January 23, 2020

A Blog Series of Favorite Posts #6: Travel



For the next week or so, I'm going to do a series of posts--I will share my favorite "oldies but goodies" from the past.

As you know, I LOVE writing lists. This is one I've been wanting to write for a long time, but it requires so much thought that I just have such a hard time deciding what to include on it! I have a lot of favorite posts over the years (as well as very cringey ones--maybe I'll do a list of those soon). I'd have to wear a paper bag over my head out of embarrassment ;)

As of the last few years, there have been lots of different categories on my blog: weight loss/gain/loss/gain; running; DIY/home improvement; mental health/illness; crafts; and just daily life in general. So, I think I'll separate these into categories to avoid having too many "favorite" posts in just one category.

I'll post just a few per day, so if you choose, you'll have time to read the posts. If I post them all at once, it would be way too overwhelming!

At the end, I will also include my most popular posts (which will likely be entirely different from my favorite posts) in case anyone is curious about those. First, though, my favorites...


Travel


The Evolution of a First Time Bikini Wearer

Until 2014, I'd never worn a bikini in my life. And when I went to Punta Cana with my family in August 2014, I decided to bring a bikini because what were the odds I'd run into anyone I knew? I wanted to at least pretend to be one of those confident overweight women. I was (I think) about 150 pounds at at the time--so I wasn't even at a thin weight! But each day felt a little different as I wore it, and I wrote about the changes in this post.




Getting Over My Fear of Flying: The Hard Way

This is actually just the intro to my "Travel" page. From the time I was 15 until I was 28, I didn't fly on an airplane. I was terrified of flying, even though I'd done it a few times before. The irony is that my brother is a pilot! But I would have panic attacks even in the flight simulator when he took me in (a training simulator for NorthWest--now Delta). One day, after losing 100 pounds, I forced myself to face my fear--in the most unimaginable way possible!




Family Trip Through Six States in One Day!

This was memorable for SO many reasons, but the biggest one is something really silly, actually. Years ago, we used to watch the Food Network channel once in a while, and the kids and I liked a show about food challenges (I forget what it was called). On one episode, they featured "The Vermonster" at the Ben & Jerry's headquarters factory in Waterbury, Vermont. Eli and I share the same sweet tooth, and we said, "Someday we're going to go to Vermont and order a Vermonster!"

Well, we made it happen in 2018. We took a trip out east, mainly for Boston, MA, Salem, MA, and Portland, ME. To hit up some extra states, we drove through several others since we were so close. It was a fun trip--Jerry and I had a blast with the kids!


Tomorrow's favorite posts topic will be "Fun Posts"--hopefully interesting ;)


1 comment:

  1. Love re-reading your older blogs. I know what you mean about not being confident in a bikini. Of course, at almost 70, those days are long gone for me, not just because of my age, but because of the horrific excess skin. And even a one piece or one of those blousy tops and skirt swim bottoms won't hide my problems. My upper arms are the worst. They are hideous, and no one ever sees them except my hubs and the doctors, oh and the technician when I get a Mammogram. YUCK! Plus, there's tons of excess skin on my upper legs. I did wear a swimming suit a few years ago, not long after I hit goal, and went into the hot tub at the hotel we were staying at in Springfield, MO. I found a knee length, long-sleeved cover-up and didn't take it off until I was already stepping into the hot tub. I stayed in that tub clear up to my neck. A little girl came out (the area was empty--of course it is all visible from the hotel rooms, and I was just sure everybody was staring at ME!) and got into the hot tub with me and we chatted. A couple years later I went to Great Wolf Lodge/Indoor Water Park with my son and his family and once again I bravely went, not only into the hot tub but also the pool, but also the hot tub. It was really really hard because the place was packed. But I screwed up my courage and did it. Then....one more time...I just thought of. My daughter-in-law and Granddaughter invited me to the pool here in Lincoln, the fancy one with a gradual entry and slides, etc. I had never been there and was anxious to give it a go. But when my daughter-in-law got to my house to pick me up, I was wearing jeans. I had planned on just watching them swim from a bench. She said at least wear shorts so you can wade into the pool. So I changed into some below the knee capris and when we got to the pool, was I shocked! I'd say 75% of the women there were at least somewhat overweight. I saw very few perfect bodies, and I realized how ridiculous I was being. Nobody was looking at me! NOBODY! I rolled up the capris over my knee and waded in, wishing I had a swimming suit on, because the water looked so inviting! Sometimes, I think our self-consciousness makes us egotistic, because nobody cares about me as much as I care about me. I hope someday soon you again wear that bikini to a pool. Maybe I'll dig out that one piece, or better yet buy one of those figure-hiding blouse-on tops and swim skirts--although--like I said neither is enough to hide that excess skin.

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