Friday!! hurray!! hurray!

though I've got a bit of a list...at least I'm home for the day!

Supposed to be rainy and stormy, so a good day to do the 'honey do's' and cook a good meal, I'm trying out the chicken marsela recipe from 'cook this not that'.

(can you say, my new craving, MUSHROOMS!!)

I'm going to a crop tomorrow, BUT with the storms...I'm not sure. I don't really like taking my scrapstuff out in the rain. we'll just see how bad it is...

Feb has not been a good weight loss month...I've lost, oh, NONE in the past 3 weeks. Its been a good workout month, I'm up to 12 miles per week on the treadmill.

But gonna keep pressing on...living this healthier lifestyle is better than the one I was living, right? Though sometimes, without the results, I do want to drown myself in a box of mac and cheese, a 6 pack of pepsi and a movie marathon...ha!!!

I'm doing the progressive challenge on Scrapbook.com, today. Its a 'lottery' progressive...she tells a story based on winning a lottery..you choose your selections, then each selection has an element...and you do a layout based on the element. If ya'll are home, you should check it out! Lottery Progressive Challenge

If I won the lottery I would 1) take it in a lump sum 2) quit my job...3)build a new home, and buy myself a new Ford..(they did not offer Jeep) 4) pay for scholarships for family members and 5) open a scrap store! (hey, I'm a lottery millionare, I don't have to worry about selling...teehee)

Have you ever thought about your dream scrap store? Mine would be like the place we are going tomorrow. It is set on personal property, a 'barn building' with big tables, great lighting, comfy chairs...and shelves and walls of stuff! My stuff would be a lot of P R I M A !!!! and Smoooth, and Ranger and Basic Grey and Bazzill and ... well, you get the picture. I might even set up lockers for my regulars...
ha!! We can all dream, right?

Speaking of dreaming, work let me help choose paint colors for the lobby and main area! (yes, they are very brave) I was inspired by a pic in Lowe's magazine...though we did not use the exact colors...I haven't seen it, but the gal in HR tells me it looks great.

Now, I get to put together the lobby...I've been looking at photographic art on AllPosters.com. We are a nationwide company, so I want to put up framed pics of like Maine Lighthouses, Vermont trees, Az Saqueros, the Rocky Mountains, CA Redwoods... you know, great American Landscapes... Only problem, my boss, my dh, has given me a budget of -0-... Oh well, I'll put together a visual...with prices and see if I can 'change' that! Though the lobby gives a first impression, it is hardly ever used.

off to start that list~ including my dvd ~ and gotta do a make up of 2 miles on the tm. (had a li'l tummy issue Weds night)

govt time and some heritage layouts

govt time!
for me, not only the usual prep for personal income tax...payment of property tax coming up.

but at work, I've been working on U.S. census form (4 of them) for both companies...stuff like electricity usage...huh??? I'm surprised they don't ask toilet flushes!!

pretty tired of it all, can't wait till I can get back to my own life!! ha!!!

I've finally started some heritage layouts. It was fun, to go thru my mom's pics from Japan and her early life in the U.S. to hear her stories.




My first 3 pages look a bit like this, trying to tell the story of the family from Japan. Hard times, the pic is my grandpa (he died when my mom was 6 years old) and this is her one and only pic of him...I scanned it, this is a copy. Anyways, a widow with 5 kids during world war II Japan, not an easy life. But they pulled together as a family and made it!

I kinda did not want to be cliche and use DCWV Oriental Stack...but figured, you've got it...use it!!

And as an Anglo, I originally set the writing left to right...ummmmm, in Japan its up and down!!

here are my cousins at a children's festival in 1962 or 1963



another 'fun' thing is she tells me about stuff like the festival, then I 'google' it and learn a li'l more.

the butterfly is alcohol inks on a Heidi Swap clear butterfly...I love that stuff!!!

okay, I'm commuting with dh...with all our taxes and insurance due...I gotta save the $40 a week and commute with him. Of course, I hate it, means waking up at 6am and not getting home till after 5!!! poo-ey, but we all gotta do what we gotta do, right?

glub...glub...

last week I bought one of those cat water servers...you know the ones that look like mini water coolers. They have been really convenient, then, last night as we were all settling for the night. And I mean settling, under the covers, Winston purring on top of me...we hear this "glub, glub". Okay, mental note, check water in the morning. And in most households, that would be the end of it. But, this is the household of Winston Thornapple.

Of course, he gets down to 'investigate'...okay, we all know, cats are curious he will investigate. Then as I am dozing, I hear the sounds of plastic bouncing off the tile...go check...yup, all the water that was left is now a puddle on the tile and the bowl is on its side. I'm half asleep...all I do is grab a towel, put it on the water puddle, upright the bowl and put some water in.

This morning, pick up soaked towel, change water...and am thankful that Winston is soooo cute, or he'd be looking for a new home.

I LOVE being a grandma...

while at the church this morn, my ddil stopped by. (she volunteers to do some of the administrative stuff there)...so...she was telling me that Adriana has been a li'l difficult this week...you know, fussy.

of course, being grandma, I said, "Not Adriana! Must be something YOU did"

teehee

She told me about how Adriana 'cried in her carseat all the way from 2 cities @40 min apart...cuz she spilt milk on herself from her sippy cup...of course, I told her "that's your fault for giving her a sippy cup instead of a bottle', (the sippy cup has the same top as a bottle)

and that "I'd cry too, that's uncomfortable"

then she told me that at home, Adriana's been fussy...crying to be picked up, then pushing herself away, then crying to be picked up...I told her that "Adriana is studying Physics, she's a genius.. you know, 'for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction" (the reality is she is teething)

HA!!! I L O V E being a grandma....teehee



see, her li'l 'toofers'...

SORE!!

legs are sore from last night's 2.5 miles on the tm...shoulder still sore from adding weights to part of my dvd workout...

yeah, I know, "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body"...ha!!

Don't wanna go work today...I'm filling out the company's census..blah, blah, blah

I want Monica's job!! We are preparing to move the company, and she is picking out the floors, paint, and even the new bathrooms!! Now, that would be a fun thing to get paid to do.. But, I don't want her job the rest of the time. H.R...yuck, dealing with everyone's issues...no thanks.

This has been a good week for me, so far. Got to babysit my dgd on Monday, had dinner with them last night...yay!! AND I will be babysitting her for 3 days in March, while her parents go to Vegas...can you say YAHOO!!!

AND we have a trip to Tx planned for my birthday in May.. I get to see MY 'baby'!!!
(and the Okie, too) ha!!! jk!! I actually do like my son-in-law, even if he is an Okie...teehee


Gotta face my morning, drink my protein drink...hit the shower...and yes, work. pooey

2.5 miles last night

I hit a milestone, 2.5 miles on the treadmill last night. (took a li'l over 50 minutes) but, woot! woot!



Also, have been working on a weight loss scrapbook, doing some challenges from the site Scrapbook.com. This one is about our biggest discouragement. Mine is how slow this is happening...@1 lb per week. I have the mental knowldge that 1 to 2 lbs per week is good, and all that..but there are times I feel discouraged...and feel like 'why bother'..you know. But I've got to keep the bigger goal in mind, how its going to feel when I am at goal. When I can buy cute clothes in the catalogs, when I can wear a bathing suit, when Michael and I run a 3k together...when I don't look like a 'fat frog' in family pictures.

Also, another challenge, is that the fat filled foods are yummy. And yes, overindulging did somehow fill an emotional need. And sometimes I just plain miss that. esp mac and cheese, chicken fried steak and mashed potatos, a big ole cheeseburger and french fries and pepsi...sometimes I do miss them.

Yesterday, mom and I went to Red Lobster. (I had the broiled platter 280 calories)
(but when you add all the other stuff, even a side salad, it was still a good 700 to800 calories)...well, the waitress brought us the cheddar biscuits (YUM) and I told her 'no thanks'. She was surprised, "No one says no to these!".. I told her, "At 150 calories, I've got to". She said, "Sometimes people just eat these one after another, and I think that, but I don't want to say something and be rude"

A co-worker, who is trying to lose a few pounds, has been having only yogurt and salad while at work. She says she goes home and loses her willpower. But she made the comment that I "don't eat diet food". I told her, "Nope, I am eating regular food, but learning to control my portions and calories". And you know what, at the end of the day, I'm not very hungry and find I can eat something lite for dinner.

I guess that is why Sparkpeople call it a lifestyle change, not a diet.

I did well at the Valentine's dinner as well. Not perfect, probably still ate more than I should have. But when dessert arrived, I said 'no thanks' and just had a spoonful of Michael's.

So, as always, just hope it translates at the scale...at least that 1 lb!!

oh, I weighed Percy (my cat) over the weekend...he has not lost 1 oz! still at 17.2 lbs. poor baby. Every now and then, Michael is not consistent with putting the other cat's bowls away, and I think Percy is 'grazing'.

had a great morning...but not sure how the rest

of the day is going to be.

due to circumstances...I got to spend the night at the kids' house last night..so, I got to put Adriana to bed..and wake up with her this morning. We sent her mommy back to her room to sleep in a little ..and I got a good hour and a half with Adriana this morning. yay!!

We played, took pics...shared a banana for breakfast...

she is getting a couple of teeth, so she is constantly 'makingfaces' and pulling her lip over them..gotta couple of pics of her doing that.

Then mom got up...and I went to church for a couple of hours. Last week the computer was down, so I handwrote the essential checks...this week had to input them and the ones that were due...a lot of computer work!

This weekend is a Valentine' dinner at the church. I am/was going to cut some words from the Storybook cart for it...but my blade is acting up..and is starting to tear the paper instead of cutting. Time to try the pens!!

The co-ordinator just called, they need help with the set up...and clean up (last night was youth group)...could I come in for the day?? Don't worry about the rest of the graphics. soooooo...I guess I can skip my exercise dvd...call cleaning the church my exercise...there will be packing and unpacking as well as cleaning. I'm sure I'll be burning the calories.

Oh well, what gets done gets done. What doesn't, we'll just have to make the 'best of it'...but gotta do the essentials..riiiight??

why do I feel like I'm juggling too many things right now? oh well!!

just a mention...

http://timeforscrappin.blogspot.com/

is giving away a pink cropodile...just need to subscribe to her blog, mention her giveaway on her blog...and link your blog on her post...pretty cool, huh

be back in a bit to chat..

It's Saturday...

happy dance, happy dance...It's Saturday, we have NO plans...I can stay in my pj's and S C R A P !! yay, yay, yay!!


It's rainy and cold and the perfect day/ weekend (cuz dh is going to a freind's house for a superbowl party)...I'll get to scrap to my heart's content.

Goal..finish Journal Your Christmas...I'm up to Dec 21...so, just a few more layouts.

I won't even think of the 'other' things piling up...like tax paperwork...nope, this weekend is for scrappin'.

what happened?

I USED to be able to eat garlic. I USED to spread baked garlic on french bread...since starting this lifechange...a li'l garlic...and I am sick.

BUT nowadays I CRAVE mushrooms and spinach. Esp when they are together.

I dunno!!

I'm ready to retire. Yes, I'm sick of 'wrangling' numbers. I'm ready for a leisurely life of grandparenting and scrapbooking.

Time to hit the treadmill!!! soooo much fun!