Some Favorite Things.......

Just a random post to remind myself of those small things in my life that make me happy and put a smile on my face.

Caribou Coffee  has the BEST napkins!  I smile whenever I see them and I keep a few on my work table.

One of my two favorite body washes.  The other favorite is also Caress, just a different scent.  This one is the Evenly Gorgeous and it smells like warm sugar.  The other one I love is Tahitian Renewal and it's a tropical scent with pineapple and coconut.

My absolute favorite lip color that happens to be a lip balm also.  Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer is to die for and their color rhubarb is the perfect color for my lips.

One of my favorite snacks.  Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Reduced Fat Wheat Thins and Green Grapes =  YUM!

I want someone to get me this cake for my birthday someday.  I love it.

THIS is a new punch I bought last week to see if it would bring me out of the creative funk I've been in for the last couple of months.  I've yet to use it.

Last but not least, my all time favorite internet clip and something that I can relate to wanting to do to someone on a daily basis.

Halloween Tree

Spent yesterday decorating the house for fall and Halloween.  I first have to pack away the things I have out for most of the year, but then it gives me a good chance to wipe and dust everything down.  It's also helpful to get your husband and son involved in this project.   :)

This morning it was so nice (cool and crisp) that I spent time outside, getting my outside fall decor out and weeding out the gardens.  The vegetable garden was in dire need of attention and I harvested the last of the tomatoes (not a good year for those)  :(    but my acorn squash was still producing and so were the pepper plants.  The herbs are still looking good too!

I promise that I'm going to post some photos from our Florida vacation, but it's taking me longer to edit them down and proof them all than I thought.....I'm almost there.

Later.....

Summer's End

It's been a while since I've updated my blog.  It seems like the summer has raced past us.  Only a couple more weeks and we'll be into Fall (which happens to be my favorite season).

We found out last week that we did NOT win or even place in the Hy-Vee Extreme Family Nutrition Makeover Challenge that we participated in for most of the summer.  The family that did were a lot more hard core than we were.  Fred said they worked out 2 hours a day EVERY day.  Well, we couldn't do that even if we tried as Connor and I were gone for 7 days on vacation and I had a work trip to D.C.

Regardless of our placement in the challenge, we did change some things and created new habits.  I'm most excited about re-discovering tennis and Frisbee.  I also got to purchase a new bike this summer that I've been having a lot of fun riding.  My Nike+ fitness systems is awesome and I truly believe it's helping me stay on track.

It's nice to have a holiday weekend.  I've been gone again to Washington D.C. on a work trip, the second one there this summer, but my project is now over and I doubt I'll have to go back anymore.  It almost felt like a second home for a while.

I think I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while.  We've got some home projects that we want to get done before winter and I want to concentrate on finishing those.

Those of you on Facebook will see me regularly and if I get the whim to post, I will.  I just don't want to feel that it's something that I HAVE to do.

In a couple of weeks, Fred, Connor and I will be leaving for a long weekend trip to Orlando to go see Universal Studios and Universal Studios Islands of Adventure that has the new Harry Potter Theme Park.  It should be a lot of fun and when I get back, I'll definitely update my blog with some pictures.

I'll see ya then.......

These make me happy!

My new favorite pens!  Stabilo Point 88 pens that come in a rainbow of colors!  I *think* I have one of all the colors and 4 of the black pens.  They're perfect for journaling, detailed pen work, everything!

Thanks Gina!

San Diego Vacation - Final Chapter

Wednesday, June 23rd had us getting up early to head toward the beach again. Connor was going to have another surf lesson and after that was over, we needed to head to Carlsbad to take the rental car back.

The weather wasn't as good for us that day as we finally experienced what Southern Californians call "June gloom". We met back up with Andy at Grandview Beach in Encinitas for the lesson. Kim's son Robbie decided to rent a board from them and go out also, Rob didn't have wet suit and the water wasn't warm, but it didn't stop him from heading out and having fun.

Connor was on the short board this time and impressed Andy with his ability to get up on the board again.

My personal favorite -

Although it was overcast, I could certainly tell that I got sun that day, maybe even more than our first day there when the sun was shining brightly.

After the lesson, back to Carlsbad with the rental car and then back to Fallbrook to get packed up and ready to go early the next morning.  We headed to Fallbrook when we got caught in a pretty bad traffic jam due to a wild fire on the side of the Highway 76.  It took us 2 hours to go 20 miles.....wowza!

It was a great vacation and we're hoping that we will come back out to San Diego county next summer!

Extreme Family Nutrition Makeover Challenge - The 8th & Final Week

Today is the last day of our 8 week Makeover Challenge. We go have our post-assessment fitness tests on Wednesday and our biometrics a few days later. As of a few days ago, Fred was down 16 pounds and I was down 8, but I have a feeling some of it may come back on for me. I feel a bit bloated. I'm trying to pound down the water to help flush my system.

Don't know if we have done enough to win the challenge but we have made some really healthy changes that I know will stick. No more white bread in the house, what bread we do eat is always wheat or multi-grain. We developed a taste for brown rice rather than white rice and from now on our pasta is going to be 1/2 white pasta with 1/2 whole grain pasta. We're buying only low sodium products if we can and are avoiding high sodium grocery products.  No more stocking up on diet soda, I don't care how cheap Hy-Vee is selling it for, I'm not going to buy it very often. I am going to drink it again, because I love Diet Pepsi and I miss it, but there won't be an unlimited supply. Fred asked me to continue to buy the light fruit juices for him, so if I can't get pieces of fruit down him, I'll have to settle for fruit juices.

It was such a beautiful morning that I decided to do my cardio outside rather than at the gym.  I bought this water bottle a couple of months ago at the Farmers Market to take on my walks.  It's perfect for that because it doesn't get heavy filled with water and when empty it rolls up very small.  It holds 16 oz of water and my goal has been to drink one while working out and one after I get back home.

Tonight we're grilled out a nice piece of sirloin steak, baked potatoes and a big salad and since the weather is so good, family Frisbee for the last time we receive 50 points for it.  We won't know the result until around Tuesday, August 31st.  I'll be in Washington, DC on a work trip, but the guys will go out to the meeting and then they can call me with the results.

Wish us luck!

San Diego Vacation - Part Six

Plans on Tuesday were to meet Dad, TJ, cousin Jennifer and her daughter Kendall at Seaport Village in downtown San Diego.

I thought it would be cool to let Connor see all of the naval ships that are in that area. Coronado Island is right about the harbor and there are usually some really big ships anchored there. Kim and I wanted to poke around the shops and see if there was anything we couldn't leave without....lol

There was also a lot of helicopter activity and Connor was excited because he wanted to film with his camera until he discovered that the battery was dead. I guess I left it on the day before and didn't know I had. He was very very upset. We couldn't buy another one, we found a camera store and they tried to charge it, but it didn't work. After a phone call back to Fred and a stern talking to, he calmed down.

We had a light lunch at Buster's Beach House & Longboard Bar and then spent a few hours walking around the village. Kendahl was having fun getting wet in the fountains.

Here is Kendahl and her beautiful mom -

 Here's a shot of the Coronado Bridge -

Here's a shot of the hotel that Fred worked on when we lived out there. At the time it was going to open it was the Hotel Intercontinental, but it now a Marriott -

Since Jennifer and Kendahl wasn't going to be going to dinner with us, we took advantage of all of us being together and Kim took a photo of us. Of course, it's always hard to get everyone in the picture to cooperate and this is no exception.

After saying our goodbyes to Jennifer and Kendahl, we all headed up to Old Town San Diego for dinner. We all wanted Mexican at  Cafe Coyote y Cantina. After dinner we walked around a bit. It brought back lots of memories because one of the places in Old Town was one of Fred and my favorite spots, O'Hungry's, where you can drink beer by the yard!

Once finished with a yummy dinner we had, we walked around for a while not only to walk off our dinner, but to avoid the rush hour traffic that was going on then. Found a t-shirt for Fred and a couple of fun chunky rings for me while shopping.

Wednesday, June 23rd is our last full day and we have another day at the beach/surfing lesson planned!

August

Can't believe we're already in August!  The month of the Iowa State Fair , school shopping and starting and another and hopefully last trip to DC for me.

Here's the kitchen for the August and September -

Thought I would also share some more flower pictures with you.  Our hydrangea bushes just went to town this year.  I've been bringing in countless bouquets of the blooms.

Here's a pot of petunias I planted (say that 10 times fast).....I had an old kettle that I was no longer using, so Fred drilled some drainage holes in the bottom and I planted it.

I love the way the purple/blue ceramic mushrooms nestle among the purple petunias in my IKEA stainless steel flower pot.

I also have a few other plants starting to bloom in my "triangle garden", but now I can't remember what the name of some of them are....lol

Our balloon flower is blooming again.  I wish it was three times as big as it is....

Our Rose of Sharon is in full bloom.  This was another of my mother's favorite flowering shrubs.  I planted this one the year she died that I purchased with a gift certificate given to me by some dear friends.  If we move, it's coming with me.

Here a shot from my deck looking at the hanging basket, then on to my Flowering Pear tree and then the triangle garden next to the bike trail.

Have a good weekend!

San Diego Vacation - Part Five

We had no early plans on Monday so we slept in and took our time waking up and getting ready for our day.  Today was the day my Dad and Step Mom were driving down from Las Vegas and heading to Harrah's Rincon, clear the hell out in the Pauma Valley.  Our plans were to met up with them for dinner and then spend the whole next day with them, but since we decided that we were going to have dinner in Encinitas at Brett's BBQ, I really didn't want my Dad and Step Mom to have to drive in to the coast from where they were staying and back at night.  It would have been at least a 3 hour commute round trip, so we decided that once they arrive, we would drive out to the desert to see them.

It was a beautiful scenic drive out to the resort but I didn't get any pictures because I was driving.  The drive was over and around mountains and valley, very "twisty turney".  Dad met us outside the resort and took us to the pool area where we camped out on these very cool lounge chairs that fix 2-3 people.  They look like a big clam...lol! 

We swam and talked for a few of hours, made plans to meet down at Seaport Village in the morning and we headed back west, as we needed to meet my cousin Jennifer and her daughter Kendahl at Brett's BBQ for dinner.

Brett's BBQ was FABULOUS! Honestly, some of the best BBQ I've had. The company was excellent also! Before we ordered dinner and were relaxing with some beer, Jennifer said she needed to "steal" Connor for just a bit.  I think they were gone for about 45 minutes and when they came back, I found out that she took him to k5, the ultimate shop for surfing, skating and snowboarding.  She bought him a new pair of swim trunks, a new pair of Reef sandals, another pair of flip flops and a couple of t-shirts.  Let me tell you, this kids is going to be styling the wardrobe!

After dinner, back to Fallbrook we went.  It had been a long day and we had a long day ahead of us, so the rest of the evening was another relaxing night of good company.

More later......(I can't believe how long it's taking me to share this...lol)

Extreme Family Nutrition Makeover Challenge - Week #6

We've finished up Week 6 of the Challenge and can see the light at the end of the tunnel...lol

Not that we are going to immediately revert back to old ways and habits, but there are things that we miss.....going out to dinner once in a while, drinking a diet soda, not being so uber conscience of every fruit, vegetable and fiber going into our bodies.  I really think that quite a few of the changes are going to stick.

I think we're going to sign Fred up at Anytime Fitness, either that, or we're going to by him a recumbent bike to exercise on at home.  He doesn't like the treadmill, he doesn't like the elliptical...whine, whine, whine....lol

I think I'm going to have to take it easy on the jogging as my left heel started to hurt today when I was working out and I certainly don't want a flare up of plantar fasciitis.  That would definitely derail my fitness routine.  :(

Week #6 had us playing quite a bit of Frisbee together.  We can all throw and catch the Frisbee pretty well! my niece joined us one night and even she can throw and catch it good for her age.   I think we got 4 nights of family activity in and the other days we were all pretty active.  Got the max points for that! 

I was home part of the week, so it was easier to keep Connor and Fred on track with their fruit and vegie intake.  I swear if I didn't say something to them, neither of them would even THINK about eating a single bite of fruit or vegie.

As of this morning, Fred is down about 12.5 pounds and I'm down 5.......and below a number I haven't seen for awhile.  That's a good feeling.  2 more weeks!

San Diego Vacation - Part Four

Sunday, June 20th, Father's Day found us missing Fred.  When we planned this trip, the dates that would work best were either going to coincide with Father's Day or Fred's birthday, this year they are only a week apart, so we decided to go earlier and be back by his birthday, but we will miss Father's Day.

Before we leave, we had purchased a couple of giftcards, one to Be-Bops and one to Subway and put them in cards and then hid the cards. We figured we would call him first thing and tell him where to look. :)

We had to be up and at them that day as we were meeting up with my cousin Jennifer in Del Mar at 9:30. She arranged for a private surfing lesson for Connor at 11:00 and we were following her to where we were meeting Andy, the instructor.

Got to see where Jennifer, her daughter, Kendall live with Jennifer's mother, my Aunt Bette. Beautiful, beautiful home that Bette has owned for quite a while. It's just down the street from Tony Robbin's estate which used to be Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball's estate. We left there and headed up the PCH to Encinitas, or more specifically Leucadia to the Encinitas Surf Shop where Jennifer proceeded to spoil the shit out of Connor by buying him a new hoodie and a couple of t-shirts. We also stopped by the Leucadia Donut Shoppe for some freshly made donuts to take to the beach with us.

Jennifer led us to Grandview Beach where we met up with Andy, Connor's surfing instructor.  It was so much fun watching Connor learn how to surf!  He is a natural!  He was up standing on the board in no time and was having a blast!  The day was absolutely beautiful!  Clear blue skies, warm breeze and the the pacific ocean just calling to us to play -

While we were at the beach, we noticed that a bunch of people with surf boards were coming down the beach toward where we were settled. Some were carrying flowers and most had there boards. My cousin said that it was a memorial service for someone that was obviously a surfer and loved within the surfer community. They conducted a short ceremony on the beach before a bunch of them took their boards and paddled out to past the point break and got into a big circle. One guy was on standing on a board paddling around them. They threw flowers into the middle of the circle and then paid their respects to the person who passed away, afterward they were done, they all went surfing for a while before heading back to the beach. It was a pretty cool thing to witness.

Later that day, I found this has washed up on the beach -

We also had to put up with commercials at the beach -

Here's my favorite photo from that day - My son begging to have another surfing lesson....LOL!

Three hours at the beach was plenty for all of us, so we packed up our gear and heading to Newton's son, Nick's house who lived right up the street.  He was having his dad over for Father's Day and we went over so we could meet everyone.  After that - back to Fallbrook, a trip to the grocery store for food and snacks and a nice relaxing evening with friends!

More later.....