Lost and found and a quote of the day

I keep trying to lose weight but I think I'm just juggling. I didn't even know I knew how. I lost 3 pounds but I've lost them before..... I wonder if they will come back again tomorrow... My weight goes up and comes back down.... I just keep moving it around.

I did notice that I could wear a pair of shorts that I couldn't wear a couple weeks ago. I could get them on but I had about a 3 to 4 inch gap. I got them on today (comfortably) and then did somersaults across the living room..... well, not really. I never could do those. I do like the website I've been using to track my progress - Traineo. By logging my exercise and watching my calorie intake it keeps me from slacking!! I also constantly want to beat my pervious time or how many miles I went on my bike. It's easy and it's free, what could be better right?

Well, I went to my second class today for Medical terminology. Wowzers. This is a lot of memorization! I bought a big box of index cards at Sam's Club to make flash cards and started writing each new term on them. I have already used a whole pack! My husband thought it was such a waste to buy so many. I tried to tell him there are so many things to learn and I'll need to really study hard. I also bought a voice recorder (with the money I made from my garage sale) and that will really come in handy. I recorded today's class and then I should be able to put it on my ipod. I think if I listen to it while I use my stationary bike or work in my garden I will start to learn those terms faster.

It's all very interesting and I could read about this forever. I don't know how I ever felt I didn't know what I should be doing with my life!! I just sit for hours with my new medical dictionary and immerse myself in all these new terms , images, and ideas. Something will catch my eye and I'll start reading and then that will lead to a new term that I'll need to look up and then I'll be flipping through the pages again. I tend to see so many interesting things along the way that I have to resist the temptation to lose track and run through every rabbit hole. I have to keep a notepad with me and jot down new terms so I can look them up later. I just hope that some day I will be able to help comfort those that are suffering and also help with their recovery. I also hope to be some comfort to those who will not recover. I don't think God put those people here to waste away staring at a wall. They are here for a purpose. I know God was training me for that when I was learning to write to my Grandmother even though she couldn't reply. It really is hard to write something without asking a question that requires an answer. It can also be difficult to keep things upbeat and positive. I got good at that though. I know that someday I'll be a great nurse and God will help me get there... one class at a time. Someone just told me that it sometimes takes something bad happening before something good can happen. We never want to go through the bad times but once the clouds clear the sun is so much brighter and we wont take it for granted.

Well tomorrow is a new day. I keep thinking of a young girl named Allie that is currently recovering from a horrible accident. And I think of my Grandmother who at the end of her life couldn't do the most simple things because she had Parkinson disease. I hope everyone will take advantage of each minute in each day, hug each loved one and smile at each stranger.... you never know when your life will change. Cherish life while it's good so that if things to take a turn you will have the strength to weather the troubled times. God sends us road bumps to make us stronger.

Here is the quote of the day from RealSimple.com

Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending.
— Anonymous

Soldiers' angel

I have been assigned to another angel named Casey. I am very excited because she seems to be really interesting. She's in a medical unit and it just seems appropriate for me since I've decided to finally go to school to be a nurse. She likes to read too and what could be better right? My kids can't wait to send her a package.

And I know that I'm the angel to be taking care of her but I'm going to call her MY angel. She's out there doing the work...... So please pray for my angel KC to come home safe and sound!

Pray for Allie

There is a young lady that was recently injured in a nasty car accident. You can visit the blog her dad set up for her by clicking the title above. They need all the prayer they can get. Please stop by and let them know you are praying.

I'm a loser!

I have been trying really hard to lose weight for a while and it's finally working. I have to work out a lot harder than I was before and really watch my calories. I joined this free website called Traineo and it helps to keep track of my calorie intake and calories burned through exercise. I lost 2 lbs before I started and since I started I've lost another 3! Ahhh, it's good to be a loser :O)

I'm so proud of my son

I volunteered to help at Jared's school for the 8th graders graduation ceremony. There was a smaller ceremony for the 7th graders this morning at 10 am and Jared just skipped it and went to class. Strange kid! Anyway, he decided to go with me to help and he was a huge help. He just jumped in and helped out where he could and politely asked if he could help anyone that looked like they could use it. At the end he helped clean up and folded up and put away the tables since he knew where those went. It was so nice to hear all of the staff and other volunteers bragging about him! As we were leaving the principal went to get his certificate that he didn't get that morning. He got a presidential award with a gold seal! On the way home he told me doesn't like crowded rooms and going up on to get the awards. I guess I can see that. He wasn't doing anything for the award or the recognition. He knows we are proud of him.

Flylady.net (Click here to visit the website)

A couple of months ago I joined flylady.net and I've been trying hard to stick to the routines. I know I lack organization and flylady.net helps you build routines that help you become organized AND motivated. If you join the yahoo group you can get very helpful daily reminders emailed to you to keep you on track, but it is optional. I read and delete them each day. Of course I adjust everything to my liking and even though dear Marla (Flylady) loves purple, I (bug) detest that color LOL I think it's because that's my sisters favorite color and I had to be different. So everything I have is either green, blue, or red so that I feel good when I get it out. That sounds kind of Christmasy huh? I'm talking more of a soothing sage green which most of the things in my house are and a nice *pow* red which is a color I choose for clothes to help get me going and feel confident. I have a pair or red tennis shoes that I wear when I'm cleaning and when I'm exercising and they just make me feel like I have super powers or something LOL. I know I get more done when I have them on. Blue seems to be a relaxing color to me and I like all shades of it. It either makes me think of pale blue skies or sparkling blue water or the blue green of the pine trees...... or my dog "Blue" who is actually a tri-colored Beagle. When I look around to see what I bought in blue, I see all of my craft tubs are blue, my bath stuff is blue, my heating pad and other things for relaxing are blue and my favorite papers, pens and the marker that I write with at my desk are blue. Oh, and the very pretty clear acrylic tape dispenser that I swiped from my oldest son is blue LOL I know that color is important, especially for me, and what colors you chose can tell a lot about you. There are personality books based on color choices alone. Anyway, I got a little off track there but I also adjust my routines to work better for me and my family. I've started to make my control journal but it's not just for me but for the whole family. My boys are given chores to do to help keep things in order and I have an extra after school routine and bedtime routines for the boys. I like to use a smaller spiral bound notebook (the cover is sage) with bright sticky notes inside for the boys to take with them to remember what they have to do. I added tabs for them to quickly find what they need. The routines are all in there written in pencil so we can easily make a change until we get it down.



When I started to use Flylady.net I was only thinking about myself. I knew I needed to be better organized but I never thought it would also help my boys. Riley is the one that has benefited the most. His favorite part of Flylady's plan is Kelly's Missions. The home is divided into zones and each week Kelly sends out missions for every day to complete in that zone. When the zone was in the bedroom Riley was thrilled because he could do it too. One day when Riley was home sick from school he told me that I should email "Ms Kelly Fly" and tell her that she should have more missions that he could do. He was so very sweet and I emailed her describing him and how he looked sitting there wrapped up in his tropical fish blanket with a cup of warm peppermint tea and his unicorn book.......and protruding lip LOL I also quoted the little guy because it couldn't have been said any better! I would try to tell him things he could do instead of cleaning light fixtures or dusting the ceiling but he wanted it to come from Kelly in mission form! Well she got my email and I can't believe what she did!!!!! She made special missions just for kids like Riley and they are called Riley challenges!

He was so thrilled when he came in from school and I showed him the email! I wanted so badly to get a picture when his face lit up when he saw his name but my camera had dead batteries. DRATS! The picture I added above shows Riley with his "fishy" blanket. Doesn't he look like an angel when he's sleeping??? When he's not he's more like the Tazmanian devil!! When after Riley read the email he took off to grab his backpack and did the challenge in less than 3 minutes! He likes to set my timer to count up instead of down so he can see how long it actually took. Then in a whirl he was off yelling for his friend to show him the email I printed out.

Here is the email:


Dear Friends,

About a week ago I got an email from a sweet boy named Riley and his mom. They wanted to know If I would send out some missions or challenges that he could do in the house. He wanted some for his room and some for him to be able to help out his mom. The email was so sweet and got me good, which I think was his Mom's intention LOL!

This week we are in the Children's room for our other room in Zone 3, we have included children's room missions in the missions for this week, but in honor of Riley and all the other FLY kids out there, I am going to send out Kid Challenges this week.Let me know how this works out for you and your kids.

Without further adieu let me present our first Riley Challenge of the week!Our very first Riley Challenge is to go grab your backpacks! Sit down on the floor and let's de-clutter those backpacks. De-Clutter means to get rid of anything that we do not need or use anymore! Take out all the papers that you no longer need to have, if you have a recycle bin go toss them there! Get rid of any broken pencils, pens or markers. Any used up, dried up glue sticks? Do you have any Library books that need to be returned? The end of the school year is coming. Are there any papers that you need to give to your parents? Let's set a timer for 15 minutes and see how fast we can de-clutter those back packs! I bet they will be much lighter tomorrow!

Have fun! Thanks to Riley and his Mom for this request - I think we can have some fun!

Love,

Kelly

Exercise and me - kinda like oil and water

I hate exercise! And that's hate with a capital H-A-T-E! But, I really want to lose some weight. I'm so tired of feeling like the Michelin woman. This weekend I joined two different things and I'm going to do them simultaineously.

1. Traineo.com my page is here --> http://donnaj71.traineo.com/
2. The womens health challenge at www.womenshealth.gov

I am determined and somewhat excited. I finished the book I was reading (The Red Hat club - 5 Donna stars!) and started the next of my books in the sisterhood realm I'm in. I'm reading DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD BY REBECCA WELLS. I'll add it to my side bar. I'm curious to see if it's as good as The Red Hat Club. But, as part of my challenge above I will not let myself read a "fun" book unless I'm on my exercise bike. I wasn't feeling good today so I only did 15 minutes but I can totally see myself getting a lot more exercise once I get into this book more.

DEATH TO FLAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blue dog

My Blue girl was sick last night. I was up all night, every hour, going back and forth from outside and back in. It was like having a baby again. I really thought she was going to die because she was throwing up white foam and the little bit of food she ate. She was also shaking and pacing and whining a lot. It just broke my heart when she looked at me with those sad brown eyes.



I heard white foam usually meant the dog got ahold of antifreeze. I'm not sure on that but I did pick up a book today on vetrinarian procedures and emergency treatments. So maybe next time I'll be a little better informed. Last night I just did a little googling and ended up giving Blue some Pepto tablets in pieces of hotdog. I also kept trying to get water down her. By 10 am she seemed to stop pacing and gagging and laid down to sleep. During the day today she drank 3 bowls of water. I felt so bad for her. I'm so glad she's okay now.

I was so glad she seemed to be resting okay before my lunch date with my friends. I would have had a hard time leaving her otherwise. She was happy to go snuggle in her kennel though. I had a great time with Cheesy-G and Sp-linda again and Baby A is getting cuter!! I didn't think it was possible! Her mom said she's been keeping her awake all night. I know the feeling! We had a great visit and CG and I hammed it up. Next time I'll have to get SpLinda!





I gave my copy of the Red hat club to CG even though I wasn't quite finished. I knew there was another copy at the literacy council. I went there right after and found a bunch of great books. That's where I got the book on vet care. I also found a good book on sewing and a book called "Ireland" that looks great and a few more poetry books. I was in hog heaven! I love that place. So now I'm reading this huge hard cover version of the Red Hat club and it's a weird shift.

I was coming home just in time to swing by and pick up Jared after school. We had a coffee date. We couldn't go without Blue girl though. They always have a treat for her. She was so happy to see her boy and it was good to see her acting normal again even though she wasn't quite her spunky self.

Oh, Ry got an A on his science project/report! I'm so proud of him!

Quote of the day

"To Accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." - Anatole France Nobel Prize-winning author

Just when I started to doubt myself and my abilities I came across this quote in some mail. It came at a good time. I go through times when I seem to be so ambitious and then I fall for a time and am plagued by "what ifs" and self doubt. I talked to someone who was a nurse and she said some things that weren't specific but I got the impression that she didn't like her job. She said it was hard work, which I knew, but she seemed to be trying to warn me, against what exactly I'm not sure. Then I started thinking, WHAT IF I can't do it.......WHAT IF I'm not smart enough......WHAT IF I'm just wasting time and money doing this?????? Then I volunteered to help at the health fair at the literacy council and I really enjoyed myself. I talked to several people in the health field and I noticed the sparkle in their eyes when they were talking. I realized then that these were the people that love their jobs and love helping people. I am doing this for that reason too. So I'm ready to get started and to stop doubting myself. I'm ready to put everything I have into becoming a nurse. I stopped procrastinating about getting that shot I need to volunteer at the hospital and got that done yesteday. It wasn't even that bad!
I'll clip this quote and keep it handy for future plunges I'm sure to have.

Gwen Frostic

I have been finding these really neat books while working at the Literacy Council in the used bookstore. I am attacted by the neat artwork that looks stamped on and the wonderful verses. I found a few more today and I looked up the author/artist. Click the title above to visit her site. I wish I could have had the chance to meet this lady before she died. She must have been such an interesting person to know. It's just amazing that she was so observant of nature and so patient and talented to be able to transform a block of wood into such a beautiful work of art. They even have rubber stamps and note cards with her art and poetry available on that website. I hope I can find all of her books. I certainly love the collection I have now.

Quote of the day

Night time is really the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours because everyone else is asleep.
— Catherine O'Hara

That is so true. I am my most creative in the evening after everyone is sleeping. I think your mind is just too busy juggling all the things you have to do during the day that by the time you get to sit down and enjoy some quiet rest your mind comes alive with idea's you just couldn't hear through all noise before. I have started planning my quiet time. If everyone isn't asleep I take a book to my bathtub and escape for a while. Ahhhhhh, just thinking about that makes me relax a bit.

What is love?

Written for Riley Alexander


Love is... Limitless. It can't be measured or bound.
Love is... Obvious. People see me and they know I love you.
Love is... Violent. I will fight for you.
Love is... Endless.

If you think I don't love you, you are just wrong.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I just finished this book and I'm going to pass it on to a friend. This is going to be my next traveling book (fitting since it's about traveling pants huh?) I wish everyone would read this book. It really touched my heart. I had a hard time getting into at first but after I did I couldn't put it down. Read my comment at the link above (just click the title) If you are interested in reading it just let me know and I'll share it with you too. I have a few people that are interested in reading it so hopefully it will come back to me each time so I can share it again.

This book is not available at amazon.com which I thought was weird. I found it at my local Barnes and Noble store in the teens section. Here is a link to Barnes and noble.com Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
It can also be found on Ebay.

It's worth the read!

I'm going to start reading the second book in the traveling pants series soon but I kinda got into a new book that's been hanging out around here for too long. The Red Hat Club by Haywood Smith. See the link on my side bar. This is also one of my bookcrossing books. I guess I'm straying from my normal comfort zone of Mystery books to read some books about friends. I don't know why.