A first run in a while, and another Harry Potter Ball

This week was actually pretty busy, fun, productive, exciting and lazy at the same time. Let's start with the exciting news.

Monday I decided to get out and attempt to focus the back pain into the far back of my mind, and see if I could get out for a run.
I did, while I only ran a mile and it was pretty slow at that. It surprisingly did not hurt my back any worse than standing does. Which doesn't say much or maybe it was just the fact that it was a warm 20 decrees out and numbed things down a little LOL.

While I waited for my Dr. Appt. with the specialist on Friday. When I didn't have to be up and moving around, I took advantage of being forced to lay around more than normal and I enjoyed yet another amazing book. In fact I enjoyed The Book of Ivy so much, I pretty much devoured it in one sitting, LOL.  For those of you who enjoy Dystopian with the absolute perfect kind of romance in it, I highly recommend this book. I couldn't get enough and already have book 2 on hold at the library.

I did have the Dr. appointment on Friday, while my MRI was postponed until later today actually. I did have other tests taken. Although, I still have no idea what caused it, with all the other tests they put me through they are fairly certain it is disc related. Even possibly a herniated bulging disc. But I won't know for sure until the 25th.  Ya, that's the part about doctors sometimes that suck. Having to wait so long to have an appointment just to hear results.

The doctor was pretty great to me, he totally could see and get how much pain I am in, he even gave me my pick of whichever drugs I wanted to get me through until the MRI and until my next appointment with him to decide on which course of action we will be taking to fix me.
So ya, I picked some good ones. While nothing takes the pain away entirely, at least they make the pain bearable, so that's a plus.

This week, was also another Harry Potter Ball. If you remember I decorated for one back in December, this was pretty much the same thing, we just did a few things differently this time.

I have an awesome crew that work for me, I made them do the majority of the lifting. Even though I should have stayed more hands off than I did. (I don't know why, but its impossible for me to just stand back and watch others work. I cannot, not resist helping, especially when I don't like what they are doing, LOL.)
So yeah, I over did it, even though I still made those who work for me do the heaviest lifting parts.

I managed to get through the day okay, but by 10pm, my back was shot. I couldn't have lifted anything more if my life depended on it. My fault!
I consider it a miracle that the snow that night held off until I got home, and I was able to back my trailer into it's spot so easily and smoothly without having to turn my neck or back.

But on the plus side, my decor turned out pretty cool. As one of my friends who saw the finished work called it, exotically beautiful:) On that backdrop two pictures above.

But yes, I did get my geek on and let my sister take a few photo's of me with the Harry Potter Cut outs, LOL. I just wished I had thought to have her take them before we started setting everything up, and before my hair got caught in one of the pine greenery's, that I apparently didn't care to fix, and well lets just face it, I was a sweaty mess by the time we snapped these fun shots, LOL Oh well!
I was so supped up on painkillers for the below picture, I really should have a little shame and not post it. But...

Oh, and the two backdrops above, although for the same event, they were in two entirely different rooms, if that helps you wonder why they don't exactly look like they match each other. LOL

Another funny fact, I have never read the Harry Potter books, and I haven't even really seen any of the movies. Kinda funny, that I am decorating for a themed event that I literally know nothing about, other than what I googled, LOL

That was pretty much my week. I have kept up pretty good with eating much healthier. I went 12 days without a Pepsi. Although the afternoon after we finished setting up for the event, I did take my sister out for an early dinner and ya, I had a Raspberry Coke.

But that's okay, I never said I was quitting soda, I just said I was going to significantly cut back.
I lost 1 more pound last week, which brings my weight loss total to 6 pounds lost.  Not much, but I'll take it. I am sure when I can start working out regularly again with the better eating habits I should hopefully have even better success at it!

For those of you who are interested. I plan on hosting a couple different Grow Your Blog Hops in February. If everything goes as planned I hope to launch the sign up THIS WEEK either Wednesday or Friday on my blog.

I listened to the feedback from past participants, and I have come up with a few new unique spins to put on them. So if you have time, and it might be something your interested in. You may want to watch for the sign-ups.
I have over 180 bloggers who have already signed up to be alerted as soon when the sign up's go live. Right now I am only looking at opening 50 slots between the two different hops I am working on, so the slots could potentially go quick.
They will be the last of their kind that I host until later in the fall. Spring and Summer are just too busy for me in my personal life to host events like this.
However, for my blog followers, I will announce the news on my blog FIRST and then notify everyone else later that morning, giving my followers a first peek at the events in case you'd like grab some of the first few spots.


So that is my week.
How was yours? 
Did you have anything out of the ordinary happen that brought you joy?

I am linking up with HoHo Runs and Mississippididdlin today for their Weekly Wrap!

Breaking All My Rules

I almost made it an entire year, without messing up any of my blogging goals this year.  Of course with only 1 month to go, I blow it for like 3 weeks straight.
If you are a regular follower of mine, you likely noticed my huge absence the past three weeks.

Without going into it too much detail, I hurt my back really bad.  Then I caught the 72 hour flu, right after that an upper respiratory cold, and a couple of days ago caught yet another cold.

So obviously, I don't have much on the exciting news front to report.  Although last night, my pothead neighbor provided me with a little excitement  (well technically he is just staying with my real neighbors).  I doubt I ever mentioned pothead before, but lately he has been quite obvious with his drug deals right out in front of my house.  People would pull up to the side of his house and double honk, and he would come running out to meet them.

(On a side note, can I just say most the people who came were surprisingly normal looking, with nice cars. Just goes to show you just never can know people, even the clean cut ones can have drug issues!)

Well, of course I provided my own amusement at his expense. Often when I would come home late, I would do a quick stop honk twice before driving around the neighborhood coming in a different direction (so he wouldn't know it was me).  Truthfully, I only started doing it when it got cold out. When it was snowing or raining, was always a plus! The thought of him running out freezing to or to get cold and wet and arrive at no drug/money exchange, oddly amuses me, LOL
Let's be honest, just thinking about all the times I did it now has me laughing.

Well guess his supplier (my guess) may have caught up to him not paying and pothead gets himself shot last night as he was leaving his house (he's apparently going to be fine). So ya, that provided some interesting window watching late last night.  I feel bad for my one neighbor their garage is all shot up, from the stay bullet holes but other than that thankfully no one innocent was hurt.
Despite what you are currently thinking, I actually live in a really great neighborhood, minus a few, and that is one of the few.  On the plus side, the kid would be stupid to ever come home, so I think he will no longer be a problem, yay!

Although, I did have to suck it up and push the illness aside and get ready for a Harry Potter Yule Ball, that I decorated for on Friday. (Ya, oddly lots of adults love to get dressed up to go to these things, 750 to be exact... crazy how many "geeks" as they call themselves (their words) are out there.)
But all in all, it went okay and looked really nice when we were done. I also tried out a new crew member and she was fabulous, pretty excited about using her in the future!
The above picture was one of the backdrops we did at one end of the ballroom, I love how it turned out! I will have pictures of the rest, I'll share another time. One of the photographers there loved it so much they took some professional ones for me of it, and will send them later this week, so sweet of them!

I should mention I did very little lifting and carrying things at this event to save whats left of my back.  My dad literally had to sit me down beforehand and say, you pay your people to help you at these events, let them do all the hard work and lifting, don't you dare. Don't ask why but I am so not easily able to not do the hard work to, but I did manage to resist. Of course it was mostly because I literally lift a few too many things and I am crying in excruciating pain and can no longer move, so that helped me make them do most of it for me. I just did the fun parts lol.

I have finally gotten back into reading again, and am enjoying a good book right now.  Think I'll even throw a review up later this week, maybe even offer another giveaway as well.

I am a several weeks now addicted to the Vampire Diaries (did I ever tell you that?) So my friend Rebecca over at Press On and Run (She doesn't even know this.) is to blame for my addiction.
About a month or so ago she was raving about a show called The Originals on her blog.  I happened to have nothing to do that night so thought I'd check it out, but first a show called Vampire Diaries came on, and it looked great so I went on Netflix and decided to watch the first episode while I waited for The Originals to come on.
Well short version, never saw The Originals, I became addicted to Vampire Diaries and a few nights a week before I go to bed, I enjoy catching an episode even if I can't get to it until near midnight, LOL. Good news is, there is lots of seasons, bad news is there is lots of seasons. But I am absolutely addicted, and oh ya if Vampires looked like Damon (pic below) on the show, I'd totally want me one of them... so hot!!!

Ya, so that is literally and sadly how my past few weeks have gone... a whole lot of nothing but being sick in bed mostly, and wondering why my back refuses to get any better on it's own. (Dr. visit is coming, just as soon as I am in the mood (over these colds) to make the appt.)
I don't even want to begin to think how even more out of shape this has all made me... but I am sure one day it will hit me.

On a side note, I haven't even started Christmas shopping, or sending out Christmas cards. I am terribly behind, and have lots and lots to catch up on this week.  Not to mention a butt load of linen laundry from Friday's event that I have put off all weekend...

Are you ready for Christmas or behind like me?
Have you ever had to break all your blogging goals, because life gets in the way? (I should feel guilty about it, but I don't. Terrible, I know!)

I am linking up with HoHo Runs and Mississippididdlin today for their Weekly Wrap!