An Unbelievable Coincidence

As many of you know, my husband is from Morocco. I moved there a few years back so that we could be together before moving to the US together. I remember on my first visit to Morocco I was so captivated by....everything. The buildings, the billboards, the radio stations, the food, the people. Everything was new and exciting and beautiful and I remember having my camera on me at all times. I would take pictures of everything, but especially the people. I was in awe of everything about them. I would take pictures of women who tied their babies on their backs with pieces of cloth. Women who would carry things on their heads. Old people with their makeshift hand pedal wheelchairs.

Over the past few years I've made a few girlfriends that were also Americans married to Moroccans. We're scattered all over the world, but we are in a private group on Facebook. There are just a few of us and we have become very good friends. We share everything from funny stories about our day, to our medical problems, to issues with the world - and everything in between. Often times we will randomly post pictures of our travels to Morocco.

Today the admin of the group changed our cover photo to a really pretty picture of a woman standing on the side of the road she had taken while visiting Morocco. The woman was in a blue dress and was wearing a blue head scarf. She was standing in front of a white building with a blue/green door and the sky was in the background. It was a beautiful picture, but there was something familiar about the woman. I stared at the picture for a few minutes in disbelief before finally asking her where she took it. She said she took it in the town I used to live in in Morocco. I could not believe it, but the woman in the picture was my mother in law. I wanted to be 100% sure so I showed the picture to my husband. He laughed and said "Wow, that IS my mom".

How amazing is it that this girl I have never met in real life happened to (unknowingly) cross paths with my mother in law in a foreign country of 32 million people, randomly take her picture while driving by in a car, and post it in our tiny little group of girls. It's a small world after all.

I'm baaaaack!!

Well the foot injury took longer to heal than expected, but since this past weekend I've been back to exercising. I have been going to the gym, but I am starting insanity tonight, which is perfect timing, as a few girls and I have started our version of "The Biggest Loser". We have 8 weeks, with weekly weigh ins and will base the winners each week on percentage of weight lost. I am so very excited that I have several other women who are as invested in their health as I am. We're keeping each other motivated, and it's not all kumbaya....we're definitely in it to win it, and phrases like "don't be sad when I kick your ass at this" have been thrown around more than once! I know that we're all very determined to get our weight in check, and it's really fun to have other people focused on the same goals as you are....the competition aspect isn't hurting any of us either!

I am very excited because I believe wholeheartedly that in the next 7.5 weeks I can get into the 140's. I'm holding myself to that goal. I cannot remember ever seeing 149 on the scale....maybe in elementary school? Who knows how long it's been, but I can say with full confidence that I WILL get there, and I will get there by the end of this competition. Along with the lower numbers on the scale, I am looking forward to seeing definition. I have muscles; they're just covered in a layer of fat. This is where Insanity is going to help, I know its going to change my body. I'm dreaming of the day my stomach is flat! Actually, I'm not just dreaming, I'm OWNING that it will happen.

I just want to say that I have full confidence that any of you who want to lose weight - can. And I want everyone to know that if you ever need any support from me, I will be here for you. Often times weight loss is overwhelming. I will never tell you it's been easy, but I will tell you it's been worth it, and it's been most helpful to have people who can identify with what I'm going through. The girls in this competition with me, they're helping me more than they know, and I'm happy to pass along that support and motivation to anyone that needs it.