Christmas Cards

Here are the cards I promised. We had a great time making them, but of course I forgot to take a picture of us!

I used the Christmas card workshop patterns from Wishes. I flipped a few and tweaked them to my liking, but I love having a cutting guide! I also used:

Evensong Level 2 Paper
Olive CS
Cranberry and New England Ivy Inks
Clear Buttons
Essential Brad Assortment
Clear Sparkles
Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon

Stamps used are:

Evergreen
Holiday Warmth
Shining Star
Christmas Melodies
Peace on Earth

Its Finally Here!

Oh yay! I can hardly contain my excitement! Buy two stamp sets and get one (of equal or lesser value) free! What a great way to get all those stamps on your wish list, or those that are retiring. Let me know if I can help you take advantage of Stampganza.

Sweet Blog Candy

I've been blog hoppin' again, haven't done much blogging myself lately. Not too much to write about, but I WILL be posting my Christmas card workshop soon. Anyhoo, back to the candy at hand. Go check out the goodies you can score from Amy at A thousand scraps of paper!
I missed out on last week's goodies...be sure to check her out on Monday for more!

I smell CANDY!

I've been busy this morning hopping around the blogosphere finding some awesome blog candy giveaways! Some are over on the sidebar so be sure to check them out too!

First, we have PinkLilac's Celebration Birthday candy with lots of yummy goodies and adorable stamped images.

Next pop over to Litte's Stash & Dash for a Blogaversary Candy. Ooh there are 3 different candies! You need to get on over there! Oh the possibilities!

Jill's Scrappy Daze (I know, totally cute pun there right!?!) has some candy to celebrate her graduation - congrats Jill! Check it out and pass on your congrats to her as well! She's got lots of fun embellies that I would love to get my hands on.

And last, but most definitely not least, is the Handmade Treasures candy! It is for Fall, back to school and Thanksgiving. I don't know about you, but my Fall stash is pretty bare. I could really use some help in this department. And I need the House Mouse Buzzy Friends stamp - too cute!

I've been crafty!

I have a gathering on September 19th and these are what we will be making. I am so excited about the ghost card! I think I will add a little Boo! sentiment too, just haven't gotten to that yet.

The bookmark says "May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy" I just love this stamp set!

Is this not the cutest stinkin' little ghost ever?

If you would like more info on the products I used to make this card or any of the projects, please leave a comment - I'll be glad to share!

Furbaby Pics are up!

Head over to Life with 4 Purrs to see my "babies" when they were, well, babies. Orange furry adorableness awaits!

Some Oldies

For some reason, for the last week or 2 I've been using my old desktop. Perhaps it is the nicer keyboard and mouse? Or more probably it is the fact that the connection speed is much faster down here. I was reluctant to "work" on it for the last year because it is located in our basement, where we have boxes of old stuff that we haven't parted with, yet. Well we cleaned the basement a little and so my old trusty friend was more accessible and also more appealing. Well, as usually happens when I switch computers, I found some fun "old" pics. Let's reminisce, shall we?

My first apartment in Ruston, Louisiana. They tore them down last year to make more room for the university apartments...or maybe parking. Either way, its no longer there! Sadly, this place was decorated nicer than I feel my house is.

My awesome cake I made in a Wilton class in 2007. No. I haven't made one since. But I'm feeling inspired after seeing this. I took this class so I could do kids cakes...you know, when I get around to actually having kids.
From college, when Oscar was not quite a year old. Napping on my face was apparently the most comfortable place in the apartment. LOL! I don't look bothered by it, but then again I was probably crashing from an all-nighter!

I found several cute pics of the cats too and plan to share them later this week or early next. You don't want to miss the adorable-ness, trust me!

Jillian Michaels Just Kicked My Butt!

This past week has been bad for me. I have sat on my behind and eaten junk the whole time. So today I needed a change, so I hit the On Demand button and found Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. Oh. My. Goodness! My arms are jiggly like jell-o. My legs barely made it down the stairs. I may need a lift to get back up them. But it is awesome. And I am doing it again tomorrow! I found the 2 weeks to a new you tab too. If I can stick with this for a mere 2 weeks, I know I will see results. I need a boost to get back in the groove. I haven't posted a weigh in lately since I've been losing and gaining the same 2 pounds over and over. So Jillian Michaels and FitTV are going to kick me back in gear. Wooo!
Don't have Comcast On Demand? You can shred too!

CTMH Constant Campaign

I don't usually blog a lot about the deals that Close to My Heart is doing, but I could NOT pass up sharing this one. We are celebrating National Stamping Month! I just LOVE it when we get free stuff just for buying stamps that we love. YAY! For spending $60 on My Acrylix stamp sets, you get a FREE card kit to make the cards shown above (suns August 18-September 30). Oh yes, you get EVERYTHING you need. How sweet is that!?! Or if you just have to have it you can purchase it for $39.95 in September. (But seriously, isn't it better to get it free?) Or you can host a gathering and when your sales reach $400, you get it free!
Let me tell you what's in this kit:
1 - My Acrylix Everyday Celebration stamp set (EXCLUSIVE, can't buy it in the catalog!)
16 - standard sized greeting cards and envelopes
Plus, everything you need to complete 16 gorgeous cards, including instructions, (so you can create them over and over with different colors!) papers, AND two colors of distressing inks. Did I mention you get ribbon AND Mini-Medley accents as well to further beautify and embellish? Well, you do! I am so psyched about this deal! If you want more info, leave a comment (with email) and I'll get back to you to answer any questions. Thanks for reading and remember the "Delight in the Everyday"!

I've been Tagged!

How did that happen? I was running really fast! LOL. But seriously, my new blogger friend (can I call you my friend?) That Design Gal tagged me for a fun "getting to know you" post where I share 6 random things about myself. She is too cute, plus she has adorable kitties...so we are totally best friends! You need to go check her out!

Da rules:

1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random and/or revealing things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your post entry is up on your site.

Numero Uno. I have recently become obsessed with Bob Ross and the Joy of Painting. I should say re-obsessed since I enjoyed it when I was little AND when I was in high school. My newest goal is to get up the guts to find and attend a Bob Ross-style painting class. Never painted in my life, but he just made it seem so relaxing (and easy, which I know CAN'T be true) Plus he has an awesome 'fro. Admit it. If you could be as chill as Mr. Ross and have a super awesome 'fro you totally would!

#2. I am also obsessed with my garden. It is the first garden I have ever grown myself (ok so the hubby did help a little...but really it was ALL my idea!) I check on it every day, sometimes more than once, just to make sure no rabbits are in there munching on my broccolli again. Silly rabbits! Why don't they go get a bowl of Trix or something? I have oodles of pictures of it, of which I have spared my lovely readers, and only posted twice about it so far. Look out though. We've been harvesting and my corn is taller than me. So there will be pics up very soon!

III. I love the crunch noise a Dorito makes when you bite into it, but only when I am really hungry for them. And I tell whoever is with me eating them (usually the hubs) how much I enjoy that sound. Over and over again. Until the bag is gone (snack sized bag...not saying I couldn't eat an entire regular bag myself, but those days are behind me. I have control now!) Oh and only the Nacho cheese flavor. That pic makes you hungry for them huh? Me too.
four. My cats just stole my rubber band ball. I kid you not. While I was sitting here one of them took it and now Oscar is carrying it up the stairs and batting it down the stairs, chasing it like a maniac, then carrying it up the stairs again. I better save it before anyone gets hurt. Or eats a rubber band. Buttercup ate one of my hair things once. Don't worry, it came out. Or else I wouldn't have known she swallowed one. Ew!

quatre. We call rubber bands gumbands here where I live. I refuse to say most of the slang, but I will slip and say gumband once in a while. I also say pop instead of soda and from my days in Louisiana I say y'all. So y'all ought to come over sometime and have a pop with me. :)
And Last. I may be a self-proclaimed cat person, but I love daschunds. I want one. so. bad. A long haired miniature daschund. Any color. I'm not picky. Named something like Gabbie or Peanut. They are just so silly and cute looking. I can't help it. Now to work on the husband...

Ready or not, here I come!

PUDGET
Everyday Jane
My Heart Scraps
A Hook A Line and A Girl
Ragdoll (cat) Mom
The Two Twins
YOU! Yes, you with the questioning look on your face. Go do a fun post about yourself.

More Blog Candy

I've been visiting some crafty blogs today and found another giveaway I had to share. Head over to A Passion for Papertrey to get in on it. Isn't the cupcake adorable?!?

Get in on the goodies!

Alanna @ Alanna's Spot in the World has reached 300 posts! I know, she totally rocks, right? Well to share the bloggy love she is giving away tons of fun crafting stuff and we all LOVE sparkly crafting stuff, right? Head on over and congratulate her!

He's gone and I'm sad.

My little handsome boy went to a new home yesterday. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done and I am trying to see this as a blessing, since it means that most of the people (and animals) I love so much are still in my life. I am finding this morning that I am really missing the pitter-patter of his little feet chasing toys up and down the hallway and his tiny mews to let me know he is ready for his breakfast. My cats had just begun to play with him, so I am sure they are wondering what happened to their new "toy". How can anyone bottle feed a tiny kitten and not let a piece of their heart go with them? One thing I feel in my heart is that this little guy needed me and someone had a hand in getting him to me. Surely God knows how I love animals and the strength and compassion I have in me. That is why I know, as hard as this was, I will someday be given another chance to help an animal in need. And I will trade them care and cuddles for their unconditional love.
Oh and as an aside, the Surfer suggested that perhaps when I reach my weight goal I can get another cat/kitten. Not sure how I am feeling about that right now.

Ode to my Garden

I planted the seeds

and watered them too,
covered with soil
and away you grew!

The harvest's begun!
With zucchini galore,
what in the world
will I use all this for?

Banana peppers, tomatoes
and peas appear.
I'll be learning to can
from my Gramma this year!
Written by Jackie
7-24-09

Pics of the Little Man

He still has no name, although the Surfer said I could keep him. I am torn about that. It was fate he came to me, since he clearly needed me. But do I want this responsibility? Can my cats adjust to him? I certainly don't want behavior problems arising. But just look at him!This was what he looked like the first time he lapped out of a saucer. Kitty milk dripping off his little chin!I caught him sleeping like this Monday. Still a little guy, but growing like a weed!

Hard to believe Bunnie was once that little. She keeps a watchful eye on the little man. She hisses at him, but I've also caught her playing with him...so who knows what she is thinking.

Better Late than Never, right?

Sorry everyone. Summer is busy, even for a gal like me with no actual place of employment. I've been taking care of the little kitty and he is growing like a weed. He just finally got off the bottle one week ago and has been on KMRs weaning formula. He was "behind" since he missed the bonding of his mama so he wanted to bottle feed a little longer for the cuddles and attention. Not that he gets less now! He is a sweet little boy - when he is not running around like a nut! We may keep him, we may give him up. I just have to decide if that person is trustworthy to care for him properly (ie take him for his shots, get him neutered, etc) Its hard to trust someone who has adopted and then taken back a kitten after a short time. Any advice on that?

Getting back to what I was originally posting about: the red, white and blue swap was AWESOME! I swapped with one of the twins from The Two Twins. Oh my goodness my box was filled with wonderfully awesome goodies.I know, you're jealous right? You totally need to get in on the next swap! And dummy me found more stuff I missed in the box the next day (no pics of them, sorry) Yep all the stuff above plus 3 yummy smelling candles and 3 lipglosses. Can a girls day get any better than this?
In case you can't see in the pic, there is also a book called Seven Loves (perfect for reading in the hammock!), a locally put together cook book (they are the best kind imho), three boxes of special K bars (red white and blue!), the cutest purse with an anchor keychain (been using this from the day I got it, LOVE it, THANKS!), and a bottle of white wine from their local winery. She was so right about it, sweet and fruity and awesome if sipped ghetto style with some ice. Wonder if I can get that anywhere around here? This was another awesome swap Mamarazzi! Hope to participte again in the future! And a huge THANK YOU to my partner! You truly rock!

Another Mouth to (bottle) Feed

I went to PetsMart last Monday for litter lioners and cat food but came home with this. Oh boy! This little kitten is 3 weeks old and needs bottle fed every 3 hours round the clock. What in the world am I going to do with him?Here's a pick of him today at 4 weeks, in my gardening crocs. Did I mention he loves shoes? Maybe I should call him Jimmy Choo? LOL! Oh dear - I am such a sucker! Know anyone who wants a kitten? My husband might kick me out after this one!

Calling ALL Tweeps!

I think its pretty cool when actors Tweet on Twitter - especially when it involves a bet with an actor from Twilight!



Help Peter out - he's Carlisle for goodness sake! He'd totally do it for you ;o)

This Weeks Weigh In

This week I am down 0.8 pounds! Any loss is good in my book and after all the temptations this weekend at the amusement park (cheese fries, funnel cake, need I go on?) I am glad it was a loss. Plus the Surfer decided to take me to Red Lobster for dinner Monday night. Super yummy, but not so point friendly - especially when you are REALLY hungry! I did a lot of walking at the park, which I think helped, and I've been trying to do some active thing each day (weeding, sweeping, dancing in the living room like a goober, you get the point)
This weeks goals:
1. Keep up the tracking, it gets hard, but it is so worth it!
2. Stay active - get at least 3 AP in or more!
3. Cook at home more this week. This is a huge help since I can control everything that goes in AND portion sizes. Does anyone have any good and easy ways to plan healthy and husband friendly meals? I'm in need of a little help!
4. Notice and possible document how I feel when I track and eat filling foods vs eating the crap I usually eat. I know I feel better when I eat better, but to have the proof in writing as a reminder might help. I mean, why else to I still overeat?
Another great thing is that I have been feeling better about myself just because I AM doing something rather than being passive and accepting my weight as it is. That is something to be proud of!

LIVE Giveaway!

Anyone who loves Twilight will love this giveaway! Go check out the Bella bracelet - you're not going to want to miss out on this! But I will warn you - I'm going to win it! I just finished the last book Sunday night and since I have no more books to read, I spend my days roving the net looking for all things Twilight...it will be mine!

Win a stamp set!

My Creative Heart: Freebie!

Go check out my upline's blog for Close to My Heart and be sure to check out the fun fishing stamp set she is giving away! My hubby and dad both love to fish. In fact they talk about it all the time!!! How perfect is this set for fathers day or for men's birthday cards?

Fun in the Backyard

The long anticipated photos of our garden are here! My dad decided since we have so many deer and other critters we should put up an electric fence. I'm not thrilled about it, mostly because I am convinced I will get shocked, probably more than once, but it will be great if it actually deters them from eating our crop!Garden gate

Tomatoes, celery, and hot peppers

The lettuce is emerging!

My first sugar snap pea plant!

My New Feathered Friends

I decided this weekend to move my existing feeder to a new location and add my hummingbird feeder as well (since one little female has been spotted several times already!) My finch feeder has gotten little to no action at all...until I moved it! I now have at least four goldfinches that visit together and munch away at the seed! They are just so bright and cheerful and I can watch them from the kitchen window as they flit from feeder to hook and back again. I also have a few hummers that come and feed as well. Couldn't manage to snap a pic of them yet. But here is the new feeder! I planted wildflower seeds all around it and I am hoping they grow. I'll update if they do!

Face the Truth Tuesday (AKA Weigh in)

This week I rocked the Momentum program! I rocked it's awesome socks off! Yep, I lost 2.2 lbs this week! YAY! How did I do it? I tracked everything I put in my mouth. Every.thing.
I actually had a food breakdown on Saturday (with some thanks to the Surfer, who suggested all of these foods) and ate 2 doughnuts and a burger and fries at Red Robin. Do you know how terrible Red Robin is for you? My burger alone was 26 points! Yikes! So it ended up that I went over my weekly allowance but kicked myself in the rear and make it up with exercise. Who knew that you could do that? This is NOT something I would ever recommend (cuz it sucks), but at least its good to know its there.
One kind of frustrating thing, that I hope to not let happen again, is that big gain that happened on vacation. I finally am back to the weight I started at when I restarted...uhm 5 weeks ago. So now its time to kick it up and get down to my 5% I set at that time - so I can buy this!
Isn't it cute and so appropriate? A flying piggy - my pounds flying away, never to return (cuz they've been replaced by the piggy, duh!) Seriously though, check out Alliteration's etsy shop. She has some super cute stuff there! Anything you are using as motivation?
So goals for this week:
1. Keep on tracking!
2. Eat a few more fruits/veggies
3. Keep up the exercise - I've been gardening a lot, so that has really helped too!
So how was your week?

Oh Happy Day!

YES! Another awesomely fabulous Mamarazzi Swap! Its cuz she is the most rockin' super ginormously fabulous swap organizer out there...you all know you want to be just like her (I know I do!)
So I highly suggest you get in on this action: Its a red, white and blue swap! Go read all about it by clicking the cute button. Go. Now! Seriously kids these things fill up insanely fast. You cannot afford to miss a Mamarazzi swap!

Weigh in results - a little late!

As per previous post, I have been a bit busy getting things planted and such and therefore totally forgot to do my weigh in post. We have changed our meeting day to Tuesday, so I normally would have had 2 more days to track and exercise, but I lost 0.4 this week. After all the damage I've been doing, I'll take it.
This week I have been tracking! After The Surfer reminded me of the success I had my first round of WW, I realized that monitoring myself is a big key. So I hope to see these results on the scale. With all the gardening and yard work activity points, I'm bound to lose a little something (and I am really hoping that its not going to be my mind.
So my goal for this week:
Track, track, track!
I know if I can stick with this for a few weeks it will become a habit and I just need to keep it up!

Ouch!

So I have been absent so far this week do to some major yard work. The surfer decided to finish, or very nearly finish his landscaping in the front yard and we also created a HUGE garden. Well huge to us, since last year all the veggies were basically in pots. So yesterday I shoveled and carried buckets of mulch in the morning for an hour and a half and then last night we covered the garden with mushroom manure. My back is killing me, my shoulders are killing me...the only things that aren't sore are the muscles that probably need more work (ie abs, buns and thighs!) So tonight the plan in to till the manure in and then tomorrow I will be planting ALL day - weather permitting!
I will take pics of my finished garden, since I admit this was sorta my idea. And the positives way outnumber the fact that I can barely move this morning or the fact that I tossed and turned (very carefully) all night long. Here's to a bountiful and healthy harvest!

Time to fess up

I'm really embarrassed about this. But I know I have promised to be honest about my wieght, so even though it was a terrible 2 weeks (with vacation thrown in there) I went to my WW metting. I gained 3.4 lbs. Holy cow!
I am suddenly an eating machine. I can't seem to stop myself. Have you ever heard of "Last Supper Syndrome"? You know, where you subconsciously believe that it will be the LAST TIME you ever get to indulge in your favorite foods? That is what I have been like. On vacation I had fried seafood platter (did I mention I love sea creatures breaded and fried?), salmon oscar, chips, Mexican food (Oh how I LOVE Mexican food!), and TONS of ice cream...and I paid for it at the scale. I don't know why I can't get my brain to register that I can still have my faves in moderation. So my goals for this week are to really push the water to get all that "bad" stuff out of my system, exercise 15 mins a day, and also to get some fruit/veggies at the farmer's market to snack on so I don't go on the rampage! I raise my water bottle in a toast to a better week! Here, Here!

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap

This was SO much fun and I would recommend getting in on it next time around - so seriously, check her blog often so you don't miss out!
My swap partner was Jessica from Pudget. She is on a weight loss journey as well...and actually I will admit reading her blog inspired me to get back on track and get back to weight watchers, for real this time! Just look at the wonderful stuff she sent me all wrapped in cheerful paper! She even tagged every item (which I failed to do...duh! Well I'll know for next time!)

So here are some of Jessica's favorite things (lots of tools for WW!!! She must have known it was just what I needed!)
Favorite Recipe: Pinto Beans and Ham
Favorite Munchie: Pirate's Booty
Facorite Dessert: Hershy Bar Haystacks - can't wait to make these!
Favorite Magazine: Weight Watchers
Favorite 1 point snack: WW Chocolate Cakes - yum!
Favorite Granola bar: Fiber One Oats and Chocolate - double yum!
Favorite peice of jewelry: The most adorable Sterling Silver Toe Ring ever!
Favorite Drink: Crystal Light Peach and Mango Green Tea - tried this today and it is very refreshing
Favorite Gum: Nutra Trim Weight Management Chewing Gum, Spearmint
Favorite Sweet Treat: Little Debbie Marshmallow Treats

So as you can see, Jessica has me well stocked for success and I can't thank her enough. But thats not all! She was awesome enough to label the points on all everything. Yep, you're right - she totally ROCKS my SOCKS!
Go visit Pudget for some more of Jessica's fabulous tips and tricks! And leave her a comment telling her how jealous you are that you weren't her partner ;)

Too busy to share!

Sorry I've been gone for a little while. I've got some fun stories to share, but need to find time to site here and get the posts done. Hopefully sometime this week. Check back for my weigh in (which I am hoping is not too big of a disaster), my swap, my trip to VA, and more! I apologize for being so flighty lately, Spring has sprung which means I am on the computer less and in the sunshine more (with sunscreen, of course!)

Weigh in

Well...this week was a bit rough. Yes, I know it was my first week and I should have been awesome. Yes, I had cake and ice cream AND a Mother's Day Buffet...BUT....
I lost .8 pounds this week. Not too bad. I know that drinking water like crazy was a huge help as well as eating more fruits and veggies. I also realized that I love sugar snap peas. They are so wonderful...and I plan to stock up on them when they go on sale!
How did you do this week?

Oh! Almost forgot. Head over to my other blog (clickity on the button to the right) and enter my giveaway for a poster print of your choice. I was thinking a print of one of my favorite beaches would be nice or the sunset in Maui from my honeymoon *sigh*

Send positive vibes my way!

Guess what!?! I got a job interview! A real live in person job interview. I don't want to give too much away right now, but it is with a government agency and it will involve me actually doing something sort of biology related, and NOT in a lab! I was so excited when I got the call yesterday, I could hardly contain myself. I've been out of school for almost 5 months now, so it is about time. I was just filling out an application for Sephora too, since if I can't get a job in my field I would love to learn all about the skin care lines they carry...but hopefully with all of your positive vibes and prayers coming my way, I will land this job!
So please keep me in your thoughts on the morning of May 29th. I appreciate it and promise to reciprocate the thoughts/prayers/vibes back to each of you.

Oh Weekend, How You Haunt Me!

Well, I can't say I did absolutely horrible this weekend, but I was not on plan the entire time either.

In the effort of trying to look at the POSITIVE, here are the things I did that I am proud of:
1. My mom and I took a walk after my grandfather's birthday dinner. She lives on a hill so we walked to the top and then back down. Got the ol' heart pumping and felt pretty good!
2. At said BDay dinner, I tried to fill up on veggies! Broccoli and carrots occupied about 2/3 of my plate. I had the smallest stuffed pork chop they had and only a small serving of potatoes. A far cry from my "normal" portions. And I was still full (maybe a little too full, but hey, I am a work in progress!)
3. At the Mother's Day buffet, I didn't stuff myself! I left there feeling satisfied! Amazing! I did eat some dessert, but after one small taste of the chocolate cake, I ate the icing and left the rest. I ate a sugar cookie too, which totally hit the spot. I also chose iced tea for my beverage instead of Pepsi (I have an addiction to pop!) and sweetened it with Splenda.
4. Last night, while watching Family Guy, I marched or danced to all the commercials.

So there you have it. Four big successes. And today is a new day! What successes did you have this weekend?

Last night's results

So, I went. I signed up. And now I am determined to lose!
My first goal is 5% and that is 9.6 lbs from now. This will actually take me back to my 10% goal that I had when I started a few years ago. I got there before so I can totally get there again! And I can remember how good I was feeling and how I my clothes were getting too big. I can't wait!!!

My goals for this week are to eat smarter by getting in lots of fruits and veggies. These are all considered "filling foods" so they have some staying power. So I am striving for 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Its going to be a challenge since the Surfer doesn't eat any veggies, but if I can get on the ball and prep them, it will hopefully make it easier for me to add them to my meals.

Do you have any healthy goals you would like to share? Any tips on how I can sneak more veggies into my day?

I'm READY!

As some of you know, I posted a couple weeks ago about wanting to get healthy. Tonight I will make this even more of a reality. I, like many other people (and bloggers) out there, have decided to join Weight Watchers. I used the online program a few years ago to lose 20 pounds and then lost an additional 20 with my mom just this past year or so. Well, I gained 10 of those back (by my scale)! And knowing what I know about WW, I know it will work if I can just "work" it.
I hope that by admitting my current weight struggle, I will be held accountable by you, my readers. Trust me, I need support here. I am married to a meat and potatoes man who loves to eat as much as I do. I have family members who are food pushers. I have a weakness for sweets and I prefer sitting on my rear to working it off in the gym. This will be a struggle at times, but I am hoping for your support and encouragement to make it through. Since all scales are a little different, I will be posting tomorrow about my current weight and my goals. My first big goal is to lose 10% of my weight, but I plan to set little goals as well.
My doctor also had a lot to do with why I need to lose some of this weight. I have acid reflux and am taking medication to help heal my shredded esophagus. By decreasing my weight, changing my lifestyle, and learning to eat better, in a few months I will *hopefully* no longer need to take this medication. I am 27. There is no excuse for having to rely on medications for something which could potentially be avoided by getting healthy.
So are any of you trying to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, exercise more, or generally being healthier? I'd love to hear any tips you might have!

Winners!

And the winners are:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

4
5

Timestamp: 2009-05-05 00:31:13 UTC

Congrats to Sweet Mommy Dreams and DiPaola Momma! Winners have been emailed, but in case you didn't recieve the email, please get in touch with me so I can get your yummy prizes to you!

FYI

I will be posting the winners shortly, but have little time to post at the moment. Today I need to cheer up a friend, so that is my priority. However, when I return I will be choosing 2 winners for the sauce. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce-Review and Giveaway

I was excited when I was contacted by County Bob's to review their sauce. My husband LOVES all kinds of sauces and even mixes them together at times. He loves to dip anything and everything. So how perfect is that?
They were kind enough to send me 2 bottles of their original all-purpose sauce to try along with brochures that had some recipes to try inside. When they arrived, my husband wanted to open a bottle and he smelled the sauce and tasted a little. He said the sauce was pretty tasty.
So we planned for a cook out the next day with my parents and his mom. This way we could all try out Country Bob's Sauce together. We made some hamburgers and I added some garlic powder, some dried minced onion and some Country Bob's. We grilled the patties and added some more Country Bob's under the cheese we topped them with. I topped mine with lettuce, tomato, a little red onion, a little more Country Bob's, and a bit of mayo.

Looks good huh?

On my first bite, the sauce kind of squirted out, but it was so fabulous tasting! We have a winner here folks! Everyone thought the burgers were so tasty, my mother-in-law even said she thought they were better that her favorite local burger joint! Perhaps that burger joint is merely missing the key ingredient: County Bob's All-Purpose Sauce!

My dad enjoying his County Bob-i-fied burger

I also prepared the Abercrombie Sauce recipe from the website. I think I will be smothering some chicken in it later this week and grilling it. I will be posting on how that turns out as well.

And it gets even better! Country Bob's would like to send TWO of my readers TWO bottles of Country Bob's to try for themselves. Tasting is believing!
Would you like two bottles of Country Bob's? To enter, please visit their website and tell me a recipe you'd like to try OR what you would top with this fabulous sauce. I'll even accept telling me something you think is interesting about the company. You MUST do this first!
Then for additional entries you can:
1. Follow my blog
2. Subscribe to my feed
3. Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway. (Please tell me your Twitter name also.)
For each entry, please leave a comment telling me what you did. Also, remember to leave contact email so I can get in touch with you! I will be randomly choosing 2 winners on Friday, May 1st at 8pm EST. EDIT: I decided to extend the time until Sunday at midnight. That gives everyone more time to get here and enter. They will be contacted and given 24 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen.

Feel Good Friday

Today is Friday and that gets a big Wooo Hoooo from me. This means that we are almost to the weekend where I get to hang out with my husband (and most likely our parents at some point as well). I don't know what it is about Friday that makes me so happy. Really since I am still unemployed it is no different than any other day for me, but the promise of getting to be around the ones I love makes it a little better than other days.
On another note, I am trying to get myself a little healthier. I have been trying to exercise at least 3 times a week for 30-60 mins each time. Not too shabby. I just read in my Weight Watchers magazine that to lose weight you should exercise for 60 mins 5 days a week. Seems like a lot huh? But really, you don't have to do it all in one shot. As long as it averages to that, you are doing great! So after I get this 3 day thing down, I will keep adding on. I normally say I want to get skinny, but I have changed my mind a little on that. I want to feel good! Here is why:
1. I have been having heartburn for a few months now. When I was down about 10 lbs from what I am now, I never had this problem. I know weight is a factor. I also hate feeling like crap at night when I lay down and the burning starts. I guess I should also see a doctor, even though it frightens me a little bit. I am not fond of tests or needles. I guess I can hope I don't need either of these...
2. My knees have started hurting. I am 27. This to me seems ridiculous. I want to be able to go for a long walk and not start feeling pain. Did you know that when you walk, you put three times the weight on your hips and knees? That means that for 10 lbs you loose, that is 30lbs of pressure off your knees! So a little bit really can go a long way!
3. Ditto on my feet. My heels hurt, but this is nothing too new. Its only when I stand or walk for a long period of time.
4. If/when we decide to have children, I want to be healthy. This way, there is a better chance that the pregnancy and birth will go better. Plus, I want to be able to teach my kids how to stay healthy and how can I do that if I am unhealthy?

So there you have it. They say that if you commit something to writing you are more likely to stick to it. I hope that is true. My progress so far is that I have done 2.5 hours of exercise this week and will be swimming tonight for my additional time. I may even exceed my own goal! YAY!
So do you have any advice at how to stick with an exercise plan or just tips on getting healthy? Please share! Have a wonderful and fun weekend!

And PS I will be doing a review early next week and it includes a giveaway. Make sure you check back!

Twitter Demystified

So like tons of people out there I have begun to tweet updates on Twitter. And I love it. I have had fun tweeting back and forth with others and just seeing what the Twitter world is up to. But there is one thing that has me all sorts of confused. That would be the lingo. So in an effort to educate myself, I am sharing my findings with all of you. Yes, I know you love me. :o)

The @ symbol is used for 2 different things: at replies and mentions. An @ reply starts with the @twitterid Blah Blah Tweet Tweet Blah.
The mention looks more like Giving props to @TwitterID for an awesome blog post, or something like that.

RT = Re-Tweet, meaning someone has already tweeted about this topic, but is tweeting again cuz it is such an awesome tweet, like this one:

And the symbol I was most confused about: #
What the heck does the hash mean? It is a way to tag your tweet for that word. So if I post #lifewith4purrs it will track the tweets with that in them. For more info check this out.
And thanks to Jessica for tweeting me back and answering my Twitter questions. Jessica, you are way smarter than me! And much more Twitter-vanced. You rock!

And for more info on Twitter and how to use it, check out their help menu. They've got people. They are also smarter than me.

St. Martin

So I realized I didn't put up a post about the fun we had in St. Martin! So here is a recap, I'll try to be brief.
In St. Martin we went on the Golden Eagle Catamaran Sail and Snorkel. Oh what FUN! The Surfer and I love to snorkel. In fact it was our favorite thing we did on our honeymoon. My parents came too for fun, even though neither of them got in the water.

Post-snorkel: SO much fun!

We saw some neat fish, sea stars, and brain coral. Then we went to a beach and swam for a while. This was also an all you can drink sail, so rum punch was had by all, not to mention that we were served by men in bow ties (no shirts, just bow ties) We had a great time!

Party with Country Girl, City Life

To celebrate her 21st birthday Kati is doing four awesome giveaways. How sweet of her is that?!?

She is giving away some of her favorite things: movies, cleaning products, snacks, and a favorite things box. Again, how totally awesome is she?

Want to help her celebrate? Head on over to Kati's blog by clicking the banner above!

Spread the Love

So I totally missed out on this last time and am SO excited to be able to participate in Mamrazzi's Favorite Things Swap 3! YAY!

It is an awesome opportunity to meet fellow bloggers and spread the love. Seriously, you all should join up! Your package needs to contain $20-$30 in your favorite things (not including shipping) which you send to your partner and then they send you their favorite things at the same time. Pretty sweet huh? Not sure which of my favorite things I will be including, but I've got some really great ideas. Don't want to ruin the surprise ;o)

So what are you waiting for? Get over to Dandelion Wishes!

St. Thomas USVI

I'm a bit late posting today, because I went to visit a close friend. She is expecting her first baby (a girl) very soon. In fact, they will be inducing her on Friday. She has been on rest for a little more than a week. Please keep her and baby in your thoughts and prayers as her time quickly approaches. I can't wait to meet her little bundle (hopefully this weekend!) and try to convince the Surfer that we should make a wee bundle of our own soon ;)

Getting back to the islands: Our second stop was at St. Thomas. What a beautiful view!We rode the Sky Ride up to Paradise Point, home of the Bailey's Bushwacker. It is a tradition that my parent's started the first time they went there, so we had to partake!

The Bushwacker consists of seven (yes 7!) different alcohols! And it tastes kinda like a chocolate shake, but different. You'll just have to try one. And Paradise Point has the "original" so might as well cruise there and enjoy!My mom would love to join you!

We also got to see a cute bird show with several kinds of parrots and tropical birds. One could even add and subtract by ringing a bell for the answer! I asked the Surfer if I could get a bird. He said "No!" Go figure.

This bird could ride a bike! Later he did it on a highwire!

We also saw some cool lizards, including an iguana. This is where I was reminded how stupid people can be. There were people petting the wild iguana and it was hissing at them. I don't know if it bit them, but if I were the lizard I would have given it my best shot!

I asked the surfer if I could get one of these lizards. He said "No!" Go figure.

It was a wonderful day topped off with a beautiful gift from my parents. They went jewelry shopping after leaving the Point and bought my a necklace and earrings made of black coral. They are peices by Bernard K. Passman and I LOVE them! The earrings are so dainty and the whale's tail pendant (not shown on the website) is so beautiful. I have always been in love with the sea, especially whales and dolphins, so this was very meaningful to me. My parents are so wonderful and thoughtful! Again I will say I am SO Blessed!

Thus ended a perfect day...

Where I was last week at this time

Last week, on my wonderful vacation, the Carnival Glory was docked at Nassau, Bahamas. We chose not to do any excursions here, but next time I will save my pennies. I want to swim with the dolphins so badly!
So here are some of the sights:I think I took 15 pictures of the lighthouse. I just loved the way it looked like the perfect postcard!A picture of Atlantis. I would have loved to check out this new resort. They also have a dolphin encounter and swim option, but since we had a tight budget we decided to save that for another trip...someday. They also have several aquariums and lagoons with stingrays and sharks and tons of fish. But I only know this from looking it up on the net when I returned. I think I may need to work there someday!
And when I move there I will need this huge boat, complete with accessory sail boat! Yep, can't live without that!

Check back later this week for more info and pics of the trip. St. Thomas and St. Martin were more exciting for us. And don't forget our fun days at sea!