Our Family & Our Life

Dear Diary, Time for my weekly excuse. It's becoming all to common the last few weeks but I promise myself to change that starting today! Including this morning, I've been to the gym twice this week. It wasn't that I didn't feel like it I just couldn't. I had some nasty headaches. I felt sick to my stomach and all I wanted to do was sleep however with an 11 month old, that's impossible during the day unless she's sleeping. I think it was caused by the fluctuation in barometric pressure. So I didn't go at all and I was kinda good with my eating so I didn't gain weight again, just maintained. The plan for the coming week is go at least 4 times first thing in the morning before Colin goes to work. I've cut down my cardio time to 30 mins. for the week and I'll bring up to 35 mins. the next week but I should still be able to get 2 hours in this week. A little story from yesterday. The weather was summer-like again and I really wanted...

Dear Diary, Although she is tolerated by Pearl.... .... Isla's love for the cats is not reciprocated by Dixie. Pearl, Isla & Dixie Sorry for the dark fuzzy photos but they looked much better on the camera after I took them!!!!

Dear Diary, HELP! I'm struggling. I knew it was too good to be true when the scale told me I was down an additional 4 lbs. last week. I must've weighed myself on a very empty, shrivelled up stomach and no blood coarsing through my veins. I haven't been able to get back to that weight since I posted about it. But I'm not going to change my ticker on the right of the blog because I'm determined to reach 12 lbs. by the end of the week. If I don't reach my target, I'll change it to reflect my actual weight. For the last three days I've been up and down on the scale between 167 and 169. There is no consistency. Why? I think part of my answer to that question is because I've been a bad snacker last week and even up to yesterday. Today I am determined to put that bad habit behind me and kick things up a notch, AGAIN! I tell ya, losing weight is hard work! The treadmill is getting boring and I think I'll start some DVD's at home for a ch...

Dear Diary, This afternoon the three of us ventured out to Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree. Besides scoping out a new mall, one of the reasons I wanted to go was to look for Isla's first shoes. Thanks to Mia for suggesting Stride Rite, the shoes are perfect. We picked out the Kitten style in size 3. Aren't they cute? They're even cuter when on sale and using a 15% discount coupon!!! Even though she isn't walking on her own yet, a girl is never too young for shoes! BTW, loved the mall. Who's coming over to go shopping with me!?!?

Dear Diary, I bought a bathroom scale this week. Not just an ordinary scale but the Biggest Loser scale and it was to come with the Biggest Loser DVD but it wasn't there. I'm writing a letter to get my DVD. Oh yeah, and it was on sale at Tar-get. I bought it for a couple of reasons. 1. Since we are still not in a position to get a pediatrician for Isla and get her checked out, I wanted to weigh her. 2. Also, I'm not sure the scale I use at the gym has EVER been calibrated and therefore unsure of it's accuracy. Despite my unfocused week, I managed to maintain my weight. Granted I did bump up the workouts and really watched my calories but this week, I've been a really good girl and the scale proves it. I'm down another 4 lbs. I'm not sure how I managed to shed those pounds but they're gone and never going back to my hips. Maybe it was water weight. My body is like a sponge. It also helps that we have blessed with summer temps. This week and Isla an...

Dear Diary, Her Opa and Oma haven't seen her in about 3 months and she has sure changed alot during that time. These photos were taken this weekend.

Dear Diary, Monkey is 11 months old today!!! I can't believe next month she'll be 1 already. WOW! The big discovery this past month has been GRAVITY . She throws her toys out of the pack'n'play and her crib and watches them fall to the ground. It's annoying for us because we have to pick them up but to her it's a game. After a while we stop giving her toys back and she knows the fun has stopped . Napping has also been a BIG challenge. Lately, she is so tired but won't sleep during the day. I've started putting her to bed earlier in the morning by 10 and sometimes she sleeps (on Tuesday she slept 1.5 hours!) other days, nothing. This past week has been a huge improvement and she's napping at least an hour each day. She'll even sleep a half hour in the afternoon which makes getting to 7 p.m. a wee bit less stressful for both of us. Very courageously she is walking around the furniture but there has been no signs of walking yet which suits m...

Dear Diary, This has not been a good week for me at all. Eating and exercising that is. I just can't seem to focus. I've been snacking and I've been at the gym only once. I had a plan but for one reason or another, it hasn't happened. I forgot to buy something at Target today so I think Isla will power walk our way on over tomorrow (although snow is forecasted ) and I asked Colin to be home by 6 so I could attend an aquafit class at 6:30. This week is only about intentions. Not much else. I think I'll avoid the scales. I'm disappointed in myself. Someone kick me.

Dear Diary, 169!!! Woohoo, I lost another 3 lbs this week. That leaves me another 34 lbs. to go to reach my goal weight..... Getting there, slowly but surely....

Dear Diary, Today it's Thankful Thursday with Iris from Grace Alone . Go ahead visit her blog to see what she and others are thankful for. Like Iris, I am thankful for His Word. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Colin and I this year are reading the Bible cover to cover and I have already found many verses that I have taken to heart and can apply to my life. Ps. 4:4 "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds search your hearts and be silent". Words of comfort. Ps. 5:12 "For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surrounds them with your favour as with a shield". Words of admonition. Matt 4:17 "From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near". Also as I read everday, I am struck by the great comfort and love that He shows to those who remain faithful to Him. I'm thinking of Noah, Abraham and Job in particular. He has done that for Colin, Isla and I also throughout 2008 and even ...

Dear Diary, Well, this is my first ever "meme", 7 things you don't know about me . Thanks Mia for "tagging" me! I admit it took a long time to come up with seven things because I'm a rather boring person but I managed to come up with the following 7 things: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Like Mia, I share my birthday with a celebrity, Ed McMahon. The old guy who now goes knocking on doors giving away money for Publishers Clearing House. I wish he would start knocking on my door! 2. My favourite flower is a tulip, and no, it has nothing to do with the dutch blood flowing through my veins. 3. When I was a kid, my brothers used to use me as a human football. The dent in the wall in the basement bedroom at mom and dads is the outline of my head. Don’t worry, I was OK, it was just soft dry wall! 4. I have visited at least 12 different countries in my lifetime and lived in 3 different countries. Please no more! 5. My first car was a 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier, g...

Dear Diary, Happy 46th Wedding Anniversary! From Colin, Isla & I, we pray you have many more happy years together! God bless!

Dear Diary, In terms of my fitness routine, last week went well. By Thursday I was exhausted and decided to start the year with a day off but it was well deserved, I was either at the gym or at the pool everyday before then. The other exception was Friday. I was going to go to another aquafit class but I woke up 5 minutes after the class started so I did my regular cardio workout at the gym instead. Weight loss to date, 5 lbs. and 37 lbs. to reach my goal weight. My plan this week is already off to a rocky start. I was going to go to the gym this morning with Isla but the stroller is in the van but the van is in Denver with Colin. Monday - cardio Tuesday - weights Wednesday - aquafit class Thursday - day off Friday - cardio Saturday - weights and swimming with Isla

Dear Diary, I've been doing some research into my ideal body weight in relation to my height and bone structure. The experts say I should be 130 lbs. To be honest, I don't think that is a weight I can maintain, so I have decided on a more reasonable 135 lbs. ~ 5 lbs. less my original plan of 140 lbs. . To date I have lost 5 lbs. so really it's like starting all over again and I'm back trying to lose 37 lbs. rather than 42! Wow, that's a lot weight, eh! I'll keep on posting about my battle with the bulge and I frequently update my weight loss ticker on the bottom right column. Please keep praying I stay motivated and see this challenge to the end.

Dear Diary, Isla has completed her first swim lesson today! Her first swimsuit! She has never been in a swimming pool so we were a bit uncertain how she would react. Well, we couldn't have expected a better response. She swam like a pro! Colin brought her in the kiddie pool and she looked at me as if to say "Mom, why are you making such a fuss, I've done this my whole life!". Too cute! She was so confident in herself. Even the instructor was surprised to hear she had never been in a pool before. We were also taken back how remarkably buoyant she was in the water. She hardly touched us and was floating on her own. She was able to kick her feet and splash her hands and wasn't afraid to get her face and hair wet (she didn't go under water). Since she had such a good time we will definitely be bringing her back for family swim time once her "lessons" are over in February. Colin and I had a good time too and it keeps in line with our desire to spe...

Dear Diary, I was reading my 2nd post from yesterday and realized how depressing it was. Yikes! 2008 was a hard, stressful, emotional year hence the very negative post. It wasn't our best year and we do not intend to carry forward the negative momentum into 2009. We are looking forward to 2009 and intend to have a positive attitude as we face it on. Just to let you know, no resolutions this year, only lifestyle changes. What is the difference? Resolutions are broken by January 21 and the changes we intend to make our meant to last a lifetime. They will become part of our everyday life and so ingrained in our routine we don't think twice about them. Kind of like making coffee in the morning, we need to do them! First, we intend to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and everything in between in 2009. Our pastor has challenged the congregation to read the Bible everyday and even provided special Bibles (for a small fee of $2.50) that breakdown the chapters to be ...