Monday, May 31, 2010

And Random I Go.....

So much has been going on around here, I don't even know where to start. Maybe I should start with the cuteness of my grandson. Guess who learned how to smile? You guessed it, it's smiling Jack. Isn't he just the cutest little guy ever?


Last Monday, I went into Chicago for the James Taylor and Carole King Troubadour Reunion concert. Words fail me to tell you how great this concert was. Two and a half hours of pure bliss. They were both onstage together the whole time and did two encores. Carole King is 67 years old and you would never guess it. Certainly not by her looks or her voice. She sounds as good as she did in the 70's. James Taylor was as awesome as always. I've lost count as to how many times I've seen him. He might be 62, but he is as cute as ever.


I was a little disappointed with the Biggest Loser finale. I had hoped that O'Neill would win the $100,000. I was also hoping that Koli or Daris would win the whole thing. I didn't like Mike from the start. Oh well, I guess you can't always get things your own way.


I only have three days of school left. I'm happy and sad about that. I couldn't have a better job. Working with three to five year olds is wonderful. They love you and all they want to do is make you happy. At least that is how most of them are. There is the occasional little stinker. What I am not looking forward to is the 8th grade graduation ceremony. It is a tradition at our school for the faculty and staff to sing a song with the graduates. I really don't like it. I'm not a performer and I don't like getting up in front of a church full of people to sing. The saving grace to it al is that we all go out afterwards.


We are going to Wisconsin this weekend for a 30th anniversary party for my cousin and his wife. It should be fun. Baby Jack is going to make his big debut. He is going to be a hit, I'm sure. Natalie and Lizzy are going to have a ball with all the kids there and in the hotel pool.


I don't have a free weekend from now until the middle of July. We have six graduation open houses, two birthday parties, a bridal shower, a wedding and Jacks' baptism. That doesn't even include all the festivities of the 4th of July. It is going to be a very busy time.


Team Shrinking Jeans is gearing up for their mini marathon in San Diego this coming weekend. I am so proud of them. They have raised over $40,000. for blood cancer research. I am really excited because my amazing friend Christy has got me set up to receive eight to ten text messages during the race to keep me updated on her progress.


It's time to think about getting ready for bed. I'm still trying to get to bed at a reasonable time. I'm also trying to get up by 5:30 and exercise before work. Three more days and I can exercise a little later. I'll still do it first ting in the morning though. Too many excuses later in the day. Good night!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

You Capture / Sky

I enjoyed You Capture this week. I took quite a few pictures, but only really liked a few.

I really had fun tonight taking pictures of the full moon. The moon was in the trees, so depending where I stood there was a different formation of leaves and branches. I really liked this shot the best.



I took this one before work a couple days ago.



I love how the sun is shining through in this one.



I love this sunset one too. We were coming home from our daughters house on Sunday and the sunset was beautiful. Unfortunately, you couldn't see it from our house. I grabbed the camera and got back in the car and drove till I could get the shot.



Now it's your time to head over to Beth's and see what everyone else saw in the sky.


The Shrinking Days of Summer

A new challenge starts today over the the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.

It's called the Shrinking Days of Summer.





This challenge is eight weeks long. We are starting today and ending on July 21st. Weigh in will be on Wednesday as usual. We will have mini challenges every week to work on that will be fitness-related, health-related, mental well-being or whatever. We will have from Sunday to Saturday to work on them. There is also going to be a new "family" challenge that is going to start and run with this challenge. We'll get details on that later.



I weighed in this morning and I am a little disgusted with myself. I wasn't expecting much because things around here have been crazy and I've done little to nothing in the fitness area. I couldn't even tell you the last time I exercised in earnest. I fell asleep last night waiting for the tworkout to start and woke up after it was over. I haven't missed a tworkout in ages. I was not happy. I missed the season finale tworkout!!!!!



So, here's my plan for this challenge.......

1. Exercise no less than five days a week, but shoot for six.

2. Get back to drinking a decent amount of water every day.

3. Try to stay focused with getting more sleep at not.

4. Exercise first thing in the morning. That way, I have no excuses for not doing it.

5. Eat right. I have been toying with joining Weight Watchers online. Now that they are doing the family challenge with us, I'm thinking about it more. What do you people who are on it think about it. Is counting points nerve wracking or is it hard to figure out? Give me some feedback please.

6. Do every mini challenge!

7. Walk every Friday with my friends Mary and Rhonda. This is going to be fun. Every week, one of us is picking the place to walk. Being we all live in a different city, we'll be seeing places that we may not have known about. We are even talking about taking the train into Chicago and walking the city.



That is my plan ladies. I still have the last week of school to get through. I'll do my best till it's over, but come June 4th, I'll be blazing a new trail of glory. I am going to do this. I feel so much better when I do things right. And why wouldn't I want to feel good when I am off for the summer. I think that is a no brainer.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Who Knew It? I'm Versatile!

I was given the Versatile Blogger Award by my daughter.
She is my oldest daughter and a real sweetheart. If you check in with her at her blog, I think you will like it. She is a wonderful writer and an excellent photographer. Thanks honey!
The rules are to thank the person who gave you the award, tell seven things about yourself and pass the award along to some bloggers you love.
So, here goes.....

1. I have signed up for a Creativity Boot Camp. I am really excited about it. Here's what it is...

Creativity Boot Camp is a two week intensive e-course designed to take your creativity to the next level. The course will consist of daily creative conditioning exercises to shift your life patterns allowing for a full embracing of your creative selves leading to higher levels of creativity.


It is free and just what I need to start my summer vacation. The timing is perfect. I found out about it through Corinne's blog. Thanks Corinne. You can joiin to if you want. Just click on the widget on my left sidebar.


2. Once I am done with boot camp, I am moving on to "editing" my house. Editing is term I picked up from my sweet blogging friend, Sharon. I have too much stuff in my house. I am going to go room by room and edit. Doesn't that sound much nicer than pitch or purge my junk? Anyway, that's the plan.


3. I love to spoil my grandkids. Who doesn't? I'm heading over there soon to see them try the Slip and Slide for the first time. It should be fun. It might only be May 23, but here in northwest Indiana it's a hot and muggy 86 degrees. We'll probably have snow next weekend.


4. I am on a never ending journey to weight loss and fitness. If you read my blog at all, you know that I have a great love affair with the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. They are helping me so much on this journey. Thank you ladies. You are the best.


5. Mary, Rhonda and I are going to start walking together every Friday during the summer. I met them both through blogging (and Mary's daughter) and they are the best. The plan is that every week, one of us will pick the place we walk. Being we live in three different cities, it should be fun and interesting. We have even talked about jumping on the train and walking around Chicago.


6. My husband insisted on opening the pool this weekend. I know it's 88 outside now, but it won't last. We did the same thing last year and then complained when nobody could go in the pool for a month. Hopefully, I'll be proven wrong.


7. I am very excited because summer vacation from school is so close. Our last day is June 3rd. My big plan for the summer is to get really good with the manual settings on my new camera. I'll have lots of time to figure it all out and take some great shots.


So, last but not least, I pass this award on to Mary and Rhonda. I love you guys and can't wait to start walking.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Happy Birthday!!

Happy 4th Birthday Sweet Girl!
I hope it's the perfect day!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

21 Day Challenge Finale


Today we come to the close of the 21 day challenge. Remember back when we started thinking about changing some of our bad habits and how it takes 21 days to form a new habit. We were testing the theory. Let's just say that I'm not the best person to ask if it worked.
I'm going to blame my half hearted effort on the last month of school. It is so busy that I meet myself coming and going. It isn't an excuse, but it is a reason. I drank water, but not as much as I should. I went to sleep, but not as early as I should and I exercised, but not as much as I should. Like I said, half hearted.
I'm looking forward to June 3. It's the last day of school. I'm excited because I'll have more free time. More time to work out. More time to sleep. More time to do the things I want to do. I keep thinking about Team Shrinking Jeans. They ran 12 miles this week. 12 miles!! And I can't find the time to exercise consistently. How lame is that? It's okay. Two weeks from tomorrow and I'll be done with school and things can change. I'll make them change.
I almost forgot that it is also a weigh in. I'm up .4 pounds. Nothing huge, but still a gain.
Lastly, tomorrow is preschool olympics and get to run out and light the torch. I've been doing it for about ten years and I love it. It's a great day!

You Capture/Depth of Field

I was excited when I saw the assignment for this week.
I thought it would be fun to try it.
Unfortunately, it was a super busy week and this was the best I got.
I do like it though. I think it is what it was supposed to be.


Head over to Beth's to see all the depth.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

You Capture / Yellow

Candy fruit slices.

They remind me of being a kid at my grandma's house.

The new bib I bought for my grandson.
I think we better call this one "lack of yellow".

What would spring be without dandelions?

These are not in our yard. My husband is very picky about his lawn.


I love tulips!

If you head over to Beth's, I bet things are glowing with yellow.


Weigh In / 21 Days


Well folks, I suck! I'm not being down on myself or complaining. It's just a plain and simple fact. I gained a pound this week and I've done awful on my challenge goals.

Goals.....what goals? I haven't been to sleep before midnight all week. Some nights it was closer to 1:00. I have barely worked out and I've forgotten what water even is.

I did so great during the last challenge. I need my team. I need the Weight Loss Warriors. I do so much better when I am accountable to someone besides myself. Can the next challenge please be a team challenge??????

I've been reading some of the other posts and I found some inspiration from my friend Mary. She is awesome. Mary, our friend Rhonda and I are going to walk together one day a week when I get out of school. I can't wait.

I found out on Mother's Day that sometimes my kids listen to me. My daughter and son-in-law got me a kettle bell. It is now three days later and I haven't tried it yet. I also bought myself a shake weight on impulse one day. I haven't tried that either.

Guess what?.....I'm picking myself up by my boot straps (what a dumb saying!) and I'm getting back on track. My sweet friend Sharon gave me some inspiration too. I read on Facebook that she was biking 45 miles today. She is amazing. So, I am going to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning and I'm going to try the kettle bell and the shake weight. I am going to drink water all day tomorrow and not touch a diet coke. Oh yes, I better go get some things done because in four hours and 25 minutes, my butt is going to be in bed.

Monday, May 10, 2010

It Is My Privilege

I know that I am a day late with this post, but I figure better late than never.
Back in 1974 after my dad had his first bout with cancer, he sent me a thank you card after he got out of the hospital. One of the things he said was "When you decide to have a family, nobody gives you an instruction book on how to raise good kids". I still think about that from time to time because it is so true.
My husband and I were very lucky to have two sets of wonderful parents to give us excellent examples of how to be good parents. We both had great childhoods. We lived in neighborhoods that had tons of kids who had parents that were just like ours. Everyone looked out for everyone else. We didn't get away with much because someones parent was always watching. We all had chores and you couldn't go outside with your friends until your chores were done. But, once you got outside, you could stay out forever or at least until dinner. My husband and I lived in the same neighborhood for a short time. He moved when I was a baby and he was three, so we didn't officially meet until 16 years later.
Fast forward to December 26, 1974 at 4:34 a.m. The most beautiful little girl is born. She has a head full of dark brown hair and big brown eyes and looks just like her dad. She turns out to be just about the perfect child. She is rarely any trouble. She does well in school and is our athlete. To this day, she is our athlete. She is a runner and has been since middle school. She just ran the Indy mini marathon on Saturday. She has even run the Boston marathon. She is an amazing teacher, an excellent photographer and married to a great guy.
January 6, 1981 we are devastated by a miscarriage at 12 weeks. We had just told our daughter two days before that she was going to be a big sister. Because everything about this pregnancy was so different from all my other pregnancies, I always wonder if that might have been our boy. One day, I'll find out. I'm looking forward to that.
May 1, 1983 they start coming in two's. Holy cow it's twins! Once again, beautiful, dark hair, dark eyes, girl, but there are two of them. These two gave us a run for our money. What one didn't think of, the other did. They used to scale the grates on the french doors. These two are a little sneaky when they get older. Nothing awful, but they kept us on our toes. Lucky for us, they turned out great. Both married to wonderful guys and one of them gave us our three grandkids.
September 2, 1987, here we go again. Beautiful baby girl, dark hair and dark eyes. She is perfect. She is the most easy going baby ever. She gets into lots of mischief. She is the one who knocked herself out throwing a very rare tantrum. She is the one who had to have plastic surgery after a dog bite. Stitches, sprains, this one did it all. She is our volleyball player. She is also the one who will graduate in December and follow in her big sisters footsteps and become a teacher.
May 21, 2006 and October 28, 2008, two beautiful baby girls with dark hair and dark eyes are born. The difference here is that they are my granddaughters. What an experience this is. They are perfect and I really mean that. They are funny and so smart. Like I said, perfect!
April 13, 2010 and it's a beautiful baby with dark hair and dark eyes, but what is this? Oh my goodness, it's a boy! The first one in the family in 25 years. He'll be a month old this week and believe it or not, he is perfect.
I have been a mom for 35 years and a grandma for four years. I have come full circle from babies to grown children to babies again. I love motherhood. I love grandmotherhood. I'm doing the best I can with both. I know that I have made mistakes. In spite of that fact, I have really good kids. They are sweet, loving, caring, funny and creative girls. I am proud of them. They make me very happy. I love them, pure and simple. They are truly the best kids ever.
It is my privilege to be their mom.
It is my privilege to be their grandma.

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

p.s. Blogger is doing it to me again! It is refusing to keep my paragraphs. This is my third try. Hopefully, they'll be there, but if they aren't you'll know I tried.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

The Thursday Three

It is Thursday which means it is time for the Thursday Three at the Sisterhood. Here is the assignment for this week.....

Lift yourself up, focus on the positives, and answer me this:
When you look in the mirror, what is that you like or love about what you see?


I admit that it took some time and some thought to come up with three things I like when I look in the mirror. I am usually so focused on what I don't like, I don't take the time to consider that there are things I do like. Here they are....

1. My crows feet. Sounds stupid, right? Not really. I have been blessed with a wonderful life and I earned every one of those little wrinkles. They are the battle scars of a life well lived.

2. My nails. I especially love them on Thursday when I go get my weekly manicure. I deserve that little bit of pampering.

3. My hair or my haircut to be specific. I love my new haircut. It's young and sassy. Out of the box for me.

So, that's my three. What are yours? Feel free to tell us at the Sisterhood.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Randoms and Winners

I should have posted this picture two weeks ago. This is my mom when she met her first great grandson, my grandson Jack. It just melted my heart to hear her talk to him. She told him how special he was because he was her first great grandson and the first boy in the family in 25 years. You could just feel the love and tenderness. It was a very special moment. I know that I have told you this before but, can you believe my mom is 83 years old? Doesn't she look amazing? I sure hope I can follow in her footsteps.
These are my little sweeties. I can hardly believe that Natalie is going to be 4 on the 21st. Where did that time go? She is the best big sister ever and is as funny as she can be. She can also be a little stinker. Lizzy has done a wonderful job adjusting to not being the baby anymore. I was worried how she would react, but she amazed us all. She loves her little brother and is starting to hold her own with her big sister. It is a riot to watch. Jack and Lizzy had check ups today. Lizzy is 18 months and Jack is three weeks. Lizzy wasn't very happy because she had to have shots. Aunt Abby went with to help out and she cried when Lizzy got her shots. Jack is 11 pounds 10 ounces and such a good baby. He only gets up once during the night. Both kids are healthy and perfect. Just like their big sister.
My sister treated myself and several other family members to tickets to the first annual Spring Tea at the Museum. It was a fundraiser for the local township history museum. We really had a nice time. The food was very tasty and the entertainment was wonderful. I think next year will be my treat.
Drum roll please.....we have winners for the Freschetta pizza giveaway. The lucky numbers chosen by random.org are 7, 9, 11 and 6. That means that Angela, Mendie and Stephanie win free pizza coupons and Rhonda wins the pizza kit. I'm so happy for you all. Please email me your mailing information.
So, that's it for now folks. Tomorrow is weigh in and I think I am okay. As I told you in an earlier post, I'm trying running again. So far, so good. I have to get back to the tworkout now. You should try it some week. I love it.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

I Run with the Sisterhood!


Let's start out this post by stating the obvious.....I'm going to try to run with the Sisterhood. Any of you who know me in real life or in the blogging world know that running and I are not the best of friends.
I have NEVER made it past a mile without having to stop and walk for a little. Now, that fact still amazes me. I never thought I would run at all unless maybe an ax murder was chasing me and then he'd surely catch up to me anyway. I do not fit the profile of what I thought of as a runner. I am not that younger, thinner, perky, toned and fit person. I am an old (my husband informed me that I am no longer middle age. No one lives to be 110!) and overweight grandma. But you know what....I can run. I'm sure it's not pretty to watch, but I can do it. My goal for this month is going to be to try to get past that mile and do it with out injury. I know I will have the usual aches and pains. That is just this old body rebelling and an injury that I never doctored for that flares up. I can work past that though. My wonderful sisters here inspire me to do that. If they can do it, so can I.
We have many fellow sisters who are doing the San Diego Half Marathon in June. I would have given anything to run it with them. I knew that wouldn't happen. I have walked two mini's before when I was in my 40's. It is an awesome experience and I'm so happy for them and proud of them. If you haven't contributed to their fundraising efforts, please do. They are running for an awesome cause. You can read about it and contribute here.
So, after rereading this and thinking about it, I have come to this conclusion. I am going to Run with the Sisterhood. Yes, I am going to try and I am going to do it. I know that their will be days when it will totally suck and I'll want to quit, but I am also hoping there will be days that I think it was awesome and inspiring and make me want to go out and do it again the next day.
What about you? Would you like to join us? If I can do it, I think you can to. My favorite One More Mile shirt says..."You don't have to go fast. You just have to go!". That is going to be my motto, my mantra. If you'd like to join us, just head over here to get all the details. You'll love us. I promise!