Awesome Sunrise

This morning sunrise was unreal. Hello, Monday! It was so bright that my camera had trouble focusing. I have to say this is the brightest sunrise I have seen here

Windshield Photo by #1 Son

40 by 40 Jan 21-28

I am back. Are you tired of these posts yet? There was a linky on Frugal Dad to another blog, Bripblap detailing 101 ways to lose 100 pounds. The author had lost 100 pounds. I thought it was really insightful and maybe the kick in the pants to keep putting one foot in front of another. Sometimes that is all you can do.

Walking is the gateway drug for exercise.

quote from two peas in a bucket

# of Steps taken this week -53,064 steps

# of Steps taken this year - 293,957 steps

End Weight this week-233 lbs - Yeah me!

Send Some LOVE

It is tradition for me to send out Valentine's. Some people do Christmas cards but I do Valentine Cards. I like to have my Valentines remailed from Loveland, Colorado. Loveland aka the Sweetheart City is my hometown. Your Valentine's get the VIP treatment. They get a fancy cachet. The cachet has a unique verse every year. The one picture above is for this year.

Here is the 441 on how to get your Valentine a special Cachet. Enclose one or more addressed envelopes with the proper postage in a larger first class envelope and mail it to:

Postmaster

Attn: Valentines

446 E 29th

Loveland CO 80538-9998

They must be received by February 9th in order to get the special cachet and get forwarded to your Valentine.

Squirrel Moment # 998

Don't laugh, I got those Squirrel Underwear as a Christmas Present. OK, laugh with me. LOL Ever heard of a Squirrel Moment?

Squirrel Moment - random though or idea not related to what is currently being discussed or related to the current situation

On Saturday, we visited the Police Memorial in Lakewood, Washington for the 4 Slain Police Officers. The memorial was outside the Forza Coffee Shop. We went in to have some coffee. The wait was a long time. This is where my squirrel moment happens. A man was reading/studying a Clinical Neurology textbook . The whole time I was thinking to myself, "The book he is reading isn't big enough to cover Clinical Neurology." It appeared to be a slender paperback textbook. Inside, I was secretly freaking out at the size of the book. Once again thinking to myself, "Please tell me that he has more books for this subject." My friend Ms Smarty Pants has a bona fide Medical mystery going on in her life. (Sorry Chica) She has visited several neurologist. None of them have been able to really figure out exactly what is going on for her. It is very frustrating. So I start thinking to myself, "This sure explains a lot of their gaps in their knowledge. " So instead of thinking about the Police Officers, the late Coffee, the other patrons. I was fixated on clinical neurology. So there you have my squirrel moment.

Lakewood Police Officer Memorial

On Saturday, we visited the memorial in Lakewood, Washington for the 4 Police Officers shot November 29, 2009. There are actually two memorials. We visited the one outside Forza Coffee Shop where the incident actually occurred. We also had coffee at Forza.

I really liked the quote from the Chief of the Lakewood Police Department. I don't believe Police Officers go out looking for danger. There very job daily puts them in harms way. These Officers were just doing their duty.

Photo by #1 SON

I find it ironic that the perpetrator of this crime name is more well remembered than the actual Officers names.

Photo by #1 Son

No Tape, No Staple Valentine Garland

I found the idea for this on 4 Crazy Kings. I think it is genuis. Of course, I had to give it a go. It was a lot of cutting but it turned out cute. Just a little heart overload at my house.

40 by 40 - Jan 14 - Jan 20

This past week has been a struggle. Losing my dog stunk. The weather stunk for walking. This week was all about putting one foot in front of another. I read a interesting blog entry at Abundance Blog that talked about the power of little changes. I am still walking and wearing my pedometer. It is the start of my little change.

total steps walked - 59,088 steps - SAD

average number of steps - 8, 441 steps

total steps walked - 240,893 steps

ending weight - 235.5

More Heart Art

I decided to give yarn heart and tissue paper hearts a go. The Diva and I experimented with these.

I thought the tissue hearts were genius. They did take a long time to dry. This was a pretty easy project to do with kids. I love that it was with all stuff I had on hand. The other project, the yarn heart, once I got the raffia covered floral wire was an easier project to complete. It is possible with regular floral wire but the yarn really slips around.

This is a more advanced project for a child. Pictured below is the Diva's projects combined.

Directions for yarn heart and tissue paper heart were found at Family Chic Blog

Ode to Buzz

We had to put down our dog, Buzz, of 12 years yesterday. That is hard stuff. My kids wanted me to do a post on Buzz. Buzz was named after Buzz Lightyear from the movie "Toy Story". His Mom was Ariel and his brother was named Hercules.

Buzz as a Puppy

Buzz is a California dog and wasn't too thrilled when we moved to the Pacific Northwest with rain and snow. He didn't like his paws wet. Buzz was a lover. IF he loved you, you would get leaned on. Ever had 100 + pound dog lean on you. He usually had a special whine just for those he especially loved. Buzz was my Hubby's first dog as well as my kids. Buzz had lots of friends in the neighborhood. Buzz liked to go on rides except to the vet. His picture until a couple weeks ago was on our County Library Homepage. I had entered his picture in the library photo contest a couple of years back. The picture is below.

We couldn't of asked for a better family dog. He was the best darn dog in the world to us. He will be missed.

40 by 40 Jan 7-14th

As promised here is a little update. Here is all about my 40 by 40 project.I feel like the Post Office - Not snow or sleet will prevent me from getting my steps done. Though walking or pacing my house is pretty boring.

Steps walked: 82,100 steps

total steps walked this year -181,805 steps

weight on Jan 7 -239 lbs

weight on Jan 14 - 235 lbs- WAHOO!

Has anyone else seen or read Alison Sweeney's diet book called, "The Mommy Diet". I saw her being interviewed on the The Talk. Yeah, I got that kind of time - LOL

Heart Love

It is starting to look a lot like Valentine's around here. Hey, I grew up in Loveland, Colorado aka The Sweetheart City and my parent's anniversary is on Valentine's Day. It isn't too early to decorate day for this holiday. I wanted to make a Heart Garland. This is what I came up with.

This is knock off Martha. It was a lot harder than anticipated. I am "OK" with it

The Diva decorated my sliding door.

Book it 2011- January

I am a little late to this party. Check out what others are reading at Life as Mom for Book it 2011. The book for this month is The Happiness Project. I read this in December and my review is here. Check back to Life as a Mom on February 10th for posts from others reviewing The Happiness Project. I am doing the read what you want track this month for January. So far, I have read The Telling by Beverly Lewis and I am working on a couple other selections as well. I hope to share that on February 11th.

Here is my upcoming reading list and what I plan to read along with the Ladies as Part of Book it 2011.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - March 10
Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois - April 10
The Help by Kathryn Stockett - August 10
The Reluctant Entertainer by Sandy Coughlin - November 10

Just a little message

Chuckles just wanted to send out a little "I love you" message to his Nonna recovering from surgery and his Grandpa Frank who has been way under the weather.

Pineapple Carrot Bread

I defrosted my freezer this weekend bit not really by choice. I found that door didn't get all the way shut. It is times like this I wish I had a freezer alarm. Lucky for me that it didn't contain much meat. The freezer mainly had bread, butter, freezer jam, and berries. I also had this delicious frozen Pineapple Carrot Bread. So this weekend, we have been snacking on this. When I make quick bread that makes two loaves, we freeze 1 loaf. It great way to spread out the goodness and stock up your freezer.

This recipe is from Backyard Living Magazine. I love that the caption says, "it's nutritious and economical." This tastes a lot like carrot cake.

Pineapple Carrot Bread

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can ( 8oz) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained

1 cupped chopped pecans or walnuts

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, optional

1/ to 1 1/2 teaspoons milk, optional

In a large bow, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs; add carrots, oil, pineapple, nuts and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon into two greased and floured 8 in x 4 in x 2 loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely. If desired combine confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over loaves. Yield: 2 loaves

*** I have been leaving out the nuts and I have never used done the glaze, either.

LEGO loot

Oh my word, Chuckles made out like a bandit on Lego Loot. We could open a Lego Store, seriously. Santa brought him Lego Creationary.

That was an enormous hit and enjoyed by the adults too. Along with the mandatory Lego Kits. He also got the Lego Contraption Book. Some of these creations were a touch on the hard side but he really enjoyed putting together the various things. I was able to get free with Swagbucks.

He also got a Lego Clock/CD/Radio from his Nonna and Pappy.

His Aunt, Polyester Princess, gave him a Lego wrist watch. This is the Darth Vader One. Chuckles was one lucky guy.

40 by 40

This post is about my journey to lose 40 lbs by my 40th Birthday. Well, I started. That counts. I have been wearing my pedometer, faithfully. I haven't even dropped it in to the toilet. I guess that happens but it hasn't happened to me. So here is the skinny or fat as they say.

THE GOOD

number of steps taken since Jan 1 = 99,705

average number of steps per day =16,617

THE BAD
(Yes, I am going to post the real weights. It is whatit is. If this kind of truth makes you uncomfortable don't read these posts)

starting weight as of 1 Jan=238

weight today=239

It was cold but not wet at the beginning of the week. Mrs Epi has been walking me to death. Now it is cold and wet so Wednesday and Thursday were a challenge. When wearing a pedometer the challenge is to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. I have been meeting that goal. Now, I need to work on the eating part of this challenge. It is disappointing to walk so much and really not have a darn thing to show for it. It just goes to prove that it is both DIET and EXERCISE.

The Biggest Loser started this week. As much as it hurts to admit this, I could be a candidate for this show. Another show that starts Jan 17 on A&E called Heavy. I guess this is similar to the Biggest Loser without the competition aspect but more of a documentary.

Back to Regular Scheduled Programing

FIRST OFF I did not win the MEGA MILLIONS. Yes, the Giant Man Child bought tickets. Hey, the first step to winning is to buy a ticket. I just had to get that off my chest.

Back to school and back to work. There is some bloggy business to take care of. I plan on taking part in both tracks of Book it 2011 at Life as Mom. Details are here. The first book is The Happiness Project. I have already read that book so for this month I will be on the choose your own book track. Look for my post on February 10th.

Anyone else doing the one little word (OLW) with Ali Edwards? My little word is ACT. Here is the list of words people are using for their OLW. Here is the reading of the words.

Also part of my New Year Resolution and my new weight loss goals, I am going to be posting weekly how that is going. These posts be labeled 40 by 40 posts. Hopefully this will keep me accountable and motivated. We shall see. I will be detailing how my little goals are going. I will doing this on hopefully every Friday.

Of course, I will be detailing all my thrift adventures or should I say my misadventures with Mrs Epi. We went thrifting yesterday in our favorite city and got nothing. There wasn't even anything worth getting. It was very disappointing.

Things that make you go hmmm...

This house has been under some kind of construction FOREVER. This past spring the total house got raised.This picture just doesn't do it justice. The front actually has a clock in the tower. All locals have to say is ,"Do you know the house on Main Street." It reminds me of a cover of one of my son's books.

It makes me want to ask, "What the heck is going on here." To top it off the City is widening and fixing the sewer in front of the house. Traffic ended up stopped right in front of this house sometimes. People just can't help but gawk. I have to get a better front picture.

40 by 40

One of my goals for the New Year is to lose 40 pound by age 40. This coming year I turn 40. Yikes! Last year at the beginning of the year, I was pretty successful at losing some weight. I joined Curves and did the Flat Belly Diet. Then my Curves closed and I got off track. Since my 39th Birthday, I have been talking about this so now it is time to execute the plan. This is all about taking care of Mama as another blogger explained.

While at my parent's house, I was reading their AARP magazine. There was a great article about making some little changes. So this month is all about the little changes. One of the little changes I am doing is walking more. I have strapped on the old pedometer and I am making a concentrated effort to walk more. Yes, I've got on my old lady walking shoes. Diet tricks from AARP. I know from past experience that making little changes is better for me.

I hope to update every Friday.

One Little Word

A lot more ACTION and a lot less talk

In what has become a New Year Tradition, I have chosen a new one little word(OLW) for 2011. For more information about one little word visit Ali Edwards Blog. My word for 2011 is ACT. I like to research and research but there is a point where action or one needs to act. There is several areas in my life I need to act on such as my weight. More to follow on that later. I love the simplicity of one little word over a resolution.