My Awesome WW Leader

I have been a WW member unofficially since I was 17 years old.   I have also had 5 WW leaders since I've started this journey.

My unofficial membership began when my aunts and uncle proposed a little family weight loss competition.  Aunt Patty photocopied her Points slider and made one for me out of a manila envelope (back when Points were based on calories, fat and fiber, and eTools didn't even exist!).  She taught me the system, and so our competition began.  I think I managed to lose around 20-25 pounds during my first run on WW.  Not bad!  (I might even still have that homemade slider back at my parents house - mental note to look for that the next time I go home!) 

Once I went away to college and actually had money to afford my own official WW membership, I started attending meetings at the local center at Penn State.  I cannot even remember if my leader was male or female at this center!  Shows how much of an impact they had on me.  Though I must say, it was during this time that I was most successful on WW, having removed nearly 50 lbs from my 5'8" frame!  Oh the glory!  I remember the amazing compliments that my college friends would offer me - definitely a highlight of my life!

Then I moved to Virginia in 2006, slowly regaining those 50 lbs, and started attending meetings in Fairfax, VA.  My WW leader there was Wayne.   HILARIOUS guy and was so incredibly popular among the NoVA WW's that I eventually quit attending the meetings because I couldn't stand the crowd.  He was like a WW celebrity - women falling at his heels for attention with their own weight loss quips.  He had great information, but I was never able to form a connection with him, most likely due to the shear number of people attending his meetings.  However, I knew I needed to form some connection with my leader in order to hold me accountable.  So, eventually I quit attending Wayne's meetings in Fairfax.

At one point in 2007, I actually cancelled my WW membership.  I decided that there was no sense in paying for it if I couldn't keep myself committed.  But then, once I returned home from a 3 month hiatus for work in Kansas City, Joel and I decided we would do WW together.  I started attending meetings again for a short duration, this time at a church in Arlington, VA.  The leader there was nice enough, but before long I quit attending (I don't think I ever knew her name!).  The people attending this meeting just wasn't doing it for me and the leader was just so-so.  I think around this time Joel and I both lost approximately 30 lbs but started slacking off thereafter. 

Then I moved from Arlington to Alexandria in 2008 and decided to start attending meetings at another location once more.  This time I attended meetings at a center in Springfield.....with Wayne (again)!  By now I felt that Joel would be enough to hold me accountable, so I no longer felt the need to connect with my leader.  Wayne sure was hilarious just as he was in 2006, but again, his meetings were packed!  So, instead of attending his meetings, I started attending Mary's meetings on another night.  Another nice lady, but she wasn't cutting it either.  I wanted Wayne's enthusiasm and knowledge combined with Mary's attendance level.  This time I hung in there for a solid year, but once I moved to Waldorf, MD in 2009, I all together gave up on attending meetings.  I never felt like they were providing that much of a benefit for me and so I became strictly an eTools member. 

I stayed as an eTools member for about 2 years.  Then, Joel and I moved back to Alexandria from Maryland in 2011. 

Has all this moving annoyed you yet?  It sure did for me!

A few weeks after moving back to the Old Dominion, I decided to start attending meetings again.  I made this decision for a number of reasons, but mainly so that I could try to make some friends.  I was also at my heaviest weight ever (in the 260s), and I needed a boost.  I wanted to start fresh with WW, get the crash course in PointsPlus (which had just turned over from the previous Points system), and reinvigorate my weight loss journey.  A woman of persistence, I was willing to give meetings another go despite my experience, because I was determined to find a leader I could connect with and learn from.  He/she just had to be out there!


Enter Sharon.

Sharon, with the shining smile and bright eyes, greeted me warmly as I weighed in at the Alexandria center for the first time in July 2011.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was this location's leader.  From Day 1, Sharon was exactly what I was looking for in a leader.  Not only was she enthusiastic about WW,  but she had a ton of knowledge and experience to share.  She was always very willing to talk with you one on one and it was clear that she had personal connections with her members.  Sharon had immediately introduced me to another member who was around my age, sharing this member's success story with me.  Sharon's positive energy and warm demeanor always kept me coming back, despite the snail's pace at which the weight is coming off this time around.  Sharon, hands down, was the leader I had been looking for all along.

Last week, during my Wednesday meeting, with about 5 minutes remaining, she told us she had an announcement to make.  Being the morbid person that I am, my mind shot to "she has cancer!".  Thankfully I was wrong, but the news still wasn't good.  Sharon informed us that June 27 would be her last meeting with us as our leader.  As she had tears in her eyes, she shared with us that her and her husband were going through a divorce and that she had to take time off to focus on her, her daughter and the sale of her much-loved home.  By this point, many of the members had tears running down their faces, me included.  Sharon went on to say that she had gained back a considerable amount of weight due to the emotional stress she was experiencing. She said she no longer felt good about projecting the WW principles to us, whenever she wasn't even capable of following them.  I'm pretty sure none of us were judging her on this!  Still, many of us expressed our support and concern to her at the end of the meeting.  I left the center with an extremely heavy heart.

The irony in this story is that Sharon had weighed me in for this meeting, and I had told her that I didn't want to know my weight because I had just returned from our honeymoon.  She flashed her trademark smile and expressed genuine happiness for me as I shared our quick story with her.  Then, 30 minutes later, she shares her news.  But, that is the kind of person she is.  Despite the crap she has going on in her life, you would have never known.  Sharon was always smiling, always encouraging, always positive. 

Last night was our last meeting with her until hopefully this fall.  She promises to come back to our meeting site at some point this summer to attend as a member, not a leader.  Her only request for us last night was that we pray for her.  She specifically said: "Don't feel bad for me.  Be glad for me.  I am going to have time to change my life and my daughter's life for the better.  All I ask is that you pray for me."

I wanted to share this story with you so that you can pray for Sharon as well.

How do you feel about your WW leader/Jenny Craig consultant/other well-being consultant?

Jamaica: Days 5, 6 and 7

The rest of our time spent in Jamaica was filled with many trips to the beach, snorkeling, a ride on a catamaran, and enjoying amazing dinners. 

Oh, and photo shoots. 

Oh yeah, and those sunsets.

sunset at our wedding gazebo

Jesus fingers!

Snorkeling was one of my favorite things we did while in Jamaica.  It was like seeing the fish you see in Petco in the wild!  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  We traveled a short distance away from shore on a glass bottom boat where we enjoyed the view of coral as we made our way to the honey hole. 

It's a wonder I'm smiling here, considering I just rammed my shin off of the ladder getting onto the boat.  Given that this was my first time snorkeling, me and the flippers just did not mix.  I'm a decent swimmer, and those flippers... pardon the expression.... those flippers kept flipping me around!  By the time I started to get somewhat used to them, it was time to go.  In my attempt to climb the ladder back onto the boat, still struggling with those darn flippers, a wave came and rocked the boat to and fro, causing me to nail my shin against it.  Instant blood (thankfully we were peacin' out - sharks! eek!).  A short time later - a nice goose egg and bruise! 

Naturally, it wouldn't be a vacation if fishing wasn't involved.

 

Believe it or not, they allow a fishing pole as a carry on.  Very shocking TSA, very shocking.

.

 

We also enjoyed another special dinner in honor of our recent marriage.  It was exciting seeing our names displayed as "Mr & Mrs".

 

The time went by so quickly in Jamaica that it was no surprise that before we knew it, it was time to leave paradise.   But believe it or not, we were ready to go home.  (Actually, we were ready to get that flight over with!)

We enjoyed taking in all the resort had to offer, including the beautiful plants!  If you know me, then you know I love my plants - they're like my children.  Jamaica sure did have some beauties.

Joel & I both feel so incredibly blessed to have experienced this beautiful resort and all it had to offer.  It was truly a memorable experience and I couldn't have asked for the entire WeddingMoon to go any more perfectly.

Joel - I love you so much, and I look forward to many more years together! 

Readers - Thank you for recounting this special memory with me :)!

Jamaica: Day 4

I began my first full day as Mrs. Busbee with a mimosa!

Since I woke up most days between 6:30 and 7 AM, I would retreat to the balcony and do some catching up online while Joel slept.  I had plenty of messages on Facebook to keep me occupied until 9 AM when our breakfast arrived.  We were entitled to one day of breakfast in bed (except really, on our balcony).  This is how it was delivered to us:

Poor Joel wasn't feeling well, however.  On day 1 of our marriage, we immediately exercised our vows: "in sickness and in health."  He ended up getting some type of bacterial infection related to his sinuses.  We learned this after visiting the nurse and doctor onsite at the resort.  So, on Sunday we took it easy.  Joel rested a lot in bed, and I did a 45 minute workout at the gym.

At noon that day, we got to view our wedding pictures.  I wasn't pleased that we couldn't obtain all of the pictures that were taken on our special day.  Well, let me rephrase that.  We COULD have taken all of the pictures that were photographed on our wedding day, for the holy-moly price of $3000.  Uhm, no.  So we selected 142 images.  It saddens me.  142 pictures of the 600ish that were taken.  *sigh*  Originally, we were only going to get 110 images, but I couldn't part with 32 of them so we paid more than what we anticipated.  I loved you Sandals, but you were insanely priced when it came to your photography services!

Afterward, I spent the rest of the day at the beach while Joel slept.  It was me and Fifty for most of the day!

Later that evening we enjoyed another scrumptious dinner and glorious sunset.

  

Afterward, we walked along the beach and took some additional pictures.  We ended up meeting a couple who were married on our same wedding date, but back in Virginia (about an hour from where we currently live) and had just arrived in Jamaica on the 10th.

Despite my groom being sick, we had another wonderful day!

Jamaica: The BIG Day - PART 2

After we had cake and champagne, we got started with the rest of our pictures.  I'm going to share a few of my favorites in this post, but I'll provide a link to my personal Facebook photo album of the rest!

This one below is one of my favorites, but I'll show you my real favorites here shortly :).

I really like this one too :).

The prom picture that never was! ha!

This one is another favorite of mine (below).  I have so many, but something about this one just makes me smile every time.

Glad we captured one with palm trees!

I also adored my bouquet.  I was able to bring it home with me and I'm currently trying to root the orchids.  I've done some quick research online about rooting orchids and I guess there are a lot of different breeds of them.  I have no idea what "breed" of orchid mine is but I'm trying desperately to root them!  I love plants and how awesome would that be to be able to grow orchids from my very own wedding flowers?  If you know anything about orchids, please share!

I'm not sure if this was done on purpose but I loved how the veil formed a heart silhoutte with our heads.

The sidewalk was scorching hot, and while we're smiling in this picture, my thoughts were really, "Faster! Faster! The soles of my feet are melting away!"

This draping, braided tree is called a rubber tree.  I got some other cool shots of it in our honeymoon pictures.  I'll be sure to share those in a later post!

 

This is the only one I've had the time to Photoshop. 

These pictures make me want to print/frame them all.  But then, that would be kind of weird to have 50 wedding pictures distributed throughout our small condo on the walls and on tabletops, wouldn't it? :)

And now, for the best pictures yet!  As I stated in previous posts about our time in Jamaica, it. was. HOT!  By the time we were done with pictures, I had a nice sunburn on my shoulders and a sweet layer of sweat coating everything.  Joel was the same.  As much as I wanted to keep going with the photo taking, I also desperately wanted to get that dress off of me so that I could just hop into a refreshing pool of water! 

So, that's just what we did!

I absolutely love this shot below.  It was the perfect ending to a perfect wedding ceremony!  And while the picture looks cute because he's carrying my dress for me, he's really carrying it because it weighed a ton as soon as I landed in the water.  

 

After this, we went back to the room to shower up and relax before our candlelight dinner later on that evening. 

We returned from our ceremony to this sweet towel animal  on our bed, with flower petals scattered throughout the entire room!

In just a few hours, we set off for our candlelight dinner on the Greek gazebo, which was next to our wedding gazebo.

the roof of the gazebo

We had a delicious meal of snapper with mashed potatoes and squash, along with a few glasses of champagne. 
 

And so ended our wedding day - the first day as Mr. & Mrs. Busbee!  I couldn't have been happier!

You can see even more of our wedding pictures here.