Packing

Packing is what we're going to be doing in the next few days. To tell you the truth, I haven't met anyone I know that likes to pack. If you do, I think there's something really wrong with you. The daunting task of making sure every article of clothing is washed before you start is what always stalls the process. You know that you're going to want that one piece of clothing that's at the bottom of the laundry pile. And you can't forget those one pair of undies that feel so much better when you travel. You know the ones! Least I mention that you can't take just any PJ's...especially when you're traveling with extended family. They have to be presentable PJ's...not the mix and match PJ's that are OK for home. The ones with the hole in the knees or armpit...again, you know the PJ's! Yep, that's me in the next few days. Let the laundry begin! I think my husband is about ready to strangle me because I'm being a laundry lunatic and monitoring what goes in the laundry basket because really...is it dirty enough to wash?? Have you worn it for at least 12 hours? If your family or kids are anything like mine they change about 4 times a day doubling the amount of laundry that REALLY needs done. It is what it is and everything will get done one way or another...most times it means me, the mom, staying up till 3AM and rising yet again at sunrise to make sure everything is just right before we head out. Since we leave in the middle of the day, I have to make sure it's all there before I leave for work because once I'm gone, I'm gone and there's not turning back. Again, my husband thinks I'm crazy because the car has basically got to be packed well before we have to leave. This is to ensure that all suitcases are packed, snacks are in their proper position, magazines are secured, and children are essentially accounted for. The only thing that would be missing is, well...me. I'll work for a few hours... or act like I'm working - everything will have been emailed, scheduled, confirmed, or sent out and I sit. Waiting for the clock to strike so I can leave. The seconds...the minutes...the hours creep by but eventually it happens. The clock strikes the magic number and it's officially time to go...to the bathroom that is. All the kids out of the car and one last pee stop! Once everyone has emptied out their bladders it's time to pile in the car and that's when my vacation begins. So until then, I'm counting down the seconds...the minutes...and the hours waiting for the clock to strike while I dig for my presentable PJ's!

Another Day...Another Dollar

Guess what?! Today is Friday...couldn't be happier to be at the end of the week. I had another successful weight loss this week. I lost a pound which doesn't sound like much but I'll take each and every ounce I can get! I'm feeling great today! Yesterday was weigh day so I treated myself to lunch at Chipotle with my mom...then treated myself to pizza out with my father in law who is in town from Nashville. Overall, I did well for the day but after eating out twice, I felt like I needed to put in some time with my trusty treadmill last night. Got in a good run and now I'm ready for the weekend. We've got a family get together with Nate's side of the family this weekend and it will be good to see everyone! Hoping for great weather and good memories!

We've got a couple of busy weeks ahead which I'm happy and sad about. We're heading on vacation soon which I'm so excited about but at the same time, once we get back it's back to school time. It will officially be the end to our summer. Things went so fast...so much faster than what they do during the school year. I treasure these days home with my kids. It's so nice to stay up late, wake up late and not having to worry about having an agenda. I hope we cope with school starting early this year. My only saving grace is that the kids get out in May next year and then the summer starts all over again.

Things will be very different for Nate as this will be his first year without kids during the day. The time has finally come for him to have all this free time I've been promising him from day one of his disability. He's not going to know what to do with all his free time. I'm sure he'll fill it up in no time but it will take some getting used to. I love that it also means that we can have our mornings together. The girls will get on the bus around 7:30 and I don't leave until a little after 8. 45 minutes of US time!

OK, gotta get back to work...after all it's another day...another dollar! Looking forward to the next few weeks. I'll fill you in as I can! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Quiet On The Western Front

The girls are in bed and Nate is at his uncles trying to fix our lawn mower. I just got done going thru all our bills and paperwork trying to get caught up. Things have been so crazy at work that I haven't had a chance to pay some things so tonight was the night. I went thru my bag, got all the papers in order and went to town making payments. Lucky, the money is coming out of an HSA so it doesn't hurt as bad as if it were coming out of a checking account. I can almost see an end to our medical bills! By the beginning of September we will officially be medical debt free! It's been awhile and I can only hope and pray that the girls stay well enough to help us take money out of our HSA to pay ourselves back for money we've taken out of the bank for down payments for Aiva's tonsils and my surgery. That's right...I said Aiva's tonsils! That was about three years ago! Looking forward to building back up our savings. I've always been more the saver and Nate the spender so to see us move towards saving and restocking our savings account bring me much happiness.

I weighed in this week and maintained. I'm totally OK with is as it's normally a gain week for me. Hoping for great things next week! I'm continuing to run and work out which has been hard because of the heat! Looking forward to a cool front coming in this weekend. It makes working out more enjoyable (who am I fooling) when it's not as hot. Looking forward to a family day tomorrow! With Nate gone tonight, I was also able to catch up on cleaning so I don't have to tomorrow. Love that feeling of a free weekend to love on my family. Not sure what we're doing this weekend but I'm sure there will be tons of laughter and lots of tickles :)

Bad News....and Good News!

OK...so the triathlon that I've spent the past 4 months training for was called off on Friday. I was so bumbed...words can't describe how disappointed I was. All my clothes were laid out. I planned my meals just right. Mentally I was ready....and then I got the email. The beach where the tri was supposed to take place had experienced some flooding and the park was deemed unsafe. Again, the bad news is that it was canceled...even worse is that I can't go to the makeup date. This will keep me going for at least another year though. I'm ready for the challenge plus I've got some 5K's to run between now and then. I'm so excited for these races and they're going to be so fun in their own ways. The first one  is the Busy Babes Marathon 5K in Centerburg.

I'm running with several girls from church. We're all doing our own race between the 5K, 10K, and half marathon. Can't wait! A week later, me and my family are running in the Miles for Melanoma race in Columbus.

It's the first race in Columbus for this organization so I'm really happy to be there for the first race and plus I can support a cause close to my heart. PLUS I get to do it with my family. Ana is so stoked to do this race it's funny! She's been dying to run a race with me so now she gets her chance! The last race of the year is the Hot Chocolate 5K in Columbus.

I'm either running this with a coworker or with Nate. Either way I'm excited because this was my first ever 5K last year and it will be nice to go back and run in Downtown Columbus and get some yummy hot chocolate! The atmosphere was amazing last year and I can't wait to experience again!

I'm feeling great these days and I'm in the best shape that I've been in years. I can't wait to continue! Stay tuned for what happens next! I've got a weigh in tomorrow so we'll see what happens! Here's hoping for another lose!

My Progress

So I added a page on my blog for you to follow my progress. Although slow...very SLOW, I am making progress. I just want to show other people that if things aren't happening fast enough for you, it's completely normal. Stick with it! Things will change...you're size will decrease, your cravings will decrease, and your confidence will increase! I'll fill you in on some of my growth spurts as I go on. I'm leaning new things about myself each day but one thing remains the same though...trust God and love yourself. Make yourself a priority. If things are going to change you have to Love God and Love Yourself. As a mom, we're so busy to make sure that our husbands feel loved and our kids feel loved that we forget about ourselves. By the time we make time for ourselves we're tired and out of energy. Do it today!

Ready or Not!

Well folks, we're coming down to the wire for my triathlon! I did a trial run on Sunday and I felt great...other than my bruised tailbone! I injured it a few years ago and it's been aggravated ever since I started training. If I can just get thru Saturday I'll be in good shape. In the trial run, I did great on the swimming, and pretty well on the biking. I didn't get a chance to get to the run but I'm sure I'll be fine. My stomach was feeling a little queezy due to not eating properly the morning of the trail run and having lemonade with me instead of Gatorade. I think I soured my stomach so I wont be making that mistake on Saturday. The week has flew by which is a good thing because I don't have time to be nervous for Saturday! I lost almost two pounds this week and I'm officially starting to wear a size medium! It's a slow process but I'm getting there! Other than planning out my meals and working out, we've been getting things ready for our trip to Florida. We can hardly wait! We haven't been to the beach in a couple years so it will feel good to get back. We're going with Nate's parents and brother and sisters. So far we've got a great trip planned! Looking forward to making memories!! With that said, the next time I post, I'm hopefully going to have great memories of my race on Saturday. By that time, I'll officially be an triathlete! Move out of the way, I'm gonna get my metal!

Back & Better Than Ever

WOW! My last post was back in January...a whole 6 months have come gone. Hard to believe that so much can happen in such a short time. Not sure why I can't get this blogging down to a daily or even weekly cycle. It's so much fun to look at what's happen or what we've been thru as the years go by. Like I said though, it's been a busy year so far and I see I've made a lot of accomplishments. As I look over my goals that I had for this year and last year I see that I've already met a lot of my goals. That's encouraging right there! I've got an awesome group of friends that help me along the way and it's nice to have friends to lean on as we go thru this life. I'm looking forward to next weekend :) Some friends and I are completing in a triathlon. It's hard to believe that I've gotten bold enough to do something of this magnitude but ready or not...here I come. A week from tomorrow and we'll see what I'm made of. Philippians 4:13 keeps going thru my mind these days as I prepare. Looking forward to it being over and taking on another challenge...my next 5K in November. The girls are doing amazing and loving summer. I can hardly believe that it's half over already. We've got a vacation planned in a few weeks that we're looking forward to. We're going to the beach with Nate's sister's and brother's. It will be nice to get away!

OK, so here I pledge again. I'm going to try to keep up with this. Looking forward to getting back to blogging. It's a way for me to escape, if only for a brief few minutes. On that note - I've got a to run. An experiment is taking place without supervision! Yikes!