A Mess pretty much sums it up

Our house is a mess. Not only in the toys-all-over-the-place way, but the stomach flu has been like a tidal wave and now we are having problems staying connected to the internet. See what I mean...A MESS.

It started with a warning from my daughter's daycare. Two of her fellow daycare children and their mom & dad were sick. Wednesday at 4:00 I got a call to go pick her up. She vomited for the next 5 hours. The next day her daycare provider called to let us know she was sick. I admit, I wondered how bad it could possible be. Let me tell you, it was bad...BAD. I will spare you the details but that was Thursday night. Today I missed a photography class because I didn't dare sit for 4 hours with people who didn't love me enough to tolerate illness related symptoms. Now my husband is laying in bed sick. Did I mention that Friday we were supposed to go to our favorite restaurant and a movie for his birthday? Powerful little bug. Happy Birthday, here is the stomach flu.

January is...

COLD. Really, in North Dakota, it is. Luckily, that is not what I am talking about.

Exciting and busy. Tomorrow I am taking a mini trip to visit my grandparents. Mark will be staying home because it is a sin to force him to miss playoffs :). Then next weekend is his birthday. The day after his birthday I have a class on photographing babies and children. I am hoping that I will learn a lot with this. Amelia never wants to look at the camera because she has been blinded by it for the past two years.

Not only am I hoping it will increase my knowledge but I am looking forward to a little time to myself. I don't get a lot of that.

Right now, my daughter is napping and my husband just walked out to work on his motorcycle. This is the extent of my time alone so if you will excuse me, I am going to take advantage of it.

Checkin' 'Em Off

This past weekend I got so much stuff done that I have been putting off. I love that feeling. Like the weight is slowly being flicked off your shoulders with each task checked off. I really wish I felt this ambitious every weekend but I don't.

I know I am not the only person with a house that doesn't seem to get clean. And if it does get clean, it doesn't stay that way. I spent most of my weekend going through paperwork, picking things up, dusting, dishes, scrubbing, putting away groceries, cooking and making my weekly menu. I felt so organized and the cleaner it was the more organized I felt. I even worked out on the elliptical for over 1/2 hour today. I haven't been on it for almost a year.

Maybe it is the exercise. I just feel better. I don't want to question it. I hope this feeling doesn't go away.

You Capture - Doorways

I had bigger plans for this week's You Capture but since it was bitter cold out and I really didn't have time I decided not to join in again this week because the doorways in my house are pretty boring.

That changed when I finally decided to hang this sign. It is a sign that I found a couple days before Christmas at a drug store in downtown Bis. It was on clearance for $4.80. My daughter loves birdwatching so when I see them, I think of her.

I originally had the sign on the wall, where the wrench bottle opener is hanging :) I backed up to look at it and realized how bare the wall above the doorway was. It is like it was meant to be there. So here it is, my doorway:

If you want to see more You Capture, head on over to Beth's.

New Alarm

This morning I woke up to something I have never woken up to before. My dog growling and barking.

Let me tell ya, when I wake up in the middle of the night because I may have heard a noise, I listen for his reaction to it. He is very protective and I know if someone were trying to get in he would let us know. When I heard him go crazy, I won't lie, it scared the living bejeezus out of me.

I flew out of bed and ran out to the living room and let him out of his kennel. At first he went crazy and started creeping toward the bay window as if he was hunting something. Then I noticed what he was looking at...our new digital picture frame. We got it for Christmas but last night I actually took the time to set it up. I don't know if it had just come on or maybe he just woke up and noticed it but it seemed that was what had him so upset.

I hope that is the only thing he ever has to alert me too. I am so thankful to have him, even if I don't always seem like it. Love my Cassius. (Isn't he adorable?)

Level 2, Baby

I moved up to Level 2 in "The Shred". If you are not familiar with it, "30 Day Shred" is an exercise program by Jillian Michaels that consists of 3 levels. Each level is a warmup, 20 minute strength/cardio/ab workout and cooldown. Total time is around 30 minutes. Also, one of my co-workers is thinking about selling his Wii so he borrowed me his EA Sports Active to try it out. If he does decide to sell I may buy the game. From the 30 minutes I spent using Monday night, I really liked it. The only things I didn't like about it was (a) the strap would fall off if I didn't have it strapped really tight and (b) it was clumsy using the controllers with the resistance band. Once I got the hang of it, it got better.

My weight hasn't changed much, if any, since my last post. I am still waking up early to exercise and it is worth it because I do feel better throughout the day. My appetite is starting to go back to normal. I guess hope it was an adjustment period.

A few years ago I joined the Y so I could join a weight lifting class. I started using the elliptical, lifting free-weights and Mark and I would run afterward. I always felt really good afterward. I don't really know how or why I stopped but I did. I never realized how much I missed it.

5:30 a.m.

That is the time I get up to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I tried eating a banana before and cereal after Monday and Tuesday. Each day I would eat my weight in snacks throughout the day. I was never satisfied. Today I tried eating my Cheerios before and a hard-boiled egg afterward. No difference. I ate so much throughout the day. I am frustrated. Even though my weight was down this morning I do not like the feeling of being out of control. Just a couple months ago I could go all morning (after breakfast) with just a cup of coffee, now I have gone through all my calories before I even get home. The workout isn't easy but it isn't enough for me to be able to eat that much.

I hope my body just needs to adjust because I really do like getting up to do the workout. I feel much better throughout the day.