Why I've been here before.

You remember that feeling when you were little and it seemed like a good idea to ride the merry-go-round over and over as much as possible? Or to run around in circles with your friends so that when you stop, not only are you dizzy but you feel like you are seeing stars? That's what the last six months have been like. We started 2014 out like many of the years before with sparkling cider, on cloud nine and with a big smooch. We listened as our neighbors partied a little too hard with their fireworks and good times. We made goals to make this year big, get some projects done and enjoy ourselves.

I was feeling pretty good for a few weeks when I got sick one day with symptoms I'd never had before. One of my best friends who has medical history told me it was probably gallstones -- which immediately scared me. I remember driving home that night shaking because I was in so much pain. I got sick that evening and thought I could brave the next day at work. Ironically, I had that Friday off to enjoy a long weekend off, not realizing my day would be spent going from my doctor's office to a specialist, back to my parents when I got that dreaded phone call that I had gallstones and would require surgery. I met with a surgeon on my lunch break who ordered me to report to the hospital that evening. My thoughts were swirling around in my head about how serious this was. I remember my mom driving me to the hospital that evening and I was trying to put on a brave face but internally I was scared. I didn't look sick but inside I felt absolutely horrible. I got stuck with 3 horrendous roommates and I grew really sick of being poked and prodded by needles/blood pressure throughout the nights. My surgery was delayed twice and I really had to cling to God in that hospital room. I was in pain I didn't think was possible, apparently I had passed a few gallstones (I apologize if that's a TMI) but by the time I got to have my surgery - I just wanted to feel better. Even after my surgery, I had no idea what ride I was in after having my gallbladder removed.

I felt after this that my entire year had just taken about six steps backwards. I felt wobbly and shaky afterwards for awhile. I really wanted to get back on the weight loss train but since I had abdominal surgery, I had to make sure my incisions healed properly. The week of our Disney cruise in March, I finally got the go-ahead from my surgeon to get back into working out, especially Zumba which I LOVE. But as anyone knows, when you go on a cruise even with your best intentions - you don't really lose weight. I think I gained 2 lbs from my cruise which isn't a show stopper by any means but when you have a LOT to lose, you don't want even a feather more than what you have.

**For those that didn't see any of our cruise pics, I'd like to share a few with you now!**

Anywho - after our cruise, I made every attempt to get back into losing weight but after coming back from our cruises and having some stress that undid the relaxation, we got back into the swing of things and focused ourselves on working on our home. We finally made some headway - we got our living room painted and our kitchen painted. We got other rooms in our house painted last weekend and now our house is looking more our personality. So while it feels like these past six months have felt like I keep circling back to the same place, I felt like it was time to mentally and physically process our year so far. I only feel like the year will get better. We have our staycation coming up relatively soon. We live in Florida where theme parks and days with Disney happen. We're where we're supposed to be even if it's been where we've been time and time again and will be back here again in the future.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll see you back here tomorrow to remember the good ol' days: #throwbackthursday :)