The Former Fat Girl goes on a Mission Trip
Hello my Lovelies and Gents,
Well I am back from my Mission Trip. Okay, I got back on Saturday, but I've been on the run since then. I literally made it back with 5 minutes to spare for a Surprise birthday party. I walked in and hugged the birthday girl as they were loading up the cars.
My trip was amazing and extremely stressful.
The day before we left I got a flat tire. So I had the stress of getting it fixed on July 4th. Money and time became a big issue. I had to forgo my evening plans because I spent my whole morning at Goodyear. I did use my free drink at Starbucks for a giant Peach Green Tea Lemonade.
We were meeting for lunch at church after the second service. Then we would pack and get on the way. I was hoping for a caffeine run and really could have run out for something, but I did not. Luckily we had a potty stop request 45 minutes into the trip. I was the lead car and found a McDonalds. I got myself an iced vanilla latte. Ahh...I could stay awake now.
Our first night there we went out for BBQ. Now there weren't a whole lot of restaurant options, but I wasn't about to argue. I did think for minute that I would have a garden salad. I wasn't sure how many vegetables I would have access to for the week. But, I was NOT about to give up a BBQ opportunity. I ordered the BBQ pulled pork sandwich with a side of applesauce. Ms. Alexandra's entrée came with 2 sides. She didn't want them so we ordered fried green tomatoes for me. YEAH! I hadn't had them since our Savannah trip a couple years ago. The sides of vegetables weren't exactly healthy options. Basically they were in butter or casserole form. I did order some peas. They look like black eyed peas, but I couldn't understand what the waitress was calling them. They weren't very flavorful.
I didn't finish my meal, but that's okay. I was full and I didn't push it. We had walked in at 6:30 with a party of 11 and they were set to close at 7. There were still other patrons and they seated us right away. Unfortunately, we waited over an hour for our food. The group was hungry and got cranky. We needed to be back on site for Chapel Service by 8pm. We were able to call and let them know that we were running late. We also had access to a TV and the USA Women's Soccer game. Luckily we got to see some of the World Championship Game.
I was a little apprehensive about our breakfasts. We had been warned that sometimes the breakfasts aren't that great. We brought breakfast bars. But, I didn't need them. I was pleasantly surprised.
Every morning that we were working we had eggs as an option. It's a good protein to give you energy. That first morning we also had pancakes. Another day there was French toast (my favorite morning). One morning the other option was biscuits and gravy. I'm not a big fan, but I did take the biscuits. One was a little well done though. The only morning I wasn't crazy about it was the second morning with breakfast burritos. I'm not a big fan in general. But, it's okay. I just had the eggs by themselves. There was also fresh fruit every morning. Hooray! Bananas. Watermelon. Cantaloupe. And the Pineapple...OMG the PINEAPPLE! Yum.
We didn't have bananas every day, so I did grab some when I would run to the store. I am a banana a day girl.
The boys weren't crazy about the food, although I don't know why, and skipped breakfast one morning. This made me MAD. I had just talked to them the day before about the importance of proper nutrition (protein and carbohydrates) when you are being physically active. The day before we had made a stop for extra coffee on the way to the work site and they had all picked up some junk food. I believe they thought that was an option every day. They were wrong. The new rule was: if you don't come down for breakfast, then you don't get lunch bought for you on our free days. They didn't skip again :-)
We were in the first group for breakfast. So when we were done we moved outside to make our sandwiches for lunch. We had the option of wheat or white bread and turkey or ham. There was cheese, lettuce, and condiment packets. I always tried to be towards the back of the line so that mine would be at the top of the cooler when they are handing them out (gotta think ahead!)
When we arrived at the park for our lunch breaks we would have a blessing and then they would open the coolers. When your name was called you came up for your sandwich, some orange slices, a couple oreo cookies, and a bag of chips.
So here's the interesting thing. It was hard work. I mean I was burning calories with my hole digging. I was hungry. I was ravished. I could have eaten so much more. But, the portions were fine. By the time we got back to site my the food in my belly had caught up with my brain. I wasn't hungry any more. I did have Cliff bars (protein bars) in the car for the afternoon lag.
During two trips back to Camp I rode with another church. Because the worksite only has one bathroom they made sure to stop at the QT gas station on the way back. I had never been to one and have seem them all over Charlotte. Well now I'm addicted. For my northern friends, it reminds me a lot of Wawas. All hail Wawa!
I picked up a couple bananas there each time. I also grabbed a small piece of chocolate and a large iced tea. One day it was an unsweetened pineapple papaya white tea. And another time it was a peach white tea. Oh so refreshing. On our last full day of work I also picked up a soft pretzel. I was hungry. They were out of honey mustard for it and gave me a garlic butter. Um...I'm not a big fan of butter let alone butter on my pretzel. I thought it was garlic sauce...nope, pure butter. I didn't really eat that.
So our dinners were pretty good. I had been told that the first night would probably be spaghetti (I was actually really excited about that). The second night is usually pizza and the third we grill out. The first night was actually taco night. I wasn't excited until I saw that it was ground turkey not ground beef. I just opted for shell-less salad version. They didn't announce until chapel that night that it was turkey because they didn't realize, but I could tell just looking at it. The second night was dominoes pizza and I had a slice of plain and a slice of pepperoni. The third night I had a cheeseburger and salad. Now the salad was pretty much a giant bowl of lettuce with some sliced cucumbers. I actually asked for a second slice for my plate. haha.
Sometimes there was dessert. One night there was coconut cake and neapolitan ice cream. I had a bite from someone else. And another night there were ice cream sandwiches.
One night we went to Dairy Queen for our group time at the end of the night. I wanted a blizzard with anything in it, but I kept it to a single cone with a chocolate dip.
I am pretty proud of myself for sticking to portions. I also drank a buttload of water and Gatorade. I mean it was HOT and I was drenched from the work. I did find some Starbucks bottled drinks at the gas station and picked some up for my morning caffeine fix.
My biggest splurge was the Peanut M&Ms, even though we did not have that many, and the home made cookies that were sent down. Thank you Mary Lou! Athough to be fair, I made a baggie full of them last a week. And they might have all been okay, but I had some stressful moments and well I'm a stress eater.
We did have some time where we had to eat out. For our first lunch out we went to Zaxby's. If you are paying attention I checked one out before we went. I got my grilled chicken. That afternoon we went back and showered before heading to Helen, GA for some fun. That is the cutest town and I would go back in a heartbeat. I wanted to spend more time there, but I have learned that I do not really share the same interests as teenage boys.
However, I am extremely competitive with Putt-Putt. We were trying to play with a lot of people though and it was really hot. I didn't bring enough water, but I thought there were be options for it and I was dying of thirst.
After the game we drove around and found a nice place to eat. We sat outside at Bigg Daddy's Tavern. I ordered a water and sucked it down so fast...I was actually given another one by one of the girls at the table. haha. For dinner I ordered the BBQ chicken sandwich. I didn't eat all of the roll and it was a Georgia peach bbq sauce. Yeah, like I wasn't going to get that. It was yummy. I also got an ice water to go.
For our full day off the kids picked going to the movies as their activity. So we went to Wendy's for lunch first. I got the Apple Pecan chicken salad. I only got a half size so I went back up for a 4 piece chicken nugget so that I could add a little more protein. I also got a blueberry pineapple iced tea. Oh yum.
I opted not to go to the movie. I had been told about a hiking trail to a waterfall close to camp and our counselor, Brittany, offered to go with me. Luckily one of the boys also wanted to go. So we dropped everyone off at the movies then headed to pick up some water and Gatorade.
It wasn't a super long hike, but it was still challenging and the humidity made it hard for me to breathe. But, once we got there I never wanted to leave. It was beautiful. The air was cool. I was able to reflect and pray. It was a very much needed trip. The Former Fat Girl never would have gone. She would have easily picked the movie, even if she didn't want to see it. She would have dove into that movie popcorn and never looked back.
For dinner that night we went out for brick oven pizza. I shared a Margherita pizza with Mr. Dick, who was the other chaperone at that time. It was good pizza and I did eat my half, but I didn't eat the crust...which was so tempting. I had ended up making the hike twice because I had to go back to my car for my battery charger and real camera. I was hungrier than I thought. lol.
That was our last night there and we had a treat back at camp. We had voted on a movie at breakfast and we would be watching The Sandlot. I had never seen it and was excited to watch it. The movie would be followed by a bonfire with Smores. I was in heaven...and I kept it to two smores. That's like amazing for me. The Former Fat Girl would have kept sneaking in there for more. It was dark. You could eat as many as you wanted. She would have also snuck some of the chocolate bars in her pocket. I did not.
We had a packed breakfast for us on Saturday before we left. There were apples, mini muffins, granola bars, and juice boxes. I was DYING for caffeine. The coffee I had gotten was not enough. I needed caffeine so bad. We stopped with an hour left in the drive at Sonic. My car got drinks, but their coffee machine was broken. So I took us to Dunkin Donuts for me. HOORAY. I got me a big old iced latte. It was lunch time so we went to McDonalds drive thru. I wanted a grilled chicken snack wrap, but um...the toy was a minion so I got a cheeseburger. I got excited when they asked if I wanted yogurt or apples. I said apples. Then I was disappointed when I still got fries. It doesn't work when you give them both.
Our accommodations included a kitchen, but I didn't know to expect that. I did go out for a couple gallons of water to keep in the fridge because I wasn't sure about drinking the tap water. Usually it doesn't bother me, but I wasn't taking a chance. Luckily I had brought some drink packets and bottles so I could make iced tea. ahh.
I wasn't really upset with my eating. I did what I could and as soon as I got home I stopped for vegetables. I mean I bought a whole grocery bag full. And every meal since I got back has included at least 3 vegetables. YEAH!
I didn't quite get my running in. We had early breakfast calls and for some reason I couldn't sleep each night. But, I did dig holes, hammer boards, carry boards, and carry 80lb bags of concrete by myself. My shoulder got a little tight from the shoveling, but I was not sore or anything at night. I'm especially proud of my back. My back wasn't sore at all from the lifting. Go me!
The first two days I worked really hard. The third day I took it easy. I had been bitten by something on my ankle the day before and my tongue swelled that night. I was on some medication in the morning. But, that afternoon I was itching to dig a hole. And so I did. In total we needed to dig 8 holes 2 feet deep. The dirt closest to the house was wet and very claylike. It was not easy to dig...and I loved it!
I am so proud of how much I could do. The former fat girl would have made every excuse to hide in the shade. It was hot, but I just drank water and Gatorade to get by. I didn't care how hot it was, we had committed to working on this deck. A family was counting on us. Plus, I had finished a marathon in weather like this. If I could do that, I could do anything!
The camp was beautiful and I tried to walk around as much as possible. I did drive us down for breakfast everyday, but that was mainly so that my car would be there to drive us back in the dark. It was beautiful and I didn't car how hot it was. I wanted to see it all. If someone said they were going for a walk I joined them.
I would have liked some running time, but my knee was also a little sore. I did have a big scare and couldn't find my compression sleeve for a couple of days. It was in my trunk the whole time. Oops.
Well needless to say, I was super tired when I got home. It took me a few days to get the sleep I needed and the veggies I needed. But, I'm all good now. I would go again in a heartbeat. Can't wait til next year!
Have a Blessed Evening
http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfAFormerFatGir
yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: hugsnsmileInstagram: Jennie5973
Well I am back from my Mission Trip. Okay, I got back on Saturday, but I've been on the run since then. I literally made it back with 5 minutes to spare for a Surprise birthday party. I walked in and hugged the birthday girl as they were loading up the cars.
My trip was amazing and extremely stressful.
The day before we left I got a flat tire. So I had the stress of getting it fixed on July 4th. Money and time became a big issue. I had to forgo my evening plans because I spent my whole morning at Goodyear. I did use my free drink at Starbucks for a giant Peach Green Tea Lemonade.
We were meeting for lunch at church after the second service. Then we would pack and get on the way. I was hoping for a caffeine run and really could have run out for something, but I did not. Luckily we had a potty stop request 45 minutes into the trip. I was the lead car and found a McDonalds. I got myself an iced vanilla latte. Ahh...I could stay awake now.
Our first night there we went out for BBQ. Now there weren't a whole lot of restaurant options, but I wasn't about to argue. I did think for minute that I would have a garden salad. I wasn't sure how many vegetables I would have access to for the week. But, I was NOT about to give up a BBQ opportunity. I ordered the BBQ pulled pork sandwich with a side of applesauce. Ms. Alexandra's entrée came with 2 sides. She didn't want them so we ordered fried green tomatoes for me. YEAH! I hadn't had them since our Savannah trip a couple years ago. The sides of vegetables weren't exactly healthy options. Basically they were in butter or casserole form. I did order some peas. They look like black eyed peas, but I couldn't understand what the waitress was calling them. They weren't very flavorful.
I didn't finish my meal, but that's okay. I was full and I didn't push it. We had walked in at 6:30 with a party of 11 and they were set to close at 7. There were still other patrons and they seated us right away. Unfortunately, we waited over an hour for our food. The group was hungry and got cranky. We needed to be back on site for Chapel Service by 8pm. We were able to call and let them know that we were running late. We also had access to a TV and the USA Women's Soccer game. Luckily we got to see some of the World Championship Game.
Every morning that we were working we had eggs as an option. It's a good protein to give you energy. That first morning we also had pancakes. Another day there was French toast (my favorite morning). One morning the other option was biscuits and gravy. I'm not a big fan, but I did take the biscuits. One was a little well done though. The only morning I wasn't crazy about it was the second morning with breakfast burritos. I'm not a big fan in general. But, it's okay. I just had the eggs by themselves. There was also fresh fruit every morning. Hooray! Bananas. Watermelon. Cantaloupe. And the Pineapple...OMG the PINEAPPLE! Yum.
We didn't have bananas every day, so I did grab some when I would run to the store. I am a banana a day girl.
The boys weren't crazy about the food, although I don't know why, and skipped breakfast one morning. This made me MAD. I had just talked to them the day before about the importance of proper nutrition (protein and carbohydrates) when you are being physically active. The day before we had made a stop for extra coffee on the way to the work site and they had all picked up some junk food. I believe they thought that was an option every day. They were wrong. The new rule was: if you don't come down for breakfast, then you don't get lunch bought for you on our free days. They didn't skip again :-)
We were in the first group for breakfast. So when we were done we moved outside to make our sandwiches for lunch. We had the option of wheat or white bread and turkey or ham. There was cheese, lettuce, and condiment packets. I always tried to be towards the back of the line so that mine would be at the top of the cooler when they are handing them out (gotta think ahead!)
When we arrived at the park for our lunch breaks we would have a blessing and then they would open the coolers. When your name was called you came up for your sandwich, some orange slices, a couple oreo cookies, and a bag of chips.
So here's the interesting thing. It was hard work. I mean I was burning calories with my hole digging. I was hungry. I was ravished. I could have eaten so much more. But, the portions were fine. By the time we got back to site my the food in my belly had caught up with my brain. I wasn't hungry any more. I did have Cliff bars (protein bars) in the car for the afternoon lag.
During two trips back to Camp I rode with another church. Because the worksite only has one bathroom they made sure to stop at the QT gas station on the way back. I had never been to one and have seem them all over Charlotte. Well now I'm addicted. For my northern friends, it reminds me a lot of Wawas. All hail Wawa!
I picked up a couple bananas there each time. I also grabbed a small piece of chocolate and a large iced tea. One day it was an unsweetened pineapple papaya white tea. And another time it was a peach white tea. Oh so refreshing. On our last full day of work I also picked up a soft pretzel. I was hungry. They were out of honey mustard for it and gave me a garlic butter. Um...I'm not a big fan of butter let alone butter on my pretzel. I thought it was garlic sauce...nope, pure butter. I didn't really eat that.
So our dinners were pretty good. I had been told that the first night would probably be spaghetti (I was actually really excited about that). The second night is usually pizza and the third we grill out. The first night was actually taco night. I wasn't excited until I saw that it was ground turkey not ground beef. I just opted for shell-less salad version. They didn't announce until chapel that night that it was turkey because they didn't realize, but I could tell just looking at it. The second night was dominoes pizza and I had a slice of plain and a slice of pepperoni. The third night I had a cheeseburger and salad. Now the salad was pretty much a giant bowl of lettuce with some sliced cucumbers. I actually asked for a second slice for my plate. haha.
Sometimes there was dessert. One night there was coconut cake and neapolitan ice cream. I had a bite from someone else. And another night there were ice cream sandwiches.
One night we went to Dairy Queen for our group time at the end of the night. I wanted a blizzard with anything in it, but I kept it to a single cone with a chocolate dip.
I am pretty proud of myself for sticking to portions. I also drank a buttload of water and Gatorade. I mean it was HOT and I was drenched from the work. I did find some Starbucks bottled drinks at the gas station and picked some up for my morning caffeine fix.
My biggest splurge was the Peanut M&Ms, even though we did not have that many, and the home made cookies that were sent down. Thank you Mary Lou! Athough to be fair, I made a baggie full of them last a week. And they might have all been okay, but I had some stressful moments and well I'm a stress eater.
We did have some time where we had to eat out. For our first lunch out we went to Zaxby's. If you are paying attention I checked one out before we went. I got my grilled chicken. That afternoon we went back and showered before heading to Helen, GA for some fun. That is the cutest town and I would go back in a heartbeat. I wanted to spend more time there, but I have learned that I do not really share the same interests as teenage boys.
However, I am extremely competitive with Putt-Putt. We were trying to play with a lot of people though and it was really hot. I didn't bring enough water, but I thought there were be options for it and I was dying of thirst.
After the game we drove around and found a nice place to eat. We sat outside at Bigg Daddy's Tavern. I ordered a water and sucked it down so fast...I was actually given another one by one of the girls at the table. haha. For dinner I ordered the BBQ chicken sandwich. I didn't eat all of the roll and it was a Georgia peach bbq sauce. Yeah, like I wasn't going to get that. It was yummy. I also got an ice water to go.
For our full day off the kids picked going to the movies as their activity. So we went to Wendy's for lunch first. I got the Apple Pecan chicken salad. I only got a half size so I went back up for a 4 piece chicken nugget so that I could add a little more protein. I also got a blueberry pineapple iced tea. Oh yum.
I opted not to go to the movie. I had been told about a hiking trail to a waterfall close to camp and our counselor, Brittany, offered to go with me. Luckily one of the boys also wanted to go. So we dropped everyone off at the movies then headed to pick up some water and Gatorade.
It wasn't a super long hike, but it was still challenging and the humidity made it hard for me to breathe. But, once we got there I never wanted to leave. It was beautiful. The air was cool. I was able to reflect and pray. It was a very much needed trip. The Former Fat Girl never would have gone. She would have easily picked the movie, even if she didn't want to see it. She would have dove into that movie popcorn and never looked back.
For dinner that night we went out for brick oven pizza. I shared a Margherita pizza with Mr. Dick, who was the other chaperone at that time. It was good pizza and I did eat my half, but I didn't eat the crust...which was so tempting. I had ended up making the hike twice because I had to go back to my car for my battery charger and real camera. I was hungrier than I thought. lol.
That was our last night there and we had a treat back at camp. We had voted on a movie at breakfast and we would be watching The Sandlot. I had never seen it and was excited to watch it. The movie would be followed by a bonfire with Smores. I was in heaven...and I kept it to two smores. That's like amazing for me. The Former Fat Girl would have kept sneaking in there for more. It was dark. You could eat as many as you wanted. She would have also snuck some of the chocolate bars in her pocket. I did not.
We had a packed breakfast for us on Saturday before we left. There were apples, mini muffins, granola bars, and juice boxes. I was DYING for caffeine. The coffee I had gotten was not enough. I needed caffeine so bad. We stopped with an hour left in the drive at Sonic. My car got drinks, but their coffee machine was broken. So I took us to Dunkin Donuts for me. HOORAY. I got me a big old iced latte. It was lunch time so we went to McDonalds drive thru. I wanted a grilled chicken snack wrap, but um...the toy was a minion so I got a cheeseburger. I got excited when they asked if I wanted yogurt or apples. I said apples. Then I was disappointed when I still got fries. It doesn't work when you give them both.
Our accommodations included a kitchen, but I didn't know to expect that. I did go out for a couple gallons of water to keep in the fridge because I wasn't sure about drinking the tap water. Usually it doesn't bother me, but I wasn't taking a chance. Luckily I had brought some drink packets and bottles so I could make iced tea. ahh.
I wasn't really upset with my eating. I did what I could and as soon as I got home I stopped for vegetables. I mean I bought a whole grocery bag full. And every meal since I got back has included at least 3 vegetables. YEAH!
I didn't quite get my running in. We had early breakfast calls and for some reason I couldn't sleep each night. But, I did dig holes, hammer boards, carry boards, and carry 80lb bags of concrete by myself. My shoulder got a little tight from the shoveling, but I was not sore or anything at night. I'm especially proud of my back. My back wasn't sore at all from the lifting. Go me!
The first two days I worked really hard. The third day I took it easy. I had been bitten by something on my ankle the day before and my tongue swelled that night. I was on some medication in the morning. But, that afternoon I was itching to dig a hole. And so I did. In total we needed to dig 8 holes 2 feet deep. The dirt closest to the house was wet and very claylike. It was not easy to dig...and I loved it!
I am so proud of how much I could do. The former fat girl would have made every excuse to hide in the shade. It was hot, but I just drank water and Gatorade to get by. I didn't care how hot it was, we had committed to working on this deck. A family was counting on us. Plus, I had finished a marathon in weather like this. If I could do that, I could do anything!
The camp was beautiful and I tried to walk around as much as possible. I did drive us down for breakfast everyday, but that was mainly so that my car would be there to drive us back in the dark. It was beautiful and I didn't car how hot it was. I wanted to see it all. If someone said they were going for a walk I joined them.
I would have liked some running time, but my knee was also a little sore. I did have a big scare and couldn't find my compression sleeve for a couple of days. It was in my trunk the whole time. Oops.
Well needless to say, I was super tired when I got home. It took me a few days to get the sleep I needed and the veggies I needed. But, I'm all good now. I would go again in a heartbeat. Can't wait til next year!
Have a Blessed Evening
****Please note****
If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.
jhendersonfit@gmail.com
If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.
jhendersonfit@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfAFormerFatGir
yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: hugsnsmileInstagram: Jennie5973
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jhendersonfit
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