It was wonderful!!!

It was a wonderful turn out last night for Mike’s going away/good luck dinner. Really it was awesome. 15 people were there and the only missing was one of our best friends and they’ll be stopping by to see Mike next week. The food was excellent, the company was better and the feelings were the greatest. I took some phone pictures to share with you this morning and Kim took some with her camera that I’ll post when she sends them to me. I just had to share this morning. I got teary eyed only once but it was contagious with one of my long time daycare mamas and Mike’s first daycare baby and that was a bit hard but it also showed me I am not alone in Mike heading off. They too will miss him lots.

So here’s my pictures and more to come later on.

 

 

Thank you my friends for making Mike feel so special and knowing that he will be missed but that we all are so very proud of him!

Blessing to you all. Have a great and awesome weekend.

A $10.00 gift card from sneakpeeq

Have you ever heard of SNEAKPEEQ? The largest and fastest growing social shopping company on Facebook. They have over 600 brand partners and want to spread the word about the amazing products.When it comes to the Healthy and Wise, NOT…but Learning/sneakpeeq giveaway, everybody wins! sneakpeeq is giving away 20% off your next purchase just for entering, plus a chance at the Grand Prize: one winner will receive a $10 gift card to use on your favorite food, style and home products—that goes a long way in sneakpeeq’s amazingly low-priced boutiques!
Come see all the things you love but haven’t discovered. sneakpeeq only has New Products that you have never seen before!
Enter the giveaway by clicking on this link: sneakpeeq and joining sneakpeeq! All winners will be announced on my blog on May 1st, 2012

So you have to click on  sneakpeeq …only sneakpeeq works because it’s a special link from my blog to them so click on sneakpeeq… There is one rule, it’s only good for in the US.

Hey $10.00 of free money to buy something you’d really like, it’s a good free idea. Go check out their site and see if you’re interested in entering. It’s a very unique experience, especially if you’re a facebook fan.

The giveaway will start today and go through April 31st and then on May 1st I will announce the winner. Give it a try, see what you think. ENJOY!!!

Blessings!!

Wanted Fitbit…

Does anyone have one they have outgrown, not using, upgraded from?

I so don’t want to backslide, gain weight, or any of those things and I have read so much about the Fitbit I would so love to give it a try. I found one at REI and with Mike’s discount and savings I can get one for $80.00 plus shipping and right now that’s out of my budget.

So figured it sure wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Take care my friends. Blessings!!

Please explain…

Why the dentist has to cost so much? Why our regular healthy insurance can’t cover dentistry?

Mike broke off a tooth and tomorrow has a dentist appointment. I asked just for an estimate, $600.00. WHAT!!! Mike leaves for school in 10 days and we are saving every single penny to get him there, set up and then he has to wait 3 weeks before his living check comes in. OUCH!!! 

Oh well at least it happened here at home and not in 10 days when he’s in a new place.

Hope you’re having a great day. It’s cold and was snowing this morning, now sunny but windy and still cold. Minnesota, shorts one weekend winter coats the next week.

Blessings everyone!

Pictures and more…

If this was growing on my house I would die. Jim and I went for a walk and found this on our neighbors cabin. I wanted to knock it down before the bees returned but since it’s been warm and we’ve seen a bee here and there Jim thought just maybe it was slightly active and he wasn’t about to touch it.

Wilbur goes where ever I go and Jim and I took a cart ride last night and he went with. He sits on my legs and “looks out the front window”. No window, I know but there’s only two seats on our cart and he likes to sit in one but I’m not about to sit in the back so I sit down and tell him to look out the window.

   

 

An experiment. It’s only April and this is Minnesota and really we are suppose to have snow and cold still happening here but it’s not so I spent $1.78 on green pepper and tomato plants and put them into the containers up at the house. First I take home made tomato cages and wrap them in shrink wrap, I planted the little plants and watered them with warm water and covered them up. I know the black bags don’t let light in (these are lighter bags so some light but not lots), but they should keep them nice and warm and just maybe they’ll survive and thrive and produce sooner then September. We’ll see.

Found this cool idea for pussy willow prints. Just a brown marker and black ink pad and our finger. I loved how they turned out.

 

Joss and I made this while the girls got to use markers and ink. They just made from pipe cleaners and pom poms.

 

We did our eggs on Friday. Some white ones, some green and also brown but they all turned out beautiful. I love how the kids fingers look afterwards. We’ve done this now for 13 years and it never gets old. I love how they come up with colors and ideas.

Love how it takes two guys to put on one little girls shoes. Joss just hangs there while Scott puts them on and grandpa holds her.

 

Our Easter Egg hunt. Mike got home from work in time to hide them and then help them find them. Grandma and grandpa came for pizza and then the hunt.

One of our final group pictures with Mike.

 

Helping me bake cookies. I’m working on making healthier versions and Joss is my taste tester. I guess these were just fine.

I still teach Merit Badges for our local boy scout troop and one of the 10 I teach is Indian Lore. We have a great Indian museum just 40 minutes away from us so 4 adults and I took 17 scouts and they proceeded to learn some amazing information and games and more. This is one of my easier MB to teach because everything is contained at the museum except the Long House we’ll be making together at one of our upcoming meetings. Tomorrow night is one of our community services. For the past 10 years one of our elderly has a huge yard and we clean it up, plants some flowers and have a treat. It’s a great event and the kids learn to work together and why we do these things.

So there you have it, you’re caught up to date on my wee ones and what’s new and happening. There’s no school tomorrow and the kids and I are going to do a roadside pick up. We do this each spring and even though there’s just 4 wee ones and myself we’ll get it done. It’s a good learning experience and makes our part of the world a little cleaner.

Take care my friends and have a blessed evening. Happy Easter to you all!!

My mama and daddy and me…

 

 

Just had to share the most beautiful loving couple in the whole world. Oh I had to sneak in there too.

Blessings everyone.

Last E2E challenge update…

Okay so I didn’t rock this challenge like I really had planned. I turn 50 in 18 days and I wanted this challenge to bring me to the end of my journey of weight loss and I could begin my journey of maintaining. Well it didn’t happen in the weight loss part and for the running part, it’s on pause right now but not because I want it to be but because my body wants it to be. However this challenge was not a dud for me either. Thought I didn’t loss any weight…my starting weight was 175.4 and today it’s 174.4 (I lost 3.6 pounds this week but remember I gained at least 12 lbs almost right away in the beginning of the challenge), and I sure can not fit into my swimming suit (this is the littlest size 14 I have ever seen but swimming suits are suppose to be tight but still…ugh!) I used as my challenge clothes

and I can’t run a full 5K yet I have learned amazing amount of things. Here are just a few to share with you:

1. I learned when I needed something you guys were there to back me up 100% of the time.

2. I learned that it takes a community to lose weight, tone up, and get somewhere in this journey.

3. I have learned so much about different foods, different way to prepare them, about different way to afford the better foods and skip those processed goodies.

4. I learned that I can go without sugar as long as you guys are there to help me push myself through it all.

5. I’ve learned that just because I can’t run right now does not mean I am a failure and that I need to get up. I just have to reset my mind to the beginning and keep going.

6. I’ve learned that you guys are so awesome and I have formed some great and special friendships and am truly blessed from here to eternity.

7. I learned that this journey will not be ending any time soon and as much as I had hoped my 50th birthday would mark something amazing (other then getting a tad older) it will mark the continuing journey to getting to the new me, to getting to be healthy, wealthy and wise.

I started with 3 books, 2 about running and 1 about getting older. Well that getting older one…it’s not for me right now. The Marathon books was awesome and so fun and I loved it. The complete book of Women’s Running is a bit above me right now so I will hang on to it and read it later on. The book I’m in love with is:

I have learned so much about life from this book and learning to center oneself, learning to survive and learning to become the better me for not just me but for family, friends and the most important Christ.

So my waist started at 39” and ended at 37.5 and my total inches from the beginning to now (which included my bust, waist, hips, arms and thighs) was 166” and now is 159 so I did come down, I did change some but not nearly as much as I had planned but you know what, it’s okay. Life here has been interesting and I’m learning to deal with all the new stuff, the sick ones, the kid going to college, learning to love and so much other stuff that really I am no a failure like I thought for a while.

My calories are suppose to be near 1500 a day and since I have been horrible at journaling I couldn’t tell you where they were at but I do have to tell you I know that I get my gallon of water a day, I know that I eat much more fruits and veggies then I use to and for meat, well it’s expensive so we’ve learned other ways of getting protein in. Such as, this morning I tried something new:

Almond milk, I’ve heard about it, I’ve read about it and decided it was time (I also had a $1.00 off coupon and there was a .55 cent one on the fridge door). I hadn’t a clue what kind to get so picked the unsweetened kind. I mixed it with Carnation Instant Breakfast (sugar free of course) and Jillian Whey because I need it to last and protein lasts much longer then not adding it and for a total of 200 calories, 20 carbs, 6 fats and 21 proteins it was excellent. I added one large brown egg for 70 calories just to make sure I’m full so a total of 270 calories for breakfast and it’s good for me. Well I’m learning. Now to get rid of the breads and cereal’s….that’s gonna be hard.

I have to tell you my buddy, my friend, my supporter, my diet buddy….Casey has been wonderful. We have become friends and I don’t think we’ll let this friendship fall to the wayside. She has taught me so much and has supported me through this whole journey, she’s awesome.

 

My quote is still important to me and I will still become the runner I want to be….it’s just going to take extra time but you know what, I’m still planning on living until I’m 101 and I have seen lots and lots of older people running so I’ll just be a slow one to get there but I will.

"If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it." -Priscilla Welch

My second quote really just sums it all up:

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." --John Bingham

So my friends this challenge comes to an end and I’m going to miss reading all your lives and challenges and all. I plan on following as many as I can and I’ll be stopping back at the challenge page and clicking on the links that will take me to your blogs. But I know we’ll all be moving forward, moving on and if for some reason I miss something in your life, if I miss some super milestone, if I miss just plain you I am sorry. You all have been a huge part of this new year for me and I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for all you’ve done for me and for all your support.

Take care and have the most blessed and awesome Easter. And I hope and pray for each and everyone of you, that you reach your goals, you reach the place in life where you too are Healthy, wealthy and wise and if not, learning!!

Love to you all,

Julie

Thanks Mir for everything and Angela, WOW are you one amazing woman. Thank you both for all your support and love!