True Confessions Monday

Monday is the day we are supposed to confess our sins over at the Sisterhood. Unfortunately, I have many this week.

1. My 5k training isn't going as well as I had hoped. I rolled my ankle badly last summer. I doctored myself. Bad move. It still gives me trouble. They say a bad sprain is worse than a break. I believe that now. My husband keeps saying that it's never too late to go and get it checked. I may have to break down and go. It swells and hurts if I overwork it and running seems to be overworking it. I could end up walking more of this 5k than running.

2. I keep forgetting to take my vitamins. As I typed that, I remembered that I didn't take them today either.

3. My water intake hasn't been great.

4. In the last four days, I had two wakes, a wedding and a funeral. Wearing heels doesn't help with the ankle pain.

5. My eating hasn't been awful, but it hasn't been great either. Oddly enough, I think I consumed most of my water this week at the wedding and the funeral luncheon.

6. One good thing, the wedding cake wasn't very good and after one bite, I could easily pass it up.

7. I haven't been real good about doing any exercise this week. It's been a really busy week, but that is no excuse.

So, I need to kick it in gear. I need to get back in the exercise routine. I think I need to get back to Jillian kicking my butt with the Shred. I did well with that before. I need to start drinking more water.

I think what I really need is for Christy to kick my butt! She's really good at motivating me. HELP CHRISTY!!!!

p.s. One good thing I did find this week was Healthy Balance juice. They have great flavors. My favorite is Pomegranate Blueberry Acai and it's only 26 calories for an eight ounce glass.

I "Shrunk" for Good

Yesterday was the finale for the Sisterhood challenge, Shrink for Good. It was seven weeks long and I lost 3.5 pounds. That's exactly one half pound per week. As always, I was hoping for more, but any loss is a good loss.

Now comes the fun part, the good part of the challenge. Let's see if I can remember this correctly. We are giving back to our community food banks according to our losses. There are 16 ounces to a pound and I lost 3.5 pounds, so I would be donating 56 ounces of food to my local food bank. I plan to donate more than that. Come back on Wednesday and see the things I will be donating. The Sisterhood is going to do a "Parade of Cans" at their website to show off what everyone is donating. I think that will be awesome to see.

The older I get, the more I realize how lucky I am and how important it is to give back to others. Be it with through the food bank, church, surprising people with little gifts or just a smile to that person on the street that might need it. My life is good and Shrink for Good was a great challenge. Thanks Sisters for another job well done!

Could It Really Be Five Years?

So, six weeks or so after they started dating, our soon to be first son-in-law came and asked my husband and I if he could marry our daughter. This was the first time we had this experience. We were a little taken aback. Could he possibly know in that short a time that he loved our daughter enough to want to spend the rest of his life with her? The good news was that they wouldn't be getting married for about 15 months or so. We said yes. Good decision! They married on October 9, 2004. They are a perfect couple. They have their ups and downs like any married couple, but they really love each other. You can just see it when they are together. They work as a team. They compliment each other in so many ways. Just perfect! On May 21, 2006, they blessed us with our first granddaughter. On October 28, 2008, we were once again blessed with another granddaughter. On approximately April 24, 2010, they will bless us once again with grandchild number three. They are such a sweet and loving family and they make the most beautiful babies ever. I couldn't be happier that we had the presence of mind to say yes to his request. Happy Anniversary guys. I love you both with all my heart. You make me very proud.

You Capture/Red

I planted a garden this year. These are the fruits of my labor.

In true Cub fan fashion, there is always next year!

Just the beginnings of a hint of red on my burning bush.

The last blooms of my geranium.

A beautiful and unusual flower I bought at the European Market

If you go to Beth's blog, I'm sure you'll be seeing red.

Bald?

We had the family over last night to celebrate my father-in-law's 80th birthday. As if I wasn't the camera nazi before, I certainly am now with my new camera. Here are three of my favorites from last night. Never having the vantage point she had last night, my granddaughter realized that great grandpa was bald and she loved it. We all had a good laugh. It was a nice family night.

You Capture/The Feeling of Fall

The feeling of fall. As I type this, it is 40 degrees outside. Yes, it feels like fall. Baking pumpkin cookies with my beautiful granddaughter while she tests the dough was a fun fall feeling. This single red tree in a sea of green trees sure feels like fall to me.
I love fall. I think it might be my favorite season. I like it best when it is full out colors. For now though, I'll take the feeling of fall. You can go see all the other captures at Beth's.

Oh my God, my chest hurts!!

Those were my exact words to my husband during the final minutes of the Notre Dame football game last night. Nothing like waiting for the last few seconds of a game to pull off a win. My chest literally hurt with a mix of fear and anticipation. It was awesome though. I hope I didn't scare anyone with the post title.

I had a pretty good weekend. Yesterday, I went to the local farmers market with my daughter and grandkids. I got some yummy breads and blueberry jam. Today, I took my mom to visit her sister in the nursing home. My aunt is 94 and not doing too well. She knew us though and that is always a good thing. This afternoon, the Bears gave the same kind of performance as Notre Dame, winning in the final minute. They have to quit doing that to me.

As I sit here typing, I can hear the rain starting. We have a tornado watch. That never use to bother me before, but after last month it kind of makes me nervous.

I am having a wonderful time with my new camera. I really wanted to get out and take some nature pictures this weekend, but that didn't happen. Hubby is leaving Sunday on a fishing trip, so I'll have lots of time next week to get out and do that.

Guess I better fold the last load of laundry and think about getting to sleep. Have a great week!

You Capture/Happiness

I'm really late getting in on the assignment this week. But, I guess better late than never. I went to a fundraiser for the school that I work for tonight with my family and friends and had a great time. Here are a few of the pictures I took (and one that I didn't) that make me very happy. One weird thing, one of the vendors at the event put candy cigarettes on all the tables. This is the only time you will ever see my mom or sisters with cigarettes. Two of my beautiful daughters were models in the fashion show. The ones hair is going to crack you up. That is her with a friend that modeled with her. Can you believe that a high end salon actually did their hair and makeup like that? That is my beautiful mom and three of my lovely girls. I wish we could have gotten my other daughter to go with us.

When you are done laughing at these pictures, head over to Beth's and see all the other entries.

The First Shots with my New Nikon

Here are just a few of my shots I took while trying out my new Nikon. I have a lot to learn, but it's going to be fun!

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!!

It was Christmas here when I got home from work today. Look what my wonderful husband surprised me with......
Nikon D3000 10MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens with 8GB Card + EN-EL9a Battery + Nikon Gadget Bag + Accessory

We have been discussing getting me a new camera. I told you about it last week. I had it narrowed down to two. I gave him my two choices and told him to surprise me. Did he ever!!

I've spent a lot of time after work getting to know my camera. Tomorrow, I am going to go take lots of pictures of my two favorite little girls. I'll post some pictures when I'm done.

Okay, I'm either getting a head cold or have some new allergy, but my head is ready to explode and I can't breathe worth a darn. I'm heading for a hot tub and then bed. Night!