Insanity Update

Well,  I've been working my way through the Insanity workout with Chris since mid December.  I have gone 5 weeks and two days now without missing a single workout.  For any reason.  I'm guessing that the getting up at 5:30 a.m. has a lot to do with that.  It's not fun and I am NOT really an early, early morning person.  However....life just does not seem to get in your way so much at that hour.  Less excuses to not work out and all.  The phone does not ring, the kids are sleeping, nothing is open, no errands can be run at that hour.  And so...I have faithfully rolled out of bed in my sleepy fog each morning and taken on some fairly insane workouts.  Or at least...I thought I had.  I've been patting myself on the back because I finished the whole first half of the program.  And the "recovery" week.  I was all confident in myself and singing the "bring it" tune.  I was fired up and ready.

Then came week 6.  I have finished day one and day two of the six day workout.  Yesterday was insanely hard because it was time to retake the Fit Test to see my progress.  It's a 30 minute, crazy intense thing...8 exercises long where you are pushing and pushing for speed and repetition.  I want to throw up and cry every time I do it.  Yesterday it was time to do the third one.  I finished that and then had to move on to the first workout of the new week.  The first half of the program had all of the workouts right at 40 minutes or so...some a little less...some a minute or two more.  Nothing over 45 minutes.  It was tough...but short!  This week has all the workouts right at an hour.  OUCH!   And it definitely takes it up a notch.  Apparently the second half of this is where the body sculpting comes in.  My butt is so sore from yesterday's workout.  I was hurting by last night and went to bed with ibuprofen.  I was still sore this morning.  So imagine my dismay when Shaun T launched into squat after squat after squat.  And jump after jump, followed by more squats.  The only thing that seemed to break it up any at all were the push ups.  Excellent.  Pushups.  Crazy pushups.  Pushups like I have never done before.  Pushups standing practically on my head.  Pushups with one foot, then the other.  LONG sets of push ups.  Push ups with jumps back onto my feet, only to get down on the floor and do it again.  I wasn't sure what was worse by the end...the squats or the pushups.  Either way, there wasn't a muscle in my body that wasn't shaking violently by the time it was done.  Today was brutal.  I HATE Max Plyo.  I never want to do it again.  Hopefully I will change my mind before I HAVE to do it again next week.  Mercy!!!  The things I am willing to put myself through for an ugly gray t-shirt!!!  But seriously...I WANT that t-shirt.  Thus...I shall perservere!

In other news...Chris is across the country currently.  He left Friday to drive to California to pick up our RV which we had to leave out there last summer due to some wheel damage.  It's all fixed now...and we've traded it in on a new RV...and so we had to get it back to Texas.  He drove out, picked it up and is working his way back East.  He'll be spending the week working in Phoenix this week...so he gets a nice break from driving, then will tackle the last bit of the drive back home next weekend.  I cannot WAIT to get the new RV!!!  So excited!  It's awesome in every way!!!  Going to be SOOO great this summer!

I've had tons of work this past week.  Two more budoir sessions.  Can't get over how popular that is here in Dallas.  I have to admit that it has been a lot of fun.  Totally different than anything I have ever done.  The ladies have been so great!  I've had huge semi automatic weapons in my living room, and even a huge motorcycle!  THAT was a blast!  I also did some shopping and picked up a couple of AMAZING props for my littler ones and babies!  Found the best antique place EVER and am SO excited about my new treasures!  I have lots of babies due in the spring too, so I can't wait to play with them!

What else?  I'm working hard at my eating.  Trying to eat every 2 1/2 hours or so and keeping my protein levels high and carb levels lower.  I started a new blog....www.eatingtheedges.blogspot.com to chronicle the adventure.  I'm spending a LOT of time in the kitchen...which I am not fond of, but am hoping that it will grow on me.  This healthy lifestyle is a lot of work!  The Insanity program is my greatest inspiration right now.  No way I am going to do THOSE crazy hard workouts and not get the results because of what I put in my mouth.  No ma'am!  So it's go time with the tweaking of the food intake.  On the bright side, I've found a couple of recipes that I LOVE.  I'll be sharing those treasures over there at Life On the Edge!

That's about all that's up around here.  I'll have some pics of Clara in another post for ya!  I'm off for now!  Thanks for stopping in!

Never a Dull Moment

This is the bottle of pain pills.  Pain pills, you say?    For who?  Why would you need pain pills?

For the hook.  The hook?  Yes.  The fishing hook that was just surgically removed from someone's MOUTH.

"Who would eat a fishing hook?" you  might ask.  It's a logical question.  Who WOULD eat a fishing hook in our house?  Would you like to take a wild guess?

Yep!  COOPER tried to eat a fishing hook!

Not at all sure why he decided to take on the hook as his evening snack.  But what I DO know is that when he attempted such a foolish thing, he ended up with a fishing hook going THROUGH his tongue and through his lip.  NICE!!!!!   Luckily, he chose the opportune time right when Chris was walking in the door from work.  I was afraid he might decide to dehook him himself...but after a quick glance he decided it was well worth the emergency vet fee to have someone do it for us.  And so, we whisked him away where the vet was waiting for us.  They quickly took him back to be evaluated.  Then promptly came back to let us know that they'd have to put him under to remove it.  And so...Coopy had a little impromptu surgery last night.  Knocked him out.  Cut hook in half and removed it.  Then brought him back around.  We were back home within 2 hours!  The kids were very relieved that he was okay and home safe.  Cooper wanted nothing to do with Chris and I....especially ME last night.  I think he was mad at us for the whole vet thing.  Go figure!  Stay away from the hooks next time!!!  This morning, he seems his bright bouncy self.  He seems to have learned his lesson.  He's being gentle with his mouth...choosing soft things to chew on....

                                                   

Like his old favorite....socks!

I'm thinking he's learned an important lesson about not putting things in his mouth that aren't food or mommy approved.  I hate that it happened this way.   But am so glad he DID learn and will never put anything in his mouth again but food or doggie toys.

Then again....that's wishful thinking isn't it?  Sigh....What ever are we going to do with him???!!!!

Catching Up!

I admit it.  I've been a slacker.  I realized today...AGAIN, that I have not posted any of our Christmas photos.  I've thought of it.  A time or two.   Okay...more than a time or two.  But my thinking about it has NOT been followed up by my DOING it.  Until today!  And so...without further ado....Christmas 2011 in pictures!

Christmas Eve was a low key and quiet event for us this year.  Much more so than usual.  Pee Paw was in the hospital after some colon surgery and so he and Gigi were not here to celebrate with us.  We went to Christmas Ever services, which were stunningly beautiful, as always.  I LOVE the service our church does for Christmas Eve.  Then we came home and fixed a nice dinner.  I had actually left it cooking while we were gone, so it was ready as soon as we got home.  After we enjoyed a nice, quiet Christmas dinner, we proceeded to the much anticipated opening of the family gifts!

Clara was SO excited to see what treasures her boxes held for her.  

In true form, Ben was acting like a total goofball.  This is his excited look!

The puppies were excited because the kids were excited.  So fighting over a sock, seemed the logical thing to do, right?

And wrestle...you need to wrestle when you are excited!

Clara loved finding CASH in her first card!

Yes!  Money makes us VERY happy!!!!

Max is too cool to jump up and down with excitement nowadays,  but a little cash in hand seems to bring big smiles!

For Ben too!!!!

Ahhh....checks and cash.  The love language of the American Teenager!  Thank you Mimi and Pee Paw Dave!

I think this fuzzy blue bathrobe my sister gave Clara is one of her very favorite gifts!  She was ecstatic!!!!

And this is one of Ben's favorite gifts.  He's a Texas boy for sure and has developed quite a love for the orange stuff here in Longhorn Country!

It was an American Girl Extravaganza for Clara!  She got a gift card,  a new outfit, eyeglasses for her doll AND a set of braces and head gear for her teeth!  She was overjoyed!!!!

And then it was Christmas morning!  We got to sleep in all the way until 5:57 a.m. this year.  That's as long as they could wait...so they told us.  And so...we dragged our weary selves up out of that bed and into the living room to see what treasures and treats Santa might have left behind for them.  

This is Clara walking into the room and seeing what's under the tree from Santa.  Clearly, it exceeded her expectations!

This new, shiny beach cruiser bike had her name on it!   

And Ben got a shiny new tackle box fully stocked with all kinds of the latest and greatest fishing lures guaranteed to bring in the BIG one!  

Max was surprised and excited to find arrows under the tree for him!

Along with a new bow!  

There was Snow Leopard to upgrade the computer for Max

And UT headphones for the Texas boy!

A new scooter for Clara!

The Texas Driving Handbook for Max.  Oh dear.  Help me, Rhonda!

And a book about programming Java.  Oh, the crazy things my children dream of!

All in all, it was a wonderful morning of fun and surprises., ribbons and bows.  Really, BIG bows!

We're looking forward to a SUPER new year in 2012!

Merry Christmas, ya'll!!!!!

18 Years

Eighteen years ago today, we said "I do."  I still remember that day like it was yesterday.  It was a crazy day.  A busy day.  A day full of friends and family.  The weather was perfect. Everything falling into place just as it should.  The day flew by with all the things that needed to be done and before I knew it, they were playing my song.  "Here Comes the Bride".  And just like that...it all fell away.  All the crowd, all the family, all the music.  Suddenly there were only the two of us.  Speaking the most important words of our lives.  Taking vows before God and those that loved us (okay, now the crowd is back).  It was a big moment. The moment that months and months of planning had led up to.   I know that Chris and I would both be lying if we said we weren't relieved when it was all over and done with!  Not that we didn't mean those words.  We did.  At least, to the extent that we could possibly even understand them at that young and tender point in our lives.  Eighteen years later, I realize that we had NO CLUE what those words would come to mean.   What challenges we would face together in our marriage and just how much work it would be to honor those vows. We could not begin to comprehend how deeply we would hurt one another, the ways we would betray one another, how much we would dislike each other at times.  We had no idea of the journey ahead, how long and hard it would be and just what it would take to be successful in this union.  Enter wisdom.  It's amazing just how much wisdom one gains over the course of 18 years.  Today was about celebrating these 18 years we've shared.  And how wise we have become in the course of them.  We didn't really celebrate, like most people.  We took our family to church.  Then came home and worked out together.  I gave Chris the Insanity Workout for our anniversary.  It's crazy hard...pushing you to limits you don't think you are capable of.  So after church, we took the first Fit Test to see where we are.  It was TOUGH.  Chris initially balked when I told him the fit test was only 8 exercises long.  As a consolation, I told him that after we took the fit test we could go ahead and do the first workout too if he wanted to.  But, after the fit test...he was no longer balking.  His butt was just as kicked as mine.  The workout is INTENSE.  After we made it through those 8 excruciating exercises, we took a nice little walk and took the doggies out for some exercise.  It was nice to be together, just the two of us.  And after that workout, I was appreciating simply breathing!  After our walk, I showered and then headed off to grocery shop while Chris stayed home to catch up on some work.  Once I returned with groceries, Clara and I cooked up some dinner and we all ate.  After dinner, we caught up on some Survivor episodes.  And then...we called it a day and have tucked ourselves into bed.  It was NOT a glamorous day.  Hmmm, I always tell myself that next year is going to be a more glamorous anniversary celebration.  That's a bit of a drawback of being married the week before Christmas.  The celebrating often times gets put on the back burner.  Well...always.  And I always say that next year we will celebrate BIG with the perfect gift, the perfect dinner, the perfect day.  And while part of me says that...part of me is quick to acknowledge that we celebrate our marriage frequently.  Monthly.  Weekly.  Daily.  A solid marriage is nothing to take lightly or for granted in this day and age.    So many marriages around us are failing.  We've watched so many couples fall by the wayside.  Honestly, every single day we are married is worth celebrating.  Especially in this day and age.  One of my friends here recently divorced.  Well...several of my friends here recently divorced.  But one is particularly heavy on my mind tonight.  The whole thing has been so ugly for her.  Heartbreaking, shocking, saddening, maddening.  Even though they are thoroughly and finally divorced...it's obvious that their lives are still wound so tightly.  They shared possessions.  Possessions which they are still fighting over long after it's all said and done.  They shared a home.  Memories.  They share a child.  And I realized tonight, that once you say "I do"...it really and truly IS forever.  Even if it doesn't actually last forever.  Confused?  Let me say it differently.  Once you love someone enough to stand before the altar of God and pledge your lives to one another, to say "I do"...once you love someone THAT much...it changes you in such a way that you can never truly be seperated.  Part of you will always remain behind with the other person.  Like it or not.  The good, the bad, and/or the ugly.  Once you share SO much...you simply cannot ever take it all back.  No matter how much you no longer love someone...once you HAVE loved them, then your lives entwine in such a way that you will be forever linked in some way.  Wow...this is a depressing anniversary post, huh?  It's just had me reflecting is all.  I don't take 18 years for granted.  I don't make light of the past 18 years.  I'll be the first to tell you they have been a LOT of hard work.  Serious blood, sweat and tears.  But I wouldn't trade them for the world.  I wouldn't have missed out on a moment of it.  I had no idea what I was getting into on that brilliant, perfect Saturday 18 years ago.  I had stars in my eyes and a dream in my heart.  I wanted the fairy tale.  And Christopher Roberts was promising it to me.  I was caught up and captivated by the long white dress, the flowers, the cake, the music.  I was living for the moment of my dreams...that moment where I would get to say "I do.", while wearing the princess dress of my dreams!  Eighteen years later, I'm still caught up in the moment.  I'm most definitely living the fairy tale.  It's not always the rosy, twinkly part of the fairy tale.  Sometimes it's the darker, more sinister part.  At times I've felt like the princess in all the fairy tales since the beginning of time.  Other times I've seen myself in the part of Cinderella, or the evil queen.  I don't don the princess dress nowadays, but traded for a lovely pair of blue jeans (that happen to be a size or two bigger than my ideal "dream" size).  But the point is (yes...I DO have one) we never gave up on our story.  It's coming together nicely, being written one chapter at a time, one page at a time, one day at a time.  Sometimes it's dark.  Sometimes it's scary.  Sometimes it's all magic and bippity boppity boo.  Our story is getting some weight on it.  There are many chapters now, a decently long read.  As best I can tell, there is no end in sight.  We are still writing.  Still living.  Still loving.  Still celebrating the anniversary of each and every day that comes along.  Anticipating the journey to come.  Remembering the road we've traveled.  It's no small thing.  It's really quite special when you stop and think about it.  We've endured one another for 18 years.  Knocked each other down.  Picked each other up.  Helped each other grow stronger than we ever imagined we could ever be.  I am blessed to have shared 18 years with this man.  I am thankful for him.  Even if he is currently exceeding his allotted half of the bed and hogging up all the covers. And snoring.  Really, really loudly.   Can't wait to spend the next 365 days celebrating our togetherness.  The good days, the bad days, and all those other days.  I'm so very thankful for the story of us!

Elf Games

Apparently, our elf is into cup stacking.  He seems to have pulled out nearly all of our plastic cups and stacked them into quite a pyramid.  Positioning himself comfortably right at the top.  And with MY ipod, no less!  The nerve!!!!  He's going to have to fork that thing over when I hit the gym!  He seems to have a real case of the naughtiness this year!  That said...Clara is LOVING his shenanigans!   Only 8 more nights with our elf friend!  The countdown is on!

Our Elf in Action

Our Elf on the Shelf has been a busy little bee lately.  He seems less inclined to sit on his shelf, quietly observing and watching for naughty or nice behavior and seems to be feeling a bit mischievous this year!  Last night, he was just downright demanding!  He left us this little messy "hint" that we needed to bake some cookies today!

And so, not wanting to disappoint, we set to baking up a nice batch of sugar cookies for him as soon as we got home from school.  But apparently, our little elf friend is feeling a bit naughty himself this year and is pulling pranks around the house.   THIS is what I found in my dining room!

I can't believe it!  We've been T P'd!!!!  And after we baked him cookies and everything!  I can't imagine what other shenanigans our elf friend has up his sleeves.  He'll only be with us another 9 nights!  I hope he doesn't get too out of hand!

Tis the Season...

To be busy!!!  My oh my!  December got off to a rough start in our household, for sure!  Hot on the heels of having strep throat, I came down with a nasty little cold/flu bug.  Misery for two days, in bed, thinking I might die.  Fevers, chills, runny nose, body aches.  The only thing that DIDN'T hurt was my throat.  But since I'd had strep barely a week before...I think I deserved that small grace!  It actually ended up being several days before I was really able to get back up on my feet again and function at full capacity.  Once I was up for it though, I hit the ground running, because I was feeling VERY behind at that point!!!

Lots has been going on around here.  Clara was in the Grapevine Christmas parade again this year with her girlscout troup.  That was fun...wet, as it was raining, but fun.   It's always so neat to see the precious little downtown area all lit up and packed with people in the Christmas spirit!

I've had several last minute, holiday photo shoots.  Always fun, but definitely a time taker!  Luckily, all of my families, save one, ended up only needing discs and not lots of prints...so it made my life a bit easier!  

I managed to get our own Christmas card finished and printed.  Here are some fun shots from that day!

Setting SUCH a good example for her brothers!

Example obviously not being followed!

Captain Cheesy!

My boys!

Family moment!  Did not make the card.

RARE picture of the two of us!  Again...didn't make the card!

Another card reject, but a fun picture just the same.

And as always...just one more of Bella!

Thanksgiving was fun in our house.  I know, I'm skipping around, but that's pretty much just how my brain is firing these days!  We hosted the masses this year.  There was lots and lots of cooking.  It was all hands on deck...see?

Ben, sporting Clara's apron as we fire up the ovens bright and early Thanksgiving morning!

Clara and I had matching aprons for the event!  Let the cooking begin!

Proof that sometimes, I DO cook!

Clara was in charge of the green bean casserole.

And Chris was on turkey duty!  This is a butter, garlic, rub mix that he is prepping our bird with.

And when it's all ready, Chris escorts Mr. Turkey to the Big Green Egg where he will smoke us up something AMAZING for our Thanksgiving table!

Here's Cooper, desperately hoping someone will drop a turkey or a ham on the floor for him!

Clara gets to work on the Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole

Clara enjoys a homemade pumpkin spice latte during a break!

Ben was heading up the latte brigade!  Thanks, Chef  Ben!

Future Barista!

And there it is....

The finished, golden brown product!  Yummmmm!!!!!!

Preview of the spread of yummies.

More yummies....

So much food....Oh my!

Time to carve the bird!

And it's time to EAT!!!!

Kids table....as always, there's our serious Ben!

What else?  Well, Clara was in the production of The Wizard of Oz with her drama club at school.  It was a great show and Clara LOVED being on the stage.  Shocker, right?  Here are a few photo highlights of the evening.  And by few...I mean FEW, and a badly shot few at that...the place was packed and I just couldn't get a clear shot of her at any point!

Clara is the orange narrator.

The narrators also happen to be part of the rainbow.

Taking a bow with some of her castmates.

Nope...she's not happy to be up on stage AT ALL!  LOL!

After the show we got to get squeezes and autographs!

My little star!

What else has been going on?  Well, Ben is currently flunking math.  That's unfortunate.  What's even more unfortunate is that he asked his MOTHER for help.  I wasn't exactly great at solving point-slope-intercept and graphing and all that way back when 26 years ago.  It is safe to say that I am fairly hopeless at it now.  And so...we enlisted the brain of the family, and Max saves the day.  There have been many evenings that look just like this at our house lately.

Tutor time!  Thanks Max!

And on a final, bright note...amidst all the sickness and craziness, we have managed to get the house all decorated for Christmas.  It's so pretty and festive!

Family room!

I especially love it when it's all lit up at night!

This is the living room.  

And the view from the front door!  

You'll notice there are no presents under the tree this year.  Don't worry.  There ARE presents.  Just not under the tree.  That's mostly because THIS

is under the tree!!!!!  All presents have been safely stored in a back closet until the time arrives to break into them!  Until then...Jaws here need not be tempted.  Any further than life already seems to tempt him.  Daily.  Hourly.  Hard to believe looking at cute little face, right?  Yeah...well, I'm not sucked in my his charm.    Speaking of charm....here's another to melt your heart...

He's SO cute with the pine fronds all stuck in his little whiskers.  And he smells like Christmas trees too!

And on that note...I believe you are officially all caught up with what is going on around these parts!  Sorry it's been so long between updates!  I will try to do better for sure!  Have a great day!