Christmas!

Well I've almost completed one thing on my "to do" list. It was a big one! Decorate the house for Christmas! Earl and I went out last night and went a little crazy, we bought some xmas village stuff to fill in the weird box hole on top of our fire place. I loved the village stuff at work, so we went ahead and did it. The funny thing is, it was Earl who said he wanted to do it, so we agreed and did it! We got the ski lodge, cathedral, a car sales building, a post office, and my personal fav the ornament shop, we also got some trees and bridges and figures and stuff. I also got a garland and lights for the fire place mantel. I think it looks fantastic! I love it! We decided to put the Xmas tree upstairs in the living room to allow more space and keep Evan fingers away from it. Next year it will go down stairs. But I think I'll still want one upstairs so it can be in the front window of the house. I love when ppl do that, it looks so pretty. I also got a super cute wreath for the front door, which is something I wanted to do ages ago. I would like to switch one out for every season. Call me girly but I like the way a wreath looks on a door, it's welcoming!

So that's about it for me today. I got more accomplished then I thought I would last night. Maybe we won't need a baby sitter on Sat. Evan was really good last night, we went to Canadian Tire and 2 Ronas! Having the car carts with steering wheels seems to help, if only Walmart had car carts!

Have a good one ladies!

My new computer case

So this is now what my computer case looks like. Pretty cool huh. My computer was getting slow so Earl gave me an upgrade! This meant I had to upgrade to a bigger case. Now it looks like I'm compensating for something, it's huge! It's almost as tall as my desk! the front panel with the purple circles also lights up blue! Earl also put a blue fan in the inside since it has a windowed panel on the side. It's super cool! I love it! I feel like such a gamer! To bad all I play is Pogo, lol, and sims once in a while.

I have a jam packed couple of weeks before I leave for Cal. Today at 3pm we are taking our dogs in to get their kennel cough shot. Tomorrow Steph is coming over for a visit. I still have to get my hair done, decorate the xmas tree which includes getting an extension cord. Clean the house so it's ready for Xmas when we get back, oh and all the packing and list making included in going for a trip. I've started making a list of things NOT to forget. Baby night light, baby lullaby thingy, gifts for sis and family from here. You know all the odd things. I'm soooo looking forward to getting away. The daily grind is really starting to get to me. Not to mention all the drama going on in Earl's family. I'm just getting soooo sick of it all! All the winny, bitching, bullshit! I'm so over it!

So anyone want to baby sit an Evan one evening this weekend? Ave is going to Vancouver. Don't ask I don't get it either. So much for buying that Victorian house and opening a tea house. Again don't ask, unless where in person. Explaining would be way to much typing. Earl and I are going to have to get some stuff done. Sat would be great since I work till 5:30 and Sun I work till 4:30, and things close yearly. We have to shop for car toys, get automatic fish feeders, etc. It's so hard to get running around done with him when we have to stop at mutable places for one or two items. Let me know if your interested? Please?

Tub Off Tuesday...Grrr!

GRRRRR! I've been such a good girl! Only .2 lost! GRRRR! What more can I do! I know it gets harder the further one gets along in the journey but come on! I want to see some results for my hard work! I've been eating right, jogging on my treadmill, doing my power cord work out, plus working. I don't have any more time to invest in exercise. I don't know what to do. Maybe measurements will show some change.

Arms: 13 each- one inch down
Hip: 45- no change, man that's a hard area to work, I've been trying. That lower tire just doesn't want to budge.
Waist: Got some great results here 40 that's down 2 whole inches!
Thigh: 24 That's down 1 inch each.

Well that makes me feel a little better. I guess I'll just keep at it and hopefully it will pay off this week.

Have a good one ladies.

No more Plus!

I have a huge announcement. Okay not huge, skinny! lol

I am no longer a + size girl!!!! Yahoo!!!! No more paying $50 - $90 for a pair of jeans. It's money in my pocket.

I just got back from shopping for a long over due pair of new jeans. I went into reitmens tonight and tried on the size 15 on the regular side and they fit!!!! Not only that but I also bought a hoodie at Old Navy. {Huge sale this week} I bought a Large mens! Earl bought a mens M and guess what, it's to small! Hehehehe. I am finally the same size on top as Earl!!!! In hoodies at least. When I fit his jeans then I'll really celebrate. Okay so I'm still the largest size, but I'm in the regular size!

So that's my happy, happy story for the week. I'm hopping the scale will show a good number this week. I've been a pretty good girl so I'm hoping for results. I only have 2 more weeks before I leave. I'm sure my sis will be shocked regardless but every pound counts for so much now that I've lost so many inches. Not to mention I would love to finish my mini challenge.

Hope your weekend was as good or better then mine. Have a happy Monday. Or as happy as a Monday can be anyway.

Bally Power Cord

I wish I could have found a picture of this product so you could all know exactly what it looks like, but I can't find one.

Anyway so I was watching Biggest Loser about a month ago and one of the trainers said that a power cord is a great all purpose piece of exercise equipment. I know I need to start toning my body in my problem areas so I figured I would give one a try. So I went to Walmart last week and found a great product. It costs under $30! It's called the Bally Total Fitness Power Cord. It comes in a box with an instructional DVD. I just finished doing the workout for the 1st time. I can see how once you've learned the moves and can up the reps this is a great tool! The DVD itself was short and I found I had to do it twice to feel anything. I found the cord strong and well made, the DVD was helpful and easy to understand. The cord itself looks like a strechie skipping rope. So of course you can use it as cardio and actually skip with it. This would be great for ppl who want a gym on the go. The DVD also went through about 25 moves that works every part of your body. Legs, arms, abs, butt you name it. So if your able pick it up, its cheep, easy to store, and easy to use.

Have a good one ladies.

Tub Off Tuesday

Well I stepped on the scale and was relieved to see 192.2. This puts me under my lowest weight (before AF) with a loss of .2. I'll take it! I'm not going to bother measuring today, I'm sure the numbers are the same.

Sorry I haven't been writing a lot, Evan has been a real handful. He's waking up at night which means I need a nap before work. He's also been rather snugly lately. God forbid I leave him on the other side of the gate to play while I type. I think he's been getting over a cold or teething and growing, I guess that's what kids do. Work has also been super busy, X-mas stuff, a plant delivery and getting ready for inventory has kept us jumping!

Did you know that poinsettias get a white goo if they get water droplets on them? Yup! It's really disgusting! So all the poinsettias have to be watered by hand! It takes forever. It's only Nov and we have 10 carts of them. All different sizes. I also have to say that poinsettias in large numbers stink! Just thought I would let you know. Never fill your house with them, the official x-mas foliage should be bought in moderation. To bad they look so nice in large groups. Not to mention they are poisonous to your pets, so watch out if your kittys and puppys like to eat your house plants. The odds of them dieing are slim to none, they would have to eat a whole huge plant. But a little bit for a small animal could upset there tummies and you may have a mess to clean up. Opt for a x-mas (zyco) cacti instead. They last for years, are very hardy, and they bloom in the winter! I know I want one.

On Thursday night I went to a Close to My Heart show, it was a last minute thing. I knew Vicky was holding it, but I wasn't sure I wanted to go. When Jordanna told me we would be making an x-mas card, I figured I'd go. I hate the ones where you make the first page in a scrap book, I always take pics I have replacements for, My pages always seem to get lost or damaged. I hate that! Not to mention I wasn't overly impressed with the other scrapbook home shows before. I didn't like the style or price of the supplies. This show however was different! I loved their stuff. It was reasonably priced for the quality of product, the product looked classy and not cheap, and it left room to mix and match other product with their stuff. No special page holders for their albums etc. Check out the website!

www.scrapbooksandstamps.myctmh.com

Pay attention to the stamps, they are sooooo cool! I'm hoping to have a show in Jan. So I'm afraid I'll have to make another first page that will never be in an album. Time to brake out the doubles I guess. The page never matches the product you want to buy since the consultant provides the materials. I do want to use their scrap booking product before I buy it so I guess it just has to be done. Maybe this company is different, maybe we get a paper choice? I guess I'll see. I've always wanted to scrape book but I found it overwhelming, and expensive. I guess I'm ready to invest now that I've found a company I like.

Well that's all for me. Have a good Tues Ladies!

Tub Off Tuesday

I hate you AF!!!!

the scale says I gained? Stupid AF!

I gained a whole 1.5! That's over half of what I lost last week. Grrrr. Nature sucks!

I stayed the same for most of my measurements.

Thighs 25 both sides
Hip still 45.
Waist lost .5 inch for a total of 41.5
Upper Arms still at 14.

I hope everyone had a great long weekend. (if you had Mon off) I also hope you had a chance to either attend a service on Sunday or at least pause for a moment to remember the men and women who have fallen for our freedom.

I attended the service at my dad's legion on Sun morning. It was outside so it was short and sweet. It didn't feel cold at first but by the end we where all shivering a little. One of the legion guys let all the ladies with little ones sneak through a back entrance to warm them up sooner. The wait to get inside the front way would have taken at least 20 min extra. We didn't stay long after the service since it was packed and of course Evan was being a squirmy worm. So we went home.

I worked that day a short 4 hour shift 2-6pm when we closed. It was crazy!!! I sold like 35 fack x-mas trees! (no real ones yet) Not to mention every year Rona puts out the x-mas village display. Thats all those cute lite up houses and figures. Anyway it's been up for a week and all the figures are starting to brake from all the little fingers. One of the bumper car figures was decapitated along with a clown, a cow, and another shopping type man. Oh well. I guess ppl will get the idea of how things look. The village has been set up for 1 week and we've already sold out of some items. Its great to see things fly out the door.

The green house is also full, full, full! Lots to tend to and to water. But like the rest of AB staff is short so I'm afraid some of the plants that need daily watering are suffering. But once they get a good long drink they'll bounce back.

Well that's it for me today. Have a good one ladies.

Pets! Grrrr!

Okay so we got these stupid fish for Earls Birthday as you all know. We have the two tanks, the big one 30 gal in the living room and a small 10 gal down stairs here in the office.

All of a sudden Kess our girl dog has noticed the things swimming around in there! At first it was just the small tank since its down a little lower to the floor then the big one. She hops up to look and trys to bit the glass! Silly dog. She wines and fusses constantly. I noticed this morning after I feed the fish b-fast that she's noticed the big tank too! I hope she'll get used to them, or else every meal will be interrupted by her constant fussing!

We thought the cat would be the problem. That's why we made sure the cover on both tanks would support his fatness. Aren't cats supposed to like to eat fish! Not dogs!

Oh well I guess we will deal. If it continues I'm x'ing the fish!

I was looking for my glue gun yesterday and came across my old food journal. I started trying to lose weight 3 months after Evan was born. I watched what I was eating and used information from Weight Watchers. I used the points as if I was going to the meetings and weighed in every week. My first weigh in was on July 7th! I couldn't believe how much it was, I weighted 266 pounds! Granted that was on my old crappy scale but still it wasn't that far off! So if you subtract me current weight from that I've lost a total of 74 pounds! OMG! Now I don't feel so bad about lieing to get goal bear. I really have lost those extra 20 pounds. Not that I'm lieing yet, but the day will come when I've reached the 170 mark and I'm going to fudge my numbers a little.

Well that's it for me today! Luv ya ladies! Have a good Thursday.

These are the days!

Today is a good mommy day! I was playing with Evan on our 4th level. We where rolling the ball, reading and I was trying to teach him to build with his mega blocks, the usual play with a 19 month old. He walked by me, turned around, looked me straight in the eye and puckered up! He was making kissing motions with his lips and running full throttle towards me. Then he landed on my lap on his knees (which hurt by the way) and planted one right on my cheek! Then my lips, then my other cheek! It was slobbery and wonderful, I couldn't help but smile ear to ear! He had given kisses before but never on his own, he always had to be asked, or I think he was copying me or daddy after we kissed him.

These are the moments when all the worry, all the pain, all sticks in the bicycle wheels of life are worth it! For all the tumbles, all the tears, there is moments like these that make being a mom worth while.

Tub Off Tuesday

Well I was super surprised to see a 2 pound loss this week. With the trip to Lethbridge and all the snacking in the car I figured for sure I would have gained or hopefully stayed the same. I am pleasantly surprised to be 192.6.

My measurements showed absolutely no change. My TOM is coming I can feel it. I got a major case of the munchies lately and I'm a mega bitch, so I know AF is one her way.

Yesterday was Evan's follow up appointment about his talking. I was shocked when I made out my list of his new words. He's gained 12 more! The repetitive nature of what I was told to do is obviously working. Dr Anderson was pleased and wants to see us again in 3 months to see how he's doing. I was relieved when he squeezed my shoulder and said "See nothing to worry about. I never tell my parents there kids are abnormal, this is why I love pediatrics, it never stops amazing me." I love my Doc!

Well that's about it for me today. Have a great Tues ladies!

Lethbridge

Remind me never to move to Lethbridge! Its way to windy!

Well all in all the trip was okay, I mean we where going down for a funeral. Evan refused to sleep the whole way down, and since we where in a new place he didn't want to sleep in the hotel either. By 9pm I was done, my temper was shot, so I went swimming while Earl tryed for an hour to get him to sleep. I had forgotten his mobile music which I think had a whole lot to do with the situation. I also forgot his night lite. Oh well I'll remember for the Cal trip that's for sure. He was so exosted, his eyes where so red, and he would run then fall to his knees and lay down for 2 seconds then back up he went. At 10 when I was finished swimming and I came back up to the room, he was still up! So we decided to put him back in his car seat and find Walmart for a night light and mobile/ music box. He was out cold as soon as we where 3 blocks from the hotel. We did find Walmart and picked up the items we needed just in case he woke up during transfer from the van. When we got back to the hotel he did wake up. We plugged in the night light and I layed him down with me and he finally slept for the rest of the night. It was 11:30 at this point. Since he went to bed so late he slept in so we missed the continental b-fast that was included in our room rate. We ended up at Smittys instead. Oh well lesson learned. We knew there would be some kinks this trip, it's a good thing we found out now instead of in Dec.

We went to the service, he was quite since we kept him distracted as much as possible. After the service we just let him run! Most of the family took turns just following him around, up and down stairs, across huge expanses of floor, and through every door in the place. Needless to say he was out before we hit the highway on the way home. He slept for about an hour and a half. He only got cranky when he got hungry around Airdree then when we hit the Edmonton city limits. Other then that the ride home was way more stress free. He was clearly happy to be home when we rolled into the driveway. But he also went to bed without a fuss, you could see the sigh of relief when we put him down in his own bed.

I can tell from this trip the the first day to Cal will be hell, then after that we should be much better, as long as we let him burn off his energy for an hour or two every day. Thank God for our van's DVD, for his benefit and mine! lol