Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Making time for our little ones...while their still little!

My husband and I returned from our wonderful vacation Sunday evening!  We enjoyed spending every moment together for an entire week!  No phone, Internet, appointments, work, cleaning, or cooking.  And no kids...but I will have to say that I really missed them!  We didn't talk to them all week and that was tough, but it was probably a good idea.  I probably would have cried to hear their sweet voices! 

Being away from the children for a week made me think about all the times that I was too busy to do this or that.  Being in grad school, working a full-time job, baking cakes on the side, cooking, cleaning, and everything else has really been my focus for a while now.  The other night, Madison was begging me to play a game with her.  I told her I would when I finished cleaning the kitchen.  Then, something else came up and I never did.  It's like that a lot and I have to change that before it's too late!

I received an e-mail today that included the poem below.  I think many busy moms can relate to this.

My hands were busy through the day.
I didn't have much time to play
The little games you asked me to,
I didn't have much time for you.
I'd wash your clothes.
I'd sew and cook,
But when you'd bring your picture book
And asked me please to share your fun,
I'd say, "A little later son."
I'd tuck you in all safe at night
And hear your prayers, turn out the light,
Then tiptoe softly to the door...
I wish I'd stayed a minute more.
For life is short, the years rush past.
A little boy grows up so fast.
No longer is he at your side,
His precious secrets to confide.
The picture books are put away,
There are no longer games to play.
No good-night kisses, no prayers to hear,
That all belongs to yesteryear.
My hands once busy now are still
The days are long and hard to fill.
I wish I could go back and do
The little things you asked me to.


Author Unknown



Friday, April 30, 2010

Awesome day!!! I love the IRS today!

This morning my husband called as I was pulling up at school with some fabulous news....We FINALLY got our Federal tax refund!! We've been trying to figure out how we are going to make it through the next month and weren't really expecting the check until at least the end of May. We have been back and forth with the IRS because they needed more documentation on our daycare expenses. We sent it to them by fax but they couldn't even tell us if they received it or not! Maybe my little note on the bottom of the fax helped...I politely asked them to process as soon as possible! We were truly blessed to receive it today!! I also got paid today and earned a little cake money too!

The bad thing is...I found out they are going to dock my pay the week that we are going on vacation. They are docking me $100 per day! That's going to be painful, but we'll figure it out!

I also don't get paid during the summer and have already decided to have a yard sale every Saturday. I have enough junk to sell and earn a pretty good living for the summer...and best of all...it's tax free money! The kids are looking forward to helping! They are already packing up clothes and toys to sell!

By the way, I submitted my last assignment in my hospitality management class today! My final for my Economics class is Monday and I'll be DONE!!!!!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Ten more days...

In ten more days...

It will be Mother's Day...such a special day to me since it's the one day of the year that I can totally reflect on being a mom...the best job I've ever had.  I can also reflect on how special my mom is to me.

It will be my 30th day of my workout plan...today I'm on day 20 and I've lost about 3 pounds.  I feel a little better, but I don't see a difference yet.  I'm looking forward to the 30 day mark, then the 60, then 90...

I will be getting on a cruise ship for the first time in my life...I am nervous and excited!  I'm also frustrated because we couldn't really afford this.  Our car payment is on hold right now until I get paid.  We won't have very much money in the bank when we go and that makes me extremely nervous!  Not even sure how we'll pay for the gas to get us to Florida!

I'll be out of school...My spring semester of grad school will be over and I'll be so relieved!  This semester has been one of the toughest so far!  No more classes until August!

Ten more days will be here before I know it!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Time to drag out those summer clothes...OH MY!

We had to pack up all our summer clothes and put them in the attic last fall.  Not normally something I do, but since hubby and I got married, and we have 5 people packed into a 3 bedroom house, we have no choice! 

So, my hubby got them down last weekend and I opened my bin and was excited to see some clothes that I forgot I had!  I pulled out a pair of shorts and tried them on....UH OH!  They won't even zip!  These are the same shorts that I wore on our honeymoon.  And that was only 8 months ago!  I knew I gained weight, but never in a million years thought I gained that much.  I did manage to find one pair of shorts that fit...and they were given to me and were too big last year.

Now, I KNOW I have to get back in shape.  I need to lose the 15 pounds that I have put on over the winter!  I wanna look like I did 2 years ago...before I started grad school!  I want my body back so I can get my confidence back!  I know I can do it!!!

My Workout and Meal Journal

 I'm dedicating this post to keeping track of my workouts and meals! I've been on-again, off-again with working out and eating healthy and it's time I stay on it! I started being serious about this on April 10, 2010 and I hope that this will be a lifetime commitment. My goal is to work out 6 days a week until I get back into shape and 5 days a week after that to maintain. Here we go…


Saturday, April 10, 2010 DAY 1:

W/O: 3 miles on the treadmill (mostly running) using Couch-to-5k plan.  Time: 45 minutes.  The longest running interval was 5 minutes in the plan, but I ended up running 11 minutes straight when I reached the last running interval.  Then I walked until I reached 3 miles.  This is actually my 4th week doing the Couch-to-5k plan, but I haven't been doing it 3 days a week like I was supposed to.  I'm doing a little better than I thought I would!

Bfast: Protein Meal Bar
Lunch: Turkey on Rye Bread
Snack: Strawberry frozen sorbet
Dinner: Baked Chicken Breast marinated in Italian Dressing w/ green beans
Drinks: WATER, lots of it!

I probably didn't eat enough today, but I wasn't hungry at all.  Probably because I ate so much last week!

Sunday, April 11, 2010 DAY 2:

W/O: P90 Sculpt ¾ using 8 pound weights.  It was easy to push play, but I was completely exhausted after doing the lunge/squat reps.  But at the end, I did 25 pushups and 25 squats and felt great!

Bfast: Protein Meal Bar
Snack: Grapefruit
Lunch: Leftover baked chicken breast w/ green beans
Snack: South Beach Diet bar
Dinner: Hamburger Helper & kernel corn (not the best meal, but I had to settle for what we had on hand).
Drinks: All water except 2 glasses of decaf sweet tea

Monday, April 12, 2010 DAY 3:

W/O:  I had a lot going on today, but I finally got my workout in at 9 p.m.  I did the 5k program - week 4.  Time: 30 minutes.

Bfast:  Protein Meal Bar
Lunch:  Leftover Hamburger Helper & kernel corn (mainly corn)
Snack:  Grapefruit
Dinner:  Chicken and Noodles, green beans
Drinks:  All water except on glass of tea

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 DAY 4:

W/O:  GREAT DAY!  I was so sore from my past few workouts that I could barely walk to day!  And it really didn't help that I had to sit at a desk all day.  I still did Power 90 Sculpt 3/4 when I got home.  Today is our busiest day of the week with the children's activities, but luckily we had some leftovers so I didn't have to cook!  We went to boy scouts and found out we were going walking.  Too bad I was wearing my Sperry's and not my walking shoes, but we walked about 2 miles.  Feeling much better and the soreness is gradually decreasing!

Bfast: Pack of Toasties crackers
Lunch:  Leftover Noodles and Chicken with green beans
Snack:  Rice Krispie Treat....I needed something healthier but this was given to me by a student!
Dinner (early):  Leftover Noodles and Chicken with green beans (This is getting old now!  It was good, though).
Snack:  Strawberry fruit sorbet and one spoonful of chocolate ice cream...the kids were eating it and it looked so good!  I savored that little spoonful!!
Drinks:  2 glasses of tea, rest water

Tomorrow I'm going to the grocery store!  I am out of healthy foods and I'm having to go to the vending machine at work to get breakfast!  Bad and costly!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 DAY 5:

W/O:  Well, it's midnight here and I've been going nonstop all day long.  In fact, I'm working on some homework assignements now.  I also had a cake to bake today.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to work out.  I plan to do both sculpt 3/4 and some cardio tomorrow to make up for missing today.  Of course, I did walk that extra 2 miles last night, so thank goodness for that! 

Bfast:  Pack of Toasties crackers (vending machine again)
Lunch:  Turkey and swiss sub with mustard (school cafeteria food, but not bad!)
Snack:  Strawberry gummy fruit snacks (supposedly made with 100% juice)
Snack:  Super late dinner, so I ate a granola bar when I got home from grocery shopping.
Dinner:  Catfish Nuggets (Yep, fried)  My hubby caught them last night and cooked them tonight.  I didn't eat any french fries and ate about 4 nuggets.  I'm still a little hungry but I was trying to be good and not eat many since they were fried.
Drinks:  2 glass of tea and rest water

Thursday, April 15, 2010 DAY 6:

W/O:  Power 90 Sculpt 3/4!!  Feeling great!  I did my workout before I picked up the kids today.  It's getting easier for me!  My friend, Joy, asked if I wanted to go walking, and as BAD as I wanted to go, I couldn't because I had a ton of homework to do and It's 1 a.m. now and I'm still not finished!

Bfast: Yogurt
Lunch:  Ham and cheese sub
Snack:  Granola bar
Dinner:  Catfish nuggets, mac & cheese, and corn (No more fried foods after today...but I only ate about 4)
Snack:  Strawberry fruit frozen sorbet (I normally don't snack after dinner, but I've been eating dinner early and staying up really late studying)
Drinks: 5 bottles of water, 2 glasses of tea

By the way, I'm sitting here staring at a cake plate full of cupcakes...and I haven't eaten a single one.  I didn't even lick the icing when I baked them last night!

Friday April 16, 2010  DAY 7:

W/O:  Today was my REST DAY.  I thought about making up the other day I missed, but I really didn't get a chance.  We are giving my brother-in-law and his fiance a lawn and garden shower tomorrow so I have a lot of cakes to bake.  I also had 2 other cake orders.  I baked a total of 5 cakes tonight!

Bfast:  Yogurt (regular, 5 g protein)
Lunch: Salad with turkey and ranch (from school cafeteria and pretty good)
Snack:  granola bar
Snack:  4 slices deli ham (low fat)
Dinner:  2 hot dogs
Drinks:  Water and a glass of koolaid

Saturday April 17, 2010 DAY 8:

W/O:  No workout today!  I got up at 7:30 this morning and decorated cakes, then decided to bake another one, which I did.  It was a really busy day.  I finished the cakes around 12:30, then had to take the kids to a b-day party.  Then I had to do stuff for the shower, which was tonight.  Got home...and I'm exhausted!  Hoping to double up tomorrow!

Bfast: Yogurt (5g protein)
Lunch: Salad with low fat deli ham with italian dressing
Snack: 1/4 of a granola bar...just too busy to finish eating the whole thing
Dinner:  Grilled chicken breast (2), green beans, potato, ceasar salad, and some cake (not as much as I'd normally eat, but I had to try out my cakes!)
Drinks: All water!

Sunday, April 18, 2010  DAY 9:

W/O: Day 9 and I missed it again.  Today was another busy day.  Our house was a complete mess, and although I hate cleaning on Sundays, I had to!  I also had to buy groceries, cook dinner, and do homework.  I'll work out tomorrow FOR SURE!
Bfast:  2 Pancakes and 1/2 piece of bacon (breakfast with the family :))
Snack:  3 crackers with Reduced Fat peanut butter
Dinner:   Ribs, au gratin potatoes, baked beans (Isn't that about as fattening as you can get?  Doesn't help when husband is NOT on a diet...notice I didn't eat lunch to make up for it)
Drinks:  Water and a couple of glasses of tea

Monday, April 19, 2010 DAY 10:

W/O: 5k run...5 min walk, 5 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run, then 5 min walk.  I would have ran another 5 min, but I started getting terrible heartburn while running.  I guess it was heartburn...it eased off after a while.
Bfast:  5g protein yogurt
Lunch: a small amount of au gratin potatoes and ribs
Snack: granola bar
Dinner:  salad with low fat deli ham and about 1/8 cup cheese.
Drinks:  just water!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 DAY 11:

W/O:  No w/o...busy day...had to run errands, take kids to activities, cook, bake a cake, do homework...
Bfast: yogurt
Lunch: ham & mustard sandwich
Snack: granola bar
Dinner: tacos with beans, ground beef, lettuce, sour cream, and a little cheese.  I ended up eating 3.
Drinks:  water and 2 cups of koolaid

Wed, April 21, 2010 DAY 12:

W/O:Today was Chase's b-day.  Finished his cake and cupcakes after work, got his b-day surprise ready, then we went out to eat and had family over for cake and ice cream...no workout.
Bfast:  yogurt
Lunch: 1 soft taco, just lettuce and ground beef
Dinner: I skipped snacks because I wanted to enjoy pizza tonight.  This pizza is healthier than most greasy ones and it was delicious!  Ate 4 pieces of pizza and salad.  Then had a small slice of chocolate cake and ice cream afterwards!  Can't pass it up when it's someone's birthday!
Drinks:  all water today!


Thurs, April 22, 2010 DAY 13:

W/O:  POWER 90 SCULPT 3/4!!
Bfast:  Yogurt
Lunch:6 slices of deli turkey, 1 slice cheese (I'm having trouble passing up cheese)
Dinner:  spaghetti with ground beef and 2 slices of cheese bread...(see what I mean...help!)
Drinks:  all water!!

Fri, April 23, 2010 DAY 14:

W/O:  Ran/Walk (Week 5 of 5k program) Ran 9 min straight today.
Bfast: yogurt (this is becoming a habit....a good one though!)
Lunch:  leftover spaghetti
Snack:  Fat Free crackers with Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
Another snack (late dinner, early lunch today): 1 reduced fat cheese stick
Dinner: 1 turkey and cheese wrap, 1 cup broccoli/beef stir fry (eaten about an hour apart)

Sat, April 24, 2010 DAY 15:

W/O:  No w/o...too much work for school...exams coming up.....
Bfast:  yogurt
Lunch: turkey wrap
Snack:  FF crackers with RF Peanut butter
Dinner:  Grilled Chicken with brown rice and green beans (trying to cook a little healthier)
Drinks:  water and tea

Sun, April 25, 2010 DAY 16:

W/O: none...still doing school work...project due today!
Bfast:  FF cracker and RF Peanut Butter
Lunch:  Leftover grilled chicken (1/2 breast), brown rice, green beans
Snack:  some junk....can't remember exactly what, but I ate a little ice cream, more peanut butter crackers, a marshmallow egg...working on my project was really stressing me out and I turned to eating :(
Dinner:  Quick dinner since I was studying - 2 hot dogs (no cheese!!)
Drinks:  koolaid, tea, water...too much sugar....

Mon, April 26, 2010 DAY 17:

W/O:  none again
Bfast: yogurt
Lunch:   1/2 chicken breast
Snack:  FF jello (and 3 oreos when I got home from work)
Dinner:  country style steak, rice, corn, and a biscuit (not. healthy. at. all.)
Drinks:  water and a couple glasses of tea

Tues April 27, 2010 DAY 18:
W/O:  Power 90 CORE CARDIO!  Tough workout!
Bfast: yogurt
Lunch: leftover country style steak and rice
Snack: 1 RF cheese stick
Dinner: potatoes stroganaff and green beans
Drinks: water

Wed, April 28, 2010 DAY 19:

W/O: Power 90 SCULPT 5/6 (MASTERS' SERIES)  Certain parts are tougher than 3/4, but the intensity level doesn't seem to be as high as 3/4.  But still a good workout!
Bfast: yogurt
Lunch: potatoes stroganaff and green beans
Snack: 2 cheese sticks (about an hour or two apart)
Dinner:  1 homeade sloppy joe made with ground beef, mac & cheese
Drinks:  water and a glass of tea

Thurs, April 29, 2010 DAY 20:

W/O: Turbo Jam Cardio Party  & Ab workout (from Fitness Magazine online)  I haven't done TJ in a while and since the kids were in bed before I could workout, I didn't want to wake them up by getting on the treadmill.  I forgot how much I enjoyed this!
Bfast: yogurt
Lunch: potatoes stroganaff and green beans (I am having to eat leftovers...money's tight right now!)
Snack: 1 cheese stick
Dinner: about 1/2 cup of sloppy joe (without bread), about 1/2 cup corn
Drinks:  Water!

Friday, April 30, 2010 DAY 21:
W/O:  None...it's 10 p.m. and I'm exhausted!  Will workout tomorrow!
Bfast:  FF crackers & a RF cheese stick
Lunch: Turkey breast & mustard sandwich
Snack: 1 cheese stick.  Then, after grocery shopping, I ate 3 pringles chips and 2 chocolate chip cookies.
Dinner:  Grilled porkchop, parmesan pasta, baked beans
Drinks:  water and a couple glasses of tea

Sat, May 1, 2010 DAY 22:
W/O: Power 90 Sculpt 3/4 Good workout!
Meals:  I started off eating healthy.  We went to the Pelican's game with the scouts and camped out at night.  On the way, we went to Ryan's and I ate salad, baked chicken, veggies and apple cobbler and ice cream.  After I ate the dessert, I regretted it!  I also had a small cup of popcorn and a lemonade at about 1 a.m.  The rest of the day I did drink water.

Sun, May 2, 2010 DAY 23:
 W/O: None today.  I cooked for our mothers today since we'll be out of town on Mother's Day.
Bfast: Sausage biscuit and OJ.  (Provided at the camp)
Lunch:  Salad, Baked ziti, and a slice of garlic bread.  Dessert: a small piece of Strawberry Pizza.
I think that's all I ate.  I didn't eat supper at all. (I also used lean meat for the ziti)

Mon, May 3, 2010 DAY 24:
W/O: I didn't work out.  But, I did take my FINAL EXAM for the semester after work!  Had to drive an hour away to take it, so I was a little late getting home!  So glad it's over!
Bfast: yogurt (back to my yogurt fix)
Snack: RF cheese stick
Lunch: Baked Ziti
Snack: Fresh strawberries
Snack:  A small piece of strawberry pizza and some chips.  I ate that while cramming in the last bit of studying for my exam!
Dinner:  2 hot dogs with just ketchup

Tues, May 4, 2010  DAY 25:
W/O:  None again...Madison was sick...took her to the ER.  Then stayed up until about 2 am.  Helping the kids with homework and cleaning.
Foods:  Not bad at all. 
Drinks:  Water all day.

Wed, May 5, 2010  DAY 26:
W/O:  None again!  Still trying to get the house half-way clean since we leave Saturday morning!
Foods: Not bad again.  Still doing my yogurt thing every morning.  Not snacking and still passing up on the ice cream.

Thurs, May 6, 2010  DAY 27:
W/O:  None again...still cleaning...trying to get all our laundry done.  And Madison has to sing at the Depot tonight.
Foods:  Yogurt, FF crackers, pasta with tomato, ground beef, corn, and 2 plain hot dogs for supper.

Friday, May 7, 2010  DAY 28:
W/O:  Run/Walk on treadmill for 30 minutes.  Tomorrow morning we're heading to Florida!  Then setting sail on the Carnival Legend Sunday morning!
Foods:  Healthy - trying to lose another pound before cruising!

Taking a break from this until I return from our 7 day cruise!!!!

Update (Friday, May 21, 2010):  I worked out twice while on the cruise, and that was Sunday and Monday!  We were really busy the rest of the week, but I did make sure I took the stairs as much as possible!  My legs were feeling it!  I'm back, but trying to get back into the swing of things...still unpacking and doing laundry every chance I get...I'll be updating this post again soon!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Just one of my professional options....

I've been giving my career some thought lately. I'm about half-way through with my Master's Degree and I feel like I need to be making some plans. I love my job now, but I need to start thinking about what I’m going to do afterwards. The bottom line is…I need to make a decent amount of money so that I can pay off my education loans. Getting my Master’s was a good decision, but it’s been a costly one. I’m getting sick of not being able to buy things for my family. I’m sick of living paycheck-to-paycheck and education loan-to-education loan (And my husband is, too). And I’ve been thinking that I miss doing what I originally went to school for…Accounting. I still do some tax returns for some of my family and friends. I haven’t done any bookkeeping in about two years now and I do miss it. Yep I miss it. And auditing. I realize how much I really enjoyed auditing. Going through hundreds of cancelled checks and invoices was something I dreaded, and I wasn’t really too fond of writing up the audit report either. But, it was so rewarding when everything tied together and the final audit report was presented.

For those non-Accountants out there, I’m sorry if I lost you somewhere in the last paragraph! So sorry! But anyway, I found this really good post about Starting an Accounting Business that was actually dated back to 2007, but it still applies today. And when I read it, I felt like it was talking to me!

I’ve been talking about doing this to my husband lately and he’s all for it 100%. Maybe this is what I’m going to do. Just Maybe.

For now, I better get back to my studying so I’ll pass my Economics exam tonight. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

My Good Deed for Today

Today I did something that made me feel pretty good…well almost! I always feel good when I help people. It makes me feel like I made a difference. But on this particular day, I wanted to stick my foot in my mouth while I was doing a good deed.

See, there is a man in our town that walks daily and is almost totally blind. He walks with a cane and depends on others to stop and help him cross the street. I have helped him many times during some of my walks or runs, but today, after watching him stand there with his cane pointed outward for about 5 minutes while traffic just passed inconsiderately, I crossed the road and pulled over. I got out of the car to help him cross the street. This was an easy task that only took about 2 minutes of my time.

Now, I really wasn’t thinking, but what I said to this man was really NOT what I SHOULD have said! So, I approached him and said “Hey Mr. Robert. Let me help you across the street. It’s such a PRETTY day out here.” OH NO…I just said PRETTY. Not exactly what I should have said to a man that can’t see. So, in an attempt to rescue myself since he wasn’t responding, I said “It’s so nice and warm.” Then Mr. Robert replied, “Yes, it’s been so nice out here lately.” Whew! Note to self: NICE is the word to use when speaking to Mr. Robert about the weather. Not PRETTY.

Even though I did want to stick my foot in my big mouth, I still felt good about what I did. I helped Mr. Robert today, but he helped me as well!

So, have you done a good deed lately?