Working on my Goal

OK, so one of the hardest things for me to do is lose weight... I've tried just about everything. I don't want to lose it through a fad diet though, because I won't be able to keep it off. So it's healthy food choices and lots of exercise this time. This photo shows one of the spare rooms in our house. We turned it into a workout room last summer since we never really had overnight guests in the spare anyway. I love being able to wake up in the morning and hit my own "gym".

Those bubble things (Bosu trainers) are so much fun too. I got them for Christmas. I'm finally getting to the point where I'm not losing my balance and falling off every time. And Kurt got me a heart rate monitor so I can be more accountable. That thing tells me when I'm not working hard enough, or pushing too hard. At the end of my workouts, it tells me how many calories I've burned and what my average heart rate was. I just love it.

I've only lost 4.4 pounds since I began my routine... but it's a start. I'm shooting for another 35. It's going to be hard for me. I've struggled with my weight my whole life, but I'm going to give it my best shot! I really need to drop some weight before getting pregnant too, which will hopefully happen this year! I just need to stay positive.

Little Bit of Randomness for the Week

This is the front of our house. Notice the two huge trees? Well, they are very messy and drop those pea pod things all the time. No matter how often we clean them up, we still get notices from the HOA for tree debris in our yard. So, Kurt had this bright idea.....

Let's chop them down! It took two days for them to come down, and he still hasn't figured out how to get the stumps out. I think that will be his project next week.

Here is the "after" picture. It looks so bare! It's actually kinda weird. We're going to replace them in the spring with some that are a little less messy!

DATE NIGHT

Kurt and I try to have date night at least twice a month.... even if it's just dinner and a movie. Well this week, Kurt had decided to plan something and not tell me what it was. He actually planned it about 3 weeks ago and only told me to keep the night open, but would not budge on any details. I don't like surprises... I like to know what's going on! But of course, he never spilled the beans.

Anyway, he ended up taking me out to dinner at the Landmark, then we went to America West Arena and he had tickets for the Blue Man Group show.

I've never been to that show before. I didn't even know they came to AZ. It was definitely a lot of fun. To be honest with you, he could have taken me anywhere and it would have been fun. I just love his creativity and thoughtfulness. He is such a good husband!

Crash and Burn!

Oops! Notice the bump and scrapes on my forehead.... lovely!

After it was all said and done, I found this too funny not to share! Leave it to me to be a clutz!

I was at a friends house yesterday running around in the backyard w/ kids and dogs... And I was running fast! The dang hose got in my way and tripped me. I FLEW about 5 feet and landed hard... of course not into a bed of pillows, but a huge pile of pointy rocks! It completely knocked the wind out of me and took a while for me to get up and breathe. My head smacked the rocks and actually bounced back up. It even chipped the lense of my glasses which of course I had declined the extended warranty for replacement because I "never" do anything to them! I got a nice welt and scratches on my head, scrapes on both my arms, about 12 small gashes in one knee, a welt and huge bruise on the other hip, a whole bunch of scrapes/bruises on my stomach, and a deep gouge in my hand where I tried to catch myself.

My friend said her kids fall all the time and never get that banged up! I guess the saying is true... The bigger they are, the harder they fall!!!!!

This morning when I woke up I felt like I had been hit by a train. I have been so sore today and feel like I got a little bit of whiplash. But I guess it could have been worse. If my head had hit 2 inches further, I would have split it open on the brick. That's the last thing I need is a head full of stitches! How embarrasing. Even though I was mad about my glasses, I realized that they probably saved my eyes. If there weren't 6 small chips in the lense, I'm sure the rock would have poked my eye. The glasses can be replaced!

Kurt told me next time I go out to play I need to wear a helmet! :)

New to Blogging

OK, my friends are all keeping touch w/ eachother, it's time for us to join this bandwagon! I'm new to this and don't quite know how to master it yet, but hey, it looks like fun.... So I'm officially a blogger! Bear with me for now! (and if you can give me any pointers, I'm open for comments - like how to link my friends to my page and use cute templates, etc).

I figured the best way to start this blog would be to give a recap of the highlights of 2007! Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas 2007

This was our first "married" Christmas. We went to my parent's house for Xmas Eve and then to my Grandma's Xmas Day. We just love spending time with family.

Our nephew Tanner is getting so big! He's not that teeny tiny premie anymore. He's 5 months old now and just so much fun.

This was his very first Christmas present (from Aunt Shannon and Uncle Kurt). Of course it's something that makes noise and lights up. He doens't yet know how to open his own presents, but he sure loved trying to eat the paper!

OK... we don't have kids, so we spoil the dog every Christmas. She just likes getting new toys and all the attention! She loves being the highlight!

And yes, big dogs need big bones! She's so funny, she thinks she's hiding it from us when she drops in in a corner or behind the couch. Or she'll try to take it in the backyard but can't quite get it through the dog door. She usually just carries it around for a few months and licks it. Once she actually starts chewing the thing, it's gone in about 2 weeks!

July 25, 2007 - New Addition - Our First Nephew!

Tanner came into this world 8 weeks ahead of schedule. He was 3 pounds 10 ounces at birth. To give you an idea of just how tiny that was, that's my brother's hand in the picture.

Aunt Shannon just couldn't stay away from him. I was finally able to hold him for the first time after he was 5 days old. I've never held a baby that small.

This is my brother and the proud daddy of little Tanner. (who in this photo was about 2.5 weeks old now). Tanner had to spend the first 4.5 weeks of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit. The doctors had thought it would be longer than that, but he was such a fighter and so strong! We are so thankful for the technologies we have today... he truly is a miracle baby!

Our Honeymoon - Jamaican Me Crazy!

We spent 7 days in Jamaica at the Sandals Montego Bay Resort. It was so much fun. There were so many activities and lots of food. We spent most our time in the ocean (whether it was swimming, canoeing, snorkeling, riding the water bikes, etc). We tried out all the restaurants throughout the resort and met a lot of fun people. It was a blast!

We took a bus to the Ocho Rios resort and climbed Dunn's River Falls. The water was so cold and you actually had to walk through the waterfall as you climbed to the top. If you were not wet enough, a tour guide made sure to splash you. The falls were so slippery. We had to form one long chain of people so we all held hands as we made our way to the top.

No, this is not a postcard, this is the view from the top of Dunn's River Falls. It was so beautiful.

This was our honeymoon suite. It was so bright. We just loved it. We even had turn-down service for our bed every evening. We were definitely spoiled that week! When we came home, it was hard to get used to not having someone to wait on us :)

And this last photo is the view from our balcony. It was amazing. The water was so crystal clear and the sand was so white and soft. Not like the oceans we have nearby. So beautiful!

April 17, 2007 - Laguna Beach, CA

Our Wedding Day!

We were married on the sand right next to the ocean. During the whole planning stage, I kept saying we would have a beautiful sunshine wedding on the beach. And of course when the day came, it was all gloomy and overcast. We wouldn't let that ruin our perfect day so the show had to go on. It was so amazing though, literaly as we said our vows the sun came peeking out from behind the clouds and stayed out for the remainder of the day. I couldn't have asked for anything more! It was perfect.

This was by far the happiest day of my life. There were about 30 of our closest family and friends who traveled to CA to share our special day.