Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Bubbles

One last post before I hit the road...here's Sarah blowing bubbles outside a couple of weeks ago. She had a blast (except she had to figure out to BLOW the wand not lick it like a lollipop...lol)!
































And as promised, here's the facebook link to check out Jenny's baby shower pictureshttp://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=275626&id=645395598&l=d383bda3d4

Monday, June 22, 2009

One Busy Week Down, One to Go

Things have been a little crazy for me over the past few days. Ha, who am I kidding? Life is almost always crazy for me - being a mommy to a toddler who never fails to turn my otherwise tidy house into a disaster zone, running a business, working a job on the side. And this last week - starting up with the community garden and accompanying blog, preparing a fathers day dinner extravaganza, attending a baby shower, shopping (well, I have to admit that part wasn't so bad), trying to watch my "points", getting ready to go on vacation....PHEW!

So here's how it all went down:
Toddler Mommy - Somewhere in the last 10 days, Sarah has decided to empty every single space that has the potential to be emptied - cupboards, toybox, sock drawer, book bin, salt and pepper shakers, cracker box, cat food bowl, you get the picture - and then refuses to help tidy up. My house, therefore, literally looks like a whirlwind came through the center of it. I kid you not!

Community Garden - check out the blog sometime in the next 24 hours or so, I'll be doing an update soon but forgot to bring my memory card this morning to post pics.

Fathers Day - So blessed to have a wonderful hardworking father to love and admire. And doubly blessed to have a husband who is an amazing father to our little girl. Jamie was one of those dads who kinda wanted to have a boy - he insists he's a macho man kinda guy - and then I hear Sarah running down the hall after she's dressed in her cute little sundress yelling "Daddy!" and he picks her up to give her a hug and tells her how pretty her hair is and asks if she likes her new pink toenail polish - and I smile at his unashamed display of a softer side and know that he simply adores being a daddy to a daughter!

The Extravaganza - Unfortunately I didn't get to spend much time with the hubster on Fathers Day because I had to work in our cafe serving lunch and supper to wonderful fathers and their families.

Jen's (and Lucas') baby shower - Baby Lucas was such a good boy and slept the ENTIRE time, didn't wake for about 4 hours straight. I must admit the shower was "interesting" to say the least. It started at 1:30 and when I walked in the door at exactly that hour, the little old ladies were already up in arms about having to wait so long to get their card games and bingo on the go. I swear, I have never attended such a baby shower in my life - no fun silly baby shower games, just cards and bingo. And try to get them to stop their cards and bingo to eat and have Jennifer open the gifts - well! I think they must have forgotten the reason for the celebration somewhere amongst the dealing and the dabbing. Still, I have tons of pics and will try to remember to post the facebook link later (that is, when I upload them to facebook).

Shopping - Ooooo, so excited! I seriously have not gone to Corner Brook ONCE since I moved home strictly with the intention of shopping only for myself. There's always so much to do for the business. So mom and I decided to take a girl day and hit the mall (note MALL, not Mall(S)...lol). And I got a FABULOUS maxi dress. So happy I can still pull these off even though it's about 15 years and 60 pounds since they were last in style. HERE's the one I got! Also got lots of stuff at La Senza, a beautiful orange silk halter top at Le Chateau and a couple of really funky t-shirts and pair of flip flops at Zellers, believe it or not. Overall, not a bad day considering my store options are very limited in the big city!

Weigh in - after a couple of "bad" days, I was so nervous about weighing myself on Saturday morning. But, I still went down a pound...yay for me! I've officially lost 11 lbs total and reached my vacation goal!
My definition of a "bad" day, just in case you're interested - in Corner Brook ate McD's snack wrap and fries, Subway sandwich with a mountain of Southwest Chipotle sauce (mayo based...eek!), and about half a box of the caramel covered popcorn. And then topped off with about a million chocolate covered jujubes!

Upcoming Vacation - Jamie's friend Sheldon is getting married in NB to a gorgeous and crazy girl named Meaghan whom I honestly adore. Haven't started packing yet but I do have a hair appointment booked in Corner Brook today. I really should post a picture of my hair , it's so ridiculously long and out of control right now. It's at the point where my grandmother calls me a streel all the time and I very seriously contemplated buying the tshirt with the definition. A pedicure would be a good idea too. Then again, cleaning my house and packing would probably be a good idea too but will probably be left to the last minute before we leave at 5AM Thursday morning to catch the ferry.

And there you have it - so if I don't get a chance to post more in the next few days, you will know that I haven't neglected my readers, I just can't find the time to write. Bye for now!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Community Garden

This year, the family resource center a.k.a "Booky the Bear", our preschool group, is working with the community to develop a garden. The purpose is to get families with young children involved in learning about growing their own organic veggies and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Of course, it's also a great excuse for everyone to get out there in the summer sun and enjoy the great outdoors!

I love gardening - it's been a long time - but I do love it! I have a lot to learn but I'm really excited to be involved in this project with 7 or 8 other families from our community.

I was asked to be the "journalist" for our project...haha! I decided that a blog would be the best option since I'm already familiar with that method.

So I present to you www.treehousegarden.blogspot.com for your reading pleasure and to keep up to date on our progress as we begin this little journey to growing veggies!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

True Confessions

I'm lookin' to be kept on the straight and narrow.

It's certainly no secret that I love me some chocolate (thus the title of this blog).
I, therefore, eat chocolate every single day!
I am a sugar junkie!
I detest MOST veggies.
I have spent very little time exercising since my highschool sporty days.
I adore french fries -mmmm!
White bread is my favorite.

And when I lay it all out there like that I suppose it should come as no surprise that I have gained a lot of weight over the last 13 years. And by a lot of weight I mean about 65 lbs. Yeah, that much.

I recently hit a number on the scales that I thought I'd never see - I vowed I'd never be that person, the one who "let it go". Boy, was I wrong?

And now for the second time, I have started counting points on Weight Watchers.

The first time was a success for me - I followed the rules, cut back, tried to exercise at least a few times a week, and I got down to a comfortable weight for me. But I started slacking and packed on the pounds again. I gained more the second time around and now I have a lot more to lose.

Knowing that I technically failed was a huge discouragement for me for a long but I finally had to let that go and start over again. I have to keep reminding myself of how great I felt at a healthy weight and just focus on the goal.

I'm a realist - I really don't want to be at the same weight as in high school. That just doesn't seem reasonable anymore.

I will eat chocolate still - that's just me, I won't deny myself that pleasure.
I will cut down on the white bread - I try to limit myself to once a week - and have more whole grains.
I will exercise at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes.
I will include veggies in my diet.
I will ease up on anything fried.

My current goal is to lose about 12 lbs before I go on vacation to New Brunswick for a friends wedding at the end of June. My final goal is to lose a total of 43 lbs by the end of October. I am very proud to say that I have already, in the past month, lost 10 lbs! Yay ME!!

I'm telling you all that to say this - I need you to keep me motivated. I need someone to answer to. I can't attend Weight Watchers meetings anymore. I don't have a place to go and "weigh-in" other than my own bathroom. I want to be accountable. I need to do this! I want to look decent in a bathing suit again...lol...that's not too much to ask is it? I'm sure the hubster will be more than happy for that day to come...haha!

So, every week I will do a short post to fill you in on my progress. I normally weigh myself on Saturday mornings and then start the new week of points. I have a "ticker" at the bottom of my blog page to track my pounds lost.

Wish me luck!

Thanks!

My post a couple of days ago was an urgent call for prayer for a "situation" in my family. This morning I received a call telling me of some very positive news. There is still a long road ahead for the people involved but I believe this is a step in the right direction. I just want to say a big thank you to those of you who have prayed and sent your best wishes forth on my behalf. Please continue to keep my request on your prayer list for complete 180 degree turn-around. God answers prayers - yes, yes he most certainly does!

Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

What a Lovely Little Gift!


I had a great time visiting with Jenny, Chris, and little 9-day old Lucas yesterday. I took a TON of pictures. I love taking baby photos, especially those tiny little feet. Aw, so cute!

Jennifer was having a rough couple of nights adjusting to breastfeeding after getting some very mixed & "ignorant" information from nurses in the hospital. Boy! Was I EVER upset and annoyed at that! But there's a rant for another day - I won't even get started on it right now!

But after being persistent and letting herself go through those crazy hormonal bouts of tears, Jenny now seems well on her way to adjusting very nicely to life as a mommy! So proud of you, Jenny! You're doing a fantastic job - always knew you would!

If you want to take a further peek, here is the link to my facebook album for more pics. (You don't have to be a facebook user to view these)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=270275&id=645395598&l=c1b44fc23f

Enjoy! I know I sure enjoyed taking them!

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Request

I don't typically do this but right now, at 11:44pm, I am suddenly feeling the need to urgently ask for your prayers.

I cannot elaborate on the details but I will tell you that the people involved in this issue are family members who are very dear to my heart. I am simply heartbroken and cannot seem to stop crying these last few minutes. I just feel that something is not right in this moment and there is nothing I can do but reach out to my readers to join me in prayer.

And I'm not talkin' just a quick "whatever" prayer. I'm talking fervent down-on-hands-and-knees P-R-A-Y-E-R to a merciful God who cares about his children in every situation, no matter how hopeless it seems! Yes, it really is that serious, in my opinion.

And if you don't pray, if you don't believe in a heavenly father the way that I do, please do what YOU do - cross your fingers as hard as you can, send out the strongest positive vibes the universe can handle - just do it...RIGHT NOW...please!

Saying Goodbye to "Bobby"

I'm so proud of our baby girl this morning - it was her first night without her beloved "Bobby" (bottle).

A couple of days ago we discovered that the last nipple we had for her bottle was starting to tear. I decided it would be best to use that as an opportunity to get rid of the bottle instead of buying new nipples. I talked to Sarah about how she was starting to be a big girl and she soon wouldn't need her baby bottle anymore.

And yesterday after discovering the little tear had become a much larger hole, I showed Sarah the nipple and explained to her that she would need to give her "Bobby" a hug and kiss to say goodbye because it was broken now. I told her again that she was starting to become a big girl (insert mommy crying on the inside over her baby getting so big!) and she would have to use a cup to drink her bedtime milk. Sarah, in her little broken sentences, simply said, "Cup, yeah. Nipple Bwoken. Cwying." which I interpreted as her understanding but not without her being very sad about it.

And when it was time to go to bed, Sarah asked for her usual - Bear and "Bobby" and I reminded her that she needed her cup instead. We did the usual routine and read our goodnight story but then Sarah decided she wasn't going to bed afterall. She was distracting herself from the inevitable until she was finally too tired to argue. She had a bit of a hard time going to her crib all by herself and Mommy had to rock her for a little while but, otherwise, there were no tears and our little miss slept peacefully through the night.

Our baby girl is growing up! Sniffle, sniffle :(

Now if only potty training would be that easy!

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Welcome Baby Lucas

Born June 1st at 8:48pm
Weighing a whopping 9lbs 9oz
Measuring 22.5 cms
with hair so cute and soft like baby chick feathers...hehe

Parents and baby are doing well and very excited to welcome their new bundle of joy.

And here he is...Lucas Christopher Samms







































Congrats Jenny and Chris!