Blogging takes up so much time...

So I haven't been here since October! Is twitter killing blogging or am I just lazy?

Elijah you had an awesome Christmas! This year you were so excited - you loved everything about the season. This year for New Years we are going to do something completely different. We are going camping up North. For Christmas I got you a sleeping bag - and you've been sleeping in it ever since.

I'm now up to 66lbs lost. Weight wise, 2009 has been very successful. I'm excited of what this body will look like by the end of 2010.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Eli!

Two Quotes

Two Quotes I heard on The Biggest Loser tonight that I just had to write down. Honestly, I'm writing them down so I remember - they are that important on my journey.

"There is a difference between quitting and failing" ~ Jillian, Biggest Loser Trainer

What? There is? I always thought they were the same. But they aren't. If I quit - I fail. But if I fail - I learn. Get it? Cool, eh? I have always had a fear of failure - maybe I shouldn't.


"If you are not failing you are not trying hard enough" ~ Jillian, Biggest Loser Trainer

What? Failure is good? Yep. This changes everything.

The Prez

Eli said, "Now I look like the President of the United States" :)

I've lost 50 lbs!

I've got a long way to go - but off to a great start!

He knows what he likes...

On the way home from picking up Eli from school Eli made a declaration:

"I like blondes" - oh boy!

Discovering the Sun - 4 year old style

Eli: Dad, there's a hole in the sky.
Dad: What do you mean there's a hole in the sky.
Eli: Right there with the light coming out of it.

Labor Day

Greetings, All!

Honestly, I've been ignoring my blog. It's just so much easier to tweet!

Summer is over and we are back to school. We are still homeschooling Sara - she is now in grade 4. Elijah started 4K this past week and LOVED it! I'm happy we are back into a routine - but so not looking forward to a cold winter.

We do have another addition to our family. Penny! She is a miniature pincher that we love so much already. She is supposed to be a family dog - but it turns out she has an obession with Sara. She sleeps under the covers with her! She will be a perfect dog once we get her trained not to poop in my dining room!

I'm still doing the whole diet/exercise thing. I'm now at 49 lbs lost - which is awesome! Nothing feels better then your clothes falling off of you :)

Today is Labor Day and we are going to have a end of summer bbq. Wisconsin brats with watermelon and apple crisp. Have a great day!

My kids are getting the exercise bug too! Wordless Wednesdays

All Aboard for the Train Garden Tour!

Sunday afternoon we had fun visiting Train Gardens!

Four local homes opened up their yards for us to view these beautiful gardens!

Eli and Mommy - taken by Sara

Satisfying 186 Calorie Breakfast!

This is so good...

and filling :)

Omelet
2 egg whites
1/2 yoke
2T shredded cheese
onions

1 c strawberries - hand picked yesterday in the rain :)

ff hot chocolate

What did you have for breakfast?

For the Birds

Here's an easy frugal treat for your feather friends. The kids will love to make these Peanut Butter Cones and the birds love the taste!

Ingredients: bird seed, yarn, pine cones and peanut butter.
Tie your yarn on first - trust me, it's less messy then after the pine cone is covered in peanut butter and bird seed.
I microwaved the peanut butter for 1 minute. It's easier to spread when thinner.

Learn from my mistake - maybe this is a better outdoor project. The peanut butter can get messy :)

These were quick to make! We made 9 of them all together.

Hang these tasty treats on your trees for the birds. They will even use the yarn for their nests!

Do you feed the furry and feathered friends in your yard?

Too busy to blog?

Hi Elijah!

I never write on here anymore :( I have a real bad habit of starting something, becoming obsessed.. then lose my momentum. I love constant change - it feeds me.

I'm still going to the gym.. 5 or 6 days a week! I've lost 23 lbs in 6 weeks. I am so impatient! I hope you don't get that flaw from me - but I think you will. You get angry so quickly - just like me. Today you got real mad about the sprinkler. You said "I want to go in the sprinkler." I said - that's okay- go in. You replied, "But there's too much water" (did you feel me rolling my eyes?!)

Here's another Eli-ism:

Eli: Is today Sunday?
Mom: No, Eli - it's Tuesday, we had a long weekend. Plus Daddy is on vacation this week!
Eli: (holding arms out looking around the room) THIS is No vacation! We need a hotel!
(there I go rolling my eyes again!)

Another one: :)

For you Eli, it's not the YMCA... it's the YMCK and you get really really mad when we try to correct you.


As I've always said, it's a good thing you are cute!


Love,
Mommy

I Now Know who that Girl Is!

Have you ever been in a public place and seen someone and knew you knew them from somewhere - but had no clue where? I think we all have. We run down our list of where we might know them - work, church, child's friend's parent.

This past week I was leaving the Y and a girl was coming in. I knew her - just didn't know from where. She knew me. We said an "I know you" Hey - Hello, how ya doin'? with a smile. I kept walking and my daughter Sara said, "do you know her?" I replied, "yes, but I don't know where from"

Tomorrow morning I have an early shift at work 6:30am I started to prepare as I normally do the night before - putting out my clothes, choosing now what I would eat for breakfast - WAIT. I know that girl!

Up until a month ago I used to stop at McDonalds before my early Saturday shift. SHE was the girl that always served every Saturday morning. Wow, the McDonald's girl works out at the YMCA. She must of been shocked to see me there. I guess she now knows where I've been the past month :)

I've done a 180 in the past 3 weeks!

Dear Elijah,

I used to write here all the time - sometimes daily. Life gets busy. We keep pushing forward.

Today I had to buy a new microwave. Our old one made a funny sound and then smelled like burned wires - this all happened within 7 seconds.. not a good thing. Microwaves are basically disposable.. sad.
When I put the new microwave in the old one's spot it was so shinny. You were so cute. You said "Hey, we got a TV for the kitchen! Cool!" Silly boy :)

Just 3 short weeks ago I started dieting and exercising. I've done this a thousand times before - I'm serious, a thousand times. So my expectations are pretty low. According to history I'm due to quit any day. But I so much don't want to. I've been going to the YMCA six days a weeks - I won't always be able to go that often, but 4 days/week is my minimum. I am very thankful that you enjoy going to the "kid's korner" and play while I exercise.

I love you Eli - you are such a funny boy and fun to have around.

Love,

Mommy

This is Going to make your Head Spin

This morning we received an email from AT&T stating that our "service order" was complete. What service order? I decide this requires a phone call from me. (note: me and customer service people don't get along too well)

First - I need the phone number. AT&T provides a link to the phone number (would it have been too difficult just to give me the number) I call... then go throw 2 minutes of talking to a robot... grrr... say "yes", "I see you are calling from 920-....." say "no", "I do not understand your request, can you say it a different way"

Finally I get to a real person. She asks for my phone number... grrr.. the robot knew my number, how come you don't?

The lady then goes on tell me she has to ask my permission (due to some new federal law) to sell me their products crap at the end of this call.

AT&T"Do I have your permission?"
Me "ah.. NO"

I go on to tell her about my email - this service order.

AT&T: "Well, that is what I was just talking about - the permission"

me: "what? I want to know about this service order. I didn't ask for any change on my account"

AT&T: "the email is to inform you that we added to your account that we have to now ask your permission to sell AT&T products"

me: "are you serious? You spammed me ... now I had to call you to find out that you now have to ask permission to sell your crap? Is that what you are saying?

AT&T: "I wouldn't use those words - but yes"

me: "well thanks for spamming me and wasting my time - It's nice to know you have to ask permission now to sell your products but that it's still okay to spam me. Have a good day"

Click.

Is AT&T being run by the government? Because they seem about as efficient.

My week without Facebook

I have a part time job from home where I work as a social media specialist. I'm not so sure on the "specialist" part. But that's what they call me. A lot of my work is dealing with facebook - since it's so "hot" right now.

Earlier this week I was creating fan pages for a client. I created one too many and facebook assumed I was spamming and I got the boot. Kicked off facebook. At first I was stunned, shocked even. What was I going to do? I used my twitter account for the rest of the day to vent my frustration. On facebook I have mulitiple accounts that I use for testing and advertising purposes. What I lost was my personal account - with all my friends.

All this happened on Monday - today is Saturday. You know what? I'm still alive! I had to ask myself - do I really have 160 friends? Or were these just people that I've met? I realized that maybe my friend Mark Slippy could be right - "Facebook is a great time waster".

I'm spending the day outside - enjoying God's beauty. What about you?

managed to get her personal fb account disabled today... yikes, created one too many pages. Posting from ping.fm

Happy Anniversary

 

Yesterday Jim and I celebrated 10 years of marriage! Wow! What does one do to celebrate? Many go out for dinner - some may even take a trip! I think what is important is to something that both of you really want to do.

For us that meant staying home. Wait! Dana, don't you always stay home? Yes, but there's a twist. A good friend, Beth, took the kids to her house :) I brought a nice dinner home. I took off the plastic table cloth that is always on my dinning room table, placed the beautiful tulips that Jim sent me, and we ate and relaxed like adults. We had 2 hours of just us time. (thanks so much Beth!)

I realized during the evening that night was also frugal! I brought home Olive Garden restaurant. Jim and I find it more relaxing to eat at home where it's private. Because I brought the food home there was no tip and no need for beverages. I probably saved about $12. The meals are so large at Olive Garden that we have left overs for today. Yeah!

So, Happy Anniversary, Jim. It was a wonderful evening (wink, wink)

Blogging, Twitter, Facebook... the funny side

The funny side of my life!

A Saturday Evening Surprise!

Tonight I was talking with a friend on the phone who just got home from the hospital. Then suddenly my door bell rang.. odd... I live in the sticks.. and I wasn't expecting one. I opened the door (still on the phone) and it was my "bonus" son John! I was shocked! I still am! I'm always the one to surprise other people. I think this is the first time in my life where I was honestly surprised! The little bugger!

John just finished up all his schooling in the Navy - he is expected to be shipped out at any time. This was a great surprise!

What 6 months of snow looks like.....

If you live any place warmer then me - I think this applies to pretty much all of you, then I want to share with you what 6 months of snow looks like...

Sometimes I wonder if living close to the Green Bay Packers so worth all this snow...

Creepy or Cool? you pick

I get so Giddy ...

I've got it bad. I've got the American Idol addiction bad!


Here are my tens signs that you are AIA (American Idol Addict) Do you share any of my bad habits?

10. You agree with Simon most of the time.

9. You watch the show with your kids and call it family time.

8. You watch reruns on you tube during the "off season"


7. You don't get blues after Christmas because you know American Idol will start in less then a month.

6. You curse Vote for the Worst

5. Your 9 year old dials for your favourite on the land line while you text with your cell phone.

4. You are still trying to figure out how Dial Idol works.



3. You started watching House because it used to come on right after American Idol.

2. You've checked on facebook to see if your favourite has their own fan page.

1. Your 4 year old says he wants to be "The Next American Idol"

and here's a bonus:

You're listening to Taylor Hicks on Pandora while writing a blog post :)

What I've been doing.

Honestly, I'm not ignoring my blog. It just seems that way. We are deep in winter... winter blahs, that is. I don't have much to say. Yes, I know, shocking!

Here is what I have been up to:

Homeschooling Sara, working my part-time job at ShopKo, and my other part time job as a Social Media Specialist.


Wow, that sounds like a fancy title - don't be too impressed. I work with a local marketing firm and try to engage our clients into social media. I've taken a screen shot of a recent project. We built a fan page within facebook for Miller Electric Welders. We are having a sweepstakes where you have a chance to win a welding helmet if you become a fan. Know of any welders? I didn't think so. I'm guessing that people that read my blog don't weld :)

So that's about it.... working lots.. paying off lots of bills.

What's new in your neck of the woods?

Happy 4th Birthday Eli!

Four years ago today my little Elijah was born at 10:03am I love you Elijah! You have been such a blessing in Mommy and Daddy's life! Thank You for being you!

Is this not Racist?

When I hear people whine and complain that they are not getting what they want because of the color of their skin I call that racism.

Racism is defined in this country when hate is displayed towards another based on their skin color. That is true. However, I suggest that racism is also when you expect something positive because of the color of your skin.

I am sickened to hear that First Lady Michelle Obama was "dissed" because she did not wear a dress by a designer that was Black.

Wake up people - People should not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Thank You for your wise words MLK

Blanket statements are Foolish

"Birth Control will help Economy"

The worst part is... she doesn't regret saying it!

Honestly, a government employee giving advice on reproduction - give me a break!

You might as well ask for seniors to voluntarily give up their social security to help the economy. It makes as much sense.

Maybe Pelosi should move to China - I think her politics would be appreciated more there.

What's for Dinner?

This week's menu:

Chicken Parmesan & Spaghetti
Frozen pizza
pancakes & bacon
Poppy Seed Chicken casserole w/ cheddar sausage muffins
hamburgers & french fries
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas & Mexican rice
Lasagna

If History tells us Anything.

If history teach us anything about how we feel about our presidents then President Obama should be no exception. Today (and for the next few months) we will be on a high - loving this new president. He brings us hope for change - for something better. But time will drag on - and reality will set in and we will become disappointed. This graph proves what history has already written.

chart courtesy of www.wsj.com

Good Luck Mr President... I wonder how we will feel about you in 6 months?

Happy Anniversary Letters to Elijah!

Wow, it's been 4 years since I started blogging!

Don't you love going back and reading your view posts. I love to reflect and see where I've been.

Here is a link to my very first post.

Eli, the Superhero!

Eli, you will always be my SuperHero!

I bought this cape set at an kidzescapes Etsy store at Christmas. Too cute! Don't you love it?!

Wish List: New Windows!

It's cold. It's really cold. With the windchill this morning it was -45F in Green Bay. That's really cold. Schools have been cancelled. (with homeschooling we take that snow day and add it to spring - we still do school!) So what do you think? Is it time for new windows?

Science Fun!

This month in Science we are learning about the senses. Sara learned about the ear and how sound travels through air, water and solids. School is much more fun when thre are activities, Eli says.

Playing with the classic "tin can telephone"