MIA Again

I really don’t mean to be away from here for so long but the days just fly by me! (Not having internet at home doesn’t help either)

Work has been crazy busy. We had an audit today and have been busy preparing for that on top of working out the kinks in our new clinic. And while I’m briefly mentioning work, let me just go off on a tangent for the moment and say that while I LOVE my job, I should have stuck with nursing instead of changing my major in college… they get paid more!  As busy as we have been and being assigned a new client every week on top of a staggering client caseload… overwhelmed is a term I use all too often.

Breathe in…

Breathe out…

Ok, I feel better now that I vented and breathed. 🙂

Now for a quick update:

This week started the 5:30 am walk/run class at work and so far, so good (besides my hip bothering me). We’ve gone to bed earlier this week and waking up hasn’t been difficult so far. Of course, it is only the first week and the excitement of the class hasn’t had time to wear off, but I love it. I’m not sure what is up with my hip (it started hurting after the 5k a while back and started bothering me again after running this morning) but if it doesn’t work out the kinks on its own, I may be visiting the doctor.

Yes, I stretched. And I’ve continued to stretch all morning at work, but no such luck. I’m getting old. How many women in their 20’s complain that their hip is hurting? Oy vey.

Kickboxing is still going well. I had a guy tell me that I was throwing some good hard punches Monday night and that Jennifer Berg better watch out. I just laughed and said thank you, but had no idea who Jennifer Berg was until I googled her. She is some MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter. I know he was just being nice and encouraging but having a big strong guy I don’t really know walk up to me to compliment me was a great feeling. It made me feel good about myself and raised my confidence level.

Today marks 10 days I’ve gone without drinking diet soda. Well, last night, I did have a sip of my mom’s diet coke, but after drinking water for 10 days, the soda didn’t taste good to me. The first few days were rough but after the headache went away, it was easy. I feel better overall and my knees haven’t been hurting me as much. I think it’s more mental than physical, but either way, if it makes me feel better, I’ll take it!

I weighed myself last Saturday and was excited to see that my weight had dropped 5 pounds. It’s not coming off as fast as I would like, but as long as it is going down in the right direction I’m happy with that. I looked into some weight loss programs in our area after seeing someone I know drop 35 pounds in 5 months, but spending over 600 dollars to do it, is just not feasible now. And so I press on….

Photography has taken a back seat in my life the past two weeks. I just haven’t had the time. Thankfully, our 4th of July trip is coming up, and I plan to relax and take hundreds of photos of the boys at the beach. Can’t wait!

OH! I found my sunglasses and Bugaboo’s hat but still can’t find our video camera or my iPod… I have no clue where they ran off too, but I was still ecstatic when I found my favorite pair of sunglasses!

Once I find our video camera, I plan on taking videos of Bugaboo hitting some balls off his t-ball set. He can REALLY whack the ball off of it. I know I think he’s great and wonderful because he is my baby, but for just turning 2 and being able to whack the ball as far as he does amazes me. He does this thing where he lifts his leg before swinging… too cute. Almost everyday he asks to go play ball and for about 15-30 minutes, he does nothing but hit balls and “run around the bases.” As I’m typing this, I just remembered my sister telling me last night that she would record him on her phone and upload it for me, so once these thunderstorms roll outta here, I’ll be taking her up on that.

Ok, break over and have to get back to case notes and referrals… fun stuff…

Sorry for being MIA, but with limited internet access and with not much going on lately, there hasn’t been much to write about. Pretty boring around here!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their Wednesday. I know I am… hump day, baby! Two more days until the weekend… the countdown begins…

Say a Little Prayer

 I was working on my blog post for the day on lunch when I got word that my co-worker, the one I am supposed to take baby photos for, is being rushed to a specialty hospital two hours away via ambulance where they may have to do an emergency c-section. If that is the case, her little girl will be delivered 7 weeks early.

I can’t even imagine the emotions and fear that may be running through their minds right now. So please whisper a prayer or send a positive thought for their family during this time.

Needless to say, I was distracted and did not finish my original post.

I will keep you guys updated.

Thank you!

Motivation

If I had to define motivation in my own words, I would sum it up as an inner force/drive that propels you forward to reach your goals.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been lacking in the motivation department. The inner force is not with me. The story of my life, I get excited over a new goal or task that I  set out to do, but as soon as an obstacle crosses my path, I’m easily sidetracked.

I WANT to achieve my goals, and I’m not afraid to work hard to get there, but when I do not see results after a few days or weeks, the excitement of attaining my goal soon wears off and I’m back where I started.

Dreaming…

Wishing…

Hoping…

But never achieving…

So over the past several days, I’ve challenged myself to find out what motivates me.

Clothes?

Not so much. I want to get back into my old pre baby clothes, but that isn’t enough to keep me going for long.

Food?

Umm, yah, but don’t exactly need to go there, lol.

Rewards?

We’re getting there but money limits what rewards I can allow for myself. Nevertheless, yes, rewards definitely work.

What type of rewards?

A manicure/pedicure? Nah… my mom or sis can give me one of those 🙂 ha-ha

A massage? No. I’m too ticklish.

What would I want more than anything if I could pick something right now?

Photos! Lots and lots of photos! Photos of Bugaboo and me… Man-Child and me… GQ… all of us…

Sadly, we do not have many family photos of us together or of Bugaboo and me. I don’t like the way I look in photos so don’t want anyone taking any. I’m weird like that.

My new motivation for eating healthy and continuing exercise is now fueled by my inner desire to have professional style photos taken of the family once I reach my goal weight. I’m also thinking a getaway cruise or trip to Hawaii could be a great motivation, lol. Hey, a girl can dream!

I reviewed my resolutions from A Case Plan and thought about each one. I thought about what motivated me to want to reach those goals. I had to re-work my strategy because my current one is not working. Sure, I’ve studied for the GRE here and there and worked on a few photos here and there, but it’s always a hit or miss. I’m not taking it seriously and I’m not getting anywhere either. I lack the drive, force to achieve my resolutions. I can talk about achieving them until I’m blue in the face, but until I’m ready to really dig in and change, it’s not going to happen. I don’t want to fail on my journey. I realize it will take me longer than until the end of the year, and I’m fine with that, because I want these changes to be life changing and not just temporary to say I reached a goal only to go back to my old ways shortly after.

So, yes, it is taking me longer than what I originally thought, but I have also learned a number of things these past few months and I’m implementing small changes one step/resolution at a time. It’s the small things that have stuck and made a difference. When I looked back and wrote down some of the lasting changes I’ve made, I was surprised. Oddly enough, I was motivated too. Motivated to continue my journey but take it a day at a time and enjoy it.

I’m even on my second day being soda free.

I made a personal goal to give up soda for the rest of the month just to see if I could do it. I’m embarrassed to say how many diet sodas I had been drinking a day recently but it was to the point where I wasn’t even drinking any water, just diet soda. My knees and joints hurt more and after reading several articles claiming diet soda can cause a person to gain weight and increase brittleness in bones, I’ve decided to go a few weeks without it and see how I feel. I’ve wanted to give up or cut back on diet soda for a while now, but kept putting it off. Bugaboo asks for soda more because he sees us drinking it and has started throwing temper tantrums demanding “dwink” instead of “milk.” I figure it’s always best to lead by example, right? So, going to give it a shot and lay off it for a while. I’m also curious to see how much money we could save simply by not buying soda every week.

(Not gonna lie… I have the most horrible headache right now and I think it’s because going through caffeine withdrawals but I know this too shall pass. )

Anyway, I got sidetracked, but my point with all of this is finding what works for you and finding the right motivation to keep you on the path towards reaching your goals.

So what motivates you to reach your goals? Do you reward yourself when you reach your goals? Has anyone reached any goals lately? I’m anxious to hear about it.

PS

I signed up for a walk/run class at work. It starts June 20^th at 5:30am. Yah… we’ll see how long the 5:30am work-out lasts, but since I’m meeting a group and not just getting up on my own, I hope I can stick with it. It’s an 8 week course and I’ve committed myself to finishing it. I just have to make sure I can get home before Man-Child heads to work. If I can finish the run and be home before he leaves, then it is a GO for 8 WEEKS! I’ll keep you posted.

A Morning To Remember

I wake to the pitter patter of little feet on the wood floors and to a tired sleepy voice whispering “mommy” and “nuh-night.” I pull my baby up on the bed and watch him as he snuggles under the covers and reaches for my hair.

He breathes in my hair, rubs it over his nose, and wiggles in even closer to my body.

I kiss his touseled thick blonde hair and whisper, “I love you.” “Love you too,” he says before uttering “nuh-night” and closes his long beautiful lashes.

I smile to myself and think it is not humanly possible to love this child anymore than I do right now in this moment.

He wakes up early most mornings and wants to lie in bed with me until it’s time to get up and dressed for the day. Of course, he is not ready to wake up and wants to ensure that I’m not about to get up either. If I start to climb out of the bed, he sits up, points to the pillow, and tells me “nuh-night.” That is his way of saying, I’m not ready to get up and neither are you, so let’s sleep in for a few more minutes.

I look at my phone. An alarm goes off with a message telling my lazy bum to get up out of the bed and walk. I look back over at my boy. He is telling me to go “nuh-night.”

I glance back at my alarm and then back again at the blonde hair blue-eyed angel rubbing his sleepy eyes and pointing to the pillow.

What kind of mother would I be if I said no to my child so early in the morning?

A horrible one indeed.

 I would crush him.

No!

Wait!

 I would devastate him.

He wouldn’t be able to function properly for the rest of the day because his mother rejected him and made him go back to sleep on his own. He would be in therapy years later and say, “It all started one morning way back when…”

No, I couldn’t do that to my baby. My walk could wait… I’m going swimming later in the afternoon I reason with myself. I will swim some laps and do some water exercises to make up for lost walk time.

Yes, problem solved. I’m a genius.

We both win.

I turn off the alarm.

Wake back up at 7:45… need to be at work by 8:00…

Jump out of bed… grab clothes laid out the night before (way to go me!)… throw Bugaboo’s swimsuit and rash guard on for water play, throw on my clothes, toss hair up in a messy bun, pinch my cheeks, slosh on some lip gloss, grab the already packed daycare bag, and dash out the door.

8:02am:  Pull up to daycare, look in the rearview mirror, and see my baby bopping his head and kicking his feet to Bob Marley singing “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right. Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right!”

Again, I think to myself… I can’t love this child anymore than I do right now.

 My baby, Bob Marley’s biggest smallest fan. 🙂

8:10am:   Late for work… Totally worth it.

Happy Friday!

The Third Son

Several posts back, I talked about our beloved little doxie, Nacho. I remembered I said I would give his background story but then never did… go figure.

A long, long time ago… ok, two Thanksgivings ago, we headed to the mountains of TN to spend the holiday with my grandmother. She lives in a nice quiet retirement neighborhood type of thing and they always have some sort of festival or crafts show going on. We decided to go check it out to get out of the overly warm house (you know how grandmothers are). 🙂 When I say “we”, I mean my grandmother, mom, sister, Man-Child, Bugaboo, my aunt, uncle, and cousin from Pittsburgh.

We drove down to the community center to check out the booths and immediately was drawn to the A.A.R.F. (All About Rescue and Fixin) booth. I wanted Bugaboo to see the  dogs. At this point, we did not have any pets and although I wanted a dog and a cat in the future, I did not intend to adopt a pet anytime soon. Bugaboo was only 6 months old and I knew a pet would require a lot of time, attention, and money.  

There were several puppies and small type dogs as well as a few older dogs. Man-Child loves small dogs while I love large dogs (my dream is to have a Great Dane and a Bullmastiff together… yah, I LOVE large dogs). While Man-Child was playing with the small dogs, I was playing with the large dogs. I still did not intend to leave with an animal.

My cousin was holding a small dog and called me over to look.  They were oohhing and awing over a little brown doxie in a sweater. My aunt and family have a doxie and love her beyond words so naturally, they would be drawn to him. Man-Child was instantly in love the moment he held him (to this day, Nacho is a daddy’s boy). He kept saying how good he seemed to be around everyone. We asked about the doxie but the volunteers told us that someone had found him on a road a few days before and they did not know much about him except that he was a sweet little thing.

And sweet he was. He was licking us and seemed to be comfortable with us right off the bat. Man-Child started talking about how he would be such a good addition to our family. All I could think about was taking care of a baby and a small dog(that we didn’t even know if he was house broken), but then again… he was so cute in that little sweater. My family from the Burgh kept telling us how good doxies were and my mom kept saying how much responsibility came with a dog and a baby not to mention financial responsibility.

We reluctantly walked away from the cute little doxie and mosied around the crafts fair but Man-Child kept talking about the dog. He realized there was very little information on him but the way he was around us, he knew he had to have been a family dog that ran away or got lost. About thirty minutes later, we went back outside and approached the rescue booth again. This time, someone else was holding him and smiling. I hung around waiting to see what they would do with him but after a few minutes, they put him back in the cage. I took him back out and this time, a connection was made… this was our dog. This would be our family’s first dog and Bugaboo’s first best friend. My grandmother said it was ok to keep him at her house until we left. After her approval, we signed the paperwork from the rescue and he was all ours!

 

A trip to Wal-mart and several supplies and a crate later, we headed back to my grandmother’s house to interact with him and see how he did with the family. We decided to call him Nacho because we love the movie Nacho Libre with Jack Black (we even watched that movie while I was in labor at the hospital killing time before I could start pushing, sorry… TMI). It just makes us laugh. The name was fitting to our new little addition. Nacho.

Nacho did great around the family. He sniffed out the place and other dog (Max, my sister’s little 90lb black lab- future post) and was marking his territory outside (he marked a few times inside too but we cleaned it up and did not tell my grandmother, lol). Nacho even did great with Bugaboo. They had an instant connection. Nacho new from the beginning that the little boy was his charge. We figure he had been around kids before, because he was great with him.

He even did great on the car ride back to Alabama and settled in at our home right away.

We were not without our problems or initial regrets though. Nacho was not completely housebroken and it took several months to even have him remotely trained. Every rug in the house was fair game. I’m glad we have wood floors because he never peed on them thank goodness. Only the rugs. We had to throw away our one big area room rug and we still have some issues with him peeing on the kitchen and bathroom rugs but we just throw them in the wash every time he has an accident. He still refuses to go outside when it is raining but on days like that, we just set up old towels and put them by the door for him. We’ve also learned from the get go that he is very picky about going to the bathroom outside. He prefers to be on a leash and go away from the house. He will not go to the bathroom in our yard (unless marking a spot where a neighborhood dog has gone). He has a couple of favorite yards on our street where he will go and we just bring plastic bags on our walks.

But besides the potty issue (ok, it was a big issue and I made several threats to him on several different occasions that he was going back to TN) he is a great dog. He is amazing with Bugaboo and GQ… any kids for that matter. We take him to the baseball games with us and kids just flock to him. He puts up with each and every one. He would let them lay on him and pull his ears if we would let them but we don’t. I’m sure he is grateful for that.

Nacho sleeps with us every night under the covers. He is our snuggle bug and my favorite third son. Nacho just is. 🙂

Sorry for the long post but he was so sweet this morning and lovey dovey that I promised him some blog time. He rewarded me with a little kiss. Hope he approves.

 

 

A Country Wedding

Almost two weeks ago, one of my closest friends got married. She had her wedding at a remote farm in the country next to the lake. It was absolutely beautiful.

I had the privilege of being her maid of honor. So since I was in the wedding, I didn’t have much time to snap many photos, but I still managed to snap a few.

Confession… I didn’t know how long it would take to edit these, but it is after 5 in the morning and I have been at this since about 7pm. I couldn’t sleep so figured I may as well just get them done. There are so many ways to edit a photo that it can be overwhelming (I seem to be overwhelmed by things lately). Anyway, I’m about to head outside for a walk and get ready for work.

Enjoy! (Sorry for short post and not being descriptive of the wedding, but it’s almost 5:30 and I’m pooped. Hope work is not crazy today!)

Man-child took this. He actually did a great job.

And this one… and sorry that these are out-of-order… I can’t get them to insert in order no matter where I put the cursor and don’t feel like messing with it anymore. 🙂That’s me and one of the groomsmen… is it bad that I don’t remember his name? I had never met him until the day of the wedding. It was one of the only photos I liked of myself so he made the cut on the blog, lol. Man-Child took this one and the next. He was a great sport and a great second shooter 🙂 I thought this photo was funny… My friend’s niece was giving her a kiss on the cheek and apparently the couple in the back is in the middle of a kiss. Finally… the bridesmaids… most of us anyway. It was a great day. I can’t wait to see how the photos turned out from the professional photographer.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday! About to go get my walk on!

COOPINS!!

 Ok, so has anyone seen the new TLC show Extreme Couponing?

I’ve seen just bits and clips of it, but loved the idea of spending a minimal amount of money and getting a whopping amount of stuff for free. Who wouldn’t love that? Well, food DOES costs money and while you can’t get it all for free, there are ways to reduce your weekly shopping bill.

Last week, the organization I work for sponsored a coupon workshop featuring Jenny from Southern Savers.

 Jenny manages an amazing website that allows you to see all the deals from your local grocery and drug stores and shows you how to save money on your grocery-shopping budget by using coupons. She provides links to several printable coupon sites such as redplum, smart source, etc. There are several tutorials on her site as well on how to get started with couponing and how to find the best deals at your store. Jenny does the work for you and the best part of it all. It’s free. So, she does the dirty work and we can sit back and reap the saving benefits.

There are people who have been couponing for years. It’s not new but it’s new to me. I’ve never cared to take the time to clip coupons each week or look for the better deals. I preferred to walk in a store, buy whatever I wanted or needed at the time, and pay the amount listed. Well, times are a changing and this girl is learning to clip and print coupons or as I like to call them, “coopins” (with a fake Minnesota accent.) I don’t know why I like to call them that… but I’m weird like that sometimes.

This workshop was a Godsend because I really wanted to make a go at “coopining” but didn’t know where to start. I looked on several websites and read several articles and tutorials, but couponing can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re doing. So, obviously, I was overwhelmed. Jenny broke it down for us over the course of 3 hours and while I still don’t know what I’m doing, I’m going to start giving it a try in the weeks to come. My mom attended the workshop with me as well, so we are going to make a go at it together.

I’m not going to repeat everything she shared with us, because I want to encourage you to go check out her website of awesomeness or sign up for one of her workshops. BUT I will share a few tips that really stuck with me or caught my attention enough to write them down separate from our handbook.

1. Buy items only when they are on sale at their rock bottom price (stores cycle items on sale every 6 -8weeks. So, stock up on sale items that you need and will hold you over until the next 6 -8weeks and those items go on sale again.)

2. Use “Coopins” on those rock bottom prices to get an even better price or better yet… free!

3. Plan your meals by what is on sale for the week.

4. Go through your weekly store ad and scope out the deals and see what you would want and then look for coupons on those items.

5. Drugstores are your friend. CVS will become my new best friend.

6. If you want the best deals, you can’t have brand loyalty (sorry but there are some brands I won’t buy generic or switch. Heinz ketchup is one of them. I’m a Heinz girl through and through. My grandfather, dad, and uncle worked there and no other ketchup can compare to that of Heinz.)

7. Pasta should always be free! There are more items that “should” be free after coupons, but you need to check out her site to learn more. Southern Savers

 8. Find a grocery store that doubles coupons (In our area, Publix is the grocery store known to have the best deals and allows you to double coupons.)

*** On a side note, let me just say how much I love Publix. I’m not going to go on and on about childhood memories… shopping trips with my mom, sister, brother, or grandparents… the free cookies, Florida, beach, and turning 16 and offering to go to the store so I could have an excuse to just drive on my OWN…. No, I won’t go there, but let’s just say Publix is nostalgic for me. Again, weird, I know. How can a grocery store be nostalgic but it just is. So when my small southern Alabama town decided to build one last year, I was at the Grand Opening enjoying all the freebies and B1G1 that I could handle.

Where to Find Coupons

1. Newspapers (You may not want to get the small town Sunday paper. In my area, we would want to shoot for the Atlanta Journal or the Birmingham News.)(Unless you have a super huge family, you only need two papers. You don’t want to become known as the newspaper hoarder lady do you? )

2. Only need a Sunday paper

3. Check out the 3 inserts in the Sunday paper (this is why you want to get a big area newspaper so you can get all 3) a. Smart source b. Red plum c. Procter and Gamble

4. All You magazine

5. Saving Star eCoupons (the first time you register, you want to make sure have all savings cards from stores such as CVS, Kroger, Winn Dixie, etc.)

6. Neighbors, friends, or co-workers… rummage through the trash… wait, don’t do that. People will talk.

Once you have your grocery or drug store ads, choose the coupons you know you would use and figure out which store you can get the most bang for your buck/coupon and let the savings begin! For instance, I needed milk last night. Ran out and Bugaboo was crying for more. I knew that CVS had a deal going on where you could get milk for $3.69 but earn a $1.00 in their extra care bucks back so really final price would be $2.69.. Well, I already had $3.00ecb, so I was able to use my earned “free money” to pay for the milk. I owed $.99 but got back $1.00ecb to use towards a future purchase. I got the milk free pretty much. Jenny recommended starting small to not overwhelm yourself at the store, and I was pleased with my first attempt, especially, since I HAD to have the milk anyway.

 I’m excited to begin a new frugal me this month but I just hope that I can stick with it. After hearing that Jenny feeds her family of five on $50 bucks a week, I am more determined than ever to give “coopining” a shot. It would be great if in a couple of months, we were able to start saving a couple hundred bucks a month. I know it will be challenging at first, especially to plan meals around what is on sale or taking the time to search for coupons. I just got in the habit of planning meals out for the week and then going to the store to buy just what I need. Now, I will need to be more creative and work with what is on sale, but I know it can be done. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Quick Question: Do you guys have a favorite grocery store? Would you drive an extra ten minutes out of your way just to get to it? Also, what are some of your brand loyalties that you have? Heinz is pretty much my only true loyalty that I can think of right now. I’m curious about yours though. Oh, and one more… do any of you guys “Coopin?” Please share any success stories or if it is working out for you. I would love to hear.

Disclaimer: This is in no way, shape, or form the complete guide to couponing and would highly recommend to someone interested in couponing to go to southern Savers website or another resource as your guide. I am just giving out some highlights. I could never explain the whole process. I still don’t know the whole process. Oh, and Jenny from Southern Savers has no idea who I am. Well, she did answer a few of my questions I asked at the workshop… I mean, if she happened to read this and wanted to compensate me for the free advertising, then, hey, who am I to stop her. But I don’t have that kind of luck, so no worries.

On yet another side note. I wanted to apologize for slacking on the blog page. It has been a hit or miss lately and I want to get better at it. More for myself than anything. I’ve realized that I need structure. I am a person who needs boundaries and deadlines to succeed. Now that I’ve realized that about myself , I will be posting more of my weekly goals on here, because I need, no, want, that accountability. When I first started this blog, I posted a couple of my weekly goals, but then I didn’t want to bore you guys with it each week. But I did so much better and stuck to my goals when I knew I would give a quick weekly report on them. June is back to basics month for me.

My goals for the rest of the week:

1. Get up 45 minutes earlier each day to walk before getting ready for work and getting Bugaboo ready for daycare.

2. Drink 8 glasses of H2O each day. (Sad that I have to make that a goal, but I have been drinking way too much diet soda lately and not enough water. I am starting to notice that my knees hurt more and other bones. So, I need to cut back on the diet soda and drink more water.)

3. Finish editing wedding photos!

 4. Be content with the things that I have.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Had a much-needed relaxing weekend at the lake. It was perfect. Bugs enjoyed his first boat ride and swim in the lake! He did not like wearing his life jacket but once we got over that tantrum, he did great!

Wedding photos tomorrow! Have a great day!

Short and Sweet

Confession… I do not have cable or internet at my home. <Gasp! > How do we survive without the internet? We don’t, lol. I hate it, but we make do without it. So, I either have to post from work on lunch or a quick break… or from my mom’s house… and with work and lunches being crazy this past week, I did not have the time. So, that is why I have been MIA.

 I’ve used my lunch breaks to renew my car tag(I waited until the last day of the month…you can only imagine the line in that office…I’ll never wait till the last day again. Learned my lesson.), cleaned house, Bugaboo’s 2 year check-up at peds office(28.6 lbs and 34 in. Healthy as a horse), and this afternoon, I have to renew my driver’s license. So, I’m writing this on my ten minute break at work.

Speaking of work, let me just say that May was a crazy month and I’m so glad that it is over and done with. I busted my rear-end yesterday but now I’m caught up on everything. It was such a great feeling to walk into work this morning and not feel overwhelmed before even turning on my computer. Let me just emphasize… an AWESOME feeling!!

This past weekend was wonderful. My friend had a beautiful wedding and I enjoyed every minute of it. I thought I would be able to take tons of photos at her wedding, but it was hard to do when you’re in the wedding party! I still managed a few and can’t wait to share. She had professional wedding photographers there and I can’t wait to see how their photos turned out (especially of the ones they took of us at some little old country store in the middle of no where!)

Things have calmed down and I’m once again organized at work and almost organized at home, so things will get back on track soon.

Working on some fun posts for next week… can’t wait to share!

 Have a great weekend and I’ll see you guys on Monday!

PS

What did everyone do for Memorial Day? Played ball with Bugaboo and watched House Hunters on HGTV ALL AFTERNOON… at my mom’s house 🙂 Was a bum and loved every minute of it.

Can’t Catch a Break

I don’t know about you but there are days when I feel like I just can’t catch a break. Today is one of those days.

The dismal weather outside reflects my poor mood now. I can’t shake it and not sure if I want to.

  I’m always struggling. I struggle to lose weight, live a healthy active lifestyle, and catch up financially. I get discouraged easily, especially when things don’t work out as planned.

My weight loss isn’t really happening despite my efforts. I feel like I lose a few inches and then gain it back the next week. Granted I did eat some cake and a cupcake for Bugaboo’s birthday but other than that, I haven’t been eating unhealthy or eating a lot of food. I haven’t worked out this week but I had the stomach virus earlier and just haven’t felt up to it. I will get back on track with that on Monday.

I just wonder why it always seems so hard for me. Some people seem to have it all and are naturally fit and can eat whatever they want and not gain a pound. Then there is me who eats a hamburger and gains 5lbs. I wish I knew what it was like to not constantly struggle with my weight or eating habits. I’m so tired of battling this endless war.

I don’t know what the deal is. I feel better and healthier than I have in months, but when I tried on a new pair of pants last night at Kohl’s, they were the same size I’m in now and fit perfectly. I didn’t want the same size pants to fit me perfectly. I wanted them to be too big! Shopping for clothes is depressing. I thought some retail therapy might improve my mood but it only made it worse.

Thank heavens my mom and sister were with me and were able to cheer me up a bit, but still… I want to see some big changes that stick and not yo-yo back and forth. I’m ready for change! I’m ready to get back into all my old cute and stylish pre pregnancy clothes.  I’m almost to the point of saying forget losing weight the healthy way and bring on the diet pills and diet shakes, because I know they worked before, lol.

I know I’m not going to give up just yet, but if I don’t catch a break soon… I don’t know.

There are other things I feel like I can’t catch a break on… finances… or getting ahead at work… it has been crazy lately. On the other hand, the crazier it becomes, the more motivation I have to study for the GRE and get into graduate school. The only way to ever advance in the field of social work is to have your masters and LCSW license… I’ve put it off long enough, but after looking at what some starting LCSW positions are paying… my butt will be hitting the books this summer. One civilian social work position with the Army was offering over $25,000 more than what I earn now… so, yah… instead of watching a movie before bed with Man-Child, I will be working out math problems and brushing up on vocab terminology.

OH! And to add to my pity party… somehow I’ve misplaced one of Bugaboo’s hats, my iPod, new video camera, and my favorite designer sunglasses that I’ve had for over 5 years. I almost want to say I’ve been robbed but don’t really think that is the case. I just can’t find anything! The house isn’t even a mess. I’m losing my mind… I swear. It’s so frustrating to lose things when you know they are expensive items… just blows my mind. So, I was unable to record Bugaboo’s birthday or his priceless shrieks and facial expressions when he opened up his present to find his own helmet.

There is just a lot going on and instead of being positive and making the most of it… I’m sulking and throwing myself a pity party. But I can only throw it until 5pm because after work, I have my good friend’s wedding rehearsal and dinner to go too and the maid of honor cannot be sulking at such an event!

Wishing everyone a happy, safe, and fun-filled weekend!

PS

On a more positive note, I did plan my meals for next week. I couldn’t sleep last night so broke out an old weight watcher cook book from the 80’s that my grandmother gave me. Found some good stuff. I’ll share next week.

My Sister, My Hero

My sister and I have always been close growing up. I could write for ever on how great of a sister she is but my typed words on here could never do her justice.  

Time is my enemy today, so my sister is not getting the full dedicated post that she deserves…

Anyway, on Tuesday, my sister officially became a First Lieutenant in the Alabama National Guard as a Physician Assistant.

I wish I could have been there to watch her being sworn in, but I was at home with the stomach virus. Actually, my poor sister, she had the virus too but managed to pull off everything with the help of our mom! I wish I would have remembered to give her the camera, but phone pic will do.

She has always been there  helping me out along the way… when there was a need, she would see to it and fill it. Now, she sees to the needs of her patients on a daily basis and soon, will see to the needs of the men and women of the Armed services and to wherever else the Guard will take her.

I am so proud of her and all of her accomplishments. I look forward to seeing where this next adventure will take her!

I love you!

PS

On a side note… if any of you guys read The Pioneer Woman , you may be familiar with this story but if not, Ree blogged how her mother in-law had a dream to move far away and her sister’s dream was to stay close at home. In the end, her sister married a man in the military and travelled the world, and Ree’s mother-in-law stayed close to home… well, I was in Army ROTC in college and wanted to join the Army as a LT… long story short, I didn’t go through with Army… and now my sister is the LT in the family 🙂 Funny how life turns out sometimes…