Y’all, 2017 was an interesting year. In fact, everything after 2013 has been amazing. I lost 119 pounds, too many clothing sizes to count, so many inches I don’t even know. Through this blog, I shared all the changes I was going through in all of that. Y’all came with me every step of the way.
If you’re following me on Facebook (and you should be), you know that I have the travel bug. Travel is hard on the human body whether you weigh 150 or 350 or are somewhere in between like me. As much as I love going new places, it’s hard on me physically. Usually, at the end of a day of exploring, I find myself waddling or limping back to my hotel room and collapsing in a happy heap…wondering if I couldn’t have done even more if I was in better shape.
As I’ve gone through this process, I’ve also changed. Things that used to motivate me…don’t. Mostly, that number on the scale. I am not interested in focusing on a number. I don’t give a crap about dropping another marble in the “Pounds Lost” jar. It’s hard to explain, but it feels like I’m looking at it all from the wrong angle.
So what do I care about now? I care about how my butt fits in an airplane seat (and they’re all different). I care about how much walking I can do when my sneaks hit the pavement in London. I care about how well I sleep…and how dehydrated I still get. I care about not getting old before I get old, and about making sure my eyes and my hands work for years to come…because doing needlework gives me joy.
You’ll hear more from me here on the blog than you did in 2017. We’re going to talk about a lot of things, including weight loss, healthy living, travel, and yes…NEEDLEWORK. And a million other topics I can’t even think of. Anything that comes up.
For now, let’s talk about travel. I know I have many readers who don’t travel because of weight. You’ve read horror stories about people being removed from airplanes because they’re too fat, or people being charged for a second seat that they can’t afford. Travel is an amazing gift to give yourselves, peeps. Amazing. I want to help you get past the fear and get out there.
So…let’s talk about travel. In the comments below, give me your travel questions. You can ask me anything, including how big my butt is and whether it fits in the seat. 🙂 I want you to be able to get out there in the world.
If you have a question for me but you’re embarrassed to ask it, just give me a fake name in the comments below. I can’t tell who you are, so make it a fun name and ask the question.
Let’s see those comments!
Will I fit my butt into coach seat on. 737-800? How do you fancy meeting us for dinner in MCO in late May?
Girl, of course you will! I’ve seen your butt (she had pants on, for those of you who are raising your eyebrows)…it’s a normal butt! 🙂
That would be so fun! So far, I don’t have anything going on in late May…but the Memorial Day holiday might make flying stand-by difficult. Let’s keep it on the books though!
Lol, I definitely had pants on 😲 nobody needs to see that! Will let you know detail when we have finalised x
♥
Traveling is hard for me and not just because of my weight. My anxiety gets in the way a lot. Having anxiety used to really make me hate myself, but that’s something I conquered in 2017. Hi I’m Lisa, and I have anxiety! Lol It’s not who I am, it’s something that I have that affects me. Sometimes minorly, sometimes majorly. I’ve learned to push myself when I can and give myself a break when I can’t. As for traveling in an airplane? There is no way my booty is fitting in a seat right now. And I’m okay with that, because even though it’s too big my booty is fabulous! Lol. I love reading your Facebook posts and your blogs, thank you for making me smile.
Lisa, it sounds like you have the best solution figured out for your anxiety…and good for you!!! ♥ It’s similar to how I deal with my VERY picky eating when I travel. I have a huge protein requirement daily (80 – 100 grams) and it’s hard to get when I travel because I try not to check a bag, so that means no pre-made protein shakes (my fave). It’s a whole process with me, that’s for sure. When it comes down to it, though, I’m just stubborn and picky. Anxiety is a serious thing to deal with and I’m so glad that you’re giving yourself the space you need to deal with it!
First of all, just checking in…still a loyal FB and blog follower! Happy New Year! Part of my resolution this year is to be more budget minded…we rarely travel and when we do it’s road trips. So, if we were to fly…can you give me an affordable (but still tolerable) way to do so? Like plane ticket wise? Any tips or tricks? Travel would be within the US.
Hey, there, fabulous girlie! ♥
This is going to be a bit of a wordy answer, so grab a cuppa something. 🙂
Traveling by air can be much more difficult if you don’t live close to a major airport, since you have to take a regional flight from a smaller airport just to get to the big airport that you fly to your final destination from. I’m trying to keep in mind that not everyone has the good luck of living near a major airport like DFW.
So…regardless of whether you’re near a big airport, there are some things you can do:
If your financial situation and credit rating allow, apply for the credit card of your favorite airline…because they probably have a really kick-ass bonus when you do. I’m not going to plug one airline over another here, but I know my favorite airline gives you 60,000 miles when you get their card. That right there is enough for two round trip tickets to anywhere in the domestic US and Caribbean. Most of these cards also give you a free checked bag (but I can show you how to pack so you don’t need to check). 🙂 Use the card to pay all your bills each month (electric, etc)…which earns you miles. Pay the card off every month. No need to go into debt!
If you can’t do that (and I can relate…because I’m rebuilding right now), then I would still get a frequent flyer account for my favorite airline. I believe most of them are free to join…and there are ways to earn miles without flying! Yes!!!
For example, again…my favorite airline doesn’t charge for a frequent flyer number. You’ll start getting their emails, etc…no biggie. You can sign up for their dining program and earn miles when you eat out. So all you do is plug in whatever your debit and credit card numbers are and every time you eat at a restaurant that participates in their program and you pay with a card you have logged, you earn miles. Fast food, nice restaurants…it doesn’t matter. And you don’t have to say anything when you eat there, it’s all automatic because the program has your card number. The last time I visited my mom in California, I took her out to dinner not knowing that the restaurant we went to was a participant. Two days later I got an email that I’d earned 90 miles. What? LOL For two orders of wings & fries. Awesome.
Additionally, many airlines tie e-shopping onto their programs. Let’s say you want to pick up some things at Target. Don’t just go to Target. Instead, log into your airline frequent flyer account, go to the e-shopping link and see if Target is listed. It is on mine…right now you get 2 miles for every dollar you spend. Yay! So I click their Target link and it takes me to Target’s website. I put all my crap in the online cart, select “store pick up” and pay with my debit card. I drive to Target and pick up my order…and a couple days later I get an email that I’ve earned 250 miles. Yay!
Last Christmas, HMH wanted a griddle for the backyard that was about $300. I looked for it through the airline e-shopping website first and found it at our local ACE Hardware store for the same low price I knew Amazon had it for. I chose store pick up and completed my purchase…and I got 1,750 miles for buying his Christmas present. 🙂 I even earn miles for shopping on Etsy.
This all might seem trivial at first, since it takes thousands of miles to get a ticket…but it all adds up. If you’re not doing this, you’re just throwing travel money away.
Lastly, watch out for budget airlines. Their ticket prices look cheap but they come with tons of hidden fees (like a fee if you talk to an agent at the airport…I’m not even kidding). And try not to go through sites like Expedia to get your tickets. There are at least two airlines I know of who will never give a better prices to these kinds of sites because they want customers to go to their website directly. Maybe use third party sites to shop around for general flight and airline information, but then make your purchase directly through the airline. It’s most likely cheaper…and the airline won’t risk giving you a short connection time like a third party site will. The third party doesn’t care if you make your connection, whereas the airlines do. 🙂
Let me know if you have any other questions…I’m happy to help!
You’re amazing, doll!! I’m about 30 min from Hobby Airport in Houston and about an hour from Intercontinental. So, relatively close airports for me. I had NO IDEA all of these options were available, and I am ALL ABOUT earning free stuff! The Target idea, love it! Thank you sooo much!!
Sounds like American and Southwest are good ideas for you. Check ’em both out and see which ones have the most earning options…and which ones work best for you!