30X5 ... I am in!

***Daily stats for the 30X5 will be in a sticky post at the top of the page***

So, I need to get in shape. Anyone else? Yeah.

The problem is this ... well, OK, THESE:

*I need accountability, y'all. I simply cannot do this alone.

*I need short term, forseeable and, ya know, DOable goals.

*I need encouragement ... and accountability. Are you seeing a trend.

*I need something I can finish.

*BABY STEPS. I need BABY STEPS people!!!!

So, here is what I'm gonna do. Linda (AKA Lidna ... don't ask) over at 2nd Cup of Coffee is havin' a little encouragement/accountability/get up and move/baby step/short term goals/all very DOable little carnival over at her place. Clearly, you can see why I am intrigued. All of my needs are met!

So, starting tomorrow, all participants are asked to commit to 30 minutes of some kind of activity a day.

PS, TV does NOT count as that activity! (My thumbs, however, are in the best shape of my life thanks to my handy dandy remote control!)

PPS, Cranking up Mamma Mia and singing and dancing along DOES count. Linda, however, is not a fan of the musical (I blame parenting for this sad deficiency in her otherwise lovely persona), so she will most assuredly NOT being doing that!

The commitment is for 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS ... who can't do that?!?!?!

You may , or may not, choose to include your bathroom scale in this endeavor. Your choice. I for one, become obsessed with those little (AKA BIG!!!) numbers, so I may not do that for a while. I really just want my clothes to fit again.

My really cute clothes ... as opposed to the tents that I am currently sporting!

So, if you would like to play along, head on over to Lidna's and sign up! We are all in this together y'all. Let's keep each other motivated!!!

I will be back soon to tell you all about the last few days activities ... so much to share!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Project 365 - Week 12

Week 12!!! Yowza!! That is all I am gonna say about that!

Here is our week:

March 16 - Princess Day - Hattie, Sophie and Sweet Belle all discovering the joy of being at a ball!

March 17 - Hattie had a great day at therapy and the reward was a trip to McD's. Sophie, it seems, is a fan of the fries!

March 18 - Taking a break from the life of a Princess, Hattie found Sophie's winter hat from LAST YEAR and thought it would be fun to wear IT for a while! How cute is she?

March 19 - SPRING is near! Thank the Sweet Lord!

March 20 - Mama Beth wrote this post, which stirred some major onion ring cravings, so on our date, Hubbs and I took a little trip to Sonic!

March 21 - Teri and I out for coffee, courtesy of Frannie and her gift card! Good times!

March 22 - We had a date with Sophie's birthmom - here she is with her Mama Kim. She also got to meet her birth grandma, but that is a post all it's own!

So, that was our week, how was YOURS?

Fixin it up

Over at I Heart Faces, one of my very fave sites, they have a little fun-ness called Fix It Friday. Every week they post a photo, like this one of this handsome little dude ...

... and then they present a little challenge for the reader to fix-it up. Some of their peeps show you what they did and then you get to try it yourself.

This week I thought I would give it a go. I took the shot to http://www.picnik.com and played around for a few minutes and these are what I came up with:

I LOVE the picnik site and had a blast playing with this shot. If you wanna try your hand at it, head on over to I Heart Faces and grab your self a copy of the photo and see what YOU can do!!

If The Tiara Fits ...

Hattie and I have t-shirts that say "I didn't ask to be a princess, but if the tiara fits ...". She has long since outgrown hers and mine has become less than presentable, but I have always loved them. Truth be told, I used to spend many hours hoping that my little tomboy would someday embrace her inner princess.



For oh, so long, it seemed that she would much rather be in a mud pit than a dress. When Sophie came along I thought maybe I FINALLY had a girlie girl. I don't think the child has gone one single day of her life without some form of pink on her person. And she has always seemed to enjoyed dresses - which does my heart good :)



And then, about a year ago, a miracle of sorts began to happen in Hattie. When I put a dress on her, she didn't fight it. And, if by chance, the dress were to twirl, she may have even enjoyed it. And one day, on her own, she brought me a dress up outfit and asked to wear it. I was over the moon. Even though it didn't last ...



But last week Sophie asked to wear one of the gowns. So, after dressing her in royal finery, I reached to the deep dark recesses of the video cabinet and pulled out the Disney Princess Sing Along DVD (the one that we got a total of 5 minutes into, before Hattie asked for Diego, the one time it had ever been out of it's case). This time we got about 1.5 minute into it before Hattie asked ... for a princess dress.



And I have had to FIGHT to get them out of the dresses ever since. Hattie knows that she cannot wear the dress to school or church, but that has not stopped her from wearing it everywhere else, including COSTCO and therapy - they BOTH wore them to therapy!!!! Much to the enjoyment of the nursing staff in the therapists office!



So, on Monday, when sweet Belle came to play, I had 3 princesses on my hands. While Sophie was napping I dressed the two bigger girls up and put on the sing along. Well, when Princess Sophie woke up and found Princess Belle in her gown there was much distress! But Prince Charming (AKA Daddy) quickly found a new gown - in the form of an old Easter dress of Hattie's - for his girl. And, once all girls were dressed and ready to dance, all was right with the world...




Princess Hattie, in a moment of serious reflection...

Princess Sophie cheesing it up for the camera...

Princess Belle - a little blurry, but how classic is the pose ... and the SHOES?!?!?!

Two sweet girls at the ball!

So, now that I have the princessy girls I have always wanted, I just have one dillema ... We have only one princess movie (Cinderella) and the sing along DVD. Can I just tell ya that they are BOTH getting a little old!!!

So, since all the good ones are now in the Disney vault (AKA the doom of all mothers everywhere!!!!), I am on a desperate hunt for some good (and by good, I mean AFFORDABLE)Princess DVD's...

Anyone?

Bueller?

C'mon y'all, help a mama out!!!

I Heart Faces - All Things Green

This week at I Heart Faces, they are celebrating all things green. I know that this is in celebration of St. Patty's Day, but I gotta tell ya, I don't do that day. I am part Irish, and proud of it, but I lost someone I loved dearly on that day a few years ago and now the sight of clovers makes me sad. VERY sad!

So, while I do not do clovers and leprechauns, I do love the color green, especially when it is in the grass of spring and summer! And, from the looks of this picture, so does Sophie!!!

Head on over to I Heart Faces for more green shots ... maybe even a clover or two - if you like that kinda stuff!!!

Project 365 - Week 11

Here we are mid march - week 11 ... I cannot believe it! I know every week I say I can't believe how fast this year is going by. Hmmm, starting to sound like my Grandma ... and, while that may make me old, if it makes me like my Grandma, that aint bad!!!

Here we go with another week in the Project 365 fun ...

March 9 - This is my laid up foot. I have a bonespur that occasionally gets a little tender. Monday it flared up BIG TIME and I could hardly walk. So the doc gave it a shot of cortisone (with a needle longer than the stinkin foot!!!) and told me to lay low for a while.

He apparently missed the memo on my chart that said I have children!

March 10 - I am doing a similar project on my Facebook page with a group started by one of my friends from High school. She actually gives assignments! This week we were to take some pics form the perspective of a child. This is Sophie's view of the rain out our back window. She was FASCINATED by it!

March 11 - This is the same window at sunrise the next day. The clouds were just breaking up and the sun just starting to poke through. We haven't seen the sun much this winter, so it was a welcome sight!!!

March 12 - One of Sophie AND Hattie's favorite things to do is to watch the fish. I got down on the floor with Sophie to take this one... And I PROMISE you, the tank is NOT as filthy as it looks in this shot!

March 13 - Picture day at Hattie's school. And, as Exhibit A in the evidence that she is learning to embrace all things girlie, she even let me put pretties in her hair!!!!

Makes my heart smile!!!!!

March 14 - This would be Exhibit B ... you cannot tell in this shot, but she is not only sporting a headband (which she asked to wear and KEPT IN!) but she is also dressed in her princess dress AND watching a Princess Sing Along video! Notice the killer eyelashes

On a side note: She also wore this lovely ensemble to COSTCO later that day!

March 15 - this is a cheater shot. Not only did I not take this picture, but it is over a year old.

So, why am I posting it here?

Well, the hands belong to my mommy and my sweet niece Trinity. They had come to see me for my birthday and this was sent to me via text/pic message from the plane before they took off for home. TODAY is sweet Trinity's birthday. I miss that kid so stinkin much!!!!!

Happy Birthday Angel Face!!!!!

I (pointing to my eye)

Love (crossing my arms over my chest)

You! You! You! You! You! You!

NO!!!! I love YOU the most!!!!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

(So, check out Sara's blog for more pics in this fun little project! And have a great week!!!!)

Where I Come From

I have always been intrigued by history ... well, Ms. Arenz from High School history class would beg me to clarify, I have always been intrigued by MY FAMILY'S history.

I can remember sitting in my Grandma Straight's bedroom begging her to tell me stories and names of the people in the many pictures there. If it sat still in that room, there was a picture on it! I loved to hear her stories of growing up on the farm in Iowa, the winters spent in town with her grandparents so she and her sisters could be closer to the school, her long train rides on Sunday and Friday evenings to and from her first teaching job ... and so many more.

Grandma is gone now. She was one of four daughters and there are now only two of the girls left - Aunt Buddy (Beatrice) - the youngest, and Aunt Jessie - the oldest. Grandma (Lois) and Aunt Edna have gone to Jesus. I think that the family, realizing that the bearers of our history are not going to be around forever, have found a renewed interest in that history. I, for one, am so Blessed by the fact that initiative to preserve the wealth of knowledge and love in the family line is being taken.

My Grandma and her sister Jessie both married Straight boys - two brothers with the last name of Straight! Aunt Jessie - being the oldest of the sisters - married Uncle Vernon. Vernon had taken over the running of his family's farm and during harvest time the sisters would take turns going to help Jessie keep the farm hands fed and cared for. On one such round of duties my grandparents fell in love. They were married later, even though (as I have heard it) my Great Grandma Mamie was none too happy about losing another daughter to "one of those Straight Boys" - I think she wanted more for her girls than farm life, not that she had anything against the Straight Boys, per sey...

I always thought that it was such a sweet story. Still do! I never had the pleasure of meeting my Grandpa, he went Home to Jesus before I was born. But I LOVED to hear my Grandma talk about him, the love in her voice was so real and strong. His death was sudden and completely unexpected and I believe it was a shock that she never really got over. The sadness was, often times, as evident as the love when she spoke of him.

So, why am I telling you all of this?

I am really not sure, except to say that I was recently emailed some family tree info, as well as copies of some of the same portraits that I remember from Grandma's bedroom. And, while I am still not sure of ALL of the names, I wanted to share with you the three that I DO know. There are my Grandma's parents:

Mamie Charity (Ledgerwood) Nickle

And Roy E. Nickle

This is one of the two of them together. I cannot say for sure, but I seem to remember my Grandma saying that this may have been their wedding portrait. I could be wrong.

I was also given a copy of a letter that Roy wrote to Mamie while he was away from her during their courtship. In it he says that he has no intention of leaving again until he can take her with him. Isn't that sweet? I love it!

I also learned that I am legally qualified to be a member of the Daughters Of The American Revolution - meaning that I have ancestors who, there is documented proof, fought in the American Revolutionary War!!!

Also, on my Grandpa's side (the Straights), there are Mennonite descendants who had come to America to avoid religious persecution. They were pacifists so they refused to fight in the war, but DID pay the taxes to support the war.

So, not only am I a product of people who fought valiantly to protect the country they loved, but also of those who fled their homes and stood up for the right to worship God the way they saw fit.

And THAT makes me so very proud of where I come from!

I Heart Faces - Creative Cropping

So, this week at I Heart Faces, they are celebrating the creative crop. When this shot came out of the camera it was NOT pretty! The coloring was weird and it was centered funny. But thanks to www.picnik.com, I was able to jazz it up a bit!

Here is the end result:

Still a bit off centered, but I like it that way because you can see her creation - a rainbow! And man, oh man, was she proud of that rainbow!

Stop by I Heart Faces to check out some more creative cropping ... or enter some of your own!!

Project 365 - Week 10

Can you even believe we are 10 weeks into 2009? Time is FLYING!!!! Sometimes I wonder where it all goes. And then I am so happy that I am doing this project, because I can look back and see EXACTLY where it went!


March 1 - Our worship leader, Aron (Miss Belle's Daddy!!!) was officially ordained as a minister! He dedicated is life to God's service, a mighty warrior for our Lord!

But, really, it just confirmed what we have all known all along - Aron is a man of God!

March 2 - This is a picture of my counter ... and to be honest, it has been a while since this section of the counter has been visible. It has been covered with financial papers, house hunting forms, etc... This week a lot of that stuff was finally put to rest! Thank the SWEET, SWEET Lord!!!

March 3 - (CHEATER SHOT!!!! This was actually taken March 4.) Here is our little fashion diva workin' the scarf! Isn't she just so stinkin' cute?

March 4 - Sweet Hattie was FINALLY well enough to celebrate her birthday with the family. And my little sweetheart picked a Lightening McQueen cake!

Yeah, that one is ALL girl... NOT!!

March 5 - The day after the party and the balloons are STILL a blast to play with!

March 6 - Fun spring day ... OK, this is actually from the blooper roll of the spring day pics ... if you look closely you can see that SOMEONE'S "coin slot" is sowing!

March 7 - Here Hattie is imitating her mama ... I took a picture of her taking a picture of me!

March 8 - This morning in church we had a little skit. We were trying to get people into the spirit ... of giving. We are in need of a new HVAC unit in our building and we were taking a special offering to help cover the extra cost.

Our friends the Spartan Cheerleaders came by to cheer us on!!!!!

And they were stinkin' HILARIOUS!

So, that was our week - stop by Sara's place for a glimpse into even more day by day recaps of other people's weeks!!!!

By the way, how was YOUR week?