I love my husband!

         I seriously do love him very much. I am not just saying it. I could go on and on about how wonderful and amazing he is and how much I love him. Not to mention how I could go on about the reasons why all that is true. Needless to say I love him and I am blessed. I know all this. We had a good Christmas. DH had to go into work for swing shift and didn't get off until early this morning since most of graveyard called in. So he is still sleeping. How was all of your Christmas's? Did you get something you just love or did you do a gift free Christmas? DH got us tickets to see Shen Yun in January. I am so excited it should be so much fun. It's out of town but we will stay with my SIL and she agreed to watch the boys while we are at the show.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

May God bless the soldiers and their families that won't be home this Christmas! Remember them in your prayers! They are the reason we are home with ours! I hope all of your Christmas's are merry and bright.

Ink drawings..

      I have 10 days off from work after I get off today (hopefully early). No I am not going on vacation the lab I work for closes until the new year so I will have plenty of free time on my hands. My plans are stay home with my boys and play. :) Along with baking and some knitting. I have a few sewing projects I want to tactual. Now if the weather improves and it doesn't snow anymore we might make a short 2 or 3 day trip to see my uncle and my SIL. I also plan on doing some ink drawing/sketches that I will then frame and put up in my guest room/project room. It was DH idea. I did a doodle yesterday and he suggested I do a bigger one and frame it. So I though why not do a few and use it in the guest room. So wish me luck with my projects. I hope you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS on Saturday.

4 more days...

    then it is CHRISTMAS..  Anyway our boss had a Christmas party last Saturday, it was nice. Tomorrow we are having a little Christmas party at work, with a "white elephant" gift exchange of sorts. I am assigned to bring something "sweet" for this party. My boss requested a blueberry pie so tonight I am making a blueberry pie. This is my first attempt at blueberry but I've made lots of other pies and a few berry pies, just not blueberry. I used Christmas cookie cutters to make a decorative top "crust". It's in the oven now baking and since I didn't know if it would turn out (If it doesn't I have a back up plan for a different dessert (not another blueberry though)) I took a picture of it before sticking it in the oven.

wah-la not perfect but I think it will be cute

   I am glad to be ready for Christmas. No last minute Christmas shopping for this girl. We had too take all the presents from under the tree. The boys kept sneaking them to open them partway to see if it was their gifts. Now they are in the back room until Christmas. It snowed again over the weekend so we made a snowman and a snow puppy.

Day 9789

Our tree decorated with the help of our 2 and now 4 year old.

           I don't know where you all are on your Christmas planning and gifting and all but we here are done.Well almost 100% done. We're done shopping at least. Thank goodness for that. I am not a big fan of crowds and waiting. Especially together. Our tree is decorated and while it might not be the tree I envision in my mind it is the tree that my darling little boys helped decorate. They of course want to open the gifts under said tree now (even if they aren't theirs). They even decorated some salt dough ornaments for the tree also. Saturday I went to a friend's and we made lotion bars and decorated some salt dough ornaments (which I said I would credit to my children if anybody asked, lol) and then I brought some home for the boys to decorate. I might do a post on the lotion bars later once I get the pictures from my friend, unless she does a post on it and then I will probably give you all the link to it. It was fun and we were there for only like 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Which isn't too bad for 5 batches and breakfast and ornaments.. At least in my opinion.
            I decorated the mantle also but I will not be posting a picture of it on here. At least not this year (and hopefully next year we won't be living here). So now that we are 11 days from Christmas and tomorrow is my father's birthday and the following day is SNOWBOARDING. Have I mentioned how much fun I find snowboarding. Even though I have gone much, nor am I much good at it I enjoy it very much. This coming Saturday my boss is having Christmas party at his house. Originally we were going to be out of town and therefore unable to attend but unfortunately ( I really wanted to see my friend up in northern Washington) it didn't end up working out. So it appears we will be able to attend.
             Also we are attempting to decided what we are going to do for our vacation this late winter/early spring 2011. DH is leaving it up to me (unless he decides that isn't the wisest decision).This of course will be a cash only vacation. In which I mean we will not be using credit of any type. Obviously we probably won't being using cash in hand only, but cash in bank via debit cards. To me this doesn't seem weird or odd. I have read and I follow blogs that discuss money and debt and the like. I do not normally do that here. Though I don't really devote this blog to any one thing, well except maybe life. Okay back on topic. I have never gone on a vacation where I paid for it in part or in whole by credit. Don't get me wrong I have used credit in my life, I bought my house via a V.A. Loan which when we sale we will make a hefty profit even in the housing downturn. I bought my car with an auto loan through my credit union. Yes yes I know I know it's better if you pay cash for it yaddah yaddah. I am okay with having these loans. I am even okay with having a credit card or two. As long as you can be responsible about it. By no means am I saying I perfect of I have it down. I am not and I don't. I have made mistakes and probably will make mistakes in the future (hopefully different ones then I made in the past or I didn't learn anything). But we are relatively young (26 if you must know) so we are still learning and figuring things out. Not to mention trying to find a mutually agreeable ground when it comes to what we want to do with out money. I say this all because in figuring out what we want to do for our vacation I might mention it on here. Not to mention references that might be made later on. So I mention it now when I have very few readers (so later if somebody asks about it later I can say see day 9789 hehehe.. okay not really).  Also so nobody who stumbles onto my blog will lecture me about the importance of savings. Trust me I know the importance. I have seen first hand what happens when something life changing happens and makes it so you can't work and have multiple medical bills (because trust me no insurance covers 100% of anything and some things cost an unbelievable amount of money even with insurance) and you don't have much or any savings. Or when somebody dies and doesn't have a savings left and no life insurance. It is expensive to bury a loved one not to mention hard enough on it's own. In times like these it's better to have a strong savings then having to but stuff like that on credit or depend on others to help you.

     Okay moving on to happier less depressing things.. Vacations.. I am truly a big kid at heart at least when it comes to some things so one of the things on my possible vacation plan is a little over a week in southern California at Disney and the like. I heart rides, rides the go up high, rides the spin, that drop, that splash and so on and so forth. I don't think there has been a ride I have ridden that I wouldn't and haven't ridden again. DH isn't as big on rides as I am (a lot of adults probably aren't) but he loves me and will humor me, plus he loves roller coasters so if he gets to go on some of those and we go somewhere that is warm and mainly sunny he will be happy.  Which brings us to option 2 a cruise to somewhere warm and tropical. Beyond that I am toying with the idea of going somewhere warm and tropical sans the cruise. We went on a cruise in the beginning of 2009 and we had a blast. So I am not against another cruise. Option 4 is to go to Europe and visit my sister. Though I am not sure that's the best time of the year to visit there.

A picture of another cruise ship from our Mexico cruise in 2009

I have a problem...

       
                Okay maybe not a problem but issues. I enjoy the holiday season, I like finding that gift for people I love that I think they will truly love and enjoy. And I love the feeling you get when you give it to them and the light up with happiness. No; this is not my issue. I am crazy have a little issue with being a control freak needy when it comes to knowledge, any knowledge but worse so when it directly effects me. What that doesn't sound so bad? Okay, it sounds horrible, especially when you grasp what that truly means. It being the holiday season and with Christmas coming up some of my loved ones is buying me gifts. *Gasp* the horrors. Yeah I know I am not getting any sympathy from you. I manage to stamp down my insatiable need to know everything for the most part on a normal basis. Unfortunately if say like wonderful amazing DH bought me a gift and then tells me "I found a gift I think you'll really enjoy/like/love or any other adjective" I then need to know what that item is. So I proceed to guess and try to get him to tell me. I even offer to tell him his gift in exchange. This never works. Ever. Argh. Darn him. I would be better off if I was left in the dark until I was giving said gift so I do not have to obsess over it for more than the amount of time it takes me to open the gift.

          I now have the knowledge that he bought me something but not the knowledge of what it is. Sure I could find out what store he bought it from or I could go search for it. But that smacks of unfair and wrong. So I will wait and suffer and nag negotiate. I do try to keep it to the minimum, especially since I know he won't tell me anything. Sometimes I think he tells me because he enjoys watching me suffer guess and negotiate to find out. Okay probably in reality he is just excited and wants to share that with me. Alright I just wanted to rant for a bit. I am all better now. Really I am. I promise. What you don’t believe me? You still think I am crazy have issues? Yeah yeah you are probably right but at the moment I am no obsessing about it. And for the record I know I am blessed and lucky. I have a wonderful sweet amazing husband who loves me.  I just have issues. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

                       HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!


          I hope your thanksgiving goes well and any who will be traveling tonight, tomorrow or this weekend travel safely. Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for~A roof over my head, a room to sleep in, a place to live in, and a family to LOVE!




What are you thankful for?

Day 9767

     It seems to be embracing winter with open arms around here. Supposedly we are suppose to be done with it snowing for awhile as of 7am this morning. Let me tell you, that did not work out. My nice boss let me leave early today, yay not trying on ice roads in the dark today. Hopefully it will not snow tomorrow but we will see. The weather has caused some changes in Thanksgiving plans. We are still making dinner, obviously, we do still have all that food. Unfortunately my SIL her husband and kids won't be in town due to the weather and neither will DH's cousin and her kids. So we probably won't be seeing them until after the new year. They were going to DH's grandma's for Thanksgiving dinner but we were all going to get together. As for our guests well that still remains to be seen. Whether my brother will want to drive on these roads for turkey and if my dad and sister come, well time will tell. We will be making the food and if nobody but us and the kids are here to eat it, we'll have tons of left overs. And I will take some to work and share with some coworkers. I am considering starting my baking tonight so I don't have to cram it all in tomorrow after work. I am such a procrastinator I will probably put it off until tomorrow though. Now I am off to make dinner. One more picture of the snowing weather.

   

day 9766

For all you out there who doesn't have snow yet.

           So it started snowing yesterday but it didn't stick. Then it rain, after that it froze and then it snowed. It wasn't snowing this morning when I went to work but it spent most of the day lightly snowing. When I got off at 5 it was nice and dark and freezing rain mixed with snow. Not so fun to drive in it. I really don't mind snow and driving in snow isn't really all that bad but I prefer to do it in daylight sans the ice. Some people get super happy about it which frankly I don't understand. Sure it can be pretty but it melts and then freezes and then you get to drive on ice with idiots who don't know what they are doing during the day little lone in the dark. Now if I didn't have to drive in it or only during the daylight it wouldn't make me quite so cranky. But as it is I am cranky. Then again it would be nice if I didn't have to drive five miles out of town to get my kids in the dark and then drive five miles back to town and then through town in it in the dark. It should wait to snow until the last week of December when I don't have to work and therefore won't have to drive in it in the dark. Oh did I mention it is still snowing. A nice solid layer of snow to protect that ice on the roads and make sure it doesn't melt.  Tomorrow morning should make interesting for driving to work. This morning wasn't even bad and there was multiple accidents with injuries, tomorrow will probably be worse. Poor DH got stuck doing OT at his job because of call ins. He got a split but it means he has to drive in it around 3 am. No fun for him I am sure. Not that it bothers him, all the years of driving in Alaska I am sure. Personally it takes me awhile to adjust to having to drive in it. Hope all your Mondays were swell.

Thanksgiving

      So Thanksgiving is in one week. I am looking forward to the food. What can I say I love food, thanksgiving was my favorite holiday as a kid. So, I will share our THANKSGIVING DINNER MENU for next week. We are having the following (or at least that's the current plan).
• Oven Roasted Turkey
• Turkey Stuffing
• Turkey Gravy
• Garlic & Sour cream Mashed Potatoes
• Cranberry Sauce
• Whipped Sweet Potatoes with a Marshmallow Crust
• Macaroni casserole
• Devil Eggs
• Caesar Salad
• Fruit Salad
• Corn
• Make ahead Rolls
• 2 layer pumpkin cheesecake
• Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Pie

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish? I really like the turkey or the devil eggs.  My husband it's the sweet potatoes. For my kids it's the pies of course. Lol.

     Sometimes life just isn't what you hope for, sometimes it is more. Sometimes it is much much less. And sometimes if you are unlucky not only is it so very much more less (ah the horrible grammar of it all) you are sick with strep throat on top of it. Right before the holidays. But isn't that the way it goes? Or so it would seem anyways. This time of the year is hard enough for my family and I as it is. Anniversary of our mom's untimely much too early death. So it's a hard difficult time of the year as it was and then add a holiday and family stress. Then have more stress and drama from multiple outlets in your life. Argh.
     So my question to you all is this what do you do when life is getting you down? I draw and write but sometimes I don't even feel like doing that. At those times I just have to find something else. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile and I promise my next post will be much more upbeat.

Happy Halloween!

            Happy Halloween everybody! I hope all of you enjoy the holiday and all the little trick r treaters have a safe time getting their candies. The boys and I are at my SIL's so they can trick r treat with their cousins. DH stayed home he has to work today. So lots of pictures to take today. We are going to try to do holiday theme food at each meal we had halloween pancakes and sausage mummies for breakfast.

      The girls seemed to really like the pancakes, my boys prefered the mummies. Now to figure out what we will be having the rest of the day. Once again Happy Halloween!

Day 9743

      Today for work we dressed up for Halloween.. Okay some of us did. The slackers didn't. Lol just teasing. So I am a witch today. My office mate is a pirate and our boss is a cowboy..  Fun stuff. So I have my shimmery feathery witches hat of amazingness (not really a word but whatever) that cost me all of 5 bucks. That's right big spender me. Lol. And then I am just wearing black clothes I normally own and wear. I got up a little early (ugh) willingly (shocking I know) and did some funky eye make up. I actually liked doing it so I will probably do a different funky one on Sunday. It reminded me of dance team in high school. Ahh memories.. If only I still had my figure from those days..

taking a picture myself didn't turn out as well as I would've hope but oh well

        The boys are super excited about Halloween and trick r treating. The town is doing their "safe" trick r treat event on main st today from 3 to 5 (I will be at work :'( ) and I think their dad is going to take them. DH is wonderful, even if he refuses to dress up. We are still going to my SIL's this weekend so they will be trick r treating with their cousins on Sunday, it will be so stinking cute.

     On a side note I have an appointment this afternoon and errands to run. I will be doing this sans the witch's hat but I am sure my eyes will garner me a few looks oh well. I will conclude with a pic of our completed pumpkins. Hope you all enjoy your Halloweens. :)

day 9738

                Today we started the process that will be our carved pumpkins... I helped the boys draw their pumpkins faces and scribbled a picture on my pumpkin to be cut out. All that's left is DH's pumpkin but since he is at work I will give him a chance to draw it or whatever himself. Tomorrow the cutting commences...

My pumpkin hopefully it will look similar after it's cut out

My pumpkin with the boys' pumpkins

Day 9736

Don't be deceived by the picture this area is sorely lacking trees.

They aren't native to the area but this farmer or somebody planted them.

       Today we (DH and I) took the boys to the pumpkin patch and on a hay ride. They loved it. We took some pictures of them on the hay bales with pumpkins and scarecrows. But as a terrible mother that I am no pictures of them no the hay ride or in the patch picking their pumpkins. Oh well, next year right?? DS1 picked his pumpkin and carried it all by himself. DS2 not so much. In the end fun was had by all and we spent way too  much for 4 pumpkins we picked out of the field ourselves. But when I look at it as $20 (don't judge me for a flagrant disregard of financial smarts savvy) for they hay ride (which technically was free) and the boys' joy of getting to go pick their own pumpkins I say it was $20 well spent in my opinion. Besides it was fun much more fun then the buying them from the store right? And at least I know they are locally grown.... Anyways I can live with the extra $8 it cost us. The $8 is merely a guess based on an amount given during a discussion by a coworker as I have not paid any attention to the cost of pumpkins at the store myself.

               Next year DH says we are growing our own pumpkins.. I scoffed at him. While I work at an ag lab and have the science down and the knowledge of how to do this growing thing, I am not a gardener. Not even by the slightest amount of imagination. My flowerbeds have wild flowers planted in them. Why? Simple because I am not a gardner but love pretty flowers. And I did the dig out all the old stuff from the previous owner and the till in the potting soil/fertilizer needed, depended on what was needed (see I said I got the science part down.. Lol) I put the seeds in and water for germination and was done with it. Much to the disappointment of my husband. 

Aren't my wildflowers pretty? And low maintenance...

      Don't get me wrong I love getting home grown veggies and fruits from DH's grandma and my lovely friend/coworker. And I even enjoy canning and making of stuff like jam and applesauce. But alas I am busy (yes a cop out I know I know) and am not really in the mood to be a gardener. DH would love it if we had a garden like his grandma's with veggies and fruits and such. And while it might not take a whole lot of work it would take a decent amount of work because I would insist on doing it the "right way". The "right way" being my way of course. You know taking to soil probe and getting a sample have it tested and then onto the soil amendments based on crop. And I mean each item we planted not the general veggie amendment (though based on each item planted is OVERKILL and I know it)that would suffice and be quite accurate. There would be no random adding of this and that and then when it didn't or did grow being like oh I am glad or disappointed or whatever that we did/didn't do such and such. That's right I would be all crazy lady insane overzealous about it. And I just don't have the energy for that at this time in my life, little lone the desire for it. I hear you thinking then do it but don't be all psychotic about it. Sorry I refuse to do that it would drive me nuts and I am already crazy quirky enough as it is. So for now my gardening will be wildflowers and lawns only. I tell anybody who thinks I need to be gardening the same thing I told DH if you want it done so bad do it yourself because I am not doing it right now.

                In other news today was a slow day, I did some cleaning and laundry. I was lazy after our friends left last night and did not do all the cleaning up. For shame, I know. But I remedy that today, yay me, right? lol. And my so not a fall flower bouquet is back on the table where it belongs. Again don't judge, I like bright cheery flowers and they were at the store on sale (go figure). So I got them and did a cheery bouquet, which DH teased me about. I guess the next one will need to be season appropriate. Shucks. I was lazy and didn't feel like cooking lunch so we had pizza much to the boys delight. To their disappointment I wouldn't let them have it for dinner also. I will not do two unbalanced meals in a day, I refuse. I try to avoid even one but some days I fail on that and they get something like pizza. Sigh, so so very unhealthy but oh so yummy. As the evil mommy I am I even made them eat extra broccoli and cauliflower for dinner. Muhahaha. Seriously though, I must have done something right both my children love fruits and veggies, they will even pick them over other foods (even candy). They even ate their steaks like good little children.. Sometimes they are resistant to eating meat. Don't worry I don't force feed my children. But they understand that in this house I am not a personal chef to make multiple different dinners to cater to their every whim. Oh the horrors.. My oldest even says when he doesn't want to eat what we made for dinner or lunch or something "it in the fridge I will eat it later when I whine that I am hungry" Maybe we've told him a time or two before that if he refused to eat it we aren't making him something else he can just eat it later when he whines that he is hungry. I may have even followed through on the threat a time or too.. Ah such a mean mommy am I...

       So now the little ones are suppose to be in bed for the night... I've already put them back into bed at least half a dozen times between the two of them. DH is at work and I just want some me time to relax. Me time would be drink a glass of red wine (or iced passion tea) in one of the  pretty glasses my sister bought me for Christmas the year before last. So pretty.. That's right my sister is awesome and I am so lucky. You know you are jealous. ;) Along with this wine or tea I plan to read the rest of the blog that I found via my friend/coworker. I enjoy reading her writing. You all should check out her blog.

         

Looks like this but only a wine glass..

I know I should take a picture of mine but I don't want to at this time.

Day 9735

apple cake num num num

          So far the day has been decent but it's only lunch time so that might change.  My best friend and her SO is coming over for dinner tonight. We are planning steak and potatoes with corn and rolls for dinner. My apple cake for dessert of course. Yummy. :) It felt like a fall dessert to me so that's the way I decided to go.  Hopefully it will be lots of fun.. Maybe we can even play some games, like Apples to Apples. Or my favorite...

photo from Amazon

             I am weird yes I know.. Tomorrow is my neice's 2nd birthday. We won't be able to all be there because DH works and it is a 2 1/2 hour drive. And the plan is to take the boys to the pumpkin patch in the morning. I am sure they will love it. I plan on driving to my SIL's next weekend with the boys and maybe they and their cousins can go trick 'r treating together. I think it would be fun and cute. I would have to drive back on halloween since I work but it would be fun for them I think. DH works so he would stay home but I don't think he would mind the peace and quiet for two days. LOL.

            My knitting project is going nowhere. I repeat nowhere. I guess I need to get on to the ball because I am being a slacker. But I will no admit defeat I will finish a minmum of one of them before christmas. I've done some sketches. I really think I might mat and frame some of them for gifts for certain people. I am also thinking of making a calendar with pictures of the boys for each month and dress them up in a theme for each month. I think it would be cute. And they are still young enough to tolerate it enjoy it. 

          Even though all some of my friends think I am crazy weird quirky for listening to bubblegum oldies and maybe I'm guilty of often sometimes quoting lyrics from songs that came out decades before I was born, I still love enjoy listening to it. And my the lovely lady I share an office with at work doesn't complain when I play songs from before either of us were born. Don't worry I don't do it all the time, just occassionally. I enjoy all types of music to some degree. I am definately a mood listener. My mood determines what I enjoy listening to at the time. Is anybody else that way or am I just a freak of nature weird?

Day 9732

           First let me start by saying I can't wait not to be sick anymore. I haven't gone to the gym like I should be because of being sick. Boo. I am still working so obviously I am not on deaths door but the achy, headache and sore thoart just need to go already. Yeah yeah rest and plenty of fluids. I have the latter part down pat but the beginning not so much but more then I was since no gym time. But that doesn't help me lose any of my fatness. Let's see I am super excited to see my sister in November. Yay! I love my big sis and am so proud of her and all she has done and all she does for our country. November is going to be a good month, I am also excited to have family photos done by the amazing Diane of Aland Photo. I love her work and as she said "I love photography styles from the 70's, the use of props (especially sweet treats and vintage items), unique locations, and natural light." Diane also has a blog on blogger that I believe I linked in the last blog, so if you haven't check it out you should do so. The link again. You can check out some of her photos there (or at the first link which is her web site). And if anybody is in the area where she takes pictures you should so have them done. The prices are great (in my humble opinion) and the pictures are AMAZING. Maybe I am biased but I think they are awesome. And no I am not related to her in any shape or form. But I do know Diane, she is a great wonderful person with a big heart, who is a fab mommy and a talented photographer. Okay I will leave the bragging about her alone for now.  :0)

           Now onto bragging about my children. Lol. So as you may (or maynot know) I have two sons, DS1 is 3 and DS2 is 2. DH and I have been learning japanese. DH would really love to live visit Japan for a time. And while yes I know they are one of the amazing countries who actively teach multiple languages to their students until they are fluent and a lot of them do speak English I demanded thought we should learn Japanese. So we are going to take courses at the local Community College in Japanese. But some of the basics you can learn online, like counting. As the crazy lady go getter I am, we have begun.  So my wonderful sons can now count to ten in english, spanish and japanese. I haven't got them to learn it in French yet. DH put the kabosh on me teaching them spanish and since my spanish is spotty at best I didn't push it. I was going to teach them some French, might as well put my 3 years of French classes to some use right? But then I decided we agreed to learn Japanese so they boys are going to learn whatever we can teach them. Since I doubt the College will let a 2 and 3 year old take the class. So if it isn't obvious yet I am obsessed enjoy learning other languages. Unfortunately I can only hold beyond a basic conversation in English, French and American Sign Language (my paternal grandma was deaf). I have the basics down is Spanish and Italian but I never took beyond a 1st year introductory class in either of them (not even that when it came to spanish). Anyways I am so so proud of my kids they learned to count to ten in Japanese before daddy could remember it all.  DH doesn't have knack for learning languages but he tries and I am sure in the end he will at least get the basics down.
    While hopefully one day we will visit Japan, first we are visiting England (to visit my sister once she is there), Scotland, Ireland and France. Which if all goes as planned we will be doing that in the year 2011 (that's right next year). Can't wait it should be fun. We will have to get the boys their passports. DH and I already have our's from when we went to Mexico last year. So I really need to crack down and start going to the gym again, sick or not. I need to get into decent shape before snowboarding season. DH says the better shape your end the less hurt you get when if I bif it. That's right I am a crazy lady person who enjoys hurtling sliding down a mountain at fast speeds avoiding trees and other crazy people skiiers and boarders.  The best part is in December when we go I get to see my amazing friend and go boarding with her and her new husband. Yay! We have a 2 bedroom suite booked at the resort so we will probably invite another couple to go with us and cover part of the cost.

where we will be in December (see plenty of trees)

Where DH boarded in Alaska (see the lack of trees)

              Now don't worry DH has been boarding down in the lower 48 also, so he knows how to board around trees also.

Day 9721

                The gym routine that I have been doing has not been working for me. Probably because I have been doing the same as DH just lower weight higher reps. Don't get me wrong toning or whatever is fine but I want to loose some weight. And loose it like yesterday. So I am going to be doing more cardio 4 days a week. And by more I mean instead of the measely 20 to 30 minutes of cardio (which is mainly bikes and running) I will be upping it to about 2 hours of cardio. That's right watch me die from exhaustion and lack of oxygen. I will still do some weight training. By some I mean very little. I figure I will go from 20 to 30 minutes of cardio and 1 1/2 to 2 hours weights and switch it. Around 2 hours of cardio and 20 to 30 minutes of weights. Postive point is with DH schedule change for the next 6 months I won't be working out at 11:30pm like a crazy person. Why 2 hours of cardio 4 days a week you may ask. Simple I do NOT do diets, I get cranky and mean when I am hungry and I like being able to eat what I am hungry for. If I want frozen yogurt by golly I am going to have some frozen yogurt. And besides I LOVE fruit and most diet are down on fruit because of the sugar content. Salads and I are not friends nor will we ever be. So 8 hours or more of cardio a week will help I hope. Along with 3 to 4 days of yoga.  Maybe this will help me not hate excerise. Doubtful me thinks but who knows.
           The plan is to have family photos done by the end of the year, hopefully by this amazing photographer I know. I included a link, you all should check it out. Not only is she a talented photographer, she beautiful, smart and nice.

A picture of the costume my oldest will be wearing

           We have the boys's costumes for halloween now, they are both going to be dragons and they look adorable. They are so excited, it's so cute. DH has to work on halloween so it will just be the boys and me this year. I am still trying to decide if I want to dress up with them. My oldest keeps saying mommy you should be a princess. It's so cute. lol. My amazing sister will be home on leave (she's in the air force) at the end of November/beginning of December. It will be nice to see her, I know the boys are very excited to see their aunt. We have a snowboarding trip planed for december also. I get to see one of my very good friends when we go on this trip. I am so excited. I don't get to see her that often since she leaves up by Canada now. We were roommates for awhile and even after we weren't anymore we hung out alot. But as the years went on we wended up living hours apart from each other and so we don't see each other near often enough in my opinion.
            As an end note I would like to say tonight has been a much better day than yesterday and I am looking forward to my weekend.

Day 9720

    Today isn't a great day thus far. Somebody called in sick today at work, which means more work for me. :( I woke up with a headache. I didn't get a chance to drink all my coffee before it was nasty cold. :| I had to stand in line for what seemed like hours (which was probably only 20 minutes) for my sub which was made incorrectly. When I pointed it out the looked at me like I was crazy and told me I could go to the end of the line and they would make me a new one. When I told them no and that I wasn't paying for it they offered it to me at a discounted rate (I took it since I didn't want to stand in line for another 20 minutes). I must of picked up a nail or something in my tire since it was low. And by low I mean crazy low, so it must have been leaking for awhile and I didn't notice. Lame. So I paid $1 (yes it seems that's the going rate for air around here) so that way I didn't burn out the inner tubing (hopefully I haven't already). Now I will have to find time to go have the tire checked (and patched) or buy a new tire (which means 4 new tires because I don't want to replace one and then have to replace the other three in a few months). Maybe that's weird. But that's like $480 more then I planned or wanted to spend this month. Argh. Hope with me that that's not the case. It's looks like it's going to rain outside. I hope it does.
       I am ready for day 9721 of my life already. Wish I could go to bed until then but I can't I am at work and my lunch break is essentially over. Maybe day 9720 is still salvageable, it's still early I guess.  Here's hoping.

Day 9717

Grr Blogger just lost my post with it's lovely pictures and I don't really have time to retype it all now. So a quick rundown and hopefully I will have time to post more later. I want to make scarves for some people I know and love for Christmas. And since give aways seem to be a common thing in the blog sphere if I have time maybe I will make one to give away. Now I am going to post some pictures of options and hopefully get some feedback (sorry this is rushed)
Option 1

 Option 2 and 3 (Option 2 on the left Option 3 on the right)

 Option 4

Thanks for the help in advance. :)

Day 9713

           As for the title that is how many days old I am today. Man the number of days makes me feel even older. Oh well. Anyways moving right along. The gym is still lame, and since I refuse to diet and give up carbs I am making little progress, oh well que sera sera I can wear my wedding ring without cutting of circulation and not having to pay over $200 to have it sized up (yay!), my pants are a little loose but not loose enough to change the size I wear unless I want that oh so unflattering muffin look. Sigh. Life is currently full of stress not just at work but also on the personal front. But alas that is life and I strive to make the best of it and not dwell on the negative. Which sometimes I fail miserably at. I am so ready to sale my house and move. I want to decorate but DH says no. No decorating that might put holes in the walls, not decorating because our next place might not work with the same decorations. I am tired of sad white walls. DH says I can decorate our next plaxe however I want. But for now I am stuck with the blank canvas that is the walls of our house.  *insert unhappy sigh here*
           Moving right along we went to the uproar concert last weekend, it was tons of fun. Even won a hat and a tanktop. DH met his favorite band Disturbed and also met Stone Sour. An event that is wasted on me. I can care less if somebody is famous and a certainly don't  want to meet them for the sole reason they are famous. Don't get me wrong I like their music I just don't want/need their john hancocks. But all in all it was fun, got a few bruises from the pit. Now I never have any intention of moshing and yet everytime we go to a rock concert I end up standing where the mosh pit starts. It's like I am drawn to the locale like a moth to a flame. At one point I could have lifted both feet off from the ground and still not fallen. I feel like I understand what sardines feel like when they are packed into cans. Good thing I am not clausterphobic right?
              We are trying to potty train our 2 year old he is having none of it. Once and awhile he will us the potty the rest of the time he just tells us No his is not a big boy he is the baby and wants his diapers. Gah. Our 3 year old when we potty trained him as soon as he was in big boy undies he was right on it, he has had 2 accidents and sleeps through the night getting up to us the bathroom. I understand we were lucky with him and that it doesn't normally work this way but I am at a loss on what to do to convince my 2 yr old he wants to try using the potty  on a regular basis.. Any suggestions? I am open to all suggestions. Whether I take them reminds to be seen but I am open to hearing them. I hope all is well in all of your lives (that is if anybody is reading).

The Sierra Club No Impact Week

           As I am sure I said before I follow the Cash Only Living blog (which you should totally check out if you haven't yet). Anyway I found out about this No Impact Week from her blog (you can check out her current blog about it) Or you can go to the No Impact Man and sign up at this link. After reading her blog I was a total followere and went to the link signed up and got my 17 page document about the a one-week carbon cleanse that is the No Impact Experiment. The plan is to do the daily challenges for the week (anybody can do a week right? It is only 7 days in the grand scheme of things) and after that who knows. Maybe we (my family and I) will make some permenant changes that orginated from this challenge. So people check it out, sign up and give it a whirl. What really is the worst that can happen? The best that can happen is you leave a smaller carbon footprint and hey maybe you will save some money while doing it. I am not asking you to do anything extreme, I am just asking you to check it out. The plan is I will blog about my daily challenges and from what I understand I won't be the only one.

Today falls under a good day?

         Today has a lot of annoying points at least. I hate it when people try to rush through something and make multiple mistakes that they wouldn't have made if they took the time to do it right the first. (Which in the end after all the mistakes they made doing it right the first time would've been faster). Gah. I especially hate it when it directly effects me.. Work today was luke warm. Around here that's a grea tthing. I will take a drama free day at work any day. It was actually busier than last monday still much slower then the mondays prior. Ah must mean the season is wrapping up. Pretty soon all the potatoes will be harvested, along with mass majority of the onions and on to the corn. We are still waiting to see if we pick up with apple leaves and the such. I am feeling rather indifferent on the matter. Some days being busy with work is great, other days i like a more mellow flow. But come december when the ground is frozen and we have no work to do I will be wishing for samples. (Maybe we will have some research samples this winter).
               I still have a decent chunk of PTO for the rest of the year. It's a use it or lose thing, you can roll one work week worth of PTO over to the next year, and I will probably roll over close to (if not all of that) this year. Next year I will probably use all my PTO. The goal is to go overseas for about a month next year. Go to Scotland, Ireland, Paris, London, Germany, probably not all of those places but at least a few. My sister will be stationed in either London or Germany, so largely we will be taking the kids and going to see her and such. We are going to have to get a house sitter for that time though. I don't like the idea of nobody being at the house for 4 weeks. We will have to see though, her orders are set in stone yet and we aren't sure when we would be going. I tell you this though we are going somewhere next year. If not overseas at least on a cruise. Maybe the Rockboat. We had some friends who went this last year, they said it was fun. And we enjoyed our cruise.
               The boys are still growing like weeds. They wear the same size right now, which is convenient and at the same time not. Nothing like a three year old and a two year old fighting over how gets to wear the choo choo shirt or the cars shirt or complaining the other is wearing their shirt. We usually let them pick out their own clothes (which can look pretty weird at times). Though sometimes I just decide what they are going to wear, sometimes DH decides without consulting them also. Though in DH case sometimes you can't tell the difference between what they pick at times and what he picks at times. Oh well, I am probably just to nit-picky about it.
               My SIL and her two girls are staying with us for another week. They got in today (while I was at work). But DH said they were arriving and without any mishaps on they way here, thank goodness. My SIL's husband won't be here for the major part of the duration, he has to work but he is here for tonight. At least they only live about 2.5 hours from here. The boys get to see their cousins multiple times a year, which is nice. Besides I know DH likes seeing his sister.  So for the week I will have a house with 4 (yes count them, 4) kids ages 3 and younger. We must be insane to do this. It's not the first time they've stayed with us for a visit. They stayed last month for 2 weeks. So my house is clean right now, by the end of the week it will not be as clean as it is. It won't be trashed but as you can imagine 4 toddlers can do a number on a house.
         Speaking of in laws, my BIL will be back on thursday night. DH is happy that his brother will be back. And not just because he babysits for us so we can go to the gym together. Have I mentioned lately I loathe the gym? If not, I do, I loathe it. Anyway returning to my orginal thought process (or as close as I can get to it). They are appearently doing the laundry room this weekend to complete finish, trim and all. Or so DH claims, I don't think BIL knows yet. Lol. DH hates doing trim, I think he would pay somebody else to do the trim if I would let him. But no I am a cheapskate like that and won't. Not that he has asked.  I do not think his plan will come to fruition this weekend, since we have that concert on friday night and we are taking the kiddos to see the animals at the fair on saturday. So yeah, unless he can do it all on Sunday or choses to let SIL and me take the kids by ourselves (which I would rather not have the kids out number use 2 to 1 in huge crowds of people). But we will see. I know DH is uber excited about the concert. Me? Not so much. Don't get me wrong I am sure it will be lots of fun and all. But really I would be okay never going to any concert. I love music but music live isn't more amazing (imo) then it is recorded. But concerts are fun, and occassionally I go to them. DH will go to a Disturbed concert if there is one in a 14 hour radius of where we are at. Not saying he does but he would if I would agree to the costs involved. Which I won't. Because once again I am a cheapskate.

Life and Drama

                    I wonder if you can ever live life without having drama touch it. I guess is you never had contact with other people. Years ago I stopped associating with people who seemed to thrive on drama but the past few years my work seems to run rampant with it. I am told that every job has this issue, so if I like my job otherwise I should just accept it. Drama irrates me, normally it's petty and childish and these people are definately old enough to behave better ESPECIALLY while they are at WORK. It so unprofessional but I guess if the management just lets it goes on. I think that no matter how hard you try to not get involved they drag you in kicking and screaming. No I don't want to give my eye witness account, I just want to stay uninvolved doesn't work when their supervisor wants to hear what everybody saw and heard. Argh. It's sad. I don't go to work to do the he said she said game. Oh well, I guess they are right and it's a fact a life.
                     My youngest turned two recently, it's crazy to think I have a 3 year old and a 2 year old, it seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant with my first son. The boys are getting bigger, every day I swear. My DH loves it, he can't wait until they are old enough to taking fishing, and hiking and camping and I quote "go spend the night at their friend's". We are going to try taking them camping this year, I am not so sure how it will work out. So wish us luck. Still doing the gym thing, still disliking the gym thing but I guess it's my only option until I get the time to do other physically active things to be healthy and everything. And with a job, school, kids and a marriage I just have a hard time to find time to do even more things on top of what I do now.
                  I have been reminiscing about the past and thinking about all the teachers I have had and I realize that while I have enjoyed a lot of my classes and teachers it was really easy to pick my favorite. Mr. Murray was my favorite teacher, he was my homeroom teacher in high school, my creative writing teacher and the teacher who was over the AI study for Advance Writing I took He was the kind of teacher a kid respected and looked up to. He respected people and stood up for what he believed was right. He was a good all around person and I was lucky to have him as a teacher. Don't get me wrong I liked a lot of the teachers over the years and I had a lot of good teachers over the years. But Mr. Murray will probably always be my favorite teacher. I know kind of random, but it's been on my mind lately so I figured I would just put it out there.
           All in all things are going good in my life. I have an amazing husband, adorable good little boys, a good job (even with drama), we are healthy and happy, we can pay our bills (which in this economy is a good thing, I know people who can't seem to make ends meat). I hope you all are enjoying your Saturdays, now I am off to play with those two adorable sons I have.

Friend Test

                   Would you pass the Friend Test? Seriously would you? Take a look around at everybody you call a friend, even the ones you call a friend only when they are around. Now ask yourself am I a real friend to all these people. Now if the answer to that is yes that's great. If it's not maybe some of those people should cut you out of their lives. Harsh? Maybe. Honest? Yes. Now out of these people you call "friends" how many of them are real friends to you? Okay, now the ones that are, great. The ones that aren't maybe you should cut them out. Okay now your saying to yourself, I can't be a real friend to everybody all the time. Umm why not? If they are your friend shouldn't you be their friend. And this doesn't mean talking to them all the time, doing every favor they ask, hang out all the time. But it does mean doing what you say you'll do, doing favors you agree to do, and being there when they truly honestly need you. Like say they fall break their leg and need a ride to the hospital, you have a car, you aren't doing anything but it's inconvenient to drive over and take them. Well too bad you'd want your friend to do it for you, so by goodness do it for them. Now if you are 300 miles away you can't really do that. You are stuck at work and can't leave or you something, fine. But not just because it inconveniences you. Now your saying I don't want to cut out the people I am not really a friend to but they are a true friend to me. That's right why cut out the person you are using to help you out in life. They are willing to take the friendship without me being a real friend why should I change that? Short answer, because it'd be the right thing to do DUH. If you don't want to put the effort forth to be their friend don't but don't call them your friend when it's convenient to you. Now people probably won't cut out the people who are there for them even if they are there for those people in return. So the people out there busted their butt being friends with somebody who can't bother truly being your friend, STOP. I am not saying you shouldn't help people when they need help. But there is no reason to drop your plans or rearrange your life for somebody who only has something to do with you when they want something. Why should you be the only one putting forth the effort? There are always exceptions and always times people don't live up to your expectations, and when you won't live up to theirs. And that's fine, that's life and you have to understand that. But when they never live up to it, don't lower your expectations, move on. And if the only live up to it when they think your aren't going to be their friend if they don't. I think I'd have a heart to heart with them and then walk away if they can't really be my friend. Now there are the friends where you just naturally drift apart, that's fine and that is life also. You don't have to write them off. You can make the effort to be friends and if they want to make the effort great. If not well.....

"25 things about me"

     I follow Cash Only Living, it's one of the three blogs that I really make sure I follows, others I follow and when I have a decent chunk of downtime and desire to do so I will go to where I last read and read up to the current point. Anyways taking the cue from Cash Only Living's current post I thought it would be fun.  So this is my "25 things about me"  post. Which are hopefully 25 things about me that you didn't already know.

1. I have not finished college but am hoping to finish a degree now. Which of course isn't the degree that I was going for when I finished high school. It was going to be a psychology degree and now it's going to be a chemistry degree. I say hoping because between working fulltime and being a fulltime mom and wife, school is hard to fit in.
2. I am slightly dyslexic. I say slightly because well I've learned how to cope with it and it is not a major roadblock to me in my life. I just have to focus harder on somethings then other people might. And this is not information I tell just anybody and everybody (though I seem to be doing it now). And it is only mild dyslexia not severe and not all encompassing. I just can't really read maps and I takes me time to figure out left and right. I also hold my pen "incorrectly" but I have lovely handwriting (or so I have been told a lot of times). I used to write with my head right next to the paper, but I outgrew that also.
3. I LOVE to read. Wouldn't have thought this post would follow the other post would you have?
4. I am a certifiable genius. You know mensa and the whole bit.
5. I am a huge lover of the outdoors. Except dealing with spiders, I loathe spiders. But as long as they don't get too close to me, I can deal.
6. I enjoy water activities but I don't know how to swim. Well I "know" how to swim, I understand it logistically but when it comes to applying it to real life, I panic. I almost drown once when I was like 5 and since then I am fine as long as I can touch the bottom with my head above the water, am on top of the water or in a life jacket (usually). All other times I panic and will drown myself if somebody doesn't save me. Not rational I know but what fear is?
7. I love to bake and cook. Though I get stressed out if the timing isn't prefect or if it doesn't turn out prefect.
8. I don't like being in large crowds or with lots of people for any real period of time. Though I used to do it when I would go party (I have never done drugs or smoked).
9. I am the proud mother of to little boys. I really wanted a daughter. We are done having kids and I would never trade my boys for anything. But I am still disappointed in not having a daughter.
10. I love to dance, jazz, ballet, hip hop.
11. My favorite animal would be a horse. And one day I will have a horse again.
12. I love animals but am not sure I want a pet. To me having a pet is like having another child and since my kids are 3 and 2 I am not looking for another "baby"  at this time.
13. I can draw well but I can't paint worth beans.
14. I enjoy sewing and designing clothes and costumes. I would never do this for a living, it falls in my to relax and enjoy section of life.
15. I want to write a good book. Maybe not good in anybody else's opinion but good in mine. Maybe even get it published.
16. I love to travel and go do things but not alone. Maybe it pathetic but I find things more fun with a friend or somebody you care about.
17. I do NOT buy into the organic craze. Please don't try to convert me I am well versed on the topic. And while somethings might be a bit healthier not all things.
18. I adore horror flicks but I like chick flicks too.
19. I have a Twilight opinion. I know those books aren't great literary works or anything. But I did enjoy reading them. (and yes I admit I watch the movies (though they are NOT as good as the books)) And I think the HEALTHIER choice would've been for her to pick Jacob. Really crawling in some chick's window (who's blood you want to drain) and watching her sleep is NOT romantic it is CREEPY. In my humble opinion. But the question is what is wrong with them she is selfish and whiny. Didn't once think about her family in her decision to become a Cullen did she? Okay ending my tirade now. lol
20. I loathe running and the gym. Hiking I will do happily, tennis, riding a bike outdoors, I am good with. Stick me in a building with lots of equipment (most I still don't know how to use) I hate it.
21. I have PTSD. The details on why I do I am keeping to myself or well at least out of my blog.
22. The shortest job I ever held lasted 3 months. And yes I quit, I am proud to say I have never been fired (yet and hopefully ever).
23. I know sign language. I have since I was a little girl, my grandma was deaf.
24. I am bilingual. It's just english and french. Not english and spanish which is what people are looking for in the area I live. (And pay quite well for also). I can speak italian, german and spanish but I am not fluent in any of them.
25. I have known my husband since we were six. We rode the same bus, lived down the street from each other. We did not date until we were like 19.

      So there you have 25 things you probably didn't know about me. And hopefully they didn't scare you away from me and my blog. I hope you all are having a great weekend.

Updating

         Yes I know I am very lazy, I haven't been blogging as I should. So still doing the gym thing, still hating the gym thing. Feeling no closer to my goal. Sigh oh well one day maybe. Lets see since the last time I have blogged. I found a blue metal bunkbed on craigslist for $50.00, score. Way cheaper then the 800 to 1000 for a new one. Then we purchased two new mattresses for $99.00 each. Not a bad price I don't think. $248 in total is still cheaper then $800 plus the mattresses.  The boys love the bunkbeds also. My SIL and her kids stayed with us or two weeks. I love my SIL and my nieces but two weeks is too long for my sanity with 4 kids 3 and under in age. Can you say loud? They will probably visit again and stay with us again but I am thinking not longer than a week until they are older.
        Work is crazy hectic. Ah joys of an ag related job. On top of our normal hectic summer work load we got around 200 research samples of these funky soils. So now we are uber busy for the week. And I get to go into work early on friday. Yay overtime. Lol. Even though we are busy it doesn't feel as busy as it did when I first started this. The weather is beautiful here but too hot in my humble opinion. I am more of a never about 90 kind of person. Oh well maybe one day.
       

Weekly Planning Again

                        I have decided to try to get into my weekly meal planning again. So here we go for this week *obviously yesterdays dinner as already been made* :)


Dinner Meal Plan for June 28th thru July 4th 2010







Monday Jun 28th – tacos


Tuesday Jun 29th – shredded chicken enchiladas


Wednesday Jun 30th – roast with potatoes, carrots, and sweet corn


Thursday Jul 1st – beef brisket with mashed potatoes and peas


Friday Jul 2nd – southwestern chicken salad


Saturday Jul 3rd – Tarragon-Rubbed Salmon with Nectarine Salsa


Sunday Jul 4th – Lemon-Rosemary Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato and Green Onion Couscous and steamed broccoli

Weekend and plans

           All weekend we were busy. Saturday  morning I got up at 5:20ish with my youngest son took about 40 minutes to get him back to sleep. So I tried to sleep a little bit more but gave up around 6:30 and got up and got ready to go to the 5k dam run for landing days. Which I was suppose to be there at 7:30. All of this would've have been much better if I had gone to bed before midnight but I was up that late making a bunch of potato salad, 6lbs of potatoes worth that is. So I stopped by the store and grabbed some water and off to the run. After that it was off to the store and then back to the house to make brunch for DH and the boys. Then it was get everybody ready to leave and off to TC. We swung by a used bookstore. Well they carry new and used books and you can take your loved and well cared for books in for credit towards different books. Then we went to my bff's house for her and her fiance's house warming party. We were early but that was because I was suppose to go get a pedi with her. So the boys played on the swingset and DH and the fiance talked and what not will we went to the nail salon. Then we went back and people started arriving and it was hectic and crowded. But man the food was good. The Insalata Caprese was amazing, if you have never had some you definately should. After all this we went home and it was almost the boys bedtime and of course they were hungry since they didn't eat much at the party. So we feed them and sent them to be. I was tired so I didn't last much longer then they boys did. DH was up until 2am or something playing video games.
            Sunday was just as hectic if not more so since I didn't prepare the dish I was making the night before. And since I was making a trifle it required making pudding and angelfood cake before assembling. This was sort of a work related thing for DH. It wasn't at work but it was a going away party for one of the ladies he works with. Where we had amazing polynesian food. Ahh yum. This time we got home at about 7:30 because DH was going fishing last night with a friend. So I cleaned the house (its amazing how messy it gets when you are go go go all weekend) and feed the boys again. Since today was a worked day we all went to bed (sans DH) before 11pm, the boys at 9:30ish me closer to 11. DS1 keep getting up until 10:30 and then he stayed in bed and finally fell asleep.
              We are trying to find a decently priced bunk bed. We looked at new ones but they are $800 to $1000 and we'd still have to buy the matteresses. So we are checking 2nd hand stores and craigslist and the want ads in the papers. Most that come are craigslist sell quickly and DH wants to see them first before we buy them. (Which makes sense) So the couple we were interested in purchasing sold before we could get there. But that's okay we will keep looking. Eventually something we come up. We are considering going out to the property (as it is known) the weekend after the 4th. Time will tell. But going out to the lake should be fun, if we don't end up booked up with other things. Or do more work on the evil evil house. We should stop changing things since we are trying to sale now. BUt it's not 100% yet and DH will continue until we sale or it's 100%. I hope you all have fab mondays. :)

Jail and Bail

I hate asking people for money, but this is a good cause and if people don't donate it's not a huge deal but if they do they are helping premie babies. And since my last son came early, this is a cause I am whole heartedly for. For those of you who don't know Jail and Bail is done by the March of Dimes, its suppose to be a fun way to raise money for a good cause. That cause of course is helping the March of Dimes arrest the rising rate of premature birth. So anybody who wants to help please do. No amount is too little and your 100% tax deductible donation will help to fund important research, grants and education to further the mission of improving the health of all babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Thank you in advance for your support and generosity. You can donate through my secure Jail & Bail website at
http://jailandbail.marchofdimes.com/personal_page.asp?w=541467

Updating

      I know I haven't been on in awhile, so I will do some quick updating. It will have to be quick, since am at work on my lunch break. Still going to the gym , still disliking it but alas that's life. Will be starting a diet next week. More unliking to come I am sure with that venture. Went to visit my SIL last week. It was fun. We took the kids to the park to play both days, they loved it. Went swimming the second day. This week has been hectic. Worked late every day so far. Came in late today. Woke up covered in hives yesterday. And my cream didn't do the trick so I went to the dr this morning and got a shot. So now the hives are fading to gone. Thank goodness. Looks like it'll will be a super busy weekend this weekend but that is life also. Hopefully I will find time to get on here and blog more throughly. Take care everybody.

Mondays as Mondays go

       As we all know today was a monday. A monday I did on like maybe 6 hours of sleep last night. Darn not sleeping well. Oh well.  We are going to the gym again tonight when DH gets of from work. Joy unbounded. I kind of want to beg off because I am so tired from lack of enough sleep (therefore I am cranky) but I won't. I may not like the gym I may not want to go but I am not going to woose out so to speak. So, work had it's usual ups and downs but over all it was a decent day. And we have a decent workload for tomorrow. In case I haven't mentioned it before I work in a lab. Then it was off to get the children from the sitters and home to make dinner.
    For dinner I wanted mexican but I didn't want to go buy mexican because it's never quite the same. Not to mention eating out would add up quick. So for dinner I made beef enchiladas, seasoned black beans and spanish rice. Not the healthiest dinners probably but oh was it yummy. And there are leftovers so I will be having enchilada for lunch tomorrow and DH can take it to work tomorrow also. I decided I was going bake some chicken tomorrow with some smashed potatoes broccoli and some parmesan garlic french bread. Which might be healthier but it still isn't diet food.. I think I might end up having to break down and do an actual diet. :( Hopefully not but we will see, I am giving the gym thing another month and if I still have lost all of zero pounds at that point I will be going on a real diet. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I hope you all had a nice Monday and that your Tuesdays are even better.

Week 4 or err 3

    This should technically be our 4th week in the gym but because I got sick and therefore lazy we didn't go for week three. So tomorrow will be the end of the 3rd week we actually exercised. I can tell you this I still do NOT like the gym not even remotely. I am not seeing an increase of energy nor am I feeling better in general. All the stuff DH said would happened after week 2. If I haven't mentioned it before DH enjoys and likes the gym.. I told him in jest (sort of) that I think it was his gentics and that there was something unnatural about it all.. Which he in returns tells me it's my gentics and I let him know "normal" people do NOT enjoy and like the gym. But I guess it's not the more horrible thing I could be doing and it's good for my health. Hopefully it'll equal me loosing this extra weight. Which to date since starting this gym thing I have lost a whole zero pounds. Yes that many. Zero... I won't even ask DH because I am sure he has lost something. And when I whined (I admit I whined) about it, he told me I was probably building muscle. So maybe I should be taking measurements for a better idea about whether I am actually getting something out of this. Becuase until I get rid of my mommy tummy I am not going to think I am loosing anything unless the scale goes lower...
     On other news I went to a friends tastefully simple party. To those who don't know what tastefully simple is, it's food mixes. Of stuff you could do or make yourself sans the mix but with the mix you can make it using only 1 or 2 other items.. It's not bad food either, it actually tastes pretty good. I didn't buy anything while I was there but I will be ordering some sweet pepper japaleno jam, DH will adore it and it's not something I would be inclined to make myself. Though DH would probably be happy if it was. And the have kosher bacon.. I guess their bacon bacon isn't actually bacon?? I am not a bacon fan. Weird? I know people think I am freak when I say I don't like bacon. Don't get me wrong I don't hate bacon but I could careless if I had it, I don't think it's amazing or tastes great. It falls in the I could take it or leave it catergory and I will probably just leave it. I know 99% of people I meet LOVE bacon, DH included. But if I LOVE any type of food it would be BREADS. I am all about carbs. But trying to lose weight me being smart about the carbs I do eat and not really eating many carbs. :'(
      House news, there is no news.. Got another buyer trying to get us to do a rent to own kind of thing..  Ah where is somebody who has the money or able to get a bank loan?? Well going to go relax and then shower before bed. Work tomorrow and then gym tomorrow night... One day closer to my goal right?? Right.