What A Weekend

Who would've thought I would have to come to work to get a break. Wow it was a crazy weekend!!! All the way from roofing my house to hair and makeup for my daughters dance recital. She was a RagDoll and a Mime.

We had three performances with 2 costume and makeup changes in each one. Then last night right after her last dance recital, the children's choir from church had their Christmas play. The play was AMAZING!!! Both of my kiddos had parts and Paige sang a solo. Through the busyness of it all I still got a BLESSING!!!

BUSY BEE

WOW what a busy month I have had!!!!! SOOOO MUCH has happened...
#1 We are OFFICIALLY in contract on our new house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If everything goes according to plan we will be moving in the middle of January!!!! God is so good!!!!
#2 The Hunger Games...these books consumed my entire brain for 2 weeks. 2 weeks that I did not have to spare mind you. Once I pulled my self out of the fantasy world of Panem, I had reality demanding my attention.
#3 Dance, Dance, Dance...it is that time of year again that keeps me on the move. Paige's winter dance recital starts tonight. I am so excited, it is one of my favorite things!!! They are performing Camille and The Land of Dreams. She will be a rag doll and a mime. Will definitely post pics soon!!!
#4 Christmas...duh!!!! People who have all their gifts bought way ahead of time just irritate me jealous I am more of a Christmas Eve shopper which tends to cause stress, irritability, hair loss...and so on. Plus I decided to take on the responsibility of being my daughter's 3rd grade class room mother so I also have a party to plan in the midst of the chaos which brings me to...
#5 DIET...on hiatus until I slow down!!!!

Diet Here I Come...I AM BACK!!! Day 36

DAY 36 147.2 lbs
OOPS!!!! Wow a 5 lb weight gain, but I am back on the wagon!!! I have gone back to cycle one on the 17 day diet until I shed these pounds that I put back on. I am going to need lots of will power this week considering it is Thanksgiving!

Breaking Dawn Premiere

SOOOOOOO WORTH THE WAIT!!!!!! It was ALMOST PERFECT!!! We all loved it!!!!! Not gonna say anything else except...GO SEE IT!!!!!

Camped out...First in line!!!!!!

 We thought we only had a few hours to wait but apparently the midnight show is going to start tomorrow afternoon!!! We better get more blankets and pillows!!

 Our shirts all said something different...Bruised and Feathered...Edward Can Bite My Pillow Anytime...What Happens At Isle Esme, Stays At Isle Esme...What's A Wedding Without Some Drama...Why Am I Covered In Feathers?...What's A Honeymoon Without Some Feathers?...You Bit A Pillow...Why?

 Pre show nap is now a tradition!!!

Here are all the ladies that I work with...Aren't they so cute in their veils!!! Their shirts say "I Want To Sparkle" We said they were the Wedding Party and we were the Honeymoon Party!!!!

Diet Here I Come...Day 31

DAY 31 143.8 lbs
I did it!!! I cheated!!! Not only once but twice in the last 4 days and the scale shows it. My cheating started on Saturday. I made cookies, which by the way are the best cookies ever, and I had a few of them. Sunday and Monday went good but last night, I not only fell off the wagon, I JUMPED OFF!!! I had Ritz crackers with almost a whole can of squeeze cheese, then I had more than a few of the best cookies ever, recipe to follow, then after being stuffed already, I had some crackers with spinach dip. It brought me momentary satisfaction but I woke up this morning feeling really down. My first cheat day was not suppose to be until tomorrow :( It is OK though. I picked myself up dusted off all the crumbs and here I go again full speed ahead. I still plan to cheat tomorrow but after that it is all business until I reach my goal!!!! Prayers would greatly be appreciated...Thanks!!!

TWI-WEEK

It is officially TWI-WEEK!!! AKA Breaking Dawn Part 1 in theaters this Friday 12:00 AM and WE ARE THERE. We already have our tickets, we made shirts and we plan to get in line around 8:30 right after we stuff ourselves with some yummy Chinese food!!! Oh but there will be room for popcorn and candy of course!!! How ever will we make it through the next 3 days???!!!! Here are some reminders of good times from our previous TWI-NIGHTS

 These were the coolest shirts ever and yes I "totally" came up with it!!! They say "The Wolf in Jacob...Brings Out the Cougar in Me"

New Moon Premiere November 20, 2009

Eclipse Midnight Premiere June 30, 2010

Our other MOST AWESOME shirts "Edward and Jacob, The Total Eclipse of My Heart" credit for these goes to Mrs. Collier who was not present :(

A quick nap before...HAHA

In our seats!!!!! Ready and a waiting!!!!

Diet Here I Come...Day 24 and 10 DAY COUNTDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAY 24 142.8 lbs 
Today is my last day on cycle 1 of the 17 day diet!!!!!!! My total weight loss so far is 10.5 lbs!!!! YAY ME!!!! My pants are noticeably looser and the pants I haven't been able to get into (size 6) are buttoning not comfortable by any means . Tomorrow I get to start back on a few carbs!!!! I have planned my first cheat day...it is going to be Thursday Nov. 17th. What is the occasion you say...

Oh yes I am a TWERD, TWIHARD, whatever you want to called dorks like us. We had matching T-shirts made and yes we sit in front of the theater for hours to get a good seat!!! OOOOOHHH I can't wait!!! I plan on eating at my favorite Chinese food restaurant before and I have to have popcorn and butterfingers during!!!! This could possibly be the best night of 2011!!!!!!!!!!

**********10 MORE DAYS**********

Diet Here I Come...Day 19

DAY 19 144.0 lbs
Well it has been a slower week this week but that is to be expected "this week". I am on day 13 of the 17 day diet. Only 4 more days to go before I can have some carbs!!! Then on to the next level!!! I do love this diet. I won't lie, it is hard to stick to. One of the biggest things that helps me is all of my water and eating before I get too hungry. It has gotten way easier over time. I think if you can make it through the first week, the rest is down hill with some bumps. The hardest part for me is that there are NO CHEAT DAYS!!! UUHHGGG!!!! I am all about a good cheat day...the problem is I usually don't return after cheating!!! Raising my glass of green tea "Here's to 4 MORE DAYS"

Diet Here I Come...Day 16

DAY 16 145.0 lbs
I am still doing good. No cheating!!! Halloween was HARD!!! Especially at work yesterday. Everyone brought food and it all looked soooo good but I somehow managed to just say no!!! On Saturday which was Day 13 I actually only weighed 44.8. I was so excited!!! I found a website where they share recipes for people on the 17 day diet http://www.thedoctorstv.com/forums/527-17-Day-Diet-Recipes. If you like mushrooms, there are some really good recipes. Unfortunately I would rather starve to death then eat a mushroom YUCK!!! So I have technically only been on the 17 day diet for 10 days so I guess I will stick with cycle one for 7 more days!!! Then I can have carbs...YAY!!!!

HALLOWEEN GOODNESS!!!

I LOVE Halloween . It is definitely one of my favorite holidays!!!. We had a great weekend. It was jam packed as full as I could get it but totally worth it.

My good friend Lauren and I are now the room mothers for our kids 3rd grade class. I spent all night Thursday making treats for their party on Friday.

Nutter Butter Ghosts...
1 pkg. nutter butter cookies
1 pkg. white almond bark
1 pkg. mini chocolate chips

Melt the almond bark according to package directions. Dip cookies into almond bark coating them all over and lay on wax paper to dry. Add 2 chocolate chips for eyes before they harden and there you have a super cute ghost.

These are the brownie cones I made...

The idea came from Pillsbury Halloween Funfetti but our stores in our small town did not have the Pillsbury Halloween Funfetti brownie mix or the Halloween spray icing so I had to improvise with what I could find.
I just made regular brownie mix according to the package except I used 3 eggs instead of 2. I stood my cones up in a mini muffin pan and poured the batter in about 2/3rds full. I baked them according to the package directions. I then had to mix white icing with red and yellow food coloring to make orange, then I had to try to be fancy and use a tube thing to squeeze my icing on the top with. I think I did pretty good. Then I just sprinkled the top.

 I thought they came out really cute, the only problem...how in the world to get them to the school unharmed???????? I dreamed ALL night on how in the world I was going to transport these. I was so desperate that I thought maybe I should just super glue them on the cardboard and then cut off the bottoms before I serve them...Then it hit me!!!! Dip them in almond bark and let them dry sticking to the bottom of the muffin pan!!!

 This worked PERFECT!!! They rode all the way to the school in the passenger seat of my car and did not budge. I was nervous about how stuck they were now but they were not even that hard to get out at the party.

Lauren made chex mix that looked very tasty!!! of course I did not taste it remember I am on my way to skinny!!!


Halloween Chex Mix...
8 ounces white chocolate baking bars, coarsely chopped
4 cups Corn Chex® or Rice Chex® cereal
2 cups bite-size pretzel twists
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup candy corn
1/4 cup orange and black candy

Directions
In large microwavable bowl, microwave chopped baking bars uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
Gently stir in cereal, pretzels and raisins until evenly coated. Stir in candy corn and decors.
Spread on waxed paper or foil until cool and chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Break into chunks. Store loosely covered.

      

The party was a success!!!

the kids had to dress like story book characters and Paige was Ramona from Ramona and Beezus...see the eggs in her hair.

Saturday night we had our Annual Halloween Party at the Collier's

                                                Here we have a carnival game and a Carni!!!

                              Chewbaca showed up to protect us from the Dark Side in case they showed up.

                          Buddy Holly is currently dating the vampire "Victoria" from the Twilight Saga

                                       and these are the 2 cutest Draculara's that I have ever seen.

                          and oh my it is more of the Twilight clan...Jasper Hale and Alice Cullen

 and here is our hostess with mostess...the mostess tummy that is!!! I love you Lauren!!! I believe she is a  pregnant prom queen...with her hubby the Dairy Farmer.

 ...and then here is the wild bunch!!! Who knew that the product of two Greek gods would be Gene Simmons, the Scream dude and a precious vampire. Oh and look the 2 Dracularas AKA NON-Brunsons made their way into the pic!!

 I don't even know what to say about this group...a taco????!!!!

We had a great time with more great food that I could not touch!!!

Now off to do more tonight!!!

Diet Here I Come...Day 12

DAY 12 145.6 lbs.
SUCCESS!!!!! I AM REALLY DOING IT!!!!!! Almost 8 lbs in 12 days. HIP HIP HOORAH!!! I even avoided some huge cinnamon roll covered in chocolate that appeared in the break room at my office yesterday. I am feeling AMAZING!!! My hunger is getting easier to control each day. I had so much going on last night that I almost forgot to even eat. I had to make cookies and cupcakes for my daughters Halloween I mean "Fall Party" and I did not lick my fingers once!!!! We made cute little ghost cookies and cupcakes in an ice cream cone, I will post pics later. For the first time in who knows how long my pants are loose!!!! GREAT DAY TODAY!!!!!

Diet Here I Come...Day 10

DAY 10 147.4 lbs
So there has been no weight loss since day 8 but I feel really good and I have A LOT of energy which has been non existent for months now. Yesterday when I got on the scale it actually had gone up half a pound but I feel sure that this is due to circumstances out of my control, circumstances that only occur once every month.

Upon my dieting boredom, I have found a few tasty little recipes:

Turkey Chili
1-2 lbs ground turkey
chili seasoning to taste
low carb tomato sauce to taste

Brown turkey and add seasoning and tomato sauce and water to the consistency you like.

It tasted just as good as if I had had made it with ground beef. I added a lot of water to mine to make it really soupy which meant I could eat more of it and on the 17 day diet, in round one you can eat as much meat as you want. The only downside is that there is a lot of sodium which causes water retention but that's nothing a water pill can't take care of

I have also discovered how to make a good fat free ranch dressing, actually it was probably already discovered but still it is new to me

Ranch Dressing
Mix 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix with 1 cup of plain fat free yogurt then add water to get desired consistency.

Let's see what else I can come up with.

What A Weekend and Diet Here I Come

Literally...WHAT A WEEKEND!!!! For someone who doesn't care a lot about sports, you sure wouldn't know it by looking at my life. Friday night football...GO TIGERS!!! We beat our biggest rivals!! Then there was Saturday. Bayley and the Jets had their first peewee football game of the season...they lost 6-0. Then Paige had her last soccer game which turned out to be our first loss, leaving us tied for 1st place over all. Then straight to Midland for Bayley's travel team baseball tournament and a birthday party for Paige's BFF.

We lost our first game, but won the second. Bayley got a triple and got to pitch!!!

This was taken from my phone so it is not a very good picture.

My poor baby boy was so tired after 3 games!!!

Then up early Sunday morning for another game. We won the first and lost the second putting us out of the tournament. We ended up 4th place...not bad out of 16 teams!!! I was so proud of Bayley. He played AWESOME and even got recognized by one of the coaches from another team!!! That was our last tournament until after the 1st of the year, so 2 sports down and just football and dance left for now...WHEW!!! I did get all of my errands run for Halloween preparations!!! Our costumes are gonna be so good!!!! But through all of this madness I DID manage to stay on my diet!!!

DAY 8 147.4 lbs
I had some ups and downs this weekend. I did stay on my diet the entire time YAY ME!!! but I only lost about 1 pound. Yesterday I started the 17 Day Diet by Dr. Moreno, which means absolutely NO CARBS for 17 days. Wish me luck. All in all week one was a success with a total loss of 6.10 lbs. I really need to be skinny for my Halloween costume!!! I wonder if 20 pounds in a week would be possible??!!!

Impatients...ERRR!!!!!

I have fallen head over heels in love with the most beautiful, warm, comforting, well taken care of, thing and I can't wait for it to hold me. Here is a picture:

Isn't it beautiful!!!!! Hopefully this is what our future holds in store for us. The only thing standing in the way of this love affair is the other house.

True... I do love it also but we have just grown apart or at least I hope to be apart soon. We have had 11 amazing years in our home but I do believe we have out grown all 1200 square foot of it. Well this is where the inpatients kicks in. It has been on the market since the end of August and we have only had one looker. I know, I know, that is only 2 months. I started out in the beginning praying for God's Will in this life changing decision but I have noticed as the weeks pass by my prayers have become more to sound like please God...I have to have that house and Please God...I NEED that house. I am already mentally moved in and I have it all decorated. Here is the entryway/ dinning room

And this is what I am going to put in here

from Kirklands

With this hanging above it

from Anthropologie

Oh and my FAVORITE thing of all...what goes under my dining room table

from Anthropologie

Isn't this the most gorgeous rug ever!!!!!

And then there is the master bedroom that will be big enough for my husband and I to upgrade from our full size bed. You can't tell in the picture but it has deep purple carpet...

And here is the amazing bedding I want for this room

I LOVE ANTHROPOLOGIE!!!!!

and check out the tub in the master bath!!!

Now for the kitchen

and the few things I have picked out for in here:

and of course both are from Anthropology...they really should block my access to this website at work!!!

And there you have my new house that is not even mine yet. But I will hang in there and be patient. If it is in God's will for us to have this house, it will happen.