I'm back. Again.

If there is anybody left who may be reading my blog...sorry for the long absence. This will probably be a random post of nonsense until I get back into the blogging groove. The last 5 months have been hectic. We've had alot of big changes in our world this year. My mom moved in with us, I started a new job, we lost our 15 year old yellow lab and both of my Grandmothers passed away. See what I mean? :)

Since it's been a long day, I won't elaborate on all that now. We've also been remodeling our basement, and I'm happy to say it's looking fantastic, and we are already getting lots of good use out of it. Tonight, I am sitting next to Cole on the loveseat while the family watches "River Monsters". Interesting show.

My weight loss journey has been....stagnant. Actually, I've gained 15 pounds back since January. Sigh. I just can't seem to get back in my groove. Frustrating, since I still have about 60 pounds left to go. I'm still following a vegetarian diet...with the occassional chicken or fish.

I planted my flowers and garden last weekend!! We have had such a wet Spring that I was beginning to think I'd never get my planting done. I was able to use my compost from last year in my garden...whoohoo!!

We had a busy year with Cub Scouts...Cole finished his second year and will be a first year Webelo next year. Paco will also be taking over as Cubmaster of our pack. I know he will do a great job, and will need alot of help! We are excited for family camp in a few weeks, it's always our favorite event of the year.

That's it for tonight's update...I'm hoping to get back to semi-regular blogging ...I've got lots to say, even if there's no one around to read it :)

Sanctus Real Lead Me.mp4

Why I love church.

Happy Valentines Day! If you don't have a Valentine, be your own and treat yourself!

Go #5!!

I have NOT been on my best behavior these days when it comes to my weight loss. Last summer I hit the 70lb weight loss mark, and have been struggling to budge from there since. I gain 8 pounds, then lose it, then get confident and sabotage myself all over again. How do I get back into that "groove" I was in? Working out 5 days a week, impeccable on my eating, drinking plenty of water? Hmmmm. I'm having a hard time getting back into that mindset. I've got 60 pounds left to go and I want to just get it done!

On to other things. Work has been great. I'm really busy, but great nonetheless. I have tons of help, which allows me to get to the little things and fine tune everythign. The people are wonderful...I see lots of new friendships. This is something I've been missing since I transferred to the new location. I have really been missing a handful of people from my old work. It takes a long time to form those kinds of bonds, and talking on the phone or texting just isn't the same. Overall, I know that God knew the desires of my heart and led me here for a reason. Most days I actually am anxious to get to work, and the days just always go by too fast!!

We are having some work done around the house.  Sheetrock, electrical work, new lighting, etc. Still trying to get the family room finished downstairs. We are also carpeting 3 of the bedrooms. Unfortunately we really wanted to re-carpet the family room, but money is tight and that will have to wait a few months. The total carpet bid came back at 5k!! Yikes! Everything turns out to be so much more expensive than you think it will be!

We started going to a new church a few weeks ago. We loved our old one but it was just TOO big and far away. With that many people, its difficult to make connections if you aren't in a small group. So, we are really enjoying Eastpoint, and we have friends that go there as well which always makes it more fun. It's very contemporary and "hip", which makes it feel not like "church" at all. Our kiddos love it too! The kids and I have started doing devotionals every evening, and if I forget about it they always remind me. I've noticed a difference already in our family after getting back into our church routine. Im going into work tomorrow and am so dissapointed to miss it. Luckily, we can watch the service on podcast on our TV, so we can still do church from home!

What a bunch of babbling. I'll forgive you if you scroll down and don't read all of it. HA!! Happy Saturday to all!

Tonight I dropped Gracie off at basketball practice and am currently camped out in Starbucks with my laptop and a coffee. Coffee at 7pm....could prove to be a bad decision, but I don't care. It's quiet and I'm relaxed.

Life has been a blur the past several months. We moved my mom and grandmother out of their place and are struggling to sell it now. My Grandmother is living in a nursing home and my Mom is living with us. We have all been adapting to our new "normal".

 I started a new job last month. Actually, same job, just a new location...and I love it. Everyone is really nice and I've got plenty of projects planned to keep myself busy. This change has really renewed my passion for my work and has me excited to get to work again. It's a great feeling. It just all feels so much easier now...I wish I had made this change years ago when I started to feel the job wearing on me. Sometimes it really does feel like things all work out for a reason.

Well, my free time is up, better go get my girl!!

Today (again)

• a rare morning when I get to send the kids off to school
• tell Gracie she has crazy bed-head hair
• peanut butter banana smoothie with coconut milk
• coffee, and more coffee
• morning devotional
• laundry, and more laundry
• a {VERY} rare day when I have a day off with my husband!
• carpet shopping
• hitting the gym {5th day straight!}
• buy bread {man this house goes through the bread!}
• pay bills
• schedule Dr. appointments
• buy treats for tonight's cub scout pack party
• hmmmm....what to make for dinner?
• homework with the kiddos
• sneak in last night's episode of Desperate Housewives (priorities!)
• only 15 hours until I can climb back into bed!

Today

• one last day to hang out with my old work buddies
• a jalapeno bagel for breakfast
• lots of hugs from my buddy Joe
• a cookie "incident" with Amanda
• neck rubs for two of my best buds at work (sounds weirder than it was)
• a bittersweet relationship
• smoothie-makin' with my new blender
• watching the kids make paper snowmen
• giving my husband a hard time about breaking the microwave only minutes after fixing our furnace
• glitter all over the carpet from snowman craft time 
• new "black orchid" lipstick
• missing Amanda and my "guys" already
• enjoying the feeling of having my 7 year old almost moved back out of our bedroom
• Brrrrr...it's cold outside!
• anxious to get back to my new job tomorrow...lots of plans 
• thinking its about time for a visit to the Brick House
• so happy that my husband cleaned out his "Dad" basket
• looking forward to another day of adventure tomorrow

Life changes

December was an eventful month to say the least. I am SO glad its over and we can get back to some sort of "normalcy". I feel like I am constantly in overdrive mode. If I'm not working, then there's always something around the house that needs attention, tons of unfinished projects, homework, bills, and so on. It's so hard for me to shut down and relax....I've never really been wired that way.

Speaking of working, I started a new job this past week. I had been asked a few times if I would be willing to transfer to a new location by that store manager (who is also a great friend), but I was never too interested because I was already working for someone I really looked up to. Long story short, things fell apart (not related to me) at my old job, and my new boss called me again and this time I agreed to transfer. I am really glad I did. It feels good to be in a new (and much nicer!) location!! The people are wonderful and It's fun to be able to come in and really shine at what I do. I really looked forward to getting to work every day last week. My new boss is AWESOME to work for, I love him. He's been a good friend of Paco's for years. As a bonus, I am much closer to home and don't have a giant scary hill to worry about in the winter. My commute has went from 30 minutes to 10 minutes.

We've been presented with several new challenges over the past few months, and I keep reminding myself that somewhere behind all the mess God has a plan at work. My mother in law gave me a great devotional book that I sit down with every morning with my coffee and a candle. It helps me quiet my mind and change my attitude for the day. One of my goals for the new year is to get our family back to church regularly...I can feel the void since we haven't been going regularly for the past few months.

The kids and I went to Yakima for New Year's. My sister and brother in law were here from Virginia and we had a fantastic New Year's eve celebration....to celebrate their wedding in October. SO. FUN. I'll post pictures later today.

On another note, Gracie has her first Upward basketball game this morning...she is very excited! Go Gracie!