Celebrating Amy

Today is my baby sister Amy's 32nd birthday. She mentioned to me that she'd like to have some fresh cut flowers in her bedroom to brighten it up, so I bought her a lovely bouquet and a card as her birthday gift. Then I took her and her daughter Carla (my ladybug), to dinner. I told Amy she could pick any restaurant she wanted, feeling sure it would be something along the lines of Longhorn or Red Lobster. She loves steak and seafood. Nope. She picked GOLDEN CORRAL, or as I like to call it, the Buffet From Hell.

I said sure, no problem, while inside I was dying, lol. I just don't trust myself around buffets, so I make it a point to avoid them. The last time I ate at Golden Corral was 2-3 months ago when Dwayne and I were spending our entire weekends out away from the house car shopping. I immediately thought of Jack Sh*t because the last time we went, he alerted me to the fact that a buffet doesn't have to be a death sentence. So I talked to Jack today....told him where I was going...and told him I'd be carrying his advice with me. He sent me a video clip of a teenage boy at Golden Corral with his family, and the whole time he kept saying how disgusting that place was, and he refused to eat anything, lol. It was quite humorous, and just what I needed to watch before I went. Jack continues to be an amazing inspiration to me, and when I email him for advice on food or fitness, etc, he always responds with helpful advice. Love that man!!

I had 2 plates, because I wanted a plate full of salad first before I waddled up to the Hog Trough. My salad was lovely....spinach, mixed spring greens, bell peppers, fresh mushrooms, red onions, broccoli, cucumbers & 2 Tbsp of Lite Italian. Then I got my 2nd plate with buffet food....and for the first time in my life, I can happily report that I didn't get the fried chicken. Please understand...I'm from the South, and eating fried chicken is as natural to me as breathing, lol. But I passed on it. That was the first win!

I got a small piece of steak, had 2 bites, and left the rest. I eat very little red meat these days for several reasons. First of all, it raises my bad cholesterol. Secondly, it's high in calories. And finally, it feels like a rock riding around in my stomach for about 3 days before it digests. Gross.

There was no piling, I had a nice piece of baked tilapia and some other stuff and I actually got full pretty quickly. I had to leave 1/3 of the food on the plate!! That has NEVER happened before!! I'm sticking to 1600 calories a day with my food this week, and I had 880 calories available for dinner. While I don't know the exact calorie count, I think I came in under my limit!!! Very, very proud of myself....and thankful to Jack for taking a moment to email with me before I went.

What can I say about Amy? While she's my baby sister, and I love her deeply, we have never been close friends like some sisters are. A lot of it may have had to do with our age difference. There's 5 years between us, and I was always a little closer to our middle sister Brandy, who's only 1 1/2 yrs younger than me. Amy and I never ran in the same circles, held the same interests, or valued the same things. While I was always fat and frugal....doing my best to squeeze into $20 jeans....Amy wouldn't dare leave the house unless her skinny, size 0 a$$ looked perfect in a pair of $100 jeans. And then there were the times when she would put her pencil body in one leg of my jeans, wrap the other half of my jeans all the way around her, and then call for me to come look. Ahhh....the joys of an evil, pencil-thin sister who just happens to be the baby of the family. Grrrrrr.

However, a lot of things have changed over the years. One very specific thing happened in Amy's life that changed her forever and while it was bad for her to go through, I found a new respect for her that I'd never known. She had a friend named Becky that suffered and died from breast cancer a few years ago. Becky was about 10 years older than Amy. She died at the age of 36 and I think Amy was in her mid-twenties.

Amy would go to work every day, and then drive the 45 mins to an hour to Becky's house to take care of her. She literally watched Becky die. She went through chemo, lost all of her hair, barfed all over the place, and Amy was there to care for her through all of it. Becky had family helping too, but Amy was there to do all she knew how to do as her friend. It was a lot for a girl in her 20's to go through...especially when up until then, her biggest worry was whether or not her butt looked good in her jeans.

Amy really changed a lot after that, and not all in a good way. I won't go into anymore detail, other than to say that I'm proud of her for standing by her friend. Up until that point, I had never seen that much compassion in her and it allowed me to view her through new eyes. Because of my respect for her, I've gone to bat for Amy many, many times in various situations since then. We may not be the best of friends, but she's my sister and I love her. I'm glad she's in my life. :)

Mom took a few pics of us before we left for dinner:









I just HAD to throw in a pic of me and my precious baby Scarlette....I just love her to pieces!!!! Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!! Billie and I made it to the gym Saturday and today for a GREAT workout! Hope everyone else is having a fabulous weekend!! 'Nite friends. :)

Quote For the Day:

"The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective." -Al Neuharth