On the Right Track

I have developed an obsession,oops I mean an interest in weight loss and healthy life styles lately. So, it's not a surprise that a weight loss segment on The Today Show on NBC caught my attention. Prevention Magazine was doing a story about losing those last few pounds. One of the ideas they shared was keeping a food log. Prevention said "dieters who jotted down what they ate lost twice as much weight as those who don't keep a record". I've done something right! It doesn't say if that continues to help keep the weight off, but I'm not taking any chances. Several times a day you'll find me jotting down what I've eaten in my planner. Prevention also offers a free online meal and exercise log here.

Just in case you were wondering, no, I didn't hurt my arm patting myself on the back.

Friday Fave 5

I can't believe it's Friday again! Also, hard to believe I have done something consistently for six weeks, in a row! It's time for this weeks fave 5. For more information and to see other participants fave 5 check out Susanne's blog Living to Tell the Story.

Here we go...

Number 5 Upcycling (aka cheap creative outlet). I took 2 necklaces I don't wear, put them together to make bling for the mommy van, now looking at them together I may bring it back in and wear it.

Number 4 Fall. The first week of fall has been sunny, dry and 80 degrees! Love it! It has been beautiful this week.

Number 3 Fall into Reading. I got my list up on time, then spent the next two days reading other people's lists, so many great books...so little time. I did get started on my first book too.

Number 2 No new injuries, illness or dental emergencies!

Number 1 I saved the best for last. I got flowers. Caleb picked me these beautiful "undomesticated flowers" from the empty lot next to us.


Happy Friday! Have a great week!

Fall Reading List

I am so excited about this reading challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days! Mainly for all the new books I'll find out about.

I forced myself to finish Not Buying it: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine this week before I could start any new books. I had 50 pages left and it was sitting there taunting me, so I finished it! It was interesting but, because it wasn't what I expected, I didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would, probably why I had a hard time finishing it. The other book that was going to be on my list was The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, but I finished that on Sunday. So, here is the revised list.

1. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski because it's Oprah's new book club selection. Finished 10/12

2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer my teenager told me, "Mom, you have to read this."Finished 10/21

3. & 4. 16 Lighthouse Road & 204 Rosewood Lane (Cedar Cove Series) by Debbie Macomber just because they're fun. Finished #3 on 10/27 #4 on 12/17

5. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates another Oprah book club. Finished 12/3

6. My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult recommened by my friend Laurie. Finished 11/7

It's a bit short, but I wanted to leave room for additions. Just in case I find something I just have to read on someone else's list.

Happy reading!

Fave Five Friday 5

Happy Friday! It is time for Fave Five again. Susanne has provided a button for Fridays. It's adorable - Thank you! I'll just get right to it here are my 5 for this week...

1. Lauren is part of the karate leadership (this is an extra class she takes to learn leadership skills) and had to help at the Belt Ceremony on Sunday. They had planned some activities for the kids to do before the program started and it was wonderful to see her helping the younger kids. I don't always get to see that responsible side of her or how good she works with younger kids. It was a real treat to see a glimpse of the wonderful young lady she is growing into.

2. At Belt Ceremony on Sunday Lauren got her black belt. The students receiving their black belts were awarded them on stage. She did a great job with her demonstrations - she was able to break both of her boards in front of a large crowd - and with her leadership duties and I am very proud of her. I'm waiting for Philip to put the pictures on the computer from his camera. I was too busy cheering and forgot to take pictures.

3. At Belt Ceremony on Sunday Caleb received his orange dragon belt. The the activities the kids participated in before the ceremony began were karate olympics, they competed for medals in the long jump and the ninja throw. Caleb got a silver medal for the ninja throw. His ninja traveled 10 feet.

4. No broken child! Lauren started complaining of arm pain on Sunday, so we went to the doctor and got x-rays, after a very long wait for a call with the results, she is bruised but not broken. And already feeling better.

5. My fave fun thing for this week in blogging. I'm having so much fun finding new blogs to read. I got 2 buttons for my sidebar, the one for fave five and one for the 2008 Fall Reading Challenge at Callapidder Days. I can't wait for the reading challenge to start (yeah, another resource to find interesting books) I have my stack of books ready for Monday!

Have a great week! Don't forget to leave me a comment, I love to read them!

Wired Wednesday

Here it is another Wednesday. I thought Mondays were suppose to be the hectic day of the week. Not at our house. It's Wednesday. It started off like any other day, neither of the kids wanted to get up, Caleb didn't want to go to school, Lauren's arm was still hurting and we seemed to be plagued with a rash of forgetting things this morning. I hadn't heard back from the doctors office, so I wasn't really sure what my plans for the day were going to be, add to that yesterday's to do list got moved to today and we started off one step behind.

But, unbelievably I am getting things done, the motorcycle parts are picked up, oil change done, groceries bought, and put away. Now I am headed to the stuff mart to get contacts and fill a prescription. I have no idea how I have gotten any of this done except maybe caffeine. Maybe my over scheduled Wired Wednesdays aren't so bad after all. I guess it is true busy people do get more done.

Medical update...After a very long 24 hours the doctor's office called, Lauren doesn't have a broken arm. Yeah! It took that long for the radiologist to get the report to the doctor's office. We are still waiting on an appointment for Philip's knee, hopefully we will get in sooner than the 2-3 weeks we originally thought it would take.

The resuts are in

Philip had an MRI last week and we got the results yesterday, the good news is he does not have a torn meniscus. He has a torn ACL and a bone fracture. So, now we wait for the referral, it's coming in the mail, then we head to the orthopedist and see what they want to do. Probably another two weeks before we can get in...so we wait.

While I type this I keep checking my phone to make sure I didn't miss a call from Lauren's doctor. Lauren started complaining that her arm hurt on Sunday night. We spent our today in the doctor's office and getting x-rays because her arm is still hurting.

I am trying to wait patiently and keep things in perspective, but I don't wait well. I'll post when I know more.

Fave Five Friday

Well, it's Friday again and I can't believe how fast the week has gone. Our days have been very busy with activities and homework but it has been a good week. So, here are my fave five, if you want to join in or see other peoples five check out Living to Tell the Story.

1. Stripes! Both the kids had karated stripe tests this week. The students have to earn 3 stripes to progress to the next belt rank. This week was the 3rd test. Caleb likes this test because they get to break a real board. Caleb will be awarded his orange dragon belt on Sunday. Sunday will also be a big day for Lauren, because she tested for her black belt last night and passed!
We are very proud of her. To get her black belt she has been in class for 3 years and the last 3 months she has had an extra class and requirments to complete. Sunday will be a very big day for her and I'm sure it will be on next weeks five.

2. Girlfriends! Our moms group invaded a local resturant for breakfast this week. We laughed, talked, ate, laughed a little more and cleared out just in time for lunch to start. I was also able to catch up with another friend, Monica and I have been friends since kindergarten, we were on the phone for an hour and a half phone call, but oh well, we had a lot to talk about. After all it had been about a month since we talked last. Last night I found another friend on facebook that I had lost touch with. We have both moved and emails change and so do phone numbers. I very excited to see how they are and catch up.

3. Scrapbooking. I love to scrapbook and haven't really had the chance lately to get much done, but this week I got the craft area cleaned up and the scrapbooks and pictures out. I didn't get any pages done, yet, but it was still fun to get the supplies out and look at the pictures. I am only a 1 1/2 years behind, not too bad, but my how the kids have grown.

4. Veggies. This week I was given home grown tomatoes and cucumbers! They were wonderful! I also tried Debbie Meyer Green Bags this week, my leaf lettuce has been in there a week now and no slim! Yeah!

5. Bling. Not for me, for the mommy bag (aka my purse) I found this key holder at the card store yesterday. It is u shaped with a cute thing (I got the pink and green flower) on one end and a hook on the other to hold your keys. You slip it over the edge of your bag, keys inside and pretty thing outside, to keep your keys from dropping to the bottom of your bag.

Whew...

Today is finally over. It has been a very busy, over scheduled, hectic day.There was the to do list, the "I wish I could get to that" list, a trip to the stuff mart, volunteering at school, one after school activity, two karate classes and youth group. Somewhere in there we managed to squeeze in dinner (including a meltdown over cornbread) and homework. Believe it or not we were only late for one class, I got everything on the stuff mart list, one "to do" is being moved to tomorrow's list and I still had time for a cup of cinnamon apple tea, so over all it was a good day. I am going to do one thing on the wish list then get ready to start all over tomorrow.

Summer Reading

I thought it might be fun for Lauren and I to have our own book club this summer. The only requirement was that it had to be an author neither of us had read. So we could branch out a little. I let her pick a few and then we made a choice. We picked The Eight by Katherine Neville.

The cover says it is "An absorbing thriller steeped in history". It's steeped in history alright, just about any historical figure you can think of is in this book, from Charlemagne to Muammar Khaddafi. I would describe it more as an adventure than a thriller, along the lines of Indiana Jones meets Thelma and Louise. It also has a cast of hundreds, unfortunately I didn't connect to any of them. I didn't know the heroins enough to want to root for them. The adventure held it's own in the story but there were characters and subplots that were disconnected and just seem to be fillers.

Lauren gave up at about page 100. I finished reading by pure stubbornness. I don't like to give up once I've started a book just in case in the end it is the best book I've read. I knew the story lines would all be tied up at the end and by page 300 I just wanted to get there.

Friday Fave Five 3

I can't believe it is Friday evening already. Where has this week gone? I'm joining Susanne at Living to Tell the Story in Friday Fave Five. So here it goes!

1 Pink Party! My family gave me pink birthday party, complete with pink dinner ware and a basket of pink balloons!

2 Birthday Cake! Well, really any cake but this was my birthday cake, lemon cake that Lauren frosted with lemon icing for me and Caleb added a layer of sprinkles. Yummy!

3. Surprise Packages in the Mail! I got a surprise care package from my sister. Yeah! Thanks Sis.

4. Fall Decoration! I put out the fall decorations this week. I like the colors - gold, orange and burgundy - they make the house feel warm and cozy. Now I am just waiting for that little chill in the air.

5. All by Myself. I went grocery shopping all by myself. I hear someday I'll miss having "helpers". I'm just sooo not there yet.

Thank you all for your sympathy for my dental issues. It was greatly appreciated. Have a great week!

An Empty Inbox

Almost. I was inspired by a blog I read on Callapidder Days to empty out my email inbox. My inbox doesn't have anything related to a job, mostly just updated address and schedules that should be put in my calendar anyway and a few pictures. So, why are they hanging around in my inbox, because eventually never gets here. I did have system set up to separate my emails, forwards, schedules, pictures, you get the idea. The problem is I don't go back and sort and empty. Let's face it I am not going to go back and read a forwarded email I was sent before my baby could talk.

I am now down to 3 folders I have to sort, one with pictures to put in a digital photo album, letters and that Oprah folder. I no longer have a schedule folder, that information is put on the calendar and the email deleted. No more searching through an over full inbox of for the date of whatever event I'm looking for. I was surprised how good it felt to only have 2 messages in my inbox this morning.

So, what's in your inbox?