Long time no post...

First of all, I would just like to apologize to my readers, if I still actually have any. the last few months have flown by and I suppose that is a good thing with Kevin gone. I'm not going to lie and say that it's all been wonderful because it hasn't. I don't know how I lasted a year last deployment because its only been 6 months and I'm about to lose my mind. I'm thankful that I got away for nearly a month and went back to Illinois. I was ready and anxious to come back to Washington and now I am just waiting for Kevin to come home. I haven't heard from Kevin and nearly 10 days and its driving me absolutely nuts. I find myself just stopping to pray for his safety.I feel like I have a constant knot in my stomach.  All I want to do is just hear his voice. my nights are sleepless because I'm constantly waking up checking my phone. every email that comes through I pray that it's him, everything Facebook notifications everytime my phone rings I just pray that it's something from him and it hasn't been yet. they always say that no news is good news. As long as you aren't getting a phone call saying he's injured or notification officers aren't at your door and everything is fine.. I just wish it was that easy. I know I should place it all on God ..my heart just hurts I just miss my best friend.
In all honesty my distance from the blog has been because I don't want to feel like I'm complaining and I don't want a pity party. its not what I'm looking for but this is my real life and this is what I'm feeling. some say that I'm strong and they don't know how I do it. I do it because I married Kevin. I didn't marry the Army. It just comes with the package. We adjust to make our life the way it is as would any of you if in this situation. You would do it and you could do it. I am nothing special. there are many more men and women out there with far greater trouble than what I have. I have to constantly remind myself of that. all I'm asking of you is that you continue to pray for us. pray for Kevin and that he is returning home safely very soon.

Confession

I fed my kids cookie dough, garlic bread and cheese sticks for supper and sat them in front of the t.v. all evening. 

I have no excuse except that tonight I just didn't really care. 
The end.  Have a great weekend! 

Holding on

I hold on to every photo that I see of him on Facebook.

I hold on to every time I see the green dot telling me he's available to chat. 
I hold on to every time my phone rings and it says "Kevin Afghanistan"
I hold on to every "I love you, baby"

Tonight I was putting away clothes in our dresser and I realized. I haven't even opened his side of the dresser since he left in November.  So I did.  And with it I opened up the flood gates of tears.  Everything is right as it was when he left.  His underwear and socks fully stocked because I'm not having to play catch up with his laundry too.  Everything is ready for him to be home.  Where he belongs. 

We started dating in Jan. 2007.   So we have been together around 6 years.  That is  73 months.  We have physically only been together for  38 months of that.   A little over 50% of the last 6 years.  3 years that we have been apart. 
I think God prepared us for this way back in 2007.  We started our relationship and grew our relationship solely on communication.  Phone calls, emails, instant messenger.  We were tired of that life.  We were tired of being apart.  We got married in Nov. 2008 and at this time Kevin was out of Active Duty and was part of the Minnesota National Guard.  A few months later we found out we were pregnant with Lauren. Lauren was born in August 2009.  Kevin decided that year to go back to Active Duty.  He wanted to provide better for our family.  We prayed a lot about it.  It was hard for me to accept.  I would have to leave the first job that I absolutely loved in Minnesota.  I loved being a dental hygienist.
January2010:  A month after Kevin signed his contract to re-enlist, we found out we were pregnant with Kaelin. What were we going to do? Lauren was only 4 months old!  Kevin left a week later for Ft. Riley, KS.  I was in Minnesota without him,  with a 4 month old baby, just a few weeks pregnant (in secret still), finishing off my last week of work, arranging appointments with movers, getting everything ready and off and on puking ...again in secret.  We were apart about 2 weeks then.  We got to Ft. Riley, moved into a house that he picked out and I had never seen. We sat on the floor and slept on air mattresses for a couple of days until the moving truck arrived with all of our belongings.  We were told he wouldn't be deploying.  The unit he was joining had only been home for 4 short months. I felt like I could breath a sigh of relief.  The next few months flew by.  I learned that Kevin was on Army time.  Supper time was not at 5:30 every night.  Supper was when he got home and that was 6pm, 8pm, 10pm or not at all.  I saw him for a few short hours every evening and then he was off to bed early because 4:30am comes quite early.
We found out in June that he would be deploying to Iraq in November 2010 for 12 months.  In August of 2010 he left for a month to do training in Louisiana.  He arrived home 3 days before I gave birth to Kaelin.  When Kaelin was 7 weeks old and Lauren 14 months, we sent Kevin off with his unit to fight in Operation New Dawn formerly known as Operation Iraqi Freedom.  This was Kevin's second deployment.  His first was before we were married.  It was also to Iraq for 16 months. 
Praising God that he came home safe to us.  Praising God for the technology that we have today that we could chat.  It was a slow deployment, or so he told me.  They didn't do much but prepare for the troop drawdown.  They closed a lot of bases, did a lot of inventory, a lot of peace keeping missions.  I was just fine with that.  I nearly talked to him every single day on the phone. My blue tooth was glued to my ear at all times.  Until the day came and I was watching the news.  I never really ever watched the news and tried not to read it online but the media had leaked already that there was an attack and 6 men from the Brigade out of Ft. Riley were killed when insurgents sent rocket propelled grenades over the walls of the base and hit the trailers where the men were sleeping.  Killing 6, wounding several more.  Eventually a 7th would die of his wounds.  I didn't get a phone call the next day.  My heart sunk.  I didn't leave the house for 2 days.  I cried in the shower.  I was scared to answer the door if it was ever to ring.  It was hands down one the most anxious and scared I have ever been to date. Another day went by and I know from experience after that long, no news is good news for our family, atleast.    The following day I received an email from the FRG (Family Readiness Group)  listing casualties and later that day I received an email from Kevin that said something like "I am fine.  I love you very much. I don't know when we'll be able to talk next. I love you." 
That was it.  It was 2 weeks when I finally talked to him again. 
Fast forward to Nov. 2011.  Kevin returned safely to us at Ft. Riley, KS.  It took months for us all to get back in a groove.  Kaelin didn't even know her father. It was so hard for all of us.  Hard for him because he wanted her to love him back so bad and hard for me because I didn't get the "relief or break" I needed from the kids.  Frustration on both our ends when he didn't fix the kids eggs the way they liked them or when he'd go and cut Lauren's food smaller after I had already prepared it because when he left she had just started eating table food and now she was over 2 years old, speaking in full sentences and eating string cheese whole!  Things took time. 
We PCS'd (Permanent Change of Station) to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in May 2012.  We thought life was going to settle down.  For a few months it did.  We got into a groove.  The girls adored their father.  Our relationship was the strongest it's ever been and we thought we were going to be together for the next couple of years.  We had come so close and then the rug was pulled out from underneath us in October 2012 that Kevin would be deploying to Afghanistan in just 3 short weeks for a 9 month tour.  I was devastated.  He was devastated.  I have never seen him so upset in my entire life.  It was hard because he had such a personal relationship now with our daughters.  They are growing and talking in full sentences and telling him they love him and giving him kisses.  Stuff he so longed for the first month that he was home after Iraq.  He had everything and felt like it was being taken away.  He felt like he was letting us all down.  He still does feel that way.
While it seems crazy and insane that we go through all of this, I wouldn't do it with anyone else.  God based our relationship for the first almost 2 years strictly on communication and long distance.  We thought once we said "I do" that it would "fix" everything but that was just the beginning. 

So now I hold on to what I can to get through each day.  I hold on to this picture and pray every day that God brings him home safely to us. 

Over 2 months...

It's been over 2 months since I last posted. I've really been at a loss of what to write on here.  I was tired of writing about my weight. 
I was tired of that defining me and this blog. 
I didn't want to sulk and have a pity party about Kevin being deployed again...because that's not me either.  Although it royally sucks.  BIG TIME. 

I have learned a lot about myself in the last few months. Good and Bad.  I'm really starting to mature and feel confident with myself and who I am and continue to become.  In no particular order...

1.I have learned that it's okay to ask for help. 
2.I have learned that it's okay to eat 3/4 of a tombstone pizza on my own while watching reality t.v. as long as it is not something I do everyday.   :-) 
3.I have learned that God is who I should turn to first.  Some many things have become clear in these last few months despite all of the muck going on and I have so much to be thankful for!  Have you prayed about something as much as you have talked about it?
4.I have learned that laundry will never ever be "caught up"..if it is, it's only for a few hours until we take our clothes off again. 
5.I have learned that it's easiest to stay caught up on laundry is doing a small load everyday. 
6.I have learned that #5 isn't going to happen everyday..I'm already 3 days behind. 
7.  I have learned that I enjoy exercising and when I don't, my mood and appetite and everything changes for the day, and not in a good way. 
8.  I have learned that I don't have to be perfect for Kevin.  He's been saying it to me for years.  He doesn't want me perfect that he loves me the way I am. 
I am finally at a point now where I look back and wonder why I stressed so much about having a clean house and dinner on the table and then snapped and snarked with him because I was so stressed.  Going forward none of the other stuff matters except for us and our relationship.  Our relationship is not based off of whether our floors are mopped or not. 
9. I love crocheting -  If we are friends on Facebook or Instagram.  You have seen that I have been keeping my hands busy. 
10.  I have learned that I don't enjoy blogging all that much.  I have so many other things going on and this is always the thing to take a back seat.  I'm okay with that too.  I'm not on here to have as many followers as possible.  I've only checked my traffic a handful of times, and I just find facebook and instagram easier and I can reach a bigger crowd with my short updates and pictures of our lives. 

Anyways...I'll be back when I'm back.  Whenever that may be!  I'm not guaranteeing a weekly weigh-in or recipe or update on every single thing we do.  BUT when I do feel like venting or unloading or sharing.  This is where I will go. 

Weekly weigh-in

203.6

This will be short and sweet. I am a few days behind. Sorry!  Yes, I am down weight but no I have not been working out.  Maybe my body needed the rest??  Not sure.  I did see my Dr. today as a follow up for the anxiety I have been experiencing and she's insistent on exercise being part of my daily treatment plan. It's not just a suggestion, She is saying it's my prescription.  That's a little kick in the butt that I need to get back in the groove.  It will help pass the hours while Kevin is gone too.  I'm thinking about switching to evenings at the gym.  Not sure.  Evenings will be the hardest to be home once he's deployed. 
I miss exercising too. I can tell my body misses it too.  My body is aching just because it's not stretched out and warmed up much lately. 
Any ways! 

Starting weight:  222lbs
Current weight:  203.6lbs
Total weight loss: 18.4lbs
Weight loss to go:  33.6lbs

Have a great week! 

The post I've been dreading to write...

We received news last Tuesday that Kevin's dwell time is being "involuntarily waived" and he will be deploying to Afghanistan in a few weeks for 9 months. 
I went through all stages of change in the first 24 hours.  My eyes were nearly swollen shut last Wednesday.  My plans are to stay here in Washington during this deployment.  I know some don't understand and wonder why I wouldn't want to move home and my answer is: STABILITY. 
Stability is something that isn't always bountiful as a military family but we find stability where we can.  Stability for my my sake means staying put even if I may be more lonely than if I would have gone to Illinois or Minnesota. I'm tired of traveling.  I just want to stay put for a while.  I appreciate so much family coming to visit us.  We do get home when we can and it may not be as often as some would like but we do what we can when we can and what is best for us. 
In all honesty, I'm just tired right now but no means defeated.  I know we WILL get through this.  God has a plan for us.  It's hard to understand what it might be right now, but I find comfort in knowing that He is in control.  So I ask that you keep us in your prayers.  I ask that you keep Kevin in your thoughts and prayers as he is taking it extra hard this time. Pray for his safety and a safe return to us next fall.    I also ask that you pray for me and the girls. This will be an adjustment this time around.  They will notice more this time than last that he is not here.  They will most likely deal with some separation anxiety.  It's going to be a whole new experience for us even though we've been through it before.  Pray for my strength and for me to ask for help when I need it.  Pray for family and friends to be understanding and supportive even if it is from a distance.  Remember it doesn't matter where I am living.  I just want him to be here.  I'll be missing him no matter where I'm at. 
Also, please don't say to be "You signed up for this life"  =  I am very aware of that but it still doesn't make these times easier. 
I will keep you all posted as time goes on and I know that I can lean on you all for support! 
-Kristen 

Things my kids say...

Lauren:  Mom, I need to change my underpants.
Me:  Did you have an accident?
Lauren:  No, I just got some toot on it. 
_____________________________________________________

Driving down the road and we saw a car with University of North Dakota Plates and Kevin yelled
"GO SIOUX!!" 
Kaelin then yelled : Hi Sue, Sue come back! Hi Sue!!!

___________________________________________________________

Me:  Lauren, quit kicking the door!
Lauren:  I'm not! I'm just knocking with my feet!

____________________________________________________________

While watching the X Factor or the Voice

Kaelin:  That's terrible!  or Bravo! 
(She really loves music) 

_____________________________________________________________

While taking out my contacts: 

Lauren:  Mom why are you taking out your eyeballs? 

_____________________________________________________________

Tasty Tuesday

Carnitas
Source: Adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures, originally from The Homesick Texan Cookbook, to serve 2
1.5 lbs pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes
1/4 cup orange juice
1/8 cup lime juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Water

1. Place the pork pieces into a dutch oven, and add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Add enough water to just barely cover the meat.

2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 2 hours without disturbing.

3. Remove the lid, and increase the heat to medium. Cook for another 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all of the liquid has evaporated and only the fat that has been rendered from the pork remains.

4. Sear the meat in the fat, browning it as much as you’d like.

5. Shred the meat or leave it in chunks. Serve with cilantro, avocado slices, pico de gallo, lime wedges, or any of your favorite sides


These were amazingly delicious and easy!  Kevin and I have tried 3 different Carnitas recipes and this one is by far the best.  We even used the leftovers for enchiladas later in the week. Yum! 
P.S.  We doubled the recipe because we had a 3-4lb pork shoulder.  I would definitely recommend this if you are wanting leftovers! 

(Sorry I don't have a picture. Apparently I deleted it off of my phone already.)
http://ourlifeinfood.com/2012/06/10/carnitas/

Weekly weigh-in 206

I'm actually typing this on Sunday night, but I was unsure if I'd get a chance to do it tomorrow morning. I babysit on Monday/Wednesdays and figured my weight would be about the same today as it would be tomorrow morning.  If it happens to be lower, I'll definitely update.  If it's higher...well..you won't know :) Ha! 
206 this morning.  The scale was at a steady 205.8 for 3 out of the 4 days (4th day today) that I weighed myself this week.  I was actually very happy with this since I only went to the gym one time.  My mind and body are ready to get back to the gym, but it was great to have a week off just relaxing and not rushing around.  I should be back in the swing of things by Tuesday morning. 

Starting weight:  222lbs
Current weight:  206lbs
Total lost:  16lbs

Goal:  170lbs
Pounds to go:  36lbs

Finding the motivation

There has been a lack of motivation on my part as far as the gym goes lately.  Kevin's been off a few days this week and the girls have been sleeping in much later (8am today & 9am yesterday).  This has totally thrown off my "rhythm"  I'm a very scheduled/punctual person and this is just totally throwing me off my game!  I feel like I have to completely replan my days now.  I was so used to them being up between 7-7:30, getting time for getting ready, breakfast, doing hair and a little chill time before we had to be on our way by 8:45.  With them waking up later, I'm not quite ready and I miss the class that I want to take. 

Also, I think once in a while maybe God is just saying "Slow down, child.  It's okay to have a week of nothing"  I think it's good for the soul and mind. 

While my motivation has been slacking in the exercise department, it hasn't in budgeting.  I have spent 2 days (and nights)  budgeting and see what we can put extra towards our debt.  It makes me sick to my stomach what we were spending eating out in a month.  I'm not even going to say because it's embarrassing and the reality check was that we didn't think we did it "THAT" much..but after spending a week at home cooking all 3 meals a day, we realized we DID eat out THAT much! 
We're going to allow ourselves as a family $100/month for eating out/recreation.  When it's gone, it's gone.  This should help our wallet and waist! 
I'm so extremely nervous though.  We've never put such tight reigns on our budget.  I suppose that's the reason we are in debt in the first place.  Most of our debt is my student loans and a few student loans that the Army didn't pay of Kevin's and one small(ish) credit card balance and our Expedition.  If we'd continue to pay our current payments, not apply any extra and not snowball, it would take us until 2014 to pay it all off and spend around $11,000 in interest alone!  If we stick to our budget, apply a few hundred extra to our debt and snowball it, we should have it paid off in less than 4 years and save ourselves around $6300 in interest. 
I think now is as good of a time as any to do this.  We don't really know anyone so turning down plans won't be hard, or the opportunity won't come very often.  Our kids are young and rambunctious, so honestly we'd rather avoid going out to eat with them as much as possible. 

So that's what I've been up to.  I should get going, it's PAYDAY! Time to pay bills.  Sigh...

Fall Fun (so far!)

Most of you are friends of mine on Facebook, so you see our daily updates and pictures from our weekly activities..but for those of you who aren't friends on facebook.  Here is what we've been up to! 
This fall has been crazy warm and dry (so I'm told) for the Pacific Northwest.  The rain is supposed to start up tomorrow, and I miss the rain since it's been about 4 months since I've seen any, BUT  I'm not looking forward to it raining everyday for the next 7-8 months. 

We have been keeping busy but making sure to take time to just relax as well.   Kevin usually wants to just relax on weekends and that is understandable.  I usually want to run away on weekends so we compromise and do fun things on Saturday and just chill on Sunday after church. 
It's been a good compromise. 

We still haven't made it to Mt. Rainier but we feel it's just a bit too much for the girls right now.  They do have stroller friendly trails but they are in the whiny "Hold you!"  "I want out!" "I want in!"  phase and we just would rather not deal with that right now.

So...We've stayed close to home for the most part.  Here is our fall (so far) in pictures!

Berry picking in the ditch across the street from our house. 

Kaelin loves them!

Playing basketball! 

Pumpkin Patch

Giant pumpkins

 
I have some more pictures and video on my phone that I plan on sharing soon! 

Weekly weigh-in ( a day late)

208lbs
Yes that is .4 higher than last Monday.  :-/
I woke up around 4am yesterday morning and just felt so bloated.  So much so I had to remove my wedding ring.  I text my cousin Annette and told her that I didn't want to weigh myself in fear of being extremely disappointed.  She agreed and we decided to wait until Tuesday to weigh in.  
Cue- back pain and cramps.  PMS has set in.  Does anyone else have major PMS?  I swear the older I get the worse it gets.  It starts with the bloating that seems to last 2 weeks.  Then a few days later I get major stomach pain.  Not cramps but a pain that is off an on for about 2 days which I am guessing is when I am actually ovulating.  Followed by lower back pain for a few days then around day 10 my period comes for anywhere between 4-7 days. 
I try not to get too discouraged but it sucks feeling like a big puff ball. 
On a good note, I had a Dr's appt last Friday and at 1pm, fully clothed, with shoes, and having just had lunch, the Dr's scale said  207.  My scale had said 204.6 that morning.  So that means my scale is pretty spot on with the Dr's scale.  ALSO when I had been there on August 3, the scale at the Dr said 222.  So that's a 15lb weight loss in 8 weeks.  1.8lbs a week! Not bad at all! 
My doctor had mentioned that she only wants me to lose 1/2lb to 1.lb a week.  It's going to take patience for me because of course I'm like anyone else and want to lose it all right now!  

I'll admit that last week and weekend was hectic and I only made it to the gym 2 times. 
Everyday is different and the fact of the matter is that this is life.  I'm not perfect. I have goals and I will reach them but there are some days when I mentally just need chill. 

We're going on a "eating out" freeze for a few weeks so I'm hoping that will show a difference in the scale too. (And wallet) 

How was your week? 

Tasty Tuesday

I am a little late to posting today but I wanted to share a recipe with everyone that we thought was delicious!  Well, all of the dishes I post, we think are delicious so just bear with me. 
We've been trying to meal plan and shop 1-2 weeks at a time.  We buy the bulk of our meat/essentials/produce for the meals for one week and then plan week 2 off of the meat we have left from week 1 and buy any other produce at the farmers markets or grocery if needed for week 2.  We try to spend less than $150 every 2 weeks.  So far so good since this is the first month we're trying it. 
Let's just say we've been eating a lot of Mexican these last few weeks to use up the corn tortillas. 

BLACKENED TILAPIA BAJA TACOS

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup thinly sliced white onion (we substituted cabbage for the onions)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets 
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas 
• 1/2 ripe peeled avocado, thinly sliced
• 4 lime wedges
  

  Preparation

• 1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth. Combine jalapeño sauce and onion in a small bowl.
• 2. Combine paprika and next 6 ingredients (through ground red pepper); sprinkle evenly over fish. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
• 3. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish, onion mixture, and avocado evenly among tortillas. Serve with lime wedges.
  
  
  
  *These were so so good.  Alone, the fish is too sweet and the slaw was bland but together with the avocado and the squeezed lime juice, it was a flavor explosion! 
  Notice above we subbed out the onions in the "slaw"  and used cabbage.  We thought it was perfect this way, we got the crunch without the extra zing of the onions.   Feel free to try it either way.  We both love onions but thought it might be a bit too much and we had cabbage we needed to use anyway!* Enjoy!
  
  We served with a side of homemade refried Pinto Beans.  You can find the recipe from Pioneer Woman here. 

Weekly Weigh-in

207.6lbs

Today is going to be short and sweet. I watch a 3 month old little girl on Monday/Wednesday mornings and so I have to keep the kids busy and happy while she sleeps (so they don't wake her)  and I have to keep her busy and happy when she's awake.  Keeping her happy is super easy, she's a great baby unless she's hungry and she hasn't quite mastered the bottle yet.  So anyway..short and sweet. 

Life was busy this week.  I made it to the gym 3 times, the other days were filled with MOPS, walks and trips to the farmers market and parks with the kids.  I am happy. 
I saw the scale go as low as 205.8 and that was exciting but short lived because I didn't eat great this weekend. 

Those jeans I fit into last weekend, I don't know what the deal is but I can't get them up over my butt anymore.  What the heck?! So..my goal is to git into those jeans comfortably by Christmas even if they are dried in the dryer! 

Hope you all have a great week! 

Starting weight:  222
Current weight:  207.6
Total weight loss:  14.4

GOAL: 170
weight loss to go:  37.6lb

Friday Funny

Here are a few things out of my girls' mouths this last week that might make you laugh because they made me laugh! 

Lauren after seeing a commercial:  "Hey Mommy, when I grow up I want to wear bras and get big boobies like you!" 

Kaelin:  "Ice Ice Baby do do do do do do doo doo" - In tune and all..

Lauren followed me in the bathroom while Aunt Flow happened to be in town:  "Oh No, mommy! Do you need a bandaid?!"  -- She was legitimately concerned. 

Kaelin to her dad:  "Pull my finger...toot"  - I swear he taught them that! 

During Bedtime prayers: 
Lauren:  "I am thankful for a door, a window and a forehead"
Kaelin with her finger in her nose:  "I got boogers"

My weakness...

Do you all have a weakness for a certain food?  Ya'll have heard me say before that I LOVE food but there is one food in particular that I absolutely LOVE.  For some people (ahem my husband..)  that food is ice cream or pizza but for me it is DOUGHNUTS.

  Yummy, delicious, homemade doughnuts.  Not just any doughnuts.  I mean really good doughnuts.  Oh and I have been known to down a bag of Hostess Donettes too in my pregnancy days. 
Don't get me Walmart or Kroger donuts.  Get me fresh, homemade, sweet, salty, crispy warm donuts.  I would take a warm Krispy Kreme or three too! 

I think my obsession started at this place!

photo credit

Pfaff's Bakery in Pontiac, IL
Looking at the picture, I can almost taste my chocolate long john. Oh but my favorite was the "ZIT"  If you've been there, you know the amazingness of the Zit.  Yes, it is called a zit and yes it was cream filled and no amazingness is not a word but it was full of amazingness.  Just sayin'   Pair that with a Prairie Farms Orange "juice" drink and I was in heaven. 

Fast forward to 2011.  Living in Kansas and the only place to get decent doughnuts was Casey's.  We tried every grocery store in town, nothing was fresh or yummy.  That was until Varsity Donuts opened in downtown Aggieville.  Then this puppy completely changed my life!  Yes that is bacon on that donut.  (Donut or doughnut?..I'm getting lazy so it's donut from now on)
ANYWAYS.  It looks strange and weird but OMG ahhhhhh the angels are singing.  It's so delicious, and  rich.  One is plenty or you will need to be wheeled out of there. 

 

photo credit

Now living in Washington, you can bet we've already found our favorite donut shop.  It is local and fresh homemade rolls daily and CHEAP!  WAAAYY cheaper than Varsity Donuts, which is always a plus.  The cake donuts at our new favorite shop are to die for.

  Can you tell I like am obsessed with donuts?  It's probably why my butt is so big.  The end.

Weekly Weigh in

209lbs


Down 1.2lbs from last week.  I made it to the gym 4 out of 7 days again this week. I had originally set a goal for 5 days this week but didn't make it this weekend.  I wish the gym opened earlier on the weekends.  I am usually up by 6:30 am but the gym doesn't open until 8.  By that time the kids are up and I'm making breakfast and what not. I try to let Kevin sleep in on weekends since he's up at 4:45am everyday during the week.  I could have easily gone to the gym the rest of the day Saturday but I sure enjoyed my time just relaxing with my family. Oh yeah, I also went grocery shopping.  I would consider fighting the crowds at the commissary somewhat of a workout :) 

Anyways..I still plan on trying to make it this week 5 times.  Keep me accountable! 
I am still struggling with weighing myself everyday.  In a way it keeps me on track but sometimes it makes me disappointed.  I saw my weight this week as high as 211 and as low as 207.6 and we settled this morning at 209.  I was happy to be down a pound since we made homemade pizza last night for supper and I did not hold back.  A pound is a pound is a pound.  That is my goal per week, so I am happy. 

Starting weight:  222
Today's weight:  209
Total weight loss:  13lbs
Goal:  170lbs
Pounds to lose:  39

Kaelin's 2nd Birthday

We started out the day with our tradition birthday doughnut!  She was so excited!  We found an awesome locally owned donut shop about 10 minutes from here and it is so much more delicious and WAY cheaper than our favorite place in Kansas!  We have yet to get there though when they have their Maple/Bacon bars out.  They are out every time! Bummer!

 
She wasn't much for vocalizing what she wanted for her birthday this year except for "chocolate cake"  That's all she would ever answer when asked what she wanted for her birthday or what she wanted on her cake.."just chocolate" .  That was until the day before her birthday.  She decided she wanted a Minnie Mouse cake.  We searched for a pre-made one at the Walmart bakery but no luck.  We settled on a two layered chocolate-chocolate fudge cake and I added the Minnie Mouse ears that I made out of cardstock and just taped to a popsicle stick.  It was perfect and she loved it.  We used what we had for decorations and it turned out really cute!  Just goes to show you don't need to spend ANY money on decorations. Besides the 97cents on the balloons and 97 cent (2pack) table cloth, I didn't spend anything else on decor. I used what we had to make banners and what not.  I think so many people get caught up in spending a ton of money on their decorations and popularity contest to show who had the best party.  All I care about on their big day is that they know it's special and they are loved.  I'd rather put that money towards presents!

They day was laid back and just perfect because they 4 of us were together.  She loved all over her toys.  Her favorites were her bubble machine (which they still play with daily) and her princess horse and carriage.  I can't believe that my little bug is already 2 and still growing.  She keeps us on our toes and is seriously a hilarious kid.  Her sound effects and voices that she uses are just too funny.  She is just full of personality and is a wild child but is the best snuggler ever!  We love you, Kaelin Deborah! 

Weekly Weigh-In 210.2

So today is my first Monday weigh-in.  I have to say already that I like it better than Friday weigh-ins even if my weekend habits weren't exactly the best.  This week I made it to the gym on 4/7 days.  I am happy with that. 

On Friday I made a huge accomplishment (for me)  and ran a mile without stopping.  This may not seem like a lot to some of you but when I started back in June, I could only run 30 seconds at a time before having to walk.  So, running for 13 min 30 seconds was HUGE for me.  It was more of a jog but still I did not walk.  I woke up yesterday morning, however, with the worst knee pain.  I could bend my knee but extending it back out was very painful.  It was weird because I was fine on Saturday and then Sunday morning is when it began hurting.  I am wondering if I just over stressed my knees because they weren't used to running that long. 

See, I have slowly worked my way up to that long but not at a gradual pace.  Before I ran the full 13:30 the most I had done was 7 minutes.  Maybe my knees were just shot, maybe I need new shoes, or maybe I need to work on my stride and how my feet push off.  Kevin's already corrected me on that and when I push off correctly it feels good but I can't keep it going for very long without getting shin splits and I feel like I'm running on my tippy toes. 

I went to the gym yesterday and tried to run again and after about 4 minutes my knee was done for.  I still did intervals of walking/running and finished the mile in 15 minutes which wasn't bad for stopping 3 times to walk.  After that I did a 5.5mile bike ride and called it a day.  I could barely get down the stairs to leave the gym and stepping up into the Expedition was not fun! 
I took some Ibuprofen last night and called it a day. 

This week my goals are to find other ways to get my heart rate going without straining my knee.  I am doing to do more elliptical and bike, and maybe take a stab at the row machine. 

I am also going to try to do THIS  arm challenge via Skinny Ms. Fitness.  Who is with me?? 

Starting weight:  222
Today's weight:  210.2
Total lost:           11.8
Goal               :   170
Need to lose    :   40.2

Just for fun!

2 years. Same shirt
  39 weeks pregnant with Kaelin (left) 
Kaelin's 2nd birthday (right) 
My thighs look deceivingly good.  It must be the mirror because anyone in my family knows we do not have nice thighs! LOL! 
Have a great weekend everyone!