My Fitness Pal

I just joined My Fitness Pal and am excited to get started tomorrow.

I am hoping that by using My Fitness Pal to track calories and fitness, it will be just what I need to shake the last of my 'baby' weight and then some. I have been trying to get back into Weight Watchers, but have had such a hard time doing so and I'm really hoping that something new will help to do the trick.

Does any of you use My Fitness Pal? If so, any suggestions or comments?

What I'm Reading

Lately I can't get enough reading done. I have always enjoyed reading and one of the things on my 101 in 1001 list (which I still haven't posted!) is to read 20 new books and I am well on my way.

Yesterday I spent my whole lunch hour sitting outside in the sun reading this book I borrowed from the library the night before:The book itself is okay. It's an easy read, but really isn't overly exciting. I have read a few lately that I am absolutely loving including The Lakeshore Chronicles by Susan Wiggs. I am only halfway through this series but Susan's writing is so captivating and I love this series.

Another book that I really thought was cute (and again an easy read) was The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Stohmeyer. I'm excited to check out some of her other books soon.

What have you been reading? Any good reading suggestions?

Blogger Is Driving Me Nuts

Is anyone else having some major issues with blogger?

Lately, whenever I add pictures to a post, it seems as though the spacing goes all wonky and there is no way to fix it.

If I go to my dashboard I can't see the blogs I am following...this is just new over the past couple of days and it drives me nuts! I know I can use google reader, but sometimes I just want to use the dashboard.

I've also had some scheduled posts not post when scheduled.

Sorry for the rant, but am I the only one experiencing this nonsense?

Raven over at A Momma's Desires and Pacifiers is having a really fun giveaway, with loads of goodies.

If you don't know Raven, GO right now and check her out. She's a blast and you will honestly LOVE her blog. I have only been following her blog for a few weeks now and I can tell you that she is a beautiful, tell it like it is, fun loving woman with two adorable boys. (And she loves wine as much as I do!) The only down fall, she has creepy snakes in her area...I just discovered this today and am totally freaked out and now she has threatened to post pictures...yuck...but I'll tough it out just for you Raven. ;)

Some of the things include...wait a minute...actually I'm not going to tell you, go check it out for yourself...or not...because if you don't, maybe I'll have a better chance of winning.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day to all of you amazing ladies out there. Whether you are a mother, grandmother, aunt, sister or friend, you are truly amazing and deserve to celebrate this special day.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom. I am the person I am today because of her and am so blessed to have someone so loving and special in my life.

Packing Heat

Every time I am packing for a weekend away at my parents, I always have a few things that I need to bring.

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For some reason, using someone else's is always awkward and results in troublesome, unruly hair.

Do you have products or items that you must use?

Due Date

I have been agonizing over this date since December 18th, 2010. I wasn't sure how I would feel or how I would make it here...I was sure that I would be a total mess when this day came.

Today was our due date for Lauryn and so far I haven't cried nor do I feel the need to. I am thinking of Lauryn A LOT today and wishing that she was here and that I was able to snuggle our sweet baby girl in my arms, but unfortunately that won't happen and I've come to terms with it.

Instead of focusing on what could have been, I am focusing on what is. I am thankful that everything that happened went as well as it could have, thankful that I was able to have Lauryn in my life (if only in the womb), thankful that Lauryn never had to be in pain or suffer, but most of all, I am thankful for what I have been blessed with.

I have been blessed with...

A healthy, happy, adorable little boy who is the light of my life and a handsome and caring husband

A family who supports me through everything and lifts me up when I need it most

And friends who are the worlds best

As you can imagine, all of the above make for one happy girl.

Don't get me wrong, today is definitely a tough day, but focusing on the positive is the best that I can do and it's helping.

Love you baby girl. xxx

So What Wednesday

I'm linking up with Shannon from Life After I "Dew" today for the first time and here is what I am saying so what to...

- if blogger is acting up and won't let me add in the So What Wednesday button as a link and I totally had to swipe Shannon's button

- if I am jumping on the bandwagon today, at least 7 of the bloggers I follow participated in todays So What Wednesday

- if I have nothing to blog about lately, my mind is blank when it comes to ideas and we have a lot going on right now

- if I have zero motivation to count my points this week and wake up at 5 a.m. to run? I did super well last week and loved it, but not so much this week

- if I couldn't care a less about the election we just had on Monday, Osama being killed or the Royal Wedding, all I care about is Pippa and Harry hooking up

- if that's all I got

10 Things I Love

Annie at Our Little Family tagged me in "10 Things I Love". The rules are:

State who tagged you:

Annie at Our Little Family, she has the sweetest family ever with two adorable children...little Blake and baby Olivia, go and visit if you don't already know her, you won't be sorry I promise.

State 10 things you love:

1. My family (of course!) and friends...I have a great husband (Ryan) and an adorable son (Cole), along with amazing parents (and in-laws), sisters & brothers (in-laws included) and nieces & nephews. I am also so blessed to have so many great friends who are always there, you can read about one of them here.

2. Shopping...what girl doesn't love shopping really?! I love to browse online all the time and even more love clothes shopping.

3. Renovating...this is a new love/hate that we have just recently begun to discover. We love the finished look of the project, however, the cost and overall time consumed...not so much. Bathroom pictures to come as soon as I find the perfect shower curtain (open to suggestions...looking for something to match gray).

4. Flip fops...I LOVE FLIP FLOPS...there is nothing better than when the snow melts away and the sun and warm weather finally come to stay. I broke out the flip flops 2.5 weeks ago and aside from work I don't take them off.

5. Summer...Flip flops, sun, tans, warm weather, swimming, boating, fishing, BBQs, parties, wedding season, I could go on and on.

6. Food...I love to eat (hence being constantly 20lbs heavier than I'd like to be). Favorites are shwarmas, anything Mexican, burgers, chocolate, popcorn, butternut squash fries...k, now I am hungry!

7. Water...You will RARELY find me without a bottle of water on hand.

8. Social media...I'll admit it...I'm a Facebook, Twitter and Blogger junkie...anyone else? ;)

9. Grey's Anatomy...Meredith + Derek - need I say more?

10. Travelling...our last trip was to Turks and Caicos for our honeymoon last June and it was by far the most amazing place I have been yet. I can't wait to go back again and to travel to new and exciting places.

Tag 10 friends and tell them about it.

1. Lena @ Mom2MemphisandRuby

2. Lindsay @ A Small Town Life

3. Ana @ Adventures in the District

4. Amanda @ Baby Bear Blog

5. Stacy @ Blogging with Stacy

6. Nan @ Dancy Days

7. Jennifer @ Small Town Life

8. Danielle @ A Day In The Life

9. Beth @ Just Me And My Life

10. Jill @ Jill's World

And of course anyone else who wants to join in the fun!

P.S. What the heck is with Bloggers spacing issues?!?

What I've Been Up To

Besides being in the middle of a bathroom renovation (Ryan) and my house being completely upside down, I have been attempting to get my craft on. If you know me, you know that I have no artistic abilities, no talents and no patience. I'm pretty much boring. BUT, lately I have seen so many cute little things all over blogs that I had to try my hand at something. So many ladies have made adorable wreaths and I needed something new for my front door. In honor of Spring (even though we had freezing rain this morning!), I have made the wreath below and will be hanging it up very soon (as soon as I add some more to it).

The colors aren't exactly as they are in real life...a little weird looking in this picture

Any suggestions for a little added fun?

This beautiful Mommy-to-be is 35 weeks and is looking absolutely fabulous! Some of the fire department gang got together on Sunday to help celebrate Katie, Jason and little Baby Jackson. I made two little onesies pictured below (excuse the terrible quality of the pictures).

That's my excitement and while it may not be much to most, it really is for me. I rarely do anything creative or crafty and this is the extent of it. I'm going to continue to try my hand at being crafty, here's hoping it gets better and better.

Hopefully the bathroom renovations will be completed tonight and I can get some pictures up for everyone to see...Ryan did a fantastic job!

Do you have any easy, fun craft suggestions?

Comments

Back in February Taylor posted about the things she's learnt about blogging and it definitely helped me out with some questions I had but never wanted to ask or never bothered to learn on my own. One of the things that she mentioned was enabling your e-mail. There are few things more frustrating than seeing this when I want to reply to a comment by e-mail... noreply-comment@blogger.com . Please oh please enable your e-mail... I love getting comments and equally love responding to them, but I can't if you don't have your e-mail enabled. So, please go to your dashboard, click on edit profile, then click on 'show e-mail' and then save! Voila, that easy and then you can continue your conversation by e-mail. Just a thought in case anyone isn't aware of this or how to do it.

I Think It's Time...

for a hair cut!

Look What I Got...

{from Google images}

Christmas came early (for real!)

Sigh...I love it!

WILW

This is my first time participating in What I'm Loving Wednesdays over at Jamie's and here's what I'm loving:

-That next two weeks are short weeks, thank goodness for some well needed time off to spend with family and celebrate Easter.

-That tomorrow morning I will get to spend some extra time with this sweet face before taking him to his very first dentist appointment.

-The warmer temperatures that we have been so blessed to have lately (keep it coming please!)

-My boys (look at how young Cole is here...ahhh!!!)

-My amazing family and friends

-My craftiness...pictures to come once I have all of my little crafts completed.  So exciting! :)

♥ BP ♥

Being from a small town it often seems that our days are filled with darkness.
Today is one of those days.

The small town that I grew up in lost an amazing woman today and while it comes natural to say positive things about people after they have passed, Betty really was that good.  This woman was a substitute teacher who made each and every child feel special.  She tutored children in French after school in her home, watched all of her students play hockey at the local arena and always came out to support the fundraising events in the community

Betty had such a great sense of humor and was always smiling and laughing.  I remember joking with her that if we ever got caught doing anything bad by the cops, we would have them call her.  She would always just laugh and say I'll be there in a flash and truth be told, she likely would have been.

Knowing everyone in a small town has it's ups and downs.  It's amazing the support that the community will give when something happens good or bad.  The compassion that can come from such a small town is outstanding and almost unbelievable.  The down side is that we see sickness and death so often or so it seems.  Every couple of months there is some sort of tragedy or an illness to face and come together as a community to grieve.  I know this may come across as very negative, but it's quite true and I'm sure that so many people from home would agree.  We seem to be unlucky, whether it be an accident, a death, an illness, we see it often.

I am praying for Betty's family and those who have been affected by her death.  May your memories strengthen your faith and heal your hearts.

Happy birthday Betty...♥

Surgery

As mentioned in this post, back in December when we lost Lauryn, our family was going through another hardship.  Today we are away with my Father who is undergoing major surgery.  I'll be back sometime soon with more details, but until then please send prayers and positive vibes our way.

Top 2 Tuesday - Top 2 Songs on Your iPod

Today is Tuesday which means Top 2 Tuesday over at Taylor's and this week is the Top 2 Songs on your Ipod.  This one is so easy, but so hard at the same time as I love every single song on Britney's newest album.  I'm going to shy away from Miss Britney just this once (don't hate...I still love you Brit!) because I just can't get enough of these two songs...they make me want to tear up the rug and remind me of our fabulous girls weekend from two weeks ago.

1.  Rihanna - S&M...this song is seriously addictive and has such a good beat.

2.  JLo ft. Pitbull - On the Floor...amazing!!!

What top two songs are on your iPod/music list?  Head on over to Taylor's and link up.

Play List

Alright ladies, I have a favor to ask of you.  As mentioned previously, I am in the midst of learning to run and while I am still really enjoying it, I need your help.  I have been trying to update my iPod with songs that might help keep me motivated.  That being said, what songs/artists/music helps keep you going when you are working out?

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Girls Weekend

I am beyond excited for this weekend as I am heading away with 8 other friends for a girls weekend to this beautiful place.

There will be tons of fun, loads of laughs, many crazy stories and pictures to share upon our return.

Hope your weekend is fantastic.

Express Spring Swimwear

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 If you are anything like me, bathing suit season is front and center on your mind.  Between working out and eating well, I have been trying my best to get in shape so that I can wear a bikini this year and that has had me browsing online to find the perfect suit.

Express has a great selection of women's swimwear and I am crushing on this one:

 

I plan to spend a lot of time in the water with my boys this Summer and a new bikini is just what I need for the beautiful days that are quickly approaching.

Express has a great selection of bikinis, two piece swimwear and they even have swim shorts for men in case you are looking for something stylish for your man.  At Express you can shop bright solids, on-trend graphic prints, the essential reversible style, nautical-inspired striped and sleek metallic styles.  Some designer details include flirty ruffles, sexy self-tie sides, glam beaded embellishments, polished metal hardware and removable padding in tops. 

Don't forget to check out their Spring essentials accessories, including sandals, tote bags, sunglasses and hats for him and for her.

Also, if you sign up for Express e-mail you will have a chance to win one of ten $200 Express Gift Cards.  Hurry though, the sweepstakes ends 4.21.10 at 11:59pm, EST (check out the sweepstakes rules for more information).

Talented

I grew up in a really small town.
A really small town.
A town of 2000 people.
My high school graduating class consisted of 60 students (give or take a few?).

One of those students was Julie Corrigan.

In fact, Julie and I went to school together from the age of 4 until we graduated from high school.  I remember going to Julie's and playing Barbies together and listening to Natalie Cole's LOVE

and Julie would sing along like she did to most songs.

Moving on to high school...if you knew Julie chances were that you heard her sing.  She liked to hum and sing almost all the time and it was by no means a bad thing.  Her voice has always been amazing and her personality matches it perfectly, she is and always was one of the kindest people.

To this day Julie still sings.  In fact she has several songs available on iTunes and even had one of her own songs played on our local radio station Hot 89.9. 

Julie also had a YouTube page and all of her songs and covers are there for you to check out.  Some of my favorites...

Been Through The Fall



Born This Way

Just The Way You Are

Take A Bow

Julie is such an amazingly talented person and I am so proud of her for following her dreams.  Get going and check her out, you'll see just how lovely she is.

Top Two Tuesday - Two Random Facts About You

It's been a while since I've linked up with Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday and today's topic is two random facts about you.

1.  I can not stomach the feel of loose cotton.

Cotton balls make me almost vomit and I am actually gagging as I type this.  If there is cotton in a pill bottle I can't take it out or if I have blood work done and they put a little bit of cotton under the tape my stomach turns until I take it off.

2.  I don't drink pop but I crave Pepsi and Ginger Ale.

I haven't really been a pop drinker since I was 16 or so.  However, for some reason I actually crave Pepsi (either fountain or directly from the can) and Ginger Ale (with crushed ice) randomly.

What are two random facts about you?  Head on over to Taylor's and link up to play along.

Update & Bachelor Finale

Just wanted to post an update to keep myself accountable.  The last time I weighed in (March 3rd) I was down 2.5lbs (for a total of 4lbs, 7.5 from goal) and since then I have been pretty good at continuing with working out and eating well, with the exception for the first Saturday night when I had a few too many drinks. Oops...

I have been going to kettlebells 1 night a week and running 3-4 times a week and the cardio has been a huge help with losing the weight, while the kettlebells has helped me shed some inches.  I am so happy to report that I am down a size in shirts and pants.  I can't believe that after only losing 4lbs that it would make such a difference in my clothing, but apparently inches are greater than pounds.

Last Wednesday I bought Jillian Michaels 6 week six-pack DVD and I have done it 4 times so far.  I definitely think it will be a good workout if I am consistent with it (which I will try to be 4 days a week).  As usual, Jillian combines cardio with abs and strength in this video and the best part - it's only 30 minutes long.  It makes it so much easier to do when you think that all it takes is 30 minutes.  If I can ever get my butt out of bed for a morning run and then do this at night, I'd be set!  Someday, someday...

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I can already feel a difference in my abs (they are hurting!) and I am noticing a change in my body shape even though I've only done it 4 times!!!  I can't wait to see what the end result will be.  I'll definitely keep you posted on how it goes.

Did you watch tonight's finale of The Bachelor?  I am so pleased that Brad chose Emily to be his wife, she seems like such a kind soul and they truly do seem to be in love.  I did like Chantal as well, but you could see just how crazy Brad was about Emily throughout the entire season.  Here's hoping that Brad and Emily work out and that Chantal will be the next bachelorette.

  

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Bob Harper DVD

I recently won a giveaway over at Marissa's blog and I couldn't be happier!  She was giving away a copy of Bob Harper's Ultimate Cardio Video and yours truly won.  I am so excited to get the video so that I can add it to my list of workouts  Thanks so much Marissa!  If you don't know who Marissa is, you best be checking out her blog.  She is a wonderful blogger who shares delicious recipes and wonderful workout tips all the time.  Marissa also has an amazing weight loss story that she shares on her blog, along with a Wednesday Workout Blog Hop, so what are you waiting for, get going and tell her I sent you.

Weekend Plans

Yes, I am a terrible blogger with little to no consistency...I'm a busy woman, what else can I say?

We've been pretty busy over the past two weeks and thankfully this weekend is looking pretty quiet and we are planning on spending it at home, working on our house.  I had a hair appointment tonight with the lovely Kristen and then we went for supper at The Works and oh.my.goodness. AMAZING!!!!  I ordered the Red House which was a burger topped with roasted red peppers, avocado, beechhouse sauce & havarti cheese and it was delicious!  Mmmmm...
 For tomorrow, our first order of business is to hit up Home Depot on Saturday morning to get some tile ideas for our bathroom and our kitchen back splash and to buy some paint for our bedroom.  I am thinking of doing our bedroom in Pelican Bay...

The kitchen, dining room and living room is very open concept and we have rounded corners which makes it difficult as to where to change colors.  We I have decided on the colors below for the living room/dining room/kitchen:

Darkest GrapePencil Point

Burnished ClayElephant Skin

The burnished clay seems to have a pink tinge to it in the picture above, but it's more of a grey tone.  I got inspiration from a color card I found a while back at the store and I love it.  We may or may not paint anything the darkest grape, however, it will be used as our accent color for decor.  We also have big plans for our cupboards, table and hutch.  We will be refinishing them all a darker color.

That is our excitement for the weekend and I can't wait!  I'll be sure to take some before, during and after pictures to show our progress.

What are your plans this weekend?