And the slacker of the week award goes to...

ME!!!! I failed to get posts on here for Wednesday and Thursday. Life has been so stinking busy these past few days that I seriously have no idea where all my time went!!

Wednesday morning I got a message from my plastic surgeon's office that they needed to reschedule me since he has decided to close the office on the 17th...sent me into orbit of course! However, we were able to maintain my surgery on the 18th, I just have to make an extra trip down for the consult on the 10th...an extra $250 that I didn't want to dish out, but such is life.

Got the hair recolored and cut Wednesday after my meltdown...it was relaxing and refreshing!! Amazing how fast my hair grows...now if only there was some magical way to make it thicker with at least a hint of curl!!

Wednesday night Tonia came over and we helped her get her Studio J account up and rolling! I'm quite sure we did more talking than creating but it was a ton of fun! Can't wait to do it again!!

Thursday was work, and feeding my angry birds addiction!! It's always, 'just one more try', which turns into several more until I beat that level, and then it's 'just one more level'...pretty soon the phone battery is almost dead, and I've spent 3 hours playing the stupid game! Oh well, what fun!!

Today was more work...but it was followed up with a ton of fun. Since Joe is in town from Seattle, we had him, Pete n Misty and their kids, Misty's sister Carrie, and Misty's mom, Marie over for pizza and games. We played Mexican train dominoes...only 5 rounds before it was bedtime for the kiddos and Misty, Carrie and Marie took off. The best part, I was the BIG winner after that!!! WOOHOOOOOOO!!!!

Happy new year! Lots of fun wishes for 2011! I'm sure it's going to be a FABULOUS year!!

Taking down Christmas

Decided that with the hubby's friend, Joe, coming into town tomorrow that I may not have time until well after the 1st to get the Christmas stuff put away, so today was the big day. I think that the boys had more fun un-decorating the tree than unwrapping presents!! As I was putting away decorations I was reminiscing to when I was a little girl. And for as long as I can remember this one particular ceramic hand painted Santa has been a part of my Christmas, each and every year! A good friend of the family painted it for my mom, decades ago. He gets the picture of the day today because he brings back such fond memories of Christmas, and of my mom!

Got the watch links taken out so that I can start wearing my beautiful new watch regularly. It used to be that I couldn't go more than a day or two without one, but it's been months since I had one on. It may take some getting used to!!

Tonight at Zumba was the Best of 2010! Crystal took requests and kicked our butts in short order! The song that she has us do a million squats to...I seriously didn't think it would EVER end...my quads were screaming at me! They are too terrible now, but ooh boy! I'm not sure if it was the favorite songs or the new Zumba wear tonight, but it was awesome! It's sad to think that I only have 2 more weeks, and then I'm out for at least a month! My new tank top is form fitting, so I used it for my before picture (need one that is scrapbookable)...it's proof of the NEED for surgery and an upgrade! : )

Finished my cards for next month's card workshop. And thus, FINALLY got my newsletter out to the girls. It makes me feel good to have had a few inquiries about when it would be available, and have interest in the workshops! Love my girls!!!

Anyways, I'd better get some shut eye, Zach was up at 6:45 this morning...and I'm sure we're in for a repeat!!!!

Another workshop complete!

Had Kelli and her mom over tonight for a scrapbook workshop. We did Christmas mistletoe pages. This was only Lynne's second workshop, so I was a bit apprehensive about the new patterns from the Magic recipe book...but she totally rocked it! Having them over just reminds me of how much I need to get done, and in short order! With surgery on the 18th, I'm having the workshops before that, and I cannot believe that January is here already on Saturday! I am really enjoying this business of being a consultant though, watching my ladies create beautiful pages and projects, and chatting it up and having so much fun in the process! Wish I liked the real career this much!!

I started my day off right with a 90 minute massage with Maire! LOVE her!! I got 30 extra minutes for my birthday present from her...and it was heavenly! Although I flunked the extra stretch and relax session at the end...crazy lady for expecting this type A, OCD personality to relax on command!! She told me that we needed to work on it, and I shall, I just warned her not to hold her breath on the relaxing part coming easily or soon!!

Got the good ol' teeth cleaned today too. My hygenist is expecting her first child, and just found out that it's a little girl! She is such a sweetheart, and I'm soooooo excited for her! And small world it is...she had augmentation 5 years ago with Dr Young too!! Fun chatting with her while she cleaned and flossed my teeth! She said that my gums look good, so I'm not in trouble yet for not flossing but twice a year when she does it for me!!!

My picture of the day, is of the workshop table...all set up and eagerly awaiting Kelli and Lynne! I gave myself a year to decide if it's something that I want to do, or just keep the consultant status and get the discount...I'm thinking that it's going to be something that I want to continue well past August! ; ) It brings me such joy!

Off to do one of 5 million things that still need to be completed today...until tomorrow!

Detest treadmill, usually

I contemplated having Casey drop me off at the church where the boys go on Sunday mornings with his mom, and then running my butt home...the scale was NOT kind to me this morning! Damn cookies and layered bean dip anyways!! I mapquested it, and it was 5.64 miles home, so I quickly decided that I'd rather just run my normal route. However, it was raining at 11 when I dropped the boys off...so I decided I'd just walk on the treadmill later. (Because I can't stand to run on it...I get bored, and don't play the head games very well with myself on that darn thing) I have found a way to get thru a nice long walk however, and not get the least bit bored! It's called, Patricia Cornwell! Her latest book is very intriguing, as usual! I walked 3 miles, in 55 minutes, and didn't look at the time until 51 minutes into my walk! My picture of the day today shall be of the treadmill, with my dear book on it! Now if only I could find a way to run on it and read at the same time!!!! And trust me, I've tried audio books, but it doesn't push me hard enough! I need music blaring in my ears when I run!

It was a rather uneventful day today. I did get pics from Jessie of her mom's side of the family. I'm going to scrapbook them for her. It's fun to look at the pictures, since I've only known some of them for 6 or so years...most, I've never met! We were talking about it though, I'm pretty much scrapbooking them for me since her two boys don't really care that much now. It will be interesting to see if they do when they're old and reminiscing.

Anyways, looking quite forward to tomorrow...90 minute massage for the price of 60! And the pearly whites get a fresh cleaning, and their bi-yearly flossing by Tabitha! : ) Until tomorrow!!

Fabulous Christmas!

What a Christmas we have had! I was of course the first one up before the crack of dawn, anxiously awaiting everyone else to rise and shine and see what Santa had delivered. We opened our presents and then had Grandpa and Grandma Coltrin over to enjoy our traditional breakfast rolls for breakfast. The kids love to show them all of the goodies that they got for Christmas, and it's always fun to sit and chat with them!

We managed to get everything cleaned up and have some lunch. We sat down to watch Toy Story 3, and then round 2 started...Uncle Mike and Sanjuana came by with their gifts. The boys absolutely adore Uncle Mike and Juana...and they absolutely adore my boys. They were here for a couple of hours, and discovered quickly that toys just are NOT the quality that they used to be...and that Mike and Casey, even with the help of pictures and instructions, still couldn't figure out how the heck to assemble the new transformers!!! Makes me feel better that I'm not the only one that can't figure those darn things out!

After a light dinner it was time for some football...my Cowboys didn't pull off a win, but I can't have it all! At least they gave me a win for my birthday!! I didn't get to watch all of the game because I had a hot date with the treadmill. I once again killed 2 birds with one stone...some much needed calorie burning, and started reading my new Patricia Cornwell book, Port Mortuary! LOVE her books, but when I have a half a million things to do, I feel guilty sitting down to read...this is the best of both worlds, and I don't have to feel even a tiny bit guilty!!

After the boys went to bed we watched the movie, Extraordinary Measures with Brendan Frasier and Harrison Ford. Really puts the important things in life into perspective for you...even on the Merriest Christmas day! I can only imagine what it would be like to have not just one, but 2 children with terminal illnesses. Makes me want to cherish my time with my boys that much more! They had such fun today, playing with all of their new stuff and sharing their excitement and innocence with all of us adults...the magic is what this is all about!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

PS, I have no idea which one of 250 pictures will make the picture of the day, but I can guarantee you that it will have one or both boys in it...demonstrating the magic of this holiday!

Christmas Eve!

I am such a lucky girl...wonderful hubby, 2 adorable, sweet boys, a nice home, many wonderful friends and family...and we got completely spoiled at the in-laws today! Doug and Trin, our family, and Casey's parents had our Christmas celebration today. Lots of gifts, food and fun were had by all! The boys have new games for the Wii, including light sabres that hold the remotes for one of the Star Wars games, which they think is the best thing ever! Casey got a kindle. I got ZUMBA clothes...a super cute tank top, jacket and cargo pants...exactly what I asked for!! Trin LOVED the sake set that Casey picked out for her. Doug loved his extra large beer glass (that holds 5 beers in one glass) and his bomb shaped shot glass. Grandma got pictures for her frames, one of which is a scrapbooked page with pictures. She also got a really cool new laptop, that totally surprised her! Grandpa got a wireless router and a very nice looking Harley Davidson jacket! Trin also got a PS3 with some singing and dancing games...she is totally a kid at heart, so Christmas with her is always a blast!!!!

We ate waaaaayyyyyy too much! But it was fun to chat with everyone. Grandma had us go around the room and tell about our favorite Christmas memory. It was fun to listen to what everyone had to say. Lucas shared a story too, about the Little Einstein's globe that he got last year, that broke VERY shortly after Christmas. It's fun that he wants to join in the conversation, and even more fun to hear the stuff that comes out of his mouth! I love that kid!!!!

I love the holidays, spending time with the family and not being in a hurry to go somewhere or do something, just sitting around chatting and eating is so much fun! Makes me miss my mom, but I know she's here with us in spirit...this is my 11th Christmas without her. Always hoping it will get easier, but it never really does! She always made the holidays so much fun, even though we didn't have money for more than a small gift for each of us kids. I can only hope that I bring at least half as much fun to the holidays for my boys!

I took like a 100 pictures of the festivities today. Including our new tradition of Christmas Eve pajamas. I think my picture of the day shall be the boys in their new Star Wars Lego jammies... they look adorable, but even more so because Zach is giving brother a hug! LOVE them to pieces! We made sure to set out cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for his reindeer, and the pictures the boys drew for him. Lucas drew a smiley face, that is his face. Zach scribbled a bunch with several different colors, but it's what he wanted for Santa (it's the thought and the effort behind it that counts, right?). Lucas and I sprinkled reindeer dust (oatmeal and glitter) out in the snow on the front lawn to attract the reindeer...or more likely the squirrels that frequent the trees in our front yard. I love starting new traditions with them, and continuing on with the others. Hoping that they find them fun and worthwhile enough to carry on with them next year too, and for many years to come!

I hope that all of my friends and family have someone special to share their holiday with! Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Holiday spirit

The holiday officially began yesterday, since the hubby is now off work until January 4th. The boys absolutely love having Dad home with us all day! They built the Echo base with their Star Wars Legos from Lucas' birthday...and they are in love with them! Since Dad had a project with the boys I had to come up with one as well. For December's Scholastic book order we found a book about snow and crystals. It came with a book of facts and some cool 'science experiments', so we made 'snow' and grew crystals on a snowflake. The snow is pretty cool. It starts out as this little tiny bag of 'diaper dust' and when you add water it just grows and grows. Lucas had a ball with it, Zach wasn't so sure he liked the messy feeling on his hands, which is quite ironic given that he is by far and away the messiest member of our house! So my picture of the day for yesterday is the snow that we made.

Today, Christmas arrived a little early for me! The Fed Ex guy delivered the shipment of catalogs for CTMH. The new catalog releases to customers February 1st, but they pre ship the catalogs to consultants the end of December! I was quite skeptical that I'd like this catalog since the cover was smothered in pink and baby themes...but I LOVE it! I've already made out my wish list, and all I can say is, THANK GOD I'm a consultant!!!! I'd be in big trouble with the hubster otherwise! ; ) My picture of the day today, is of the two large boxes of catalogs...totally made my day! Plus, it's just a little bit more exciting that as a consultant you get to preview everything before all of the customers!!!

I made up the Tastefully Simple pound cake, and chocolate chip cookies to take to the Christmas celebration with the in-laws tomorrow! Oh, and my famous layered bean dip! It's a good thing that I ran to work and back to pick up Zach's prescription today! I'm proud of myself for that too! I had this 'brilliant' idea to run to my pharmacy today...2.71 miles...and then back home...another 2.71 miles! Next time I'll call it in to one of the Walgreens that's closer to home! But seriously, I ran the entire way there...and mailed the mortgage payment along the way. And I ran most of the way home too (only 2 minutes slower coming home than running there). So for the first time ever, I ran 5 miles in one trip! : ) I'm thinking that the half marathon in May isn't entirely out of the question for me now!!

While I was running today I was listening to some of my new downloads, and trying desperately to lose myself in the music, so that I wouldn't realize how far I still had to go, and to minimize the head games! Katy Perry's new song Firework is AWESOME! One of my favorite lyrics...just own the night, like the 4th of July...c'mon, show 'em what you're worth, make 'em go oh, oh, oh. I owned my run today...very proud of myself...because I didn't really think I could do that, but I tried anyways.

Hoping this is the best Christmas yet!!!!! Until tomorrow!

ZUMBA!!!

After another glorious day at work it sure is good to know that I've got Crystal and a stimulating Zumba class at Limelight on Tuesday's! I have to force myself to go, because I'm soooo wiped out after work on Tuesday's, but I feel so stinking good afterwards!

We've been getting tickets for going each week, and a few extra for Thanksgiving and making it despite lots of snow. Tonight was the drawing for the prizes, and for once I actually had really good luck! I won a belly dancing skirt, that makes jingle noises when you shake your booty! I cannot wait to wear it to class! So, for my picture of the day, since it brought me such great joy, is me in my new skirt!

I felt so good after Zumba that I came home and conquered the last of the scrapping projects that I'm giving as Christmas gifts. What a day, what a day I had! At least I can rest well tonight knowing that I got a lot accomplished!!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, another downloaded Black Eyed Peas song...that will be stuck in my brain for awhile now since I've listened to it at least a million times since 8pm!! Until tomorrow!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go!

Only 16 more hours of work, I think I can, I think I can! And then one billion things to still get done in time for Friday and Saturday! I love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Mother nature could be a little more cooperative on her part however. We got close to an inch of snow last night, in about an hour's time. The roads were quite nasty this morning, and we're supposed to get more tonight. We put Casey's snow tires on the BMW a couple of weeks ago, in the hopes that it would jinx us into very little or no snow since they were on the car, rather than hiding in the garage! We have been foiled!! So long as I'm able to get my Starbucks before work in the morning, then all will be well!

My picture of the day is of my Cherry Coke Zero, which may seem odd to most people. But it is seriously my lifeline. If it were possible to have an IV line of it, trust me, I'd be among the first to try it! : ) I was running critically low yesterday, but I refused to pay $4.98 for a 12 pack at Winco when I went grocery shopping...and since it was raining cats and dogs, I opted to go to Target and get it on sale today, $2.75 for a 12 pack...well worth the wait, and the crisis has been avoided!!

Now that Casey's Christmas presents are wrapped I can breathe a sigh of relief! He only has a 1/2 day at work tomorrow, and then he's off until the 4th of January...must be nice! : )

The birthday watch!

Way back in September I took my wedding ring in to Simmons to get it resized since I was pretty sure that I'd be able to keep the lost weight off for good. While I was there I did a little window shopping. I had bought Casey a citizen eco drive watch several years back, and Jay was wanting to get rid of all the watches that weren't swiss, so the citizen watches were all on clearance for 40% off! I fell in love with one, so Christa gladly added it to my wish list. I was conveniently going out of town to go scrapbooking with the girls in Lowman that same weekend, so I gave the hubby Christa's card with the watch info on it, and told him that once they were gone they wouldn't be getting anymore. And my hubby, being the GOOD hubby that he is, made his first mistake, and took the boys with him to Simmons that weekend and bought THE watch! ; ) He then painstakingly tried to cover his trail so that I wouldn't have any idea that he'd been such a good hubby! He had a talk with Lucas, who can't keep a secret for the life of him, and Lucas promised not to say a word! He changed the Discover card bill to paperless statements, and didn't put it in the budget spreadsheet until the end of the month, so I wouldn't see the purchase. He was very sneaky and had all the bases covered except for one...ZACH!

I returned to Simmons 2 weeks later to pick up my resized wedding ring, and Zach asks me as we're walking in the doors, 'why aren't you wearing your watch mommy?' I smile, and ask what watch he's talking about! Poor Casey...

Now I get to return to Simmons to have a few links removed from the band on my new watch...and perhaps a little more window shopping...Valentine's day is right around the corner you know! : )

Thanks babe, you know I love you!

All aboard!

Today was an awesome day! I managed to avoid grocery shopping, but it does have to be done tomorrow...

We ventured up to the train depot in Horseshoe Bend, and boarded the Polar Express! We took an hour train ride up to the 'North Pole'. The boys got to see Santa and Mrs Claus, and I got some adorable photos of them with Santa. They also got to sit in his sleigh, and see his workshop where all the toys are made! It was Casey's first train ride, as well as the boys. I rode on 8444 when I was a child, but we all know that has been more than just a few years ago. I think we reached a top speed of about 10 mph, but the view of the river below with snow all around us, and big ol' ice chunks flowing downstream made for some beautiful scenery! It made me think back to the days before kids when Pete and Misty would bust out the raft and we'd take a leisurely, beer filled, float down that same stretch of river! Ahhh, those were the days!!

Came home, put the exhausted children to bed, and watched the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth. Meh....not terrible, not great! I did get all of the presents for Christmas wrapped, other than a few for the hubby, which didn't get wrapped for obvious reasons!

It has been a fabulous birthday weekend thus far, can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me! : )

Date night!

Birthday card from Grandma Merritt

Grande swirl margarita from On the Border...yes, I sucked it down! : )

In honor of my approaching birthday we have a date night tonight, and I cannot for the life of me decide where I want to go for dinner. And if that isn't enough, I have to choose between seeing a movie inside a nice warm theater, or freezing my butt off to enjoy the lights at the Winter Garden Aglow at the Botanical gardens. I've heard how beautiful the lights are, but it's really stinking cold here today, and I can't imagine how much colder it will be once the sun goes down. And since it's for my birthday I'm the one that has to choose....and quickly!

I decided that my picture of the day for this post will be of the envelope from my husband's grandma, who lives in Illinois and I love to pieces. She addressed the envelope in true old school fashion, and it makes me giggle everytime I get mail from her...it's addressed to Mrs Casey Coltrin! I don't know why that sounds so funny to me, but I seriously chuckle every time I see it!

For the second picture that I owe my blog for the day, I'll snap one of my happenings tonight!

Until tomorrow!

Adjustment

So, in the process of getting used to this new working on Thursday evenings, every other week thing, I managed to get the boys to swim lessons, have lunch, get them to daycare, and make it to work on time. I however forgot my smock. People do not take their pharmacist seriously when she doesn't have her smock and name tag on. I could've opted to wear the double extra large super wrinkled one from the drawer, and wonder if they would've taken me more seriously had I worn it. It's strange how a piece of clothing changes people's perceptions so easily.

Anyways, I didn't take the time to post last night when I got home from work, and I didn't manage to get a picture yesterday. So I'll make it up with another post after work today, before date night. And I'll do two pictures today.

Gotta get to work...and what a day it shall be...can hardly wait (and that is very heavily laced with sarcasm).

Accomplished

Got so much done today! Another one of those, wow, I got all of that done in one day kind of days! Preschool, kitchen cleaned, dishes hand washed, dish washer ran, 3 loads of laundry done, workshop materials assembled, workshop done, Zumba, bath night, blog post, and now to finish my step-mom's Christmas present!

My friend, Michelle, was the only person signed up for my photo box workshop tonight, and when she saw my post on Facebook about wanting to go to Zumba, but having a workshop, she kindly rescheduled the workshop to 4:30 so that I could do both! : ) I wanted to try Pyper's class, but there was a sub there tonight. It was very difficult adjusting to a whole new style of Zumba, but I did like the sub. I'll just try to go when it's Pyper and not a sub next time! : ) Solace is very pretty, and I like the room where the Zumba is. I totally discovered tonight, that Zumba isn't just about the dancing and blasting away those calories...it's totally about the friendship and camaraderie too. Tonia and Dee were also there, which made it more fun to know someone. Then I didn't feel like as big of a spaz either since they had never taken a class with this instructor before.

Anyways, my picture of the day today, is of my Zumba box. Fed Ex delivered a box that says Zumba on it, and it's totally killing me not to open it...it's my Christmas present, so I'm not allowed to ruin the surprise! Even though I don't know exactly what it is, I cannot wait until Christmas to wear my new Zumbawear! : )

Until tomorrow!

Zach's lungs are PERFECT!

So, we had our follow up appointment with Dr Bateman today for Zach's asthma. Good news is that his lungs sound great (and he's just finished recovering from a cold virus that for once didn't attack his lungs). Bad news is that Dr doesn't want to change a thing with his meds. I was sooooo hoping that today would be the day that Dr said we could stop doing the steroid nebulizer, except when Zach exacerbates. That stupid nebulizer and/or Zach are seriously going to be the death of me! He tolerates the treatments well, and it has become part of the bedtime routine, but it's a time consuming pain in the butt! Not to mention that it costs $50 a month (and that's after insurance kicks in). Oh well, I'm sure there could be far worse and more costly things that could go wrong with this kid!!

Got the movie Despicable Me for the boys today! My Christmas shopping is officially complete now! If only I could say the same for the handmade stuff I'm making. I think I only have 3 more handmade things to complete! Still have to wrap most of it though! Good thing I still have a week and a half! : )

My picture of the day today is of that stupid nebulizer machine...I was hoping to put it up on top of the fridge and hope that it had enough time to collect dust up there before I had to use it again...but alas.......I'll eventually get over this!

Until tomorrow!

Fuzzy the dir-tay little bear!

Fuzzy's super dirty bath water Lucas and his BFF, Fuzzy Wumpenstein

I've been bugging Lucas for a couple weeks now about him giving me the bear for the day so Fuzzy can have a much needed bath. I remember when Grandma Mar and Papa Ron got that bear for him...Lucas was only a few days old. The bear was so soft and shiny, fluffy and CLEAN! That was 5 long years ago! Fuzzy has definitely seen better days! He agreed to let me give Fuzzy a bath while he was at preschool today. So I have 2 pictures of the day today...Lucas and his best friend Fuzzy, and the bathwater after Fuzzy's bath. I took the first picture in case something bad happened to Fuzzy during his bath...I was seriously worried that he may fall apart, even with a good old fashioned hand washing, so I needed a picture just in case anything bad happened to that mangy ol' thing! Good news however, Fuzzy survived the bath! He's drying in the dryer now...hoping that turns out just as well!

Driving down Chinden to pick up Lucas from preschool and a big ol' rock flies up and puts a big ol' chip in my windshield! SERIOUSLY?!? I've replaced that windshield once for sure, maybe even twice. So we stopped at the little roadside stand, and 10 minutes later the chip is no more!! The only bad thing is that State Farm doesn't pay the $35 fee to have it fixed, so I had to cough it up. Figured it was cheaper and quicker to do that, than to replace the whole darn thing AGAIN! Oh what a day!

Got to get off here and get the house cleaned up for the workshop tonight! Looking forward to it! We're creating Christmas pages...some of my favorites! Until tomorrow!

Christmas cards are fini!

I have been so busy this year that making cards for my own use have waited until the middle of December! I like to be the first card that everyone receives, but this year I'm sure I'll be among the last since I'm just putting them in the mail in the morning! I LOVE doing cards every year. I love writing the letter, writing a personal note with each card, picking out the picture to go with the card, etc. I am terrible with the finishing touches however, the address, the stamp, the sealing of the envelope...it's where my procrastination trait raises it's ugly little head, and I drag my feet!! However, my sense of accomplishment is overwhelming at the moment...128 cards are FINI!

Had a fabulous girl's night out with Sarah last night. We had dinner and drinks at the Bardenay downtown. A couple of other girls joined us for dinner. But that gave Sarah and I time to sit and chat and bitch about everything! It was a much needed night out with one of my best friend's! Being such a busy time of the year several others wanted to join but couldn't, so we're vowing to do it again in February...I cannot wait! So, my picture of the day really wasn't taken today...it's from last night...me and Sarah at Bardenay, enjoying our night out sans the hubby and the kiddos!

Went shopping today for shirts that button/zip down the front. For at least the first 2 or 3 weeks I am not supposed to wear shirts that have to be pulled down over my head...must be because they're going in thru my armpit...and I imagine it will pull and hurt like mad if I try. It's easy to find hoodies that could be worn without a shirt underneath...but it's quite limited otherwise! Bought an extra pair of jammies that buttons down the front too. I imagine that the first week I'll be spending a lot of time in jammies and sweats! Thank goodness the hubby has time off from work to help with everything! I hate to admit it, but as excited as I am, I'm already starting to get a little nervous! ; )

Must get stuff ready for tomorrow. Have one million things to get done before my workshop at 6:30! Until tomorrow...

Christmas cookie baking day!

Today is the one time of the year that I have to let every little ounce of my perfectionism and type A personality go...for I let my children help me make and decorate cookies! We made the standard sugar cookies that the boys frosted and 'sprinkled', and by sprinkled I really mean smothered with sprinkles and candy! They also loved rolling out the worms for the candy cane cookies. And I tried a new recipe, the roly poly Santa cookies this year. Without help from the boys it still took me over an hour to make 12 cookies! They turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!

I had to go for a run today because I can't just make the cookies without sampling every other bite of the dough! I was proud of myself because I managed to run the entire time!!!!!! First time in a LONG time that I've run 3 miles without stopping to walk! Now the goal is to get faster, and I'm going to sign up for a half marathon in May! After watching the Biggest Loser last week, I've decided that I'd like to be in the 1% of Americans that have run a full marathon! But rather than start so big, I'll challenge myself with a half this spring!

Anyways, picture of the day is of the boys decorating cookies. They had fun...you can tell because they made a HUMONGOUS mess!!!!

Off to a girl's night out with one of my best friend's, Sarah. Shall be fun!! Until tomorrow!

Run Forest, RUN!

Felt good to get outside and go for a run! I'm still recovering from the crud, so I didn't push too hard. And I was forced to walk in a couple of spots because of the snow/ice covered sidewalks. I only lost my balance once, but caught myself in time to avoid an embarrassing fall on my butt! Running is a love hate relationship for me. I LOVE how good I feel afterwards, but it's this gigantic head game that I play with myself during the actual running. I have to encourage myself with little things to trick myself into thinking that I like to run. So today's picture of the day is of me in my winter running get up. My fuzzy pink hat, my pink fleece top and my PINK gloves. A picture is worth a thousand words they say...couldn't be more true in this case. I think about these items while I'm running, and imagine that they make me run faster, etc...distracting my mind from the hatred of the actual running, distracting me from the monotony of the activity. Thank goodness for the Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Sean Kingston and Lady Gaga...for without their music pumping in my ears, I'd be hosed! The beat pushes me, and for a few seconds here and there I allow myself to get lost in the music.

Casey is home today, had an extra day off that needed to be used up before the beginning of the year. He and the kids accompanied me on my weekly grocery shopping trip. It may be a regular occurrence for a couple of weeks in January, for today we realized that I will be unable to lift a gallon of milk, and or a 12 pack of pop. I'm going to have to come up with something creative at home as well for these items so that I can get milk for my cereal and my kids, and still be able to drink my pop...lord knows that I cannot go for any length of the day without my Cherry Coke Zero! : )

Until tomorrow!

Swim lessons

The boys are on week 12 of 13 for this session. It is fun to see how much they've progressed in just 12 weeks! Lucas was TERRIFIED of the water, and can now hold his breath under water for 9 seconds, and float on his back unassisted for 11 seconds! Zach started off great, refused to get in the water at all week 3, and is now like a fish in the water. He can hold his breath under water for 6 seconds, and can float on his back with very little assistance. He at least gets in the water without being forced to, and he has a good time again!!!

My picture of the day is of Lucas with his Old Maid cards. We played several rounds of several different card games this morning before heading out to swim lessons! I love my mornings with my boys. Not much longer before they're only available on weekends with both boys. I'm glad that I'm in a situation where I can afford to stay home with them 5 days of the week!

Off to the chiropractor to get my wrist adjusted again...hoping this is one of my last visits!!

Until tomorrow!

Better day today!

After dropping Lucas off at preschool, my little big helper man, Zach, and I tackled some more Christmas shopping. I'm feeling better today, FINALLY, and with that comes a desire to get a million and a half things done.

I did take a moment this morning to observe the Christmas spirit, and the magic of the season through my children's eyes. We have 2 things that we use to countdown to Christmas. The first is a reindeer advent wall hanging. There are 24 pockets, filled with a dime for each boy. Each morning they get to retrieve their dime and deposit it in their piggy bank. And then they get to take turns with the advent Christmas tree. This is the tree that is decorated solely by my children! There is a drawer for each day, starting December 1st. In each drawer is an ornament. They get to hang the ornament on the tree each and every morning. They are both so ecstatic about it this year, and they really look forward to seeing what kind of ornament is in the drawer each morning. So today's picture is of Zach, removing an ornament from the drawer. Coincidentally, it's an ornament this morning...purple no less (which is Lucas' favorite color)...we shall see what tomorrow brings!

Back to the Christmas card business while the boys are watching the Princess and the Frog and having snacks! Off to a CE tonight...since I did the immunization class this past summer, I only have 1 law credit left to do...I'm quite sure that I've never had my CE credits finished before the beginning of the new year, especially since they aren't due until June 30th! : )

Until tomorrow!

Terrible day

Woke up feeling a million times worse today. Nobody to call in sick to, and the pharmacy can't open without a pharmacist, so I trudged in to work. Vultures were circling the parking lot 15 minutes before we even opened...knew it was the wrong decision. My head feels like a giant zit that needs popped...

I survived. I'm sad that I feel this way, SICK + Unable to breathe well = NO ZUMBA = VERY sad panda!!

On a brighter note, my CTMH shipment of new stuff for January's mini catalog arrived yesterday, a day earlier than planned. And it was a welcome sight for my sore eyes when I arrived home from hell today, so it is my picture of the day. Tomorrow can only be better!!!!

Oh yeah, and Biggest Loser is on tonight...only 2 more episodes until the new Loser is crowned... how exciting!!

All systems go for upgrade!

After dropping the boys off at daycare and preschool, I arrived home to check and see if the time off request had been approved...best news of the day by far, it HAD!!!!! So I checked with the hubby to make sure I had final approval to schedule the surgery, then checked with Grandma to make sure she can take the boys while we are in Utah, and then VOILA...called and scheduled that baby!!! So, we'll be flying to Utah to get those girls their upgrade January 18th! : )

I feel like crap again today, and know that I'll be regretting my decision to go into work once I'm there and hating every moment of it, even more so than normal. But this news puts a little extra spring in my step, and joy in my heart! : )

My picture for the day is of Lucas. He has share day at preschool today, so he took the new Jenga game to share. He had a hard time deciding...first it was going to be his new superman/batman cape, then his PJ Funnybunny nighthat, and finally the Jenga game. He gets very excited about share day at school, and it's fun to share that excitement with him!

2 days strong! Hoping to keep it going!!

I'm still alive and kicking!

I have no idea where the last several months have gone! But I am feeling guilty about my original intent for this blog...wanted to do one post a week, to serve as a journal of sorts, for the year. I have failed MISERABLY!!! One of the other CTMH consultants did a picture a day, and a journal entry a day for an entire year, leading up to her 50th birthday. Sounds daunting, but I always seem to find time for facebook each and every day...and that's just a waste of time, as we all know. So I've decided to make better use of my 'play' time, and I'm going to take the picture/blog post challenge and see how I do. Wish me luck!

Today's picture is my hubby and little men playing Jenga. Our first experience with Jenga, and a good one at that. Lucas is hooked. Zach is still too tweeky! But Zach builds a great fort with the wood pieces!! I bought the game for my work Christmas party last night, but since Lucas is sick and so am I, I decided to give the germ free gift of us staying home...leaving the 'white elephant' gift for the family's gain.