Going Bananas (Savannah, that is)

Oh, hi! How are you? How have you been the last 1,346 days? (Or 3 years, 8 months, and 8 days if that’s easier.) I hope this finds you well! It’s been a minute since I posted and I couldn’t think of a better comeback post than talking about the best (and most fun) base, er, BANANA BALL team on the planet.

I was fortunate enough to snag tickets to a coveted Savannah Bananas game when they went on sale in January. Tickets sell out immediately and I was excited to finally see what all the brouhaha was about. When March arrived, three of my friends and I caught them in Montgomery, Alabama, for their 2023 Banana Ball World Tour. It was my first time seeing the Bananas and they exceeded all expectations…from the party they throw while you’re waiting in line to get in (that was at least a mile long) to the very last pitch (and all the tricks, dancing, and band music you could ask for in between). The show/game lasted 2 hours (Banana ball rules) and I was sad when it was over. I took hundreds of pictures and clips of all the shenanigans, registered for giveaways, and laughed so much I cried.

Fast forward to April when I received notification that I was the grand prize winner of the 2023 Golden Ticket Sweepstakes from the Bananas and their amazing sponsor, Zappos. Working in IT, I immediately thought it was a scam. I emailed them back to “accept” the prize and see what was next. It was not, in fact, a scam. It was A MAJOR AWARD! Executive Rock Star Tara Whiddon (her real title!!) responded that I had won the big prize in their contest which was airfare, hotel, and VIB (Very Important Banana) tickets to see them during their stop in Las Vegas in May. I immediately passed out. 🤣🤣

Tara lived up to her Rock Star title in getting me and my bestie set up with our plane tickets, hotel reservations, and everything we would need for the trip. I am not the easiest travel companion, especially on planes, so Tara went above and beyond in accommodating us to make sure we (I) were extremely comfortable and I am forever grateful to her (and the Bananas and Zappos) for that. We got in pretty late at night and Tara the Rock Star was waiting there to pick us up and take us to our hotel (Rock star status for me: Unlocked. Felt like it anyway). Once we got to our room, rock star status went into overload. There were gold lamé balloons on the wall spelling out “Welcome Sherri and Liz”, banana balloon creations, and lots of Savannah Bananas and Zappos swag for us. I don’t know the last time I felt so special.

Liz (bestie) and I spent the next 2 days running around, exploring Vegas. It was her first time so we tried to cram as much into our long weekend as possible. In my humble opinion we managed quite a bit. The Bananas were staying in the same hotel so we constantly ran into them in the halls and elevators and during breakfast in the lobby. I fangirled every time I saw one and probably embarrassed poor Liz to pieces.

It was finally the day of the game and Tara again showed off her Rock Star skills by picking us up in the tour version of the Bananamobile and whisked us away to the mountains of Nevada to the Las Vegas Ballpark. We were greeted by another pair of SB rock stars who knew exactly who we were and where to take us (to hang with the other VIBs). VIBs get early access to the games and get to meet all the players, coaches, and more before the game (and get to take all the pictures with them they want). They also get to choose their seats before regular GA ticket holders are permitted in. I had mentioned to Tara in a phone conversation early on that I LOVED watching the umpire at the Montgomery game – he is the BEST dancer. Unbeknownst to us, she had passed along the message and as we descended onto the field I heard someone yell “SHERRI” at the top of their lungs. I turned to see Vincent, the Dancing Umpire, running toward us. He grabbed me in a huge hug and I thought my face was going to permanently freeze into the biggest smile I’d ever had. I am STILL smiling. After the greatest hug ever, we took tons of pictures with the players and got them to autograph our SB poster. Vincent actually signed my VIB laminate and I fangirled all over again. The game was so much fun with 20 new tricks we hadn’t seen before. I don’t know how they keep coming up with fresh material, but they DO👏🏻IT👏🏻EVERY👏🏻NIGHT. We also met Jesse Cole – the owner, always wearing a bright yellow tux with hat at the games, the Banana Band, the Man-anas (their Dad Bod Cheerleading Squad), the official SB magician, the SB mascot Split, and more.

The game, players, coaches, crew, and everyone on the SB team were all amazing and we couldn’t have asked for a better time. It did start raining and lightning at one point so Liz and I headed out in order not to die (though we would have died happy). I’ve posted some photos of our epic adventure and have to thank the Savannah Bananas, Zappos, and the entire SB (and the Party Animals!) team for making this the trip of a lifetime. And of course, Vincent..the sexiest dancing umpire alive.

I FINALLY Finished #BlogLikeCrazy!

Blog Like Crazy logo

Blog Like Crazy is the monthlong challenge to post new content to your blog every day in November. Javacia of See Jane Write introduced us to it years ago.

Every year I say I’m going to do it. Every year I start out strong. Every year I peter out and never finish. UNTIL THIS YEAR! I DID IT!!!! Now, I didn’t do it gracefully and I probably didn’t do it correctly. But I did it. I posted 30 new posts for November. Some days I had to post it the next day so you got a twofer or a threefer (today!) because I missed my deadline or missed a day without knowing it, but I DID IT! WAHOOOO!!! I found the trick; don’t tell anyone you’re doing it. lol. This is the first year I didn’t declare I was doing it – I just did it for myself to see if I could actually do it. And I did. Sort of. lol.

Today I was going back through the posts, making sure I had all 30 (sans yesterday and today’s which I was working on) and realized I missed November 6 somehow. So I just wrote one for November 6th and posted it. Better late than never and we’re still in November so it’s still part of Blog Like Crazy! 🙂 I hope it still counts as part of Blog Like Crazy and I’m still considered a completer.

I hope to do it again next year and put more planning into it to have much better content. I am thankful for my wonderful friends and the wonderful readers who joined me for the ride this month. It was a blast and I hope you stick around to see what else lands here the rest of this year and next!

I’ll be sharing out Javacia’s post on everyone who completed the challenge later because they are always rock stars and have the best blogs! I love reading and sharing the fellow Janes’ content. Happy November and congrats to all who finished this challenge and NaNoWriMo!

The First Thing I Remember?

So today is the end of #BlogLikeCrazy – the month long challenge at See Jane Write to post a blog post every day. I was so excited that I completed it…until I went back and counted all my posts. I do know that I didn’t post every day technically – some days I posted twice because I missed getting my post up the day before for various reasons. But I did get some content posted every day for November. Or so I thought. I just went back and looked at each day, counting them as I went. Apparently I was asleep all of November 6th because there is no post for that day or a double post the day after. Ack! So, in order to make sure I am TOTALLY LEGIT for Blog Like Crazy b/c I told myself I was doing it this year – HERE IS YOUR POST FOR NOVEMBER 6th! lol. Sorry it’s a bit late. Sorry I fell asleep on the job, but here you go!

I don’t know exactly what my first memory is…or rather, I don’t remember my first memory. HAHAHAHAHA. But one of the first memories I have is my dad taking me on Space Mountain at Disney World when I was very young and being scared out of my freakin’ mind. I don’t really remember the ride (now), but I must have been tall enough to ride or I wouldn’t have been allowed on it. But I sure wish I hadn’t (I do remember that much) b/c I was screaming bloody murder the whole time with my dad behind me. So, your lesson for today – PARENTS, DON’T TAKE YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN ON SPACE MOUNTAIN UNTIL THEY’RE OLD ENOUGH TO ENJOY IT. OTHERWISE YOU WILL SCAR THEM FOR LIFE.

You are welcome.

WHY IS IT 70 DEGREES AT THE END OF NOVEMBER?

Seriously, does Alabama just walk around going “Here, hold my beer” every year when some city or state sets the record for the warmest temperature at the end of November? It is 72 degrees at the end of November here in beautiful Central Alabama. STOP IT ALREADY!

Where are the frigid temperatures? Where are the snow flurries? When can I pull out my snow boots, mittens, and ear muffs? WHEN CAN I WEAR MY CUTE SNOW JACKET? I HAVE A SNOW SHOVEL FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

I spent quite a few years in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when I was younger and I miss those cold winters. I got another taste of that awesomeness when I lived in the Northern Virginia/D.C. area for a few years a while back and I still crave it. I am thankful we do get cold weather here and there, but I’m not going to lie – I want it A LOT more.

I abhor the heat and humidity in Alabama. I hate being hot and it makes me physically ill. I would love to live somewhere cooler, but life keeps me here right now and that’s totally ok. But when I can, ADIOS HOT WEATHER! Please bring on the cold weather soon, Mr. Winter. I’m ready for you, your brothers, sisters, and all your frosty relatives!

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to take a moment to wish all of my readers, friends, and family the most wonderful Thanksgiving. I am extremely thankful for all of you – my tribe, circle, and support system of amazing family and friends that pick me up and hold me throughout the year when I fall down. I hope you all know how much you mean to me and that I am able to give you a small portion of the gifts you give me with your love, friendship, and support.

All those cliches are true – you are the company you keep, you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, etc. This is NOT to brag about myself, but rather really amplify the fact that it can really do wonders for your attitude, mental and physical health, and heart when you surround yourself with good people. I have surrounded myself with the best and I feel it every day.

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving and have a wonderful holiday season.

My First Surgery

Me before surgery
See? Don’t I look totally normal and calm right here? FOOLED YA!

Having your first surgery at 44 poses its own set of questions/challenges/risks/whatever you want to call them. I call them “I’m the biggest baby in the world, so I’m freaking out no matter what” things. 1. I’m scared to death of death. So being put under general anesthesia – basically the CLOSEST THING TO DEATH BESIDES DEATH – is not on my bucket list right now. 2. I have sleep apnea so let’s just ADD SOME MORE INSANITY TO THAT FEAR. 3. I’m overweight so let’s just ADD SOME MORE INSANITY TO THAT FEAR. 4. I’ve never been put under for anything so let’s just ADD SOME MORE INSANITY TO THAT FEAR. Seriously, I could go on like this all day.

After talking to a few people about my IRRATIONAL FEAR OF BEING PUT UNDER (yes, I type like I talk and I talk like I type) I calmed down quite a bit. Many of the folks I talked to who had surgeries before actually liked the anesthesia. Some said it was the best sleep they ever had, some likened the relaxation stuff they give you in the IV prior to being put to sleep to the happy gas they give you at the dentist, some said they don’t remember a thing therefore they love it. A few people said they didn’t like it or had bad reactions to it, but they were far and few between. I absolutely LOVE the gas at the dentist and the more people I talked to, the more I got the impression that was how I was going to feel before I even got fully under so I was ok by the time I got to surgery yesterday. Or so I thought.

I was pretty ok during check in and pre-op. I lost it a little when the anesthesiologist came in and started talking to me about the tube down my throat. For some idiotic reason I figured I would have a mask on. But, they can’t very well do surgery on my sinuses up through my nasal cavities if I’m wearing a mask, can they? So when he started mentioning a tube down my throat and stuff, I lost it a bit until Daniel was able to come back with me after they got my IV started. Daniel always calms me down.

They had my IV in they gave me propranolol well before taking me into surgery, but I don’t think it was enough. I thought I would be ‘dentist happy-gas relaxed’ by the time I got to the OR and I wouldn’t care what they did with me (pretty much how I feel at the dentist when I’m on that stuff), but when I got to the OR I was quite aware and scared of what was going on when they started sticking monitors on me and I could hear things start beeping. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. I wasn’t having it and I was petrified. I was not relaxed and told them – I also burst into tears. I heard someone ask if I had been given propranolol and someone else said yes. I yelled, “Not enough!” and asked for more. That’s the last thing I remember before waking up.

The next thing I know I was waking up to a bunch of people hovering over me saying, “It’s all over. You did great. See? It was nothing.” And whisking me somewhere else. They were right. It was easy, painless, and awesome. But I definitely needed more propranolol before going into that OR. Oh my word, that was scary as hell!

Smurf Me

The Smurfs All Star Show record cover

One of my most prized – and oldest – possessions is my Smurf record. I don’t remember when, where or how I got it, but I do remember it’s been a favorite of mine for years. I’ve been listening to this record for nearly 40 years.

I bought a little red turntable about four years ago, but haven’t used it in at least a year or two. I have a very small record collection, but do like to pull it out when hubby isn’t here and blast my vinyl. I thought today would be the perfect day for a walk down memory lane with my oldest friends, the Smurfs.

“The Smurfs All Star Show” kept me company so many days throughout my growing years. I hadn’t listened to this album in at least a decade so wondered how much of it I would remember. It was just like riding a bicycle. The upbeat campy tunes came right back to me like old nursery rhymes. As I listened to the album in my latest iteration I realized how each song reminded me of some of the greats out there, either the vocals or arrangements or both. One song sounded just like an Abba song, another one could have been by the Beatles, yet another one could have been written and sung by today’s Vampire Weekend. It was amazing how the Smurfs pulled their influences from different genres and groups.

I’m not sure if there are digital copies of the record anywhere considering it was released in 1981, but if you can find it check it out. My favorite song is “Catch Me,” a fast-paced, catchy tune that will make you dance around the kitchen while you cook your favorite meal. If you can’t find it online and want to listen just let me know…you can come over and we can Smurf it together!

It’s a #MiraclePopUp

Ashley from QP
The fabulous Ashley with her Yippie Ki Yay…before *I* drank it 🙂

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the opening of ‘Miracle on 24th Street’ at Queen’s Park here in Birmingham. Queen’s Park is a lovely establishment that opened in late September 2018 and has been a hot spot ever since. It’s known for its delicious, one-of-kind cocktails, super fun ‘Tiki Tuesdays,’ and annual Miracle Pop Up, among other things.

I heard about ‘Miracle on 24th Street’ from so many people last year, but never had the chance to go. I knew I wasn’t making that mistake this year. The minute I found out when it was happening I reached out to my #1 Queen’s Park fan, Amanda, to see when we could schedule a date. We were both free on opening day so it was perfect.

Miracle is a Christmas-themed pop up that serves holiday drinks in a festive setting in bars all across the world from November 25 – December 31st. It was started in a bar in NYC and grew to over 100 participating cities this year with our very own Queen’s Park representing Birmingham. While I was remiss in taking pictures of the amazing menu, here are a few pictures of the beautiful interior that will definitely get you in the spirit. And now you have an even better reason to go inside and check out the menu in person. Believe me, it’s worth it!

GO GET YOUR OWN MIRACLE AT #MIRACLEPOPUP!

My Top 5 Distractions

I looooove to procrastinate when it comes to chores and not-so-fun things I have to do or deal with on a personal level. My dad knows this, Daniel knows this, anyone close to me knows this. I’m not proud of it, but I am working on it. I thought I’d share my top 5 distractions these days and how I’m working on combatting them when they arise.

  1. Sleeping. This is my number one distraction, by far. I’m not sure if it’s due to a medical condition/conditions or what, but I’m working through that theory. Hence my surgery this week. So, that’s how I’m combatting that distraction…going down the line of possibilities and trying to eliminate them. Sinus infections/issues, hormones, Sjogrens, Hashimoto’s, etc. ALL THE THINGS. I use my weekends to catch up on sleep. You’d think I had triplets or something as much as I like to sleep on the weekends. This is another reason it’s taking me forever to unpack.
  2. Social Media is probably number 2. It’s not as bad as it used to be, thankfully, but I can still get lost on Instagram or TikTok for far longer than I’d like to admit. When I find myself spending too much time on them I put down the phone or close the computer and pick up something substantial – either my Kindle (if I’m still in a mind mood) or laundry or a box to unpack if I need to do something with my hands.
  3. Television is almost as bad as social media for me. Thankfully we don’t have cable or I fear it would be a lot worse. But we do have all of the digital stuff – Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, Disney+, and a lot of other channels on the Roku that suck me in too many hours that I’d like to admit. I allow myself some TV time, but I try hard not to watch too much “fluff” TV, which is my favorite. If I find myself starting down that path I try to at least change to something educational like a documentary or the like. Baby steps, ya know? lol.
  4. Shopping (window). I love to window shop online. I can spend hours looking at things I’d love to buy, but never do. Clothes, shoes, things for the home, places I want to go, etc. I put tons of things in my cart just for fun, but never check out. The only time I actually shop is if I have a coupon or someone is having a huge sale. If I am spending too long window shopping and I have something I need to get done I close my tab and lose my cart. It’s so sad and all my stuff is gone. lol.
  5. Literally anything else than what I need to do. lol. I am just a procrastinator. But, the reality is that when I finally do whatever it is that I need(ed) to do I’m so happy it’s over with that I’m ecstatic. WHY DON’T I JUST DO IT AND GET IT OVER WITH? I am my father’s daughter. lol. It runs in our family. 🙂 So, yes, we’ll still be unpacking boxes in 2 years from our move and we *might* invite you over in like 5 years to our *new* place. Hold your breath.

Thank You for the Blog Love

paper heart
image by victor u

It’s another twofer so enjoy!

First off, I cannot thank you enough for all of the messages, texts, comments, and posts after sharing my recent weight story. So many of you reached out with words of encouragement, support, and love. It’s hard putting yourself out there for the world to see – especially when you tack your actual weight to it – but you all were so accepting and positive and I should have known you would be. I truly have the most amazing friends.

I will tell you the best thing about writing that post – seeing so many comments from the people who inspire me in their wellness journeys. I don’t always speak up, but I follow many, many of you on FB, IG, Twitter, and the like. And I know many of you are or have been on your own wellness journeys through the years. I follow a lot of you and look to you regularly for inspiration. So, for any of you who might have gotten a nudge from my story, chances are I got one (or more) from you first in the past year or years. So thank YOU for being transparent and always being real in your posts. It helps so much more than you know, even if I don’t tell you. I’m watching. And so are others. 💕

That Time I Cried in Belk – Pt 3 (The Finale)

The finale! I know you’ve been waiting all night for it! Especially after Part 1 and Part 2. Well, wait no more, dear readers. (I crack myself up.)

I can’t speak for all plus size people, but I can speak for a vast majority of us when I say that when you get larger you stop shopping for clothes and shoes. It’s no longer fun and it’s definitely no longer easy. As the years went by and I expanded in size I found fewer clothes and shoes I could actually try on in brick and mortar stores; I was having to look online more often for my size. Eventually I outgrew nearly every store in the mall and in my city and was down to pretty much one and it was pretty expensive.

I started asking around and found great suggestions for affordable places online that had cute clothing. Don’t get me wrong, there were retail stores in my town and price range that carried plus size clothing, but they all seemed to be styled for much older women who didn’t care too much about fashion. I was still young, curvy, and wanted to look and feel good in my clothes. And their clothes all felt like pastel-colored polyester potato sacks, some with legs.

I was able to find respite online in a few somewhat stylish shops and, as body positivity became more mainstream, more shops and more designers added to the fold. I was eventually ordering all my clothes and shoes online (heaven forbid a regular retail store in the mall carry women’s WIDE WIDTH shoes that aren’t athletic!) and trying everything on in the privacy of my own home. When the clothing box subscription services started I was so excited to possibly have some somewhat tailored-to-me fashion help until I realized none of them went up to plus size. Being plus size is a huge PITA when it comes to clothes, shoes, and a million other things, lemme tell ya. You can’t go shopping with your other-sized girlfriends AT ALL for a fun Saturday because, well, you just end up holding their bags. And it’s a dagger to the heart every time you go into a store with anyone and they look at anything off-the-rack because you know you can’t do that (and haven’t been able to for years and may not be able to for years. But I digress…) So I learned to just stay away from stores all together. Or at least the clothing section of them. Hadn’t been in YEARS. Until Belk. And that was by accident.

A few months ago I had to go to the mall for something and I parked at Belk because it was the quickest entrance to the store I needed to get to inside. (I’m always strategic with my parking at the Galleria because I can’t stand walking around that place all day.) I raced into Belk, planning to zip through into the main mall to the store I needed to get to, when a dress caught my eye. It was a cute, short, patchwork dress of purples, pinks, and browns – perfect for the upcoming fall season. Of course I haven’t shopped at Belk, um, ever and I haven’t look at anything on an actual rack in years. I do recall them having a plus section because some of my friends have worn pretty cute plus-size items from Belk before.

Do I dare? No. But could I? Noooooo. Keep moving, Sherri. It always ends in disappointment and you just end up crying the whole way home. Is this the plus-size/women’s section? I have no idea….I’ve never been in Belk before to shop, just to run through. It’s realllllly cute though. And it’s reallllly me. Hmmmm, let’s just see. I looked around to see what section I’m in. I can’t tell at all, there are just huge displays of brand names with their clothes on display. I’ve never heard of any of these brands and I know a lot of plus-size brands, but I don’t shop at Belk so maybe they’re special to them. I start looking at the sizes of the dresses to see how they run, that should let me know if I’m in the plus-size section. XS, S, M, L, XL. Crap. I think I’m in the regular ladies department. That blows chunks. I go to another rack to check those dresses just to see if it’s this one brand. Nope, those are all the same sizing structure, too. CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP. But the dress is soooo cute!

I pull out an XL and hold it up just for giggles. It looks pretty large. I have lost some weight. Maybe I won’t cry? Let’s cross ALL.THE.THINGS and see. I take it to the dressing room and put it on.

Then I pass out.

I get back up.

And freak out.

And take this picture.

first picture

And then another.

And another.

And then take a few more because I still think I’m unconscious and I need proof that this happened in the alternate reality that I’m currently in.

Then I wake up (or something), get dressed, look at the price tag, pass out again, wake up, put the dress back, and run around the floor like a wild banshee. Then I call my friend, Jennifer, of Stellar Fashion and Fitness.

Her: Are you ok??? You sound strange.

Me: Um, I’m crying.

Her: What’s wrong???? Are you ok?

Me: I’m in Belk.

Her: Um. What happened????

Me: I tried on a dress.

Her: ????

Me: Off the rack. From the regular ladies section. It fit.

Her: SHERRI!!! THAT’S AWESOME!!!!!! I know how huge that is! I know how hard you’ve been working on everything. I know what a big deal that is! Congratulations!!! That is so wonderful! Way to go! Did you take pictures? I want to see!

Me: Thank you. I can’t believe it. I’m totally bawling in the middle of Belk right now. People keep looking at me. I look crazy.

Her: So what! Let them look!

And the conversation went on like that for a little bit longer while she helped calm me down enough so I could send her pictures and get myself home where I proceeded to tell my husband the same great news.

I didn’t tell many people about it because while I’m very surprised, pleased, and proud, I also don’t want to sound braggy. I have worked hard (yes, I know I took pills, but I did have to work on eating smaller portions, increasing my water intake, and some other things), so I didn’t want to seem boastful and showing off in a dress feels boastful, unfortunately. I wish it didn’t so I could plaster that friggin’ picture all over the place and go, “LOOK AT ME, WORLD! LOOK AT WHAT I DID!” But I won’t because it’s not about that. It’s about feeling better and healthier and I absolutely do. I still have a long way to go – I want to lose about 100 more pounds, but any loss is a good loss.

Tell me about your journey or if this has helped you at all. And thank you for sticking around for all 3 parts. 🙂

From this to this
From this to this. Also, John Cusack is my boyfriend.

That Time I Cried in Belk – Pt 2

Me at my current weight 245
Me at my current weight – 245 lbs

It’s 2016 and I’m at my heaviest weight ever, 336 lbs. If you missed part 1 of how I got to this point, you can catch up here.

I know I’m still beautiful and all that jazz, but it’s obvious that I’m having problems now due to my weight. My clothes don’t fit anymore, I’m having a harder time with certain movements, and public limitations are starting to rear their ugly heads. Booths in restaurants, seats at theaters, and the like are more often becoming problems for me now.

Besides the obvious physical issues, my health was of great concern. To quote my doctor at my physical that year, “You need to do something or we’re going to need to discuss surgery. And you don’t want surgery.” That’s when it hit me hard.

I had tried numerous things that just weren’t working. Weight Watchers, gyms, paleo, this, that, etc. I know it all comes down to me, but I wasn’t cutting it. She asked me if I wanted to try an appetite suppressant that WASN’T phentermine or whatever it was way back when. It was a combo of Wellbutrin (an antidepressant I had been on before) and something else. One of the side effects of Wellbutrin is appetite suppression. I was very hesitant because I’m a logical, reasonable human. I a) know all the stuff “they” say about taking pills to lose weight – I’m one of “them.” b) I don’t want to take a pill for the rest of my life to keep weight off. c) Pills are only a temporary solution. d) Is this safe? e) etc. etc. etc. I checked out the medication online and talked to my psychiatrist about it – I wanter her input on it since it contained Wellbutrin and I trust her more than my GP when it comes to these types of medications. She’s a specialist in those types of medications, after all. After doing all the research and weighing it with the options of surgery I decided to give it a try.

The medication worked wonders for me. It took a while to titrate up to the full dose and once I did I realized I didn’t need it. The full dose made me a little jittery. So I took half the prescribed dosage and lost nearly 100 pounds over all. I will admit that I didn’t do it consistently. I started the medication in 2017 and then stopped it for a bit and then started it again, seriously, at the end of 2018. I think that’s when friends and family noticed the most weight loss, in the last year. I was 336 and now I’m 245. Besides the benefits of my clothes fitting again and being able to sit in booths and at the movie theater, my doctor is very happy and all my blood work/levels look great – even ones that were a little iffy before.

I stopped the medication about two months ago to give my body a rest and reset. It’s probably not the best time to do it – right at the holidays – but I wanted to take a break and also see if I would eat everything in sight if I wasn’t on it. I’m happy to report that while I’m a little hungrier than I was before, I’ve still been able to maintain small meals and intermittent fasting (which I practice healthily). Part of the extra hunger comes from a new medication that I recently started for something else – one of the side effects is increased hunger. So yeah, not the greatest time to stop my other medication either, but I can do it.

Now we’re getting to the good part! WHY DID I CRY IN BELK, YOU ASK? Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you. Turns out, there’s a part 3!

That Time I Cried in Belk – Pt 1

Me at my largest – 336 lbs

A disclaimer before I start this post: I didn’t get my post up yesterday so this is another twofer. It works out well though, because this is a long story so it’s split into two posts.

I’ve had a loooooooong, harried roller coaster journey with my weight, as have many of my friends. I’ve always thought I was a big girl, even in high school when it is painfully evident in pictures (now) that I’m quite thin. I’ve always been what I considered big boned, but I don’t even what that really means anymore. I think it means I have a big frame and I do consider myself to have one.

During my first marriage I was a little on the heavy side, but not large by any means. I think I fluctuated between 145 and 165 during the 10 years I was married. Of course I thought I was a cow. I tried hard to lose or maintain my current weight and definitely not gain more, and my ex did his part to help; he did not want a cow for a wife. After I got divorced, I gained some weight and resigned myself to the fact that this was my new body. I don’t remember what it was, but likely around 200 or so.

Eight years later I remarried and I think I was at like 235 for the first few years of our marriage. Then I turned 40 in 2015, and it happened, just like everyone said it would. When people say the minute you hit 40 it’s that much harder to lose weight, they are NOT kidding around. Everything I had done prior to 40 to either maintain or lose weight did not work anymore and the pounds just started compounding. By 2016 I had blown up to 336 pounds.

To be continued……

Say It Ain’t So!

My dear friend Lee turned me on to the theatre scene when I first moved to Birmingham in 2004. She showed me the ropes of volunteering at local venues by ushering and helping out where needed in exchange for seeing the shows. Thus began my love affair with local theatre.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see at least one show at almost every local theatre in Birmingham, I think. They each have their own unique history, personality, and character. I love watching their stages come to life with performances from some of the best thespians in the U.S.

One of the theatres in town that has become very important to me is Theatre Downtown. I’ve always enjoyed the off-the-beaten-path shows that it puts on, as well as the home it provides for ETC improv comedy troupe. I became such a fan of the theatre that I joined the Board of Directors for a few years. During my tenure I loved helping grow the social media presence, as well as have some input into the amazing shows the artistic director proposed for each year.

I’ve had so many wonderful memories at Theatre Downtown. I have friends who got married on stage, my husband was in his first play there, and I’ve spent countless days and nights ushering, cleaning, working concessions, and enjoying hundreds of shows with friends and family there. Theatre Downtown is part of my DNA now.

Theatre Downtown is housed inside Fifth Avenue Antiques in the Lakeview District of Birmingham. Last week the theatre found out that the building has been been sold and they have 30 days to move out. They are currently fundraising to help with moving costs, storage costs, and potential temporary venue costs for the rest of the season.

If you’ve ever enjoyed a show at Theatre Downtown (or plan to in the future, which I hope you will) please consider giving to their fundraiser by December 3rd – Giving Tuesday – also the day they have to move out by. You can donate to their fundraiser through their GoFundMe Charity link here:
https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/save-theatre-downtown.

Thank you in advance! And thank you Theatre Downtown for the many amazing memories at Fifth Avenue Antiques. I look forward to many more in your next iteration. 🙂

Twofer Tuesday!

It happened again. I FELL ASLEEP before I got to post to my blog yesterday so you get TWO posts today! It’s TWOFER TUESDAY!

Up first, guess who’s having surgery next week???? This girl! Guess who’s never had surgery before? This girl! Guess who’s SCARED TO DEATH TO HAVE SURGERY? THIS GIRL! It’s very minor surgery, but I am still SCARED STIFF. I’ve never been put under. ACK. It’s Balloonaplasty or something. I dunno. They’re gonna put little balloons in my nose and I’m going to fly up to the sky like in the movie “Up.” Just kidding. That would be so cool. I am having balloon sinuplasty – that’s what it’s called. They are sticking little skinny balloons up my nostrils and inflating them to get out all the gunk clogging up my sinuses. I have a lot of gunk apparently. Totally blocked in one side and mostly blocked on the other. And my upper sinuses are all kinda funky, too. 

I’ve had chronic sinus problems for as long as I can remember. I’ve had a sinus infection for the last 6 months. I also have crazy bad allergies and recently had allergy testing redone. It turns out I’m allergic to ALL.THE.THINGS. Still. The biggest one being yeast. DAGNABBIT. I love yeast. Oh, well. We’ll tackle one thing at a time. Sinus surgery first and then allergy shots or dissolvables or something. 

Anyway, if you don’t mind, send some good juju and prayers my way next week for a safe, easy surgery and even easier recovery. I’m one terrified bunny and you know what scared bunnies look like…they just shake and poop A LOT.

Switched at Birth

I’m referring to the television show that originally aired on ABC Family (now Freeform) from 2014 to 2017. It features two teen girls who are accidentally switched in the hospital at birth and sent home with the wrong parents. One girl discovers the mistake in high school from a school lab project with a blood test.

She finds her biological parents who, in turn, have been raising the other daughter as their own. I became interested in the teen/family drama because one of the daughters is deaf in the show and communicates using ASL (American Sign Language). The show introduced me to a lot of deaf culture, different aspects of the deaf community, and a ton of ASL.

I’ve been taking ASL off and on for about 2 years now. Watching “Switched at Birth” at the beginning of my lessons was helpful in picking up common words, proper techniques for finger spelling, and general knowledge. I’m about to start the series again, now that I’ve got a few years under my belt. I’m hoping to understand a lot more of the signs and also absorb a lot more than I did the first time.

Are you taking lessons or learning anything new right now? Let me know in the comments.

That Time I Hated Cats

Nigel

I’ve always been a dog person. I’ve had dogs my entire life and, actually, this is the first time that I can remember not having a dog. My sweet Millie passed away about six month ago. But we still have Nigel, our beloved cat. Those are words I never thought would come out of my mouth.

My father was gracious enough to allow me to have pets while raising me. I usually had dogs, but he did bring a cat home one day during middle school. It was already in the house when he brought me home from school because he wanted to surprise me with it. We had no idea how well they hid when they are scared and it took us a good hour or so to find that cat. Needless to say I was very surprised by the time we found it! I found out not too long after that that I was allergic to cats, so we gave her to my aunt. I wasn’t terribly upset as I wasn’t that fond of her anyway.

I’ve always enjoyed dogs more because they’re more interactive, act happier to see you, are a lot more playful, and have more of a personality in my humble opinion. I’ve always wanted play partners and dogs were perfect for that. Cats are cute to look at and play with for a bit, but they usually get bored after a minute or two and walk away or start licking themselves. Or they just sit there and stare at you. What fun is that? They just want you to pet them all the time. What fun is that?

Nigel was posted on Facebook by a friend as a cat that needed rescuing before he was put down. While I wasn’t a huge cat fan, I also couldn’t let an animal die if I could help it. And my husband is a cat lover, so I decided we’d check it out. I sent the picture to my husband and he immediately fell in love with Nigel’s beautiful face and green eyes. He is a gorgeous cat. I decided to go meet him to see if I was going to die from sneezing being allergic and all. He was sweet and gentle (aka terrified) and I didn’t sneeze at all. The next day my husband went to meet him and we ended up bringing him home.

Nigel hid inside the recliner (underneath, in the mechanics) of our sectional sofa for the first few months of moving in. I guess he came out at night and ate and went to the bathroom when no one was around or moving. He eventually came out and got to know us and we him. He turned me into a cat lover. He has the sweetest disposition and is so loving (to us). He doesn’t get into anything or do anything wrong. He’s mild mannered and the only crazy thing he does is tear out around the house every so often like a maniac when he’s feeling frisky and needs to get some laps in. We crack up. He also likes to hang out inside the cabinets some, but that’s cute. He doesn’t knock things off tables or counters, doesn’t unroll the toilet paper, doesn’t scratch where he isn’t supposed to, doesn’t do anything wrong. He’s the perfect cat – I kid you not. So, now I’m a cat lover. Because Nigel changed my mind.

I’m grateful every day that Nigel picked us. If we had gotten any other cat I’m positive I wouldn’t be the cat lover I am today. He completely changed my mind about cats and now I adore them. But of course, I’m biased. Just look at that FLOOF!

It’s Puzzling

Puzzle

I couldn’t tell you the last time I worked on a puzzle. An actual jigsaw puzzle. That thought recently hit me when I was thinking of ways to relax and decompress. I used to love working on them in my spare time and I hadn’t thought about doing one in years. I wondered if they would still be therapeutic for me.

I put a call out to my neighbors to see if anyone had a puzzle I could borrow before I spent money on one. Also, I wasn’t sure if I would even like putting together puzzles anymore. Thankfully, the neighbors had a beautiful 500-piece puzzle of Tower of London that they let me borrow. I started it last weekend and have the border and a few small patches done.

Tower of London

So far it’s been just as relaxing and rewarding as I remember. It’s challenging, but not enough to be frustrating (I am trying to relax, after all). It goes back to what I blogged about the other day – my passion of fixing problems. I am loving figuring out the puzzle while at the same time creating a beautiful picture. I’ll be sure to share a picture of the finished piece when I’m done.

Are there any hobbies that you’ve rediscovered lately that help you relax or unwind?

My Epic Week

First off, confession: I didn’t get my blog post up last night because I fell asleep on the bed while writing it, so today you get two! I’m trying hard to keep up with and complete #bloglikecrazy this year! 🙂

I have had an epic week, despite feeling crummy for part of it (female problem, ick!). I’m usually pretty chill during the week because I’m working and such, and I tend to have my fun on the weekends. But not this week. This week has been jam packed with stuff and it’s still going. I’ve been to two concerts, a Silent Dinner, and a social media and marketing conference.

Daniel and I saw AJR earlier this week and lost our collective minds. We love this trio of brothers and try to see them any time they are in the area. We just found out they are coming back in March for part 2 of their tour and CANNOT WAIT! Already! And we just saw them! They always put on a high energy, enlightening, intensely entertaining show.

Jonas Brothers

Then I suckered him into seeing the Jonas Brothers with me on Wednesday night (hehehe, get it? Suckered?) He was a wonderful sport and I’m extremely grateful for his sense of humor. I’ve taken a shining (LOL!) to their new material and had a small, almost comedic, inkling to see them since I heard they were coming. But I wasn’t about to dish out real (aka good) money to see them. If I happened to get tickets or something I would go. Well, I checked Stubhub like 2 hours before the show and saw 4th row center tickets for stupid cheap and asked Daniel if he would humor me. It was definitely an experience. The Jonas Brothers were great – talented and catering to their young fan base. They were so cute in their Crayola suits. But what fascinated me the most were the fans. I really felt like that was what it must have been like in the 60’s around the Beatles. My ears could barely handle the decibels of screaming girls. I’ve never heard anything like it and I’ve seen Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Twice.

The next evening Daniel was kind enough to accompany me to the Silent Dinner that the Birmingham regional office of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB) hosts around town each month. I haven’t been in years and they can be very intimidating for a hearing person who is new to ASL (which yes, I still am because I am slow and not proficient in the least). A lot of deaf and hard of hearing people attend the dinners and they tend to sign very fast so I can’t understand what they are saying or asking me and I get flustered and overwhelmed quickly and then want to leave. Thankfully, this time I had Daniel with me who was also new and we helped each other throughout the evening. Daniel has asked me to teach him ASL. So as I learn new things I teach him, which is perfect because it helps me practice. It also helps me realize I know more than I think I do. Baby steps.

Today was the Southern Social Summit at the Haven. It was a wonderful conference about social media marketing with speakers from every background. My favorite part of it was the women-led panel. Those were some powerful women up there giving some great advice!

How was your week?

The Moon

Do yourself a favor and go outside to look at the moon. It’s full and beautiful, like a money plant (Lunaria Biennes) sitting in the sky. It took my breath away last night when I saw it over the city.

My Passion

Problem Solving Picture
Photo by Campus Party Europe in Berlin

I’ve always wondered exactly what my passion was/is. I know I’m passionate about many different things – I love to connect people to other people and resources, I love to lift people up and encourage them, I love to dance and get people grooving with me, I love to love people, I just love to make people smile, period. But today my true passion came out in full force and I wasn’t even looking for it.

I love to solve problems. That’s it. My husband was having an issue setting up an account for someone and kept running into problems. I immediately wanted help him (aka take over) and resolve the issue. He didn’t need my help (he’s super intelligent and capable), but my first instinct and desire were to grab that computer and fix that issue immediately, no matter what it took. It hit me right then, that’s what my passion is. That’s exactly what I love doing the most. I have many gifts, but THAT is what I love doing and what I want to do – FIX PROBLEMS. And I’m good at it. It doesn’t have to be technology, but I’m especially good at that. However, I’m constantly trying to help friends figure out resolutions to their issues or at least point them in the right direction. I’m a plethora of information and love to dig for information to help people find the answers to their questions if I can’t solve it for them.

So next time you need a problem solved hit me up and I’ll see if I can help. Apparently I LOVE IT. lol.

What Do I Do?

A lot of people ask about my job. I usually don’t go into a lot of detail, because it can be hard to understand if you’re not familiar with what ‘the cloud’ really is. But I’m happy to tell anyone who wants to listen, so if you’re interested and know cloud concepts I’ll gladly talk to you about it all day.

I am a Certified Solutions Architect in Amazon Web Services. In VERY short and minimalist terms I architect and implement solutions in Amazon’s cloud for clients. Many people know the retail side of Amazon – amazon.com – where we all buy tooooo much stuff, me included. I can’t help it – I love free shipping, same day delivery on some things, and discounts at Whole Foods and other places. I’ve been an Amazon girl for decades. But Amazon also has a whole separate “backside,” as I call it, that’s the engine behind all that retail magic, as well as their music, video, books (Kindle), and many other arms. All the programs, computers, databases, etc. that run basically EVERYTHING Amazon does is powered by its own computer ecosystem called Amazon Web Services. It’s a massive network that spans the globe and runs Amazon, along with many other huge companies you know like Netflix, Kellogg’s, GE, and Samsung.

Amazon isn’t the only company out there providing cloud technology. There are many other cloud providers out there and some of the bigger ones that you may have heard of are Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and others. I can get around those, but I’m definitely most familiar with and skilled in AWS. Thankfully, that’s what I’m certified in so that works out well. 😉

In a nutshell, that’s what I do. If you’re ever thinking of moving to the cloud and don’t know where or how to start just let me know and I’ll be glad to point you in the right direction. And I work for an amazing company so you know you’ll be in great hands with me.

Through the Years

Today marks 8 years that hubby and I met and spent time together for the first time, so we consider this our “first date” anniversary. I had been following him on Twitter for a bit and wanted to formally meet him. So I set up a public group dinner for anyone and everyone and made sure a mutual friend of ours got him to come. We hit it off pretty much as soon as he arrived and the rest, as they say, is history.

It’s taken us a loooong time to get where we are now in our relationship. Like most couples we’ve had a hundred ups and downs. Through the years we’ve learned so much about each other, what works for us, and what doesn’t. But the most important thing we have learned – and still are learning – is how to communicate. I’ve mentioned therapy before and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone. Please don’t think you have to be going through a life changing event or feel you have to be depressed to go to therapy. For me, therapy is helping me communicate better and more clearly when I need, want, am upset or dissatisfied with something or someone. I’m learning more about how other’s communicate (in relation to my own ways) in order to adapt and work, live, and play more effectively with others. Personally, I have learned so much about myself from therapy and it helped release some long term negativity that had been weighing me down for years. With hubby, we’ve grown closer together through our therapy sessions because our therapist has been able to help us see how we feed off each other positively and negatively. She’s given us tools to use when tempers flare and what were previously knock-down, drag-out, week long fights are now usually 5-10 minute discussions on who felt what way and why. And then it’s done. It’s pretty amazing.

We’re not perfect, but we’re definitely getting our groove. We get each other and we make each other laugh. We take care of each other. We know each other. We don’t always agree, but who does and why would we want to? He keeps me chill and messy and I keep him organized and tightly wound. lol. We work. Happy anniversary-ish, babe. I love you.

picture of me and hubby

Say My Name

For years I had no idea why my parents named me Sherri. I knew it wasn’t a family name, so I wondered if it was just a name they picked out of a book or someone they admired or what. I finally got my answer a few years ago. I am named after an old Andy Williams song called, “Sherry!” that he wrote for the 1967 musical “Sherry!” based on the play The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Sherry! the musical flier

Now if you read my blog post from the other day I have no idea where I heard that tidbit or if it’s actually true because I can’t remember squat. But I do believe one of my parents told me that in the not too distant past and I jotted it down because I know my memory sucks. lol. But somewhere someone told me that little tale and I stuck in my memory bank (a.k.a. Notes on my iPhone) and now it lives in infamy. Take a listen to the song and tell me those lyrics just aren’t the most fun, happiest lyrics ever?? They fit me to a ‘T’! Way to go, ‘rents! Great job on picking out my name – I think you helped form my personality just from picking that fun song!

So there you go. The story of how I got my name. How did you get your name?

Be My Eyes

Eyes
Photo by Dboybaker

“A blind person is calling you.”

The notification popped up and I raced to unlock my phone and answer the call. The calls don’t come that often and there are hundreds of thousands of people like me waiting to help, so if we don’t answer quick they move on to the next volunteer.

I answered the call and was greeted with a live video of of multi-colored gaming dice, the kind you find playing Dungeons & Dragons or other RPGs (role playing games). I immediately got excited. A deep voice asked, “Are these green dice?” as a hand picked up some of the dice. “No,” I replied, “the green ones are a bit to the left.” They dropped the dice and moved their hand to the left, passing over piles of different colored dice until I told them to stop. They picked up some of the dice directly below and asked if those were the green ones with the purple numbers. I asked if they could pull the dice away from the camera a little so it could focus better so I could see the numbers. They did and I was able to tell they were purple numbers on green swirled dice. The caller was very happy and put the handful of dice into a white box that contained 6 little black boxes. They informed me they were heading out to a game and wanted those particular dice for the game.

The app is called “Be My Eyes” and it connects people who are blind or visually impaired to seeing people who can help them find what they are looking for. If you want to be a seeing volunteer (like me) download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store and register as a volunteer and then wait for a call. Like I mentioned before, there are thousands and thousands of us waiting to take calls. That is a wonderful thing for the callers because if a volunteer doesn’t answer in just a few seconds the call will roll to another volunteer until someone picks up. A caller may be in a time crunch and need help pretty quickly, so I appreciate that the app doesn’t waste time waiting too long for volunteers to pick up.

I’ve taken three calls so far in the few years that I’ve had the app. I’ve helped a woman put together her perfect job interview outfit (she knew what she wanted to wear she just needed my help finding a particular colored skirt in her closet), helped another woman get around in a place she was unfamiliar with (describing the room she was in) and today’s call. Today’s was by far my favorite: a fellow gamer who was happy to show me his dice collection once I shared that I was a newbie gamer myself.

I have no idea what it’s like to be deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired, but I am trying hard to understand by learning American Sign Language and more about blind and deaf culture. Degenerative eye disease and hearing loss run in my family, so I’m sure I’ll get firsthand experience with them soon enough. But for now I am absolutely content learning and helping on the sidelines and being an ally wherever I can.

Click here to get more information about the Be My Eyes app.
Click here to get more information about ASL classes from Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.

Saying Goodbye to the Love of Your Life

It’s been six months since we said goodbye.

I didn’t leave the house for the first five or six days save a session with my therapist. She was great – very empathetic and said just enough, but not too much. Just sat there when I needed to just sit there.

Back to the subject….you. My baby girl. I likely won’t remember what happened years from now so I’m writing it down.

About 2:30 a.m. one Saturday morning you fell off the bed trying to get down. I heard you flopping around on the floor and woke up. I went to pick you up and help you stand up and you couldn’t stand on your own. Your legs didn’t seem to work anymore. I tried a few more times and nothing. So I scooped you up and woke up Daniel. We both tried a few more times, but it wasn’t working. You weren’t crying or anything and didn’t seem in pain…you just couldn’t walk. You also couldn’t go outside/stand up to pee, so proceeded to go in the blanket I had you in and all over me. I got your doggie diaper out, put it on you, and decided we’d take you to the vet first thing in the morning. 

We were there at 8 a.m. when they opened. The vet looked at you and felt a bunch of stuff around your back and didn’t think anything was broken. You have arthritis really bad and he thought the arthritis in your back took a hit and maybe pinched your back in a few places. He thought you might get better with some anti-inflammatory and pain meds and wanted to try that for a few days and let him know. He wasn’t sure if your legs/walking would ever come back. That was my first torrential downpour.

We took you home that Saturday and started your medications. We cuddled you all day and night. We had to go to the store to get diapers and other things for you, so we put you in your kennel with lots of blankets so you wouldn’t flop around the hardwoods. When we returned we found you pinned underneath the front bars of your cage with blood on your face, where you had tried to get out. You had a cut on one side of your face and it looked like a possible puncture on the other. That was my second torrential downpour. We cleaned and disinfected your face and looked up what to do online. It didn’t look bad enough to need stitches, so we decided to take you back to the vet on Monday if it didn’t improve.

Your legs and back seemed to be doing a little better with the meds the vet had given us. You were kicking some when lying down and seemed to be trying to walk the more we stood you up. Monday I noticed one of the wounds began to smell a bit. By Monday night it was pretty strong smelling and you were crying out in pain so I decided to take you to the vet first thing Tuesday morning.

When I arrived Tuesday morning the same technician who had helped us on Saturday came and took you from me and asked what was going on. I explained everything and authorized whatever needed to be done to be done. She took you back and said the doctor would examine you and call me. He called a bit later and said he wasn’t sure if the wound was a puncture from the bar or an abscessed tooth or what, but he didn’t want to put you to sleep to find out the condition you were in. He said you seemed worse off neurologically than when you were there before and your legs weren’t getting any better. He felt putting you to sleep was risky in your current state (and you’re also 15 so I always get nervous about that).

He asked if we had thought about future plans for you. Daniel and I had talked about if briefly…if you didn’t get your legs back we didn’t want you to have to live life like that…lying around everywhere….floppy headed….us having to hold your head up for you to eat and drink. That’s no kind of life. I told him that’s what we had discussed and asked him if that’s what he was referring to. He confirmed. I told him we’d be there shortly. He said we didn’t have to do it today, that we could keep you for a day or two, that he had you on good pain meds. But I didn’t want to just love and cry on a doped up zombie of my dog for two more days when I knew what was coming anyway. You had been through enough. Daniel and I went up there and the vet explained what was going to happen. They brought you out to us. We took you outside because it was sunny and you always loved the sun. We hugged you and whispered sweet things to you while he gave you the injection. Then he listened to your heart and told us you were gone.

I cried for days. I didn’t leave the house for a week. The hardest things are the routine things….taking you out to potty before we go somewhere….hearing you tap down the hall to meet me when I walk in the door……not seeing you curled up on the bed when I come home and walk in the bedroom. I see you everywhere – STILL. I am still unpacking things of yours and finding little mementos of you everywhere.

I know it’s going to be ok and I’m going to be ok. It just takes time. And we had each other for such a long time…longer than any other relationship. You outlasted them all, baby girl. I hope I gave you a good life. You were my everything, the love of my life. It’s been six months and it’s a little easier. I still think about you every day and no, I’m nowhere near ready for another dog so please stop asking (the peanut gallery).

I’ll see you again one day and I’ll make sure I bring Baxter. In the mean time have fun with TJ, Cody, Mikey, Teddy, Pepper, Perky and Scooter. I love you.

Dreams

I’ve been having very strange and vivid dreams lately. I regularly have interesting dreams and usually dream in color, but these are different. These have been a lot more intense and some have triggered (or possibly been triggered by?) things from my past. I’ll give you a few examples.

One dream was about kidnapping and just before I was about to get taken for human trafficking I yelled hoping someone in the vicinity would hear me and come help. I actually yelled in real life and woke up my husband who immediately checked to see if I was ok and see what happened.

Another dream was at the house I grew up in where my father still lives. It was set in the present day because I no longer lived there, but still visited. A guy kept showing up to see me whenever I visited my dad. I didn’t really know him..he was friendly, but I was perturbed that he kept showing up at the house. I didn’t know what his intentions were and that bothered me….I had only met him once before. The last time he visited me at the house he brought a huge camel balloon or something of the sort that he wanted to give me. I wouldn’t take it and asked him to leave. After he left I also left in the car to go somewhere. I couldn’t remember if I locked dad’s house so immediately needed to go back to check or lock it. I wanted to make sure he didn’t come back and try to break in if the house was accidentally unlocked. But, or some reason, I could NOT get back to his house. No matter what I did, every road I tried to take back was impassable. There was an accident, construction, or the road was just gone. It was crazy. I don’t know if I ever made…..

My favorite dream was this one because I *think* (felt) like I purposefully and consciously kept going back into the dream over and over. It was at the Alabama Theatre or a beautiful theatre like that and I was there sitting next to Kristen Bell. There were people dressed up everywhere, strange animals that talked (horses, camels?), and celebrities walking by speaking to her (and sometimes me. lol). We were sitting in the back row at the far right of the theatre near the entrance/exit. She was on my right and there was another famous actress that I like on my left, but I can’t recall exactly who it was…maybe Melissa Joan Hart.

Kristen was so kind. I told her about how my friend met her somewhere at an event and got a picture with her and she immediately (and very kindly) started posing for a selfie with me even before I got my phone out. Then we started taking all kinds of pictures together. A horse (usher) eventually came in and told us they were roping it off and no one else could come in. I think the show or whatever was starting

Now here’s the crazy part – every time my alarm went off and I woke up (in real life) I would hit the snooze button to go back to sleep to get back in my dream so I could hang out with Kristen some more. And it worked!

Have you ever been able to go back into a dream after waking up?

My 10 Favorite Things This Time of Year

Fall is my favorite time of year and I thought I would share my top ten with you.

  1. My morning commute on Highland Avenue. I know that may sound a little crazy – LOVING your morning drive into work – but I truly do. We recently moved and my new route takes me along my favorite road in Birmingham, Highland Avenue. I lived off Highland Avenue in 2004 and it’s a beautiful, winding picturesque road that runs along three parks before emptying into the heart of Birmingham. When I lived on Highland I loved walking it for hours, stopping at each park to watch dogs or write in my journal. And when fall came it was the perfect place to watch the leaves change color and fall. When I started taking Highland as my new path to work I remembered why it’s my favorite road in Birmingham.
  2. The smells. Fall always brings the most delicious smells with it. I love stepping outside and smelling a fire burning somewhere, hot chocolate, or hot dogs at a Friday night high school football game.
  3. People. I tend to see more people out and about in the cooler months, with their children, dogs, loved ones, and more. It’s so nice when it’s not 9,000 degrees outside so your face won’t slide off if you want to go on a picnic.
  4. The air! I LOVE FALL AIR!!! The crisper air is pure oxygen to me (ha!) and invigorates me like nothing else. It gets me going and I actually get stuff done AND want to be outside doing it. Fall FTW!
  5. All the soup. I eat so much soup when it starts turning cooler. I swear, the minute it got under 90 degrees I was like craving tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I’ve had soup at least once a week since then, if not more. I am officially 80 years old and don’t care because I look GREAT for 80!
  6. The clothes. I love layers, cozy sweaters, tights, jackets, and fun booties. I live for warm clothes. It’s too bad we only get to wear them for a week in Alabama. But seriously, I have always loved (and felt I looked cute in) darker colors and fall favorites.
  7. Holidays. The holidays are just around the corner and you can feel the energy starting to build. The air feels electric.
  8. Fire! (in my best Beavis voice) I love sitting around a fire when it’s cold. We make fires in our fire pit outside any time we can and will be using our fireplace indoors very soon. I love how fires instantly calm, warm, and mesmerize me. Throw in some s’mores and I’m a happy camper!
  9. Daylight savings ends! Enough said.
  10. Blog Like Crazy. Seriously, I wasn’t kidding when I said this is one of the most wonderful times of the year. It’s awesome because my girlfriends all step up their blogging and writing game, I get to learn a lot more about them during this month from their great posts, I get great advice and help from our Fearless Leader Javacia during the month long event, and it challenges me. It pushes me to get out of my comfort zone, do better than I did the year before, produce better content and try to use what I’ve learned in the past year from being a member of See Jane Write. We’ll see how it goes. 🙂

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It’s November. That means it’s time for #BlogLikeCrazy! I love this time of year because it always renews my love for writing and blogging.

If you don’t know what Blog Like Crazy is you can read more about it here from my friend Javacia Harris Bowser.

I have quite a few ideas penned already, so I’m hopeful I can complete the whole challenge this year. Happy Blogging, babes!