It's been a while since I last posted, so this will be a catch up blog post! August was a busy, but WONDERFUL month! I would have to say the highlight was watching my BMFF (best male friend forever), Sean Patikas-Hunter, marry his beautiful wife, Rita, aka Mrs. Patikas-Hunter :-)
The night before the wedding, Sean calls & tells me to come over... they're celebrating his last night as a single man over at his house. Rita was already at the hotel. So, of course, I get there & I'm the only girl there (sometimes I think Sean forgets I'm not a guy... LOL!) I'm used to it by now, and Sean's guy friends don't even blink when I show up. We talked & ate & drank... around midnight the guys were going to some bar, but I recommended that Sean stay home & get some rest. He listened (and I'm sure he appreciated it the next morning!) The wedding was Friday, August 20th... the day was perfect. The ceremony was beautiful... I didn't even burst into a complete cry bubble the way I normally do at weddings. I think I had gotten out of my system earlier that day... the wedding was in the evening on a yacht in Newport Harbor. I hadn't seen Sean all day, but a few hours before the ceremony I got a text from him which pretty much brought me to tears. Happy tears. By wedding time I was all cried out. I did get a little misty when I first saw Rita, because she was so beautiful. I remember her telling me about when she found her dress & how she knew it was perfect. When I saw her standing with her dad... Wow... she was right. She was a picture perfect bride. Here are some shots from the wedding & reception:
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My best friends at the wedding, aka, "Sean's Lady Crew" LOL!
Stacy, Sharon, Taufiki, LaVetta, JoLai |
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The happy & handsome groom, Sean |
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"I do..." |
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The wedding party |
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Great friends from all over the country
to celebrate Sean & Rita's big day! |
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With the bride... I told Sean I'm on Team Rita now! LOL! |
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My favorite picture: the mother/son & father/daughter dance...
What you don't see is that Rita is looking at Sean the whole time.
That is when I cried again... it was such a moment. |
Okay, so remember the weight loss challenge? I actually lost 10lbs in August! It was a result of checking my diet & working out (like I always do.) So I felt good going into my Labor Day weekend vacation to Florida. I wasn't going to go crazy and eat everything in sight, but I was not going to be the snack police either. Yes, I ate a lot of chips... they were in the beach house, and I ate them. But I also went walking with my dad Saturday & Sunday morning... walked on the beach Saturday... and went walking twice on Tuesday in Atlanta. Some pix from Florida:
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During my beach walk... |
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On my morning walk with Daddy... |
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This is pretty much what I did... :-) |
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Posing at sunset... |
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After my walk... the water was so clear! |
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My suntan... which almost became a sunburn... |
We left Florida on Monday & headed up to Atlanta to celebrate Kimberly's 40th birthday. She had a t-shirt & flip flops themed BBQ, and it was a blast! I got to see a lot of friends from college, play with my nephews & eat some DELICIOUS fried fish. Oh yes, I enjoyed that fried fish!!!
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Yes, 40 year olds double dutch! And do pop ups! |
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Our last day as 39 year olds together... Miz & Biz |
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Auntie's baby, Zachary... my little sunshine! |
I'm proud of myself for not beating myself up for snacking and eating things that I normally wouldn't eat. It's all about moderation. As much as I would have loved to come home, jump on the scale & weigh what I weighed when I left.... that wasn't the case. The good news is that I didn't gain even half my weight back, and I enjoyed some great food. Of course, I'm back on my grind now.... I have given myself a 10lb goal for September. I can do it!
Toodles!
Love this post and more than that, love you. You're such a good sister, friend, and person.
ReplyDeleteI second that.
ReplyDelete