Past Novembers: 2004

Finding pictures from a certain month several years ago can be a random experience. Brian and I had been engaged for a couple of months at this point, but this is the only picture from November 2004 that's even worth posting.

This is me and Brian's best friend Joey at a retreat center in Indiana. Two things come to mind when I see this picture. First: Joey cracks me up. He is from the hills of Kentucky and he is just good people. I have laughed until I've cried at his stories, he's got a gift. And his t-shirt in this picture says "Cricket Eating Contest, 2004." That's for real, an event that he actually participated in, and that story involves bodily functions that you'd rather not hear about.

The second thing I notice about this picture is that I am thinner in this picture than I was in high school. I had done Weight Watchers that year and had reached my goal sometime that summer, I think. Then in October, right after I got engaged, I got mono. Really bad. I missed a MONTH of work, I was in the hospital for almost a week, I got pneumonia as a secondary condition. It was the most awful experience of my life. The only bonus: I lost 11 pounds. And that was UNDER my goal weight. I think I weighed that much when I was in maybe 7th grade?