Merry Christmas...Merry Christmas...Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone. :) It has been a wonderfully fun Christmas for us. We have had our first white Christmas in a long time...and now officially the snowiest December ever!

Christmas Eve we went to my sister's house. I made a ham dinner and we all enjoyed that along with my mom's famous potatos, some zucchini, baked beans, rolls, corn, and an array of delicious tasty desserts of course. :)

We then enjoyed watching the kids open presents given by the cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grandma Linda.

I gave my mom a book that I had made with pictures of my brother and sister and I from when we were kids to currently with our own kids. There were tears shed with that gift. hehehe.
The evening ended with a very small white elephant game as there were only 5 of us who participated...but it was still fun...and we came away with some great gifts.
We then drove home on the worst roads since this snow storm of the last 2 weeks. My mom came and spent the night with us so that she could share in Christmas morning.

Morning finally came...and as always...I was the first one awake. :) I was excited to open presents...and I got everyone else going. :) We had some snacks to tide us over til breakfast and we went through our stockings and opened gifts. Everyone was spoiled! Everyone. The girls got numerous gifts each...including clothes and toys. Katie got her first Coach purse from Ned. Sara got some new games and books and art things. Ned received some stuff for his photography processing as well as a calendar made by his girls with great times over the last year, as well as several other items.

And me....well I was spoiled as always...and like my mom said..."You sure deserve it honey!"....and another friend says..."not spoiled.....ENTITLED" lol Well anyways.....Ned outdid himself once again. I have a gorgeous Tanzanite necklace to match my bracelet and ring. He also gave me a large brown and tan Coach wallet to match my purse :) A brown wristlet to take out and about...and a black small coin wallet for my evening wear black Coach purse. I also got perfume, and 2 books I've been wanting (Collectors edition of Twilight....and the new Nicholas Sparks book). Oh and also....a very sweetly stuffed stocking with Lindor truffles and a pocket calendar. Yep...spoiled again. How does he keep outdoing himself???? I'm pretty lucky....and so is He. :) Thank you Ned for treating me so extra special. :)

As a family....we also got a Wii...complete with guitar hero and Wii play and Wii Sports. There's been dibs on it all day. :) It's been fun. Today has been full of fun and family.


After opening presents this morning...my mom made us a wonderful breakfast (on the new griddle she bought me..thanks Mom). Breakfast complete with bacon and eggs and toast. Delicious...it was. :) I couldn't ask for a better day.

Merry Christmas everyone. :) Hope you had a great Christmas as well.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

Ned and I took a little walk tonight in the snow. It was beautiful and white and quiet and the Christmas lights against the sparkly snow....mmmm it was gorgeous. Here is a snap of us when we got back. It was a nice time. Now we are back in the house all snuggled up...ready to have some of that hot chocolate that I spoke of earlier. :) Happy Snow Day to you :)

Look who snuck out. That little sneaker! lol

Yes...it's Snowden. He couldn't stand to be in the house any longer. Especially with a good 6 inches of snow outside. He tried to sneak out the other day. We were all sitting on the couch and Snowden sits where he always does during the holiday season...on the stairs. Well...all of a sudden he leans back and did a backward sumersault toward the door. So...tonight...he made it out in the snow. He was pretty happy...so I had to take a pic of him. :)

Ohhhh how much fun is the snow? SUPER FUN!! We haven't had such snow in years. Not as long as I can remember. Christmas is coming too...and I'm thrilled about that as well. It is going to be a year of such spoiling for EVERYONE! Here is our tree all lit up and filled with presents underneath. I can't wait til Christmas morning when we get to open all of our presents and do our stockings. :) This snow only makes it all better. I love having the Christmas tree with the lights and the window behind it where you can see the snow falling. :) Makes me so happy! So very happy!

Earlier in the week...when this lovely ARCTIC BLAST started....we had some hot cocoa in my favorite snowman mug....Caitlyn made this one...topped with whip cream and sprinkles. :) So pretty.

Not much snow for us earlier in the week....a 1/2 inch or so. Sara made a snowman...well it was more of an iceman. :) But still...she took at least an hour to make it. At least she was all bundled up. :)






I LOVE THIS SNOW!!! I mean I realllllllly realllllllly love this snow!

Christmas is coming....FAST!

Why does it seem as though Christmas always comes so fast? It comes as fast as any other day. lol....but it's the endless projects that make my time slip away. I did much better this year starting my projects earlier...and they are getting there for sure...but I still have a lot to do.

We have a beautiful Christmas tree up and decorated. In fact I'm sitting here in the dark now with the tree lit up and some Christmas music on. I do love this time of year. No one else is up right now and I'm sitting downstairs, quickly uploading pictures for a project. Can't tell you what it is...sorry...you never know who reads these blogs.lol.

We also got some lights up on the house. Well...I guess I should say my brother put up most of the lights. He is kinda monkey like and was able to hop up on the roof and then onto the second level as well. :) Thanks Matt. I love coming home to a lit up house.

Work has been good. We actually got to go out to the Portland City Grill for a dinner/lecture on a arthritis medication that we give in the infusion room. I've never been to the City Grill...it was a lovely view...up on the 30th floor of the Bancorp building downtown. Veryyyyyy nice.

And so now I must get going on those projects....but I thought I'd update you. Ned and I have started exercising again...but more importantly....eating right. However...it's not so fun to have all these Christmas jars around with no candy in them :( Oh well...we'll be glad later. :)

It was a Happy Thanksgiving

It was a great Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a wonderful time with your families as well. :) We went to my sister's house and started preparing around 11am. Everyone chipped in. Ned tried his hand at his sister's cranberry orange sauce. :) I thought it was delicious. We had a wonderful family day with dinner and dessert, we watched a movie and played a game. I really enjoyed sharing my day with my favorite people in the world. I'm especially glad that I got to share it with the love of my life...Nedster. I am thankful for Ned...for being here with us...for protecting us...for loving us. I'm thankful for my Caitlyn...because she is like my right hand...I couldn't live without her. I'm thankful for Sara because she always makes me laugh. :) I'm thankful for my mom...because she is an amazing listener. I love you all. :)


Following a great Thanksgiving day...Caitlyn and I were up at 3:30 going shopping. We went to Kohl's, Walmart, Target, Fred Meyer's, and Lane Bryant. We had a great time...got a good amount of Christmas shopping done. Then in the afternoon...we went to Ned's family's for dessert. It was sure nice to see everyone. The gumball machine was a hit as usual and I was depleted of all my pennies.lol.

All in all...we had a wonderful holiday. Probably the best yet. Here's to many more holidays like this one. :)

Who's that girl????

I think the haircut helped me get out of my funk. :) I really can't believe that I went through with it. Jamie at "Classy Lass" (who's done my hair for about 5 years) was dumbfounded that I was ready for a change....color and cut. She was thrilled and I was even more thrilled when she made come to life, exactly what I had envisioned. I'm excited. I feel cute and sexy and new. :)

No gym tonight as Nedster has to get up to go to work at 1am...yuck! So bedtime is rounding about now. He promises to take me out this weekend because I look so darn cute with my new look. I can't wait. You know I love date nights. :)

Yeah for me :) Back to work tomorrow in the infusion. Ohhh how I love that place...seriously I do...I have my own office and everything. My patients will be in for a treat with my new look. :)

Lots of smiles today

Ughhhh the straw almost broke

Warning....I am not out of my funk yet. :( That picture describes it perfect....and I'm about to just lay down and let the tornado suck me up.

Well...I was 5 minutes late to work, and my boss decided to float me to the surgical floor. YUCK!!! It's not that I can't handle it, but I never float anymore. It's been like 3 years. I've worked on the surgical floor about 5 times in the almost 7 years that I've worked at the hospital. I am just not comfortable down there. I'm way out of my element. The day ended up okay...but let me tell you...it about sent me into tears this morning to be sent from my home unit. I already know that I'm an emotional eater...so therefore I was entitled to my cookie at work today as well as the burrito coming to me from Taco Bell :P

I'm just irritated. I have to go back to work in the morning for another 1 hour meeting...that will make me going into work everyday this week...and that annoys me. At least in the afternoon I go get my hair done, colored & cut, so maybe that will help me out a little. Wish me luck....I'm going to need it.

Should have been more than 1 post for all this.lol

Well...I do have a few things to put into one post. It won't appear as much to those reading, but it's a huge amount in my head. So lets begin. No exercise on Sunday...too many other things were happening, but even before that...Saturday night Ned started reading Charlotte's Web to Sara.
It was a lot of fun to see Ned read to her, and watch her expressions. I also listened as I relaxed with my feet up, and what I wouldn't do to be a kid again at times. I just wish I could do that, knowing what I know now, and I would change a few things in my life. But it was sure nice to listen to a book like I used to in grade school. It was fun to imagine how things looked...mmmm...I enjoyed those times.

Second thing...the casino trip didn't prove to be monetarily productive. Well of course it didn't.lol. I never really thought it would be...but there is some part of me that would like to think I would actually come out ahead. But the trip was definitely fun, as it always is. I was able to drink Starbucks out of a red cup (see previous post for details.hahaha) and I got to talk with my mom. We had a great time together....just chatting...and then losing money together.lol. Wish we could do that more often....the long drive and chatting that is.lol

Third thing...I went up to scrapbook with my friend Renee today. That was so long overdue, but
please tell me why she always has to move out to timbuktoo.lol It's always seems to be...around this corner...then that one...then straight up the hill....to the end of the road. If you hit the stop sign you've gone too far.lol. Then finally 30-40 min after I've left home, I arrive. Why....must you love the country so much??????
Well...to be honest with you...as I drove up myself...I loved the open pasture and all the fall leaves. It looked peaceful and stress free. I need stress free right now. I need peaceful. I had a wonderful afternoon with Renee scrapbooking and talking and laughing about little kids who were so funny back in the day doing the "chubby" thing.lol. I miss that. :) I want that back. It's hard to watch your kids grow up and become more independent. It reminds me that I am getting older, and I really wish I didn't have so many regrets. I want to be one of those people who doesn't regret things, but rather learns from them, and knows that each and every thing that has gone on has been a part of my story. None the less we had a great time laughing and even though Renee thought I was laughing at her misery...lol...I wasn't...I was just enjoying the entire family that was there...and don't always realize how much I miss them.

Speaking of regret....fourth thing. Do you ever do something that you regret at a later time? Do you ever do something so stupid, that goes against who you want to be? I did something that I would be upset for someone else doing to me. Curiosity and my own jealousy took over and I crossed a line that I shouldn't have. :( Makes me very disappointed in myself. Makes me wonder if I will ever learn. I wonder if I'll ever be who I want to be. 32...and I still don't think I know myself. I don't understand myself....how can I expect anyone else to? ohhhh alas...I should quit having a pity party and just deal. I'm thinking that counseling is looking better and better. I was trying to get my girls through their things first...and then help me...well...that time is looking like it needs to be more sooner than later...or who knows what will happen.

Well this post started out so nicely and ended so.....well to be honest .... crappy. Oh well I guess. That's how I feel this evening. Guess exercise needs to be on the agenda. Nothing like blaring music in your ears and sweating up a storm to change your outlook on life. Later I'll wonder why I wrote half of this. Oh well...what else are blogs for.lol

GOALLLLLLL....well technically 15 minutes short.lol

We did only get to the gym 3 times this week. I ended up having a longer end of the work week than normal, but we did pretty good. We did 30 minutes the first 2 nights and then 45 minutes this morning....45 because we just were too tired to go last night after working for 13 hours. We did good...though...and we sure felt good about ourselves this morning after working out, then showering, and heading out to a holiday bazaar. We didn't find anything we couldn't live without...and we are so bad about carrying cash that we couldn't just pick up something for a few dollars. I do wish I would have had $5 on me to get that Verbena soap...mmmmm I love that smell. So all in all I would say it was a good week. Yes we could have worked out more...but we just had to ease ourselves back into it because we realllllllly didn't want to do it.lol. I don't know that I will ever love exercise....I will do it because I have to....but never for something "fun" to do. Unless that includes swimming....I LOVE swimming. :) And tomorrow....I head out with my mom to the casino in Grande Ronde for a few hours. We never spend very much...just something fun we like to do...a couple times a year. Wish me LUCK....I need it. :)

On Our Way Again. :)

Remember this is a journey blog...a long journey...and we hung out at a rest stop for a bit...but now we are back! Ned and I made a goal to work out this week at least 4 times...and for at least 30 minutes each time. It isn't what we were doing before...but it will get us back into things. So far this week we have gone 2 nights in a row...and felt good about it afterwards. I also ventured to make a new dinner. Cajun chicken with spinach and noodles.
It is out of a healthy low fat cookbook. It has chicken breast pieces, cajun seasoning, whole wheat noodles, mushrooms and spinach. I wondered if anyone would like it...and to my surprise....EVERYONE LOVED it. Sara even went back for seconds. :) I was proud. On the road again. :)

Cherry Limeade.....SLUSH

Ohhh how I love Sonic. Whenever I'm in the mood for just something to drink...Sonic is always the first thing to mind. Don't get me wrong...I like their other stuff...but their limeade's are to die for as well as their slushes...why not the best of both worlds...a cherry limeade slush...and you can have a DIET cherry limeade slush!!!! Life is GOOOOOD.

Well Caitlyn was going to spend the night at her friend's house tonight...so we met at Sonic for the drop off. Renee and I sat and talked while I enjoyed my drink...and she hers. It's funny...everytime I'm with her...I miss her so much. We were the scrapbook queens...remember the very very late nights especially when we learned to use the cutter thing...ohh how I loved it. I totally need to scrap again & especially with my friend. :) I should upload some pictures tomorrow to Freddies or Walmart and then scrapbook some calendars for Christmas. That would be ultra awesome. It's a plan.

Ohhh...Ned took me out to dinner tonight too...to Chevy's. Chevy's and I have a thing for Fiery Chicken Flautas. I think it's the Habanero Jelly or something...but jeez it's good. I'm telling you this because we did something new. Even though it wasn't the best food for us...we brought half home. I'm going to start doing that everytime. Also...gym first thing in the morning. Maybe if I think about it...I'll take a picture.lol Now that might get a laugh out of somebody.

Babyyyyyy

So....are you proud of me yet for blogging more?lol.

Well another crazy day at work...little stress relief elsewhere....but for a few minutes as I held that baby boy...everything felt right. Everything was calm...and quiet...and I felt at peace.

I've felt a bit more anxious lately than normal...and I'm really not liking it. Not quite sure about what to do...maybe I need some therapeutic stress relief...like artsy stuff or something, or maybe I need a good massage from "Elements Day Spa" or maybe I just need to be treated like a queen :)...or then again maybe I just need to get over it already.

Well...we'll see I guess. I'll try and keep you updated.lol

I have a new nephew :)

My newest nephew came into the world today. :) Brandon Kyle you are absolutely adorable. Your mom and dad did a great job :) Can't wait to see you again....not only see you, but hold you too. :) Lots of smiles for that little one. I wish Matt & Amber especially lots of rest tonight. I remember that evening after I had Sara...and I was so grateful finally for some quiet and rest...even with a brand new baby. :) Here's his little nursery that he will sleep in soon. :)

Well meeting little Brandon was definitely the highlight of the day....the rest of it....wellllllllll

Do you ever have those days when you are completely overwhelmed? Ohhh gosh today was one of those days. Work was just above and beyond with chaos and a million phone calls. I couldn't see one patient without being interrupted by another call. I so wanted to cut the phone cord today. Ugh...good thing I started out with one of those Starbucks red cups this morning. :) A peppermint mocha twist :) It's funny...my day started out wonderfully and ended with a new life. It was the in between that wasn't so good....and stressful to the max. :(

Red cups :)

I love Starbucks red holiday cups. For me it starts the official holiday season.lol. I really need to get going on the Christmas shopping and my ornament making. Every year I make my family and a few select friends ;) ornaments and give them away at Thanksgiving. Ohhh how I love this time of year. I love the smells, and the colors, and the sights...ohhh how much fun it is. Still as an adult, Christmas is my favorite time. Well...not just Christmas...but Thanksgiving and Christmas together. Let the fun begin.....

Also...on another note....I'm so glad the election stuff is over. Since I've been able to vote...I've never heard such longing for it all to be over. Many times I've heard..."pick the lesser of 2 evils"...not exactly how you want a President chosen. Other interesting news quotes from this morning...."History has been made as the first African American is elected" but also "History has been made with the longest and most expensive race" I do think it is interesting with the economy the way that it is, that some people have lots to spend.lol......ohhh one more Matt Lauer on the Today show this morning said "With Obama, a Democrat, as president and the Senate and House largely Democratic, then they have no excuse to get the things done that they said they would" I say...let your actions be your voice.

Well anyway...today I'm getting my brakes fixed (hopefully.lol) and having one of my beloved red cup starbucks drinks. Yeahhhh :)

Friends since 13 :)

Oh...what a fun day. I met up with my old friend Denise for an early dinner and a glass of wine. We've been friends since I was 13. Wow....that's a long time.....like almost 20 years. More than 1/2 my life. WOW....I didn't really realize that until just now. Well....that would explain how we can not see each other for several months and still pick up right where we left off. Denise is one of those friends that has been there for a lot of times...good times...bad times...fun times...sad times. Through the birth of one child, the loss of another, a marriage, a divorce, all the inbetween. Ohh...how I miss the nights we used to sleep in her parents camper in the driveway, we'd sneak up on top and look at stars and do girl talk for quite awhile...or until I fell asleep. lol. Well after dinner I took her home and then I came home to my family. Lots of love here. :) I'm loving my life. :)

Every other day???? (Sheepish grin)

Ok....so we were running around busy yesterday....and I viewed my comment on here....but it didn't click in my brain to actually post. :( Well....better late then never.

Over the last few weeks we have enjoyed some good times getting ready for Halloween. We went to the pumpkin patch, where we not only picked out pumpkins, but we also went on a hay ride, did a pumpkin launch, had hot chocolate, and looked at farm animals.





Then a week later, Ned and Caitlyn went to the Haunted Houses at Jantzen Beach, otherwise known as "Scream at the Beach". I did not participate as I am a big scaredy cat. Sara and I did go with them, we just waited and watched people. One of the haunted houses was scary clowns....it's amazing how many people are frightened and terrified of clowns. There were a couple of clowns that would go along the lines of people and scare people (mostly teenage girls, who would shriek sharply). The lines there were at least an hour long, so the first night Ned and Caitlyn made it through only 2 houses, but we returned last night for the remainder 3 houses, and Sara rode the Carousel there at Jantzen Beach twice. :)A few nights before we carved pumpkins.
We all had such huge pumpkins...there were lots of seeds, and I even roasted and salted them for a snack (they are gone already.lol)
And then on Halloween night...I had to work, but the kids went around with family and friends to trick or treat. I gave out candy to patients and staff at work (it's amazing how many people wouldn't take any because they are watching their weight), I then came home to a wonderful dinner that Ned had all ready...and since the kids were out...we ended up having a night alone

I blog monthly.lol.hahahahaha

Yeah....that seems like that's about what I do.lol Lets see if I can do it daily for a week....who will monitor my daily activities.lol.

Well....I came on just to do the "6 Questions" thing that was on my best buddies site....the best buddy whom I sat in the car with for 5 hours, and forgot to show her my "tat". I love calling it that for some reason.lol "TAT" (honestly....I often forget that I have it)

So.....6 questions........

6 TV shows I like to watch .........(1) Greys Anatomy!!!!!!! (2) The Biggest loser (3) Days of Our Lives (4) The Amazing Race (5) Dancing with the Stars (6) Lock Up Raw

6 Restaurants I like to eat.........(1) Chevys (2) Sonic (3) Saylors (4) Pho Green (5)Joe's Crab Shack (6)BJ's

6 Things that happened today.......(1) Woke up tooo early, cuz I had to work...ugh (2) Administered blood, antibiotics, IV medications, gave injections, and helped people to the bathroom.lol (3) looked all over for "Cherry Juice" (4) Unclogged a toilet (5) Had dinner all ready for me when I got home....steak...potatos...yummm....Thanks Ned :) (6) Did this fun thing.lol

6 Things I am looking forward to......(1) Snuggling with Ned tonight (2)Relaxing this weekend (3) Watching Katie play basketball in the next couple of weeks (4) Getting back into exercise (5) Shopping the day after Thanksgiving (6) Making some artsy stuff for Christmas

6 Things on my wish list.....(1) Change my last name ;) (2)Learn how to make an altered book (3) To be healthier (4) For my girls to do things the "right" way (5) Win Powerball by someone giving me a ticket so I COULD win Powerball.lol (6) To have a time machine. :)

6 people to tag....(don't know that I know 6 people who have blogs.lol) (1)...Renee already did this (2)...Jeanne (3)...Ned (4)...Katie (5)... Anyone who thinks this is neat (6)... Anyone who read this.lol

Well that was kinda fun. :) Now you know a little more about me.....and I guess you all know that I have a "TAT" too.lol My first one. :) Ohhhh well........here it is.lol

Vacation...vacation...vacation...too bad I was sick. :(

Ohh how fun is vacation? Soooo fun. And it's still fun even if you are sick. Ned and I went to Cannon Beach and then down to Yachats. We were gone for 6 nights....without kiddo's. Just before we left....I thought..."I don't think I've ever left them for that long" ...and it's true...I hadn't ever left them that long before. I sure missed them...and they missed me as well, but we all made it through.

Like I said....I was sick with a lovely cough (and I am still as we speak...sick with a cough, sinus and ear infection....great fun. I'm not counting of course...but it's been 4 weeks now!!!! UGHHH)
Nonetheless...vacation was still great. No real schedule. We didn't have anything that we had to do. We got up when we wanted...went to bed whenever...and went wherever we wanted. We took photographs of sunsets and each other :). We played video games. We shopped for beads and Ned made me some beautiful anklets. We got tattoo's. We walked on the beach and found shells. We ate out and fixed some dinners in. We took turns driving. We saw several lighthouses. We looked in expensive shops at $2000 glass frogs.lol We relaxed...and we slept in...and we enjoyed each other. :)

It was vacation like I said...and we did eat whatever...and it was fun...and guilt free. And once this cough is under control...well then the gym will be our best friend again...a close friend...one that you see almost everyday. :)


And yes...I did say tattoo's :) My first. :) We had a most memorable time!

Bad Blogger. Bad Blogger

Ok....so now that we know that I'm a bad blogger. I can't believe anyone even looks at this silly thing. I look at everyone else's.lol and I'm always excited to see people's updates, to see how creative they are, but I never really stopped to think that someone might be looking at mine. Well to the couple people who do look....I am sorry :( I have not been a faithful blogger, partly because the summer is flying by and it is difficult to keep up with the working out. There always seems to be something going on, or a BBQ that beckons because it's so nice outside. Because I made this blog about weight loss....I felt that if I wasn't losing weight, well then....no need to blog. But then I read my blog title again this morning....and realized that it was to be about the journey of the weight loss, not just successes, but rather the journey. And most of us know that a weight loss journey takes time and that there are mountains and valleys as with most journeys in life.

So here we are :) We have kept most of the weight off all summer. We really have had a great summer with some great activities. We have put on a few pounds, but nothing that we can't get back off in a couple weeks. We have stayed on track for the most part and we are ready to get back in some sort of routine. Next week Ned and I are off to the beach for a week vacation...just the two of us. :) To Cannon Beach for 3 nights, and then down to our beloved Yachats for 3 nights. We are both so excited. The girls will be staying with my dear friend Renee and my sister during that time. They are both wonderful to do that for us.

This summer has been so fun. It seems like we were always busy. Always had something to do or somewhere to be. So the routine of school with homework, chores, dinner time, and bedtime will be nice. The kids have been in school for a week now and they are loving it. Katie is playing Volleyball and comes home every night just beat. Sara is a ball of fire as always. We discovered the neatest little chorelist online for the kids. They collect points for doing their chores and it makes it fun for the kids. http://www.handipoints.com

The first day of school was great, complete with fresh baked cookies in the morning for the girls (Ned's mom used to do this in the morning for her children and the children at the bus stop who waited at their house. Well I did it the first day of a school. I can't believe what an amazing mom that he had. I so wish that I could have met her.) That evening we made homemade pizzas. :) Not quite on our diet, but man we had fun making them with the girls. :)


Well...for now I will tell you that I will continue blogging even if I'm not losing because it is about the journey. That includes the mountains, the valleys, and the plateau's in between as well as the occasional side trail on purpose. Thanks for reading...and caring...because I certainly enjoy reading your blogs too. :)

My Birthday :) Sooooo Spoiled am I :)

What a wonderful birthday I had.  Dinner, Breakfast & Dinner again. Being my birthday and all...we didn't watch calories too much...well not at all really. I did however work out very good Friday night before the weekend...and did an all time best workout last night. Burned over 700 calories in the 45 min of cardio and climbed over 1000 feet.  I also went grocery shopping yesterday and bought things that will help us eat healthy all week...it even included fresh mangos. Mmmmm

Anyways....back to the birthday. I was very spoiled by all...especially Ned. I felt like a princess all weekend. :) He even did the creative thing on the right hand side there with the frame with all of our pictures. He thought it was corny...I thought it was thoughtful and heart warming. :)

We did the dinner thing....and breakfast (I forgot to take pics of the food there), and shaved ice, and the Cheesecake Factory (not diet friendly). We did have a great time...and one needs to enjoy those things sometimes as long as they (I) can get back on track...which I immediately did.

 

So Anyways....I had a crazy fun weekend. The best birthday that I have ever had.  :) Back to the workout grind...oh...and hopefully a little creativeness in the next week or so. :)

Biggest Loser :) VS Biggest Loser :(

My last post was what....APRIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is wrong with me??? I've asked that of myself several times. Biggest Loser :) VS Biggest Loser :( Well the smiley means I was the biggest loser as far as weight loss and the frowney face is I am now the biggest loser because I didn't keep up on my blog...and that was because.................(shhhh....I fell off the workout wagon....shhhh) But alas...I am back on. I refuse to give up this time, I mean completely. We had a bad couple months of not working out like we used to...but the good news is....we were only up a couple pounds....I believe this is due to the fact that we truly did make a lifestyle change...so 95% of or weight has stayed off. More will start coming off now that I have rededicated myself to the journey. Like I said in the beginning...I started to journal this journey because I knew it wouldn't be a perfect straight road to my goal. I knew it would be hard...and I knew life would get in the way...and lack of motivation would creep up...and I want to log it all...the good and the bad. So I'm back!!!

We started the last couple of weeks with a new healthy meal. Last week it was Bourbon Pinapple Shrimp Kabobs. Everyone loved these right off the bbq. We coupled it with a little rice...and some watermelon. Yummmm. As for this week....we had Pico de Gallo Seared Ahi with brown rice...and it was fresh and tasty too. :) The presentation was pretty too. Don't you think so?



Well...to give you an update on what we've been doing....Well...we've had several birthdays. My mom turned 58 :) We had a wonderful birthday for her at McGraths Fish House. And my sister turned 28, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Claim Jumper. :) You would be proud...we did not have any huge desserts at Claim Jumper....and if you've ever been there...that is a huge thing. Their desserts are amazing and definitely enough for a family of 4...so don't think that you can all get something separate. One dessert for 4 people will do ya. That little sundae my sister has...was just the one that came with her meal...because it was her birthday...and that was shared between her and 4 spoons from ice cream hungry nieces. :)


Sara also had a birthday and turned 7. My baby 7....Wow!!!!! We went to the kid loving Chuck E. Cheese...and played lots of fun games....had some pizza...and Sara's favorite...chocolate cake with chocolate frosting...and filling.lol. Chocoholic...that girl. :) And yes...on that day we did indulge with a little of both...pizza and cake.



And then there was camping....a trip to the Southern Oregon Coast for 8 nights....6 camping and 2 in Bandon in a motel. :) We had a blast. There was definitely something for everyone. Fishing, cards, games, boat rides, waterplay, lighthouses, sand and surf, and one of the most fun things......the Game Park. What a wonderful family trip. :)

So summer has definitely started, and we have lots of fun things planned. I will try my best to keep up on the weight loss blog coupled with our Summer fun. They should go hand in hand. :) I'm excited to see how we will look at the end of the summer. Hopefully a little thinner...and more importantly....healthier. :)