In a Rut?

I'm twenty five years old, and twenty six is rapidly approaching. As far as age goes, I guess I am fairly young. True. Then why is it that I feel much older?

I've always been a little more mature for my age. I was always sitting with the adults and talking with them at parties I would go to with my parents. I was always the oldest of all my parents friend's kids. I was usually older then the kids in my class, and most of my friends.

I've always been a little more serious then most people I know, but I was still able to let loose and have fun.

So here I am. I am only twenty five and I feel much older. I feel old. I feel like I look old, and I am not really sure what to do about it.

Mirror Images

Ever look at your self in the mirror and think to your self , " I look pretty good, considering..?" Well I had been doing that for a while, and then I saw pictures of my self from the days I asked my self that question, and thought I looked pretty good. Boy was I wrong, I saw those photos and thought EEWWW OMG!!!

So again I am finally doing something about it. I did really well last year losing weight, I lost about 10 lbs and was feeling pretty good about it, then I got lazy with watching what I ate, and exersizing went out the window, and before I knew it , I gained that 10 pounds back and about 5-10 more ( really who's counting? lol)

So Last Monday night, after a wonderful day out in Monterey with the family, I broke out the tape measure. I measured my bust, neck, arms, waist, hips, and thieghs. Sometimes my scales not always accurate so I wanted to have something else to measure my progress in. I took photos for motovation and comparison. (No you will not see the before photos) And the next morning I took my weight.

I started working out on the elliptical for 30 to 35 mins. I did that for 3 days last week. Watched what I ate, even recording it, keeping track of calories and what not.

And am pround to say that this week I am 4 pounds lighter. I hope to exercise more this week. Should be a little easier now that Annaleese is starting to feel better.

I just wanted to share my success.

Back to Scrappin'

Wow. All week I have really had the itch to sit down and get some scrappin' done. It finally happend! After I got Annaleese to bed for the night, I sat down at my craft table, pulled out some photo's and just started scrappin. It felt amazing, theraputic, and well worth it. I made 4 layouts in a 3 hour period, and even got some organizing done. I forgot how quickly time passes when you get lost in creativity. Before I knew it , it was 11 pm. ( late for me).

Today while Annaleese napped I churned out another 1.5 layouts. I'm super psyched! I wish I had more friends who scrapped. I have some who are interested in learning. Selfish as this will sound, I don't really want to spend my scrap time teaching. I want to scrap. Jessica - why do we live so far? I blame you for this addiction - but I thank you also.

Santa Made me Cry

I'll explain the title in a bit, but until then answer me this : Is it just me or do the holidays make you super emotional?

For a long time now, December has marked the onset of Holiday Depression for me. It turns me into a weepy, emotional, scrooge. Don't get me wrong, I love the Holidays. I love the lights, the decorations, the celebrations, the food, the spirit, abd the joyfulness it brings. I feel like the older I get, the harder it is to find the magic that Christmas held when I was a kid.

Now, as an adult I understand all the responsibilites that go in to creating that "Christmas Cheer", and all to often it comes down to money. Now, I know that Christmas really isn't supposed to be about the gifts. I understand that it's a time of the year that draws family and friends close together.I also know it to be the season of giving. And so starts the stress of wondering how to provide the perfect Christmas with what is available to you.

I'm sure I'm not alone on that feeling.

December makes me want to cry, sometimes for know reason at all. Sometimes because the season reminds me of those who are not here to celebrate with us any longer.

Sunday, my family went to cut down our Christmas trees. I look forward to this every year, I love doing it. We headed to my parents to make pizza's after the cut down, and while the guys were trying to put lights on the tree, mom and I ran to wal mart to get a new strand of lights. drivng there we got stuck behind this thing driving, what had to be, 10 mph. We soon realized it was a Christmas Float, with Santa aboard. When we got to the turning lane the float was right beside us, Santa looked at me, and waved. I looked at my mom and said " I miss Papa", and started to cry.

A new day

Well here it is, another post about losing weight. It's not a big secret that I gained about 10 pounds since my daughter's first birthday, but today I realized, while stuffing myself into pants that used to fit loosely, that I need to get back on track. I can't remember the last time I've gotten up in the morning, packed up the baby and went for a walk or jog.

So tomorrow, that will change. Exercise and eating better will again become priority.

2 Year's Married!

It's crazy to think it's been two years since we walked down the aisle and said our "I Dos", exchanged rings, danced and celebrated with our family and friends. Happy memories. I can't believe how the time has passed so quickly, on the other hand, some days it feels like it's been longer than just two years. Maybe it's because we've been together for five years.

To celebrate the occasion we opted to stay in, have dinner, take a dip in the spa, and just be together.

To make the night a little more special, I decided to make a very nice dinner. I was in the kitchen for the better part of the day, whipping out what turned out to be the best dinner I've had in a while.

The menu consisted of "Green Mozzarella" - an appitizer made with slices of bread, mozzarella, and pesto. Cheesy Mashed potatoes, asparagus drizzled with EVOO and garlic, balsamic glazed steak, and a blue cheese wedge salad.

We didn't get a chance to enjoy the cheesecake I made, it hadn't set up completely, and I think we were just too full.

I'm proud of my self because I made everything from scratch, using receipes from Emril, Alton brown, a few phone calls to mom for general questions, and my own ideas. It was fantastic.

I don't know that I could do that on a daily basis, maybe something a little less involved, but I'm willing to try.

Family Photo

I don't think words could accurately discribe the feeling I got when I saw the framed family photo of Scott, Annaleese and I. I felt a huge smile spread accross my face, my heart raced a little bit, and all I could think was that " I have my very own family photo!"

There's just something about seeing the three of us together in that picture that makes me so unbelievibly happy! I don't think anything else could have made this day any better.

Check them all out here :

http://picasaweb.google.com/tara.alarid/FamilyPhotos#