Out with the old, in with the new!

I have SO many pics to share on here...and I have been so involved in family that I have not yet got them off of my camera...soon, my friends!
The Holidays have been awesome!! And here it is the last day of 2009! Can you believe it?
Well I have started a new weight loss plan this year - started the very last week of October to be exact! And I wanted to share my success with it thus far...
I am mortified at the exact weight I started at and also the weight that still plagues me, so I am not going to give out those specifics yet...but I have lost 16 lbs in the last 9 weeks! Yeah! Really that is close to an average of 8 lbs a month! I am good with that! And really I know that I need to include more exercise in my daily routine...so that is my new years resolution! I am already going pretty well on the weight loss, I need the exercise to boost it a little and to turn this flab into muscle!
I started taking my measurements on November 15th - I would have took them when I started the diet - but I did not have a measuring tape! So since that date - up to today when I again took my measurements, I am down 2 inches in my bust (sorry honey), 1.5 inches in my waist, and 1 inch each off of my thighs, arms, and hips!
So cheers to losing weight and inches and bring on the new me in 2010!~
And thank you Tina who started me on this venture and helping me through it at the same time you are doing it!! We will be hot mamas before we know it!!

Remembering loved ones!

Ever since my step-dad died, my family has always felt the sign of an eagle was the sign that he was near...now not every eagle that I see gives me that feeling that he is with me...but today it did!

I was driving to work, on a busy road in the city where I live...not right near mountains, or streams, or rivers...and there was an eagle, sitting peacefully in a baren tree with a bunch of magpies. My eyes instantly started tearing up in rememberence and comfort, knowing that he was with us for Christmas!

I miss all of my family who has passed and wish that they were here with us still...but I take comfort in knowing that they are with us whether we can actually see them or not! I feel them around me, especially during times like this! Christmas, a time for love and family!

I love and miss you!!

A little quiz for the Holidays!

Just in time for the Holidays...I have found this little Holiday quiz from my blog friend Meeko...it seems this little beauty is going around the blog world...and now it is my turn to contribute...so if you happen to read my blog...here is what YOU can do!

(a) leave a comment and answer the below 25 questions that Mandy made up (it seems that a lady names Mandy has started this little quiz)

(b) write the answers to the questions below in your own blog post, if you have a blog, that is.

or

(c) call yourself a scrooge in the comment below and refuse to answer them. I hope you choose (A) or (B) but if you choose (C) then I'll just let the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future deal with you. If you do decide to write your own blog post about it, please mention Mandy since she is the author of these important questions. (Writers credit and all that jazz - thanks!)

(1) What is your favorite Christmas movie? I absolutley LOVE Elf!! I watch it every year as I am putting up the Christmas tree...and then I walk around for a few days burping as loud as I can and asking my family "did you hear that?"!!! Ha ha!

(2) What is your LEAST favorite Christmas movie? I cannot think of one that I dis-like...I just like some more than others, but I cannot pin-point just one!

(3) What is your favorite Christmas song? Right now, I am hooked on Winter Wonderland by Jason Mraz...but I cannot find it anywhere to download it, so I just had to listen to it on You Tube about 50 times yesterday while I was painting up some Christmas presents!

(4) What Christmas song(s) drives you crazy? Sorry Meeko...but I HATE the Hippo for Christmas song! Ahhh! It drives me NUTS! There are actually quite a few as we listen to Pandora here at work that I do not like! I definitely like more of the original Christmas songs, not the new made up ones like Happy Birthday Guadalupe by the Killers that came out this year...I cannot stand that one!

(5) What is your favorite Christmas drink? (i.e. egg nog, hot chocolate) I guess it would have to be coffee...it may not seem like a Christmas drink, but growing up we ALWAYS had to wait to go out to see what Santa brought us until mom had the coffee ready for her and David...and now I do that! Mmmm hot coffee!

(6) What is your favorite Christmas memory? I cannot think of one specific memory, every Christmas is great! I have loved them all!

(7) What is the best toy/gift you've received on Christmas?Probably the year 2000 when I had my daughter on December 7th...just in time for Christmas!

(8) What is the worst toy/gift you've received on Christmas? One of my BF's back in the day asked me what I wanted for Christmas...I told him I wanted the book "Daddy's Little Girl" by Mary Higgins Clark...and I got some dumb ass book about the life of Martha Washington that Mary Higgins Clark wrote...YUCK! I really have no desire to learn about History...NOT my favorite subject! He was the history enthusiast NOT me!

(9) What do you LOVE about the holidays? EVERYTHING! I cannot discriminate on any one party of it! I love the tree, the decorations, the shopping for your loved ones, the music, the get-togethers...everything!

(10) What annoys you about the holidays? Not having all the money I want to buy everything my kids and family would every want!! I wish I could give it all!

(11) Do you prefer star or angel on top of a Christmas tree? Well I usually have a bow on my tree, but this year I did get a star and I quite like it!

(12) What is your family favorite recipe at Christmas? My most favorite is my grandma's stuffing! if I had to give up everything else on Christmas dinner but one thing...I would ONLY eat stuffing!

(13) Are you a Grinch or a Who at Christmastime? Definitely a Who.

(14) Christmas light displays - Love them or Hate them? Love them! I wish I had outlets all around the house and in the yard so we could put up tons...although my husband is not a huge putting up lights fan and I would fall of the ladder for sure (clumsy) so we settle for the one strand of lights around the front of the house! :(

(15) Santas at the mall - Fun times or Creepy? It depends! Some are fun...and some are definitely creepy! I will have to post the picture my daughter got this year with Santa! CREEP city!

(16) Christmas cards - do you send them, yes or no? I always want to, but never get my butt around to getting them done! Good intentions...not enough time!

(17) What is the best thing about Christmas, in your opinion? Watching the kids open their presents with excitement and joy written all over their faces!

(18) What is the worst thing about Christmas? Trying to fit it all in in one day! With my husband and I divorced with kids with other people, we only get half of a day to get our stuff done...my family...and HIS family! It stinks!

(19) When do you put the tree up and take it down? Up right after Thanksgiving (thank goodness for fake trees) and comes down after the new year!

(20) Out of the 12 days of Christmas, which day and item would you want your true love to give to you? Five Golden Rings...especially if they are white gold and look something like this...

(21) Why do you think that Grandma got run over by a reindeer? Poor old senile woman! I cannot believe that they let her walk home all by herself!

(22) Who is your favorite reindeer? I woudl have to say Rudolph because all of the other ones were judgemental jerks!

(23) Do you believe in Santa Claus? Yep...I just pinched myself and I AM real! :)

(24) What is your favorite smell at Christmastime? Some sort of apples and cinnamon smell!

(25) What would make you happy at Christmas this year? For my husband to get a good Christmas bonus so we will not feel a financial stress from the shopping!

Have fun with this and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Text Message from Santa Claus...

A friend at work turned me on to this new fangled idea of having Santa send text messages to your kid(s) during the Holiday season. So I checked it out ~HERE~ . It seemed like a good idea, so I signed up for the service for less than $6.00 my youngest - who is still holding on to the belief in Santa even though everyone at school keeps telling her he does not exist and her logical brain is also telling her that it makes more sense that me and Jason are "santa"... I figured maybe I can get her to still believe for another year or two from this little venture!

Due to a few complications with my cell phone service providor...we will not get into that!... she finally got her first text from "Santa"!! I had set up the first one to come on her birthday with a birthday wish from the big guy himself! But just a day later still was acceptable to her!

So I get a call from work after she gets home from school...

Kaitlyn: I just got a message on my phone from SANTA!


Me: Really? What does it say?


Kaitlyn: It says "Santa here, happy birthday I hope you had fun Keep thinking of some good
ideas for me to bring you for Christmas See you soon Love Santa"


Me: That is cool!


Kaitlyn: Yeah...gasp...what was that JINGLE?? faint sounds of running and muffling sounds of the phone
I do not see Santa outside, but I just heard a jingle!!


Me: (trying not to laugh) Well you know what the song says he hears you when you are
sleeping, he knows when you're awake...


Kaitlyn: Yeah that is cool...but it is kinda CREEPIN' ME OUT! Well I am gonna hurry and do
my chores so I can get outta this house!


OMG, I had to try SO hard not to laugh out loud! It was hillarious! Later that night, I looked in her phone to see if she had attempted to text Santa back...which just as I figured she had


it said...


iloveyouto


I am pretty sure my ploy to hold on to her belief in Santa has worked!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

It has been one birthday after another in my family! So I have a few pics of some cakes that I have done for some of them.

First is the one I did my my mother in law...she LOVES to garden and anything to do with flowers! So I made her this...

Next was my brother's girlfriend! I made hers in her favorite colors!

And then was my little baby...my baby who turned 9 yesterday! :( I cannot believe it! She is getting too, too big! She wanted me to make her a pink and green 2 tier cake with some scroll piping...something I have NEVER done before...but I will do anything for my baby! So I did it! :)

We also went to Chuck E Cheese for her party! It was a lot of fun! Happy Birthday, Sweetie!! Mommy loves you!!

Kaitlyn and Hannah playing some games!

SO CUTE! Chuck-E comes out and actually crown the birthday girls and boys with a special crown! I love it!

They kids also got a special birthday medal! Kaitlyn LOVES it!

At the end, they all got to get up and dance with Chuck-E!

Make a wish!

What a fun birthday! I wish I was 9 again so I could invite all my friends and hang with Chuck E Cheese! :)