Catching Up on Summer

I hope you all are having a Happy and Healthy summer and that you are staying cool. I’m so ready for Fall. It’s my favorite season. All things Fall really can not some soon enough for me.  Here are a few highlights of whats going on in life right now. The Blog I have wanted to update the look of the blog for sometime now. I finally met with a Blog Consultant? Thats what I’ll call her anyhow. She does free lance work outside of her regular job making websites and blogs look their best. I have a few ideas and together we will come up with a new look. Also, I’m hoping that will encourage me to come up with a regular blogging schedule. I’ll never have time to do a daily post like I did for so many years, but committing to once a week is something I’d like […]

Feeling All the Feelings

Hi Friends! Here is my Instagram post from my most recent camping trip with my pops. My blog and my Instagram page have taken a backseat to my…….well, my life I suppose. I’m not sure if this is a post cancer thing, or an empty nester thing, or a 52 year old thing, I’m not really sure what this is but all I know is that I am truly living Life Well right now and it feels pretty damn good. I’m spending more time with family, I’m putting my heart into my job as a WW Coach, and I’m spending free time doing things I’ve wanted to do for a really long time. I’m out the door to meet up with my pops and we are headed out on camping trip number two! It’s gonna be a hot one! So that Instagram post pretty much sums up life right now! Life […]

June and Gratitude

What a great month it was. I chose a “word” for the year at the beginning of 2019. My word is “Mindful”. I also went into 2019 knowing for a fact that the year would bring many wonderful things for me and my family, A few weeks back at the WW Studios the topic was Gratitude. I love this topic. I love discussing my passion for the word “gratitude” and how practicing gratitude can impact your daily life and your health and happiness. I feel like I have regularly practiced gratitude for a really long time. It’s what gets me through the tough stuff, big and small, and keeps me living life with a positive attitude. I’m grateful for so many things on a daily basis. Grateful for family and friends, a job, a roof over my head, fresh water at my fingertips, the opportunity to buy and prepare delicious food, […]

Effie Takes Her First Trip

Well that was just as fun as I was expecting it to be with a few little surprises thrown in. Friday started off rough, but in the end everything was wonderful! My dad was so happy that the weather was going to be nice and he could pull his 1967 travel trailer with his 1967 Pickup. Four blocks from home, the old truck died. He was eventually able to get it started and we headed back to his house to get the modern day truck. We had a few other rough spells getting to the campsite and setting up camp, but by late afternoon we were set up and I was ready to meet the others in our group and share Effie with my new friends. Luckily, this first trip was less than 30 miles away and the weather was absolutely perfect. What a great group of people! I felt […]

A Happy Place

I am happy to report that life is pretty awesome right now. I’ve determined that I need to “not commit” to when I will be able to post a blog. When it can happen, it will happen. I am going back to where I was at the beginning of this blog in 2011. This is my journal. I come here when I need to write. If sharing my day to day life, hobbies, experiences, struggles and challenges, successes, can help someone, then I am extremely grateful for that. There are many of you that have followed me for a very long time and I think about you when I am not blogging. I feel connected and obligated to many of you. I feel guilty for not blogging because I feel as though I have been a support source for you as I blog through my own experiences. I am a people […]

Goals Set, Goals Met

(I am healing really well and am pleased with my recent phase of breast reconstruction. I am happy to say that I have zero regrets!) I knew that 2019 would bring a fabulous wedding (pictures are coming…..soon!) and I truly hoped that it would bring a Vintage Camper too. Goals set. Goals met! I’ve watched my dad enjoy his vintage camper since 2016 and joining him seemed like a great way to spend time together. We spent a lot of time on projects together when I was a kid. I would have much rather have been outside building something than inside cooking. Funny, now I love to cook! I always enjoyed listening to my dad tell stories and watch his creativity over the years. He was always building something when I was a kid and he has continued to do that his entire life. Finding a vintage trailer so I […]

I’ve Got Nipples!

It’s been three weeks since getting my new nipples and these last three weeks have just been…….odd. I’m trying to imagine the expression on ones face if this is the first blog post of mine that they have ever read.  Hi. I’m Julie and I write weird stuff and post weird pictures, while trying to inform, yet not embarrass myself or my readers. For years I’ve blogged about WW and my personal successes and challenges. Now I also talk about Breast Cancer. I will be posting pictures in this post of my nipple reconstruction because I am sharing my experience in case you or someone you know is considering nipple reconstruction. It’s actually quite fascinating. I encourage any questions and nothing is off limits here. I had to come back and edit this post today based on what a member asked me at a WW Workshop I was coaching this morning.  First of all, she is […]

Follow Your Dreams

Good morning! I don’t want to post pictures from the wedding that Tess has not had a chance to share, so I’m waiting patiently for that to happen. The photos from the photographer are not in yet. I will however sneak in just a few family pictures here that our son Jake took. Tess and Manuel LOVE to dance so I had to share this one. It’s one of my favorites.   Our son Jake and his family.   Our daughter Kate and her family.   Our daughter Anne and her family.   This has been a very full last two weeks. Mike finished this gorgeous Headboard and framed in the bed. I am in love with all of it. He is working now on a Barn Door that will go between the Master and the Master Bath.     We spent Palm Sunday at my In-Laws. They are both 80 […]

My Little Girl is Married

They did it!  I only have a few pictures to share as I put my phone down for the night and soaked it all in. Everything was absolutely perfect. Better than I could have imagined. I want to do Saturday all over again. I’ll write a long post tonight or in the morning, but I wanted to share just a peek of a few pictures others took. I love these two so much!   They had a party bus for the wedding party between the ceremony and the wedding. I have a few good stories about the below picture, but this was a planned stop. Cracks me up.   Four of the best friends a girl could have.   Manuel and his parents surprised Tess with a Mariachi Band! They were the hit of the night and the only people that knew they would be there were Manuel, his parents, […]

One Week From Today

One week from today, my little girl will be married. I am feeling so many emotions. I’ve been spending so much time recently reflecting over the last 27 years of my life, and of my daughters life. I’m having a really proud mom moment right now. I am just so happy for Tess and Manuel, but also so happy for all four of our kiddos. (Mike and I blended our families when we married in 1999. Mike has a son, Jake, and two daughters, Kate and Anne.) Tess is the youngest of the four and the last one to marry. Mike and I will celebrate our 20th Anniversary in May and when I think about all of the life that has happened over the last 20 years for he and I and our four kids, I can’t imagine what the next 20 years has in store for us and our family. […]