Tagged!

I was tagged!  If you read this, consider yourself tagged and update with your information on your own blog then link to me.


1. What time did you get up this morning?  7:00

2. How do you like your steak?  Medium Rare

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?  New Moon!  Loved it!

4. What is your favorite TV show? The Office and How I Met Your Mother

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?  Florida

6. What did you have for breakfast?  Same as always ... one egg white, turkey sausage and 1/2 slice of american cheese on a whole wheat english muffin and water.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?  Mexican ... chips, salsa and margarita from Chili's - YUM!

8. What foods do you dislike?  There's not much I don't like.  Fish is not my favorite.

9. Favorite Place to Eat?  Anywhere in Disney World.

10. Favorite dressing?  Balsamic

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?  Toyota Sienna

12. What are your favorite clothes?  Jeans

13. Where would you visit, this weekend, if you had the chance?  Disney World

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?  1/2 full

15. Where would you want to retire?  Florida

16. Favorite time of day?  Bedtime

17. Favorite literary character?  Edward Cullen (Yep, I'm a tween!)

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?  I don't like watching sports, but if I had to choose, it would be watching basketball with Dan.

19. How many siblings?  NONE!

20. Favorite pastime/hobby?  Reading, cooking, shopping, running (in the warm months!)

21. If you had a night off to yourself, what would you do?  Go on a date with Dan.

22. Bird watcher?  Yes - when the dogs don't chase them away.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?  Morning

24. Do you have any pets?  Yes - 2 dogs, 2 gerbils and a fish.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?  66 days until Disney!

26. What did you want to be when you were little?  A mom.  I'm so lucky to be doing what I always wanted to do!

27. What is your best childhood memory?  Going to Rocky Point, sleepovers.

28. Are you a cat or dog person?  Dog

29. Are you married?  Yep, 12 years and counting!

30. Always wear your seat belt?  YES!

31. Been in a car accident?  Yes, only fender-benders - thank goodness!

32. Any pet peeves?  Close-mindedness

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?  Mushrooms and I also love the Hawiian BBQ Chicken from Papa John's.

34. Favorite Flower?  Tulips

35. Favorite ice cream?  Cookies and Cream in a sugar cone.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?  Five Guys

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?  Never

38. From whom did you get your last email?  Facebook

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?  Kohl's

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?  Filled out this questionnaire.

41. Like your job?  Love it!

42. Broccoli?  Love it!

43. What was your favorite vacation?  Disney 2008 - our first trip with Sarah & Katie.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?  Dan and my parents - went to The Rainforest Cafe for Dan's birthday.

45. What are you listening to right now?  Sarah and Katie playing their DS's.

46. What is your favorite color?  Purple

47. How many tattoos do you have?  None!

48. How many people will fill this out?  Not sure

49. You're given $10 to spend within the next 30 minutes - what do you buy?  A bottle of wine.

50. Coffee Drinker?  Yes - love makingpumkin spice coffee with my Kuerig.

I'm tagging:  http://ladyofthehousespeaking.blogspot.com/
I don't know anyone else with a blog, so if you're reading this, send me an email with your answers!

I'm back!

Yikes!  I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. 
Here are some updates: 
I did finish the Twilight series, and immediately went into Twilight withdrawals when it was all over.  I was so excited that I got to see New Moon in the theater.  Now I'm waiting for it to come out in DVD in March, and the next movie is coming out in June.  I can't wait for that!  I started The Host, which is Stephanie Meyer's other book, but I haven't gotten to read it much ... more on why later!

I am in such an exercise rut right now.  I just cannot get motivated to do anything.  My mom and I have been taking an exercise class on Sunday mornings - which was great - except that it ended this Sunday, and we decided to skip our last class.  I made it to level 2 on Jillian Michael's Shred, but haven't been keeping up with it.  I think I was doing something wrong, because my knees really started to bother me.  Really, it's not just an excuse!  I know I should try to find something else to keep active, but I just don't feel like it.  I know this is just a funk that I'm in right now, and it WILL pass.  I will be motivated again, I'm just not sure when that will be.  I am looking forward to starting up running again - as soon as the weather warms up a little bit.  Really ... it's not just an excuse ... I swear...

Okay, so here's the reason I haven't been reading my book ... we're going to Disney World in May!  69 days from today, we'll be there!  I'm sure everyone knows how much I love Disney.  I'm just not sure if everyone understands why, and I'm also not sure if I can fully explain it.  Sure, it's a vacation, everyone loves vacations.  But it is so much more to me.  It's the feeling of excitement and anticipation that I get to share with my husband and daughters; planning and talking about our favorite rides and places to eat, and which characters we want to meet.  It's the time I spend with Sarah and Katie making a countdown chain and calendar.  It's the time we take to tear a link off the chain and add a Mickey to the calendar every day, and talk about how many days are left until we leave.  When we're in Disney World, we enjoy being together as a family without any distractions or stress.  Dan and I get to be kids again, with our kids!  Yes, we love all the rides, but the best part is just being there, experiencing everything together.  We've been fortunate to be able to go to Disney for the past 2 years.  This trip in May will be our 3rd trip as a family.  It does cost a lot of money to go, and we are not rich.  These trips just mean so much to us that we just find a way to go.  Life is too short, the girls will only be young once.  Soon enough they'll be too embarassed to be seen with me and Dan.  We're taking every opportunity we have to spend time with them enjoying the magic of Disney.  Although, I do hope that we're creating two fellow life-long Disney lovers, and are able to continue our Disney family traditions throughout their lives.  Sarah has already told me that she plans to get married at Disney!  I guess we should start saving up now ...

Hooked!

I'd heard so much about the Twilight books and movies, but it just didn't seem like my "thing."  I'm very easily scared ~ I can't even watch shows like CSI or 48 Hours.  Don't even get me started on horror movies.  I can't even watch the previews for horror movies.  I knew that the Twilight books and movies weren't considered "horror," but I did know they involved vampires.  I've never been a fan of vampire stories.  Even when Tom Cruise (who I was in love with for most of my young-adulthood) was in Interview with a Vampire, I was NOT impressed - yuck!  Recently, a friend of mine invited me to a "girls night out" to watch Twilight.  I was really going more for the company than the movie.  Before it started I even asked if it was scary ~ it is about vampires!  I really enjoyed the movie, and thought I should take a stab at the book.  From the moment I started the first book, Twilight, I have been hooked!  Of course the book is better than the movie, but it was also nice to already have a face for each character in my head.  It IS a love story, which I'm always a sucker for, but I never imagined that I would be so involved in the story - and actually in "love" with the vampire myself!  I love that it is a unique story to me, nothing like I've ever read before.  I've been reading non-stop for 3 days now.  I just finished the second book in the series, New Moon.  I feel bad that my husband has been a widow and my kids have been motherless for those three days.  I also feel bad that my new little blog is being neglected, not to mention that I haven't read any other blogs for days!  So, this morning when I finished the second book, I decided not to buy the new one until I got some things accomplished.  So far I've done some laundry, cleaned the bathroom, kitchen and living room, and now I'm writing this post.  I've gotten so much done!  But I have to admit that even while I was doing all this, I was still thinking about Edward, Bella and all of my vampire friends!  So, right now I'm thinking I really did get a lot done, and it just might be time to head to Target to pick up a few things ... and if a certain black book about vampires should end up in my cart ... it wouldn't be so bad, but ... you may not hear from me again for a few days ...

Exercise Goals

Exercise was never my thing.  Even when I lost 40 lbs in 2007, I didn't exercise.  I lost the weight using the Weight Watchers points plan.  Once I lost the weight, I found that maintenance was harder than losing.  I was determined not to gain the weight back, but I also wanted a little more "wiggle room" in my diet.  ("Wiggle room" meaning pizza, burgers, cheese fries etc...)  I found that letting myself eat those things on the weekend made it so much easier to get through the week.  But, in order to keep the weight off, I decided that I needed to get active.  That's the balance I needed to keep, the rules I needed to follow - PERIOD. 

So, last year I set a goal to complete the Couch to 5K running plan.   http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml.  I really was starting from the couch - this was my first try at exercising.  I started training in June and finished in September.  At the end of the program I was able to run 3 miles.  I couldn't believe that I actually did it!  I've never done anything like that before in my life.  I'd always wanted to start running, but thought I couldn't do it.  I credit much of my motivation to Roni over at http://www.ronisweigh.com/.  I sent her an email the day I finished the program to let her know how much she has inspired and motivated me with her blog, and she posted
it: http://ronisweigh.com/2009/09/weekend-quote-so-i-tried-it-and-i-did-it.html.  I was super excited!

The one thing I haven't done is to actually run a 5K race.  Once the cold weather came, I discovered that I am NOT a cold weather runner.  I have no problems running in humid, 90 degree heat - but I just CANNOT get my butt out the door when it's 30 degrees!  I tried running on the treadmill, but it's just not the same.  I was checking the time every 30 seconds - even with the TV on.  So, I haven't actually run since mid-November.  One of my goals for this year is to run a 5K race.  Once the weather gets warmer, I WILL start running again.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to go back to running 5K right away, but I've done it before and I know I can do it again. 

In the meantime, last week I started doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.  http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/dp/B00127RAJY  It's a great workout and it only takes 20 minutes.  Plus, you get in strength, cardio and abs.  There are 3 levels - you do each level for 10 days.  I did it 4 days last week, and I plan to do the same this week.  My other goal is to complete the 30 Day Shred.  It will take me longer than 30 days - but that's okay!  At least I'm doing SOMETHING!

I'm writing out these goals because I need to acomplish them, and seeing them in print makes them so much more real.  They go from being a thought in my head to an actual statement.  I WILL NOT gain the 40 lbs back!  I will stay active!  I need to exercise if I want to keep this maintenance going.  After all, I still need to visit my "guys" every now and then ... FIVE GUYS and Papa Johns!



I entered Roni's Souper Duper Contest!
Check out Roni’s Weight Loss Blog for more information.

Before, After and the Little Things

Well, here it is. My first post.  I'm just getting right into it.

Last weekend we finally redecorated our bedroom.  (By "we" I mean I picked everything out, and my dear husband helped me move furniture and paint.)  I'm happy with the way it came out.  I just wish our budget allowed for a more drastic change.  Let me first start off by saying that we "inherited" our furniture from very generous relatives.  It's nice, sturdy furniture ~ it's just not at all not quite what I would have chosen.  So I've been challenged with decorating the room around the "lovely" furniture.  Also, since I couldn't re-mortgage my house to pay $80/window for curtains, $250 for a new comforter set and $40 each for some throw pillows, I settled for making curtains and pillows that matched my ugly current comforter.

So, here are the "before" pictures:

And here are the "after" pictures:

Of course, I need a hidden mickey:

And, one of the best things about having a 5 year old to hang out with is finding fun in the little things:

She did it!!!

I still want to add some small touches.  I'm anxiously waiting to use my 30% off coupon at Kohl's tomorrow, where I will find some fabulous deals on items that match my color scheme perfectly... well, a girl can hope, right?