Sort of Boring around Here...

Hi All,

How's it going? I hope all of you are enjoying these last bits of summer. I know a couple of you have children going back to school today or tomorrow. I will not be so immature as to stick my tongue out at you.... but I am not feeling happy feelings about that!

I am VERY ready for the yellow twinkies (buses) to come and wisk my children away to educational persuits. We are ALL ready. This week is just a finish up week - very loose and sort of almost boring. There is just stuff we have to get done y'know? Geesh even this post is feeling sort of boring - sorry about that.

Below is a page out of my honeymoon mini book (6x6) and reflects what I really need right now. Just a two piece worthy body, some lovely nails, a swim up pool bar, and a tropical location (minus the hurricane would be good this time) (oh and this was taken in St. Lucia). It just seems catching a bit of quiet is hard around here. I love my children dearly, and they are smart, creative, inventive, spunky, and fun - but they are all, yes all or at least 2 of 3, LOUD. Since it stays light out here forever it has been so hard to get them to bed at a decent time. Lately it has been almost 10pm before the last "lights out or I do it for you" finally gets them to sleep. And yes, I do wake them early - but I guess not early enough. Starting Wednesday I think it's going to be 7 for Max and Ethan and 6 for Abbie (which is actually later then she can sleep during the school year). I need some down time somehow... i really do.
Tonight I hope (once again) to attempt to change over the blog to the new blogger and have more options for customizing the look. If it's down for a day or two you'll know why I guess.


Well, off to soccer practice.
Wishing you all a lovely week and the opportunity to visit a swim up pool bar near you real soon!
Love,
J

No WAY!!!!

GUESS WHAT??
GUESS WHAT??
GUESS WAAAAAAAAATTTT???

I'M IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'M ONE OF THIRTY PLAYERS FOR SWAT gym's BIGGEST LOSER (please note that videos are from last season at least for now... soon you'll see me up there!) !!! YOU ALL KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW I AM BOUNCING OFF THE BLOOMIN WALLS WITH EXCITEMENT AND HYPERNESS. WHOOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

The plan is that i am starting another blog to follow that journey - i think anyway. You'll be the first to know when i do. Definitely more later but we have running around to do this morning but i just HAD to let you know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The games begin this Wednesday. My trainer has a group of 3 and we will work out together two mornings from 5:30am - 7 and one weekend day from 11am - 1. Luckily I am very much a morning person as my recent company can attest to! ;)

Off to get my birthday present early... a new ipod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WITH a workout band!

Miss you all so much and looking forward to losing my arm wings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, me

Nervous WRECK!

Hi All!

Well... at 4:30 today I had my interview to see if I was a big enough loser. While I somehow kept myself from yelling "pick me, pick me" I just can't objectively decide how I did.

I am trying to tell myself that it's okay to be on the white team. One person from that team (which is much bigger then those "chosen") gets to re-join after all. Of the six people I was in the room with I was the smallest.... not sure if that's bad. I got a laugh from the group. I was just my spazzy overexcited self. While I tried to tell myself what to say and how to act on the way there, what happened when the cameras (yes CAMERAS for goodness sake!) were rolling is that all I could do is be me.

Here's hoping "me" is good enough for the program. The good news is that I find out, one way or the other, tomorrow morning before noon. Thankfully they don't make us suffer too much.

If I don't make it (and maybe even if I do) - Kimmy I am signing my bootie up for a triathalon - so pick one for us in CT because then I am getting a few others (ahem Kristy, ahem Deb) to join our sorry butts in getting ready for that thing!

Wish me luck!

Your Opinion Humbly Requested

Hi All,

First of all... how did I forget Scrapapalooza Monday?
Good grief!
I mean, it wasn't even on my radar - and I had a challenge this week and everything.
Oh well, next week will be a goodie.

So, on to another topic.
I need some advice.
For my interview (loser one) what do I wear???
I had an idea to wear a black skort and shirt that makes me look pretty decent. BUT i am slightly afraid to look to... well not chubby. You see, as I mentioned I am teetering very near the cutoff for BMI in order to participate.

I know from looking at last years "before" pictures that the majority (although not all) of the people chosen were VERY overweight. That way the club's numbers look good when they advertise what the group lost. For example, last years biggest loser lost 87 lbs in 16 weeks. I can tell you right now that number would be both impossible for me and too much for me to lose now that I've already got this started (-27lbs and counting...).

So, back to my original question. Do I dress to impress? Do I dress to look chubbier? Maybe I just go with the frumpish look? Oy, I am making myself very nervous about that issue. Thing is, they will pick me or they won't - either way I am taking the weight off for good. If I don't get "picked" then I'll just go back to what I was doing and up the exercise on my own.

Now - if your instinct is just to tell me to not worry and to be myself... thank you. I do know that. I will be myself and I will try not to worry. That said, I'd REALLY appreciate your opinion on the what to wear issue. Dress to look my best or dress to look my chubbiest. That's my dilemma.

thoughts?

After this entry I will resume my normal blogging type stuff and won't harp on the contest, at least until I find out one way or another (which won't be until after labor day). You may not hear from me for a bit over the next week because on Friday Spincerely and her family arrive for the week. I am very excited to see them. I am hoping that maybe with Spinny's help I can do the blog upgrade I've been looking to do. She's my "in house" techie for all things blog related. We have plans to go on dune rides, see Lake Michigan, hit the $1 movies, go to the Nature Center and even get big group pedicures (her three daughters plus abbie plus she and I... the pedicure place won't know what hit em!). So, I'm sure I'll have some great photos soon (even though my camera is broken and I have to take photos by pushing a paperclip into the button area... i think a new camera is in our future soon.........)

Have a great week! :)

You LOSER!

So, on to my exciting news...

I got an interview for the "Biggest Loser" (not affiliated with the TV one) contest happening at a local gym around here! I am STOKED. I have never wanted to be a "loser" so bad in my LIFE. Ironically I need to be careful not to lose too much more weight right now because I am close to being at the cut off point of not high enough BMI. Wow! That's a shocker!!! I'm almost too thin for it! Hah! Not too often I hear those words uttered when referring to me I tell ya.

So, not sure if I'll make it into the contest or not - but I am sure as he** going to make my 40th year my most healthy one ever. I've got little Kim bugging the beejeepers out of me to do a triathalon with her (due to my expressing an interest... she is helping me and I her - we're good push each other alongers) and by gum I'd sure like to do it! At the very LEAST I plan on this being the year of the 5K.

So, please cross your fingers for me that I can participate - I have a feeling it would change my life, forever.

Here are some before pictures of me... for those of you who can't remember me without my bodysuit of current (but soon to be leaving!) blubber.

First here is me and my little sis at her graduation. I must say we both look pretty darn good there (and pretty darn alike may I add). I am very proud of Laura and her hubby too because together they have lost well OVER 100 pounds and they look MAHVELOUS! Here is me teaching aerobics in college (didya know I did that?). In this picture it is at an all day aerobics demo with all the teachers taking turns up on a big stage in front. We were miked and everything. It was so FUN. Here I'm taking the class. In case you can't tell I am the closest one in the picture. What? Where's my jiggly bootie? Where are my arm flaps??? Hmmm... I guess once upon a time I looked pretty okay. Oh, and can you see how long my hair is? Impressive.
So, that's it in a nutshell. I am kinda nervous putting this out there in cyberspace (hard to refer to yourself as a chubba bubba with everyone reading you know...) but I think it will help me to DO IT, to MOVE (remember how I chose that word???), and hopefully will inspire me in my quest to once again visit the skinny clothes in my closet. (really and egad! do all of you have sizes that could stock a store or is it just me???)

Here's hoping I turn into a really big (SMALL!) LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mean Rotten Killer of Summer Fun

Hey there - like my catchy title?
That is my new name... heck with Mommy - call me the MRK of Summer Fun!
Well, in the interest of keeping my children's misadventures somewhat private for them let me just say that - indeed - summer fun for the day has been called off. There will be no fun today. Fun free. Nope- nada - squat on the fun front. Just too much bickering, complaining and unfun behaving going on. Enough said on that topic.

So, last night after staying up WAAAAY too late I finished three more two page layouts. These are not them - but are some I just completed this week too. As always journaling seems to hold me up. I like to tell the story, usually. On this first layout there wasn't too much to tell. It goes in Max's school book and shows his Halloween and Christmas parties here at school. Do you know around here they can still "do" Christmas in the schools?! It's pretty fun! Also we had a real Halloween parade and even the teachers dressed up. A definite benefit of an early elementary (ie:primary) school I think.
Oh, this is one of the layouts i finished last night. I wrote journaling in the white blank spaces. This is what we did while in the hotel the day of our move. We were SO tired, but Jeff managed to pull out a bit of remaining energy and have fun with the kids. I managed to pull out some extra energy and take pics.
Ethan's school book is almost caught up.
Also I have some other exciting news coming soon (NO BECKY I AM NOT WITH CHILD!) [lol!].
IF i can manage to stay up tonight I hope to do a bloggy upgrade.
How's your Wednesday going?
Hope it's a great one!

Frustration

Today - uh, a frustrating day.
And it continues.
I tried, multiple times, to upload the layouts I took pictures of for you.
Wanted to illustrate Scrapapalooza Monday (although I haven't heard of any join inners yet).
No dice.
"internal error" whatever that is.

Today was one of those
I had a headache all day
Cramps (need i say more on that topic)
NO patience
very tired
everything just seemed to not quite work out

i suppose
we all must have days like this one
so the good ones
stand out

i'll be here scrapping for awhile
then it's off to bed
miss you all
and very much wish
we were scrapping together

cheers~
j

Layouts

Here are some layouts I got done on the weekend with Heather.
This first one is for the first page of our 2008 album. Kind of the album opener.
I don't do dedication pages although I hear they are all the rage. Do you?
I was pretty proud of this since doing one page layouts is a real challenge for me. We had a couple of new babies last year... and a couple more are on the way!
I have TWO sisters in law who are expecting!!!
Wonder if I'll get nieces or nephews - maybe one of each.

Here is the album opener for 2007.
Now, you will note the similar layout to the first one about meeting Parker. I have decided that if I like a layout (and I do love this one) then I am going to use it at least twice. Now in this case the layouts wont be near eachother since one is in 07 and one is in 08. This is a layout that only happened in July - of THIS year! Do you believe it, a current layout!!!
Oh, on this page i still have to journal in the white circle. I'm going to ask the kids their favorite parts and put it there. Also it should be noted that many of these pictures (the good ones) were taken by Kristin. Need to credit the photographer ya' know.
The best thing about all these layouts??? For the most part they were all using things already in my stash. I think I had to buy some cardstock for one of them - otherwise they were all made from parts already purchased. I love it when that happens! The other great thing about these layouts are they are all inspired from layouts in Scrapbooks Etc. May issue. I loved that issue and turned down many pages. I'm happy when I "scraplift" ideas (even if I then make it my own and "tweak it") because then I feel the magazine is earning it's subscription price! Silly I know, but fun.

That's it for me at the moment. I'm excruciatingly tired (and dramatic as always) with a sore knee requiring another dose of ibuprofin and something in my eye that has been there for hours and is making me NUTS. (thank you for listening to the above whine... we now return to our regurlarly scheduled program)

I am DEFINITELY in for Monday scrappin. Additionally I should be able to start at a more normal time - as soon as the kiddos are mostly in bed.
Who's with me this week?

Have a fantastic week everyone!