So much to say...

I have to say I love my blog, I love that I can use it as my journal and share with my friends my thoughts...I know there is quite a few of you who read these and I love your comments and your emails (most of you comment through email). Well, since coming home from Cali, I finished another project, I organized my foyer and it looks SO nice! I wanted to do that for sometime now and it feels good to have it done.

Hayden comes home tomorrow and I am excited!!! I miss him terribly!! I'm very anxious and can't wait to give him hugs and kisses...smiling. My exercise plans are just about to start again, I start back at kickboxing and Hayden starts back at karate...I can't wait because they added a day so now I will be doing it M-W-F, which will be fantastic! I also ran into a friend this morning and she asked if I would be her swimming partner and we would meet at the pool and swim laps at 6 a.m. three mornings a week so I said I would think about it...Well, we start that in September...smiling...So, now I will not only be exercising three hours a week but six and hopefully that will kick up the weight loss...

I just want to be down 3 sizes by June 2008. That's a pretty good goal, not a ton to lose but enough to feel better about myself. In the meantime, I have another plan I am thinking about but I can't tell my secret yet...it's in the works and could take some time to figure out but when it happens, you all will be the first to know...It's not anything exercising, it's just a business venture...

I am just about done with my book club book, it has taken me awhile to read it basically because of limited time...We have a meeting coming up in August so I am cramming it in...but I CANNOT wait to find out what our next one is...I gave Brian a book to read for our trip away and he read the whole book on the plane ride there to Cali and back and let's just say, he is completely addicted to this book...He finished it and then had to do research online about it because he was so intrigued, the book is called The Innocent Man by John Grisham....The book is based on a true story. It was cool to see him get into a book so much..

I should go for now....I know I have so much to say...always...thanks for reading! Wink!

Summer Lovin'

"Summer Lovin' had me a blast"....singing...smiling. I think that is the words...hehehe...Anyways, California was awesome! Had a fantastic time, would do it again...My hubby and I explored and conquered San Diego and ate some of the best food! We really were on vacation and took full advantage of all of our free time. Everyday was such an adventure, we walked miles and miles. I, of course, got a bunch of exercise in, only to ruin it with my dinners...I think I gained about 5 pounds...hehehe...Wouldn't be vacation though if I didn't try all the wonderful Mexican food.

The San Diego zoo was awesome, I saw my panda bear and he didn't see me(He wouldn't turn around) but that was okay...La Jolla Cove and Shores was a fantastic place. I could go on and on but I basically took 204 pictures so that should tell you we did some sight-seeing and many activities. We were whooped by the end of each night. The zoo was 100 acres itself and we walked 99% of it!

Today was the day, July 27th, 2007...my little Vanessa crawled all over the place and boy oh boy, she sure is getting into EVERYTHING! WOW!!! Hayden is going to come back and not know what is going on because she will be following him everywhere...hehhee...Now the fun begins and my time will be very limited...smiling. I can't let her out of my sight, she crawls room to room...Not that I did before but you know, the days of setting her down and she plays in one spot are officially over...Walking is around the corner! WOOHOO!!

Well, I can't believe summer is almost over..really just one more month...gotta get some more Summer Lovin' in fast! Next up, Pennsylvania!

Ahhh...finally some exercise and accomplishments

I finally got some exercise tonight, I went walking with my friend Renee and her daughter Nicole. It wasn't a real long walk, about 45 minutes and then we sat and talked for the last 20 minutes but I worked up a sweat and felt good afterwards. We are walking tomorrow night also so that will be good. Hayden is chasing crabs on the beach in Virginia, he is having a blast...I'm so happy for that. Vanessa has been a lot of fun, still almost crawling.

My hubby put up two shelves in our closet so I got about 85% of the closet done. I wanted to organize it for sometime now and it looks fantastic, I'm so excited. I got all of his side and my side all organized and orderly, as far as our clothes and shoes. All I have left is the side shelves that have all my purses and artwork and paints etc... That all needs organized yet. So, it looks like I will get one of my projects done that I wanted to do while Hayden was away.

I'm meeting several friends this week for lunches and I just love that. I could do that more often, meet friends for lunch and catch up on life. My one friend, Cathy, I only see once every couple years it seems and I get to see her new home this time and I can tell she is just thrilled and feels so blessed to have it. I'm very happy for all her happiness and joy. She deserves it!

This is so funny and those of you who read my blog will laugh but I saw an infomercial today that caught my attention, it was for a product called Flirty Girl Fitness and it is a group of DVDS of dance exercises, like pole dancing and chair dancing and booty dancing...hehehe...The thing about it though, it really looked like fun!...hehehe...I was so tempted..I still am but I may wait until fall when I would do more video exercises. I would buy it now and it will sit along with my Hip Hop Abs...yea that was another one I got off an infomercial...I'm such a sucker!...laughing!!!

You can even buy the pole and it attaches and detaches easy for easy storage, I'm still giggling...you know why, because I can see what would happen, I will put the pole up, attach it and go to spin around it and drill it right through the floor because my butt will be too heavy!
I'm still thinking about buying it though...smiling...Darn infomercials!...At least they give me the drive to do it for the 30 seconds it takes to dial their number, than the stuff comes and goes in...you guessed it, another pile!

I need to get more will power, to stay focused on exercising...at least I'm getting SOME exercise...better than nothing I guess..yea, I'm still thinking about Flirty Girl Fitness....wink!

Relaxing Days

Well, my son is in Virginia Beach, having a great time and I am having a lot of down time...almost too much down time. Wow, when you only have one child around, it is much quieter. I wouldn't say I'm lazier but I'm able to sit down more and enjoy my moments with Vanessa AND my husband. Actually, Brian and I have been having some romantic dinners, last night we had steak and opened a bottle of wine. We have watched a movie the last two nights.

It's quite different not having our busy toddler. I went to some yard sales yesterday and this morning and today I found brand new children's books in mint condition and got 11 books for $6.00, what a steal. I just go for fun and only buy the very nice stuff. I'm super picky when it comes to yard sales. I also got some really nice Danskin workout clothes for me. I usually never buy clothes for me at yard sales but these were really nice.

We leave in 6 days for California and I am just so excited. We decided we have to go and find a vineyard and do some wine sampling one of the days while we are there...I'm looking forward to escaping Ludington and seeing someplace new. Sometimes I just get those urges to go and travel, thankfully we are able to do that. It will also make the time that Hayden is away go by faster...I do miss him...smiling.

I just got an email from one of his favorite music groups and they will be in Ohio and Illinois, it figures he is away and I can't take him. But for all of you that read these blogs and have little ones, this group is really a fun, entertaining group called "The Dirty Sock Funtime Band". Hayden and I LOVE them and dance, dance, dance when we hear them. They are a big hit with kids and you can see them on Noggin on Jack's Big Music Show. There are several really good music groups for kids on there. Two more are "The Laurie Berkner Band" and "Milkshake". He has two of Laurie's cd's and loves to listen to them.

I've been trying to get some walking in and I have but none of it has been for exercise...I found this past month to be so busy...these last couple days of not being busy, I haven't felt like exercising...I actually have felt pretty tired and it could be that all the craziness has caught up with me and I just needed some resting time... I know it feels good to have absolutely nothing on my schedule except a wax and haircut on Thursday...I know starting Monday though, I want to get some things around the house done before going away but it will be nice to just take my time and play with Vanessa in between. I can take her for some walks and to the playground. She just loves the baby swings and giggles away!

I also have a stack of things to read that have piled up for months..mostly magazines but some are for landscaping and gardening..I'm reading up on some different plants and plans and just want to get some ideas of what I want for our next home...Kind of future planning in case we decide to build our next home and even if we don't, we will be buying brand new so I'm cutting out some ideas. That is about all I can do as of now since I don't know what kind of land we will have but I have some neat how-to's that have come in the mail.

Keep in mind, this is stuff that I can't do on a normal basis, that is why the stacks piled up so if there is anytime to do it, it is now...Vanessa sits on the floor and plays for long periods of time so it makes it easy to do things like that and I can sit right next to her and do them. The same with my piles of photographs that need to be put in albums...hopefully I can also get that done while I have this down time. It's just things I put off due to being busy.

One thing I did get done is, I got the kid's journals up to date...I was a few months behind, usually I write in them every few weeks...I started journals with both kids when they were a couple months old and I will write in them until the day they get married and then I will give them to them or if they don't get married, I'll wait until they are ready for it. Something fun for them to look back on...I also have a couple of containers of stuff for scrap booking but lord knows I won't have time for that until they are in school full-time.

It's weird, I can have the house clean, laundry done, kids taken care of, outside all watered and good, etc...everything done and then I look around and all of a sudden there is things to go through, photos to be put away, magazines to be read,...laughing...it's silly, I think, oh I have nothing to do when in all reality there is ALWAYS something to do. So even on my relaxing days...I'm busy....smiling.

My Prayers and Joys

My little man, is in my prayers today...tomorrow, we venture to Ohio where we will meet his grandma and then thursday she will take him to Pennsylvania....so I had a little talk with God to keep all of us safe on our journeys, there will be a lot of traveling going on..Michigan to Ohio, Ohio to Pa...Pa to Virginia, Virginia to Pa...Michigan to California, California to Michigan and then a repeat of Michigan to Ohio and back...yikes!

So, as I put Hayden to bed, I thought of all the things still left to do and he asked if I would rub his belly and I said I'll come back later...I walked out of his room, did something for 5 minutes and went back in and yes, I sat right down next to him, rubbed his belly and showered him with so many kisses and hugs...He giggled in delight because he had his mom there by his side and I felt his delight all the way to my soul...I actually am crying as I type this...smiling...good tears...all good tears..He is my joy in these tears and basically, I'm weeping because I already miss him...smiling.

My darling daughter, is amazing to me also...she is such a peanut at times, a pork peanut...laughing...but stronger than I ever imagined....She has been sitting up on her own from belly to a sit up position for a couple weeks now but tonight she actually crawled backwards a few steps and then sat up...So Hayden and I were on the floor about two feet away encouraging her to get back on her hands and knees and crawl to us and she started to...We both were so excited, she got on her hands and got herself on her knees and moved one arm forward and one leg forward and it was soooo close and then she decided to go backwards again and sit up...I was soooooo proud! Hayden and I cheered and cheered and she smiled big and clapped her hands, it was hysterical!

I believe crawling is in the near future but it could still take awhile, she may be teasing us...smiling. It's funny how every child is different also because we are trying cups and she is not grasping the concept nor does she want to...She gets so mad and cries and turns her head and tightens her lips...I just chuckled today when I tried the cup...She did give it several tries before throwing her tantrum so I still cheered her on...She's just not ready yet and that is okay...I still have lots of time to get her off a bottle before her 1st birthday. She definately has GIRL attitude....hehehe. All I can do is laugh at it right now but give it another 14 years and I probably won't be laughing.

My children are such a joy for me and always in my prayers, I could never imagine life without them...in fact, I really don't remember much about my life before them...They make me whole and complete and I guess my blog today is celebrating them, although I celebrate them everyday!

Fun times and wishes

Well, the weekend is here and it is time for some fun. Tonight we are going to see B.B King in concert and how amazing is that going to be! Definitely a concert to not be missed. Saturday is INXS and Sunday is The Cars, like I said a fun weekend. I haven't gotten to do much exercise only because July has been super busy already but I have taken some walks with the kids. The one day it was a two hour walk and I was definitely feeling like I worked out.

Pushing the stroller, adds some extra weight so hopefully I am burning extra calories! I've been thinking about all the projects I want to do while Hayden is gone for 2 1/2 weeks and the funny thing is, all I want to do is hang with Vanessa and really get some one on one time with her. Maybe I will get to the projects and just maybe I won't and it really doesn't matter....smiling.

I've also added a few things to my "To Do" list when the kids are in school full time. Of course, this list is just in my head so I figured I better actually list them so I don't forget...hehehe.
Ready for this exciting list, smiling, (Anyone reading this probably does not care),

Take a painting class
Start doing my photography again and getting pieces back into galleries
Finish my two children's books that I have started (which will be alot of work, first I MUST buy a new MAC)
Scrapbook
Learn Conga and Steel drums and maybe Saxophone
Start a band and start singing out and about at places.
Take a clay class
Read, Read, Read
Organize EVERYTHING!

So far that is all I have but that is a lot...needless to say, half of which, I'm not sure when I will get to because when the kids are in school, I plan to be VERY involved with school...I hope to be on the PTA board (if Ludington has one) and possibly helping with some kind of coaching.

My latest endeavor, is I'm looking into starting a women's investing club. I can start one through Edward Jones (my hubby's work) and it basically is getting women to invest for their own savings, whether they save it for retirement or save it for if something happens and they need a chunk of money or save it in case anything happens with their health or marriage or whatever. Another Edward Jones spouse does it and was telling me all about it and what a fantastic thing for women. I'm really excited about it.

Well, Hayden leaves on Wednesday for 17 days...sighs...I know he will have so much fun, he has done this the last two years, goes to Pa with his grandparents and then Brian and I have our San Diego trip coming up also and what a fun time that will be. We plan to go to the San Diego Zoo, bike around Seaport Village, take a cruise in the bay, go to La Jolla shores and Gaslamp District, which is a street with nothing but all kinds of different bars from jazz to salsa to blues and they are all smoke-free, yea!!! Didn't I say life right now is nothing but fun times....smiling.