5.29.2009

The Tank Top Photo Shoot

I was shocked that so many of you wanted to know what my cute new tank top looked like from my previous post! So I thought I'd do a little photo shoot to show off my 20 pounds lighter self in my new Harley shirt...


Take 1: Oops, my boobs squished the design.



Take 2: Hey, it's me! but you can't really see the shirt.



Take 3: It looks like my armpit is going to attack!



Take 4: How did I accidentally take a picture of my feet?
Taking pictures of yourself is harder than I expected.



Take 5: Hum, well... Here's a picture of my back. Not sure
how this helps you see the shirt though.



Take 6: Since we're goofing off now, let's try one of those sexy close up eye shots! Not quite what I expected, I look drunk.

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Take 7: Viola! I figured taking the shirt off would work better :) Here you go my dears, my new shirt. (and yes, I am standing in my living room with no shirt on with the blinds wide open, AAHHHHHHHH)


WOW, I'm exhausted! This photo shoot stuff is tough. It's a good thing I never pursued my modeling career, HA HA! Hope you had fun :) Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

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5.28.2009

Housework, Sick Kids, FATNESS & Cute Clothes

I have been a busy little bee around our house this week. Our gorgeous wool rugs were finally delivered and I could start putting the final touches on my front room and living room. Pictures coming next week! With all the picture hanging, furniture moving and decorating going on the rest of the house started to look like crapola, so today I am working on all the everyday cleaning (laundry, dishes, cleaning up, etc.) Where is that fancy cleaning robot from "The Jetson's" when you need her. Oh Rosie... I wish you lived in my closet!!!

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The weight loss front in still going strong, I have dropped 20.6 pounds! Although, I am sad to say I am STILL the same pants size. Darn my Norwegian hips that never seem to shrink *grrrrr* Bet you can't guess where the weight loss has happened the most? Yup, you got it... my boobs :(

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My mini-munchkin is sick, she has strep throat. Poor thing has been laying around on the couch for 2 days. You'd think I'd enjoy this quarentine at home since I am ALWAYS running around doing things. Nope, this quiet at home all day stuff has me stir crazy. I haven't been to the gym in 3 days, and I am starting to have full on conversations with the dogs. "Well hello Louie, isn't it a pretty day? Wanna help mama fold laundry? You do? Wonderful! Come over here and you can sit on the bed and watch!"

Yeah... I am losing it.

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My hubby and I have decided to get on a strict budget (i'm talking Alpo for dinner people!) in an attempt to be 100% debt free and self sufficiant. So due to this change in our finances I went out and bought a new Harley Davidson tank top and a cute little hat to match! What?! If my hubby's gonna ride one I have to look cute standing by it right?

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

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5.22.2009

My Grandfather & His Flags

Memorial day weekend is once again upon us. I always reflect back on those who have fought for my freedom. I also think of my Grandpa John. He had so much respect for this nation, it's soldiers and it's flag. He understood what it meant to live for ones country. He served for and loved America.

Every year he'd drive his golf cart to the local cemetery and place hundreds of flags on every single grave belonging to a service man. Even as my grandfather got older and walking became more difficult, still there he was every memorial day. He knew what those men and women had sacrificed for him and he was sure not going to let anything get in his way to honor them.

I learned so much about honoring ones country from him growing up, even though he never sat me down and told me anything about it. Just by simply doing what was respectful, by acting on what was right I learned so much. The phrase "Actions speak louder than words" is so true here.

Every morning he would raise his flag up that tall flag pole in his front yard, and each evening he would lower those colors back down. It was (and is) disrespectful in his eyes to leave the red, white and blue out in the rain, the cold, the darkness. Even to this day, if I leave my flag out, or a corner touches the ground I feel so bad.

On this coming memorial day I hope you take a moment and thank those who helped make this country what it is. One thing I know I will be doing is passing a tradition onto my kids, heading to my local cemetery and placing flags on graves with my children. I know my Grandpa John would love to be alive and going with us, I'll place an extra one out there for him.


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Today I am going to have a
virtual Girls Night Out!
wanna come? click below!



au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

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5.20.2009

Dog Dayz...

My dogs are learning to adjust to the HOT weather. We had hot before we moved but it was south-eastern humid. Now we live in south-western dry, very different. Each dog has their own method of dealing with it, let's check it out!

Meet the characters: (oldest to youngest)

Louie LOVES splashing in his "puppy pool" and will actually play till he almost passes out! We have to dump the water out after awhile so he doesn't hyperventilate. He's such a weirdo.


Sammy, the strong silent type. He just wants a nice cool shady spot to nap. No frills, no tricks. Just concrete.


Jackson isn't sure what he likes yet. He enjoys checking out what the other dogs are doing and copy them. (as long as mommy is close by though)


Here they all are splashing around and keeping cool.


I wish my life was as simple as a dogs. *sigh* Maybe that's why we have 3, I'm secretly living vicariously through them, Ha Ha.

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

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Wordless Wednesday, Vroom Vroom

BIG boys and their BIG toys, Bad to the bone.


au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

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5.18.2009

Kindergarteners & Nutjobs


What do you think about all the Pomp & Circumstance surrounding Kindergarten Graduations? The munchkin will be finishing up his kindergarten career this Friday, and while I am incredibly proud of him, I don't understand why these little people are being treated like they graduated college?! They have special outfits and hats they need to wear, they have a class party. That's all fine and wonderful. I am talking more about the overboard moms:

Graduation invitations to everyone in suburbia, catering companies called, party planners, photographers, everything! Some women have been planning their child's kindergarten graduation party for months! Doesn't that seem a little excessive to anyone but me?

My little man did a great job in school this year, even changed schools halfway through it. I am amazed at all he has learned and how hard he has worked. I have a great bag of goodies for him to celebrate including a bunch of books for summer reading, activity books and a few action figures he's been wanting. But what he'll also get is a very proud mommy and daddy!

I want my munchkins to know how important school is, but I also want them to understand there is more to come. I will throw the BIGGEST college graduation party you have ever seen, and you're all invited! But, not this year. Not for a 6 year old. Goodness.

What are your thoughts? (please take no offense if you planned a ginormous kindergarten grad party, every one is free to do whatever they want... i just might think you're a little loopy that's all, ha ha)

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...


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5.17.2009

The Heat? What Heat?

What do you do when your family moves to the desert and you can't afford a pool? You make a "jumping water park" of course! Here are my munchkins playing on our homemade contraption (A wiggle worm kid sprinkler attached with zip ties at the top). They LOVE it!

jump higher!


My bathing beauty: the mini-munchkin


my little stud: the munchkin

What you don't see... mommy sitting in a bikini (she would NEVER wear in public) lathered up in tanning oil trying to not look like a pail white non-Arizonian, with a glass of wine in hand of course :) I have pity on any of my neighbors who have a window that overlooks our backyard, what a sight they must have seen! Enjoy the heat, if you've got it!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

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5.16.2009

The Power of Music

The other day while goofing off on the internet I stumbled upon the following video. I instantly had to find out more. Who are these people? What are they singing about? What I found out was amazing. As the video goes on it just gets better and better. (pause the music player on the top left, yup right over there!) Now check this out!



Here is an excerpt from http://www.playingforchange.com:

"Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world."

How great is that? Playing for change, now that is something I can believe in.

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

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5.15.2009

Peace & A Whole Lot More

"What do you find peaceful?" Oh that's easy! This:

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On the weight loss front I am down to a total of 16.8 pounds! This week I did a TON of strength training (weight lifting) and resistance training (that stretchy band thing). My muscles can sure feel the difference, can't wait till I am strong enough to take down my hubby, ha ha. I tell you what when I reach my goal weight, I am going to have a HUGE blog giveaway to celebrate!

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Speaking of giveaways, does anyone have any advice? I have never done one and would really like to. There are so many things I love and I would like to be able to share them with you all :)

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We are officially all moved out of our rental house and are 100% in our new home! Now comes the super duper fun part... unpacking all our stuff! NOT. I am procrastinating doing this, but I know I need to get it done. must.find.motivation.somewhere. I am waiting for my new living room and piano room rugs to be delivered then I'll be showing you all a house tour with everything all decorated and fancy! (probably within 2 weeks)


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Oh exciting news! My blog is getting a BIG makeover for my 1 year blogiversary, and I shared that makeover with my dear friend Stacey over at Mom Taxi. So check back here and there in a few days and see our stunning new digs :) I hope you all are going to like it, I know I do.

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I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, till next time!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

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Join me each week
for "Saturday Q-Shot"
with Spoiled Mommy


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Today I am going to have a
virtual Girls Night Out!
wanna come? click below!

5.12.2009

The Sun

We have been sleeping in our new house for about 2 weeks now. Everyone is adjusting just fine. (except the puppy, he thinks this tile floor is for him to pee on... everywhere!) One thing I hated when we moved in but now love is the blaring sun through my bathroom window, that coincidentally shines right in my face every morning.


You are thinking "why would anyone like that?" Well let me explain: The birds are chirping outside, the dogs are snoring, the kids are sleeping and I am awake curled up in bed (thanks to my new friend Mr. Morning Sunshine) reading the news, typing on my blog, and catching up with friends via e-mail.

So the sun wakes me earlier then I would want to be awaken, but it is giving me some much needed quiet time, so I am thankful :)
I have figured I get about an hour of this bliss every morning and it is making such a big difference in my day. The kids are woken from bed by a happy mommy now. Not the grouchy "I don't want to be awake" mom, and I even have more energy to get my housework done! Weird isn't it what a little sunshine can do?

Ta Ta for now

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5.09.2009

What This Mama Loves The Most

First and foremost, too all the moms out there...Happy Mother's Day!

What does being a mom mean to me? Patience, understanding, caring, sometimes even a bit of frustration. But most of all it means unconditional love forever. I was so amazed at how fast I fell deeply in love with both my munchkins the second they were laid in my arms for the first time in the hospital. I didn't grow up around a lot of little kids, I was an only child. I was worried I wouldn't "get it." How wrong I was. I can honestly say I never understood unconditional love until these two came into my life.


My munchkin, my oldest, my boy... He is 100% little boy, scares me to death on a regular basis with his dare-devil antics and his willingness to go all out in an instant. Wow, he has taught this mama about a lot of things over the years: Transformers, Star Wars, falling and always getting back up, but mostly that boys (men) have such strong emotions as well, they are just as caring as a woman, well... when they want to be :)



My princess, my baby-girl, my drama queen... she is a girly girl to the core. I never knew someone could own so many dresses! All that patience I mentioned earlier? Yeah, I learned that from dealing with her, ha ha. She can bring the drama for sure. But she als has such a sweet softer side that I am blessed to see often. She has taught me about loving diamonds, spinning with a big skirt on, Dora The Explorer, but mostly that we are all human. We hurt sometimes and we need to reach out and ask for help, someone will always be there to hold your hand.


On this mother's day I hope you reflect back on what your kids have taught you. You'd be surprised what you've learned over the years, I know I was :) Have a great day!

Ta Ta for now

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5.07.2009

Loser For Sure & Some Random

OK, so week three at Weight Watchers and.... now I've lost a total of 13.8 pounds! I am so shocked, don't know why though because I am working my butt off (literally). Guess I just assumed by large behind was here to stay and to see the pounds coming off is just something I didn't expect!

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There are 2 more weeks of school. Most moms are counting down the days till they get to sleep later and just relax. NOT ME. My kids will wake up at the same time no matter what season it is and what in the world am I going to do to keep them busy with all summer so they stay outta my hair????

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My hubby has been working a ton and has been driving me nuts. Why is it when they work hard all day they feel the need to come home and be a booty face? And I am honestly not sure if he even knows Mother's Day is coming. We shall see...

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I have started making some new friends (in real life, ha ha) out here in Arizona. I am so glad to have some one to wave and smile at when I drop my munchkin off at school. Alone time has been needed after this move, but the time has come to actually hand out with real adults :)

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My parents will be here for the weekend. Tomorrow night we will be going out without the kids, just like last time when they were here. I'll post pictures if my mom gets another lap dance, hee hee

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I hope you all have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Ta Ta for now

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5.01.2009

Body Check

Every reach that point where you look down at yourself and say "Ack, what the Hell happened to my body? Who am I? Where did all this fat come from? AHHHHHHHH!!" Well, that was me a few weeks ago. I finally got to where I was mad about my weight and decided to do something about it. (with vengeance I might add)

In 2 weeks of joining Weight Watchers I have lost 9.8 pounds! WOW, I am shocked. All I am doing is eating better, Oh and sweating my butt off in the gym every other day.

My body is so mad at me right now, I think my left arm is about ready to go on strike. Everything hurts, but it's working :) ha ha. The things we go through to look better (be healthy). The gym I joined is called Lifetime Fitness, this place reminds me of Disneyland with work out equipment. It is HUGE and has everything imaginable. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like it because it looked quite intimidating, but now I love it! There's so much room I never feel closed in by all the skinny gorgeous people that regular gyms. (just copy what their doing, it's like a free personal trainer!)


So things are chugging along. I have cut out all fast food. (OK, that's a lie, I had Wendy's last week but at least it was a salad! And I still have to have In-N-Out every once in a while because it really isn't that bad for you, they use all natural oils and have less then half the calories as regular fast food joints)

I am feeling pretty confident that my large behind will actually be normal size again. 9.8 pounds is a good start, I have a long way to go but I can honestly say I am giving it 100% this time :) Any tips or tricks of the trade?

Ta Ta for now

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Today I am going to have a
virtual Girls Night Out!
wanna come? click below!