Sunday

Brittney came home from Disney on Sunday. They stayed at the All Star Movies resort.

Brittney getting a hug from Minnie Mouse...how sweet!

Haley, Cat, Jordan, Alex and Brittney with Tinker Bell. Brittney said that Jordan is doing her "cheese" pose.

Brittney and Haley at Planet Hollywood...I think that is where they were.

Thank you Gina, Billy, Auntie, Uncle Doe Doe, Gumma and Gumpa for taking her with you!!!! She had so much fun!!!

Weekend Potpourri

This weekend went by too fast. Here is a little bit of what has been going on.

Brittney left around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday to go to Disney with Hailey and her family until next Sunday. She is soooo lucky! She called me around 3:00 p.m. to let me know that they had arrived. I didn't hear from her on Sunday, but they were going to Magic Kingdom all day and were staying for the SepctroMagic Parade and fireworks, so I am sure that she was tired and ready for bed when they got back to the hotel room. Hopefully she will call me today.

Late Friday night, early Saturday morning, my husband's cousin's husband shot and killed his daughter's boyfriend/fiance. From what I have heard, the daughter was on her way home from work and when she pulled in the driveway, she heard the shots. Her boyfriend had fallen asleep in the bonus room in the recliner while watching tv. Her dad came in and shot him once, then shot the tv, and then shot him again. He was on his way outside when his daughter was coming in the house. She asked him what he did and he said that her boyfriend said that he was going to kill him. Her dad walked outside, put the gun on the porch, and was waiting for the police to get there. This is so sad because they have an 8 month old little girl and one on the way. http://www.wsoctv.com/news/20025302/detail.html

Saturday I went to Zumba and then went to my mom's to help her out a little bit.

I went to my dad's on Sunday, after I took Nani to PetSmart. Of course, she got a new toy and she picked it out and loves it! I also had to get her some food. While I was there, they had their fish tanks on sale, so I got a bigger tank for the turtle. At my dad's, I was picking blueberries. He has a boxer named Callie. She is a big baby. She loves blueberries! I was squatting down picking off the bottom of the bush and she was right beside me eating them of the branches. Now I need to find a good low fat blueberry muffin recipe.

That's about it! What did you do this weekend?

Making Progress

On June 1st, I really started getting serious about my weight. My clothes were starting to get tight and I was getting frustrated buying new clothes. Everything felt like a tent. I found a free website where you can enter your weight, the weight you would like to be, your measurements, and your activity level. Then it will calculate the number of calories that you need to consume each day to get to your target weight. There is a daily journal where you can record the number of calories you consume each day and the activities that you do. I also have a calorie count book that I use if I can find an item online. If you would like to check it out, here is the site... http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/

Here is an example of what I eat:
Breakfast: one scrambled egg, one Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage patty
a.m. Snack: 100 calorie pack (Cheese Nips are my fav!)
Lunch: Zaxby's Grilled Chicken Sandwich (without the bread), a handful of fries w/ketchup
midday Snack: a couple miniature candy bars (I still need my chocolate!)
Dinner: grilled pork chop w/bbq sauce, yellow squash grilled (canola oil spray & Mrs. Dash)
p.m. Snack: Slim-a-Bear 100 calorie ice cream bar

Since I have been back from vacation, I have been doing Zumba two to three times a week. I went once before vacation. While on vacation I didn't count calories or workout.

I am happy to report that I have lost 6 pounds, 2.5 inches in my waist, 1.5 inches in my hips, a half inch in my thighs, and half inch in my bicep. I am so excited. I actually have a waist now. The pants that I wore on Monday kept feeling like they were going to fall off. I have way more energy, I sleep better, and I am not hungry all of the time. Sometimes I have to force myself to eat so that I am getting enough calories. I have also been drinking more water.

I just hope that I can keep it up!!!! Unlike in the past, I have not been depriving myself of the things that I want, like Pringles, chocolate, or fast food. I just make better choices. I will have 10 Pringles instead of half the can. I will have one or two mini candy bars instead of a full size bar. When I eat fast food, I will order the grilled chicken with no mayo., or order a burger, with no fries. If I want fries, I will take a couple from the kids or my hubby, that way I am not tempted to eat the whole order myself.

I hope to post a before and after pic in the next month or so!

Foto Friday

Camping

Last Friday we (me, Mom, Brittney, Autumn, Autumn's friend Kailee, my brother Alex, his girlfriend Brittany, and their baby Aden, along with my stepfather's family) went camping at the Asheville East KOA. This was my first time here. I fell in love with the place as soon as we got there. It only takes two hours to get there from home. They have activities every weekend for children. This weekend was Safari weekend. We also played Bingo on Saturday night. It was $1 per card. I didn't win any money, but I had a good time. The picture above is the lake. You can fish without a license, but you have to throw the large mouth bass back. They also have paddle boats that you can rent for $5 an hour.

This is our cabin. I loved getting up early in the morning and swinging while everyone else was still asleep. The air was a little chilly and you could here the birds chirping. It was very relaxing.

Here is a picture of the creek. I love this picture.

They also have a pool. It is kind of small and only goes to 4 ft, but it is nice to get in and cool off. Brittney is in the green tube and Kailee is beside of her. William's friend, Ander, is in the blue tube. William is Clay's grandson.

Autumn and Kailee in the creek. You can float down the creek in tubes. I didn't try it, but it looked like fun! Right before this picture was taken they saw a snake. I had to beg them to get back in so that I could take at least one picture. Speaking of snakes, they killed a Copperhead on Friday night.

This is (from left to right) Savannah, Clay's granddaughter, her friend Kaylee, and Brittney.

We had the two room cabin. This is a picture of one of the rooms. There was another set of bunk beds on the other wall. I was supposed to get the bottom bunk, but Brittney wanted it. So I slept on the top and my mom was under me. I had a hard time getting up there. Autumn had the other top and Brittney was under her. Kailee brought her air mattress and put it on the floor between the bunks.

This is the other room. This is where Alex and Brittany stayed. Aden slept in his playpen. Other than the beds, there was an air conditioner, ceiling fans, and electricity (but only one outlet in each room). We had to take showers and use the restroom at the bathhouse. It felt weird taking a shower in flip flops. They did keep the facilities clean though.

Before we left, we got everyone together for a group picture. This is a tradition. It took about 15 minutes to get everyone together. This is all of the people that were camping with us. We had 5 cabins, two campers and one or two tents. That's a lot of people. Not all of these people are related. Some are just close friends, but it felt like one big family.

Before I left I made a reservation for me, Chad and Nani to go back Labor Day weekend. I am looking forward to it. Chad is not thrilled, but he is going because I want to.