Everybody and their dog...

Let it be known....right here, right now...that when I invite someone to stay the night at my house...I am NOT inviting your little, un-potty-trained dog too. For some reason some people in my family think their dogs are equal to people and they take them with them EVERYWHERE. Now don't get me wrong...I love to take my ole dog Sam for a ride in the car every now and then. As a matter of fact, he's gotten to be my buddy when I take the kids to school in the mornings. He rides in the front seat with me and keeps me company and I love it (as does he). BUT...never would I pack him up with me and take him to spend the night at someone else's house. And he IS potty trained. But he's a DOG for goodness sakes. It really won't kill him to spend a night or two alone!
I am ticked off about this at the moment because I am cleaning out Brooklyn's room from when we had our big Christmas Eve gathering. We had pillows and blankets all in her floor for people to sleep on and yes, I am just now getting around to getting it all cleaned up. So, as I start grabbing stuff I notice this horrible stench on all the blankets and pillows. What the HECK? It's DOG PEE! Dark, yellow, disgusting dog pee. GRrrrrrrr.....makes me want to scream!
Okay, I should stop. I dearly love the person whose dog this is, obviously...but why does she ALWAYS insist on bringing that thing with her???
I don't even allow my OWN animals on the furniture...why would I let someone else's?
Okay...that's it for now.

Why is this so hard for me?

I SO need some inspiration. Brooklyn's quilt for her new "grown-up" room arrived yesterday. I had already bought curtains a while back. Now that I am looking at it all...I feel totally uninspired. I am trying to pick a paint color for the walls first and foremost. I'd really like to stay away from pink if at all possible...but the only other 2 colors that come to mind are some shade of blue or some shade of green and I don't think either of those will work either since there is a lot of those colors in the comforter. I want something that will pop and really stand out. A bold color maybe. I thought about brown...but then that's SO dark. Anyhow, I am putting pictures of the stuff on here and if anyone has any suggestions...please feel free to share them. The curtains we have are very similar to this except they have green ball-fringe on the edges instead of ribbon.
Her furniture is a distressed white.

going fast---getting nowhere

I've had one of those days. The kind where you feel like you're moving in slow motion even though your head is RACING. I can list off a zillion things I need to do..and yet I can't seem to get my body moving. I JUST got out of the shower and it's 3:00 pm. Well, technically I probably got out of the shower an hour ago..but after I got semi-dressed, I leaned over the bed and fell asleep. Half standing, half laying! I kept waking up every few minutes thinking, "oh ya and I need to do that and this and that" and then I'd fall back asleep. Who knows how long I did that before I finally got up and got dressed. Anyway, now I am up and what am I doing? Blogging. Of all the things...this was NOT on my to-do list. But, don't I deserve a little indulgence? A few minutes of guilty pleasure?
So anyway, I thought I'd tell you all what I got for Christmas. I have to warn you first though...I was ridiculously spoiled. Like, embarrasingly spoiled. My mom and my husband....I can't help it...they did it.
So here goes:

From my mom and dad: A pair of Lucky jeans, a whole set of Apple Bath & Body Works products, Clinique Dramatically Different moisturizing gel, nice slippers.

From my hubby: A Kitchen Aid Stand Up Mixer, BONGO perfume, a Fossil Watch, VS undies, fuzzy hot-pink Slippers, Thinsulate velvety gloves, a neck massager with heat, a hat from AE, socks.

From my Grandma: Thirty dollars.

From Matt's grandma: Fifty dollars in my stocking with lots of fun goodies like nail polish, tissues, lip gloss and a Blockbuster gift card.

From my MIL: A brown leather jacket!

From various other people: A pretty scrolly iron wall thing, earrings, 2 more pairs of slippers, a Seacret nail kit thing that I LOVE, books, recipe books, set of dessert plates, CD's and probably more but that's all I can think of right now!

I made out pretty good, huh? :o)

I told Matt I feel like I way under-did it for him or else he way over-did it for me. I probably spent a third of what he spent!

Here's what I got him: Enduraskin pants (to keep you warm in cold weather), Nike work out pants, cologne, Nike hat, 300 (the dvd), a compass for hunting, an extra seat/storage thing for his 4-wheeler and that's all I can think of right now. Man...now I really feel bad. That doesn't sound like very much.

oh well..that's not what it's about right?
Anyhow, the kids made out good too. I think they both got every single thing they wanted and lots more.

So, if you haven't posted it already, I wanna hear what you all got!!!

There is no time like the PRESENT time!

 

Can you believe this? This is what our house looked like on Christmas morning. We actually had to completely re-arrange the living room/dining room JUST so we could fit all these presents (and people) in the room!!! There were 25 people here for Christmas...and plenty of presents for each of us! We are so blessed....!

another view

 

This is almost embarrasing....

Alexis & presents

 

Here is a pic of Alexis looking adorable with ALL the presents.

Oh Baby!

 

Me holding my sweet neice Alexis. She is SUCH a dolly!

Hat Heads

 

Here is a pic of me and Matt on Christmas morning both wearing our new hats.

My beautiful mom

 

Here's a picture of my mom wearing Brooklyn's new hat. What a beautiful woman...inside AND out!

My daddy & sister

 

Here's a picture of my daddy kissing my big sister, Stephanie. Do you see any resemblance?

Brooklyn & Alexis

 

Brooklyn holding baby Alexis. They were buddies right from the start.

Me & my girl

 

This is the only picture of me we got...since I was the one with the camera the whole time. Figures it's not even a good one since I took it and I cut half of Brooklyn's head off. Oh well...

Brooklyn & PeePaw GP (Matt's dad)

 

silly cousins

 

Brooklyn, Grant & Jaxon making goofy faces for the camera!

Christmas at Mamaw's

 

This is the "group" at Matt's Mamaw's house (except for me since I'm taking the picture)

Wednesday Weigh-In

Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Who's the fattest one of all?

Yep, you're right! It's me. I feel like an over-inflated balloon. No more food. Please, no more cookies. Thank you dear bathroom scale for only saying I weigh 146 even though I know you're just being nice and that next week the truth will come out.
You know it's bad when your comfy pajama pants are cutting into your stomach! Grrr.
I didn't get my Biggest Loser work out DVD's that I wanted...guess I'll have to buy them for myself.
Did any of you get them? If so, how are they?
Don't forget the new season of Biggest Loser starts Tuesday, Jan. 1st (New Years Day) on NBC.

Christmas Eve..

All I want for Christmas...I have right now.
My WHOLE family, here...in my house...playing games, sleeping everywhere (couches, beds, floors) and all getting along. It's practically heaven on earth for me. There is more food than we can eat, more presents than we need and enough love to last a lifetime. I am so blessed. As I type this I can hear all the guys playing cards at the dining room table, the kids watching a Christmas movie and the women are getting everyones beds together and the kitchen cleaned up. It's bliss.
And I better not waste any more of it here on the computer! So, goodnight you all! 15 minutes till Christmas!!!! Hooray!

I was tagged:

First of all let me encourage you to all go and check out this blog www.walkwisely.blogspot.com. You will find some wonderful inspiration, encouragement and wisdom there. I am so happy that MLM is back in the blog world!
So...she tagged me for this MEME --and I have no idea what that acronynm stands for.
Anyway...here goes:

What's in your CD player: Hillsong Kids Shout Praises Christmas; Kenny G Christmas.

What's in your DVD player: Probably Elf or The Polar Express. I wish it was the movie The Nativity because I've been wanting to see that again but it is always checked out.

What's on your To-Read List: The 7 Pillars of Health (which I was just given a few days ago as a Christmas gift) and A Woman after God's own Heart (which I just borrowed from my MIL)

What's on your Mind: I am thinking that I probably shouldn't be on the computer right now while the rest of our family, who we only see once or twice a year is watching a movie. I should probably be in there with them...but I've already seen this movie and I know I won't get to blog again for a few days...so...here I am.

So, that's it. Not too interesting...but it's me. So...if you're reading this right now..consider yourself TAGGED!!!

Twas the night before the night before Christmas...

Hey guys! We are at Matt's mom's house and everyone is watching a movie 'cept for me and Matt. We've already seen it so he's snoozing away in the recliner and I am sitting here checking my e-mail and reading blogs. Hmmm....that sounds an awfully lot like what we do every evening at home! ha ha
We have had a fabulous visit with family for the past 2 days and tomorrow we will head home and throw our big Christmas Eve party. I am expecting 26 people, I think. We are going to play Christmas Win, Lose or Draw and I made up a big board full of pictures from Christmases past...for us to all gawk at. I tried to find the silliest, most embarrasing pictures I could. I'm sure they'll all hate me for it...but it will certainly make for good conversation and laughter!
My SIL suggested we all bring a gift for Jesus this year...something we can offer Him of ourselves---like The Little Drummer Boy. Whether it be a song, a dance, a story, a testimoney or whatever...just something that we can share with everyone else. Soo...since I am sorta running out of time, I wrote a quick little poem last night before I fell asleep. I re-read it this morning and it's not too bad, so I thought I'd share it with you all on here. I probably only put about 15 minutes into this so I'm sure I could make it better if I had more time...but I think I'll just leave it as it is. It's simple but it says what I wanted it to say. So here it is:
My Heart
My heart has two parts: She's six, He's three...
Little walking, talking peices of me.

I kiss them goodnight then lift weary eyes to the sky,
"Lord, I'm just not sure I'm qualified."

This job you've given me, what an honor it is,
But how do I know I'm raising 'em right, these kids?

I take them to church and teach them to pray,
But they're learning so much from the things I do and say.

Please guide me oh Lord and give me your wisdom,
No doubt I'll need it in the years to come.

I feel inadequate in so many ways
and it's only by Your grace I make it thru some days.

So Thank You Dear Father for protection from above
as I bring up these children I so dearly love.


So, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed it--and hope I can read it in front of my entire family without crying.
I have LOTS of pictures to share with you all when I get back home.
Merry, Merry Christmas!!

 

Christmas Vacation

Hooray! For the next four days....Matt gets to hang out with us instead of go to work! We are all so glad to have him back home, but probably not anymore happy than he is to actually BE home. As he mentioned, it's been nearly 2 full weeks since he's seen our house in the daylight. He was leaving while it was dark and coming home after it was dark every day. (Thankfully they finally have everyone's power back on from the ice storm that hit on Dec. 9th)
Even though it's exciting that Christmas is almost here..I feel kinda bad for him that his 4 days off are going to be jam-packed with things to do, places to go and people to entertain. From the moment we wake up tomorrow morning until the moment we go to bed Christmas night, we will be with other people. It's probably not going to be too relaxing for him...but at least it won't be boring!
So, I am writing this post to say that you probably won't hear from me again for a little while...at least 4 days anyway! he he
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and that you make the most of every precious moment you get to spend with your families. Overlook your differences and the irritating things they say and do and cherish this time together. God chose these people especially for you...to be in your life...so find ways to enjoy them and see the positive, not the negative. Pull out your rose-colored glasses. Just imagine all God has to look past to see the good in us...but He does!
Merry Christmas to each of you! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Well, by golly---there IS a light at the end of the tunnel!

I just had the most fabulous day of shopping with my mom and Grandma and I wanted to blog about it for a sec since I have something POSITIVE to say! Hooray!

We got all our shopping done...every last gift bought and ALL for great prices. I didn't overspend on anything and I feel totally happy and satisfied with everything I bought. I even used my $50 bonus I got from my dr. office to buy myself a new pair of jeans, sweatshirt and undies from Aeropostle! yay!

Thanks to my friend Rachael who kept my kids for me so I could go do this. I didn't realize how much I needed it. I felt giddy and almost like butterflys in my stomach when I walked into the mall withOUT my kids--just me and mom and gramma. I had to grab my mom and give her a big hug and tell her how special this was to me....for us to be doing this. We had a wonderful lunch at Camille's deli and then got back to town at a reasonable hour!

Tonight I am gonna take the kids to the library to have "Storytime with Santa" and to pay the late fees on my books that were due on 12/16. (oops!)

Thanks for all your comments on that last post. I don't know that I am "Cured" but today sure has helped a lot! I love you all!!!

Blabber mouth

Here lately, I can't seem to stop talking. It's like a nervous chatter or something. Everytime someone calls me--the call lasts forever---which I hate---and I totally think its because I don't know how to hang up. The minute we finish talking about something, I bring up another subect to talk about and then another and another. Before I know it, the person on the other end of the line is either cutting me off to say "I HAVE to go NOW" or else I hear a real preoccupied "uh-hum" every so often like they are SO NOT interested in what I am saying.
What's really bizarre about this...is I am NOT a phone person. I hate talking on the phone and I hate calling people. I haven't always been like this. I can remember a day (when I was a teenager) that I could sit on the phone for HOURS (especially with my boyfriends) and I was happy to just hear them breathing. Ha!
Anyway, I hate this about myself. Yesterday while I was having one of these phone conversations where the other person (which was my mom this time) was over there probably rolling her eyes and wishing I'd just Shut Up because I could hear it in her voice and the sighs, I thought to myself that I am just going to quit talking altogether. Unless something is absolutely necessary to say...I am not going to say it. No one needs to hear everything I've been thinking about or how I've been feeling every moment of the day.

Hey! A lightbulb just came on...
Maybe I'm so "talky" because I haven't seen my husband in almost 2 weeks now and the only people I've had to talk to for the majority of my days are 6 and 3!!??!!?? Hmmm...that would sure make me feel a little better about it anyway.

It's just that I've noticed things about myself that I'm not very fond of lately. Like the big wrinkle between my eyebrows when I frown or scrunch my nose--and now a days...even when I just have a straight face it's still there. I'm not nearly as motivated as I used to be for the things I was once passionate about. Even going to the gym, which is a HUGE thing for me...I just don't really care that much. I'd love to be more involved in the ministry but lately when I think about it, I just feel like, "oh well, they're getting along fine without me this far...they'll keep being fine without my help."
It's just weird and not really like me.
There is such a huge change in the amount of self-confidence I feel now compared to about a year ago. I don't know why. It's probably all within myself...but I remember feeling SO strong and sexy and desirable and competent for a while there...but right now, I feel exactly the opposite. I feel weak (physically and mentally), I feel SO FAR from sexy or desirable. If I could compare what I feel like I look like to something, I'd have to say Mrs. Shrek. Round and stumpy with weird coloring. ha ha As far as the competent part...I can't even make a simple decision about what underwear to put on in the mornings...how am I going to be able to make important decisions?
Okay, so I know what all you girls are thinking right now. Feel, feel, feel. Didn't God warn us about letting our feelings rule us? And yes, you're right. I KNOW who I am in Christ. It's all in there in my head....it's just not manefesting in my mind, body or actions.
Okay, well...this post is confusing me. I can't even seem to say things on here the way I want. Grr... I just want to say that I almost didn't post this because I don't want any of you to think that I am trying to get sympathy. I am not saying "oh look at poor, pitiful me" by any means. I am just so frustrated with this "me" that seems to be overtaking the real "me". I'm sure this is all linked to that last post I did about the blended emotions and all the crying. If our insurance $ wasn't up, I'd probably go talk to a doctor...but I'll have to wait until January. Hopefully by then though...this will be over.
Okay, anyway, if you're still reading this...sorry! What a waste of your time. Seriously..I don't think I said anything of worth in this whole post. Okay, enough. Love you all and hope you have a good day!

Blended emotions

My emotions are like this:
Someone takes a blender, puts in some joy, a LOT of crying, some giddyness, some confusion, some gratefulness and a touch of fury--turns the thing on HIGH and while it's blending takes the lid off at which point everything flies everywhere.
That's me lately.
I cry at the drop of a hat.
I can't make decisions here lately either---no matter how simple. I might stand in one spot holding several different items that go in different parts of my house and I will stand there for who-knows-how-long trying to figure out which way I should go first to be most "economical". I had to call my mom today to see if I should return something I bought at the Dollar store for $1 that I didn't want or if I should just toss it out. I would have to make a special trip into town just to return it...and I certainly didn't want it...but what a waste to throw something perfectly good away with the tags still attached. Also, I didn't know anyone who would want the thing. I spent probably 10 minutes just sitting there looking at it and the receipt trying to decide whether or not to take it back. Finally, I called my mom, who I am sure thinks I am NUTS, and she said, "Honey, it's not a big decision. Just throw it away. The time and gas it would take you to return is is worth a lot more than $1". And she's right...but why couldn't I figure that out for myself?
Anyway, I don't know what's up with me. I would say that maybe it's "that time of the month" but this has been going on now for at least 2 weeks. I feel drained--and at the moment---terribly sleepy. hmmmmmm......

To re-gift or not to re-gift...!?!?!

So...here's a topic for ya...Re-gifting.
Apparently (according to an article in Jan. 08's issue of Parents) this is a No-No. They said, "It's just not a good idea. There are too many chances for hurt feelings. Hurt feelings if the original giver found out and hurt feelings if the person recieving the gift finds out."
But here's my beef:
What if you are given a gift, something very nice and maybe even something you like but just don't need or want...WHAT in the WORLD is wrong with giving it (as a gift) to someone else who you know will enjoy it?
For instance, last year for Brooklyn's birthday she got several very cute, nice Disney Princess things for her birthday. Well, knowing she had outgrown the whole "princess stage" I stuck them up in her closet (in plain sight) and waited to see if she ever noticed or wanted the stuff. Nope. Not ever. So the other day (and nearly a YEAR since her birthday) when I was looking for a gift for a little girl who is 2 1/2 and is totally into the princesses....I grabbed that stuff and wrapped it up. I will admit, one of the things, a lamp, had been opened and didn't have the original box. I felt kinda weird about wrapping it up without the box or original packaging...but the reality of it is that it is a brand new, perfectly good lamp that this little girl will love AND not having to buy YET ANOTHER GIFT will help with our finances. Plus, by doing this, I was able to give her a much nicer, bigger gift than I could have if I had went out and bought something for $10, which was my buget. Instead, the gift I gave her was probably more like worth $40.
Today as I ate my lunch though, I read that article in the magazine and it got me to thinking that maybe I am just being WAYYYYY too cheap?!? I mean..I know for a fact that that same little girl who we are giving the "re-gift" to...is giving my kids brand new toys that were specifically on their Christmas wish lists.
What do ya'll think? Do you re-gift?
I saw a show on Oprah once that talked about this subject and how some people have whole closets full of unwanted gifts that they plan to re-gift. I am not quite that bad...but I do have a closet where I keep gifts I have bought people and occasionally I add something in there that someone gives me that I know I'll never use. I save it until I come across someone who I think will really like it. Somethings never get re-given, but sometimes I can find the PERFECT thing in that closet without ever having to go to the store or spend a penny and the reciever never knows the "truth."
All of a sudden though, I am starting to feel really guilty and cheap and embarrased about it. I am VERY curious to hear all ya'll's opinions on this matter and whether or not you do it too.

So easy...so cute!

 

This is what Brooklyn and I made for her teacher for (part of) of her Christmas gift. It is just a styrofoam cone covered in peppermints (hot glued). It was SO easy and she was able to almost do the whole thing herself. It was supercheap too since the bag of peppermints was only $1 and the cones were about $3 (at Hobby Lobby 1/2 off). They are really cuter than the picture looks...but that's how it always goes with pictures.
Anyway, if you are still trying to figure out something to give someone that is cute and easy...here ya go!

HEY!!!!

What happened to my blog? How'd me and hubbies heads get cut off of our top picture? Anybody know?

You know what I really want for Christmas?

I want all the loose-ended things sitting on my desk to be taken care of. I want someone ELSE besides me to order an instruction manual to our DVD player since the one they sent us didn't come with one and there is not one on the internet I can download. I want someone ELSE to call the company that makes my watch and find out if there is anyway to exchange it for another one since the store I bought it at won't let me return it after 90 days. I want someone ELSE to look over our insurance policy and tell me if it every 6 months or twice a year we get to go to the dentist for free. I want someone ELSE to balance the checkbook and figure out the budget after all this Christmas shopping. I want someone ELSE to read the manual to our video camera and figure out how to run the videos off onto DVD's. When the DVD manual finally gets here..I also want someone ELSE to read it and figure out how to use the dang thing.

Man...if I could just have that...I think I might actually have all my wishes come true!

At the moment what I really want is for my HUSBAND TO COME HOME! We're going on 7 straight days of him working 16 hour shifts. We've seen each other for probably a total of 2 hours in the past week. I have gotten my taste of being a single mom. That is why I am staying married! ha ha

Oh and while I am sitting here listing out all the stuff I want..I would also like
to order a tree cutting service to come clean up the fallen-forest in my front yard so my dear hubby doesn't have to do it after all this insane work and I would also like to put my order in for a house cleaning service to come and clean my house while I am out of town this weekend so that when I get back and I have 21 people over for a Christmas Eve party, my house will be presentable.

That's all...

Aughhhhh! I missed it!

I just remembered I missed Biggest Loser on Tuesday! I did actually catch the last 10 minutes of it because I sat in my car and watched it (we have a tv/dvd player in there that picks up local stations). I saw that Neil got eliminated but I didn't see the other 1 hr and 50 minutes of the show! :o( boo-hoo Was it a good show? Maybe if I get time (ya right! ha ha) I'll go to NBC's site and read what happened. I am bummed that Julie made it into the finals. I don't care for her too much and there were SO many more deserving people, in my opinion. Oh well...that's the unfairness of that game. Too bad the "Biggest Loser" can't REALLY be the "Biggest Loser"....instead you've got people competing for the title because they are the least threatening. They keep voting off the real winners because they're afraid they're gonna get beat by 'em...which is probably true. Anyway...in the midst of working and folding laundry, that hit me and I had to put a little blurp about it on here. (blurp? don't know what that is or where it came from but it sounds like it fits! ha ha)

O 'Lectricity...

(sing to the tune of Oh Christmas Tree)
O 'Lectricity, O 'Lectricity, how wonderful to have thee.
O 'Lectricity, O 'Lectricity, I'll never take you for granted!

Okay, I have a million things I want to blog about...but I have a zillion things I need to be doing more than blogging...so here's the lowdown:

*Our power went out on Sunday night at 2 am and came back on last night (Wednesday) at 9 pm.

*I will never take a warm toilet seat for granted again!

*Just because my husband works for the power company doesn't mean I can explain to you and your dog WHY your power is not on yet!

*Brooklyn finally lost that front tooth that's been dangling there under her permanent one for months! Hooray!

*Thank God for wonderful friends who do nothing but give, give, give at times like this!

*My son is puking everywhere right now. Every single bed in our house is covered in throw up. He can't even keep a sip of water down or a slice of banana!

*I have 11 loads of laundry to do today and only enough detergent to do about 5.

*I haven't done my real work (for the dr. office) since last week...so I am WAY behind and that is totally STRESSING me out.

*I am the homeroom mom for Brooklyns class and I am supposed to be throwing a big Christmas party next Tuesday and I haven't even started planning it!! AUGH!

*I was supposed to pay bills on Monday (on line) and since our power has been out..everything is going to be late...GRRR!~

*My husband has been working 16 hour days for the past 5 days and I miss him! I am here all alone since my mom and grandma went to another state to get away from this storm.

*We REALLY should have put a fireplace in this house! We have NO alternative heat source here and we don't even own any kind of lantern. What were we thinking?

*Okay, that's all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure there is more...but I really should get busy with (AT LEAST) the bills, my work and the laundry.
Oh and did I mention I am throwing a Christmas party at my house with 16 people invited on FRIDAY--TOMORROW!?

DIRTY Santa

We had our Sunday School Christmas party last night. It was a lot of fun. We always have a very interesting Dirty Santa game...but last night--the gift I drew was the "hit"! It was a DVD called "Better Sex Through Yoga". Everyone was wanting me to make them a copy! ha ha I actually came right home and did the whole video after the party. That was my first Yoga experience...and it was a lot tougher than I expected. I am certainly sore today. We did this one move that's almost like a bridge that they do in gymnastics. Man, my back is so tender now! Anyway, it didn't help me have "better sex" since Matt fell asleep watching me do it! ha ha
I doubt I'd ever do it again so I'll probably pass it along to one of the other girls who looked interested. Here were some of the other gifts that got passed around: ornament hooks, a horrible peice of homemade pottery, a book titled "Why men have nipples", a musical necktie and last year someone actually gave an enema!! I have to say, we have a pretty fun group. Personally, I can't stand to bring something no one is gonna want..so I usually bring one of the most-desired gifts. I think my gift was the only thing that got stolen till it was frozen.

Can I get a QUACK, QUACK?

 

Matt's first "batch" of ducks. (There were about 10 in all!) This one was a Drake Mallard. Isn't he beautiful? (no, the duck...not Matt!) ha ha

Me and My Hottie Hubby!

 

The "line"

 

"B" is for Bethleham where Jesus was born.
We've been practicing that for about a month and here he is saying it!

 

Grant smiling for the camera during his program.

For Kate & KC...

You girls are so sweet to always check up on me! But...I didn't post a Wednesday Weigh-In because it was bad news. Well, not really bad news...I wasn't suprised or anything...just not "good news". It was 147. What really gets me is that on Saturday morning after my big 2 hour work out, I got on the scale and it said 144. I was so excited. Then come Wednesday, it was back up to 147. What the heck?
I am just so fed up with this whole thing. Really. I feel like I am on the top of a fence teetering back and forth. If I fall off on the left side, I will quit this whole thing and just be satisfied to be at 147 forever. If I fall off on the other side, I am about ready to just develop an eating disorder and get it over with. I mean, this trying and trying and seeing no results is about to make me nuts. What's even worse..is I know I could lose the weight if I would be super-strict on my calories again and write everything down and keep it to 1200 or less...but I just can't seem to do it right now. I am so busy this month with parties and gatherings and shopping and programs at school, etc...it's just not realistic to try to do that. (SIGH...) I just don't know. I am so fickle. One minute I am telling myself "That it!!! I am going to lose this stinkin' weight" and in the next minute I am saying "You know what? Who CARES? I am a mother and a wife..not a supermodel."

Anyway, that's what's up with me and the whole weight department right now.
Congrats to you Kate for breaking 145 though! That's terrific!! What are you doing? Maybe I should just copy you!

Kandy, thanks for the "challenge" you have set before me to get to 135 by Valentines Day. I know I can do it...I just have to see if I will. If only I could afford a personal trainer and personal chef!!! ha ha

What's the sexiest...

thing a guy can say to his wife?

"I'll take care of it."

I read that yesterday while I was in the hair salon letting my color process and I thought "AMEN!!!"
If only men could understand that.

 

Isn't this pretty? I know the picture doesn't do it justice but it was a wreath thing you drive through at the entrance of the Christmas lights and it was SOLID lights!

It's a warm Christmas...

 

After dinner at the Amish farm, we went to look at Christmas lights. It was SO NICE out (70 degrees) that Grant had pulled his shirt and shoes off! I thought it was funny that here it was December and we're out looking at Christmas lights and we were getting hot! ha ha.

Like Father, like son

 

Are these guys cute or what? What a lucky girl I am!

Buds

 

Me and Rachael at the Amish Farm for dinner. You'll have to excuse the funny way we're holding our heads. It was SUPER windy outside and we were trying to keep our hair from blowing into our faces. BTW---WOOHOO for Rachael who found out she is pregnant with a BABY GIRL today! We can't wait to meet you Audrey!

Buds

 

Teya and Me at the Amish Farm having dinner.

As good as it gets...

 

Saturday afternoon we sat down at the table as a family and hand-made our Christmas cards. This is probably as close to scrapbooking as Matt will ever get! ha ha He did such a good job though. He and Grant "inked" the edges of my paper while Brooklyn cut all the raffia and I did most of the paper cutting. We make a great team and it was so much fun to do this together!