Hi everyone!!

I'm back from my weekend volleyball extravaganza getaway in Wichita! After two weekends out of town, it will be nice to get back into a routine.

Friday, after a Starbucks stop, we made our way from DFW to Wichita. I have to say that Oklahoma has some beautiful views. Our hotel was in Old Town Wichita which is a fun area with bars, shops and restaurants. Very nice! After relaxing a bit and freshening up, we had dinner at a Latin American restaurant. I had paella which probably wasn't the best choice, but I love the stuff! I couldn't eat the shrimp, squid or clams (too fibrous) so I gave those to my friend Cori. I ate the chicken, veggies and some rice. Surprisingly I just haven't had much issue with rice lately after having horrible times with it in the past. Weird.

After dinner it was time to head over to Wichita State University (home of the Shockers!) for a fun night of volleyball. We were there to watch the mens USA Volleyball team play the Russian team. We beat them 3-0 in a surprisingly exciting blowout! WSU has a strong volleyball team and there were a lot of fans in attendance. After the game, the guys lined up to sign autographs. I used that time to get up close and take some photos. Those guys make me feel much like a midget, but darn it if they aren't cute!!

After dinner we strolled around Old Town. We had a glass of wine and some hummus at a wine bar. It had a nice laid back atmosphere, but was more of a date place. We ended up at a more "bar" bar and sat at the bar nursing a glass of wine. We ended up making friends with the bartenders who gifted us with a free shot. After that, it was time to hit the sack.

I woke up about 2 hours later with HORRIBLE stomach cramps. Guess 2 1/2 glasses of wine and a shot isn't really "in moderation". Good to know for future reference.

Saturday morning, I woke (surprisingly) feeling pretty good. We went to a place called Eggs Cetra for breakfast. I usually can't eat at breakfast, but after some coffee I was able to eat a little bacon and eggs. Yum!

We spent the day walking around Old Town and driving around Wichita. It is a really nice place to visit! If the volleyball game is there next year, we definitely plan to go back. We HAD to stop at place called Nifty Nuts to get some honey roasted cashews and some dark chocolate covered graham crackers. :rolleyes2:

That night there was another volleyball game. This time the team wasn't so fired up and we lost 1-3. With that the USA is out of World League play for the year. Bummer! I have attached a couple of pictures of the players that I find adorable. As much as I already love volleyball, it sure doesn't help to have some eye candy. Ha! Also, during the breaks, the bench players worked out. BEST TIME OUT ENTERTAINMENT EVER!!

After the game, we went for a late dinner. I had grilled snapper and it was a little overcooked, but the light sauce was DELICIOUS! Since we ate late, we walked around for a while to make sure my food made it's way where it should before I went to bed. There was a HUGE car show going on so it wasn't hard to waste time checking it out. There was one super pimped out red caddy with unbelievable chrome trim and a fur dashboard. Awesome!!

After that, bedtime. We are just not night owls. The next morning as I was packing up the car, I pulled a muscle in my back. It is certainly not the worst I have ever done, but it made the drive back to DFW quite unpleasant. I'm not sure about you all, but when I am in pain (any kind) my band tends to tighten up. So, I couldn't eat breakfast or lunch. I'm guessing Cori was as eager to get back as I was considering I was probably not very good company!!

Once I got back home, I was able to eat so that helped. Today my back is still sore, so I will have to take a few days off exercise. I was telling my mom this morning that I can completely tell the difference in my life because since I'm not "on a diet", when I get thrown a curveball, it is so easy to get back to things. I'm just much more flexible than I ever was before. I owe SO much of that to the band.

This morning, I was down 3.4 pounds! What?? I guess I did walk around a lot this weekend. That means I passed another 5 pound mini-goal and have lost over 55 pounds. YAY!

Tonight is Support Group and I ALWAYS look forward to that. Tonight is also picture time, so I should have that updated tomorrow.

Have a great day y'all!!