~~ A Celebration of Life-long friendship ~~ Sew Sweet 16 ~~ Now N' Thens 3/11

[DMGeurts]

Welcome! For those of you that don’t know me – I am Dorine - but I go by "D~" on The Dis... I subsidize all of our trips to Disney with my sewing of custom bags, I love what I do!.

Most of my days are spent here - in my sewing room... Everything I make and do is done by vintage machine - the newest sewing machine I own is from 1963. However, recently - I've managed to save up enough $$ for a used embroidery machine - which allows me to add fonts to my items... I am very adamant about keeping all of my items One Of A Kind (OOAK) - so I only use this machine for adding fonts or making zipper pulls. If you would like to see some of my most recent work - you can find here: 2013 Projects And here: 2013 Projects continued… And finally, here: 2014 projects

Throughout this TR, there will be some commentary about my way of life and how I eat. Some of you, who have been following me for quite some time, know that I have drastically altered my lifestyle in the last 2 years, as I am learning to find my ultimate "good health"... So, I will be talking a bit about my food choices and how my way of life has led to my body being in much better shape and able to handle the stresses of the heat and excercise in Disney. If you would like to read more in-depth about this, you can find more info here: My Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle

My girls and I are known for our “girls trips” to WDW… We are well known for being a little crazy – we love to have FUN! This trip, we are celebrating my girls’ and my BFF’s dd’s Sweet 16 birthdays…

My oldest dd is Allison, but I call her Alli when I am typing fast (she hates the name Alli – so shhh… we won’t tell her). Allison turned 16 in April … She is ready to take on the world with all of her planned adventures. Allison is in 11th grade... She is one of those people that you just can't take your eyes off of - she carries with her a vibrant love of life and laughter – not to mention, she is a fabulous photographer. Allison’s favorite Disney movie is Up! And she loves many rides, food and the atmosphere of WDW.

My youngest dd is Victoria, but I often refer to her as “V” when I am typing… LOL – don’t ever try to call her V or Tori for that matter… She won’t answer to either of those names. Victoria is a fun and sensitive teen… You will often see pictures of her having lots of fun – or not having fun at all… And it shows. Victoria has a way with kids, and enjoys spending her time babysitting the neighbors, she also loves baking, sewing, drawing and being an all-around “momma’s girl”… I love spending time with her. She can make me laugh like no other. Victoria’s favorite Disney movie is – all of them… She dreams of being a character in Disney someday – although, I think she would be very well suited as an animator, as she is an amazing artist. Victoria still loves wearing Disney customs and she loves designing them - so I do my best to create her dreams. Victoria will have her Sweet 16 birthday this coming May.

Finally – there is BFF’s dd Olivia… She will turn 16 in December. Olivia is an amazing girl with a flair of her own personality. Olivia has been like a sister to my girls – they have known each other their entire lives and have countless memories together. And, of course – BFF herself… Who has been a second mom to my girls their entire lives… If you'd like to see some photos of our girls growing up together - you can find them here: Life-Long Friends

Most of the time, we all get along well together… but, like any family – well… We’ll just see how this trip goes…

We stayed at POFQ from August 20th-27th. We were booked in 2 rooms… The girls and I in one then BFF and O in another. This worked out well for all of us – it gave us (much needed) space, yet we were together when we wanted to be.

So, is everyone ready to hear about this epic trip? Did we all get along? Or were we not speaking by the end of it? Or is our friendship stronger than ever? We all know how a trip to Disney can make or break even the strongest of friendships. Stay tuned!​

 

[DMGeurts]

Day 1

Day 1 Part 1
Day 1 Part 2
Day 1 Part 3
Day 1 Part 4
Day 1 Part 5
Day 1 Part 6

Day 2

Day 2 Part 1
Day 2 Part 2
Day 2 Part 3

Day 3

Day 3 Part 1
Day 3 Part 2
Day 3 Part 3

Day 4

Day 4 Part 1
Day 4 Part 2
Day 4 Part 3
Day 4 Part 4

Day 5

Day 5 Part 1
Day 5 Part 2
Day 5 Part 3

Day 6

Day 6 Part 1
Day 6 Part 2
Day 6 Part 3
Day 6 Part 4
Day 6 Part 5
Day 6 Part 6

Day 7

Day 7 Part 1
Day 7 Part 2
Day 7 Part 3
Day 7 Part 4
Day 7 Part 5

Day 8

Day 8 Part 1
Day 8 Part 2 & Final thoughts

Now N' Thens

Magic Kingdom

​

 

[DMGeurts]

Simba UPB

Minnie kissing Mickey UPB

Figment UPB set

Donald UPB

Wishes UPB

Mrs. Potts & Chip UPB set

Christmas Cookie UPB

Elsa UPB

Anna UPB set

Evil Queen UPB

Classic Mickey UPB

Mickey's Philharmagic UPB

Classic Mickey & Minnie UPB


​

 

[DMGeurts]

Not sure what this will be yet?

 

[DMGeurts]

If you'd like to read part I of this ongoing story... Please start here: Losing Inches...

If you've read the post I've linked to above, you know that this journey has been a long one for me... A life long battle with myself and the food I love to eat.

I've made my progress - or in some cases - lack thereof, public in the effort to inspire anyone and everyone to make choices to better their health and find what works for them. What I do may or may not work for everyone - but I encourage everyone to "think outside the box" and do their own research. Some of the things I've discovered on this journey truly makes me sick... Conventional Wisdom, including our own Doctors and Government, are not always right... Do what is best for you and your body - I promise you - your body will thank you in more ways than one.

Anyways... Back to my journey...

August 2014... Such a challenging month for me - this promises to be a long update for sure... The month started off with a few challenges... My biggest one - I left for WDW on the 20th, and as of the beginning of the month - my shorts didin't fit me the way I wanted them to. I decided to change up my work out routine a little bit, and swap out my Walk Away Pounds videos for the 30 Day Shred... If any of you have ever done either of these - well, I guarantee you, 30DS is MUCH harder! I did 30DS a few times last year, leading up to our August 2013 trip, but I hadn't done it since then... To my surprise - I was in much better shape this time around, and miraculously - I had moved up to some of the more difficult moves. Don't get me wrong - it's still hard, but I was so excited to see progress.

Another thing I struggle with a lot - is I am petrified of "burn out"... I've done it before - many times... So, I am very careful to not over work myself - I am also very careful to take days off - sometimes forcing myself. Well, I was very afraid that those Hollister shorts would send me into a full-fledged burn out... Or at the very least - kill my groove if I couldn't fit into them by the time our trip came around. I eliminated that possibility by donating them to dd, and removing them from my mind completely. Instead, I ordered 2 different pairs of shorts - still smaller, but more doable, IMO... So those shorts became my goal.

I did not change my diet at all during this time. I didn't eat more, and I didn't eat less... However - I did add a few grain products here and there, just to get my body used to eating it again.

So, that's all I did to prep for our trip.

Then Disney came... WHOA!!! Mentally - I've been prepping for this vacation for months... Maybe even for the last year. I knew I would be eating things that I didn't normally eat... So, I made a list... Sweet Cream Cheese stuffed pretzels, Napoleons, Banana bread pudding, stuffed french toast, Mickey waffles, beignets... The list goes on... I knew I'd be eating these things... I knew it. But, what I didn't prepare for... The desserts... Key lime pie... Chocolate cake... Frozen cupcakes... Yah - I had them all. At first I tried to be good, but as my week progressed, I left less and less behind. I left Disney a little disappointed in myself... But to be quite honest - I could have done waaaay worse. So, in the end... I came home feeling like crap... I was bloated... My thighs rubbed together more than they did when I left... I could see it in pictures of myself... But, I was also proud of myself... Not one drop of soda the entire time we were there... No pasta at all... And the best part... I never stuffed myself... And I could keep up with my girls - at times, we were RUNNING through the park - and I could do it! What a magnificant feeling!

So, rather than be down on myself for all I did "wrong"... I wasn't... I concentrated on what I did right... I picked myself up and I moved on.

As soon as we got home, the very next morning - even though there was a time crunch - I worked out... Sadly, I worked out too hard, and had to take the following 3 days off... but I still continued on. Even though I couldn't work out... I made the best possible eating choices I could make - and very slowly and deliberately, I am back to my new normal way of eating. My bloat is mostly gone, and my energy levels are up again. It feels so great to have that type of control over my life now... And even though I don't have a trip in the near future to keep me motivated, it seems that my overall heath and building strength is enough for me now.

I did want to take a moment to share a couple of pictures from our trip... Pictures that are not part of Photopass, and somewhat candid - they really made me do a double take and realize how far I've come.

This first photo... I am not even sure it looks like me? I don't even know what I like about it? Maybe it's my arms? Maybe it's my posture? I am just not sure... but I like that I am just sitting there relaxed, and I look good.

Now this one... I can tell you all - with out a doubt - what I like about it. I like that I am sitting there - totally relaxed - doing NOTHING... yet you can see the muscles and tendons in my legs running the length of them... Yah - you can also see the cellulite on my rear, but for once, I am sitting on it - and it actually looks narrow... I also like my arms in this picture... I love that I am totally caught off guard, and my posture is horrible - yet, I think I look good. It makes me think to myself - "Wow, I've come a long way, even if I don't always see it..."

October 2014...

It was a tough month for me... After being stalled out and trying to figure out what I needed to change to make progress again, I decided I needed to lock in on my diet a little better. I journaled on MFP for a few weeks, just to make sure I was eating properly - and that seemed to help. I really should be better about it, as I seem to have my best progress when I am journaling - eventhough I hate it.

Mid-October, I came down with a nasty bug - which put me in my recliner for a week. But believe it or not - I still managed to lose some during this time, even though I didn't change my eating habits at all. We are coming into the holiday season - but I am not too nervous... I made it through last year easily enough, and I am certain I can do the same this year. It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since I've started eating Primally!

Anyways... Here's this month's progress photo for you all... I see the biggest change in my face/neck/shoulders/arms... I really love the look of my arms in this picture... You can see the tendons in my one arm... They look really small - my wrists especially and the crook of my elbow. And I love that I look so much younger! It baffles me that a change in diet can do this much for a person - I still look at pictures of myself and I cannot believe it's me. The person I see when I look in the mirror is more like the one in the before picture, than the current picture.

December 2014 Wow! I can't believe I skipped right over November and here we are already a few days into January! We've been busy though, but I am still here and still chugging along!

I did great through Thanksgiving, enjoying the meal - everything we made was Primal approved, with very few exceptions. It was wonderful to be able to eat and truly ENJOY a meal that I knew was good for me. I've never left a holiday plate before feeling like I did something good for myself. It was really cool. The leftovers hung around for a few days, we all enjoyed them, and we all knew they were good for us - so no guilt there either.

At the beginning of December, I decided I wanted to do a Whole30 immediately following Christmas. So, I ordered the book It Starts With Food, and dug in as soon as it got here. I was very excited to get started, so once I finished the book, I made a huge effort to be as compliant to the program as I could possibly be before Christmas, if only to help me get through the holidays a little bit easier. So, that's what I did. There were a few meals (or more like, items) I ate during the course of the holiday - at family functions - that were not Whole30 compliant. But quite honestly, I feel like I did really well, and I am proud of myself for that.

Little by little, I am learning that it's fun and easy to enjoy life, yet still have control over the foods you feed your body. I have never felt such contentment before, and it's flowed into every other area of my life. Seriously.

Currently - I am on Day 6 of my Whole30, and I am feeling great! I am not suffering from any of the typical symptoms that most people get (yet). I am not sure if that's because of the way I've been eating for the last year? Or if it was because of my due diligence to be mostly compliant in the weeks leading up to my official start? Either way, I really feel peaceful and at ease about this Whole30... Like it's just another piece of my journey.

For most of my clothing items, I am wearing a size medium in tops... They are a hair too tight, but the larges are definitely too big, so I am just dealing with it. My wool coat (shown below) is a size large, and if it wasn't for my shoulders being broad (from my weight lifting), I could easily wear a medium in that coat, as I have a good 3-5" of gap everywhere else in it. Jeans... Well, that varies by brand. I have a pair of size 8 Levis I wear, I also have size 10 Levis, yet I have a pair of size 12 American Eagle... So who knows? I think I can safely go with a saying I am a size 10, since it's right in the middle. Also, my shoe size has gone down... I used to wear a size 9, but my size 9 boots feel really clunky on me now, even with thick boot socks under them. I am NOT replacing any of my shoes with smaller sizes, but when I do need to buy new ones, I am going to try 8.5s... I'd love to have smaller feet. Before I had the girls, I was always a 7.5-8... It's true that your feet grow when you are pregnant, at least for me.

I want to share a few pictures with you all, just some recent ones, ones that make me feel good about myself and how far I have come.

Probably one of my favorite pictures ever... There is NO way this photo would have happened last year, or any other year... and there I was, sitting on Josh's shoulders on Christmas Eve.

And this one... Trust me when I say, it is not very flattering - I detest my gut hanging down... I almost cried when I saw that... but then I thought to myself, I am strong - STRONG! How many (almost) 40 year olds can do this? It's taken me 3 years of HARD and consistant work to be able to do an honest full push-up! So, this picture really makes me proud of myself.

Finally, the last one... This was right after Allison had dressed me all up for my Anniversary out with Josh... I felt so pretty and I felt so good about myself.

January/February 2015

Well, I successfully completed my first Whole30 at the end of January. It was a huge accomplishment for me, and something I had to be super dedicated to. I was very proud of myself! Over the course of the 30 days, I lost a total of 7 lbs, which for me right now is a large amount. The closer I get to my goal size - the slower it seems to go. Since ending my Whole30, I've managed to gravitate more towards Paleo eating, rather than Primal... I do allow a bit of dairy, but I am trying very hard to limit it when I can. I've also really been watching my labels again - and things I previously allowed before my Whole30 have really come into question... I've been doing my best to avoid those items too. At some point, in the near future - I may decide to do another Whole30. But for right now, I am happy eating like this.

I am still lifting weights 2 days per week and doing light aerobics 3 days per week. This is a good mix for me, and has been for quite some time. Fridays are still my "optional" days - but 80% of the time, I do them.

I am really wanting to be at my goal size for summer... Which means, I really need to buckle down hard and get it done. I am very, very close. I could probably coast along at my current size and be comfortable here... but I really want to push and see how far I can go. I have some great outfits for spring and summer... I've been finding good deals on some used/NWT clothes on Ebay... Then, of course, there's the Target clearance rack... As I've been finding stuff - I've been putting it away in a bin. A few weeks ago, I took everything out and organized it and discovered that I should have stopped shopping LONG ago. I have way too much! And this isn't even my goal size! I haven't started shopping for that yet. Although, much of what I have here could be worn at my goal size.

It's super fun to look at all of it though, and know how hard I have worked to get here. I am really looking forward to this summer and enjoying life.

As usual... Thanks for letting me share my journey here.

D~

 

[solana131]

Yay! Stalking pays off Can't wait to read all about! Glad you guys had a great trip.

 

[NiniMorris]

Woooooo Hooooooo!


Nini

 

[cogero]

Thank you for sending me the link. I am here and subscribing.

 

[Denovagirl]

Subbed and SO excited!!

 

[npierce25]

I'm in! I cAnt wait to read!

 

[mphalens]

Can't wait to read all about it!

 

[sweetpeaandevie]

Awesome!!!! I'm here for the beginning this time.......will I finally be able to keep up???????? (prob not. lol)

 

[karebear23]

Can't wait to hear about the trip!

 

[Wood Nymph]

After following along in the pre-trip report it is very exciting to hear about the "real" trip.

By the way, that is a very happy looking group of travelers you have there.

 

[purplekicks]

I've enjoyed reading all of your reports.

I'm excited to catch this one from the beginning!

 

[tatar63]

Yay! I can't wait to read all about it!!!

 

[spiritsim]

I am here too..........

 

[bigsis1970]

Following!

 

[GrammytoMany]

Hi Can't wait to read about your trip and see your beautiful photos.
Sheila

 

[lovethattink]

I'm in!