So I know I am a little late posting this, but hey it's still Friday out here in the southwest ;) Well stats for this week...I don't know. I missed weighing in this week, but honestly it wouldn't have been good news. Too many parties this week. I didn't have the time to make it to my meeting so I am headed there in the morning...yay!!! I actually really enjoy going to them. I get a lot of great snack/meal ideas and love the little old ladies that are there. They are such a riot!!

In other news I started running again! It has been so nice here the last couple of days that I didn't even need the gym pass (which finally came through). On Tuesday I ran to a basketball game I was reffing and then a friend and I hit the trail about 10:00 this morning and the temp was around 60 degrees....felt so good! Man I am so ready for spring! And it's days like these that I don't miss living in Colorado so much ;)

Have you ever heard of the quote "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels"? Well, I have and way back before my kids could read I would place it on my fridge to help me remember my goal. I haven't had it up in awhile because I never want my kids (especially my girls) to worry about having to be thin and all the disorders that can come from that. I have never used the word diet around them. Instead of diet I insert healthy because who wouldn't want to be healthier right? So in my quest to stick to my plan I came up with a little something for my fridge that would serve two purposes. One to be my reminder and two to brighten my day. I just love seeing it and having that thought in the back of my head. I thought I would share it with you and maybe it will help you on your journey as well. Here's to another week ;)

Time off

I have really been enjoying my time off! I must say it is just nice to have a whole day where I'm not thinking of deadlines and yarn. I wanted to take some time and get my house back in order. Every day this week I am taking one room of the house and organizing. Today...office/yarn hot spot. The last part of the year there is always a big push and everything gets tossed on any available spot. And if it's not available the stacks start until my space looks like this....

Now granted this was after I started tossing stuff on the floor and pulling stuff out of cupboards that I decided I should get a picture, but you get the idea. Well four hours and one giant garbage bag later I have accomplished today's goal...

The best part is I actually organized most of my yarn by color and style.

These are only two of the cupboards...all but 2 are filled with yarn. Scary thought huh!! But doesn't it look so nice and neat? Now I just have to wait for the Kids and Hubby to come home and go through their piles. Thankfully this should last until next Christmas season when everything gets out of whack again ;)

Exploring new territory

(October 9th-10th 2010)

My big Sis was able to come up for the weekend and there was only one thing on the agenda...Enterprise.  All of The Hubby's had to work so it was an all Girls weekend and Papa J was once again the Man of the House! We always have so much fun up there, but it is a lot funner when cousins are around. A lot less "I have nothing to do" comments. Us girls wanted to take the kids on a little adventure so Papa J suggested a hike up in Holt's Canyon. Believe me it was just what the doctor ordered...literally. Explanation later ;)

Miss Maddie and Ethan were inseparable during this little adventure. These two run on the same wave length and have a lot of fun together.

We happened to come upon a carcass of a cow and the Doctor side of Papa J sprung into action.

He went into Vet mode and happily explained the anatomy of the cow to the kids. Some were grossed out, but the majority drank it up! We found it in a dried up river bed so we had fun dreaming up how it ended up there. Possibly floated down from higher elevation was the general consensus.

We also happened to come across this little guy! I am definitely not a fan of spiders and to find a tarantula on the path just about gave me a coronary. The kids were in heaven and amazingly the spider stuck around to let them all have a look.

With all of the grand kids together I took the opportunity to snap a picture. It was a lot of work trying to get them all to hold still and look at the camera at the same time. I definitely look up to all you photographers with your mad skills. How do you do it?!? I took about 15 pictures and this was the best I could get, yikes! But aren't they just the cutest kiddos ever!!!

Afterwards we went back to the Ranch to build a fire and roast Hot Dogs. While we waited for the fire we sat around and enjoyed some apples. There is nothing like the taste of apples in the fall!! At least I remembered my Hot dog sticks this time which was a good thing since we had so many to roast. We needed every stick we could find ;)

 

Papa J had found some giant salt rocks for the kids and they had a lot of fun with them. They couldn't eat a bite until they had thoroughly rubbed the apple with it. How they could eat that much salt is beyond my, but kids will be kids!

Stats for the week...down .4 lbs. Total loss 4 lbs. This week was a total bust so I'm definitely proud that I was in the loss column instead of the gain!!! We were in and out of the doctors office all week and I had several deadlines for photoshoots which when added together made for a lot of emotional eating. As soon as stress hits I eat pretty much anything in site and if its not I make it. Cookies anyone?

Logic says that's when I should take a walk, but it has been so cold here I can hardly take it. I know it is nothing compared to what is going on east of here, but I'll admit it...I'm a pansy! I will say that because of the cold I tried my first P90x video. I just did the Yoga and it still hurts to move and in places I never knew existed. Who knew yoga could be so intense! Does it get any easier???

Goals for this week...pretty much the same ones as last week. Stay within my points range and making a menu (which I did accomplish), but actually sticking to it ;)

New Campgrounds

(October 2nd 2010)

Upon learning of the new campgrounds up in Pine Valley we decided to take a picnic and go explore them. We were spending Conference weekend up in Enterprise and thought it would be a fun activity in between sessions. Let me tell you they are amazing! We were the only people there (until the very end) and it was so peaceful and relaxing. We let the kids explore and it was super cute to see Matai following the kids around. He is getting to the age where he can finally join in with some of the activities and he was so excited about that.

 After lunch we walked around the campground and did a bit of exploring. The new sites are just south of the Lake and it was fun to be able to see it from a different angle. Though as a Mom I would be a bit worried camping with that in the backyard.

As we were driving back to Enterprise we found some willow trees and decided it would be fun to make our own marshmallow sticks. That and I forgot to bring ours up. It was fun to see the boys out their working on their sticks or should I say Bryce working on the sticks. Either way they worked out great!

The next morning the kids woke up super early and headed straight outside! Who could blame them...it was a beautiful day! They rode bikes, scooters and Matai and Bug played forever in a big pile of rocks.

After all the fun it was time for some breakfast and nothing tastes better than Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. I received the recipe when we lived in Colorado and I have been addicted to them ever since. But somehow when cleaning up, the recipe must have been thrown out because I can't find it anywhere. I'm super bummed about it and have been searching for a recipe as good as that one to replace it! Anybody out there have one worth trying???



A better ending...

Have you ever had a day start out like this?

But thankfully ended up like this?

That was my day yesterday!!! Little ones left alone for just minutes means big trouble in my house. I was answering some email when my Nephew came to tell me about what happened. He's almost three so it was a sparse conversation, but he got his point across. Needless to say toys were thrown away and there was  a lot of scrubbing involved, but it's clean now.

Part of the reason I had my Nephew's with me was so that their beautiful Mommy could welcome this new little one into the world. My little Sis is one of the most amazing women in this world. Pregnancy, nor birth for that matter, even faze her. As soon as I was able I rushed to the hospital to meet the little guy and to try on a few new products I have coming. I haven't had this much access to a Newborn in awhile so it was fun to play dress up ;) So this is little Toa (meaning chief and subject to change) only a few hours old. Isn't he just precious!!! The best part is he will become my new little model here pretty soon. I can't wait!!