Midweek Randoms

Why am I always playing catch up? Here's a quick (or not-so-quick) look at what I've been up to since last time.

• Got our taxes done and are getting some money back. Hoping this will help us finish our bathroom/spare room redo.

• The night of my last post (two weeks ago!) I watched Criminal Minds with Dac because Heather and Kayla had other things going on. I love Dac and I love for him to be in the same room as me. BUT - I don't particularly enjoy watching Criminal Minds with him. He just doesn't dig it as much as I do and he doesn't get WAY into it. Plus, he talks through it. He's always saying stuff like "oh yeah, like that would really happen". I say, obviously there's a bit of fake to it - it's TV!!! =) Glad to know that Heather and Kayla will be back this time.

• The next day was supposed to be Wii Night but Val and Cori went to a concert. So Dac, Steve, Charli, and I went to eat Chinese food.

• The day after that we went out to the casino for Dac's birthday dinner. It was really fun. We all sat around for almost two hours just chatting - and the food was good too.

• Saturday Kayla, Journey, and I went to Derby for a quick donut/shopping/lunch at Freddy's date. =) Fun! Later, Val picked me up for a Sonic cheese stick run and then we went over to help Cori do some house work. I mean the girl is carrying what will be the world's cutest twinsies - she needn't bother herself with house work. =) We organized some things and helped Charli pick up her room.

• Sunday we went to church!!! I know - gold star! =) The thing about our church is that it's small - really small - and we've gone there since we were little bitty. Point being that everyone know's you've been a bit absent and they let you know they know. Later that day Terese made dinner for for Dac's birthday (Theme for the year so far: birthday, eat, birthday, food, birthday, cake, birthday, fat.)

• Monday, I picked Sky up from school. We went to Sonic for snacks and drinks and to catch up - then went home to watch Ellen while it stormed. Then, Dac and I went to Wichita with Steve, Cori, and Charli. We just went for kicks - ate at Texas Roadhouse and then hit up Target and Quick Trip then got home too late on weeknight for this girl. 5:30 a.m. came a bit early the next day.

• I felt pretty crappy last week so I didn't go to Zumba - not even once.

• I did go to church again though - for Ash Wednesday. I didn't give up anything for Lent this year though - or add anything really. Fail. After the service I went to Kayla's to watch Criminal Minds. It was fun to hang out for a bit and to see Journey who I don't get to see nearly enough!

• I had a work meeting in Derby on Friday. Got to see other PR people and eat Olive Garden for lunch - so that was a good time. I also hit up Target while I was there (don't judge). Oh - and I also had a follow-up ultrasound that morning... they can't really see endo with those - but there were no cysts so that's a good thing!

• Dac and I grabbed taco bell and lounged around watching 24 that evening. I wasn't feeling so good for realz that day.

• Saturday my awesome, hunky husband turned the big Three-O. That's right... 30! We sort of didn't do a ton during the day I don't think - but then we went to Wichita to celebrate with great friends! The night didn't go exactly as planned but it was fun none-the-less. I took a few pictures and will post a few soon. (Yes, I realize I've been saying that about my Charli weekend pictures for weeks now... but I promise... they're coming!)

• We got home super late/early so we skipped church and basically just watched 24 ALL day again. Oh - that and worked on cleaning/fixing our washing machine. The weeks before it was the dishwasher. Thankfully it hasn't been anything super major and expensive!

• This week has been a pretty busy work week. I also met with our Big Brothers/Big Sisters case manager yesterday. I've got to tell you - I am so stinking proud of Sky. She is a nominee for our town's Outstanding Student of the Year award. She has come so incredibly far. =) I will be at her ceremony in a few weeks cheering her on!!

• I went to Zumba last night. It kicked my hiney and I was sucking air big time... but I felt pretty good considering! Then I went to (wow...eating out WAY too much... obviously) La Fiesta with Val, Dac, Austin, and his friend Andy. We get there - and Cori and Charli were there too! =)

• Tonight is criminal minds night again. =) Heather and Kayla are both coming over and I'm pumped. Ready for some girl time!!

What I've Been Up To Wednesday

• Whoa. It's been a long time since I've posted... so I'll likely forget to mention something fun or important or totally worthless but I'm going to give it a good solid effort. =)

• Still going to Zumba... not as many nights per week as I should... but I am going. I love it. It really is kind of the perfect workout for me. Annnd I like to shake my butt. I like to "lean like a cholo", and I like to put a slight stage-choreography spin on things. ha!

• The weekend before last, Dac and I went and saw the movie "Man on a Ledge" for date night. It was good! We both enjoy those kinds of movies so while it may not be your "typical" (if there is such a thing) date movie - it works for us! For the most part I'd rather watch a sappy chick flick with one of my girls anyway!

• The next day I went with Terese, Mary (family friend and tons more), and Val to Wichita to go fabric shopping for some baby quilts. We left early, grabbed breakfast on the way, ate Pei Wei for lunch, stopped like 12.5 times for snacks and cokes, and had a blast. During our trip I was on the hunt for a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg (since calories didn't count that day...duh) but I couldn't find one for some reason. When I came back to my office after a meeting that Monday... there was a valentine bag on my desk with, none other than, a Reese's egg. =) Oh happy day!! Thank you Mary!

• I can't seem to remember what else I did that weekend.

• I can't seem to lose any more weight. "WHAT!?!??! With the way you eat?? NO!!!" I know, I know. It IS hard to believe.

• The next week I had several work meetings and spent the majority of the week letting laundry and dishes pile up while I stretched out on the couch watching Rescue Me. I was seriously SO exhausted. Can't really explain it other than I. Was. Beat. I'm still kind of fighting the tired's but I picked up some vitamin B-12 and am hoping that helps.

• Thursday night we got snow! =) Just a little though.

• Friday, I got up SUPER early to get donuts and go with Cori and Val up to Wichita for Cori's maternal fetal specialist appt. I took a vacation day. After a week of being completely OVER IT and tired, I decided it was well worth using a day to hang out with them and see the twinsies. It was SO cool - a very in-depth ultrasound of both babies! Not only did we get donuts, but we went to Nifty Nut House for snacks, and ate Olive Garden for lunch. I got the Lasagna Fritta which is basically fried lasagna bites on alfredo sauce and topped with marinara and cheese. Holy Heaven. AND it only cost me 760-something calories. ha! It was a fun girls day. Plus, I think dr's appt's are pretty interesting. I already halfway consider myself to be a gyno wikipedia of sorts - but there's always more to be learned. =)

• I got my brows waxed that day too. ABOUT. DANG. TIME. Then, we all went out for Mexican to celebrate David's birthday (Dac's Dad). After that, Dac and I went with Val, Steve, and Charli to watch Star Wars in 3D. It wasn't bad. I think I prefer Star Trek better... but it wasn't just horrible.

• Saturday I had a case of the exhausteds again. I slept in until about 8:30, ate breakfast, watched Rescue Me, made breakfast for lunch, took a two-hour nap (I never do this), watched Rescue Me, ate supper, watched Rescue Me, put in Bourne Identity - fell asleep on the couch at around 7:30 p.m. WOW.

• Sunday, Dac and I had actually planned to go to church (shock and awe) but since I fell asleep at 7:30 I forgot to set my alarm. SO - we ended up having a breakfast date at Braums and going grocery shopping - where, I might add - I used up the rest of our "food" money for the month. We get paid Monday though so I think we'll be ok. =) I really am liking this envelope system even though it's hard and less fun. haha. The rest of the day I did laundry, dishes, etc... watched Rescue Me then Dac dropped me off at my parents before his soccer game. Have I mentioned he's playing on an indoor soccer team? He loves it and I love it for him - it's something he's missed doing since living in Wichita. So - I hung out with mom and dad then we all ate a yummy supper together after the game.

• Which, finally, brings us to the present week. Sunday night it started to snow... and it kept snowing so it was very pretty and school was canceled Monday. I work for the school district but still have to work rain, snow, or power outage. I was supposed to have a Board meeting that night though and it got postponed SO I went home and made a big pot of chili and a cinnamon roll cake and had my make believe "snow day" anyway.

• Hope you all had great Valentine's Days and felt love from someone and or for someone/thing. Dac and I never really do much for Valentine's Day... so it wasn't anything special in that regard. I did get lots and lots of treats at work though (like it's embarrassing how much sugar I consumed...oy) and Dac's mom sent me a goody bag. I also got to go read to a sweet little Kindergarten girl as part of their D.E.A.R (drop everything and read) Valentine project. That was lots of fun! Other than that, I just spent the evening at Zumba with Val. =)

• Oh - and there's this one BIG detail I'm leaving out. How could I forget... We got a statement from the surgery center. We owe 5+ different doctors/places for my surgery. All-n-all it's between $4,000 - $5,000 we owe out of pocket. Anyway, we've paid a couple of the smaller bills off, and were paying on the surgery center and my main surgeon (the two biggest bills). The surgery center bill was $1700 and we'd paid $300 so far. The statement I got said our balance was only $96. I thought they surely had that wrong so I called. Well, it was wrong. =| BUT - it was even better!!! WE. OWE. $0. NOTHING. Nada. Zip. Zilch. The insurance company apparently came back and paid more than expected. The receptionist confirmed that indeed we are all paid up and I screamed "Happy Valentine's Day to Me!!!!!" She just laughed and told me to enjoy the rest of my day. =) I can not tell you how much of a blessing this is right now. God works in big ways and I praise him for that!! Sure, by the time it's all said and done, we'll still have forked over lots of moolah to the medical industry - but this was our biggest bill and the fact that it's paid is a huge, giant happy note! =)

• Today - I have another special treat waiting for me... a king size pack of Reese's Hearts. Oh my. From guess who... Mary. =) She can make a day, now.

• In other news, my heart is breaking for some friends right now. One of my good friends Dads just had brain surgery for Parkinson's (amazing that he's had the opportunity for a potentially life-changing surgery) but he's struggling with the recovery and I know that's hard on all of them. Will you join me in praying for a speedy and complete healing? Also, other good friends of the family just lost a dad/grandpa. I know that's hard too. Nothing can really make that better aside from God's peace - so that's what I'm praying for them.

• We get our taxes done today... that should be fun. =| I hope! Then, I may go to Zumba. OR clean house. But either way I'll be watching Criminal Minds. =)

Hilarious.

I think Kristen Bell AND Ellen are BOTH awesome and hilarious. Check out this video... saw it on another blog and was literally laughing out loud. I hate that I miss the Ellen show... but glad I caught this. Thanks for keeping it real Kristen! =)

Midweek Randoms

• I'm still doing myfitnesspal.com - if you happen to be on there and want to be buddies - my username is acall333. =) I'm not losing tons of weight right now but I'm definitely eating more nutritiously (meaning I'm getting more fruits and veggies, etc.. and not just sugar! haha).

• One way I've been doing that is with smoothies (I believe I mentioned this and our new Ninja blender last time). I've actually been enjoying these... most of them anyway. My go-to smoothie is almond milk, half a scoop of protein powder, frozen mixed fruit/berries, and a cup of spinach. I've also had some chocolate-peanut-butter-banana ones that were delish... but also more calories. Duh.

• I've still been going to Zumba 1-2 times per week (except this week - due to a funky schedule) and I love it. I've also been walking for at least a few minutes most days. It's just been SO nice!

• Still been watching Rescue Me. I know - my life excites you. What'snot to love?! =)

• Spent last Wednesday evening with Heather and Kayla eating McDonalds, catching up, talking about boys, and watching Criminal Minds.

• Thursday, my parents came over. I made a pinterest meal. =) Honey parmesan pork roast over rice, salad, and my mom brought mixed fruit and cool whip. Yum. I can eat me some cool whip now ya'll. =)

• All day Friday I was wanting to get out of work. I mean, it was driving me nuts and I was starved. I wanted to go on a lunch date with someone but never made it happen. I ended up just taking myself to Sonic for a corndog and cheese tots and drove around for a bit. Later that evening Steve and Cori dropped miss Charli off for a weekend-o-fun (at least for us)! Oh that kid. Love her. I have a whole slew of pictures to share in another post, but here's a couple quick ones I took on my phone. =) So glad they let me keep her for a while!!

• This first one is of her wearing an apron working on a science experiment! =)

• This one is of the little sleepy head later that afternoon. Cute overload.

• That evening we went out for BBQ with Dac's family. I actually just got a cheeseburger... lame, I know... and some hot potato salad which was delightful.

• Sunday, we skipped church in favor of letting Charli sleep in a bit... she seemed to need it. We did more playing and then went to Dac's parents house for Austin's birthday dinner.

• That's the short and sweet version of the weekend. Like I said, I'll share more later.

• Our budgeting has been going better this month. I have a TON of medical bills now but other than that... We're using the Dave Ramsey envelope system and it's working great. We have envelopes for food (includes groceries and some eating out), clothes, date nights, and we each have a "fun money" envelope. I've been using mine for dinner with friends, a coke here and there, etc... just whatever I choose. If I don't use it all this time, I can keep it until next time. As for the food money - if we have leftover it'll go to either pay on the medical bills or into savings. I'm interested to see how we fair.

• Speaking of medical bills - I've definitely noticed a difference since surgery. At first I wasn't convinced because I'm still having pain... BUT... when I stop and really think about it (ouch... it hurts my head to do that) things are obviously improving. I really need to take the time to bring you up-to-speed on that and give a good "review" but I haven't had tons of time and it requires that painful thinking stuff and I'm still wanting to give it some time so my review can be as accurate as possible.

• I've been wearing my hair au natural for the past several days. I get up, take a bath/shower, and just mousse/scrunch my hair. I don't have actual curly hair so this doesn't exactly look great but at least it's not one of my half-dry ponytails. I think I might need a hair cut. Oh, and the eyebrows. Lord help the brows. Oy.

• Speaking of a mop makeover... Peety's stank butt went to the vet today to get bathed and to get his nails did. I went home over lunch to throw his filthy, stinky bed in the wash. Seriously. He's been so bad that our whole house smells. Yuck!

• I enjoy Sonic ice. I'm enjoying some right now.

• I really feel the need to paint my family room and hallway (and all the trim that goes with it) but I just can't seem to get motivated to do it.

Catching Up

So - Wednesday I went to Zumba!! You may remember I went to a class in Winfield for a while last year but now, there's a class in AC too AND it's offered several times a week and you can just go whenever you can. Perfect for me. I loved it and plan to continue going at least a couple times a week.

After Zumba, I made cupcakes for Wii Night and then Kayla came over to watch Criminal Minds. It was a good one. Before she left, I finally remembered to give her her and Journey's Christmas presents. The next morning I got this picture of J wearing the outfit we got her. I wanted to get stuff that could easily be mix-matched with other things and that wasn't too wintery. I think it fits the bill and Journey looks super cute in it. =)

Wii Night was the next day and it was my turn to cook. I made Cajun Chicken Pasta, a salad, bread, and vanilla cupcakes with strawberry-vanilla cupcakes. The next night Dac and I had leftovers. =) It was pretty good. When I first made it, it was too runny... then I scrambled to thicken it up and got it too thick... live and learn... I think it'd be really good if I made it again.

Friday night was "date night" but it wasn't a typical date. We sat down and discussed our budget... or lack of one at the time. Sigh. Anyway, we made lots of headway and have implemented Dave Ramsey's envelope system for several of our expenses (including food which is a huge variable for us each month that we often over spend on). I'm excited to see how we do this month! After the chat, we watched the second episode of Lifechurch's "Better". It too was good and the topic fit our evening perfectly.

Saturday, we slept in a bit, got some stuff done around the house, and then I went up to my parents' house while Dac stayed home and worked on photos (and the house). My Aunt Diana was visiting so in addition to my parents I got to visit with her, as well as my Uncle Mike and Aunt Sue (actually 2nd cousins but I grew up knowing them as aunt and uncle!) It was a perfect, relaxing day! =) Oh how I've missed Saturdays.

I also got to see this ol' girl. =) My mom rescued Heidi during my freshman year of college... she was around a year and half old and was pregnant with puppies. Needless to say, she's getting on up there in years and I just LOVE her. Look at that white face. She still gets real excited to see me when I come to visit. =) You'd be hard pressed to find a sweeter dog.


Saturday night, we went to Heather and Daniel's house to eat LOTS of italian food, homemade chocolate chip cheesecake, and celebrate Daniel's birthday. We chatted, ate, played games... it was fun but I totally forgot to take any pictures. Fail.

Sunday, we woke up and headed to Derby to do some shopping. Dac got a cool jacket, I got a pair of jeans (our of our clothing budget...lol), some new bowls for Peety, stocked up on some household stuff at Target and got Aldrik a couple of super stylin' shirts for his birthday. We ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, then headed to Aldrik's party. It as a cute sock monkey party and again, no pictures.

When we got home, I did lots of laundry and watched Rescue Me.

Oh, and I watched Peety chew on his new bone... new bone AND new bowls all in one day. =)

Ooh - I forgot to mention we also got a new blender with a Christmas gift card. We've made a few healthy smoothies in it already and it's awesome!! Totally makes the spinach disappear! =) That's a winner winner chicken dinner in my book!

Now, it's back to the usual work week. Ready or not!

Midweek Randoms

• Back on myfitnesspal.com for REALZ now. Falling in love with it all over again!

• On that same note, the girls in my office implemented a bit of a wellness policy this week. We’re each supposed to take turns walking around our circle drive (takes about 8 minutes or so)) once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Granted that’s not a ton of walking but it gets the blood flowing and when you sit at a desk all day, you take whatever you can get. It feels good to get at least a little exercise in each day and I feel like it’s making me more productive. Day 1 was in the 60’s... amazing. Day 2... in the lower 20’s... miserable. C’mon willpower.

• To counteract this though, we’ve had donuts one day, homemade to-die-for German chocolate cake the next... sigh. Baby steps people. Baby steps.

• I have been eating better otherwise though... I’ve even got to cook some this week already! WOO! I made this hearty little chicken and black bean casserole Monday night. Chili and black bean chili Tuesday night, I also plan on making omelets, cajun chicken pasta, and beef stroganoff this week. I’ve even had some healthy smoothies made of a different mix of fruit, almond milk, protein powder, and even spinach one time! I don’t like vegetables so I have to hide them in things...look closely and you can see spinach in the casserole too.

• I love my boys.

• I’m becoming more and more addicted to Rescue Me on Netflix. I’m not really watching 20 episodes in a row like with Grey’s, but I’m loving watching a couple on the nights I have time. It’s so funny.

• I cleaned house this weekend and I swear it already looks like it hasn’t been touched in a month. Maybe not that bad. But not great either. Why does that always happen? You clean something then it gets dirty again. No fair!

• I love love love Reeces Peanut Butter Eggs. Love them. Cadbury Cream Eggs too. Had one of each the other night and now I want MORE. Happy early Easter to me!

• I’ve been waking up grumpy in the mornings. I don’t know why exactly... but I sure have.

• The good news is I’ve been feeling better in general since surgery. I’ll probably do a more extensive update on that later on... once I know more about how I’m doing post-surgery. But for now, I feel like I can move like a fairly normal person again and the surgical-pain is basically completely gone. Every now and then I notice a little bit but it’s few and far between and totally tolerable. Hooray!! =)

• I also got my heart monitor results back... normal. I knew they would be because I didn’t notice any of the weird/hard beats while I was wearing. It comes and goes and is definitely not every day. Earlier this week, for example, it was fluttering and being ridiculous and I found myself feeling more tired and slightly dizzy (not bad... just a little). The nurse mentioned the possibility of a medication to slow my heart a bit because it definitely runs a bit fast... but that it wasn’t a pressing issue. I decided to hold out and see if it gets worse. If so, I’ll call them back... if not... I won’t! =) Apparently racy hearts run on my mom’s side of the family so it may be something I just deal with. At least both I and the doctors are aware of it now and can catch it if things get out of hand.

Weekend Recap

Dac and I had a busy but fun, weddingless weekend. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy weddings. We've just been a little worn out is all. This past weekend was a very welcomed one!

Friday night we went out for ribs. They. Were. Delicious. Oh. MY word. Afterward, we took a family trip to the Wal-Mark/Wal-Marts/Wally-World. We always do this after eating ribs. It's kind of a tradition I guess. I'm not sure we could stop even if we wanted to. ha. Ok, I'm not sure it's that set in stone but anyway, I digress. I picked up some groceries and some handy hem-snap things for my pants. Good times. Then, we went to Cherry Berry.

Here's a dandy picture of Dac and Val looking like chipmunks with their mouths full of delicious yogurt!

Here's my loaded-with-goodies treat.

And here's my paybacks... mid chewing.

The next day, I picked up Sky and we made cake balls with my new baby cakes maker. We had fun listening to music and baking (and sampling) away. Sky got new glasses - cute, huh?

That afternoon we met a potential bride and groom (and the bride's family) at Biederman's in Winfield for cokes and to talk about their wedding day. They are all super nice and we seem to have the same style and philosophy so I'm hoping that works out.

Later, Dac and I had DATE NIGHT. We were really good about doing something together every week for a few months and then with the crazy wedding/holiday season, we got off track. It's fun though and I'm glad we're making time for it again! Anyway, we went to see Contraband. This wasn't the original plan. I just assumed Girl With A Dragon Tattoo would still be playing here BUT it wasn't. SO - we saw this instead... I wanted to see it anyway so it was fine. We left a little stressed about money, haha, and went to Braum's. The line was forever long but we saw several people we know and chatted for a bit. I came away with a rocky road cone and all-n-all, it was a fun time.

We had planned to go to church Sunday morning but were both pretty tired and decided to stay home and watch Lifechurch instead. I made us each a big bowl of cereal, Dac a coffee, and me a Chai tea with the Keurig.

Lifechurch was really good and it was just what we needed. The one we watched was the first in a series called "Better". The series focus' on verses about being better and how to achieve it. This particular verse was Psalm 84:10 -

"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."

It's kind of funny because SO many times in the past several months I have read/heard that sometimes you have to give/pass up something good in order to get something great. Of course, this message said the same thing again! Now, you may not believe in God but I do, and I'm certain it's not a coincidence that I've heard this over and over and over again in such a fairly short period of time. Now, the problem is figuring out what the "good" thing I should be giving up is. =) I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes.

Ok guys... we can call this keeping it real Tuesday if you want. I did something stupid Sunday. Really stupid. I poured my Scentsy wax down the garbage disposal. I don't even know why I did it... normally I put it in the trash... but I did it. Well surprise-surprise, the drain got totally clogged and we (Dac) had to fix it.

At least the pipes smell like cinnamon vanilla now. =)

Sunday afternoon, we took pictures of Mister Aldrik. It was fun and I think we got some cute ones. He's adorable!

After pictures we went out to Dac's parents to join the entire family for supper. We had fajitas and they were fantastic. I hadn't ate lunch so I was starved. YUM!! Here's the birthday girl in the hat Charli made for her. =) We had so much fun.

THEN... Dac, Val, and I went to Steve and Cori's to help them move and clean. Good times! =)

Hooray for a weekend off!!! LOVE. IT.