Your past does not define your future!
6/09
6/10
June 30, 2010
June 26, 2010
My Summer Days
Are filled with this:
Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James
June 24, 2010
The Top Ten Things I Like (Greatly) About Summer
I have this friend, she is an awesome friend and I heart her! Her name is Erin and she hates summer, misplaced commas, grammar errors, spelling errors, laundry and sometimes dogs…bwahahahaha! On Tuesday I was reading her blog and she posted this:
The Top Ten Things I Dislike (Greatly) About Summer
If you click on the link above you can read her post. She cracks me up! So what I decided to do was write a blog post on the subject, but with a twist. 
- My Children are home from school. I love this only because I don’t have to get up at 5:30 am to start my day. Packing 3 lunches and getting 2 boys and one Fiance’ out the door on time and to school. Unlike Erin, I have not had to opportunity to be home alone all day. This September I will. Adam will be starting Kindergarten. I am probably sure I will have the same feelings as she does, when next summer rolls around. But until then, I love having the little buggers around all day.
- I love the hot weather. Now don’t get me wrong, I probably would not feel this way if we didn’t have A/C. But I will take 100 degree weather over shoveling 3 feet of snow, to get out of my driveway. Summer has always been my favorite season!
- Catching Fire Flies. This is about the only bug we love during the summer. The boys and I go out almost every night to catch them. Adam especially loves this, because he walks around with his jar full of fire flies and tries to light his way. We also have a citronella lantern, that keeps the mosquitoes and other annoying bugs that bite away. The only really thing that we hate are bees. Those nasty little creatures!
- “Mommy, Can I go outside?” I have to say this is about the only thing that kind of gets on my nerves. Only because they are in and out. I love the fact that they want to be outside and doing something, but I am constantly saying, “SHUT THE DOOR!” They are out there for 20mins tops and back inside because it’s hot. You really can’t be out there just walking around without dying of a heat stroke. And like Erin, I do hear, “Mommy, I’m bored!” Of course this I hear this less and less, because I go on a 15 min lecture about all the things they could be doing. So, She and I agree on this one!
- The Pool. The best money we ever spent! We have a 4ft deep pool in our back yard and that is where we spend a lot of days and nights. I really feel terrible for Erin, because she has a pool, but it is in her town and reading her post about getting them ready to go was exhausting even for me. The only thing that does annoy me about our pool is my kids want me in there all the time, I don’t find it as “fun” as they do. I would rather be in my lounge chair with a book.
- The sun is our friend. We are so lucky that we don’t burn. We tan. And usually by the end of the summer the kids look like the Coopertone baby and I am rocking a nice tan. The best suntan lotion I have found that works wonders on the kids is Hawaiian Tropic SPF 60 for kids. It does take about 1/2 hour to lotion them all down, but it works so well. I don’t mind it. And we look so cute by the end of August all tan and sun kissed…bwahahaha!
- No Schedules. When summer rolls around I am so happy that I can do whatever I want when I want. Time doesn’t matter, yes Dale still has to go to work but as I said before I don’t have to get up at the crack o’ dawn. In the winter, it was really hard to get them to go to sleep, but now after a few hours in the pool, they are out like a light in mins! Whoohoo, now who wouldn’t love that.
- I love the long days. It is still light out at 9pm! And by this time we are all outside either still swimming or just sitting in the back yard. I hated when it would be dark when Dale left for work and dark when he came home. It made me depressed. It was like we had no time for anything.
- Cutting the grass. Or mowing the lawn as Erin calls it..LOL! Just like laundry I love it! Why? I am not really sure, everyone else in my house hates it. I do all the grass cutting. I get outside in the morning (when it isn’t so deathly hot) and mow away! It’s great exercise for me, time to myself and I can get some sun too. I have always loved the look of fresh cut grass and the smell. My yard looks so pretty after it is all cut. I also love weeding my flowers and watching them grow. Adam and I take a tour around the house almost every night to see what new flower has bloomed.
- Summer makes me miss Erin! She moved to WV almost 3 years ago and when she was here, we would spend a lot of time together. We would spend time at playdates together and at each others houses, just basically goofing off. If she was here now, I could see us hanging out in my pool, BBQing and going to the beach. One thing I love about her not being here, is the fact that I will be traveling to see her, hopefully soon. This will be a mini vaca for me. I never get a vacation, so she will have made this possible. Although, moving away was not how I envisioned myself getting a weekend away
There you have it, my spin on Erin’s post. All in good fun! BTW, Erin, no reverse hibernation for you, you can not be sleeping when I come over there. Plus I may kidnap you and bring you back and make you love summer, Trish’s way 
June 20, 2010
Happy Father’s Day!
To two of the best Father’s I know. They both deserve the very best today and they both have all my love!
To my Father
What Makes a Dad
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle’s flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it … Dad
To the Father of my Children
A Father Means
A Father means so many things…
A understanding heart,
A source of strength and of support
Right from the very start.
A constant readiness to help
In a kind and thoughtful way.
With encouragement and forgiveness
No matter what comes your way.
A special generosity and always affection, too
A Father means so many things
When he’s a man like you…
June 18, 2010
A Month without Scale Stalking!
Has really paid off! It is the best thing that has ever happened! Without a doubt I can say I DO NOT need the scale to tell me how I am progressing!
This morning I weighed in and lost another 3lbs! Seven pounds total during 4 weeks of the No Scale Challenge! This time last year I was 62lbs heavier.
All I can say is WOW, how did I ever feel comfortable with all the extra weight. How did I not get high blood pressure, have heart problems or get diabetes, all of those run in my family! I was extremely lucky and if I had continued I would have had those problems, it was just a ticking time bomb.
I have 19lbs to go to reach my first big goal. This really excites me because it is within reach. If I stand on my tip toes I can see her & she is waving at me..LOL!
I took some photos this morning and who knew I actually had a waist and that I am starting to get a figure. I can’t express how happy I am today! I am on cloud 9
June 17, 2010
Sing to him..
Sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 1 Chronicles 16:9
I have posted this video every where, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and now I am posting it here. I am a proud Mama!
As I have said earlier we have been at Vacation Bible School all week and before & after we sing. This is a video of Adam, singing & doing the motions along with the song.
For those of you who don’t know Adam personally this is not his norm. He is quiet, not really into things like singing, dancing and he is shy. When I turned around to video him I was shocked, he was just giving it his all and just having fun.
Look for him at 1:49mins in the video, he is rocking! It warms my heart & gives me chills, especially when he raises his little arms in the air!
Enjoy!
June 16, 2010
No Thank You!
That is so hard to say when you are on a weight loss journey. I say a lot, almost everyday. It has become part of my vocabulary, when a year ago, I would have said, “Yes, Please!”
Where I live there is the wonderful, most delicious cake ever called Smith Island Cake.
The photo above/below & this little blurb is from their web site.
This decadent cake from Smith Island has been known as “Frosting with the Cake”, containing between 6 -12 pencil-thin yellow cake layers with rich chocolate fudge icing in between!! Imagine nine of the most delicate layers of spongy yellow cake separated by the thinnest layers of an old fashioned cooked chocolate icing that sets like fudge.
This week I have been at VBS and every night they have a little snack for all the kids. Sunday & Monday we had pretzel rods & Goldfish Crackers. Last night they brought out Smith Island Cupcakes….Holy Cow!
There were vanilla ones and chocolate lava ones, like the picture above except it was chocolate cake. I gave my little preschoolers theirs and said to myself, I’m in church and this is a test…LOL!
I walked up to the counter to get them more drink and a lady said to me, “Here have one!”
Me, “No thank you.”
Her, “Aww come on split it with me.”
Me, “No thanks.”
Her, “It’s so good, come on just a little”
Me (getting really annoyed), “No, Thank YOU!”
Her, “Why?”
Me, “Because I don’t need the extra fat & calories.”
Her, “Well I’ve lost 15 lbs & I don’t think it will hurt, come on.”
Me, “In the past year I have lost 61lbs and I don’t want to jeopardize all my hard work.”
Her, “61lbs? How did you do that?”
Me, “By not eating cupcakes.”
She laughed (I didn’t) & I was finally able to walk away. The whole time she was badgering me, she was waving the cupcake all around my face. UGHH!!!
I just don’t understand, when you say No Thank You, they don’t get it. I guess since I am still heavy, it is hard for people to understand, that I don’t want to eat a cupcake or whatever sweet there might be around.
It’s the fat person curse, when people look at me they see a fat, calorie vacuum cleaner. *sigh*
One, No Thank You, should be enough.
June 11, 2010
Another one bites the dust
Another pound that is! *Happy Dance*
The No Scale Challenge is no longer a challenge for me! After 3 weeks, I don’t have the urge to check & recheck the scale. Measuring my inches & weighing in once a week, makes me feel a lot better about how I am doing!
I wanted to find another goal/motivation tool to aim for. Last night I was thinking about a little black dress. I have never owned one or even looked for one for that matter. I have heard lots people talk about them, and they are beautiful! Now I want one I have no idea what size I should aim for (maybe a 12 or 14?) or what type. I did a search for them….talk about overwhelming *sigh*
I have several months before I reach this goal. In the mean time if any of you have any favorites that you own or would love to have, share them with me.
I’m on a hunt for….
June 7, 2010
Adam’s favorite question is….
WHY?
Anything & everything is WHY? Almost from the moment he wakes up until he lays down to go to sleep. I didn’t really notice it to much when he was younger, but now his curiosity has really started to peek and shine through.
That is him from this weekend, in our pool. He was “helping” us get the pool ready. Of course his helping was splashing around while it was filling..LOL! I have to admit I was exhausted by the time he went to bed. I think I may have answered more why questions than I ever had in my life. These are some of my favorites from yesterday.
I was getting ice to my tea and Adam says, “Ice is just water and it freezes. Why does it freeze?”
“Why is the water blue in the pool, but not in the hose?”
“I sucked the juice out and now it’s white, why?” (He was eating a Pop Ice)
“Why does the rain come out of black clouds?”
“Elias’ broke the swing, why did the ropes break?”
“Look at my leg, there is a bruise..why?”
“These rings for the pool have color on them. Why?”
I was putting sunscreen on him and he said, “Why is there smell in that and why is there a blue thing on the bottle?” He was talking about the design on the sunscreen bottle.
“I don’t like onions.”
Me, “I do, especially on my sandwich.”
Adam, “Why?”
Dale & I answered each of his questions and usually our answers brought on more whys from him. You could just see his mind churning and soaking up everything we said.
I told Dale that maybe Adam will be a Scientist when he grows up, then I laughed and thought to myself or a Talk Show Host
June 4, 2010
Results from Week 2 No Scale Challenge
That was me this morning, along with a little happy dance right in the bathroom!
YAY!!!! I did it!
I lost 3lbs this week!
I lost another 1/2 inch from my waist, arms & my thighs!
I broke through the worst 6 weeks of my weight loss journey. I feel like I can breath a sigh of relief. I started the No Scale Challenge on 5/21/10 with no weight loss results on 5/28/10, but did lose some inches. With not having the scale on my mind going into week 2, I concentrated more on my daily caloric intake, tracking every thing (with a food journal) and working out 2 times a day. I have realized that concentrating on other things was so beneficial for me. I have so much more confidence going into another week, with out having my scale as a crutch.
Last weekend I put on my old bathing suit. I was so happy that it was sagging all over me. I decided it was time to go shopping for a new one. Now if I was the same weight I was last year, this would have been a serious depressing shopping trip. I probably would have avoided it all together. My shopping extravaganza ended without a new bathing suit. The problem was I am in between sizes. Either the top was to small and the bottoms were to big or visa versa. Argh!
Wednesday I took the boys to a pool play date and I had to wear the old bathing suit. You should of seen it, it was hilarious. I had all the extra material pulled up and stuffed underneath my boobs. And since the top of the suit isn’t snug, every time I would swim a lap, I had to stop and readjust…bwahahaha! This wasn’t a good look for me, so I am going to try again. There other stores in a near by town I want to go to and see if I have better luck.
I want to end this blog post with this quote from my dear friend Angie, because she was absolutely right!
“A woman should be more than the number on her scale. I firmly believe that as long as you’re addicted to the scale, you won’t stop measuring your worth and your self-esteem by that number.”
If you are a scale stalker, like I used to be, remember what she said! We ARE more than the numbers on our scales!
