"Girls (and boys) just wanna have fun..."

I doubt you heard about it on the news, and I don't think I remember seeing a billboard about it, but you may have heard...I turned 30!!! I have been planning this party for about a year, and the impossible happened...my birthday celebration FAR EXCEEDED my GIGANTIC expectations!

I'm going to give it a good try, but words cannot due justice to the overwhelmingly joyous feeling I have!

I received little (and big) birthday gifts from Jesus all week long...Seriously. I felt 100% loved by my Savior...He was in the DETAILS!

My in-laws flew in from Indiana on Thursday, and we were so blessed by their company!

I had such special moments with my mom on Thursday and Friday night decorating for my party. We were both excited, silly, and in our creative element!

As if I couldn't have been more pumped-up on my own, I was getting some of the best text messages all week from my party guests! Their excitement was only boosting my own excitement up a few notches!

The backdrop for my party was spectacular! The Adam's (the friends who let me have the party in their home) were incredibly GRACIOUS! Their home is SO beautiful, and the weather was PER.FECT.

My sister Jenni made an amazing video of my first 30 years. I loved watching the video for the first time at my party, but the following 50 times at home have been even BETTER! I am a total cry-baby when I'm tired, and you should know, I'm EXHAUSTED! The video summarized my life in under 10 minutes, and I feel beyond blessed to be who I am, to have made the choices that I did to get me to this point, and to be loved and supported by the people that do just that.

To have people at my party from all of the different areas of my life was 5% challenging (I wanted to spend more time with everyone) but 95% AMAZING! The food was delicious (although, I was surprisingly not hungry, nor did I have much time to eat), the costumes were AWESOME, and my guests were just so much fun!

Many people have asked me what my favorite part of the night was, and I am surprised to admit, that it was my 60 minute+ Karaoke Concert/Performance! When I had decided to have karaoke at my party, I knew that this was only for my guests...I would just be a spectator. I can NOT sing. And I have ZERO "moves"! Although some might have a different suggestion, I'm gonna blame my karaoke experience on the confidence that Zumba has given me!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures...

Yes & No

I love a good "Yes & No" answer!

Q. Did you eat lunch yet?
A. Yes and No. Yes, I did just eat enough calories to equate a meal, but no, I don't think 4 pieces of Sees Candy are going to hold me over until dinner.

Q. Did you get the mail?
A. Yes and No. Yes, I went to the mailbox to check and see if we had any mail. But no, there wasn't any mail, so I am not sure if the mailman came yet.

As you can read (somewhere) on this site, when I started this blog, I set out to lose 70 pounds by my 30th birthday. Over the course of the last 3 days (my 30th birthday weekend) I had quite a few people ask me if I had accomplished this goal. The answer is..."Yes and No."

Yes, I lost 70 pounds, in fact MORE than 70 pounds over these past several months. However, I would lose 10 pounds, and then gain 6...I would lose 3 pounds and then gain 12...I would then lose 2 pounds, and then gain 8...and that weight loss/gain roller coaster would go on and on and on...

At the peek of my weight gain (returning home from beach camping in September of this year), I had gained 23 pounds since the start of this blog. And on the morning of my party, I achieved a personal weight goal (separate from my blog goal) and my total weight loss since beach camping was 42 pounds.

So No, I am not 70 pounds lighter than when I started this blog. My net weight loss is 18 pounds. I wanted to lose those 70 pounds so I would feel beautiful. I wanted to be slimmer. I wanted to be healthier.

And while I did not lose 70 pounds...I did lose some weight, and I did accomplish all of my other goals! I was definitely slimmer, I am MUCH healthier, and this weekend, I felt TOTALLY BEAUTIFUL! :0)

"I get to eat birthday cake in 6 days!"

This is the last week I double up on exercises each day! Just 5 days until my party, and 7 days until I turn 30! It's crunch time. And with crunch time comes MANY funny comments & happenings!

Last week at "Pump it!" I totally "ate it!" And not just once...but TWICE! Friday "Pump It!" classes are NUTS (thank goodness I can only attend every-other one, as I work every-other Friday morning)! The instructor always has us wear slippery cloths under our shoes and we have to go across the gym floor doing many almost-impossible-tasks while wearing them...lunges, side squats, dread drops with a dumb-bell, high kicks ending in a lunge, yada, yada, yada. Well on Friday, while wearing these Satanic devices, I went to do a "slide squat" (you are standing up...you slide your right leg out to the side in a squat, and then you have to slide your left leg in to meet it)...and as soon as I slid the first leg out, I went too far, and I totally slipped and did the splits...except I'm not that "bendy" and so when I went down, I thought for sure that I had jacked my ankle. I did a mental check-up, and then I got up and did the exercise again. And again, I slid my right leg out into the squat, and AGAIN, flippin' fell! The teacher asked if I was OK, and and I said, "I'm OK, only I think my ego is a little hurt!" But who doesn't enjoy watching a good fall!? I just wish I wasn't the one falling!

Chubby diary related texts...

My Sister: (6:45 PM) I'm eating tic tacs so I won't binge, LOL

Me: Ummmm I had pizza and ice cream. Sigh. AND I just called the Y to c how late they are open and they close at 7. I am so screwed!

My Sister: Sorry it took me so long to reply...I had to compose myself after laughing so hard from your text! But don't u worry...U'LL STILL LOOK BETTER THAN ME! ;0)

Me: I know THAT! But I wanna be hotter than ME! :D


- - - - -


My Sister: How has your eating been today?

Me: I'm officially binging :0( The lifesavers are glued to my cheeks, and the cheese puffs have gone straight to my rear! :0(

My Sister: NEAT! I'm chewing gum to keep my mouth busy. ;0)

Me: (an hour later) I'm gonna go for a 3 mile run with Bea. Except for the lack of vomiting, I'm pretty sure this is considered bulimia! HAHAHAHA!

My Sister: Yes, I would agree.

Dear Jessica Simpson

Dear Jessica Simpson,

You need to hook a sister up with some of your acne treatment! I turn 30 years old in exactly one week from today, and my face is breaking out like I am a teenage boy! I'm not sure if it is due to stress, due to a LOT of sweating, or if it's from PMS-ing, but regardless, you can play dot-to-dot on my forehead! I hope these 4 monsters go away before my party!

And while I think you look FAB, the tabloids seem to think you know a little something about struggling with your weight. If I can take a moment of your time to complain, I would REALLY appreciate it! I have been BUSTING MY BUTT all week, and it is all pretty much for nothing! I was down 4.5 pounds by Friday and then for NO REASON I gained 1.5 pounds by Saturday morning!? I thought for sure that Aunt Flo was arriving on the 10 o'clock train, but she has STILL not shown up! Her luggage has preceded her though, and of no surprise, she packed more weight gain, and "the munchies"! After 7 days of dedicated exercise, I am only down 1.5 pounds for the week. Sigh.

Now, I will say that there is SOME good news to share with you. Despite my low weight loss for the week, I have lost several inches. I'm not usually a numbers person when there are other positive results (ex. loss of inches) but I was so close to a goal weight on Friday, and now it seems too far off in the distance to accomplish by my party. Waaaaaaa.

Thanks for hearin' a sister out!

Your Fan,
Elizabeth

The Year of The Brumbaugh's! *

I don't know if you all have realized it yet, but you are now in 2011, the year of...The Brumbaugh's*!!!!

1/1/11 was the day I ran 5 miles!

This is the month I turn 30!!! (Exactly 2 weeks until my birthday, and just 12 days until my big par-tay!)

This is the year:

* I quit working!

* We are DEBT FREE!

* We get to travel (after a 6 year+ drought)!

* I.run.a.freaking.MARATHON!

2011 is filled with HOPE, and is an EXCITING time for the Brumbaugh's!

I have been torn as to whether I would like to return as the Coordinator of our church's MOPS group for the 2011-2012 year, but after much prayer, I have decided that I will continue in this role. I am so thrilled about the things we will be doing in the church this year!

*Disclaimer: "The year of The Brumabugh's" is just funny...at least I think it is. I know I am nothing without my faith in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 21:20- Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

As a family, our faith has been tested greatly over the last 2 years, and I am praying this, 2011, is the time we MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Workout

My plan to workout twice a day, worked-out great! I did not plan to eat poorly each day...but it just kind of worked-out that way...and even with that, I lost 1 pound every day. By Sunday morning, I had lost 7 pounds for the week. But then, on Sunday morning, the last day before my official weigh-in on Monday, I continued to not make good food choices, AND since Sunday is my day of rest from exercising, I ended up gaining 2.5 pounds yesterday! My net loss for the week is 4.5 pounds. Not bad...but shoulda, coulda, woulda been better.

The kids, my mom, and I went up to L.A. yesterday for me to have a fun moment helping my sister Anna try on beautiful evening gowns for a black tie event she is attending in a couple of weeks. After my mom and the littles were settled in at Anna's house, we headed to the mall. Only, my sister misunderstood the hours of operation at the mall...we were an hour early. What do we do for an hour!? BREAKFAST! She took me to this amazing restaurant named "Jinky's!" Everything on the extensive menu was creative and sounded incredible. We had a hard time choosing what to eat, but in the end, we decided on sharing the "Banana Fosters Pancake Breakfast"...we made a GREAT choice!



After we each tried on over 25 gowns at Bloomingdales and Macy's, we went back to her house where she introduced me to Costco's delicious Jalapeno Artichoke Dip, and my mom intruduced us to William Sonoma's Peppermint Bark COOKIES...HEAVENLY! After we said goodbye to my sister and her family, we started our drive down South. You wouldn't believe what we found! The sandwich that had left San Diego, was now in Riverside for just a short amount of time...The McRib...YUM!!!

What do Hot Dogs, Potatoes, Gingerbread and Darth Vader Have in Common!?

The Big Bay Balloon Parade!



As a native San Diegan, I am embarrassed to admit that this was the first year I have been to (and heard of) this massive annual balloon parade event that our city hosts in celebration of
"The Holiday Bowl", a college football game that is played later that same day.

The kiddos & I put on all of our warm clothes and headed out on a CHILLY morning to catch the trolley down to the big event. See them holding hands!?...AAAAAWE...I have to capture these rare moments. :0)



We had the MOST fun at the parade! Some of our friends joined us, and we all gathered curbside to take in the sights...





Wyatt loved marching (in place) with all of the marching bands...



And Beatrice loved the eats...



Here were some of our favorite balloons...









Despite having a HORRIBLE hour and 15 minute (standing room only) ride home on the trolley with our new friend named "Tailgate" who was a self proclaimed ex-drunk, that actively smelt like booze (and B.O.), I would TOOOOOTALLY go again next year! :0)