Weight Loss Wednesday

I know, I know...it's Thursday. For some reason, Wednesdays are hard for me to blog, as it's usually a busy day. I should really change the title.

I haven't update about my weight loss journey in awhile, because frankly, I've been quite depressed and frustrated about it. I'm not really gaining any weight (I fluctuate between a few pounds) but I'm not losing any more. I still have a long ways to go, so this is irritating. I'm not an unhealthy person, but my exercise routine has slowed way down. I was loving The Shred workout but I wasn't losing weight. I would still do it just for maintaining an exercise routine, but right now, getting up at 5:30 to work out just doesn't fly with my busy schedule...I'm too tired. So, I'll revisit this in 4 weeks when school is out. I would love to get out and run now that the weather is getting nicer...but I can't with kids. I have no equipment at home and can't afford a treadmill which is what i'd really love.

But these are just excuses. NO EXCUSES. I need to stop making excuses and remember what it felt like to look in the mirror that day in August. ICK. I won't go back to that, EVER.

Here's the good news:

Yesterday, I stopped at Victoria's Secret Outlet to look around and they were having an incredible sale....ALL their clothing $5 or less! This included ALL their VS Sportswear! I got a $64 zip up for $5!!! Yoga pants, t-shirts, I got WAY excited, cause I love their sports line. I added up the original prices....I got $250 worth of stuff for $43.00!!! Seriously, I was giddy. And it made me want to get out and exercise!!!

Wait, it gets better...

I was whining to the hubs last night about how much I miss my membership. He told me he was already wanting to add it back on (we get a discount through his work and it comes directly out of his check) for me, cause he knew how much I miss it. So, he did as an early Mother's Day gift to me!!! WOO HOO

It has totally given me another boost of motivation! I went grocery shopping, bought tons of healthy and yummy food for the week, and I can start back to the gym on Saturday! Can't wait to work up a great sweat!

I'll try to check back in next week....wish me luck!

Honest Scrap Award

Took me a bit to finally post this, but a sweet blogger from Mommy's Sippy Cup, gave me this awesome award, so I gotta share the love.

So, here's how it works: I have to share 10 random things about myself and then pass this award on to 1o of my favorite bloggers.

I know how much you LOVE reading random information about me! Here's 10 more:

1. I love love LOVE (did I mention love?) foot rubs/foot massages/pedicures!

2. I think one of the sexiest things on a man has to be toned shoulders/arms.

3. Today, one of my preschoolers said in the middle of a center "Miss Veronica, I was just staring at you." To which I replied, "Why?" "Because I love you!" - seriously, does it get any cuter?!?

4. I have become obsessed with Glee. It's the only show since Friends went off the air that I HAVE to watch. The writing is brilliant, it's such a great show!

5. When I was in 2nd grade, my entire family went to the ice capades without me (I had to go to school). Apparently, my mom was teaching me a lesson about lying, but I have idea what I lied about - but I am still traumatized by this event!

6. I check my blog followers every day. I know, I'm a nerd, but it's so exciting to get a new follower!

7. I love to color. Like good old fashioned, coloring book coloring! I have some of my own coloring books that I've done from start to finish!

8. I have a large birthmark on my head, just above my right ear.

9. I desperately want to travel through Europe. Such rich culture I'd love to see!

10. I can't stand the smell of Love Spell by Victoria Secret. Call me crazy, but it literally smells like vomit to me!

I'm passing this award on to:

1. http://lindsaycramp.blogspot.com/

2. http://www.mommymoment.ca/

3. http://wwwbobbypinsboardwalk.blogspot.com/

4. http://www.confessionsfromaworkingmom.com/

5. http://emilymackenzie.blogspot.com/

6. http://www.thegenerationxmomblog.com/

7. http://peaceloveandpizzadough.blogspot.com/

8. http://kitchentableproductions.blogspot.com/

9. http://www.lifeaccordingtoamanda.com/

10. http://myarmyoffive.blogspot.com/

The Sunshine Song

Okay, I have a lot on my mind right now, so bear with me.

First and foremost, a huge thank you to everyone for the wonderful comments and prayers sent to my sweet friend, Sandy. Our congregation said a special prayer for her today and so many people have rallied behind her over the last few days. There is still so much we can do to help her and her family, so please read Sandy's newest post for updates and more information about her fight. And as always, continue to pray. She is upbeat, strong, and positive that she is going to kick cancer's butt!

The next part is connection to the first. This weekend, we had our preschool music concert. I have to admit that I was kind of bitter about having to give up a Saturday and stay behind from leading worship in Indiana with friends...but I was humbled and blessed by my kids more than I could have thought! And I got to spend some time with other sweet friends. Anyway, last week was jammed full of extra time and hours prepping for this concert, as I took on making the background for the stage. I didn't realize what a big task it was going to be (seemed pretty simple) but it took me three days to finish. Here's the end result:

I had no idea until we put it up how massive this background was! (it was more than 8ft. tall and took up about 2/3 of the stage) It looked great. The other thing I was asked to do was learn a Jason Mraz song to sing during the concert with my friend (and preschool director) Stephanie, called The Sunshine Song. I learned it the day before, but it actually went pretty well. If you've never heard the song, it's beautiful:

There was a line that really stuck with me this weekend:

"If this little light of mine combined with yours today....how many watts could we luminate? How many villages could we save?"

It's been replaying over and over in my head. A lot of negativity comes our way, but if we all sent out a ray of sunshine even half as bright as Sandy's.....or combined our lights together like my precious preschoolers....think of what a better place this world would be!

-Cue cheesy music-

I've decided I need to be more conscious of sending out rays of sunshine. Even the tiniest ray of sunshine can light up in the darkness. So, all around the neighborhood, I'm gonna let it shine....sing with me!

-End cheesy music-

Let's Come Together

Dear friends,

I have requested prayer before and am always blessed by the response. Today, I am asking special prayer on behalf of a dear friend I went to college with, Sandy.

Sandy is without a doubt, the strongest person I've ever met. For the last several years, she has battled many different complications as a result of Lupus. Recently, they discovered a mass in her neck and foot, and were testing like crazy to try and figure out what it was. And they couldn't. Finally, they gave her a diagnosis. This is from her blog:

 "I have Stage IV Melanoma. It has spread to my foot, my liver, my lymph nodes, and yet they still aren't exactly sure where it started. Here is the information you're thinking you should google: The 5 Year Average Survival Rate is only 3%, and the Average Time You Have Left (I bet there is a technical term for that, but time you have left gets the point across) is only 4 months."

Sandy is a wife and mother of two beautiful kids. She is strong and determined to be in that 3%, and I believe that the power of prayer will help make that happen! If you believe in prayer, please send a special prayer on behalf of Sandy today. Thank you. And check out her blog to learn more:

FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2010

On the go

Wow, it's really been awhile since I've updated. My 4-year-old came up with the perfect explanation why this afternoon:

(at Miss Michelle's house, who watches her T/TH during school)

Faith: "Miss Michelle, why is that car next door all covered up?"
Michelle: "Well, because they aren't using the car right now, so they're keeping it safe under that tarp."
Faith: "Yeah, some people like to stay at home, and some people don't."
Michelle: "What about you, Faith? Do you like to stay at home?"
Faith: "Nope. We don't stay at home. Our family likes to go a lot."

Sort of a wake up call, huh? We've been grateful for the many opportunities we've had recently to travel and stay busy, but maybe it's time to take a breather and appreciate life at home for a change.

I'd stay and update some more, but I'm off to play Hi-ho Cherry O with my kids. I think we need it.

Spring Break TO DO list - CHECK!

Well, it was back to reality today...Spring Break is officially over. To top it off, I had NO voice today, and feeling pretty run down, but my kids were wonderful today, and I was so happy to see them!

Since I worked so hard on my Spring Break TO DO list, I feel the need to brag about all the things I actually did get done. I honestly was not expecting to do everything on the list, I was just trying to be optimistic, in case I got bored or something (HA!)....but I'm proud to say I at least visiting every point on my list! Here's what I did on my spring break:

1. Lock myself in my room and plan the rest of my preschool year
This is the one thing that I probably should have spent the most time on, but sadly did not. I did do a little planning, but I hit a road block when my ink cartridge went out and I couldn't afford to replace it. I am getting a new one Wednesday (pay day), so I should be able to print all the things I need and get back to it.

2. Clean out the laundry room
One of the first things I finished! I can walk in my laundry room again! WOO. It's so nice, and it's amazing the space I have when it's clean and organized! Next up, I'm putting a door up to the laundry room, cause let's face it - it's still an eye sore in the basement, even if it is clean!

3. Clean/organize Scrapbook room
I started this task, then stopped. I decided I don't want to put away all my organized-into-categories scrapbook stuff yet, because I might have another Scrap Swap soon. I'm ok to put this project off til Summer, since I won't be scrapbooking til then anyway!

4. Put up shelves in back room
The hubs wouldn't let me do this just YET....because he wants to wire a light back there first. I did, however, get him to clean out the space and make it ready for this task, which is a huge bonus!

5. Re-organize basement shelves
Yep, re-organized most of them. They kind of re-organized themselves as I was sorting things for a Mom2Mom sale. 


6. Sort baby clothes & toys for Mom2Mom Sale
Yes! This proved to be an emotional task! Now I just need to sell it all and get it out of my house!

7. Schedule a Mom2Mom Sale
Got online and checked all the dates. Unfortunately, I'm out of town A LOT of weekends over the next 2 months leading worship. So....I have to wait til some more are posted close to home.

8. Clean room. Really clean.
I even got the hubs to put away his laundry...and bought new sheets since ours were falling apart! Looks good!

9. Catch up on laundry
I was pretty diligent about this all week. I'm happy to say it might be the first time nearly everything article of clothing and every towel and sheet in my house is washed! =]

10. Build Caleb's bed
This was one of the first things I tried to do...and one I was the most excited to do. Unfortunately, we took the plans to Home Depot and discovered the cost was going to be more than we expected. It's still doable, but we decided to wait. I checked online and actually found the bed that matches his furniture set for almost the same price....so, I don't know yet what we'll end up doing!

11. Re-finish table and chairs
I spent one whole afternoon sanding and painting my dining room table and chairs....and they turned out FANTASTIC! I'm having problems uploading photos on my computer right now, but I am so anxious to show you how they turned out!!!

12. Clean up stuff for Craig's List
Posted another item of Craig's list and re-tuned some things already on there. Check.

13. Clean up front and back yard
Not only did I do that, but I also cleaned out and re-organized our shed! 14 bags of leaves later, our yard looks the best it ever has since we moved here!

14. Get some sleep
I actually took less naps than normal, but slept til almost 9 every day...which is 3+ more than I usually get! I felt well rested until today! HA


I feel really good about everything I got done last week. It felt so good to be productive. On top of my TO DO list, I managed to keep the house clean, keep up with dishes, entertain guests a few nights, clean the kids' rooms, and help a friend do a basement make-over for another friend! PHEW!

Playroom Before and After

So this project was not on my TO DO list this week...

But, I just found the old photos of my basement (can't really do a BEFORE and AFTER without the BEFORE right?)

So, a few months ago, without spending a single penny, I gathered all the old paint in my house (pink from the butterfly in my daughter's room, blue from my son's room, then acrylic paint I had lying around) and painted fun colors in my kid's playroom in the basement. It'll have to do until we get the money to refinish the basement, but it's definitely an improvement from the BEFORE right?

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

An improvement, right?

Soon I will post pictures of my dining room table and chairs I finally painted! YAY

Unexpected Emotion

As you all know, I am frantically running around this week trying to work on my Spring Break TO DO list! I'm happy to announce that I've put a pretty big dent in the list - it feels so good to be getting organized! I've also done a few things that were not on the list!

However, something happened that I didn't expect when I was sorting through all my kids clothes for a Mom2Mom Sale...

I used to be pretty good about going through the kids clothes on a regular basis, and sorting them. Well, they each have their own bin of clothes I wanted to keep (ya know, in case I have another one!) Except, I opened the bins and thought 'Why do I really need to keep all this? It's just taking up space and is going to just sit here...might as well let someone else enjoy it.' So first I went through my son's bin and kept a few items and sorted the rest to sell.

What I didn't expect was the emotion of going through my daughter's bin. Most of my son's clothes were passed down, so it didn't have much sentimental value. But my daughters: I remember when and where I bought outfits while I was pregnant or who got it for us as a gift...re-living the emotions of a first time pregnancy. I felt the tinge with some of my son's stuff, but it really hit me with Faith's stuff. And realizing that I probably am done having kids made it a little harder. I decided to let Faith keep her little premie outfits for her dolls, and I set aside all their firsts: first church outfit, the first day home outfit, first christmas, etc. I'm not one to keep things, and I'm not a pack rat by any means, but I couldn't part with these things. Her little hospital hats especially choked me up, cause they were so tiny and we kept them on her for awhile from her bruising after they tried to suction her. And Caleb's first baby shoes - I can't believe he was EVER tiny!

There I was, in the middle of my basement, surrounded by baby clothes, sobbing like a fool. I'll never have little babies like that again.

What about some of you? Please tell me I'm not the only who gets emotional about their kids growing up. Have you ever had an unexpected emotion from discovering something from your child's infanthood?

Featured on Better After - again!

Seriously, I'm so giddy about it.

I LOVE the BetterAfter blog - it's amazing.

And I'm featured again for my bedroom mural makeover.

CHECK IT OUT.