A little bit of this and that has kept me from keeping up with my blog. I have been in and out of town and just busy in general.
I left Friday at 12 for a MUCH needed get away. I went and stayed with my best friend Nikki. She has a beautiful brand new house in Spanish Fork...it was SO cute, and I am glad I finally had a reason to go stay. She and I have been so close since the 5th grade. We were just meant for each other and have the most fun together. This trip was no different. We went shopping....ate tons....talked lots...., and it was just wonderful. I love you Nikki!!
The real reason for my trip (hehe, but not the funnest) was a Modbe Conference. They introduced the new swim line. It is pretty cute. I will be having a party sometime in March. Their stuff sales out so fast, so even though it is still cold, we are all stark white, have a little winter "fluff" left on us, it will be a great time to buy a swimsuit. Here is the link, I hope it works....it will let you browse the catalog. https://commcenter.bresnan.net/Session/322893-BBXKVqd5r3F8NLUC2P3k-jizkfbu/MessagePart/Modbe/112-02-B/ModbeSwim2009_low%20res.pdf
when you open it up, resize the viewer down so the pictures aren't so big and messed up, then you can see them better!
My website link is on the right hand side. You are more than welcome to order at any time....but I will never be a pushy saleslady type and call you to order. If you want something, great! If not, that is perfectly fine too!!! So...there you have it!
G.J. was nice enough to keep the kids for me. It was a quick and exhausting trip, but I made it home safe and sound! Now I have to pack our bags again, because tomorrow (Monday) at 3:30, we are headed off to DISNEYLAND!!!! Hooray, the day is finally here.
Anyways, I need to finish up this post with a promise I had made on some other people's blogs for a little prize they are giving me, so here goes:
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year (hopefully sooner than later.)
4. You will have no clue what it is going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. :)
The catch? Oh the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog.
The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me you did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!
Have a wonderful week!!! You might be lucky..hehe, if the hotel at Disneyland has a computer that I can post of. If not, stay tuned for next week about this time to hear about our very first family vacation!!!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
My Crazy Brother
My crazy brother is at it again. This is the same brother who travels the world. He is also a finalist on "Deal or no Deal" He is definitely the most adventurous person I know. He is currently looking at a 6 month position in Queensland Australia to "babysit" an island....lol. He will take his sweet and very willing wife with him for the adventure of a lifetime. The more views, comments, posts, etc. this video gets, the better chance he has. There are currently 10,000 applicants. They will narrow it down to 50, and then do a final selection. So, if you are feeling nice, feel free to share this, view this, post it to facebook, your blog, myspace, email it, etc. Who knows what will happen. I will keep you posted!
Click here for the video!
Click here for the video!
Weigh in Wednesday, and nothing else...
Today is Weigh in Wednesday, and I don't have much else to post about. I lost another 1/2 a lb. That is not much, but like I have said before. I will be happy as long as it is not a gain. That means I have lost 7 lbs overall, and have 17 until my goal.
I have said before that dieting is not fun to me(who is it fun to?) Well dieting over a holiday, like one of my favorites-Valentine's Day is pure torture. I ate every single piece of candy that my kids didn't want. I ate 4 huge home made sugar cookies with buttercream frosting, and I don't feel one bit bad about it. Sure, if I wouldn't have eaten those things I would have lost more weight, but like I said...I need to remain happy while dieting to keep me motivated.
So, that being said, I need to work really hard this week. I have 2 challenges that are coming to an end this week. The first is with my friend Kyndi and 40+ other women from across Utah for the pounds and inches lost. I need to get weighed and measured sometime before we leave for Disneyland next week. The second is for Modbe. The new line of stuff comes out this Saturday, and we have been having a challenge the past month to eat healthier, exercise more, and do the Modbe Pilates DVD 2 times a week. Along with that, going on vacation will not do much for my diet plans. I am going to try to do the best I can, but be realistic...sometimes being away from home is not good when it comes to eating right.
So I gotta put my game face on, and get to work. G.J. told me that I need to pretend like every day is my "last chance workout" like on "Biggest Loser" Gavin overheard him saying that, and said, "yah mommy, because you are almost as fat as them...." How's that for encouragement! :)
I have said before that dieting is not fun to me(who is it fun to?) Well dieting over a holiday, like one of my favorites-Valentine's Day is pure torture. I ate every single piece of candy that my kids didn't want. I ate 4 huge home made sugar cookies with buttercream frosting, and I don't feel one bit bad about it. Sure, if I wouldn't have eaten those things I would have lost more weight, but like I said...I need to remain happy while dieting to keep me motivated.
So, that being said, I need to work really hard this week. I have 2 challenges that are coming to an end this week. The first is with my friend Kyndi and 40+ other women from across Utah for the pounds and inches lost. I need to get weighed and measured sometime before we leave for Disneyland next week. The second is for Modbe. The new line of stuff comes out this Saturday, and we have been having a challenge the past month to eat healthier, exercise more, and do the Modbe Pilates DVD 2 times a week. Along with that, going on vacation will not do much for my diet plans. I am going to try to do the best I can, but be realistic...sometimes being away from home is not good when it comes to eating right.
So I gotta put my game face on, and get to work. G.J. told me that I need to pretend like every day is my "last chance workout" like on "Biggest Loser" Gavin overheard him saying that, and said, "yah mommy, because you are almost as fat as them...." How's that for encouragement! :)
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
NOT Snow much Fun....
I had one of the worst days of my life yesterday….It still gives me “chills” thinking about it.
G.J. has been asking to go snowmobiling for years now. The last time we went was when Hallie was a tiny baby and his parents lived at their ranch during the winter. They go south for the winter now, but offered to leave the snowmobiles at our house in case we wanted to go. The ranch consists of 2,000+ lush snow covered rolling hills covered in snow. The last time we went over 8 year ago, I had so much fun.
I was going to let G.J. just take Hallie. Gavin “didn’t want to get snow in his face,” and Kayler is still kind of little. I was supposed to go clean Mandy’s house, but at the last minute, she cancelled, so we took the whole family. Little did I know that would be a blessing in disguise. I don’t want to think of what would have happened if it would have only been Hallie and G.J.
Anyways, after some confusion about getting trucks hooked up to the snowmobile trailer, fixing a flat tire, getting some lunch, we were on our way. I had packed us plenty of water, granola, nuts, fruit, snacks, candy, etc. in a little cooler. We had lots of snow clothes, and it seemed we were good to go. These pictures are the first…and last fun we had of the day.
About half the way in to the ranch, which is only a mile or so (I am not good with distance) both of our snowmobiles sunk into the very very deep and very soft snow. I was holding Kayler up above the snow while my body was buried to my chest in snow. It was so deep, and so cold. G.J. and the kids crawled towards me. You had to crawl, because if you tried to walk you would just sink into huge drifts of snow.
G.J. got my snowmobile unstuck, hopped on, and just left. I knew he was going to get help of some sort, but he didn’t say anything to me, so I was thinking what the heck am I supposed to do. I looked at my situation; me stuck in the snow, and my poor 3 little kids freezing. I could see the ranch house and it really wasn’t that far away. But every step was agonizing, and I knew it would take forever to get there, but I wasn’t staying out there. It was starting to snow pretty hard, and the wind was so bitter cold.
All who know me well know that I don’t cry very easy. We said a very tear filled heart felt prayer for help. I sent Hallie and Gavin crawling on their own and I put Kayler on my back and started to crawl. His little lips were turning blue and he was just sobbing, “Mommy, help me…I freezing, it hurts mommy, hurry, go to that house, I so cold.” He kept falling off my back and face planting in the snow, not helping matters any. After what seemed like hours. (Probably only 20+ minutes) we made it to the house.
I was SO grateful to have the house there, the only problem; it was almost as cold in there as outside. You could see your breath and your socks froze to the ground as you walked. I undressed us all and thank goodness the electricity was working so I put all of our clothes in the dryer. After awhile G.J. came and started a fire…which didn’t do much good at all, but at least we had a lot of blankets. We sang songs, watched movies, hid under lots of blankets, ate food, drank water, etc. G.J. worked on getting a backhoe out to get the road plowed so we could get out.
It was so so so cold in the house. I kept the kids warm as best as I could, but poor Kayler had blue lips still, and he would start shaking uncontrollably, and then kind of fall asleep. I didn’t want hypothermia to sit in, so I would try rubbing, holding him in lots of blankets, putting warm things from the dryer around him….anything to keep him from falling asleep and getting worse. I don’t think I have ever been that cold in my life. It was just terrible. For some reason (forgive me of the dramatics here) I looked around the beautiful ranch house that is so full of history, and couldn’t help but to cry and think of the ancestors before us that had worked so hard to get the house there. I thought even further of the pioneer mothers who had to watch their own children literally freeze right to death. I was a mess of tears, frozen snot…lol, and I am sorry to say I was a bit angry at G.J. for not hurrying more to get us out of there. I knew he was trying his hardest, but I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
He finally got the backhoe stuck too, so we had to call for help. My brother is a “Mr. Mountainman” so he came up with his brother and father in law. They were going to snow shoe in and help us out. G.J. had the idea of trying to use a snowmobile again, not knowing if we would just sink again (I wish he would have had that idea about 3 hours earlier) I got the house all cleaned up, the kids back in their snow clothes and we started to trek out again. G.J. took Kayler on the snowmobile, and Hallie, Gavin and I started the crawling. G.J. got Kayler out just in time when my brother made it. He came back and got Gavin and Hallie, then came back and got me.
I was NOT a happy camper. I will NEVER go snowmobiling again. My kids will never go again either. Maybe snow skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, etc…I know I am being dramatic and unfair, but that was seriously so traumatic to me.
So, after it was all said and done, we had to leave a ranch house not so clean (sorry Rosanne! I will make it back up there after the snow melts and clean it before you get home), a backhoe stuck, a snowmobile stuck, a huge garage left open….and G.J. will be the one getting it all back together with help from my brother as soon as the snow melts a little more. We did however make it home to a nice warm safe house, a hot bath for all of us, warm food for our bellies, and for that….I am very grateful.
G.J. has been asking to go snowmobiling for years now. The last time we went was when Hallie was a tiny baby and his parents lived at their ranch during the winter. They go south for the winter now, but offered to leave the snowmobiles at our house in case we wanted to go. The ranch consists of 2,000+ lush snow covered rolling hills covered in snow. The last time we went over 8 year ago, I had so much fun.
I was going to let G.J. just take Hallie. Gavin “didn’t want to get snow in his face,” and Kayler is still kind of little. I was supposed to go clean Mandy’s house, but at the last minute, she cancelled, so we took the whole family. Little did I know that would be a blessing in disguise. I don’t want to think of what would have happened if it would have only been Hallie and G.J.
Anyways, after some confusion about getting trucks hooked up to the snowmobile trailer, fixing a flat tire, getting some lunch, we were on our way. I had packed us plenty of water, granola, nuts, fruit, snacks, candy, etc. in a little cooler. We had lots of snow clothes, and it seemed we were good to go. These pictures are the first…and last fun we had of the day.
About half the way in to the ranch, which is only a mile or so (I am not good with distance) both of our snowmobiles sunk into the very very deep and very soft snow. I was holding Kayler up above the snow while my body was buried to my chest in snow. It was so deep, and so cold. G.J. and the kids crawled towards me. You had to crawl, because if you tried to walk you would just sink into huge drifts of snow.
G.J. got my snowmobile unstuck, hopped on, and just left. I knew he was going to get help of some sort, but he didn’t say anything to me, so I was thinking what the heck am I supposed to do. I looked at my situation; me stuck in the snow, and my poor 3 little kids freezing. I could see the ranch house and it really wasn’t that far away. But every step was agonizing, and I knew it would take forever to get there, but I wasn’t staying out there. It was starting to snow pretty hard, and the wind was so bitter cold.
All who know me well know that I don’t cry very easy. We said a very tear filled heart felt prayer for help. I sent Hallie and Gavin crawling on their own and I put Kayler on my back and started to crawl. His little lips were turning blue and he was just sobbing, “Mommy, help me…I freezing, it hurts mommy, hurry, go to that house, I so cold.” He kept falling off my back and face planting in the snow, not helping matters any. After what seemed like hours. (Probably only 20+ minutes) we made it to the house.
I was SO grateful to have the house there, the only problem; it was almost as cold in there as outside. You could see your breath and your socks froze to the ground as you walked. I undressed us all and thank goodness the electricity was working so I put all of our clothes in the dryer. After awhile G.J. came and started a fire…which didn’t do much good at all, but at least we had a lot of blankets. We sang songs, watched movies, hid under lots of blankets, ate food, drank water, etc. G.J. worked on getting a backhoe out to get the road plowed so we could get out.
It was so so so cold in the house. I kept the kids warm as best as I could, but poor Kayler had blue lips still, and he would start shaking uncontrollably, and then kind of fall asleep. I didn’t want hypothermia to sit in, so I would try rubbing, holding him in lots of blankets, putting warm things from the dryer around him….anything to keep him from falling asleep and getting worse. I don’t think I have ever been that cold in my life. It was just terrible. For some reason (forgive me of the dramatics here) I looked around the beautiful ranch house that is so full of history, and couldn’t help but to cry and think of the ancestors before us that had worked so hard to get the house there. I thought even further of the pioneer mothers who had to watch their own children literally freeze right to death. I was a mess of tears, frozen snot…lol, and I am sorry to say I was a bit angry at G.J. for not hurrying more to get us out of there. I knew he was trying his hardest, but I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
He finally got the backhoe stuck too, so we had to call for help. My brother is a “Mr. Mountainman” so he came up with his brother and father in law. They were going to snow shoe in and help us out. G.J. had the idea of trying to use a snowmobile again, not knowing if we would just sink again (I wish he would have had that idea about 3 hours earlier) I got the house all cleaned up, the kids back in their snow clothes and we started to trek out again. G.J. took Kayler on the snowmobile, and Hallie, Gavin and I started the crawling. G.J. got Kayler out just in time when my brother made it. He came back and got Gavin and Hallie, then came back and got me.
I was NOT a happy camper. I will NEVER go snowmobiling again. My kids will never go again either. Maybe snow skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, etc…I know I am being dramatic and unfair, but that was seriously so traumatic to me.
So, after it was all said and done, we had to leave a ranch house not so clean (sorry Rosanne! I will make it back up there after the snow melts and clean it before you get home), a backhoe stuck, a snowmobile stuck, a huge garage left open….and G.J. will be the one getting it all back together with help from my brother as soon as the snow melts a little more. We did however make it home to a nice warm safe house, a hot bath for all of us, warm food for our bellies, and for that….I am very grateful.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
"V" Day!
I love Valentines Day! Perhaps I am a bit strange in that I really love it more for the candy and the color red than anything. Sure the lovey dovey sweet cutesy stuff is fun and all, but my favorite color is red, and I love chocolate. So, this day is great for me!
The kids had so much fun yesterday at their Valentine’s Parties.
I had to do a "valentine" hairdo for Hallie of course!
Kayler after his party. He was so excited at the candy!
Gavin with his goods.
Hallie got flowers from her daddy. She was there when the delivery man came. She looked at the flowers for awhile then asked, "they are really pretty, but do I know that guy who brought them for me?" I had to quickly set her straight that he was the "delivery man"....they were from her DAD, not him...lol, silly girl!
Having Valentine’s Day on a Saturday seemed weird for some reason. Hallie had stayed the night at my parents. G.J. and I had volunteered to clean the church, so we took the boys and our job was the chapel. It was so cute to see Gavin straightening hymn books, and Kayler singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to his hearts content in the microphone (turned off of course)
After that we went to get Hallie and get the fun Valentine gifts from my parents. G.J.’s mom and dad had already made a quick trip through town and brought the kids LOTS of goodies; let’s just say they were spoiled rotten this week. We went home for a heart shaped lunch….PB & J, which was as creative as I could get.
Hallie, Gavin, and I went to the Rec. Center with my brother and his family. The kids had a lot of fun. Me….not so much fun. The water is cold, there are a million people, and you have to walk out into below freezing temperatures to come home.
After our baths we made a huge batch of Valentine cookies to deliver to our family. I am so proud of myself that I only ate 2. We only have 4 or 5 left and I will designate them to my hubby and kids, and the rest are on plates to deliver to our grandparents.
G.J. and I got a babysitter so that we could go to the Stake Conference adult session. First off, I had forgotten it was Stake Conference. I was planning on going to church tomorrow, and preparing myself with dread to drag Kayler there…I know, bad attitude, but it is hard. Then I realized it was not church, and was excited to go on a little date and I really enjoy Stake Conference.
Well we got the kids fed and settled, picked up my cute little cousin Baeli to babysit and headed to the Stake Center. There were NO cars there. Hmmm…..what the heck?!?! Well, we quickly realized that it was at 7, not 6…duh. So we went to Wal-Mart and got the kids some “Disney” stuff to wear on our vacation. I am so so so mean. I really really do not like character stuff in any way shape or form. My kids maybe have one or two screen printed character type things in their closets. I wanted them to “look the part” on our trip, but did not want to spend a TON at Disneyland getting them stuff. So we found them each a pair of shoes and 3 shirts….and guess what, ALL ON CLEARANCE!!! WOO-HOO!
We finally made it back to Stake Conference, at the right time, had a nice time, and came home…boy it has been a long day. Now G.J. and I are waiting for the kids to go to bed so we can try to get things organized and lined out for our trip. Only 9 days until we leave!!!
Hope you all had a special Valentine’s Day. Even though my day wasn’t spent all alone with G.J. doing romantical things, I feel very blessed to have spent it with all the loves of my life…my whole family, and nothing is more special than that!
The kids had so much fun yesterday at their Valentine’s Parties.
I had to do a "valentine" hairdo for Hallie of course!
Kayler after his party. He was so excited at the candy!
Gavin with his goods.
Hallie got flowers from her daddy. She was there when the delivery man came. She looked at the flowers for awhile then asked, "they are really pretty, but do I know that guy who brought them for me?" I had to quickly set her straight that he was the "delivery man"....they were from her DAD, not him...lol, silly girl!
Having Valentine’s Day on a Saturday seemed weird for some reason. Hallie had stayed the night at my parents. G.J. and I had volunteered to clean the church, so we took the boys and our job was the chapel. It was so cute to see Gavin straightening hymn books, and Kayler singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to his hearts content in the microphone (turned off of course)
After that we went to get Hallie and get the fun Valentine gifts from my parents. G.J.’s mom and dad had already made a quick trip through town and brought the kids LOTS of goodies; let’s just say they were spoiled rotten this week. We went home for a heart shaped lunch….PB & J, which was as creative as I could get.
Hallie, Gavin, and I went to the Rec. Center with my brother and his family. The kids had a lot of fun. Me….not so much fun. The water is cold, there are a million people, and you have to walk out into below freezing temperatures to come home.
After our baths we made a huge batch of Valentine cookies to deliver to our family. I am so proud of myself that I only ate 2. We only have 4 or 5 left and I will designate them to my hubby and kids, and the rest are on plates to deliver to our grandparents.
G.J. and I got a babysitter so that we could go to the Stake Conference adult session. First off, I had forgotten it was Stake Conference. I was planning on going to church tomorrow, and preparing myself with dread to drag Kayler there…I know, bad attitude, but it is hard. Then I realized it was not church, and was excited to go on a little date and I really enjoy Stake Conference.
Well we got the kids fed and settled, picked up my cute little cousin Baeli to babysit and headed to the Stake Center. There were NO cars there. Hmmm…..what the heck?!?! Well, we quickly realized that it was at 7, not 6…duh. So we went to Wal-Mart and got the kids some “Disney” stuff to wear on our vacation. I am so so so mean. I really really do not like character stuff in any way shape or form. My kids maybe have one or two screen printed character type things in their closets. I wanted them to “look the part” on our trip, but did not want to spend a TON at Disneyland getting them stuff. So we found them each a pair of shoes and 3 shirts….and guess what, ALL ON CLEARANCE!!! WOO-HOO!
We finally made it back to Stake Conference, at the right time, had a nice time, and came home…boy it has been a long day. Now G.J. and I are waiting for the kids to go to bed so we can try to get things organized and lined out for our trip. Only 9 days until we leave!!!
Hope you all had a special Valentine’s Day. Even though my day wasn’t spent all alone with G.J. doing romantical things, I feel very blessed to have spent it with all the loves of my life…my whole family, and nothing is more special than that!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Weigh in Wednesday, and another First.
Well thank goodness I am down another 1 pound. That means I have lost 6.5 lbs overall, and have 17.5 until my goal. I was beginning to get worried. I was really frustrated with the small amount of weight lost the week before. Even though a pound is not much, it adds to the total, and it was not a pound gained, so that is all that matters.
I worked really really hard last week. I woke up yesterday morning and allowed myself the once weekly weigh in on my scale. According to it I hadn’t lost ANY weight…and I was NOT happy. I moped around all day pretty angrily. Then I had to go get groceries. My first mistake was going when I was hungry. My second mistake was being in a very bad weight loss mood. I noticed a pack of freshly made heart shaped donuts with yummy pink frosting and sprinkles. I included a visual above for you!...lol. Well, I couldn’t pass them up. I bought the box, headed to the car and took not 1 but 2 out and gobbled them up in seconds. It wasn’t until I got home, took a drink, and then it hit me…I HATE DONUTS! I just knew they were bad for you and I needed to be a rebel for a minute. I got the worst stomach ache…lesson learned. Next time I will choose something I actually like…lol.
Anyways, I am not a very happy person when I am dieting and exercising. I know that I should be, and sometimes-like when the weight is falling off and I actually feel and look lighter, I am happy. Most of the time though, I am really ornery. I told someone once that it is a lot more fun being fat sometimes. As pathetic as it sounds, food really does make me happy. I am not a binge eater by any means. Nor do I gorge on whole bags of chips, gallons of ice cream, or anything like that. I just like food in general…and when I have to limit myself I get a little cranky.
My cute friend Kyndi (who I am in a weight loss challenge thing with) brought me the cutest magnet the other day. It is on my fridge and it says, “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!” Isn’t that so so true! So, I will keep it up. Hopefully ever pound I lose is a pound that will never be on my body again.
On a different note, I went to my first Autism Support Group meeting last night. I was SO nervous. First off, it was at Northeastern Counseling Center. I felt so weird going there…like I was committing myself to craziness or mental illness or something. It was good though. There were quite a few people there. To know that we all had something in common was great. My favorite pediatrician Dr. Pollary was the speaker. I really have a special bond with him…as gay as that sounds. He has been through a lot with me with my kids and their many ailments over the past 6 years that he has been in Vernal. I truly admire him, and trust him. It was good to see and listen to him in a different atmosphere.
I was also worried that it would be a crying/pity party type of meeting. It kind of was for some people, but for the most part, it wasn’t. The last thing I need is a poor poor me attitude when dealing with Kayler. It does not make anything better. My friend Jill (who has a fully autistic son) put it best. She said that as soon as you feel sorry for yourself and become hopeless about your situation, you become useless to the growth and development of your child. I think that is so true. Granted I am going to have rough days, I just need to keep on trying. Things will get better. I love Kayler so so much (along with my other kids!) I am getting ready right now to take him to one of his weekly therapy groups. He really likes this class, so it is fun to see him learn and grow. The next autism group is in April. We are meeting everyone’s kids then, so that will be very interesting. Wish me luck!
Have a great day!
Monday, February 9, 2009
A fun time of year....sort of
It’s that wonderful time of year that somewhat poor people with lots of kids love…tax season! We are still in the “big refund” category, so I really do love this time of year. Our taxes seem to get more complicated every year. G.J.’s uncle used to do them for us. Then they invented Turbo Tax or Tax Cut and now I “pretend” to be an accountant. I love to be independent in doing them, but sometimes it is not worth it. The main problem is…I get SOOO nervous while doing them. I am so worried that I am going to get audited or make a huge mistake or something. I am 100% honest on my taxes, and I have receipts to back everything up, but I still can’t help to worry. I have to have every single thing in a special file all in order and organized. Then I have to have the kids and G.J. away from me for like 2 hours while I go over and over making sure I did it right.
This year I was going to have my friend Dana who is an accountant do them for us. She has a job doing them, does them for tons of friends and family, so I decided not to bug her- big mistake…I would have saved myself a lot of trouble. I went with the good ol’ Tax Cut from H & R block. I am still waiting for one form to come from the bank but so far we are getting $2700 + back from federal BUT we have to pay $111 to State…oh well.
It is so nice to get a refund. We can save most of it, add to our food storage, and spend a little too. So to all of you who endured this boring post…Happy Tax Season, and have a great day!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Weekend.
Believe it or not, I have nothing to blog about. I am speechless for once. We have been quite boring.
My day goes as follows:
7:17 a.m.-wake up.
7:31 a.m. - get kids on bus.
7:31-8 a.m. - wait for Kayler to get up.
8 a.m. to 10 a.m. or so- eat breakfast, make beds, clean up, etc.
10 a.m.-11:20 a.m. -work with Kayler...therapy, cuddling, playing, etc.
11:30 a.m.-meet G.J. at the Rec. Center so I can exercise. He takes Kayler home, gets Gavin off the bus, feeds them lunch, plays with them.
12:15 p.m.-I return from the Rec. Center, shower, eat lunch, G.J. goes back to work.
1:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. - Kayler goes down for a nap, Gavin quiet time, me work or quiet time-and if I am really lucky have a nap too.
3:30 p.m.-Hallie comes home from school.
3:30-5:p.m.-Kayler wakes up from his nap, we get dinner ready be lazy, do homework, piano, etc.
5:15 p.m.-My favorite time of the day, Georgie gets home and we eat dinner.
5:45 p.m.-Dinner is cleaned up, and we just do nothing....unless we have something planned, which is rare.
8:00 p.m.-Kids in bath, house picked up, prepare for the next day, prayers, etc.
9:00 p.m.-Kids in bed.
10:00 p.m.-G.J. and I in bed-read scriptures.
12:00 a.m.-usually when I fall asleep.
3:00 a.m.-I wake up for a bathroom break.
5:30 a.m.-I wake up for a bathroom break....darn small bladder.
7:17 a.m.-It starts all over...
So, as you can see, we live a very boring life. I wouldn't trade it for the world though. Occasionally things will get changed up a bit...but not very often. I am one who loves change, so I look forward for a change in schedule. Today my parents come home from their cruise. On Tuesday G.J.'s parents will be home for a visit as well. Saturday is one of my favorite holidays ever, Valentines!!!
I did have a nice weekend. On Friday, Mandy and I went to the movie. During the movie she got sick and had to go home. I just stayed for the rest of it and then went to the grocery store and got the kid's Valentines presents. Saturday was so busy. I went to our VT conference at church. Then I went to the temple with my friend Holly. Then we went to lunch. Then I cleaned my mom's house (I clean houses on the side. I have 3 clients, her being one of them, My 2 friend the other 2) by this time it was 4 p.m. I had left it up to G.J. to get a babysitter because we needed a date. We went shopping for clothes for me. What a sweet husband! I think this is the first time he has gone clothes shopping with me ever. He sat in a chair by the dressing room and looked at each outfit. I left with 7 much needed shirts. I was going to wait until I lost more weight, but with shirts, you can pretty much get a size and it will fit no matter how much weight you lose. The skinnier you get, the better it looks. As long as it fits in the shoulders and bust you are good to go. Then we went to Canton City for dinner. Then Wal-Mart to get another 50 gallon barrel to store water for our food storage, and then home. It was good to have a little date.
Today went fairly well at church. Kayler was naughty at sacrament, but quite good in nursery the leaders said. We are in a family history class. I am really looking forward to trying to find G.J.'s ancestors. It is a mystery...and I would love to be a part of getting their temple work done
So, there you have it. I know all my blog readers were dying to know what I had been up to...and now you do. LOL, J/K
I have a little bit of a busier week this coming week, then another busy week, and then it is vacation time!!! Hooray! Have a wonderful day.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Weigh in Wednesday, and another Loss.
I was not looking forward to this post. I am determined for the length of this 10 week nutrition class to do this post every Wednesday no matter what though. It is a big motivator to me for some reason. This week was not anywhere near as good as last weeks weigh in. I only lost 1/4 pound…That means I have lost 5.5 lbs overall, and have 18.5 until my goal.
I could make excuses, but I just won’t. Instead, I will explain what I think happened. A woman’s body goes through so many hormonal, water, and muscle changes while losing weight that it can fluctuate by 5 lbs in a week easily. I need to be grateful that I didn’t GAIN weight. I am just sad because I worked out harder than I ever had last week. I was at the Rec. Center 4 days doing hardcore cardio. Then I did some intense Pilates on the weekend. I only had 2 “big” treats…1 cupcake, and a child sized ice cream while on vacation. My meals were balanced; I drank lots of water…blah blah. I think that I gained a lot of muscle mass. I only weigh once a week on my super nifty scale that I enter my Age, Height, Gender…then it tells me my weight, body fat, body water, bone mass, and BMI. Even though I didn’t lose too many pounds, I lost 3% in body fat, so that is great. It is so weird how weight loss works. On the weeks that I lose a lot of weight, I am SO motivated to do even better and keep at it. On weeks like this one, I get discouraged and feel that my hard word is not paying off and I am tempted to quit. I will not quit though…I never have been a quitter. Keep moving forward right!!! I am looking forward to a wonderful week!
On a totally different note, my tiny little Gav lost his first tooth!!! We were having Family Home Evening Monday and I noticed it was wiggling a lot when he talked. I didn’t even have a clue that it was loose! I asked him if I could tie a string around it. (I LOVE pulling teeth…I know, mean/weird) Well, before I could even get a string tied, it fell out into my hand. He screamed, cried, was quite the drama king….lol, then he was super happy. I don’t think he fully understood the idea of the tooth fairy. He put his tooth in Hallie’s tooth fair pillow that night(because he didn't have one yet), and was pretty surprised/confused that there was money in the morning! We bought him a pillow of his own. Wish our families “tooth fairy” luck keeping up with all these lost teeth! Have a great day!
(of course his will say Gavin on it!)
I could make excuses, but I just won’t. Instead, I will explain what I think happened. A woman’s body goes through so many hormonal, water, and muscle changes while losing weight that it can fluctuate by 5 lbs in a week easily. I need to be grateful that I didn’t GAIN weight. I am just sad because I worked out harder than I ever had last week. I was at the Rec. Center 4 days doing hardcore cardio. Then I did some intense Pilates on the weekend. I only had 2 “big” treats…1 cupcake, and a child sized ice cream while on vacation. My meals were balanced; I drank lots of water…blah blah. I think that I gained a lot of muscle mass. I only weigh once a week on my super nifty scale that I enter my Age, Height, Gender…then it tells me my weight, body fat, body water, bone mass, and BMI. Even though I didn’t lose too many pounds, I lost 3% in body fat, so that is great. It is so weird how weight loss works. On the weeks that I lose a lot of weight, I am SO motivated to do even better and keep at it. On weeks like this one, I get discouraged and feel that my hard word is not paying off and I am tempted to quit. I will not quit though…I never have been a quitter. Keep moving forward right!!! I am looking forward to a wonderful week!
On a totally different note, my tiny little Gav lost his first tooth!!! We were having Family Home Evening Monday and I noticed it was wiggling a lot when he talked. I didn’t even have a clue that it was loose! I asked him if I could tie a string around it. (I LOVE pulling teeth…I know, mean/weird) Well, before I could even get a string tied, it fell out into my hand. He screamed, cried, was quite the drama king….lol, then he was super happy. I don’t think he fully understood the idea of the tooth fairy. He put his tooth in Hallie’s tooth fair pillow that night(because he didn't have one yet), and was pretty surprised/confused that there was money in the morning! We bought him a pillow of his own. Wish our families “tooth fairy” luck keeping up with all these lost teeth! Have a great day!
(of course his will say Gavin on it!)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Back to Reality...
A lot has happened after my last post. I said I was so tired of this cold weather and me being so boring and my life so monotonous. Well, I had myself a tiny little breakdown, and I needed to get away….fast! Usually I am very content here in Vernal just staying home doing nothing, but once in a great while, I have the strongest urge/need to get away from it all.
I considered flying the family down to Arizona to visit G.J.’s parents. Of course last minute air fare was outrageous and we wouldn’t be able to stay long, so I abandoned that idea. We settled on Glenwood Springs. Not very far away, but much different than Vernal. I found a great deal at a hotel, so in the space of 2 hours I had the laundry done, house cleaned, bags packed, kids in the car, and we were off!
We stayed at the hotel that is owned by the hot springs there in Glenwood. That way we could go swimming as much as we wanted, it included a yummy breakfast each morning, not to mention 3 hours at their brand new fancy spa for ME! We got there at 9 on Friday night. Hallie and Gavin really wanted to go swimming, so down we went. G.J. stayed in the room with Kayler. If you have never been to the hot springs…you need to include that in your travel plans. We went all the time when I was a kid. It is a HUGE pool that is heated by a natural sulfur hot springs. While it doesn’t smell the best, it is so relaxing and really quite amazing.
That night in the locker room was SO funny…after the fact that is. Glenwood also being a ski town means that a lot of foreigners come in to ski, swim, and stay. Well foreigners are not quite as modest as a little family from Utah. I had Gavin and Hallie in the locker room with me. All the sudden it was mass nudity. My poor kids’ eyes got so big, their hands covered their mouths and then in true Gavin fashion he said very loudly, “Mom, look at that ladies HUGE boobies!” He could NOT take his eyes off of her. I kept having to turn his head around. Finally I just pressed his face into me, grabbed our stuff and left. Lesson learned….Gavin is too old for the women’s locker room.
Moving on, we went to breakfast and to swim the next morning and then headed off to explore the town. The kids were in high heaven because we let them go to Target and choose a prize. Then it was time for my spa treatment….ohhhhh it was so nice. The spa was recently renovated. Our stay at the hotel included a 1 hour massage, 30 minute body scrub, and deep cleansing 1 hour facial.
I had the funniest experience during my massage and body scrub. It was by a lady named Malika, and she was even more eccentric than her name. She asked me where I was from and I told her Utah. She asked right away if I was a Mormon. I told her yes, and she got very weird on me. She immediately started asking questions. She was truly shocked at how “normal” I was, and was very interested in our religion. She had thought it was a cult. She was shocked that I would get a massage, that I used to be a dancer, that I voted, and even that I enjoyed yoga/pilates. She thought that was not allowed of us crazy Mormons. She was even sort of scared to touch me at first, it was quite funny. About half way through, she stopped and said, “thank you so much for enlightening me on your religion, I can tell just from spending this much time with you that you are very in tune with your body and spirit and that you have no bad vibes coming from you.” Ummm, Ok, thank you Malika…hehe. Luckily I left her with a better impression of our religion, and I got to have my facial by somebody else.
The kids were napping with G.J. the whole time I was gone, so that made it easier for me to relax. I had made reservations at a “fancy restaurant” named Rivers, it is SO good. G.J. and I had eaten there on our anniversary forever and ever ago. The kids were pretty good. Of course Kayler had to throw his ball on a freshly set table of china, scream a lot, throw things, etc…but they were smart to put us in the corner of the restaurant. We got some ice cream (it tasted SO good…first fattening thing I had in weeks!) and G.J. took Hallie and Gavin swimming once again and I stayed with Kayler in the room.
This morning we swam one more time after eating breakfast, packed up, and made the 2 hour 45 minute trip home. It actually took a little longer because of pit stops, etc…not to mention I got lost a little. In Colorado they have a ton of those little round-a-bout things and I would get SO messed up on them…I even got back on the interstate in the wrong direction once…G.J. was not amused!
Anyways, it was SO good to get away, and so refreshing. I felt guilty about missing church, but check out these picture of poor Kayler and his Fifth’s disease.
We wouldn’t have went to church even if we were at home. It didn’t spread this far on the other kids. He looks so sad. He doesn’t act too sick though, and I read a lot about it on the internet. It is not contagious now that the rash is here, there is NO treatment, and it takes 2+ weeks to go away. It just looks so terrible.
It was kind of funny, in one of the last towns we past through there was a big billboard that said these words, “Patience Dear, Spring is Near” That was meant just for me! We drove back into Vernal to the slushy roads and snow covered valleys. It is MUCH snowier here than in Colorado, which is weird because Glenwood is a ski resort town. It was also 20 degrees warmer there. Very weird, but oh well. It feels so good to be home.
I considered flying the family down to Arizona to visit G.J.’s parents. Of course last minute air fare was outrageous and we wouldn’t be able to stay long, so I abandoned that idea. We settled on Glenwood Springs. Not very far away, but much different than Vernal. I found a great deal at a hotel, so in the space of 2 hours I had the laundry done, house cleaned, bags packed, kids in the car, and we were off!
We stayed at the hotel that is owned by the hot springs there in Glenwood. That way we could go swimming as much as we wanted, it included a yummy breakfast each morning, not to mention 3 hours at their brand new fancy spa for ME! We got there at 9 on Friday night. Hallie and Gavin really wanted to go swimming, so down we went. G.J. stayed in the room with Kayler. If you have never been to the hot springs…you need to include that in your travel plans. We went all the time when I was a kid. It is a HUGE pool that is heated by a natural sulfur hot springs. While it doesn’t smell the best, it is so relaxing and really quite amazing.
That night in the locker room was SO funny…after the fact that is. Glenwood also being a ski town means that a lot of foreigners come in to ski, swim, and stay. Well foreigners are not quite as modest as a little family from Utah. I had Gavin and Hallie in the locker room with me. All the sudden it was mass nudity. My poor kids’ eyes got so big, their hands covered their mouths and then in true Gavin fashion he said very loudly, “Mom, look at that ladies HUGE boobies!” He could NOT take his eyes off of her. I kept having to turn his head around. Finally I just pressed his face into me, grabbed our stuff and left. Lesson learned….Gavin is too old for the women’s locker room.
Moving on, we went to breakfast and to swim the next morning and then headed off to explore the town. The kids were in high heaven because we let them go to Target and choose a prize. Then it was time for my spa treatment….ohhhhh it was so nice. The spa was recently renovated. Our stay at the hotel included a 1 hour massage, 30 minute body scrub, and deep cleansing 1 hour facial.
I had the funniest experience during my massage and body scrub. It was by a lady named Malika, and she was even more eccentric than her name. She asked me where I was from and I told her Utah. She asked right away if I was a Mormon. I told her yes, and she got very weird on me. She immediately started asking questions. She was truly shocked at how “normal” I was, and was very interested in our religion. She had thought it was a cult. She was shocked that I would get a massage, that I used to be a dancer, that I voted, and even that I enjoyed yoga/pilates. She thought that was not allowed of us crazy Mormons. She was even sort of scared to touch me at first, it was quite funny. About half way through, she stopped and said, “thank you so much for enlightening me on your religion, I can tell just from spending this much time with you that you are very in tune with your body and spirit and that you have no bad vibes coming from you.” Ummm, Ok, thank you Malika…hehe. Luckily I left her with a better impression of our religion, and I got to have my facial by somebody else.
The kids were napping with G.J. the whole time I was gone, so that made it easier for me to relax. I had made reservations at a “fancy restaurant” named Rivers, it is SO good. G.J. and I had eaten there on our anniversary forever and ever ago. The kids were pretty good. Of course Kayler had to throw his ball on a freshly set table of china, scream a lot, throw things, etc…but they were smart to put us in the corner of the restaurant. We got some ice cream (it tasted SO good…first fattening thing I had in weeks!) and G.J. took Hallie and Gavin swimming once again and I stayed with Kayler in the room.
This morning we swam one more time after eating breakfast, packed up, and made the 2 hour 45 minute trip home. It actually took a little longer because of pit stops, etc…not to mention I got lost a little. In Colorado they have a ton of those little round-a-bout things and I would get SO messed up on them…I even got back on the interstate in the wrong direction once…G.J. was not amused!
Anyways, it was SO good to get away, and so refreshing. I felt guilty about missing church, but check out these picture of poor Kayler and his Fifth’s disease.
We wouldn’t have went to church even if we were at home. It didn’t spread this far on the other kids. He looks so sad. He doesn’t act too sick though, and I read a lot about it on the internet. It is not contagious now that the rash is here, there is NO treatment, and it takes 2+ weeks to go away. It just looks so terrible.
It was kind of funny, in one of the last towns we past through there was a big billboard that said these words, “Patience Dear, Spring is Near” That was meant just for me! We drove back into Vernal to the slushy roads and snow covered valleys. It is MUCH snowier here than in Colorado, which is weird because Glenwood is a ski resort town. It was also 20 degrees warmer there. Very weird, but oh well. It feels so good to be home.
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