A Few Good Friends.....

So, we were supposed to have our second church scrapbooking group yesterday, but Cheryl had cancelled it when they were expecting rain/snow. Sadly, it ended up being rather sunny yesterday...cold, but NO snow! :( So, at the last minute, I decided to invite some of the girls over to our house to work on our cards anyway since I was really looking forward to it. Thankfully, Laura, Liz and Yocasta were able to come along with Chon of course! lol We set up one of my 6 ft tables in the kitchen so we had plenty of seating for everyone! We ordered pizza and Laura and Liz brought some yummies :) We had a BLAST! Lots of laughing and chatting and a little bit of card making too! I am really just SO glad that I have made such a wonderful group of friends at church! It is really such a blessing! :) Liz always keeps us laughing. And Yocasta is a NUT...she's my kind of gal! ;) And Laura, well she is just my bestest friend EVAH! lol :) I am just so glad that we got to get together after all! I did about 26 cards...not sure if I'm going to need some more...have to look over my list. Laura was quite the little card maker for it being her first time. And Liz made some CUTE cards with some sequined trees on the front. Chon's of course were very loverly and vintage-y. And Yocasta got one done..lol..but she was just such a blast to have here! I did a mix of stuff, but I was pretty happy with all my cards. I need to take some pics to upload. I also got a page done sometime last week...using some Thanksgiving pics...used one of Helen Croft's sketches for it and I really loved it. Went by M's today and got another box of the DCWV cards, but solids this time. I also got some cute lil Christmas Snag Em' stamps and some Mary Engelbreit dimensional stickers to share w/the girls ;) Oh, and a K&Co pad of paper...Terri Conrad's Sweet Life. It's not a Christmas pad, but I loved the colors and they matched just what I wanted to use to make a Christmas mini using a BoBunny cb album I got from SB.com back on National Scrapbook Day. I had intended on buying this MME pad at M's that had some of the Be Merry papers and some from one of their other Christmas lines, but looking at it more closely, there were more papers that I did NOT like than papers I DID like. Also picked up a pack of these K&Co diecuts from their Evergeen line. We did a little shopping for Mikey's birthday next week, went and got Miguel and Mikey haircuts, and did our grocery shopping. Picked up some food on the way home then just hung out and watched some tv. Right now, Miguel is asleep on the sofa and Mikey is at my table sticking some Spongebob stickers I got him at M's :) Heading to bed in a bit because I am sleeeepy. Chon and the kids stayed here last night and we didn't go to bed until around 1:00. After Miguel left around 5:00, I laid in bed until 7:00 because I couldn't to back to sleep. Then didn't end up waking up until 10:00, but I feel like I didn't sleep well :( It's so nice and warm in here and I'm so drowsy....my bed is calling my name... Nighty!! :)

WHERE have I been???

I have been neglecting my poor blog again! Bad blogger! lol Not much has been going on here....just the usual. On the working out front....haven't done much of it sadly! I'm starting to "feel" it and that is not good because I don't want to undo all the hard work I have put into it. I really need to get back on track with the eating and hitting the gym regularly. My ankle has not bothered me too much the past few days, but haven't really done anything on it either, so we shall see.
I've done a teeny bit of scrapping...two pages, but I'm using them to submit to Helen Croft's blog design team at http://www.scrap-a-little.com/ and I'm not sure if we can post them, so I'll just wait until after to upload them here.
Oh, I want to thank Pam at http://ideasforscrapbookers.blogspot.com/. She was hosting a Follow My Blog contest and I won...a $20 GC to scrapbook.com...yay!! Used it to get my sis some stuff she was wanting for her Christmas gift :)
This Friday is our second get together for our church scrapbooking group. Really excited about it. I'm hoping we will have more people than last time show up. No one RSVPd to me, but Cheryl said people had been letting her know they were attending and I know of a few people who have said they are going as well, so we shall see. Laura will be going to this one so I'm glad about that. I'm putting a little bit of stuff together for her since she doesn't scrapbook and doesn't really have any supplies.
Thanksgiving was nice. Spent it here at home with Mom, Miguel and the kids and Chon and her family. We went by Miguel's parents' for a bit afterwards and then just came home and watched some movies Miguel had rented. I love when we can just hang out at home and relax together...good times :)
What else? Can't really think of anything else blog worthy...soooo...tomorow is cleaning day...again...hopefully won't take too long since last week I went on a washing frenzy and washed everyone's blankets as well as all the sofa pillows! lol I'm hoping to get our little tree up on Tuesday maybe and then maybe over the weekend, Miguel and I can work on getting some decorations put up outside. Hope everyone has a great week :)

FINALLY...

hadn't scrapped since the church crop! I was itching to create! Finally did a page today...ALL me :) Yep, doesn't happen very often, but once in a great while, I can create a page that I didn't lift! lol

Ideas For Scrapbookers is having a little GC giveaway. Check it out here

http://ideasforscrapbookers.blogspot.com/2009/11/templates-pages-20-gc-giveaway.html

Not much else going on. Went to the gym on Tuesday...2.5 miles on the treadmill...2 on the Elliptical...some running, but nothing to brag about sadly. My ankle is still hurting..having to ice it daily...iced it TWICE today :( Haven't weighed myself in a while so don't know how it's going there, but my clothes is still fitting loose so that's good enough for me for now. It's late and I hate waking up so early, so that's all for now. Nighty!

Some pages to share....

So, the scrapbooking party at church was FUN! There were only 3 others besides Chon and me, but it was still a blast! I got to meet Yocasta in person :) We had been chatting on Facebook prior to that night. VERY nice girl...looking forward to getting to hang out with her more. And got to know Kim a little better even though she was pretty quiet...I know she was very tired! You looked very tired, Kim! But I was so glad that she joined us and stayed until the end :) And Liz of course, who I've known for a while (since our church retreat). She always keeps me laughing! We had some good conversation...some good laughs, got some scrapping done (4 of the 7 pages I packed), and got some much needed "girl" time. It's always so nice to hang out with other women and just have some fun! :) Cheryl said we are going to try to make it a monthly thing and she put me in charge of it...yay! I am really excited about this because this was something I had always wanted to try to get going at our old church, but the opportunity never presented itself. So, I'm just so excited that it's actually coming together at SSFC :) Our next gathering will be on December the 4th. And Cheryl had suggested that maybe we do Christmas cards which I think is a great idea because last year it got too late on me and I didn't do them.

Went to the Chili Bowl on Saturday...it was a good game. Saw a couple of old classmates and finally got to meet Joseph (an old classmate we found on FB). Him and another friend Alex treated us to dinner after the game...very nice of them :) Didn't go to church on Sunday because J (Laura's husband) was on a church retreat and she needed to drive the kids to CCD and stuff, so just hung out at home until Miguel got home and then we had a "date". We went to the movies and watched "Couples Retreat". It was funny. Not as funny as I thought it'd be, but funny enough. We picked up some food on the way home and just hung out. Nice night...much needed alone time ;)

I wen to the gym on Tuesday. Did 2 miles on the treadmill and 2 on the Elliptical. I ran 5 mins then 3 more later, but my ankle was hurting after. Came home and iced it and it feels "ok". I'm going to aim for 4 days a week at the gym....Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Now with the whole time change, it gets darker sooner and don't want to be riding the bus after dark. So we will see how that goes. I really think 4 days should be good if I really watch what I'm eating...which sadly, I have not. I'm not gaining anything AT ALL..which is very good, but I'm not losing either :( I really need to buckle down!

What else? I think that's about all. Here's some pics of the pages I've gotten done. Yesterday, I finished 2 of the 3 I didn't get around to Friday. I think this brings my LO total for the year to 127, but I'll have to double check :)

Warming up...

for tomorrow night's scrapbooking party at church. I did two more pages today....YAY...my mojo is back! Sure did miss it! :) Both were "lifts", one was inspired by one of the sb.com neighbors, Gumpgirl...really love her stuff, and the other was another sb.com neighbor, Delaina Burns I believe her name is...she's got some good stuff too! LOVE the way both of them came out. Didn't do much else today, but hang out at home...scrapping, doing laundry...got my bag packed for tomorrow. We need to all bring a dish to share and I'm going to bring chicken pot pie. Elijah has early release tomorrow, but his dad is picking him up and he'll be staying there for the weekend. He "was" staying here, but decided at the last minute he wanted to go....I knew he would :) Nothing else going on...still no gym...STILL have pain in my ankle...prayers would be greatly appreciated :) Nighty!

Just An Update....

I've gotten lazy about my blog again it seems! What has been going on? Halloween was fun. We ended up going over to Chon's house to trick or treat and hang out. She set up tables in the driveway and we had pizza and McD's. Our cousin Noel, his wife Missy and their kids Austin and Nick went over too. I hadn't seen them in a while...although we do keep in touch through Facebook. The guys and Missy took the kids trick or treating and Chon, Mattie and I stayed at her house handing out candy. The kids had a blast and ran around the yard while we all sat around and chatted. When it got too cold for us, we went in and watched this scary movie On Demand called "Orphan"....was good...and weird..lol while the kids played in Chon's scraproom. Not with her paper of course! lol :) It was a good time :)

I went to the gym on Tuesday....I did 25 minutes (2 miles) on the Elliptical and 2 and some miles (40 mins) walking on the treadmill...NO running whatsoever. Still came home and later that night, my ankle was hurting something awful! It felt like someone was squeezing my ankle REALLY tightly! I iced it and that helped a little, but it's just not feeling right! I'm afraid I might have messed something up with all that running because before I started all that long distance running, even with all my trips to the gym, I was not having pains or problems with it like I am now. I haven't gone any other days this week and I'm not really sure what to do. Going to just wait it out and play it by ear and try to hit the gym again on Monday.

This Friday we have a scrapbooking party at church. So excited about that. Chon is coming too so it will be good to have someone I "know" to talk to, but also looking forward to meeting new people and getting to know some of the women I have already "met" at church a little better. I have 7 pages packed and ready to go. And I managed to scrap one page today. I had not done one scrappy thing in THREE weeks!This puts my count at 119 I think. Had printed out two other pics in case the mood hit me, but it got late on me with baths, dinner, ect...so maybe tomorrow.

Hmm..what else? I can't think of anything else new going on. Oh, going to the Chili Bowl with Laura on Saturday night. That's a Highschool football game against our "rivals". Supposedly, this will be the last one because the school we used to play against will be becoming a "magnet school"...don't know what that means! lol Alot of old classmates are going so I think it will be fun to see who shows up. Definitely taking my camera :)
Okay, think that's all....sharing a few pics :)

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 :)