Wow you guys, I am drained.
Today was REALLY hectic, but it was so much fun. I'll try to get it all out in as few words as humanly possible. LOL.
Varisty had their tournament today. From 8:30 in the morning to 6:00 in the evening, I was running back and forth inside a high school. In order to show our support, the girl's varsity team worked the concession stand and admissions. Keep in mind, this was a *tournament* there were not only lots of people there, there were about five other teams of men. Which, I would like to input here, really made my day, no joke.
I don't know if you guys can tell this, but I'm a HUGE people person. I LOVE working with people and so today, I helped one of the varsity player's mom with the concession stand. I LOVED it, absolutely and utterly. I can't believe how much I enjoyed myself. I love talking to people and making them smile. I mean, we served your usual picnic food, hotdogs, nachos, pretzels and the like and we dished them on styrofoam plates and napkins. Despite the fact that it was completely informal, I would say things like..."I hope you enjoy your dinning experience" or "Thank you for dining with us this afternoon. Do enjoy your meal, hon." SO many people got kicks out of this. I just...wow, I just feel so good making people smile.
Not only am I a people person, I definately like to chat it up with the occasional young man who crosses my path. Today of course was my field day for this particular eccentricity of my personality. After every game, the boys would come and feed their starving selves and I would make sure I got a smile out of every one of them. It got to the point some of them were coming back up for thirds and purposely butting into the 'concession girl's' convos to state a fun remark. It was amazing you guys, it really was. It's been a while since I've volunteered at something as big as this, and I really did forget how much of myself comes out at events such as this one. I *like* the me who attends these things. I'm happy, bubbly and I have a tendency to throw endearments around like carbon dioxide.
What really made my day was when I was manning the admissions stand because my sister stepped out momentarily. A really, really classy older gentlemen, the father of our varsity team's coach, a man who smells of mahagony, wears a trenhcoat and drives a Mercedes, says to me... "You have a very beautiful smile." And of course, I can feel my face heat up and I say to him "Well, thank you so much. I do try, you know. I like making people happy. I figure, if I can do it with nothing other than my personality, why not?" and he responds with. "It certainly works. Your smile is conatgious. It can light up a room. It's very good to see you again." and of course I tell him the same. But this was a really sweet moment you guys. This man is like a giant teddy-bear in a top-hat, and he completely flattered me in under a minute. I was actually floored, to be honest with you. But as I said before, these events bring out the best in me and I know for certian I was nothing but smiling all the time. I just love people. If you smile at them, they smile back and right there, each party knows the other one is approachable...
In the news of my caloric intake, I haven't the slightest clue how many I ate today. Truth be told, I drank most of my meals today. Within five hours I downed two 20 ounce cups of half coffee/fat free french vanilla. Those were my main enery source during most of the tournament. I did have a hot dog which was around 270 total, which was this morning's intake for breakfast. For certian I had 540 cals in ACTUAL food. Coffee really sedates my appetite.
After the game however, some of us went out to Pizza Hut because one of my boy's won a free large pizza for scoring a half-court shot. It was so much fun. Again, there were people there and I was in my element. The conversation I was waiting for, transpired today, surprisingly enough. The manager's wife, who happens to sing for our games, was speaking of how she'd lost weight when she was pregnant, and other members at the table started speaking of their weight loss efforts and I told all of them, "No matter what you guys have done, I've got all of you trumped. I gurantee it." And one of my boys says "It's true you guys, I've seen pictures." All of them have heard from the grapevine that I was a porker once upon a time, but none of them REALLY knew, so when they all looked at me I said..."I lost 134.5 pounds in three years." Of course, this causes that side of the table to be hushed and the manager's wife says, "Do you have any pictures?" and I say..."Yeah, I do actually." So I pull out my Ipod and show them the digital before and after pics. I stunned them you guys, NO ONE but my boys believed that was me. Even my coach said..."No way that's you Rach, no way." And I say "Yes, it is. Trust me. I was 290 pounds." And one of my boys asks me how I did it and I point to my plate of salad and fruit and I say "By eating like this, hon and by running for miles a night. That's how I did it." And he says..."Yeah, your dad told me he's proud of you, and how much he appreciates your helping him with his food plan." and I said "Yep, he's on *my* food plan and he's losing at least 10 pounds a month." It's amazing the positive responses I got tonight, some of my teamembers and those associated with me are still skeptical, but because I had so much picture evidence, I'm pretty sure they'll think about it and sway to the belief.
Overall you guys, this was one of the best Saturday's I've had in a really, really long time. Not only did I get to hang with my boys, I hung with my girls and made people I didn't even know smile. I loved today. I want more days like this.
I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend!!
Big hugs!!
