The Post I've Been Waiting For

It's spring in the Mid-South and that means a couple of things are for certain while the weather is warming up to the  "seven layers of hell" hot we in Memphis call summer: 

• There is yellow pollen everywhere. Yes everywhere. Cars, parking lots, EVERY WHERE. And we sneeze and have itchy eyes. A LOT. (It's also funny when people that don't live here come and visit and ask "what is this yellow stuff that coats everything?" hahah) 
• Flip flops (and pedicures) are a MUST. No one loves flip flops more than me, but please do me a favor. Ladies, if you are going to show us your toes, please ensure they are pedicured and painted. 
• The Ray family is always at the baseball field. ALWAYS. If you need us, that's where we are. If you invite us somewhere, chances are we can't, because our boys play baseball. (And yes, we enjoy it!! A LOT!) 
• People will start wearing skimpy summer clothes before it is actually time to wear them. (Y'all know it is true.) 
• I can finally wear those shorts! 

Yes, the post that started it all helped me tell the world I was going on a weight-loss journey -- the Nike running shorts. I finally bought a pair, well, three actually!  And I must say, I love them! I've worn them around the house and while walking. Can't wait to wear them to the ball field this weekend. 

Now, a word about those shorts: they. are. short. (at least they are for me.) I haven't really worn shorts in a long time, and when I did, they were a tad longer than these- thank God Bermuda shorts were in style. But i'm slowly getting use to them. 

I wanted to rush out and buy them a few weeks ago, but I gave myself a goal: I wouldn't purchase them until I lost 80 pounds. And I met that goal!!! So you better believe I hightailed it to Academy and bought myself some shorts. It was fun to go shopping there (we seem to go there so much, it is the Ray boys' favorite store) and actually find something to fit. Even Tom got into the act! 

Now, I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal (#100byJune24) but I'm on my way. I have had to hit Ctrl + Alt + Del (on a much smaller scale than a couple of months ago) once or twice, but as we tell our kids, that's the beauty of tomorrow. You get to start over. And some days it seems i start over every day, but that's okay. 

I feel like all of my entire support system was there with me when I made this big purchase. Every card, e-mail, text message, hug at the ball field or at the grocery store or at a school function has been so encouraging to me. So for that, I owe you, dear readers, my April progress photo (sorry it's so late, had a few things going on.) So here you go... shorts and all. 

Post run last week... in my SHORTS!! 

Just want to give a big shout-out to my tribe for making this happen. More to go in this journey, but i couldn't have done it without you!