Party Planning

#Handrite# Party Planning

I'm the world's worst blogger

Probably because of my personality type, I tend to jump from one exciting project to the next and then some are left behind. They get dusty, but I always pick them back up again when the time is right.

This week I HAVE TO blog about my sister's engagement photoshoot. It was gorgeous!

Then, the Great Couch ReCon of 2012...... it is amazing. I'd better pull out the good camera to take Pinterest Worthy images!

Back on up to other projects I have done or am currently working on, but the BIGGEST project we are taking on is Mission #6: New Baby. New Baby will be delivered in November of 2012. We do not know of their gender yet, but just that baby is happy & healthy and that this is by far my hardest pregnancy to date. Lil Missy or Mister is very much looked forward to by the siblings. A & G want a sister, but K wants a brother. God will give us what we were meant to have.

And now, it is time for me to sleep..... like the baby.

I ran today

Okay, well it wasn't a LOT and I was definitely not wearing the appropriate attire (at least I was wearing appropriate shoes!). I took the puppy out for a walk, hoping to miss the imminent storm. So hubby came back from running our older dog and I headed out to walk the little guy.
About 1/2 way through it the thunder and lightening really kicked up. I ended up running a block and a half home. Right as I made it into the garage it started coming down in buckets. So much for straightening my hair today. I was a curly mess after that. Good thing I started growing my hair out a year ago. I could have looked like a muppet.

The husband and I started tracking our calorie intake and what out pro/carb/fat percentages were. Boy, do we have some work to do. My fats are too high, proteins are too low and my carbs are too high. This is going to take some thought. Not being able to eat milk products makes life very difficult sometimes. I can handle the gluten-free easy, but the milk part.... not fun.

This time, it's different

I had become resolved this past year about my body and weight. Yes, I weighed less than ever I did post-children and even less than the day I got married. I was fine with that.

What I am not fine with is feeling sluggish, but having insomnia. I miss working out. I miss the burning muscles. I miss the energy.

I've realized that sometimes I get too wrapped up in everything else going on in life that I don't sit (figuratively) back and take time for myself. I get over-involved with the well-being of my children & husband & forget about my own well-being. I'm always taking care of things and not taking enough care of me.

So I started.

Step One: Quit Smoking. {DONE}
My husband and I walked right into the medical center and got ourselves Chantix. We both wanted to quit this time. I quit several times, my longest span being 4 yrs, but since he never quit I never stayed quit.

Step Two: Learn Another Language {In Progress}
Rosetta Stone went on a deep sale price, with tri-monthly payments. My family is learning Italian. The goal is to take a vacation to Rome in approximately 7 yrs.

Step Three: Get Healthy {In Progress}
Well, I quit smoking and I have no time or money to hit up the gym. My husband asked if I thought about P90X. Yes, I had thought about it. Only I was scared to death to try it. Then I saw a before and after picture of a woman who had a similar body shape as me now (her before pic) and looked phenomenal after. I have a few girlfriends that have done this program and said it was great. Pray for me. I am afraid of this level of intensity. I know the 1st week is going to be my worst, but I just need to push myself through it.

Step Four: Run and Rollerblade {Not yet started}
Why? Because I haven't run over a mile since I was 18 yrs old and I fell flat on my ass less than 5 minutes after putting on a pair of rollerblades this past week. Those 2 things terrify me. The goal is to be able to do it by the end of September.

Now I am pretty good at setting goals and keeping about 75% of them. I suppose I am holding myself accountable by putting it out here online......

So excited!

This week is going to be the best week ever! No, not because of the holiday. My husband has a week off between trainings and that means I get to go and explore with my camera! I found the coolest marsh today while driving around and did not have my camera with me. Boo! I used to keep my camera with me 24/7. I need to start doing that again. It was the perfect day to photograph it too. Perfectly overcast & it made for such a wonderful contrast. A color opportunity with the visual effect of being B&W. Yes, I am getting all excited just thinking about photographing this marsh. I made my husband write down the cross-streets near there so I could find it again.

Tomorrow, my dear Marsh..... I shall come for you!

TRAINING! Dogs are easy... kids, not so much.

Today our new trainer from Bark Busters comes by for Murphy. Murphy isn't a "bad" puppy, but he is mischievous and I swear he has ADHD. Murphy is the puppy we got last July for the kids. My husband at first tried to say he was MY DOG, but no. As the months have passed he is most definitely a kid's dog. He prefers children and other mammals. Yes, he even loves cats. The only thing he really chases are birds. I think maybe he wants to pin one of them down, stare them in the eye and bark, "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" Meaning flying. He gets really excited when he sees a flock of birds in the sky. Anyways, I digress.

Murphy has gone through a lot in the past 6 months. He lost his BFF (our old foster dog, Avid), then he was unexpectedly attacked by our next foster dog. He got a new brother, Eros, and then he ended up needing a bilateral ulnar osteotomy. (Say whaaa?) Basically it's this, Murphy is 1/2 labrador and 1/2 Welsh Cardigan Corgi. His front legs (the ulna bones) were trying to grow labrador sized, but he is short like a Corgi. His ulna bone was slipping outside of the elbow socket causing elbow dysplasia and if he didn't have the surgery he would be in a life of pain, possibly unable to walk. I couldn't let this happen. As much as a bugger he can be, we love him. So in comes surgery (shortening the ulna bones) and 8 weeks of crate rest. Fun.

But this is the best part, one week after he gets off crate rest we are traveling for 6 weeks! So that majorly messed with the poor pup too. Now we are having issues with him. He needs to get back to the training he started in San Diego. Good thing there is a trainer with the company here in North Chicago! Also, GOOD thing we got him lifetime training. I think that was the best investment we ever put into this dog. Let us see how it goes.

Been a while... again

Boy, do I fail at blogging or what?

It's been too long, but I guess I've been busy. We moved recently from San Diego to Chicago. BIG CHANGE. Huge. We've been dealing with many challenges since the move. Our most difficult challenge was where to put the kids for school. Nothing around here seemed good enough for my kids (in my husband & my opinion) & private school is just totally out of this family's budget. Back to homeschooling it is! Now, I may seem crazy for doing it again, but so far we are doing very well with it and the kids love it. Those who know me well know that my biggest fear in life is screwing up my kids by doing the wrong thing for them. I could have gone back to school and finished my BFA. I could have put them in school and got myself a job. Had I done either of those things, where does that leave my kids? I'm a grown woman & my kids are just that, KIDS. They need a good foundation in life to succeed at adulthood. It took me a year of debating with myself on this to decide what to do. I made this decision and until a better option presents itself, this is what we will do.