Fun Times and a Baby Shower

L. to R. Tami, Vera, Kathie, Me, Kelli.

Karen, Susan, Laura.

These beautiful ladies are my cousins. I haven't seen them in years.

Susan is having her first baby.

She has felt yucky her whole pregnancy so far... dang it.

~Hope you feel all the way better soon Susie.

Me and my sis Vera at the shower.
Vera has always said that she was taller than me but this picture proves that I am taller ;)
I didn't have shoes on either, and she did!!
Are you shrinking V? or have I always been taller?

Vera, Me and Tami. Tami was the Hostess with the most-est!
She has a beautiful home!

Me and the mama to be! She is going to be a great Mom!!

This is Kathie, Laura, Vera and me with my favorite uncle Eldon!

Don't you think he looks like Doc off of Back to the future?

Girls night out!

Vera and I decided to go to a movie, so we called Loni and met at the theater. We saw Shopaholic. Cute movie. We had a great time together.

Love you sisters!

its got to be...its got to be....

i am pleased to announce that i discovered little elves that visit our house in the middle of the night and mess it up.

i have been wondering how our house gets messy during the day WHILE i am constantly cleaning it.

and here i thought it was my kids being slobs!

competition

Russ says he had a good birthday!

He got some much needed golf shoes, a compass for his truck, cologne, and some dark chocolate covered Altoids.

He loves dark chocolate.

He doesn't make a big deal out of birthdays.

But I did.

I made lasagna.

It was my first time making it believe it or not.

My mom was on the phone talking me through it.

It turned out pretty yummy.

Thanks MOM! Your the greatest!!

Russ informed me that Dugway is having a fat loss competition.

And the measure/weigh in is next Wednesday.

We are both going to do it.

So for the next week we will try real hard not to lose any fat so we can have more to lose for the competition.

Funny huh?!

It wont be that difficult of a task I'm sure.

I am glad it is a fat loss competition and not a weight loss competition.

We wouldn't have a chance if it was just weight.

So we are going to enjoy this valentines weekend with some good food!!

weigh in time...

So today, I hop on the scale....and it says......165!
That is one pound gain from last week. (muscle)
But 4 pounds lost over all.
So who knows how much fat I have lost so far.
The scale can be so deceiving because muscle weighs more than fat so if you are building muscle while you are losing fat....the scale will go back and forth.
I have lost inches but I am not going to measure until next Monday.
Tomorrow is Russell's birthday. 36!
Russ and I went on a date to the gym last Thursday and we played racquetball. He kicked my butt. It's like my feet wouldn't leave the spot they were in. We will have to play often so I can get better. I will never beat Russ but it is good fun to be beat by the one you love. The score was like 30 to 1. We were only going to 15 but I had to score once...so we kept going until they kicked us out at closing time. Luckily I scored once before we left!

The PRO!

Jarom is getting mighty good at scrubbing the floor!

If you look real close you can see the blue crayon.

Gotta love the Magic Eraser.

We use it everyday!! I could do a commercial for them.

Seriously, I see a mess on the floor, that I know Jarom did and all I have to do is give him the sponge or rag and he starts cleaning.

Good boy... well, bad boy for coloring on my tile, but good boy for cleaning it up!

Good Morning!

Do you ever wake up and just feel like crying?

This is what my little lady was doing when I woke up this morning.

She was super ornery for about 35 minutes and then she was fine.

I actually felt like crying this morning, but why is it not acceptable for adults to just cry for no reason?

I want to be a baby again.....somedays!

Happy Tuesday.

Update:

I still have been eating right and exercising.

In fact I worked out way too much yesterday and now I feel like crud.

I will weigh in on Monday.

Keep chuggin along...

perfect timing....

Is there a perfect time for a disaster?

This is what I was doing while Jarom was making a mess....

I have my R2D2 shop vac that I use to vacuum my whole house.

No carpet. (except rugs)

Wood and tile.

I plug in a large extension cord and start at one end of the house (I have a very long house....it's actually two houses put together....6 bedrooms...Army housing...need I say more?)

So while I started at one end of the house, Jarom had accomplished this mess.

Chips and Crackers.
Those two little turkeys always get into my pantry.

I said...."Okay, time to clean up!" and this is what Jarom did.

He thought, we were going to eat them all off the floor.

No more GUM?!!

I have been told to give up one of my favorite things.

GUM!

I have TMJ and chewing gum makes it worse.

My bite is all screwed up.

I was finally given confirmation that my sister Loni broke my nose when I was little.

I went to the ENT today to have my ears checked and he said that my ears are fine and diagnosed me with TMJ.

He looked in my nose only to find that my septum is deviated and said that it is from breaking my nose.

Yes, my nose is crooked!

I always wondered if I had broke my nose but never had it confirmed until now.

Loni and I were playing hands up stands up.......you know the game.

She kicked me in the nose.

I remember exactly where we were when it happened.

We were standing in the front yard on a warm afternoon after our ginormous (is that a word?) tree in the back yard had filled the front yard with shade.

Who knows if she did it on purpose.

You know how siblings are so who knows.....I could ask her now and she would probably deny doing it on purpose....I don't know,

however, I hold no malice.

She offered to pay for my nose job some day and I would now like to take her up on that!

So Loni.......pay up sista!

Just kidding, I wont make her pay, (and she didn't really offer) I will just rub noses with her every time I see her. ;)

Anywho.....

The doc gave me some exercises to do for my jaw.

Hopefully it helps!

This diagnosis explains the pain I keep getting in my teeth.

Kiera's having a birthday shout hurray!

My cute little niece turns 2 today!

My sister Loni made this amazing cake. Isn't it cute?

We had a fun party for her yesterday.

Happy Birthday Sweetie,

We LOVE you!

Kiss Kiss.

Date Night!

Russell's first time playing BINGO!

And guess who won?

Beginners luck.....of course beginners luck never happens to me.

But I am glad Russ won!

15 bucks!!

He took the money...instead of a prize.

Great Date!

Our Friday.....

Wake up
Get kids out of bed.

Sunrise.

Get to Loni's 2 hours later.

Allie and Keira are twinners today with their pigtails.

Oooo La La! My gorgeous sister.

We met my other sister at 'School Lunch'

Then we went to Roberts to shop.

Loni and Vera.

We hit the first day of 90% off christmas.

I saved over 250 dollars on all the stuff I bought for next year.

Me and my 'cat smile'

Can you tell we are excited for spring?

My beautiful neice Briea.

My other beautiful neice Kylie.

(I have no idea why it turned sideways. I am very curious about that.)

My other beautiful neice Keira.

At Loni's.

My brother Ben singing the alphabet with the kids.

He was saying....."V" when I snapped the picture.

I only put this picture on here to show you how mean I look when I am not smiling.

I am not mad, I just look like it.

So if you see me and I am not smiling, don't think I'm mad.

There, that's better.

Sunset.

We were all so tired, this is what time we went to bed.

Long day, but very fun nonetheless.

Ski Day!

Carter and his cousins, Tyler and Adam.

They went to Wolf Mountain.

Thanks for the pictures Debbie!

This was Emma's first time on the slopes!

She looks like a natural.

Oh, she had times where she didn't love it.

Russell said, for the most part, she did really well.

What fun!! For them anyway.

I was shopping with my sisters.

I'm too old to ski!

Feeling Good!!!

Week 3.

Weighing in at 164.

5 pounds lost.

How are you doing?

Ate a little too much yesterday.

On the right track now.

Made more soup today.

Yum!

Happy Monday.

my Bugs

Carter and Russ got to go.

Fun.

Carter looks so Happy!

I am glad they went.

Happy Monday!

I weighed myself this morning and was not expecting to see any weight loss so far and I was right! I didn't work out much last week because I got another cold! ARGH!!

Yesterday I walked 2 1/2 miles with a friend. And today we did Tae Bo together. I plan on getting on the treadmill while watching the Bachelor tonight. I don't feel like the Tae Bo gave me a good enough work out.

Anyway, I ate really healthy last week and didn't eat anything I was not supposed to until Saturday.
So this is my plan:
Monday through Friday...20-27 points on weight watchers. Only healthy eating.
Saturday....I can eat whatever I want.
Sunday.....No sweets, but I am not counting points on food. (I don't go over board)
And exercise Monday through Saturday.

I feel so different than when I started. I have more energy and I don't feel so sluggish. Those holidays really through me for a loop. Too much yummy food. And we know.... if it is super tasty, we know it's not that good for you. Except the cabbage soup that I made. It was so yummy and zero points. Of course you have to love vegetables....which I do!
Here is the recipe:

Garden Vegetable Soup
2/3 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
1 1/2 cups diced green cabbage
1/2 cup green beans
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced zucchini

1. In Large saucepan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, saute carrot, onion, and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until beans are tender.

3. Stir in zucchini and heat 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

That's it! I doubled the recipe and got about 6 servings. Today when I make it I am going to triple it. I simmered mine for about 35 minutes. It was perfect. YuM! enjoy!!

Here we GO!!

So the first day is finally here, and guess what, I have actually been looking forward to it.

I start the day out weighing in at 169 pounds.
It is okay to post your weight...it is like your age....people can figure it out!
So why not say it out loud?
My goal weight is 140.
29 pounds should take me......oh, I don't know, 10 years!! Just kidding, I should be at my goal weight in at least 5 months. It sounds like a long time but we have already been in Utah for 5 months...which flew by!

I am looking forward to losing weight off my arms! They are like two sausages.
I am also looking forward to losing my baby belly! I never had to worry about my tummy before I had kids, it was always my rear that was the problem. Now it is spread out all over.

I am doing weight watchers. It is so easy. Really, it is just watching your portions. I am not logged into anything, or going to any meetings. I am just doing it on my own. Which is good enough! I write down what I ate in my journal. I am about to make my menu for the week so I can run to the store and get what I need.

Yesterday, I took all the sugary foods and hid them. No one knows where they are except me. I am telling you...it is easy to not eat what is not there!

I am planning to do different sorts of exercises everyday.

Every Monday I will post my progress.

Happy Monday...and remember...you are what you eat!

Good luck with your progress!

Happy Birthday Loni....a.k.a. Elf

Happy Birthday my Darling Sister!!

I love how you are so organized and crafty! You are so creative!

I am glad that we grew up so close. We had a lot of good times and a lot of hard 'sibling' times.

But all in all, it was such a great experience having a sister just 22 months older than me.

Thanks for all you have done for me over the years.

I love you so much!

Lets do Lunch!!

Happy 29th Birthday!

what are Holidays for?

StRETchhhhhhhh!
Yawn!
4 hour naps of course.

Happy New Year!

Day 31 ~December Thirty First~ New word and Last day

Wow!

I am not going to lie, this has been a very long month. And, a very stressful one too!

Posting on my blog everyday has been a challenge.

But I did it!

All but one day that is.

And that is because I got home after midnight on Christmas Eve and did not make the post before the stoke of 12.

It feels good to be done with it.

And it feels good to have accomplished what I did.

But now I am in the habit of posting everyday, so I just might be posting more than I did before I started all of this.

My goal for this, really was to show things that I have created, but life got in the way and I didn't do one creation all month.

So what got posted was.....my life.

At least the better parts of it.

I don't know why but every time I move and get settled in...my anxiety flares up and I end up trying to deal with that, which I will, it just takes me a while to acclimate. 8)

That, along with other things in my life have taken over my month of December.

But we have a new year coming...thank heavens!!

Every New Year, I ponder my goals and try to find a word to help me work on and accomplish them.

This year, I chose the word

FOCUS!!

I feel like more than anything,

I need to focus on the positive things in my life, I mean REALLY focus.

I have a list of goals a mile long but some of the most important ones are:

*patience

*spending more QUALITY time with my kids

*strengthening my relationship with my husband

*doing the things that I am supposed to as a member of the church

*eating right for life

*exercising habitually

*service, service and more service

*accepting myself for who I am

*laughing a LOT!!

Pick your word for the year and share it with us.

Happy New Year!!

2009 will be a great year!