Jesus Wore Sandals After Labor Day

That's a quote I read on the sign of a local church. Though my entry has no correlation with the title, I still thought I'd share it.

I thought I'd share my recent weight loss competition I did with some friends from work. I have done many biggest loser competitions but there was something about this one that really had me motivated. I needed to lose at least 10 pounds I had gained over the winter and I just wanted to WIN. My strategy was staying within 1200 calories, sometimes more sometimes less. I also have a Body Bugg which helped me figure out how much I needed to exercise. I lost about a pound every week for 10 weeks. I wasn't sure how everyone else was doing until week 10 when my friend lost 5 pounds at her weigh in. I was NERVOUS!! I was ready to go extreme and I did! I worked my butt off for two weeks, especially the last week. The day before the weigh in I didn't eat anything or drink anything. I also took a water pill and a laxative. I thought I was going to go mentally crazy by the end of the day. My Facebook status mentioned that "anorexia is overrated." How someone can starve themselves I do not know. Anyway, I woke up Saturday morning at 7 AM ready to weigh in. I was supposed to I weigh at 8. What was I going to do for the hour? I couldn't just lay in bed, I was going crazy. Needless to say, I was at her doorstep 8 AM sharp with my Diet Coke in hand. I got on the scale and as soon as I got off, I drank that puppy like nobody's business! I lost 7 pounds in two weeks, 17 pounds total! To top it off, I won the competition which was $350! Wow, I was happy!!!! The money is going towards my trip to London and France. On a side note, I just wanted to mention that the laxative didn't really WORK until MONDAY. And the water pill, never worked, I peed like twice that day. I also got on the scale the very next day and I gained 5 lbs back! Ha, it's all good! Overall, I am really glad I did this. It helped me realize how much better I feel when I take care of my health. Though there were some hard days, I stuck with it and it was worth it!

My Random Thought about Summer

1. Buying passes to Lagoon was a very good decision on my part.

2. Max said that next summer he'd rather have a pass to Cherry Hill instead of Lagoon because people at Cherry Hill don't say the "f" word.

3. Note to self: Michael needs to do something next summer that keeps him BUSY.

4. One of my favorite things about summer was going swimming with my kids. I witnessed pure happiness when I watched Maggie swim. We call her Maggie Fishy Princess.

5. Despite days of fighting and yelling, I really liked this summer.

6. Having kids keeps me young.

7. My friend Misty wrote a blog about pet peeves. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that one of my biggest pet peeves is seeing an engagement picture with the couple kissing. I think it's pointless. I don't get to see the couples happy faces and I just don't think it's cute. I still can't decide why someone would chose to put those pictures up. (I'm kind of sounding old, aren't I?)

8. Claire is kind of obsessed with my daily routines in the bathroom. She constantly asks if I am going to take a "shawya" or if I need to go to the "basroom".

9. I still consider myself beyond addicted to Words With Friends on my iPhone, sweetuth, if you are up to a good game!

This Is Only A Test

I'm writing this from my iPhone. Thought I'd see if I could really do it.

I don't consider myself attached to many "things" in my life. I value people more than things. But when the entire screen of my MacBook cracked on my BIRTHDAY, I started to cry. I don't have any high expectations of how my birthday should
be but I realized that I had an expectation of how it should NOT be! It should not cost me
$400!!! Now I'm using my iPhone for everything. I'm even attempting
the blog thing.

On a more positive note, I took all five kids to Target AND Toys R Us today. It was the best time killer and no one asked for anything!!!! See, that's a post birthday present!

Something New

I thought I'd extend a warm welcome to the recent additions in my friend's life....

Puppy

My friend Cathy got a new puppy. When she talked about it on her blog, the only comment I could make was "no comment". It sure looks cute with her baby, doesn't it? Obviously, I am making this about myself when I say, who has time for a new puppy? Potty training, kennel training, house training, and three kids! Oh wait, she also has a basketful of real chickens in her backyard as well. The more I think about it, the more overwhelmed I feel. Cathy is from a family of 17 kids, she can handle anything. I know my kids love her new puppy so we will just walk over there to see it when we start missing our dog.

MacBook Pro

Ahhhh Katy, Katy, Katy...... My dear friend Katy finally got.....get this......WIRELESS INTERNET and a new MACBOOK PRO! The only word I can think of is d.i.n.a.s.a.u.r. Yes, for as long as I can remember, Katy has had dial up Internet. That's just as old as the floppy disk. It's been kind of fun though because I've loved teasing her about it. At work we'd say, "Katy, that was on YouTube, didn't you watch it?" We'd interrupt ourselves and say "no wait, you didn't, you have dial up." Hours on end of joking. But no more, Katy succumbed to the ways of the world and has entered the new and improved cyberspace! Along with a sweet MacBook, Katy is set for success!

Shhh!!! Don't tell!!! Another friend, whose name I can't mention, has gotten herself an new Spring HTC phone. Though I don't know much about the phone, it seems pretty nice (not as nice as my iPhone). I can't mention her name because, well, her husband doesn't know she has it. She's hiding it from him. Way to empower yourself so-and-so! Can't wait to be the best of texting buddies! Too bad you don't have Words With Friends.

And now... the newest member to my family.....

iPad

I wish!!!! Not even close to getting one of these sweet devices. In my dreams....one day....I will own one. Until then, enjoy the new blogger template I made. That's about as new as I will get for a long time!

Simplify!

Since my last post....

The twins turned 2!!!

Max turned 11

We've gone to the Primary Children's Hospital with Kate for some visits

The past few months have been overwhelming. With pressure I put on myself, as well as pressure from outside sources, I've been a mental case. I had to take a step back and look inside my life to figure out how to LIVE each day and handle the unexpected blows that surface. For example: calls from the school and doctors office, politics from work, dealing with manipulative people, etc. I am trying to live as simple as possible so when unexpected problems show up, I can have a strong sense of self to know what I can or can not handle. I'm getting really good at saying "no" without hesitation. Feeling guilty is a waste of time. I am who I am. There are days that I am in tears and someone knocks on the door or someone calls. There's no point of pretending, you see me as I am where I am. Life is full of laughter, tears, disappointment, and joy. Why can't we all live these moments rather than thinking our life should be perfect? I am a mom of 5 kids, two of them being 2. I have no time to pretend, I only have time to be myself. Simplify!

Thank You?

Dear Mariana,

Thank you for giving me the Kymaro Body Shaper. Am I offended that someone would buy me something that, supposedly, sucks in all my fat? Not at all. I am fully aware of the rolls that hang from my stomach.

The box doesn't have complete instructions so I am wondering if you have some answers to my questions:

1. Is it supposed to take 15 minutes to squeeze into?

2. How are you supposed to breath while wearing it?

3. How do I take it off? It doesn't budge once it's on.

Thanks again for thinking of me! I appreciate someone who understands my tummy situation.

Alison

Confessions of an Addict

• Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.

• Step 5 - Admitted to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our addiction. (I changed it a bit)
  

I love Fitzone Nation! It's the gym I go to every morning. I have gotten in the best shape I've ever been in. I've made great friends there who inspire me to be my best. This summer I'm planning on doing some triathlons and a 1/2 marathon. I guess FZN isn't an addiction per say, but I'm lovin' it!

Diet Coke is a given...old news. I was happy to hear when my friend, Misty, got back on.

Oh, the complete and utter joy I feel with my iPhone 3Gs. I never thought I could be so attached. I even sleep with the thing (well, I use it as my alarm clock). One of my favorite applications is the Google Search. I also dig the sweet map that will take me where I want to go. Really, I could go on forever about this thing. I left it at work on Christmas Eve and had to wait a day and a half to get it back. Seriously, I had nightmares about losing it. It's truly a beautiful device.

Words With Friends, an app on my iPhone. It's like scrabble. I hook up with my friends who have an iPhone or iTouch and we take turns playing. It's great for my friends who play with me because I usually lose. When I'm stuck, I go on a word finder app and I still lose. Soooo, anyone up for a game? My user name is Sweetuth. Just leave me a comment and tell me what your user name is and we'll play.

After making these confessions I've decided I'm not ready to give up on anything of these things. I guess it doesn't hurt to try!