimmy our way to the front, or at least as far to the front as we could manage. We watched the faster waves go, and each time the Fairy Godmother sent them off, I got chills. Finally, they got to us, she said her little spiel but it seemed a little lack lustre compared to the others, she might have been out of magic by then, or maybe I was being overly critical, both of which are completely possible. We were off like a herd of turtles....

We started strong, but sadly spent a LOT of time at the beginning just trying to get through the crowds. People were walking more than 2 deep, and taking up a ton of space. I ended up running on the grass a few times just to be able to pass. K and I called when we were passing on the left or right, but some people just wouldn't budge and some looked at us like we were insane. In case you were on the course in our general area, we were the loud broads talking about a few inappropriate things, and randomly yelling things like "woohoo", "go us", and "we're all so bad ass". Karen and I were in a great mood but a lot of the people around us were grumpy/serious princesses. I get that they were there to get it done, but I just thought that we would have fun getting done. We did find a few people along the way who were super awesome and tons of fun. I guess I thought that the super happy vibe that I expected and heard about would trickle all the way down to the back of the pack. We even ran into Sarah, and a friend of Shannon's, but we didn't end up running with them. So, we did end up stopping to use the bathroom right by the Richard Petty thing, we lost almost 10 minutes there. Can you believe that?! When we were done, K and I "sprinted" to try and make up some time and we managed to catch up to some of the people we had left when we broke off to pee. Anyways, not too far from the Contemporary, there were some pretty gymnast boys doing their thing, and we sped up and tried to look all cool when we passed them but not before yelling out something about how hot they were. We made one of them blush. 

This was the last picture my phone took before I couldn't get to the screen anymore
from the salt from my face. I was trying to post on Facebook along the way.

There were four of these along the way.

Before we knew it, we were heading into the Magic Kingdom. Where was the time going? It was all I could do to keep it together as we were making our way through Main Street. I know it seems silly that I cry or get all misty eyed at so many races, but I think it just hits me that I have come so far in the past year. In February, of 2010, I had started the weight loss thing but running wasn't even on my radar, I was just a different person. Back to the race, we made our way through Tomorrowland and made our way into Fantasyland, and there it was, the castle. We stopped for a picture in front of the castle, but when we looked for it through ASI's site, it was no where to be found. It was the only picture stopped to take.... go figure. In MK, K and I were chatting and somehow decided that February 27th is New Lucy's birthday. Old Lucy, who was weighing me down is dead and gone, and we buried her just outside of the Magic Kingdom. All of that is silly, I know, but there was something about finally mentally letting go of the 200+ pounds that have still been weighing me down that was very empowering.

This was a surreal moment, I had been looking forward to
this moment for so long.

Woohoo!!! GO US!!! 

So, let's get down to some knitty gritty of the race. I was doing well sticking to the hydration plan, I was alternating powerade and water. Plus I was also making it a point to pour some water on my head at water stops so I wouldn't get too hot. Unfortunately, the fuel plan sort of back fired on me, and I had no issues with it during training. I ingested entirely too much caffeine with the GU and blocks, FATAL error. I had some awful GI issues during the race but I refused to stop, because I didn't want to lose any time. Had I stopped, I probably wouldn't have slowed down as much as I had towards the end. Stupid move on my part....lesson learned. I didn't even finish the fuel I had left in my spibelts because I just didn't know if my stomach could take it. Also, learned a valuable lesson about chafing. I won't go into detail but I just didn't know that there were certain things that needed to be hit with glide. Yowzers!

Best sign I saw on the run

Nine miles in!! 

K and I were briefly separated when she raced ahead to use the restroom. I put my headphones in and jammed out. I had my hands up, I was randomly hooting and hollering, and probably annoying the crap out of the people around me but I was having fun. When K and I reunited, we even ran into a lady I know from the gym. As we went along, I slowly started to wilt, mentally speaking, I was turning to mush. You can look at the garmin stats and watch me fall apart. When the pace really slowed, is when the plan went out the window. Around mile 10, K ran ahead, we had agreed that if one of us needed to speed ahead, we would let the other go, so I let her go. Although, it made me a bit sad because I was already teetering on the edge of losing it mentally, I knew that I had to prove to myself that I could finish this out on my own without K. I dug deep and tried to keep going, so I kept telling myself something that Amy had said to me the night before... "finish the drill". I knew that I had one thing to do and it was finish the drill, and part of shedding old Lucy meant finishing the drill. I was beating myself up about how slow I was, and not even thinking that I was doing the damn thing. Then it happened, we were coming into Epcot, we were in the area right before we went into the park when I started wheezing. I couldn't get a handle on it, so I got my inhaler out and took two hits. I started feeling some relief, but I wasn't 100%, I struggled with it until the end. Why did this come on? It hit me that I was going to finish this thing, and I had a bit of a panic issue. At that point there wasn't any other option than to finish. I also cried during all of this because I just couldn't believe that I was going to finish it. Darn it, I'm crying writing this out. Anyways, a lady beside me started chatting with me when I was tearing up, and I told her my story and she told me all about her husband who has started his own weight loss journey. Thank heavens for her! Then, right at mile 12, there was a girl who was looking like she was going to fall apart, so I chatted with her for a bit, and maybe help her like the other lady had done for me. Then, we turned to leave Epcot and what do I hear... the gospel choir. I completely lost it, it just touched me so much. The lady who helped me earlier and I stopped to take pics at mile 13, and then she said "you know we have to run the rest of the way in". That's just what we did. I ran past Mickey and Minnie, and I wish I hadn't, I just finished. I stopped to take a picture for some people and then K found me. Somehow she managed to stick around the finish line and wait for me. As soon as I saw her, I broke down into the ugly cry yet again. We hugged, and I told her that I still didn't have a handle on my breathing. She said that I needed to get to the medical tent, I told her no. Why you ask?! I needed to get my medal first, I didn't go through that and not get my bling. So, I leaned on a guard rail thing while I waited for my medal. As soon as I got it, I had her walk with me over to the medical tent.

Only one mile to go. Can you tell that there were tears involved?

My new friend was kind enough to take this picture for me.

Not sure where this was taken.

Again, there were tears just before this picture was taken.

I got it done! 

Had to get a pic of the medal before getting medical attention 

The medical team they had on had was awesome. They got me checked in and taken care of incredibly quickly. I had a team of doctors checking me out within minutes of getting there. They did hear some wheezing but we managed to get a handle on the breathing and I stayed in the tent until everything was back to normal. Can I tell you what the sad part about being part of the penguin crew? When we cross the finish line, the party is pretty much over. Everyone has scattered, even picking up my bag after they discharged me was sad because I had to go to a completely different tent where they had the last bags waiting on pick up.

Can't believe I forgot to take the ice pack off my back! Who does that?

We headed over to the taxi pick up place to meet the car that was picking us up. We stunk like we had just finished 13.1 miles, I felt so bad for the driver because we smelled so bad. Then when we pulled up to the Mona Lisa, I yelled something out of the car window which was so stupid on my part. Ugh, I stuck my foot in my mouth yet again. We got ourselves showered up, put on our "I Did It" tees that we bought at the expo, packed up and headed to Golden Corral. Sadly, Foodmaggedon which we had planned was a total flop, but the intent for it was there. We got an A for effort.

You may have to click on this one to see what the signs say

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap Day 2

Day 2... are you ready for it?

We started out having to pack up and get all of our stuff out of the hotel we stayed at on Friday because we were going to be at a different place on Saturday. We must have been quite the sight because we packed like we were going for an extended trek through the mountains or something. That being said, we had tons of clothes to choose from and guess what we wore again? Our superhero/princess tees... yup we did. At least we showered, changed our undies and pants... that's got to be worth something. We staked out a Starbucks because we needed coffee, and that would be my last cup of coffee before the race. I savored that coffee like it was the last drink of my life, put my feet up and tried to calm my nerves.  I was on edge all day Saturday, as much as I felt confident about being prepared, I was still nervous about finishing. I was also feeling pretty stressed thinking about getting to the race the next morning, and everything just had me stressed, I was an absolute mess. Hmm, actually with the stress I was feeling, I think mess, might be an understatement. Hey, at least we had on our happy bad ass shoes.

A little coffee and relaxation before heading to Downtown Disney

We got to Downtown Disney, and it was pretty busy but that isn't too surprising considering that it was a Saturday and it was race weekend. We walked around, did some shopping for our kids, and got Amy's daughter a little gift too. In the Mickey's Pantry store, K found the best wine ever! It's called Jam Jar, and it's a sweet shiraz, now, I am a wine idiot, I just know that I like drinking and that reds aren't my cup of tea. That being said, I make an exception for this Jam Jar, we popped it open on Tuesday after the race and it was incredible. I digress, I also went to the candy store and bought myself a rice krispy treat to enjoy on the way home after the race, that thing looked like a rice krispy brick. We also got to briefly meet up with Shannon, her daughters and Sarah while we were there. After that, we picked up some lunch and headed to the new hotel to check in, eat and get ready for the race.

This sign said "Let The Memories Begin"... loved it

Loved this quote!

Once we got to the new hotel, I was feeling so stressed out that I couldn't even finish my lunch. I unpacked the stuff I was going to need the next day and started organizing everything. I wish I had taken a picture because I had everything organized by the order in which I had to put it on. I also packed the bag that I would check on race day, plus the outfit that I would wear on the ride home after I showered and what not. During this, I got a text from Shannon asking if we wanted to join them for dinner. Karen wanted to stay in and order room service and have some time alone, so I met up with everyone else for dinner. At this point, I was wound super tight, and needed to get some perspective and to vent. I called Amy, we had a fabulous chat, so much so that our talk had me in tears, not just any tears, ugly cry tears. I had to sit in the parking lot at the restaurant for a little while afterwards to get myself together because it takes a little time to get yourself together after a good ugly cry. I got it together, went in and found the girls and got to chatting. Even during dinner, I couldn't quite settle down, like I said I was wound up pretty tight. Not even getting a balloon tiara from the super cute balloon guy managed to help. Can you believe that?! I thought a good ol' fashioned balloon tiara would do the trick. Guess what finally calmed me down?! The ride home with Sarah. We were riding back, and somehow got turned around and ended up on the freeway. It was just hilarious, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed to finally calm me down. 

Didn't you know that I have a thing for balloon tiaras? See this post.

After finally making it back to the hotel, I managed to take a shower, talk to Patrick (who was beyond sweet) and get myself to bed. I slept a bit but not too much, I was up a few times during the night. At that point it was more out of fear of oversleeping than anything else. 

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap Day 1

I'm breaking this up into 3 entries so I can make sure I cover everything. Also, before I go into the entry, I just have to let you know that I did finish, my worst fear did not come true. I did the damn thing!

My friend Lisa and I. We stopped to have breakfast with her along the way.

Alright, very early Friday morning Karen and I set out for Orlando. It was raining and very messy, so we decided to just take it easy trying to get down there. I drove for the first little while, and as soon as Karen took the wheel the skies cleared up. We stopped and switched drivers and guess what happened? The rain was back, it was thoroughly amusing, I think the rain knew I was driving because this continued for a better part of the drive down, I am sure it meant that I wasn't meant to drive that leg of the trip. We stopped along the route to meet a friend who moved away and lived on the way. Have you ever had pancakes from Cracker Barrel? I did for the first time when we stopped to have breakfast with Lisa. Oh my goodness, apparently I have been living under a rock because they were AWESOME! In case you hadn't noticed, pancakes, cupcakes, most things with the word cake in them make me pretty darn happy. Anyways, we said our goodbyes and were back on the road. Before we knew it, we were in Orlando, at our hotel and getting ready to head out to the Fit For A Princess Expo.

We got there later in the afternoon, and the expo was absolute chaos but happy chaos. I was definitely overwhelmed and over stimulated. I spent some money but surprisingly enough, I didn't make it rain like I thought I would. I wish I had come up with a solid game plan for tackling the expo, but we hopped around everywhere. Let me tell you what my most favorite part of the entire expo was... are you ready for it? THE MASSAGE! I had never ever had a massage until I had my legs worked on at the expo, and it was fabulous. Actually, I was a little bummed because I only paid for 10 minutes, and I could have used the 25 minute option. Where had massages been all my life? Why did it take me this long to get one?

After the madness of the expo, we headed out to find some dinner. Mind you, K and I are still wearing the tees we wore to the expo. Hers said Bionic Babe (because she really is bionic), and mine said The Incredible Shrinking Woman. You should have seen the looks we got when we walked in and out of the Uno's restaurant, it was thoroughly amusing. During dinner, I had to fight the urge to have a drink, I had held out (since the beginning of January) so long that waiting a few more days wasn't going to kill me. As soon as we got back to the hotel, we CRASHED, the excitement from the night before and the drive just did us in. You can see this post for pics from the Expo.