Week in Review: Weight Loss Update, Roller Skating, Tattoo Day, and Upcoming NFC Championship

As the month draws to a close, I am here with another update on the weight loss fun and what I've been up to this week. This week has had its mix of challenges and victories like most weeks, mostly challenges though. It was a hard week, both physically and mentally. I had an evening I thought about quitting it all, but luckily woke up the next day, my good friend Christopher picked me up for a late lunch, and through the help of my friends, got myself back in the mental game somewhat. Here are the highlights for the week, from my current weight loss status to adventures in roller skating to the significance of my new tattoo. Here's my week!

Weight Loss Recap

I am down about 13 pounds for the month with just a few days to go. I had a few days this week where I didn't hit 10,000. One of those days I just got down due to personal things so I went to bed at 8pm. I woke up the next day and couldn't get myself to dance at all. Luckily that day I had roller skating so I still got all my activity in. Then Friday and today I'm just sore from roller skating and getting my new tattoo. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back to it to finish out the month strong. I don't mention my blah and sometimes depressing personal thoughts for us to get into that, but it's to let you know and hopefully someone can relate to those days when you just crawl in bed and want to give up. It's normal. It's being human. More people should talk about it. We are not all strong every single day.

Winter Warm-Up at U.S. Bank Stadium

Roller Skating Adventure

On Thursday, I enjoyed a fun evening roller skating at U.S. Bank Stadium. I did not like the few metal bumps around the concourse that they had you go over, but once I fell going over the first 2, I didn't luckily have that happen again. I am a far cry from the old roller skating me who would laugh hysterically at me now and how I am at skating, but at least I looked cute while doing it (Thanks Alex for bringing my pants haha)

The young me who could do jumps and spins and routines to music

Despite the fun, roller skating took a toll on my muscles. I have been dancing a lot lately, but I do NOT use the same muscles at all. Just two days later, I am still feeling the aftermath! haha I'm glad that although I walked a lot less this week, I had something like this to really burn some calories and at a faster rate than dancing. So I feel it is a win, and I still didn't gain weight this week, and that's what matters most.

My Phillies Tattoo

Tattoo depicting the idea of rebirth after trauma

At the end of 2023, I got my Eagles tattoo that I ended up combing with a quote to represent my breast cancer journey. Yesterday, I got my Phillies tattoo that I combined with my next meaningful tat. This new tattoo symbolizes rebirth after trauma, a theme that resonates deeply with my life experiences. This tattoo serves as a daily reminder to me that I can rise above the struggles and emerge stronger and more beautiful, even when inevitably there will be more hurdles and down moments along the path.

I put the tattoo and the rose stems facing towards the heart. Each stem has 2 years on them, signifying 4 of the most defining traumatic years that has ultimately made me who I am.

2011- My dad died this year after many years battling leukemia. I remember Uncle Jerry talking to me the week my dad died and he said "Life is never the same once you lose a parent. There is a before and after, but it changes you forever." What I didn't know is that it's more than just a parents death that can change you so dramatically too.

2017- Uncle Jerry died of brain cancer. Pretty sure this year impacted way more people than just me. He believed in me. He inspired me. He even saved me and my family at one point from being homeless. He was the most amazing, incredible and selfless human.

2022- Uncle Howard died this year as anyone who remotely knows me already knows. He became a father figure to me when my dad died. He's the main reason I am even living here. My entire life and the best parts of it, is what it is all thanks to him. Most of you reading this would never have known me had he not lived here and I came with my job at the time, to be here too. What I wouldn't give to have one more drink with him or to watch another Eagles game with him.

2024- What didn't happen in this year? and technically, the nightmare began in 2023 but not sure i even processed any of it in 2023 as the last 3 months of 2023 are ones I maybe will block out of my memory for years to come. 2024 I did radiation, ovary removal surgery, physical therapy (still doing it), but most traumatizing above anything else that happened in 2024 was that my ex-husband Ryan died suddenly in a car accident. I didn't realize how hard life would be without him and how much I absolutely miss him so much every day. We were friends before anything else and I will miss that friendship every day for the rest of my life.

Why Phillies? Why not? When you grow up in South Jersey, you are born into fandom. It's a way of life. Watching sports with my dad (and my family) growing up, both on the tv and in person, was something I took for granted at the time. I now long for times when I can watch with other people (who are rooting for the same team of course) and having some assemblance of that old feeling. Last week my friends Tierra and Marty came and it was so fun to have us all in Eagles gear and their kids in jerseys just watching the birds and yelling and jumping up and down. I don't think I realized just how much I needed that for my soul.

Philadelphia Eagles and the NFC Championship Game

On a lighter note (or maybe not), I can't wait to watch the NFC Championship game tomorrow. I will be watching from home in my Eagles fan cave, likely screaming my head off and causing my heart to stress entirely too much. Isn't that what we live for though as Eagles fans? haha

Reflecting on this week, it's evident that my journey involves more than just weight loss. It's about making it through hard days, relying on friends who have become family, and creating meaningful memories or tributes to fuel you for the future. It's about pushing forward when you feel so down you don't want to do anything. It's about doing the best you can and ultimately creating the story of your life.

Here's to the final days of January! I'll next post a recap of January once the month ends, to see where we landed on all fronts. Even if no one reads these posts or follows my step tracker, I love that it helps me to feel accountable and to keep going. Future me will thank me for that.