40 is approaching

My husband turns 40 in 5weeks, I want to do something special. Does anyone have any super special ideas?
When he turned 30 I gave him a surprise party and even arranged for his brother and a good friend from out of town to fly in and be here when he walked into the party. It was definatetly a surprise and he really liked it. I also arranged one year for our family to go to Sea World to celebrate his birthday as a surprise. That also was a lot of fun. But now with T being in school we probably can't go on a mini-birthday-vacation, and with the current economy none of his friends would be able to fly in for a party (and I'm not paying for them either), so... I need another idea. Do you have any? We certainly want to do something special since it is a milestone. Let me know if u have any great ideas.

ice storm=bake me some cookies

I wrote a post about our upcoming storm on one of my other blogs, if you'd like to check it out, you can click here.

pretty composite photos

I took the girls to get their annual pictures taken (to commemorate T at 9 yrs, and W at 4 yrs). I used to get professional photos taken every month during the first 2 years of each of their lives, but now I have cut back and only do it once a year. I try to do it in January so its midway between their actual birthdays of October and March so that when I write on the back that these are their 4yr and 9yr photos its only a few months off in either direction. (Not like the good ol days when I'd label photos "24 weeks, 28.5weeks, " LOL Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple of composites they put together (they are a bit grainy because these are just proofs-the actual photos haven't arrived yet-but you still get the idea). I thought they were cute. Of course, I had to have my girls "matching" as u can see :) Hope u enjoy them :)

funny picture

see my other blog for a funny picture of my flexing my muscles ;)

T's 2nd Bball game

T did really well in her second B-ball game Saturday. She scored another basket so she was happy. She was much more aware of where the ball was at all times so she did better, and she put her arms up to block shots this time, which is good. She is still a bit confused about the "game" in general. When the ref called her over to pass the ball inbounds she had no idea what he was talking about, but she is catching on. That's what this league is for, to teach them the game and the fundamentals of teamwork and dribbling etc. Its a lot of fun, I am really enjoying it :) Pictures will be coming I promise ;0

Misc catchup

Tomorrow is T's second basketball game. Dan has become the assistant coach so he is helping with the practices and games. I will admit...this is FUN! I love watching her play (even though she has a lot to learn still!!!) and cheering her on. I think I've got the biggest mouth out there, right in the front row :) (the other parents are cheering too, don't let me fool you)
I'll tell you what, watching the game and cheering them on brought out my "cheerleader school spirit" and I was ready to start chanting cheers right there from the sidelines. I didn't though because I didn't want to upstage the cute little 6 year old cheerleaders they had(!) Isn't that a riot?! They are adorable but they do one cheer and that's it for the whole game. Its so cute, but hey its a start :) Anyway, her second game is tomorrow and we are hoping for some improvement (she needs to become more aware of where the ball is at all times and to try to block the shots her opponent shoots). She did make one basket last week too :) She was so happy! They don't keep score at this level/league so both teams "won". They are learning the game and how to play on a team. Its lots of fun (I like it , can u tell?) :)

new exercise blog

Well, its official, I might have too many blogs. I started my third blog today, it is focused on health and wellness (ie. healthy eating and exercise and the hurdles we jump trying to accomplish that, as well as the excitement in rejoicing when we attain it).
For those of you followers who joined this site (Rene's blog, blog, blog) based on posts that were health-focused, you may want to check out the new blog, because this blog will be mainly focused just on my family. This way my extended family can keep up to date with our family through this site, while my fitness buffs can view the new site. I also have a third site which is about using God's Word to make our lives better. I hope you enjoy all three, but if one or two is more your cup of tea, feel free to become followers of those sites.

The name of the fitness-focused site is www.RunningwithRene.blogspot.com if you want to pop over and check it out. I know over the past few days I have made postings about my cleanse/fast here(since I didn't have the fitness blog up and running yet), so starting right now, any continued posts on that topic or other health topics will be on the new blog, not this one.
Also, when u check out the new blog you will notice that I have imported all posts from my original blog that are related to fitness, therefore if you have been keeping current on my blog, when u scan through the new one you will see lots of previously posted posts. (It can be a review for you of my workout/motivation history-ha ha)

Anyway, I hope this makes it easier for you, my followers and readers. Now you can simply read the blogs that relate to topics you are interested in i.e. my family or health or keeping your life in balance.

day #3 looking good

Day number 3 is here. Its been a good day. Today is a "shake day" this means I'm supposed to drink two isagenix shakes, eat one 400-600 cal meal (preferably for lunch), and in between drink lots of water and eat those lovely (aweful!!) "snack" tabs.
Well, here's the recap. I drank my shake in the morning. Then didn't get a workout in as planned because our water was being turned off bc we didn't pay the bill ( no just kidding, a line froze and we had to turn it off to stop the pond being formed in our yard). Anyway, I got notice of this and had 10 minutes to jump in the shower b4 there would be no water. So, consequently, no workout for me. Then I went to the office and drank about one big bottle of water throughout the day (not enough) and ate about 7 celery sticks (about 20 calories). I meant to eat a light healthy lunch but didn't make it back home till dinner time, so instead of drinking the shake I ate the rest of my lunch which totalled about 300 calories. Its a yummy tomato,cucumber, mozzerella sandwich I make. I also put sprouts on it and toast the 100 calorie bread for a bit of a crunch. Its very yummy! Anyway, that rounds out a really good calorie intake day. However, no calories used exercising, I'll have to make up for that tomorrow!

By the way I got a new pair of Rock Revival jeans from zappos.com yesterday and wore them today... I love them!!!!!! They may be my most favorite jeans, except for my black ones which I REALLY love, but I feel they are a little dressy for everyday-wear. So I usually just wear those to "go out". Anyway really excited about these jeans because...
they are long enough
they fit
they don't feel tight on my thighs-they feel perfect
and most importantly... they don't gap at the back of the waist so I don't have to have them altered in any way.
Isn't this awesome!? Can u tell I'm happy with this purchase, and overrall my general outlook because....
I am turning that corner again (finally! welcome back the Rene' of 2007... I am ready and waiting for you!!!) (So is my husband probably-hee hee!)

day two cleanse/fast

Well, its 4:35pm on day two of my Isagenix cleanse/fast. Everything is going pretty well but I have a headache right now which is sometimes a side-affect. I'm try to drink more water to get rid of it. I am looking forward to tomorrow when I get to eat a real meal (one 400-600 cal meal per day) along with the shakes (instead of the aweful cleanse liquid). I'm already dreaming about a nice healthy salad, or a tomatoe/cucumber/mozzerella sandwich, hmmmm hmmm good. The scale says I've already lost 5 pounds (I know probably just water, but it still gives me the emotional incentive that I need). Last time I did this wholeheartedly, I lost 10 pounds in 9 days, but then gorged the 10th day because I was SO missing food, that I gained 5, so still had a net loss of 5. If I lose 5 I will be pleased. I just need a kick start, to change my attitude and therefore my committment level. See for me, its 95% mental. If I can just get my mind wrapped around it and commit to it, then I can do it. Today I went to the gym and was scared of bootcamp when I saw that I lost my breath during the warm up of the TONING class! I seriously comtemplated leaving after the first class giving myself the excuse that 1) I had a lot of work to do at the office and could use the extra time there, and 2)while cleansing /fasting u are actually supposed to reduce your exercise bc your body doesn't have enough energy to sustain it. However, our teacher said bootcamp would be the step only (and that is my favorite type of bootcamp).Plus since it wasn't just an open floor (with no props whatsoever) I wasn't as scared. I love most of the exercises we do incorporating the step. And even though I love the results of the "open floor" segments she does... they kick my butt!!!!!!!! and today with less stamina I didn't know if I could make it. I'm happy to say that I only lowered the intensity on 2 or 3 40second intervals, and I did full-fledged bootcamp the other 30 minutes! Although I will admit, I did NOT give it 120% which is what I prefer to do. But I gave it just as much as the majority of the class so it was still a very rewarding class. Glad I stayed instead of copping an excuse {especially since my friend Jen reminded me that I said we were gonna "kick butt" in class today} see my internal motivation is already kicking in gear and I'm only in day 2! :)
So there you have it, day two. I'll talk more later.

day one-cleanse/fast

Watching last week's BL and NOT snacking while watching :)
First day of my cleanse going pretty good. Usually day two afternoon starts the real hard part so I'll keep u posted. Got lots of work to do at both the office and home, so not sure how much time I'll have for updates, but I'll try :)

kick start

I'm gonna start another blog to write about this stuff (someday when I have extra time- ha ha), so I can keep my kiddo updates and health/wellness posts separate, but until then, I'm going to post it here.
So here goes, tomorrow I start my Isagenix cleanse. I haven't done a successful one since 2007 (the infamous year when I lost 20 pounds, 15 of which I have gained back, hence the reason for the cleanse and kick start). I know how it feels to have my desires change, so I am kick starting my body with (hopefully) a quick (and not so easy) weight loss jump, so that when I see those pounds gone on the scale it helps me mentally to change my wants (food-wise). This is what happened before, when I saw success, I no longer desired the m&m's because the smaller clothes felt better than the candy tasted. But 95% of my health focus is mental, so I know for me, I've got to get that positive mental boost before I can STICK WITH the rest of it (exercise and eating sensibly). So here goes, it starts tomorrow. Our church is doing a fast this week, so I thought I'd start my cleanse at the same time and my fast could be the cleanse (because essentially these cleanses ARE fasts-you eat virtually nothing except yucky tasting "snack" tabs, shakes (which aren't TOO bad), and horrific tasting cleanse liquid.) Makes you wanna run out and get some doesn't it? :) Well, I didn't buy it this time, its stuff I paid a fortune for 2 years ago (and is technically expired, but I hope it will work anyway), so I am going to use it up, hopefully achieve my desired results and then move forward with a stronger conviction to eat healthfully , and therefore continue to lose weight to my desired goal. And you know what, I would LOVE a pair of those jeans that have the sparkly crystal crosses on the back pockets... but I just don't want to put sparkles on my big behind right now! I figure when my booty gets smaller those crosses will look much cuter, so that's my goal too, get back to 135, so I can buy a pair of those jeans :) Got to have incentive right? :) wish me luck , and I will keep u posted on my success!

belly slides

We don't really have any hills in our yard, but there is a slight knoll right down the middle of it, that when covered in ice, is always a thrill for the girls to "slide" down. Here they are doing that now. Although, this ice wasn't that slick, so they didn't slide very far as u can see. I guess it would help if we had had a plastic sled.

Things I am thankful for

I've been thinking about random things lately that I am thankful for. They are offbeat things, not the obvious (like my kids, my husband, our health, etc), but little things, like...

I am thankful for the set of Christmas dishes my mother-in-law gave me(her old set). I love them, I use them everyday, and each time I do they make me smile because they are so pretty and remind me of Christmas (which of course u all know I love).

I am thankful for my Christmas lights on my house that are still up and still turned on (even though 98% of America has already taken theirs down or at least turned them off). I think they are pretty and I like them.

I am thankful for all the time (almost 10 years) that I had with my beloved dog, Alexus. I certainly miss her, but I cherish the memories.

I am thankful for friends who motivate and inspire me.

I am thankful for the white Christmas we had this year. The girls loved the snow. I did too.

I am thankful for dvr's. Sure is nice to skip commercials and watch anything whenever u want.

I am thankful for God's grace. He knows why. Second chances are certainly a blessing.

I am thankful to be able to not work full-time outside the home, so that I can be around my kids more and not be as stressed as I was when trying to work full time and have a family.

I am thankful for drivers who let me in when I am trying to enter their lane.

and that's it for today. Obviously there is so much more to be thankful for, and I am, but these are just a few random things that came to mind.

yet another blog???

Because I am starting to focus again on weight loss and healthy eating, my thoughts are here and I want to blog about my progress etc. BUT, since this blog has become more of a family up-to-dater, I don't think my relatives will be that interested in reading those posts, just as my followers are mostly not interested in family details probably. So I am contemplating starting another blog JUST for health, and keep this one for family. Not sure yet what I will do, what do u recommend?

perfection?

Why is it that when I was smaller I was so self-conscious about wearing body-hugging workout pants, yet now that I've gained weight... I don't care too much that I'm not perfect in them. I actually look worse than I did before, yet I wear them more often now. Maybe the cold weather has something to do with that. It certainly makes a difference when its freezing outside as to whether I have capris on, or bare legs with shorts. I'll take the capris!
I've come to the determination that I don't look perfect in them, but 98% of the population doesn't either. So why should I be so concerned about wearing them? Everyone else wears them with all kinds of shapes and bodies. I mean seriously, there are only a few people who look absolutely perfect in them. By perfect I mean... flat tummy, no extra saddlebag thighs, cute perky butt (not flat, not saggy, not huge), muscular legs, and no muffin top. So this explains why there are so many people who DO wear them and aren't perfect, because gosh, that's a high standard to attain... perfection. So I guess my thought is this... I've accepted the fact that I'm not perfect. That has made me less self-conscious about my body, because I am accepting it for what it is. That has therefore, allowed me to wear those pants more often and not care what I look like in them (at least not enough to NOT wear them ha ha). Strange isn't it? I don't know I just thought it was. What do u think?

snow and cookies

Thought I'd post some pictures from my December collection. Here are the cute cookies we made and decorated(the girls and I) for Christmas. I used one of those cookie press gadgets so we made some neat shapes. Such as trees, holly, hearts, butterflies, and just decorative.

Here is T in the middle of her "decorating tray" (helps contain the sprinkles a bit).

Ooops, cookie-snitch caught in the act!

Here are the girls on the back deck playing in the snow. T is holding a huge chunk of ice she picked up off the deck (!)

They have had such fun playing outside in this white winter!

bye bye Christmas vacation ;(

Christmas vacation ends tomorrow. T is heading back to school and I am bummed that it is over. Even though we didn't go anywhere, I have thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas vacation. Dan was off work for a week too, so we slept in (till 7-8am everyday-unheard of for us!) and just hung out for most of the time. Very enjoyable. The gym was closed for half my classes for the last two weeks, so my self-imposed "schedule" was altered. I have to admit, I really enjoyed staying home. Even though I love my classes and my teachers, and the comraderie of my friends in the classes... it was nice not to go. It resulted in a much more relaxed and laid back week. I still worked out at home, but I saved an hour a day in travel time, plus I didn't have to get the girls up and around and out the door. I almost don't want to go back to my "regular schedule":

Monday-work all day at office, p/u girls from grandma's, head to gymnastics, grab takeout for dinner on the way home.
Tuesday-T off to school, gym, make dinner while T goes to basketball, have dinner ready when she gets home with daddy. Or go to basketball with them, then grab Mazzios buffet for dinner on the way home.
Wednesday-stay home and clean house. make dinner, church at night.
Thursday- gym again, thursday night kids eat free at fish shack for dinner.
Friday-gym again, its Friday, so find a restaurant and go.
Saturday-stay home, misc stuff at home. Its Saturday, head to town for dinner.
Sunday-church, lunch, home to rest, grab misc stuff to eat for dinner (I typically don't cook Sunday night dinners-cereal is my meal of choice lol).
Then repeat.

But vacation is over until May rolls around, so this is my schedule and here we go...

Fun in the snow!

We got a white Christmas! Woohoo! Here are the girls playing in the snow in the backyard. The drifts made some areas almost 2 feet deep, while other areas had a layer of ice that allowed us to walk without sinking at all.

More funny Lucy leaping

Here is another cute video of Lucy in the snow. She had such a ball. Actually , we all did :)

Lucy leaping in the snow!

Here is our beagle Lucy bounding through the snow. She loved it! It was so funny to watch her leaping through it. Then she'd reach an icy patch and not have to jump at all.