Being Myself Tonight

365 &working out!

2012-01-22T21:15:00.001-08:00

My 365 project is going strong. Mostly thanks to the My365 app on my phone! Im going to try to do a 365 post once a week, on Sundays. Obviously I haven't been so far so this will be a highlights post, if you're not following me there!

Something really exciting happened this week! My best friend since the 7th grade gave birth to her 2nd child. Healthy little Mylee Mae was born 8 lbs 2oz and tons of hair! I feel like a proud auntie! :) She is one of the most beautiful newborns i've ever seen!! I'm going to go see them again tomorrow hopefully, Now that they're home!

I lost a few pounds doing the cleanse! I wish I would have kept with it this past week. I'm going to head into doing Ripped in 30 this week and get myself physically prepared to start running again. Of course the week I'm supposed to start training for my 12k in may, the weather decides to dump a foot and a half of snow out my front door. And let's face it, I'm none to coordinated. I'm thinking of getting a treadmill. But I don't know where i'd put it! Anyways...goal for this week is to do RI30 five times and drink 9 glasses of water a day!

New Years Resolution: Blog More.

2012-01-08T20:51:00.001-08:00

Blogging more, is a dream of mine. I feel like by the time I get the chance to log onto the computer, the thoughts that ran through my head all day, have suddenly disappeared. I want so badly to blog more but I feel like it will just never happen. However. When I got my super awesome iPhone, I bought a Blogger app for 1.99. You can save drafts so even if someone has a meltdown in the middle, I have no excuse. NONE. So my mission, along with so many other resolutions I've made this year is blog more.

So what do I blog about?? How about my fabulous new haircut!? I also got it deep conditioned so it is all soft and shiny!

I have more resolutions, of course. All of which I plan to try my hardest to keep. I plan on doing at least two puzzles this year. I used to do them all the time and I miss it! Now that the kids are older, it should be no problem!

I'm going to read at least 25 books. Brooke is into Little House on the Prairie and Ivy and Bean, and we read every night so this should be no problem. I'm working on Pretty Little Liars series right now and I'm currently on #6. It's a good story about 4 high school girls and a stalker who is trying to ruin their lives and it's an easy read!

Obviously... Along with everyone else, another resolution is to finish losing the weight. When I weighed in on Jan 2nd, I was 138. I was also bloated and I'm SURE I was retaining water. I found a cleanse online that looks legit and makes complete sense. So I'm starting that tomorrow and we'll see how that goes!

I also want to do more crafting. At least one craft a week for ME and one for the kids! Unfortunately, I can't tell you what I did this week for me, cause its a present for a friend and she may or may not read this before her baby is born and it's a surprise!! ;) all I can tell you is it is REALLY freaking cute!!

This week I'm planning on making myself a new iPhone cover! Something like the one I found on Pinterest!

Anywho! I think that's gonna be it for now. Hopefully in the next couple days I'll post some pics of our NYE fun and Silas's birthday!

DIY/Crafting FOOL

2011-11-23T17:23:00.001-08:00

Okay so since i've been super duper slacking on Ripped in 30 (Really?! I made it 22 days and all the way through level 4 LOL) I've been crafting. It makes me feel better about said slacking.

I made myself a scarf.

That spiraled into making Aubree and Stephanie scarves too! Because I love them! :D

I also started on a blanket for my new nephew but I'll show you THAT when it's done! ;) We have a couple months till he's born hopefully so even though it's going quite quickly...I have plenty of ~~procrastination~~ time to get more yarn. ;)

I finished a blanket for my best friend's baby, who will be here at the end of January, if all goes well!! Ooooh I can't wait to see little Mylee May! I have tons more stuff to make for her! But this is a good start!

I made the flowers to be pinned to the blanket, so they're removable for whenever she needs to wash it! With some of the leftovers I made myself a cute little cell phone holder. I HATE putting my iphone in my pocket or purse unprotected and OMG how cute did this turn out?! :D

And today the kids and I made an attempt at rock candy. In 5-7 days we, and you, will know if it actually worked. LOL. IDK, it just looks so thick!Well, like I said...we'll see!

So...I'm thinking of starting an etsy shop...IDK. But I'm sure you'll all be the first to know if I do!

Ripped in 30 Update

2011-10-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

You've been wondering (or you haven't..either way...i'm telling you now!) how Ripped in 30 is going.

First let me start by saying Jillian not joking. When she says Ripped in 30, she actually means she's going to rip you in 30 pieces and leave you lying on the floor! Now, the first day was not fun. Level 1 of Ripped in 30 is like Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred...IN HELL. (Ugh. Speaking of 30 Day Shred...I haven't seen it since June. This is why I don't let people borrow my workout DVD's!) I had to modify soooo much the first day and I was SORE for THREE days. By the last day of level 1 I wasn't modifying hardly at all. I had 2 things that I had to modify part way through but I did the badass version almost all the way through!

(About 15 minutes after the workout on day 5. Wish you could see how soaked my hair was and how much sweat was pooling in my sports bra!!)

Sunday I started level 2. I should have started on Saturday but I was sick and sooo exhausted so I just switched my off days! I'm sore...again. This time in all new spots. Not AS bad but it's that good sore muscles feeling! And level two is nuts. Ever heard heard of crow pushups?!! Ugh! There's actually quite a few things that make you go "wtf?! Seriously?!" And I had to modify almost everything at LEAST half way through, if not all the way.

Oh, what are you guys waiting for? My Monday morning stats?! Okay, okay! So I gained 2.5 pounds...boo right!? :( I was hoping for a loss...or at least to stay the same. But I'm SUPER glad I took pictures and measurements because (drum roll please!!)

10/10: 10/17:
Waist: 28.75in 28in
Love Handles: 33.75in 32.75in
Hips: 37.5in 37in
Thighs: 21in 20.5in
Calves: 14.5in 14in
Arms: 10in 9.5in

Not bad for a week!! ;) That's a total of 3.75inches and you can totally tell too! I said I took pictures but you're not getting them until the end!! ;) (Unless you're on my super awesome list, and then i'll text them to you!) Okay! I'm off to do day 7! Wish me luck! ;)

Ripped in 30 (Another Jillian Michaels DVD!)

2011-10-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

So today my Mom's best friend's daughter (we'll just call her my cousin, cause we grew up together...like cousins...lol!), Nikki messaged me and asked what I was up to. I told her that I just got done working out, waiting for the hubby to get home, etc, and then we got to talking about exercising (or the lack of that we've BOTH been doing) and she said she got Ripped in 30 but hasn't finished it cause she always slacks off so we've decided to do it "together"!

I might be crazy, going through ANOTHER ass whoppin' from Jillian. But lets remember how AMAZING I felt and looked after 30 Day Shred! I wrote a blog post about it...just click here! anyways...I'll keep you all updated on this!! Off to work and then to buy some pain. Oh I mean....an ass whoppin' from Jillian Michaels!

Getting Frustrated, Cooking, Online Shopping & My Fall Bucket List.

2011-09-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

This post might get long. I mean, look at the title! The kids just went down for a nap so hopefully I'll have time!

First: Getting Frustrated. My house is TRASHED. I ran out of laundry soap (but not before I did the load of peed on bedding so thank God for that!), and no matter how much I clean and wash and clean some more I CAN'T keep on top of keeping this place clean. I mean, the dishes are done, everything is cleanISH but whatever. It just gets overwhelming sometimes. Another thing I'm getting frustrated about is feeling so IN BETWEEN. I'm in between sizes...all my too big clothes are...well..too big and ridiculously stretched out looking, my jeans are either too big or JR sizes and well...I have hips so JR sizes just don't work anymore! I have this ridiculous muffin top/stomach bulge and I'm just DONE with it!

But I've been doing some online shopping and finding some sales and trying to see if I can fit anything into my budget. I found this adorable sweater at JCP: I want it!!

(JCPenny.com)

I'm so in love with jean jackets too! Love!

(AE.com)

And of course! I would need some scarves!

(Target.com)

Here's some Slim Boot Jeans on sale from my favorite jean store! American Eagle!

(AE.com)

And who doesn't NEED an adorable pair of flats and boots?! I actually think the pair of flats I have are adorable but I really dislike my bare feet on the inside...likewise I dislike wearing those thin little socks that make my feet slip around inside the shoes...ugh..just thinking about it makes me cringe!!

And although I love these adorable little flats from Sears.com I think it would be more practical to go with boots since I will be SO cold here soon.

I love, love, love these boots but would I ACTUALLY wear them?! Not that I want to be tromping through the snow but...come on...it's Eastern WA...there will be inevitable snow-stepping. Will they get ruined? Will they keep my feet warm? Oh who knows. Payless had the CUTEST boots and they seemed like they'd be cute and I know they were a decent price soooo maybe I'll go with those?!

As for the cooking, well I've been getting a little crazy this week! It, all of a sudden, got REALLY cold. So I was feeling some fall foods! First, on Monday, I made applesauce! It was delish! I'm definitely going to make more.

And i'm also going to make more potato soup! Yeah! I made Potato soup!! It was so yummy! I got the idea from one of my bestest friend's blogs. You can go see her awesome blog here. And the recipe that I used was here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/loaded-potato-soup-10000002012818/

Being vegetarian, and broke, I left out the bacon, and subbed the veggie broth for the chicken broth! And then I used russet potatoes instead of red potatoes, because that's what I had! And you know what? It turned out delicious!! Yum!

Okay, finally here's my Fall Bucket List!!:

~~1. Make homemade applesauce~~

2. Create an adorable pinterest worthy fall outfit for myself!

3. Go to a pumpkin patch

4. Go to a haunted house

5. Finish some Christmas Gift Crafts!

6. Make Candy Apples

7. Have a bonfire & smores before it gets too cold!

8. Make fall cookies

9. Try a new recipe every week

10. Go out for coffee and take a walk in the autumn air

11. Have a picnic

12. Complete this list before it snows.

Preschool Update

2011-09-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where to start updating, since I've been MIA from here for so long. I guess if you're reading this, and you actually give a rat's ass about an update...well...you should also be following me on twitter and/or instagram so you already know to an extent what has been going on in my little world. But I really want to do my nails tonight so this will (hopefully) be quick.

Brooke couldn't start Kindergarten this year because this year they do not have a school psychologist that will test in Kindergarteners early. She was upset and confused and the school told me I could homeschool her for Kindergarten and then put her in first grade next year...which doesn't make much sense to me so I said "No Thanks". She's not THAT advanced. She's never been to PreK so...yeah. Our solution was to start a Preschool Home School program.

I started with this being my guide: http://letteroftheweek.com/Preparatory_Outline.html
I've mixed things up a bit and pushed things around to fit what I want to teach them and do (such as learning about fall, halloween week, christmas, etc!)

I also use this: http://www.preschoolexpress.com/
It's got some fun things and ideas.
For everything else, I just google. Like "Fall activities for kids" and then I go from site to site until I find things or I'll see something and go "OH! Or we could do this with this!" I mean, it takes a lot of work but whoever said raising little humans was going to be easy? And they just LOVE it! I try to have some kind of related playtime in the middle so that they get a little break, even though we usually only do 1-3 hours. Like, 3 hours is my having to go back and forth hot gluing separate things onto separate projects!

The first week they learned about Cows, Squares, Letter A, and the Number 1! The first week we kept the projects pretty simple, (and I was pretty unprepared, going into the 3rd week, i'm KIND of getting the hang of stuff...LISTS! List EVERYTHING and take it WITH you to the store! Unless you live across the street of course!) and we just had fun and got used to doing this as a routine. We started a counting caterpillar! Every week the number we're on gets written and added to the caterpillar!

Week Two was Jungles, Green, Letter B, and the Number two! For the letter B we made Butterflies (complete with the letter B)

For the big project on Friday (where we do like, review days) we made a Jungle out of a shoe box! The kids loved that!

So next week is Fall week and it's going to be so much fun!! Now if only I can find some books about fall at the library!!

Brooke's Kitchen

2011-09-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

That's right...Pinterest has done it again. I saw one of these and knew I had to make one for my daughter. I've been wanting to buy her a bigger kitchen cause the little one we got her 2 years ago, suddenly shrank. ~~(Or she grew...)~~ But, I refuse to pay over $200 for a kitchen that she'll only play with for a little longer before she moves onto "big girl" things, but being that I still want her to be a kid...I want her to have one to play with. Remedy? Make one.

So we started with this entertainment center that I found at the thrift store here in town. REALLY, it could have been a lot cheaper but being that this thrift store tends to over price some things...we got it for $20.

We got it home and put it in the garage and started pulling it apart and planning. One thing I WISH i would have done would be to pull it all apart and cut and drill as much as possibly needed BEFORE painting. That would have saved me a lot of headache later on!!

But yeah...ummm I LOVE the color we chose. It is absolutely adorable! I got paint for about 15 dollars for a gallon at Walmart. Looking back I PROBABLY could have used the leftover paint from Brooke's room buuuut I got carried away! You could also look at the mis-tints or the returns anywhere that mixes paint cause they're usually SUPER cheap. I wish the cheaper paint came in a smaller one because we hardly used any of the paint, really, but when the little "expensive" one cost more than a gallon of the "cheap" paint so...we have leftovers...(Maybe i'll redo Brooke's dresser?!)

We put in a stove. Cut out a hole in the door, and screwed plexiglass onto the back, added a handle that I found on clearance at Lowes and spray painted silver. We used yogurt & coffee can lids, spray painted black for the burners and some drawer knobs, also spray painted black!

I painted the space around the sink white...and we put a faucet in that we got at walmart for 9.97. We did search craigslist for 3 weeks for a good/cheap faucet but really....for under $10, we got one brand new when anything that was around $10 on CL was crappy, or gross and would cost us more in gas to go get it anyways! We used a metal bowl that we found at good will for 1.99!

We spray painted the inside of the fridge and freezer silver and added the same handles from the stove! We also put magnets inside to keep the doors shut tight!

I made these curtains to go underneath the cupboard and on the little window! The cost of the material for these was about 6 dollars and the little curtain rod I got at Walmart, $2 for 2 of the little curtain rods and $2 for 2 of the bigger curtain rods.

This is probably my favorite part. I asked my mom to find a picture of the beach that she had taken. The beach is one of our entire family's favorite places to go.

A couple little homey touches we added were the phone and some hooks to hang stuff on. Some dish towels and of course a whole bunch of dishes and play food to go with it!

Happy 5th Birthday Princess!! We love you!!!

Trying to decide...

2011-08-19T22:26:00.001-07:00

If I want to go to Wordpress or not...

not sure. Thoughts? Opinions? I kind of like having the option to password protect. Will let you all know in due time!!

Hmmm...

2011-08-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

So my phone has apparently been sending my blog posts as drafts instead of as posts.

My life isn't all that interesting...

During Shape up week I lost a pound and a half...bringing my total lost for the past month about 6 pounds. I'm pretty happy with his. Now just to kick this last 10+ pounds, i'd be ecstatic! I don't know why it's so hard to move!

I missed Blogher 11, last weekend which for those of you who don't know, it's a big bloggers confrence. I was GREEN with envy, seeing all the pictures of my amazing Twitter friends. I vowed to go next year but next year it's all the way in New York. Agh!! :( Maybe Blogher 13?

Yesterday I ran 7.5 miles. I was amazed. I feel amazing. I feel strong! I averaged a 13 minute mile, which is pretty awesome for someone who got her first real pair of running shoes just a couple short weeks ago! Running outside is SO much different than running on a treadmill! Do you dread the treadmill? HIT. THE. STREETS. I'm serious! Map your run and see how far you went! Also, pace yourself. Jog slow, or walk fast. Sprinting will burn you out, SO fast!

I made a couple really good, healthy choices today, and a couple really bad ones! I bought nutella for the first time ever, for a recipe. But damn...IT'S YUMMY!!

I forgive myself for the bad choices, and I'm just moving on with it! For breakfast I chose a muffin, instead of doughnuts when we stopped before going grocery shopping! For lunch I had a salad with apples, raspberry vinaigrette and walnuts.

Yeah. Yum.
And for dinner I made the kids and I cucumber gratin.

Since it was requested, I will now leave you with the recipe! Goodnight!

Ingredients:

2tbsp unsalted butter

3 cucumbers

3/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp sugar

1/4 c fresh chopped chives

2tsp chopped tarragon

1tsp chopped fresh dill

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs (I just used Italian, progresso)

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat until butter begins to brown.

2. Cut cucumbers in strips. It says to peel and seed it but I left the peel on and i left half with the seeds and I liked it way better with the seeds in. Put cucumbers in a 13x9 in baking dish with 1 of the tbsp of browned butter, salt and sugar and bake for 25 minutes

3. Remove dish from oven and preheat boiler. Add chives, taragon, dill and lemon zest to cucumbers and toss to coat. Season with pepper if desired.

4. Stir together breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and remaining butter until well mixed. Sprinkle mixture over cucumbers and broil for a few minutes until breadcrumb mixture is golden brown.

ENJOY!!

Shape Up Week, Day 1!

2011-08-02T00:38:00.000-07:00

Hi my Shape up week friends!! (And those who are enviously reading my blog wanting to join but it just wasnt your week don't be sad! Make your own shape up week OR keep an eye out! I might do this once a month!)

So far...so good. I had a momentary lapse of dumbassedness in which I forgot I was on a shape up week diet. My friend brought me an ice cream bar I've been dying to try. Okay so we all make mistakes! Point is: I didnt let it hinder my progress. Yes I ate the damn ice cream! But I totally kicked ass in every other aspect of my day.

I did 60 minutes of Turbo Jam. According to MyFitnessPal I burned 687 calories. WOWZA!

I ate well.

For breakfast I had natural granola with dried cranberries w/unsweetened vanilla almond milk (um...hi. YUM) and a cup of completely unsweetened green tea.

For snack I had sliced apples and strawberries drizzles with half a tsp of honey, sprinkled cinnamon and walnuts

For lunch I had lettuce topped with sweet onions, cucumber, tomato, carrots and a tbsp of Italian dressing.

For dinner I had a whole wheat tortilla with black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and brown rice.

I also took some time to file and paint my nails. (clear, but all the same, it looks nice!)

Tomorrow I'm going to do even better!!

And here's a helpful hint! If you don't like just drinking plain water, slice up your favorite fruit and freeze it, put ice and the frozen fruit in your water! It is delicious!

(and the chicken nuggets and pizza were my friend's kids' lunch, not mine! lol!)

Now for the fun part! Here is everyone's blogs who said they were joining in! I will repost this list everyday and you can just check back with them!

Did I miss anyone?! Sorry! It's late and I'm tired, but just shoot me a message and I'll add your blog if you're blogging about it!

Shape Up Week

2011-07-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Shape Up Week begins this Monday, August 1st!

If you're game...this is what I need from you.
Simply: Follow the "guidelines" to the best of your ablities. No excuses. It's ONE week. YES, even I am giving up my dairy and sugar and COFFEE...for ONE week. One week, just for you...I don't need to hear the excuses, if there's something in the EXTREME that you have to have that's on the no no list...mainly for medical reasons (which I don't think I know many people who need these things for medical reasons) then don't harm yourself. If you're iffy...ask your doctor. But you will get the proper nutrients if you just go to your little google tool bar and research a little.

Next: Blog. 1st write an introduction. Let everyone know who you are and where you can be found. I will link your posts to mine every night, so everyone can come here, and just click down the line. What I want you to write the following nights is something more along the lines of what you ate (this will be a huge help to others, in getting ideas for good, fresh meals!), how you exercised, how you felt, if you were moody, etc. If you cheat YOU HAVE TO WRITE IT DOWN!! This will curb you from cheating, if you know that you have to write it where everyone can see. I KNOW you can do it for a week. If you don't have a blog, or don't want your blog to be linked you can EMAIL me (heathergallup828@yahoo.com) your blog post every night before 10pm PST and I will add it into mine. You can email me after then too, but no guaranteeing that it will make it in my blog!! :D
Another thing I will REALLY appreciate is if you could send me a direct link to your blog post, in a tweet, email, text, whatever (also by 10pm PLEASE!). This will help me TREMENDOUSLY in linking you back here, so that you're not forgotten!

Everyday you need to find something to pamper yourself! Where if it's finally plucking your eyebrows, painting your nails, getting a hair cut, getting a massage, doing a homemade facial masque or whatever...do it! One of the days (probably more towards the end) you should try to purge your closet. Get rid of anything that makes you feel frumpy or gross, or clothes that are too big. Try on everything and make yourself a pile to get rid of and send it to goodwill!
FOOD RULES::
No dairy
No caffeine
No soda
No sugar (obviously, unless it's natural)
No junk food
No preservatives
No meat
No Alcohol

EXERCISE RULES:
-One hour of cardio EVERYDAY. No excuses. It's one week. Yes we're all tired...most of us are parents, have jobs, husbands, boyfriends, etc...You can take one hour to do this for YOU. One hour is not a lot, actually so I want you SWEATING. No bullshit...just sweat. Get your heart rate pumping!!
-3 times this week I want to see at LEAST 20 minutes of circuit or weight training. Even if you're only using your own body weight. Hit Abs, legs, butt, arms...whatever your trouble areas are!

That's it. I think for one week, at least, we can all commit to doing this for us. I HONESTLY don't want to hear the complaints. That's shape up week. If you want to try to mold it your own way. Do it. Don't complain to me about what i'm doing, do it your own way if that's what you want to do. I'm not trying to be mean...but people needed a "guideline" so, this is it.

Now go to the grocery store and pick up some essentials! Here's an idea of some stuff to help you get started:

-Fruits and Veggies, as much as you can and a ton of variety!...let's face it...you're practically living off these next week.
-beans
-Good healthy bread, oatmeal, etc.
-Almond or Soymilk (Watch the sugar on the almond milks though! I found a vanilla brand that has no sugar, but a competitor vanilla has 14 grams of sugar in 8 oz! Ouch!)
-Decaf herbal tea or coffee (but remember...no sugar!)
-Nuts
-Eggs
-Rice (NOT WHITE RICE!!!)

Good Luck! I know you all can do it! :)

Red Headed Runner

2011-07-23T22:12:00.001-07:00

On Friday I received a birthday gift in the mail!! Starbucks drinking cup and a Sports Authority gift card from my mom, stepdad and little sister!! It was super awesome! I was so excited!

So today I decided we would drop Glenn off to do his thang, and I would take the kids and find me some running shoes!! For under $100, with tax. I texted my mom and she told me to talk to someone about the kind of shoes I needed so I did...

The guy asked me some question about my feet, using words I had no idea existed. He had me step on this thing to figure out my arches (which looked "normal" according to the picture diagram, but he said they were high. Hmmm. So then I put my flip flops back on. He said "Walk to that thing and back", so I turned around to do so...it was about 3 steps away. He said I walk on the insides of my feet mostly. I said "Oh really?" (cause dude...you only watched me take 3 steps...in flip flops.) He asked if the outside of my shoes get worn out slower than the insides?? Well...not that I know of....(but generally I want to say I wear out the outside more??) So then the guy says "what brand are you looking at?" well...all of them.

This guy proceeds to tell me (I'm summarizing here) that Nike is for show, and no good for running and new balance and adidas are no good either. Here try on all these Asics and see which one you like best. Of course the most insanely comfortable ones were almost 150. The two runner ups were 130 and 140 i believe And the ones I didn't care for hardly at all were 60 to 80.

By this time ive tried on too many shoes and I'm a little irritated so I ask my mom about the Nike ones (which had some killer deals!!) and as it turns out..her friend/running buddy wears Nikes. To run in. Imagine that. Cute and functional?! Way to go Nike!! ;)

So after thinking about it...I went back to the store and tried on all the Nikes. The ones I liked the best were $90 and although I was pining for those $150 Asics, And they were better than the Nikes, the Nikes are going to do just fine!!

AND today I dyed my hair red!! I must say, I love it!!!

So tomorrow:: I'm running!! No excuses!! ;)

House Tour!

2011-07-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hope you all enjoy looking at my new home!! Still have a lot of stuff to do but we'll get there! Also, I don't know why there's 2 but it took almost an hour to upload so I'm leaving them both!!! Eep! :\

2011-07-12T20:17:00.001-07:00

"Mommy what are these things in my spaghetti?"-Brooke (4 1/2 years old)

"They're Lentils, they're a good substitute for meat in spaghetti"-Me

"They're nummy in your tummy! EAT THEM SISSY!"-Nolan (3 years old)

"Why isn't there meat?" -Brooke

"Because Mommy wants to be a vegetarian, but you can eat meat if you want to, I just wanted you to try something new!" -Me

"THEY'RE YUMMY SISSY EAT THEM!!!" -Nolan

(Pouting) "Does that mean we can't call you mommy and we have to call you "begetarian?!" forever?!" -Brooke

"BAHAHAHAHA no, you can call me mommy! A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat, like chicken, hamburgers, etc" -Me

"EVERYBODY EAT YOUR WENTILES!" -Nolan

"Okay, today I'll be a vegetarian too."-Brooke

And that's how I got my kids to eat Lentil Spaghetti ;)
Of course I will never force them to eat vegetarian but I do want them to be open to vegetarian food and substitutes, since it will frequently be ONLY the kids and I for dinner, they're just gonna have to be open minded!! :)

So this is my new adventure. I'm going to be vegetarian. And I'm going to be a runner.

I read a quote about running that said something like "it doesn't matter how far or how fast or if you've been running for a day or forever, you're a runner." Same concept for vegetarians, no? Sure, I might eat some turkey on thanksgiving and occasionally give into bacon temptations (unless I can find some bad ass substitiute!!)

So I'm giving it a go, I'm certain I'll succeed for many reasons but if I fail, or jump off the bandwagon sometimes, I don't want the "I told you so"'s okay?! I just want your love and encouragement!

My new neighbors probably think i'm nuts...

2011-07-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

But I kinda am...so whatevs ;)

Here I sit, at my dining room table, at 10 pm...on the computer...blaring music. Dancing. Acting like a freak. Singing the wrong lyrics. Completely off key. Laughing out loud at @lilmommyfoofoo (she's fucking funny. Follow her on twitter). Drinking alone. How do I know they think I'm nuts? Cause I looked out the window as I'm singing the rock version of Lollipop, dancing in my seat and they were both standing on their top stair watching me with big hilarious grins on their faces...BAHAHAHA. Well...hi...i'm heather..I just moved in...i'm a little nuts.

So I moved back to this small town...and nobody recognizes me. Or they all think they know me from somewhere, but they can't figure out who I am. I just smile and just be polite. It's kinda funny cause I thought everyone would be in my business, but they just can't place me. The guy working at the liquor store (who i've known since i was like...9 years old) said "Didn't you use to live around here??" Hahaha I said yeah..you know my dad, his name is Rick. And he was like Oh no shit!!! Hey Heather!! bahahaha.

I'm missing a few of my friends pretty bad these days.I feel like I never get to see anyone, or talk to anyone really. Why are we all so busy?! And Glenn started a new shift. i thought 4pm to 12am would be waaaay better than 11pm to 7am...but I dunno about that. I guess at least i can work a morning shift somewhere? Coffee shop? Breakfast-Popular restaurant? But nights DRAG ASS. and you know...most people like to hang out with their significant others at the times when I'm like...all needy. LOL

Well if anyone wants to chat at me...PING me! or Facetime...skype...yahoo! chat?! ;0) No really though...if you're bored. :P I'm bored too!! Save my twitter followers from the impending hatred of my nighttime tweets! <3

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-05T22:51:00.000-07:00

For my fun 4th festivities, I feel like pictures are better than words. It started off with 6 mile run around the lake, where my little blister turned into a big one and we saw deer and a snake!! ;)

....we had fudge pops on the back porch!

Had a little barbecue at my dad's....

Then we went home, had a quick bath, changed into jammies and then went out on the front lawn to watch a pretty bad ass firework show!! Our house has the best view in town and I think next year we'll have a big barbecue and firework party!!

Someone was a little scared!! ;)

And grandpa and grandma jeppsen stopped by for a visit!! ;)

I hope you all had a safe and fun Fourth of July!! ♥

At Least One Person....

2011-07-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

At least one person told me they loved my blog and couldn't wait for my next post so here it is!! ;) (Nothing like a little motivation like someone actually waiting on me!!)

The past two weeks has been a little crazy since we moved! (No I'm not done unpacking all the way but my new house post SHOULD be up in the next few days!!) We also had my almost 11 year old sister staying with us for that two weeks. I felt a little bad cause we didn't get to do a lot, but she seemed to have fun anyways! And she cried the last day she was here! (I hope that was cause she was sad and not because she was so relieved!! LOL)

Oh yes that^^is my sister, trying (and liking!!) new foods!!

And then of course our parents came to pick her up. And we had even more fun!! ;) that fun included a 4 mile jog on Saturday, a trip to riverfront park and the best snocones EVER while the boys went to the races on saturday afternoon, Sunday we went to the River and had lotsa fun fun fun! They left early yesterday afternoon and I miss them a lot!!

Two weeks ago it was also Nolan's 3rd Birthday, we only did a little happy birthday thing for him cause we wanted to wait and do his party after we were settled in the new house! I'm not exactly sure when or how my baby grew into a 3 year old big boy but wow, time flew. I feel like I blinked and it happened! I will do a flash back post in honor of it soon! :)

Sometimes birthday boys just need a little nap!! ;)

I'm...back?

2011-06-29T13:52:00.001-07:00

I can't think of much to write but I'll just give a little update.

A couple months ago, I got an email about my blog, twitter and Facebook passwords being changed and I didn't do it...so I quickly changed my email and passwords on everything. Blogger wouldn't let me change my email so I settled for my password and moved on. I had to reboot my iPhone app and it wouldn't let me use my email and password so after messing around on the computer with it I realized that it DID change my email, and the confirmation was waiting in my spambox >:|

So now that long story is over with I will move on to the big things that have happened in my life!!

In May I went on my first (real) trip to Seattle! It was a blast and I finally got to meet one of my bestest friends, Stephanie and her lovely family!! The next day my mom, stepdad and sisters came to town! It was a blast!

Somewhere in the past crazy month, my long time best friend, Amy, announced she is pregnant! I am so excited i can hardly stand it!! :) I love the names she has picked out and I can't wait to find out what she's having so I can shop! :) :)

Another one of my good friends, Kenzie, is having her baby soon!! Like any time soon! I can't wait to meet little Emery and hold and kiss him!!

Another amazing thing happened this month! I randomly met someone on instagram (a photo app), and she mentioned that she was going home to the PNW! Turns out they lived in the same town as me! Crazier than that:: on the same side of town as me too!! We made plans and met up and became instant friends! We hung out the rest of the week she was here and we swear we are like soul sisters. We really bonded over the kid running into the big tree at the play place. Bahahahaha! I am so blessed to have her and her boys in my life! Tricia is probably one of the smartest, funniest, most beautiful people I've ever met! She is extremely kind and caring and a good friend to everyone! I really admire and love that girl!! Can't wait till she comes back to visit this month!

We also moved! I will be posting a house post once I have everything in it's place! There are things I love and there are things I don't love so much but I will get used them I suppose!!

Those are the big things that I can think of for now!!

<3

And the secret movie was....

2011-03-13T18:46:00.001-07:00

The secret movie was Yogi Bear. It was so cute and extremely funny. I giggled almost the whole way through it and so did Brooke. I hope they do more of those and seriously. Why wouldn't they? It has to be a great money maker. $5 for 10 tickets and then you spend $10-30 on snacks and drinks...maybe more and then if you're like us, you don't want to waste your extra tickets so you go the next weekend and spend another $20 on snacks whereas normally we don't go to the theater cause for tickets and snacks in normal days?? Heck no! But it's been fun these last few weeks, going to the theater so often.

After the movie we decided to hit up Taco Bell and the Brooke ended up eating TWO tacos. The child ate more than I did! Nolan was being silly making faces at everyone that came around our table and when I asked to take w picture of him and daddy, he insisted on having his eyes closed for it cause it's "funny" LOL! little hammy.

We also went through the carwash and then, of course, it started raining.

Mason's Ninja Birthday.

2011-03-13T09:57:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for a little boy in our playgroup. He is 6 and decided it would be fun to go to the bowling alley. It. Was. Chaos. Once we got in the groove of things I started to go smoothly but the kids kind if got burnt out after a little while. I do think it was because they had to wait so long to take their turns with sooo many kids. The kids all got "ninja" bandanas and they had ninja cupcakes! We has a ton of fun but today I'm SORE!!!

After that we went to walmart and I was in a picture taking kind of mood. ;) (when am I not!?)

On Thursday I started babysitting a little 6 month old boy named Cordairo. He is so sweet and so cute! He barely fussed at all and he mostly just sat and hung out and played with his puppy!

Today I think we'll go see the "surprise" movie at the theater which means I gotta get my butt up to get going!! Byeee!

Wordless Wednesday: Put Ya Stunna Shades On

2011-03-09T21:52:00.001-08:00

Dentist appointment 1 of 3

2011-03-08T20:06:00.001-08:00

We have 3 dentist appointments this week. The first, for the kids, this morning went OK. Brooke and Nolan both behaved really well! First they did X-Rays on Brooke, she hopped right up and they told me that in general, 2 year olds won't sit still but he hopped right up there after she was done and got his done too!

Then they got the kids set up and I had to take pictures here too cause they looked so cute!

Nolan did excellent getting his teeth polished and brushed. Brooke, unfortunately (and I already knew this) had a cavity :( she has super deep grooves in her teeth and though I know I brush their teeth 2ce a day I can't help but feel like I could have prevented it. :( the dentist said she probably wouldn't even have to numb her mouth but we'll see how that goes tomorrow!! Glenn's dentist appointment is thursday and I am honestly scared of how much they're going to charge. His face has been swollen and he's been in a lot of pain! :(

I went to Fred Meyer today and bought some glasses since I can't afford to go to the optometrist and i was in desperate need of new ones. They're cute :)

Now I'm making chicken chilli and French fries!! Yummy! And I'd say it's about done so I'd better get to posting this :) later!!

Nothing to Do.

2011-03-07T13:01:00.001-08:00

No seriously! I have nothing to do today except clean the bathrooms and that I need to wait until Glenn wakes up so I can clean them both at once (cause that's just how I roll). See we cleaned the house and organized and put things away because I was going to start babysitting a 6 month old today but he's sick and his parents didn't want my first day to be when he's all cranky and not feeling good! I hope he gets to feeling better soon!!

Silas came home this weekend and apparently he fractured his hand on Monday, but since his mom didn't realize it was hurt till Friday he had just got his brace on so he had a hard time keeping it on and we had to get on him over and over again about it because if it wasn't healing right he was going to have to to back and get a real cast on. But overall we had a good and fun weekend!

We went to the movies, and saw Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black. It was a pretty cute movie! The movie theater has these specials at 9am and 12pm and it costs 5 dollars for 10 tickets! Plus 3 dollars for kids popcorn and a slushie! Next weekend they're having a "mystery movie" so we won't know what it is till we get there!! We also have a bowling birthday party next weekend and it will be the kids' first time bowling!

Today the kids are being so sweet that I almost dont want to make them take a nap but I know that I will quickly regret it if I don't make them! Brookelyn was caught playing on her computer. She caught me taking pictures and told me "mom you can't bug me while I'm trying to work. I need quiet." haha!

I hope I have more to write for you soon! See how great at blogging I've been now that I have my iPhone?! It's just nice to have something that takes good pictures and allows me to blog in one place and I don't have to transfer and save pictures all over the place and I can also go anywhere, I can blog in the car (while Glenn's driving! Lol), I can blog sitting on the couch or (as currently) while cooking lunch :) have a great day friends!

Mmm Bacon!

2011-03-05T23:58:00.001-08:00

So the other night we had a full on bacon themed dinner! I was going to add bacon mashed potatoes but I forgot and it was too late by the time I remembered.

The chicken was bacon, cooked but not too crispy, boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half and then pounded somewhat thin, smeared with cream cheese, top that with a little chopped canned green chilies, a little salt and pepper, then you roll up the chicken, wrap the bacon around the chicken and stick tooth picks in to hold it in place. Put it in the oven at 350 for about 30-40 minutes in a baking dish! That was easy right?!

Next came the bacon mushroom "green means" as Nolan called them! So I took some of the leftover bacon (cooked it to crispy), sautéed mushrooms and garlic, added a can of green beans and the bacon to it. Even EASIER!! :)

So just go ahead and have a bacon dinner. Because everyone loves bacon! And don't forget the mashed potatoes! ;)

Sleep deprived.

2011-03-01T12:47:00.001-08:00

That's right. I have been deprived of my sleep. I decided to lay down around 1230 and force myself to fall asleep. Around 1 I fell asleep and around 130 Brooke woke up crying saying her tummy hurt. It took me about 15 minutes to get her to lay down and go back to sleep. I dragged myself back to bed but I couldn't fall asleep cause I was worried she'd wake back up and start throwing up! Around 3 Nolan woke up bawling his eyes out, saying he was scared and asking to come sleep in my bed. I felt bad for him so I let him. Worst 2 hours of my night! He is the WORST bed sharer and between him kicking me, rolling on me, and pulling my hair, I kept waking up worrying that he would fall out of the bed! I finally picked him up around 6 and carried him back to his bed and laid him down. In his defense I think he slept right through all of it. I think he is just a really defensive sleeper, whereas I'm a really offensive sleeper. I just wanna be left alone!! LOL! So I'm thinking okay I can get a good full hour of sleep before they wake up. Around 630 Brooke comes in my room and asks if she can sleep in my bed, so I let her and of course I have to sleep with my eyes half open and worry about her falling off the bed!

Needless to say I am exhausted and have wanted to do nothing except sit around and watch reruns of the Real Houswives and wish I could afford someone to come clean my house. LOL

I got a call from my sister's friend and her friend is looking for a babysitter and I offered to do it. I could really use the extra cash so keep your fingers crossed for me!!

I started the 30 Day Shred again yesterday and I am definitely feeling it today!! I love that sore feeling though! Im hoping to tone up and lose about 8 pounds because I'm right in between jean sizes right now and that is so annoying to me! I obviously don't want to gain Any more weight so I'll have to settle for loosing it instead!! :)

Okay time to go make lunch and put away the clean clothes. :)

Wow.

2011-02-17T09:45:00.001-08:00

So I had posted this long blog entry from my phone in which I told you about two of my new loves: my iPhone and my American Eagle Favorite boyfriend jeans! (seriously the most comfortable jeans I've ever owned!

I also talked about our amazing valentines day! Lots of love, cuddles and presents! This was the first year we've spoiled each other on V-Day and we probably won't do so again for another 6 years!

I also thought I'd tell you all how crafty I've been. Yes. I sew. Not great but I can! And with practice I hope I get even better! I made the cell phone cover out of a glove :)

I bought new shampoo and conditioner and my hair looks, feels, and smells great! ...Which might be why I have taken so many self portraits lately!

But I clearly didn't have the new app on my phone figured out and it never sent! So Here's the condensed version!

Test

2011-02-16T23:47:00.001-08:00

Testiiiing!

Holy SHIT! A blog post!

2011-02-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time...hasn't it?

I've wanted to write but sometimes I just don't feel like sitting down...and then I get so behind, I get overwhelmed. So here's a little update, just to catch you up a little.

Glenn got a new job. He likes it, it pays good, eventually we'll get benefits, it's union. Buuuut it's overnights. I'm so on the fence about it. Sometimes it sucks because I sleep alone, I have to get up with the kids in the middle of the night, I can't fall asleep until 2 AM most nights and then I get up around 7 when the kids do. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later. The days usually drag by. Trying to keep the kids quiet during the day can sometimes be a challenge. Glenn doesn't ask for complete silence and they're good about keeping the loudness in their rooms most days but they definitely have their days. But this just gives me a lot of incentive to get the kids OUT of the house and off to playdates and such! And hello?! I get the whole bed to myself! I sleep right in the middle and I sleep diagonally across the bed....which drives Glenn crazy when we share the bed. Haha! Also....he has a JOB.

I went to the cosmetology school in the Valley and I'm looking at getting enrolled and getting financial aid. It's something I REALLY want to do but....I'm wondering if I should just get a job instead? Working for a couple hours every evening would be a HUGE help to us.

Glenn has a hernia & it needs to be taken care of ASAP. Problem: He doesn't have medical insurance. Any program we get on for insurance, we have to wait for at least 9 months. So basically we have to come up with 4,000 dollars for the surgery. He's going to call around to see if he can find someone who will let us do payments and/or drop some of the fees since we're "low income". However, if he's going to be off work for 1 to 2 weeks, we need some back up income.

Tomorrow we get our income taxes and alot of it is going to be focused on paying off the bills we have so that the money that we make can go into savings instead of paying other things off. We need a few things like bunk beds for the boys (Nolan wants/needs a bigger bed). 2 carseats (the ones we have don't fit in the backseat very well with Silas' booster seat. We just need like 3 more inches & since Brooke & Nolan's car seats are both huge, we need smaller ones), and I need a phone. We will also be selling the toddler bed, the extra carseats, & the extra bed. I know we'll have money so I'm going to put the rest into savings &build up on that and hopefully in a month or so we can afford it!

I have faith that we'll get through this...but not without me bitching and worrying about it first! Hey, what can I say...it's in my nature!

We took away Nolan's pull ups. I noticed that during the day, if he was wearing his pull up, he wouldn't even bother with the toilet so we said "Only at nap and bed time". Only at nap and bed time turned into, Oh just this once or while we go to the store or to so and so's house in case he pees. So he used his last pull up and I said say good bye! and He did. the first night he was accident free! Now it's a hit or a miss! Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night to pee, sometimes he doesnt. He doesn't get in trouble or anything, we just go with it. I don't get mad or frustrated like I used to when he'd have accidents! I carry an extra pair of pants & underwear in my purse (I can't wait for summer when that will be an extra pair of shorts that take up way less room!) in case of accidents outside of home and everyone should know by now we're done with pull ups so if you invite me over, my child might pee his pants LOL!

The other day we were coming home after being gone for a few hours and I was praising Nolan about what a good big boy he was for not having one accident all day and he told me "Yeah I'm a good big boy, I only pee in my pants at home so I can change my clothes." Uhh.....what? Hahaha yeaaaah.

I also had a VERY fun playdate at the Drop In and Play at the mall yesterday! Of course all my picture turned out blurry (even more so than usual) because I took them on my blackberry.

We have tentative playdates for the Jump and Bounce and a coffee/at home playdate. I will have my new phone by then, I hope and I will have lots of way better pictures! :)

I am extremely mad at myself today for not getting up at 7 when my alarm went off, and working out so that i could take a shower because right now I could be outside soaking up what's left of our sunshine & 45 degree weather! Tomorrow it wont be as sunny but it's going to be in the mid 40's again so I definitely plan on taking the kids to the park tomorrow morning! (Remind me of this tomorrow when my alarm clock goes off at 645!)

Speaking of working out...I was down to 136 last monday so we're getting there....slowly...but surely. I WILL hit my goal weight because...One of my very best friends has asked me to be in her wedding in May of 2012. I am EXCITED! But I definitely want to be in shape when I go try on dresses or I am going to hate everything and be depressed and I wont be able to be honest! We are wearing black though and black is slimming, right?! :)

Okay that's all I have for you for now. Byeeee! :)

Moving my 365...&other things.

2011-01-12T20:41:00.000-08:00

I decided that it would be best if I moved my 365 Project to a different location. I get no comments and I'm not sure if it's because people don't generally pay attention to my blog or if it's actually because there is one post everyday...that could get a little overwhelming in your readers/timelines....I UNDERSTAND! (Unless you're in the first case scenario...in that case...well, nevermind!). So I toyed around with another blogsite called tumblr but I just couldn't figure it out and I just didn't dig the overall-ness of it. So my solution: I've started a new Flickr site (I hope to get the pro, but don't hold your breath). I'm going to post over there and maybe once a month I'll pick my favorites from the month to post here! So here is my new Flickr: AychDeeGee828

I don't know if the winter blues are catching me now that the holidays are over and we are being cooped up in the house due to my general fear of driving+crappy weather conditions, but I find myself getting really irritated by things these days. A few certain things. To be specific:

My phone. It freezes...at LEAST 4 times a day, it has this annoying habit of not charging at all even if it's plugged in all day and night. When it dies completely, it wont turn on for forever, then all of a sudden in the middle of the night it will start ringing with a thousand texts and missed messages from various social networking sites and emails. ANNOYING.I would LOVE a new phone, but to go and get my upgrade...I would have to get a free phone, which means I either wouldn't get my iphone at all OR I would have to pay full price for an iphone when i actually have money for it, which I highly doubt So I've been on the constant battle of practically not having a phone and being fed up enough to want to just get my purse and drive to the at&t store to get a free phone that would be decent enough for me to live with for the next two years. This would then probably irritate me to no end until that time comes. Today it's been being good though and for that I'm so very very grateful. (It's funny because the other day the power was down in our apartment complex for an hour...and it worked all that time. It's funny because it KNOWS when I really need it, to not be frozen.) I tell you...I REALLY hate hour glasses now (the little hour glass pops up and wont go away and drains my battery when it's frozen). There was one on the Harry Potter game and I nearly died. (It was supposed to be there though. LOL)

I'm grateful for my phone to be working today because the last week or so I've noticed my comptuer not acting up to par for what it normally is. I can't remember exactly when this all started but it seems like right after we got home from my mom's house right before christmas that it started doing this....why though? I have NO clue. But it makes me really sad and frustrated because it takes me like 4 hours to finish watching just ONE of my shows that I usually watch online. (Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, missed episodes of Days of Our Lives, etc). Seriously?! 4 hours to watch 47 minutes of good quality (okay okay...mostly reality shows...haha!) TV. Today my games on facebook wont load, my twitter wont load, FLICKR is taking FOR-FREAKING-EVER. I finally got my blog open so now i'm just sitting here bitching for as long as it takes all this to open. I have deleted everything off of my comptuer that doesn't feel nessecary. I tried google chrome, (I'm now back to firefox but I also use IE for somethings that firefox wont load). I've seriously removed everything, deleted all history, cookies, etc. and this thing is STILL moving slower than molasses. I have no open internet connections in this apartment complex so I think tomorrow I'm going to go to Starbucks across the street (to apply for a job) and to see if their WiFi will get my computer's ass in gear. If it does then I'm going to be seriously pissed off at my internet provider. Well, I will wait till I pay the bill because I've heard that once you go over a certian amount of my usage (even though it's unlimited) it slows WAY down. Which isn't really fair considering I wasn't told this and I just leave my internet connection open with my comptuer (because, well...it's easier. Sometimes this thing likes a pain in the ass). Either way, as soon as I'm able I'm going to get rid of this crappy ass internet and going back to comcast. TV and internet is all i need and they've got some great deals and I think I can get both of them for just about what I'm paying for this.

I'm also irritated by my clothes. Seriously...have I NEVER been this size? I have clothes that are way too huge and are falling off or I have clothes that are quite snug and do not look that great. I was trying so hard to lose weight by doing the 30 Day Shred but I was just not losing any weight and I got discouraged. Stephanie has suggeste a Cardio + Normal/Healthyish eating type regime and once I lose some weight, then I'll incoporate some more strength in to tone up my arms and legs. I'm glad there's someone who understands why i'm getting so discouraged and not just telling me (like all the other good intentioned people) to be patient and wait for my results. I mean, I'm the type of person who jumps for joy at the next number down on the scale. Today 137.1, next time 136.8, I'm ecstatic! I can't process all this "muscle building weighs more" stuff. I know that it's true and all that but I just can't stomach it after gaining 8 pounds in 6 or so days. It KILLS me that I put that weight back on that I had worked my ass off (literally) to lose! The size 4 pants that I bought that were a little snug, but not to bad are so tight that I dont even want to wear them now, and that makes me so sad.

I also have this never ending pile of laundry that I just cant seem to get through. *Sigh*

Everything just needs a tiny bit more effort from me, and it will all get better. I need to think more positive thoughts and not let myself feel down about everything. Maybe I'll go take a nice long bath and have a warm cup of tea.

Adios Amigos :)

365 Project~ Day 8 and a sleepover

2011-01-08T23:45:00.000-08:00

Just another Camera Phone snapshot. Went to take out the camera and the batteries were dead! :(

Also, tonight we have our first ever real sleepover. As soon as Silas saw Cam he said "ARE YOU STAYING THE NIGHT?!" and the boys immediately made plans for his first time sleeping over. Well, they've had sleepovers before but since Sarah and Brian live and hour away, we'd all just stay over as an over night trip. But Sarah and Brian went home, the boys brushed their teeth and camped it out in the living room. Not one tear was shed at bed time, not one "I just want my mommy" was uttered. This is Cam's first ever away from family sleep over I think too, and while we're pretty much like family that's a big step for a 6 year old! I'm super proud of him!

365 Project~ Day 7

2011-01-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Nolan wasn't cooperating for pictures...but Brooke and Silas sure looked cute :)

365 Project~ Day 6

2011-01-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

I made my 2nd recipe out of my new Taste of Home Annual Recipes Cookbook that I got for christmas! I'm going to try my hardest to try a new recipe every week, cause it always seems like we have the same old things! Not that we don't love the same old things, but we might like to make a new thing a same old thing. Tonight it was Ranch Mac & Cheese, which I knew was going to be a fight to get the kids to eat, so I decided not to make a veggie with it, just because it would be 2 fights in one dinner (awesome parenting...I know!). We went with Lil' Smokies smothered in BBQ sauce to go with them (which WAS a big hit with the kids!)

Now....where is that New Years resolution list? Wasn't one of them to LOSE weight, not gain it?! ;)

365 Project~ Day 5

2011-01-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

My big boy got a haircut! He's such a handsome little man! I could not get him to smile normal though, he always does weird faces when we tell him to cheese! LOL! He did so well getting his haircut for the second time! I was very proud of my big boy! And of course he had to flirt with all the girls at the school...i am so in trouble with this one! ;)

365 Project~Day 4

2011-01-05T00:06:00.000-08:00

It always cracks me up when I catch Nolan playing princesses with Brookelyn. (Every good brother plays dress up with his sister!)

365 Project~ Day 3

2011-01-03T22:48:00.000-08:00

Nolan's weird bedtime situation. He refuses to sleep in his bed (or in Silas' bed while he's gone...we've tried!). He sleeps on the floor, at the foot of his bed. We don't know why but he actually will only sleep there so, we just go with it rather than fight him. We fold a thick comforter in half for some cushion and he has a pillow (he likes to use one of Silas' extra pillow cases), and a pillow pet. Plus he has his two cows (Cowie cow and howie cow), his baby (baby), his bear (Jeppsen bear) and sometimes a little action figure, car or dinosaur and lately his HUGE picture book. Whatever gets them to sleep at night right?

When we get our income tax return back, I hope to get the boys bunk beds and we're going to let him pick out his own comforter/sheet set and maybe, just maybe, he'll actually sleep in the bed?

Where I've Been

2011-01-03T00:49:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are over I feel like I have a moment to breathe (and blog). I've taken a few pictures along the way....And i'll share those with you at the end of my post. Glenn got laid off in early December so he's been home with us. This has it's ups and downs. I love having him home all day but we dooo get on each other's nerves quite often, being together all the time!

My goals for 2011 are simple. Be more organized, have more playdates, get brooke into preschool, get myself into school, and freaking lose the rest of this weight! I gained a few pounds while I was at my mom's house for a week and I'm trying to Shred those (plus a few) away. Today I started at 137 pounds and I took all of my measurements. I would LOVE to be 127 at the end of this shred but I'm just not going to get my hopes up!

Okay here's some of my recent pictures :) Enjoy!

365 Project~Day 2

2011-01-02T23:09:00.000-08:00

Oh sure, I could have found something to take a picture of since it was all of 17 degrees outside (woo! heatwave) but instead I braved the cold, drove down the road and took a picture from the top of a hill overlooking this gorgeous snow covered scene.

365 Project~Day 1 Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T01:29:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011!!

Leaving 2010

2010-12-30T22:10:00.000-08:00

Since we're leaving 2010 and we're about to set new goals for ourselves and work to reach them (for the first month or so anyways...) why don't we decide what we're leaving in 2010?

I'm leaving the rude people. and I'm leaving the rude comments that I make myself, whether to myself or to my closest and dearest who would never tell a soul, I'm going to leave those in 2010. They only hurt, and the don't make me feel better about myself anyways. And maybe some of you should do that too.

I'm leaving the negative. I've been so down on myself the past couple weeks and I want to leave that in 2010. I also want to leave the negative feelings I have towards some people and their actions, in hopes that one of their resolutions is to think about their actions and chose to do better in the future.

I'm leaving the 20 or so pounds I lost. I'm leaving that SOOOO far in 2010. There's no reason for me to ever take that into the future with me.

While I'm at it...can we leave the terrible twos that have decided to grace us through Nolan? Yes, let's leave those in 2010.

Day 23~ Something I crave

2010-11-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Mmmm...chocolate chocolate chocolate. Anything chocolate? I'm down.

And to take a little of the guilt that comes with these cravings, I'll buy a box of these and have a handful once or twice a day! YUM!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
~~Day 16- Another picture of yourself~~
~~Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why~~
~~Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have~~
~~Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them~~
~~Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future~~
~~Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy~~
~~Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else~~
~~Day 23- Something you crave for a lot~~
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 22~ Different from you!

2010-11-18T21:37:00.000-08:00

Something that makes me different is a tough one. No matter what I say here people are going to say "Well, me too". So if this is you too, go ahead and say "me too!" But only if it's ALL situations. Because collectively, this is what makes me different ;)

One thing that makes me different than the people around me is the way I react to situations and the other people in them. I used to be overly assertive and I would get in anybody's face that I thought deserved it. I know I know, that's horrible. I understand that now and I don't like doing it and I don't like seeing it done. There are people who PROBABLY deserve this treatment but that's not for me to judge. Unless I know every single detail of someone's life (which is impossible), I'm not going to treat people this way. Not to mention, me losing my cool not only DOESN'T change the way other people do things, it also makes me look like a crazy person. Then for awhile, I would just sit back and let people walk all over me. This is not okay either. I am not a door mat. You can't talk to me however you want and get away with it and I will tell you so. (And I will try to do so without screaming!) Now I try to assess the situation without overreacting and not be overly assertive but just be mature about things. As I'm seeing, A LOT of people my age do NOT act this way. They're one extreme or the other.

I like to stay up late and read. And I will frequently read the same books over and over. I like reading new ones too. But every time you read a book you catch something new!!

I workout when I'm angry or upset. I workout HARD when I'm angry or upset. I was upset earlier so I worked out so hard that an hour and a half later, my legs were STILL shaky!

Sometimes I LOVE coffee from the pot. Sometimes I don't care for it at all and drink tea instead.

Even when I feel like canceling plans with people, I don't. Because I know how I feel when people cancel on me. I hate it, especially at the last minute!

I love Twitter. I really do. (Okay this one doesn't make me different at ALL. Haha!)

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
~~Day 16- Another picture of yourself~~
~~Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why~~
~~Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have~~
~~Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them~~
~~Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future~~
~~Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy~~
~~Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else~~
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 18~ Something that makes me happy

2010-11-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

Well I could do my family, cause that's obvious...my friends make me happy...lots of things make me happy but you've seen all these. Let's not get repetitive! :P The holidays aren't the holidays without the Starbucks Holiday drinks. They make me happy! :)

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
~~Day 16- Another picture of yourself~~
~~Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why~~
~~Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have~~
~~Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them~~
~~Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future~~
~~Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy~~
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 20~ Well, Obviously....

2010-11-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
~~Day 16- Another picture of yourself~~
~~Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why~~
~~Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have~~
~~Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them~~
~~Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future~~
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 19~ My Nicknames

2010-11-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

I have the normal nicknames that come with being a mommy and wife. Those are self explanatory. My parents sometimes call me Punkin (they've called me that since I was little) but other than that I'm usually just Heather :)

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
~~Day 16- Another picture of yourself~~
~~Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why~~
~~Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have~~
~~Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them~~
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 18~ Just some plans for the future.

2010-11-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

For the immediate future, I would love to find a part time job to start to save money for our trip to Disney World & the Harry Potter Theme Park in about a year and a half! The kids are doing their part, saving every penny they find in a piggy bank for spending money when we go and I want them to have the best time ever!

In the future, I'd like to finish school. College is complicated. I don't know what I want to do. Cosmetology, Nursing, Dental Hygienist? So another short term goal: Decide what's going to make me happy for the rest of my life!

I also want to eventually buy a house with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a garage and a yard. Also, a kitchen that can fit more than 2 people at a time would be awesome. Short term: a rental house, with 3(+?) bedrooms, 1 or 2 bathrooms, a garage (or at least a storage shed?), and a yard will be awesome. The kids want a dog, VERY badly but they know they can't have a dog until we get a house. They're pretty understanding about it, so for now they just plan on what kind of dog we're going to get!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
~~Day 16- Another picture of yourself~~
~~Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why~~
~~Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have~~
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

100 Truths

2010-11-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Got this from a friend off facebook. :)

WHAT WAS YOUR
1. Last beverage: Coffee
2. Last phone call: My Dad
3. Last text message: Hubby
4. Last song you listened to: Michael Franti- Shake it
5. Last time you cried: A couple days before Halloween when my cousin's grandpa died.

HAVE YOU EVER
6. Dated someone twice: Most likely
7. Been cheated on:Yes
8. Kissed someone & regretted it: Not really. Learning experiences.
9. Lost someone special: Yes
10. Been depressed: Yes
11. Been drunk and threw up: Ugh yes.

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS
12. Green
13. Pink
14. Brown

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2010)
15. Made a new friend: Yes
16. Fallen out of love: Nope!
17. Laughed until you cried: Oh yes!
18. Met someone who changed you: "Of course. I'm changed by many different people all the time. No way to avoid that."- Jessica (sooo true!)
19. Found out who your true friends were: I think I have.
20. Found out someone was talking about you: Yeah. Lucky for them I dont react the same way that I used to. I think they call that "growing up" :P
21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: Yes! My husband! :) And I've kissed family members and some friends in a friendly way.
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: Almost all of them.
23. How many kids do you want?: 3 is good for now. Maybe one more eventually, but I'm SO back and forth on that all the time. A. I don't think I want to do that to my body again B. It's expensive C. but it would be so much fun! :) I also want to foster eventually.
24. Do you have any pets: Nope.
26. What did you do for your last birthday: Hung out with Glenn, Brooke, Nolan, Amy, Cody and Caydan, we went swimming, had a barbecue, took the kids to their grandparents and went out dancing!
27. What time did you wake up?: 2, 6, and finally at 730
28. What were you doing at midnight last night?: Watching Jay Leno
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: Thanksgiving!
30. Last time you saw your Mother: September on the beach trip :(
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I wish I had more mom friends! And a little more money wouldn't hurt either!
32. What are you listening to right now: Say Hey (I love you)
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yes
34. Who is getting on your nerves now?: My kids, they keep slamming the closet door in Nol's room and it shakes the DVD rack and makes an EXTREMELY loud noise.
35. Most visited webpage: Blogspot, Twitter, Facebook
36. What's your real name: Heather
37. Nicknames: Babe, Punkin, Mommy
38. Relationship Status: Happily married :)
39. Zodiac sign: Leo
40. Male or female?: Female
41. Primary School?: Medical lake Elementary/Hallett mostly
42. Secondary School?: Medical Lake Middle School
43. High school/college?: Medical Lake High School/None
44. Hair color: Dark brown
45. Long or short: Medium
46. Height: 5'3"
47. Do you have a crush on someone?: My husband. And Channing Tatum (shhh! haha!)
48: What do you like about yourself?: A lot of things.
49. Piercings: Ears, Belly Button, Tounge, thinking about getting my lip pierced
50: Tattoos: Two! A flower and butterfly on my hip and "Love" on the back of my neck
51. Righty or lefty: Right

FIRSTS
52. First surgery: None
53. First piercing: Ear
54. First best friend: Erin (My cousin)

55. First sport you joined: I dont remember. I tried alot of sports!

56. First vacation:First that I remember; Probably camping at humbug mountain!
58. First pair of trainers: uh....??

RIGHT NOW
59. Eating:Nothing. I just ate Cheerios
60. Drinking: water
61. I'm about to: Finish cleaning my kitchen
62. Listening to music: Sound of Sunshine
63. Waiting for: Naptime

YOUR FUTURE

64. Want kids?: Didn't we already talk about this?

65. Get married?: Hopefully not again.
66. Career: That's a good question....
67. Lips or eyes: Eyes
68. Hugs or kisses: Both!
69. Shorter or taller: Taller
70. Older or Younger: Well, I've tended to be attracted to older men, but I'm married to someone who is 5 days younger than me, which is perfect since he's mature for his age. :)
71. Romantic or spontaneous: Both :)
72. Nice stomach or nice arms: If I had to choose only one, i'd say stomach!
73. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship

HAVE YOU EVER
76. Kissed a friend? Yes. I kiss my best friend every day! :)
77. Drank hard liquor: Yes I prefer it to beer
78. Lost glasses/contacts: I've lost my glasses a couple times
79. Sex on first date: No!
80. Broken someone's heart: I'm sure I have.
82. Been arrested: Nope
83. Turned someone down: Yes
84. Cried when someone died: yes
85. Fallen for a friend: Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN
86. Yourself: Most of the time.
87. .....: ..... ???
88. Love at first sight: No.
89. Heaven: Most definitely!
90. Santa Claus: Yes.
91. Kiss on the first date: I guess?
92. Angels: Yes

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY
94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time: No
95. Did you sing today?: Yes.
96. Ever cheated on somebody?: Nope
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go?: A few years. I would choose my friends/people that I trust better.
98. The moment you would choose to relive?: I have lots of wonderful memories that I would re-live in a happy way, but not change. :)
99. Are you afraid of falling in love?: Not at all. I'm in love right now!
100. Are you afraid of posting this as 100 truths?: Obviously not.

Day 17~ Alison Sweeney

2010-11-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

I would want to switch lives with Alison Sweeney for a day. She seems like an amazing, down to Earth person. I'm not really sure that I'd want to switch, maybe just hang out with her for a day, cause completely switching and setting me loose on her life would probably confuse me! I have always wanted to act in a soap opera, well I've always wanted to be on Days of Our Lives, really! Haha! (It's part of the reason I took drama in high school!). Also, she gets to work with Bob and Jillian and all the extremely inspiring contestants on the Biggest Loser!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
~~Day 16- Another picture of yourself~~
~~Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why~~
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

November Exercise Competition

2010-11-03T22:52:00.000-07:00

My friend Stephanie and I are doing a friendly little competition. You can read about her side of it here. Basically, whoever logs the most minutes gets a trophy of some sorts!

Nov 1- 45 minutes (Turbo Jam)
Nov 3- 20 min (Turbo Jam)
Nov 4- 20 min (Turbo Jam), 45 min (Turbo Sculpt), 25 min (WiiFit)
Nov 5- 45 min (TJ Cardio Party), 20 Min (WiiFit)
Nov 8- 45 min (TJ Cardio Party), 60 min (WiiFit)
Nov 9- 25 min (TJ Ab Jam)
Nov 10- 45 min (TJ Cardio Party), 60 min (WiiFit)
Nov 11- 25 min (TJ Ab Jam), 20 min (Turbo Jam)
Nov 12- 60 min (Just Dance)
Nov 13- 45 min (Just Dance)
Nov 14- 30 min (Just Dance)
Nov 15- 20 min (TJ)
Nov 16- 45 min (Turbo Sculpt), 20 min (Abs)
Nov 17- 20 min (TJ), 30 min (Just Dance)
Nov 18- 45 min (TJ Cardio Party)

Total: 815 Minutes

Steph- IT'S ON! You better bring your A Game! :P

Day 16~ Okay Just Cause I'm Cute ;)

2010-11-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Oh...that's not me :P

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
~~Day 16- Another picture of yourself~~
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Just Some Random....

2010-11-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

This morning I drug myself out of bed, got my kids in the bathroom before we had any accidents, got chocolate milk, breakfast and Harry Potter going in the DVD player (the usual morning ritual) and as I was stumbling back toward my bedroom to get my cell phone to catch up on tweets and wake up a little before starting "house cleaning day" (also taking down my Halloween decorations! Waaahhh!), I noticed there was something strange about my bedroom. I glanced at the window and saw the strangest orange light coming through my blinds. A little confused after the dark gray that's been settled over us, I pulled back the blinds and was pleasantly surprised at the gorgeous blue skies and the beautiful morning sunshine!

The kids and I decided to take advantage of the wonderful fall weather and go play at the playground. It was a little wet but, fortunately for Brookelyn, Nolan had no problems going down the slide first and soaking HIS pants! They had a blast. We attempted to go on a walk through the neighborhood afterward but that just wasn't in the cards (being that it was naptime and all).

I got a LOT of cleaning done today and all the Halloween decor taken down and put in it's tote. I love totes. My next mission is to buy them for my Christmas decorations too. Everything just seems much more organized in them! :) I also mended two of Bee's dress up dresses today. Would you like to know how Mrs. Can't-Sew-For-Shit fixed these dresses? Two words. Glue stick. My stepmom suggested this the other day and I just kind of looked at her like she was crazy. But so far, so good! ;)

Also. I did not hit my weight loss goal for October. I weighed in yesterday at 133. But still, this is GOOD. Why was I so disappointed to see this? The day after Halloween. Who even weighs in the day after Halloween?! I ate SO much candy I could have barfed. I had a hamburger (even the bun...don't think i'm a crazy calorie counter, I actually just don't like buns..haha!) and fries at like, 9pm! I guess we did do a TON of walking which probably evened it all out but yeah. I was ACTUALLY disappointed in my weight on the scale. Then I realized why. I weigh myself a THOUSAND times a day. I don't even think about it, I just do. Then I when I KNOW I've been eating poorly, or not working out as hard as I could have been, or at all I blame my numbers on that and say "well if I hadn't done this..." or "If I had done that...." "This morning I was this weight" "Yesterday I was that weight" When really? Lets look at the big picture: I look GOOD. I FEEL good. Isn't that what matters? (Within reason of course). I am getting OBSESSED with the numbers. I know your weight can fluctuate INSANE numbers all day, everyday. If I could only weigh myself once a day, I would. But the scale is right there, so I find myself weighing myself all the freaking time. It was starting to annoy me. So I picked up the scale and I stuck it in my closet and I told myself that I wasn't going to take it out till Wednesday at least. I thought I'd go crazy without it, but I haven't! I'm pretty proud of how quickly I kicked my scale habit. But just in case...I'll keep you all posted. Also: 120's by the end of November. I can DO IT!

P.S. 17 days till Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1!!!!

Day 15~ I'm in Miami Bitch (Radio)

2010-11-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

I know this is going to sound like crazy talk but I don't have an ipod. I know, I heard you gasp! No, I don't have any type of MP3 player at all. What I DO have is "I'm in Miami Bitch Radio" on Pandora for my Blackberry! This station is AWESOME! It plays a ton of my favorites! I listen to it to workout and clean to! First 10 songs on here are:
1. Lil' Hipster Girl- LMFAO
2. I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas
3. I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)- Pitbull
4. Good Girls Go Bad- Cobra Starship
5. Calabria 2008- Enur
6. Break Your Heart- Taio Cruz
7. Universal Mind Control- Common
8. Sexy Bitch- David Guetta
9. I Don't Wanna Be- LMFAO
10. Girls on the Dance Floor- Far East Movement

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
~~Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play~~
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun this weekend!
Painting pumpkins,

Putting the stickers on their candy buckets,

Having some candy and watching 'Scared Shrekless'

Finishing the pumpkins with construction paper faces!

Dressing up!

They had a blast trick or treating and going to the little party at the elementary school! Halloween was super fun! Can't wait to do it again next year! Ugh. Now it's time to take down all the decorations!

Day 14~

2010-11-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

For day 13 I'm not going to write a letter to someone who's hurt me, because I don't feel like posting something like that. I'm not in the right kinda mood!
So I skipped to day 14! A picture of me and my family. Well you've already seen a picture of my husband and kids and I a few days ago, so here's a recent one of *part* of my family that we took at the beach!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 12~ Why I Have Blogger

2010-10-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

I found blogger by Googling "blogs". I've been blogging off and on since I was a teenager and it's just a good way to get things out. I made this blog at first because I wanted to blog about my weight loss journey. I also had a 365 project going (and failing, but I couldn't delete it because I loved it, when I was actually doing it!) and then I had also started a blog for our wedding planning details. Okay, were you counting? That's THREE blogs, about 3 separate topics. I finally just decided to combine all 3 and if I ever decide to start up my 365 project again, I will do so right here! This blog is for anything and everything that I want to post!! :)

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one~~ (blogger)
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 11~ Another Picture of my Friend

2010-10-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

We're kinda stuck together, so it's a good thing we like each other! ;) I wish I could dig up some older photos more easily, but this will have to do! We literally have a LIFETIME of pictures like these! The hairstyles, clothes and girls in the pictures are constantly changing, but the friendship remains the same. Love you Erin! (Airhead!)

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
~~Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends~~
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 10- Musical Moods

2010-10-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

When I'm happy/content I listen to just about anything. Anything upbeat and fun! My two favorites right now are probably Less Than Jake and LMFAO!
When I'm sad I gravitate towards country music. Let's face it. Country singers have had rough lives. Haha!
When I'm angry I mostly like rock music. My favorite song to listen to when I'm just really angry is Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
~~Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad~~
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 9- I'm proud

2010-10-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

Something I'm proud of the past few days is my kids. They have been being pretty well behaved! I don't think I've had to put any of them in timeout in almost a week!! *Knocks on wood*
As SOON as I wrote this, I looked and seen them jumping off the back of the couch.
Okay, I'm really really proud that the neighbor's didn't come knocking on the door for screaming like a crazy person at my children over the danger's of jumping from one couch to another. ;)
I am also quite proud that I've gone to bed before 1 AM everynight!! :D

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
~~Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days~~
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 8~Short Term Goals

2010-10-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

There's only 10 more days in the month of October but one of my goals was to be in the 120's for my weight loss (even 129 counts! lol!) My lowest weight so far has been about 132 so we'll see if I can get there! I also want to exercise at least 5 days out of the week for the next few weeks. Last week I only worked out once! I also need to get my budget under control and I'm trying to find a job by the end of November!

These are my (not so interesting) short term goals, but I'll let you all know if/when I complete them!! :)

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
~~Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why~~
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 7~ Biggest Impact

2010-10-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Obviously my family, has had the biggest impact on me. I could state the obvious. But I'm sure you already know. Glenn and I were very young when our kids were born, and through it all, he stuck by me, and I stuck by him. We grew up (and quite fast too) together to take care of our kids the way we need/want to.

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
~~Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you~~
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day-6 Favorite Hero

2010-10-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

I honestly have never cared much about superheroes. I know. I can FEEL your eyebrows raising at that sentence. I watched Spiderman (I think all 3. I can't tell you what happens or if he ends up with the girl he kisses upside down, was her name Mary Jane??), Batman (I watched a couple of these movies and cartoons when I was younger and I actually really enjoyed the Dark Knight), and I watched the first season (most of it, anyways) of Smallville, which is about superman.
Sorry to disappoint you but I don't know SQUAT about superheros. I thought about researching a few that seemed cool but then I just felt fake. So let me pick a fictional character that is also some type of hero. Can you guess who I pick??! Come on! If you know me you should be able to guess!
He started braving the wizarding world and Lord Voldemort at the young age of 11. That's right, Harry Potter is my favorite fictional character hero! He's brave and good to his friends (but in a real way, we all fight with our friends and the true test of friendship is forgiveness.), and he kicks some Voldemort ass :P

(Love the two movie poster's tag lines "Let the Magic Begin" and "It All Ends Here")

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
~~Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why~~
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 5- The Gorgeous Ocean

2010-10-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

Favorite place ever is coast. I love sandy beaches and the crashing waves. I don't care if it's freezing cold, raining and windy or sunny and too hot to stick your toes in the dry sand! It's beautiful either way! I've been there a million and one times in my life and it's STILL my favorite place that I've been to!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
~~Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to~~
Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 4- Old Habits

2010-10-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

I have about a million bad habits. There are two that I can think of, that I wish I didn't. Actually I take that back. I wish I could control them a little better, because there are instances where I like these habits.

The first is my habit of saying what I'm thinking, without first thinking it through. I've never really had a problem telling people how I feel or what I think and it always gets me into quite a bit of trouble. Then again, I'm not one to sugar coat things, I don't like to lie to people. I'm the "honest friend". Although the last few years I've gone by the saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." Because that's how I want my kids to be, and I want them to be positive by example.

Also, I'm the meaning behind "Do you have a staring problem?" Because yes, yes I do have a staring problem. I stare at people, couples, old folks, kids, anyone and everyone, animals included. Why do I do this? I have no idea. I think people are fascinating, and you learn so much by watching people. The downside to this? I don't always watch my expression. Just a couple months ago, when my cousin Erin stayed the week with me, we were out in public and she smacked me and said "Stop staring at that person like that!" I can't remember what the person was doing but they were acting strange and my expression must have matched my confusion. It's also extremely embarrassing when people catch you staring at them, and they look irritated or put off by it. Haha!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
~~Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have~~
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 3- My Friends!

2010-10-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

This one is a picture of my best friend, Amy and I. We've been besties since 7th grade!

Another best friend, Erin :) Bonus: She's my cousin!

I don't have a picture of me and Stephanie together because, well we've never met in person. But I promise that when we do, you'll get a picture. Actually, probably lots of them :)

My friend Kenzie and I at her wedding :)

I couldn't chose only one, because they all deserve a spot, and I don't have a picture of all of us together! :)

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
~~Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends~~
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 2- What's in a Name?

2010-10-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

I am a mom, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a stepdaughter, a granddaughter, a best friend, a good friend, a friend, an acquaintance, a confidant, an unofficial counselor, a secret keeper, a playmate, a maid, a chef, a teacher, a hair dresser, a personal assistant, a chauffeur, and many, many other things. At the end of the night, when everything goes quiet and I'm sitting by myself, in those moments I need to just remember to be myself and never lose that girl who has goals and dreams and hobbies. Cause she's in there, and if I don't make time for her, who will?

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
~~Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name~~
Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Day 1- 15 Interesting (or Not So) Facts

2010-10-13T23:27:00.000-07:00

(I got this from an amazing blog that I love to read! The Bottle Chronicles)
1. I love Harry Potter. The books and the movies. I let my kids watch Harry Potter (except the ending of the 6th one. I don't want them to see who dies.) I plan on going to the Harry Potter Theme park in about a year and a half! :)
2. I'm not registered to vote.
3. My husband and I have been together for 5 1/2 years and we just got married last August. We have 3 kids and have been living together for almost as long as we've been together, I don't feel any different, and I wish people would quit asking. That's another blog, for another day.
4. I don't like to watch the news. It makes me sad and sometimes sick.
5. I don't clean the kitchen after dinner. I leave it for the morning.
6. I love coffee.
7. I also love chocolate. Candy, Ice Cream, Brownies, Chocolate Milk.
8. Part of me wants another baby. The other part of me slaps the other in the face when I say that out loud.
9. I love photography. I like taking pictures and admiring other people's photography.
10. I like to scrapbook.
11. I often stay up way to late. Doing nothing at all.
12. I am a procrastinator.
13. I hate to pack.
14. My favorite cereal is fruit loops with marshmallows.
15. Love chinese food!

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name
Day 03- A recent picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero/fictional character and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about WordPress and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Little changes :)

2010-10-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

April 19th 150 pounds

May 24th 139 pounds

October 8th 133 pounds

Apr 19th 150 pounds

May 24th 139

Oct 8th 133 pounds

Apr 19th 151 pounds

May 24th 139

Oct 8th

Weight Loss

2010-10-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

After the 30 day shred, the first time around, I was 135ish pounds. I tried not to pay attention to the scale because I knew this was not my final goal weight but I knew I couldn't continue losing weight or my wedding dress (which I had already taken in to get altered) wouldn't fit. After the wedding, my cousin stayed for a week and we did Yoga meltdown a few times that week and after she left, I started the shred again. The first week, i did it 3 times, I just couldn't get into it, or I'd make excuses to just not do it. The 2nd week, again I did it 3 times that week and then we left on Thursday night for our vacation beach trip. When we got back home I was sitting around 138 again. If you've struggled to lose weight, you know how sad going UP in any numbers is. How it's even more frustrating when you know you could have done better at eating/controlling portions and exercising.

So here's where I called my good friend Stephanie, and asked her to give me a run down of a diet that she had done after she had her first daughter, Kayla. (You can read her stories here) It was called the Fat Smash Diet and it was something that she had seen on a talk show. It's more of a cleanse, super healthy heating, pretty much all fresh foods and beans and brown rice and stuff &you do it for 9 days and work out and then slowly add the other foods back into your diet. I did alright at first. I was down from 138 to 132 and then the last few days I started eating like CRAP. I'm talking TONS of pizza, chocolate cake, cookies, chocolate bars, whatever, and I was back up to 137.

I'm currently on day 17 of the 30 Day Shred and i'm trying to eat healthy and I'm back down to 133 as of this morning. I'm planning on buying Turbo Jam to see if changing it up a little bit will help me lose the rest of this baby weight! My goal is to be down to 125 and I will keep you guys updated on this as I move along!

If you want to see the results from the last time I did the shred, click here !!

MIA

2010-10-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, where to begin?! I have no idea, so I suppose we'll start with Saturday, since that's the day I went MIA on what I like to call my "Mini Blog of Daily Occurrences" (Twitter)

Oh boy, my kids were driving me up the wall. We were constantly refereeing battles, mostly between Brookelyn and Silas, and just generally trying to control the madness. For some strange reason those two woke up with some kind of agenda, and at the top of that agenda? Driving Mom up the wall. (Check.) They were both in VERY long timeouts by 9 AM. So right after lunch, when ANOTHER argument broke out I said "That's it! Everyone, get in your beds! Silas, on the couch right now, you're all taking NAPS." Silas, being 5, thinks he's too old for naps but me? I think you're never too old.

We finally left for the "Late Summer/Early Fall birthday barbecue" at my Grammy's house and it was a blast! The kids played their little hearts out, had dinner and cake and even warmed up to everyone there!

This morning, I cleaned up our main areas of living and put up the Halloween decorations! Why is it that every year I always think that I have way more than I do and then I open the box and I feel the need to buy way more stuff? Brooke says Target will have lots of good decorations (and I suppose she's right!). There are spiderwebs hanging in the kids rooms, on my dining room mirror, picture frames, and the entertainment center! We strung up our pumpkin lights, our skeleton garland and the black spider curtain. We also set out my Halloween candles, skeleton table cloth, and black and orange pumpkin place mats. I still want to get window clings, and more stuff to hang up around the house, the candy corn candle that I saw and maybe a center piece for the table. I have a cool witches cauldron that you put candy in, but right now that's on our dresser! :)

After that, the kids were going stir crazy and starting to pick fights with us and each other so we got everyone ready, and went over to the back of the apartment complex where it's easy to see and no cars can sneak up on us and let the kids (and Glenn) ride bikes. I must say, he is a great example at wearing his helmet! Silas was having fun, but I could tell he'd have more fun if he went on a long bike ride. This is something the little kids can't accomplish. (Hell, Nolan doesn't even pedal yet!) So I decided that we'd take their bikes back upstairs, hop in the car and drive to the big park, while Glenn and Silas rode there! I drove next to Silas for awhile, he was going over 15mph!!

Once we got there, I decided to do a mini photoshoot. I wish someone would have been around who could have snapped a shot of all 5 of us!Oh well, it was fun, until it started raining so we had to get out of there!

We ended the day with popcorn, animal crackers, Dinosaurs (the movie), and Silas and I played a little Mario Kart while the younger kids slept. Then Glenn made us yummy yummy tacos cause he's awesome like that :)

Oatmeal Raisin Granola Breakfast Bars

2010-10-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I felt like making something new, I'm not sure why I chose granola/breakfast bars but they stood out and I had all the ingredients! They turned out really good and they were practically effortless! They were a huge hit with my family too!

Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Bars

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup margarine
3/4 cup applesauce
1 egg
3 TB milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups oats, uncooked
1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350. Beat sugars anad margarine together. Add applesauce, egg, milk and vanilla. Add combined flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in ats and raisins. Spread dough into an ungreased 13 x 19 inch baking pan. Bake 25-30 minutes. Makes about 32 bars. These even hold together well enough for lunch boxes.

Yes, you may call me a slacker.

2010-09-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged since the wedding posts.

Half of the time, there was too much excitement, the other half of the time, there was no excitement. In fact, we're pretty much in that "calm before the storm" that is also known as "The Holidays." Today is the last day of September and WOW did it fly or what?! Tomorrow is the day that I pull out my Halloween decorations (or I may wait until next Monday, which is my big cleaning day, that way I will have one more cleaning day where I don't have to maneuver around decorations!

September 15th was Brookelyn's birthday. She was a little crabby, and a little shy when we went over to my parent's house for dinner and cake and presents. Her little brown boots and pillow pet (among the many other things) that grandma and grandpa bought her were a huge hit. And so was the Merliah Barbie (from Barbie in a Mermaid Tale) and matching movie that we bought her (again among many other things). We had monkey cupcakes (which kind of looked more like mooses but they still tasted yummy!)

I forgot my camera, but my dad let me use his so i will see if he can upload the pictures on to the web for me so that I can post them for you guys!

That Thursday evening, we picked up Silas and headed to Portland, because Friday afternoon, we were headed to the Oregon Coast! Friday, when we arrived it was damp and windy but since it was Silas' first trip to the Ocean and he was so excited he could barely stand to wait any longer than us taking the bags out of the car and throwing them in our rooms, we headed down for his first view of the ocean. He thought it was awesome and huge and wanted to know if there were sharks. (To which we told him, yes, but not way up here by the beach usually) The kids ran around for a little bit, taking in the sights of the great Oregon Coast but then it was time to head back to the house, which was pretty awesome! There was a huge garage with an air hockey table and a foosball table (where all the younger kids spent most of their time), there was plenty of TVs in the house and the rooms were nice and spacious.

The next day we woke up to amazing weather! Blue skies and no breeze! So we all got dressed and headed down to the beach to let the kids play. Brooke and Silas were in the water in about 2.5 seconds. Nolan, on the other hand, elected to stay back a little ways and dig in the sand with a shovel. Glenn started feeling sick, and went back to the house. He ended up being sick for almost the whole rest of the day. Brooke and Silas both fell in the water, a few times and it was EXTREMELY hilarious. They weren't in any harms way of course and got back up but they were soaked all the way through and once the gray clouds started grazing over the blue sky, and the wind started picking up, we decided (to the kids' disappointment) to head back to dry land and get warm again. Later that evening, we went to the Fisherman's festival and had lots of fun. Some guys from Deadliest Catch were there and my stepdad and little cousin JJ got to meet them. JJ (who's 6 years old) was so excited! I've never watched that show so Silas, Brooke, my little sister Hana and I, hung around the kid's activity tent and waited in line to get their faces painted, made little arts and craft things (crabs, fish pictures and bracelets) and waited for the rest of the family to get back to us. The only person we were missing was Grandma Denise. Nobody seemed to know where she was, or got an answer on her cell phone for about 5 minutes when suddenly it dawned on me that she had mentioned that she was going to watch someone cook. My Uncle Scott went off in the pouring down rain to find her and bring her back. About 5 min later I offered to go heard them both off and when I found them Grandma said that she really wanted to try the food he was cooking, which was a crab pasta. It sounded delicious to me, so I gave my car keys to Scott with instructions to put the kids in and make sure Hana and Jake didn't drive off in my car :P Gram and I ran back to the place, got our food and ate. Oh man, it was SO good! We got the recipe and ran all the way back to the car. I still haven't tried it, but I DEFINITELY plan on it!

Since then we've had a few minor events happen. I started a 9 day Fat Blast Diet. Which helped me lose about 4-5 pounds and sort of break through my weight lost plateau. I sucked at it a couple of days but other than that I did OK! Now I just have to keep up with my healthy eating and finish my weight loss strong! I'm currently on day 12 of a 30 Day Shred and then I think I need to move on to something else! I'm not sure what to get but I'm thinking Turbo Jam would be a good one! Either that or Zumba! My stepmom's birthday was last Saturday so we went over there for pizza and I baked her a chocolate cake :)

The weather here in Spokane has been GORGEOUS. High 70's to low 80's and it's just perfect! Perfect park weather! So we're going outside to enjoy what might be our last few days of "summer"!

Reception!

2010-09-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

The reception was fun, easy going, nothing huge or crazy, just some fruits, cookies, etc. My stepdad ran and got starbucks coffee half way through it...which was awesome! There was a lot of chatting and laughing, alot of having fun! I also met Glenn's dad for the first time. I'm glad he could make it, and spend a little time with his grandkids, for the first time.

Then there was the signing of the marriage certificate. During which, Amy's mom and I were planning her wedding! LOL!

Cake cutting time!

Yes, my mom totally licked her finger and wiped my face!! Eeeww!! Haha!

And after everything was said and done, i totally just wanted to get my super cute, but super painful shoes off my feet!!

Staged pictures

2010-09-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

Right after the Ceremony, we decided while everyone got drinks and fruits and cookies that were for the reception, were gonna hike it up to the waterfall at the park to take pictures. The pictures turned out amazing but boy, there was A LOT of people taking pictures. Looking back I should have said "hold up, everyone can have a turn but one at a time, and call it out" because like I said, there was A LOT of pictures being taken. We took a ton of pictures by the waterfall. These are a mix of pictures from my Uncle Scott and my photographers (who I haven't gotten all the pictures back from yet, but they'll come!)
Originally this post was going to be for reception AND the staged pictures, but I had to change it, because there is just too many that I love!

Before and During the Ceremony

2010-09-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

When we got to the park, Brooke and Nolan were SO grumpy and very glad to see the parent that they didn't get to spend the morning with. The first 10 minutes we were there, we spent consoling the two of them! :P The joys of having toddlers, who knows how they're going to feel that day!

Brooke was an excellent little flower girl though, as soon as it was time to go!

And Hana and Silas did good too. But that wasn't unexpected :) (Yes I let Silas keep his hair cut, we were gonna cut it, but he started crying so we let him keep it. I'm EXTREMELY disappointed that his mom did that after we asked her not to but, what can ya do?)

Once we got ready to start the ceremony, Nolan refused to let go of me, so he held my hand and helped my dad walk me down the isle. It was pretty cute. But we didn't tie the rings on to the pillow, and good thing, cause he carried that thing like a football all the way down the isle! (Yup there's my flipflops too!)

During the ceremony Nolan was kind of wanting our attention, and pulling on my dress and stuff. At one point I guess he grabbed the ring pillow by the ribbon and was swinging it around and the ribbon broke off the pillow, and the pillow went flying through the air. He was really upset and bawling hysterically so we took a little break, and tied it back on! We didn't mind though, we thought it was pretty funny!!

At one point Silas ended up with the flower girl basket (Brooke got tired of holding it I guess) and his poor little face was beat red! He caught my eye and said "Can I put this down??" Hahah i tried so hard not to laugh at the poor guy, but told him he could.
We got through it. It was a good experience, but I never want to do it again! Haha!

As you can tell they were not to happy with us!!

To Be Continued....
(Next up...Reception!!!)

Getting Ready

2010-09-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

The night before the wedding my cousin Erin, my best friend/MOH Amy, little sister Hana, Glenn's best man/friend Brian, Glenn and I stayed up WAY too late. Getting ready, painting toenails, getting food ready, and havin' a couple beers, etc. We were up until 3 and we had to be up at 6!! Oops =\ The boys ran and got us Starbucks, my mom arrived to finish getting ready, the photographers, Heather and Colleen (Who I will probably refer to as "The Girls") got to our apartment to start taking pictures and then Glenn and Brian headed off to the wedding site with Silas and Nolan to decorate and get ready there! But don't start feeling bad for them, they had a TON of help! The boys were really not happy about having to wake up at 7am. They're my 9am or later boys!

We couldn't find the flowers for my hair, or the little girls' headbands and jewelry. Luckily, Amy had brought her white ones, and my sister had a random orange flower clippie that looked great in Amy's hair!

My sister did mine and Amy's hair and make up and they both looked great!

Brooke was in a mood that morning, and didn't feel like smiling for the camera until she had her nails, hair and make up (Mommy did eyeshadow, Amy did some pink lip gloss!) done! I also put on her "special occasion" necklace, a necklace her Uncle Steven (my little brother) got her when I was pregnant with her! It's a cute little rocking horse with a pink gem stone.

Then it was timed to get dressed and jewelryed.

Now it was time to head out the door. Luckily for me, during this time, my sister was able to get her hair, make up, and dress on in less than 10 minutes! And she looked as amazing as she always does! Last minute, we decided that Amy and I were going to go in her car, with the flowers. We decided to dump the water out of the flowers and put them in the backseat, so me, being the smart girl that I am, decides to dump them out into the dirt, and I splashed mud ALL over my feet. Thank goodness I had decided to wear flip flops for the first part of the day! I ran across my parking lot, told my mom "I need every water bottle in your car!!" So two half-filled water bottles later, my foot, and flip flop was clean! :) About halfway to the park, we realized that there was no way in heck that we were going to be able to make it to the park without running out of gas, so we pulled over and pumped some gas. I wish I had taken pictures, not only of us in our pretty dresses, at the gas pump but of the people at the gas station staring at us! Haha!

The girls did amazing job with the pictures of the little things, at one point I remember them saying "We're stealing one of these chairs!! That must have been when they took these pictures!!

Next up: The Ceremony!

(Oh, and P.S. That was totally a spray on tan!!)

Rehearsal Dinner

2010-09-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. These are the posts you've all been waiting for! I don't have ALL my pictures back, some of these are the ones from the "candid" part of the photographer team, (which is what I LOVED about my photographer team. One of them took the more "professional shots" and the other did the candids, where we are all talking and laughing and goofing around!) and I still don't have the actual discs so these were saved to my computer, off a website and then uploaded here...so the quality is not going to be great I'm sure. Don't be fooled, my pictures have amazing quality, even looking at them on facebook, however, uploading and saving, uploading and saving, etc is going to diminish the quality little by little. So friends and family....if you want these pictures, DO NOT save them from here PLEASE! Wait until I get my discs and we'll discuss printing them out for you!

Thursday and Friday were CRAZY.
Thursday my mom, stepdad, and little sister were headed into town with my grandparents! My mom rushed here as soon as they got in to let me borrow her car and drive to the valley to get my hair done and run some other last minute errands. I was nervous about getting my hair done because it was a new place for me (Paul Mitchell Beauty School) but the girl was really cool and she did a GREAT job!! I love it!

Friday was Rehearsal Dinner Day. We had a TON of stuff to do, and sooo little time to do it! We had to shop for food, plates, etc. I also had to get my nails done, and do my toenails and Glenn needed to go get his hair cut! We got there (only a little late) and the rehearsal was super fun! Once we got everything figured out and situated, we started rehearsal! It was super fun, lots of jokes and laughs! The kids did amazing too. Silas stood still really well, Brooke did for a little while, and Nolan wasn't loud or crying for attention, came to stand by us once or twice, but pretty much hung out with Silas the whole time.

(This is my absolute favorite picture of all my parents)

My other grandma was also on her way into town so my dad and stepmom had to go meet her but we went out to a pizza place called Savage Land. It was SUPER fun! We want to go back during the day sometime because they had a HUGE play place outside!

So there's the rehearsal and dinner. Super exciting stuff, I know! I will make more posts for the wedding pictures, I have to take a break to go run some errands but when I get back I will continue posting, and when I get more pictures, I will edit the posts :)

"Sperm Donor"...

2010-08-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

Sperm Donor: (Noun) One who donates sperm to produce a child.

Does not live with you.
Does not pay your bills so you can stay at home with your baby.
Does not take care of your child when you need a break.
Does not take care of your child...period.
Does not pay child support.
Etc...(getting my point?)

Do not call your live in (or hell, even your not live in) baby's father who is there, pays your bills and/or takes care of the child(ren) that you share in any sort of physical or emotional way a SPERM DONOR. He is not a sperm donor. He is a father. End of story. He may not be the best, but he's there and he tries in one or more ways.

Thank you, goodnight.

Wedding Freak Out Post (that you've all been waiting for)

2010-08-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Oh good Lord, I'm a spazzy mess these days.

I can't remember what I'm doing, I space off in the middle of a sentence, I get side tracked when I'm trying to clean, I forget to call people, forget to make appointments, forget how much stuff costs.

Is this my version of freaking out before the wedding? My brain is overheating, so it's turning off??

Saturday, I was thinking about the wedding, and what needed to be done and all of a sudden...I realized that we hadn't got our marriage license yet! Grrrragh! WTF! I mean, for all this stuff to be worth it, we obviously need a marriage license!!

Luckily we our state doesn't need a blood test, or longer than the 3 day wait, so we'll be OK when we go get it today but seriously? I've tried very hard not to be a procrastinator, but being that I've hardly had to ANYTHING but sit around and make executive decisions, and wait, that hasn't been too hard at at all. Everything that I needed to do, that I could do, is done. Minus the marriage license.

And the cleaning my apartment from top to bottom for when the guests arrive. This is a whole other issue all on it's own. Lately I just can't keep up. I get something cleaned, I go onto the next, when I come back to the first, it's demolished again! I can't do it by myself but with Glenn's long work days, I don't feel like I can ask him to help either. On top of this stress...we got a note on the door on Saturday that we have apartment inspections (again, for the 2nd time this year) on TUESDAY.

Fucking great. So now I have to worry about a wedding, a dirty house, my kids, out of town people, and an inspection. All while also being upset about things that are out of my control, that i'm probably not going to go into detail on. I don't want pity, or suggestions, it just is what it is and I need to just be upset about it.

I'm not "freaking out", I'm not stressed....I just want to stop being so forgetful. It's frustrating. Also. I need more money. Thanks.

Oh and we're going to register. At walmart, I guess. I don't really want to but people keep asking where I'm registered and I suppose I should just do it. I do need a new vacuum cleaner. And a toaster. Ooooh and new picture frames. Okay okay, this might be fun if I just get over my attitude!

Maybe i'll write another post later, and be in a better mood!

Yet again, another crazy weekend!

2010-08-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Friday night was easy, laid back. Everyone, including Silas, who was staying the weekend, went to bed early, except for me. So I hopped on Twitter, grabbed a couple Mike's Hard lemonade and had a little party with my Twitter followers! Stephanie and I were complaining about being bored, and we ended up created Bored Mama Buzz. There's a Twitter and a Blog. Click the links and go check them out! It's still a work in progress, so bear with us! :)
And of course the buzzed self portrait :P

Saturday is when things started getting crazy. We left the house around 10AM, we had a few errands to run (including Walmart, for "Dora's Birthday"), and then we headed out to my parents house for my Grandpa Harry's birthday (we had a yummy Shrimp Boil and cake! It was delicious!) and to meet his sister. (She was a VERY sweet lady!) We got there around 1 and stayed until about 8. The kids played outside almost all day and had a blast.

Sunday, I told Amy that we'd meet up with her, her mom, her sister, and Caydan at the river around 11 but the kids wanted to go to the pool also. So at 10:00 we took Brooke, Nolan and Silas down to the swimming pool, and swam around with the kids. There was nobody else there yet, so it was super fun! We stayed until almost 11:30 and then headed down to the river. The kids played there for awhile but they had a huge group baptism come down so we decided to head back up to the swimming pool since the crowd was so big. We were there until 430! All at once, all 5 kids started throwing fits and getting mean and fighting over the pool floaties.

After we said goodbye to Amy, Lisa and the girls, got home and got changed, we headed out to take Silas home and head back out to my parent's house to change the spark plugs. The kids were all passed out 5 minutes after we got into the car! But as soon as we hit grandma and grandpa's they were up and running again! We didn't get home until about 10 or 1030!

Pointless Irritation comments

2010-08-12T01:43:00.000-07:00

A place where you can comment for my post titled:

Pointless Irritation

I'm not posting it here, cause I don't know how (or even if I can) make a post on private. If you want the post just send me a message with your email either here or on Twitter :)

Floating Down the River Adventure

2010-08-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've noticed an on going trend in my summer activities, and this is hanging with my best friend and going to the river. Amy and I decided to try to float down the Little Spokane River, on inner tubes, this last Sunday. This would be a first for both of us! The river isn't too fast, or deep enough to drown in so I thought we'd have a blast! When Amy arrived on Sunday we decided to use the two floaties that you can lay down on, for a more relaxing time.

We got to the river and ate our lunch, busted open our energy drinks, grabbed our floaties and found a spot that we could climb down into the river! We got in, hopped on our floaties and started to float. We were laughing and trying to figure out what to do, and not loose each other and BAM! A rock hits me in the freaking ass. I shriek "OOOUCCCH!!" Amy starts busting up laughing and BAM! She yells "OOOOUCHHHH!" and then BAM! I hit the same freaking rock. We both stand up, drinking our energy drinks and trying to figure out exactly what to do. I thought we should walk with the river but since we weren't far at all from where we started Amy thought we should walk back up to the rocks. I told her she could go first (I've walked that river in "rough" spots...it's hard! LOL!) and the first step she took, she lost her black flip flop. I tell her to grab my floatie and I try to swim after it, but after a few seconds I couldn't even see it anymore. There were some other people floating by on their tubes and I yelled "Hey if you see a flip flop down that way, grab it and toss it up on the beach!!" Amy walked down to me and since it was a little deeper, we decided to get back on the floaties and float down to the beach and when we got there the people that floated past us had found Amy's shoe!!
Once we had her shoe back, we decided to float around the little cove off to the side of the river! We only did that for about 10-15 minutes before I said "Hey look at the little fishies!" Amy was like "I'm getting the heck up outta here!" Haha! She didn't want the little fishies to get her toes! Then we decided that we'd go back and float around the swimming pool for awhile!

It was fun, for the most part but next time we'll definitely have better floaties!

Another Day at the River!

2010-08-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

The river is pretty much our favorite spot on hot days. If it's 90 in Spokane, we drive 2 minutes where there's a nice breeze and a mist coming off the river and it feels 20 degrees cooler!
Today we went with my best friend, Amy & her daughter, Caydan. We were there for about 2 hours, had a little picnic lunch and then played in the water and sand! Amy and I got Turkey Club sandwiches from Target. Oh my... YUM! SO good! I love spending time with those 2 girls! We had such a blast and I can't wait to hang out with them again next week!

Tonight I'm just going to put some things out there.
A. It's OUR wedding (Mine and Glenn's) WE invite who we want. So if you don't want to come to my wedding because we couldn't invite everyone in our extremely over sized family....then good. We don't want ya there anyways!
B. I'm SO sick and tired of people talking to me about someone and saying that they're "so done" being friends with them and all that and turning around and being all buddy buddy with them. I don't care if you're friends but leave me out of it and don't shit talk them! It only makes me wonder if you do the same exact thing behind MY back!
C. My head hurts, it's effing hot soooooo I'm going to leave you with some adorable pictures from today!

Honey Walnut Shrimp & Chicken

2010-08-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I didn't post this before now! The other day I decided that I wanted to try to recreate the Honey Walnut Shrimp dish from Panda Express. I purchased all the ingredients and got to work, since my fiance doesn't like shrimp (and I wasn't sure if my kids would eat it either), I also bought chicken. Just chopped up pieces of chicken, and cooked it just like the shrimp. This recipe was SUPER simple. It takes awhile, and makes a mess (I was frying it in a little pan) but it is SO worth it! The breading is nice and light and the sauce was DE-LISH! I also made some home made fried rice and it also turned out amazing! (Seriously, who knew that fried rice was SO easy to make?!) As it turns out, Nolan is a HUGE fan of the candied walnuts, which he snacked on the whole time I was cooking dinner!

Here are the recipes, in case anyone is wanting to try this amazing dish!
Honey Walnut Shrimp (or Chicken)
Basic Fried Rice

Welcome to August!

2010-08-01T23:52:00.001-07:00

Wow. I can't believe it's already August. Somehow, August just really puts it out there that summer is almost over!
This weekend we went and spent most of my birthday money (Yes! Totally spent most of it on myself!!), went to my Dad's house for dinner on Saturday and then today Brooke asked if we could go to the river. Silas wanted to go to the pool but I wasn't in the mood to really go swimming and I wasn't going to abadon Glenn in a huge swimming pool with 3 crazy kids, so on down to the river we went.
They were thrilled once they got there though, of course. Brooke and Nolan immediately grabbed their buckets and shovels and started scooping and dumping sand, rocks and water. Silas went exploring with Glenn and they went all the way to the other side of the little river and climbed down some big rocks and back into the water to come back.
The kids had a blast trying to make a little river out of these predug holes in the ground and Silas even made a friend to play with!! But poor Brookie's lips started to turn purple and her teeth were chattering and she said she was "so hungry" so we decided to head home after about 2 hours of playing there. Next time we'll just bring a snack with us and go a little earlier!

After we got home and put Nolan down for a nap, and Brooke said she was tired and layed down to rest and watch a movie with Glenn, Silas and I played some Madagascar Kartz, (He won one, and I won one! Lol!) Until it was time for his mom to come pick him up!
And today we FINALLY cleaned out our car!! LOL! We took everything out and cleaned it all up, vacuumed, got new floor mats and a steering wheel cover, annnnd took it through the car wash. As you can tell by the picture, Nolan was NOT impressed with the carwash. He was squeezing my hand so hard, crying and shaking. Absolutely terrified him! As soon as it was over he yelled "YAY!" Haha!

Well, this was supposed to be a small post, since I want to read my book, (even though it's like the 7th time I've read Eclipse), so I'm going to close up for now!
Oh and one more thing; in typical girl fashion...I changed my mind (again) and (yet again) purchased ANOTHER pair of shoes for my wedding!

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Love Cuddle Time!

2010-07-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

This is my first email post. It's sort of a test to see if I like emailing my posts rather than trying to go on my Blackberry net and posting there. The last time I tried I typed out a long entry and accidently hit my back button and it was gone! At least this way, it asks if I want to save first!!
This morning, Brooke and I were cuddling, which has become apart of our routine, while we wait for Nolan to wake up, and she told me to put my leg up so she could compare! She said "Look Mom, my leg is almost as big as yours!" Haha, not quite sweetie, but I took a picture anyways, cause it was adorable.

After she saw me with the camera she said "Can you take our picture, Mommy?" Which I think is a first, that she's asked ME to take a picture! So we did, and then we took another, and another. She's good at making silly faces! :)

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New Layout and Blog Name.

2010-07-29T00:55:00.000-07:00

My old layout was deleted, which was OK with me, just because I never really DID anything to it. I just chose it as a place holder until I "had more time" but I always seemed to have something better to do!
So tonight I finally downloaded GIMP (well, and paint.net but I couldn't figure out how to get two images to go together! haha!). I made myself a banner and then 3 hours later, I set it and my background from The Cutest Blog on the Block! What do you think? Cute huh?!

For my blog name, I was trying to think of something good and then I thought, Why don't I just use my original one? So, Being Myself Tonight (also my url) it is. I thought I'd explain: Everyday I'm so many things, to so many different people. First and foremost a Mom, and a Soon-to-be-wife. Then I have my smaller, everyday titles like: Maid, Cook, Chauffeur, Tweeter, Daughter, Shopper and Assistant. Best Friend, Friend, Confidant, Playgroup Mom, Etc.... As you can see, the list goes on and on. I don't mind being these things, in fact...I love being these things. However, at the end of the day, when everyone's in bed, twitter has gone quiet and I'm by myself, I like to know that underneath it all, I'm still myself. I know who I am, what I'm doing, and (almost) exactly what I want to be. Everything else is just the bonus for being so amazingly ME :P

My Best Friend

2010-07-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

"I love that you miss your fiance after a long day, even after 5 years of being together." -Cassie on Twitter

This is definitely a good thing. I mean, yes we get irritated at each other, bicker over stupid stuff, and push each other's buttons, just for the heck of it, but we never get sick of spending time together. Glenn and I have been together for over 5 years. In about 10 days will be the "anniversary" of when Glenn and I started living together. (No that's not something we generally celebrate, I'm just giving you an idea) Since then, we haven't spent 24 hours apart. That sounds a little lame when I write it out but let me explain. We've never felt like we needed 24 hours apart, or longer for that matter. We take vacations together, we visit family together, and it's not that we WON'T spend time apart, (Although unless we split up the kids, I don't really think I want to take both of the kids somewhere by myself! LOL) it's just that we've never needed or had to!

Glenn is my best friend. I can't imagine ever having to live without him.