Saturday!!!

 Only 5 or 6 more until my man is home!

I got the Shop Natural order to send. The lady I was waiting on called right as I was clicking the button. I was able to add her order manually and then send it all on. Shew.

We had a lazy morning. Well.....all but Cy who has to work mega hours this week and next due to the um....well....shoot....I'll be nice and not share our family name for this season of life in our small West TX town....but this is the Stock Show and RODEO season. This translates to lots and lots of extra people (and animals) in town and lots of extra business for Chick Fil A (both at the mall and at the Stock Show where they have a trailer). THE REST of us...had a lazy morning.

I did an extra workout. Jamin and Jared both went running and I was able to calculate the exact amount of calories they burned for them based on their activity level and weight etc. They were suitably impressed.

This afternoon we went geocahcing. We've had a string of bad luck but we found one! It was at a gorgeous pond in the middle of a residential area....I had no clue it was there. There were lots of ducks, seagulls and grackles....pretty cool. They kept swarming and flying overhead. Unfortunately, I pushed some button on the unit and neither Jamin nor I could figure out how to get back to the screen to load coordinates for the NEXT cache! ::snort:: Thus, our day of caching ended.

It really was for the best as we got home at dusk. Jamin volunteered to make the stroganoff tonight, freeing me to wrestle with the possessed computer in the hopes of getting the Shop Natural order finished before it crashes or does whatever it is going to do.

Baths and such and the day is ending.

Our First Cache - we couldn't' find it....very frustrating as we KNOW it's supposed to be right here....but it's not.

We found the cache here and had a great time tossing rocks, relaxing, watching wildlife...until Zander needed a toilet...then we couldn't load new coordinates! ::snort::

WOE is ME.....LOL

I'm going to try to update the blog...but this last working computer is being very STRANGE! I fear it has joined the rebellion.

When I go online and my home page (verizon) is going up it begins to bounce up and down...the screen not the monitor. LOL You can't read it. It is the dumbest thing I've EVER seen a computer do. I have IE 7 - but I can't open a new tab or it does this for minutes on end. Everytime I switch from one site to the next it does this....when I try to type an email....I haven't the slightest clue what is up now.

I'm trying to get our Shop natural order in before the computer crashes. I had to load the software to this computer and set up the entire member list again- I'd really like to complete the order before this crashes....I'm waiting on one order. The lady wanted to order last time and missed the deadline....she told me yesterday she wanted to order and I think I told her I needed her order by noon so I could do it tonight...but I can't reach her and I'm worried that if I wait much longer the entire thing will crash again...argh...what to do....

Going to click publsih...try to finish the Shop Natural and then update the blog. We'll see. If you don't hear from me via email or blog you'll know - the last computer has bit the big one.

Friday

Shew....

Speech, produce co-op, fielding calls for both co-ops, answering order questions for Shop Natural co-op....CLASS....SAM'S CLUB....phone call from Bre...

Details?

Produce co-op: Ruth, one of our members, took ALL the boxes this week with her. This will save me a trip to the recycling center. It REALLY made my day. Julie, another member, says her dh can buy bags by the thousands and she'll buy a roll or whatever they come in for us. Things went fairly well today...we do keep being 2 Romaine Lettuce short....hmmm....

Class: Exercise was the topic today! It was great! I now have THE FORMULA to be able to figure out how many calories any given activity will burn...from making a piece of toast to running a marathon! I really learned a lot at this class. Best yet.....they gave lots of hand-outs which means that I can revisit the info until I REMEMBER it. ::snort:: I realized that my step into fitness step video burns about 160 more calories a day than my 40 minute bike rides. LOL I asked about the elliptical machine and he said they are good machines but that I'm burning way more calories with my video than I would doing the same amount of time on the elliptical...guess that machine isn't going to be my "salvation". LOL

Circuit training is the big thing these days. He gave us a handout about that...and is willing to take us through the gym and show us how to use all the machines there...but that doesn't work for me. He also said that the machines are easier than free weights for circuit training - this is what I discovered - but the circuit Jamin made for me was right on the money...just hard to keep the heart rate up when you have to change weights, towers etc.... Another light bulb moment when I began to suspect and then asked...and he confirmed... that Curves is a circuit training workout.

I stopped by Curves on my way home. It's close to home. I could do it...I just had a hard time believing that I could burn many calories....but maybe. I'm debating. I'd love to hear your experience with Curves, if you've had any. I think the method is solid...cardio and strength...it's the craze! One of the $4 books I picked up at Sam's was about Curves...so I'll read it and do the math.... They have a 30% off the enrollment fee this month. I'm brazen. I asked when they'd have the next "free enrollment" month. She said in March you can bring a sack of groceries in and they'll waive the enrollment fee (Which is over $100). I can wait until March. LOL

That's about it for the day. I'm wanting to buy the little Weight Watcher point counter books so that I can get this calorie thing down quicker. I don't like wasting so much time analysing food...but it's only for a season.

I've been on the increased calorie "diet" for a month now. It seems to be working....I've lost 6 lbs. LOL Gary, the fitness program manager, said that building muscles speeds metabolism...frankly...the weight isn't the issue for me any longer...it's getting that dead metabolism to kick in again ....energy....I'd really like my body temp to go up to at least 98* too. LOL

TRUE CONFESSIONS

 WHY I SHOULDN'T SHOP AT SAM'S ALONE

I went in for a tracfone annual card for Krista and some bubble wrap - I spent over $200. I didn't want to go to walmart and so I decided to go for the big box of bubble wrap. I need to wrap a hard drive. ::snort:: THEN I had to buy some darling shirts and a long distance card for each of the girls.... and THEN....

they had the cutest little, white haired lady passing out samples. No one was buying. I felt bad for her. She asked if I'd like a sample. She was visibly crushed when I didn't. SO I BOUGHT HER PRODUCT!!! Then I was hoping someone I knew would come along and take it and put it back in the freezer. This made me think how much we've changed our eating in 11 months. We used to have these sorts of dinners all the time - but we don't EAT these things with um...preservatives and ingredients I can't pronounce and BACON in them....but I now have a family size box of bacon, cheese and eggs hot pockets. The boys were thrilled. I think they sense they won a skirmish in the Bacon Revolt or what did Jared call it? The Organo fast food civil war....

Thursday

Where has this week gone?

Today we did school. We've begun studying China.

I was supposed to go out to lunch with a friend but realized at the last minute that Cy had gone to work, and I had to take the older boys to their weekly ministry opportunity and that meant there was no one to watch the younger ones. It's been a while since THAT has happened. ::snort:: Debbie was very gracious about the whole thing. I was glad she'd come into town to get her hair cut anyway and not JUST to have lunch with me.

I ran to the bank and cashed checks for produce co-op.

I ran to Albertsons and picked up manicotti shells. Arielle helped me stuff them. I HATE that job...but my children LOVE manicotti. Bre and Krista used to do this for me. I tried to use the Pampered Chef decorating gun thing to fill them - but that didn't work very well. I suspect my filling was to hefty.

I wrote a newsletter for produce co-op and then realized that this computer isn't hooked up to a printer. I tried to hook up the printer but had no success at all.

We set up tables and baskets for co-op tomorrow.

There was recently a "mother" retreat locally. One of the focus' was healthy eating. I've had several call this week about both the shop natural and the produce co-op.

I picked up a book for $4 at Sam's Club.

I really can't think of anything else I did. I've been up since 4 a.m. and it's time to call it a day.

Princess Fashion

Arielle picked out this shirt for Stacia yesterday...

and then made sure they both wore their princess shirts today.....

Stacia's says, "Let's Face it, I'm a Princess". Arielle's says, "Yes, I AM a Princess - daughter of the King".

In the last couple of weeks Arielle and Stacia have begun to have FUN together. Obviously, Arielle is still WATCHING Stacia but she's having fun playing with Stacia too. Today they had Barbies and were zooming them all over the house....

My Magic Fruit Shake

 (commonly called smoothies by the rest of the world)

This is how I get 6 servings of produce in most mornings..... 300 - 350 calories. Who's counting? Evidently, me these days! LOL I add at least a 2 C salad at both lunch an dinner and have 10 servings in for the day.

Six serving variety:
1 C of fresh squeezed OJ
1 banana
1 nectarine or peach
3/4 C pineapple
3/4 C blueberries

Five serving variety: 1/2 C OJ instead of 1 C - thick - almost like ice cream

Darshia, I promised to tell you what I thought after I'd used it for a bit of time. That is what prompted this entry. I have not used my real blender since we all learned how to use this. This is MUCH less mess. We can each make our smoothies (shakes on Sunday night) to our tastes. It all blends in the cup....

Drawbacks...it doesn't blend as smooth as the Bosch. Editor's note 2012 - it broke before a year of useage.  I now skip the OJ - add water and spinach to make a puree, a scoop of muscle milk protein mix and super seed.....adds veggie, protein and all sorts of fiber.