Too much time on their hands

Ok, I don't normally put stuff like this on my blog. But this was just too funny not to share. My sister sent it to me. And I'm sure I've looked at it about 5 times and everytime, it just cracks me up.

This video proves that sometimes, people just have too much time on their hands. I can't help but wonder what this person thought of themselves the first time they watched the video.

Anyway, check it out. It's just fun and something to make you laugh. AND it also shows what happens when one is sitting around with NOTHING else to do :-). Enjoy!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3597622493979993800&q=DANCING+DORA&pr=goog-sl

New Layout - Generations of Beauty

Yes, I've been at it again. I feel like I've got a LOT of catching up to do in the scrapbooking department. So, I've been trying to get some pictures to paper and "getter done!" :-)

Well, here's one I just completed of me, my mom and my sister. My mom will be in town later this week, so I thought I'd have this one ready to show her. So, here we are!




















Thanks for looking!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

I can't believe it's already time to say that. Where has this year gone?

Don't have too much to say today, as we're still "in" the moment. But I wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! The day has been totally relaxing and it was so exciting to watch the kids open their gifts. And I must say, the dinner that I made was AWESOME! I tried a standing rib roast for the very first time and it was THE BOMB!!! :-)

Anyway, everyone enjoy the rest of your Christmas Day!!!

New Layout - You Color My World

It's been a while since I've posted any of my layouts. I think sometimes, they're not "worthy" of sharing. But this one, I thought turned out very well and I'm pretty happy with it.

Special thanks to my dear friend, Cynthia and her sister Lisa, of Simplicity Portraits for taking these awesome pictures for us.

Thanks for looking.

18 years and counting...

Today is my 18th wedding anniversary! Wow, has it REALLY been that long? This anniversary in particular brings a funny memory to mind. Back when Marque and I first got married, my dad affectionately said to us, "If you can make through the first 18 years, it'll be a piece of cake from there on out!". Well, dad...I guess we're ready for that "piece of cake"! We MADE IT!!!

Last night, as tradition would have it, we went to our favorite restaurant, Fogo De Chao for dinner. And what was even more special this time, is they gave us the exact same table as last year. The ambiance at Fogo is so relaxing and romantic.


And as always, the food is AWESOME! Also as they did last year, they put "Happy Anniversary" on our dessert. How sweet is that?

Well, all I have to say, is I hope and pray that the next 18 years will be as wonderful as the 17 we've already had (that first year was rough...LOL).

Marque, if you read this, always know that I love you dearly and I wouldn't trade what we have for the world. As long as we both know that there's always room for improvement...we'll always strive for the best that OUR marriage has to offer. I love you!!!


Happy Anniversary!!

How do you use this thing???

Ok, as most of you know, I joined CURVES over the summer and started on the road to fitness. Well, I'm doing pretty well, but I've still got a lot of work to do. Almost everytime I go to a store I'm looking for work out clothes. But on my latest quest, I've been looking for one of those giant exercise balls.

Well, while out Christmas shopping for the kids today, I found one...and bought it. Now I would be amiss if I said I knew anything about exercise equipment. They had this ball in 3 different sizes 55cm, 65cm and 75cm. Again, I haven't a CLUE as to which one I need. So, I did what any woman would do and I chose the pretty red one (75cm) :-). Of COURSE I wanted it in purple, but Nooooo, they didn't have any. Little did I know that each size had it's own color. So we get to the counter to pay and I ask what's the difference in the sizes. The gentleman tells me that it depends on your height. He glances over the counter and tells me that I'll need the medium sized one (65cm). Well, you have NO idea how excited I was to be able to purchase a MEDIUM sized ANYTHING for myself. But wouldn't it be my luck that the medium size ball is BLUE! Oh well...I'll get the blue one.

So, I get this giant GLOBE home and proceed to inflate it. You know what? Rubber has an AWFUL smell! I get it all full of air and now I'm gradually being convinced that I should've gotten the larger one. Not because it's red...but because it just seems like the larger one would be better for me.

Better for me HOW you ask? That brings me to the reason for this post...How do you use this thing??? Sure, it came with a DVD and a little wall poster. But I don't get it!!!
So, if any of my fellow readers have EVER in life used one of these things, please help me out! I'd love to know if in fact I should've gotten the bigger - 75cm (prettier) red one. Or if my height is a factor. AND even more so, what are the best exercises to do on this thing. I'm looking forward to using it as I think it would be great for when I'm not able to go to the gym.

Thanks in advance for ANY suggestions!

A, B, C challenge

Oh my...now this one is gonna be interesting.

I've been tagged by Brown English Muffin...AGAIN! But I have to admit, this one looked a little intimidating. Mainly because of how many alphabets there are. Guess I'd better get on it, huh?

In the meantime, I'm tagging the following people: Diane, Adrienne, Renee, Veronica, Muriel & Tangee. And of course, anyone else who feels up to it. You guys let me know when you do it, I'd love to see what you came up with.

Anyway, here goes:

A - Available/Single: Married and off the market for 20 years!

B - Best friend? My DH Marque, Dee-Dee & Stacey

C - Cake or Pie? ARGH!!! I'm not against either one. But if I have to choose one, it would be cake.

D - Drink of choice: HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!! Dr. Pepper, DUH!!

E - Essential item you use everyday: Oh my goodness, I have 2. My "no more children" pills and deoderant. I about had a fit when I had my mammogram last month...they told me not to wear any deoderant. Boy, after the procedure was done, I couldn't get my deoderant on fast enough!

F - Favorite color: Purple

G - Gummy bears or worms: I guess I'd have to say bears. The worms may taste the same, but just the thought of "worms" makes me sick!

H - Home or homesick? Home! I can't think of anywhere else on EARTH that I'd rather live. Although I was born in NYC, I don't consider that home.

I - Indulgence? Oh GREAT!!! How's a girl to choose? Ok, I'd have to say chocolate. I LIVE for my Wednesday night Girls Nights. If we don't have anything else there, we have SOMETHING chocolate. And although it goes without saying...DR. PEPPER!!!

J - January or February: February for many reasons. It's the month of LOVE, it's my DH's birthday, Spring soccer season begins, and it's the month my DD, Jayla was conceived. (You asked!)

K - Kids & Their names: Yes, I have kids. Briyanna, Markell, Jayla and my doggie, Trae :-).

L - Life is incomplete without...: Jesus Christ and LOVE (actually, these are one in the same)

M - Marriage date? What kind of question is this??? If it's asking if I "ever" go on marriage dates with my DH, I'd say....SOMETIMES! Our anniversary is a given, every year. And we TRY to go out at least once every few months. Ok, I'm a ding dong...And Diane, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I guess I really DIDN'T understand the question. My "Marriage date" is December 17, 1988. (Call me crazy, but I thought that was my WEDDING date!)

N - Number of siblings: I have one sister, Kimmy. We're 10 years & 5 days apart in age.

O - Oranges or apples? I guess apples. As good as oranges are, they're too much work!

P - Phobias/Fears? I HATE bugs! Does that make it a phobia or a fear? Both I guess. I also have a fear of dying and leaving my kids without a mother. I often wonder if my youngest is old enough to have memories of me. I pray that my kids are ALL grown up and possibly have their own families before the Lord calls me home. ARGH...this makes me teary just thinking about it. On to the letter "Q".

Q - Favorite quote: "What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God."

R - Reason to smile: Waking up in the morning and seeing that me and my family are living to see another day.

S - Season? I LOVE the Spring! To me, flowers are simply the earth exploding into laughter.

T - Tag 3 or 4 people: I thought I did this already. Diane, Veronica, Tangee & Muriel.

U - Unknown fact about me: Ok, now if I answer this one, it will no longer be "unknown". I'm an open book...I can't think of anything, that almost everyone that knows me, doesn't already know about. If I come up with something, I'll let you know.

V - Vegetables you don't like: Okra, Squash, Beets, Brusselsprouts...I could go on...

W - Worst habit? Biting my nails and twirling my hair. I do these things mainly when I'm nervous or stressed.

X - X-rays you've had: My toe back in 1985, my neck/spine in 2002 and my ankle in 2005

Y - Your favorite food: Shrimp & pasta

Z - Zodiac sign: Awww, what a 70's/80's question to ask. My sign is Scorpio.

WHEW...that was fun...exhausting, but fun nonetheless. Ok, now for those of you who were tagged...I'm WAITING....

They're all out....

Well, all 95 of my Christmas cards have been mailed. So what it took me 4 different mailings to get them all out. THEY'RE GONE!!!!
And now that they're all, either received or still in the mail, I think it's safe to go ahead and share our card with everyone else. I made this card myself. But it wouldn't have been possible without the awesome photographic skills of my dear friend Cynthia, her sister Lisa and their company, Simplicity Portraits. Thank you ladies, ya'll ROCK!!!!

Well, here's the card. And oh, you're gonna love this. Do you know that after checking at 6 different places that there are NO 4x6 envelopes to be found! What's up with THAT??? I had to make my OWN envelopes...sheesh! Ok, I'm done. Hope you like the card.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (questions)

I know it's the season of giving. But right now, I'm STEALING!!! LOL. I'm stealing these questions from fellow blogger, Brown English Muffin. She had some really cool Christmas related questions on her blog. So I took it upon myself to "borrow" them from her. Hope she doesn't mind. Good news is, I'm using my own answers :-).

Well, here goes:

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate of course. Anything with the word "nog" in it, just doesn't sound very appetizing to me.

2. Does "Santa" wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Well, the Santa that lives in MY house, doesn't wrap NUTHIN! But his wife, on the other hand, does all the wrapping :-).

3. Colored lights on the tree/house or white? Definitely white. I got enough of the big ole incandescent sized light bulbs when I lived with my mom. Not to mention, colored lights are just too busy for my taste.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. It was never something our families did. Not to mention, I don't need to stand under some plant to get a kiss. :-).

5. When do you put your Christmas decorations up? Usually a week or so after Thanksgiving. OR whenever I can talk the Mister into bringing the stuff up from the basement.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I'd have to say my hubby's collard greens. YUM!!! With a slice (or two) of Honey Baked smoked turkey and some cranberry sauce.

7. What is your favorite holiday memory as a child? This is a difficult one. I guess I'd have to say just the anticipation of the day.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Well, I think I kinda figured it out on my own. I'm 40 years old and my mom still gives me gifts from Santa :-).

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No. This isn't a tradition our family adopted. I think the kids wouldn't be able to stop at just one anyway. So it's best we don't even start this one.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Twinkling white lights with silver, green and Burgundy bulbs, and Burgundy poinsettias. So pretty.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I think snow is beautiful and makes for a beautiful Christmas day. However, since I live in Georgia, that's not a sight we get to see much.

12. Can you ice skate? Sure, I can ice skate...as long as my ice skates have wheels on them! LOL Ok, NO...I cannot ice skate!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I'd have to say the gift my DH and I gave eachother in 1995. We gave eachother a trip to Jamaica....yes TOGETHER!!! We were actually there for Christmas. It was so cool (albeit not literally) to be on the beach sipping a virgin Strawberry Daiquiri. What a beautiful place....especially at Christmas.

14. What's the most exciting thing about the holidays for you? Seeing the kids faces when they see all the gifts under the tree. And when they open something that they really hoped for. Also, just getting together with family.

15. What's your favorite holiday dessert? My MIL's sweet potato pie. OR Chocolate Delight! YUMMY!!! Oh, and my good friend Stacey's apple cake...to DIE for!!!

16. What's your favorite holiday tradition? Unfortunately, our family hasn't really established any traditions. However, my wedding anniversary is about a week before Christmas. So DH and I usually spend our anniversary Christmas shopping for the kids. So, with that, I'm not sure if that's a Christmas tradition or an Anniversary tradition.

17. What tops your Christmas tree? A big ole silver bow.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Now, I assume we're still talking about Christmas, right? LOL Ok, for those who know me, you know this is a touchy subject for me. As much as I enjoy receiving gifts, I really enjoy giving gifts to those I love. I buy the kids and my DH stuff throughout the year. But there's something about giving gifts at Christmas. Nothing like the sound of joyus laughter or that big surprised grin when a child gets that special gift they wanted.

19. What's your favorite Christmas song? "Celebrate me home" by Kenny Loggins.

20. Candy canes? They're alright. I can do with or without them. I'm not much of a mint person.

Well, there you have it. That was fun. Even though Miss Muffin didn't challenge anyone, I think I will. Ok ladies, you're up: Diane, Veronica, Muriel & Renee. And anyone else who's up for the challenge. Ooops, I forgot to add Tangee! Get on it girl!!! :-)

Merry Christmas everyone!

My OTHER Princess is Twenty-Two!!!

Someone pinch me!

As hard as it was to believe that my BABY is 5 years old...it's even harder to believe that my FIRST baby is 22 years old! Yes, I said TWENTY-TWO! I feel faint!

I've gotta tell you, I have truly been blessed with some drop dead gorgeous daughters. But I am totally floored as to HOW beautiful this one turned out. I mean, I knew when she was born that she was a pretty baby, but I don't think I appreciated it as much as I would've had I been an older, more mature mother.

But as she grew older, God showed me more...not just through her beautiful face, but through her sweet spirit, that she's a beautiful person INSIDE as well.
Sure, we've had our issues...especially when she became a teenager. But what mother doesn't experience those times?

Now back to this 22 years old thing. What a blessing this young lady has become. She has grown up into a responsible adult. She's taking care of herself (and her cute little puppy) :-) What's funny about this is, she's finding out that being an adult and having to do for yourself isn't as fun as she thought it would be. She's finding that you can't just go to that "big ole grey box" and get money out anytime you want to...there's got to be money in there to get some out...LOL. But I'm beyond proud of her for taking care of her business.

Briyanna, I could not have asked for more special girls than you and your sister.


God has truly blessed me with the best of the best. I am SO proud of you and I love you SO much!!!









Please don't ever let a day go by without remembering that.


Happy Birthday, my dear beautiful daughter. Mommy loves you!!!

Do we REALLY know this many people?

SHEESH!!! For the past few days, I've been looking over my Christmas card list and updating addresses. I just do a simple spreadsheet in Excel where I indicate names/addresses along with the year and if I sent/received cards from that particular person or family. I have a 2-3 year rule. If I send a card to someone and I don't hear from them for 2 - 3 years straight, I remove them from the list. Heck, I figured they must not wanna hear from us anymore. However, this rule really doesn't pertain to close family members. I'll send them one regardless. Cuz I'm sure I'll hear about it if I don't.

ANYWAY, back to my current list. I don't actually remember meeting so many people since last Christmas that would make them "card worthy". But obviously it has happened. Our list has grown from about 80-85 last year to 103 this year! What's up with that??? Now, I've gone over this list...and checked it twice (hee hee) and there are only a few that I won't be sending cards to this year...and we're still in the high 90's! Now if you're an optimist like I ATTEMPT to be...this is a good thing! I HAVE met some great people over the past year, some of which I've never even laid eyes on. But we've struck up such a friendship that I think we'll be exchanging cards this year.

So, you tell me...is this a bad rule to have? I have a few other friends that do the same thing. But is it a rude thing to do? I know the old quote that says something about people coming into your life for a reason or for a season. Maybe to some extent, this "rule" flys slightly under that radar. Anyway, what do you think?

(Almost) All I want for Christmas...

Can ya'll believe that tomorrow is December 1st? I can't! And you know what that means? Christmas is only 25 days away! I'm not READY!!! Guess how many gifts we've purchased already? ZERO!!!!!!!!!!! We don't even START shopping until the week before. Get this...our wedding anniversary is on the 17th of this month, right? Hubby and I usually spend this day together...alone...Christmas shopping for the KIDS!!! What a tradition, huh? So, with that said, we've got plenty of time :-).

Anyway, I totally feel that Christmas is all about the kids and all about giving. However, that doesn't mean that I can't have my own wish list, right? Well, I've come up with the things that I think would really be nice to have this year. Here's a few of the things that I'd LOVE.

Ok, let's start small (relatively speaking). I'd like to upgrade to a platinum princess cut diamond engagement ring. This year we will celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. I think it's time for an upgrade.

Alrighty, now I really LOVE Dr. Pepper. Although I don't keep it in the house (unless we have guests over or something) And on occasion, if I'm out shopping, I will treat myself to a nice cold one. So, an unlimited supply would be nice :-).

Ok, now we're getting to the bigger stuff. A few years ago, I actually owned a Chevy Tahoe. However, in order to save some money, we had to trade it for something more affordable. And now, considering how much gas costs, that was a great decision. But I'd be lying if I said that I don't miss it. And NOW...they've come out with a new body style and I LOVE it!!! I'm not really picky about the color, but this black is pretty HOT!!! I'm not normally one who drools over stuff. But don't let me see one of these baby's driving down the street......

Now, being that I'm a stay at home mom, my cash flow is a little....uhhhhh, shall we say, non existent? Don't get me wrong, I have access to the family account. But I do stress out a little when there's not enough there for what we need and sometimes want. I'd LOVE to have a constant flow of money that can take care of all our needs and some of our wants. Fortunately, I'm a very frugal person, especially when it comes to my own desires. So, if we did have the money, we wouldn't want a bigger house or extravagant vehicles (except that Tahoe...which isn't really extravagant...just HOT!). We'd pay off our debts, pay monthly bills (always on time) and have "play" money. Oh, and maybe add a little addition onto the house (a craft room).

Ok, so, how did I do? That's not asking for alot, is it? hee hee. Now, for those of you who think I SHOULD have some of these things, please send your generous donations to........

HA HA! Just kidding (obviously). Alright, it's your turn. If all was right in the world, and money was no object, what would be on your Christmas list??? Share, share.....

The Celebration continues...

As you all are probably already aware, I just had my 40th birthday. And my baby daughter just turned 5. Well, my dad and his girlfriend, Gwen came to Georgia from New York to help us celebrate.

Fast forwarding a bit, they stayed through Thanksgiving and came to spend their last couple of hours in town with us. Well of course, we took this opportunity to take some pictures. You guys have got to know my dad to appreciate the big lauging smiles you'll see on our faces. Enjoy!!!

This is me an my dad. Oddly enough, he was having a "semi" serious moment. However, this was the 3rd try at this particular pose. LOL

Jayla and her Pop-Pop. Again, one of 3 pictures where he was attempting to be serious. He's such a great grandpa!.

Alright now, here we go. Dad is trying to make Jayla smile...instead, he made both of us laugh and of course we "caught" him acting up. :-)

This was another rare moment of my dad being serious. Here, he's pictured with my DH, Jayla and his girlfriend, Gwen.

Ok, this is a picture that my dad took. He loves to ask Jayla how to spell her name. Then he tells her it's wrong and proceedes to add his own letters AND numbers to her name. This, as you can see, cracks her up!

Now we can't have any pictures of Pop Pop without our doggie, Trae in one :-).

Well, that's it for this trip. Dad and Gwen, thank you both for making this birthday SOOO special for me and Jayla. We love you both very much and look forward to seeing you again REAL soon!!!

The Princess is FIVE...a whole hand!!!

Oh my goodness...my BABY is 5 years old!

She is SO excited to be a WHOLE hand now...LOL. She says now she doesn't have to "bend her fingers" anymore to tell people how old she is.

As promised, I have details of the Princess Ball we had for Jayla over the weekend. We had such a great time. In addition to Jayla, 11 of her little girlfriends came over all dressed up like princesses. My oldest daughter, Briyanna, came over on Friday and helped me decorate the "ballroom" in the basement. We had quite a time keeping Jayla from coming down there :-). But it turned out SO beautiful.

Anyway, we successfully suprised Jayla with her Princess Ball. She knew she was gonna have one, she just had no idea to what extent we'd set it up for her. I have to admit though, she was the prettiest princess there. Well, wait no longer...here are the Princess Ball pix. Just click on "View Slide Show". Enjoy!

Again, I thank you Briyanna, for ALL of your help. I couldn't have pulled it off without you. I'm glad you were able to be here to share in your sisters 5th birthday.

Dad & Gwen, I thank you both for being here from NYC to share in both me and Jayla birthdays. I love you both!!!

Happy Birthday my dear, Jayla. I love you SO much!!!

I'm on TOP of the hill...not OVER it!!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Oh my goodness, as of 10:00 THIS morning...I turned 40..yes, FORTY years old!!! Ya know, this is truly an age that I never thought I'd be. Not because I thought I'd be dead or anything....I guess I just didn't think ANYBODY would be around by the time I turned 40. I remember thinking that anyone who was over the age of 30 had one foot in a grave and the other on a slippery banana peel! LOL.

Welp, it ain't so!!!

People say that when you turn 40 you are OVER THE HILL....well, not ME! I am ON TOP OF THE HILL...with my feet danglin off the side!!!! I say that with such confidence because at this point, today, on November 17, 2006...I am having the time of my LIFE. I honestly don't think my life could be any better. I mean sure, if I had an unlimited money supply, I may feel a little differently :-). But other than that, I'm COOL!!! I have all the things a girl could want! And it's nothing short of a blessing.

I'd like to give a special thank you to all my dear friends and family who wished me a happy birthday today. Without you all...and you know who you are, my life wouldn't be as grand.

I love ya'll!!!

Look at these cool gifts I got from my friends & family.

My friend Diane gave me these beautiful flowers. Thank you Mrs. May :-).

My dear husband took me out to an AWESOME dinner at Ruth Chris Steak House. Ya'll have GOT to save up some money and go there...it's SOOOOO worth it.
My daughter gave me a cute little six pack of Dr. Pepper and the Trivial Pursuit Totally 80's game. Thanks Bri!
And my friend Stacey gave me a Dr. Pepper t-shirt.

Be AWARE...and Take CARE (of YOU!)

Tomorrow is my 40th birthday...so today, I gave myself a birthday present. I took myself to my doctor and got my very first mammogram. It's amazing how certain events in and around your life can change your perspective on LIFE. Last year, the dreaded disease of breast cancer took the life of my sister in law. And I am proud to say that my aunt, is a breast cancer survior. So needless to say, this disease has touched my life personally.

In January, when I had my annual doctors visit, he reminded me that my 40th birthday was coming up later in the year and that I soon needed to make an appt for my first mammogram. Well, of course I stalled because I've heard HORROR stories of how uncomfortable this procedure is. On a funny note, I've heard it described as being the equivilant of laying on your garge floor and closing the door down on your breast...LOL. Ok, it wasn't THAT bad, actually. Don't get me wrong, it was uncomfortable. But if you do what they tell you to do, it's a breeze. Let's put it this way...my appt. was at 10:40 this morning. I checked in at 10:15am, they called me back at 10:20am and I was getting in my car and LEAVING at 10:30am!!! Piece of cake!!!

I will end this post with a plea to all my female readers....Do your monthly self exams!! And when the time comes, GO HAVE A MAMMOGRAM!!! It only takes a few minutes of your time. You're cheating yourself AND your family & friends if you don't go to make sure you're healthy. Remember, you're the only YOU we have!!!

Talk to you tomorrow...when I'm a little older :-).

Disney Princesses on Ice

Somewhere in an earlier post, I mentioned that Jayla will be having a Princess Birthday Ball for her 5th birthday in a few weeks. Well, as luck would have it, the theme for this years Disney on Ice was the Disney Princesses. I was SO excited when I got the flyer in the mail about it. I successfully hid that flyer for almost 2 months. And when I got back from my trip to Illinois, I bought the tickets. I thought this would be the perfect early birthday gift for Jayla.

I can't tell you how hard it was to keep this a secret from her. Everyone in our house knew about it, even a few other friends and family (I had to tell SOMEBODY!!!) So up until we got parked at the show, Jayla had no idea. That little thing tried to think of everywhere under the sun that she and mommy were going. All I told her was that it was a special "date". She even thought we were going to New York to see her Pop-Pop :-).

I know it goes without saying, but I took a few pictures (about 60 to be exact...LOL). So here are a few of the better ones. Enjoy!

Mommy & Jayla waiting for the show to begin.

Aladdin

Beauty & The Beast

Snow White & The 7 Dwarfs

Cinderella

Ok people, I've about HAD IT with BLOGGER not cooperating with me and my NEED to download pictures. Therefore, look for another short part 2 post to me and Jayla's "date". :-)

Making Progress!!!

It has been a minute since I gave an update on my progress at CURVES. Probably because, my weigh in last month, although it wasn't BAD news, it wasn't the news I was hoping for either. I kinda "hung out" at the same weight for 2 months.

Well my last weigh in (on 11/1) was much better. And I must say I was plesantly surprised. Don't worry, I won't give my new weight, albeit LESS than when this venture began. But I will say that as of 11/1, I have lost a total of 12.75 inches and 7.5 pounds since starting with CURVES back in June. And I must say, I'm pretty darn proud of that accomplishment! Only 52 more pounds to go...and I'll be back at my birth weight...LOL. Nah, about 50 more and I'll be at my target weight. I know that sounds like a lot. But I REALLY think I can do it! Tune in next month!!!

More hayride pix

Hello everyone. I hope this post finds you all well.

Ok, before BLOGGER has any hiccups, here are a few more of the pix from this year's neighborhood hayride.

Here's a FEW of the kids that were on the hayride.

Here's my little princess and her handsome Ninja bodyguard :-).

This is my handsome Ninja boy!

And again, my pretty little princes (this was actually in the morning before going to school)

And lastly, this is Jayla's Pre-K class...well, some of them.

Thanks again for looking!

The neighborhood hayride

Am I the only one who CANNOT believe that it's NOVEMBER 1st?!?!? Christmas is right around the corner...but personally speaking, I'm not walking around that corner right now...I'm in denial :-). And I've got one better than THAT...in 16 days, I'll be 40 (FORTY) years old!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, let's get back to the REAL reason for this post. Not that the comments above aren't "real"...I'd just rather not talk about them anymore :-) hee hee.

This year, our family did a little something different. We decided to allow the kids, to not only particiate in our annual neighborhood hayride. But we also let them dress up in costumes. If you read my "halloween" post last year, you'll remember that I was kinda on the fence about the whole thing. I'm still straddling...but starting to fall on the side of the kids. At some point, you have to trust that your kids know right from wrong and understand what you've been teaching them all their lives. We told the kids, as long as they didn't dress up in anything scary or "gothic" that we didn't have a problem with dressing up this year. I know these kids pretty well, so I knew that wouldn't be an issue. Markell wanted to dress up in a Ninja custume. That's cool! Two of his friends from the neighborhood also dressed as ninjas. Jayla wanted to be a princess (what a shocker! NOT!) As long as this child has been able to talk, she has considered herself a little princess. So this was a no brainer. As a matter of fact, she's gonna have a princess ball for her 5th birthday in a few weeks (look for a post on that one in the weeks to come).

ANYWAY, at Jayla's school they had a little party and a costume parade. It was the cutest thing. We chose not to keep her from the festivities and let her dress up for that as well. She had a ball.

Ok, so here's the pix of my cute little kids and their costumes. ENJOY!!!

Here's the trailer at it's fullest. The kids had a ball riding down the street, jumping off the trailer and running to houses to collect the "goods".

I just had to share this picture. This is one of the dads from our neighborhood. Nothing like seeing your dad in a purple crushed velvet "pimp" suit! LOL

I know you're all gonna be shocked...but BLOGGER is having issues with loading pictures. Look for more in a seperate post...ARGH!!!!

New Layout - 1st Day at Pre-K

I guess while I'm at it and Blogger seems to be cooperating, I'll go ahead and show what I worked on during the all day crop. Can you believe in an 11 hour time period, I only completed 5 pages? What's up with that? I did the last page for the wedding album and 2 additional two page LO's. And since the wedding album is already available for viewing, I'll just share the other 2.

These LO's are of Jayla's first day at Pre-K. Thanks for looking.

Supplies used: TONS of pictures of Jayla :-) and patterned paper & embellishments from the Provo Craft SuperSlab Rob & Bob Studio collection

Thanks again for looking. Be Inspired - I am!

All Day Crop - Part 2 (again)

Ok, I've had about enough of this!!! Let's see if Blogger will cooperate THIS time. Sheesh, I've only got about 2 or 3 more pictures I want to share. And shoot, by the time I get them on here, the thrill will be gone!

So, here they are:

Here's Mandy (with the glasses) and Lisa F. trying to look mean :-). She really did have a good time, ya'll.

Once again, Lauren is trying to hide from the camera. Something about her mom wanting to take pix of her ALL THE TIME!!! Duh!!! Aren't teenagers SUPPOSED to be embarassed by their parents (and their parents friends?) :-)

Jamie's son, Branton made a special apprearance at the all day crop. Lauren and Jayla were happy to keep him company (until his dad got back from Home Depot).

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