Anyone here? Wow how life has changed. I got married and it's been almost a year! We now have two very happy poodle pups and I have this crazy new job that has me traveling all over the United States. I made a list of what I wanted in a career and I got it. While it's been a lot of "stress" transitioning from jobs to a career, I'm happy doing what I'm doing- writing, public speaking and networking ( I work on a grant project for the U.S. Army on behalf of the National Science Teacher's Association)! I find myself burnt out for writing since I write all day and have occasionally thought about this blog and how I use to write all the time but now I find my free time is filled with spending time with my family. There are still plenty of struggles with health. Between 2 major injuries (which has taken me out of running) and a serious struggle with Lupus, it's been rough but I am so fortunate to have a wife that supports me along the way. Ok Gotta go, I was actually on my way to blog for work but saw this and thought I'd just say hi!

Don't Blink!

Wow Blog! Where have you been? More like where have I been? There's a lot to talk about so let me recap the past few months and we'll go from there. I've battled multiple injuries and illnesses which has been killer on the weight loss, in fact it's really made me quite lazy about it all and it's show on the scale. Good news is that I'm finally getting healthy again and back on the path I've created for myself.

Next is I have a new job working for the American Sociological Association which I love! I was in a really unhealthy work environment and it took a lot for me to realize I needed to get out. I quit my job without another prospect and was hired at ASA within 48 hours... talk about the universe coming through! Now one of the biggest changes has been that not only have I finally come out as a lesbian to everyone in my life, but I also found someone.. and we're ENGAGED!!!

Now I'm going to obviously post more on this but if you've read my "looking for love after weight loss" article on Patch, you'd know that I had very specific things I was looking for in a partner and I found them! She's lost 80 lbs in the past year, is passionate and supporting and inspiring. Our engagement also means that in the past few months I've moved and wedding planing is in full swing. As a couple, we are training for the Disney Marathon together with Team in Training and the words GO TEAM have become a part of our every day vocabulary.

In other news, I am also now a performance artist as a Drag King with the DC Kings! My stage name... Brock Lee! No, seriously! I love it. It's a blast and I look forward to every performance each month. My fiance just started Kinging with the DC Kings too so I guess you could said we're keeping it in the family! And most recently, I just found out that I've been selected for the 30 under 30 LGBTQ edition of Professionals Magazine! Ok I know that was a lot but life is moving fast these days so don't blink if you wanna keep up!

Dear World

I'M OFFICIALLY A CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER!!!!!!!

Looking for Love After Weight Loss

Is love in the air? Find out in my latest article!
http://ballston.patch.com/articles/looking-for-love-after-losing-it

Be Thankful- Not Just Full!

Happy Thanksgiving, be sure to check out my latest article in my column! Be Thankful- Not Just Full
http://ballston.patch.com/articles/be-thankful-not-just-full

Dinner for two

Wow, what an amazing dinner. First of all, I would like to take the time to thank facebook - despite its many annoyences (yes I'm looking at you Farmville Requests) it can be a truly amazing thing and tonight was proof of that. For those of you who don't know, tonight I had dinner with Bonnie Matthews - many of you know her has Bonnie from Dr. Oz and most of you are Facebook friends with her... which is how I became friends with her. Thanks to the little facebook featur that says " 48 of your friends are also friends with X, would you like to be their friends too?" Well if 48 of my friends were friends with this Bonnie person, then she must be really special. I didn't know her and she didn't know me but I quickly discovered that she has an amazing weight loss story of taking control of her life through healthy eating and wellness -she seemed like someone I could relate to so I've been following her on FB and watching her encourage people and her enthusiasm has been a constant source of inspiration. It never occured for me to ask where she lived until she had mentioned something about being in Baltimore and heading into DC and I was like HEY I live in Arlington! Next thing ya know we had dinner plans for tonight so thank you Facebook for bringing two strangers together! Now let me tell you something, spent two seconds on Bonnies FB page, among her many MANY fans and you instantly can read the passion this woman has for health and her enthusiasm in contagous - so much so that a large portion of the online weight loss community is participating in her Why Wait Get Bon Challenge but I wondered how much of that relays into the real world, I mean facebook is one thing, could she really be as energetic and electrifying as she creates herself on facebook? To be honest, I was a bit nervous meeting her for the first time tonight, I was worried that I had looked up to her and respected her and saw her as "the real deal" and I didn't know if she was going to live up to it... well let me tell you ladies and gentalmen, this woman is everything I thought she was and SO MUCH MORE! I spent most of the evning just caputed by energy. IT WAS INSANE. I am a firm believer in that there are some people who "get it" and some who don't and what I mean by that is that there are some people who have changed so that their entire life is focused on living and being healthy and then there are those who are in the diet or losing weight bussiness... people who "get it" keep their weight off and those who don't won't. She gets it and like me, she shares a passion to help others "get it" too. I spend so much time telling my story and trying to explain the hows and why of my choices so it was refreshing to have a conversation with someone who knows, she's done it herself and it was comforting to sit down with someone knowing that we shared that same journey. It was even more encouraging for me, who still has weight to lose, to know that the path I'm taking is leading me to my goals. I laughed so much tonight and sat in awe and had so many great conversations, I feel like I've been reminded of the beauty that comes from being healthy - Health comes not just in smaller jean sizes but in finding and cultivating healthy relationship with other healthy people. Tonight was amazing and I admire and respect Bonnie so much more... I cannot wait for our next dinner!

Who Will You Be?

Two women stand at the bottom of a steep hill, needing to get to the top. The first woman stands there and says " wow, this hill is so steep. I'm already tired. I'm gonna make it to the top, I gotta reach the top but its gonna take me a long time. I'm gonna be at the top any moment now..." and even though she talked about reaching the top, her feet never moved. The second woman knew it was going to take her awhile so she took small steps,putting one foot in front of the other and started moving up the hill until she reached the top. She looked down and saw the first woman still at the bottom talking about reaching the top. - Which woman are you? Don't be the woman at the bottom talking about what your gonna do, be the woman that keeps moving. It doesn't matter if your trying to lose weight or training for a marathon - actions speak louder than words so just shut up and do it!