This is the year...

     Yikes! How many times have I started this blog and quickly forget about it again. I'm confident though that this time I'm here for the long haul. I AM MOTIVATED!!
     My husband's brother and his family are moving into the same apartment complex as us next month. My sister-in-law and I have gotten pretty close lately and she is pushing me to attend classes at the gym. She is accustomed to going to aerobics classes and was really excited to try Zumba. So I took her to the gym with me and signed her up for a 2 year membership. Now for the motivation part... she doesn't have a car... and she didn't have a credit card... Soooo... I need to drive her to the gym to make sure she feels its fair to pay me for her membership :D
     Saturday was our first Zumba class and it really kicked my butt. Actually I'm feeling it all in my calves today. I'm just relieved that I made it through the whole class. Now to make it fair to my SIL who is only interested in classes I agreed to 3 classes a week. Between getting her son to school in the morning and me getting to work at noon, we can make it to 2 morning Zumba classes and a Step class. Every other day I want to hit the weights and work on my upper body. Tuesday my SIL has an appointment to meet with a trainer and hopefully she will enjoy it and be my push to go on those days too.
    It's late tonight and I have my first Step class tomorrow, so fingers crossed, that I can stand 4.5hrs at work after taking this class.


   

My Memories: "Bucket List" Challenge

It's SO nice to be scrapbooking again! I'm kind of struggling to get the creative juices flowing again though. This layout took me almost 6 hours to put together because I didn't like the way it was coming together. I'm looking forward to Sunday nights Speed Scrap to help give me some focus. This is my entry for this weeks Wednesday weekly Challenge over at MyMemories Blog.

 Background- Fall Plaids by StoryRock

Journal Tab & Note- Brandon of Summer of Our Lives by StoryRock

Bubbles- Bath Time Bubble Fun by StoryRock

Day 3

235.2 (+0.7 gain)

The scale wasn't very nice with me this morning with a gain... It could be the popcorn... or the fact that I had a big loss of 3.1 lbs on day 2. Who knows? Either way I didn't let it get me down and stayed positive all day. I have to admit that I did cheat a little today... I couldn't bring myself to get out from under the warm blankets and make my lunch, so I peeked around the fridge and found some hot fudge and had a spoonful. Afterwards I threw away the bottle as well as the strawberry topping to avoid any temptation.

I lounged on the couch all morning until my honey came home from work and then I made my lunch. Nothing fancy, just some hamburger and lettuce with 1/2 a grapefruit. Yeah... I definately craved some variety so I got online and did some searching for some blogs and came across HCG Diet Journey. She has some great recipes and advice. So off to Walmart I went and picked up a few days worth of items.

I could hardly wait to try out the Chicken Salad recipe. (Chicken, celery and an apple) It was SO much crunchy goodness that I look forward to having it again soon. Although I can hardly wait to see what other recipes I might like.

Here's hoping to good numbers on the scale tomorrow morning!!!

• 4 bottles of water
• 1 cup of black tea
• 1 cup of oolong tea
• 1 cup of chamomile tea
• Spoonful of hot fudge (Oops!)
• Hamburger with lettuce
• 1/2 a grapefruit
• 1 melba toast
• 3 oz chicken with diced celery and apple
• 2 chocolate calcium chews

R2P2D2

234.6 (-3.1 lbs lost)

Today is Day 2 of Phase 2 of Round 2. I started the day off with a 3.1 lb loss and was on top of the world. I'm thankful to have a great day like that to help keep me on track. Unfortunately I've been really hungry today. I don't know if it's just the beginning of this diet that my body is adjusting or if my dose is off because this is a different brand than what I previously used.

I started the day off with a bottled water and 2 cups of black tea. For lunch I ate the other half of the grapefruit that I left from yesterday and had my wonderful sweetheart grilled me a chicken breast on the George Foreman with a side of spinach leaves. It's SO boring! I only drizzles some garlic flavored red wine vinegar with garlic salt for flavor.

I had a tiny itty bit of motivation today and started my Tae Bo workout but got interupted after only 5 minutes and I never went back to it. Exercising isn't exactly recommended with this diet because of the low amount of calories that are on the diet. It does recommend 1 hour of walking though outdoors. Just today my honey said that he wanted to start going back to the park and running and it will be the perfect opportunity to get my walks in. I am planning on starting my wii game Walk It Out again for the days that I don't go outdoors.

Today has been a really cold day and we've been bundled up watching movies all day long. Not doing anything to occupy my mind off of food I caved in a little and had some air popped popcorn with a little flavored seasonings. Mmmm Nacho Cheese is my favorite! And another bottled water to wash down the dry popcorn.

Between movies we got up and played a little tennis on the wii :( I totally got my butt kicked, but completely glad to squeeze in some movement into this sedantary day. The popcorn did leave me feeling a bit guilty. I stayed on track with my dinner and had shrimp over chopped lettuce with again the garlic red wine vinegar and garlic salt. I saved my apple for a half hour after as a little sweet treat paired up with a chocolate calcium chew. Yummy!

I finished the night off with 2 cups of Oolong Tea and a bottled water with Crystal Light added to it. I'm hoping that I'll be okay to sleep the night through since I stopped drinking at 9:30pm and I probably won't go to bed until at least 11:30.

I'm excited to see the scale tomorrow!!

• 3 bottles of water
• 2 cups of black tea
• 2 cups of oolong tea
• 1/2 grapefruit with stevia
• 3oz chicken breast with spinach
• 3 cups of air popped popcorn
• 13 pieces of shrimp with lettuce
• 3/4 apple with 1 chocolate calcium chew

The Magazines are Taking Over

     I can't believe how many magazines I've accumulated free each month. I was saving all the fitness ones and the crafty ones but they were taking over space. I am trying to fight the clutter in my house but I have SO much stuff stockpiled that it's a fine line between stockpiling and hoarding. I just couldn't throw them all out though. I had a really hard time with that idea so I went through every single magazine and ripped out all the recipes that I liked and articles I wanted to spend more time reading, or anything with a website I want to check out.
     I got a mini laundry basket filled and I just have the Shape & Weight Watchers magazine left to sort. I got burnt out so I'm calling it quits for a bit. I put an ad on Craigslist thinking that there's a teacher or someone that could use these for making collages or something and I got a mother that is homeschooling her kids that will use them for that purpose.
     Now I just need to organize all those cut out pages. Ahh the cycle never stops but at least the clutter is majorly cut down in size.

My Bathroom



     In my search for inspiration to perfect the inner domestic goddess in me (hee hee) I follow a lot of blogs that share ideas for organizing and decluttering your home, one of my favorites is Organizing Junkie. Last week she had a post, Finding a System, that just made me so excited to implement myself. She contained her bathroom beauty products with a shoe organizer. Yeah I know! Genius right? 

     After reading this I searched online to order one but just wasn't ready to commit... I kind of wanted it NOW and didn't want to pay extra for the delivery. So yesterday that my honey wanted to take me shopping I was on the look out for this shoe organizer.

     Burlington's Coat Factory sent me a coupon for $10 off of $20 or more so that was our first stop. The store around the corner had a really pretty blue floral print one for $6 and I was happy. I also wanted to pick up a shower curtain because my bathroom was looking pretty plain. I just bought new towels a few weeks ago from JCPenny's and changed the color theme. And I found a curtain that I just had to have, it was SO different from the others... but it was out of stock.
     My sweetheart was TOTALLY awesome and was up for trying another Burlington's in Southern Vegas. And... they were out of stock there too. So I bought a different style and pouted a little. They also didn't have the shoe organizer I wanted in blue but they had a clear one that I bought.
   So what does this amazing man of mine say to me? "Let's try another store" Yep I'm going to marry this man that gets me so well. So off to the store in the West side of Las Vegas. Strike three. Determined not to leave without a resolution I spoke to the store manager and bought the floor model. Best part is that I got it for $4.99. SCORE! And the day just got better by going to 2 other stores that I posted about earlier.

     Made with designs included in My Memories Suite software.

Retail Therapy

     Today was my honey's day off and being the GREAT guy that he is he took me out shopping. Does this guy get me or what?

    

     We hit all the great stores today!  At Ross I picked up some great big coffee cups, they're twice the size of the ones I have now. And red to match Juan's rooster theme he wants for our kitchen *insert eye roll* LOL

Also at Ross my honey spotted the Biggest Loser Glass Nutritional Scale for only $13.99!! (This is on Amazon for $48) I've trained my honey well to spot a deal. I've about worn out the small $5 scale I got from Walmart. This is the neatest scale. It will measure your food and then tell you how many calories, fat and other nutrient values are in this food.

At T.J. Maxx we scored a great deal on salt and pepper grinder for $8. We just returned our last pepper grinder to Kohls after only lasting 3 weeks. I'm hoping these will be a little more durable for 1/2 the price of our last.

Last but not least was Burlington Coat Factory I picked up a shower curtain and shoe organizer, but more on those purchases in another post.

All in all it was a pretty good day out but then again any day out shopping is usually a good time.

My grandmother passed away this morning...

Background and Embellishments- Long Time Ago by Rebel Without A Pause 

My Birthday Dinner

     My brother-in-law had to work for my birthday but wanted to take me out for a belated birthday dinner. So back to Freemont St we went for Prime Rib specials at the Four Queens casino. And of course the boys had to try out the home-brewed beer... AND of course get it in a 50 oz souveneir glass. :D

  Background & Embellishments- Blooming Hearts by Let Me Scrapbook!

Happy Birthday to Me!

     Yikes! It was my 31st birthday yesterday. I had planned on having a party with family but I was a little out of the party mood with the news of my grandmother. All day home alone with a few updates from family of the condition of my grandmother I really needed a distraction. When my honey got home we decided to get dressed up and see where we could find to celebrate my birthday. After all people travel from all over to celebrate their birthdays here and I should be enjoying Las Vegas for the time that we're living here.
     We got dolled up and headed to the strip to check out the deals at Half Price Tickets for the night. I have always wanted to see Tony N' Tina's Wedding dinner show but I did my research with Yelp.com before heading out. Their reviews were not so hot but I came across Marriage can be Murder and they had 4.5 stars. So I was very excited to see that VIP tickets were $53 at the Half Price Tickets!
     Oh man the show was GREAT!! We were called on and picked on through out the whole show SO much that we were voted as possible murder suspects. It was just the greatest experience that I can hardly wait to go again in 3 months when they change the plot and the actors.
     To end the night we walked around Freemont St and checked out all the fun performers. I met up with 2 Johnny Depp impersonators; One was The Mad Hatter and Jack Sparrow and the accent was so great with the Jack Sparrow impersonator that I had to get a photo to remember him.

Background & Embellishments- Ready to Perform by Albums to Remember; Big Birthday Fun by StoryRock;

Viva Las Vegas by Scraps N Pieces; and Christmas Traditions by Lindsay Jane

:'(

     My grandmother took a fall over her walker and broke her collar bone Saturday morning... she's only gotten worse by not eating... She's been brought home and is on medicine keeping her comfortable... but it's only a matter of days now... I'll update later :(

Embellishment- Ready to Perform by Albums to Remember & Summer Dance by 3Scrapateers

My Memories: Rememberance Challenge

     My Memories is the new digital scrapbooking software that I've become addicted to. Every Wednesday on their blog they have a theme for a scrapbooking challenge and this week with 9/11 approaching they fittingly have a challenge of Remembrance for a loved one that has passed away.
     My page is of my amazing grandfather whom I miss dearly. My grandfather lived a very full life into his 90's... Wow, it's tough to write about him. I have SO many great memories growing up in my grandparents household. I can remember my grandma getting upset with me and I'd run to my grandpa who would protect me from being punished and he'd just hold me in his arms. I remember stretching out on the sofa watching TV with my head in his lap and my grandma always saying how she'd end up with my feet.... I miss you grandpa! 

Background- Vintage American Papers, Yellow Scatter- Little Yellow Canary by StoryRock

I can't find where the word art is from and I'm assuming it was with the program.

This Is Me Challenge: Challenge #21

I just stumbled on this fun blog yesterday: This Is Me Challenge. A blog that helps you "TELL YOUR STORY, YOUR WAY!" I'm so excited to go back through everything that's been previously posted and catch up. Every week there is a challenge to tell a little story of your life and this week's challenge is about sleep...
I really recommend looking at her site and checking out a few of the tip she has about getting started. It doesn't have to be digital scrapbooking, it could be journaling or one of the many suggestions she has. I'm really new to digital scrapbooking and it is really nice to have some direction on how to direct my creativity.

This is my page for this weeks challenge:

Background is Love U Berry Much by StoryRock and Black2Basics Word Art by Ettes & Company

I love my bedroom.... It's not the masterbedroom in the house but the tiny spare bedroom but... that's a story for later :D

Giveaway Winner

I guess a holiday weekend was the wrong time to host a giveaway but I have a winner....

It's All About Me- Entry

Made this with My Memories Suite. Enter my giveaway by Monday to win this digital scrapbooking software.

Do you like my new header? It only took me a quick 5 minutes to create it with My Memories Suite but a half hour to change my blog LOL. Enter my giveaway by Monday. Good luck guys!!

My First Giveaway: My Memories Suite

Yay! This is my first giveaway!!

I've never tried scrap booking much less scrapbooking software before but I've got a ton of pictures on my external hard drive just waiting for me to put some order to them. So I was thrilled when they offered me their product to try out. I kind of got in stuck mode and spent ALL DAY yesterday the past 4 days sorting through my photos and playing with this program. I got so excited with all the kits you can purchase that I've downloaded almost all the FREE kits (because that's my favorite price LOL) and I've bought a couple kits too. Here's a couple of my pages that I had auto-filled with a few of my favorite photos of myself.

Looking at the My Memories Suite You Tube videos I've learned so many neat tricks for this software Not only can you make scrapbooks maybe set it to music, you can make calendars, movies, photo albums or a DVD. I've decided I want to make calendars for everyone for Christmas. I'm really excited to try out this program more in depth but I figured I'd take time out and give you guys the chance to win your own My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software.

All New or Present Members of 31 Weeks Till 31 Years are Eligible

Join this Site with Google Friend Connect in the right side bar.

To enter you Must visit www.MyMemories.com and browse around and leave a comment on this post about your favorite scrapbooking kit.

For extra entries to the contest leave a separate comment for following My Memories:

1. Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
2. UPDATED FACEBOOK LINK- My Memories Facebook
3. Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

This giveaway will be over and a winner will be drawn Monday morning Sep 5th.

As a Bonus: My Memories Suite has offered my readers a coupon code: STMMMS73617 for a $10 discount off the purchase of My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store- $20 value!

Day 3 and 4: Just my luck

Uugh! Aunt Flo only comes to visit me a few times a year and this year it has been everytime I start working out. It drives me crazy to think that this is some viscious circle. I don't get my visit due to my weight and when I workout she comes. When she comes it puts me in a really weak state and I don't want to work out.

Yesterday I was motivated and did the Shred but I felt very dizzy. Even imagined falling into the tv I felt so off. Today was a huge struggle to find the motivation. When my honey came home for work I knew that this was going to be my final shot as he'd want to continue watching a series on Netflix so I pushed myself to get moving. I was moaning and grunting so hard he came out to spot me just to make sure I was okay.

I got through it though! I might have to install some bars in the shower next. I'm totally shakey and don't feel steady on my feet afterwards. My skin feels great as well as my pride when it is all said and done.

Tomorrow I'll be half way done with Level 1! Whoo Hoo!!

Day 2: I'm a Survivor

Day 2 complete of the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and I survived it. Starting out was tough, my arms just didn't want to raise above my head. My little kitten came out and was rubbing against me so much that I finally picked her up and used her as my weights. I could feel her purring so strongly as if she could tell I was doing something really good and it boosted my energy a little more.

Before my workout today I did a little google swagbucks search to find other bloggers who have done the 30 Day Shred and came across this one: The Casual Perfectionist She's completed the 30 days with before and after photos and just the first 3 days were very fun to read. I look forward to reading them day by day for that little bit of motivation. Tomorrow I'll look for another blog to keep me motivated. 30 days is a huge challenge for me.

Meal Plan Monday 8/22-26

This week with my E-Mealz:

• MONDAY- Left Overs


• TUESDAY- Broiled Shrimp Baja, Green Beans w/ Potatoes, Garlic Toast, Strawberries. 8


• WEDNESDAY- Orange French Toast, Turkey Sausage Link, Orange Slices 8


• THURSDAY- Onion-Dijon Pork Chops, Green Beans w/ Potatoes, Strawberries 6


• FRIDAY- Honey Mustard Chicken, Steamed Cauliflower, Lima Beans 6

For my breakfast and lunch I am having a Slim Fast shake and 3 small snacks and a ton of water. It's actually more food than I'm used to in the mornings so I think this may actually work. We'll see what this week brings to the scales though.