Merry Christmas!

Have a safe and happy holiday everyone!

It's a bird....It's a plane....NO!

It's the INCREDIBLE REINDEER!!

That was the theme of the boys' holiday concert at school this week. (It was Tuesday night, I guess I'm a little slow with the pix this time)

Rugby played Santa Claus. I think he really got into it! I know he was certainly excited!

Riley was just a singer in the kindergarten chorus, but he did a great job!

And R&R's friend Brandon was one of the Incredible Reindeer....the MIGHTY MOOSE! He looked like he was having an awesome time playing a superhero moose! :)

Here's a little sampling of the boys' songs they sang. Enjoy!!

I need a new 'do

I have a cousin that's going to do my hair for me over Christmas break, and I was on iVillage today when I found a virtual makeover. What could be better than putting in your picture and getting to check out tons of new styles with ZERO risk?!! PLUS!! I could change colors. I found a style I loved (the "what about Mary" part would have to lay down, but other than that it's perfect!). What do you think? Style and color opinions wanted, please and thank you!

Presents and Instructions

So remember that post about instructions? Yea, seems that once I figured out what I did wrong I was able to correct it and complete another one the same day. YAY ME! The second one turned out better than the first. I haven't decided what to do about that, yet. The one that didn't work according to plan is for a baby that isn't here yet, so really doesn't HAVE to go for Christmas, but I would like it, too....but....ugh. I'll figure something out. Tim is going to build me something to go along with the projects, but I don't know if he'll have time to do that before they need to be mailed. We'll see, I guess.

I have the third of five laid out and ready to go, I'll spend today getting parts sewed to it and hopefully have it finished before we go to the kids Christmas concert tonight. Watch for pictures of that tomorrow!!

Also, I bought the boys something totally cool (only $5!!), and found a lady that had a game to give away, so I snagged that. I don't know when I'll give it to them, but it's here.

Are you ready for the holidays? We got presents in the mail yesterday, so I know Tim's sister Steph is all ready! (Thanks, Steph and fam!) What presents are you making? What's your coolest gift that you are giving?

**EDIT: 3 DOWN, 2 TO GO! YAY ME!! (12:17 pm)

**EDIT #2: Just one left! I'm on a roll!! (3:02 pm)

I've been cooking!!

There are two new posts up over at Cafe Jessica from the weekend!

I hate exercise.

I think that bears repeating....I hate exercise. I can not motivate myself to do it. I hate the bittercold weather we've been getting here in the west central portion of Wisconsin. We average 8 inches a snowfall in all of December and we got that in a few days last week. I hibernate when the weather is like that. I don't want to go outside, I want to curl up in my bed with a book and some cocoa and settle in for winter. Breathing in the freezing air is SO!! not my favorite thing to do. I hate the (literal) pain my neck when I breathe too heavily (which no one but me seems concerned about). I miss riding my bike with 80 pounds of toddlers in the trailer. I miss the cool but not cold days of fall.

So, that weight loss thing I was doing over at Diet Cake? Yea, I gained a pound and a half. woohoo for me. Tis the season for giving, right? I just gave myself more weight to lose. I wasn't particularily careful about my eating until yesterday and I haven't exercised at all...unless you count chasing and lifting two toddlers and a 6 & 7 year old.

Here's my goal for this coming week: eat more carefully. Think about portion sizes. Spend 5 minutes a day (start small!) at least 3 times this week on the gazelle that's collecting dust in the basement.

So, this portion size thing. It's tricky. I don't know by sight what 4 oz of chicken is or even what a serving size should be of some things that I make. So, that's what I'll be working on this week. I know that measuring cups are super helpful. And knowing that a serving size of goldfish is 54 fish and that is equal to about 2/3 cup instead of counting out 54 fish everytime I have them is helpful. I have trail mix here, that serving is 3 tbsp. So, I get out the measuring spoon and put in a small bowl. And another for TJ to have, too. I have fruit and veggies in the house and don't measure those servings. But, if I'm having my 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, I only have half a pear and let TJ eat the rest. I measure my milk and cereal. I am more contious of reading labels. I've been pretty good about avoiding HFCS and aiming for more fiber (though I usually miss the mark on that one...I'm not too fond of salads without plenty of dressing.

And I really need to write down what's going in my mouth. I didn't realize that my 16 oz mug of hot cocoa is 300 calories and I have at least 3 of those a day. That's almost half of my calories for a day in just those 3 drinks.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of 2008...

Wear (GLASSES).

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, (GLASSES) would be it. The long-term benefits of (ABUSING YOUR CONTACTS) have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now..........................................

But trust me on the (GLASSES).

So, I had an eye doctor appointment today. I got "yelled" at. Apparently, the contacts that you can wear for 30 days shouldn't be. The eye dr said that most people can't tolerate them that long....imagine if he knew that most pairs stay in my eyes for MONTHS at a time without coming out. So, I have damaged my corneas. I am supposed to limit my contact wearing and wear my glasses as often as I possibly can. Two bits of "good" news with that....I get new glasses! Yay, hopefully something more trendy(I haven't picked them out yet)...and a bit timeless...(is there such a thing?!) Two, it's TOTALLY REVERSIBLE! So, provided I follow instructions (uh-oh! Didn't you read the last post? I'm not too good at that!), my eyes will be better. Bad news is that it can take up to a year to get better. ugh. A whole year of non-stop glasses wearing....foggy in the winter going in from outside and sliding off my nose in the summer time. But, I should be glad that it's correctable! Now, to find the time and money to go pick out my glasses and get them ordered...........

Life's Little Instructions...

Do you follow them? There are instructions every where I turn. Do this, don't do that. Today, I was working on a fairly large craft project. I have 5 of them to make, so I was going to knock them out today. I mean, it's only 5. I thought I'd have at least an hour where both babies were sleeping (ended up being a bit longer, yay!) and I'd have at least 2 of them done today. Goal was 5, settle for 2. Got that? Anywho.............it didn't turn out that way. It had nothing to do with me reading the instructions, THINKING I knew what I was doing and doing it wrong and getting frustrated with the stupid thing. Now that I've gone back and re-read the instructions, I know EXACTLY where I went wrong, but that was 4 hours ago...and I'm really no further ahead. (I haven't been working on it steady, just sporadically between laundry and other projects). So, I get to sit down and fix it....and hopefully make it work. ugh. So, loyal reader... (there's a poll here for you people that have me on a reader...)

poll by twiigs.com

Warm Fuzzy

Here's a warm fuzzy for you today:





Enjoy,

noreply-comment

I love comments. In fact, that's probably my favorite thing about blogging. I love knowing that something I'm saying or doing is enjoyed by and/or helping others. Maybe I'm just letting you know that you aren't alone in a situation. (Last week my two-year old fell down the concrete stairs at the library. Now he has a big ole gash between his eyes...that'll look GREAT for Christmas pictures! Surely I'm not the only mom with kids falling down the stairs....) So, on the RARE occassion that someone does comment, usually I can't reply because the comments come from "noreply-comment @ blogger. com" and like the address states, I can't reply. It's so sad! So, sometimes I have time to search that persons blog to get an e-mail address or reply to their post or they have no blog and I can't reply at all. So, here I am asking for you, my loyal readers, to do me a favor. Go here and read this tutorial....then follow it and come back here to leave me a comment. And I WILL reply! Simple!

Pretty please?

And the winner is..........

Thanks to the people at random.org the winner of the TOH Fast Fixes with Mixes Cookbook is #5....Kris P!!

YAY! Kris and I went to church together before we moved sooooooooooooo far away. We became good friends and I miss her! She has two of the cutest kids, too!!

I'll get that in the mail for you, Kris!

It's a CONSPIRACY!

Diet Cake: Day 1

Ok, I weighed in this morning at 180....that made me feel pretty good. I had been hovering about 183 and modified my eating a week or so ago. Yay me! So, if I'm gonna do this and do it half-way well, I'm gonna be reading and posting fitness and healthy eating tips over the next couple weeks. I believe in being educated. There is SO MUCH bad info out there, so I'll wade through it and post what I think is most helpful.

Today is that we need to eat enough. Yes, that means that you don't starve yourself to lose weight. Your body NEEDS fuel and to get that you need to eat enough calories. A yummy snack is cottage cheese with some fresh fruit on it...pears are so good with it (Yes, mother, I've been convereted to a pear eater). Try to eat 5-6 times a day. Keep your meals small, but eating more often, you don't need to eat large portions only 3 times a day. DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST. It's proven that people who eat a good breakfast lose more weight than those who don't.

We also need support. You can't "go it alone" and expect to have LONG LASTING weight loss. That's why weight watchers and other groups have meetings. You need the support of like-minded people to help you. Don't have the time and/or money for Weight Watchers? Join SparkPeople.com. I know I've mention them before but the same holds true now. There are some great tools on that website. They can give you a target calorie count and you can input what you are eating to make sure that you're getting what you need.

So, go check out the girls at Diet Cake and join me and the others for a great holiday challenge!

5-15 with PRIZES!

Do you want to lose 5, 10, maybe even 15 pounds? What are you waiting for?? Prizes? Hmm, that could POSSIBLY be arranged....The girls over at Diet Cake (click the link for the rules) are having a little contest . Between tomorrow (December 5th) and January 15th they are challenging you to lose weight. They are offering up a MYSTERY prize valued at "dozens of dollars"....isn't that tempting!! OOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! All you have to do is go to Diet Cake tomorrow and check in with your name and weight. Then, once a week until the 15th of January check in that you are still participating. Easy peasy!

I've gained back 3 of the 25 something pounds that I lost this spring, so I'm gonna join in with the hopes that I'm able to keep the holiday 15 off my hips this year. Maybe even lose another pants size...BOY wouldn't that be nice?? So, who wants to join me??

WFMW: Shop Local!

This year, I'm shopping locally for Christmas. Things that either I buy materials locally to make a project with or buy the gift already completed.

Thankfully, I have two places for GREAT gifts that are local.

The first is Oakridge Soap Company. They offer handmade soaps, bath salts and lotions. They also have a "miracle salve" that is wonderful! The scent is just amazing! TJ had eczema that no prescription could make any better, but this miracle salve did the trick. It's worked really well on owies around here, too. I have several scents of the soap bars and they're all wonderful, also. I was looking at the Blackberry Sage today and thinking that I need to go get some of that, also! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the lotion bars (Madagascar vanilla, please!). I have one (or maybe even 2) in my purse right now! I have one of the soap socks that they sell, too and they are wonderful! I have my shampoo bar in it and I love it (don't worry, Oakridge is working on a formula for a shampoo bar, so be patient, it's coming!!) Check them out online or come visit me and we'll take a little drive over there!

The other local place that I've tried is called Annie's Garden. They sell dip mixes and they are WONDERFUL! They were at a craft sale at The Grain Bin (another local business with AWESOME homemade breads and rolls, but no website, yet) and we sampled dips to our hearts content! I bought a few packs to tuck in some stockings or maybe I'll have to keep them. You just add the mix to one or two other ingredients like mayo/sour cream or cream cheese and you're good to go! They also sell some nifty looking pots.

And I'm sure I don't need to tell you all the benefits of buying locally and supporting our local businesses. So, if you're in the market for really nice, affordable, handmade gifts check them out and then check out Rocks In My Dryer for other helpful hints!

(Then, check out my post It's Over for a chance to win a TOH Cookbook!)

Crafty!

Did you know that my mother calls me "Martha"?? Tis true. I love baking and cooking and crafting, all GOOD THINGS for a martha-type to know and enjoy. And I love crafting with the kids, too. My little Rugby is the craft king, he just goes nuts for yarn and construction paper, add a little glue and I swear it's worse than a sugar buzz for the kid! So, a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a website that has some awesome ideas for crafting with the kidlets. It's called The Crafty Crow and EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. there's a new project! It's great! (And on Monday's there are giveawys, but you don't need to know that part. wink, wink!) So, check it out when you need a crafty little project with your kids! And come back after Christmas to see what awesome thing I made for the nephew and nieces this year! I don't know if it will top the appliqued bath towels or the fleece pillowcases, but it's pretty cool!

(And check out the post below for a giveaway from me!!)