**Warning! Any male visitors who happen upon this post, you may just want to continue on. It's that time of the month, and I'm going to talk about it. Thanks. ;o) **

From very early on, I've had bad abdominal cramps when I'm on my period. I would miss a few days of school every time it was that time. Sometimes, I would be in so much pain that the only thing that helped was lying on the bathroom floor.

Enter BC pills. And that helped me so much, but honestly, I hated the way I felt when I was on them, so a few years back, I took myself off of them. My cycle seem to have straightened itself out, and the cramps weren't as bad.

A few days ago, I notice that my left breast was very tender. My immediate thought is that I've done something klutzy and bruised it. (Don't ask me how. I don't always remember how I injure myself.) But there's no bruise. Hmm.

Side note: Let me stop right now and say I'm not pregnant. There's no way I could be pregnant. You have to have to be having sex in order for that to happen. I'm just sayin'.

Where was I? Oh, yes. Sore boob. Yesterday, they're both sore. GREAT. What the hell is going on? So, I squish around on both of them to make sure there's nothing out of the ordinary. And I notice they are both huge. (I hadn't noticed this before because my bra was keeping them confined.)

Now, I have to say, I'm um, well endowed. I was hoping my girls would shrink a little bit with losing 62 lbs. Nope. I guess I'm just lucky like that. But seriously? This is just insane, and they're getting in my way. (I would sling 'em over my shoulders but they'd just bounce back and slap me in the face.) A few people have told me that this can happen as you get older, but my lord. If I have to deal with sore breasts the size of melons each month, I may seriously consider-I don't know-can I just have just the cramps back? Those I can deal with.

But no, Flo had to say, "Happy 31st Birthday, April. I'm giving you sore knockers as a present." That skank.

I know some of you are going to be patting my head and say "welcome to the club". And I appreciate that you understand. But I'm just in shock at this. If I wake up with a grey hair tomorrow, I may just quit. (And that's a whole other post.)

My cocker spaniel, Bayleigh is a very shy and timid dog. The poor thing is afraid of the shower curtain. Don't believe me, come over. I'll show you. It's hilarious. ;o) But she's especially afraid of men. In fact, my dad is the only man she is comfortable around. (I suspect she was mistreated before I got her.)

Whether it's someone to look at the heat pump or the cable guy or the mail man, she steers clear. Instead of barking, she does this little half bark, half growl number that just announces to the world that she is scared out of her mind. (It's really kind of cute.)

And if the stranger comes into the yard, she will go completely out of her way to stay away. What I mean by this is that she stays on the perimeter of the yard next to the fence running to the complete opposite side of the yard from the stranger. Poor dog. (Now, me being the responsible owner will not allow strangers in the yard without me or one of my family members there because, well she's a dog, and you never know about scared animals.)

So, as part of the suck that was last week, my lawnmower died. I can't really complain because it was free and lasted four years. Today, my dad brought the new mower to my house and with him came a friend of his whom we were giving the old mower to for parts.

Bayleigh-girl started her "scared" bark and heads to the fence. Except this time, she circled back to sniff my dad's friend's heels. When he turned to pet her, she took off and started this all over again. My dad said she did this three times before she gave up and headed for her spot under the deck. I wish I were there to see my scared little dog who was so intrigued with this man that she had to sniff his ankles.

Brave, isn't she?

Now, Kelci? She would lick you, then help you carry the TV away. But don't tell any of the people in my neighborhood that, k? I have them all thinking that she will bite on command. (If you lived here, you'd understand!)

I am-hold on, let me count them to make sure-13 days until going to Girls' Weekend Extravaganza 2009. (a.k.a. Girls' Cabin Party) It's taking place here. Who's in?

At Girls' Weekend Extravaganza, there will be good food and LOTS of spirits. It's nothing for us hard core party peeps to stay up until 5 a.m., sleep until 9 a.m. and start all over again.

Two weeks after Girls' weekend, I'm headed to Chicago!!! To be able to go to Chicago, I have to work 3 twelve hour shifts (6 a.m.-7 p.m.) and one four hour shift (5:30 a.m.- 9:30 a.m.). Will someone PLEASE make me go to bed that week? Thanks.

Some time in the middle of all of that I will make time to see Harry Potter. Twice.

And go to a family reunion.

I walked into a dressing room today with a size 12 pants. I just thought that because I was in a 14 from this particular store last year, that a 12 would work. Pulled them up, button, zip, and they fell right off my hips. I left the store with a size 8 in the bag. I'm stoked!!

Why must Kelci lick my arm or leg every.single.time. she walks up to me? I think she knows I don't care much for it.

On July 4th, Kelci will be 5 years old. Will she ever get out of the puppy stage? Did you hear me sigh on that one?

My parrot just said, "Now see here!" I have no clue where she got that one from. I don't think I've ever said that phrase in my life.

I think I'm really stumped on this week's You Capture. I need direction!

My favorite series by Nora Roberts is the Chesapeake series. Read it. You won't be sorry.

Have you ever fallen completely out of your chair? Yeah, me neither.

Kelci just licked my big toe. Come on, really?

A girl I work with tried to convince me that I'm really missing out by never having had a pedicure. Um. Okay. Seriously, folks. You want to see me freak out, touch my feet. I just don't like it. Not even when my nephew does. (Although I don't freak out, I can tolerate it from him.)

Wow, now you guys are really seeing how happening my life is. Sitting at home on a Saturday night dodging my dog's tongue. Fun stuff right there.

Now, I think I may turn the Wii on....

It's Wednesday, so you know what that means!!! It's weigh-in day over at the Sisterhood! We're well into our Shrinking Days of Summer challenge, so tell me, how goes it, folks? Are you shrinking? I hope so!!

I changed things up this week with exercise. I was beginning to feel like my body had adapted to what I was doing. When your body adapts to exercise, you stop losing weight. So, the solution is to confuse it, which is what I did. Last year, I was lucky enough to acquire the P90X program. The work outs are HARD and pretty much suck ass, but I knew they would confuse my muscles enough to get back on track.

Over the week, every single muscle in my body has been sore. Right now, it's my hamstrings and triceps. I love it. (Yep. You read that right. I love being sore.) When you're sore, it means it's working! So, did I undo the damage from last week? Yep!

Last week's weight: 144.8
This week's weight: 143.4

I'm going to admit, as much as I worked out this week and as sore as I was, I sort of expected more than that. I can still get stuck in the I have a lot of weight to lose mindset. When I had 50 or more lbs to lose, losing weight was easy. It was nothing for me to have a 4 lb weight loss in a week. Now, that I'm in the 15 or less range, 4 lbs just doesn't happen.

It can be very easy to not get discouraged at this. It's easy to groan and want to just say heck with it. When we reach those times, we have to look at how much we've accomplished and how far we've come. (Thanks, Thea!) I'm stronger now, more confident, down several sizes, and I've lost 62.6 lbs. And I'm still trying. How can I not be proud about that? Why would I want to throw all of that out of the window just because I'm losing more slowly now? Answer: I wouldn't and I won't. I may struggle with these last 14.4 lbs for the rest of my life, but I will never give up.

So, I ask you....are YOU WITH ME?

I went to a cook out this evening. All of my work peeps where there. My friend Jeff and I are really good friends. In fact, we've worked together for so long, he's like a big brother to me. The following pictures are of his daughter, Little A. She is only two months younger than my nephew, Clay. And she is just the CUTEST thing! (Note: Little A's big brother, C will be making an appearance this week. Stay tuned!!)

It's Weigh-In day over at the Sisterhood! We are well into the Shrinking Days of Summer challenge! Good luck to everyone!

I knew this week was going to be bad, but I didn't expect it to be THAT bad. Of course we all know where I went wrong. I should feel guilty about eating so much of that awesome carrot cake, but I was my birthday, I only get carrot cake once or twice a year, so I don't really feel guilty.

I tried my best to "counter" this. I exercised extra, and even cut calories more than I should yesterday. (DON'T DO THAT. It's not good for you and it didn't work anyway!) And as the scales show this morning, it didn't help.

I could tell you all to remind me to never have a birthday during a challenge again, but screw that. You all are part of what made my birthday special, and for once, I LOVED my birthday, so I'm keeping my birthday even if it's during a challenge.

I do have a small point to all of this rambling. Life happens. Sometimes, we just have to go with it and and enjoy it. Now, it's over, and it's time to buckle down again. And I will. I promise. Team Black? I'll make it up to you I swear!!

Last week's weight: 143.8
This week's weight: 144.8

So, talk to me. How did YOU do?

A young firefighter was set to work his first fire. As he was starting to go into the burning building, his captain looked at him and said, “If you get into trouble, just hold onto my coattails.”

The young firefighter never forgot this. (And while I’m not quite certain of details through the years, I’m pretty sure that when he became a veteran firefighter, he would have said the same thing to new firefighters.)

Years passed and the young firefighter was no longer young, but a veteran firefighter. One day he went to the hospital to visit his old captain.

The captain was not old, but weak from the sickness that was so rapidly taking over his body. He spent most of his days sleeping.

The veteran firefighter walked up to the bed and said, “Hey, Chapman, can I hold onto your coattails?”

And Chapman replied, “No. I’m going to hold onto yours.”

A few weeks later, my uncle passed away, but that story has stuck with me every single day since I heard it. (I don’t remember who told me the story. I just remember it was at the funeral home, and that it made me cry.)

My uncle was just like that. As aggravating as he could be with picking on us, he would do anything for any one of us. He loved us with every ounce of his being and I know that if I needed him for anything, I could “hold onto his coattails”.

While I know I no longer have my uncle’s coattails to hold onto, I am very lucky to have others should I need it. While it may take me a while to get to the point of grabbing on to those coattails (I can be stubborn and sometimes withdrawn.), have no doubts that I will. And I hope you would, too.

There are times when life is going to be a burning building. It’s going to be hot and dark and smoky. And it will be so easy to get lost in that hot, dark smoke. What you have to realize is that we all have a “captain” right in front of us willing to lend us his or her coattails.

All we have to do is grab them. And while your captains can’t make the hot or the dark or the smoke go away, they will be there, and they will pull you through.

“If you get into trouble, just hold onto my coattails.”

I started My Life at Thirty to sort of document my 30th year. (I know, duh.) As more of a journal than a blog. I knew what blogs were, but I had no idea of the wonderful world that was before me. I never expected for anyone to read my blog other than a select two or three. Okay, one. But I love her so much!

Thirty was a real turning point for me in my life. I had already lost a significant amount of weight, and I felt really good about finally getting out of my 20’s. Not that I looked forward to getting older, but trust me, folks, when I tell you my 20’s sucked ass big time.

For me:

Thirty meant I was finally completely emerging from this cloud of darkness. I was seriously getting there in my 29th year, but there was still this fog or haze. I was glad to be turning 30. I welcomed it.

Thirty meant I really discovered me, got to really know me, and realized I love me.

Thirty meant tons and tons of Good Times with the best of friends. There were Hokie tailgates, Happy Hours, Girls’ Cabin Party 2008, a couple of 30th birthday bashes, late, late nights, and great talks! Talks in which I was still learning about myself.

Thirty meant trying my hand at dating again, realizing how much I still suck at it, but that I am now adult enough to admit that the reason that it didn’t work was partially my fault as well as the stupid boy’s. (Although he really did turn out to be a stupid boy. For real.) For now, I’m fine with just being me.

Thirty meant that I now was an aunt, and it has been pure joy to experience my nephew’s first year with him and watch him grow and spoil him rotten! He is my Little Man and the most important person in my life!

Thirty meant losing a best friend. I never knew that I could love and miss a dog as much as I loved and now miss Charlotte. I wish every day that I could just give her just one more scratch behind the ears. There are a few of her things, that I still can’t bear to part with just yet. I may never be able to.

Thirty meant starting this blog, not keeping up with it, then starting it back up again. I’m so glad I did.

Thirty meant meeting new friends. Friends that I know now that I’ll never live without. Friends that I absolutely cannot wait to meet face to face, which will mark the beginning of our own Good Times together! I love them and being a part of their community very much!

All in all, 30 was a good year.

A chapter has now ended; a new one is beginning. That, my friends, is-or was MY Life at Thirty.

Because now I’m 31.

You know, I really hate it when people tell me that I don't need to lose any more weight. I had a personal trainer tell me this not too long ago. (Let me be clear, she's certified, I wouldn't hire her.) After I mentioned that my goal weight was something set by me AND my doctor, she shut up.

I understand to an extent why some people tell me this. They've seen me start out at over 200 lbs, and now I'm at 143.8 lbs. Also, I carry my weight well, so I never looked like I weighed 200 lbs and now I know I don't look like I weigh 143.8 lbs.

Truthfully, my body is healthy. (Even though my BMI is still slightly high.) I'm in the last 14 lbs, so my body has literally said, "I feel good." I heard it. But dammit, I want to lose those last 14 lbs. I'm a little vain that way, and that's quite alright! Who doesn't want to look hot? And I.WANT.MY.10.POUND.BUTTON! The End.

So, did you read that? I had no change this week. And I know that I didn't eat as well as I could have a couple of times, but overall I thought I had done a good job. And I exercised my ass off. UGH. I'm sorry Team Black for giving you a big fat goose egg for this week.

Now I have myself in a situation. There are going to be a couple of days this coming week that I KNOW I'm going to have bad food days. They're going to happen, and I'm not going to be good. I'm eating carrot cake, and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. So, I'm going to have to work twice as hard the rest of the week to make-up for these bad days.

Last week's weight: 143.8
This week's weight: 143.8

How did everyone else do?

In case you didn't know this about me already, I LOVE animals. All of them. Except spiders. Also, in case you already didn't know this about me, my favorite animal is the giraffe. One of the top things on my bucket list is to feed a giraffe (since it's fairly obvious that I'll never get to own one). So, when the NC Zoo announced they were opening a giraffe feeding station, I was so excited! Problem. All but one are still very young and shy, so I didn't get to feed giraffes today, but I did get to go out on the deck and meet the keeper.

I also got to see all of the other amazing animals they have. I am truly in my element in a zoo. And the only reason I'm not working here now is because I couldn't stomach formaldehyde in order to take all of the biologies needed.

With that, here are just a few of my favorites from today:

To the two people that this post involves: I'm so very sorry for what happened tonight. Had I known it would have ever come to this, I would have never said, "Let's f*** with her a little bit."

Now, I'll think 500 times before ever deciding to play a practical joke on someone.

See, I love jokes. I admit I can get a bit carried away with jokes sometimes. But I swear to you that I only play them when I feel that the person being punk'd can handle it. When I feel like they will be cool with it after all is said and done.

Tonight, that assumption blew up in my face.

The details more than what I have given you are not important unless the you are the two involved. (And I know you both read my blog, so I pray you are reading this.) The outcome of what happened is more important than anything right now.

I'm not sure of a lot of the details that have been going on in that friendship before the events of tonight. But after what happened tonight, I have to believe that something is going on.

It hurts me to see two people who were good friends let outside influences interrupt their friendship. I have let this happen to friendships of mine in the past, and trust me when I say that I regret letting those outside influences happen.

I've lost good friends by letting what others think get involved. Let me say that the beginning of what happened tonight is my fault. I take the blame for this. If you try to not let me take the blame, I'm just going to be mad, so let me take the blame for playing a bad joke, okay?

But, what isn't my fault is what is going on with the two of you. Obviously, as stated before, I feel like there is something going on. At this point, it's time that you stop the bullshit, sit down, and talk with one another. Only then will you learn if your friendship is at a dead end or worth creating a new beginning. Only then will you learn how much your friendship means, and how much you mean to one another.

Friendships come and go in our lives. Some friends we make for a little while. Others become family. To me, we are all lucky enough to have two families. The family God gave us. They are our blood; where we came from. Our roots. Without them, we wouldn't be here. Then we have the family that we choose. These are our friends. The ones that we can laugh with, dance with, drink with, and just be with. Often times, they understand us in ways that others may not. Or may not be able to. These people are our hearts. They our our souls.

I have friends in my life now that I know I cannot live without. The mere thought of not having these people in my life breaks my heart, so I know that if there is ever something going on between us, I will need to talk with them about it. And while I hope that it never comes to that, I know I am strong enough to say, "hey we need to talk," rather than hide behind the walls of email and text messages.

So, to the girls that this began with tonight: Please, I beg of you talk to one another. I can't tell you how sorry I will always be for being the catalyst of what happened tonight. I'll need to learn to forgive myself and sometimes that is the hardest thing to do.

To others: If you're in a similar situation, please, please, please talk this out. Even if it means that you come to the conclusion that the friendship will no longer be healthy, you have to come to that conclusion together. Sometimes closure is just as important as "fixing it". But if fixing the friendship is possible, doable, and wanted, then do it. Wasting time on being mad is not worth it. Life is too short for it.

And I guess that's all I have to say.