Naked Heat by Richard Castle {currently reading}

I am really having a hard time getting this book read, I think it just isn't keeping my interest.

Yikes !!!

Yikes ! I have been gone a long time !! I am going to try and get back to this blogging thing :) Maybe that will be my new year's resolution. I need to do it to just be able to {journal} my days/ weeks.

--> bare with me while I update a bunch of stuff.

Come back???

Wow, I have been gone for the blog world for what seems like forever! Here are something I realized...

When I "left" I stopped loosing weight...I think blogging about my "dieting" was actually keeping me motivated!

Sooo, I am going to try and get back into the swing of things next week...

MIA

I know I haven't posted anything in a LONG LONG time! I have been soo busy latley, I just haven't made the time to blog. I do plan on blogging again... just not sure when it will be... hopefully by the end of the summer.

Birthday wishlist...

With my birthday being Friday, I have been thinking about some "fitness" things I would like to have!!

Garmin Forerunner 405CX {I currently have Nike+, which is nice, but I would like to be able to use it when I bike.. and Nike+ doesn't work like that}

NEW SHOES!! { I have known for awhile that I need new running shoes, but now they are starting to really hurt my shins!}

Water Bottle {I realized that I must have water with me when I run... I drink alot of water!! It is very hard to run and trying to hold onto a water bottle!!}

Shattered Dreams Pictures

Shattered Dreams 2010 You've been invited to view an album on MobileMe Gallery. Here are pictures from Shattered Dreams.  If you look closely, you can see Shelby (fireman) and Rik (fireman).  Kaleb was crowd control since he can't lift more than 10 lbs.   This is NOT a real accident, it is a program sponsored by TABC about drinking and driving.  The kids are all students at Melissa High School!  ** warning there is blood in the pictures, in case you have a weak stomach**

If you are unable to access this page, please copy and paste the URL below into your browser. http://gallery.me.com/ihopeh/100599

Early Birthday :)

Saturday I had planned a Card playing party and my hubby turned it into a surprise birthday party!! It was a great time !!!

Two of my friends made me cakes !!! Hehe.. of course since they were birthday cakes made by my loving friends there were NO calories :)

They were soooooo yummy!!! We all had a great time.. and didn't play cards at all... well at about 1am we played Texas Hold'em !

It happened to be the same day as the Melissa open - a golf tournament benefiting our school... so there were some tired guests !!!

2 more races !

Yesterday I signed up to run the Jailbreak 2010 -- I can't wait!!
I also signed me and the kids up for the Red Nose Run.

5QF #3

1. If you could, would you go back to high school?

I don’t know.  There are alot of things that happened when I was in High School that I would like to change, but I also feel that those things shaped who I am today and lead me in the path that brought me here.

2. If a genie appeared and granted you two wishes, what would they be? (And, no saying "more wishes".)

Wish #1 : my family would be healthy!! – my mom had breast cancer :(
Wish #2 : Money (of course) so my children could go to college and not have to worry when they get older. .. oh and to buy myself an iPad .. hehehe

3. What kids show do you secretly like?

iCarly, Suite Life of Zac and Cody .. I don’t watch many kids shows anymore.

4. What is your beverage of choice?

Diet Pepsi!!!

5. What is something that you would change about yourself (or are working to change in yourself)?

My weight!!!  I am on weight watchers, but during Spring break I fell off the wagon or got kicked off the wagon and it left me behind!  I have lost 20 lbs.  I have vowed to get back on the wagon and hold on tight next week.  I want to be healthy and set a good example of my daughter (who is 10 and overweight… breaks my heart to think she has been following my bad example before!)

Hope

Avatar

When it was at the theatre's I had NO desire to see it at all! I thought it was going to be this horrible movie. I could not understand how all these people were wanting to see it and would sit thru a 3 hour movie like that.

I have CHANGED my mind! Rik bought it over the weekend and we watched it. Oh My Goodness! the movie was GREAT !!!

I loved the movie!!

Sooo, I stand corrected! I should not judge a movie by the previews I guess! :)

Delphi's Surgery

Well, we decided to finally have Delphi fixed. Rik thought it would be a good idea to get it done the same day of Kaleb's surgery since he is off all week.

So, we had to drop Delphi off at the vet between 730am - 830am.

We had just got into Kaleb's room and were waiting for him to arrive from Recovery when I get a frantic call from the vet. Delphi wasn't waking up from the anesthesia like she wanted, so they took an xray and she was bleeding internally. She needed my permission to go back in... which of course I gave her!

Hours later I got a call from the vet. The suture on the ovarie wasn't holding, which took them 3 tries to get it to hold! She was going to be giving Delphi blood since she lost alot. :( She had the other vet bring in his lab to transfuse with Delphi. (Delphi is a boxer)

So, we were a bit stressed with Kaleb's surgery not going as planned and then Delphi's surgery didn't go as planned either!

Delphi came home after only the 1 night at the hospital and she is doing GREAT! She is back to normal!!!

Running

I am starting to feel really guilty for not running for over a week! I had told myself I would run 3 times a week!! The last time I ran was the day before Kaleb's surgery!!! I hate thinking I have a good excuse to no be running, but really ... my son had surgery, my dog had surgery and my mother in law is in the hospital now... all this since Wednesday last week !! That is alot to stress about. I am sure running would help with my stress, but seriously, when do I have the time.
I know ...

• instead of sitting here updating my blog, I could be running
  
• instead of watching TBL tonight, I should have been running
  
• instead of spending an hour on the phone, I should have been running!!

Trying out Blogo

Since I am looking for something to use on Mac to do blog posts, I heard about Blogo and have used it to do a couple of posts, and so far I like it better than MacJournal. It is much easier to use !! I downloaded the trial version, the paid version is $25.

Test Driving MacJournal

I am trying out MacJournal. It pains me to think I that I like WIndows Live Writer mainly because I HATE Windows and I am a very devoted Mac user!!!! At work I have a PC and use Windows Live Writer and I kinda like it. I want to find something for my Mac. :)

The Quickie by James Patterson

While Kaleb was in the hospital, I was able to finish reading this book.  Of course, another James Patterson!  I am beginning to think I am addicted to his books!

This book, just like all his others, was GREAT!!

Kaleb’s Surgery

Last week Kaleb had his spleen removed.  I wrote about it here .
His surgery was at 12:30, and we had to be at the hospital at 10:30.

He went back at about noon.  Me and Rik went and got some food at the cafe, and then went to wait the 2 hours in the waiting room.  Finally the surgeon came out and told us the surgery went well.  He let us know that Kaleb would have an NG Tube in overnight because when they were removing the spleen they burnt part of the stomach due to the large size of the spleen.  Also, due to the size of the spleen he had to load the staple gun 4 times, where with normal spleen, it only takes 1 load.
Kaleb finally came out of recovery…

He DID NOT like the NG Tube !! And I don’t blame him!!  He was in alot of pain. We found out he is allergic to Morophine!  He broke out in hives.

He had some visitors… his brother and sister.

He had to stay a day longer than we had planned.  I thought he would only have to stay one night and come home the next day, but his pain was not controlled so we had to stay another night.  He had to be on a clear liquid diet, and he didn’t care for the broth!  LOL

Friday we waited and waited for the surgeon to come in and tell us we could go home!

FINALLY at about 8pm he came in and told us we could go home !!!  FINALLY!!!!

He was feeling much better.  We got home after picking up his meds and a couple of his friends stopped by to see how he was doing.

Menu Plan Monday – 4/26 – 5/2

I have really fallen off the weight loss wagon and haven’t really made it back on yet.  Things have also been really out of the ordinary at my house lately.  Here is my plan for the week.. pretty simple.

Monday
Sausage
Macaroni & Cheese
Broccoli & cheese sauce

Tuesday
B-que Wings
Pasta Salad

Wednesday
Spaghetti w/ meatballs
Garlic bread
Salad

Thursday
Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans

Friday
Pizza – we have the band banquet to attend

Saturday
Steak
Baked Potatoes
Beans

Sunday
King Ranch Casserole
Ranch Style Beans
Green Salad

Wordless Wednesday - Surgery

Couch to 5k - Week 1 Day 2

Did Week 1 Day 2 at the Y on the treadmill :)

Here are my stats:

Distance: 2.32 miles

Time: 32:26

Pace: 13'58"

Calories: 309

Couch to 5k - Week 1 Day 1

I have started the C25K program again .. hopefully I will be able to complete it this time.

We recently got a membership to the YMCA and I plan on doing most of my working out there.  It is only about 15 minutes from my house and office. 

This first day was pretty easy.  I have been running off and on for awhile. My main goal is to be able to run an entire 5k without walking.

Here are my stats from the first day:

Distance: 2.28 miles

Time: 32:00 minutes

Pace: 14'00" per mile

Calories: 304

America’s Run 5k – FINISHED

On Sunday, Kaleb and I ran the America’s Run 5k at the new Cowboys Stadium.

We had to get up early to make the hour long drive to get there, but it was worth it! All finishers of the 5k got a medal!  My first race bling!!!

This was only my second 5k.  Oh my goodness there were ALOT of runners!

Towards the end, you enter the tunnel into the stadium,

I texted Rik to let him know I was almost there to watch for me.  Spectators were not allowed on the field, only in the stands.  They showed the finish on the HUGE jumbotron!  Here is the text I sent Rik, it wasn’t until yesterday when I looked at it again I realized what I said.  I meant to say I am turning into the stadium… but what I sent was much more realistic !  LOL

 

The race ended on the Cowboy’s field at the 50 yard line!

Here I am waving after I finished. Yes I am on my phone!!

We saw Jay from Jay’s Bootcamp there, and got to take a picture with him!

It was a great race, I wish I would have trained more before, but it was awesome to run on the Cowboys field.

Upcoming surgery...

Here is a little about Kaleb’s and his upcoming surgery:

 

We noticed the whites of his eyes were a bit yellow and took him to the doctor.  The doctor ran blood work and his billirubin is high and he has hemolytic anemia.  All this is caused from a blood disorder he has (Hereditary Spherocytosis {HS}). {We have known since birth he has this, Rik, Shelby and most of Rik's family has it as well.}

 

The doctor ordered and ultra sound of his belly which we had done last week.  The ultrasound was to look for gall stones (which are common with HS) and to check to see if his spleen is enlarged.  The results were that there are no gallstones but his spleen is a bit enlarged.  He has ordered a CAT scan of his belly (they were not able to get a picture of the entire spleen with the ultrasound) and referred us to the general surgeon.

 

We had the CAT scan and met with the surgeon.  Kaleb's spleen is very enlarged.  The normal spleen is 7-10cm and Kaleb's is 19cm. 

 

He will have surgery to have his spleen removed on April 21st.   The surgery will be laparoscopic/ hand assist and he will have to stay overnight one night.  The surgeon thinks he will be able to be back running in about 2-3 weeks after the surgery which makes Kaleb very happy.

 

 

 

America's Run 5k

Me and Kaleb did the 5k yesterday.
More to come later....

Wordles Wednesday

Barf bucket at 5k this past weekend

Spring Fling Weigh-In #5

Well, it’s Wednesday again, time for the weigh-in.

I joined a challenge over at Shrinking Jeans.  The Challenge is called: Spring Fling Challenge . My Team is called : PIGS WILL FLY !

I have not been doing much this week, except trying to eat healthy, so it figures I only lost 1. 1/2 lbs.

Starting Weight: 177.3 lbs
Last Weeks Weight: 172.4

This Weeks Weight: 170.9

Change: –1.5lbs

Total Loss {since Jan 2010}: 18.1 lbs

Been MIA…

I know I haven’t posted much lately, but it seems my little world isn’t the same.  I seem to be in a funk and can’t figure out how to get out of it !!  I am realizing this blog is like my journal and I feel better when I write about how I am feeling, even if it is also a blah blah blah.. so bare with me.

Weight Watchers:  I was doing soo well before Spring Break, and now it has just went down hill!  I am not making a menu, so I am eating things I know are bad for me … WHY???  I don’t know!!

Running:  I am not doing as I wish I would be doing. I have a 5k to run in 2 weeks and I am not prepared AT ALL!

Kids: My 2 boys were both born with a blood disorder, Hereditary Spherocytosis .  And Kaleb seems to have an enlarged spleen now.  He had an ultrasound appointment last week and next week he will have a CAT scan of his belly.  We also are being sent to a surgeon.
Our new doctor (who I totally love!) talked Shelby into getting back on his ADD medicine!!!

Navy Life:  My husband has been gone since we got back from Spring Break, but will be home Saturday. It’s times like now that I really miss being “connected” to the military.  You see we are stationed in a remote area (military wise that is) and there are no bases near by so the support I was able to seek from fellow military spouses is hard to find.

Family: My B-mom (birthmom) is currently on chemo and will be starting radiation for a couple of spots they found.  I am soo worried.  She is on her 3rd battle with breast cancer as it is and now more….  I am glad she is soo strong. 

Medical:  The new doctor changed my ADD medication and I am now on the same as Shelby, Vyvanse.  I am still not sure if I like it.  I am also back taking my allergy medicine.

Well, now that I have “talked” about the things in my life right now, I feel a little better.  I have also realized that maybe my dieting failure right now is that I am STRESSED!!!  I need to work on the stress I know, maybe when my hubby gets home this weekend I can share my stress/ worries with him and lighten my load!

Hope

Spring Fling Weigh-In #4

Well, it’s Wednesday again, time for the weigh-in.

I joined a challenge over at Shrinking Jeans.  The Challenge is called: Spring Fling Challenge . My Team is called : PIGS WILL FLY !

I have been trying to get into a workout routine this week.  I guess I should be happy that I am doing something.  I have ran/ walked a couple of times this week.

Starting Weight: 177.3 lbs
Last Weeks Weight: 177

This Weeks Weight: 172.4

Change: –4.6lbs

Total Loss {since Jan 2010} – 16.6 lbs !!

Some ways I plan to increase my weight loss for next week:

After spring break a couple of weeks ago, I haven’t been doing my menu for dinner, it has become just what ever I can find to cook.  I really have to get back to my menu planning.

Starting the Couch25k program! – yea, I was supposed to start it last week! hehehe … and once again – I was supposed to start is last week and the week before !

Hope

Texas Roadhouse + nutritional information

OK, since I joined Weight Watchers I am become somewhat obsessed with knowing the nutritional information at restaurants.  I understand that there are only a few states that require it by law.  My state, Texas, DOES NOT!  I have not been totally bothered by a restaurant not providing until I was looking for the information for Texas Roadhouse… here is what they say about it:

Thank you for contacting us regarding our nutritional information. At this time, we do not offer calorie counts and other nutritional information.

We can assure you that we are cognizant of the demand from guests such as yourself to provide this information, but there are several factors that make this difficult.

Many of the large foodservice companies that offer specific nutritional information can do so because their food is pre-packaged and/or pre-portioned. Since we make our food from scratch, including the bacon bits, croutons, and dressings, it is next to impossible to provide exact nutritional information because of slight variations that depend upon who prepares the food.

We also make our bread from scratch each day and hand-cut our steaks, so again, we do not have the exact information printed when it arrives like some foodservice operators or what you may find in the grocery store.

We have attempted to provide some information in the past, but we pulled back after some guests complained we were not detailed enough. In addition, some enterprising folks tested the food and when it fell outside the guidelines threatened legal action. As such, we stopped providing our special gluten-free menu, for example.

In addition, many states, counties and cities across the nation are attempting to pass legislation providing restaurants with guidelines and rules for displaying nutritional information. As a result, our efforts are on hold until we know what information will be required, the ranges that will be allowed and how that information should be distributed.

Again, let me assure you that we are trying to find a solution so that our guests can make informed decisions. Thanks again for contacting us, and let us know if you have additional questions.”
source: http://www.texasroadhouse.com/contact-us/

So, I guess they are the ONLY restaurant that makes their food from scratch!

Here is what I think: they obviously are hiding something – like there are soo many calories in their food if you knew you wouldn’t eat there !!

If anyone wants to know why we have an obesity problem in the US, it’s because restaurants want to keep us in the dark about their foods.  In fact, I was looking at kids meals and the calories at some restaurants and was SHOCKED by the amounts in KIDS MEALS!!! 

Five Question Friday

1. Have you ever had a celeb sighting?
No, I don’t think so.  Other than in my dreams, or at a concert.

2. What temperature do you keep your house?
Summertime 78 and winter 68.  This is pretty consistent in our new house :)

3. Do you notice dust at other peoples homes?
Only at my mom’s house, because she would in my house !  Love ya mom !

4. What's the worst job you ever had?
Oh wow, there are few it could be!  I worked at a grocery store bagging groceries when I was in high school, that was not much fun!

5. What is your most sentimental possession?
I would have to say my pictures.  I have my mom’s wedding pictures and pictures of my grandparents.  I would have alot if people would make wills before they pass away to keep family members from fighting over things!  My will is going to have each item assigned to a person down to every pencil {maybe not every pencil, but you get my point!}

Hope