some fun things

Dani is 16 - WOW! We went and got our nails
done together today - good time!

Got my goodies from Robin for the card challenge
and they are FUN! THANK YOU SWEETIE!
Found the super cute binder clips on the mark
down at WallyWorld for a buck!

Sweet lil' Tina got a new dress today too! :O)

TOMORROW I am scrapping with the girls!!!!!!!!!
WOOT WOOT!

Last night Ed took me to the comedy show - hysterical!Today we had a day off together and I SO enjoyed it as
well as the salon with Dani!
Tonight is Dani's 16th party with all the kids from
school - wish me luck!!!Tommorrow I am scrapping iwth the girls! Hoorah!Tommorrow night I get to go see the UFC Fights with
Ed and I am sooooo excited!

Going to be a great weekend!

DarlaLOU

JUST FOR JESSICA!

One of my boss lady's has the sweetest
daughters (yes, Robin has boys so it
isn't her this time) and they bring alot
of joy to our office when they visit,
alone or with 2 or 3 or 4 kids in tow...
(I am serious) Anyway, Jessica is a
total sweetheart and her BLOG post
brought this poem to mind... so just
for you Jess - XO DarlaLOU




Babies Don't Keep

Mother, oh Mother,
come shake out your cloth,
empty the dustpan,
poison the moth,
hang out the washing
and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house
is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery,
blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little
Boy Blue (lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done
and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing
will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up,
as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep'

~Author Unknown ~

PHOTOS

Lots n lots n lots of photos to share:

A. Why NOT to let a 9 yr old boy
stay up all night playing video
games at his cousins house. (this
was not our choice or plan)

B. TONS of scrappy projects going
on right now, Track Album for
Tiffany, my LOVE book altered
and in progress, my page kits
that I have ready to go when I
want to do a new page, etc.

C. My messy but fun little scrappy
corner of the world. :O) I have
my big collection of pattern papers,
my STACK of scrap pieces of pattern
papers (and funny notes under there
I will tell about more), my sorely
in need cardstock stash, my two
book shelves with all my goodies
and ribbon jars that I love as much
as the day I got them, and then
my weewittle work area that always
gets piled up with STUFF! The one
thing about being in a small corner
is pretty much everything is within
an arms length reach! LOL

Enjoy! (sorry if some of the pix are yellow-ish
it is the lighting in our basement)

DarlaLOU

*funny note*
I don't know if you can read them
in the photo or not, but my son's friend
shared a quote:
"If you're not moving forward, you're moving
backwards" and I put it up there on my desk to
see every single day. A friend of ours came over
and put up the little one next to it (LOL!) that
says:
"If your not asleep your awake"
- ahhhhhhh such words of wisdom!? LOL

A few thoughts to share -

"Shape the future by dealing with the present."
GREAT advice off my Dove Promise today...


"Watch your thoughts, they become your beliefs.
Watch your beliefs, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.
Watch your actions, they become your habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character."
A quote from a friend of a friend off FB today...
one that will stick with me for a while!

AND I have to say I AM LOVING Womens Health Magazine!!
A friend gave me a new book by WH called
"Womens' Health Training Guide Lose Your Belly"
and I am really excited about it - it is very
REAL information for REAL women like - ME!

Guess that is all - toodles for now!
DarlaLOU

Today's work....

We all pitched in today - the kids, Ed and myself
busted some butt and got a ton of chores done. The
weather was SO NICE we had to get some outside work
done as well. Love when everyone pitches in!

So, I worked on our entry/walkway to the front
door which was overgrown and sadly looking because
it snowed so early last fall that I never got a chance
to cut back the growth and prep for winter like I
usually do. It was UGLY! It took me a full hour to
get the entry cleaned up -- It is a drop in the
bucket really -- our yard is a landscaping nightmare
thanks to the original owners who planted every living
green thing out there! So, I will be working a lot
outdoors the next few weeks.

Tiffany washed the dogs - oh, and blow dried them! UGH!
(I don't know WHY Tina got the spotlight and Hershey
got a 'blobish' photo) LOL

Ed and Christopher worked on our very very sad looking
garage that was a disaster! Again, the early winter
kicked us in the hiney cuz' we had snow tires, both
Halloween AND Christmas decor all piled in there as
well as kids misc bikes out of place, boxes saved for
the Soccer rummage sale and so on. BIG CRAZY MESS! They
worked all afternoon and did an amazing job!

Here are the before and afters... feeling SO much
better now! Ahhhhhhhh love it!

DarlaLOU!

My siblings...

ALL of Mom's Kids - The older 4 and then the 3 "little girls"








So, while going through photos tonight I came across the photos from
our Mom's funeral - it's been almost 2 years and I still miss her SO
much everyday. We took a lot of opportunity to take photos at her
services because with such a 'blended' family who knows when or if
we will ever see some family members again.

I talk of my two closest sisters a lot - Carlee and Lisa... we are
all three from the same "batch" (aka same parents) but there are
12 kids all together. The three oldest from Dad - Gordon, Linda M.
and Bobby... then our Mom had two daughters - Sandy and Sherann...
then there were Carlee, Lisa and myself when they got married. After
Mom died, Dad remarried again and Edna (our step-mom who raised us)
had 4 children of her own from 2 prev marriages - Don, Joyce, Mig
and Linda B. I was the youngest of all of them and was pretty much
raised with all of them around soooo they are all my siblings!

Anyway, wanted to share a couple of photos - one is of Carlee and her
hubby Tony
- then there is Lisa with her three children, Mindy, Jeff
and Joseph and then the three of us girls
-lastly is the photo of all "Mom's" kids - the children our
stepmom raised from end to end:
Darla, Lisa, Mig, Don, Joyce, Carlee, Linda B.
Not everyone made it to the services due to some
circumstances but most were there.
I wanted to do this at Dad's funeral 13 years ago and no one
woudl comply and that is the last time all 12 were together
in one place at one time -
now our brother Bobby has passed away and we will never have that
back. :O(
Photos are SO important! SO SO SO IMPORTANT! Even if a funeral seems
an 'unoportune' time - get those photos!
So, there is my 'share' and 'preach' for the day.
Enjoy!
Darla

My cards for The Challenge

I made two cards, and I am posting them both,
but I am only entering the "love" card as my
contest entry ... however, I wanted to share
both here on the blog! I am having fun working
on these and have not figured out who to send
the "love" one to yet but know 110% who I am
sending the flower one to!
THANKS ROBIN!

I KNEW IT!!!! Soda is the 'devils' food!

Wanted to remind my blog readers of the
BIG CARD CHALLENGE at
Robin's blog this weekend...
see my previous post to
find out more - but come on,
join in and have fun!!



A friend shared this with me and I loved reading it! I
noticed such a HUGE difference when I
stopped drinkingpop - even DIET pop! Enjoy the read....
*******************************************************
Another reason not to drink soda!
Regular AND Diet Soda Increase Risk of Metabolic Syndrome We already know that consumption of soda has been linked to obesity in children and adolescents, but what's the risk for middle-aged adults? A recent study in the July 23, 2007 Journal of the American Heart Assoc...iation – Circulation – gives us the sad, and somewhat shocking, answer. Researchers examined participants from the Framingham Heart Study, a famous study started in 1948 that looks at the health and lifestyle habits of thousands of people and their offspring. The participants reported the average number of 12-oz servings of soft drinks (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, or other carbonated soft drinks, separately categorized into caffeinated or decaffeinated drinks) consumed per day in the year preceding the survey. The researchers then looked at the prevalence and incidence of metabolic syndrome and it's components such as: waist circumference greater than or equal to 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men; fasting blood sugar greater than or equal to 100 mg/dL or being treated with oral medications or insulin; blood pressure greater than or equal to 135/85 mm Hg or being treated for high blood pressure; triglycerides greater than or equal to 150 mg/dL or being treated for high triglycerides; and HDL less than 40 mg/dL for men and less than 50 mg/dL for women. Participants in the study had to be free of metabolic syndrome at their baseline examination. The results were disturbing and should serve as a wake-up call for our nation of soda drinkers. Individuals who consumed at least 1 soft drink per day had a 44% higher risk for developing metabolic syndrome. Worse yet, intake of at least 1 regular OR diet soda per day was associated with a greater than 50% higher incidence of metabolic syndrome than among those who drank less than 1 soft drink per week. The surprising outcome was that the increased risk and incidence of metabolic syndrome was observed for intake of both regular AND diet soft drinks. The authors of the study state that this is obviously noteworthy given the lack of calories in diet soda. However, they do cite other studies showing associations of diet soft drinks with weight gain in boys and hypertension in women. According to the authors of the study, there are several mechanisms that can explain the higher risk of metabolic abnormalities associated with greater consumption of soda, and obviously a higher intake of high fructose corn syrup tops the list. But what about the diet soda? Some researchers speculate that consuming artificially sweetened soft drinks somehow affects our ability to adjust to eating less food at subsequent meals. Some suggest that the high sweetness of diet or regular sodas may lead to conditioning our bodies for a greater preference for sweetened items. Some believe some of the chemicals in the soda may promote insulin resistance. Dietary habits of persons consuming sodas can also differ from persons who don't drink soda. Some studies show soda drinkers have a greater intake of saturated and trans fats, lower consumption of fiber and dairy products, and a sedentary life. However, in the present investigation, the researchers adjusted for these factors and still found a significant association of soda consumption and the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. My personal theory is that artificially-sweetened beverages stimulate the pancreas to overproduce insulin in response to the "sugar" load. If this is the case, any real sugars already in the blood might then get stored as fat, causing blood sugar levels to become too low. The liver would then have to release extra glucose to bring the blood sugars back up to normal, and, as is often the case, the liver might then release too much sugar into the blood, starting the cycle all over again. This process frequently occurs in persons with insulin resistance, with the extra insulin contributing to heart disease and metabolic syndrome risk factors. Whatever the reason, the news is bad. Soda consumption, diet or regular, greatly increases our risk of serious disease. That makes this author think twice (or three times!) before "Doing the Dew".

Check THIS out!

Dear dear Robin (ribinscraps) is hosting a challenge on her blog! The sketches are SO SO SO SO CUTE and I think it will be a fun little challenge to do - what I am excited about it that I am going to do several of these cards and pick my fave to enter her challenge!!! Whee fun stuff!

So, go check it out here:

http://heartfelt.typepad.com/my_weblog/

and join in the fun!!!!!!

Toodles and happy weekend!
Darla

changes

Just trying to encourage myself to see where I came from - starting in 2006 and then through 2009 - 3 plus years of healthy choices and still not at my goal but looking and feeling 100X better!

I LOVE YOU ROBIN!!!!!

I love this girl. I love love love her!
AND she wanted my blog updated! Here it is!

love my family

I am so blessed.


I have a great husband who loves me when the rest of the world walks out on me.



I have 4 beautiful, healthy, spunky, smart kids who make me SO proud.



I have a great home full of laughter, love and rough play.



I am blessed.
I love my family. XOXO

playing around a little

Darla -still working on that creative mo-jo -
still....
I used to create papercrafts like a mad woman
I am not sure what happened but I have to get
in the mood now - inspired - whatever

I talked with someone today who told me I need
to find "purpose" in each day - if it be to
accomplish a household task or other chore out
of the ordinary, or to find a creative outlet,
or a physical goal (ah hemmm) - whatever, just
don't let myself get drawn down by the day to
day hum drum of life bc THAT is when your inner
demons get to you - LIVE life, dont' just EXSIST!

So, since I was not feeling well today and stayed
home I have been playing with paper a little - in
between my nausea and ick moments and these are what
I came up with....

The card was TOTALLY inspired by this
blog... http://www.lauravegas.typepad.com so cute!
I love how mine turned out! (Letter stickers ARE
THE BOMB!)

The bag was deeply thought out and inspired by
this blog http://www.flkipper.typepad.com/
... and I appriciate her willingness
to let me scraplift from her! :O)
THANKS KIP!! I used wallpaper
samples for most of the bag along with some old and
saved paper scraps from days gone by, a few yardsale
vintage stamps and lots n lots of inking... and the
paper bag is from the liquor store! LOL I just went
in and asked for a few and they were really nice
about it! I really like this a lot and plan on doing
some more - I have a HUGE box of wallpaper samples
and can visualize many ideas from it!

Enjoy!
:O) Darla

BIG shout out to my "Smallest Winner" Club

So far we as a group have lost a whoppin'
221 POUNDS!!!!
My team, the Purple team has lost 76.4
Red team has lost 73
Blue team has lost 71.6

AMAZING work ladies!

Yes Shar, Robin, and all you scrappers out there I *HAVE* been scrapping!

So, I am home "sick" this weekend (fighting a UTI infection)
and taking it easy... that means two things. I get to stay
in my jammies and I get to play with paper! HOORAY!

I have been feeling inspired to make some cards, use up some
scraps and things - I know these aren't much, my creative
juices didn't get really flowing till' the end, but I had fun
and I have a few extras to add to my card file for our family
use ( I rarely if ever buy a greeting card or tag now). So, I
made a few tie on gift tag style cards a couple of mini folded
cards and then a couple of tri-fold cards (thanks for the
inspiration Shar!!) and all in all put together 8 cards last
night and this morning. I really love both the tri-folds, that
is when I started to get "into the groove" so they are the
cutest I think! :O)

Anyway, have a couple of other projects I'd like to play with
today if I have time so keep checking back for more!
Enjoy your weekend! It's almost over! :O(
XO
Darla
(oh and notice the lovely bandaid on my pinkie finnnger?
ya, i smashed it bad yesterday :O( boo hoo )

From my good friend Kim - a MUCH needed message today!

(click to enlarge and read it)

MARCH!

So, I have slacked off here on the ol' blog a lot. Sorry. I know.
However, things have been moving right along. Still fighting the
fitness war. Still raising amazing crazy kids. Still working the
job I love so much. Just moving along.
In big news - Micheal moved up in Scouts to a Bear.
Tiff had her 13th Bday!
The SNOW IS MELTING and it is raining! LOVE MARCH!
Just a lot of same ol'stuff but daily things intertwined
too.
Ummmmm Dani is playing soccer for Odysee - with Holly and Lauralynn
as coaches. Chris is still working like mad for Blake - although
they announced they are closing the shop last week and doing
flips instead. Ed is still doing college online and got his grad
cert and is moving on to his next degree. Tiff placed 4th in the
National History Day competition. I am not studying NEARLY enough
for the insurance testing coming up faster than I care to think.
My niece Megan is getting married the end of July. We are going
to Disneyland in June when school is out. Busy busy busy times!
Yup. that is about it.

More later when I can add pix and stuff! :O)

love hate

Having a love hate thing with real estate agents.
On one hand, my best friend Lisa is a real estate agent.
A good one. A great one! A REALLY TALENTED ONE!
On the other hand there are evil underhanded nasty ones.
The one selling my home is one. UGH!

I am not happy right now. Dealing with a lot of CRUD
via the real estate thing. So if I whine and boob
and complain, that is why.