Day 11 of my 24 day Advocare Challenge

I was going to do this from the beginning but, I never have time! I survived the fiber drinks the first 10 days.  I also made it through super bowl and the last 10 days without a beer!!  I need to keep track of everything I eat and do today so, here goes.

I got up at 4:45am and started with the Catalyst and some Spark.  At 5:00am I headed to the gym. I worked out til 6:00am.  Before leaving the gym I took the first yellow pack of the ay so, I could eat after I get the kids up and going.  7:15am I ate my meal replacement bar and took the white pack with breakfast and 2 Omegaplex's.  At about 10:00am I had a handful of nuts.  We had to go to GJ real fast so I grabbed the rest of the pack of pills I needed and headed out.  My plan was to take the pills 30 minutes before GJ so I we could eat when we got there.  I ended up drinking all of my spark and forgot I needed something to drink to take my pills.  So, I had to take ALL of the pills I needed for before lunch and during lunch at the same time.  I managed to remember all of my Omegaplex's today too!!

31 Days!!

I saw this on a friends Facebook page and am going to try and do this.  It may take a couple of days to get started but I wanted to get the 31 days on here today.

day 1- recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2- five things on your bucket list
day 3- a picture of you and your friends
day 4- a habit that you wish you didn't have
day 5- a picture of somewhere you've been
day 6- 5 favorite TV shows
day 7- a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
day 8- short term goals for this month and why
day 9- something you're proud of in the past few days
day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, anxious or mad
day 11- another picture of you and your friends
day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one
day 13- a letter to someone
day 14- a picture of you and your family
day 15- put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16- another picture of yourself
day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19- nicknames you have and why you have them
day 20- someone you love
day 21- a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22- what makes you different from everyone else
day 23- something you crave for a lot
day 24- your last five facebook status'
day 25- what I would find in your bag
day 26- what do you think about your friends
day 27- why are you doing this 30 day challenge
day 28- a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?
day 29- in this past month, what have you learned
day 30- your favorite song
day 31- the best thing about being you

Loss

We lost a really good friend of ours on Saturday.  I am very sad about it. It has also made me realize that I let life get in the way of the people who matter the most to me.  I travel to Grand Junction a lot and one of my VERY best friends in the whole world lives there and it seems like we can never manage to get together even for minute.  I have decided that from this point on I will see her much more! Pug didn't live that far away from us and yet we hadn't seen him for years, this angers me now.  He was my husband's best friend and one of very few friends of his that I really liked.  There is nothing I can do about it now except change the way I look at things and start spending more time with the people I love.  The house, laundry and all of the other chores can wait until later. RIP Puggy!!

This is a picture of Pug and Brendan up at Oowah when we went camping once.  I think Brendan was about 4 or 5 years old here.

Frustration!

I am freaking out again! Why? Well a million different things.  My husbands job could possibly be laid off at any moment.  I am afraid it is going to be like a Halliburton thing where no one gets hardly any notice or none at all.  I am panicking a little and starting to look at all of our options.  We have said that if we ever have to move, we would go back to GJ.  I have been going back and forth about moving for a while now.  Some days I don't want to go at all, some days I want to go but, its not that strong of a feeling and then there are days like today.  I feel extremely strong about moving. I had a weird dream last night about going back to work at the Regional Center in GJ, it was a job I had before.  I woke up this morning with this urgency feeling of needing to REALLY look at our options.  I happened across the Halliburton website and saw that they were hiring for Brandons old job. Is that a sign or just me looking more into things than they really are.  I just wanna scream!!  I love my friends here but it seems like lately I have more of a connection with my friends in GJ.  Maybe that is the reason I am looking more and more into GJ.  I have 2 other problems: I have my oldest son, he has 2 more years left in high school and there is no way I could take him from here. But then I think what if Brandon is one of the guys that get laid off?? If we are ahead of the game and find another job before that happens that is the best thing for us. What if he isn't one them that gets laid off and he quits for another job and loses this good job, even though he hates it!  The other problem is housing. Our credit sucks A$$!! so, buying a house right now is not an option.  I also don't want to just walk away from this house.  We have put ALOT of money into it. First, getting it out of foreclosure and then all of the repairs and replacement of things, trying to get the yard to look somewhat decent and everything else in between.  We could sale it but, I am not sure if we would get anything back or if we would be upside down since it has a weird loan where the government has paid for part of it and when you sale before the loan is paid, you have to pay back whatever they have paid for also.  Just re-reading this makes me CRAZY!! I wish I knew what would be the best thing for everyone.

Day 5!!

Well, it has been 5 days since I started my "Resolution" of eating good and exercising.  I have not had pop or coffee since Sunday January 2nd!! This is HUGE for me.  I have been eating good too.  I  have not had any alcohol except for a glass of wine today and I haven't had any junk at all!  I have been following the biggest loser club and so I have 3 regular meals and 3 snacks a day.  I have found it hard to eat all of the food.  It fills me up and a lot of the days, I have had to skip a snack or two.  If I could have the body and healthy out look of anyone, it would have to be Jillian Michaels.  She is awesome!! I weigh in on Sunday so we will see if any of it is paying off.  I started last Sunday at 144.4 lbs.

Where did all of our money go?!?!

My daughter had a toothache during Christmas and so we gad to wait until Monday to get into a dentist.  We went to one dentist that was on our provider list for our insurance.  He looked at her xrays and decided to refer us to another dentist.  We drove straight over there and they did a check up and xrays as well.  She has alot of issues towards the back so they made a treatment plan for her and they started that day.  Things are very high tech now, very different from when I had to go to the dentist all of the time.  It makes for a much better experience for everyone me.  I was afraid to tell her she was going to get a shot.  I told her it was going to be like a little pinch.  It was not like when I went to the dentist and you had to get that little pinch 5 or 6 times.  You get one little pinch and then a little machine pumps in the numbing medicine.  Much easier!!  After about 3 or so hours she was finally done with the one tooth.  We went out to check out and they gave me the estimate for her work and I about died!! It was going to be $2262 and the estimated cost that the insurance company was going to pay was $809 which left us with about $1453 to come up with.  Now, we can split it up into several visits for financial reasons.  It would cost more cause each time we would have to pay for the sedation since they say the insurance won't cover that.  Plus, it would mean that many more times she would have to go in and get stuff done instead of doing it all at once and being done with it.  When we got home I decided I would do a budget for us. I wanted to find a way to do this all at once.  Less traumatic for everyone me.  After figuring out what bills we have every month, I thought I would just see how much we had deposited over this year.  I COULD NOT believe the amount!! Unbelievable!! I sat there and re-added it several times because I was sure it had to be wrong.  But, no it was not.  Where in the hell did all of our money go???  I mean we have bills but, they don't even come close to what we were bringing in.  Here is a rough estimate of last year:  In: 70K, Bills out: 39K that is a difference of about 31K!! What did we do with $31,000.00??!?!  We have nothing to show for it that is for damn sure!  That 39K includes grocery store trips too.  I am sure that is overspent also.  So we are going to start the New Year with a budget and I am going to follow Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.  With any luck we will have no big issues and will be able to pay off a bunch of debt and have some savings!!

9 days left!

That's right, 9 days until Christmas! I have a few more things to get and therefore have to go to GJ one more time this Saturday.  Hubs and I are going over by ourselves.  That is a first for us to get away in a LONG time by ourselves for a WHOLE day! Soooo excited!

I was given a link to a blog today and so I have found several more great blogs in the process.  I love reading other blogs.  It is my daily routine. 

Resolutons for the New Year.

I know there are a lot of people who every year vow to lose weight, me included.  I am tired of being fat and having no energy.  A friend of mine is going to be teaching spinning classes starting in January.  I am so excited for this.  She will also be teaching a step class as well.  I plan on getting fit and healthy this year. I can do this!! I also want to start saving money and paying of bills. I make decent money when I am working and it amazes me that we have nothing to show for it!! I CAN DO THIS!!!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!

Today is my birthday! I actually celebrated last Saturday with friends.  We went over to Grand Junction and had a good dinner and then went to Bailey's for some Karaoke.  These are pictures from that night.  The one on top is of the girls singing Gin and Juice and the second pic is of the boys sitting on the elk that sits outside of the hotel lobby.

Trying.....Again!!

Ok, I was really good about keeping this up before.  I don't know what happened?? Maybe it was all the moving or the kids or the hubby or who knows! Anyhow, I am going to try and keep this up this time for good.  I need something to clear my brain. 

I was up last night and couldn't sleep because I had a million and one things going through my head.  In 9 days I turn 34 and for some reason I chose 11:00pm at night to start thinking about that.  Who does that?? Me, that is who.  I started thinking about all of the things that have passed me by because; I either wasn't smart enough or just wasn't paying enough attention at the time. It's not really regret.  It is things like; if I had been smarter when I was younger, I would have paid my bills on time and then my credit wouldn't be all screwed up.  I started thinking about all the bills there are and trying to fix my credit.  After I thought about each different thing, I would think I am too old to do things differently or to fix things.  Then, I started to think I was having a panic attack and still couldn't sleep. 

This morning I was going through all the blogs I like to read as I do everyday.  I read Mckmama's blog post and I could not believe how much she sounded like she was talking about me.  She was completely honest about her marriage and how she treated her husband.  It is funny cause before I even sat down at my lap top I started thinking about the same things she was talking about.  What is wrong with me?? I began reading all of the comments that went along with her post and realized how many people are the in the same boat.  How do I change my ways??

4th of July!!

Pictures...............

Mothers Day in Moab

I have been really bad about keeping this up lately. We were in Moab over the weekend for Mothers Day and I got a picture of all of the kids.

Praying for Stellan!

Please head over and take a look at the story of this little miracle who needs your thoughts and prayers!

Relay for Life!!!!!!!

PLEASE DONATE

Click Above to Donate

This year, hundreds of thousands of people will hear the words "You have cancer", and there's a good chance that some of them will be people we know and love. We have all been touched by cancer in some way ... and we all have the power to make a difference. That's why I have chosen to fight back right here in my own community by participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life®.

I want to invite you to join me in the fight against cancer by making a donation in support of my efforts. Further down in this message is a link to my personal Relay For Life® web page where you can make an online contribution. Every amount, no matter how small, makes a difference and provides hope. You can also sign up to join my team and learn more about Relay and how it's changing lives.

Relay For Life® brings more than 3.5 million people from across the country together each year to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that takes too much. This fun-filled, overnight event empowers everyone to help fight cancer by raising money and awareness to support the American Cancer Society's lifesaving mission.

Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we will celebrate, remember, and fight back.

For state fundraising notices and the American Cancer Society's Privacy Policy, please paste the following link into your browser: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/SU/su_0.asp.

My Goals

Ok here they are in particular order and I reserve the right to update and change as needed.

-Get my budget under control
-Start saving for a house ($20000.00)
-Eating healthier
-Going to the gym atleast 3 times a week
-Losing 20 pounds
-Saving for a mommy makeover ($6000.00)
-Trying not to yell as much
-Get my wisdom teeth removed and finish the rest of my dental work
-Get the kids to the dentist and doctor for all check ups
-Incorporate Chore Charts and pay an allowance
-Learn to be more firm with Brendan

So those are what I have so far. I may add more as I go!!

Goals on hold.......

So in my previous post I said I was going to put up my goals for 2009. Well, I have decided to truly start the new year on the 6th as that is when the kids go back to school and we can get back to our normal routine and I can incorporate my new goals into our lives. So stay tuned............

Happy New Year!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

HOPE EVERYONES YEAR IS GREAT!!

I have realized that I am getting old. For the first time ever, I did not go and spend christmas with my mom and dad. Not even a couple of days before or after christmas either. I actually had christmas with my own family, in my own home. Very strange. I also was in bed at 8:30 last night so I didn't even begin to see all of the New Years crap on TV. I am getting old and that is a really big bummer! At the same time, I am learning. I am starting today to eat better and take vitamins consistantly. I am also going to join the gym and stick to it! I have some goals I am working on and will put them up later. We are also going to attempt to actually save some money so we can stop renting and buy a house. I have read the Dave Ramsey book The Total Money Makeover and that is where I am going to begin with our financial stuff. Well that is all I have for now. I will put my goals up soon!!

Giveaway!

A Simple Mom is doing another giveawway!! Go and check it out here!!

Dear Santa.......

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the pediatrician's office more than my doctor. Sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.

Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always, MOM...!

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa