Fall in Utah

Okay, I know it's been a while since I've posted. Life has gotten busier since school started--can that be possible? I can't remember when my house was REALLY clean, and the holidays are coming. Have mercy.

But I thought I'd post pics of my kids enjoying a beautiful fall day. Trevor loves to take fall photos and I love 'em, too. The trees in front of our house have the most beautiful red leaves at this time of year. After these photos were taken Trevor raked up the leaves and threw them away. Simon was so disappointed that he took our wagon and loaded it up with other people's leaves and brought them back to our house. Oh the joys of little boys.

The Summer That Wouldn't End

We got an automated phone call last week from our kids' school. They're going to be attending a brand new public school being built locally, and we had been told (in a previous automated phone call) by the principal that the school would be finished in time to start with all the other public schools on August 25th. But last week's call had no such good news. The woman's voice on the phone dropped the bomb: for the safety of our children the start of school will be postponed and won't start until September 5. I was aghast and angry. I wanted to reach through the phone and throttle the principal. How could they get our hopes up like that then dash them to pieces like a baseball through a window? If we had been expecting to start late all along it wouldn't be such a shocker. But to convey this depressing revelation with only a week to go 'til Sanity is crueler than cruel. I was in a funk. My neighbor told me she cried. Two weeks seemed like an eternity. I tried to look at the positives and could really only come up with one: I could continue to run outdoors for two more weeks without having to rise at an unearthly hour to put in some time on the treadmill. But the thought didn't ameliorate me.

Now we're in the countdown with a week and a half to go. I'm trying to fill it with trips, activities, time passers, anything. And I'm realizing that almost 4 months away from school has been damaging to my kids' learning. Maybe I should fill it with some homeschooling...

Things you don't say to your wife

I saw this on another blog this morning and found it too hilarious not to share...

My Family

This is a photo of my family, including my parents and my five brothers and sisters with their spouses and children. There are 16 grandchildren and one on the way (go Anna!). It was taken during our family reunion at Bear Lake in June, which was fabulous! I loved being able to be together with all my sibs and their kids and my kids loved being with their cousins. It had been a long time since we'd seen some of them!

This trip was a luxury and I thank Alisa and Ed for unselfishly donating time from two condos so we could all sleep comfortably. I also have to thank Elaine and Brian for hauling their boat all the way from California (even with today's gas prices!) so we could all go wakeboarding or go in the tube. Thanks to for Brandon and Anna for bringing the MegaStation; it was awesome, too. And thanks to everyone for days of cooking and cleaning for an army, not to mention all the planning and preparation that went into it beforehand.

My family and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend time with family and enjoy a vacation.

Breaking News

Boy, age 6, Eats Zucchini and Asks for More

It was reported yesterday that the boy, Simon, liked the way the green vegetable was cooked. His parents, Trevor and Julie, put some on his dinner plate as they always do, expecting it to be rejected outright. But, they say, he actually tried it then asked for a second serving of "the round things."

"It's a miracle!, his mother exclaimed. "He especially liked it dipped in ranch dressing," she added, citing an Ellie Krieger recipe for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps as the beloved preparation. The recipe, found on the food network website, is said to be easy and tasty. The rice and black bean pilaf recipe shown on the same episode of "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger," and served with the zucchini, was not as enthusiastically received, although Julie proclaims it "delicious."

I'm a Survivor

I survived the pioneer trek and it was awesome. I walked and ate and laughed and cried. I loved getting to know new people in my stake and being a part of such a big and important event. I learned a lot and my testimony was strengthened. It is something I will always remember.

I didn't realize that there are many missionaries assigned to labor in Martin's Cove and the surrounding areas. We were able to hear from several of them during our trek. They spoke instructional and inspirational words to us in the visitor's center, at the crossing of the Sweetwater River, at Martin's Cove, before the women's pull, and for various other devotionals. (When the the men are "called away" to the Mormom Battalion the women have to pull the handcarts alone. The men walk 3/4 mile away up a hill and wait and are not allowed to help as the women pass.)

I gained so much more of a respect and love for the pioneers. We trekked for 3 days. The pioneers walked for 3 months. It was daily dust, wind, bugs, sun, heat, blistered feet, and weary bodies with seemingly no end in sight. Some handcart pioneers endured worse. But they did it gladly because a prophet of God had called them to gather to Zion and they would obey. Their faith and prayers are what got them through.

Yes, I was there as a leader, but I felt like I was learning and growing along with the youth. One evening we had a company competition playing pioneer games. One of the games was tug-o'-war and we pitted the leaders against the kids. I instinctively headed to the kids side, and it took me a few seconds to realize that I should be on the other side. Funny.

The uncle in our little family was a counselor in the Stake Presidency and I loved getting to know him. What a privilege! I didn't know what a crack-up he is. And there would be times as we were walking and pulling our handcart that I just felt so much love for our little family--and everyone. I had to hold myself back from declaring my love for the world. My heart was bursting.

Here's some pictures.

Pioneer Trek

Tomorrow morning I leave to go on our stake's youth pioneer trek, although you could say I leave tonight because we have to be at the stake center at 3:30 am. My role is a supporting one; I'm an aunt within our little family, and I'm told the uncle is one of the counselors in the stake presidency. We all board buses, as aforementioned, at 3:30 am Wednesday and make a 7-hour trip to Martin's Cove in Wyoming. We'll be trekking Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, then we head home Saturday morning.

Everyone is supposed to represent a real pioneer, ancestor or not, so I chose my third great grandmother Lucy Hoyt Allred, wife of Reddick Newton Allred. He was one of the first rescuers of the Willey and Martin handcart companies and a very faithful man.

I've sewn a pioneer skirt, an apron, and a scripture bag--we're supposed to carry our scriptures with us--and I have a bonnet, bloomers and hiking boots to complete the look. I've packed my meager belongings in a bucket to be placed in a handcart that will be pulled by our family. I have bug repellent (they say ticks are abundant there), sunblock, and chapstick. I have a mess kit, water bottle, rain poncho, and moleskin. Hopefully I'm ready for whatever comes my way...

I've never been on a pioneer trek, so I don't know what to expect. But everything I've heard makes it sound like an experience of a lifetime. I know I'm going as a leader, but I'm sure I'll learn as much as any of the youth. I'll report when I get back and hopefully I'll have some photos to share, too...

a plug

My husband has a blog and he actually updates it and everything! Take a look here!

My love-hate relationship with summer

Don't get me wrong; I love summer. No hating involved. It's the summer vacation part of summer that I have serious doubts about, and this summer vacation has been worse than usual because my kids got out of school in mid-May. And they don't go back until the end of August. That makes for a LONG break from school.

I love summer vacation because my kids are home from school, which is exactly the reason why I hate summer vacation. And maybe I'm just not a resourceful, patient mom (okay, so I'm NOT patient, that's a given) but even though they do chores every day, they don't do enough to cancel out the negative effects of their activities on a home. For example: Parker sweeps the kitchen floor on a given day. Great! Then 4 sets of feet going in and out, eating lunch, doing crafts, etc. return the kitchen floor to it's natural "decorated" state within approximately the same amount of time it took him to sweep.

So, to avoid the above scenario, I try to get out and go places to entertain the troops. But that also causes stress because I'm not at home to do all the other chores and to-dos I have. Laundry doesn't get done. Bills don't get paid. Blogs don't get updated.

Now, I'm sure few of you have these problems, and I'm still learning to more efficiently utilize child labor, but this is the stuff of my life right now. And, I'll admit that I'm not getting up as early as I do during the school year, so I'm losing time from the get-go. Yes, I will claim most of the responsibility for my inability to negotiate this trial.

There are definitely some good things about summer vacation, like being able to sleep in, as noted above, and being able to go to family reunions at Bear Lake. I can only hope there will only be love for summer vacation in Garden City.

I [heart] my nike + ipod

I'm not a gadget person. I don't necessarily need all the latest gear to make my life easier. Besides, if I had all that stuff then I'd have to find a place to put it!

But my husband, being a guy, likes gadgets. He had talked to me about the Nike + iPod and I just didn't appreciate it. Besides, I didn't have Nike shoes, so why bother?

Trevor is a good internet researcher and he found out that you don't have to have the shoes to use the Nike + and he got it for me for Mother's Day, as he stated in his previous post. That's after he got me an iPod Nano for HIS birthday. I thought I was in heaven with the music, but it gets better! Who knew?

He macgyvered the sensor to attach securely to my shoe, as in the above pic, using 2 rubber bands and some Velcro. I put the iPod in an armband with the receiver in it, and I've got my own little cheering section, of sorts. Before my run I choose a goal, such as distance, time or calories. Then as I'm running a woman's voice (you can choose a man's voice, too) comes on at certain increments and says, "You've completed 1 mile (or 100 calories, or 10 minutes)." Then it counts down after the halfway point and congratulates me when I reach my goal. At any time during my run I can push the middle iPod button and hear my time, distance, calories burned, and pace. It's been a great motivator for me and I thank my husband for his persistence!

This is a Blogjacking. I just want to say that my wife is HOT! It has been a while since she has posted anything so I thought I would do it for her. She is amazing. I got her an ipod for my birthday and a nike+ to go with her ipod for mother’s day. It is a little electronic device that you put on your shoe and it sends her running information to her ipod. She took it out for an 8 miler her first weekend and ran a 10k a couple of days ago. When she comes in she is not even winded but man she looks good when she glistens. I know she will hate me for this blog attack but hey if she wants to fix it she will have to post her own blog. This is a picture from our trip to southern Utah a couple of weeks ago.

Peace out.

the group I want to be in

This is the conversation that ensued when I asked Simon what he wanted for lunch today:

Simon: "A hard-boiled egg, toast, and Cheetos."

Mom: "You can have that if you have applesauce to go with it. Then you'll have food from more of the food groups. Applesauce from the fruit group, toast from the grain group, an egg from the meat group, and Cheetos, well, Cheetos don't really have a group."

Simon: "They're from the crunchy group!"

Fun with Funfoam

Ole'.

Eli Oscar Wood

As I've been tagged by my sister, I'm spotlighting my Eli with 7 random facts about him.



1. Trevor's mother moved in with us when Eli was only a few months old, and he is her little friend. He loves her and she loves him.

2. Eli loves popcorn. When he was barely two, he aspirated a piece and got it lodged in his lung. We had to go to Primary Children's Hospital and have it surgically removed. You'd think I'd be more cautious about it after that, and I've tried, but he loves it so much he'll often ask for it for breakfast. I, being the good mommy that I am, give in most days and let him have it as long as he drinks some milk to wash it down. It's like having a bowl of cereal, right? The second picture was taken one such morning.

3. Eli speaks in full sentences and isn't afraid to pronounce anything, but like any two-year-old, has his own way of talking. Here are a few examples of his pronunciation:

Autumn: AH-m

Parker: DED-oh

Simon: BY-dine

Popcorn: PA-ohn

Shoes: DOO-don

4. Eli is, by far, my happiest and sweetest child (assuming, of course, that he's well-rested). He's always in a good mood, and even when he's tired he often gets punchy instead of ornery. When he can't have something he wants I'll tell him something like, "You can have it tomorrow." Most times his response is, "Otay."

5. Autumn and Eli look a lot alike. If she weren't wearing pink in most of her baby pictures, you might not be able to tell the difference between the two.

6. He hates getting his diaper changed and has no desire (at this point, but there's always hope for tomorrow) to try potty training. We're praying he doesn't follow in his two older brothers' footsteps and wait until 4 years old to be ready.

7. He loves "vroom-vrooms," "choo-choos," piggy-back rides, and coloring on my walls and furniture.

the dreaded plateau

Yes, it's true. I've hit it and it's no fun. I haven't lost any real weight since the beginning of the month. I started out the month at 138.4 and today I'm at 137.8, but I've been fluctuating a lot this whole time. So how does one break out of a plateau?

I've heard lots of different advice, like lowering your calories, raising your calories, changing up your workout routine, changing what you eat, etc. I haven't purposely tried any of those, but I'm afraid to raise my calories in fear of gaining weight, and I'm not sure I can lower my calorie intake--I barely have enough control as it is. So what I can reasonably do is change my workout routine. I really enjoy running and don't even mind getting up early to do it. I even look forward to it. I got a Billy Blanks kickboxing DVD and have done it once. Although it was great, I missed my treadmill. I do plan to start running outside this summer when my kids are out of school and the weather's warm, but I won't be able to do that until mid-May.

I guess I'll give Mr. Blanks another try tomorrow and see how I like it.

Anyone have any more advice? I'd love to hear anything you have to say! In the meantime, I'm going to do some internet research on the subject.

Previous weight: 138.4
Current weight: 137.8

Tentative pounds to go: 10.8

I've been living a lie

All my life I've believed I was 5'4" tall. I measured myself (or had someone measure me) in high school, in college and probably thereafter. Always 5'4".

Then yesterday when I went to see my sis Erin, who's visiting Utah and staying with Alisa, we compared heights. She swore she's 5'4", but I'm taller than her. I was sure she was just mistaken about her height, but I had my husband measure me when we got home that night and, lo and behold, I'm 5'5"! Unbelievable! So that gives me a BMI of 22.8. And all this time I've been living under false pretenses.

Come to think of it, I had a pair of really great pants in college that I loved, and after a while they turned into floods. I thought they had just shrunk after repeated washings (I probably wore the things every other day). But maybe, just maybe, I was growing...

Parker's First Pinewood Derby

The pinewood derby was last week and below is a picture of Parker's car. Both Parker and Trevor spent lots of time on it, and I probably don't have to tell you who did the most. Parker designed it, cut most of it out on the bandsaw and picked the color, and Trevor did the rest. He tried to get Parker to sand, but Parker would sand for a minute or two and give up. Not the most fun for an 8-year-old! Trevor's a perfectionist when it comes to these kinds of things, and he fretted over that thing like crazy. It made me crazy! When it was all said and done, Parker took second place. The kid who won first place is a 10-year-old, is the Cubmaster's son and, as we're told, won last year too. They must be doing something right. But all the boys had fun. For the refreshments, someone took the time to make Twinkies into little cars complete with gummi Lifesavers for wheels and gummy bears placed into a small cutout in the Twinkie "driver's seat." Very cute. Wish I had picture of those, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I was just trying not to eat them...

A quick update

Oh my lands, has life interfered with blogging! I've been wanting to post for days now and haven't found the time. So this is a late-night update. I'll write more tomorrow. And it's not that I have sooo much to say, but who wants to leave an Easter post up for so long after Easter's come and gone? Alrighty then.

Previous weight: 139.8
Current weight: 138.4

Tentative pounds to go: 11.4

That's all for now.

A New Decade

I've officially done it! Okay, I've barely done it. But I'm here in the 130s. With the Easter weekend and all the candy that goes along with it, the fact that I didn't gain weight is a victory in itself! (I agree with Anna that Easter candy is the best.) I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all those Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs that are calling my name. I'd feed 'em to my kids, but they're all on a sugar high already. I have been known to throw away perfectly good sweets, but Reese's candy? Not sure I can do that...

Goodness, I didn't mean to go on such a tangent about candy. I guess that just shows what's on my mind right now. But the scale was kind to me this morning and made those 140s go away. I don't plan to see them again. As most of you know, I'm an every-day weigher. Yes, perhaps I should attend a support group for my habit, but for now I will embrace it. This is how I know that during last week I dipped down to 139 for a day but was up again for a few days. So now the second time I'm down I won't go up again. I've seen this pattern before and will hope my time of the month doesn't interfere with it. I'm (barely) in the 130s to stay! Unless I can get to the 120s...

Previous weight: 140.4

Current weight: 139.8

Tentative pounds to go: 12.8

Here's some photos of Saturday's events. It was a beautiful cool, sunny day. What you don't see is all the candy I stole from my kids' buckets. Hee hee!

St. Patrick's Day in Overdrive?

My kids are off track this week and next, so St. Patrick's Day today was a fun one. We had green whole wheat waffles for breakfast and the kids gobbled 'em up. For dinner, instead of the traditional corned beef and cabbage, we had mini green turkey meatloaves (besides all the green veggies we added, ground turkey really takes on food coloring well LOL), spinach salad, peas, green jell-o, and green punch. It was a st. Patrick's day feast.

But Autumn is the one that caught the St. Patrick's Day Spirit (if there is such thing). She wore as much green as a person can wear without doing something permanent. Hee hee! This is what she came up with:

7%: check!

I do realize the throwdown is over, but I have to acknowledge my accomplishments anyway. (Did you notice the alliteration there?) I suppose I'll continue to report in until I reach my goal just to keep myself accountable. There were lots of times when I wanted to indulge but didn't because of you guys! So thanks for your continued support!

Previous weight: 141.6
Current weight: 140.4

7%: GONE!

Like I've stated in previous posts, I don't know what my ultimate goal is, but I do think I want to lose ABOUT 10 more pounds. However, for organizational purposes, I'm going to say my goal is to get to 127 pounds. That gives me 13 more pounds to drop. But this is subject to change anytime.

In other news, I ran OUTSIDE on Saturday. It felt amazing! It wasn't the first time I went outside this winter. I ran around our neighborhood a couple Saturdays ago, but there was still a lot of snow around and it was cold, so I didn't stay out very long. But this time the weather was beautiful--sunny and cold--perfect for running. I took off my sweatshirt after about 20 minutes, but still had on a long-sleeved shirt. I ran the trail by our house; I had run this trail while training for the marathon, but didn't know exactly how long it was. Turns out I ran 6.3 miles. It felt great! I was a little sore the next morning, but nothing crippling. My body's just not used to running on the pavement! It helped that I had Trevor's ipod and also that I was 20 or 30 yards behind two other women and I wanted to find out if I knew them so we could chat. I finally caught up with them and I didn't know them and didn't want to crash their party, so I kept on alone. By that time it was too late to shorten my run, so I pushed all the way around the loop.

Also, I found a swimsuit last week! I took my MIL to our brand new Ross. She didn't find what she was looking for, but I found two suits that I love. One was a one-piece Liz Claiborne for $25 and the other was a tankini in a Hawaiian-type print for $19. I wanted both but decided on the tankini and I love it! The kids have been begging me to take them swimming to the nearby indoor public pool while they're off track this week and next. We'll probably hit the pool soon; it'll be a blast!

By the way, in my last post I mentioned trying on a size 6 and having it fit. As a clarification, I DO NOT wear a size 6. Some fit, but as I discovered recently, not all do. And now I'm even questioning if those shorts were really a 6 or perhaps I made a mistake and grabbed the 8. But you know what? It doesn't matter! Size 6, size 8, it's all smaller than I've been in recorded history, so who cares? All I know is I'm happy...

Weight Loss Update

Just like a Weight Watchers meeting, I'm here for my weekly weight loss progress report. This morning's official stats are the following:

Previous weight: 143
Current weight: 141.6

Pounds to go for 7%: 0.8

I suppose the 7% is moot now, but I still want to report because I'm sooo close!

I tried on some size 6 shorts at Target today and THEY FIT! They weren't even tight or anything! Wow! And I was brave and tried on a few swimsuits. It wasn't too painful, actually. (The lighting must be more flattering in my Target, KariAnn. Maybe you should try on swimsuits there!) But coming from where I came, I appreciate just being able to wear a size medium and have it fit. The main problem for me was that there wasn't enough support where I need it (thanks to having kids or maybe just age)--at the bust. Oh well. I'll continue the search. Where's a good place to get modest swimsuits that don't cost an arm and a leg? I will need one for Bear Lake, after all. And hey, maybe I'll even take my new bod and my kids swimming more often!

Me? Skinny?

I was at the R.S. Birthday Dinner on Tuesday night. The dinner was Hawaiian haystacks (rice, creamy chicken sauce, and toppings). I was trying to stay within my calories so my plate looked pretty sparse. A couple of the ladies at the buffet table were talking about the amount of food they'd taken and pointed out my plate saying, "That's why Julie's so skinny!" Well, first of all, I don't eat like that all the time. Second, I've NEVER been called skinny by anyone, really. That's just not a word I associate with myself (and for good reason). But man, it felt good! So even though they aren't reading this blog (let me know if you are!), thank you to the sisters who made my day!

Before

This hideous before pic was taken in June 2006. It should have been deleted a long time ago, but I suppose I'm glad I have it now. {sigh}

Midway through

You asked for it, you got it...

Throwdown Update

Whew--I'm glad that week's over! Trevor hurt his back and was laid up all weekend, so I was on my own to help my MIL move into her new digs. Luckily, the big things were already in and she doesn't have a lot of other stuff. On Saturday Autumn was a big help and Eli was my big "helper" yesterday. Trevor did take the afternoon off yesterday and hooked up her TV and helped with what he could. There's just a few loose ends to tie up today and it'll be done! She loves it and I'm happy for her. Trevor put some video on his YouTube channel if anyone's interested.

So on to the report. I think I might be getting the hang of this. I'm really trying hard to eat right. I LOVE cake and it was hard for me to stay away from that disgusting rat cake. It looked yucky but it tasted good. We brought home about half of it from the banquet, and I pawned off as much of it as I could onto the kids, then I chucked what the left--the whole head. The banquet was so well done with lots of yummy food, but there was NO diet-friendly food. I thought there would at least be some veggies I could rely on, but the only veggies on the Chinese New Year menu was ramen-noodle "chow mein" that had a few rare carrot shreds in it. I ate sauteed chicken chunks, a little bit of white rice, and the rest of Eli's chicken nuggets.

I can definitely tell a difference in my body, but I've only had 2 people say they've noticed I've lost weight. So I'm just not sure how noticeable it is, although one lady at Church yesterday came up to me and said I looked so young and at first glance she thought I was a cousin visiting our family. That was a nice compliment, although I did have my hair done a little bit differently that day.

I had Autumn take a full-body pic of me this morning before she raced off to school, but it's not so flattering. I'll probably post again tonight when I can get Trevor to take a pic of my good side. (If, indeed, I can find one.)

Previous weight: 144.2
Current weight: 143.0

Pounds left for 7%: 2.2

I don't have an Ultimate Goal. I guess I should say I don't know what my Ultimate Goal is. I'm in uncharted territory right now. I feel like Colombus! I haven't been this weight for about 12 years, if my memory is correct. I think I weighed 140 on my mission and I thought I was fat. I got sick at the beginning and lost about 7 pounds but when I got better I went right back up to 140. So I guess what I'm saying is that I'll know I've found the West Indies when I get there!

The Year of the Rat

Most of you that read my blog have already seen this, but I wanted to post it anyway because I think it's hilarious!

Trevor loves making cakes (he makes all the cakes for our kids' birthdays), so when he found out that all the Cub Scouts were supposed to bring a Chinese New Years themed cake to the Blue & Gold Banquet, the wheels started turning in his head. This is what he came up with.

The tail, ears, and feet, and whiskers (oh, and pellets) are made of tootsie rolls. The cake inside is a bright green color. Trevor and I were watching as the leaders cut into the cake at the banquet and saw their surprised reaction. He said that was the highlight of his day!

I wish I had a fraction of my husband's creativity and talent!

Throwdown Report

The past week was a busy one, filled with trips to my MIL's new "apartment," which is what we're going to call if for lack of a better word. (It sounds silly to say "Let's go to Grandma's room," plus it seems to give her more independence to call it an apartment.) I also took her shopping for a new couch and we'll be doing more shopping this week for additional needed supplies. I'm pretty sure there's not going to be much free time this week with more moving to do, shopping, decorating, etc.

All in all, I did well last week. I managed to stay on track for the most part (see below). My exercise has been minimal, but I was still able to get in a little. I even have a loss to report! I'm down 1 1/2 pounds. It ain't 4 pounds, but I'll take it with gratitude.

I discovered a new favorite lunch, too. I went to the grocery store early one morning after I had taken my kids to school when they missed the bus and found some short-dated packaged greens that they had marked down half price. They come in a plastic container and are about 25 calories for the whole thing. I bought several. There are a few different ones and they're dee-lish. They have some arugula and herbs in them that just taste good all by themselves. But I put in low-fat feta, slivered almonds, ham, tomatoes, or whatever I have in my kitchen and it's a huge, filling salad. We've also been roasting a lot of vegetables lately. I can't believe how sweet raw carrots taste to me now, but roast 'em and they're like candy!

Previous weight: 145.6
Current weight: 144.2

Pounds left for 7%: 3.4

My goal for this week: eat more salads and stay sane!

Apple Fritters and Instincts

Yesterday was moving day for my MIL who, as many of you know, is moving into an assisted living center. She's beside herself with excitement, so it makes us happy to see her so happy about life. She can't actually move her self in until March 3, but we moved all her stuff out of our house and into her new room. It's going to be a really nice place for her and she SO wished she could stay.

I had to run some errands beforehand and the kids begged me to stop at Krispy Kreme for donuts to share with Trevor's brother & nephew that were helping. (Ya, that was it.) I told myself I could have one donut and that would be my treat. I had had a good run that morning and I'd be spending a good portion of the day moving stuff. That was my rationalization. So against my better judgement, I chose an apple fritter. I knew I should just stick with a regular glazed donut, but a powerful force took over my brain and I ignored my instincts. Ohhh, it was good, too.

When I got home I checked the calorie content online for my daily log--I was going to be brutally honest with myself, and I knew it would be brutal--and found out that the apple fritter is the HIGHEST CALORIE PASTRY sold at Krispy Kreme (along with the Caramel Kreme Crunch, which just sounds sinful). I didn't think it would be that brutal. It has a whopping 380 calories, compared to the 200-calorie original glazed donut. My instincts were right, but I kicked them to the curb like yesterday's trash. Doh!

Weight Loss Throwdown: Tuesday Update

All my kids and my husband were home yesterday, so we went and had some inexpensive fun together. I only had time for one post and decided to do the other one first.

So here's my update for the throwdown as of today: I HAVE A HEALTHY BMI! Yes, I weigh 145 lbs., which means I'm at the very tippy top of the healthy range. All that time I spent in the 150s and would calculate my BMI, I could see that it wouldn't take much to get in the healthy range, but couldn't motivate myself to do what it would take to get there. Finally I have the focus and momentum, and it wasn't (extremely) torturous, either! I would have loved to have eaten more than 1/2 piece of the pizza we got last night...

Previous weight: 146.6
Current weight 145.6

Pounds to go for 7%: 4.8

I've been tagged

I'm finally getting to posting my response. Sorry for the delay, Erin!

10 years ago I was... a new mother with a 5-month old baby girl and loving life. We had one car and Trevor had to drive 30 min. to work, so Autumn and I didn't go out a lot. We lived within walking distance of the grocery store, so I'd take the stroller and do my grocery shopping and then try to haul it all back in the stroller. Didn't always work really well...

5 things on my 'to do' list today: My To Do List is ongoing and I cross things off and then start a new one when I've accomplished most of them. 1. Clean off the computer desk. 2. Fold laundry. When is this NOT on the list? 3. Take MIL to clinic to have blood drawn. 4. Clean bathrooms. 5. Call Dish Network to cancel one of our channels.

Things I would do if I became a billionaire:
1. Pay off debts (like student loans).
2. Buy my dream house.
3. Get Trevor a new car. He drives a 15-year-old Taurus that's running on blessings. And I need a new van, too--one that's from this century!
4. Go on a trip (or ten) with my husband anywhere but here. We've NEVER taken even an overnight trip alone.
5. Donate, give, invest, and breathe easy.

3 of my bad habits:
1. Procrastinating. Notice it took me several days to get this post up!
2. Being impatient with my kids.
3. I grind my teeth at night and have to wear a mouth guard so I don't wear down my teeth.

5 Places I've lived:
1. Sunnyvale, California
2. Tacoma, Washington
3. Paraguay
4. Salt Lake City, Utah
5. Syracuse, Utah

5 jobs I've had:
1. I worked as a babysitter at a Jazzercise class when I was 14 & 15.
2. Dishwasher at the Morris Center at BYU. Luckily no one could see us in there. :)
3. Receptionist at BYU Multicultural Services. Loved that job.
4. LDS Church Office Building. I was a clerk in the Humanitarian Services Dept.
5. Clerk in mail room at IRS on the graveyard shift. Yuck.

Things most people don't know about me:
I was a member of Weight Watchers with my best friend when we were about 13. She lost something like 20 or 30 pounds and I can't remember if I even lost more than 5 pounds. We'd ride our bikes to the meetings then go over to McDonald's afterwards and have a Diet Coke and watch people.

I played field hockey in high school. A friend talked me into trying out (I never would've done it on my own) then she dropped out and I stayed. It was a lot of fun!

If I didn't pluck my eyebrows I'd probably have a unibrow. LOL

Weight Loss Throwdown: Monday Update

I had another decent week and I'm sooo close to being within the healthy or "normal" BMI range. I weighed in at 146.6 this morning and that's a BMI of 25.1, which is still overweight. But when I get to 145, I'll be at 24.9, which is normal. I'm not going to let myself be controlled by the numbers, but it's just a milestone that I plan to surpass and never see again! The next milestone will be the 130s!

I went shopping over the weekend and got some size 8 pants! I don't remember the last time I wore an 8. Not even in high school! (Wow, that's embarrassing to acknowledge.) But this isn't my goal weight, so I got the pants at a second-hand store. I don't plan to stay at this weight for long!

But I do have a question for all of you out there in blogland. How does a person determine their goal weight? I've never been at a healthy weight in my adult life, so I don't know what weight will feel right. According to some schools of thought, a 5'4" medium -frame woman should weigh about 120. But I don't know if I'd even be able to maintain that weight without killing myself. So I guess what I'm saying is that I don't know what my goal weight is until I actually get there. Right now my goal is just to have a healthy BMI and then to get out of the 140s!

Previous weight: 148.4
Current weight: 146.6

Pounds to go for 7%: 5.8

And now, a moment of silence...for my pants. My favorite comfy sweatpants don't fit anymore. They're just too big! Yes, they were roomy to begin with, but now they just don't stay up. I guess I'll just be on the lookout for a new pair of SMALLER favorite pants!

Payback

We went to parent-teacher conferences yesterday. We were told that our children are smart (I didn't need to be told that) but stubborn (I knew that, too). Don't know where they got it. Not a clue! Simon, our kindergartener, turned in an assignment (one that he probably could have done in his sleep) with just scribbles on it. And he can rarely be cajoled into reading when he doesn't want to.

Although not so stubborn, Autumn is excelling in school. Her only problem is that she's friends with everyone and she can talk and work at the same time, but not everyone else can do that. Hmm...I can't imagine where this attribute came from either. Certainly not me, though. Perhaps Grandpa Parker or Grandma Fay. That's both sides of the family.

Eli, the 2-year-old, is growing out of naps (yikes!) already. I put him down and he just cries for as long as I let him, sometimes 20-30 minutes. And don't try to get him to eat something he doesn't want to. It's not gonna happen.

What's a mom of stubborn kids to do? I remember a book my mom and dad had while I was growing up called "The Strong-Willed Child." Guess they had the same problem. Could it have been me? If so, I guess I've got my payback.

On Being a Doofus

I need to change my attitude and this post will hopefully help. In my last post I said that my 1-pound loss felt overshadowed by KariAnn's 3-pound loss. I was whining and going about things all wrong. All I was doing was putting a pall over KariAnn's success and making it so she couldn't enjoy it! Well, I need to apologize and congratulate her on some awesome accomplishments. You are amazing.

I know you didn't ask for this KP, but as I thought about it I realized what a doofus I was being! I'll do better in the future!

Positive Thoughts

I'm really trying to have them!

Any other time I'd be thrilled to be weighing 148.4 pounds. But today it seems overshadowed by KariAnn's huge losses. She's amazing and I admire her for her diet skills and self-control. She's an expert at healthy and creative eating. Truly she's a superwoman and I don't want to take anything away from that.

I felt like my eating was pretty good this week. I'm improving at eating less and better things for breakfast, which is my biggest challenge. My kids are eating, for the most part, the new recipes I've been trying for dinner. I'm not going over my daily calories. I had successes in social situations, too. I went to two gatherings with lots of yummy, fattening food--a scrapbook party and only ate one bite of a butterscotch chip cookie, and the aforementioned MMA fight and only had a diet soda. I'm happy with my exercising, when I can do it. I missed or cut short a few workouts this week due to a needy 2-year-old, but I also got in lots of snow-shoveling, including twice yesterday. I guess I just need to forget the throwdown thing and just concentrate on my own successes, because that's what's going to get me to my goal in the end. Although I don't think there's any hope for me in this throwdown competition, I do know that I'm finding strength that I haven't been able to muster for a very long time. When Eli was born 2 years ago, I weighed somewhere between 190 and 200 pounds (I tried to avoid the numbers). I've lost a lot since then, but these last 25 have been stubborn. I will continue my fight. I can't lose the mental edge, because that's what weight-loss is all about for me. It's all in my focus. And I'll stop comparing myself to my incredible sisters and SIL and just do what works for me.

Don't worry, I'm still in the competition, but I have to find my own way. What does that mean? It means that I'm not worried about winning. I just wish I could go with you and help you pick out your new skinny clothes, gals!

Last week's weight: 149.4
Current weight: 148.4

Left to go for 7%: 7.6 pounds

My goal for this week is to work on a weight-loss mantra that I can repeat when things get difficult. Something POSITIVE!

Eating Crow

My husband is a big fan of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), AKA cage fighting. (Remember Kip in Napoleon Dynamite? "I'm training to be a cage fighter.") Now, Trevor doesn't watch football or other sports on TV, so I have to be grateful that it's limited to that. It could be worse, I suppose. Even so, whenever he turns it on, I leave the room. I can't stand the stuff and really have no desire to be around when it's on. I just don't get the draw of watching two tattooed guys with morbid nicknames and weird hair beat each other up to a bloody pulp.

But last night we both were invited to a pay-per-view event at the home of Trevor's friend Gary. I really didn't care to go, but agreed to so I could spend more time with my hubby on a pseudo-date, and also to enjoy the company of our friends. Gary and Amy are fun people and have a beautiful home. Amy has a vinyl business and her home is decorated with tons of cool vinyl sayings. But that's a whole other post. I brought a magazine as boredom insurance.

As the night progressed, I enjoyed talking to our friends and even watched the fighting a little bit. I did take my magazine out during the slow fights, but that's mostly because I had been looking forward to reading the new Runner's World that had just come. There were some pretty cool takedowns (don't know if that's the correct terminology, but I heard it a few times, so I should be safe). After a while, the main event came on, and I watched. There was a lot of hype and drama, but the actual fighting (and this is hard for me to admit) was kind of exciting and I was actually interested! *GASP*

Don't get me wrong; I'm not turning into a MMA fan and don't think I ever will (I'd rather scrapbook any day than watch Randy Couture fight), but I'm repenting for not giving it a chance and losing all that time with my husband. From now on, maybe I won't leave the room when he's watching and just find a magazine to read when it gets boring...

Treadmill hills

I've been trying to up the intensity of my treadmill workouts lately. Most days I have less than an hour to get in a good exhausting workout and since I've been using my treadmill to work out for so long, my body's getting used to things, to say the least. But I still love it. My husband stuck a TV right in front of the treadmill so I can DVR my favorite shows and watch them as I run! No boredom! (Speaking of shows, Lost starts tonight. Woohoo!)

I'm an amateur runner and worker-outer and I'm just doing my best on very little knowledge. But I read somewhere that it's good to run at your usual pace then add in several minutes of sprinting or hills, then recover at your normal pace (instead of walking for recovery). So I've been doing this. My normal pace is 6 mph at 0% or 1% incline, then I'll kick it up to 7 mph or a 3% incline for 5 min to change things up. Yesterday I was doing that and upon finishing my 5 minutes I pushed the 6 mph button on my treadmill to slow back down and recover. I kept running and running and couldn't figure out why it wasn't getting any easier. I pushed 6 mph again--maybe I hadn't pushed hard enough. Still I was killing myself. Why? Suddenly I realized I was at a 3% incline the whole time! Duh! Boy, do I respect all you out there who run hills outdoors on a regular basis.

Weight Loss Throwdown: Weigh-in Time

I just can't hold it in any longer. I lost two pounds this week! I had a pretty straight-forward week without excessive temptation and it paid off! I can tell my clothes fit better and I feel good. So I'm off to a decent start, girls. Can't wait to see what you all have lost this week!

Starting weight: 151.4

Current weight: 149.4

Left to go for 7%: 8.6 lbs.

I have about four pounds to go to be within the healthy BMI range for my height and I look forward to that milestone.

I was up til 1:00 last night with a 2-year-old with what appeared to be nightmares. I missed my workout window, but there's not much time to rest today! I'm off!

We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet

The passing of President Hinckley came as a surprise last night. He was seeming to tire, and we sensed his time wouldn't be much longer on this earth. This was not something we were used to, however, as his energy and enthusiasm always far exceeded a man of his years. He was a chosen prophet and he was blessed to be able to do the things this day and time demanded of him. A worldwide church needed a friend of the media and the public, a dynamic globetrotter, and a leader by example. Gordon B. Hinckley was all of these and more and he did it with humor, wit, and humility.

I will miss him, and I thank the Lord for sending that man at this time. I do thank thee, O God, for a prophet.

Blessings

I've felt very blessed lately.

Today was Trevor's day off (he gets alternating Fridays off) so after Simon got on the bus the we grabbed Eli and the three of us took off. We checked out Tai Pan Trading and I saw a ton of things I loved. After that, I really wanted to eat lunch out, but we both knew we shouldn't for several reasons. So we stopped by our regular hangout, Deseret Industries. I go to DI to look for things to sell on ebay, but also to shop. I think it's fun! On the way home we stopped by our neighborhood produce store and picked up a bunch of fruit and vegetables. So for lunch I had a big plate of veggies and dip. It tasted so good, and Eli helped me eat, although a little while later I found a half-chewed carrot on the floor of the front room. He's not quite ready for raw carrots, but he sure wants to be!

Later, Trevor and I went on a date (a rare occurrence)! A friend of his invited us to a Quick Wits show in Salt Lake, so Trevor picked up his mom from the care center while I made dinner. After dinner (more fresh veggies with fish sticks and mashed potatoes, which my kids love) we took off to the show and I laughed like crazy. It was a great show, but it's held in a big warehouse with pretty bad acoustics, so they turn off the loud heater so people can hear the show. I froze. Somehow my body has lost it's ability to stay warm! I had to thaw out before I could sit down to blog about it. Next time I'll bring a blanket or two.

But getting to my point, tonight was the first night in almost 2 weeks that we didn't have family scripture study. We've known that our family needed to study the scriptures together, but there was always something that stopped us. But since we've started up again things have been very good in our house! We have our share of trials, and our children are not exempt from their own, but since we started studying the scriptures together I've noticed that their problems are not as much of a problem anymore! These are the blessings that we've been promised by the prophets. Our family is living proof and I'm grateful for it. We plan to keep it up!

COLD

That's the best word to describe the weather today. My neighbor said she looked at her thermometer outside at 7 am this morning and it was 3 (yes, three) degrees. I made the mistake of going outside to take Simon to the bus stop and I felt like my ears were going to freeze off. Now, I'm not trying to complain, and I really don't mind the snow and the cold most of the time. And although I'm not a native Utahan, I've even gotten used to shoveling and scraping and bundling up. I like going inside into the warmth after a time in the cold--it makes me appreciate my home more :)

But today! I'm sitting here with three layers and a blanket at my computer. This I'll never get used to!

Sort of makes a person look forward to spring...

Weight Loss Throwdown

With some trepidation, I've accepted my sister-in-law Kari Ann's challenge to a weight-loss throwdown that includes her and my two sisters. She explains it all on her blog, so I won't repeat everything.

I say I've accepted with trepidation because I feel like I'm just a regular gal trying to feel good about my body for the first time in a long time. Don't get me wrong, the motivation is well-received and appreciated, and I do plan to win, but I have to admit that I don't have any grand designs for this except to lose weight and if I lose the $20 theatre bucks (I think I'll make it $25 to match what everyone else is putting in) then that's a small price to pay. Many have paid much more than that :). If I win, all the better!

Today I got on the scale and weighed 151.4. I haven't been that low since my 8-year-old son was a baby. And even then it was only for a few months.

My plan to win this challenge is what I've been doing since the beginning of the year (I've lost 6 lbs. since then!): I will eat about 1400 calories a day, keeping track of it online. I will run on my treadmill 30-60 min a day and may try to work in some circuit training or Pilates.

My stats:

7% of body weight: 10.6 lbs.

Starting weight: 151.4
Goal for throwdown: 140.8

So it's on, girls. Watch out!

Breakfast anyone?

Since my last post, I've been thinking about breakfast. It's a tough meal for me, first because I'm hungry, as you know from my last post, but also because I can't eat just anything.

So I'm asking: What do you eat for breakfast? I'm asking because I feel like I may need to revamp my menu for My Favorite Meal of the Day. I usually eat cold cereal, as I've said. Lately I've had 2 servings of Corn Chex with a cup of skim milk and a banana sliced on top. And one packet of Equal. The only time I EVER sweeten my cereal with sugar (or a substitute) is when I put a banana in it. Don't know why. I grew up putting sugar in my non-sugar cereal (we never had anything sugary) but when I left home I stopped doing it. Who knows. I just couldn't stop sugaring the bananas. But I digress.

I have felt like cereal is a good choice because I don't love just drinking plain milk and it's a good way to get milk in my diet. Also it's easy and tasty. The drawbacks are that to eat enough to really satisfy my hunger I eat too many calories. But I also wonder what WOULD satisfy my hunger without eating too many calories? I know oatmeal doesn't do it. I love oatmeal and could eat buckets full (okay, I know that's an exaggeration, but I seems like I could) to satisfy my hunger.

So what to do you all eat for breakfast? What could I eat that would satisfy a ravenous breakfast lover without blowing my calories?

Also, I've never really thought about the Glycemic Index. Is this something I should be considering when making food choices?

By the way, it's interesting how my post for the last few days all have to do with food! Hmm...

Ravenous

One of the many differences between my husband and me is our hunger and cravings when trying to lose weight. He and I are working together, encouraging and helping each other.

I'm hungriest in the morning and he's hungriest in the evening. Most nights he's craving something to eat, while nights for me seem to be easy. I might get a little hungry, but I don't really have a problem ignoring it. But for me, I wake up ravenous! I feel like I could eat all my daily calories just for breakfast! So I usually eat about 450-500 calories and still want more. And to make matters worse, I have a weakness for cold cereal and I adore breakfast food. Silly, I know, but I could eat cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Trevor could skip breakfast if he was running late for work without batting an eye.

I can think of at least one reason why this may be the case. One is that I work out in the morning while he does in the afternoon. Another is that he doesn't think about eating while he's at work, but I'm around food all day at home and eat more during the day. But then again, this could be attributed to our cravings and hunger. So which came first, the chicken or the egg? I don't know; I just want to eat them!

Lazy Dinner Success

I was gone all day yesterday and didn't plan dinner, and when I don't plan, it doesn't always turn out great because it's just thrown together. Besides that, I only had a couple hundred calories left (see below) for my daily allotment and I didn't want to make a huge dinner and not be able to eat it. Is that terrible?

Well, I had stopped by Great Harvest Bread because it was on the way home from my MIL's rest home, and grabbed a hunk of bread for Simon to eat while we drove--we weren't going to get home in time for him to eat much before he had to be at the bus stop to go to Kindergarten. I also picked up two loaves of delicious, diet-busting bread. I was able to resist eating too much (that doesn't mean I didn't eat any--see above), but I knew I wanted to use it quickly because I didn't know how long my will-power would hold out. (I'm a carb lover.) I thought about having a breakfast dinner with toast and eggs, but at the suggestion of a breakfast dinner, Parker requested waffles. Then Trevor suggested a childhood frequency: poor man's pancakes (toast with butter & syrup on it). Then I thought, why not just throw the bread in the waffle iron and have "poor man's waffles?" That sounded good to Parker, and when it came out it looked like checkerboard toast. He buttered and syruped it and inhaled it, saying how good it was (even though the toasted parts were VERY crunchy). Autumn and Simon wanted some too, and they each had two. So my poor man's waffles with our breakfast dinner were a success. We tried to come up with a snappy name for them and this is what we thought up: Toastifulls, Breffles, or Waffle Toast. Unfortunately, I couldn't try them, but they sure smelled good! And the kids kept saying, "Mom, you need to put this on your blog!" So here I am blogging about my lazy dinner success. I'm not sure this is something to be proud of, but at least the kids were happy!

Celebrity hair, non-celebrity face

Well, here you go... I think all of mine look terrible! Autumn's looks cute, though, doesn't it? She did that herself! She loves doing stuff like that, such a girly girl.

I don't know, there's just something for me about looking at my face over and over again in a pictue that's hard to get used to.

One Semester of Spanish Love Song

My husband emailed me this video this morning and I thought it was hilarious. You all probably saw it ages ago, but this was my first time and I couldn't stop laughing! Those of you that understand just a little bit of Spanish (or even if you don't) will find it funny, too.

Zero, zilch, nada

I got on the scale this morning. I was a good girl and waited a whole week to weigh myself, but I kept waking up last night thinking about it. I feel like I've slimmed down a little bit, so I was so impatient to see what the Omnipotent Scale had to say. I could hardly sleep, and kept thinking about it so at around 3:30 am I just had to weigh myself. (Man, that is sick! I must be so obsessed!) Guess what? Yep--I had lost NOTHING! My weight was exactly the same as it was a week ago when I weighed last. I felt like a contestant on The Biggest Loser who gets on the scale and sees a big goose egg there. I was bewildered and astonished and LET DOWN! I just needed to see something!

But I won't quit. Oh, and I'll never wait a week to get on the scale again. No way. That's too much pressure! And hopefully I'll have good news for y'all soon...

Women's Conference

Yesterday was our Stake Women's Conference and Barbara Barrington Jones was the speaker. She's been a motivational speaker for 25 or so years and also was a professional ballerina and trained girls for beauty pageants like Miss America. The conference went from 10 am to 3 pm with lunch included then there was an evening conference where husbands were invited. Sounds like a long day, doesn't it? But Sister Jones is so funny and engaging that those 5 hours during the day went fast and didn't feel like an eternity.

There are some things that I learned that I want to change in my life. She talked about how we as women are under Satan's subtle attacks. We have been given gifts as women, such as multi-tasking. But we start doing too much, and then we might not have time to pray or read scriptures. She talked about how in war, one of the first things to do is to jam the enemy's lines of communications. Satan is trying to do just that, by jamming our lines of communication with heaven. She talked about needing to simplify our lives and used an acronym for the word BUSY:

• Bent
• Under
• Satan's
• Yoke

She also talked about needing to find the humor in our lives and how that can be the gateway to love instead of criticism. Just that kind of thing happened to me the other day. Autumn left the house with hair that looked like she had just woken up and stains on her sweatshirt. You can't tell a 10-year-old what to wear or how to do her hair (at least not MY 10-year-old). So after I saw what she looked like I criticized her. I should NOT have done this and knew it after I said it. Later she told me she had tried to look as nice as she could and had just thrown on the sweatshirt because I told everyone to wear one. I should have just laughed about it (in my head) and chalked it up to pre-teenagehood. I should have just kept my mouth shut!

There are 88 scriptures that tell us to have joy and 73 that tell us to rejoice. Life should not just be endured, but we should find the humor in unpleasant situtations and make the most of it. We should be able to laugh at ourselves.

Okay, I'm not trying to preach, but to share what I learned. And of course I've heard all of this before, but it was good to hear it again, especially now that I have children that need humor and love and not criticism. I find myself being much too negative and critical of myself and my family. I'm going to try to change that. And I'm not going to let Satan win!

Torture

I've been focused and on track this week with my diet and exercise and feel like I'm doing pretty well. Case in point: Trevor made pizza for dinner on Thursday night, which I love. I made spinach soup (pureed onions, chicken bouillion, water, potatoes, zucchini, spinach). I ate about a cup of the soup (it didn't taste too bad for water and vegetables) and HALF a piece of pizza. I took a whole piece but halfway through I knew I could only eat half of it. It was good, but I couldn't afford the calories. Boo hoo.

So I'm only going to weigh myself once a week. This is different for me, because I usually weigh myself once a day--correction: I weigh myself once when I wake up and once after I exercise (I like to see the false water weight loss from sweating). So this once a week thing is like torture! What if what I'm doing isn't working and I weigh in on Monday and I haven't lost anything? My expectations are so high that I'm afraid I'll be disappointed if I don't lose enough! But I can't lower my expectations, either! I've got to have hope so I can keep this up. So how can I have hope without my expectations being too high?

Perhaps I shouldn't worry too much about this until I actually weigh myself on Monday. I may be worrying for nothing...or maybe not.

Euro Treasures Antiques

Gary, a friend of my husband's (Gary, who's Gary?) told him about this new antiques warehouse in downtown Salt Lake. Apparently it's the world's largest collection of antiques ever sold, and it's all in a huge, cold warehouse on 600 S. There are some pictures on this website: http://www.eurotreasures.net/. So we found the entrance, tucked away on the south side of the building (you can't park on the south side) and let ourselves in. We stepped inside an unheated building (at least it felt that way) surrounded by rows of towering furniture aligned in what seemed like a maze. We made our way through the narrow aisles enthralled by the furniture, some of it beautiful, and others in need of a little (or a lot) of TLC. There is SO MUCH to see there--a little (or a lot) of everything! I was almost afraid we'd lose our children, so I made sure they stayed nearby, but at one point the 5 and 7 year olds wandered off. My husband found them quickly, but I think Simon was done in. That was a scary place for a little one! Later that night, after he had already gone to bed, he came downstairs and told us that he hadn't wanted to go to that place! So obviously he was still thinking about the dark, seemingly skyscraping furniture he saw all over. Trevor and I plan to go back, but sans children next time.

Not to change the subject, but my family and I love popcorn and movies! So I'm entering the contest sponsored by weightwatchen.com (http://weightwatchen.com/) and Orville Redenbacher's (http://orville.com/) to win free popcorn and Netflix movies for a year! Yeeha!

my, how time flies

Yesterday Trevor and I dragged our kids to too many stores, including Tai Pan Trading, Ikea and a huge antique store called Euro Treasures Antiques (I'll have to talk about this warehouse store later--it actually gave Simon nightmares). So we stopped at Krispy Kreme to let them do something they wanted. Trevor took this picture with his phone, remembering a picture he had taken 2 years ago when Eli was only a few months old (that's him in my arms on the far right side of the picture). I think it's great because you can see how much they've all grown, and you can't miss the wonder of a cool donut-making machine and hundreds of donuts being fried and glazed! The first picture was taken in December 2005. The second picture was taken last night. Notice that Parker is wearing the same coat in 2005 that Simon had on last night.

And I'll admit that yes, I had a donut. Who can resist a fresh, hot Krispy Kreme donut when it's offered to you for free? Not I! And it tasted sooo good! But for the record, I'm down 3 pounds since January 1. Yay!

good times

Parker was baptized today! What a happy day. After having to wait for Trevor's white pants to dry in the dryer, getting there late (making 3 other families wait for us), forgetting a change of underwear, changing the venue for the get-together afterwards and having to scramble to get our home ready, it was a very nice time. The best part is that Parker's baptism was a wonderful spiritual experience that he will always remember and I'm very proud of him for his descision.

Thank you to all of you that came to support us! It was awesome to see you all and wish everyone could have been there.

All in all, it was a great day.

new year, new attitude

This is it, folks. Yes, I'm about to start blogging about weight loss. I've had about 25 pounds to lose for over a year and it just won't come off. I trained for and ran a marathon last year and did I lose any? NO! I started really watching what I eat in September and lost 5 pounds, but then gained it all back during November and December. So now I'm right back where I was. I run 4-5 times a week (but I know exercise alone doesn't do it for me).

So what it comes down to is that I need some accountability. That's where the blog comes in. If I make my goal public, I'll be embarrassed if I don't achieve it. Right?