On Friday, the 4 of us drove into NJ — Hubby & iTwins stayed with his parent’s while I went with 10 of my girlfriends to a Beach House in Long Beach Island for the annual “Girls Weekend”.  The photo of the house we stayed in is the ONLY photo you get of that ;) What happens at “Girls Weekend” stays at “Girls Weekend”…

…but if you really MUST KNOW…some highlights include lots of wearing cozy slippers & sweatpants, girly movies, margaritas, pedicures, shopping, gourmet meals, Bon Jovi, wine, amazing waterfront views and yes, more food.  We actually lost power twice, but not for long…little did I know THAT was foreshadowing in my life (read on, you’ll see…).

Meanwhile, my husband and the iTwins were living it up with Grandma & Grandpa.  Here are the photos he sent me to (melt my heart) reassure me that the kids were fine and being taken care of…they had a blast at the park, playground and Costco.

We got back to PA late Sunday and all went to bed early – it was a glorious ending to a wonderful weekend.

Come Monday morning, I finally made “the decision”:

So, I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now, but after the large amounts of food, beverages and pounds I surely added to my body this past weekend, I made the decision.

This is a decision (thanks mostly to fortunate genes) I’ve NEVER had to make.

The decision to lose weight.

A girlfriend of mine who I buddy’d with on the drive to the shore has been using Weight Watchers for over a year and she looks amazing!  She was my inspiration to join this week.  Here is my story about how all the pounds added up (and my weight etc. in numbers, baby).

I’m going to try to keep my weight-loss saga over there, so don’t worry, I’m going to harp on it here but also can’t help it if some spills over here.

With my Weight Watcher’s Points ready to roll…it was a “New Day”…

Here’s the part where my “New Day” & relaxing weekend turned into a stressful week:

On Monday while the iTwins were eating lunch, I was just ready to publish a post about the weekend & “my decision” and then the doorbell rang.

As the iTwins were both in their highchairs (and can Houdini out of them now) I ran to the front window to look down to see who it was…men with clip boads…must be taking a survey…no thank-you!

I went back into the kitchen to clean up the kiddos and all the power went off.  Um ok…that happens a lot out here in Pennsyltucky, so no biggie.  But something told me to quick look outside, so I did.

Those men with clip boards were now getting into their trucks and driving away.  I had no choice now to run down to the front door to check things out.  Resting on the outside-ledge of the front door I found a envelope addressed to my neighbor – two doors down (we live in a townhouse unit) — a red-lettered utility notice from PECO.  All I could think is that we paid our bill…and we’re ALWAYS on time with them…what happened???

Just then, I realized what happened.

PECO, or should I say, “the electric and natural gas utility company’s outsourced employees” just cut off gas and power to the WRONG HOUSE!!!

Bullet-points to make a Long Story Short:

• PECO was not accommodating or even apologetic and told us it would be restored in 24 hours (unacceptable!)
• Me trying to figure out how to get through the rest of the day/night with 2 little ones, my new stinkin’ WW food plan, and zero power
• My husband flipped out on PECO and had to come home from work early
• 6pm — sitting in complete darkness with a few candles lit and iTwins playing with flashlights
• Nextdoor Neighbors (just love them!) came over with extension cords and let us “borrow” their electricity for lights etc.
• Proud to say I avoided the Papa Johns Pizza hubby ordered – woohoo!
• Finally got a truck to come out by 8pm
• Power restored with no apology
• Hubby went to neighbor’s house to give then THEIR BILL!
• Kids to bed and I went grocery shopping

Yesterday & Today:

So obviously had to finish laundry and unfold myself yesterday. 

Through it all I stuck to my WW Plan and even got in a Yoga Booty Ballet workout last night.

Even though today is Wednesday, it feels like my second chance at Monday.

D e e p breath. Ok. Carry on…

So since I missed out yesterday, Happy 40th Anniversary Sesame Street!
Thanks to our restored power and my WW fruit/veggie overload, the iTwins enjoyed watching Abby Cadabby and Big Bird this morning with a huge bowl of grapes and strawberries: