Weekly Weigh In

As of Today, I have lost a total of 14 pounds! I am super excited!! Only 36 more to go by the end of July! I was really suprised to lose this much this week. I haven't been exercising like normal, so I was expecting a little loss. But, 4 pounds in one week? I'll take it. I'm excited because I'm starting to feel it in my clothes. Not big differences, not things that people would notice by looking at me, but I feel it. So, anyway, there's my weekly update! I kinda updated in the confessional, but wanted to journal this as well!

Confession Friday

Today is Friday, and that means Confession Time

I confess, I missed last weeks' confession. I didn't even realize it until Saturday.

I confess, I have trouble with forgetting things....ALL THE TIME!! I even have TWO calendars!!! Yes, I said two. AND, I still forget!! I can't help it. I think it's my age getting to me! Anyone relate?

I confess, this losing weight thing is tough! But, I tell ya, once you get use to eating a certain way, it gets a little easier. It's not as difficult to figure out what to eat. You just kinda know. But, excitedly, I have lost 14 pounds so far and I am SUPER duper excited!!!! I'm actually starting to "feel" like I'm losing, and that's a great feeling!!

I confess, even though it's a bit easier, I still am REALLY hungry for chocolate cake or a Reese's Peanut Butter cup! :(

I confess, I did not work out much this week. My workout buddy was at home tending a sick little girl, and I used that time to catch up on sleep(since my Zoie doesn't like to sleep through the night!) AND to do a little housekeeping (not as much as I should have)

Anyhow, I am not feeling all that creative today...so sorry if I bore you! Just didn't want to miss the chance to confess again! Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your weekend!!

Rare Disease Awareness Day

Today, in honor of Rare Disease Day, those who know about it, are wearing blue jeans! I have mine on! (of course, for me, it is my everyday preference) Angelman Syndrome is listed within the list of rare diseases. The following video gives some information about Angelman Syndrome, and the song just makes me cry EVERY time!!

I hope you learn something from this video. I certainly did! My little girls are angels, and we need a cure! Let's work together to raise awareness! If you would like to donate to our personal fundraising page with the Angelman Syndrome Foundation click here . We appreciate anything you can do! Prayers are welcome also! A cure is SO close. Angelman Syndrome has been reversed in the mouse model, now we just need to find a way to reverse it in humans! Make life easier for all the angels out there, donate to help find a cure!

Weekly Weigh In

As of today, I have lost 10 pounds! Only 40 more to go before the end of July!! I am so excited! I have been watching what I eat for about 4 weeks. If I can keep up this pace for the rest of the time I will exceed my goal! But, I do not want to get ahead of myself! This week was really tough. With Valentine's Day in the mix, the kids got candy! LOTS, and lots of candy. I managed to stay away from it, but had a difficult time staying away from the brownies I made and the lemon bars I made. I did look up calorie count for them, and made sure to journal that I ate them. BUT, I have to stay away!!!

Anyhow, I promised I would update! Wish me continued luck!

Confession Time Again!

It is FRIDAY!! Time to confess some things again! Try to remember last week, as some may link together!!!

1. I confess, NO!! I have NEVER used my French again for ANYTHING!! Sad, isn't it?!

2. I confess, When I went back to Western Kansas to Garden City Community College, they only offered Spanish, so I changed languages! Conjugating verbs was never the same again....I kept getting them SO mixed up!  AND, no I've never used Spanish either!

3. I confess, I was one of those kids in junior high that went to the skating rink EVERY friday night, and sometimes saturday night! HAD to be there!!!

4. I confess, I sometimes over spoil my oldest daughter because she helps out SO much with her sisters! She is one of my greatest accomplishments! She is so kind, loving and generous with her belongings and her time.

5. I confess, I'm at a loss for words today....I know, it doesn't happen very often. I kinda like to talk...a lot! I am definitely a social person, and hate not being around people for too long. I go completely stir crazy!!

Anyone else have any confessions to share! Click on the Confession button on the right hand side of the page and it will take you to confession to link up with others. It's great fun to learn about others! Join in! What will be your confession this week?

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is a day that is SO over commercialized! I like to have an excuse to get my kids something. My husband and I generally don't exchange gifts. We kinda do that throughout the year. Honestly, I like it better that way! It's more spontaneous, and much more of a surprise.

This weekend was my first Sunday to teach the Young Women. I had been teaching 6 and 7 year old kids for the past 2 years. So, mostly since it was my first Sunday with them, but also because Valentine's Day was coming up. I made these treats for my girls.

Jenna and I both sat down and made Valentine's Saturday night. We had so much fun! We also baked brownies and lemon bars. It was a good evening.

Well, although I feel it's a commercialized holiday, I still am very grateful for the love I have in my life. My husband and my children are my all! They lift me up when I am down. They make me smile! They give my life meaning and purpose. I love my Valentines! Always have, ALWAYS will!!

My Happy List

I always seem to have SO very much that I am thankful for.

I probably have a very LONG happy list, but I MUST save some for next weekend, right?

The things that make me happy are;

My family:

We may not have it all together, but together, we have it ALL!!!

My husband:

He works SUPER hard so that I can stay home and take care of our children! He's THE BEST!

My "angels"

Baylee and Zoie have Angelman Syndrome. Therefore, they are referred to as Angels. Angelman Syndrome is a neuro-genetic disorder. They make me VERY happy! They are constantly laughing and smiling. You can't help but be happy when you're around them!

My oldest daughter:

She is a kind and loving older sister to our angels. She helps with them without complaint, and she is the most generous person I know! She truly has a heart of gold!

Exercising makes me happy!! I love to exercise, it gets those endorphins flowing, and I am a happy person and a better person because of it! (especially ZUMBA!)

Spring makes me happy.....anyday now, you can come along Spring.......really, I don't mind!!

Have a happy weekend everyone! Play along! Share with me what makes you happy. Click on the button above and link into the conversation! It's great fun! If you aren't happy before you start making your list, you will be by the time you finish!!

Ok, here we go!

I CONFESS....this is my first confessions friday!

I CONFESS....this could be really fun!

I CONFESS.....ok, so I'm not being too creative with this first confession, guess I should try harder.

I CONFESS....when I was in high school, I always said I was going to take Tom Brokaw's job, because I was gonna be the best stinking broadcast journalist there ever could be!

I CONFESS.....when I was in high school, I had a goal to study abroad in France. This would be the reason for 3 years of French classes in High School.

I CONFESS.....I hated high school, thus the reason to want to study abroad, I wanted to get away from it ALL!!!

I think that's enough confession for today, I'm feeling dizzy!

Join along if you want! Grab the button on the right hand side and get instructions on how to play along! Happy Friday Everyone!!

As of Today's Weigh In

So, I told you all how I am hoping to lose 50 pounds by the end of July. I thought I would give weekly updates. I may get really discouraged at times, but I will still try to do this. Very nice when I stepped on the scale and so far, I am down by 7 1/2 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I am confident that I can achieve my goal. Worked out all days but the snow day this week. Even ran a mile one evening after having already done my workout for the day that day. Going to Zumba tomorrow. Having a lot of fun trying new things and finding things that make exercising fun!

Tasty Snack

A few weeks ago on Facebook, I posted that I would like some of my friends healthy recipes. WELL, this is one that I received. HUMMUS! I made it yesterday, and it turned out delicious!

Hummus

2 cans Garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) rinsed and drained
1/2 c. freshly squeezed lemon (I just used a little, not a HUGE lemon fan)
1/4 c. tahini paste
1-3 cloves of garlic (I used 3, cuz I LOVE garlic)
3T. olive oil
3/4 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. cayenne
1-2 pinches of black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. water

1/2 of lemon juice and all ingredients into blender. Blend to consistency of sour cream. Blend in the rest of lemon juice, to taste. If too thick, but don't want more lemon, use water to desired thickness. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate a few hours before serving. Drizzle of olive oil, garnish with parsley or black olives.

This can also be used as a sandwich spread. Especially good in a pita sandwich.

The hummus has 435 calories per 1 cup. ( I only ate 1/4 cup, with about 17 pretzels, the little ones) So my total snack was around 200 calories. It was also very filling!! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Snow Day Treat

So, a couple of days ago, the girls were home for a snow day. We watched a lot of movies, played, had bath time, etc. I like to give them some sort of treat, or do something they would really enjoy. Since Zoie and Baylee do so well in school on certain things (returning library books on time, good percentage for potty training, things of this sort) they get certificates to reward them. We decided to redeem our Wendy's certificates. The girls enjoyed this feast...

A Few Pics From the Last Few Months

The Kids Are Home

What do we do? SLEEP!! Baylee always sleeps well, but Zoie usually doesn't. I was so suprised when my husband's phone went off at 6:30am this morning and that was the first I had been awakened! Zoie slept all night!!!! Jenna, on the other hand, would sleep FOREVER! (normal teenager!) I had to wake her up to help out today! Since the girls have had so many snow days, I have had a very difficult time sticking with my routine. I. HAVE. GOT. TO. CATCH. UP!! One day, it will happen.

I made homemade laundry soap the other day. It was very easy. I have been pleasantly suprised at how well it cleans the clothes. AND, without adding the *optional* essential oils, I like the fragrance. The recipe is below:

2/3 bar Fels Naptha

1/2 c. Arm and Hammer Washing Soda

1/2 c. borax powder

2 gallon bucket

1. Grate soap finely and place in sauce pan

2. Add 6 cups of water and heat until soap is melted.

3. Add washing soda and borax and stir until it's dissolved. Remove from heat.

4. Pour 4 cups of hot water into bucket.

5. Now add soap mixture to bucket and stir.

6. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water to the bucket and stir.

7. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. Use 1/2 cup per load.

8. You can add 1 oz of your favorite essential oil to the mixture as well. But the fragrance is very fresh, clean smelling.

I was told this costs about 1 to 2 cents per load. When buying the ingredients, it was about $9 or less for everything. The only thing I will have to buy the next time I make it is the Fels Naptha, and it was only $1.79.

I was told for whites, just add a teaspoon of baking soda to the wash cycle. I haven't done my whites yet, so I haven't tried it, but Zoie and Baylee's coats have white on them, that had gotten quite dingey and the white turned out very bright after washing with the homemade laundry soap. I am SOLD!!!

My husband thinks I am crazy when I begin trying "new" things....but, he humors me! So thankful for that!

Happy Snow day to you all! (well, for us anyway....I hear 8.5 inches is what we got....UNHEARD of!) I will be watching a TON of movies and cleaning all day....what will you do with your snow day?

Happy Tuesday!

Well, here it is February! It's been since September since I last posted on my blog! For SHAME, for shame!! I know, not the best at this. I must strive to do better!!

I have been trying a "lifestyle change"!! Really working hard to watch what I eat, and exercise everyday (but Sunday). It's only been 2 1/2 weeks, and I feel great! The thing that's different this time is that I have a great friend doing this right along with me. (makes all the difference in the WORLD!) AND, I give myself three "cheat" meals per week. This makes it a lot easier to stick with it the rest of the time. Because, if there are events going on in the upcoming week, I can plan ahead for those events.

My goal is to lose 50 pounds by the end of July. I picked this time, because Andy and I will be travelling to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. I figured it would be a good time marker and goal to reach for! After that, I will still have a lot left to lose, but will be over half-way to where I want to be! SO, if you see me, and I seem grouchy....it's because I am a food addict, and this is very hard for me! BUT, so far I haven't noticed a difference in my mood....lucky you!!

It has been snowing a lot here in the last few weeks. The kids have used all their snow days (almost, I think they have a half day left), and it is REALLY snowing outside right now!! We are suppose to get 3 to 5 inches, I believe. Jenna is actually NOT happy about this. You see, last week they were suppose to have their choir performance at Wilburpalooza, and it was cancelled due to school being cancelled for extreme wind chills. So, it was rescheduled for tonight....now it's snowing a LOT!! And, she does not want it to be cancelled again. Phil Stacey from American Idol is performing there tonight...he is a Wilbur alum. He was a finalist in one of the seasons, I forget which one! (I know, that's awful, isn't it?)

So, anywho....fingers crossed that my little lady gets to have her performance tonight!!

Here's a picture from the largest snow we had LAST year!! Ain't they CUTIES?!