Ready.... Set........ Going going gone!

Well, I am in the final "prep" stages of getting ready for the family to visit. Ed's older sis and her family will be here from Texas sometime on Sunday and I have cleaned, scrubbed, tidy'd and done all the good stuff to the max. Whew! I do have some things left to do but for the most part I am ok now. (Anyone want to come scrub toilee's with me?) LOL They will be here through the week, to celebrate the 4th and we have both her and Ed's Bdays too. We'll be up at the cabin the last part of the week and then headed to Boise on the weekend to a family reunion. Can we say B U S Y?
Things are going good though. I am sooooo close to 50 right now, by Monday FOR SURE it will happen! Yeahh me! I am down another size in jeans too... well, technically I could go down 2 sizes but I'd look like a stuffed sausage in them! ROTF! Gotta just keep going! :O)

OK lots to do! Take care and blessings to you all!
Darla

Photo is of one of my flower pots out front... I worked outside ALL day on Friday and I sure have a greater appriciation of my yard right now! Hee hee!

Quick hi

Just have a second today, busy with kids you know. Also managed to already get some cleaning and laundry done and even a bit of yardwork ( but it is getting hot outside already). Whew! Gonna be a long day.

Had fun with the kids last night, took them for an ice cream after dinner. Also stopped at WM to pick up some Rx's too. While there I overheard a nasty comment that I *think* was directed at me about fat people and gross tight clothes. I will admit the shirt I was wearing was snug but I was not bursting out of it or anything, no gut hanging out or things like I see other places all the time, geesh. I tried not to let it get to me but it still does. Who knows, maybe it was not directed at me? Whatever. Again, peoples nasty attitudes just reinforce the part of me that wants to work harder. Pooey on them. The funny thing was that I had actually gotten several compliments throughout the day as to how good it looked on me, that it showed I actually DO have a waist under all that fat! LOL Crazy, totally makes me go up and down on self esteem, but honestly, I didn't think I looked "Gross" or I would never have worn it to begin with! So, on goes the battle, right?

OK gotta go fix kiddos lunch, get more housework and laundry going. Hope you are having a good day, I am sooooooo ready for Friday here!

HUGS Darla

photo is where I *wish* I was today :O) (yea, IN the hot tub too!)

1/2 way there baby!

Whew! What a LONG week this has been and oh yea, it is only WEDNESDAY?? Yikes! That is just crazy to me. Each day this week seems like it has lasted a good 48 hrs so heck, we should easily be to Friday already dontcha' think? Whatever!

Well, I am busy busy with babysitting this summer, also getting geared up for SIL and her family to come next week for vacation. I am babysitting 3 boys this summer, my friend Robin's 2 guys, who are 10 and 7 and then a newborn baby boy for a gal that Ed works with. So far, so good. Just really long days. I feel like I am cycling through day by day and it is all getting a bit crazy. Right now my "normal" routine goes something like this:

5:45 am wake up/ get dressed and going
6:15 am baby gets dropped off
6:30 am off to the gym to work out
7:00 am call to wake up Chris for work
7:30 am pick up Chris and take him to work (20 min drive each way)
8:15 am get home from taking Chris to work
8:30 am Robin drops off her boys
8:30 am ---- 4:00 pm
play, clean, cook lunch , clean more, do household stuff, referee kids, clean more, snacktime, play more, nag nag nag at the kids (remember I have 3 at home on top of the other three too)
4:00 pm load up kids to drop off to Robin and drive to pick up Chris from work
5:00 pm pick up Chris from work, drop off baby to his mom at her work
5:30 pm get home, cook dinner, clean up, have family time
9:00 pm fall into bed and tell Ed "hi!" for the day LOL

So, as you can see, my days are pretty "full" these days. There are 2 good things going on though, one is that the schedule with the baby will be changing next week so it will make my mornings easier and my gym time better. The other is that I have taken Fridays "off" all together! LOL Since I don't have the baby on Fridays, I asked Robin to give me Friday's "off" too... she very sweetly agreed and I am forever thankful to her for that!

OK so SIL and her family are headed out way now. They live in Dallas/FW Texas and are headed up for vacation. They will be traveling through Mt Rushmore and some other places along the visit too. Looking to be here Sunday or Monday, and we are excited BUT have a LOT to do around the house this weekend. It is pretty much useless for me to clean much while I have all these kids here so I am putting it all off till' the last minute (of course!). They will be here for the week, celebrating the 4th of July with us and then we'll head up to the cabin at Island Park for a few days. After that there is a family reunion in Boise on Sunday and we hope to get over for that too. Still a maybe, but in the works. THey will visit in Boise for a while, then head back to us in a week or so and stay for a bit again. Should be fun. Kids enjoy their cousins and it is always nice to catch up with relatives! :O)

In todays "news". Ed and Chris are headed up to Island Park tonight with Blake to drop off APPLIANCES!!!!! to the cabin! HOORAY HOORAY! Brand new ones too! That means we will have not only running water but also appliance up there when we go! SO COOL! :O) They got a late start though so they will be home LATE.... tonight, that sorta sucks for all of them but expecially for Ed who has to be up at 6:00 a.m for work tommorrow morning. Ick! Also sucks for me bc I know I won't be able to go to sleep w/out him so I'll be up too and I have to get up early as well. Double Ick!!

OK off and running again. Taking the kids out for some ice cream! FUN!
Cya!
Darla

Photo is of Tiffany at Chris' bday party last Friday, she is so silly!

BIG *sigh* and some whining.

I think that I am coming off a "high" or something from this past weekend as I really have the 'blah - blahs' today. Not sure, but whatever it is, it has zapped my energy and I hardly seem to even want to smile today. Sucks.

Before I start in on my whining (sorry) I wanted to share a picture of my sis and I with our Mom from yesterday afternoon. We drove over to Pocatello and visited with her in the new assisted living facility she is in. Beautiful place, like a big mansion on the hill type home, just a few residents, very homey. Mom seems happy. I just worry so much about her, everyday there is that thought that we might get a call that something has happened to her. It stinks. She is so dang cute though, I just wanted to share this photo of Lisa and I with her.

OK big FAT whine right now. Today was my weigh in day. Mondays always are. I weigh myself all through the week but I only track my Monday wiegh ins and they are the ones that "count" to me. Well, for weeks upon weeks now I have been pushing forward to get to the 50 lb loss mark. I have been SO SO close, less than 2 lbs away and I thought for sure that today, beging Monday, I would finally hit it. NO. Not only did I not hit it, I was UP 2 lbs from last weeks weigh in! I about lost it right there in the bathroom this a.m. So pathetic! The thing is, I have not made the "best" food choices but I have not made the worst either - AND - I have been busting my butt to the max at the gym and so I don't know why I am not losing. It is just killing me. I am so close. I have been SO close for SO stinking long now. I am so flustered and upset. A friend of mine's Mom has some motivational weight loss cd's she is going to let me use, maybe they will help. I keep thinking if I am not in the right state of mind then of course I won't be able to lose. So much of it is emotions. I truly believe that. On another thought, I am in this whole process over 9 months now and I wonder if I have truly hit the infamous "plateau" that everyone talks about?? If so, what to do to jumpstart myself again? It is not lack of motivation or want, that is for sure. I think my body is just slowing down on me?? I am about 1/3 of the way there (as far as how much I want to lose) and so maybe I need to do something to boost me over this hurdle? Whatever it is, I better figure it out soon! :O(

Darla

The weekend report!

OK, as promised, here is a run-down of our weekend! So fun! So awesome! So worn out!
But again, SO FUN!

So, we started out on Friday with the bbq/swim party for our oldest ds Chris. He turned 16 on Wed as you remember (the same day Dad crashed and burned on his bike) so we had a be-lated celebration. We rented a pool for 2 hours and invited all his friends and some family and we had a blast! LOTS of swimming, eating, playing and visiting. Some of the adults even got in the pool and *SOME OF US* even went down the slide, more than once! LOLOL I tell ya, talk about FUN! As you can see from the photos, our dear friend Blake took over the "Master BBQ" duties as Ed has a broken wing right now..... and as you can also see, Blakely-man went a little freakin' out nuts with the whole job! WHAT A WEIRDO he is!!! (but thanks for all the help Blake!)
I got a few pix of Chris with his buddies (Chris is the one with his shirt off) and then a good close up of him in a cool new shirt he got as a gift. There is also a photo of the kids all eating and then one of Blake, Ed and Lisa visiting. All in all, it was a totally kickin' fun time!

We recovered from Fri night and got an early start Sat on some work and hitting some yard sales. Afternoon called for a NAP for the adults - LOLOL -go figure! Then Sat night we went out to Blake and Lisa's for THEIR daughters party. They had hired a dj from a local radio station and had a huge back yard bbq/ dance party. O M Gosh!!!!! You wanna talk about FUN? You got like maybe 8-10 adults and like 40 kids and tons of LOUD music.....crazy fun! Seriously! We were ALL jumping around, dancing, singing, swinging each other from one end of the yard to the other! Kids on the trampoline, people playing frisbee... the world's largest and craziest game of "Red Rover" ever. Just total FUN! I did NOT take my camera but will get some pix from Lisa to share soon. We danced full blown out of control until after 11:00 pm and I tell you, I felt like a HS kid again! I cannot even describe how young and fun I felt all night long! The BEST time I have had in a long long long long long time.

With that, I have to add, I have been "pretty good" with my eating considering all the partyin' that has been going on. I also had a kick butt session at the gym on Fri and Sat but skipped Sun (hey, day of rest, right?). Overall, I hope to be pleasantly suprized on the scales come Monday. That 50#'s is gonna kill me I tell ya!
But, in reference to the above. I have to say that A: a year ago I would have not gone down ANY slide let alone one at a pool.... heck, I would not have even GOTTEN IN the pool a year ago, and B: I would not have felt comfortable dancing in front of anyone (even kids) a year ago, I would not have had the ENERGY to dance for hours like we did last night. I would have been so self consious and would have sat in the corner and stuffed my face with cake and burgers. True story. So, even if I have yet to hit the "grande" 50# mark yet, I can tell you the world of difference I saw in myself this weekend is enough to make me VERY proud and feel VERY wonderful. I just see it getting better and better too.

Loves!
Darla

Lots to share and minimal time!

Oh my gosh I have so much to share and yet my time is super tight right now. Let me just quickly say however, that this weekend has been one of the best I have ever had. I feel like this summer is going to go down in "Darla" history as one of the best ever too. Loving it! Love that I feel so good and things are going so well. (Aside from the bike wreck that hubby had of course)

Lots and lots of pictures to share but will have to wait till' later.... but wanted to let you know the weekend of b-day part'in was AWESOME and AMAZING! So much fun!!!

HUGS
Darla

Quick hello and shout out to Sherann!

Since Sherann said she reads my blog *everyday* I thought I'd send a special hello and hug to her! Love you sis!

Busy weekend here. Had Chris' 16th Bday party last night and still feel like I need a recovery period! LOL We rented the swimming pool for 2 hours, bbq'd, visited, ate cake and played. The kids (and some adults) had fun swimming, I even got brave and went down the slide with Blake, Lisa and Lisa! CRAZIES!!!! It was fun though! We had a good turn out and Chris had fun which was most important of all. Awesome day as far as the weather too... gotta love that!

Today we ran ran ran and got lots done. Tonight is a big party for Blake and Lisa's dd Abbi. They too, are bbq'ing and also having a DJ from the local radio station come and do music and a light show. It looks to be a LOT of fun and hopefully the infamous Idaho winds will die down before long.... or it will be a long night! :O( I am excited to go though, all the kids, everyone, total family night, so cool.

Weight loss is at a stand still this week, but that is ok since I have not been eating that great. However, I have been KICKING BUTT at the YMCA on the ellyptical machine and I must say I am pretty dang proud of myself! I can totally feel the difference and am SEEING major changes in my body again....very reassuring to me!!! Love that! Can't wait to weigh in on Monday as I know I'll have hit that 50 lbs, I KNOW IT!

OK off and running, shower calls and gotta get ready for the PAHHH-TEE tonight! Hugs and luvs to ya!
Darla

Happy Bday Chris -Sweet 16 .......... And down........ he went!

WED JUNE 20, 2007 A DAY TO REMEMBER

OK so I missed blogging yesterday, but I really DO have a good excuse! For one thing, it was my "baby" boy Chris' 16th Bday, happy 'belated' bday Chris! He isn't really our baby, but he is our firstborn and always will be my baby! Anyway, he didn't expect much yesterday bc we are holding his party Fri night, so thankfully he wasn't too shell shocked when he was working with Blake yeseterday on the truck and they left their scheduled appt and as they were turning into the E.R. parking lot at the hospital Blake told him that they were going to see his Dad, who had wrecked his motorcycle!!!!!!!! Yup, you read right! VERY very bad afternoon yesterday and definatly NOT what Chris had in mind for his 16th Bday!
So, Wed afternoon Ed was headed home for lunch on his new motorcycle .... they just repaved the street down the road from his work and as he approached the stoplight it changed to red. Rather than try to gun through the light, Ed proceeded to stop, but the BIKE had another plan as the road was hot and slick with the new tar and the wheel locked up, the bike slid up around him and he was thrown to the right and skidded through the fresh, hot, sticky, slick tar! 4+ hrs at the ER and a broken left wrist later, he was home, in pain, but home. Luckily he WAS wearing his helmet and luckily there was no other traffic in front of or behind him. Luckily he was not going fast and luckily he is pretty much OK. Thank you Lord! He is banged up, has a mild concussion, broken wrist, lots of road rash (with tar for souveniers) and bummps and bruises all over. Bless his heart, he even got back on his bike and RODE IT HOME after he dumped it and then announced we needed to go to the E.R.! OYE! MEN!
Yup, that pretty much covers it! I did include a few pix, one of Chris on his lil' brothers bike, (prob the only one I'll let him ride from now on) in honor of his Bday. Then there is one of Ed with the wrecked bike and his fresh new cast, also one of his helmet showing the gouges in the chin area and then one of the big fat dent in the gas tank on his bike. I took like 40 pix but they were mostly for insurance, every little scrape and bump, but since the bike was in extremely excellent shape, it really IS that bad.
OK Well, count your blessings folks! We sure are!
XOXOX
Darla

Big things going on!

So, in Sunday's tragic news, I discovered that my washer machine (clothes) had bit the dust, went kapooey, gave up, and died. Yup, it went to the big appliance heaven in the sky! FULL of a load of whites and bleach water I might add! ICK! Dang thing sure picked a fine to time to keel over! Poooey! Well, thankfully we took our little happy family to Home Depot today and LOOK at what we brought home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am just one super duper happy woman now, enjoying just looking at these new babies in my laundry room (which is getting a mini makeover tonight too)! They are amazing! They beep and ding and are all electronic! They spin and swoosh and are just awesome! Super capacity loads, no off balance cycles (hooray! no more "walking" across the laundry room on it's own?) and 10001 other features that I have yet to even play with! I LOVE THEM!! Who'da ever though appliances would or could be SO freaking cool? BIG thanks to Liz for shopping assistance, Ed for asking the necessary questions to the Home Depot guy, and to our oldest ds Chris who happened to be at work with our friend Blake when they graciously "offered" to come help pick up and deliver them to our house. Oh and to haul the old ones out, the new ones in and hook them up! And to Blake again for helping to put up the new fixtures in the bathroom as well.... all for a few measly Wheat Thin crackers! What a guy! LOLOLOLOL

On top of all this magic in my life today, I have to add in my .02 cents on my diet! After totally misbehaving at the table on Sunday I am HAPPY to report that I was down nearly 2 lbs this morning at weigh in!! All that 5 days of workout at the gym last week must have really been key for this week. Yeah! I was very happy when I got on those scales, very very happy.

Ahhhhhhh good day indeed!
Darla

Good Morning and Happy Father's Day

Well, Dad is on his way home from Boise this a.m. and everyone is all excited to see him! He has had a fun weekend but the ride on the motorcycle was a bit more than he expected (or so I hear). LOL I am just glad he got to go and get away for some down time and fun. We missed him a lot though!

Today we all slept in, missed Church and just have a bit of tidy up to do on the house before Ed gets here. I have some laundry to do too, but what is new, really?

Had such fun with the kids yesterday. We went over to the H.S. and watched about an hour of a sort of drag race competition thing. It was more of a "first off the line" kind of race, tons of COOL cars, well, everything from cars to trucks and 4 wheelers and even a snowmachine! Fun stuff! We talked to a guy with a 1970 Firebird, he showed us the engine and stuff... we talked Firebirds a bit with him, then Chris was just DYING to come home and get his car so we had to do that later. By the time we got over there things were wrapping up but we drove by and Chris revved up the engine a few times and then PEELED OUT of the parking lot and sent the back of the car into a fishtail! OMGosh I about had a stroke! That boy scares me! OYE! Then we went for a drive with the t-tops off... it was a gorgeous 85-90 degree day and the drive was awesome. Chris loves that car so much!

Late last night the gal I will be babysitting for came by to visit. We talked about our plan and the baby, he is SO stinking cute! I think it is going to be fun to have a baby around! After she left we sort of hung out, it got late fast.... before I knew it I was watching tv at stinkin' 1:00 a.m.! I can't beleive I was up that late! So this morning I am dragging. Crazy.

In honor of FATHER'S DAY today, I put up some sweet pix of our kids who all just adore and love their Dad so much! Ed is a great Daddy, he is very devoted to our kids and they all love him more than he can know. I am so thankful for a guy who truly take interest in his children and loves to watch them learn and grow! We love you Daddy!

Make it a good one!
darla

Sunshine and Flowers!

So, our yard is finally getting into full bloom and making things all bright and cheery! I love it! I just wish the daisies would start popping up, they always make me so happy! Love daisies! This is just an assortment of pictures, one of the flower boxes on our back deck, a pot from the front drive and then misc from around the yard. I took tons more, but I'll share more later.

Today has been, well, lazy. I got up and took Chris to work, stopped by a friends and attempted to do some "mending" on her sewing machine but didn't have much success. I did fold some laundry and make my bed... fed the kids, picked up ds from work and now here I sit! There is a "drag show" over at the HS with a bunch of cool ol' souped up cars....thinking about taking the kids over there. They want to go swimming again but 3 days in a row is a lot, I think we need a break.

Gonna just hang out here at home tonight. The gal I'll be babysitting for next week will stop by to chat with me, get a plan and schedule set up for the lil' guy. So excited to have a baby in the house! Making chicken cattatori for dinner and maybe some garlic bread and a nice big salad. Still need to get some housework done too, but mostly just feeling lazy and lost with Ed and everyone gone out of town. LOL I am such a goof!

I am convinced that my body is falling apart too. Sunburned my back twice this week, scraped the skin on my arm on some bricks, knee is stiff and sore, growing a nasty coldsore on my lip, and have "injured" my eyelids with rough tissue/papertowels and caused dryness and scabs on them. I am a trainwreck.

OK guess the laundry is not going to do itself??

OK I think I got it!

As promised. Some pictures for you. A clean bedroom for a 6 yr old little Micheal means a messy livingroom for a not so happy Momma. Ugh.

And, A new set of MotorCross Gear for a nearly 16 yr old little Chris (ok, not so little) means yet more stress for a not so happy again Momma. Double Ugh!

That's all I will share for now. I have a ton more photos but I'll save them for another post. Wanted to get Chris' new boots on there for Dad and Pappa to see though! Hope your having fun guys! XOXO Darla

Keeping up with the photos - OYE!

OK folks, I am desperatly trying to keep up with the photos I have been taking lately. Seems like I spend more time downloading them off the camera than I do looking at them anymore. LOVE the digi camera thing but sometimes.....

Anyway, have a bunch to share, if they ever finish downloading. In the mean time, just a dang good day we have had here on this happy Friday. Ed made it to Boise OK, the kids and I had fun swimming. I got some groceries picked up for the weekend and basically now I just need to clean this mess called HOME and get some laundry done. Who knows, I might just enjoy my weekend after all? LOL

OK off to see about these photos.
Don't give up on me yet!

Some points of interst this fine Friday morning.

Remember THIS photo? I posted it a couple months ago... my "moo moo" dress that was drowing me? Well, I have gotten rid of a ton of my fat mamma clothes but I have held on to this dress for a couple of reasons. Mostly to do comparisons but also as a reminder of where I don't want to go ever again. Well, yesterday I was playing dress up and model in the mirror with my new little b&w dress I got last week, yes, I still think I look hot in it, but anyway, when I pulled it out of the closet there was that ugly dang plaid thing so I took it out too and put it on..... and ya know what? It SLID OFF my shoulders! I about crapped! It is huge - HUGE on me! So loved that feeling of looking in the mirror at myself and seeing that happen. Yeah me!

Had a SUPER awesome workout at the YMCA this a.m. I actually overslept a bit this a.m. because we were out late last night with friends. However, I did get up and going and since time was short I just skipped right to the ellyptical machine. Now, this baby, I have been nursing it slow and smooth... has taken me weeks to build up some endurance but this week I have also been turning up the resistance too and I am now not only up 2-3 levels higher in resistance and ramp but I also pushed myself to 25 full minutes today too! Best part of it was knowing that if I had wanted to I could have kept going..... I am SO doing this! Way cool!

Ummm what else? Getting dh ready to head off to Boise to see family. Doing the boys motorcycle ride thing. Sort of worries me but I know he'll have fun. Ummm, taking the kids swimming again today. Found out at about 10:00 pm last night that I sunburned the HECK out of my back yesterday and had NO clue whatsoever! Geesh Darla! Ummm... oh and this a.m. I did my "good deed" for the week. I have been teasing Blake all week about the bathroom at the shop up in Rigby, let's just say that the 4 guys that work there are GROSS!!!! I stop and potty break in the morning usually and I just am beyond grossed out so today I spent an extra 5 minutes in there with a giant bottle of disinfectant cleaner, lemony fresh scented, and scrubbed that nasty toilee'! ICK! Talk about grosser than gross. I told Blake now his bathroom smells lemony fresh and he asked me if I dropped a lemon out of my BUTT!?! Geesh- some thanks I get? Men!

OK off and running.........make it a good one folks!

Darla

Thursday Already?

Holy cow this week has zoomed by. So busy with kids and stuff, don't know where my days have went? Looking forward to the weekend though, some "down" time maybe and some fun. DH is going to head to Boise on his new bike to visit his folks for Father's Day and he and his pop are going for a guys' ride on their bikes. Dad went and got a VStar motorcycle too so they can go be biker boys for a bit! hee hee! Hope they have a blast!

The kids and I are heading to the pool today. We have had pretty decent temps here and we need to take adv of the nice sunny weather AND our pool pass through the YMCA. We plan to go tommorrow too with our family friends. (Mom and kids that is) I love to swim so this should be fun!

Yard is starting to perk up. The lawn was pretty dry from the spring and now the grass is greening up. The flowers are coming in, I have taken some pix but need to download them to share. Love the yard at this house so much!

Laundry is going. Lunch is done. Watering the yard. Going to go watch my "soap" on tv then head to the pool. Should be a good afternoon! Tonight after dinner I have a card class at Church, great group of ladies, nice to get out. I am struggling to get the stuff together (last minute of course) but we'll have fun. Going to make boxes to store our stashes in and then some kits too. FUN! I hope they enjoy it!

OK so this week has been a struggle with foods. Lots of bad choices and yest I was in despair as my weight was up a bit but today it was back down and I could cry a sigh of relief. Whew! I have finished reading my Total Body Makeover book and am fine tuning my plan to start. I think it is best to wait till' after the summer rush is over, family here, all that so that I can put 100% focus into it. I just need to get a plan and stick to it. 12 weeks is a LONG time and so I have to be prepped to do it and tough it out. It is a great plan though and I am certain I can do it. The excersize routine is VERY stringent but I know I can get through.....

Alrighty then! Make it a good one folks! The weekend is almost here!
Hugs and luvs,
Darla

Wish I was here....

I know, it has only been 3 days, but I sure wish we were back up at the cabin. There is just something about being there, away from wordly things. No worries, no stress, just time to relax and be with your family. Wish I was there right now.


**EDITED**

OUCH! Today has actually turned out to be a pretty decent day after all (even if I am not at the cabin) but DANG! I just totally sliced my thumb really good with the knife while cutting up potato wedges for the roast. Ouchie!! Good thing Dani came to my rescue with a bandaid or I mighta cried....

SO Sad today

Just got online this a.m. to read emails and check all my favorite sites and things and came across this
http://www.sherellechristensen.typepad.com/
blog, the owner of our local scrapbook store The Scrap Coop. I can't even describe how totally upset I am and I know it is a trivial little thing in life but when something good comes along, something REALLY good, in your life, you just want to hold on to it. That is what this store was. Something REALLY good in my life. Great ladies, great inspiration, great products, fun atmosphere, just an all around comfortable place to shop. I will be really sad to see them go. My experience with the new owners 'to be' have not been too great so that is a big downer too... but I will definatly give them a chance, everyone deserves that, right?

Otherwise, today has been pretty ok. Good workout at the gym and feeling good.
Darla

Hot little number...

I am proud to say that I stepped outside of my plain jane dress code box this weekend and bought this "hot little number" at an excellent sale price and I look pretty dang good in it if I do say so myself! TOTALLY not my style, not something I would really have ever even looked at but the price was right (only $16 bucks!) and for some reason I tried it on and had to have it! Got the cute little black slip on heels today to go with it too! WHEEE! Now for a fancy night out on the town boys...

All work and no play makes....

Well, as promised, a report of our weekend for you! Just as planned, it was a total blast, way too fun to even tell, and just a pure joy! We even ended up with a couple of sick kids too and it was STILL a fun time. We went up Friday and stayed through Sun afternoon... we played, we worked, we visted, we hot tubbed, we rode 4 wheelers and motorcycles, watched movies, roasted hot dogs in the fire and so much more! It was just AWESOME!
The guys got a lot of work done on the cabin, built stairs and rails on the back deck (both ends) which was a good thing because first thing Fri afternoon, in all my wisdom, jumped off the one side of the deck and jammed my bad knee. Ack! That was not cool. They also put up some sideboard stuff on the back of the front portion of the cabin and let me tell you, seeing my "baby" up on that 30 foot ladder was NOT what this Mom needed! However, he was great, he worked his butt off and he and Blake got a lot accomplished. Ed was not feeling so great and on some pain meds so he was not doing a lot with the power tools (which is a good thing!) and definatly was not going to be climbing any 30 ft ladders but he was a good help when it came to the "math" and measurements and all that fun stuff.
We women folk just sort of watched the kids, cleaned up after the guys and made sure everyone ate lots of good food. Most of Sat was spent running up and down the stairs to the loft checking on sickies... two of our kids and one of our friends got a stomach bug and spent most of Sat with tummy aches, pukies and in the bathroom. Not a pretty thing. :O< But thankfully they were all ok and the weekend was still a hit!
I did pretty dang good cooking out on a dutch oven pot over a burner and set up under an awning in the rain! We got a good hard rain Fri night but otherwise the weather was perfect!
As far as play went... well, the guys went and went and went. Blake and Ed were riding the big 4 wheelers and Chris on his dirt bike. I think they put new rutts in the road as much as they went riding. They had a blast though and that was so cool to see. The kids also did the 4 wheelers, they also played in the creek, watched tons of movies and more. Lisa and I just kicked back and enjoyed one anothers' company as we do so well! :O) She and I typically spend a good amount of time on the phone everyday so getting to sit down and visit all weekend is awesome! The other big "hightlite" this weekend was that the hot tub was delivered and set up on Fri morning so by Sat a.m. we were able to take a little dip! Soooooooooo nice to sit in there and relax. We went for a 2nd one Sat night and that was a blast! Out there under the stars, hearing the creek run by the deck... just heaven!!
OK That is the report! Tons of fun, can't wait to go back! SOOON I hope! I know we'll be going up the first week in July when Ed's sis and her family is here, but I hope to make it up again before that! I so did NOT want to come home........

Darla

PS Blake and Lisa if you are reading this..... THANK YOU! XOXO You guys rock!

Yes Darla, we HAVE to go home....

We are home. Much to my dissapointment and bummer-ism. We had a fab weekend with tons of fun and memories and I did NOT want it to end. Loved every second of every minute of every day that we were there and so DID NOT want to come home this afternoon. Love spending time with our friends and their family and could just spend 24 - 7 there with them up in nature and away from the world. I have a ton of photos to share but right now I have got a serious need for a SHOWER and cleaning up! More later.

Darla

Oh ok, here is a sneak peek.... I'll have more photos tommorrow! (our oldest, Chris)

Blogger Hiatus

Going to be gone for a couple days.... don't miss me too much! :O) I am sure I'll have billions of pictures to share!

I Had A Good Day.

What a good day. It rained. It was cloudy. It was glum. But it was a good day. I got LOTS done around the house including cleaning our youngests' bedroom...eeegads scary stuff! I got the laundry caught up. I got the girls to clean THEIR room even. I baked a cake (wooah!) and made dinner. I taxi'd kids. I babysat. I even snuck in time to watch my soap-opera on tv. I ate good and made good food choices. I am just very happy with today.
Hmmmmm think it is because I know we are heading out *somewhere* in just 2 more days???

Oh and pictures today are of older daughter Dani....so cute! Also one of our poochie doggie Hershey. Such a good doggie boy! (until he tinkled in the livingroom today!)

Hope YOU had a good day too!
:O) Darla

Our Own Little "MATRIX" Going On Here

Just had to post a couple of pictures from the kids on the trampolene last week. My kids and Robin's two boys..... pretty cool stuff! Gotta LOVE the digital camera!

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!

3 more days
3 more days
3 more days to go ... to go
3 more days
3 more days
3 more days ho-de ho ho ho!

Only 3 more days till' we leave for Island Park for the weekend and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
Got my packing lists done, my grocery list done, catching up on housework and laundry, sleeping bags are washed to go... just waiting for the day to arrive now! Can you tell I am pumped about this?

Darla

Monday ends.... Tuesday is coming soon!

Darla and Micheal on Sunday "goofing around"

Wow, today went by SO stinking fast! I don't know where my day went but I sure did not get nearly enough done. Woke up to Dani being sick (started on Friday) and I was 99.9% certain she was getting strep throat and we went to the Dr and found out it was ALL respratory junk *again*! This girl has had a cough and other resp symptoms for like 2 months now and it is just the horrible pollen counts getting to her. ick! So, I had "called in" on my babysitting job with Robin to take Dani to the Dr, pawned off my own kids too and spent 1/2 the day dealing with chest x-rays and so forth. In the afternoon I spent some time visiting with my close friend and then came home and cleaned and cooked dinner. Again, I don't know where the whole day went! Now I feel like I am a day behind on everything too! Grrr!
Tommorrow I will be babysitting, have more housework to do, more laundry to catch up, starting to get things together for the cabin this weekend..... lots and lots to do! Should be interesting!
Had a cruddy "food" day with my BIG PUSH but am ok with it and ready to face up and go ahead with tommorrow renewed and ready to do the right things.
Hope you had a good Monday!

DarlaLou

Relaxing Calm Sunday

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Can you hear it? Yup, it is totally calm and relaxing around here today and I am LOVING it! The adults got up and went to Church and the kids stayed home... LOL figure THAT one out? After Church we came home and I have my honey a great backrub as he is stiff from yesterday's long day of labor and work up at the cabin with Blake and Chris. (Chris is still in bed!) I fixed some lunch and now we are all just hangin' out. Will need to figure out something for dinner but overall today will just be a lazy one I think. We all need a day like that once in a while.

The guys had fun and worked hard yesterday. Got all the sheetrock unloaded into the cabin... between 7-8 THOUSAND POUNDS of the stuff! I think there was close to 60 sheets of it?! Then they put up insulation UNDER the cabin and skirted the cabin too. I am sure they did a ton of other stuff as well but I can't remember everything they told me! Anyway, the sheetrock/drywall guys will be up there this week so when we go next weekend we should be painting walls! Coolness! I am making lists to pack already and SO ready to go!

Weight is good. I am still down a total of 4 lbs since I started the BIG PUSH on the first of the month. I hope that my Monday weigh in will be a good one! Still have not gotten my book I ordered, grrrr, but I am motivated anyway!

Here is a picture of Micheal.... at the cabin last weekend (of course!) looking all grubby and boyish as he is!

Have a good day folks!
Darla

** edited **
I got in a kick butt workout at the YMCA today too! Even managed to up the resistance level on the ellyptical machine as well as keep up my 20 min time! Whoo whoo!!!!

Fun Date Night - My Boys at Work

Wow another weekend here and going by WAY too fast.
I love the weekends bc we usually get some play time, much needed play time, and thankfully we finally got a "date night" with our friends last night. It has been a few weeks since we have gone out with NO kids and I sure needed it! We did our usual night, went out to Garcia's Mexican resteraunt (where I made GOOD food choices!) and then teased each other to the inth-degree! After that we came over to our house and sat out on the deck where the weather was PERFECT and we lit a fire in our little fire-pit stove out there. We sat and visited and relaxed and listened to music (and our kids fight) and had a nice time. It was over all too fast really. I look forward to our nights out with Blake and Lisa so much. :O)
We had to call it early though because Ed, Blake and our oldest son Chris were up and at em'at the wee hours today. They headed up to the cabin to work all day and wanted an early start since it is an 1 1/2 hr drive. They will get a lot done and I can't wait to see the progress when we go up next weekend as a family!! So fun!
Today I have to make a library run, going to take the kids to go play with some friends, maybe stop by and say HI as Lisa has an open house she is holding for her real estate job. Oh, and I guess I need to clean the house, do some laundry and some yardwork too. Hmpf! The sheer and utter joy! (not)
The BIG PUSH is going great so far! Headed to the gym in a bit to get in my workout but VERY HAPPY to report that in just ONE day (started yesterday) I am down 3 lbs already! I will be to my 50lb mark before I know it! AWESOME stuff! *and a thanks to Lisa for reminding me last night NO licorice!*
Well, off and running as usual. Here are a couple pix for you. One is of Blake and Lisa from our cruise to Ca/Mx a couple of years a go (so you can all see who they really are minus dust and bad hair!) and then one of the guys working up at the cabin from last weekend. Not a great photo but sort of cool with the sun shining through... that is just how perfect the day really was!

Make it a good one! Remember to PUSH yourselves!
Darla

**9:00pm wanted to add... I did really good all day today with my BIG PUSH and was feeling quite good about myself and then caved and ate pancakes for dinner! yikes! after that we took the kids out for an ice cream, go figure..... **

Happy Friday All!

Today is a super awesome day already and I am jazzed to go! Looking forward to the weekend ahead and some relaxing fun with the family. (more excited about NEXT weekend and going back up to the cabin but hey...)

So today is Day 1 of my BIG PUSH MONTH for June. I am off to a good start, had a great workout at the YMCA this a.m. and have been making good choices. Very happy with this. Just hope my book comes today so I can have that guide/motivation too!

Poor Ed is working crazy megga hours right now, haven't seen much of him this week. Hope his weekend settles down, he is on call and I have a feeling it is going to be a long one. :O(

Going to take the kids to the park for a picinic today, get in some of this sunshine wer'e getting. Supposed to be up in the 80's today, oh I love that! So awesome!

Some more pix from the cabin to share. Just because I LOVE it up there! I have to remind myself everyday that we get to go back soon!! One of the little stream that runs by the cabin... and one of Blake being a DORK peeking out from behind the roof from the upper deck in the back (if you enlarge it by clicking on it you'll see what a big goof-ball he is)!!!!

Have a GREAT weekend!
Darla