Another great day so far!

Some of the many things I am so blessed with....

Being able to go to the gym every morning
Money to buy fresh produce at Trader Joe's (love that place!)
Not working right now so I can run errands during the day
The time to complete my lessons (Got a 96% on a test today :-) )
Iced coffee with sugar free french vanilla creamer
Meeting new people at the gym
Cooking dinner for my hubby
Discovering different ways to eat 2 servings of vegetables
The quietness of this house during the day
Studying and having Precious curl up on my lap with such love
Not dreading looking at myself in the mirror
Knowing that I am much healthier and stronger than I was 2 months ago
All the amazing family, friends and relatives that we have

Tonight is the night!

For the season premiere of Modern Family! It is honestly one of my favorite shows. Every character is hilarious and I can totally relate to Claire. Randy thinks I am a lot like her too. Trust me, this show is worth a shot. You will be laughing throughout the whole episode.
So......you know what I will be doing at 9pm tonight! :-)

Wednesdays on ABC 9/8c

Happy Birthday Chad!

I can still remember biting myself and blaming it on Chad, playing G.Ji. Joes, watching Dukes of Hazzard, snooping on the adults while they were in the pool and we were supposed to be napping (Sorry Aunt Marilyn), telling our sisters that our parents were calling them so they would leave us alone (Sorry Heidi, CJ and Jac), playing cops and robbers and getting handcuffed to the bunk bed when Chad lost the key and so many other great childhood memories. We were inseparable as little kids and I chuckle just thinking about the trouble we would cause. :-)
Happy birthday cuz! We love you so much!

Happy Birthday my love!

To this day I have to pinch myself because I can't believe how lucky I am to be married to such an incredible man! There is no man that would ever have as much patience, understanding, support and love that he has for me. I thank God for blessing my life with the most amazing husband. Happy Birthday honey! You are loved and cherished by so many (including Precious). :-)

Mission accomplished

This weekend was very productive considering we completed Sally's (Sonia's neighbors) porch. We worked for a couple hours on Friday and about 6 hours on Saturday. Although we are pretty happy with how his mom's and Sally's porches came out, we will not be going into a screening business anytime soon. LOL Saturday night Sonia bought us all pizza from Little Italy (favorite NY style pizza here) and wings for Randy's birthday. It was ALL so yummy! I swear Little Italy has heavenly pizza but I think we still like this place in Kansas City the best. :-) Today I went to the gym, went to lunch with Sonia, shopped at TjMaxx and then watched the game. Tomorrow Randy has the day off for his birthday so we will get to spend the day together. So even though the weekend isn't over yet, it has been a splendid one so far!

Great Game!

Randy, Mike and Barney went to the Washington Redskins vs. the Houston Texans game today as a birthday present from Barney to both Mike and Randy. They left this morning from Newport News at about 8:30am and got there about 3 hours later. They wanted to get there early enough to tailgate. Barney brought the food (filet mignon steaks!), Randy brought the grill and desserts and Mike brought the games. I can't tell you how excited the 3 of them were to be going and I can't wait to hear all about it when they get home. Unfortunately the score was 27-30 Houston Texans BUT it was a fantastic, on the edge of your seat type of game. Randy sent me this picture before the game started during practice. Aren't they handsome men?

6 Minute Cucumber

I have a funny story but you need to know something first..... With the wellness challenge I am doing I can't eat after 8pm and I have to have 2 servings of vegetables each day. Well tonight Randy and I were working on re-screening our neighbor's porch and didn't get into the house until 7:51pm. The problem was that we hadn't had dinner yet and I hadn't had my 2nd serving of vegetables. That meant that not only did I have 9 minutes left to eat dinner, I had to eat my 2nd portion of vegetables in order to get my points for the day. I then realized that I only had time to prepare and eat my 2nd serving of vegetables. With cucumbers being one of my favorite vegetables, I started peeling, chopping and eating. Six minutes later I completed the whole cucumber, had a full belly and I don't think that cucumbers are one of my favorite vegetables anymore. LOL :-)

Another great quote

"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her ...a bit of crap, be ready to receive a ton of s**t." Author - unknown

Love this!

I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter... the cast-offs of human society. I saw in their eyes .. love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal and I was angry. "God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?"
God was silent for a moment and then spoke softly and said, "I have created you." > Jim Willis 1999

On this "hump day" Wednesday I am grateful for....

The cool breeze this morning and evening while walking Precious
Catching up and laughing with my cousin Heidi on Skype
The morning kisses that I got from my husband Randy while he was getting ready for work
My husband bringing me up when I was feeling down

Precious laying on top of the warm laundry making it nice and wrinkled (so cute)
A nice quiet dinner at home with Randy
Watching a "chick flick" with Randy even though he said he wasn't going to watch (Back Up Plan, was pretty cute)
Being able to cook lunch and dinner (I love to cook)
Shopping for Randy's birthday gifts (his bday is the 20th)
Browsing through TjMaxx, I swear I could spends hours upon hours in there
My willpower, I got 10 points today for the wellness challenge

The fact that I get to sleep tonight next to an amazing man and the sweetest dog!

Love a Pug

2 years ago Randy and I went to look at a pug in a run down neighborhood for $100. We had no idea what we were in for. When the skinny little thing looked up at us with her big brown eyes and her cute little under bite, we were in love. Precious has not only changed our finances :-), she has changed our lives forever! There is no love like the unconditional love that she gives. She is always happy to see us, ALWAYS wants to lay in our laps, loves to lick Randy's feet and always makes us laugh. She has been a true blessing! We love you Precious the pug!

Am I not supposed to be up here?

Wonderful weekend!

In July, Randy and I re-screened Sonia's porch and re-stained all the trim. Since we did such a great job, her neighbor asked us to do hers. :-) Humble, huh? So this weekend was our weekend to complete this project. On Saturday we were able to complete replacing all the screens and OH MY GOSH was the weather amazing (much nicer than July)! We had planned on replacing all of the trim first thing Sunday morning. Unfortunately, when we work up at 6:30am we realized that it was raining and according to the forecast it would be raining all day. Since we were already up we decided to go to the 8:20am church service. They hired a new singer for the new campus they will be opening in 2011 and he sang a couple of the songs. He is incredible! The message was reminding us that we don't have to strive to be perfect and to follow all of the rules (10 commandments), Jesus has already died for our sins. That is the short of it but it was very powerful of course. After church Randy and I relaxed and then I volunteered at the church at 6:00pm and met lots of new volunteers. The rain ended up as a blessing to give Randy a chance to relax. I hate to have him work all week and then all weekend. Luckily the screens are on so all we have to do is the trim. Next weekend is Randy's birthday, I can't wait and I don't think he can either considering he is going to the Redskins game on Sunday. Woops, forgot to mention that the Redskins beat the Cowboys last night! Woo Hoo!

Crazy for church!

In January, Randy and I started going to a new church named Waters Edge Church a little unsure of what to expect. The reason we were unsure is because we attended this church a year before to try it out. When we went the first time, we walked out of there saying no way! This church had a rock christian band with a concert type setting and a little spiky haired, jean wearing pastor that would say things just for shock value. With Randy raised Pentecostal and me raised Catholic, this was a bit much to say the least. So we continued looking for a church and eventually stopped looking. When we flipped the calendar to 2010 we decided that we really need to find a church and quit putting it off. By this time Waters Edge Church had built a church right by our apartment so we decided to give it another shot. Wow, are we glad that we did! The message was extremely powerful and we actually understood and related to it. I got to thinking, all the years that I had attended church off and on, I never understood what the message was and I certainly couldn't relate to it. With WEC, the Pastor speaks for about 30-40 minutes and we can ALWAYS understand the message and relate to it. It is always like God is speaking through him to us. This church strives to change the way people think about church. We have learned that it is more about the relationship we have with God not the religion we practice. We have even joined what they call a community group which is 14 of us that meet every Tuesday night. I also started volunteering at the church 2 Sundays a month. I can't begin to tell you how much we love this church, the Pastor, the members, our community group and God! We look forward to going to church on Sundays and community group on Tuesdays. Finding this church was such a blessing and we wish we could share it with everyone!
http://www.watersedgechurch.net

The Challenge

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was doing a wellness challenge. My cousin Heidi did the challenge last time and is also doing this one. It is a 12 week online challenge that focuses on mind, body and spirit. So far I have gotten all my points for the week but it just started on Monday. :-) I am ok with everything BUT the sweets! Argh!!! I like to treat myself a little once in a while but this challenge only allows me to have sweet treats one day a week! :-( I guess that is why they call it a challenge, huh? If interested in reading more, see link http://youcanbethebestyou.blogspot.com . See below for the 10 things that need to be done in order to get points. There are a total of 10 possible points per day. Wish us luck!

Points

1. Drink 48 ounces of water a day
2. 45 minutes of exercise (doesn't have to be consecutive)
3. No soda or alcohol
4. No sweets (desserts, pastries, candy, or sugary snacks) Sugar-free alternatives are okay
5. No fast food, or unhealthy snacks (chips)
6. Consume 2 servings of fruits and 2 servings of vegetables
7. No eating after 8p.m.
8. Read 15 minutes of spiritual or uplifting text
9. Write in your journal (Daily blogs count, too.) Express specific appreciation, love, or praise in your journal...a goal of two or three items is a good goal!
10. Personal goal- each week make a personal goal for everyday or make a goal for the entire week. ( Like reading more to the kids, organize a closet, get 8 hours of sleep, etc...)

ONE FREE POINT PER AREA, PER WEEK..for example: only one day with sweets a week, only one day without exercise, one late night snack per week........or one whole day free.

Beautiful flowers from a BEAUTIFUL man!!!

Randy, my awesome husband surprised me with this beautiful bouquet of flowers for my birthday. He really wanted to get me a bouquet with cosmos in it so he called around and ending up ordering the flowers from the same florist that did our wedding flowers. The cosmos are the little chocolate brown flowers and had to be special ordered. The reason he wanted cosmos was because they are the 2nd wedding anniversary flowers. How sweet is that! I still feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have him as my husband. :-) Thanks honey!

Halfway there

Just over a month ago I decided to lose about 13 pounds. So what does my wonderful, supportive husband do? He takes me to the gym to sign up for a membership. Honestly I don't think he thought I would actually use it. LOL Well, he was wrong! Sorry honey! :-) I am at the gym about 5 days out of the week. I have also cut my calories by limiting soda, alcohol, sweets, white flour, fried food, fast food and any other good thing you can think of. Ha Ha I have been eating more protein shakes, whole grain, fruits, veggies, peanut butter, lean meats, green tea and lots of water. Now I do treat myself a little bit on the weekends and sometimes I'll have a little treat during the week but I have really been trying to limit my calories and eat healthier.

Great news is that this has all been paying off! I have lost almost 7 lbs as of last Saturday. I am only allowed to weigh myself on Saturday mornings so I don't drive myself crazy. :-) My clothes are fitting a little better, I bought a size smaller than normal in jeans yesterday and I feel great! I am actually lighter than I was on our wedding day. I do still have 7 more pounds to go but I know I can do it. I am super blessed to have such a supportive husband and mother-n-law!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Happy birthday to a wonderful brother and brother-n-law! We are so lucky to be able to call you our brother. We hope you have a day as special as you are! We love you!

Grateful for Grammie!

Words can not describe how special our Grammie was and still is. I will always remember my summers at Grammie and Papa's house, riding our bikes around the yard, swimming, going to church, playing with Tanya, eating watermelon and corn, using Grammie's heating pad while watching Wheel of Fortune with Papa, tempting to help Grammie with her many crafts, walking down Main Street during their sidewalk sales, visits to Gove, washing dishes :-) and so many more wonderful memories. I can only hope to be 1/2 the woman Grammie was. She is the most genuine, kind and loving woman I know. She has instilled such good values into all of the family and that is one of the many reasons that she will always and forever live on. She may be with the Lord but I almost feel her presense even stronger now than when she was here on earth. She is with me always, watching over me and all who she loves so much. We miss you Grammie and love you forever!

An Amazing Birthday!

Ok, so I know I am terrible when it comes to posting anything in our blog. This will all change. I have started a wellness challenge called The Best You which will last for 12 weeks. One of the things that I need to do for the day (there are 10) is to write in a journal or blog. I figure why not kill two birds with one stone! So here I go!

This weekend was my birthday and it was awesome! I received lots of phone calls, emails, gift cards, gifts, a beautiful bouquet of flowers and love. One of the gift cards we received was to Bonefish a yummy restaurant here in NN so Randy and I had date night on Saturday night. Luckily it didn't turn out like the movie Date Night! LOL :-) So anyways, we went to dinner at Bonefish, ate dessert at the Melting Pot (fondue restaurant) and then took a little walk. It was so wonderful for us to be able to enjoy a date night like that. Thanks Tom and Eve!

For my actual birthday Sonia, Precious, Randy and I went to VB for the day. We met Mike and Ashley and went to the beach. Holy cow, the weather was amazing! I could have stayed out there all day. In fact, God blessed us with amazing weather ALL weekend! Once we were done at the beach we went back to Barney and Deb's and Deb made a yummy dinner. We had BBQ baby back ribs and pasta weesie (one of my favorite dishes from Carrabbas). Oh my gosh it was all so good and to top it off we had ice cream cake! Thanks Deb for all the super good food you made and bought for us! Randy and I are truly blessed with such incredible families and friends.