Work it, girl.

That's what I've been doing for almost four months now. Thanks to my fabulous trainer Alison at Catalyst Fitness, I've lost about 15 pounds, lots of inches all over, and have finally decided that I can moderately tolerate enjoy working out on a regular basis.

I love Catalyst because its a six month program, and I felt like I could do anything for just six months. I am surprised how the time has flown! I do two weight workouts with Alison each week, and attempt to do three cardio workouts on my own (since honesty is the best policy, let's go ahead and admit that some weeks I do better than others on the cardio). I also have an easy to follow meal plan that doesn't tell me exactly what I have to eat (because no one's the boss of me!).

If you want a great workout and real results, check Catalyst out! You can find them on Facebook or click the link above. I am already excited about achieving my first goals and setting some new ones for my second tour. Can you believe I am actually considering continuing working out? That crap about workout endorphins and blah, blah, blah must actually be true. Humph.

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend...

...but mani-pedis are pretty swell, too. Planning on getting one tonight.

Here are some of my other favorite ways to relax:

Shopping. A stroll through Target and TJMaxx can cure many kinds of yuckiness. (You don't have to buy anything, but it is recommended for full relaxation).

Reading. As recommended by my awesome book club, of course.

Friends. Curling up in my bed with Santo and turning on my favorite TV show is free (you know, now that the 10 season box set is purchased), and not much beats it.

What is your favorite way to relax?

they're like moms, only grander.

GiGi. Grannie. Gram. Grandma. Nona. Grandmother. Nana.

Whatever you call these women, they are awesome. My Nana passed away when I was four, so I didn't get too many memories with her, but my Grannie was a huge part of my life. We had too many fun times together to count. Getting ice cream, going to McDonald's for old ladies club, getting pulled over for speeding, and shopping until we dropped, to name a few. My Grannie taught my about living life to the fullest and being a generous person in all ways.

Delaney is blessed to have two awesome grandmothers. They both adore her in every way. And have I mentioned that these women never.get.TIRED. How do they do that? Delaney wears me out after a Saturday together, yet either of them manage to keep her all week, keep house, do errands, work in the garden (I'll let you guess which one that is), all without breaking a sweat. AMAZING!

Some day in many, many, MANY years (since Delaney won't be dating until at least 30), I hope to be as great of a grandma as these two are. Love you, Grannie & Grandma!

Out of the mouths of babes.

A few months ago I signed up to start teaching Sunday School. There is a (somewhat) new program at our church called the ROCK, and they had been recruiting teachers during service announcements. The still, small voice in my head kept telling me to do it, but since teaching is not one of my strong suits, although I aspire to do it, so I ignored the voice. (Note to self and others reading: that never works. God really knows how to pierce through all the noise and get you.)

Anyway, I began with first graders, which I loved. Then some of the classes combined and moved, and I now have the joy of being with the third and fourth graders. They are so much fun and amazingly insightful and smart. I have enjoyed getting to know the kids and getting to meet some more parents that I didn't know around the church as well.

This week, our lesson was on pride. I don't consider myself a very prideful person, although we all have our moments. But the lesson pointed out a new spin on pride that I'd never considered before. When we put ourselves down and think poorly of our life/talents/blessings, its like saying that God didn't do a good job putting us together. This has really resonated with me this week.

Undoubtedly, I am learning more from studying my lessons and teaching the kids than they are learning from me, but I hope they are taking something valuable home as well. Each of the kids had to list 3 talents they could thank God for, and they all came up with three quickly. I know a lot of talented adults who would have trouble naming three great things about themselves (myself included on some days). The faith of a child is a beautiful thing, and we might learn a lot more as adults if we looked at life in the same way. At least I have.

Monday, Monday.

Mondays are usually a little crazy around our house. So let's relive the weekend instead, shall we?

We had a lot of fun this weekend! Friday night I am proud to say I was in bed by 9pm. Other than the fact that my early bedtime was due to a migraine, all that sleep was glorious. Simply glorious.

Saturday morning one of my friends came over and brought her adorable little boy. We had not gotten to get together since this handsome little guy was born! He is such a cutie and Delaney had fun checking him out and touching gently (feet only to keep those "toddler" germs at bay!)(Can't believe my kid is considered a "toddler" now!)

Saturday afternoon Delaney & I ran some errands, played, and napped until Daddy got home from work. That evening, we went over to visit Grannie & Pop and have a delicious meal at their house. Mom is feeling a lot better and was able to get out some this weekend. Yay!Sunday after church, our friends the VanSickles came over to visit and bring Gavin to play for a little while. He and Delaney were hilarious together and kept us laughing with their crazy antics. These two are so much fun!

We ended the weekend with some time at Grandma and Grandpa's house with another great meal and card playing. Delaney was such a good girl and allowed us to play cards for quite a little while as she played with all of her toys.

All in all, it was a great weekend with lots of family time, friend time, and a little relaxation time Sunday evening. I love weekends!

When in doubt, pray.

One of my favorite Bible verses is:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Phil. 4:13

I am praying for this strength, and some superhuman strength for myself too, to get through this busy, busy week. I know He will get me through, so I can slow down a bit, and get back to the normal humdrum (yeah, right) business of working, mommy-ing, wife-ing, and of course, blogging.

Weekend? Don't mind if I do.

It's Friday, and I am SO excited about all this weekend has in store!

First, we are headed to celebrate this little man's BIG first birthday!

Then, we're headed to our friends' home for dinner. Haven't seen them in a while, and can't wait to catch up!

After church on Sunday, my mom and I have a Sunday Funday planned. Maybe manicures, a movie, and some shopping? Whatever we do, we always have a blast together.

Hope your weekend plans include some fun too!

Twitt-ah.

Do any of my lovely readers tweet? I did as a fleeting attempt to be cool when Twitter was a new thing. I quickly realized that I did not have enough time/patience/interesting things to say to really succeed at tweeting, so I pulled the plug.

Am I the only one who is mildly annoyed that every.single.TV show now has a hash tag at the bottom something along the lines of #sitaroundandtypeaboutourshowbecauseitrules. Seriously, do that many people use Twitter? I know, I know, the answer is yes. But I'm not one of them.

Am I missing out? I feel like I pretty much already spend my precious evening time on the interwebs reading Facebook and writing witty blogs for you. So there really isn't any need to add another form of social media to my life.

Until, of course, Delaney has her own Twitter account and I have to keep up with her. Le sigh.

The future's so bright, ya gotta wear shades.

We have been making some preparations and planning to start saving for Delaney's future (i.e. The college education that we'll need to pay for. You know, before the fabulous wedding to the total handsome prince. Yikes.) But I digress.

One of the questions asked of us is what school we want to plan for. WOAH. While I realize this is for planning purposes and not at all like we're signing some contract to send her somewhere in 18 years, I still suddenly see us driving away from her new dorm room and me melting down in the car (wonder if my mom did that?)

What dreams do I have for Delaney? Before she was born (or even conceived), Andrew and I would talk about what things she would do, if she would be smart like mommy, or athletic like daddy (we're still hoping for a perfect combo of both). Would she play softball? volleyball? dance? be a Future Problem Solver? Yes, that's a real thing, and I was one. Booyah.

As she grows though, it seems to matter less what things she'll do and what hobbies she'll have. It's more fun to watch her develop her own personality. For the record, her fascination with kicking things and running over to them only to kick them again seems to foreshadow a lot of time at the soccer fields.

What is important to me is to instill in Delaney a love and respect for her family, to foster her Christian faith, and to teach her the morals, values, and traditions that mean so much to our family. So whether she is artistic or athletic; goes to Belmont, MTSU, or somewhere across the country, she can take the things we've taught her with her on her life journey. I can't wait to see where life takes her.

11 months.

As of July 2nd, Delaney is 11 months old. Can we just pause for a second in shock and awe? How did my baby get so OLD? And, when did she turn into a little girl? She is still a baby to me of course, but she walks, babbles, has likes and dislikes, and seems so much like a big girl to me now. Her personality is so great. She loves to laugh, she is always cracking herself up (and us, naturally). Dancing is another favorite activity. She turns the drum beat on the keyboard she has and bounces up and down. It is too cute! She loves all types of food also. It is a lot of fun giving her new choices all the time. We are looking forward to moving to cow's milk next month. Our girl is the greatest joy of our lives, and we love her so much. She has added so much love into our already happy home. I can't imagine my life without this precious little punk!

weekend time!

Here's hoping that your weekend (and mine) involves some of my favorite summertime things:

Yummy grilled foods!

Delicious beverages!

Swimming on a hot day!

Hope your weekend is fabulous!

Stupid cancer.

As most of my blog follower faithful (all 3 of you) probably already know, my mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery and some radiation, she is going to be fine, but this is definitely a scary situation for her and our family. My mom is our caretaker, so being a patient is not something she is used to. We will be so thrilled when August is over and all her treatments are behind us! Mom is a strong, courageous woman and she is going to do great as she fights this little obstacle. Today Mom is going for an MRI to take one more closer look at everything before her surgery. We know God is going to protect and heal her, but your prayers for healing, strength, and patience are all appreciated. I love you Mom!!

Mrs. Fix It.

I'm not that handy around the house. Unless, of course, you count holding down the couch and witty banter as handy. Which I do. I kid, I kid. Anywhoo, yesterday I had a quick, child-free hour after work, which I used to whip around the house like a tornado and pick up the ever accumulating mail, toys, and laundry. Go me! Since I had a little time after my chores, I decided to make a call to Keurig's customer service line to try and fix our coffee maker. The little machine had worked like a dream and been all the hubs could wish for, but then mysteriously stopped working a couple of weeks ago. After the customer service lady asked for my name, address, blood type, and a DNA sample, she asked if I had a paperclip. So away I went to fetch such a tool. After returning, I followed her painfully scripted instructions to poke said paperclip into about 80,000 places on the Keurig, take apart the K cup holder, and a few final pokes and prods. Voila! The thing starts brewing. Unfortunately, I don't drink coffee and my darling husband isnt't a fan of the non-fresh, microwave version, that cup had to be sacrificed to the drain. But, I got the self-proclaimed Mrs. Fix It title, at least until the next thing breaks. Isn't ownership of small appliances grand? Now, to get some of those hot chocolate K cups.

But you don't have to take my word for it.

Kudos to you if you got the Reading Rainbow reference in the title above. I love to read. Although I sometimes quit reading for weeks during which I waste all my precious nightly quiet time on Facebook, once I get back into a book I am usually pretty engrossed until I finish it. My BFF and I have a super-elite book club, and that's how I get most of my best reads. Lately, though, I also spend a lot of time reading books with little chew marks on the corners. No, the dogs haven't gone awry. Delaney loves books! Reading books, chewing books, and looking at books. She is a book monster, and I couldn't be happier about that! I read to her before she was born and we read a lot now as well. She loves picking out a book from Grannie's shelf or her book basket at home and walking it over to you to read. She is such a great talker and I know a lot of that has come from reading (and, let's face it, also from great motor-mouth genes). I hope Delaney continues to love reading as she gets older. Otherwise, what else am I going to do with the entire set of Babysitters Club books that my mom made me save for my daughter?

Let freedom ring.

from here

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Fourth of July! We will be swimming, eating, spending time with friends and family, and giving thanks for our great nation!