Slacker, slacker, slacker!

I can't believe it's been so long. I have done well with the gym the last two weeks. I got an awful sinus infection and then had to go back to the dentist for my follow up crown procedure and all that threw my workouts off. Life is rolling along. It seems we are going to get some winds and rain from Hurricane Ike this weekend. I hope it decreases in strength like the other one did.
It is just my luck, a procedure that should be done in two dental visits is taking "me" FOUR! My permanent crown was defective and had to be sent back, so I have to go back yet again........ JOY!
I am keeping in mind what one trainer I had told me awhile back, 80% is diet and 20% is exercise. I hate to admit it, but when I get going to the gym I love the way I feel afterwords. Like I accomplished something. I did something for myself. Don't get me wrong, it hurts! it stinks! When I'm in class I tell myself, this is 50min of 24 hours that you are taking to make your life better. Give it your all! It seems to be helping.

One BUSY week!

Whew! We made it! We did it! We survived the first week of school. Of course it would not be Chica's life if I did not complicate it. I signed up to work two 12hr shifts this week. What was I thinking??!! Not only did I have to arrange drop off in the am, but pick up in the afternoon. Of course I made the usual, new school year resolution... I WILL GO TO THE GYM AFTER I DROP OFF THE KIDS IN THE MORNING! Hmmm, yeah. That worked well. I will say that I at least bagged my swim bag on Monday... I talked myself out of it. I wish I could remember why now. Trust me at the time I had a good reason. Friday, I had a dentist appointment to get my temporary crown put in. I would rather go to the GYN doctor twice in one day, than go to the dentist! That's how much I dislike that experience. I literally was freaked to the point of nausea. There was no way, I was jumping and stretching. My appointment was in the city (The big D) and I had to make sure I got there on time, so I left as soon as I dropped off the kids at school. I was actually a few minutes early. Yeah, me! I must say, that this dentist is EXCELLENT! Him and his assistant kept telling me how good I did. I think I may have to actually change how I feel about going to the dentist. I'll keep ya posted in two weeks, when I go back for the actual crown. Oh yea, one more thing. Guess how much this lovely crown is costing me when all is said in done. Over 1,000!!! We have insurance, YES! I keep thinking of things I could do with that money. Well, my mother always said, you can't put a price on your health. Good clean teeth that will last for your life are a good thing to have.

Farewell Summer Days....

It's approaching. Whether I want it too or not! The laid back, non-structured, stay in your jammies, sleep late, stay up till whenever you want, eat breakfast at noon, don't care if you comb your hair days will be gone in just a few days. School starts Monday. As far as "prep" stuff the kids are ready. School supplies, uniforms, backpacks, all that has been ready long time ago. Now it's just time to MENTALLY prepare. I'm nervous! Carson ended the school year with anxiety issues and mild panic attacks. I keep asking her to tell me if anything went wrong? Nope. Nothing, she says. All of a sudden it's like the umbilical cord has been re-attached. She doesn't want to leave my side. She will only stay over at ONE friends house. Not like her at all. To top it off Nicole is not in her class. OMG! Major crisis. I am praying, and we are talking everyday, about school and how it will be fun, exciting etc etc. She is not convinced. We were out and about running errands yesterday and we both have been under the weather. She said she wanted a cake. I said, ok! She wanted a Busy B's Bakery cake, not just any cake. Fine, no problem. I had been craving a cake from there myself, but trying to keep the sugar down, had not even verbalized it. Funny, how she picked that up. We walk into the bakery and there it was. The perfect cake to end the summer with. The lady laughed when I told her what I wanted written on it. She thought it was perfect. So here's a pic of our "Farewell Summer Days" flip flop cake. It's yummie btw!
I've only had ONE piece. I'm about ready to pass some out to the neighbors, just so I will not be tempted.

Subtle Changes

("Queso" takes a drink from the horse trough)
I have been trying very hard to keep "refined sugar" out of the house this summer.
I had a house sitter that told me it looked like we were moving, because the pantry was 1/2 empty! She knows I usually keep lots of treats/snacks ready at hand. I have not had cake mix, cookie mix, or cookie dough in there all summer. With the heat, I still need to work on the ice cream....
My daughter had a friend over today and when we had lunch I realized the only "snack" I could offer them was fresh fruit! WOW! what a change. One of the major areas that will make a BIG difference is activity. I need to come up with things to do in this heat with the kids. We are all about "swimmed" out. What horrible English. LOL
Tonight for dinner I baked Mahi Mahi and white rice. I know I could have done brown rice, but I didn't have any and even if I did, I did not have the time to cook it. It takes forever. That's still better than a burger and fries. I have a few weeks to work with my kids and get them back into the swing of school.
We went to the school and dropped off some paperwork, in order to avoid the horrendous lines at orientation. I am sooo not ready to start that daily 2 hr drive thing! Arrrrrrrr!

Who turned the heat up??

MY GOSH!! What the heck folks?? It's MISERABLE out there! I so dread this time of year. I can't move without sweating. I can't breathe, it's so humid. Why the heck do I live here?? Seriously?? What was I thinking? I want to crawl under a cool rock and just stay there. Someone call me when Fall gets here, and make it PRONTO! (That's fast in Spanish, for you non bilingual peeps) The entire family went to a water park this weekend. It was not the experience any of us thought it would be. It was miserably hot. Of course, no tables were available. The water only felt cool for about the first millisecond and then it felt like bathwater! YUCK! We went there because a church had rented the place out and it was "private" after closing until 9pm. A friend of mine attends the church and we tagged along for the evening. There is only THREE weeks of summer left!! WOW! I'm so sad. The kids are growing so fast. I have been looking for a specific picture of my father and in the process have come across photos of me at their ages. I remember how I saw my mom, and I think, I AM NOT THAT OLD! LOL I would like to think of myself as young at heart. I was playing with the kids in the pool at a friends house the other day. I realized I don't have a memory of my mother playing with me. Strange. I hope my children grow up with fond memories of their laid back summer days with their good 'ol M O M! I know my mother did the best she could, I hope I do better, and I hope Carson does even better than I did! It's what we are suppose to hope for right?

Amarillo by mornin' ..........

Last weekend we went to visit a longtime GF of mine. We met years ago while she worked at Baylor with me. She is now a FT SAHM. We had never been to Amarillo and were pleasantly surprised by all there is to see and do out there. We went to Cadillac Ranch, where the Cadillacs are buried in the ground and you spray paint them. I have pics, but in my other memory card. We also went to a really cool musical called "Texas." It is held in Palo Duro Canyon and the back drop is the canyon. They use live horses and lots of lights and singing and dancing. At the end there was a small fireworks show. It brought back flashbacks for me of a similar production that El Paso does, and it is called "Viva EL PASO!" Pretty much the same thing. We got home pretty late (12:00am) and decided to jump into the pool anyway. Whew! The next morning I was feeling it. I am too old to party like a rock star people! Sunday was great and laid back. We went out to play with the horses and had lunch then hit the road. It was a fast and furious visit, filled with lots of laughs and fun times. Nobody expected it to be a 6 hour drive from here, but it is. No matter how ya slice it. Misty has a beautiful LARGE house. The kids really enjoyed themselves and she was a wonderful hostess! I wish I had been feeling better. On Thursday before we left I had been running a fever and felt horrible. I am so glad we did not stay home.
It took me pretty much all week to recover from the trip and squeeze in working 2 days this past week. I finally feel back on track. We went to church this morning and the sermon was awesome. The title of this series is Experience the Impossible. I have to share a profound part of it. It began with this statement up on the screen:
Attempt something so impossible, that unless God is in it. It is doomed for failure.
What else can I say?

Happy Birthday America!!

I hope everyone had a happy festive 4th. We had a quiet one at home. I came down with a summer cold and was still a bit lethargic. I LOVE fireworks!! I think they are so romantic, and beautiful. I am sad that I did not get to see them this year. Life will go on. I have been so busy, with the kids and I actually got in a few days of work, and I even went to the gym a few times. Our water class is getting soooo full! Uncomfortably full. Since the weather is pretty, well, not exactly pretty. If you call high 90's with tons of humidity pretty, then you know what I'm talking about. I guess I should rephrase that, at certain times of the day, the weather is pretty enough to get some exercise outside. I have been walking the dogs and they are loving it! I was so pleased with myself the other night. I went for a late night walk, and when we got back both dogs, just fell on the cool tile and were panting and panting. The next day they both slept in! That NEVER happens. I took Carson and my neighbor swimming and I got called "Brazilian!" My neighbor said, that cuz I have gotten so tanned and I was wearing my hat (gotta protect the roseca) sitting in the pool, under the umbrella, I had that look. I've been called many things before, but that was a first. I am going to start my "vision" board. I think it will help me stay focused. It took me awhile to find one that I liked and thought would work. Now I need to decide where I am going to put it. I have to set some major goals. I don't think I've made progress, cuz I don't have a goal. I am very goal oriented. I'll take a pic when I get it up and going. That's all for now. Ciao