Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Celebrating Two Anniversaries - 36 Years and 3 Years!

From the deck of our "home" weekend before last - Maggie Valley, NC
June 1, 2013

For the fourth time since I began writing Gains and Losses, Bill and I have celebrated a wedding anniversary.  On June 4th, we woke up, looked at each other and said, "my gosh, it's been 36 years!"  I can't write any more or any better than the previous posts I've written on our anniversaries, so I'll just link back to them and if you choose to read them, you'll learn a bit more about us and our marriage.  I love to go back each year and read them because they are all written from different places while we were traveling.  Someone asked me what we did to celebrate this year and I just laughed and said, "Bill mowed the back yard while I sat on the porch watching him and finishing Mary Higgins Clark's latest mystery."  We consider our summer travels to be our "gift" to each other, so we don't make a huge deal about it on the specific day.  It actually felt odd being at home.  Neither of us could remember the last time we were at home on our anniversary!  But there was something comforting about mowing the yard and reading.  It is so "us" and just felt good.  It was a great day.  Here are those links....33 years, 34 years, and 35 years.

Another important anniversary occurred on May 14th.  That was the day, three years ago, that I paused with my finger hovering over the "publish" button for a long time before hitting it.  And when I did, Gains and Losses: Life Through Sharon's Eyes was born.  I began that first post with the words, "I love to write. I always have."  I did not have a clue what I was doing nor could I possibly anticipate the support, encouragement, joy and new friends it would bring into my life.  It was one of the best decisions I've ever made and I look forward to many more years of writing.  Thank you so very, very much to each of you who have commented, responded and become my "friends."  I still hope someday to say that I have a blog friend in every state.  That would fulfill a little girl's wish of many years ago to have a pen pal (remember those??) in every state.  

We had a quiet weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed a rainy Monday at home.  Most of the day was spent finishing a novel I was reading, catching up on blog reading and continuing to research and plan Summer Adventure (Part 2).  We will be spending two weeks in Estes Park, Colorado to finish hiking some trails that have been inaccessible to us on our May trips because of snow.  Since our time is compressed to just a little over two weeks, Bill will fly out to Denver so he can have maximum time in Colorado because he doesn't get all excited about long road trips like I do.  We'll acclimate to the altitude for a couple of days in Boulder, then move on to Estes Park.  

I, on the other hand, can take as long as I want to get to Colorado and home from Colorado.  And oh what fun I'm having working out that scenario.  I've got a tentative plan in mind, but would love any suggestions or ideas.  

Later this week, I will write a dedicated post covering the first week of my post-adventure return to healthy eating!  Week 1 was a resounding success resulting in what I think is close to the largest weight loss in a one week period I've ever had.  And no, no, NO - I did not fast, I did not starve, in fact, I ate 1200-1500 calories of good stuff every day.  But like I said, more about that later this week.

Talk to me today - What's on your mind this week?

14 comments:

  1. Altitude sickness is no fun. Be sure that you and Bill are ready before doing too much.

    Happy anniversary, on both accounts.
    Lori

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  2. Congratulations on both your 'versaries! I'm so very grateful you started blogging!

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  3. Happy anniversary - for both your blog and your marriage! I love road trips too. Have a great time in Colorado.

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  4. Happy anniversary - for both things. Have fun in Colorado.

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  5. Estes Park is GORGEOUS! I fondly remember a trip there about 12 years ago. :) Congratulations on BOTH anniversaries!

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  6. Happy Anniversary! I hope your 15 pounds come off easily!

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  7. Happy Anniversary to you two... You have such a wonderful life ---and it's evident when reading your words...

    What's on my mind today? WELL--I had lunch with a friend ---and this is another one of those friends who lives to be sick and have all kinds of health problems.... When do "I" as her friend support her and when do I NOT??? I don't want to enable her. I do talk about simple things which would help--like losing weight and getting some exercise... BUT--she's just one of those people who seem to NEED to be sick... Bet her doctors cringe every time she contacts them---with every little problem... GADS!!!! I am sorry to say that I don't have much sympathy for people like that (and even though this gal is not a blogger, I do have some blog friends like this)... In God's name, what do we do?????? This is a hard one!!! How do you deal with a hypochondriac? (That might be a great blog post---but it may offend someone.)

    That's what is on my mind... Sorry you asked????ha ha

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  8. Aw, here's to another great year for you two!! And I love envisioning him mowing while you were reading ;)

    Stop at the Estes Park sign on your way in and feed the chipmunks for me...they are soooo stinkin' cute.

    On my mind today: "sip, sip, sip"... finally home from surgery and staying hydrated. Thinking how blessed I am that I have semi-youth and other than being fat, good health, on my side which has really let me heal fairly quickly. I feel grateful today...that's what's on my mind.

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  9. You are going to love, love, love Estes Park! It is so beautiful. Not to mention the Stanley Hotel is there, which was the hotel Stephen King based The Shining on. We stayed there one night, actually. Our car got stopped by a herd of elk, too. That was fun :D

    Happy anniversaries!

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  10. Oh brother, you don't want to know what was on my mind today ... but now the day is over, and I am settled in my chair with my favorite little man on my lap. Life is good and tomorrow is another day.

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  11. Happy Anniversary Sharon and Bill! I love the Estes Park area and hopefully thye won't have the problem with smoke in the air like we are experiencing form the terrible Black Forest, Colorado Springs, fires.

    The fires have been on my mind theses past few days--it is so sad to see people lose their homes and all the natural beauty of the area on fire. I worry my area might be next!

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  12. Happy double anniversary! I know how wonderful it is to travel through life with your soul mate, so extra congratulations to you both on this occasion!

    I know you started blogging just a bot before I did (June 26, 2010. It has been great to get to know you through your blog. As I wrote before I do love your travel posts because it opens my own idea of other places to visit. I am so happy for you, too, that things are getting back to normal for you in terms of the little weight gain you had. With my broken foot, I am also being extra careful not to eat more than I can metabolize. So, far NO weight gain!

    We loved our time in Estes Park lat year. Last year I rode my bike all around Lyon on HWY 7. There is a wonderful coffee shop at HWY 7 and Lyon called the Stone Cup. Great place. Stop there if you can. We hung out there a couple of times while I recovered from my mountain rides. There is also a wonderful bike rode called "the Fruit Loops" that you may want to try. Not too hard, no climbs. People can tell you how to get there. I know you want to hike, but there is great biking in CO , too.

    TTFN,
    Michele

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  13. Congratulations on your anniversaries!We loved Estes Park, too. We loved the scenic cable-car overlook. Yes, lots of beautiful places to hike, bike, and just relax. Enjoy yourself!

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  14. Congratulations on the aniversary. I espcially enjoyed your comments on when your started blogging and why. It was all very similar to my own experience. I do love to write...:)

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