Mother's Day Creations

I am still working on the craft room, but I was able to get in a little crafting before Mother's Day. Here are a few of the cards I created:

Here is one I created on a whim... It pivots open and closed.

Hope you liked them. I am getting ready to order my Cricut. I am sooo excited!!!

God Bless~~ Trina

Missing in Action

Ok, sorry for disappearing for the last couple weeks. It started with a horrible stomach flu and has been catch up since then. I am back and I am pleased to let you know that I finished the Wellness Challenge. I lost a total of 24 pounds while on the challenge for 3 months and looking forward to losing more. I can tell the difference in my attitude towards food and have developed a few good habits.

I hope all of you had a great and relaxing Mother's Day. I certainly did. I will be posting pictures of all the cards I created for Mother's Day as well as a special treat to be able to see the cards my hubby made for me and his mother. It was great! I enjoyed spending the day with so many family members, just wish there was more weekend... :)

Stay tuned for pictures coming soon.

God Bless ~~ Trina

Good Week!

It is so great when we hit little milestones and today was another one of those days. I went to Jenny this morning and was down another 3.5 pounds! Whoo Hoo!! Back on track and losing again.

Timothy also successfully had 5 days straight of "good" days at school. Now, if you have been following my blog, You will know that this has been a hard task to complete. If you are new to my blog, first welcome and second, Timothy is a very... hmmm... how shall we say... "spirited" 5 year old with a heart of gold, fidgety hands and a lot of things he needs to say. This combination tends to get himself into situations that are less than favorable in a classroom setting, so when we have a complete week that is 100% successful, we are going to celebrate.

Timothy knew that he earned a trip to Leatherby's (best ice cream ever) and was able to get a junior sundae. He had to eat lunch first and boy did that go down quick. He was so happy when they finally arrived with his chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with hot fudge sauce, whipped cream and cherry that I thought he was going to pass out. He started to dig in and was going at a feverish pace when we had to remind him to breathe and slow down. He said he had to hurry because hi tummy was filling up too fast. He got through all the ice cream and Mike looked over at him and he looked as if he were going to get sick and then Mike let him know that he did not need to eat all of it and he sighed, sat back, wiped his brow and whispered, "Whew, I thought I was gonna puke!."

He leaned into me and snuggled next to me with a blissful, happy, ice cream grin on his face. I sure do love that little stinker.

Have a great night. ~~ Trina

Melting Heart

Good evening blogging world. I had to work from the office today, so I have been prepping Timothy that he was going to be at school for the whole day today, which is not too tragic on Thursdays because instead of napping, they get to watch a movie.

When I work from the office, it can be as late as 5:30pm before I can pick him up. Today, I left the office, stopped by the bank ATM and went to the school. I was there at 4:45pm and walked to his classroom and was old he was outside playing. It was a beautiful day and I was happy he was taking advantage of being in the sunshine. I went out to get him and could not see him anywhere, but the teachers called for him and I finally caught sight of him walking toward me.

Bless his little heart-- I had to call him so he would see me, as he was looking around all lost and when he finally made it over to me, he was crying. I picked him up (which is pretty hard to do these days) and asked him why he was crying and if he was okay and all he could muster was that I left him there too long. I reminded him of our conversations about being there all day and he said he knew he was going to be there longer, but thought I needed to pick him up after the movie. It melted my heart that he was that emotional about being there that long.

When we were on our way home I asked him if he was having fun on the playground and you know what that stinker said to me?? I was having fun until you made me leave early... I cannot win... lol

Have a great evening. I am going to get to be early. ~~ Trina

5 Year Old with Tude!!

I believe I have a 5 year old that is going on 60. He is so set in his ways and his little routines, that he cannot handle the silliest of changes. He is all good when it comes to major changes, but not the little ones. I was not aware that it is a crime to get dressed before we eat breakfast, or that the world is going to end if we take a bath in the morning.

I fear that I now have two little old men living in this house now and they are both VERY set in their ways. I love both of them dearly, but UGH... Sometimes it needs to be alright that we do things on a different schedule and it not have to signify the end times.

Well, I need to go get caught up on my laundry, so have a great evening.

~~ Trina

Craft Room Progress

Okay, I am so excited that my craft area is almost completed. Today Mike installed the counter top. I love how it looks and how much storage and organization I am going to have. I just need to start the cleaning process and Mike will be finishing the drawers and doors soon. (He wants his garage back.)

Here is what I have been working from(removing one of the white cabinets from my sitting area):

Here is where my new area looks like:

I will still keep my white desk as a work area, but I will have all this other wonderful space. I also will have a nice large table in this room so I can invite people over to stamp with me. I will post more pictures as the room develops.

Have a GREAT Day!! ~~ Trina

Our Day - Timmy, Quilt Show and Rapunzel

It was quite an exciting day today. Grammy came over this morning and Timothy, Grammy and I headed to the Quilt show in Auburn. We got there and began looking at quilts when we ran into Grandma Lynn who helps put on the quilt show. The quilts were beautiful and Grandma Lynn took Timothy to the Kid Zone so we could look around. Timothy was very proud that he got to arrange some small blocks that would be made into a preemie baby quilt.

We left the quilt show to drive back to Carmichael to go to Chautauqua Playhouse to see Rapunzel. Timothy had only heard this story a few times and it was radically different from the version he had heard, but he really enjoyed the play. Of course his favorite part was intermission when he got to get a treat.

I was not able to take pictures of the craft room progress today, but should have them posted by tomorrow.

Good Night ~~~ Trina

You Will Never Believe This!!

I was actually able to get in some crafting. I made this cute little paper basket for Timothy's teacher for Easter. She loved it!! It was a bit challenging to hold it together and get the first couple rows with the little narrow band at the bottom started, but it was worth it in the long run.

I have not been posting my Wellness Challenges as I have been writing in a paper journal for the past few weeks. I will resume postings tomorrow.

Hope you all had a great day and I will be back tomorrow with pictures of the craft room cabinet project. I will be very excited when this is all done and I can get all my crafting stuff put away.

God Bless ~~ Trina

Day 51 - No Voice

I wonder why it is that the day that I wake up without a voice, I have 3 overlapping conference calls that I need to participate in. UGH!!! I managed to survive, but it was rough first thing this morning. I am going to cut it short tonight because I am ready for bed. I am going to try and make it through Biggest Loser, but I am very tired... so we will see.

Here's hoping for a better tomorrow and no more sore throat.

~~~ Trina

Day 50 - Cannot.... swallow.... ugh...

This is going to be a short post as I did nothing today except try and sleep off this nasty sore throat. I feel like there is a bowling ball lodged in my throat and it is on fire. It is very hard to swallow and now my ears have started hurting too. Not good timing. Work is crazy tomorrow and I just need to try and get through it. I hope I get more sleep tonight than last night.

God Bless, ~~ Trina

Day 49 - Sore Throat! UGH!!!

I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I dislike this feeling and hope it goes away soon. Timmy still has a slight runny nose, but he has been feeling pretty good. I finished up my homework for the week but I am still a bit disgruntled with my Professor. I just do not think it is productive teaching to not have all our grades (ok, make that any of our grades) available before we take an exam. How do I know if I have been doing my work correctly? UGH...

Anyway, I did manage to clean around the pool and make the patio more presentable. I will be glad when summer is here and Timothy gets to swim again.

More tomorrow. ~~ Trina

Day 48 - Baby Shower Today

I am adding my blogs that I hand wrote, so here is Saturday. Today Timmy actually slept in until 9:30am. Yippee!!! I love it when I get to sleep in. It seems that he has not been able to adjust too well to the time change, at least not in the morning.

I stayed up late last night planning out where the cabinets are going to go in the craft room. I am so excited that they will be in soon and I can finally get all my stuff organized. I will have to take a few pictures during the process to share.

It was a fun ride to the Baby Shower with 9 people in the Suburban ranging from Grams(90 years old) to Timmy (5 years old). I love it that we get to have times like this for bonding. :)
The shower was nice and Timmy had a few friends to pal around with. There were lots of people there and so many cute girl outfits.

Have a Great Night! ~~ Trina

Day 47 - Friday, Friday, Friday!!!

Okay, first things first... I weighed in today at Jenny and I was up 1.5 pounds. No biggie and I think I figured out why. I decided that I wanted a different menu this week and went off my Jenny routine to have sandwiches. I was not paying attention to the fact that I was missing a lot of the items I needed to be eating and was shorting my calories for the day. Not good. So I guess I am not even close to weaning off anything right now, even though I really did know that. :)

I still got in all my water, fruits and veggies, just not everything else. I did not resort to eating anything bad, cause I wanted my points, just not watching close enough. Funny how our brains think "eat less and lose more", when in reality for me this week it was "eat less, gain more". I have got to re-write those tapes in my head.

Timmy had a great day at school and came home and helped me wash the Suburban. This is not an easy feat for a little man, but he was awesome. Mike came home from his parents house with the cabinets that are going into my craft room/office soon. I cannot wait to get completely organized and get to creating again. I was cleaning in there yesterday and boy did I get some ideas going in my head. Good times my friend, good times.

God Bless, ~~ Trina

Day 46 - Free Point Day

I took my free points today.

Day 45 - Happy St. Patricks Day

I hope you all remembered to wear green today. Timothy got to make rainbow cupcakes at school today and they were pretty good. He loves the Cooking Adventures he gets to do once a week. He had a pretty good day at school, but he was a bit wild to start. Sheesh! Where does he get all that energy.

After work we all went for another bike ride to wear the little mister out... IT WORKED!!! We came home, ate dinner and he went right to bed. It was only 7:15pm. Gotta love that! I think I am going to bed early.

Have a super rest of the evenin' and more tomorrow.

~~~ Trina

Day 44 - Not Much to Report

I woke up early this morning with a massive headache, went back to sleep once Mike left for work at 5:00am and did not wake up again until 8:00am. It was a rushed morning to get Timmy up, bathed, dressed and fed all before 8:30am to go to Kaiser on time. Ugh!!

The rest of my day was filled with work. Nothing much going on except enjoying the warm weather and being able to open all the windows and let the house air out. Hope it lasts for awhile.

Night for now. ~~ Trina

Day 43 - Sunshine and Exams... lol

Okay, I really liked the weather today. I was able to open all the windows and not freeze. I also got to smell the fragrant blossoms in the air. It was great. I went to the office for a little bit in the morning and then came home to work some more.

I topped the evening off with an Exam in Political Science. I have never struggled so much to want to get through a class... I strongly dislike the Professor's teaching style. She has yet to grade half of the assignments we have completed (online class) and we are mid term and no one even knows how they are doing grade-wise. UGH!!! I did score an 86% on this exam.

Well, I must get to bed or I will never get up in the morning.

Night ~~~ Trina

Day 42 - Runny Nose Again... ugh....

I cannot wait for the cold and flu season to be over. Timothy has a slight runny nose, but none the less, it appears to be another round for him. It was not going to keep him down today. Since he was not home last night, I was able to sleep in until... 7:30am... UGH!!! Why did I need to go pee at 7:30am?? Oh well, I was able to go back to sleep and was awaken at 10:30am by Mike telling me a buddy was on his way over and I may need to let him in...

It was a rush to make myself not look like O just woke up, even though I just did wake up... lol Anyway, we went to Mike's parents for lunch and the afternoon. Good times. :)

I hope I am able to get out of bed in the morning to get Timmy to school. Better get in bed early. :)

~~~ Trina

Day 41 - Sooo Quiet

Grammy and Grandpa came and kidnapped Timothy for the night. We had a few friends over and played Wii and Apples to Apples. It was a great time and I enjoyed the company. It is nice to have adult time every now and then.

The challenge is going well and I am so loving the new mindset I am in right now. I do not feel like it is "punishment" anymore, it is becoming normal to not want all the things I know I should not have. I have done very well with my points this week and I only have one more day to go. I know I can, I know I can....

Have a great night... even though I know most of you are asleep already. :)

~~ Trina

Day 40 - Another 2 Pound Loss

I weighed in this morning and I was down another 2 pounds. Whoo Hoo!!! It feels good knowing that I have lost over 18 pounds in the last few months. I have committed to losing 2 more pounds this week and I know I will be able to achieve that goal. My Jenny counselor is awesome and the entire staff has rallied around to encourage and love on me. Feels pretty good to know so many are in this with me.

My heels are really bothering me this week and getting on the Wii Fit has been challenging for me. I feel like both my Achilles are going to snap when I am trying to walk on them. It is better once I get moving, but the first minute of walking is a killer. I need to get back into the ice and stay off routine... ugh. Bike riding does not aggravate them that much, so I am excited to do more of that once the weather clears up.

Have a great night. ~~ Trina

Day 39 - God is Good!!

I received the best news today, Timothy was selected via lottery to attend California Montessori Project for Kindergarten for the next school year! This is a charter school in the San Juan school district and after having a conversation with a friend (Thank you Jen W.) at Thanksgiving last year and touring the school earlier this year, we knew that this would be the best option for him. I have never stressed so much over something that was so out of my control before, but I knew I needed to turn it over to God and let it be His will. Lots of prayer later and a great phone call today, we heard that we made it!

I am so thankful that he gets to attend there and I know that it will be a good fit for him. After our mishap this year with Dewey, it was a bit discouraging. But God is GOOD and we are very grateful and feeling very blessed. There are not a lot of spaces available at this school and I know God had his hand in this decision. Thank you Lord for the blessings you pour out over us, even though we are completely undeserving.

Ok, so I have to weigh in at Jenny tomorrow and I am hoping that the bike riding has helped with this weeks totals. I will report them tomorrow.

God Bless, ~~ Trina

Day 38 - What a Great Day!

Do you ever just feel like you had a great day, even when nothing spectacular happened? Today was a day like that for me. It was a pretty normal day, Timmy off to school, returned a few movies to Blockbuster, mailed a care package(full of goodies) to a college student and went into the office. (All of this by 9am)

Worked in the office until noon, picked Timmy up from school, came home, ate lunch, worked. The great thing was that when Mike got home, he suggested we go for another bike ride to the school. It was a nice day and the sun was still out for awhile. It was great and Timmy did a much better job of keeping his bike upright today. We were out for about 1 1/2 hours and then came home, ate dinner, talked on the phone with a great friend and then played Lego's with Timmy.

We rounded the day off by reading a few books and prayers. Nothing special, but it was all special. I hope that makes sense. Have a great night and I think I will be turning in early tonight.

God Bless ~~~ Trina

Day 37 - Biggest Loser

I cannot wait to get to watch Biggest Loser tonight. I have not been able to watch an episode since before the Olympics and I have really missed it. I need to catch up on the peeps and see how they are doing. Today was a good day, lots of work again, but good.

Timmy has not had great days at school, but it is nice to know that it is just focus issues as of lately and not behavior issues. He knows that if he does not have a good day at school from start to finish, he has to take a nap when he gets home... and he considers that Cruel and Unusual Punishment. SO for the last two days, he has made choices at school that have landed him a nap. It is so funny, because he will throw a fit that he has to nap, but will end up sleeping for three hours.

Well, one class down and one to go this semester. I passed my final in PowerPoint 2007 with 100% and I have a 99.89% in the class. I have been looking to see if I can pick up a second 8 weeks class, but have not found one yet. I am going to schedule an appointment with a Counselor to make sure I am on track for graduating at the end of the fall semester.

Have a great night and more tomorrow!! ~~ Trina

Day 36 - Work, Work, and More Work!!

I definitely cannot complain about a lack of work. I have a lot on my plate right now, but it is nice to be busy. The one thing I can say about being busy is that the time flies by so fast. One minute is is Friday after work and the next, it is Monday evening.

As I was working yesterday I tried to remember the last time I had fast food, and I cannot!! That is such a good feeling. I can remember not too long back when I could not remember the last time I had anything other than fast food. Now when we tell Timmy that we are going to go out to dinner and he asks if we can go to MacDonald's and I just remind him that I choose not to go there and he says "Oh yea, you are not allowed to eat at any place where they give you food through a window into the car, right Mommy?" I think it is important for him to know that it is not that I am not "allowed" to go there, it is just that I am making a choice to eat a more healthy and balanced meal.

Good news! I am in the process of cleaning out my craft room and getting back into stamping. My goal is to be stamping regularly by the end of this month. I cannot wait to get all organized and get some projects going. I miss my stamping and crafting... Having serious withdrawals.

Have a great night! ~~ Trina

Day 35 - Sunny Sunday

It was a beautiful day today. The sun was shining and all was good. Mike left early this morning with Timmy to go and visit his dad at the Swap meet, which left me home alone for several hours. Ahhh, how to spend them... I watched some "adult" themed TV and took a long refreshing shower. Once I was awake and ready to start my day, I hit the books and finished my homework.

When Timmy came home he was excited to tell me that he ate a hot dog with mustard only and it was yummy. He said he is a big boy now and used mustard instead of ketchup. He also told me that Grandpa's new motor home was pretty boring. There was just a couch, a bed, and a table, but not even a TV. Hmmm...

It is hard to believe that I am almost half way through the wellness challenge. It is getting easier and easier to not crave all the things I need to be avoiding and the accountability of Jenny every Friday also helps. Well, more tomorrow.

Pleasant dreams! ~~~ Trina

Day 34 - Relaxing Saturday

I finished up my Political Science homework today and worked on my PowerPoint project. We decided to take a break and ride our bikes to the school. Timmy is starting to get more used to riding his bike, but he forgets that he needs to steer and actually look where he is going. We had fun and I can tell that I have much more energy.

Finishing up my homework and ready to get to sleep.

:) Trina

Day 33 - Long Day

Well... It was a quick weigh and go at Jenny this morning. I was up .4 pounds. I think it was due to the anti-inflamatory meds that I just started back on. No problem, I will pick it back up and keep going. I know I am on the right track. The challenge is going great and I am feeling good about this week.

It was a long day at the office, but a productive one. I need to get some homework done soon because I do not want to wait until the last minute again.

God Bless ~~ Trina

Day 32 - Doh! Oops...

I totally blew it today. I had to take Timmy to the doctor and we took his homework to do while we were waiting. Got done with the doctor and went to the pharmacy to get what we needed and when we were checking out, I left his homework folder on the counter and walked out.

I was in a panic because it is due tomorrow and I was already home... Did someone find it, throw it away... UGH... I had to find that folder or life as I knew it was going to be over. I called Mike to let him know what i had done and he said why worry, he is in Kindergarten and it was a simple little paper folder with a few photo copies in it. I called the medical office and got in touch with Lost and Found and they had it. Whew!!!

But now... do I really want to drive all the way out there to get it?? I guess I will know more after dropping Timothy off tomorrow and i have to face his teacher and tell her I lost his folder. (Maybe I should get flowers... lol)

I will let you know how it goes. :) ~~~ Trina

Day 31 - Yippee, I am home!

I did well on the challenge being gone for 3 days. I did not eat after 8pm, no fast food, no soda, I journaled, read spiritual text, drank my water, praised someone and had no chips or swe--------- UGH... I blew the sweets today. My boss decided that he needed to bring in the largest, moistest, best smelling peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies. I just could not resist. i ate one after lunch and one right before I got in the car to drive home.

I guess it could have been worse. I could have given up for the day and stopped into a fast food place for dinner. Instead, I ate more Jenny on the way home and did not need to stop. Yea and boo me. :)

Really tired from the drive. Back tomorrow.

~~~ Trina

Day 30 - Exhausted

After working all day on a project in the Campbell office, I got back to my hotel room tonight and just wanted to crash, but this sill movie was on. At first I kept turning the channel to find something else to watch, but eventually gravitated back to the same movie. It was called "Lars and the Real Girl" and I still am not sure how I made it through the whole movie, but I did. I was kind of interesting, sad, funny and horrifying all in one...

It is still raining here and I think I am now ready to crawl into bed and get to sleep.

God Bless, ~~~ Trina

Day 29 - Wet, Wet, Everywhere.

I was hoping that once I arrived in Campbell that the weather would be better, but no!! It is raining harder here than it was at home. Oh well... The drive last night was a good one. I had on K-Love and sang my heart out all the way here. I am glad I brought all my Jenny food so I can try and stay on track.

The challenge is going well, I can tell that the cravings for soda and fast food are still diminishing. I am also noticing that I am not wanting food after 8pm. Good, maybe these new habits are going to help me build that healthy lifestyle.

I decided to go up to Pacifica to visit Mike's Aunt Connie and Uncle Bill. Billy and Shelby came over to visit too. I enjoyed the visit and have met my match in talkers. Whoo Hoo Aunt Connie. :) It was great getting to know them all better.

More tomorrow. Nightie Night... ~~Trina

Day 28 - Special Moments

Ok, I am catching up on entering my postings online. I had several busy days and had to resort to paper journaling for several days so I will start with Sunday.

There is something special about Grandparents. We were blessed today with a meal that was prepared by Mike's Grams. She wanted to cook a good Greek dish for the family, so she cooked a lamb stew. We picked Grams up to take her to Folsom and had to make sure and talk to Timothy prior to Grams getting into the car.

You see, Timmy has had a fascination with old people and wanting them to tell him when they were planning on going to Heaven. I get horrified every time I know we are picking her up because I can imagine that is the last topic she wants to discuss with a 5 year old. So I made sure he knew there would be a nap waiting for him at Grammy's if he decided to discuss dying, Heaven, being old, etc. Upon entering the car, the first words out of his mouth were, "Grams, I need to ask you a question". I turned my head back quickly to shoot him the DO-IT-AND-DIE look. He took the high road and asked, "How is your day?"

Whew! Dodged that one... lol. The meal was wonderful and the company exceptional. I always love getting together with family and spending some quality time with each other. As we were loading back into the car, I reminded Timothy about the forbidden topics and he was okay with that. In the car, Timothy decided to ask Grams if she had ever played a Nintendo DS before. Of course she said no, so Timmy took this opportunity to give Grams the full blown DS tutorial.

It was the cutest thing to see Grams getting a lesson in how to play a hand held video game from a 5 year old. He was a great teacher and very patient with Grams. Once he felt she was familiar enough with the game (enough to at least move Mario and jump, he struck a deal with her that when he died it would be her turn and vice versa. This went on until we were almost to Grams' stop when Timothy let one slip out. He said, "Whew, I sure am glad that I am not old and unable to learn to play this game." I made him apologize for being rude and Grams was laughing. I told her she could now brag to all her friends that she knows how to play Nintendo DS.

Now I just need to get Timothy to understand that it is rude to tell people they are old. I guess i better finish my homework so I can drive to San Jose tonight.

God Bless ~~ Trina

Day 27 - New Ride for Mike

So it appears that the "great deal" on Mike's 1970-something pickup has had its challenges. There is a backfire issue that has Mike chasing down the instructions on how to rebuild the engine. (Which I understand involves removing the engine completely.) But since he loves the truck, I remain supportive while giving him a hard time. (all the time)

We went to look at a 1994 Isuzu Trooper one of Mike's co-workers was needing to get rid of and we ended up driving it home. It was such a great deal and it is pretty roomy. Mike will need something to drive while he is working on his truck, so I am glad we were able to get it.

Timothy got into the Trooper and said "WOW, this is fancy!". He was cracking me up because the inside really needed a cleaning and there was dog hair everywhere. He asked me where the window "button" was and it was then that I had to give him his introduction to a vehicle without power windows and door locks. Too Funny!!!

More tomorrow, God Bless. ~~Trina

Day 26 - Shedding the Pounds!!

I knew i was feeling like I had a great week and was back on track. I weighed in at Jenny and lost another 3.2 pounds for this past week. It feels GREAT! 16.8 ponds so far. Not a bad average for 7 weeks.

I have been able to stick to the Wellness Challenge this week as well. It all seems to be easier for me when I do not have an entire day off of everything. I can tell this week that I have less cravings for fast food and the cravings I have had, I have been able to beat into submission. :)

Looking forward to a down day tomorrow before another week of lots of work gets underway.

God Bless ~~ Trina

Day 25 - Free Points Day

I am taking my free point for not posting today. More tomorrow after my weigh in at Jenny.

~~ Trina

Day 24 - Getting Back in the Groove Feels Great!

I am feeling great this week as I have been on track with the Wellness Challenge as well as Jenny. It is nice to feel refreshed and renewed. Since I have been going to the office all week, I was concerned about lunches, but I have been able to take lunch, fruit, yogurt, carrots, and cheese sticks. It feels good to not be craving sweets right now and I have not had the urge for fast food at all this week.

I CAN DO THIS and not be defeated!!! My brain is starting to realize that it does have a voice over my emotions and is learning how to make the emotions take a back seat. I can also feel God so working in my life right now and that alone is amazing.

Well, I hope everyone out there in Blog reader land is doing well. Sweet dreams and more tomorrow.

~~ Trina

Day 23 - Midterm Accomplished!

Whew! One midterm down for this semester. As much as I would like to be interested in Political Science, it just is not happening. I did score an 86% (which surprised me) and felt good about it.

On to more interesting matters. I weighed myself this morning for my mid-week reality check for Friday's Jenny weigh in and I was shocked to learn that I am down 4 pounds from Friday last week. I have been really on track since Friday with my food (and points) and can feel the difference.

My AWESOME hubby cleaned the house last Saturday and it has been so nice to come home to. Yes, you hear me correctly. To come home to... I have been working at the office all week since we have been testing and it is so different having to commute more than 30 feet to work. :)

Pleasant dreams ~~ Trina

Day 22 - Hmmm... Where did the last week go?

Okay, so I had a little bit of a challenging week last week, thus explaining the lack of posting. I only earned 53 points last week. I took my free day I was allowed for Valentine's Day and that sent me into a tailspin. I was still able to get in many of my points, but I know I was just giving some up for no good reason.

So, what have I learned about myself over the last week? I should not take a full day off everything. :) I am not ready for total freedom at this point. I weighed in last Friday at Jenny and at least I maintained. I stayed the same for the week. I have new goals this week and am feeling good about staying completely on track.

Have a great evening!

~~ Trina

Day 15 - Back on track

Last week was very hard to juggle everything. I had loads of work I needed to get done, Timothy was sick AGAIN, (when will that end?) and I had load of homework for both of my classes. I only earned 66 points last week because I was not able to get in all my exercise. I have decided to view this challenge from a different approach to fool my mind into not being overwhelmed about the number of weeks we have. I am taking each week as a new challenge. Last week has passed and I am starting over again this week on a new weekly challenge.

With getting to start over every week, it do not get down on myself for losing points for a specific week. I have had so many successes in the past two weeks, I do not need to feel defeated. I am able to turn away from fast food, I am not eating after 8:00 PM and I only have soda 1 day a week, if that. I am exercising almost every day and usually for more than the needed 45 minutes and i can tell that it is all making a huge difference for my body.

I lost another 1.2 pounds when I weighed in at Jenny on Friday and now I am down 13.6 pounds in 5 weeks. Not a bad average and this time I can feel myself making different choices because I can and not because I have to. I think this combination of Jenny and the Wellness Challenge is just what I need to make the life changes that will stick. Thank you Jen for taking the time to manage this 3 months for all of us.

~~~Trina

Day 14 - Valentine's Day (Free Point taken again)

Day 13 - Go USA!

I enjoyed watching the Olympics today. Timmy was able to have a play date and I got to play Wii Fit. Whoo Hoo...

Short post tonight... need my sleep. :)

Day 12 - Free Day Points

Day 11 - Another Power Moment!!

Well, I located my power tonight by telling Mike that I did not want any ice cream. (My favorite!!) I did not want to use my free point and I have weigh in tomorrow with Jenny, so I opted out. I was very proud of myself. I also had a very successful night at the grocery store.

I can feel the habits starting to develop and it is refreshing. I have struggled a little this week since I have been so busy with work and Timmy has been sick. I am hoping he will be better enough tomorrow to be in class for his party. He had no fever today, but we have to wait for the strep test to be back in the morning.

We made valentines for the class and a gift bag for his teacher. I will post pictures tomorrow.

I must get to bed now. More tomorrow.~~ Trina

Day 10 - Busy with Work

Work kept me very busy today. We are getting closer and closer to a launch date for a new system and it is getting hectic, but it is what I thrive on, so it is all good.

Not too much to report today. Timmy is still sick and has a doctor appointment tomorrow to get a strep culture... Poor little guy.

Closing for now because I really need some sleep.

Nightie Night~~ Trina

Day 9 - Huge Win Today!!!

Ok, so Timmy is not feeling well again and when he does not feel good it is hard to get him to eat, so we treated him to Burger King, and I had to go get it. UGH!!! Could I go and not get something for myself???

YES, I CAN!!!

And to top it off, Mike wanted a salad from Mac Donald's and Timmy in his most pitiful voice mentioned something about cinnamon twists, so I also went to Taco Bell for them. Talk about the ultimate challenge. But I did it. I was so proud of myself for not giving in. Thanks to this wellness challenge, I found my power to say NO. I was going to say that I had the power to say no, but I need to realize that I have always HAD the power, it has just been MIA for too many years. It felt good to dust it off and use it. :)

Well, I had better call it a night.

More tomorrow. ~~ Trina

Day 8 - Welcome to Week 2

Ok, so I am slacking right now. I need to still get in 24 ounces of water, 45 minutes of exercise and I used my free point to have a salad from Mc Donalds. I guess it was still a success, because I did not have a hamburger and fries.

I am loving the Wii Fit Plus for getting in all my exercise. I like to hula hoop and the obstacle course the best. It is amazing how one can get 45 minutes in and forget and keep going for another 30 minutes. I made a commitment this month at Jenny to put in an additional 15 minutes 3 or more days a week and it looks good for this week.

Work is ramping up and there is excitement and trepidation in the air about the launch of the new system. I am cautiously optimistic.

I have to tell you a very innocent observation that Timothy made. He approached me today and was snacking on mini pretzel sticks when he stuck it out the side of his mouth like a cigarette and said, "see Mom, now I am a real man". I asked him what the pretzel represented in his mouth and he told me it was a "steam tube" that cool men used. Too funny and straight from the mouths of babes.

Trina

Day 7 - Way to go Saints!!

Well, I did not think I was going to watch the game, but I ended up ditching my homework to watch the Saints pull of a great win. Congratulations Saints, nicely played.

As for the Wellness Challenge, I lost my point on the goodies today. I just could not stay away from them. More will power was in order and it got lost... lol. I did get in my fruits and veggies and water though. Good thing we played on the Wii before Superbowl. It was a great kids party and we were sad that Timmy's friend could not come because he ended up sick, but all the older girls were kind enough to play Star Wars with him.

So I am at 69 points for the first week. Not off to a bad start and looking forward to each new week. I can sense the shift in habits already. I am determined to make sure that this happens from the inside out.

Have a great night. I am now off to finish my Political Science homework... ugh...

~~ Trina

Day 6 - Gearing up for Superbowl!

Ok, so I am not really gearing up to watch the Superbowl, just looking forward to a party my mother-in-law is putting on for the kids. Timmy's cousins, some of their friends, Timmy and his buddy Josh, Josh's parents, Mike's parents and Mike and I will all be hanging out in Folsom tomorrow. The kids got to make the menu and had to help prepare it today to get ready.

At least I know that Connie is on the wellness challenge with me and we are going to try and keep each other on task. I think I may need to take a few of my free points that I have left for the week... By the way, Friday I had to use my free points for eating sweets and eating after 8pm because I plain forgot. I was doing good all week when our Friday afternoon lunch plans tricked me. Even though I just took 2 very small bites of the fudgy brownie sundae, I still cheated... So then I figured I would take the free point for the week and be done, but since I was already in violation, I had some more ice cream later that evening and forgot that it was past 8pm, so I had to take my other free point. UGH!!!

I am back on track now, and hope to stay on track tomorrow. I think i need to start next week with some Ginkobaloba to help me remember!!!

Well, I will let you know how it goes. Blessings, Trina

Day 5 - Very successful!!

I weighed in at Jenny Craig this morning and I am happy to report another good loss. I have lost 2.8 pounds this week. That means that I have lost 12.4 pounds in the past 5 weeks, even with a 4 day cruise to Ensenada thrown in there.

I have to say that the Wellness Challenge is what kept me on track this week. Because I am focusing more on being intentional with my actions in all that I am doing, I can see where I am more tempted. I have been so tempted to give in and have a soda, but I have fought it off...

I wanted to start posting what I am thankful for each day, as does the leader (Jen) of our challenge. I would like to start by thanking Jen for inspiring me to commit to this challenge and for the continuous pouring out of her heart for us all to make it through it. Thank you Jen!!!

Here are a few more of the things I am thankful for:

• I am thankful that I am able to have a personal relationship with God and to know that He loves me unconditionally.
• I am thankful for my husband and Timothy and for all the joy they both bring to my every day (even though it is challenging sometimes :o)
• I am thankful for my family and my husband's family. They are always there when you need them most.
• I am thankful for good friends that know just when to lift me up and help me through life. (You know who you are)
• I am thankful for laughter and how, even though I have been through quite a bit in my life, I still have abundant joy in my life.
• I am thankful for my church family and knowing that if I ever just need someone to share with, or get support from, they will be there.
• I am thankful to my job and that, even though I was laid off, they valued me enough to ask me to contract back and have continued to need my services over a year later. (Thank you Brix)
• I am thankful for the strength of my step-mother after losing my father last year. She is an amazing model of what true love looks and acts like. I am truly blessed to have her in my life.
• I am thankful for Kindercare and Ms. Carol. She has given Timothy a new passion to strive to be the best little person he can be.
• Last one for today, I am thankful for all the blessings God has poured into my life.

Now I am going to take some time to let those that I am thankful for know how much I love and cherish them.

Have a great Friday!

Trina

Day 4 - Going pretty smoothly, so far... :)

It has been an ok day today. At least I did not wake up with any headaches. Work kept me so busy today that I almost forgot to eat lunch, but my tummy reminded me that it was way past time to eat. I was very distracted this evening and was going to have an orange before 8pm, but by the time I looked at the clock, it was 8:30pm. Not tonight!!! I am not going to lose that point. :)

I am still on the hunt for something to make for Timmy's class and teacher. Hope to have that figured out this weekend and at least half completed also.

I had better get back to my reading, as I have a ton of Political Science homework that is due on Sunday. Yes, that is correct, I am enrolled in Political Science and PowerPoint 2007 this semester. I will only have about 4 more classes after this for my AA in Management and Mike is only 2 more classes away. Whoo Hoo!!

Sleep well.

Trina

Day 3 - Caffeine Withdrawals... UGH!!

I woke up this morning with a caffeine withdrawal headache that is what I imagine a migraine would feel like. Since I am not drinking any soda, I went two days without caffeine and paid the price. I heated up a pot of water and went through 6 cups of tea and felt much better. I am still getting in my 48 oz of water in addition to the tea.

After I took Timothy to school I spent my 45 minutes playing on my Wii Fit. I am so glad I got it for Christmas. I am glad that I am able to learn to fly like a chicken and hula hoop... :) It has been really beneficial this week also to get Timmy to run a few miles before I take him to school. It seems to calm him enough to focus on his work.

As long as I do not get the munchies in the next 30 minutes, I will have successfully completed day 3. Whoo Hoo!!

Have a great evening and I will be back tomorrow. I am plotting what to make for Valentine's for Timmy;s class. It is much easier since there are only 6 kids and 1 teacher.

~~ Trina

Day 2 - Rough Day

Today is proving to be a pretty rough day for me. I woke up knowing it was Groundhogs Day and that always used to be a reminder to call Dad for his birthday. He would have been 70 years old today and I am missing him. I have made several moves to the "comfort" foods to try and ease the pain, but so far, so good.

Other than that, I have been doing pretty well. I need to get my rear in gear to get in all my water, but other than that, it looks like I will earn all 10 points for today too. Whoo hoo!!! I am excited to see how my Jenny Craig weigh in goes on Friday as well. I am in week 4 and for the last 3 weigh-ins, I have lost 3.2 lbs each week. It also helps that Mike is on Jenny too.

More later.

Day 1 - Welness Challenge

I have made it through the first day of the wellness challenge and it has had ups and downs for me. I struggled today with the no sweets and I think it was just because I knew I was not allowed to have them. The oranges and raisins came in very handy. The water was easy since I like to drink water. I had a good time getting in the exercise with my helper Timmy also.

I sure do love that little munchkin more than he will ever know and I hope he gets over his cold soon so he can start living again. Poor little guy has been stuck in the house for over a week.

Well, if I am going to get in my 8 hours of sleep I have committed to this wee, I better get going now.

Good Night!

Wellness Challenge Parameters

Ok, so if anyone was wondering what this whole welness challenge is all about, here it is:

Points are earned in 10 categories each day (70 points per week)

1. Drink 48 ounces of water
2. 45 minutes of exercise daily
3. Consume 2 servings of veggies and 2 servings of fruit
4. NO soda or alcohol
5. No sweets (desserts, pastries, candy, sugary snacks or cereals - but sugar free alternatives are fine) NO fast food or unhealthy snacks (potato chips,etc.)
6. NO eating after 8:00pm
7. Read 15 minutes of spiritual or uplifting text
8. Write in your journal
9. Express specific appreciation, love or praise to another person
10. Set a weekly personal goal to accomplish daily (read to your kids 15 minutes a day, get 8 hrs of sleep per night, etc.)

There are free days (Valentine's Day, birthday, etc.) and you get one free point per week in each of the 10 categories that you do not have to use unless you want to. (They do not carry over week to week)

This is a 90 day challenge, so here I go... I will be updating my blog as my journal.

I am back!

Okay, so I know I have disappeared for almost a year, but I am back to use my blog to journal about a very exciting 3 month Wellness Challenge that I have joined. 2010 is the year that I have dedicated to getting healthy and a big part of that for me will come with learning how to get healthy from the inside out.

Stay tuned for a 3 month journey that I think will develop great habits for my health and keep my journey going through the hard times. One of my tasks is to set goals for each week and I know some of my weeks will be to make sure I spend some time stamping!

Have a great day!