Best hair ever!!!!!!

So, I have been scanning all my childhood pictures over the last few months.  I am using one of these:

This bad boy? A Fujitsu Scan Snap S1500.

 Would not do a photo project without it.

Anyways, back to my actual post.

I was scanning pictures from my sisters wedding and was

A. Shocked at how fat I was

B. Realized I was kinda cute!

C. Fell in love with my hair and remembered fighting with the hairdresser to do it.  I am so glad I did!


(Please note: these pictures are from 9 1/2 years ago.  If we look funny? Blame it on 2002)

My sister and I.  Don't we look alike? (please note the sarcasm)

The three siblings.  Wow.  I am short and fat! But love the glasses!

Wow.  Pre diet and breast reduction.  I make that other chick look tiny!

And the greatest hair ever!

Meal Planning

I get asked often what meals I make on a regular basis.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

That is usually my response.  Husband and I were talking and realized that we never eat the same things often! Our "regular" meals we eat about three times a year.  Is that sad? So, for the year 2012, we are taking on a challenge.  I am making a list of meals.  We are going to eat 365 different meals.  Due to there only being two of us, we are leaving in a few extra nights for leftovers! Probably about 50 nights.  I am also going to add 12 nights for eating out.  We might do more, but if we stuck to this? We would save money! I am also on the road a lot so I have to factor that in.  But? In the end, I am going to make a meal plan of 365 different meals, no repeats and see how we do.

Now, the problem is?

HELP!!!!! I need help! What are your favorite meals? I can find recipes, but what meals do you eat? Off the top of my head, I am at about 40.  I am going to continue to add to it, but what do people out there eat? Soups, salads, casseroles, random, weird, I will take all ideas.  Might even eat a lot of them!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Passing Grade

Today:


Health: Kinda followed my diet.  Did not do as good as I should have.  Will have to improve.

Mind: Quite good! I felt mentally weak (the diet does that to me) but overall was happy!

Body: Sitting at 184.8 lbs.  This is incredible for me! I even wore one of my new coats today.  Feeling kinda empty and hungry tonight and it is hurting my stomach.  Making for a sleepless night.

Work: Was actually quite productive! Another nice day for work.  I started my day in the office.  Returned phone calls, emails etc.  Went to a bank meeting.  It went as good as I expected! Went to a lunch meeting.  Had a salad that I should not have had (see Health).  Had to eat.  Only ate that today.  Went to a marketing meeting.  It was informative.  Not quite what I am looking for for the business at this time but that is OK! It gave me good information and they gave me a gift certificate to a local restaurant for sitting there! Came home after that and paid bills, tidied the house and returned a whole lot more phone calls for work.  Man.  Some days my phone rings off the hook!

Marriage: I think I pissed off the Husband.  I wanted to watch TV and wouldn't let him.  He was not impressed.  Will do better tomorrow! I will learn to share! Other than that? Going well.  Love the time I get with him.  Have so much fun watching him do his hobbies and seeing him feel good about himself again.

Home: Did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, tidied the bedroom, organized a little of my office.

Overall Score:     B-

Changes I would make: Follow the diet. Spend more time in the office and not as much time away.  Makes it hard to get a lot done some days.  Learn to share the TV.  Not an easy thing for me.  Spend less time on the TV and more organizing and cleaning our house and making it feel like home.

Blogs I follow

I love some amazing blogs and therefore decided to link some of them here for you to look at!

Some of my favorites are:

www.bakersdozen.typepad.com  This blog is about an amazing family with 14 kids.  I don't have any but man would I give anything to be a fly on the wall in this family for a week.  They sound like what I wanted  in my own life!

Bowerpowerblog.com  This blog is written by an amazing woman.  She is a mom, photographer, homemaker, and decorates constantly.  Love how she writes.  Makes you want to be her friend.

www.younghouselove.com Married couple.  Home decor guru's! Super popular and human and normal.  Great ideas to decorate on a dime! Or a nickel!

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/  Amazing cook.  Her baking is incredible! Have not made a bad recipe off of here yet!

These are a few of the ones I love.  I will post more soon! What are you interested in? What blogs do you follow on a regular basis? I follow about 40 blogs.  Ouch! Let me know what you are interested in! I might follow one that would work for you!

Home sweet home

Shopping.

I never thought I would say that I didn't enjoy it but wow.

Last week was exhausting!

My dad just bought his first new home since my mom died.  He has been living in a 5th wheel for the last 1 1/2 years and now is in a home.  On an acreage.  It is amazing and wonderful.  It is so nice to be able to just go visit Dad now and to have somewhere to stay and be comfortable.  We always felt like we were an inconvenience to people before.

Back the the exhaustion.  The house (trailer) came fully furnished.  She was a 90 year old woman.  And a smoker.  Dad is neither.  So, when I got there? It took us 6 hours to clean it out.  I am talking bathmats to dishes to pictures on walls.  Toothpicks and salt and pepper in the kitchen.  Old bowling trophies.  It was nuts! And stinky! That was Tuesday night.  After a really long day of driving.

It felt kinda like this! Not near as bad, but still nasty!

Wednesday-the list was made and we shopped.  The list included:

• new spare bed
• bedding for both beds

From Quilts Etc.  Did not add the purple though!

• curtains for all windows
• new shower curtain
• bathmats
• coffee maker

• cookie sheets (I had to bake a cake and desserts that weekend)
• all kinds of kitchen gadgets
• dining room table and 6 chairs
• 2 new bookshelves and one for towels in the bathroom
• couch

• love seat
• end tables
• coffee table
• lamps for everywhere
• food to feed 8 people for the weekend and company 2 times
• and more!

We did it though! We came home that night all shopped out and proceeded to unload a whole heck of a lot of stuff.

Thursday-SET UP DAY!!! I stayed up till midnight the night before building shelves and hanging curtains.  All day Thursday, we set up everything and waited for furniture deliveries.

Friday-continuation of set up and wait for family to arrive.  The fun part? Dad is useless at hosting! And so I was put in charge.  Cooking, cleaning, setting things up! Yeah for my sister who I put to work when she came.

Saturday-hang out, big dinner

Sunday-family stuff and big dinner

Monday-start the trek home! I am not sure how I made it.  I was so incredibly tired.  

Husband has worked non stop lately so he took yesterday and today off work.  It has been awesome! We watched TV, ate, shopped and just hung out.  It has been good.  I am back at work and back to life tomorrow.  Lots to think about and stress about.  Should be an interesting week! I am glad that it is almost the weekend though.  Will be nice to be home for a weekend and to get some house work done.  Starting to feel messy again!

What did you do for Thanksgiving?

My list of thanks this year:

• Husbands amazing job.  He is loving it and happy.
• Right now we are both healthy.
• Business is still going.  Not amazing but I am working on that!
• Have learned a lot.  About myself and others.  Some good some bad but did learn stuff!
• I am finally losing some weight!!! You think this would be #1  :)
• A house that is starting to feel like home.  Can't wait to set up Christmas decorations!
• A puppy that is so attached to me it is crazy! She makes me happy!
• I think I found a church.  One that could be good for me.  I will let you know!
• An amazing marriage.  Through all the trials and stress that we have had, we are happy.  We drive each other insane, laugh daily, trust each other completely, and just truly have a good time
• Family and friends.  Pad answer but true.  Have made some new friends this year, strengthened old friendships, and kept in touch with others that have been out of touch forever!

And....

She quits.

Not happily.

Never mind.  Who am I kidding! I was so happy to quit! I am now down at 184 lbs.  I am happy with that. I think I should just do a whole bunch of one weekers.  I can handle a week.  After that? MENTAL BREAKDOWN!!!!! You have no idea.  I started starving myself and thinking crazy thoughts.  Lost all my motivation in life.  It was nuts.  It is a good thing I started eating again.

Since then?

I have made

These are pumpkin whoopie pies with Cream cheese frosting in the middle.  To die for.  The recipe can be found here:

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/09/29/pumpkin-whoopie-pies-maple-cream-cheese-frostin/

She is amazing.  Husband gave these a 13/10 which is unheard of.

I have also made him some amazing lunches, well prepped them.  He makes his own lunch.

I am a much happier person.  Try the recipe though.  They are supposedly amazing!