Energy

I am loving all of this new-found energy! I used to take a nap almost everday after work. Not a 30 minute power nap, more like a 3 hour slumber. Now that I am eating right and drinking water, I just feel so much better. It is amazing what you can get done in 3 hours instead of napping. I even exercised today for the first time since the start of this diet. Loved the cooler weather. Only walked a mile, but a start is a start. Hoping for a repeat tomorrow.

People are starting to notice that I have slimmed down. Can't wait for a major change. Now people are asking me more about what I am doing. There is only 28 more days until Aruba, so hoping the scale likes me tomorrow. Getting a little frustrated with the plateau.

Speaking of tomorrow, lots of good things happening. Our consultant, Patti, will be at the office. That means half a day of her observing and half a day of meeting and improvements. She is such a great person and always leaves me uplifted and excited about work. Plus she is a quilter too and we always get to talk a little about that too.

Then tomorrow night, long time family friends will be here for the night on a short break from a road trip. Can't wait to see them even if it is only for a few hours before and after sleeping.

Got my nails done, hair dyed, sheets washed, etc. Tomorrow before they get here I am hoping to get a cute Vixen Volleyball project done. We will see how that goes. Have a lovely Wednesday!!!

Sunday Afternoons

What happened to all the projects that I was going to get done today??? Oh ya, a nap. A long, wonderful, refreshing nap. I still am managing to get some projects done tonight, they were just on a delay.

In some ways, I love Sundays, and in other ways, I dread them. I love spending time with my husband, relaxing, getting laundry done. I hate that it means another week of work starts tomorrow. )-:

So now here I am, drinking a cup of Yerba Mate tea, taking a break from making running cuffs (which I think I figured out), and about to make some cookies for friends at work. What kind of cookies, you ask? Sugar cookies to remember Breast Cancer awareness month. Yes, I am making boob cookies. I think it will be a nice treat for a Monday morning and get a good laugh. I can't believe I can make cookies and not be the least bit tempted!

Loved church this morning. The sermons are always so useful and applicable to everyday living. A great pep rally for the week. Lunch at the truck stop with the husband and mother-in-law, also very nice. The mother-in-law gave me a beautiful maxi dress for the Aruba trip. So pretty, just need shoes to go with it.

Also got all my meat grilled for the week. That way I only have to clean the Foreman once and lunch and dinner choices are easy to make. The husband even ate chicken without complaining. lol. Hard to do for a beef man.

Busy week this week... Volleyball, football, sewing projects, work, trying to include exercise in this new lifestyle, and kids this weekend. Also it is ENMU's homecoming parade and the son's game conflicts with it. Think it is the second time in my whole life to miss it. Life goes on.

Have a great week!

Here I Am!

Wow, it has been a long time. Good thing this doesn't get shut down for non-use. What's new with me? I am trying to make some positive changes in my life. I known for 3 years that I needed to do something about my weight. After trying and failing at several attempts to lose weight I have finally found something that is working for me. All of my family and friends have been so supportive and that makes it easier too. I have been dieting 15 days and have lost 12.8 pounds. It is amazing to see the weight falling off. Today I even wore some capri's that I haven't been able to wear all summer. What a nice boost!

I have also quit drinking Diet Dr. Peppers. That may not sound like much to most people, but I drank them instead of water. I would go three weeks without taking a sip of water. It's is crazy I know but it was my lifestyle. I quit them cold turkey the same day I started the diet and feel incredible. Still drinking coffee, tea, but also just plain water. Plus, I am remembering my love for hot tea. Can't wait for the weather to get and stay cold to make it even more enjoyable.

In November, my whole office is getting rewarded with a trip to Aruba! Yes, Aruba. I can't even believe it myself sometimes. We worked hard to meet the goals each month and we are getting to go on an all inclusive trip. I have never been anywhere like this my whole life, so saying that I am excited is an understatement. Can't wait to go, explore, shop, and relax with my great friends from work. (Yes, a bathing suit on the beach was the wake up call for the diet!)

I recently got a new dog, against the husband's wishes. lol. Her name is Dixie, she is a chi-poodle. Half chihuahua, half poodle, and full adorable. Although my husband always plays the tough guy, every dog becomes his best friend. I have had many dogs and I believe she is the smartest ever.

All my life I have always wanted a blue roan horse. Lately, begging my husband for one has commenced full force. We started looking for one and hadn't found anything suitable, i.e. affordable. I mentioned a colt that I see on the way to work everyday and...... he got it for me!!!!! It is the most beautiful horse. He is still with his mama, but should be weaned either this month or next. I have already named him Beauregarde. Who knows why? I won't be able to ride him for a couple of years, but can't wait to start spoiling him and getting him used to me right away.

Yesterday, I bought a new car!!!! I have driven the same car for the last 4.5 years. It wasn't a car that I wanted but I car that I could afford at the time. The plan was for my oldest daughter to drive it when she got her license, but she didn't want it either. I think that had more to do with it being a standard more than anything else. Anywho, we bought her a used pickup a month ago that she fell in love with. Then my husband got a new beautiful pickup and I guess I was feeling left out. Once I found out that I wasn't upside down on my car it was a race to trade it in. I chose a Jeep Compass. The most adorable mini-SUV that had all the features I have always wanted. I absolutely love it.

As I was driving it home, I realized one thing.... I am so blessed. I have a wonderful husband, great children, a beautiful home, vehicles that work, an awesome job, fantastic friends, and an overall wonderful life. It is time I started appreciating it!

I'm Alive!!!!

Yes, I know it has been over a year since I have posted. Everyone has probably taken me off their list of blogs to follow, but oh well.

Here goes the update....

The past year has been interesting.... No dieting, no exercising, no blogging, nothing. Doesn't sound very interesting does it?

Some major changes have happened here recently. First of all, I quit my job. Yes, I know, crazy, but that is me. The husband and I have decided that I can stay home for the summer and still manage to eat and then look for something interesting in the fall. This is so absolutely liberating, it is hard for me to fathom.

Abby had her tonsils out on June 1 so a full week was dedicated to waiting on her hand and foot. She was in a lot of pain at first and was very needy. She stayed with me for the first week of recovery and then went back to the fort. She is improving daily and this is the first week that she is supposed to be able to resume her normal activities.

The other kids have been back and forth for the summer so that has been fun too. One night we decided to have a "drive in movie theater" in our own crazy way. We laid all the seats down in the minivan, watched movies on the tiny screen, and slept there overnight. First we were hot, then cold, then when the sun came out in the morning, we were baking.

Emma will be a freshman this year, so she has athletics almost everyday. Makes it very hard for her to come and stay. She was able to stay the first full week of summer so that was nice. She turned 14 on June 11 and it is hard to imagine where time has gone. Later this summer, she plans to go to her favorite church camp. We will see. I'm a little nervous considering there are a variety of ages, including older boys.

Alex is at a basketball camp in Portales this week. He definitely doesn't take after me. He was excited to go to a BASKETBALL CAMP, where he knows NO ONE. So outgoing. Today is the first day and they are providing lunch. So I won't pick him up until a little after 12, hope it goes well.

My latest adventure was buying a wading pool and a raft for tanning purposes. Laid out on Saturday and enjoyed every minute of it until I came in and realized that I did not get my sunscreen on as good as a thought. Seriously sunburned in some areas! Burl was nice enough to let me know this morning that a feed truck would be coming this afternoon. No swimming for me today. LOL.

I have also taken up quilting. My aunt, cousin, and I took a class in February and I have fallen in love. I just used my $89 sewing machine from Wal-Mart and my quilting frame and enjoy every minute. The first quilt I made was a Simple Simon, then I made an easy baby quilt for my future niece, Mackenzie, and now I am finishing up a pink scrap quilt for Abby's room. Have lots of "next" projects as well.

I have been bottle feeding baby kittens as well. Their mother disappeared one day (most likely a coyote got her.) There were four kittens about 2 weeks old when I took over. One died early on and I have managed to get the others ones to live. They are 6 weeks now, so I am weaning them this week. Two gray and one orange and they are adorable. Not sure I can let them live outside just yet, because I will be devastated if something happens to them.

Later in the summer I am running a concession stand during on of Trevor's baseball tournaments and hopefully going to Jodie's to help out with Mackenzie for a few weeks as well. Hope to have a couple of garage sales if I get my act together. I will try to be better about posting.

Still Here

Jilligan is making me update my blog while i am sitting at her house. Sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while. I had a stess reaction/fracture in my foot and was in a walking boot (which by the way, my co-workers bedazzled). I just got the go ahead to starting walking without for a couple of hours a day. So, taking the advice and not listening, I haven't worn it at all today. I am definately out for the OKC half marathon, and really don't know what I want to set my goals for now. We will see.

Ouch

I got in four miles today, but i am experiencing serious pain. The other night after the battle of the dogs, my husband and i went to walmart and I could barely walk due to severe pain in my right foot. It was gone by the morning, so I figured, no big deal. Today not too far into my run, there the pain came again, but much more severe. I still managed four miles, but it is killing me tonight. I iced it so we will see how it goes. It is from the outside of my right foot all the way to my ankle. Tomorrow is our big run, so we will see.

I did enjoy the run a little bit more tonight because my youngest two and my husband, who only wears boots, started with me. They made it through the walking warmup and one and a half minutes of running. Still made me happy. I requested my ear warmer, so later down the road my daughter and husband met me with that and some water. By the way, my five year old was steering the pickup. Too funny. She got out and ran three more cycles with me and then they drove beside me for a little while longer. On the last stretch, a man on his horse met up with me and let his dog run with me for a few minutes. The dog is awesome, so it was a nice treat. All the joys of country life I guess.

We had a pretty good day. The five year old went to do chores with the hubby and loves every minute of it. Especially the driving part. She said tonight, I love him, he's the greatest. It makes it all worth it.

However, the ex tonight is a different story and is being a complete A__. He can go through periods where everything is great and then low and behold, there he is the same irrational man that I divorced three years ago. It makes me so mad, that he has the ability to ruin my day and will for at least the next thirteen years.

Let me quickly catch you up on my running. Jill was able to drag me along for 6 miles. We went on one of the major highways so we could make a pit stop for water and bathrooms if need be. My husband was terrified that we would get run over or kidnapped or both maybe, but we made it back safely. I begged Jill to walk more than we used to and somehow I made it through. One good thing about the highway is that several of our family members passed and offered lots of encouragement. Later that night and the next day I was definately feeling the run. I can't remember ever being so sore. I seriously had to pick my legs up just to get my undies on. It was seriously sad.

Tonight Jill came back to town and offered to run with me again. We only needed to do three miles and since her ipod was dead, we went out on the road from my mothers on a course that she had measured. Let me just say, we will never run that course again!!! It was a mile and a half, so the plan was to run up and back. The way up was going along okay (except me wanting to die!) when low and behold we came up on our first aggressive dog for the night. Seriously, scary, foaming at the mouth, barking, running beast! We both started yelling and while Jill distracted him, I picked up rocks and threw them as best as I could. (a trick I learned long ago from Sandy). We were able to escape but we knew we would be passing by him on the trip back. When we got close again, I stopped to pick up the largest rocks I could find. I gave one to Jill which she said felt more like a shotput. So here we are running with these boulders, when we decide to arm ourselves with some empty beer bottles laying around. By the time we got close to the beast, we had a whole arsenal of weapons. We lucked out and the owner was outside, so Jill yelled from afar a request for him to hold him. With much effort the man did, so we threw down our weapons. Thought we would have smooth sailing on the way back, but all the dogs must have conspired together. On the trip back, we met up with TWELVE dogs. About half were rabid and half were friendly. Needless to say, it got the adrenaline pumping.

Ah, how relaxing running can be. LOL!