My Back Porch View: This Week...Ohio and Then Some

Two big things to talk about this week - Ohio, and the Biggest Loser.

So, Wednesday is quickly approaching and I am NOT looking forward to it! This week has been a complete catastrophe on the weight front. On Saturday we left to go visit Gina, Vince's sister, in Ohio. We love to go visit her, it is always eventful to say the least! I will go into more details about that in a minute, but first just let me explain that Gina has five kids (one in college, and the rest ranging from 14 to 3 1/2 - the youngest two being twins) and when you add anymore, even if it is only two of ours, it makes for a LOT of food. Once you understand this, you can better comprehend why I am dreading tomorrow's weigh in. One special treat that we take to Gina's house - since she cannot seem to find it anywhere in Ohio, is scrapple.

Now the mention of scrapple generally brings a few choice reactions: thrill that there is someone else out there that enjoys this rare treat, a look of utter disgust with the exclamation; "Do you KNOW what is in that stuff?!?!?"; or complete confusion as they have never in their lives heard of such a thing. However, Gina is one of the few that truly enjoys this breakfast meat with us. My dad loves the fact that she appreciates scrapple and sent four pounds of it with us so that we could all enjoy it and leave some with her for later. And the truly funny thing is that not only do Gina, Vince and I eat it, but so does Jake and Ally, and ALL of Gina's kids. So we decided that one night while we were here to visit we would have breakfast for dinner. Here's the kicker. Guess what we had for dinner?

We ate all four pounds of scrapple, sixteen eggs, an entire loaf of Extra Fiber bread, and a gallon of fruit punch. And that was all for ONE meal. Not to mention the fact that on the way to Dayton, we couldn't help but stop by our favorite restaurant, Steak 'N' Shake. And you can just imagine what that did to our weight for the week just in itself! But at least I didn't eat as bad as Vince did! He ate the Wisconsin Buttery Steakburger. It makes me want to vomit just looking at it! The description reads: a double steakburger with real Wisconsin butter melted, or should we say layered and slathered, on top and covered with cheese and grilled onions. OMG! Then he got a large order of fries covered in melted cheese. That was a heart attack on a plate - or should I say two plates! So with just those two meals as examples, Vince and I are not looking forward to tomorrow's weigh in. We shall see.

Now onto happier thoughts of Ohio! When Vince and I first started seeing each other, he told me that he would really like to go visit his sister, Gina, but that he had never been able to (I guess because the ex never wanted to). I said, well call her and let's make plans. I had only met her once at a Christmas get together with his family that was a tough experience. But I was game for going to visit if for no other reason than because Vince wanted to see his sister. So, the first time we came here was for 4th of July 2008. Vince's dad and stepmother came at the same time - so it was definitely a house full! I have to admit though, that we saw the most amazing fireworks display EVER that year!

The second time we came was for Labor Day 2009. And then this time for Martin Luther King's Birthday 2010 (well....that's when we came!). Each time we have come to visit, Gina's husband, John, has either been away on TDY in Florida, or on deployment in Afghanistan, so I have never even been able to meet him except via Skype!

Gina has always been the greatest hostess. She has so many kids and so much going on, but she always welcomes us, feeds us, entertains us, and even gives us boxes of lotion samples! Seriously though, Gina is so fabulous!

She always encourages Vince and I, particularly during this extremely rough year. Gina and John decided that they were going to give us a car! Of all things in the world - a car! This truly leaves me speechless. Only having one car has been such a tough battle for us, particularly with us both looking for work. And to have someone literally give us a car. This is hard for me because I do not like to feel so in need. I like to be the one to give, to be the one to help others. It is hard to be on the other side. It requires so much humility, and its a knock to my pride. I am grateful. I am so so grateful. I just hope that we can show the return on their investment. That we can use this gift to help us back to our feet. This is going to be a good year for our family, a big year for our family. Its feels so good to know that there are so many people that believe in us and are helping us in every way that they can. Our families have been amazing, so supportive, all of them. Somehow, we are leaving Ohio with twice as much as we came here with. We came with one car, and our suitcases. We leave with two cars, our suitcases, a bunch of clothes for Ally from Brooke, two boxes of lotion samples, and some little wooden chickens!