Almost Perfect

I Was Thinking.....

2011-11-08T20:24:00.001-08:00

I preface my story like this because I try to avoid such mundane tasks. Anyways onto my story.

Today as I was driving I started thinking about a particular situation and how I wanted deal with it, coming up with a few strategies. And I thought to myself the same thing I have thought many times, something that has almost become my life mantra of sorts. Something I tell myself as sort of a pep talk so I don't just roll over and play possum. Here it is "Don't let life happen to you, happen to life". I am sure many say it and many believe it to be a great motivational saying. And honestly it usually works for me.

Something was different today though. Today I said it and just thought what the heck am I saying? And I started to replay moments in my life when things got to a point where I thought how did I get here? The most obvious memory being my divorce. I also can remember simple moments like when I have been super lazy and my house looks like a storm hit it or even lately just wishing my house wasn't so unorganized. The point is many times in my life I have thought,how did I get to this point, what did I do wrong?

As I thought about this more I started to think how this mantra my contradictsmy beliefs of this life being part of a bigger plan. Meaning I got here because God knows this is where I need to be and knows I need to learn something from wherever here is. I didn't get to a certain point or in a situation because I didn't happen to life.

This all may seem a little crazy but my knee injury has taken its toll on me and not just physically. Emotionally too. So I have been trying to see God in all of this and it is funny how He works. Something as simple as spilt juice and it has forced me to depend on others, ask for help and give up some control. All things I pray about daily. All things that I have the hardest time doing. Maybe this was my reminder that I don't always have to be happening to life mostly I need to slow down and listen to the quiet voice.

It's That Time of Year Again

2011-10-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

So it is family picture time. This is where I let out a big ol' sigh. I think I mentioned it last year but I really want beautiful family pictures. We don't have great photos of any events so I have this yearning for glamorous family photos. We had beautiful ones taken last year and was hoping for some great ones this year too.

I had surgery last Wednesday for my knee and I am still not back to sprinting or well walking without a limp. Making it difficult to go out and shop for outfits and get prepared.

Saturday hubby and I rushed around to get everything wrapped up. When we got home the baby was not in bed napping. She had gotten up and the sitter did not put her back down. (Insert mental scream here). Then the 5 year old announced she did not want to do family pictures and wasnt going to smile. (insert another 'mental' scream). At this point I can start to feel the anxiety set in and the breakdown coming on. If crying didn't cause puffy eyes I would have sat down in the bathroom and cried.

Well being the eternal optimist I am I pushed the thought of cancelling the whole thing out of my mind. In true form everyone was running a little behind and it was a miracle we finally made it out the door. Some screaming took place in the car (the kids not me), finally we made it to the location.

As I had imagined the kids did not find their happy faces once we got there. Nanny the oldest is turning 16 next month so she did a change of clothes and took some gorgeous sweet 16 photos. We have seen two of Nanny's photos but are waiting to see the family pictures. I am hoping we have some that worked. The location was beautiful but we may have to try again.....next year.

I really had to talk myself off of the ledge on this one. One of my many character flaws is unrealistic expectations. I think seeing beautiful pictures in blog-land, on Facebook and even at my neighbors home really makes me believe that these other families have perfect families with no screaming kids no meltdowns and millions of gorgeous shots. But this is my reality and even just one or two nice pictures is enough and I just have to be okay with things as they are.

So tell me friends how is the family picture experience for you? If it is a magical experience please lie to me. ;)

Wishes for a fabulous week!

Hair Color and Aging

2011-09-20T19:40:00.001-07:00

You add adult acne to that title and you have all of my least favorite things. I know many women who embrace the beauty that is aging. I on the other hand am throwing a toddler sized fit, a two year old fit to be exact.

I once upon a time had a very pretty strawberry blonde color of hair. Now that I am older I have gone very dark and oily. Calm down folks it is as hot as I am laying it out to be. Anywho last September hubby and I began Dave Ramsey. We have not been A students but it has for sure given us a lot to think about, discuss and learn from. I am not saying we are not following a budget, we are. I am saying we are not as prepared as we should be for the unexpected items and with three kids that list never ends.

Anyhow I have suddenly started graying. Gasp. Say it isn't so (this is my monologue as I look in the mirror). But it is so and with no budget for a professional to cure the problem I must turn to a box. Only I am not having great luck with boxes. So I am turning to the mighty all knowing blog world and asking.......What do use and/or have you used and what advice do you have for me?

The Baby

2011-09-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

No not a new baby, this baby.

Well she no longer looks like this...

or this...

via

She now has some hair and most people correct me when I call her "the baby".

But like I tell hubby, my favorite thing about baby, is she likes to be a baby as much as I like her to be the baby.

And she still knows how to have a good time at her birthday party.

Let me set this up for you. She had just gotten out of her 3rd bath for the day, all party guest had left, mommy and daddy were cleaning up and apparently we did not clean up quick enough. Who knew that giant frosting was so oily....and would leave her pink for so long. She is a busy baby and totally funny! (minus all of her midnight visits)

And yes, she is naked as much as she appears to be in these photo's. Too wild for clothes!

What I Have Been Up To.......

2011-09-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

........Well aside from being a mom and full time career women I found something else to make things interesting.

That is my leg. I slipped in some juice and twisted my knee two ways. I have a more "mobile" brace on now. They originally thought I tore my ACL and MCL, fortunatley I sprained my knee and chipped the back side of my knee cap. Which makes me throw up a little thinking about it. The good news is I believe my recovery time will be much shorter. Bad news is, I have been in a lot of pain and my attitude stinks.

You know what you do while lying in bed? Realize how much you sit around not cleaning your house and realizing just how bad it needs it. Unfortunatley with three busy kids my time in bed was a little short lived. That and I feel like I should be able to just bounce back and have things I want to do, so I do them, then I whine.

Anywho, lots of things have changed around these parts. See those pictures along the right? Yeah slightly outdated. I still need to figure out new bloggie names for the kidlets but one got her permit, one started school and one grew out of her bed.

(Sorry about the photo quality.)

I really am hoping to post a lot more frequently. Thank to all those that gave me such a warm welcome back! Very excited to get back into blogging. Talk soon my friends!

Where I Have Been

2011-09-05T08:48:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has been six months since I last blogged!

Blogging is something I have definetly missed. Not just the act of taking some time out to put thoughts and events in writing but the friendships I made through blogging. Unfortunately with my new job came a new time commitment. It has been hard going from a very flexible schedule to a more stringent one. We are still adjusting as a family but this experience is really showing us the areas in our lives that we need to get more organized and do some things differently.

I hope to share the many projects we have coming up and our trials and errors with organization and just getting back to the blog world. I am also looking forward to journaling more about my kids. I feel like I have missed some entries in their baby books during this six months!

Looking forward to getting back to the blog world. I will warn you in advance I am blogging from my phone so picture quality and grammer may not be the best. (not that it was before). So happy Labor Day friends! Hope to chat soon.

Bacon Baked Goods

2011-09-03T10:21:00.001-07:00

I had my first Bacon baked good today. I have been apprehensive about anything chocolate and bacon. Which surprises even me that I would turn down anything bacon. I must say it was/is quite delicious.

What I am unclear about is, is there Bacon on the inside or simply sprinkled on top? I haven't actually gotten to the sprinkled pieces so maybe I don't really like the chocolate and Bacon thing maybe it is just an exceptional donuts.

What do you think, have you had or made any of these crazy baked goods?

33 Years Ago (yesterday)......

2011-03-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

.....A star was born.

Yesterday was my actual birthday but I was/am having computer issues.

But I have to share my exciting day with you!

I woke up Saturday morning at 5:45 am. This is what my windshield looked like when I finally made it out of the house on my way to my birthday adventure.

See this?

This is just the very beginning, there is more......

This is the view up.

This is the view down.

Down again

FINALLY at the top.

The Manitou Incline was once a cog railway that has been turned into a series of approximately 2,077 steps (might be a little more but I know it is around this.) The vertical gain is 2,200 feet (Altitude).

My friend in this picture climbed the incline for the first time as well.

The hiking crew. Everyone else bailed on us because of the early time. This is a popular place so to get parking and not have to battle a bunch of people you have to get up early or go late.

Here is the gorgeous view on our way back down. You can go down the steps or take the 3 mile back trail to get back down. The stairs can be pretty inconsistant equalling unsafe, so we elected to take the back way.

After the hike we went to a little cafe, Gertrude's, and met some other friends for brunch. This place was delish!!

Later that evening hubby and I went to PF Chang's for dinner. One of my favorite places! Yum, Yum. I usually order MuShu chicken or Candied Walnut Shrimp, but I have been really wanting spicy so we got Sichuan of the Sea. So tasty!

I made the decision to do the incline so that I had that since of accomplishment on my birthday. Let me tell you I felt awesome the rest of the day and even today. People thought I was crazy for choosing this, but that sense of accomplishment, was exactly what I was after. This was a tough climb and at spots I did not think I would make it, but I just kept telling myself "you can do this". And I did! So although I am getting older, I feel really great!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Can't believe how fast it goes!

Happy Anniversary!!

2011-02-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

To my dear husband!

My husband is a wonderful, thoughtful, giving man. God truly blessed me with such an amazing husband. Our oldest is mine from a previous marriage and he treats her no different then our own children. He has always made sure that she knows that he loves her no less then our other girls. There are so many examples of this and when I tell people them their hearts just melt. His interaction and love for all of our children makes my heart swell and sometimes my eyes. His love is so sincere and effortless it amazing and shows me what a true man of God he is. Thank you honey for being so wonderful and thank you God for blessing me more then I deserve!!

It is hard to believe this day several years ago we were on our way to the airport for our honeymoon in London and Paris. What an amazing trip!

Our anniversary was Friday February 11th (yesterday). Every other anniversary we have taken a trip somewhere. This year thanks to our financial makeover we looked for a cheaper option and frankly it was just as great as any of our trips. We did a little "date years" reminiscing. So what does a busy couple with three kids and full time jobs do? What they never get to do, dinner and a movie(s) of course.

We started our afternoon off by seeing a movie, Little Fockers, 2:40 pm at the dollar movie. It was a funny movie of course and there was an inside joke found in the movie that kept us laughing the rest of our evening.

After our movie we had to pick up the little ones and bring them to my sisters house for safe keeping. Thanks seestar! We then headed over to one of our favorite dating haunts, Joe's Crabshack, yum, yum!

Foods out!

"Let's Get Crackin"

Our steampot feast! Man do we love seafood!

After dinner we headed back to the dollar theater. We saw How Do You Know and Harry Potter. Reese Witherspoon is one of my favorite actresses and I thought it was a good movie. Harry Potter we have been seeing in the theater since the second movie and we both get pretty excited about the movies. After the second movie came out hubby and AM and even myself spent HOURS playing the Harry Potter xbox game. I am not a big video game player but we all had such an amazing time trying to finish that darn game, great memories.

If you will notice on the marque above the last movie we saw was at 9:35 pm, it did not let out until midnight. I was so impressed that neither of us fell asleep. Thank goodness for the murderous seating, otherwise we might have.

Dinner was more than we expected, but not more then we had budgeted for, because hubby is a great planner. All three of our movies with purchasing 2 large sodas, 1 large popcorn and a nachos came to $25!! Can you believe that? In the regular theatre you can hardly get two tickets and concessions under that price.

Needless to say we did not spend a ton of money to travel this year but we had another wonderful anniversary.

I LOVE YOU HONEY!!

So Sick

2011-01-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

I have really been wanting to start the Project 52. I saw the Project 365 challenge last year and knew there was no way I could keep up. But 1 picture each week seems attainable. However we are on week 3 and I have started nothing.

Our entire family has been sick for about two weeks. Not a solid week just someone at each point for two weeks. I have had this crap for about a week and the baby for about a week and a half. What gives? I was super sick back in December and now a month later? I am rarely sick so this is frustrating.

Remember my last post, saying that hubby and I were trying to purge a little each weekend? Well even though we have been sick we still made our goal. This weekend we purged a whole carload, we have a Jeep Commander and it holds a lot. The better news? That wasn't all that we were willing to get rid of! Hubby said everytime he has gone to Goodwill all the other cars had a few things but his car was packed, and the workers made a comment about how much he had. Today we had the day off and I had big ambitions but little energy. I got the mounds of baby clothes folded and put away. The master and the girls room cleaned. I know this may not sound like much, but trust me when I say, this was a huge under taking.

I hope to be feeling better soon and I plan on still doing the Project 52, it will just be in bulk, so prepare yourselves. :) Have a great week!

I Can Clean the Crap Out of A Closet....

2011-01-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

....Literally. That is what we did this weekend. We are trying to go through the boxes in our garage while also doing some purging inside our home. This weekend's task? To purge linens. So we cleaned out our very small linen closet and all boxes in the garage marked linens. Remember we were going to try to sell. Yeah, well we packed stuff up to thin out the house, got a storage unit and then never listed. So several months ago hubby cleared out the storage unit and it all ended up in our garage. Man do we have a lot of junk. Here is the final result of the linen closet.

To some of you this may still appear messy, but before this weekend you could barley shut the door. Every time we washed towels or sheets, I would feel panicked about where I was going to store them.

We plan to tackle a little each weekend. Soon we will feel good about the progress and the condition of our home.

I also realized that I have two huge boxes of unused Partylite items and yet another box unaccounted for, filled with Partylite candles. I am thinking I need to just sell the Partylite accessories, but I am nervous. Has anyone else sold items on eBay? How was your experience? Any tips and/or tricks you can offer?

Personal Space Extends To the Line At the Grocery Store

2011-01-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

Hi friends! A little bit of a rant for this Friday morning. I try to be very conscious of personal space and the fact that I may be standing in someone’s way. Just the way I would like others to behave. I was at the grocery store the other night, on a week night at 9:00 PM. I was checking out and because there are no baggers where I shop I was getting all of my groceries together and in my shopping cart for the trip to the car. I have noticed this happens almost every time. I go around to the front of my cart to start loading everything and the jerk behind me pulls their cart right up to mine. PEOPLE, I STILL HAVE TO PAY!! It just seems so rude to me. What are your thoughts on this? Do you have situations like this one that make you wonder "how can they think this is okay"?

So it is Friday and the weekend is here, what are your plans?

Hubby and I are going to tour a gym tonight (we are thinking of switching.) I am going to get my house clean. No joke it looks like a bomb went off around here. Wish me luck and have a GREAT weekend!

A Thought For Your Thursday

2011-01-06T06:57:00.000-08:00

The only way to coast is downhill.

Discipline is the bridge

between

goals and accomplishment.

Thought I would share this with everyone. Hubby sent it to me this morning and I am really chewing on it. I think I will sit down this weekend and really map out my year and set some goals. I LOVE a plan!! But with my post yesterday, I will try to be very realistic about said plan. Will keep you updated! Happy Thursday! I get to wear jeans tomorrow! (I know that excites you :))

I Wish I Could Be My New Years Self All Year Long

2011-01-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

I know that I need to do a Dallas re-cap, but today I am feeling more inspired to talk about the changes I have noticed in myself. But I will give you this adorable shot as a taster of our fantastic trip!

So I did not have a succesful holiday season in the weight category however you know what the big change in me is? That I am not beating myself up over it. Do I need to make changes in my diet? Um, yes. Do I have other things I would like to accomplish? Um, yes. Am I torturing myself over these things...that would be a big N-O.

I am writing this because remember last year when I resolved to be kinder to myself? Well I set that goal because I am usually insanely unrealistic about my expectations and this attitude makes it very difficult for me to enjoy a lot of lifes quiet blessings and sometimes, even the loud screaming ones. (I am not completley speaking of my children here :))

As of right now I have not made any goals or "resolutions", I am basking in my current state of mind and loving it. I do plan on setting some goals, but right now, I am mentally taking a break.

Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season. And wishes to everyone for a fantastic 2011!!

(And if you are having a bad day come back and enjoythe picture of my sweet baby!)

La, La, La, La The Giveaway Winner

2010-12-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to announce my giveaway winner! I had help drawing the winner from my 15 year old. I have a picture but I can't figure out how to load it from my phone. Sigh. Anyhow. A big CONGRATS to La from Famille d'Arsenal! I will be emailing the details to you shortly. Thank you to all that entered!

Hope everyone is having a great week! We are having so much fun here in the great state of Texas tomorrow we will be baking and decorating cookies!! Fun!

Drive Friendly ~ The Texas Way

2010-12-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

Hubby and I got off work last night rushed to pack and got on the road for Texas by 10pm. The baby is a terrible traveler as in she screams diving across town from the babysitters to our house. So after a few incidents that just made it feel like we were not ment to get on th road we made it by 10. Let me recap.

It snowed all day in Colorado Springs after the news said there would be no more snow. It wasn't a lot of snow but I was a little co cerned because it was the ki d of snow that turned to ice. So after much thought about our last 13 hour drve down to Texas with the baby combined with the snow I suggested we leave that night. I get home hubby is not feeli g well and the scramble begins with a few stops to change explosive diarhea diapers and to run to Target then to gas station for hubbys tummy. After all of that we get everything packed a d on top of the car. Oh wait it is too high for the car to back out of. Only all of the kids are in the car and the Santa gifts are in the rack sack. So hubby takes the must unload items and lays them out on the roof and then stands on the bumper while I slowly back out. He then reloads the topper and after a few more tripsinside we are on our way.

Well folks it was a decent ride down. We switched off driving at some points every hour. But we made it with very little baby screams which is a huge improvement from the 13 hours of baby screams we experienced this summer.

As we drove into Texas the sign said welcom to Texas Drive friendly ~ The Texas Way. I think hubby thought I had become delirious because I was laughing at that sign but you see Texans don't get the irony. I have experienced the friendly Texan driver on many occassions but boy you get that Texan in say Colorado and it is not the same situation! We also live In a heavily military populated area so we have tons of different state drivers and the all come with their own nuances.

Okay so you have about an hour left to enter my giveaway. I will announce the winner I. The morning.

Does anyone use a good blogging tool for their iPhone?

Down and Behind in COlorado Springs

2010-12-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

Okay so have you ever had one of those weeks where going into it you have grandeioso plans of how you are just going to kill it, by getting a whole bunch of things done? Yeah this week was my week. Let's just say that my two sad blog posts should be a representation of how this plan turned out. Sad face.

My big plans for this week included some fab post for this sad, sad blog, some workouts, Christmas shopping and and shipping, laundry and packing. We had the little girls preschool Christmas party last night that included gifts and food and we leave tomorrow morning for Dallas at 4AM yes folks you read that right (and in case we both thought we didn't I made it bigger). But someone else had different plans for me because I have been sick as a dog. So I have nothing packed and as I type this I am attempting (pretending) to get ready for work. So tonight I will be scrambeling to wash clothes, find toys and pack everything. Looks like nothing will be folded and everything will be arriving in Dallas, in yard bags. We are a class act my friends. But you knew that.

If you haven't already entered my giveaway, go do it! Remember, blogging or mentioning the giveaway on your blog earns you another entry. Good luck my faithful friends! Bye the way did anyone notice it landed on my 200th post? Yeah I didn't either when I originally posted it. Thank goodness someone is always looking out for me right? Phew!

It's Time For The Giveaway!!

2010-12-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

Alright , here it is, the giveaway. I hope everyone is as excited as I am. Here are the details, CSN has graciously given one of my incredible readers the chance to win a $35 gift certificate to any of their 200 online stores!!! AMAZING!!!

The giveaway entry deadline will be Saturday December 18th at 11:59 pm. Each of the following entry types is worth one (1) entry:

Entry 1 -

Follow me or leave me a comment that you already follow

Entry 2 -

Leave me a comment telling me what you would by if you win this fabulous gift certificate from CSN

Entry 3 -

Dream a little, leave me a comment telling me what you would buy from CSN if money was no object.

Entry 4 -

Pass along the good news about this giveaway and leave me a comment with the link.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!!

CSN Stores

2010-12-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

Have you seen around blogland others offering giveaways or doing reviews? Yup me too. Each time I thought "how cool to be offered such a great opportunity?" Well CSN has conntacted me to do a giveaway! (girl scream!) The details will be coming soon. As soon as I was contacted I went back on to their website(s). It blows my mind everytime I am there. CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be a chic handbag, tv tables or even cute cookware! Seriously, you can get everything you need here. So while your waiting on giveaway details stop by CSN Stores and check out their huge offering!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week! We will be leaving Saturday morning for Dallas, so our week will be spent with our usual full schedule, plus all of the errands and details to be ready to head out!

A Woman's Prayer

2010-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

God grant me the serenity to accept the fact I cannot fit into some jeans;

the courage to wear the jeans I should;

and the wisdom to know the difference.

I have seen this written a few different ways, but this is SO funny to me! I hope this brings a laugh to everyone today! Happy Friday!

My First 5k On Turkey Day

2010-12-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

Every Thanksgiving I get up at 5am and start getting the turkey ready and doing the rest of the cleaning in the house. This Thanksgiving was a little different because hubby signed us up for the YMCA Turkey Trot 5k. I have been talking about doing a 5k for a long time and apparently he wanted to push me off the high dive. I am really glad he did. I did not do all of the training I had planned on doing, really I did none. i have been doing spin, yoga and Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. Great for the body, not great for endurance.

Here are a few pics of hubby and I waiting for the start.

Let me tell you I have 3 - 4 layers on. I think I had 4 layers of shirts, 2 pairs of pants and nylons on and 2 more pairs of socks. I soon was regretting my choice to layer and not just suffer until I warmed up. But I am a huge baby but it was cold, like 20 degrees cold, specifically 17 degrees.

Let me tell you how many excuses can come up at the thought of going to run/walk in 17 degree weather on Thanksgiving day.

So we took off. I had a nice pace going and was feeling pretty good. Then I noticed my shoelace was coming untied, I tried to ignore it but it was making my shoe really loose. I pulled over to the side and tied it and got back in formation. Not too many strides later and I noticed the other one had come undone. Hubby is still going and I stop again. At this point hubby is way ahead of me. So I pick up the pace to catch up with him, not a smart move. I have a hard time breathing this time of year to begin with, but let me tell you, it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to catch your breath in 17 degree temps.

So I ended up walking a huge portion of the course but I finished, and frankly I am super proud of that!

After Thanksgiving dinner, when everyone left, I got the rest of the food put away and did not get the dishes done. I was pooped! Hubby graciously did them the next day! Thank You Honey!!

Shutterfly, Be Still My Heart

2010-11-30T21:04:00.000-08:00

I have had MANY great experiences with Shutterfly orders.

After hubby and I's engagement we received a Shutterfly book. Hubby proposed to me at the top of Pikes Peak....during a blizzard. We were there with my company. And my boss whom also happens to be a good friend of mine made the book. The book includes pictures from this day and is a very special book.

After we returned from our honeymoon in London/Paris we made personal thank you cards,

like these:

With this photo.

We had a few pictures taken in front of the Westminster Abbey, but there were other people in these pictures, so we went with this one. You can order your own personal thank you's here. There are so many designs to choose from or you can choose to use a simple photo, so that you may use them for any occasion!

I have also purchased several calendars for grandparents for past Christmases. The grandparents simply love these calendar's, you can order yours here. Currently they are buy one get one 50% off.

Now Shutterfly is offering Bloggers 50 free Christmas photo cards! YAY!! I send out approximately 65 Christmas cards every year. I usually make the cards myself. With my busier schedule I simply do not have the time to put that much time into cards this year. These picture cards are a wonderful alternative! Just as personal as a homemade card, I feel. You can peruse Shutterfly's huge selection here.

So here are a few designs I have in mind. There is such a great selection, knowing me I will not end up with one of these.

The great thing about Shutterfly, aside from their fabulous designs, is how quick your order comes in!

If you are a blogger and would like to be a part of this please check here.

Did I mention we recently got our family pictures done? They are incredible. I want to share them along with my new blog names for my little ones. (That I have been promising.)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

And Then There Was Christmas.....

2010-11-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

......At least some preparation.

I have been waiting for the holiday season for MONTHS!!!! So happy it is finally here. I can not describe my joy the day of Thanksgiving. Now that joy gets to carry on for entire month! Yay!

I have some things planned for this holiday season to really make some memories. Hubby and I are and have really just made sure we do not go crazy with presents. The kids get nice things but not too much......our families take care of that. :) Mostly kidding.

Anyways today we had planned to set up the Christmas tree. Because we had cleared/rearranged the sitting room to make room for a Thanksgiving table to seat 18 we had plenty of room for a tree. However, being the visionaries that we are, we had no tree. That's right folks, the last two years our tree has had some lighting issues. So we decided to throw it out last year and buy one when they were on sale. Guess who did not ever get to those sales...... So in the midst of our Dave Ramsey makeover we had to make an "Emergency Fund" dip to buy a new tree. Yes a tree with three kids is ESSENTIAL, and I will not back down from this statement. We went with a white tree and not the most expensive option (which hubby wanted). We bought some red lights and a red skirt. I was hesitant because I really wanted the magenta lights, but this was the one stand against pink hubby has made, so I respectfully went with the red. I am proud to report we ALL L.O.V.E. the result. Even hubby sat and stared at the tree for a bit. It seriously is gorgeous. And any new moms with a fussy baby, I suggest getting that tree up and setting the baby in front of it to stare. It has always soothed my kiddos just as it does me. *SIGH* I wish these pictures captured the beauty of the tree but they truly do not. I hope you enjoy, all the same. Merry Christmas season everyone, may the joy of the season bring peace to your heart!

Sad news, yesterday Blogger only allowed for one picture upload and now the upload window freezes and when it finally does allow uploads it does not use the new orientation saved. Anyone else having these issues?. Please forgive the abscence of photos in my post. I will load them in another post.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

Wow as of yesterday it has officially been 3 months since my last post. Yikes! With my new job and all of the after school/work activities in our lives I just felt like I needed to be on a blogging break. I have been thinking alot about blogging and missing the blogging relationships I have had and so I felt it was time to get back to blogging.
Well I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!! I love Thanksgiving. It is such a special time to spend with friends and family. This year we had five new faces at our dinner table. La, Q and Gooner from Famille d'Arsenal , Clarissa and her husband from In my oh-so-humble opinion... Let me just say that if you remember me blogging about my first meet up with La here then you may remember that our friendship has been very easy from the beginning. Strangley natural, in a good way. Well La brought along Clarissa whom she has been friends with for a long time. So while I was excited to have everyone I was also a little nervous about maybe things being awkward. I am not sure how it happens twice but Clarissa was just as fun and awesome as La. Again it was like highschool friends meeting up after a long abscence and just getting back to where they left off. AWESOME!! Here are a few pictures. Thanks ladies for a great Thanksgiving!

Okay I had a bunch more pictures but Blogger is not letting me load anymore of the photos. But this is a good photo.

Hope everyone is doing well! What did everyone else do for Thanksgiving?

Weight Watchers Update

2010-08-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Before I begin I have a funny.

Tonight hubby was carrying baby (I swear I have picked new names for them but that is for another post), anyways, hubby was carrying the baby up the stairs for bed time and I gave her a kiss, I suddenly realized how much I missed her. So I gave her a few more kisses and then hubby turns around and walks off.

I yelled up in protest; "Hey I wasn't done giving her kisses!"

Hubby; ""We just ate were you going to eat her?"

Which I am still laughing about. Man that guy is funny.

Now onto my Weight Watchers News!!

My last weigh in was last Saturday and as of that day I have lost 5.3 pounds! In 4 weeks. I am very excited. I feel it is going really well!

With my crazy schedule I am depending heavily on frozen meals which is wreaking havoic on my stomach so this weekend I am really going to try to strategize. Do you guys have any ideas for healthy lunch ideas? Like yummy salads or sandwiches? Let me tell you I am so boring when it comes to salads. Like lettuce tomato and dressing boring. Sometimes I will spice it up with red peppers and sunflower seeds. But nothing too fancy. I would appreciate any ideas!

Thanks again for all of your support!!

Things I Have Learned Form Corporate America

2010-08-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

As I said in my post yesterday I am truly loving my job. I am doing what I always wanted to be doing, but I have to admit corporate america is a huge culture shock. Did I say huge, yeah HUGE!!

In the last 10 years I have worked for either myself or in a small office. Working flexible hours with people that I grew very close with. In most situations I worked alone quite a bit and I enjoyed a lot.

So onward with my list, Things I Have Learned From Corporate America:

1) Going to work is no longer considered your alone time. And when you have a family of five and you work in corporate america going to the bathroom alone EVER - is a thing of the past.

2) The Office is not as funny, when it seems like it wasn't so made up.

3) I like having a schedule but ACTUALLY having a set time I have to be somewhere and a set time I have to leave really feels stressful.

4) I have my very own printer on my desk - NO KIDDING. ON MY DESK. NO KIDDING. Sorry this one blew my mind. My first thought was "um, someone left this printer on my desk." But nope, EVERYONE has a laser printer on their desk. But if you want dark crisp prints you still have to get off your bum and print them on another printer.

5) I do not think anyone there is actually there to make friends and my instinct to be friendly and honest is not a good trait in corporate america - I am going to have to calluos and protect.

6) There is an abundance of office supplies, but all the good stuff has already been taken. I bet the people that are late to meetings are never late to supply delivery day.

7) There are mulitiple "coffee" bars and "Fire Wardens" on each floor.

8) You have to pay for parking.

9) Everyone says "hi" and "good morning" to everyone in the elevator. Even though they do not know each other. (This may reference #2)

10) Meetings are not for catching up with everyone in the office, there is an actual agenda and it will probably run over schedule.

I have learned many things in just one week. I am so excited about all of the things I am learning about my actual job. These are just a few of my "culture shock" items I thought I would share. Does anyone have anything else they would add to this list or any stories?

I have a beautiful view of downtown and I can't wait for the snowfall to come! It will be gorgeous to see the view of the mountains, snow and Christmas lights! Yay!!

I will have an update on my Weight Watchers tomorrow. I am pretty excited to share my progress. I am also getting closer to my giveaway!

Status and Giveaway

2010-08-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

My new job is going great. It is something to get used to of course. The hours are much more rigid and of course AM (14) has started back to school so it has been a little high pressure around here. Just another adjustment. We are getting pretty good at those. Old pro's around here!

I am trying to get back into the blogging swing of things this week. To start off slowly I thought I would share a sweet giveaway with all of my wonderful bloggy friends - if you are all still hanging on! ;)

I know I introduced you all to my sister over at Ecletctic Prep, well she is having a giveaway and if you love to entertain you must head over! I am a huge socializer so I am keeping my fingers crossed or I will add it to my my Santa/ sister list. ;)

Okay she is giveing away two items. The first is a Kate Spade CD.

This cd has 8 tracks on it that were exclusively written for kate spade by the UK band, Beaumont. The music has a 60s cocktail vibe and would be perfect background music for a cocktail party or a small dinner party.

I would absolutley LOVE to have this CD. I love all things Britan and I love to have parties with a coktail vibe.

The second item is the new book on entertaing, Flair by Joe Nye, LA interior designer and party planner. This book has amazing photography capturing beautiful tablescapes. Some of the pictures show many elements of chinoiserie within his design and I simply love how he has put everything together. Gorgeous!!

Now head on over to her blog to find out more about this great giveaway and have a WONDERFUL week! I hope the last few weeks have been beautiful. Is anyone ready for fall?

A Long Week

2010-08-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

This week has been a very long week. Things do not look like they will slow down until September. Is it September yet? Wake me up when it is. ;)

So the news I discussed in my last post is.......I got a new job. Currently, well until Friday I work for a great Non-Profit. Unfortunately, I was also Non-Profiting. I really believe in our mission and I LOVE my job. I will continue to be on committees for the organization. I was not out job hunting, I had a friend call me about a position she thought I was a great match for I told her no, she submitted me and I interviewed, they called back 30 minutes later offering me the job at the money I wanted. I had set a dollar amount that I would leave for and it was not cheap. I really never expected it.

So here I am with my mixed emotions about the sadness of leaving my beloved/flexible position (with an office), bound for corporate, inflexible America (with a cubicle) but great money. This week has been a long week because I have been training my replacement and apparently I do A LOT of work around this place. I had no idea. Next week, there will be more training. So please excuse me if a am sparse the next few weeks. I haven't forgotten about anyone, I am just busy training and being trained (and learning to work grown up hours).

Onto other news, last night I finally got off my big rumpus and started my 13 week training program. Thanks to La, who is being a GREAT task master in my quest for hotness, I mean healthiness. (Yeah I know it isn't a word, work with me I am very emotional. ;)) Last night was my first run, well actual appearance at the gym, in a long time. I had to push through the final 12 minutes of my workout. How does everyone else do this? Because last night I just kept telling myself "you’re going to be hot".

This week has been a GREAT Weight Watchers week. I am actually very excited to get to my meeting on Saturday and get on that scale!

Watch out World, Adie is on a mission!

So, there are a lot of changes going on in my life. They are all good; I am just noticing as I get older it is harder for me to completely and immediately embrace change. It mostly scares the crap out of me, no matter what form it comes in.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-08-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

I am switching things up just a little this week. I have some exciting news that I will share with you tomorrow. Because of this news I am feeling like I am going to need a little more planning in my life. With that said I am trying out Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm An Organizing Junkie. I have actually been following her blog for a very long time. I am new at this and I have not decided how I will handle recipes. So for right now you will have to beg me for them! ;) Ha just kidding. If anything interests you please just send me a a note and I will either email it to you or post it.

I am giving each meal a day, but usually I plan seven items for the week and cook them on the days I am feeling like eating it.

Monday:
Gilled Chicken Salad

Tuesday:
Asian Grilled Steak and Side Salad

Wednesday:
Crockpot Porketta, Yellow potatoes and green beans

Thursday:
Spaghetti, Garlic bread and Side Salad

Friday:
Pizza (hubby has been asking for this)

I will be eating Santa Fe Rice and Beans

Saturday:
Chicken Rice Casserole

Sunday:
Grilled Shrimp Ceasar Salads

I know these are pretty boring meals, but I have some pretty stocked cabinets and freezers I am trying to thin out. I am also trying to stick with my Weight Watchers.

On that note I am proud to report that this week I have lost 1 pound! So that puts me to 49 pounds to go. I was hoping to loose 2 pounds a week, but I am allowing myself to be happy with this small victory. I know where I will cut back this week and I will add in more workouts as well.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a wonderful week!

Book Review: Firefly Lane

2010-08-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Firefly Lane opens to the thoughts of a woman struggling with the absence of a dear friendship. There is mention of a fight but not what the fight was about. The majority of the book builds on the importance of the friendships history and then finally towards the end reveals the fight that took place and caused the riff explained in the opening scene. The book ended sadly and not how I suspected. I had imagined a number of different reasons for the opening scene but not the actual reason.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. A few times during the read I felt the author was rewriting the same plots in different periods of the characters lives and dragging on others, which felt like a waste of my time. I would recommend this book to anyone that does not mind a good cry. I however prefer Hollywood endings.

This book is the third book out of the last four I have read that have ended sadly.

View all my reviews >>

Favorite Friday: FRIENDS Edition

2010-08-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday Everyone!! Man I have been tired this week. Has anyone else? Is it because summer is winding down and school is ramping up, or is it because there is just always so much to do and we don't know how to say no? Oh well I figure one day the kids will be gone and I will be well rested and I will sit around bored and complaining about that!

Jen over at A Girl With Pearls & A Boy With Toys is hosting Favorite Fridays: Friends Edition. I LOVED Friends, I still doI thought it was going to be tough picking just one of them to be my favorite but I actually knew right away.

I like Chandler for a number of reasons, I mostly like his quick wit and his ability to make a situation worse. When I get nervous I do similar things, you know where you are talking and thinking to yourself "just shut up!!".

And Some Quotes:

Chandler: You opened all the presents without me?! I thought we were supposed to do that together!

      Monica: You kissed another woman!
      Chandler: [beat] ...Call it even?!
      Monica: Okay!

****

Monica: Wow! You are really fast!

Chandler: It bodes well for me that speed impresses you.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday! Any big plan's?

Colorado Girls! Represent!

2010-08-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

My sister just posted this video on FB and I had to share it. So funny. Apparently it is a parody of a Kate Perry song. I am not going to lie - Chipotle is AWESOME!! I used to work next door to Chipotle at a copy place, they traded us copies and faxes for free food. I hated Chipotle at that time so I never went next door to get my free Chipotle. Now I love it and it makes me oh so sad to fork over my cash for what could have been.....;)

Not loving the singing voice - but I cannot get the tune out of my head.

I just want to point out to everyone, my spelling may be atrocious here on my blog, but I am a Colorado Girl and I know how to spell it!

Colorado Girl - Who's going to join me? You know who I am talking too. *wink*

P.S. I am 14 Posts away from my 200th Post and I am going to have a giveaway! So pray for rain...well posts, because it is going to be a good one! ;)

Checking In - Weight Watchers

2010-08-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, Saturday I officially started Weight Watchers. I of course had so many excuses not to do the program, the biggest reason being the added expense every month. However, recently I have noticed any time I am feeling sad or mad or anything other than happiness it all stems from my weight issues. Say I over ate or ate something ridiculously gross and fattening or I had somewhere to go and wanted to wear something cute, only to realize I didn't fit into anything. All of these feelings of rejection and disappointment lead me to be angry with myself and disappointed in myself, these feelings ruined my mood towards everything. How sad is it that something so fixable has so much control over whether I am going to have a good day or not?

I am very excited about my new Weight Watchers journey. I went to my first meeting Wednesday night. At this meeting I realized what a shameful thing weight and self image is for a number of people - men and women. I hear many women talk about how guys do not have to worry about their weight like we do, but I am learning this is just simply not true. Men and woman worry about their weight and image equally, the difference is in how and who they tell about their concerns.

At Wednesday’s meeting we discussed snacking. I noticed that it was difficult for everyone to name a low point healthy snack but when we were asked about a comfort snack, the flood gates opened. It was a never ending list. Then came the confession, from one small woman, "Today I ate 6 - 8 Oreos....in the closet". Now as shocking as this statement may sound to some, this is not that uncommon. I have a friend that used to hide and snack in her walk in pantry. This to me represents all of the shame that can come along with not being happy with your body and feeling so out of control. (I will tell you I personally like to sprawl out on my bed and watch trash TV when I am going to indulge.)

A great example of shameful eating or binging I saw on an episode of Ruby. Have you seen the show?

The show is on style, I believe it is now in its fourth season. Ruby started at over 700 pounds. I have not watched this season but last season she was in the low 300's. Pretty amazing! Anyhow, one episode her friend describes a binge she went on, she sat in house eating nearly everything for an extended amount of time. The only way she could get herself to stop was to strip down naked and paint her finger nails, so she could not drive anywhere or open anymore packages. I know this is very extreme but this image has haunted me on those days when I just do not feel in control. It makes me wonder, how do you get that bad? If I don't get control now is that where I am headed?

I don't believe I am headed in that extreme; I have pretty much had the same cycle/habits for 10 years now. My point is that the cycle I am in is causing me unhappiness and I am determined to regain that control.

I went to a meeting Saturday to officially sign up for Weight Watchers. The group Saturday was very different from Wednesday’s group. There were a number of men there, generally an older slightly larger crowd. I thought it was great to see men there and the men contributed to the conversations! Once hubby is back from Florida I will continue the Wednesday meetings because I felt I fit in with that group a little better.

Please do not worry; my whole blog will not be consumed by WW. I am not comfortable sharing my starting weight but I will share with you the number of pounds I need to loose - 50. I will post weekly updates of my progress and share meals with you. If you have any questions please feel free to ask them. I am a pretty open person.

I would like to make one final statement on this topic. This decision and journey, for me, is not simply to loose weight. My eating habits ar not only physically unhealthy but I feel they have become mentally and spiritually unhealthy. It is time for me to take control!

Hope everyone is have a great week so far!!

Miscellany Mondays

2010-08-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry about my lack of posts last week. I have had a lot on my mind, so much that it was hard to separate out, what was what. I will do better this week, I promise, please don't break up with me. ;)

Here are a few of the things on my mind.

{1}

here

I took the plunge this weekend and signed up for meetings, will post more about this later. How many of you are doing or have done Weight Watchers?

{2}

here

My oldest flew all the way out to DC by herself to visit my dad (Haus) and stepmom (BG). BG took AM to New York City! What a great summer AM has had! California, DC and New York!

{3}

here

Sisterly Love. I have been really experiencing this a great deal recently between all three of my daughters, it is very exciting to me. To be a part of and witness these bonds and moments is truly a blessing to me. It really touches my heart and makes me excited for the future.

{4}

here

Hubby is once again in Cocoa Beach, FL. This week for the girls and I will be much better than the last one - because I said so.

{5}

here

I want to be doing more of this. My plan is to do a little photo shoot of the girls before summer is over.

These are just a few things on my mind right now. I am going to try and filter more of my thoughts through my blog. Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Top 2 Tuesday

2010-07-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Top 2 Favorite perfumes/colognes/scents

I love to talk about scents. Certain scents have the ability to take me back to certain moments in my life. I will share 1 of the scents that always transports me and than my top perfume pick.

1} Bed Head, Self Absorbed

The smell of this shampoo reminds me of my first trip across the pond. Just thinking of it makes me happy. It was when hubby and I were dating and he was over there for work. We were not at a point in our relationship that I expected to be invited to visit him while he was there, so it made me so happy that he asked. We had a great time and we also fell in love with Snow Patrol on this trip.

2} Eternity, Love

There are two perfumes I bought on this same trip. I would say this perfume is my long term favorite. Also it was my first experience shopping on an airplane. This was amazing news to me - SHOP - on a plane? Amazing - I will take one of everything. ;) Ha I only bought this.

What scents bring you happy memories?

Thank you Taylor for hosting!

It Was All I Could Do Not To Scream

2010-07-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

I wrote this post a few days ago. I will start by saying, I am SOOO glad hubby is home from Florida.

These two cuties missed their daddy and they let me know it. Usually when the hubby is out of town I plan a few activities outside of the house to take their mind off of daddy not being home. I did the same thing this week. Let me tell you about our outings.

{Night 1}

Went very smoothly. Hubby left early this morning. The girls and I went to church. A pretty typical Sunday. In the evening an old friend came over. She and I rarely see one another so this was a real treat. We sat out on the porch catching up while the girls showed off for her. Most of the time I think it is adorable when the kids have a new audience. It was also strange that LD (4) even went near my friend. LD does not like strangers. But boy she showed off this night!

{Night 2}

The moment I walked into the babysitters I could tell AL (1) was not going to be nice. She was already screeching at me and running around like a maniac and climbing all over her sister making her sister scream. LD (4) had an accident at nap time and our sitter was washing her blanket, so we had to wait for the washer to finish. Longest 15 minutes of my life!!

With AL still being a maniac once we got home I decided to take the girls to the pool. We have not been in a little while and AL (1) has not been sleeping well so I thought this plan would work two-fold. I have to say by the time I got the girls and myself dressed and packed for the gym, I was ready to be back home. I was exhausted.

We get to the pool and there were no family rooms available, so we undress in the hall of lockers - a very public walkway to the pool. Not that big of a deal because we all had our suits on. However once it was my turn AL did not want to stay still and kept running off. Let me tell you how much I love running around in my swimsuit.

Finally to the pool, not 1 minute in and LD has to go potty. I have to get both kids out of the water and walk soaking wet to the bathrooms. We get back in the pool and LD is clinging to me like a cat in water. This is difficult to handle when you are trying to help a 1 year old swim. They both had vests on but LD is not a trusting/relaxed kid. She finally lets go a little and I realize she is hanging onto one of the strings of AL's lifejacket. Sound safe? We finally get comfortable in the pool and the life gaurds make everyone get out. Now comes the funnest part - getting everyone dressed.

{Night 3}

I decided to take the girls to the mall. I did not bring the stroller in because I thought AL could run around the mall and tire herself out. Bad idea once we were getting food. She was throwing the biggest fit while I was holding her, I did not think we would make it to the table with our food. Once we begin eating I realize AL is not going to eat anything because she starts pounding all of her food with her hands. Her only interest was her juice box. She was doing fine with her juice box until she started to get restless and decided to squeeze the box. The straw circled around like an ocsilating sprinkler. So I cleaned up and moved to the next task. The playground.

We get to the escalator and all of a sudden LD starts screaming like I am stealing her. People are staring at this point and I am at the end of my rope. She does not want to go down the escalator she is suddenly scared. I try to reason with her that this is the only way to the playground. She is having non of it. She is screaming so loud I begin to just walk off towards the car. Of course this really makes her scream. To top the situation off a man comes over and just decides to watch - NO JOKE! So of course I am extra embarrassed and I start rambeling about the situation and he says, "well I woul dhelp if I could." How about just going away? I am sure he thought I was beating LD by the way she was screaming.

So let's skip to the end of my story because this goes on for awhile. Know how do I get down the escalator? By carrying the 1 year old and the 4 year old. Did I mention the 4 year old is scared and I am wearing a skirt with a very loose elastic waist band? So LD is wrapped around me - arms and legs - and her shoes are pulling down my skirt - on a glass elevator. Oh and because of all of the wresteling I had been doing with AL my tank top was completly stretched out and hanging very low. Yes ladies - I was looking pretty awesome at that moment. Hubby is lucky some guy didn't just snatch me right up.

Now that I have written this out part of me feels much better, the other part of me wants to sit in the corner and rock back and forth.

Truly when I have experiences like these as a mom it is very upsetting and here is why; I am embarrased and I feel like I am not in control. When the moment is over I can reason with myself. I know almost everyone has these moments, and as badly as I wanted to just start screaming and yelling, I was able to control myself. We did make it out of the mall alive, which felt nothing short of a miracle.

Hubby is home and things are getting back to normal. Unfortunatley he leaves again Sunday, for 2 days longer this time. Wish me luck!

Misc. Monday

2010-07-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

{first}

I accomplished nothing this weekend. Somehow, when I get nothing done it reflects how I feel about my weekend as a whole. Frankly I do not feel good about the weekend.

{second}
This morning I gave both little girls a bath before work. I went downstairs to get clothes for both girls. Upon my return this baby was squatting in the hall reading a book and I noticed something underneath of her. She had pooped. I guess reading works on and off the potty. So my first prayer of the day today was to thank God that her poopy was firm today.

{third}

We went to the Renaissance Festival this weekend and I got sunburned, again.

{fourth}
The weather in Colorado has been very fall like. Saturday it was 67 degrees. Burr! I have been thinking about warm sweaters. Like chunky cable knits. I have never wanted a big sweater before, but here I am.

{fifth}
The teenager goes back to school in less than a month. To high school that is! Eek!

{sixth}
Before I was pregnant with LD (4) I hated chocolate. When I was pregnant, I could not have enough. This weekend while at the festival we got cheesecakes on a stick. I did not realize they were dipped in chocolate. I hated the chocolate. Hubby and I realized, I don't like fudgy chocolate.

{seventh}
Carissa, I am so sorry I spelled your name wrong last week!

{eighth}
La has requested I change the nicknames for my girls, on the blog. I am working on some ideas. There pictures are above, so any ideas are appreciated!

{ninth}
Going to be a long week! Let's get it started!!

{tenth}
Bloggers verification is broken again. I think the fix worked 1 stinkin day!!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Love From Florida

2010-07-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

My Hubby knows I LOVE the beach. Seriously. I feel so at peace when I am sitting on the shore. It is a serinity I can not describe nor can I duplicate. Knowing this, here is a little photo shoot sent with Love from Florida. Wish I could have been there! These pictures he sent make me happy too!

(wish I would have sent the real camera with him - would have framed these!)

Where is your place of serenity or how do you fully recharge?

Chomp!

2010-07-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

I noticed this morning when I brush this babies teeth, it is like a tactical mission. I only have a very short moment to get the toothbrush in her mouth and get a few teeth cleaned before she realizes there is toothpaste on the brush. Once she realizes there is toothpaste it is all over. She chomps down on the toothbrush with her alligator jaws, making it impossible to even wiggle the toothbrush. I have to wait until she is satisfied that she has sucked all of the toothpaste off the brush and than she will release her jaw and let me finish brushing her 7 teeth. A lot of work to ensure the sustainability of 7 teeth! HA!

This baby is a TURKEY!!

Funny How Things Work

2010-07-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

I find it interesting that I posted a blogger issue on my Miscellany Mondays, that has been going on FOREVER, and tonight it is magically fixed!

Dear Google: Please contact me and I will let you know where to send my check! ;) I also have several other items on my "bugs" list.

Miscellany Monday

2010-07-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Okay every other Monday I have felt serene and ready for the week. This Monday you ask? Not so much. I could have just stayed home!

{first}

I am totally loving being a matchmaker for my little brother!

{second}

Hubby is in Florida, and I already miss him. LD misses him more.

{third}

I was a terrible blogger last week and I am going to work at getting back to business this week.

{fourth}

I have been many things in my life, to include a software tester for web based applications and other types of software. Google/Blogger is about to get a list of bugs from me. Like why does the word verification not show when you initially land on the page? You have to press submit to essentially refresh and than it gives you the verification - SO ANNOYING!!!! I have others but this is currently the biggest thorn. So Google - if you would like to hire me as a contract tester, let me know. Will send references. ;)

{fifth}

To add to my many things list I am currently editing my friend/ex-boss' book. I am pretty excited to add this to my resume! I am also pretty nervous about the experience.

{sixth}

My husband did an ugly amount of laundry on Saturday in an impressive amount of time! Yay hubby!! I usually get 1 load going with big ambitions and completley forget I even started laundry until a few days later.

{seventh}

Something in my personal life I am going to try to be very aware of this week (and going forward) is being more aware of portion sizes, gossiping and spending......gonna be a busy week. ;)

{eigth}
Have you ever noticed that milk that sat out and got warm taste different from milk that was warmed?

I hope everyone has a splendid week! Thank you Clarissa for being a wonderful host, once again!

My Brother

2010-07-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

I don't speak much about my family outside of my house. However - I have a big one! Three sisters and a brother and the list of family goes on and on! I don't speak too much about them because this is my blog and I choose to share about my life and I respect that they may not want the same for themselves. However!!!!! Over at Kelly's Korner she is having "Show Me Your Life: Single Guy's". I happen to think I am related to the BEST single guy ever. How he remains single is a mystery to me!

I have so much love and respect for this man that he is the God-Father of my two youngest daughters AL and LD He was so happy and proud of this honor, it truly made me and hubby thrilled and pleased with our decision!

All of the nieces and nephews LOVE their uncle! And he loves them!

My brother's name is Justin, he lives in Southern Colorado and he is 26. My brother is a very patient caring man; he listens quietly and cares deeply. When he has an opinion and has thought about what he would like to say, he will speak it, but not before that moment. Justin is also a hard worker; he has been focused on a particular goal that looks like it is coming to fruition come January! My brother complains about very little, in fact I can hardly pin point any particular thing he has ever complained about. You will rarely see him without a smile. He is easy going and a lot of fun to be around, he loves to be goofy and have a good time, once you get to know him. Justin is very athletic, he is a downhill mountain biker, retired semi-pro, also loves dirt bikes and 4 wheeling along with just about anything else that gets him out in the beautiful Colorado outdoors.

When I asked my 14 year old how she would describe her uncle she said he was "genuine" and "big hearted". These truly are at the base of all things Justin.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me!

What's a Busy Mom To Do?

2010-07-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

This morning AL desperately needed a bath. I chose her outfit and realized that this may be the last time she would be able to wear this outfit. This paticular sunsuits was one of my favorite so I wanted to do a mini photo shoot. The outfit was a bit wrinkled for a photo shoot and the iron was two-stories down. So what's a busy mom to do?

While AL did this:

Mommy used this:

To iron this:

Yes that is right, I do this all of the time for minor or baby wrinkle jobs. I use my strightner as an iron. It straightens my hair why not my shirt, or my collar or a baby sunsuit?

What household items do you use for other purposes other than their intended purpose?

Miscellany Monday

2010-07-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful Monday!

{first}

I was so disoriented when I woke up this morning, I could not decide what today was. Did I need to get up and get ready or could I lie in bed until the kids dragged me out?

{second}

This summer has been amazing. Although we got to go to Mexico last summer, this summer has been much better!

{third}

Hubby is going to Florida twice for work. The kids and I get to stay home - boo!!

{fourth}

I had a PartyLite party this weekend and so I got my house clean! I swear the only way for my house to get clean is by committing to a party like this.

{fifth}

I am a horrible speller and "beginning" and "beginner" are thorns in my sides.

{sixth}

Sugar Plum Jam spread over cream cheese makes an absolutely fabulous party snack item!

{seventh}

All week and weekend I think of funny things or see funny things that I think will be perfect for Miscellany Mondays, and I totally forget by Monday. Anyone else experience this?

{eigth}
My sister came up with my blog title and now she is blogging! Check her out over at Eclectic Prep. She has a magnificant eye for interior design pieces and antiques!

Well I had a fantastic weekend and I plan to have a fantastic week. Hope you all do the same!!

I Discovered the Solution

2010-07-09T13:12:00.001-07:00

I am a very social person. I LOVE to go out and socialize and meet new people. Since we have had kids most of that has stopped. There is just never anytime. Even when there is time there are two other factors 1) my hubby and I usually want to spend the time together, alone 2) the cost of a babysitter, plus a movie, plus dinner, it just get's out of control!

So what is someone like me to do? I feel guilty leaving hubby at home so I can go do things, but I really feel that need to be out doing something and having friends. As a 30-something mother I find my friends are either married with kids and careers or married and no kids and still going out. The first group is just as busy as we are and also have trouble getting out. The second group have a group of friends and are usually going out-out. We have tried to get together with some friends and just do game night, but it just never seems to happen.

As you can probably tell I have put a lot of thought into this situation. Well folks I have come up with a solution - Lunches!! Today I met one of my faves for lunch. We never see eachother and it is just a relintless guilt trip that I am too busy for her. ;) Really we are just too busy for each other. It was so good to catch up and to hear her vacation story. As well as catching up on our favorite topic, The Housewives. So fun.

This my friends is my solution. I will be planning more lunch dates. The beauty of it? Daycare is already paid for and lunch menus are cheaper!

What things in your life have changed since you got married or had kids? And how have you adapted?

Very Fancy

2010-07-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

I can not stop laughing. I see and hear of so many people getting great finds on Craigslist that I want to get the same great finds. Now I have to admit that I have this very strange affliction to the smell of used items. I have tried to go to Good Will or other salvage type shops and because of the smell I can not stay in long enough to look around. Unfortunate, again, because I see and hear of people getting such great finds. So I am occasionally inspired to look through Craigslist.

Some of my inspirations have included chairs like these for our sitting room.

From here and here

However everytime I look I find nothing or I find something too funny not to share. First image is of a table that the lister is asking $200 for, um it may be oak but it's day has passed and the chairs did not match the table, not to mention the "staging" done in the second picture does not detour from the damage. Now I will not pretend to know anything about furniture, because I don't, but I certainly think the asking price is high. Although in a picture not shown, they do zoom in on the claw foot legs of the table. Which I also found funny.

This second table I like as a little bistro set, and I do think it is nice, but here is the description.

A beautiful dining room table with clear top and four matching chairs. Very nice fancy set for only 200.00 OBO
Please notice the "fancy". This had me cracking up. Anytime you feel the need to describe something as "fancy" you can pretty much bet nobody will be buying. Well maybe somebody, but not me.

I am like this with several words. Certain adjectives, just give me that feeling that if you felt the need to tell me you are leading me to something that is not there. Does anyone else have these words? Words that just instantly make you laugh or turn you off of something?

So another hour or so wasted searching Craigslist with no luck. I will have to be a little more presistent I think, but I sure could use some chairs that I can refinish. My sitting room really needs something! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

How Do You Know When Baby is Done?

2010-07-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

She excuses herself.

AL has been doing this for months. When she is all done with dinner she just slips through the bottom. She is getting a little big to do it and keeps getting stuck lately, to which she screams. This baby has no fear!

I have no idea what is on her dress, you can only see it in the picture.

We have been spending a lot of time at the mall play area lately. She can climb on all of the toys, up the stairs, down the slide all by herself. It is quite impressive. One mother actually climbed up on the play mountain to get her down. I had to let her know I was watching her and she was okay. She also enjoys the pool. Unfortunatley we live in Colorado and have very few outdoor pools, so we are stuck inside at the YMCA.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Miscellany Monday

2010-07-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here we are again, another Monday. This Monday has been pretty awesome and now topped off with one of my favorite things, Miscellany, thanks to Carissa!

{first}

NO doctors trips for this family this week. Thank goodness considering I don't think any where open.

{second}

AM, 14 year old is in SoCal for the next two week, so far she has been to Knotts Berry Farms, parasailing and zip lining. I have not done either of the last two. How fun would it be to do both of those things?

{third}

Tonight I am going to sit down and set some serious goals for my week. The weeks keep slipping away from me and I have so much to do - ALWAYS!

{fourth}

Still working on this mental block I have with working out. I just am not getting to the gym like I used to - and I can tell. Blech.

{fifth}

LD, 4 year old, informed us she is not a baby she is a grown up. I am not sure what to say to that. She is always talking about when she is my age she is going to do things I do. Yikes, slow it down, please!

{sixth}

This summer has been pretty great, and this weekend was awesome!! We got a few things down around the house and also squeezed in lots of vegging time to watch a whole season of Bones, I really like that show.

{seventh}

I bought the book, The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks back in October at an airport and I just finished the book today. I believe in between the time I bought the book and the time I finished it I have read at least ten other books. I just could not get into it. When I did get into it, the book had a less than desirable ending. I am all for the Hollywood endings in most cases, this was one of them.

{eigth}

Two things you should know about me; my two greatest senses are my sense of smell and my sense of touch. La can vouch for the touch one, as can anyone whom has shopped with me.

{ninth}

LD said her first competitive prayer this weekend, "please God let me win, i really need to win". Hearing this I thought maybe she was in the NBA finals, but she was just playing Dora on the computer.

Well here is to a fabulous week! Let's get it started, so we can get it finished! What goals have you set this week?

What Would You Do.....For a Compliment?

2010-07-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

I went to the dentist yesterday. I have to tell you I absolutely LOVE my hygienist. It is more of a social appointment, we have so much fun. When I walked in she says wow have you lost weight you look skinny. I'm not going to lie, I know she tells it like it is so if she had not really thought I looked like I had lost she just would not have said anything. However my first instinct was, "yeah right lady". Why do we do this to ourselves?

My hygienist, T, then proceeded to tell me a story; T was at a store and she had accidently cut off another lady. The lady began to swear and yell at her. The angry lady began with "You skinny "B"....". T said she has no idea what the lady said after that because all that she could think was "what a sweet lady, she just called me skinny." Even in that context she was feeling pretty good being called skinny.

I am telling you I would have done the same thing! Seriously it got me thinking about the last time I had been told I looked skinny, and I can't even remember. So are we really so desperate for that compliment that we will take the abuse, like from the angry lady, and be pleased all day? I was pretty happy about being called skinny, just that one statement made my whole day. Imagine if we talked to ourselves like that? How would our days be then? I am going to try it out, again, being kinder to myself.

So today, tell yourself something nice, because guess what - Your Hot and somebody should tell you more often. Don't wait around for the compliment give them to yourself, change that inner voice. Here is one way I plan on doing this; when I start to hear my inner voice saying, "ugh my hair is flat" or "ugh I jiggle", I am going to try and be more aware and switch it up, find something I do like about myself and say that instead. Happiness begins within, right?

It's The Dad Life

2010-07-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

First I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you that participated in the Blogging Moment of Silence For Cohen!! All 678 of you I should say, what an amazing turnout!

I thought I would share this video with you all, everytime I watch it I fall out laughing. it is so dang funny - and oddly accurate!! Even my 14 year old thought it was awesome. I am sure those are not her terms but when you grow up in the 80's/90's in California, Awesome is a way of life...and a way to describe most things.

I had a hard time getting the image to fit the screen so if you have issues go here. Trust me you will not regret the extra step!!

COHEN

2010-06-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Reminder Blogging Moment of Silence for Cohen

2010-06-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

This was created by Megan's talented friend Allison from Sylvia Rose Designs.

Please do not forget the Blogging Moment of Silence for Cohen. Beginning tonight at midnight. Thank you all for spreading the word and participating. Don't forget to go and link up at Send Love To Cohen. The Linky will open tonight at 12:00 am (midnight).

Here is the information and banner again for those who have not seen it.

What: Moment of Silence for Cohen

When: Thursday July 1st from midnight to 11:59 pm.

How: Bloggers participating will post the Cohen banner (below) or simply post Cohen’s name in large letters on their blog.

Why: July 1st Megan and Brent will be holding Cohen’s memorial service. The moment of silence is an opportunity for Megan’s blog community to stand behind her and support her on this difficult day. Linking up will give Megan a chance to see the support at a glance.

Banner:

Top 2 Tuesday

2010-06-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

Top 2 Things (not people) you would take to a deserted island.

This was a tough one for me, but I loved thinking of being on a deserted island. Although you can tell I am a mom because my first thought was sunscreen. Hey don't judge, I burn! So we are going to pretend this is a beautiful deserted island with lots of sun that does not burn. ;)

A Good Book:

and

A Journal

So what would you bring? Thanks to the Undomestic Momma for hosting!

A Moment of Silence for Cohen

2010-06-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

I am sure many of you have been following Cohen's story over at Megan's blog, In This Wonderful Life or at Jess' blog, Send Love to Cohen. After I heard the news I, like many of you, attempted to write something to Megan to let her know I was still praying for her and many other things. My heart was breaking for this family. Unfortunatley in these types of situations my mouth can not usually translate what my heart is feeling.

On Thursday July 1st the family will be holding Cohen's memorial. With the blessing of Jess, the sponsor of Send Love to Cohen, I am asking any blogger that has followed this story and prayed for Megan, Cohen and their family to join in a Blogging Moment of Silence for Cohen.

How it will work, you can grab the banner I have made with Cohen's name on it or put just his name on your blog in big letter's. Remember it is a moment of silence, so simple is better. The moment of silence will be from Midnight to 11:59 pm, July 1st. Please respect Cohen's memorial day by devoting your days post to Cohen's Moment of Silence. After you have posted please go to Send Love To Cohen and link up! Linking up will give Megan the opportunity to see how many bloggers were thinking of her on July 1st.

Please help get the word out!

Thank you to everyone in advance for participating!

I would also like to remind everyone that there is a fundraiser going on for Baby Cohen Marshall Special Needs Trust at Send Love to Cohen. You can donate through a purchase of Stella & Dot merchandise or through the Paypal button on the website.

Giveaway and Sticky Floor Update

2010-06-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

Jess over at In the Sky With Diamonds is having a fabulous giveaway! A $60 giftcard to CSN Stores to be exact!

If I win, these are a few items I have my eyes on.

We have been looking for new rugs forever and I LOVE theis style. We have two areas that need rugs and this design would be perfect!

I am currently tortured with a stationary faucet and a too shallow sink. So this would fix half of the problem. They also had tons of sinks, I just could not decide. I am pretty set on a white farmhouse sink.

Onto other news - an update on the sticky floor situation. As I have mentioned, before I ventured into the non-profit world I had my own cleaning business for a number of years. So I really set out to figure out the sticky floor situation. Know what I discovered? 1) I am not cleaning them often enough 2) the stickiness is from all of the extra fruit consumption in the house.

The culprits are pictured below.

The cute baldy flings fruit - not poo, like most monkeies and the other cute girl likes to wander while she eats. The way I was able to solve this was with my handy Bissel Steam Mop for my tile and my Orange Glo Mop for my hardwoods. Now, I only use the Orange GLo Mop damp with water day-to-day. If I am going to do a good thorough cleaning than I use the solution. This system helps keep your floors looking fresh and shiney. I have used other woodfloor cleaning products I prefer Orange Glo, in the spray bottle. Just a note I am not paid by either company with money or product to say these things. I have experience to back this up. I like to find the best way to clean with the least amount of work. I also obviously can't stand for anything to be sticky or gross - so it HAS to work!

Happy cleaning and get over to see Jess and enter!

Happy Summer Indeed!

2010-06-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

Remember me talking about the Flip Flop Swap I was doing? Well my goodies arrived this week.

I had a great partner, Jessica from Domesticated Bliss. She is from Florida but loves the mountains. And here I am land locked in mountaious Colorado dreaming about the sea. Pretty great match, don't ya think?

I will say Jessica sure knows here flip flops, I love the one's she sent. She went above and beyond and sent me a Liberty of London Wrap and some polish to make my feet look good, well better in flip flops.

So thank you to Jessica my Flip Flop Swap partner!

And a big thank you to Jess from All-American Jess for hosting!

Back In the Saddle

2010-06-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

Last night I did not get home from work until almost 9PM.

I grabbed one of these;

from here

And than headed to bed.

Major diet F.A.I.L.

Surely these honey's have no calories after 9PM. Am I right?

Oh well, I promised myself at the beginning of this that I would let little slips like this go and just keep focusing on the big picture - not the little mistakes. So I am back in the saddle again.

Happy Thursday - I am so done with this week!

Miscellany Monday

2010-06-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am really starting to look forward to Mondays, because I get to be so random!

{first}

I am doing the same things I did last Monday, taking AL to the doctor. Poor baby had a fever of over 101 last night and just does not seem to be getting better. If you can not tell, I am not afraid to use my insurance.

{second}

I may need to start a seperate weekly post for the idiot ways I injure myself. (which leads me to third and fourth.)

{third}

Do not think you can run bases in sandals and a skirt in front of 5th and 6th graders and leave with your dignity. That is all I am going to say other than, it was funny until I woke up this morning.

{fourth}

Be careful licking long envelopes - you may cut the crease of your mouth. I am just saying it is a possibility.

{fifth}

I really need to get a hold of this working full time/ three kids things.

{sixth}

I am not sure what has changed but my floors are constantly sticky. Even after I just clean them. I can't stand to be barefoot in my house anymore. Am I just loosing my mind? Is it because it is hot? Is it because I have a traveling/throwing eater/drinker? Is it because the floor is old? Is it because I cleaned them with amonia ONCE? This is how much I think about it, and how much it grosses me out.

{seventh}

Today marks the first day of me getting back into the weightloss swing of things. After my very long hiatus. I feel like I have no idea what I am doing.

{eight}

I still have 1 more Vegas recap coming.

Thanks Carrisa for hosting!

Father's Day Interview, 2010

2010-06-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

I took this idea and the questions from Naomi over at The Happy Sanitarium. Thanks Naomi!

Just a note, LD is 4 and AL is 1 and has just learned to say "mine" and LOVES it!

What is something Daddy always says to you?

LD: "Happy Birthday” & “I love you!"

AL: "Mine"

What makes Daddy happy?

LD: Light & Glasses & a Hat & a Cap

AL: Mine

What makes Daddy laugh?

LD: Cookies and a puppet show and silly faces

AL: Mine

How does Daddy make you laugh?

LD: With a puppet show and a silly face and a silly laugh

AL: Mine

What did Daddy like to do when he was a kid?

LD: Have Pepper (Dr.Pepper) and ice cream and medicine and headphones (she was just looking around the room at things to answer) oh and a suitcase.

AL: Mine

How old is Daddy?

LD: This much? (holds up 5 fingers, than 10 fingers than 7 fingers)

AL: Mine

How tall is Daddy?

LD: I don’t know this much (holding her arms apart) is that huge?

AL: Mine

What does Dad do when you're not around?

LD: Hide and seek

AL: Mine

If Daddy became famous, what would he be famous for?

LD: Airplane

AL: Mine

What is Daddy REALLY GOOD at?

LD: Old McDonald has a Farm and hide-n-seek

AL: Mine

What is Daddy not very good at?

LD: Hide-n-seek

AL: Mine

What does Daddy do for his job?

LD: Do the dishes.

AL: Mine

What is Daddy's favorite food?

LD: Mac n Cheese and soup

AL: Mine

What makes you proud of your Daddy?

LD: Hugs and kisses, I love you’s and good night’s

AL: Mine

What makes you happy he's your daddy?

LD: We play together outside

AL: Mine

If Daddy were an animal, what kind of animal would he be?

LD: An elephant

AL: Mine

What do you and Dad do together?

LD: Watch TV and have fun

AL: Mine

How are you and Dad the same?

LD: Same eyes

AL: Mine

How are you and Dad different?

LD: I am this tall and daddy is this tall (again with the arms)

AL: Mine

How do you know Daddy loves you?

LD: He says I love you and Good Night

AL: Mine

Where's Daddy's favorite place to go?

LD: To the mall with me and to Grammy and Papa’s

AL: Mine

What does Daddy like most about Momma?

LD: She gets me a band-aid when I hurt myself

AL: Mine

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband and an amazing father!! We love you!

Wake Me Up...Our Vegas Recap

2010-06-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

As I may have mentioned we went to Vegas because of hubbies job. The conferences had bashes every night. The first night was just a general party with lots of fun things to do. We got to make buttons with our pictures on them, take pictures with giant talking walking robots, experience an oxygen bar, spray on tatoos, eat and drink for free and make this great video. I can already feel myself blushing but it is too fun not to share!

After we left the party more fun insued, to include some fist pumpin!

Texas Recap

2010-06-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

I know I already covered some things about our trip to Texas in this post. I wanted to share a little about a blogger meet up and some other pictures from our trip.

Friday, I met up with La and her super cute baby Gooner! This was my first meetup and I was not sure what to expect. The anticipation felt like a blind date. However our meeting was anything but awkard! It was like two old high school friends meeting up, it was a great experience! So on Friday we went to the pool and on Sunday we met up again and went to the mall. We did so much talking we forgot to put in quality blog photo taking time. Here is a picture from our meet up on Friday.

Friday night we went with hubby's family to the Bavarian Grill, a German restaurant. The picture below was our salad that came before the meal. I had never eaten German food except at Epcot so I was very surprised to see this salad. It was very good, I really enjoyed it. The rest of the meal was great too, but AL began getting fussy so I was not very interested in taking more pictures! That and my mother-in-law is so great about pictures that I tend to become dependent on her to get all of the pictures. I forgot to get a copy of all pictures before we left Texas.

On Saturday we set out to go to The Wiggles Play Place. LD was SO excited; when we got there it was closed down. It is affiliated with the Wiggles - officially and not a word of it being closed anywhere on their website. You can imagine how a 4 year old girl reacted to this news. So it was off to the mall for pony rides and jewelry. The girls rode the carousel with daddy, played at the play area and Grammy helped pass on her love of jewelry to LD, with a little Hello Kitty necklace, rings and hair clips. She looked adorable, again no pics, sorry. I had only a few pictures left on my camera.

AL can climb all the way to the top of that slide. She has sticky spider toes! She loves to climb and slide and needs no help.

Saturday night we met up with hubby’s best friend and had dinner. When we were leaving the house LD asked where we were going, I said to see daddy’s friend. She asked what kind of friend, well since his friend takes so long to get ready I said a girlfriend. haha Than we realized that hubby and his friend had met when they were LD's age. Well hubby was 5 and his friend was 4. Isn't that so cool?

My in-laws are the nicest people ever. They are so welcoming and LD cannot get enough of them. All though it was a semi-quick trip we did a lot and had a great time.

My next post will cover Vegas, make sure you come back, I have a hilarious video!

Miscellany Monday

2010-06-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

I know I promised you Texas and Vegas, and I assure you they will come.

This will be short and sweet, but I thought as random as I am this is a great way to do one post about the jumble of little things on my mind.

{first}

I threw my back out this morning brushing my teeth. No joke. Nothing says welcome home from vacation and you are old quite like having to admit this, or experience it. Recommendation - DO NOT brush your teeth with your towel still on your head.

{second}

I always cringe when I see someone write 'LOL" and make comments about it. However I use a lot of these '!'. So I may need to curb my '!" use.

{third}

AL (baby) is sick, she has goopy eyes and has had a cough for a week. I am taking her to her doctors after hours clinic tonight. Poor baby, yet net sick enough to snuggle - dang it! ;) This is why I am not blogging about my trip today I will be running kids to and from appointments until late.

{fourth}

Cats sleep 16 to 18 hours per day. I wish I was a cat. ;) Except I would be allergic to myself.

{fifth}

Came home from the wonderful warmth of Texas and Vegas to 40 degree weather in Colorado. Are you kidding me? I swear I am freezing. The night after we got back I got out of bed and hubby said, "when did you get dressed?", me: "I didn't this is what I slept in." I slept in my velour pants, a tank top and a cotton long cardigan. I was freezing!!

{sixth}

I really want to join in on the list of 101 things in 1001 days. I have of things I need to accomplish but when I set out to make my list 2 things happened. 1. I couldn't remember what they were (typical). 2. My list just didn't seem very good. Everytime I thought of something I would think "will I really be able to committ to that in 1001 days?". And than start doing the math. I am pretty sure this whole scenario is me missing the point. So I will try it again and put my lame things like painting the garage door on there. it's my list who cares if it stinks?

Hope everyone had a great Monday and that everyone is super safe while brushing their teeth!

Getting To Know You!

2010-06-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

We got back last night from Vegas, whoa what trip! I think it was our best trip yet. I will be doing recaps of both our Texas and Vegas trips this week.

I have been reading these 'Getting To Know You' posts and I really like the questions. I thought it would be a nice way to start my week off.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, back to the grind tomorrow. Boo!

1. If you could have one of Superman's, powers which one would you want? Superhuman strength..Flight..Superhuman speed..X-Ray vision..etc

Flight, I am already super fast so I don't need more speed, haha. If I had x-ray vision my head would explode because I would be able to see all the dirty rooms in my house, all at once - No Thank You!!

2. The best thing I ever won is....?

My husbands heart. I know it sounds cheesy but I have a great family and feel like I won the lotto.

3. Have you ever skyped with a bloggy friend?

I have never skyped, ever.

4. What is your favorite Summer month?

I like them all. In case I have failed to mention this I.LOVE.SUMMER!!

5. Pool, Lake, or Ocean?

Ocean, but I will take any hot weather and body of water, anyday.

6. One of my favorite Summer memories is.....?

Mexico with my husband and best friend. I have a lot of great summer memories, this is the most recent.

7. What's your favorite secret bargain?

I am not much of a secret keeper or a bargain shopper. I have no idea.

8. Do you plan on or have you been watching the World Cup?

I would like to check out the World Cup this year. Seems pretty exciting!

Man's Search For Meaning

2010-06-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

Now I know I am going from one extreme post to another, however this is something I have been thinking a lot about lately. What am I searching for? What am I meant to be doing?

Years ago when I was going through a very difficult period of time in my life and found it hard to keep myself going, I read this book.

I would never try and compare something I have experienced in my simple life to the terrors of the Holocaust. However the book is set in the Holocaust but the theory is based on every single man and woman. The book explores the theory of how man's search for meaning or of his own purpose in life, can bring him through anything. I use "him" but it is true for man or woman. It is a powerful look at how all prisonors that entered the camps were stripped down and essentially left with the same - nothing. However some made it out of the camps and others did not. I know there are many other elements to it than just these simple fact, but this is just a quick synopsis of the book.

I would like to add here I have a deep respect for all who suffered during and post Holocaust. I read quite a bit about the Holocaust on a regular basis. I think it was a horific period of time and will never understand one person let alone many persons feeling so much hate towards another person or persons.

I have always felt like I lack a little bit of direction in life. Not because I am not ambitious, because I assure you nothing could be further from the truth. But I always get excited about something and than once it I have been doing it for awhile I start to get antsy and basically feel like there is something more God meant for me to be doing. Nothing ever "fits".

Recently I have felt a little stalled out in life and I am trying to get myself recharged, and guess what I saw on Facebook?

So what is it that I am meant to be doing? This has been the hardest question of my life and it is still a question I am seeking the answer to.

So if anyone has the answer please feel free to shoot me an email. ;)

We Are Back

2010-06-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

We just arrived home. I must say our trip home seemed a little easier than the trip to Texas.

We are only home for one (1) day and then hubby and I are off to Vegas. I know you must feel terrible for me. But if it makes you feel better I always add in my own self torture. Because I had a spare day I worked it, in true Adie form. This is hubby’s favorite quality about me. Are you sensing the sarcasm? I am trying to lay it on real thick.

Back to this expansive "spare" day. As I mentioned I saw some spare time and thought, "wow, what a girl couldn't do with a free day and the babies at daycare." So I scheduled that final CLEP test that has been looming over my head for a year now. Only because I have been putting it off for so long it has now become a fire drill and I have to drive all the way up to Denver to take it, so my school gets the credit notification instantly, you know, if I pass. AM's doctor wanted to see her tomorrow afternoon, so I said "sure". So I have to drive back down to the Springs from Denver to get AM to the doctor on time.

Here is my day tomorrow; drop AL and LD off at daycare; pick-up AM friend and drop AM and friend at summer school drive to Denver by 10am (could be an hour and a half drive there with traffic); drive home pick-up AM get her to doctors appointment; come home finish packing everyone; make dinner; serve dinner; bring AL and LD to babysitters for their stay while we are out of time *sniffle*;p back home finish any last minute packing (usually involves a trip to Target) and get to bed, because our plane leaves at 6am - say what?

So there, in case you thought, what a jerk she is going on vacation sans kids, well after tomorrow - I am going to need a vacation!! Also keep your fingers crossed about my test, I really can't take the time to take another class, and my student loan bills don't want anymore added to them!

The Great State of Texas

2010-06-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

We are currently in the Great State of Texas!

I know some people, mostly Texas residents think I am crazy, but I am LOVING it here. It is so amazingly warm. I would go as far as to say the warmth is delicious because when I walk outside I feel as though I am greedily drinking in all of the Texas heat. (Again I believe the residents here wish I truly were!)

The drive down was not on any of my Top Experience Lists, let's just say that! AL does not like the drive to the babysitters across town. I am sure you can imagine how she felt about a 12 hour drive. Once we pulled in it was warm enough to go swimming - say what? This Colorado girl was so excited, so we unpacked the kids, passed out some hugs, tugged on swimsuits and headed to the pool.

Yesterday (Friday) I had a special date with one of my favorite and oldest blogging friends. More about this later. I will say now it was a great meeting!

This morning we woke up and LD got in the pool at 7am. 7am! It was warm enough!

Let's just say I heart Texas and all of its warmth!

99 Memories

2010-06-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Jessica at Domesticated Bliss is my FLip FLop Swap buddy and I look forward to swapping and getting to know her. Looking at her blog I found this fun 99 memories game. Basically it's a list of 99 memorable experiences and you highlight the ones that you've accomplished in your life...
1. started your own blog

2. slept under the stars

3. played in a band

4. visited hawaii

5. watched a meteor shower

6. given more to charity than you could afford to

7. been to disney

8. climbed a mountain

9. held a praying mantis

10. sung a solo

11. bungee jumped

12. visited paris

13. watched a thunder and lightning storm

14. taught yourself an art from scratch

15. adopted a child

16. had food poisoning

17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty

18. grown your own vegetables

19. seen the mona lisa in france

20. slept on an overnight train

21. had a pillow fight

22. hitch hiked

23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. built a snow fort

25. held a lamb

26. gone skinny dipping

27. run a marathon

28. ridden in a gondola in venice

29. seen a total eclipse (of the heart?)

30. watched a sunrise or sunset

31. hit a home run

32. been on a cruise

33. seen niagara falls in person

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. seen an amish community

36. taught yourself a new language

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person

39. gone rock climbing

40. seen michelangelo’s david in person

41. sung karaoke

42. seen old faithful erupt

43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. visited africa

45. walked on a beach by moonlight

46. been transported in an ambulance

47. had your portrait painted

48. gone deep sea fishing

49. seen the sistine chapel in person

50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris - we only got halfway and than we ran out of time

51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. kissed in the rain

53. played in the mud

54. gone to a drive-in theater

55. been in a movie

56. visited the great wall of china

57. started a business

58. taken a martial arts class

59. visited russia

60. served at a soup kitchen

61. sold girl scout cookies

62. gone whale watching

63. gotten flowers for no reason

64. donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. been sky diving

66. visited a concentration camp

67. bounced a check

68. flown in a helicopter

69. saved a favorite childhood toy

70. visited the lincoln memorial

71. eaten caviar

72. pieced a quilt

73. stood in times square

74. toured the everglades

75. been fired from a job

76. seen the changing of the guard in london

77. broken a bone

78. been a passenger on a motorcycle

79. seen the grand canyon in person

80. published a book

81. visited the vatican

82. bought a brand new car

83. walked in jerusalem

84. had your picture in the newspaper

85. kissed a stranger at midnight on new year’s eve

86. visited the white house

87. killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. had chickenpox

89. saved someone’s life

90. sat on a jury

91. met someone famous

92. joined a book club

93. gotten a tattoo

94. had a baby

95. seen the alamo in person

96. swam in the great salt lake

97. been involved in a law suit

98. owned a cell phone

99. been stung by a bee ( a whole hive in Yosemite = Miserable)

42, made me realize how many things I would still love to do. Also made me realize how many cities I have been in and the things I have missed out on in those cities!
Which of these have you experienced?

Fun Interior Design Profile

2010-06-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

I have a sister that sent me this link. http://www.sproost.com/StyleEngine

She has impeccable taste for design and I love to talk to her about it. I also enjoyed this site. The site does an analysis of your interior design taste. Lately my sister had been trying to help me figure out some kitchen ideas but I could not nail down my style, so this was a lot of fun!

Here are my results:

57% Nantucket Style

Oh how you love the beach! Who doesn't, right? And so your dream home is either perched in your favorite beach town, or you've brought that favorite beach town into your house.

Now I have never been to Nantucket but I am such a beach lover!! This I think really did workout for me.

29% Cottage Chic

This was the only picture out of this group that I truley loved or even liked.

14% Rustic Revival - There were no pictures out of this group that I really liked, I just didn't like choosing the word "hate", so I picked "ok" more than I should have.

But I think it hit the beach thing right on. Go and try it, it was quick and easy and you get to look at some fun pictures!

Happy Memorial Day!!

2010-05-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Here in Colorado Springs we live in a huge military town. We have 1 of the largest army bases and 3 Air Force bases. My father and my grandfather are retired Air Force and my Step Father is retired Army. So to my family and my town I say THANK YOU for your bravery and my freedom!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

PARENT - Job Description

2010-05-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

POSITION :

Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma

Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment.

Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work

variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!

Travel expenses not reimbursed.

Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

The rest of your life.

Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.

Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.

Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.

Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.

Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.

Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.

Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None.

Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

None required unfortunately.

On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

Get this! You pay them!

Offering frequent raises and bonuses.

A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them

become financially independent.

When you die, you give them whatever is left.

The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and

no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love,

and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

Forward this on to all the PARENTS you know, in appreciation for everything they do on a daily basis,

letting them know they are appreciated for the fabulous job they do...

or forward with love

to anyone thinking of applying for the job.

An Award!!

2010-05-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Ahh, Alyssa over at My Husband's Watching TV has given me two awards! She is the best. She sticks with me through - well my flakey blogging and emailing. She is awesome and has been a great friend!

The first award is the Happiness Award. I have to list 10 things that make me happy. I like this award because I don't think of these things often enough. I usually think of the exact opposite. So here it goes.

1) My Hubby

2) My Girls

3) Getting an email from Alyssa

4) Vacation

5) The sunshine

6) The beach

7) Flip Flops

8) Wearing 1 layer of clothing

9) Not doing Laundry

10) Reading a good book in the sun on the beach - ahhh

So now I'm going to tag ~~five~~ 3 people to pass both these awards along to. Please tag the person who gave you the award (ME!) and then pass it on to 5 people.

My 3:

Krystie @ One Fabulous Day - Just started reading her blog and I am enjoying the variety

Mindy @ The Sweet Life - This seems perfect for her she talks alot about the things that make her happy.

La @ Prone to Wander - I have loved following La's blog since the time we were both ready to burst with joys of pregnancy! I also love getting notes from La and look forward to meeting La and her beautiful baby Gooner!

Look forward to reading your lists!

A Week of Firsts

2010-05-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

Last week was a long week. And a week of firsts.

My first big event that I organized. My first television interview, on the morning news. My first radio interview.

I am telling you I get so nervous and than my nerves never let down. I just sit and go over and over all of the things I forgot to say. During the event the news and newspaper came and I had to do another interview and I totally locked up. *sigh* At first I was doing just fine than I started thinking back to my previous interviews and I was trying to remember all of the things I swore I would not forget and it just seemed to create some sort of brain lock. Oh well, I am new at all of this. i will get better....right?

On better news, I got my thyroid medication changed again, and I think it may actually be the correct dose. I am mysteriously loosing weight. It has taken almost 2 years and I think I am on the 10th dose change, but maybe this is finally the right dose.

With all of the stress I have been horrible about working out and about my diet. I am hoping to get back to Weight Watchers and back to the gym. I am also hoping to get back to a regular blogging schedule - I miss everyone! So happy summer weather is here!

Flip Flop Summer Swap

2010-05-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

All American Jess Flip Flop Swap

All of the things I LOVE!! Well it does not include my family or the beach, but it includes summer and flip flops so I think it is pretty awesome!

Head over and check it out! What a fun way to kick off the summer!

This Baby Might Have a Complex!

2010-05-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

Whenever this cutie finds a brush lying around she insists we brush her, um hair. The first time this happened I gave it one quick pass over thinking this was just silly, but with eyes telling me she really wanted her "hair" (like literally "hair") brushed what's a guilty mother or father to do but brush beautiful babies, um "hair". If for no other purpose this activity offers us great bonding time, no?

There are other indicators that lead me to believe that perhaps she is just a super girl, as in a girlie girl versus having said complex. Other indicators are the following. When she sees a head band she has to put it on. Okay that one can go either way. But when she see's or hears a phone she picks it up or pretends to pick it up and puts it to her ear and say's "hi, daddy", "okay". Also when she hear's a phone ring she actually looks for the phone to answer it. So either she is a super girl or somebody in her life spends WAY too much time on the phone. I am going with the super girl theory. All the other possibilities sound like big therapy bills. ;)

Book Review

2010-05-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

I have never posted a book review on my blog but I wanted to for this book.

I read another knitting based book on my trip to New York and I have been impatiently waiting for the sequel to come out and I finally broke down and bought this one. I hosted a bookfair for my organization at a bookstore and I bought myself this book. The description on the front of the book is "Like Steel Magnolia's set in Manhatan." I will just say, let that be a warning. (I took this as "oh, so it is super good.")

When I first started the book I had a hard time getting into it. I felt the author was trying to achieve something she was not capale of, meaning she was using metaphors that I could tell she wanted to accomplish something that just did not happen. I am so happy I did not give up on the book because I soon became addicted! The book is based on a single mother , her daughter, her knitting shop, the shops "dynamic knitting club" and some unexpected characters from her past. The unique aspect of the book is it gives the reader a look at each characters life so the reader gains a relationship with each character, yet does not confuse the reader with an overload of information and this aspect does not create a loss of focus. I don't want to give anything away but the book ended unexpectedley and during the book I did shed some tears. There is a follow-up but I am not committed to reading it. I have not decided. I highly recommend this one, it took me 4 days to read this which is tough for me to do!! If anyone is interested in my copy leave me a message and I would be happy to send you mine. If I get enough interest I will be fair and draw for it.

Paris Bound

2010-05-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well Paris, Las Vegas! In a few weeks we will be heading to Texas, home one (1) day and than just hubby and I will be heading to Las Vegas. His company is sending him and one of his employees to some convention in Vegas. Okay he is the boss so he is sending himself and one of his employees to Vegas, and this lucky lady gets to tag along - woot, woot!!

Hubby and I absolutley LOVE Las Vegas and we do not even gamble. We love to just walk around seeing sights, like special exhibits and museums. The last trip we ate at the Eiffel Tower resturant and I fell in love with the Paris Hotel and said that we would stay there one trip, well this is the trip. Here is where I will be found:

Yes ladies my husband will be at conventions all day and I will have NO kids - WHAT WILL I DO???? Why sit by the pool of course! Have a few adult beverages, perhaps lug my 5 months of magazines I am behind on or just sleep by the pool. I can't tell you how excited I am. But I have a feeling I will get a little restless so I need some suggestions of places I should go. I have been to Las Vegas a handful of times but hubby is my map and I am a little nervous being solo, so what should I do? Can you feel my excitement? I will be SOLO!!!

Look Who Is 1!

2010-05-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

This pretty little girl turned 1 on the 6th of May. Once again I meant to do this post, well a week ago. With our big event coming up it has been nearly impossible to get anything done. So here it goes. A few pictures and a little update on all things this proud mommy thinks are amazing about this fabulous 1 year old!

Little AL is definetly the baby of the family!
She loves to be held by which ever of us is around to hold us but also wants her independents!
She has been eating solid foods for over a moth now. Whatever is for dinner she eats, just cut in small pieces.
She has quite the vocab: momma, daddy, Anna, thank you, Uh oh, peek-a-boo (with her hands on top of her head so she can still see), bye, hi, banana, night-night. Those are the ones I can think of right now.
AL is also afraid of nothing. She likes to climb on the top of stools and stand up holding onto nothing. She has learned to climb back down stairs "safely". Her favorite place to play is on the couch. She likes to body slam daddy when he is laying on the ground.
She does not like strangers.
Walking for about 3 weeks now
3 teeth total (still and about the same number of hairs, haha!)
Hates walking in shoes
LOVES bananas

This baby is still keeping us on our toes, she is a busy baby! She is not a car fan and the first week of June we are driving to Texas, wish us luck - eek!

Sometimes Things Are Just Funny.....

2010-05-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

...and than you realize it is happening to you.

So I got one of those "people of Walmart" emails a month back and it was the funniest one yet. Seriously I died laughing. Literally died laughing, that is why I was away so long - I was dead. Just kidding. Anyways. Here is the picture I found the funniest. The thing is, it is never the pictures that are so funny but the captions, so I have included the caption.

Toss in some cat food and you have the loneliest grocery list EVER!

Seriously I almost just died again because I started laughing again when I got the picture and caption loaded. Since the time I originally received this email I have thought back to this caption and picture combo and have giggled about it many times.

As I mentioned things have been a little crazy around my house lately, so in an effort to try and salvage my weightloss I have started Weight Watchers. This has not proven to be helpful so far because - I don't have the time to really plan - HELLO!! Anyway for lunches and to have on hand at home I have bought a ton of frozen meals, you know the "healthy" ones. Let me just tell you I may be laughing at the picture above but because life is so busy this is what my grocery list is looking like these days. So all I can say is "note to self - DO NOT GET A CAT".

Kid's Know the Strangest Things

2010-05-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know the saying is really, "kid's say the funniest things". Last night LD was being weepy and in the middle of the night got in bed with me. So yes my back feels delightful today! ;)

Little did she know that she was going to the dentist today to get a filling. Yes a filling at 4! I have to admit, it was a bit of a blow to my parental ego. Here is the thing, LD DOES NOT LIKE STRANGERS OR DOCTORS OR ANYONE SHE DOES NOT SEE ON A REGULAR BASES!!!!!!!!! It took us a year and a half and three (3) visits for her to let the dentist clean her teeth with something other than a tooth brush. Their solution to get her to let them fill her cavity? Nitrous. I was a little worried. So I did not tell her anything about her dentist appointment, not even that she had one until this morning, but based on her behavior - she knew something was going on.

So we get to the dentist office she picks out her "nose" flavor and they try to get her to breathe and relax. Right. So after much screaming and fighting and more screaming she finally starts to relax from the air and gets a little silly. I finally start to relax and than all of a sudden she just flips out, she starts to scream and does not want the air on anymore does not want to lay still, she is just freaking out.

Apparently they can't just stop the gas they have to get approval from the doctor, turn it off, than flush her system with pure oxgyen to clear out the nitrous out of her system. Which to make happen we once again have to hold her down, otherwise she will get sick. So after all of this, she got no filling. We will try again in six months.

Two weeks ago I was at urgent care and the doctors with her where they took x-rays and blood. We got through the x-rays no problem, with a song I made up (you probably do not want to hear) but the blood work was HORRIFYING.

I still find her behavior last night very strange. It was like she knew something was going on today, even though I never told her. Kids just seem to have the best senses! I have tried prepping her way in advance and it seems to make it worse. So I thought I would try not telling her like it was no big deal.

My Poor, Poor Blog, and Friends

2010-05-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Ladies, I am sorry I have been so unavailable. Things have been ~~a little~~ a lot crazy. As I mentioned I have been trying to be kinder to myself and in an effort I have kind of let myself off the blogging hook. I figured you would all appreciate it too. Instead of me writing some random thoughtless, lame blog entry, i figured you all would just rather hear nothing. So I went with nothing. I have however been trying to leave some notes on your blogs to let you know I still love you and I am in fact still alive! Barley, but I am! ;)

I will up date more about the drama when I can write a picture story, to include my new hair color. Let's face it, you can't get over a funk with the same color of hair. At least I can't!

Stay tuned!!

Random Ramblings

2010-04-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

I have so much going on in my mind I decided to just do one big random post. I have been a single mom since Thursday and Oh.What.A.Ride.

- The "Incident" went like this; get to the mall with the kids, AL (11months) and LD (4) - no stroller. I go in anyways - I'm tough. Right. Get to the shoe store as I said as soon as the clerk brought us to the running shoes LD starts SCREAMING hear tummy hurts. Should I remind you here how gross public bathrooms are and that I am carrying an infant? I will save you the rest of the details. So when I got home I could feel the stress aging me and I told my husband "these kids are the vampires of fun". They are so fun to do stuff one-on-one with but it is very difficult to have 2 or more out in public.

-Thursday is hubby's first day away and AM has soccer practice at 5:30p.m.; I have a committee meeting for our May event at 4:30p; and there is the issues of getting the two little one's picked up from daycare and finding someone to watch them. It was a complete exhausting circus!!

-Friday I stayed up until 11pm to get stuff ready for a baby shower I was hosting on Saturday. At 11:30p.m. LD wakes me up saying she wet her bed, but she had a pull-up on so I couldn't figure out how that was possible. SO I get her in the bath an clean up her room and the hall and anything else she touched. That night LD ended up with 3 baths and me washing 3 sets of sheets. She stopped throwing up at about 5:30a.m. and stopped rolling around moaning about 6:00a.m. and AL was up at 6:30 a.m. Needless to say I did not make the shower my sister picked everything up and got it took care of everything. My mom picked up AL for a while so I could get some rest. LD had other plans so she roamed the house watching tv while I slept.

- Saturday I got some rest but I also got a lot of bleaching and laundry taken care of. I love a freshly bleached home!! I also got AM and I Chinese food. Hubby hates Chinese so it was a treat for us. I actually had a great day Saturday. I sometimes make my families life so busy that we never just get to hang out and enjoy each other and we did just that this Saturday.

-Chinese food realization when I was done ~~gorging~~ eating I felt kind of miserable and possibly ashamed of what I had just eaten and a memory of childhood flashed. I was the "good eater" in my family. My two sisters were ~~pains in the asses~~ picky eaters. So while we ate almost every meal as a family our meals mostly consisted of my mom and step-dad trying to get my sisters to eat. So my flash was of me and my proud face when I had eaten everything. Not feelin so proud these days! Weird how life changes. I think this is one of the reasons I don't fight with my kids to eat. If they aren't hungry they aren't hungry.

Here is my final rant. A few months ago I was struggling because I had all of these emotions and felt like I had to be a certain way on my blog. So I wrote a big long post about it. Out of respect I sent it over to my editor (hubby). What he sent me back really made sense. (paraphrasing) "If you feel like you need to post this than do, but I see your blogging from both sides and what I like about it is that sometimes blogging makes you look at the good side of things. So I never posted that post because I decided that's what I like about blogging too. I tell some of my frustrating stories but I will keep my dirty laundry to myself.

The point of that most RANDOM story is that I am still struggling to get back to business with my good eating habits. I am feeling a little overwhelmed these days. So in true blogging spirit I am going to write post this week that outline my weekly struggles and how I plan on kicking those struggles in the behind!!! So look out for my Kung Fu posts this week - because this chick is kicking butt and taking names!

Where's the Button I Really Need?

2010-04-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

I have been on a hunt for running shoes. My shins have been killing me and I am sure it is because I am mostly working out in shoes I wore during pregnancy, i.e. shoes that endured a whole lotta weight and are broken down. This has not been a fun experience. When I was on my trip in March I went to a running store in Reston Town Center and the sales guy did a running anlaysis. He said that I needed a neutral running shoe - no stability. So last night I go to the store and tell the lady I need a neutural running shoe , she says "what do you mean". I look at her and say, "I don't know what I mean, that is what I was told. I assume it means something less concerned with stability and more with cushion". Than there was an incident which I will discuss another time and so we left.

Before I went to the gym last night I snuck off to Marshalls and bought the same pair of Saucony's that I already had. But since they were new they were white and not grey - you know because they are new.

Not the cutest or fanciest shoe but for $35 who can complain. As I mentioned last week was not my most faithful gym week. So while I was standing under the ominous humming flourescents at Marshalls staring at this most boring of shoes I made a fiscal, goal oriented decision. Get this cheap boring shoe now, set a mile/training goal and than I will get this shoe when I reach it.

I saw these beauties in this months Fitness issue. Yes it is a mild stability shoe not a neutral shoe but I love the colors. I went to the Nike site to check them out and could not find them. They had all of these buttons, for sport, stability, training, on and on. Where is the "Cute and Want To Get Skinny" button? I don't want to be a shoe expert I just want to do a little exercising and have cute feet while I am doing it.

Now if I was celebrating the old school way I would have gone for these.

Actually I am not going to go there. So let's just focus on the cute shoes!

Slow-cooker Salsa Chicken

2010-04-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have had a few set backs in my weight loss journey - but it is back to business. Some of my trouble came from food burn out, meaning I couldn't come up up with meals to please my family or myself. The other side of it came from stress, and let's face it, I am an emotional eater. While I wish that I would just magically wake up one day being skinny, well thin, I know and have accepted that this is a journey that I have to commit to and it is about changing my habits. Cliché, I know.

That being said I am committing to trying 1 new healthy recipe each week. As I mentioned I recently purchased an iPhone. One of the first Apps I loaded was the Sparks Recipe App. There is also a website here. What a GREAT app. May be one of my favorites so far. Easy to use and navigate. I can pick recipes, healthy recipes based on ingredients and diet requirements and than save them to your favorites. The only draw back is that it does not build a shopping list. Not a big deal really but it would be a nice feature for a later release.

Here is my first recipe, Slow-cooker Salsa Chicken - yum, yum!!

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (condensed)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

Directions

Add chicken to slow cooker.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.
Pour salsa and soup over chicken.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Serve with rice.

*Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 157.2
Total Fat: 3.3 g
Cholesterol: 63.4 mg
Sodium: 654.2 mg
Total Carbs: 6.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.9 g
Protein: 24.3 g

*as published at Sparks Recipes
I do not think these numbers include the rice.

We made this dish on Sunday and I forgot to put it in the crock-pot before church so hubby put it together and put it in the oven. If it had been in the crock-pot all day it would have looked more like pulled chicken I assume. The flavor was great though. In the future I will also serve over brown rice. If you try it let me know what you think.

Also on Sparks if you search "crock-pot salsa chicken" you will see variations to this recipe that do not have the cream soup in it. Happy cooking!

Weekend Recap

2010-04-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend was packed full of activities. Fortunatley most of them fell off. Phew!

Saturday I signed up to check out my churches ministry for single moms. The director for the childcare portion of the ministry is leaving and they need someone new. So I went to check it out to see if it would be a good fit. I of course realized before the day came that I have limited time with my own kids and can not commit to additional activities. When I got there I sat and had breakfast with a brother and sister that were absolutley adorable! I later learned that they live with their grandmother because their mother is in jail. Also their grandmother has leukimia. I could have burst into tears right that second and I can't stop thinking about them. So I was happy when other plans that day fell through and I got to hang out with my hubby and rent a chick flick and veg out!

Sunday we went to church. I went off to my Youth group and everyone else went to their Sunday school classes. After church I took LD to the zoo and than LD and I stopped by my grandma's to say happy birthday. My grandmother has been sick with pneamonia for several weeks so please keep her in your prayers.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is built into the side of the mountain. It is a pretty good workout!

Well it is Monday and it is back to the grind!

LD had some coloring quota's to meet first thing this morning and was already stressed by Monday! ;)

(She really had a dentist appointment so she came in with me.)

My hubby has been writing down some super funny thoughts and I think he may start to guest post on my blog! What do you think? His first one should be very entertaining! Here's to a great week!!

AL Turned 11 Months and a Scary Story

2010-04-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

AL Turned 11 Months on the 6th. Now that she is practically 1 year I thought I would post about it. ;) Seriously I am going to have to get better at treading water.

AL is a sweet, sweet baby. She loves to give hugs. She can reach one hand to each shoulder and than she leans her head into your chest. It is super sweet. AL is by far the busiest baby I have ever had. She has no fear. LD has a step stool and if she leaves it out AL will climb on it to get into things. If there is a mound of toys she will climb to the top of the toys to get into whatever she can. Recently she has started crying when I leave her at daycare. Which makes me sad. She has also learned to throw a fit, which makes us laugh. She sprawls on the floor crying with her super sad face with her head laying to the side and than she kicks her feet. Tonight as I was checking a few blogs she decided she wanted to type and when I did not let her she did a stand up version by stomping her feet. Again I laughed. You can't help it - it is HYSTERICAL!! She still only sucks her thumb occasionally it is so cute!

AL also has no interest in being a baby. She does not like it when other kids try to help her do something she pushes them away and proves she can do it herself. I am not sure where she got this type of behavior. cough, cough. She also has little to no interest in baby food so more and more we have been cutting up big people food for her. She works on it with her two lonely teeth. On the hair and teeth front, only two teeth to report. No teeth, no hair. Poor baby! This is what she has to say when her daddy asks when she is going to get more hair.

For the most part she drinks from the Nub sippy cups. She also likes the sippy cups with two handles.

Onto the scary story; AL likes to pick things up that are cup shaped and drink from them. I have an aroma simmer pot that sits behind the TV, which is pretty low. I had no idea it was on, the scent probably ran out months ago. I was on the phone with AM and I happened to look up and LD had picked up the simmer pot and went to drink it like a cup and the wax poured all over her. I was so freaked out. I felt horrible. We do not have many flat areas, so there has not been much baby proofing to do and this thing is behind the TV so it is not something I see. I was so nervous. We ended up just putting cold towels on her body, which she was not happy about, but the skin did not blister. We were so relieved.

This picture was taken after we had finished applying the towels. You can see the wax still on her ear. Again we feel so relieved it was not worse than what it was. She was already back to her happy self.

Someone Please Make the Screaming Stop.....

2010-04-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

.....Oh right that's me.

Ladies I have been on a mission to lose weight. The last two weeks I have not done so well. My back has been KILLING me. It hurts to do anything, including breathing, unfortunately it is unaffected by eating. Boo.

Sadly I think a little; okay probably a good portion of the pain is from lugging this cute little baby around.

The fact is I should not be carrying around a 20 pound baby in a car seat with a handle. But this mommy would like her to remain a baby. Except now I am leaning towards a little walking. With my back I can hardly pick her up.

My secret is this; I carried AM around until she was about 4. She walked of course but I would still carry her a lot more than I should have. The only reason I stopped was that I was hit by a drunk driver and couldn't carry her. Now LD is 4 and I still carry her a lot and I carry a 20 pound baby in a car seat so all in all we can say my back pain is really my own fault. I just really like to carry my kids.

So my little baldy is going to get a big girl car seat today - something I should have done MONTHS ago. Does anyone else have any of these things they do for their kids or someone they love they know they shouldn't but do anyways? Or am I the only crazy lady out there? Wait don't answer the last part....

Easter

2010-04-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am so behind. I am feeling a little bogged down these days. I can't quite figure out why it seems to go in cycles. We had a wonderful Easter though!

The highlight had to be when LD whispered to us during church service "Jesus died for our sins on the cross, that cross" and pointed to the cross on the stage. It was pretty awesome and I will say it did not pain me one bit to write my check for daycare this week.

Friday night hubby and I decided we desperately needed a date night so we went out to my favorite mexican restaurant and then to see a movie. The movie we chose to see left something to be desired. I was in the mood for a chick flick but there was not one showing by the time we were done with dinner so we went to see Avatar.

On Saturday we got up early to bring AM to her soccer game and when we got home we discovered someone had spilled Mountain Dew on the hardwoods so we cleaned the main level. After we got the glue Mountain Dew was successfully cleaned up we colored eggs. This year we tried twos different type of coloring kits, a tie-dye and a marble. The tie-die was a lot of fun the marble - not so much. Here is LD and hubby working on a tie-dye egg.

I can't decide if in this picture LD is taking mental notes for when it is her turn or if she is critiquing her daddies technique.

Here is AM's contribution to this years egg coloring. We all needed a nap so thank goodness she was gettting plenty of rest for all of us! Way to take one for the team AM!!

Here are the results.

Some of the eggs we just dipped in the coloros. I get bored about halfway through the process. I have big dreams of lots of beautifully colored eggs and than get really bored when things start to get messy and my eggs aren't turning out quite as beutifully as Martha Stewarts trained professionals. Than I realize - I am just going to crack them all open and make deviled eggs tomorrow - let's wrap it up people!

On Sunday we went to the early service and than to my sisters for lunch and an Easter egg hunt.

Here is a shortened series of me trying to get a picture of my kids and my two nephews. I say shortened because this 5 shots out of the 12 I actually took.

This is were I gave up. Since I started to feel like screaming profanities I figured - they won. Go outside and find your eggs. Geech.

And my final attempt at a picture with all of the kids to include my aunts grandkids.

Seriously how hard is it for a 14 year old girl to stay on task with getting her picture taken?

Oh well, we really had a great day. The sun was shining and I got a lot of great individual pictures. I also got some great shots of a trampoline war between AM and my older sister. I will have to post those later. Good to hear everyone in blogland had a great Easter too!

Have a great rest of your week!

Hello, Goodbye

2010-04-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been away for a little while. With all of the weather changes comes allergies and sinus infections for me - not fun to say the least.

I have been meaning to make this post for awhile but I was spurred to do it tonight by a discovery I made today.

While on my trip to New York in the beginning of March my phone died. Well the trackball stopped selecting and some of the keys started sticking. I had one of these and LOVED it. Well in the machine type of way. ;)

I had the red one, I could not find a good picture in that color. I had planned on just replacing it with another Pearl but my carrier has gone to a policy that if you have a data phone you must have a data plan. Well there was no way I could put a data plan to good use on that tiny screen so I went to this.

In the famous words of my friend Matt if a phone could be sexy - this thing is!! I love my new phone! And I am going to have to start a twelve step program soon. Let me tell you I have put a hurting on that data plan!!

I discovered one small draw back today. I found a Google RSS Reader App for my phone so I have been catching up on all my long lost blog friends and commenting! Commenting my little heart out I might say. All along thinking this is easy I don't have to fill out all of those annoying verification comment boxes - Lovin This! (Said in a sing-song voice of course) Well apparently friends while I thought I was lovin on all of your blogs I have not been. I checked in real life today to make sure my comment made it to one blog and it sure wasn't there. So while I thought I was being a great blogger on the other end, by commenting on everyone's blogs and getting all caught up even though I was ignoring my own. In real life I was apparently not doing anything. So I want to send out a big fat apology to everyone for not commenting lately!! When I really was - just in the lazy on my iPhone app kind of way and now I've been had. So I promise to do it the old fashion way - until I can figure out the technology way! haha

I have to tell you there is nothing like going to the gym with your ipod in and your iphone so you can read all of your favorite blogs! Yes I realize I could burn all of my music to my iphone but if I had that kind of time than I probably would not have been blog cheating, my blog would not be so lacking and I would be taking up precious app space!! Real Estate people! ;)

All-in-all best purchase in a very long time. Love.IT!! Highly recommended.

Tales From The Gym

2010-03-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Last night I got to the gym and after several days of not being able to find my ipod I FINALLY found it. I settled in for my workout and instantly knew it would be a good one as Tall Paul and Jonny Vicious kicked me off!! I LOVE to workout to dance music! Also on the playlist last night was a little Dave, Sugarcult, Joe Strummer, Travis and Madonna. I had a GREAT workout.

I have been spending a LOT of time at the gym lately. Recently I have been disappointed in the gym that I go to. After my pregnancy I had lost my membership card and frankly after 3 years of membership and 2 years of volunteering my time to coach a Volleyball team I felt like they could just give me a new card. Um apparently the feeling was not mutual so for months there was a "silent" battle between me and one of the guys that worked there. I would come in and not have my membership card and I would get huffs and puffs from him as he had to look me up in the computer. It was a hugely annoying situation and I honestly was not going to back down on my position. Why should I have to pay for a new card? I felt like I had been a member long enough to receive a new one for free. His fits became so similar to that of my teenage daughter I finally mentioned it to somebody. Yes I did play a role in it but guess what - I am the customer. Sorry for making you do your job. The lady I mentioned it to, guess what, gave me a new card.

The new trouble was this, for a few months now the scale in the woman’s locker room has been noticeably broken. Not leveling at 0. So I just kept quite hoping that someone else would mention it to a staff member. Nobody did so about 2 weeks ago I mentioned it to a staff member and she said yeah I don't think it has ever been calibrated but lucky you I think it weighs light. I am going to over look the fact that she thinks I need the good fortune of the scale weighing light. Really I am on a mission and need a reliable source. So I wait and wait (yes a few weeks is torture waiting for me) and last night I finally say something to a lady I have never seen before. She was so nice about and I am hoping it will get fixed. Who knew so much went into fixing a scale? How does everyone else handle these types of situations? I feel like saying something I am singling myself out. I have had many customer service oriented jobs and I know it can stink but you are providing a service.

Onto the people watching of it all. There is a lady that is at the gym most nights at the same time I am. She is on the same treadmill every night right up at the mirrors. I am assuming she is listening to some sort of praise worship music because she holds her hands up and is moving her mouth with her eyes closed. The night before my phone rang interrupting my music that was playing through the phone so I could actually hear what was going on around me. I had no idea until that moment she was not just moving her lips but there was actual LOUD sound coming from her mouth - she was singing out loud the music she was listening to. Part of me thinks it is hysterical, the other part of me admires that this woman can stand at the front of the gym, in front of all of the wall of mirrors, running on a treadmill, worshipping Jesus, not caring what anyone else thinks. Seriously that is one tough lady! I won't even use a machine up at those mirrors!

This weekend will be a busy one. We have a birthday party and than I am taking AM and LD to Denver to the Butterfly Pavilion and to do a little shopping. What does everyone else have planned?

Updates and Helpful Tip

2010-03-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

Springtime in the Rockies - Storm update:

This is what it looked like last night when I got home from the gym. Keep in mind, when I went into the gym the ground was completly clear. When I came out it was like an ice storm. The pellets stung my face, I was instantly grateful my face was not sun burnt!

Here is what we woke up to this morning - and it is still snowing.

So needless to say I am at home with the kiddos today. Normally I would be excited but I had planned on taking Friday of so I could bring AM and LD to Denver to go to the Butterfly Pavillion and than shopping. Looks like I will have to miss church and go Sunday. (and ask for forgivness the following Sunday.)

With my day off I am doing what anyone would do on a snowday during a spring snow storm - spring cleaning. It is slow going. A certain baby sure likes her mommy - in LARGE doses.

Does anyone else have a ton of these around their house?

I have been saving mine so a friend of mine can make me another one of these,

Can you tell what it is?

A Christmas tree made of baby food jars, tinsel, a string of lights and some ribbon to line the outside. Pretty cool huh?

Well I have well exceeded the 17 jars I need for this project but it feels so wasteful to toss those jars and containers in the trash. Turns out my nephews kindergarten class uses them to divide up large containers of paint. So I will be donating a good portion of mine to the school. Check with your local elementary schools, or daycare centers to see if they can put these items to good use.

The square plastic one's are also usefule for jewlery or makeup drawers.

Happy Tuesday - hope everyone is warmer than I am!

If you are in a nice warm climate send please some warm thoughts my way!

Sunburn and 10" of Snow

2010-03-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I have my first official sunburn. Hubby says it is not a sunburn but a UV bulb burn - details, details. I usually do not tan. I have VERY fair skin (like glowing white) and a not so good family track record for skin cancer. So I try to stay clear of the sun and it's brother the tanning bed.

That being said with my recent work towards weightloss and the possibility of a summer vacation involving a bathing suit I decided a tan was the way to go. In the past a tan helped fade my stretch marks. Of course I was younger and had a lot less of them. I know what all of the studies show about the dangers of tanning in the sun and in a bed but in my opinion having a base tan to prevent myself from extreme burns while out in the sun this summer is a good option for me. I am very good about putting on sunblock throughout the day and I still get burnt everytime - severly burnt. I tanned for 6 minutes yesterday and have a burn going down the center of me. Let's just say I was not excited to put my bra on this morning and considered wearing my sports bra to work. Does anyone else tan? I always hear woman say it makes them feel slimmer. This is one of the reasons I am doing it. The optical illusion of slim until I am officially there.

Onto more Colorado weather news. The forecast is calling for more snow as in 10 inches of snow. So I will have a sunburn while it is snowing. How strange will that be? Welcome Spring time!! We better not get Gipped out of summer again this year!!

Weekend Recap

2010-03-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

WOW - What a weekend!! We had a GREAT weekend! An AMAZING weekend even!! Seriously we needed it. Our Saturday started off with finding a Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family!! Yah!!

Credit

We love Harry Potter at our house! We don't have any memorbilia or anything but we do have one or two of the xBox games. When Hubby and I first started dating we saw the second Harry Potter and we used to sit around with AM playing Harry Potter on xBox we finished one or two of the games. It was a lot of fun, so Harry Potter has a lot of nastalgia for us. This was the first time LD has seen Harry Potter. I would have thought it would too scary for her but our neighbor told me it is her daughters favorite movie. Her daughter is six (6) months older than LD. They also came to LD's birthday and one of the gifts they gave her was Candy Land. So while watching HP we laid on the floor and played Candy Land with LD.

Credit

When you look at the package you can see it is for ages 3+ but I honestly would have never thought to buy it for her. We had a great time playing. I will be on the lookout for other age appropriate family board games. We pretty much lazed around the rest of Saturday.

On Sunday we went to the early service and after service hubby took LD on a winter walk, I went to youth group, AM went to her youth group and AL stayed in the nursery. LD saw this winter walk on Nick Jr. A daddy took his daughter on a winter walk and found sticks and pine cones and other natural things and she has talked about it all winter long. So hubby announced Sunday morning that this would probably be the last chance he had to take LD on her winter walk. He took her to Helen Hunt Falls a gorgeous park in Cheyenne Canyon. One of the great aspects of living in Colorado Springs - all of the wilderness/nature. Here are some of the photos he took with his phone.

Once LD and hubby came back AM and I left and went down to Manitou to eat at the Mate Factor.

We have to drive by Garden of the Gods to get there.

So we stopped to take some pictures. Manitou is a cute little town nestled into the base of Pikes Peak. The mountain behind the Garden of the Gods in the picture. The Mate Factor is a cafe run by The Twelve Tribes. If you are interested you should read a little more about them. The items they seel in their cafes are natural and raised on their farms, sourced naturally or they bake them fresh (even the breads and chips). They do not have a huge menu but everything is delicious!! I had the tuna melt and a peach mate and AM had the turkey sandwich with an apple juice. Here is the website with the cafe locations. My father in-law attended college with one of the elders and we were invited to his daughters wedding. It was very interesting and fun. Very family oriented which was nice to see. Tomorrow I will try to post some of the great photo's AM and I took while out. Something is not right with my computer so I can't get anything to load or resize.

Hope everyone has a great week!

My Summer Baby Wish List

2010-03-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Okay so I am sure everyone has received their 30% Gap/Old Navy Give and Get coupon. If you have not leave me a message with your email and I will send it to you. With my recent trip this weekend is not a great weekend to spend more money. If it were these are the items I would have bought.

These clothes are for AL. LD got a lot of clothes for her birthday and I don't usually pickout AM's clothes anymore.

While in DC and in New York I went to 4 GAP's I have a small GAP obsession. I got this little jumper for AL - it is ADORABLE!!

This is a great outfit! It is easy for her to move around in and light weight so it will be cool enough for summer. I put a long sleeved onsie underneath because it is still cold here and it was still very cute! Have you already started Spring/Summer shopping?

When Did My Friends Turn Into Old Ladies?

2010-03-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned it snowed yesterday here in Colorado. yesterday was also Stamp Club night. My two friends from Denver where supposed to carpool down and meet me for dinner than we would head to Stamp Club. These ladies are my two closest friends and we rarely see each other. So here is the email I received Thursday evening from BB (my best friend whose wedding in Mexico we went to last July).

"As a precaution, I hear we are supposed to get between 5-10 inches of snow. If it does start snowing or show sign I will have to bail. :( We can play that by ear.

But if the weather keeps up and passes us by I would love to ride together and meet beforehand for dinner. I am off work at 4:30pm."

and then AT's follow-up email first thing Friday morning

"Well, so far it doesn't look good for driving down later. I will check back in around 3pm for a final decision."

and BB's response

"I know...they say we are going to get 5-10 inches. It doesn't look good at all.

and tomorrow is the first day of Spring. Lies all lies! :)"

and finally my response

"I am breaking up with both of you. I can't believe neither one of you is willing to risk your lives to spend a few hours with me!!

PS the twelve year old girl side of me (yes she still exists - she is the one that fights with AM) is SO NOT KIDDING!!!!!! ;)"

The responding consensus was that we needed to move up to Denver. I get lost in Denver - I don't think that is a smart plan.

Please keep in mind 2 things - #1 - ALL 3 of us learned to drive in Colorado and in our younger days would have driven to any ~~good party~~ worthy event under ANY weather conditions at ANY distance. #2 - WE ARE COLORADANS!!! It Snows.

Now here we are 3 old ladies only getting together once a month for dinner and stamp club. Okay so the source of my fit is truley that I don't get to see these awesome woman nearly as much as I need to. Here is a picture of us tearing it up at the Madonna concert last year. Not really tearing it up, AT and I were pregnant.

Miss you ladies!

Spring Time In the Rockies

2010-03-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

It has been 70 degrees this week in beautiful Colorado Springs. Today? It is snowing HARD!!!

This is what it looked like all week. Not so much today. I can't see the Peak or the Garden of the Gods.

No big plans this weekend. I was going to go up to Denver with the girls on Saturday but than I realized AM's soccer game is at 2:30 in the afternoon. So we will go to that and than maybe go to a movie or find something else to do afterwards.

Anyone have any big plans this weekend?

Honest Scrap

2010-03-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

So excited I received an award from La over at Prone to Wander You must go over and check her blog out and give her babies cheeks a virtual squeeze - you won't be able to help yourself! Thank you so much La and sorry I am a little slow!

La gave me this award

Here are the rules:

•First, you have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true.

•Second, you have to tag 10 er 5 people with the award.

•Third, let all the people you've given the award to know they've gotten it (comment on their blogs or something).

•And, finally, make sure you link back to the person who awarded you

This is a tough one because I am a pretty open person. So I will try my best for 10 things - here it goes.

1) I had my first daughter before I graduated high school - I was 17 and a junior in high school when I found out I was pregnant.
2) I graduated high school on time when everyone said it was not possible (including school administrators). I had to go to day school, night school and an alternative school, so school 7am -9pm Mon - Fri and than I had a part time job Friday, Saturday and Sunday. My grandparents helped with AM while I was at school.
3) I don't like being told I can't accomplish something.
4) I love having goals and I love meeting them
5) Even though I had my own cleaning business I don't like hair and really hate touching trash. I started my business so I could be more available to my kids with a flexible schedule and to get out of a horrible job.
6) I can't wait to retire and spend all of my days with my husband doing what we do best - nothing!
(I asked for my husband's input on these last few and here is what he gave me - I laughed so hard and they were all so true I am using them all even though they put me over the 10)
7) I can’t touch chalk
8) I have the best luck with second husbands
9) I make the cutest babies
10) My husband says I don’t take his advice; I’m only putting this in to spite him
11) I am a pack rat who hates clutter
12) I love competition—I’m currently winning our snoring contest
13) We went to London on our honeymoon and the Londoners thought we were crazy for that!
14) I love the beach and the water

Huh and I thought I had told you guy's everything. There you have it. More about me than I am sure you would ever hope to know.

I am passing this award on to

Alyssa
Hilary
Mo
Margie
Jessica

Tip Toes

2010-03-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

AL has gotten so big - she is a mover and a shaker. My other two girls were pretty mellow. I didn't have to move much, I just said no they would move on to something else. Not this baby. She moves so fast and gets into EVERYTHING!! When I tell her "no" she looks at me and smiles and just keeps going about her business. I set her down the other day and turned around and she had made it up 2 flights of stairs.

She is such a busy body that I have had to start letting her sit in the bathroom with me while I shower and get ready in the morning. It is the only way to know where she is. This morning I was getting ready to get in the shower and she was trying to reach the shampoo bottle, but it was slightly to far for her so she reached up on her tip toes to reach it. I never thought about it before but how fascinating is it that even a 10 month old baby would think to elevate themselves by getting on their tip toes? It was so cute, sorry no picture.

I have been slacking off in the diet department so today I am back it, with lots of workouts planned. What does everyone else have planned?

Almost Perfect

I Was Thinking.....

It's That Time of Year Again

Hair Color and Aging

The Baby

What I Have Been Up To.......

Where I Have Been

Bacon Baked Goods

33 Years Ago (yesterday)......

Happy Anniversary!!

So Sick

I Can Clean the Crap Out of A Closet....

Personal Space Extends To the Line At the Grocery Store

A Thought For Your Thursday

I Wish I Could Be My New Years Self All Year Long

La, La, La, La The Giveaway Winner

Drive Friendly ~ The Texas Way

Down and Behind in COlorado Springs

It's Time For The Giveaway!!

CSN Stores

A Woman's Prayer

My First 5k On Turkey Day

Shutterfly, Be Still My Heart

And Then There Was Christmas.....

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Weight Watchers Update

Things I Have Learned Form Corporate America

Status and Giveaway

A Long Week

Menu Plan Monday

Book Review: Firefly Lane

Favorite Friday: FRIENDS Edition

Colorado Girls! Represent!

Checking In - Weight Watchers

Miscellany Mondays

Top 2 Tuesday

It Was All I Could Do Not To Scream

Misc. Monday

Love From Florida

Chomp!

Funny How Things Work

Miscellany Monday

My Brother

What's a Busy Mom To Do?

Miscellany Monday

I Discovered the Solution

Very Fancy

How Do You Know When Baby is Done?

Miscellany Monday

What Would You Do.....For a Compliment?

It's The Dad Life

COHEN

*Reminder* Blogging Moment of Silence for Cohen

Top 2 Tuesday

A Moment of Silence for Cohen

Giveaway and Sticky Floor Update

Happy Summer Indeed!

Back In the Saddle

Miscellany Monday

Father's Day Interview, 2010

Wake Me Up...Our Vegas Recap

Texas Recap

Miscellany Monday

Getting To Know You!

Man's Search For Meaning

We Are Back

The Great State of Texas

99 Memories

Fun Interior Design Profile

Happy Memorial Day!!

PARENT - Job Description

An Award!!

A Week of Firsts

Flip Flop Summer Swap

This Baby Might Have a Complex!

Book Review

Paris Bound

Look Who Is 1!

Sometimes Things Are Just Funny.....

Kid's Know the Strangest Things

Reminder Blogging Moment of Silence for Cohen