It's a Bird, It's a Plane...No, it's...

my Christmas break flying by!

It will be super hard to go back to school on Monday, since my kiddos don't go back until Thursday! I was happy that I got some good reading in though...I read the entire Hunger Games series last week. It was so good! The movie will be fantastic!

Anyway, we have been so busy during our time "at home." I have hit the gym 7 of the last 10 days. Go me! Lefty usually goes with me, but her time available for workouts will be slim when school starts up again because of cheer. Basketball season ends in a month though, so that should free up some time for her. She had a winter semi-formal to go to on our first day home. She went looking like this...

The very next day we hosted our first round of Christmas. It was a giant spaghetti supper with hubby's family. There were a few minor mishaps (spaghetti in the floor...twice, and a broken dish), but it was pretty perfect. As anti-social as I am, I always love hosting get togethers at our house. This was a great pic of all the kids!

On Monday, I got mah hair did. That and a trip to Wal-Mart took pretty much the whole day. Tuesday brought 9 teen-agers to our house for a 'movie night.' They didn't watch a single movie.

After that, the week was spent wrapping gifts and getting ready for the rest of our Christmases. In all, we had four, and they were all terrific! We went to my dad's on Friday, where this little guy and his big gift were the spotlight all night...he kept asking...'open pehsents now? I eat, open pehsents?'

Then there was Christmas with my mom at our house...my nephew 'Little Boy' loves opening presents...no matter whose they are!

And Christmas morning, before kiddos took over, looked like...

After kiddos, it looked like Christmas threw up in our living room!

My precious family gave me some great gifts! 

This was all of our trash after the big day...

And on the day after Christmas, hubs and I had a shopping date! I always treasure the days he and I get to spend out and about (or just home) alone together.We braved the crowds (which were really pretty non-existent), a pouring rain, and had PF Chang's for lunch. Yum! This was the haul for the trip home...

The girlies and hubby worked together to put the new net on the trampoline. They told me to blog it.

 Then, maybe best day of all...perfect hubby built me shelves so that I could finally organize my craft room! He says he will build some more to finish it. I was so excited to get it situated the way I wanted and to have workable work spaces for quilts and other crafts.

 The two newest additions to my wreath stash are these. But I actually sold the last one! Woo hoo!

There are only three days left of my break. I imagine half of one will be spent at school, the rest...who knows!

Craft Run

Well my dears, I believe I have been bitten...by the craft bug! When hubs asked if I wanted to get away this weekend, my SECOND thought (and first question) was, "Can I go to Joann?" Precious man that he is, said yes! So while I am currently hooked up with projects, I went ahead and got a few little things for the next couple of quilts, as well as added to my beginner stash of quilting tools and supplies.

1. Beginning with the fabrics...

It looks brown here, but it is a purple floral.

Black, red, and white...Lefty's school colors for her quilt.

The black was the first bolt I grabbed...it has treble clefs and music notes, super cute but understated!

2. Then on to notions...

Batting (80/20 blend), stencil, measuring guide, thimble, and quilting pins.

3. Finally the books...oh the books...

Quite possibly my favorite purchase of the weekend! The Civil War Sewing Circle book is amazing! Excerpts from letters and diaries written during the Civil War, depicting how integral quilting was to women's lives during that time. LOVE!!!

Monday Weigh In Again

The scale said I was up a pound today from last Monday. Since I did 4 work-outs, only had one soda, drank a lakeful of water (sure seemed like it), and felt like I had no appetite, I was really disturbed by the gain. I won't continue to ramble about my disgust at myself, I will spare you the horror! For the coming week, my plan is to pull another 4 work-outs and drop 3 pounds (the one I gained back, plus 2 more).

This past weekend brought us ah-may-zing weather! I was so glad we had all of our babies here for such a beautiful couple of days. It was 78 degrees on Saturday, and close to that on Sunday...in January! We took a great walk around the neighborhood, Chris played kickball with the kiddos, and I helped Boo do some final projects for her room. The final results are adorable!

 We splatter-painted 8x8 canvases with various shades of the colors used in her room decor. I found some metal alphabet cut-outs to spell out her name on them. We will use these as a centerpiece for her wall.

 She also splatter-painted some longer canvas to flank the sides of her full length mirror. This project was so easy! We were worried about the technique and tools to make it work right, but had no problems...even 7 year old Loo helped!

The lamp was an $8 plain canvas shade on a chrome stand. We added a bit of fluff and some buttons...and got mega cuteness!

Also this weekend, I finished reading the user guide to my Kindle. I downloaded 4 new books, including the sequel to Beautiful Creatures, and I am so totally in love with this machine! It fits perfectly in my hands, reads so easy, and is great for carrying anywhere I need to go. Flippin' awesome! So here is my 'book nook:'

Happy parenting, crafting, and reading!!!



And so the story ends...

or actually it doesn't. Not since the dawn of the Harry Potter series anyway. Nothing against Harry Potter, just all of the series books in general. I began reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl last week with the hope of actually reading a book with a storyline that ENDED! No luck. I get to the 563rd page to find there is a sequel. Dammit.

Now, I have never attempted to write a book, so maybe finishing a story is harder than the average reader might think. However, it is becoming increasingly annoying to never get to the resolution. I have been a novel reader since birth. Okay, not birth, but my Nanny started me reading historical romances and Christian romances when I was 10. Those stories always had a beginning, middle, and an end...all in one book, not three (or six)! As did the amazing Mary Higgins Clark books that enthralled me through my pre-teen years, or the Kathleen Woodiwiss novels from that same time period.

Is the problem that there is truly such difficulty in finishing a story...or that there is more money to be made by continuing it? That is what Chris thinks. He is probably right. He tends to be that way. Right, that is. Anywho, Warner Bros just signed a deal a few months ago to turn this series into movies. So there I have it. Money. It's all about the money...not the story. Who knew?

Monday Weigh In #4

Right about now is typically when I get discouraged and quit. I could definitely see myself doing that this time too...but I know that my lack of progress is my own damn fault. The scale read at 161.2 again this morning. Disappointing to say the least, especially since on Saturday morning I weighed in at 159.1. I was sick all weekend and took in less than 1800 calories over 2 days, but I did not exercise at all. In fact, from 11:00 Saturday night till 5:30 this morning, I was only awake a total of 6 hours. My exercise total for the week was 4 days, which is also discouraging. I put in that extra day, and still did not lose. Even so, I did work-out today and was very careful with my food/liquids, including drinking 4 bottles of water!

Goals for weigh in #5 (week 4):

• 5 workouts
• 3 bottles of water per day
• 2 lbs weight loss

On a more positive and very exciting note, I got a Kindle Saturday! I have yet to take it out of the box though, because when I do, it's all I'm going to want to do for a while...and I still have a real book to read! My plan is to wait until my book is almost finished, and then open it up to charge and possibly start downloading a book or two...any suggestions?

Holiday Hustle and Bustle!

Wow, a lot of time has passed since I was here! We made it through our first Christmas together as a family with no major mishaps...in fact, it was perfect! AND....I must confess...Chris did put up lights on the exterior of the house! I was in shock, and the picture does not do it justice...I came home from work one day and saw...

He had taken half a day off of work to surprise me! What a wonderful man I married!

The holiday season has been full of shopping, wrapping, baking, crafting...fun! All four kids have seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. We took each of them shopping for each other individually and they did such a good job of picking out gifts. We are just blessed, there is no other way to describe it.

My Christmas surprises included a triple-decker crock pot, "Eclipse" DVD, several CDs, new lotion, touch screen sensitive gloves, AND...

 gorgeous diamond earrings...AND...

a perfect Coach bag for my collection (obsession)!  It sparkles!!!

I have finished the books in both of the series' that I was working on...Gone and Hush, Hush, as well as The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I picked up a random book in Target a few weeks ago called Saving Max that I definitely recommend. It was one that I literally could not put down. I was buried in it for about five hours. So, given that I have finished all of the books in my possession, I was glad to receive a new series from my brother for Christmas, "Seasons of Grace," by Beverly Lewis. I have started the first book, and so far, it is ok...not gripping, not compelling me to read it, but ok...

Weekend Aftermath

So, after a weekend with a houseful of kiddos, Chris and I are at a bit of an crossroads. What do you do about children who are not bad, by any means...but who will not pick up after themselves? Our four need constant following or reminders or flat out threats to pick up their messes! We both are exhausted from the constant picking up and haranguing at them. Now, the kiddos are ages 7, 9, 11, and 13; completely capable of putting away their own laundry, placing dishes in the dishwasher, and putting toys/shoes/jackets away when they are not in use. However, no such thing ever happens, and then when it is time for them to go back to their 'other homes,' they must spend 2 hours cleaning up before we can leave, OR Chris and I end up having to do it. I tend to refuse. I believe that kids need to learn responsibility for their things/actions and that unless those habits are developed in childhood, they will be lazy/sloppy adults. We have both talked till we are blue in the face over it...it seems that the next 'kid weekend' will begin with the parents 'laying down the law.' I wish I had taken pictures of the chaos that was my house during multiple occasions this weekend so that you could get the gist of what I am saying!

Something that will be coming soon  are pictures of my low-calorie creations! We have been pleased with the results of my low-cal dinners, which have included chicken cacciatore and homemade french dip sandwiches. Hopefully now that E is finished with football season, we can get consistent with an exercise program. My weight at the doctor's office two weeks ago was 161 lbs. Because I tend to obsess over the numbers, I am not going to step on a scale until my next doctor visit (which is schedule for the week before Christmas). I would like to see a 10 lb loss by then (more would be great, but 10 is acceptable). It is my goal to give updates on my program progress 3 times a week or more.

Good Reads:  I finished the sequel to Hush, Hush last week; definitely a series that I would recommend. However, it is listed as a 'teen novel,' which I am not so sure of...it was a bit...religiously scary, for lack of a better description. I had also read a book entitled Gone, which was pretty good (another 'teen novel'), and it had a sequel as well called Hunger. I was able to finish it today. Excellent, and I can't wait to read the third in that series, Lies.

Happy Halloween!

Today was a lovely day with my lovely man! We spent it doing odd things around the house, including planning a 'diet menu' for the week's meals (blah) and doing the shopping for 'diet groceries.' The plan is to take in approximately 600 calories through the day (before dinner), and then have a low-cal meal for dinner. We also both exercised for a bit tonight while we watched 'Stomp the Yard: Homecoming.' I put in 31 minutes on the treadmill, did 50 crunches, and a short arm workout with 3 lb weights. He did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 6 minutes of arm workout with 10 - 15 lb weights.

I am a kindergarten teacher and have to tear pages from the workbooks that I use so that the students don't obliterate the entire thing the first week, and just finished tearing one set tonight. I have been doing a chapter every other week, which works out that they are ready as needed, but I am tired of looking at the box sitting in the dining room. I will have to work on more through the week to get them done.

There was good news on the financial front today, as I think I have a renter for my house. It has been sitting empty since Chris and I got married in August, and that has been really weighing on my mind. Hopefully this renter will work out, as it is an old friend from high school and I think she will take good care of the house while she is there. Unfortunately, it means that Chris and I will be scurrying around to get it ready for a renter over the next few weeks.

Good Reads:  Last night I finished a book called 'Hush, Hush' by Becca Fitzpatrick, only to discover that there is a sequel. I picked it up at the bookstore today and hope that I won't be too creeped out by it.