A birthday letter... to me.

(grab a coffee... this is a long one, with no pictures)

Well, I'm gonna officially say it... I'm turning 40 at the end of the week! Yeap the big 4-0!

I've been in denial that this day would come for about... ummm... 10 years or so! I always thought 40 was old.

But I can't deny it anymore, I'm turning 40!

The past couple of days have been rough for me. I've been teary, and grumpy and snappy (more than usual); but I just can't help myself. Is it the mourning process? Mourning my youth?

For the past year, I've watched my highschool friends turning 40 and wishing each other "happy birthdays" and I kept thinking "Thank goodness mine's not until end of December, so I don't have to deal with it".  Boy has the year flown by, and now it's here.

I've been trying to figure out why this birthday has hit me sooo hard (and not in a good way).  Everybody keeps saying "40 is the new 30".  ummm... no it isn't.  Thirty was a piece of cake for me!  Thirty meant I had arrived!  I was no longer "too young" or "too in-experienced".  But what does forty mean?

I've been thinking alot about each decade of my life and what they have meant to me (yeap, pretty intense stuff!)

My first 10 years,  were all about family.  The first 5 years, I have memories of my grandpa and grandma (mom's parents) and lunches and dinners at their house in Portugal.  Christmas and birthdays meant that my grandpa would go all out and make my day special (which all it really meant was having a birthday cake and maybe a new doll).  I remember playing with my two cousins and roaming our little town by ourselves.  There were no dangers (that I remember anyways).  I do remember being sick alot.   I mean really sick.  I had typhoid fever, followed by German measles when I was 6. Or was it the other way around? I'll have to ask my mom. From age 8-10 it was all about Canada, and this new country that was sooo cold, and I had no friends and couldn't understand what the heck people were saying to me. It took me a couple years to truly learn English.

From age 10-20, was all about school.  When I was about 16 or 17, my parents thought it would be a good idea if I quit school and got a job somewhere. After all they had no school past grade 8 and they were doing ok. I fought tooth and nail, and stayed in school.  I had after-school jobs from about the age of 15 on, just so  I could prove I could do both. At one point, during the summer after grade 11, I would wake up at 6 am to catch the "van to the farm" to pick grean beans all day, and get home at 6:30 p.m., take a shower, have dinner and then  3-4 nights week I worked at A&P grocery store from 7- 11 pm or 12 pm and then do it all over again the next day.  It was hard, but somehow I did it and made alot of money that summer.  I know I physically couldn't do it now. In my teen years, I think I was little sheltered.  While my friends were out at parties, going to dances and on dates, I was at home watching my siblings, or working.  I was expected to be home when the street lights came on; which was pretty early in the winter.  Going to my highschool graduation dinner and dance, was quite the ordeal. I had to get a family friend to explain to my mother that it was important that I go. I had to explain that "my date" was just a good friend and no he was not my boyfriend.  When the next day I received 2 dozen roses from my date, of course my mother freaked out. "What did you do to deserve flowers?" Well, ummm, I graduated highschool and asked him to be my date to my graduation party and this is his way of thanking me.  Simple really.

From 20-30 it was all about finding love and passion.  I found a program in college that I loved. I found a career that I loved. I found a man that I love. I met my two oldest children that I love. I was an adult, but of course I was still learning.  I was learning to be a good employee, to be a good girlfriend, a good wife, and a good mother.  I was learning that sometimes you win some and sometimes you loose some.  I was learning, and that was ok with me.

My 30's were about being home with my children. When my oldest Sydney was 3, and Haley was 1, I made the decision to stay home with them.  They were more important to me than any old job could possibly ever be.  I have now been home on and off for the past 10 years or so.  I did go back to work when I heard of an opportunity "that I just couldn't pass up". But eventually I came home. My heart and soul were at home.  During this time Anthony was born and it felt like our little family was complete. It is complete. As a way to keep my brain challenged, I started a virtual assistant business, and was doing quite well for awhile, but then it was interfering with  my family life.  My family comes first... always.

This now brings me to my forties?  What's expected of me now? My children are all in school full time (except for Anthony, but come September he will be). I am home alone most of the time, on most days.  Of course when the three of them are home, they still need me. And I'm ok with that.  But what about the rest? What am I supposed to do with myself? Do I start up my career again? Could I truly work in an office environment after not doing it for 10 years?  Could I just be a home maker, cleaning house, make meals, paying the bills?  What am I supposed to do for the next 20-40 years? I know others have hit this milestone before me, but is the difference that they have jobs/ careers that is propelling them forward and giving them hope that there is so much more for them to do?

My husband tells me that it's up to me to figure out what I need to do.  He's right, I know.  I think back to my 20's, and it was up to me to figure out what program I wanted to graduate from in College, what courses I wanted to take. It was up to me to figure out if that job opportunity was a good fit for me and my goals for my career.  But now, I feel like I am too old. Or am I? A friend who is older than I returned to school last year, and took courses in a field that were completely different than what she had been in for the first 20 years of her life.  That takes guts! Especially since she had a 5 year old daughter, who still needs her.

I had another "older" friend tell me, to make a list of all the things that I truly enjoy doing. The things that make me happy, my hobbies, and maybe that is a start of what my forties will look like.

Well, I'm not sure what my forties will bring, but I'm looking forward to the surprises... I think.

Bette

September Re-cap

Hello! Hello!

Can you believe today is the last day of September and the kids have been back at school for almost a month?? 

So here's what I have been up to this month...

- My garden was overflowing with zucchini so I baked up quite a few Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, and grilled a bunch too for salads.

- S. started grade 8 this year, H. started grade 6 and little A is in Senior Kindergarten.  On the first week of school got a note from the teacher that little A was "too hyper" in gym class and had to be put in time-out. hmmm...  I thought gym class was for burning energy so they can focus during other lessons. 

- I went and visited my friend who was in a terrible accident that left her paralyzed.  While I was there, the nurses decided it was time that she went outside and get some fresh air (the first time since her accident).  It was great to see her smile and enjoy the wind and sun in her face again.

- I got back into Menu Planning.  ( I will need to start posting these on here on a more regular basis too :) )

- I decided to start up my Virtual Assistant business again.  AND I already have appointments scheduled for potential clients. 

How was you September?  Did you get everything done that you set out to do?

I'm appreciating the little things today

You know when you are mindlessly going through your life just waiting for the day to end and you can put the kids to bed and hunker down to watch t.v.? When you have been running around all day getting things done, and yet you feel like you have done nothing?  You know those days, when your hubby and your kids make you so mad you just want to scream? You know those days when nothing seems to go right?

Well, today I am appreciating those days.  I am lucky and fortunate to be able to run around and do things.  I am lucky to be here with my kids everyday, and jump in my car to pick them from school, or drop them off at an event or friends house. Or drop their lunch at school cause they forgot it... again.

Let me tell you why...

Those who know me in real life, will have heard me speak of my friend Tracy.  Tracy and I met in 1995 when we were both in our first "real" job after college and university.  She was the first person that introduce herself that fateful day in May of 1995. She sat at the next cubicle beside me.  We started each morning with a chit - chat about the previous evening or the weekend.  That summer we spent a lot of time hanging out together. I remember that she came out drinking with my roommate and I, and then slept over that night, with a couple of cats sleeping by her pillow.  The next morning I noticed eyes red and swollen, and her face blotchy and red, and she told us she was allergic to cats.  Oooops! We laughed about it, cause she couldn't have driven home anyways. That summer she nominated me for Social Committee member,  and then appointed herself as "campaign manager".  Little did I know what that meant.  She then arranged the Communications/Marketing Dept guys to scan a picture of me and embed the song "Dancing Queen" into an e-mail, that was then sent to every employee in the company (I am not sure if the President got it too or not).  I didn't make it on to the committee but I did end up meeting my future husband.

Tracy and I met our husbands at around the same time.  We had our children at around the same time too.  She has a 13 year old, 11 year old and 6 year old.  Heck, we even got our first dogs at around the same time.  Our Muskoka passed away in October of 2009 and Sonoma (her girlie) passed away the summer of 2010.

Tracy and I have worked together many times since that first job in 1995.  She and her former husband started their own financial company and about 1 year later hired me as Business Development Coordinator.  Those were some really fun times.  We got to travel to Whistler together, and dine at some fancy schmancy restaurants.  Tracy bought me my first Coach purse, my first overnight Coach bag, my first Salvatore Ferragamo wallet and a Tiffany bean bangle.  (I should mention that those are my only Coach, Ferragamo, and Tiffany items I own).

In the last couple of years, I became Tracy's virtual assistant.  She says I was the only person she trusted to deal with certain aspects of her life.  I valued that trust that she placed in me. Every time tax season rolled around, I would get a frantic call from Tracy asking me to make my way to Toronto (two hours away for me) to help her with her taxes.  I always did.  The last time I saw Tracy was last May.

Let me tell you why I'm appreciating my life today.

On Sunday, September 4th, while training for a bike race in Collingwood, Ontario, Tracy crashed her bicycle at very high speed and sustained a traumatic  neck and spinal injury.  She broke her neck between C3 and C4 vertebrae severing her spinal cord.  She is paralyzed from the neck down.  Her injuries are comparable to those that Christopher Reeves sustained.  As of today, the doctors are getting her to breath on her own.

She is in a fight for her life. And she has one heck of climb ahead of her.  She is one of the strongest women I know, and I believe that she will keep on fighting.

Tracy is a single mom of three young boys with no financial support from her ex husband.

If you would like to help her financially or to read more about her fight you can go here. (you might need to set-up an e-mail and password).

I am appreciating every step I take today, and cuddle I give my kids.

Won't you join me in sending her healing light, strength and a little prayer that she has the strength to make her way back home to her boys.  And to give her strength to NEVER give up no matter how hard the next few months, years will be.

Thanks for reading .

Yes.... I'm still here.

Helloooooo.... (echo... echo)

Is anyone out there??

(crickets)

Yeah, I know I'm a bad blogger.  I decided to take alot some time off from blogging and several other activities in my life and I forgot to tell people.  (blush)

So what have I been up to since May? hmmm... a couple of things.

1. On May 31st my father in law passed away after a 4 year battle with lung and brain cancer. The last few months leading up to his passing were very difficult for our family especially the last week or two.  he passed on with my hubby and his mother by his bedside.  I still have a hard time believing he is gone.
2. I started my first garden.  I planted tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, and lettuce.  We've eaten beans, the lettuce and zucchini, but I'm still waiting for the tomatoes to go red. My guess is I didn't water them enough, and oh yeah I didn't put them into the ground until end of June. The zucchinis however are taking over.  So if you live near me don't be surprised to find zucchinis on your door step.
3. My mom decided to surprise my sister and I and came to visit us in Canada (she lives in Portugal).  And... no she didn't call the night before she was to board the airplane to tell us.  And... no she didn't call from the airport for one of us to pick her up from the airport.  Nope, she didn't do any of that.  My sister and I were invited for lunch at my aunties house and there was my mom. In Canada.  For 3 weeks! Surprise!!  Apparently my dad had surprised her with flight tickets for her 60th birthday and then she decided to surprise us.  It was a huge surprise!
4. We celebrated Little A's 5th birthday with a pool party.  He had his 10 closest buddies from his Junior Kindergarten class over for a swim and cake and a pinhata. Up until now all of his parties have been with family and friends, this was his first party with HIS own friends.
5. After a 7 year hiatus.... WE WENT CAMPING!! (And yes I know those are in capital letters.)  Before Anthony was born we had been camping a few times at Killbear Provincial Park, but he was born I always had an excuse.  But I dusted off the old tent and sleeping bags and off we went.  And we had a great time.  The first night there was quite the thunderstorm and lighting show, which kept me awake all night, but other than that, we had a great time.
6. This summer 5 friends and I left our families to fend for themselves for four days and went to Montreal for a 40th Birthday Celebration.  All 5 of us will be 40 this year. (although mine is not until December) We had a great time riding Bixi bikes, eating, shopping and talking.  It's amazing that we had sooo much to talk about. We had a fantastic time and I hope that it starts an annual tradition, 'cause I'm planning on celebrating my 30th... err... 40th again next year.
7. I've 99% removed refined sugar from my diet.  Back in January I made a goal to eliminate refined sugars from my diet and a bunch of others goals that I forgot about when life got too busy and I stopped blogging.  Although I was still watching what I was eating and drinking my shakes, there were times that my sugar urges were sooo strong that I literally  inhaled any chocolate covered anything that was in my pantry.  These 'sugar parties' gave me quite the high, which was then followed by the sugar lows and migraine headaches.  My weight stalled for months.  August 10th, I went cold turkey.  Which resulted in a migraine that lasted for 3 days (the carb flu). Now... I feel great.  I've lost weight again.  I sleep better.  My acne has cleared up and the headaches are gone. I am really trying to make this my new way of eating.
8. Do you remember last year when Haley got her hearing aids? And then lost them? And then I ordered new ones? And then she found the first ones? I can't remember if I told you about that.  Well after many trips to hospital for tests, and re-tests, catscan, meetings with audiologists and hearing resource teachers and doctors, principals, and... I forget who else I should include... anyways... the doctor just told us... are you ready for this... SHE DOESN'T NEED THEM!!!  huh?? What?? yeap she doesn't need them.  She's been tested between 15-20 times by 4 different audiologists in the past year and a half, all showing a moderate to extreme hearing loss in both ears.  And now after a final test, which is considered to be definitive... she doesn't need them.  This was the best school year that she has had ever while wearing the aids with the FM system provided by the school.  Honestly I don't get it. She's going back to see the doctor in a few weeks, cause as far as I'm concerned there are a few things that just don't add up.  I'll keep you posted.  On the brighter side I don't have to remind her everyday to wear the hearing aids or to make sure that she has cleaned them and put them away for the night.
9. My pool this summer has not been crystal clear blue.  All summer long I have battled with THE POOL!  I've become quite proficient at Googling different pool DYI and watching You Tube videos on what to do.  I learned how to take apart the motor and reseal it and put it back.  I learned how to remove and replace a faulty pressure gage.  I took out the salt water generator cell and cleaned it and put it back.  I did everything to make the water clear and nothing... nada.  Frustrating, I tell ya!! And now that the summer is over... looks like we need to replace the filter, the salt water generator and the pool liner next spring. Chaching!! Can you hear the dollars draining from pool.  uugghh.
10. And finally... the kids (and I) are ready to go back to school.  Their bags are packed.  Their back to school clothes are hung and waiting and my ginormous to-do list is waiting for me.

Sorry about the long post, but I'm trying to make up for 4 months of not blogging.

I'm not even sure if there is anyone still out there anymore.

If you are leave me a note and say "hi" and that you forgive me for being a bad blogger. :)

I think I can! I think I can! I know I will!

I'm back again from hibernation! Did you miss me? :-)

I have something exciting to share with you all. (well, exciting for me that is)
For the past 10 years I've wanted to have laser eye surgery. A couple of years ago, I had the appointment made to see if I was a candidate for the surgery and then at last minute I cancelled. Yeap, chickened out!

Last Christmas I ran into a friend at a party who had it done.  I probably cornered him for about 1 hour asking him every question under the sun.  Did it hurt? Did you feel anything? Were you awake? blah blah blah

For days, I couldn't get it out of my mind! I talked to hubby, and asked if he would be o.k. if I "looked" into it". He said "uh... yeah." (I think I half wished he said No so that I could blame it on him for the reason of why I couldn't have it done.) Fast forward to end of April, and still no appointment set and still complaining about spots on my eyeglasses and "I need more contacts, blah, blah, blah."  I may or may not have whined alittle. That's when hubby says "are you going to make the appointment or not???"  So right there and then I grabbed the phone and made THE appointment.

I've now had my assessment and I AM a candidate AND I have set my surgery date for May 27th.

It's not cheap, but I am soooo excited about getting it done and no longer wearing glasses or contacts.



These are 3D glasses from Disney, not my real eyeglases. ;-)

Have you had it done?

Let's Chat...

So I bet your wondering where the heck I've been?

As you can see I took an extended leave from my blog. 

A couple of reasons: My father in law was hospitalized at the beginning of February with a lung infection and became extremely weak (he is still in the hospital), and then I went away to Portugal with the three kids by myself for two weeks to visit my family. Oh yeah, and throw in my yearly winter blues and blah blah blah... and THAT'S why you haven't heard from me in for-e-vah!

During my hiatus I took sometime to think about my little blog.

I started this blog in a little over a year ago.  Originally, my goal was to post about how to save money around the house, frugal recipes and general frugalness.  Somewhere along the way the lines got blurry and I got more into the home and garden decor and less of the frugal stuff.

I read somewhere that you can actually make a living blogging. So I started to monetize the blog. And yeap, I've made a little bit of money, but nothing close to a full time or even part time or even part-part-part-part time job. (Yes you will still see ads on the blog, but I'm not worrying if the pennies add up at the end of month). And yes you will still see posts about Shaklee.(I am a distributor and I simply love this stuff!!!)
 
So while I was deciding the fate of my little ole blog, I've realized that I like both.  I love to shop at garage sales and thrift stores and find great deals.  I love to decorate my home with inexpensive decor items and things I make myself.  I love to get free groceries and tell everybody about it.  I like to cook and bake. And I love to brag about my kids! I really do!

So that's what I'm doing.  All of the above.  I hope you don't mind, but this is my blog after all!

My Weight Loss Journey - mid month check in

Hi, it's me again!

I've now been on my healthy eating plan for 15 days.  I'm super duper excited to report that I've already lost weight.

 Do you remember my initial weight?



Jan 1st, 2011 - 177 lbs



Well, 15 days in and this is where I'm at...

Jan 15, 2011 - 168 lbs!!!

 

Yes!!  Success!!  I'm weighing in at 168 lbs.

Now, before I  go any further I DO KNOW that the first couple of weeks are the easiest to loose weight.

I know this, because I have lost those same exact 9 pounds a hundred times in the past 4 years!
But it is a great motivator to keep going (along with all your sweet comments!!)

WHAT I'VE DONE RIGHT IN THE LAST 15 DAYS!!

•  I'm focusing on drinking my 8 glasses of water a day.
• I'm not snacking past 7:00 p.m. (which is about 3-4 hours before my bedtime)
• I'm trying to eat breakfast regulary.
• I'm watching my portions. I've replaced my dinner plate with my salad plate .
• Limiting my sugar intake. Sweet cravings are taken cared of with fruit.
• I'm drinking a full glass of water 15-20 minutes before every meal (usually while I'm making the meal).

MY CHALLENGES

• If you read closely above I say "I'm trying to eat breakfast".  This is still my biggest challenge
• EXERCISE!!! This continues to haunt me. I'm truggling with this part.

GOING FORWARD

I'm adding a few items to help me with my weight loss goals.

At the suggestion of a friend (Hi Jen :-)) I've picked up this:

When I was nursing my son, and in constant upper back pain, I started doing yoga classes. 
I loved it!
I loved the Yoga instructor that I had at the time, but I have no idea where she has moved to.
Yoga, helped relax my upper body and after an hour of doing it I felt I had gotten a good work out.
It's also aimed at strengthing the core, my biggest and weakest problem area.

And...

I'm going to start with Shaklee's Own Weight Loss Program.

(at first I was hesitant to recommend any programs or take supplements, But I've done my research, talked to enough people and I know that Cinch will help me with my weight loss challenges and goals)

Why I'm trying CINCH"

I believe in Shaklee!  I stand behind the Shaklee Philosophy as a distributor myself.

 One of my challenges has been to fit in breakfast. I'm usually too busy in the morning feeding the kids and getting them off to school on time, and then running errands and before you know the morning has gone by and it's lunch time.

The Cinch Shakes are a complete meal and a no-brainer to make.

Prepared as directed, it has 24 grams of protein to keep you feeling satisfied.

This will be great to deal with my morning breakfast challenge.

I copied the following directly from the Shaklee website:

____________________________________________________________________

Say Hello to Cinch™

Cinch is Powered by Leucine™ and specially formulated to help you break the diet cycle, so you:

• Keep muscle you have
• Burn fat you don’t need
• Lose inches you don’t want

The hard science behind a hard behind

In a recent clinical trial†, we tested our proprietary formula enhanced with leucine. (Leucine is a muscle-building amino acid found in protein rich foods.) This leucine-enhanced nutrition program was shown to help retain 100% of lean muscle mass. People in the program lost fat, weight, and inches while retaining their lean muscle.

† Findings based on lean mass estimates in a 12-week preliminary study.

A plan for the rest of us

As you get to know us, you’ll find we take your health very seriously, and ourselves, not so much. Cinch is designed to help you hang on to all-important muscle while you lose that all-jiggly fat. And it’s created by doctors who are, thankfully, also human. With Cinch, you eat food you look forward to. You can’t say that about cabbage soup.

So do your healthier self a favor and order a Cinch Starter Kit today. Then, take a good look at those extra inches of yours and get ready to give them a big smooch good-bye. Sayonara. Adios. Toodle-oo.

____________________________________________________________________

For anyone interested in trying Cinch, right now if you become a member with a minimum order of $70 you receive a CINCH SAMPLE PACK (retail value of $101.90).  Great idea if you have been wanting to try Shaklee Cleaning Products!!

The Sampler Pack includes the following:

• 1 canister of Cinch® Shake Mix, Vanilla flavour (soy protein blend)
•  1 box of Cinch® Snack Bars, Peanut Butter Crunch flavour
• 1 box of Cinch® Energy Tea Mix, Pomegranate flavour
• 1 Cinch Program Guide
• 1 Cinch Pedometer (while supplies last)
• 3 months of free introductory membership to CinchWellness.com (charges apply in the fourth month and beyond)

So I'll check in again on Feb 1st to let you know about my next weigh in.

Wish me luck!!

How are you doing?

What challenges are facing with your weight loss goals?  Any successes?

"Like" me please

Hey Everyone!

I've created a Facebook page for Frugal Mom x3.

On that page II'll be updating on the latest greatest frugal ideas! Join in the fun and say hello!

So are you going to "like" me?

(It sounds silly asking you to "like" me ;-))

My scariest blog post evahhhh....

ACK!!  I can't believe I'm about to post this!!

Here it goes

If you read my post about 2011 Goals, then you will see that my goal this year is to get a healthy body back.  Actually if we go back to January 1, 2010, you will see that I said the same thing.  Yeap I did!  It was probably on my mind for a couple days and then forgotten like every other year before that.

Now before you scroll down to get a look at the before picture, let me explain how I got here. (yes, these are my excuses)

1. I've been pregnant 3 times and I took every pregnancy as a free-for-all to eat what ever I wanted, whenever I wanted. My last two pregnancies were awful and I was put on bedrest for most of the pregnancies so I was miserable, so to compensate I A-T-E.  If it was edible and chocolate covered, I ate it (except for veggies).  And yes my last baby is now 4 and half.  And yes, I've had plenty of time to loose the baby weight.  Yeap, Excuse #1 is squashed to smitherenes!!
2. I've had too many bodily injuries to work out. Well... not really!  About 6 years ago I tore my rotator cuff and some of the other muscles in my shoulder while removing carpet from my last house. For about 3-4 years I regulary have had times that I could not move my arm because of the pain.  However in the past 2 years I've been pretty good. Yeap Excuse #2 is squashed to smitherenes!!
3. I don't have time.  Well... actually I do.  All three kids are now in school. So, I should really change that to I have not made time. Yeap you guessed Excuse #3 is squashed to smitherenes too!!
4. I don't eat healthy. Well, I do eat healthy. However, I skip breakfast alot, I eat alot of sugary foods, I eat really big portions and I haven't met a carbohydrate I don't like.  I don't drink much water.  Oh yeah and I'm a chocoholic.
5. My husband tells me he loves me whether I'm big or small, so why bother trying to look good. Yeap, I'm sure he does love me.  But I don't love me!  I don't feel good about how I look.  And I just don't feel good period.

So here it goes.... here's me on January 1, 2011!

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(source)

(hmmm... how did that happen??)

Ok... here it goes...

(177 pounds- Jan 1, 2011)

 Yeap I am about 50 lbs overweight.
 (60 or 70 overweight from high school days.)

My current Stats as of January 1, 2011...

I'm 5' 3" tall
Weight: 177 lbs.
Bust: 43 inches

Waist: 42 inches

Hips: 41 inches
Arms: 13 1/2 inches
BMI: 31.35 (yikes)

(before I continue, I'm not endorsing any weight loss plan or program or drug or anything of the sorts... just so you know.)

In the past I've tried and tried many weight loss plans.  Yeap I've lost weight and then put it back on. Over and over again.  Probably making my metabolism slugish.

And now THE PLAN.

1. I will eliminate refined sugars.
2. I will drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water daily.
3. I will eat 5-6 small meals every 2-3 hours.
4. I will work out a minimum of 30 minutes daily.
5. I will eat breakfast.
6. I will not eat at night after 7 p.m.
7. I will eat according to Canada's Food Guide.
8. I will eat either fruits and/or vegetables at every meal.
9. I will eat dessert occasionally. (Did I mention I am a chocoloholic??)
10. I will weight in every Saturday and let you know how I'm doing monthly. 

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Ok... drum roll please...

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(Ignore the mess in background.  Just keeping it real, peeps.)

I am an apple. 

(meaning I carry all my extra weight on top half... waist and back)

Probably the worst kind of fruit shape to be,

cause I'm carrying all my extra weight around my major organs.

Suffocating them.

So that's it.  Wish me luck.  Any tips would be appreciated.

I will check in soon with my progress. 

(Feel free to bug me!) (Be nice to me!)

Bette

2011 Goals

Happy New Year!

Last night I went to bed early and woke up just in time to watch New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys rocking out on Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest's Rockin Eve 2011. 

I puffy heart love New Kids on the Block!!!  They have the right stuff, baby!!  

 { Sigh }

Ok... enough about NKOTB and unto 2011 goals.

Some people call them resolutions but I call them goals. I don't know why I just do.

I have several goals for 2011 (and these are tough for me)

• Have a positive attitude.
• Give my little blog some TLC. I want to give you a reason to come back day after day and maybe teach you a thing or two. Maybe...
• Simplify. Clutter gives me the hives, but clutter seems to love me and stalk me.
• Get a healthy body back. Once upon a time (before kids) I was a size 0... now... not sooo much.  I will never be a size 0 again (i'm ok with that), but I'd like to be able to go for a walk without getting winded. (come back later to check out my plan complete with Before pictures.  Ack!!) Yes I purposely put that last statement in the smallest possible font cause I'm sceeeeereed!)

So those are my goals for 2011 in no particular order.  

What are your goals for 2011?? 

And most importantly, anyone want to come with me to the NKOB & BSB Canada concert in June???

Today's Parent Interview

Back in the Spring I was interviewed for Today's Parent magazine.



The article is now out in the magazine as well on their website.

Check it out if you have second!

I'm famous!! lol

Time to tighten the belt and get organized!

Ok peeps... I'm gonna get real and personal on here.

I recently read a post by Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick about Dave Ramsey and about getting rid of debt.  I found myself nodding and huh huhing alot while reading her post.

In the past we have taken Lines of Credits and Credit Cards for granted.  Over the past 5 years though, huby and I have worked really hard at staying out of the red. Especially me.  I have anxiety attacks and can't sleep to even imagine a check bouncing or not being able to pay a bill on time.  I pay our credit card in full every single month, and I check the bank account every-single-day!!  Am I crazy? Do you do that?

Well, reality check... my beloved 10 year old van passed away this week. (sniff... sniff...)Actually it's still dying as we speak cause I haven't picked it up yet from the mechanic's yet.  You see, on the weekend I filled the coolant holder thing-a-ma-jig with coolant fluid, only to find it empty two days later.  Now, I'm not good with cars and stuff, but me thinks, I have a problem.  I brought it in and the mechanic said "if it was my vehicle, I would not fix it, and I would look for a new vehicle." ummm... mechanic told me NOT TO FIX IT. So I went shopping for a new vehicle.  Guess what?  We just invested in our back yard, so now we can't afford a new vehicle (without going into debt.)

MAJOR DECISION TIME!!

So... we have made a decision to down-size to one vehicle (temporarily) until we can afford to buy a new one without going into debt!

I was sad as soon as the words came out of my mouth.

But now I'm relieved that I can breathe easier every month and not have to make a monthly payment on something we can't afford this very minute.

This will entail alot of planning and organization on my part, but I'm determined to make it happen.

Hubby, works about 20 minutes away, and it will mean I will need to drop him off and pick him up on the days I have kids appointments or personal appointments.

It will also mean, I will be walking alot more than in the past.  It's about a 20 minute walk (one way) to our closest grocery store.  So either I have to wait, or make a detailed grocery list every week.

H. and A walk to school and S. takes the bus. I used to drive H in if was a "little cold" or we were running late.  I guess that option is out for now.

So... I just wanted to let Dave Ramsey know... "I listened to you! I am not going to buy something I can't afford!"

What about you?  Are you a one car family? And how do you make it work?  I need yout tips and secrest peeps!

Please visit my Shaklee On-line Site

A Powder Room Update

When we moved into this house 5 years ago, one of the very (many) first things we did was change all of the sinks in the bathrooms.  For some reason there were rust holes around the all the sink holes, that had been patched up but still looked awful. 

We also 'splurged' and updated the light fixtures and a couple of the counter tops.

I wish I had the before-before of powder room to show you the loveliness that we had.

WARNING: Do not spray paint in small non ventilated rooms!

This is a picture from around Christmas, when I decided to spray paint directly unto the cabinet.  Not a smart move!  I nearly passed out from the fumes! And the smell lasted for a few days weeks in the house, since there is no window in that bathroom. Yes, it's been like that since Christmas, don't judge!

I'm not sure if you can tell but the door handles (which were removed the day we moved in 5 years ago) were smack dab in the middle of the bottom cabinets and were u-g-l-y!! I replaced the drawer handle with some I had brought from something from our last house.  I only had two which was perfect.

Like I said we replaced the counter tops.  This one in particular is faux black granite (I don't know what it is called) We bought it off the shelf at Home Depot.  As you can see it is not as wide as the old counter and back splash.  The walls are painted with a textured Ralph Lauren paint... I think it's a suede technique that they used on it.  I can't find this paint and I haven't got a clue how to remove it other than sanding.  Hubby likes the colour and suede look, so I've left it alone, but what do I do about those patches??!?

So I finally got around to painting the cabinet and patching those bottom cabinet holes.

 (and getting rid of the spray paint patch).

Here it is now...

I love the new black colour!

So any ideas of what I can do about those patches on either side of backsplash?

Next I need to frame out that mirror. 

I've seen it done in a bunch of places in bloggy land and I think know I can do it too!

On a sad note... my parents left today.  They are spending the next couple of days at my sister's house who lives a few hours away from me.  I won't see them again for another year or so.

Here they are on the rocks in front of my house with the grandkids, taken this morning. Although we have been doing this long distance thing for the past 12 years, it doesn't get easier, especially now that they are older and facing some health problems.  I will miss them.  And I will miss them not being around for creating memories with the kids.  And I will miss my mom's cooking and dad's handiness. 

I wish them a safe trip back to Portugal!

I'm linking up to some of these parties

The Weekend and Throat Healing Recipe!

I guess I'll start with an apology cause I know I promised you a Bloggy Friends Weekly Roundup link-up party on Friday, but I had to no energy to think and put together a simple post.  I'll try again this week.

I woke up on Friday, feeling a little yucky.  I managed to make it to a morning appointment and then to a friend's house for a visit.  At which point I said to her, "my hands and feet hurt and I feel weird".  I ended up laying down "for a couple of minutes" and slept for the next 2-3 hours... while she watched all the kids. Hubby came by and picked us up and I slept for the next 24 hours on and off with achy, sweaty and shivering moments.  Good times around this household! (I must have caught this bug from Little A who caught it at the soccer tournament last weekend or from my dad who had it a few days earlier.)

I did end up getting up yesterday to attend my nephew's baptism... I was the godmother.  I kinda had to be there.

(me, Baby Daniel and H.)

(me, Baby Danie, A and S)

(ummm... don't know what was up with 4 yr old :-) )

By the time we got home from baptism my throat was really sore and my pain medication had worn off.  I called my mom at my sister's house and asked her what to do.  (Mom's always know!)

She told me to gargle with salted lemon water.  Huh??  What??

Basically, I took a lemon and squeezed about 1 tablespoon out it, added about 1 tablespoon of luke warm water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mixed it up.  I gargled with it.  It tasted pretty good.  I normally only use the salted water but I hate the aftertaste.  But this new "home-recipe"  had a nice salty lemony taste to it. Not bad.

When I woke up this morning, my throat felt a whole lot better.  I gargled again.  I might not need antibiotics... at least I hope not.

I'm also, going to be ordering some of Shaklee
s NutriFeron -Immunity Support.  With School just around the corner, I bet ya there will be a few germs floating around the house.

Don't you just love home remedies? 

What's your cure-all?

Have a great healthy day!

Bette

Please check out my on-line Shaklee store.

My First Award

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  My daughter H ended up spraining her wrist while out walking dog.

Also, I got my first award last week from The Pleasures of My Life.

Thanks, Kerri!!

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs.

4. Let your nominees know about their award.

So here we go with 7 things about MOI:

1. I'm a huge Elvis Presley fan and for a long time I was convinced he was alive (he's probably dead now though, he died in hiding).
2. I didn't start eating salad (lettuce) until I was 22 years old, and now I pretty much eat it everyday.
3. When I was little (under the age of 8) I had a REAL Pet lamb. 
4. I was once lost for 11 hours in a snowstorm on my first day of school in Canada.  (I was 8 and didn't speak English).
5. I didn't learn to swim until I was 30 and it took me a year of lessons to learn.
6. When I was 22 I weighed 92 lbs and now not so much.
7. I can crochet and have crocheted since I was 8 years old.

I'd like to pass this award on to the following blogs:

The Magic Brush Inc.
Domestic Fashionista
Serenity Now
Life in the Fun Lane
Musings of a Housewife
Not the Mother of the Year
The Thrifty Gypsy
Enjoying the Small Things
MLE's ABC
Melissa's Heart and Home
Adventures in Decorating
I heart Naptime w/Chocolate Sundaes
Inside BruCrew Life
Right at Home
Sense and Simplicity

Can't wait to read 7 things about you all.  Have a great day!

A treat to myself - for F-R-E-E!

Yesterday I mentioned that I have been naturally waking up early and enjoying a hot cup of coffee with Max, so I thought I'd share my latest kitchen gadget ( and they are not paying me for this).

It's a Tassimo Bosch and I've wanted one of these for about 6 months now.   I first heard about them on Twitter around Christmas time when a bunch of twitterers were getting them for free (and no I wasn't one of those people). So a couple weeks ago I got a wild notion to check to see how many Air Miles I had and see what I could get for F-R-E-E.  And low and behold I had a enough to get one of these babies. 

It arrived on Friday afternoon! And I've been enjoying a morning Latte everyday at about 6:30 a.m. and listening to the birds chirp.  (See the time stamp on pictures :-)!)

This is the Latte!  The Box itself comes with certificate to get two Free products once you enter the PIN on the website (I haven't done that yet).  It is super easy to use and if you work out the per unit cost of each coffee it's a lot cheaper than Coffee Shop coffees especially the Lattes and Cappucinos. And the taste is amazing!  I'm loving it!

Have you treated yourself lately?

Happy Earth Day!

(image from earthday.org)

I must admit growing up I didn't really understand what all the hoopla was about.  Let me back up a bit.

I was born and raised until the age of 8 on a farm on the coast of Portugal.  Everything we ate and drank came from the earth.  My mom would be up at 6  in the morning to take our 3-4 cows to the dairy to get their milk out and then she would bring home a carafe of fresh milk.  We always had pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks and you name it, grazing in the back yard.  Our back yard was also filled with fruit trees ready to picked at any time.  Any kitchen waste was automatically recycled by feeding back to the animals.  The cows muck was used in the land to fertilize it.

At the time there were no garbage trucks to come pick up bags of garbage for the landfill.  Any clothes that I outgrew or became too worn out was handed down to a cousin or neighbour or to my grandma to make rag-rugs.  All the wood that we came accross was used in the firepit to cook, and heat water for bathing.  Oh yeah, my parents didn't have indoor plumbing until many years later.

When we moved to Canada at the end of 1979, it was culture shock for me.  As a child it took me a few years to adjust.  I never did drink store bought milk again... it tasted funny to me.

My parents having grown up in an environment where you had to be self-sufficient and re-use and recycle everything until there was nothing left to do with it, didn't understand this concept of blue boxes - so they never used them.  They no longer had poultry in the back yard - so kitchen waste was put in the... waste basket.  I remember visiting my favourite Aunt F and noticing she had a blue box.  hmmm... interesting.  My mom never really caught on to the idea.

It wasn't until I met my soon-to-be husband that I was introduced FULL FORCE to re-use, reduce, and recyle.  Our first christmas together while dating I went to great lengths to wrap his gift in pretty wrapping paper, bows and ribbon.  On the other hand, soon-to-be hubby handed me my gift as-is and went on to tell me about what happens to wrapping paper after it was used (as he opened his gift).  At the time I was offended, but now it makes sense.  I rarely wrap gifts anymore, and I prefer to re-use giftbags (until they rip). 

In our houselhold we teach the kids to re-use, reduce and recycle. 

• We compost!  We have two compost bins that we dump all of our kitchen veggie and fruit scraps,  used coffee groundss and tea bags, used paper towels, newspaper, eggshells, etc. into to
• We buy in bulk.  For example, I buy larger containers of yogurt and then divide them into smaller reusable containers for the kids school snacks, etc. 
• All of our kids clothes gets handed down to someone else.  Most of our kids clothing is handed down from friends and family with older children and so we pay if forward by doing the same thing.  Clothing with stains and holes get repurposed as cleaning cloths.
• In warmer months we use a laundry line to dry our clothes.  Although I prefer to use a dryer because our clothes come softer, I know that line dried clothes are more environmentally friendly and better on the budget too.
• I buy environmentally friendly cleaning products or use plain vinegar and lemon.  I recently read somewhere that Vodka is also a good cleanner.
• Small appliances are unplugged when not in use.  I read somewhere that appliaces with a clock or timer are still using electricity when not in use... so I unplug them.
• We don't buy paper plates, cups or utensils.  Those just end up in the garbage.
• We aim to only have one bag of garbage everyweek for our family of five.  However we have 3 recycling boxes that are generally overflowing.

I know that there is sooo much more that we can do, but we have the best of intentions. 

Check out the website http://www.earthday.org/earthday2010 to see what others are doing.

What are you doing to help the environment?