Friday Confessions

WHAT? It's already Friday...again? HALLELUJAH!

So, what to confess, what to confess...

Oooo, I got something.

• I didn't wash my hair...two days in a row. These mornings getting Isaiah up and ready for school are doing me in! I don't want him to be late. Any of you who know me very well know that he was CONSISTENTLY late to preschool. Thank goodness they didn't care, because we were never there on time...ever. So, I'm totally paranoid that we're going to fall back into the late pattern and that's just out of the question. Therefore, my hair goes unwashed two mornings in a row. Don't snarl your nose! I'm showering, just not washing my hair. This curly mess that I call hair takes at least 10 minutes, and 10 minutes makes a HUGE difference of whether we're late or JUST IN TIME! I've got to do better next week!
• I was attempting to be really good at McDonald's last night (Isaiah picked the restaurant) and I ordered a salad...and french fries. See, I'm just thinking that they balance each other out...and fries are made out of potatoes...and potatoes are a vegetable...or at least come out of the ground...sooooo...ok, whatever. I ATE FRENCH FRIES! Who cares??!...OK, these thunder thighs care, so what.
• I intentionally "misplaced" Isaiah's fundraiser thingy. I HATE FUNDRAISERS! Here take all my money, but pleeeeeaaaasssseeee don't make me sell anything! We've already been handed THREE...3...fundraisers between school and soccer. Hello! We just got started! These one fundraiser postcards you're supposed to fill out with your family's name and address and there is a little line where you write who the postcard is from...I really want to write "From: Isaiah, P.S. don't buy any of this crap."
• I have a million and one things on my to-do list and it's growing instead of shrinking...and it's driving me NUTS-O! I was just complaining to my mom about how I have so much on my list of things to do. We were in Michaels and I picked up these nifty little notepads, one was a To-Do List and the other was a weekly planner...she was like "that's just what you need, more places to write down all the things you haven't done." Thanks, Mom, for the vote of confidence.

Hope everyone is having a FABULOUS Friday!

Is it over yet? I'm sooooo ready to blow this joint!

Extreme Makeover : Me Edition

Here's today's question:

What is one of your favorite dieting secrets?
(I know it's a lifestyle not a diet, but you get the jist.)

I have TONS of secrets...oh, you mean dieting...well, yeah, I have lots of those too.

Like...

1. drink lots of water
2. only eat when you're hungry
3. make small goals

The list could go on and on, BUT my ONE FAVORITE dieting (lifestyle) secret is best said in the words of a dear lady I once knew, her name was Sister Booker, and she would always say "Jus' keep on keepin' on." I like to apply that one phrase to every aspect of my life and dieting is no exception. So, when I have weeks like I just had where life takes over and I have no control over circumstances, I just remember that I'm going to "keep on keepin' on", meaning I won't give up and I won't turn back...I'm only moving forward.

I had weigh-in at WW today and I gained another .2 pounds (so, that's almost a whole pound over the last 2 weeks), but you know what it could be worse and I won't give up. I'll just take it in stride. I faced the scale. I'm keepin' it real...

and I'll jus' keep on keepin' on.

How about you? Any brilliant diet (or lifestyle) secrets you would like to share?

For more EM:MEs, go see Amber at {aefilkins}!!

Honest sCRAP

This award was bestowed upon me by Julia at Brainella the Librarian. She's an honest kind of person, so I feel honored that she would award me the Honest Scrap Award. Her blog is down-to-earth and just about life. Go check visit and say hi!

Here are the rules:

In accepting this award, I need to do the following:
1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2) Share "ten honest things" about myself.
3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4) Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

10 Honest Things About Myself: (this could get embarrassing...OK, so I'm not easily embarrassed.)

1. I burp...a LOT.
2. I LOVE coffee, not just like, but LOVE. (especially from Starbucks)
3. I like to be right. So shoot me! You can't tell me that people walk around thinking, "Man, I love being wrong...it feels good to be wrong." whatev.
4. I take things personal...even when I shouldn't.
5. I over analyze EVERYTHING.
6. I'm a talker...I talk a lot. Just tell me to shut-up if you ever need to...I'll try not to take it personal. (pssshhh, yeah right.)
7. I'm Nosey (with a capital N...it's like a profession).
8. I can be over dramatic.
9. I LOVE giving gifts. It's much better than getting them.
10. I would LOVE to go on a missions trip.

Honest.

7 People I Tag:

1. Xazmin @ This Is The Year - Xazmin is a kindred spirit. We share a LOVE (and when I say LOVE I mean verging on "groupie" status here) of NKOTB (If you don't know what NKOTB stands for do NOT ask Xazmin or myself, we will give you the "uhh, you don't know who NKOTB is" look...yeah, it won't be pretty). She's also been a great friend who always listens and offers advise whenever I need it. Thank, Xazmin! :)
2. Rebeckah @ Life With Kaishon - I love Rebeckah! Whenever I am down and need a boost, I just go visit Rebeckah's blog. She always has fun and AH-mazing pictures of kiddos and family. Plus, she always has the kindest coolest words. You're a gem, Rebeckah!
3. Vivienne @ The V Spot - Have you had your dose of funny today? (that is a question we should ask ourselves everyday) If you haven't, and you want it given to you straight, then you should go see Vivienne. Girl is Funny (with a capital F). Also, she is my hero. She is the MOST organized person I know. When I am cleaning in my house, I seriously think to myself "WWVD"...what would Vivienne do? Remember it...use it...WWVD.
4. Amber @ {aefilkins} - Amber is awesome! She hosts EM:MEs, which have been a HUGE inspiration for me while on my weight loss journey. She also goes to WW and it's fun to share WW ideas. Her blog is great and full of life. Go check her out...oh, and join in on EM:MEs or FMMs (she's hosting for Kelsey while she takes a bloggy break).
5. Kelli @ Outside My Kitchen Window - Kelli is a new bloggy friend (and Facebook friend). She is super nice and has GREAT craft ideas on her blog. I read things on there and think "I COULD do that"...she makes it seem possible. Plus, she always has inspiring words and scriptures.
6. Julie @ Shabbywears - I got to know Julie through my very first bloggy swap. She was my partner and she totally HOOKED me up! She has a fun (newly redecorated) blog and she's got a family of ranchers. She got my name for Seriously's Birthday Swap! WOOHOO! I can't wait!
7. Becca @ The Texas Darlings - Becca is an amazing mom to three adorable kiddos. Her and her kids collected a post card from all 50 states this summer. What a cool idea, huh? She has an ADORABLE blog and always has fun-to-read posts!

Hope everyone is have a wonderful Wednesday!

Friend Makin' Monday is BAAAACCKKK!

I was just thinking this morning that I WISH there was a Friend Making Monday post to do...and, well, wishes really do come true! The wonderful fabulous Amber at {aefilkins} is hosting FMMs while Kasey is taking a bloggy break (we all need those from time to time).

Today's Theme:

Top 10 Things I Loved About This Summer

1. Michael doing most of the cooking on the grill. Thanks, babe. :)

2. Cookouts at the farm. (Is it bad that my first 2 favs revolve around food and eating?)

3. Not having to get Isaiah up and around for school. He's not a morning person, but he has been doing a fabulous job so far since he started kindergarten! ILY♥

4. Family Reunions...the Barney's representin'. We're so hard-core.

5. Visits from friends

and getting this tattoo...

6. The slip-n-slide!

Michael slippin' or trippin' on the slip-n-slide!

Isaiah slippin' like a pro.

and one of my fav shots from this summer...

The Crack Shot

(he'll hate me for this one day)


7. WICKED! By far the BEST musical EVER!!! If it comes to your local PAC, GO SEE IT!!!

8. Meeting up with my friends for Starbucks at my favorite locale. :)

9. Isaiah taking his first trip to Grammy and Papaws. I know it sounds crazy that this would be on my "favs" list, but it was a real growing moment for me. He had so much for, so how could I not LOVE that!

10. Our Colorado vacation, where we had the best time and met up with some great friends and really really enjoyed ourselves.

What a GREAT summer!

What is your TOP 10 of the summer?

Go join in on FMMs over at Amber's blog!

Hope everyone has a mah-velous Monday!

Friday Confessions

Aaaaa, look at me THREE posts in THREE days. I'm on a roll! It's FRIDAY! Can I get a woot woot?!!

So, I haven't confessed in a loooooooonnnnnnggggg time. I won't try to do any back-confessions, that could get ugly. I'm just livin' in the now people.

• Confession #1 - I haven't done a Friday Confession in months!
• Confession #2 - I have acquired some new Twilight love for my office which I will be showing all of you soon. I think you're really gonna love it. really.
• Confession #3 - I gained half a pound at WW, but I'm not dwelling on the past...livin' in the now.
• Confession #4 - I've missed ALL OF YOU so much and am so glad to be back to bloggin'.
• Confession #5 - I have lowered my Starbucks intake to a mere THREE times a week. *gasp* Please don't turn me into the Starbucks Patrol. I'm going to make my donation today...it is Friday and what would a Friday be without Starbucks? Bad. That's what. really really bad.
• Confession #6 - My baby started kindergarten. I must admit that I'm sad. I don't want him to not need me anymore and that first day I dropped him off and he walked into "big school" all on his own and waved bye, I felt my level of being needed go down a few notches. =( He's growing up too fast. Why must time go by so quickly?
• Confession #7 - I paid for gas in quarters this morning b/c I didn't have my debit card. See Michael, those quarters I save in the door of my car ARE good for something.
• I would also like to add a Confession #8...I just took my bra off in the Mall parking lot because it was driving me crazy! ahhhh. much better.

Hope you all are having a FABULOUS Friday!!

Hodgepodge

This post is just a hodgepodge of random thoughts. I was thinking that perhaps I made that word up in my mind, because I do that often, but then quickly opened up another browser window and punched it in to the hand-dandy http://www.dictionary.com/ and found out that I did NOT make it up! whew. It means a"heterogeneous mixture". Yep, that's what this post is going to be a heterogeneous mixture. I like using big words. That one is going into my long term memory. So, I said I was going to blog more frequently and here I am. I know you're stoked.

First, I would just like to say that I am ECSTATIC that football is right around the corner, hence the new blog header. I love my SOONERS! There is only ONE Oklahoma...you did know that right? If you're unsure, you should watch this video...






Are you PUMPED? I am. I love it.



Second, I would just like to say for my fellow Twi-holics out there that we are now a mere 92 days away from NEW MOON!! Wow. Have any of you been to a TwiCon? I want to go to one. Like bad. There are about 10 of them coming up in the next year. I want to be at one of them. I'm not sure what they do at a Twilight Convention, but I want to find out.

Maybe one of them will show up?

Random topic #3, I weighed in at WW yesterday for the first time since vacation and I gained half of a pound. I was disappointed yesterday, but today I decided I'm going to look at it as an accomplishment. I mean, I did go on vacation for 6 days and totally enjoyed myself while I was gone...no regrets. I WILL do better this week. I've been drinking water like crazy. I wish there was a way to drink lots of water and not go to the bathroom every 22 minutes. ugh! I brought lots of veggies and fruit with me to work today. No eating out!

I thought I would share an easy Weight Watcher recipe with you. It may not sound very good, but you should try it...you might like it!

Bean Soup

1 can beef broth

1 can fat free re-fried beans

1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes and peppers)

Mix all three cans together and bring to a low boil.

It's fast and easy...and only 1 point per cup on WW! You can put a ham sandwich or a veggie quesadilla with this soup and it's a yummy low-point/low-cal meal! Another variation is to add tortilla strips or baked tortilla chips in the soup with some low-fat cheese. Good!

Hope everyone is having a FABULOUS day!!

Extreme Makeover : Me Edition - Back To School!

I'm not even going to say it...you already know how bad I've been. The proof is on the page, right? I'm not going to make any promises...I HATE breaking promises, but I am going to try MUCH harder to post more than once ever 9 DAYS! Geesh. What a slacker!


What better way to get back in the groove than with an EM:ME post?! Today is Wednesday, which is my Weight Watchers weigh-in day. So, I'm not sure exactly how bad I was on vacation yet. I'll have to let the scales tell the true story. I don't feel like I did all that bad. I watched what I ate on MOST days...OK, a FEW days...and I ate healthy when it was possible...OK, when it was convenient. That's neither here nor there. It's in the past. I'm dwelling on the NOW.



Amber's questions for this week:

How is sending the kiddos back to school going to affect you?

Is it going to be easier/harder?

Are there any benefits/downfalls?
Not just back to school time, but basically, summer is coming to an end.

Is summer harder or easier for you to stick to your weight loss goals?


So, Isaiah started back to school last Thursday, the day after we got back from vacation and HE LOVES IT!

This was him on his first day of Kindergarten

For me, Isaiah starting back to school is a good thing. It helps me feel more organized and on a schedule, which means less stress and I feel in control of things...including weight loss. The only down fall is that I miss out on my morning exercising, unless I can start getting up EARLY! I'm trying, but the tiredness from vacation is still lingering. Hopefully, by next week I won't feel so tired. Summer is usually a great time for me to lose weight. It's warmer outside, so I exercise more. There are lots of fresh fruits and veggies, so I eat better. The warmer temps make me CRAVE water. However, I'm determined to be successful as we go into fall.

I WILL find creative ways to work in exercise (Thank you, Maksim and DWTS :)!

I WILL continue to eat fruits and veggies, even if they're of the freezer variety.

I WILL continue to drink water!

How have you been? Tell me, I REALLY want to know!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!!

For more EM:ME posts, go see Amber!

Denver Pictures

Just wanted to post a quick blog and say "hello" to all my bloggy friends! I swear I haven't forgotten about you guys and I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal when vacation is over and school starts back. We are in Denver on vacation right now and I thought I would share the link to some of our pictures from the trip. It is GORGEOUS up here and we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Just click on the links, if you want to check out the pics.

Facebook Your Photos - Denver - Day 1

Facebook Your Photos - Denver - Day 2

Facebook Your Photos - Denver - Day 3

Facebook Your Photos - Denver - Day 4

Hope everyone has a MARVELOUS Monday!! :)