one word: CHOOSE

My last blog post (on this personal blog) was back in March of 2013...

It's not as if I haven't had much to write about...it's probably more the fact that it's easier to just share pics on facebook and the fact that I'm not a big fan of debate...and the things that are going through my mind sometimes, lend themselves to "discussion"...and while I'm happy to have those discussions in person, I'm not all that excited about hashing it out for all the world to see.

So, those are my excuses...

they are lame...

I know...

But, here we are at the beginning of 2014 and I realize that my word for 2013 was SEE...that I would SEE as God sees...my husband, my children, my friends, strangers...

I will say that I had an awakening of sorts...and sometimes that brings pain....

I attempted to look past my own present day-in, day-out...and sometimes my heart broke...

sometimes I failed miserably and "saw" only what I wanted to see...

sometimes I saw something and was called to speak that which  was true when I'd really rather just keep my mouth shut...

I learned more about my girls this year...tapped into a part of their hearts and discovered so much that my heart nearly burst..and it brought me to my knees in gratefulness and yet, steady prayer for the future.

I am struggling with a WORD for 2014...There are a gazillion things I'd love to "change" about myself...things I need to work on...let's face it...I'm a huge "work in progress" story, so to narrow it to one thing...UGH

and not only that...to actually have the meaning sink deep...

I started to think about the person I am now...and where I want to be...and what is it that keeps me from getting there??? And goodness that list is LONGGGGG...

I then started compiling lists of words that could work...to be my focus for the year...and good grief, I couldn't make a decision!!!

I'm indecisive by nature.  I remember after going out one evening with Italian Stallion, I called my brother (we were both in college at the time)...I relayed the story of the date to him...He was quiet for a bit and then he just, point blank said, "He's the one you're gonna marry"...I'm not sure if those were his exact words, but it was something along those lines that caused me to question him as to his assuredness to this "fact"...He said it was because Italian Stallion made me make decisions about things.  It wasn't that he didn't know where to eat or what movie to see...it was rather, that he knew that I would avoid a decision like the plague because I've always struggled with confidence about decision making...and even wayyyy back then, he began working on me...encouraging me to see that I COULD make good decisions...

I also tend to be a "feeler"...and if truth be known, I probably enjoy playing the role of "victim" much more than I should..."it's so and so's fault...I can't control the way I feel...because this happened to me, I'm this way"...and the list goes on...

What I realized is that I hang onto the lie that there is no hope...I wallow...BIG TIME...

When in reality, we all have a choice...

No we can't help how we "feel", we can't help what things happen to us, we can't help how people react to us, we can't control the weather or even the stock market...HOWEVER, we have a CHOICE how we react to it...how we CHOOSE to respond to our emotions...to the situations that life throws at us...

I'm sad to say that I often CHOOSE to give in to my proneness to sin, instead of fighting it...I "victimize" myself and then I become paralyzed and want others to get me out...

Have you figured out my word yet?

CHOOSE...

I want a reminder this year, that God gives me a choice...He allows me to choose how I will react...He allows me to choose joy, choose to serve, choose to release the past, choose to take a breath and be patient with my girls, choose to sacrifice my time, choose to sleep in or get up early...

Josh 24:15 "choose you this day..."
Proverbs has a lot to say about choosing your words

There are countless others that reiterate a call to make a choice...choose to love, choose to obey, choose to rest...

Infact, I realize that this word actually encompasses a whole lot of other words...like choosing: grace, patience, forgiveness, humility

I realize this and thus my struggle with narrowing it down to one word this year...

Italian Stallion and I have decided to adopt this word for our family as well...something that we will focus on together...taking aspects of our choices and how it pertains to our relationships, school, work ethics, etc...

I settled on CHOOSE instead of Choice, because I wanted a verb and not a noun...something that will pull me out of the rat race to which I often succumb...remind me that I don't have to let my emotions get the better of me...

I will fail at this...I will choose poorly...and sometimes the choice won't have a right or wrong or better or best...(and those are often the most difficult for me to swallow)  But, I hope that I remember that I am not a slave to whatever anyone else thinks, nor to my past, nor to my own inadequacies...

I so have a feeling that perhaps after this year, my 2015 word might need to be REST :)  but, so be it...

It's a big year this year...I turn 40...we'll celebrate 15 years of marriage...I only have 6 more years with my eldest under my roof...I'd say that I'm ready for the challenge!!! and I do not want to let a moment go to waste!

Happy New Year to you all!!!

Vacation to Disneyworld

Many of you already know that Italian Stallion and I took the girls to Disneyworld a week or so ago.  Yep, we just pulled 'em right out of school...we don't let school get in the way of a good education let me tell you...

I will preface this, sure to be LONGGGG post, with this:  if you aren't into reading, please feel free to go over to my facebook page and click through the pictures...over there it's more like the cliff notes version of our trips, but with more "visual aids".

Now...let us begin:

We decided to drive down to Florida this time around...because we love to set ourselves up for punishment spend quality time with our family!  In all honesty, I found a great site online where I was able to print out a ton of "travel" games like Bingo and I spy and hangman, etc...Each of the girls got a clipboard with a gallon sized ziploc bag & wipe-off marker...They stuck their papers inside the bag and could reuse the pages over and over. 

We stocked up on a gazillion books on CD and I.S., being the sweet techie that he is sometimes, got us a little ipod nano so that we could put all those books in one place. 

The girls really only watched the movies or played electronics about 3-4 hours of the 17 hour drive. 

Let's just fast forward through the laments of "how much longer" and "oh, please let there be a Panera at this exit"...

And Wa-la, we arrived in Orlando!

Thanks to I.S.'s parents, we had a nice time-share facility awaiting our arrival and we had some free accomodations for the week.  He headed to the grocery while I helped finish up the rest of the homework that we could manage...the first day was to be our "pack it all in" day...

Everyone was so excited, and after a hearty breakfast of pancakes & waffles at nearly 6:30 in the morning, we packed up our lunches and headed to Epcot for round one of our Disney experience!

I'm not a morning person...normally...but, if you are going to get me up, make me get dressed, fix breakfast, pack up with no option of returning for the day...you better believe that I'm just going to talk your ear off then...(it's my way of letting you know how much I care:)

Therefore, the poor people at Epcot were in for an earful...

Being the MASTER of OBSERVATION, I like to point out the obvious in most situations (at least this is what my hubby tells me)  I'm not sure if it was my loud exclamations of excitement or the fact that I needed to ask everyone that we passed where they were from...but we must have caught the attention of someone...That someone being one of the "cast members" who opens the park...

She got us through the gate early, hauled us all over the Future World area taking our picture left and right...all this before the clock struck 9am...We then had to help her say "hello" in all the different languages (of which I have no recollection except for maybe "halo"?  I have no idea...I like to talk, but I"m not the best at listening:)   Anyhoo...next thing I know she's handing us a free pass to any ride so that we can jump to the front of the line and she tells us to RUN before she opens the gates...

We headed off to Soarin'...one of our favorites and got to ride it twice before anyone else really got there....Italian Stallion and I couldn't believe the sweet surprise God gave us by being chosen to be the family of the day...it just set the mood for the next 24 hours to say the least:) 

Epcot is probably my favorite park...the girls like it too, but what kid is going to choose Epcot over Magic Kingdom?  Ummm...not mine...so, I soaked it all in, because this was it...Italian Stallion and little Peanut helped by being chosen in nearly every country to be apart of the skits or presentations...I can't tell you how many buttons we obtained from their little "drama" jaunts.

We headed back to the hotel that evening exhausted but happy...

The next day was spent at SeaWorld and we were all about the dolphins...we got to that park early, too (because apparantly the adrenaline still hadn't worn off) We headed straight for the dolphin feeding area and got that blessed event taken care of...it caused my daughters to determine right then and there, that on top of wanting to be teachers, veterinarians, ballet instructors, photographers (they totally put that one in there to make me smile) and President of the United States...they also want to become dolphin trainers. 

Therefore, we spent a considerable amount of time seeking out said trainers and hounding them kindly asking them questions about their daily duties, where they studied, what degrees did they get, how did they interview...(it was pathetic, I know)

Having never been to Seaworld before, I relied heavily on what my SIL had advised and we hit as many shows as possible...it was a nice breather from hikin' all over World Showcase the day before...so we sat in the bleachers, ate gummy bears and watched sealions bark and Shamu splash all those people that sat in the soak areas.

As we approached day 3 we told the children, "Now, don't expect to be chosen as family of the day at Magic Kingdom...this is how entitlement starts girls...it was a very unique experience on Monday, but IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!"...(yes we are THOSE kind of parents)  With that, we entered the Magic Kingdom waiting area and started getting out the photography gear and getting Little Munchkin situated in the stroller...

Then...lord love a duck (those that had Calculus & Physics with me in High school will understand that expression) another cast member came up and asked if we'd be his Family of the Day...It just got us in the park early before anyone else and we could go wherever we wanted...

Italian Stallion and I just looked at each other and asked, "should we go buy a lottery ticket?  seriously what are the odds?"  I think we all were dumbfounded, but far be it from us to let that stop us...we trekked our way to the farthest part of the park (up to New Fantasyland) We had heard horror stories of 75-120 minute waits for the Belle storytime and Ariel's grotto...So, being first in the park, we were the first in line for those and were able to get more accomplished in the first hour of our stepping foot into the Magic Kingdom than I think we did for the next 5 hours combined.  Not to mention we had a "chance" encounter with the big Mouse himself...raining blessings, I kid you not!

There were tons of favorite things in the Magic Kingdom, which is why we came back for a second day later that week.  Little Munchkin can ride on most roller coasters now and seeing that we have all girls, it wasn't an issue staying in one place or another because they all like the same things in that regard.  We even all have our favorite princess...including Daddy (he will hate me for writing that, so you'll just have to ask him yourself)

Oh, don't feel too badly for him...we were all over Pirates of the Caribbean & Big Thunder Mountain...and heaven help us, we discovered hidden Mickeys on this trip and that meant multiple trips to the same rides to find more of them! 

We were debating whether to go to Hollywood Studios or not for our 4th day of adventure...Little Munchkin likes Doc McStuffins & Sophia the First...but other than that, this particular park doesn't really hold all that much excitement for them...However, having the 5 day pass, we figured that we might as well...and we thought to just let the girls experience things out of the norm. 

This led to us having to sum up the entire 6 Star Wars movies during our 10 minute line wait for the Star Tours ride...Sweetpea kept asking, "Now, who is Luke again? and who's the princess?"  Italian Stallion just rolled his eyes as I tried to go from Annikin Skywalker meets Padme'...to, they have twins, but then he becomes Darth Vadar and then Luke tries to save him but they were fighting to the death...because he finds out he's his father...

Needless to say, I doubt my stellar rendition of StarWars will motivate them to want to see the movies, but at least we enjoyed the ride without getting too "sick" with all the motion goin' on. 

We then thought we'd try out a few stunt shows...which again, led to "Who's Indiana Jones?" 

My poor girls...what a sad thing to not have brothers...

well...that and a mother who really isn't into all that either because my answer to their question was, "Oh, he's just some guy who looks for lost things and gets in trouble...let's just watch the show!"

Italian Stallion, in the hopes to salvage any possibility of a future with girls that might be interested in trains, planes & automobiles, felt the need to wave wildly at the announcer of the show so that he could be included in the "taped production" of Indy...This turned out to be a great turn of events, except for the fact that Little Munchkin began to sob (LOUDLY) "Mommy, I think Daddy is going to DIE!!!"  But, when it was all said and done, the girls were giddy that their Daddy was in a "movie" and they learned that Indiana Jones likes his hat and can crack a whip! 

Day 5 of our week we headed back to Magic Kingdom for some more of the same (and some funnel cakes for Mommy)...Our last day in Orlando saw us visiting Animal Kingdom...By this time we were basically sleepwalking because we had just pushed so hard all those other days.  But, it was a nice park to end on again because of the fantastic shows and safaris.  This park happened to open at 8am on Saturday so we got there and headed to Kilamanjaro first off...we saw nearly every animal listed and only had a total of 7 people in our Safari vehicle usually seating about 30...

By 3pm we were ready for our trip back home...I take that back, we might have been physically ready by about 10am, but we were determined to see it all:)

Yep...we're crazy like that...Italian Stallion decided that we were going to drive through the night, too...starting after our visit to Animal Kingdom...after our long & pleasurably exhausting week at Disney...after having not slept for more than about 5-6 hours per night the prior 5 days...

Brilliance I tell you...BRILLIANCE!

I don't think either of us has ever before inhaled that many gummies, sweettarts, soda, skittles, trailmix, and 5 hour energy drinks!

Thank God's mercies, we arrived home at 8:30am on Sunday morning...we had the day to recoop before we sent the girls back to school the following morning...and before Italian Stallion had to jump on a plane to Chicago for work the next day!

Momma bear here just had her fill of walking around in her pjs all day and begging Little Munchkin to take naps with her. 

So there you have it...that's our trip in a nutshell...like I said, if you'd like to see pictures, you can venture over to my facebook page...it's much easier to load them over there...but at least you get the gist of the trip:) OR you can watch the little video I put together, you'll just have to fill in your own captions.

 I learned alot from this vacation...and I don't say that saracastically either (just yet)...I really did...not just in "How to do Disney with 3 girls"...but, it was a really neat experience watching my girls interact and fight over who got to ride with Daddy and making decisions about how to spend their saved up moneys for souvenirs. 

The other things were learned were things like:

1. All people coming to Disney parks should be required to take a stroller pushing course.  You don't stop in the middle of the road while driving a car when your child throws his sippy cup to the ground, so please don't just stop and decide to pull out snacks in the middle of the walkway.

2. Don't give your camera to your husband when your baby is riding her very first roller coaster with you WITHOUT setting it up first...otherwise you get photos that look like this:

Yep, that's me and Little Munch...you can barely see us because I literally passed my camera back through the line of people inside so that I.S. could hold it better as I knew my hands would be full...he got off the ride first and unbeknownst to him, I had my settings ready for INside shots, not the blazing outdoor sunny ones:)

3.  Another photo lesson learned:  be sure you are checking your settings on your camera as your light changes and/or as others have used the camera...otherwise you might capture Cinderella's castle exploding rather than looking lit up by a celebration, this is very saddening for young daughters to experience...for example:

4. Be aware that just because you are first in line doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get the best seat...infact, once you get in and get yourself all set up in what you will regard as the 'best seat in the house'...the cast members will tell everyone to LEAVE your spot and scoot in towards the "other" seats to make room for the people that decided that they didn't want to sit in a 40 minute line, but knew they'd get the better seats if they just came in late...(if you haven't caught on yet, THIS is one of my biggest pet peeves)

I'm very thankful that Italian Stallion values vacationing with our family.  We don't always do it this big by any means...sometimes "vacation" is more like a "staycation"...but regardless, it means spending time together...being in different situations and soaking up the experiences.  It's another way of making memories...and I don't take it for granted one bit!

Nursin' a Bum Knee

So, it figures that while on my last 2 weeks of an exercise program...in which I began because I have a fear of actually looking older than my age in my baby sister's wedding as I"m walking down the aisle in a, albeit beautiful, dress made more for those in the twenty-something range...
(hello run-on sentence)

THAT, I would blow out my knee...

Now, when I say blow out my knee, I don't necessarily mean "blew it out"...I don't really know what that means...however, I will tell you that along with my "normal" cracking & snapping joints, I now have the melodic sound of grinding as I walk, climb stairs or sit down & cross my legs...

it's just a tad irritating (and painful)...

Therefore, Insanity has been put on the back shelf and I've begun eating a regime of green smoothies, oatmeal and the occasional half tub of cookie dough (because we all know that sugar has to be good for something otherwise God wouldn't have made it)

It's also that time of year where I get antsy and want to do projects...(as if that's different from any other time of year..)

I've been working on my photography blog (I actually paid to have some work done for me to get a whole new hosted site, BIG step for me!)...however, I've been waiting a bit for that to actually happen, so I'm trying to find other things to occupy my time...

So, I've been stalking goodreads.com and slurpin' down books like a white chocolate mocha (which actually sounds REALLY good right about now...it would go well with my dish of cookie dough:)

Did I happen to mention that our THREE year project of finishing the basement has finally gotten under way again?  yep...we're just getting finished up with the mudding and taping and then I'll get to go balistic on all my ideas from pinterest...

(oh, and when I say "we", I actually mean the guys we had come in and "fix" the "uniquely un-level" walls...I think it bugs Italian Stallion, but I told him that it gives it character, not to mention that it saved us money:)

Here and there I've been sewing, drawing, writing, shopping for clothes that my girls keep outgrowing, scrapbooking, reading, and attempting to keep the main floor of our house clutter free (that continues to be a work in progress)...and have we discussed Downton Abbey?

No?

Oh my...you must first understand that I'm not a TV watcher...I don't really watch anything...not even the news (much to my husband's chagrin, as he has to inform of the days events...and pretty much the nation's events as I sound completely incompetent when I try to engage in conversations with others)

I read a few blogs, but really, I don't watch a lot of anything...

Enter DOWNTON ABBEY...

Although I do believe I would never have survived the era of outdoor bathrooms, non-electric washing machines and candles for light, I do adore the fashion and simplicity...I think I just like to stare at the pretty dresses and hair styles of the time.  With every TV show, there are some episodes that have storylines that I think they just threw in there to make it "politically-correct" and really aren't my taste at all, but on the whole, compared to everything else that is out there, this show is just lovely!  For those that haven't seen it, you can get yourselves caught up at www.simplyjune.org and watch it all there...

The author of that blog (June), has another series that she recommends (again, a PBS/British program) called "Calling the Midwife"...I'm a little intrigued, so I might be checking that out whilst D.A. decides how they're going to fix the mess they've created with killing off some of my favorite characters:( but, I'm okay as long as they all keep talking with a British accent:)

That's it for now...I need to find my "groove" again with writing, so I beg that you bear with me as I locate my "voice"...amidst my everyday life...

sincerely,
me

A little change...

I really do love to write...

My brain is swimming with thoughts and emotions and lists and memories and...wait, a minute, did I start the dishwasher?...

Where was I?

Yes, well...I love to write...but I also get distracted and I kinda get bored sometimes...

Which is probably why I seem to have a million "projects" going on at my house at any given time...

However, this blog has been on the backburner for awhile lately...

I've been a little busy with:

listening to sermons
reading books
CTPhotoMemories sessions
Logo designs & just plain playing on photoshop
housework
homework (helping the girls)
volunteering at the school
packing for a vacation
keeping people healthy
working out
did I say packing for vacation???  you did NOT hear that ;)
balancing the budget (as in OUR's obviously NOT our nation's)
watching Downton Abbey (be still my heart)
homeschooling Lil' Munchkin
searching for ideas for the almost finished basement
drinking Tea...LOTS of tea
making green smoothies
trying to come up with different dinners to prepare
goin' on dates with my Italian Stallion

that's just "some" of the stuff that I've let occupy my time rather than blogging...

Just wanted to let you know where I was:)  I'll stop in periodically, as I get a chance...Little Munchkin will start regular school in the fall...it will be at that point that I will most likely have an identity crisis and/or head off on some shopping sprees or get lost in Barnes & Noble, but I have a few months until then, and therefore, I"m doing my best to just enjoy the time we have...

Hope you all are doing well in this FREEZING cold tundra of the midwest...

See you soon...

I have a pimple on my EAR LOBE...

seriously...ON my EAR LOBE...

What in the world?

My forehead resembles a mine field of pot holes left from WWI...

and that's being kind...

I'm not sure what causes this outbreak every other year or so...usually right around the same time of year, and usually it coincides with me trying to work out...

Maybe I should take that as hint... WORKOUTS = BREAKOUTS

I don't understand why exactly...I start to eat healthier foods, I wash my face day and night...I've now started to use a medication on my red, blotched T zone because to be honest, these large, mountainous craters are painful!

I'd like to know why they felt the need to cross over to my ear lobes however...were there just not enough dots to connect from my chin to my temples?  Come on now!!! 

I thought I was too old for this sort of thing...I was gearing up for dealing with these little "inconveniences" with my tween in the coming years...not ME standing in front of a mirror trying to decide whether to  (lord forbid) stick an actual pin in to pop it and rid me of the misery or to wait it out another day and refrain from going within a 2 inch radius around the area!!!  BLEH...

Fun topics for a Sunday night huh? 

In other news...

a friend turned me on to a supposed "miracle" brush, called The Wet Brush in order to deal with the tangles that seem to infest Peanut's hair...

oh the joys of discussing "girl beauty" this evening...

I purchased it tonight and so far, so good...it doesn't necessarily take away all whining, but it does make the detangling go a bit faster and therefore results in fewer tears...

I will take that anyday of the week and TWICE on Sunday:) 

This is just what my life tends to look like here of late...and I just thought I'd be kind enough to share that with you:)

In fact...here are some more tidbits in case you were just BEYOND curious as to what "life with Mamarazzi" might look like at this time of year...so here it goes..

IT LOOKS LIKE...

...holding onto the jiggle, that is my muffin top, while doing the Heismann during Insanity workouts just so it doesn't produce anymore stretch marks than what is already there:)

...doing mounds of laundry daily, only to get distracted while piles load up on the couch so that I can grab a quick chapter read from whatever book happens to be laying around the house. ( I do not struggle with relaxation, that's for sure:)

...listening to really great sermons from Mark Driscoll about Real Marriage

...tucking 3 little girls in at night AT LEAST 5 times because: "i need some water, i forgot some homework, don't forget to wake me up early, i'm hungry, i'm having bad dreams, i think my foot hurts..."

...drinking Teavana Tea and pretending I'm a complete Tea snob whilst I walk out to the bus stop in my pajamas.

...spending hours on the computer after everyone is in bed trying to create the PERFECT 2012 scrapbook for my family and having to start over almost every other night because I can't make up my mind about size or page layouts...oh the joys of being a perfectionist in areas that don't really make much sense???? UGH

...watching basketball games played by Peanut and being so proud that she has found something that is hers alone (not to mention, I actually understand the sport a bit, seeing as I actually played in highschool...which is more than I can say about my understanding about ANY other sport out there)

...saying DROP and NO BITE at least 102938472039457 times a day to my sweet puppy whom we've decided is now able to roam more areas of the house...perhaps that was a mistake this early in the process...hmmmm????

...buying stock in chapstick because lord have mercy, this constant change in weather and the licking of the lips is causing every girl in this household to have swollen lips!!!

...curling up with a big blanket, and reading books to Little Munchkin AND having her read books back to me because she FINALLY feels like learning to read "might" be fun...although, "I like it MUCH better when YOU read to me, Mommy!"

...drinking green smoothies and actually LIKING them!

...watching episodes of Downton Abbey and wishing I could visit England and have tea with Kate or Pippa...Teavana Tea of course:)

Life is good...it's never boring, that's for sure...

Hope you have a great week!!!

SEEING more clearly...

A friend of mine directed me to this magazine...I don't have a subscription to it, but I want one now:)  I love the magazine's about me page where it says:

Our lives are the sum
Of each moment and interaction.
Each day we work, eat, laugh, teach, play, read, remember…
And work at it all again the next day.
Within seemingly small moments we find opportunity
To build relationships, develop character, find joy
For the price of our time.
Life’s most essential possibilities are realized at home.
Where we share, teach, grow, learn, serve, give
Our best without praise or fanfare.
Because every effort, every moment matters
In the development of a person.
Nothing is really routine.
To all who see the everyday.


I know that I shared Ann Voskamp's video last year...

Both of these combined seem to encapsulate what I really want this year...and here it is only 2.5 weeks into the new year and I'm struggling in my moment by moment...

I get so distracted...so pulled off course...

my lack of time management skills...NO...that's not it...it's my lack of SEEING what's truly important and what I feel necessary to CHECK OFF MY LIST!!!

When will I get it right?

And then I stop...

and I remember the One who is control of ALL of my moments... and I am utterly thankful for His grace...

I wonder if He rolls His eyes when I realize yet again that the attraction of facebook pulled me away, yet again, from finishing a song with Little Munchkin...or the distraction of housework yanked me away from spending time with a friend...

Thankful that He doesn't give up on me...even if I sometimes give up on myself...

I soooo want to SEE more clearly!!!

Not much of anything...

I woke with quite the ambition this morning...

I woke up fresh, alive, ready to tackle the day...

Okay...so I'm lying...I NEVER wake up fresh, alive and ready to tackle the day...it's more like I lay in bed with one eye open and one foot on the floor WILLING my body to roll just enough to balance myself off the edge...

today was no different...

But, we did get much accomplished, which is quite the task when the girlies are off of school and Mommy is going through the "moody blues" because she can't seem to keep her mind focused on one thing (WHICH, if you read my previous posts, was my WHOLE new year's resolution...oh how far we fall, in just a matter of a few days)

Accomplish we did however...by golly!  I got those girlies workin'...got myself a regular work camp goin' on over here...

Which basically means that I set the timer for one hour and told them that we were cleaning for just 60 minutes and then we could have treats:) 

yippee

 

We made our lists and were off and running...(while Mommy completely copped out and followed them around with her camera so she could document the fact that they were IN FACT working)

 

 

 

 

 

This all took place after the girls did a little "insanity" work out with me...I'm going to chalk it up to "muscle weighs more than fat", the fact that I've gained 5 lbs since day 1 of Insanity...it is now day 16...and though I feel better, have a bit more energy and can actually SUCK IN the muffin top with a tad more ease, I've decided that the scale is just not my friend and we're going to part ways for awhile...maybe until June...

 

In other WONDERFUL news...the acne that I had as a teenager did not feel that it tortured me enough back then and has decided to invade my forehead with such tenacity that I think I might cry...

 

bored to tears yet? 

 

I know...my life is THRILLING...is it not?

 

Lives that ARE thrilling can be found in my new found television love of Downton Abbey...

 

I don't really watch TV...not much at all...and movies outside the realm of Pride & Prejudice and possibly Les Miserables (once it comes to our $5 theater) don't really hold my attention...I"m more of a "blog-reader, facebook stalker, book reader" type person..

 

But, someone last year brought my attention to this sweet drama...and seeing as I love all things English (did I mention that I long to see Great Britian one day..along with my Scotland & Ireland heritage homes?)  Anyhoo...I got seasons 1 and 2 from the library last year and watched them all in about a week's time...and season 3 has just begun here in the states....

 

It makes me wish MY name was Pippa, instead of my sweet puppy:)  Or maybe Anna (she's my favorite character) 

 

Anyway, that's life right now on the homefront...we surprised our girls with some exciting news that I will definitely be sharing in the future (and no I'm not pregnant)

 

I hope to be able to spend a bit more time blogging in the future...I miss writing...

 

Here's to hoping for a fresh morning tomorrow:)