Great Weekend Recap

This weekend was one of the best that I have had in a long time. It was one of those perfect weekends were everyone was and happy and Adam & I didn’t have even one disagreement. Not that we argue a lot but I mean he was in a great mood all weekend which is a little unusual.

Friday night we went out to eat at Applebees (my favorite restaurant). I LOVE their Applebeetinis! Yum Yum Yum. After that we went to the theater and saw Knowing. I didn’t think we were gonna make it because we got there 10 minutes before the movie was supposed to start and I figured it would be packed. We got really great seats and it wasn’t crowded at all.

The movie was excellent. It wasn’t really what I thought it was going to be but I it was really great. I don’t to spoil it by explaining but it’s definitely worth seeing.

Saturday we went to town with my sis-in-law to look at used cars. She didn’t really find anything worth looking at and it gonna try looking online today. We met my husband’s parents at Olive Garden for dinner which was great. As I’ve said before I LOVE Olive Garden. I can’t believe I was able to eat at my two favorite places in one weekend!

Then we dropped by Wally World to rent a movie from Red Box. I love this thing! So much better/cheaper than going to blockbuster. Anyways I have been wanting to see Bolt since it hit the theaters but wasn’t gonna pay $17 for us to see a cartoon. I loved this movie. It was so hilarious. Especially Rhino the hamster. Another must see movie!

Sunday I slept in until like 9. Got up and did the following :

• started laundry,
• started dishwasher,
• ate breakfast,
• cleaned out litter box,
• changed over the laundry and put my two small rugs in the kitchen in the washer,
• took my big rug outside for Adam to wash,
• swept my laundry room & kitchen with my little hand broom so that I could get in all the corners and under everything (huge pile of dirt),
• went back over the floors with my dust mop to get left behind dirt,
• Wiped down countertops,
• emptied dishwasher,
• scrubbed my sink with comet,
• cleaned my dish drainer,
• dusted the living room,
• vacuumed living room & dining room,
• picked up random stuff in my bedroom floor,
• vacuumed bedroom,
• wiped off nightstands,
• washed bedding,
• wiped down bathroom,
• folded like 10 loads of laundry that I had been changing out all day,
• then took a hot bath!
  

Listing it all out makes it seem like it wasn’t that much but it took forever. Maybe because I was watching 50 First Dates too… LOL.

After my cleaning was done I put some potatoes in the oven for dinner and went outside to see what Adam was doing. He had just gotten done putting up a trellis for his beans that he will be planting soon. We laid in the hammock for about an hour and dozed off. It felt so great outside! Especially after how cold & windy it was Saturday. We visited with his parents a little next door then I had to go check our potatoes. Those were done so I seasoned up our steaks and put them in the oven. The broiler has become my new best friend! 15 minutes for perfect steaks!

The rest of the evening we spent on the couch watching AFV & House.

The weekend seemed to actually last a long time rather than blowing by in a hurry. I feel rested and relaxed after such a great weekend. Especially since we didn’t run around town yesterday and was able to stay home. I hope this good trend continues through the week and on to next weekend.

Adam isn’t happy that he will probably be working 12 hrs this coming Saturday and his brother-in-laws band is playing both Friday night & Saturday night. Hopefully things will work out were we can go. He loves running the sound and being a part of the band.

Well I’m sure this is plenty for one day, and definitely long enough. I hope everyone has a great week!

EDIT****
Please keep some friends of mine in your prayers. Their house burned down and they have lost everything but no injuries. Thank GOD that their two babies were staying with relatives because from what I heard the fire started in their room.

Been a Couple of Days

Sorry it's been a couple of days but life has been crazy!

Tuesday I was driving home from work in the rain with I got the dreaded call. As a person that works for an insurance company I really care about all of my customers but my family is the most important customers that I have. My mother-in-law called to tell me that my sis-in-law was in a car accident that had just happened and if I could go there since I was closer and already in town.

I immediately made a u-turn and finally figured out where she was so that I could go in the right direction. By the time that I got there they were loading her car up onto the truck.

What happend: She was driving in the rain and somehow slowed down too fast or something and spun her car 4 times in rush hour bumper to bumper traffic. SOMEHOW she didn't hit anybody. BUT she did hop the back end of her car up onto the curb and knocked BOTH back wheels OFF of her car! Barely scratched the bumper but both wheels broke completely off. She's ok but did whack her head on the side window and went to the ER to get checked out and everything is ok. Her toy Chihauhau was in the car also but she seems to be ok and was just freaked out at the time.

All night after it happend I was thinking: Did I ever lower her deductible, Does she have towing?, Does she have rental?, etc. When it comes to my families policies I get stressed out because I don't want them to be lacking anything and it be on me because they have trusted me to do what is in their best interest. Not that it's any different I guess with a normal customer but it is.

Anyways other than that it's just been busy and crazy at home and at the office. This morning my boss & I each had a customer in our office and people on hold. Craziness!

I've had a really bad headache all day (well all week) so I thought I would eat some chocolate to help it. Chocolate cures everything right? Well I think that just made it worse actually so now I'm eating advil ... haha. Not really but I think I've taken at least 4 already today.

Last night for dinner I made Chicken Fried Chicken which turned out to be the best I've ever made! My crust was perfect golden brown, the chicken was juicy, and not one piece fell off!
Tonight we are have Jambalaya. Yum! I boiled my chicken this morning so I'm a little ahead of the game.

I'm leaving work at 4:15 to go to the chiropracotor, but I'm seriously considering playing hooky and going home instead..... Hmmm to do the right thing or what I really really want. Choices choices.

Well I have to get back to work now and try to make it to 4:15. I'm praying the weather doesn't turn bad like it did yesterday!

Killed Another Credit Card!

I paid off my second credit card today! I'm so excited!

Every once in a while I have an extra paycheck since I get paid every 2 weeks and not by the dates. I split my bills in half and pay them every other week no matter the due date because I'm always paying at least 1-2 weeks early anyways. So every once in a while I get so far ahead of my bills that I basically have an extra check. Does that make sense?

So instead of blowing this money like I normally do or use it to play catch up I paid off the $82 balance on my Victoria's Secret CC AND put $150 into my Emergency Fund!!!!! So far I'm at $350 out of $1000 for my EF. I'm sure that Dave Ramsey would have told me to put that $82 in savings and keep paying the $10 payment (plus my $10 extra from the last card I paid off) but it feels so great to actually get rid of the # of debts we have.

Next up for the kill is my JcPenny card that is at about $160. I'll be putting $20 extra towards that payment from the two cards that I've paid off that were each $10/month plus any extra that I have. Without any extra it should be paid off in 4 months but I'm going for 2!

So 2 down and only 10 more to go. *Sigh* Seems impossible but if I can pay off 2 cards in 3 months PLUS get $350 in savings I can do anything!

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!

It's pouring here and is only gonna get worse. I'm hoping that we don't see any tornados. I've already had 2 customers have car accidents today.

Bad Weekend / Good Weekend

The weekend started pretty bad but ended good I suppose.

The Bad:
I took my Chocolate Lab (Pepper) to the vet Saturday because she has lost a lot of weight in the past week or so. So much so that we can see her ribs & spine. She hasn't really been eating her food and we were worried. Well the Vet said she tested positive for Heart Worms. She did an x-ray of her heart and lungs to see how those were. Her heart was pretty enlarged and she has a little bit of fluid in her lungs. While they were doing her x-rays I had to go outside because I was seriously about to burst into tears in the waiting room. She is our baby. I love her so much and cannot bare for her to be in pain. After the x-rays we went over all of our options.

The best form of treatment is a shot that will more than likely cure her but costs $500! Our other option was to put her on the monthly preventative & some meds for the fluid in her lungs. That's what we have decided to do for now. The vet said that she doesn't have a heart murmer and she isn't acting sick so we will be OK with not doing the shot right away. The monthly preventative takes 2 years to get rid of the heart worms but she isn't in any pain from it. We just have to watch her weight. Also she'll is going to start taking a baby asprin daily to prevent blood clots in her heart which can sometimes happen.

I feel SO guilty that we didn't prevent this from happening. If you have dogs PLEASE put them on medication for this!
I spent the majority of Saturday in tears and feeling like crap for letting one of my children get sick.

Saturday night we went out to listen to my brother-in-laws band and it was really good. BUT I made the mistake of drinking about 3 sodas that day and by that night kidneys were KILLING me. As if that wasn't bad enough I was cramping worse than I have in a long time. So by 1am when it was time to go home I could barely walk I was in so much pain. When we got home Adam heated up 2 bed buddies for me to put on the front & back, I took a vicodin, and promptly fell asleep. I seriously do not even remember him getting in bed!


Now on to the better:

Sunday was a pretty good day. The kidney problems were gone thankfully! We ran a few errands in town and got groceries.

I actually got my seeds out for my wildflower garden! Hopefully the rain later in the week doesn't wash them away though.

Well that's about it. Today I feel completely exhausted even though I slept really good last night. I wish it was already 5!

Spring Is Here!

Today is the first day of Spring! One of my favorite days of the year!

This is a little of what I see each day on my drive home. I LOVE living in the country and don't really mind my 45 minute drive to work (one way) when spring is here!

Eastern Redbud

Dogwood (They are so beautiful with all the greenery)

The Wisteria is starting to bloom


Daffodils are popping up everywhere!

Hopefully this weekend I'm planting my wildflower garden which will be right outside my bathroom window. I hope it looks something like this:

Pretty soon there will be Blue Bonnets & Indian Paintbrushes all along the roads and the interstates!

I remember as a kid I would wipe out the Daffodil & Indian Paintbrush population to put in my room. I thought I wanted to be a florist when I grew up ... even majored in horticulture for about a month... HAHA.

I love flowers! If you come in my house you will rarely see a bare island. I usually have carnations of some color there, mainly because they last 2 weeks and are pretty cheap!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend! Tomorrow night we'll be jamming with my brother-in-laws band again!

I Love Books

Yesterday after work I was able to do one of my favorite things! Go to a local used bookstore!!

I LOVE this place. I am a historical romance book ADDICT. This store has an entire room dedicated to all types of romance books. I'm talking floor to ceiling of books! One day when I'm rich I want a library in my house. Right now I'm at about 300 or so books that I own and cannot bare to part with. I can remember reading pretty much each one and what I felt about it.

I started reading books very early in life and started reading romance novels at age 13. I have been collecting ever since then.

These are my favorite authors:

Sandra Brown (she actually used to be a news anchor in the city that I live in)
Kathleen Givens
Hannah Howell (Still searching for the 2nd half of her Highland Series)

And my newest favorite is Mary Balogh. I picked up a book in Wal-Mart a couple of months ago and immediately fell in love with the way that she writes. I didn't realize the book I had was the end of a series so of course I had to find the rest of it! I picked up another book of hers a couple of weeks ago because it was the start of her new series. The awesome thing is all the books in the series will be coming out over the next 4 months. No waiting until next year or something!

After visiting Mary Balogh's website when I got home last night I found out that I have parts of two series (about 7 or 8 books total) and a few other books that weren't part of the series. She has TONS of books that she has written.

I also picked up two more in the Highland Series that I'm desperately searching for by Hannah Howell. She is soooo hard to find in the used book stores! What sucks is that these are the NEXT books in my series but rather the ends. Oh well. The search continues!

In other news I'm feeling very BLAH today. I just want to go home and go back to bed. Or maybe just a big dose of caffeine & sugar :) Oh my gosh that just reminded me by crystal light is in the freezer!!!!! FROZEN SOLID! Dangit.

Not much to really talk about today so I have some funnies for ya'll. :-D

~*~

PONDERISMS

• I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.
• There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.
• Life is sexually transmitted.
• Healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
• The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
• Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
• Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?
• Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.
• All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
• In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
• How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
• Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these dangly things and drink whatever comes out?'
• If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
• Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?
• If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
• If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
• Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
• Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?
• Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

~*~
(my favorite ever! - No offense to anyone from Michigan or Missouri)

A Texas Wife

Three men married wives from different states.

The first man married a woman from Michigan . He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.

The second man married a woman from Missouri . He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn't see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done and there was a huge dinner on the table.

The third man married a girl from TEXAS . He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher.

Thank You

Because today is taking so long I'm posting twice!

I was given an award by Kylie @ Random Thoughts! Thank you so much!

The Rules:

List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love!Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ.

Things that I love:

1). My wonderful husband.

2). My animals children.

3). A really good book that I want to finish in one day.

4). Figuring something out first. I love to have the answers before anybody else.

5). Cross stitching and actually finishing a project.

6). Blogging & getting comments :-D

7). Potatos - any way they can be made!


Now the 7 bloggers that I love and would like to pass this on to:

The Fourth Frog Blog

Gabi's World

a.little.bit.delirious

It Might Seem Crazy But We Call It Life

Kelly's Corner

Always Pretty In Pink

Newlywed Stilettos


**Sorry if anybody saw only 1/2 of this to begin with! Accidently hit Publish way before I was done.

Today is Taking Forever!

Today is dragging by SOOOOO SLLLLOOOOOWWWWWLLYYYY!!!!

It feels like I've been here at the office forever and that's at least time for lunch. But, NOPE, it's only 10:41am. Yuck!

We went to the Chiro. yesterday but my shoulder is hurting pretty bad today. I'm not sure if it's supposed to since things are being moved around but it still hurts. My thumb & elbow aren't hurting anymore today just the shoulder and middle of my back. I really wished I could take at least 1/2 of a vicodin but I would be passed out for a few hours and I don't think my boss would be too happy with an unconscious worker!

Last night while watching Dancing With The Stars, (WASN'T MELISSA AWESOME!), I clipped some coupons that I got out of the Sunday paper (that I bought on Monday!). I'm really going to be more conscious about the money that I'm spending on food. It's ridiculous how much I spend! I actually got a lot out of there this time. I found a few on Bargain Briana's blog and need to hit up coupons.com. Does anyone have any other suggestions for finding good coupons and deals?

I need to do some more research on Bargain Briana's blog because there is a ton of useful info there, but I just haven't had the time to sit down and absorb it all.

I found out that Adam is not going to have to work this Sunday (well more than likely anyways). Which is great since my brother-in-law's band is playing again Saturday night!! I pray that it stays like that so he's not working every single day!

Another Monday

The weekend went by way too fast!

Friday we hung out at a local bar where my brother-in-law's band played until they were done around Midnight. At home I pretty much passed out!

Saturday we did some stuff around town (groceries, pet's mart, etc).

Sunday I woke up with a major headache. I got up at 9:30, got dressed, started a load of laundry, and emptied the dishwasher. My head was pounding so bad that I decided to lie down until the clothes were done and then switch them over. When they were done I did get up and do that but then crawled right back in bed. Adam came looking for me and was like "why are you in bed at noon?" After I told him about my head he heated up my bed buddy (sock of rice that can be heated up - AWESOME) and put it around my neck, gave me some meds, and kissed me goodnight. I finally got up around 2:45 and my headache was gone.

I didn't get much accomplished but it felt so good to be lazy yesterday. I pretty much layed around the remainder of the day. I did get dinner made and the rest of the laundry done though.

Today has been pretty good so far. I haven't lost any weight! I have decided no more sodas. Usually at the office I drink Cherry Coke Zero instead of the real stuff. So now I'm only drinking water & crystal light. I also have to figure out a better way to eat dinner earlier. I get home at 5:40 and we are in bed by 8:00 so not much time to cook, digest, & clean up!

I'm leaving work early today to go pick up Adam and we are going to the Chiropracter. I can't wait! My shoulder, arm, & thumb hasn't hurt at all until yesterday morning and today. I'm ready to go back.

Tonight we are having pinto beans & cornbread which is at home cooking in my slow cooker. Makes me nervous leaving things on like that but so far no problems. Maybe I need some slow cooker recipes for the week to help with getting dinner done sooner.......

I Was Adjusted!

So today I went to Adam's chiropractor to see if he could solve the mystery of why my thumb & shoulder have been hurting. When the Dr. came in to the room I gave him a brief explanation of what hurt. He picked up my hand, looked at it, and then pointed to every spot that hurt from my thumb all the way up to my arm. I never once told him the specifics of where it hurt! He did some different things with my hand and told me that my grip was weak.

After an x-ray, he showed me what was wrong! My right shoulder blade is out of whack and my vertebrae is twisted to the right. I'm falling apart at 26! It was pretty cool to see my x-rays and exactly what was going on though. So I had to use a tinge unit for 7 minutes. It was OK. They put little sticky pads up my arm and it sent electrical currents through my muscles. After that he adjusted my back/shoulder, elbow, and popped my thumb and wrist.

I go back on Monday and hopefully will only have to go a few more times after that. It's so great to be able to SEE with my own eyes what's wrong and have a plan to fix it. I absolutely HATE going to the Dr. because to me it's a waste of time. You go in, tell them what's wrong, and they give you a pill. I don't think that pills are that great. Some diseases and ailments I understand you must take medicine for. But taking some vicodin for my pain isn't going to fix my problem, it's just going to help for the short term. The Dr. I went to last week didn't even x-ray my shoulder even though I told them it hurt.

Not much else new going on. I'm going to attempt to make some Turkey Breast with Brown Gravy and Mashed New Potatos for dinner. Hopefully it will turn out delicious!

Good Hair Day

Last night we didn't do anything out of the ordinary for our anniversary. I made fajitas, we ate, & I cleaned up. Oh well at least it was a good night. We watched AFV and laughed. My favorite part of each day is when we get in bed, turn off the lights...... and talk. Seriously I love this time. We talk about work, things that happened that we forgot to tell each other, or just whatever. It's so nice to just lay there in his arms and laugh.

Anyways on to today. Don't you just love those perfect hair days? I mean the condition of my hair rules my day. I don't even pick out my close until my hair is done. If my hair is not cooperating then I probably won't wear something as cute as I do when it looks great. My husband does not understand this. He thinks I'm crazy when I get all psycho about my hair being flat, staticy, or just plain not right. I have been known to throw things and have even broken a hair brush on a really bad hair day!

Today is one of those rare great hair days. See my new pic over there ---->. My hair is normally very straight and that's it. No curl, no wave, just a little kink that I have to use a straightener for. Well this morning I had gotten up really early and had some extra time so I decided to play with my hair a little. Adam had gotten me a really great professional straightener for Christmas. You can do all kinds of things with it. So I decided to see if I could curl my hair with it. After a few sections I thought "Well let's see if I can do the back".

Needless to say 10 minutes (YES 10 MINUTES) later that is what my hair looked like. I was like WOW it looks great. So I went to get my camera (and get dressed of course) and took a few pictures.

So I'm hoping that my day continues on this "great hair day" path. I did get other stuff done this morning too (which has me feeling very accomplished).
I got up at 4:30 and this is what I accomplished before I left at 7:30:

• Cleaned off my bar area & island that had become cluttered
• Put up clean dishes (dishwasher & drainer)
• Wiped down the counters & stove
• Put Adam's breakfast bowl in the dishwasher
• Started a load of laundry (and put in the dryer)
• Folded the load that was in the dryer from last night
• Actually made breakfast (scrambled eggs & a piece of toast)
• Fed the animals
• Watched the Biggest Loser while getting ready

Oh I finally got a call back from Dr about my thumb. They said everythings normal on my x-rays and that I should just buy a wrist brace and check back with them in 2 weeks. My wrist isn't the problem though. It's the joint in my thumb! Also my shoulder now hurts so bad in the evenings and at night. They didn't know what was wrong with it! Doctors aggravate me!

Tomorrow at 8:15 I have an appointment with Adam's chiropractor. He says he should be able to fix it in a few visits. I really hope so. I don't like taking meds so it will be nice to go to a Dr that doesn't fix everything with a prescription of vicodin or anti-inflammatories.

Pictures Galore

Today is mine and Adam's 3 year wedding anniversary! It's been a great three years, especially the past year. Even though we have been together for 10 years we have learned more about each other and ourselves this past year. I wanted to share some of my favorites of our wedding photos. Thank you to my family for taking these pictures!

This one is my favorite!

Me & my bridesmaids & flower girl

Adam & his groomsmen

Me & my grandpa walking down the aisle

Us & the JP who married us

First kiss as husband & wife

Just married!

Us with our parents

The wedding party in front of the gazebo

Isn't this gorgeous!



The man that owned the house let us drive his car to the reception
(I think it's a Zimmer?)



Our totally awesome hummer that took all of our guests to and from the wedding site.







Our yummy cakes



Wedding party & friends

This was awesome! The wedding party went around town in the hummer and someone said "Let's go to Wal-Mart. Being the classy people we are of course we couldn't pass this up!
It was sooo much fun!

So that's a few pictures from our big day! Let me know what you think!

It's Monday Again!

Well another Monday is here! The weekend was really great. A friend from Arkansas came down Saturday and we pretty just goofed off all day. Had a few drinks, played some pool, and drove around town acting like crazy people. HAHA

Yesterday Adam got a new cermaic planter for his water fountain. I'll post pictures once he gets it done! He has been searching everywhere for an inexpensive cermaic pot that didn't cost $80. His mom found one at Atwoods for $39.99 so we got that one! It's beautiful.

I sent my blog address out to 3 or 4 family members & friends to get there input! HI PEOPLE I KNOW!!!! :-D

Yesterday I did some seraching on allrecipes.com and found 4 great sounding recipes. I tried one last night and I'll share it with you. BTW if you see recipes online make sure to read the comments. The one I'm going to share had tons of tips and that's what I used when making this recipe:

~*~

Acapulco Chicken
allrecipes.com

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients
3 skinless, bonless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped
2 roma tomatos, seeded & chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup medium salsa
1/2 cup water
pinch of cinnamon
salt
pepper
fresh cilantro

Season chicken with the chili powder, salt, & pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and saute seasoned chicken until no longer pink. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

In same skillet, stir fry onions and garlic and until onion is soft. Add ground ginger and stir well. Add tomatos, onions, jalapeno, salsa, water, salt, pepper, and just a sprinkle or two of cinnamon. Stir until mixed up and then add chicken back to the skillet. Heat thoroughly, allowing liquid to form a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in a few sprigs of freshly torn cilantro.

So Glad It's Friday!

It's been a crazy week and I'm definately ready for a relaxing weekend!

Last night I went to a friends wedding! It was so beautiful and I wish them all the best!

Today I had to go to the Dr. because of my thumb. It's been hurting for about 3 weeks and yeseterday was unbearable so I made an appointment for this morning. She prescribed some anti-inflammatories and took some x-rays. I'll get those results on monday since they are only open until noon today.

Tomorrow will be a little busy. I need to get my house cleaned up in the AM. A friend from Arkansas is coming down for a visit. Not sure if he'll come by the house or not but I want it to be clean just in case. Hopefully we can get some people together & all go out for dinner.

Other than that I don't have any plans for the weekend!

Not much to talk about today so I'm pretty much rambling. I THINK I have decided to make my blog known to my friends & family. My husband knows I have one but that's pretty much it. Not that I have anything to hide but there is a little more freedom when you are talking to people that have never met you I guess. We'll see how it goes :)

Do you know what you leave behind?

This morning I had a class about Life Insurance. It was so great.

I have worked in the insurance industry for 7 1/2 years and I absolutely love it. I love the company I work for and what they represent. I love the fact that my company is financially stable and expanding in these hard economic times.

I have primarily focused on Auto insurance but I'm now wanting to branch into the Life Insurance sales. Eventually I hope to finish my Finance degree and then go more into investments and variable products.

Anyways today was a great class. The teacher was great and really strengthened my conviction about the necessity of life insurance.

We watched a video of a young woman in her early to mid twenties who lost her husband of four years in a car accident. Thank God that her insurance agent asked them about Life Insurance and showed them the value of it.

I cannot even imagine being in that situation at all. I cannot fathom what would happen if we didn't have any money to replace that lost income. Since watching this video I have been thinking.... what if something happens to Adam or to me? What would the other need. Of course we both have life insurance but is it enough? What if it's tomorrow? I'm not worried about what happens to me after I die. I know where I'm going. What worries me is leaving Adam with nothing to makeup for my income and him having to worry about how to pay for things. Or the other way around.

Something else in my mind ... what about all my customers that I haven't asked about life insurance? What will I do if a wife comes to me and her husband has been killed and I never took the time to talk to them about life insurance. I can't live with that.

This is something that I have been passionate about but I don't think I realized until today just how passionate I NEED to be.

If you haven't talked with you insurance agent about the importance of Life insurance then please do so. If you don't even know if you have any then please call your agent today. RIGHT NOW! One day there won't be a tomorrow so stop putting this off.

What's $20 a month? A night eating out? Trust me it's worth it!

~*~
I heard part of this song a couple of days ago and meant to look it up. Today I did and wanted to post it here. Go listen to it if you can.

"If Today Was Your Last Day"
by: Nickelback

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
If today was your last day

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes'
Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothin' stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

This is the first season in years that I have watched The Bachelor. I watched the finale of Deanna's season and loved Jason. When I heard he was the new bachelor I just had to watch! I watched last nights finale and after the rose and I was SHOCKED. How could he dump her like that on national TV?? Supposedly he said on Jimmy Kimell that it was in his contract that he could not dump her off camera (or something like that). Screw the contract! This is why I would never go on a reality show... any of them. It's all for ratings and stuff.

I was hoping that Melissa would win but he really should not have proposed to her if he wasn't 100000% sure. I can understand him picking her and thinking that's what he wanted and then realizing he made a mistake. But he should have told her that day that yes he did love her but he wanted to see how their relationship was away from the show. I felt so bad for her but she handled it very well.

I'm wondering who will be the next bachelor or bachelorette. I'm hoping it's Stephanie. I LOVED her. She was sooo sweet.

Anyways back to the REAL world (and not the one on MTV!)

I've been doing pretty good with my water today. I was starving by 10:30 this morning so obviously a bagel isn't gonna cut it for breakfast. I need to start eating breakfast at home and making some scrambled eggs and toast maybe. That would give me more protein and probably fill me up better. I also really need to start counting my calories again. I have a book that shows you how to figure up the calories you need to maintain your current weight. Anything below that and you will lose weight. It's pretty great and tells you how many calories to subtract to lose 2lbs per week etc.

After seeing Tierra's weigh in video I've decided to start posting my weight each week on here. I don't think I'll EVER be brave enough to post a video. Well maybe when I weight 130lbs!

My weight as of today is 200.8. I HATE teetering at this 200 mark. I have been between 195 and 205 the past couple of months. NO MORE! It's goodbye to the 200s. I'm going to throw them a going away party! LOL.

Last night we didn't have a very skinny dinner but I did limit my portions for dinner & then lunch today (leftovers). We had Chicken Pot Pie. This is my first ever meal that I have perfected as my own recipe. I didn't get it from a recipe book. It has taken me a year but I think I finally have it right! I'll post the recipe tomorrow for anybody that would like to have it.

Tonight we are having hamburgers. For me it will be a hamburger minus the bun with some kind of veggie.

New Week, New Month, New Me!

I didn't get to post Friday because I was REALLY not feeling good and was so busy at work. Feeling much better now though. I did pretty good this weekend. Didn't exercise as much as I should have but we did go walk at the local trades show (flea market type of thing). It was soooo cold though so we left after about an hour.

Now it's monday & a new month. I love Mondays and the beginning of the month! If feels like I get to start over again. I've done really good on my water today and started taking my diet pills again. Before I had taken the Slim Quick pills and they REALLY work for me. So I'm starting those. (I love their commercials!).

I printed out my sneak peak for the week for Fly Lady. I'm determined to stick with this. I try and try but then I get so busy. If I can stick with this plan then I get so much more done in the same time. So we'll see what I've accomplished by friday.

My new goal: Lose 25lbs by Memorial Day! That is on May 25th which is 84 days away. This is totally doable (is doable a word?)


Last night I made steak for the first time and I don't even own a grill! It was awesome. I saw an episode of Good Eats where he broiled his steak. So that's what I did. I put them on the middle rack for 5 minutes on each side. Then, moved them up to the next rack and broiled another 5 minutes on each side. Adam's was done pretty much then (medium-well) and I left mine in for about another minute. (Well Well Well done!). Before broiling them I seasoned them with kosher salt, black pepper, & monterey seasonings. We had these and baked potatos.

If you have never utilized your broiler I encourage you too. Just make sure you stay close and set a timer because they will burn fast. Oh and wad up some foil to put at the top of your oven door to keep it cracked. This way the broiler stays on.

Let me know if you try it!