DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR - STORY TIME

“Man is born to eat” ~ Craig Claiborne

Had a great morning. After breakfast Emily, Jessica, and I headed over to the YMCA. I worked out on the elliptical for a half an hour. After that I went on a stationary bike that was the coolest thing ever. It was actually a game. I was riding and had to hit a colored coin and then find the dragon of the same color. When you encountered a hill in the game it automatically changed to a harder resistance. Awesome. Wish I had one at home.

After the YMCA we headed over to Story Time at the Library. It was fun to watch the kids. After story time the worker handed out stickers to all the kids. Monkey stickers to be exact. The boys and Grace can all make monkey noises. Very cute!!

After nap time we headed out to Icing on the Cake. We bought some wonderful cupcakes. I picked Chocolate chip cookie dough and Chocolate peanut butter. I only tried the cookie dough one tonight and it was not so bad,

For dinner we decided to try a diner that was featured on Diners, Drive-in's, and Dives on the Food Network. We went to Falafel's Drive In. I had a deep fried burrito because I wanted to try something different than a cheeseburger. It was alright. I am just not a big fan of spicy foods and it was just a little too spicy for me. Plus I don't believe that there was any cheese at all in that restaurant.

Not it's time to relax.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE - APPLE

“Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.” ~ Annonymous

Today we went and visited Joel at Apple. We got to eat in the cafeteria which was amazing!! Definitly a high security place. As we were leaving we got to see Steve Jobs walking into the Cafeteria. Unfortunatley due to the high security we were not aloud to take pictures anywhere but in front of the building.

Enjoy the pics.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO - CALIFORNIA

"The saying "Getting there is half the fun" became obsolete with the advent of commercial airlines." ~ Henry J. Tillman

Finally made it to California after traveling all day. Three airplane rides. I am little tired. I think the girls did a great job on the planes today. It's good to be settling in and chilling out. Emily made a delicious dinner for us. Much appreciated after a long day. Tomorrow we will plan some of what we will do out here.

More to come.....

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE - PACKING

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money”. ~ Unknown


I worked really hard today at work, so that I would not have to leave a ton for Kristen to do. I felt awful that I had to give her stuff to finish up. The only thing I could promise her is that she can give me a ton of work for me to do when I get back. I finished up a lot though and that felt good. Now I am ready to enjoy my time in California. It still does not seem real, but it will tomorrow!!

Now I believe that I have procrastinated enough!! I have to go pack since I am steadily running out of time :(

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY - TAKING IT EASY

“Taking me seriously is a big mistake. I certainly wouldn't.” ~ Ani Difranco

I woke up at 11am this morning. I have not done that in months. Too bad I had to get sick to be able to do it again. I pretty much took it easy all day. Starting to plan the logistics of packing for my trip to California!! It is becoming a reality now. We leave Tuesday morning and I am so excited. Well I am going to get ready for bed now. I am going to bed early to try and continue to kick this cold to the curb.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN - SUSAN G KOMEN

"Walking my buns off for boobs" ~ Anonymous



This morning I headed out to Rivertown Crossings Mall. I participated in the Susan G. Komen 5k run/walk. My plan was to run twenty five minutes of it and then walk the rest. Due to my sickness that I have I didn't run very far. It was nice to just walk with my coworkers Annie and Kristen.

After the event I went to prebowl for my Thursday league and was promptly reminded why I don't prebowl. I need to remember this for the next time. Then Allie and I headed to Cammy's purse party. There was a ton of people there. Good times!!

When I got home I took a three hour nap!! I was so exhausted. After I woke up Allie, Richelle, and myself went down to Artprize. We saw some great art down there. It was nice, but I wish we would have had more time. Allie and I will go down again tomorrow for a little bit.

Here's hoping I sleep good enough tonight to knock this cold our of my system.

Nighty-night everyone!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN - WEIGH IN #17

“In seeking happiness for others, you find it for yourself.” ~ Anonymous

Today is a bad day!! I woke up with a sore throat. I then got ready and went to weigh in because I can't tomorrow morning. I gained .6 of a pound. Kind of sucky, but could have been worse. Now that bowling has started my workouts are suffering a little. I wish I didn't have to work then everything would be great. By the time I made it to work I was pretty much feeling like crap and it just got worse as the day went on. Super sinus infection.

When I left work I went down to rivertown crossings mall to help decorate a port a potty. We adopted one for Metro and get to decorate it for the Susan G. Komen run. It was so windy and cold.

After that I went to the YMCA and tried to do Zumba. I only made it an hour and then had to sit down for the rest. I hope I make it down to Susan G Komen tomorrow!!

Time for me to medicate myself and go to bed!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN -

"The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning, and does not stop until you get into the office." ~ Robert Frost

I am so exhausted!! I have been working so hard at work to try and get things ready for when I leave. I feel like I am making headway. I am for sure going to need a vacation after all of this.


I had bowling after work and I didn't do too bad except for my first game. I bowled an above average series again. I have to prebowl for my Thursday night league this Saturday when I can find the time. My other two leagues I am getting substitutes for. Which is good because I don't think I could find any time to prebowl more than once.

Up early tomorrow to go weigh in because I can't go on Saturday.

Night everyone!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN - TIRED

"Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same." ~ Francesca Reigler

I woke up super early this morning and headed down to the YMCA. I love that they are an Artprize location. I got to see a couple of pieces of art when I walked in the front door. I love artprize!! I had a hard run today. I ran ten minutes, walked three minutes, and then ran ten minutes. I had to push so hard. Running definitely has an extreme mental component and so far I have been able to overcome the little voice in my head that says it's okay to stop and walk.

Tonight was bowling night. I bowled really good my first two games, but then the last game I sucked it up pretty badly. My sister left after the first game because she had an allergic reaction to sunbutter. I felt so bad for her she was having trouble breathing and tingling in her mouth. She ended up going to the ER to get checked out. They gave her a steroid shot in her mouth and also some benadryl. All is well though.

Nighty night everyone!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN - POSITIVE

"If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges." ~ Pat Riley

This week I am all about staying positive. I have had a rough couple of weeks and I want to have the best attitude possible. I am going to keep this super short tonight because I want to go to bed early. I want to hear from all of you. What kind of positive thoughts keep you going everyday?

Melanie :)

PS I told you it was going to be short :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN - RUNNING

"Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

I woke up at five in the morning to go down to the YMCA. Today I had to run for five minutes, walk for three minutes, run for eight minutes, walk for three minutes, and then run for five minutes. This one was actually harder than the twenty minutes I did on Friday. My left foot starting hurting really bad when I walked after the eight minute run. I got cramps in my stomach at about the same time. I almost stopped, but told myself it's just five minutes you can do it. I did it!! I am looking forward to running on Wednesday.

Well it's late and I am heading to bed. Sweet dreams everyone!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN - BUSY BEE

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~ Winston Churchill

I was so busy today. First I woke up to go work out at the YMCA, but realized they don't open until 9AM. I was bummed for two reasons. The first being I could have slept for two more hours and second because I did not get to exercise today. Oh well, I get to wake up super early tomorrow to go workout.

I went to Jessica's church today because her daughter Molly was being dedicated. It was a great service. Afterward we went back to her house where her husband grilled burgers and hot dogs.

After that I went to Irma's baby shower. I had made her a diaper cake. It was also a game. People at the party had to guess how many diapers it took to make the cake. There were two other games. One was where you to try and get a toy out of an ice cube. The other was taking a piece of streamer and cutting it off where you thought it would wrap around Irma's belly. I came in a close second on that one!!

I am heading to bed early because I have to wake up at a little after five to go work out.

Enjoy the pics!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWELVE - WEIGH IN #16

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." ~ Maya Angelou

Today is weigh in day!! I lost 1.8 pounds this week. This makes for a total of 28.8 pounds. My instructor was awesome today. She was talking about negative thoughts and how we can regain our motivation. I have been pretty positive throughout my weight loss, but I have a had a few moments.

After weight watchers my sister and I went downtown. I had been wanting to do this Artprize preview. We went to the public library, children's museum, ford museum, the blue bridge, and cathedral square. It was so neat to watch the artists work on their pieces before being completed. I cannot wait to see many more than what we already saw.

Enjoy the pictures!!

Melanie:)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND ELEVEN - RUNNING

“The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” ~ John Bingham

I woke up at five in the morning, so I would be able to exercise before going into work. Today was the daunting task of running for twenty minutes straight. The first thing I did was put a towel over the timer, so I would not look at every few minutes. I was doing so well until I accidently hit the stop button on the tredmil after I had been running for over fifteen minutes. It took me just a few seconds to recover from a full on stop and then I hit the button to start again. I felt like I was going to puke when I started back up. I was doing fine until then. I made it the last four minutes. I know that even with that little stop I could have run the whole twenty minutes.

I am super tired, so I am about ready to veg and then go to bed early.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TEN - BLAH!!

"If the going is real easy, beware, you may be headed down hill." ~ Anonymous

I was thinking today that my blog tonight was going to be very blah. The past two days I have had a blast at the Duff events. They were very fun to write about. Today all I did was go to work and then to bowling. I had fun at bowling did not do that well, but at least I was just a few pins from my average series. I am so exhausted because I am still not quite used this schedule. Tomorrow I have to wake up super early to go run for twenty minutes without walking. I will see if I can complete this very hard task. I will just have to push!!

Night everyone!!

Melanie:)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND NINE - DUFF PART TWO!!

“If we don’t take time to be silly and joyful, we can get mired in the sludge of our own existence.” ~ Duff

This morning I woke up and went to the downtown Y. This was to date my hardest day of training. I walked five minutes, ran EIGHT minutes, walked five minutes, and then ran another EIGHT minutes. I cannot believe I completed this. The last two minutes I had to push myself to the max. Now I just have to worry about Friday's run of twenty minutes straight.

After work Allie and I went down to Devos Place to see DUFF!! In the lobby there was cakes made by culinary students and alumni. I took a couple pictures of a few of the cakes. Duff was so funny. He is a great story teller and did a great job. He had the audience cracking up!! I loved the story of his mom calling the Grand Rapids press to thank them for writing a great article about his son. Too cute. After the show we went into the gallery where they served cake and ice cream. They put the cake on display and it was amazing!! They also had some ice sculptures which were really neat. I was kind of bummed that the cake was not a piece of Duff's cake like the event page led you to believe. Oh well. I will just have to save up $1000 so I can buy one for myself :)

Time for bed. Enjoy the pictures.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND EIGHT - DUFF!!

"So much of the art of cake making is being able to think on your feet. You never say no, you can always do what a client wants, even if you've never done it before - so you say, "sure I can do that." Later, you figure out how" ~ Duff

I had so much fun after work today. It's Hospice of Michigan's 30th birthday and they booked Duff Goldman from Ace of Cake's to make a cake. Today Schuler Books set up a book signing with some of the proceeds being donated to Hospice of Michigan. I got in line about 5:00PM and got my book signed at about 7:30PM. His plane was delayed, so he got started a half an hour late. It's always fun to meet a celebrity. He was really nice, but didn't talk that much. All he said was "Hey Melanie, how are you?" I think he was a little frustrated. One of the event workers told me that a whole bunch of people ahead of us in line were taking advantage by having him sign stuff other than the book. He put a stop to it because he wanted to have enough time to sign everyone's book.

Here's a shout out to my sister Allie who waited in line with me and was my photographer and also a shout out to Arnie's who gave everyone cupcakes!!

Enjoy the pics!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED ADN SEVEN - BOWLING LEAGUE#3

"Why should I give up bowling? It's my only relaxation. Besides, the exercise is good for me to keep my weight down." ~ Ralph Kramden, THE HONEYMOONERS

I did not get good sleep last night. I ended up not being able to fall asleep. It made for a super long day at work, even though I was super productive!! Weird how that works out sometimes.

After work I went to Fairlanes for the start of bowling league number three. It was good to see everyone from the past seasons. It does feel weird not going to the gym. I do miss my water aerobics on Monday's. From hear on out there will be a lot of bowling entries on my blog. Hopefully most of them will say that I bowled about average like tonight!! :)

Well I am going to get ready for bed!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND SIX - TIRED

“There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that lost by not trying.” ~ Francis Bacon

I did not sleep in as long as I would have like to. I also did not get to cross-stitch like I wanted to. I did however go to the YMCA and started week five of my training program. I ran five minutes, walked three minutes, ran five minutes, walked three minutes, and finished it out with another run for five minutes. I did this really well and I could have gone further. This week in the program freaks me out because on the third day I am supposed to run for twenty minutes straight. Very freaky!!

I have to get up early tomorrow, so I am going to head to bed.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIVE - WEIGH IN #15

"Bad news Dad. Your polls are way down."
"My polls?"
"You rate especialy low among tigers and six year old white males."

~ Calvin and Hobbes

I weighed in this morning at Weight Watchers. I lost 1.8 pounds this week, so I lost the weight I gained last week and lost an additional half a pound. I reached my ten percent this week and received a keychain for reaching this goal. I felt really good at the meeting today.

After the meeting I went to the beginning of the Kent Trails located in Byron Center. There I headed off on my bike to meet my brother. He started at Chicago Drive to complete an eighteen mile run. I had a great time. The only think that I would change was the darn rain. It rained the whole hour and a half that I was out there. I felt more aweful for my poor brother who ran the whole three hours in the rain. I call that ultimate dedication. "That's Awesome"!!

Time to veg.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FOUR - EXERCISE

"This one's tricky. You have to use imaginary numbers, like eleventeen ..." ~ Calvin and Hobbes.

I woke up and went to the downtown Y this morning. This was my last day of week four for my 5k running program. I totally messed it up. I was supposed to start with a five minute brisk walk and I forgot!! I thought it was weird that I just started out running for three minutes, but by the time I remembered I was halfway throught the three minutes and I was not going to start over. Overall though it was a good run.

Work was super long today. I stayed a little late to try an finish some stuff up. After I left I met my sister up at the Y. We did ZUMBA!! We had a ton of fun and I have a feeling this will be an every Friday occurance!! I am pretty beat though. I am going to relax and then go to bed early.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE- HUNDRED AND THREE - BOWLING LEAGUE #2

“Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success, flat stretches of boring routine, and valleys of frustration and failure." ~ Calvin & Hobbes

I went to the podiatrist this morning to find out what is happening to my left feet. Basically the doctor told me because of my previous surgery that there is more strain on my second toe and it is becoming inflammed and painful. He told me that I had three options. Surgery to shorten the second toe, orthotics ($350), or an insert ($55) in my running shoes. I am probably going to choose option three and see how it goes.

After work was the start of bowling league number two. This year my team decided to try Paragon lanes because the payout is quadruple. I had a great time bowling tonight, although my third game was not so hot. It is nice to be able to get into a routine and see how I can work my exercise into the week.

Well it's past my bedtime. Night everyone!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWO - BOWLING LEAGUE

“I can't tell if that's funny or really scary.” ~ Calvin & Hobbes

I woke up early this morning and headed down to the YMCA. I completed week four day two of my training program. I ran three minutes, walked ninty seconds, ran five minutes, walked two and a half minutes and then repeated. I felt so good when I finished. Who would ever thought I could run for five minutes straight.

After work was my first night of my Wednesday Night bowling league. It felt great to be back. I love bowling with girls. This is my low pressure league. Monday and Thursday night's league are definitly more serious. I am so happy that my co-worker Gina could join our team this year. I think we will have an absolute blast.

Now time for bed. I have a podiatrist appointment tomorrow morning to find out what is wrong with my left foot.

Night night.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND ONE - REST DAY

"There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep." ~ Homer

I already knew that today would be a rest day for me. I needed to go to a work meeting at 7am, so I knew that I would be tired. I was definitly sore from trying to ski and I need to rest up for week four day two of my training program.

My co-worker's mother passed away over the weekend. After work Cammy and I went out to the visitation. It was nice to support my co-worker in this trying time. I also saw my Aunt Wanda at the funeral home. Her family is close with my co-worker's family. Very small world.

I am heading to bed so I can run my butt off tomorrow!!

Sweet dreams!!
Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED - RUNNING

"I did have a quarter!! I could have bought goat food" ~ Me after we got back from the orchard.

This morning I ran with Chris, Sarah, Allie, and Brooke. Of course Brooke rode in the stroller. I made it through Week four day one. It was very tough. I was a little sore from biking and attempting to ski the day prior. After we got bck from the run we went to Friske Orchards. We had a blast feeding goats and playing on the playground. After we got back from the Orchard I tried skiing again. The weather was a little uncooperative. It was lightening and raining. I will have to try again another day. I think I will purchase gloves this time to save my hands.

Enjoy all my pictures from this weekend!!

Melanie :)

DAY NINETY-NINE - SKIING

"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand what I am saying" ~ Oscar Wilde

Today my whole family went hiking out to grass river. We went to the naturalist cabin where Allie held a snake. I chose not to because I didn't want the germs on my hand. The guy was talking that snakes carry samonella. After we got back I rode next to my brother for a little over eleven and a half miles. I had a great time. There was one crazy hill where it took everything I had to get up it. My brother even passed me running, but I made it!! After dinner I attempter to water ski. My hands were raw at the end of trying. I got up once for like two seconds. It was fun and I will try agin tomorrow.

Nighty night!!

Melanie :)

DAY NINETY-EIGHT - RAIN

"Never stand between a dog and the hydrant" ~ John Peers

Having at Torch with my family. The rain has prevented us from swimming or pretty much any outdoor activity. We went to Alden and went to the shops. We also went out to eat for dinner atbthe Alden bar and grill. I love spending time with my family. Tomorrow I do plan on exercising.

Time for bed now.

Melanie :)

DAY NINETY-SEVEN - LONG WEEKEND

"It's blue" ~ Mom

What a long week!! I am so grateful for the weekend. I woke up early this morning and went to the YMCA. This was my last day of week three of my training program. This was for sure the best day of the week. I am really excited to move to week four. I am keeping this short because I am writing this on my phone at Torch Lake.

Night everyone!!

Melanie :)

DAY NINETY-SIX - WEIGH-IN #14

“Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants won't help." ~ Calvin & Hobbes

I had to weigh in two day early. I also had to weigh in at night which I have never done before. I am heading up to my brother's cottage on Torch Lake tomorrow after work and it was the only time that I could go. I am kind of bummed because this is my first gain. It was a gain of 1.2 pounds. I know that there was a lot of factors that went into play for this gain. I am trying not to get too blue about, but to let it fuel my fire for continuing to lose weight!! I have a lot of exercise planned starting tomorrow all the way through Monday. I am ready to emerse myself in this!!

Now time to head to bed, so I can wake up and go to the YMCA tomorrow morning!!

Melanie :)

P.S. Detroit Tigers please win for me today!!

DAY NINETY-FIVE - RUNNING

“-You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
-What mood is that?
-Last-minute panic.” ~ Calvin & Hobbes

Work was so long today. I got a ton of work done that by the end of the day I was so exhausted!! I also had to get my allergy shot as well. They told me today that they want me to come in for the next two Wednesday's because I guess I am a little bit behind and need to build up my dosage again. Bummer!!

After work was my Wednesday bowling meeting. It's definityly that time of year again. I can't wait. It was so awesome to see most of the team again. We alway's have a good time. That's hot!!!!

After the meeting I went back to Jessica's house. I had to still run, so I used her tredmill again. Tonight was a lot harder than Sunday. I had to push myself so hard, but I did it!!

Now time to chill and watch A minute to win it.

Melanie :)