Monday Monday

(yep, that's the best title I could come up with)

It's October!!!! Yay!! I'm so excited for this time of year to be here.  I have already made one slip up so far - I haven't taken out my fall decorations yet :( I know, I know, the shame.  Hopefully I can get around to that this weekend.  Might be kind of hard though since we are headed out to the Tulsa State Fair on Saturday.  Woo hoo! As trashy as the fair can sometimes get I love walking around looking at all the booths and displays and of course people watching.  Rest assured there will be no reports of me and a terrible ride incident cause I DONT DO RIDES.  Don't trust 'em, don't want to pay for 'em.

If you read my last post then you know I've been suffering from Routine Rut.  I have to say that this past week has been better.  I've been more conscious of my time and how just 10 minutes here and there can really get a task done.  (Except for finding fall decorations.)  I'm feeling pretty good about time decisions last week.  Last Thursday and today I am working a later shift for training reasons but I made sure to make it to the gym early in the morning and got that task out of the way.  It felt so good to leave the gym knowing that I wasn't lazy and my workout was already done for the day.

My eating wasn't all that great this past week.  I had a few slip ups but I will do better this week.  Especially because I have to get something yummy from the fair.  I passed up the corn dogs last year and that's just not happening again.  I didn't benefit at all from skipping it so gosh darnit, I'm having it! 

On my quest to eat better there is one thing that I just cannot fully give up - SWEETS!  A little tiny treat every day is recommended if you don't want to end up face down in a bowl of Cool-Whip. 

Here's a little something I put together that is simple, low calorie and just fancy enough that you'll want to sit at the table to eat it.  I think it's a great little snack for kids so they don't feel like they are eating just plain 'ol pudding.

April's Princess Pudding

1 Chocolate pudding cup - 60 calories

2 tbsp Cool-Whip (or Readywhip) - 25 calories

1 tbsp Sugar free Chocolate syrup -8 calories

1/2 tsp Sprinkles - 10 calories

Calorie Total = 103

I find it delicious!

Have a great Monday!

Routine Rut

I've been struck with a few thoughts these past few weeks, maybe even months. Even though some life happenings have tapped me on the shoulder lately I still feel that my life has become very dull. Don't get me wrong, life is good all the way around and I feel that Zach and I have grown closer as a couple due to circumstances surrounding us lately. I truly love him with all my heart and I'm excited for all that our future holds.

With talk of the future I feel I need to start setting a different pace for myself and for this household. We live in a Monday-Friday routine that I think I follow because I'm, well, just straight up lazy. I like to think I'm a creative person and I enjoy being crafty and have all the tools I need to sit down at my desk and just be creative. I want to read more, I want to scrapbook more, I want to blog more.....and I don't make time for these things because my evenings usually revolve around working out and watching my television programs and my weekends revolve around cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and bills. I'm very predictable. If I'm feeling right now that I just don't have time for anything then how am I going to function when we start having babies? Maybe I need to do a load of laundry every night? Maybe I need to prepare my lunches at night so I can have more relaxed mornings? I just feel like I'm in a routine rut so tonight I did a load of laundry and ironed my clothes for tomorrow and I already feel a little better.

It sounds a little ridiculous to me that someone who has no activities, school or clubs to attend is complaining about no time to do anything.  I know, I know, it's the dumbest thing I've ever heard too.  Please, all of you who work 2 jobs, have an armload of kids and have four different calendars to keep up with it all, please don't hate me.  One day I know I will look back on this time and think of how easy I had it.  I know these things.  I'm just keeping it real with you.

I'm glad for this time of year because the schedule starts filling up fast with the Fair, pumpkin patches, birthdays, holidays and on and on and on. Hopefully all the activities popping up on the calendar will set a new pace for me and I can start the new year with new habits and patterns. Did I just say the new year?? My goodness, this year has gone by fast!!!

I welcome any tips, shortcuts or encouragement you all can give me.

Happy Autumn Eve

Who is so excited to kick off this fall season? Definitely me!!!  My monthly magazine subscriptions have been rolling in and they all have pumpkins and warm dishes and orange and red all over the covers.  It brings such a joy to my heart and gives me a whole bunch of energy.

I guess you could say I ended the summer season on a good note.....I had my last dentist appointment today until my cleaning in six months :)  It was a bitter sweet feeling.  So, as I write this I am waiting for the numbness to wear off so I can eat.  I keep tapping on my chin, but I feel nothing.  I'm so hungry and it doesn't help that I have been looking through my magazines full of yummy recipes that I really want to try out.  Must. Stop. Thinking.Of.Food.

Speaking of food, this week was my first week on my new diet plan and so far I feel I have done really good.  No days that I just feel totally guilty about.  Here's how much will power I have - the husband just ordered Pizza Hut and I didn't request anything - I'm gonna stick to my soup and crackers as planned and feel very proud of myself when I lay my sleepy little head down tonight.

I've been checking out some websites and finding some recipes and ideas that I think will really help me on my journey to eat healthy and make it a life style.  Here are some that I'm going to be trying out, maybe even this weekend.  I found these recipes on hungry-girl.com.  She's got a lot of good stuff.

Banana Pie Split

  I have a feeling that it's gonna be a good one.

Diet Soda Cake

My friend tried out this recipe this week and it was sooooo moist. It was delicious.  For sure going to make my own and try out the different cakes.  She used a devils food cake mix and diet Dr. Pepper and added a little bit of Redi Whip for some frosting.

As I come across more I will be sure to post them and if anyone has any good websites to go to please let me know.

Happy Fall.

Nitrous? Yes, please!

I had another appointment at the dentist today.....'nuff said ;)

.....and this is how I felt.....

April

Got Heeeem?

Bring on Fall and bring on the new Fall line up. I'm so excited for some of the new shows coming out this Fall and for the return of some of my favorites. I didn't follow a whole lot of television this summer. There wasn't a whole lot on worth watching. Of course I tuned into Big Brother for my yearly dose of HOH competitions, veto meetings, back stabbing galore and the Zingbot made a cameo this year. If you have never given it a try I highly recommend it. It will suck. you. in. The thing about Big Brother is that you have to dedicate 3 nights a week to it. Which played out good for me because I had nothing else to watch. Well, except for Teen Mom, The Challenge, and oh yeah, I CANNOT leave out The Francshise.

Let me just say that I am not a follower of sports. I don't watch sports, I don't follow teams and I don't have an opinion about who wins and loses. Bottom line = I Don't Care. And I may get a lot of hate mail for my next comment because I'm an Oklahoma girl but I pretty much dislike A LOT Oklahoma football. It drives me crazy to see people decked out head to toe in OSU or OU attire all the way down to their toenails. And Lord help us if one of these teams loose. You will find a bunch of pissed off people walking around Wal*Mart as if they were a part of the team. The only good thing about these teams playing is that the stores seem to be a lot emptier and I can enjoy my shopping.

With all that being said, I will now confess to you that over the summer I have become a San Franciso Giants fan. Love 'em, love 'em, must meet all of them. At the beginning of the summer Mr. Rowell wanted to watch this show called The Franchise-A Season with the San Francisco Giants. I whined about it. "No, we are not watching some crap show you want to watch. Change it. Change it to Son-in-law." (It's always on CMT by the way.) We all know who won this battle. Him. I always have to wait until he falls asleep and then swipe the remotes. I began watching the show and found myself being sucked in. It was really good. I found myself really enjoying it. Not only were the players stories interesting and it showed them being someone more than a baseball player, but these boys on this team are (in my opinion) so good looking. I was falling in love with them one by one and I wanted to see more. :)

So the reason I'm pulling for them is because I want them to do well so they will come back with a second season. I don't want to lose my Wednesday night dates. They are not looking so good right now in the standings but I guess it wouldn't matter anyways since last Wednesday was the season finale. I miss them already. Is it wrong that I want to print some pictures off of my favorites and put them up at my desk??? :)

I like so many of them but here are my top favs.....

Tim Lincecum

By far my favorite.  I think he is adorable!

Jeremy Affeldt

Chris Stewart

Brandon Belt

"The Giraffe"

Emmanuel Burris

Carlos Beltran

Cody Ross

Andres Torres

Brian Wilson

"Fear the Beard"

Ryan Vogelsong

Barry Zito

aaaannnndddd, another one of Timmy.

That's what I call him anyway ;)

If you're looking to make plans with me sometime during the week, you're gonna need to know my schedule to see when I am available. Who am I kidding? I never do anything during the week anyway. Most nights I'm in bed by 8:30. That's okay right? That doesn't make me old does it?

Sunday

9:00 - Pan Am (Premiers 9/25 - ABC)

Monday

7:00 - Dancing With the Stars (Premiers 9/19 - ABC)

8:00 - Hart of Dixie (Premiers 9/26 - CW)

8:30 - 2 Broke Girls (Premiers 9/19 - CBS)

Tuesday

8:00 - New Girl (Premiers 9/20 - FOX)

Wednesday

7:00 - The X Factor (Premiers 9/21 - FOX)

8:00 - Modern Family (Premiers 9/21 - ABC)

8:30 - Suburgatory (Premiers 9/28 - ABC)

9:00 - Up All Night (Premiers 9/14 - NBC)

9:00 - The Real World:San Diego (Premiers 9/28 - MTV)

Free Agents (Premiers 9/14 - NBC)

Thursday

8:00 - The Office (Premiers 9/22 - NBC)

8:30 - Whitney (Premiers 9/22 - NBC)

I know some of these shows overlap and some are on more than once a week but I will give the premiers a chance and just might have to record some and watch them at a different time. AS you can see I'm going to have a busy busy fall. And to think, this doesn't even include Holiday specials :)

Rachel's Challenge

Have you ever been a bully to someone? Have you ever been bullied yourself?  A few months ago I did a post about bullying and how much I just hate it.  I would like to be involved in an anti-bullying program but in all honesty I haven't made time to find one.  When I heard Rachel's Challenge was coming to Broken Arrow, I knew I had to check it out.  

This past Monday I attended a community forum called Rachel's Challenge.  It's a program lead by Daryl Scott, the father of the first person killed at Columbine High School.  His daughter Rachel Scott was sitting outside during lunch at Columbine and was shot as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold made their way into the school that day.  I had just turned 18 and was a senior in high school when this horrible incident took place on April 20, 1999.    I came home for lunch that day and turned the t.v. on.  All the channels kept showing these kids running from a school and it terrified me.  I had no idea what was going on or where this was happening.  I read the news as it scrolled across the bottom of the screen and I instantly felt so scared for everyone in that school.

As more news started surfacing of what was happening and why, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Eric and Dylan.  I'm not saying what they did was justified or that they had the right to.  They did not.  It was not right what they did taking people from their families.  It was made known that they were victims of bullying and return bullied people themselves.  My heart just felt heavy for them and their families and it still does.  I was glad in Daryl Scott's presentation that he never once was negative about Eric and Dylan. He simply stated that they were the shooters.

The presentation focused mostly on Rachel's life and her journals.  She was constantly writing about how she was going to change the world and wanted so much to spread kindness.  I was so impressed with the things she wrote about at her age.  She just wanted good for people and for people to be good.  There were several times I got chills up my spine with the things she wrote just days and literally minutes before she was killed.

I encourage you look into Rachel's story yourself.  I could go on and on with the things her father shared and stories from people that were changed by her just days before the shootings.  Rachel's brother, who witnessed two of his friends lose their life's that day, also is a part of the Rachel's Challenge program and I'm really looking forward to his presentation.  

This girl wanted to change the world and it's up to us to spread kindness and be a link in the chain reaction she hoped for.

"I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction of the same."

              -Rachel Scott

I hope you join the challenge.  You never know who might need a friendly smile one day.  That may just be the day you change their life.

Living In the 80's for 15 Seconds

Happy midweek to everyone! Hope your week has been amazing. My day started out a little sleepy and a little anxious. A month or so ago I went to the dentist for a cleaning and left feeling disgusted with the news that I had seven cavities. Seven! I've always prided myself on having good teeth and now I have SEVEN cavities. I got my first cavity when I was 18 and up until this appointment I had a total of four. Good teeth right? Well, after hitting the big 3-0 my teeth decided to get a little weak I guess.

I hate going to the dentist. I would rather go to the doctor every day of the week and get shots every day than go to the dentist. I'm pretty sure its from this image I have in my head from when I was 5 and went to the dentist. There was this boy screaming at the top of his lungs and flopping his body all around while people tried to hold him down. It scared the crap out of me. I remember the dentist telling me he probably had too much candy.

Now, I know I should keep up with my cleanings every six months like a good girl but I have such fear of going that I tend to postpone.....a lot.

Two weeks ago I had my first appointment to start getting my fillings for the stupid seven cavities in my mouth. I had been nervous all day and a couple of hours before my appointment I started freaking out on the inside. By the time I got to the dentist my nerves were all over the place. I sat in the exam chair and tears began flowing down my face. I kept apologizing for acting like a baby. The dentist's wife (who is also his assistant and) gave me a tissue. Before I could wipe my tears the dentist had already taken care of it with his hand, in the process smearing makeup all over the side of my face. "You have black all over your face now. Sorry." Oh, well!

Needless to say, I acted like a ridiculous grade school kid with all my blubbering.

Today, my friends, was a totally different experience. Today, my friends, I asked for "the gas." Some yum yum tummy fun Nitrous Oxide! You might know it as laughing gas or sweet air. Oh, let me just say it was SWEET! I've never had it before. I've always been too scared to ask for it, like I was asking for something illegal.

I was nervous it wouldn't affect me but about 30 seconds after he put the mask on me.....I was in a whole new place, and it was awesome!

He put the mask on me to get me started as he set up his tools and started talking to his wife. I could feel myself smiling and got nervous that he could see my smile. He might yank the gas if he knows I'm enjoying it. I got nervous. Could they see my stomach? If I take a deep breath and hold it in will they notice? My mind was all over the place. I tried to focus on the overhead music so that I wouldn't go into full on giggles. Some 80's country song was on and for about 15 seconds I thought I was living in the 80's. This stuff is awesome!

I laid there very still and kept my eyes open. I thought if I closed them they would think the gas knocked me out. I read the posters on the ceiling. "Do you want hot dogs for dinner?" the wife asked. Is she asking me over for dinner? Should I answer? "Sure, chilli dogs?" the dentist answered. Oh thank God I didn't answer. That was not an invite. The dentist looked down at me. "What do you like on your hot dogs?" he asked. "Mustard and cheese!" I blurted out excitedly. I was happy to be a part of the conversation.

They continued to work on my teeth and I continued to try to act cool. They have to know I'm having the best time under this mask. I wonder if they have tried this gas? When he started drilling I thought there was a motorcycle in the room. No, you dummy! Get it together! Act cool. He asked me if I was okay and if my hands felt tingly. I tried to lift my hands to check and they felt so heavy yet floating. Why haven't I asked for this before?

His wife and he continued to talk while they hovered over me. It felt like a scene in a movie where someone is waking up with people all around them and they have no idea what is going on. I thought for a second that maybe I should have been an actress.

"We've turned the nitrous off. You should be getting just oxygen now." he told me.

Wait, you mean it's over? I'm all done?

I got up from the chair to rinse out and still felt a little floaty. This was THE BEST visit to the dentist EVER!

I walked out with a lip that felt huge and a reminder card in my hand for my next visit. Or should I say my next afternoon of fun?

;)