Happy Birthday.....

to me and my sis! :) Today we are 25 years old :) lol Okay, no, we aren't! lol But I know we look it! :) Didn't really do anything "big" to celebrate it today since last night I had GNO with the girls. Today I went to church w/Laura as usual and then afterwards when Miguel got home from church w/the kids (he had picked up Lij from CCD), they brought me a small cake from HEB, along with some roses and a FUNNY Hoops & Yoyo card that I just LOVE!! :) We took Lij back home to his dad's to go to the pumpkin patch and then Miguel, Mikey and I went to have lunch at Good Time Charlies. Good food :) Afterwards, we went to M's at The Quarry. Didn't really find anything for myself. Bought Mikey some Halloween finger puppet foam things that were on sale and I got some stamps for Robyn which is my best friend Laura's daughter. Her birthday is Nov.2 and the last time they came over, she was admiring my stamps and all my scrapbooking stuff. So, I'm going to try to get some things together for her :) Which btw, Laura got me some cool scrappy stuff for my birthday along w/THE sweetest card which I just LOOOOOVE!!! Thank you SO much Laura!!! :) Anyway, afterwards we came home and just hung out here. I didn't even get to make my cake because I was kind of lazy to do it! lol But I think I'll try to make it tomorrow and then just "fake" some pics! ;) I NEED some pics of me w/my cake! What else? Oh yeah, the last time I went to the gym which was on Friday, I didn't do so well with my running :( I was only able to run 10 mins non stop because my ankle was KILLING me! Or more like my achilles tendon...I think that's what it's called. Every time I moved my foot to run or even walk, I kept feeling something "pull" back there and it HURT! So I was only able to run that. After that, I ran at 5 minute intervals, so I ran a total of 25 mins, but only 10 non stop. I guess I just over did it. I couldn't really understand why my ankle hadn't been hurting up until then, but I guess maybe I just pushed myself too much. So didn't go to the gym over the weekend. May or may not go tomorrow depending how my foot feels. I had Miguel massage it today and right now it feels okay. But God willing, I'll hit the gym again for sure on Tuesday and will just have to take it easier. I'll just play it by ear. I'm not going to let this discourage me :)

STILL haven't done any scrapping. I have lots of pics I could use, but no mojo whatsoever! I don't know if I had mentioned this before, but two other women from church who I found out scrapbooked and I were discussing starting a scrapbook group at church so we are going to have our first get together on the 6th of November. So maybe instead of trying to scrap, I'll use these next couple of weeks until then to plan some pages and get some stuff together to work on that night. It's going to be from 6 to 10 so I should be able to get a few pages done. Plus, I'm looking forward to getting to know some of these other women I've seen at chuch. Laura won't be able to make it because she's going to have a slumber party for her daughter's bday that night.

Oh, forgot to talk about our GNO. We had dinner at Mama Margies along with a couple of YUMMY Margaritas then we ended up downtown at Pat O'brians. It was fun. Had a couple of drinks there...kind of...lol and alot of laughs. Sadly, I left my camera in Laura's truck...DOH! So, I didn't get any pics! So mad I did that. But one of my friends took a couple of pics on her camera phone, so I'm going to ask her to pass those along to me.

Oh, and yesterday, Chon met us out at Fiesta Texas w/the kids and we did that Fright Fest thing they have going on right now. Mikey wore his Max costume and got SO many compliments. He had a good time riding the rides w/Victoria. I got on a couple w/him. And Miguel and I got one one together. We want to try to go back next weekend at night...just him and me. That would be fun :)

Oh, forgot to say that I also colored my hair. It's alot lighter...has a reddish look to it now. I really love it! :)

Okay, I think that's about it for now!

STILL no scrapping, but it's worth the sacrifice...

I STILL have not been able to find the time or the mojo to get a page done! I am ITCHING to be creative, but every time I sit down to start something, Mikey wants something so the constant interruptions are killing my scrappy vibe! I have these awesome pics of Mikey dressed as Max from Where The Wild Things Are (my sis and her hubby made Mikey the costume and it is AWESOME!) and they have been sitting on my table along with ONE sheet of patterned paper for DAYS!! NOTHING is coming to me! I really love the pics so I don't want to half arse it just to get it done you know? I find that when I'm devoting more time to my working out, I don't have as much time to sit and scrap or peruse the galleries and stuff. By the time I get my "chores" done and Mikey gets settled doing something, it's almost time for me to go to the gym. BUT I know that it's paying off and that I'm seeing results and reaching my goal. So I'm sure down the line when I've finally lost all the weight I want and I can run for miles and miles to my hearts content, I will be glad that I prioritized my health over my hobby :) And speaking of the gym, I went again today....kind of late because my mom went back to work today so by the time she got home, it was kind of "late". I didn't end up getting to the gym until around 5:30 and I was afraid there would be no machines empty because that's usually the time when the gym is pretty packed. And when I got there, I glanced over at the machine and sure enough, there were none available! I was kind of bummed. All the treadmills in the women's workout area were available, but I hate being back there. In my opinion, it bores me to be back there all alone looking at myself running in the mirror! lol I find it ALOT easier to work out in the actual gym because there are so many people and I can easily get distracted from my pain by watching other people working out. So anyway, by the time I had put my stuff away in the locker and went back out, I noticed that my FAVE treadmill to run on...the one WAY at the end was free so I hurried over there before someone else took it! LOL So the running time for today...I was hoping to keep at least my last running time which was 2.5 miles/35 mins, but I was able to add to it today and I ran FORTY TWO mins non stop for a total of THREE MILES!! WOOOHOOO!! Seriously, I am totally blown away by the fact that I am actually doing this! I didn't think I had it in me! But I cannot take all the credit because I have been praying for the strength to do this and I KNOW, it's all Him!! I feel him...pushing me on! And it's SO awesome!! And the thing that makes me feel even more so that God's hands are on me is because my ankle is not hurting me....AT ALL! He is AMAZING! I feel like such a dork sometimes when I'm running and listening to 33 Miles and wanting to smile like a dummy because I know He's there and he's rooting for me!! So just had to share my latest accomplishment. God willing, I'll be hitting the gym again tomorrow then taking the weekend off. Oh, Miguel picked me up from the gym after because it was kind of late and he was on his way home from work anyway, so we stopped at Target for a few things and I bought myself a couple boxes of hair color. Yes, I'm going to color my hair! I used to do it all the time before and I really liked it, but had gotten kind of tired of having to keep up with it. But I'd been wanting to do it again for a while...I feel like I need a "change" so I'm going for it. I hope it "takes" since my hair has gone back to its natural darker color. I'm hoping for a light red color...we shall see :)
GNO is on for Saturday night. We are having dinner at Mama Margies...and some Margaritas :) And then bowling! Yes, I love bowling! Not very good at it, but I do enjoy playing! Miguel and I were going to spend the day together on Saturday, but I feel bad for leaving Mikey at home when he hasn't really gotten out all week, so I told Miguel that if the weather is nice and fresh, I'd like to take him to the zoo...maybe have a little picnic. Mikey is ALL about the outdoors! I like the zoo too...always have, ever since I was just a little girl! So, we'll probably do that during the day then come home and get ready to have dinner. Which reminds me I need to charge my camera batteries!! Okay, it's getting late and I need to head to bed. Nighty peeps :)

It CAN get better!!

I hit the gym ealier today. I got all my "chores" done and out of the way early and had planned to scrap until around 2p.m. then leave for the gym, but Mikey just wasn't cooperating and letting me do anything, so I ended up leaving for the gym earlier. I had also taken an allergy pill because I wasn't feeling very good, so I was kind of drowsy...not good to be drowsy and running on a treadmill...lol But by the time I got there, I was good :) I get so nervous lately when I go...well, not nervous..well, yeah...maybe that is the word I'm looking for...lol...Because I want to do good on my running and I'm afraid I'm not going to do as well as I did the last time or be able to hang in there for very long, ect, ect...So today, I was really hoping to make it to 30 mins....just 1.5 mins more than yesterday. And let me tell you, this running thing is just SO hard! It never fails that around the 10 minute mark...my legs are hurting and my mind starts telling myself that I'm not going to do as well today and that I'm going to have to stop soon, ect, ect...Oh, a million negative thoughts start coming into my head along with the pain, but I just have to push them out and stay focused and think about other things. I really can't imagine having to work out/run without my Ipod. What got me through today? Other than God of course because I know in my heart that He is giving me the strength and endurance to do this. I know that He knows how much my heart wants this. So anyway, there's this song by Flyleaf called "All Around Me" and that song just motivates me so much! Along with my fave..33 Miles like "Jesus Calling" and "There IS a God". Throw in some Kelly Clarkson, Lifehouse and Beyonce and I am good to go! lol Anyway, so yeah...I really have to just keep pushing myself mentally....hit 10 mins and tell myself...just go 2 more mins...hit that mark...go x more mins..ect, ect...it really does have alot to do with your mentality! You just have to psyche yourself out...keep pushing on...so in the midst of this pain, I was still able to run TWO AND A HALF miles NON STOP!! Yes, I know! I can't believe it either!! That was 35 minutes of consecutive running and my ankle was not hurting in the least...thank you God!! I was SO happy! I wanted to get off and run around the gym hugging random people! LOL JK..I wouldn't really do that! I'm amazed that it's taken me so little time to get to where I am now....been running since June, because when I had my treadmill at our old house before, it took me about a year to be able to run 16 minutes and that was only a little over a mile. And I couldn't do it every day either. It was pretty random. But this time around, I've been able to run the same amount of time as my previous run AND add more time on a consistent basis. I am just SO super excited about it because running is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Well being able to run non stop and consistently and I am reaching that goal! And it just totally blows me away that I ran 2.5 miles today because the goal I had set for myself...that I was really hoping to achieve was to be able to run one mile non stop. And I did that AND more!! Happy dance!! LOL Anyway, just had to make note of this and share with whoever reads my blog! lol I tried to get some scrapping done today after the gym, but it wasn't happening. Mikey was too wound up or something. I did manage to make a card so at least I got to be a little creative. Maybe tomorrow. I don't think I'm going to the gym tomorrow. My mom goes back to work...don't know if I'll go later in the afternoon. So maybe I can get some scrapping done tomorrow. For sure, I'm back at the gym on Thursday and Friday, God willing. Oh, and Saturday is our GNO!! YAY!! Can't wait for that. Don't know what Miguel and I are doing during the day, but we are spending it together and doing something as far as I know. Sunday is our actual birthday, but I don't have anything planned for that day. Okay, going to watch some tv before heading off to bed. Nighty :)

I never thought the day would come....

Laura called me earlier today to let me know that Brother James messaged her to say that our exercise classes at church are going to be put off for a while because he needs to concentrate on the Karate classes that he teaches. I'm kind of sad about that because I really liked doing them for my "off" days you know? For the days I didn't go to gym, it was a good workout to do. So now, I guess I'm going to have to go back to just doing the gym. So after she told me, I hurried and did all my cleaning and left to the gym. The last time I went...last Thursday....I ran 22 minutes. So today, I was wanting to push myself the extra 3 minutes to make it 25. And thank you God, I was able to hang in there for 28 1/2 minutes!! Now that I think of it, I could have tried to push myself for another minute and a half to make it 30, but still, I'm SO happy that I was able to do that much. The reason I ran only half a minute extra was because I was so close to 2 miles, so I ran the extra time to get there. I cannot believe that I was able to run TWO miles non stop!! I was SO excited! That has been something I have been wanting to do for SO long! I have been working hard at building up my endurance a little at a time and I am finally seeing the fruits of my labor! I never thought I would actually get here! I sure hope that I can consistently run that length of time from now on and eventually add more time to it too!! Had Hobby Lobby had anything good on sale, I would have definitely treated myself to something! Sadly, there wasn't! Anyway, I was so excited and just wanted to share :)

22 baby!

I just wanted to make note, for my own benefit, that yesterday I ran 22 minutes non stop! WOOHOO!! It was HARD! I was praying for the strength to just keep going because I really wanted to stop like halfway into it! But I did it! And I'm so happy! It was about 1.60 miles...did a total of about 3 miles but I walked the rest! I treated myself to some Hobby Lobby afterwards and this time I remembered my wallet! I got myself this We R Memory Keepers pack of paper that was on clearance, a Daisy D's title rub on for .50 and this new MME pack of paper they had there called "Summer Song" using a 40% off coupon. There was another one I wanted to get, but I'll wait until paper goes half off. Also got Mikey some little Halloween crafts stuff and some orange lights for outside. All the Halloween stuff was 40% off. My ankle was really hurting last night though, but Miguel massaged it and it feels better today. No gym today. I woke up with a sore throat, sinus pressure and sneezing :( Took some allergy pills so hopefully it won't get any worse. Wanted to do some scrapping, but SO drowsy from the meds. Hate to go nap since I only got up a few hours ago, but I think I should. I'll try to scrap later ;)

Here are three more pages I've done in the past few days. This puts my LO count at 118 for the year. The first one is a lift off of one of the neighbors at sb.com-Delaina Burns. The second is a lift from my fave 2 Peas artist April Yap and the last one was all me. I'm not too crazy about that one though. But there it is! lol

Yesterday I went to the gym with a goal in mind. To at least run the 18 minutes I'd ran the last two times I went to the gym, but I was really going to try to hang in there for an extra two minutes to make it 20. Well, I was able to add one more minute for a total of TWENTY ONE minutes of consecutive running! WOOHOO! I was SO happy!! My ankle was slightly hurting, but not too bad and I wasn't really struggling to breathe which makes me think I really could have pushed myself just a little bit more and maybe done 25? Even so, I'm super happy that I have reached my goal!! I think it came out to a little over a mile and a half that I ran non stop which is SUPER for me I think. Oh, and if that wasn't enough....I also lost another 1.2 pounds! So that makes a total of 17 pounds that I've lost since June! I am SOO close to reaching one of my weight goals...only 4 pounds to go and I will be there! After that, I will have 24 more pounds to lose to reach my ideal weight. It's SO close. I know I can do it. I WILL do it!! :) I've also been practicing my pushups. At class on Monday, Brother James was talking about how important it is for us a women to have more strength in our arms and he suggested we do at least 10 GOOD pushups in the a.m. and again at night. So that we can work up to doing "guy" pushups instead of girl ones. So yesterday and today, I did my pushups and I think I did them pretty good too. I'd really like to tone up my arms more so I'm going to keep doing that.

Hmm...not much else going on. We didn't have class today because Brother James had Open House at his daughter's school and I thought about going to the gym again, but my ankle is really hurting today. I guess I kind of over did it yesterday. But I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow so I'm definitely hitting the gym then and Friday...God willing :)

I think we are going to try to go to Lovecreek Orchards this Saturday. I didn't realize how few weekends we had left this month before Halloween. We can't go next weekend because that is our birthday. And the next one will be Halloween. So it has to be this weekend. I NEED my pumpkin patch pics! lol Speaking of birthdays, Chon and I will be turning 38! Yikes! Freaks me out!! It's only two years away from 40! I know that I surely don't look my age and I don't really 'feel' it either, but just the thought of 40 years of my life being behind me...well, that's just alot of time! Makes me realize how fast time goes by and how I should cherish every single moment of life that God blesses me with! I think we are just going to have a girls night out thing that Friday. Laura, my friend Maria, maybe Chon and I are going to see what we do. And on Saturday, Miguel and I are going to try to plan a little get away and spend the day together. At least, that was what I told him I wanted to do....don't know if it's still going to happen. I'll probably make myself a small cake....just to have one...but I promise I won't eat it all! LOL Oh, maybe I'll make myself a big brownie instead? We shall see :)
I think that's all for now. Later :)

Bad Blogger

Oh, I'm neglecting my poor little blog! Sometimes I just get so lazy to come update...lol...don't know why! Hmm...what's been going on? Well, still working out...at the gym and exercise class w/Laura. The last time I went to the gym after not having gone for about 3 weeks because of Mikey or I being sick, I weighed myself and I lost 3 more pounds which makes it a total of 16 lbs since June. That's good I guess. I'm mean, it's better than nothing, but I sure with it would come off faster! I feel like I'm busting my butt and it's just not happening fast enough. Everyone tells me though that it's better to take it off slowly to ensure you don't put it back on. Doesn't look like I'll reach my goal weight by the end of year, but then again...who knows! I still have 29 lbs to lose to get to where I want to be. I'm pretty confident that early next year..God willing, I will be there :) Oh and speaking of working out, the last two times I went to the gym, I was able to run/jog 18 consecutive minutes! I know! I was SO excited!! My goal, aside from keeping up at least the 18 mins, is to try to run an extra two mins to make it a total of 20 mins running non stop. I'd be REALLY happy with that!! Maybe this week?? Today was class and it was HARD! James had us doing sprints and that kicked my butt! I had a headache after..lol Tomorrow, I'll be going to the gym, class again on Wednesday and gym hopefully Thursday and Friday.


I've also done a little bit of scrapping and I reorganized my scrap area yet again! I loved how I had my two big tables pushed together at our old house, but I had never tried doing that here. I don't know why, but I thought it wouldn't fit or there wouldn't be enough room around the tables to walk around. So one day this past week, I had nothing to do so I decided to move some stuff around. Mikey helped me take everything off the shelves and move it to the kitchen island. And thankfully somewhere in the middle of it all, he ended up falling asleep on the couch so I was able to get more done with any interruptions. It looks great! And the kids love it too! I love that they can sit across from me at my table and do their own thing without getting to close to what I'm working on. It's also good for when Chon comes over to scrap because she is a known table hog! LOL So now she has a whole side all to herself! As a matter of fact, she came over on Saturday and we did a tiny bit of scrapping and it worked out just perfectly.
Well, here are pics of the pages I've done recently. This puts my page count at 115 for the year. I have one other page I need to take a picj of and upload, so I'll update when I do that. Good night :)

111

I managed to do this one page the other day. I really love it! I started out trying to "lift" a LO from one of my fave 2 Peas artists....April Yap, but ended up doing this which looks nothing like her page at all. Alot of times, I just need a starting off point to get some ideas flowing. I also really LOVE this pic of Mikey and Victoria. Although, I wish Mikey was looking at the camera, I still love it. Victoria is just so used to taking pics and posing...she's good at it :) I have another page that's been sitting on my table for a couple of days now. I haven't gotten the chance to get any scrapping done. Sadly, it seems that when I start going to the gym, I have less time to just sit and play with my paper :( Today after I got home fromt he gym, I started making dinner, then I had to help Lij with this project he had for school...making some kind of car that was going to be propelled w/balloons. When Miguel got home, he took over and I played Mickey Mouse bingo w/Mikey for miniature candy bars. On the way home from the gym, I thought it would be fun to stop at Walgreens and buy some Halloween candy bars and play Bingo with the kids for candy. Of course with Lij taking longer on his project, only Mikey and I played. It was still fun. Anyway, so now Mikey is asleep, but it's after 11 and I don't think I should stay up too late because then I'll hate waking up in the morning. Miguel is watching a movie, so I just might stay up until he goes to sleep. Tomorrow, I think Chon is picking my mom up so it will just be me and Mikey. Lij will go to his dad's afterschool for the weekend, so maybe I can get some scrapping done then. I don't think I have much to do in the way of "chores", so here's hoping. Anyway, that's all for now. Nighty night :)