Graduation! And an Award!! Woohooo!!

Ok, my stepdaughter is GRADUATING from high school tonight!! My hubby and I got together when she was in fifth grade, so even though I wasn't with her throughout her entire school career, I am still soooo proud of her! She's amazing! And she's graduating third in her class! Holy cow, I can't believe how fast time has gone!!

Anyways, I got another blog award! I'm so excited!! I was actually given it on Tuesday, but yesterday was insane! We decided to go to Sam's Club, which is about 40 minutes away. I figured I'd blog last night when we got home. Of course, just my luck, it takes us an hour and a half to get there because of a traffic jam! Then, when we were ready to head home, we were stuck because it was storming so bad we couldn't see more than a foot in front of the truck! Apparently, back at home, rumors were spreading that a tornado touched down nearby (which wasn't actually true), and everyone that was here retreated to our basement! When we finally did make it home at ten there were trees and branches down all over our area and the campground. Luckily no damage was done to our house or any campers, but it was still pretty scary.

So, I would like to thank Lisa at Challenge Accepted for this award. I feel especially appreciative because I was one of only three people she gave it to. Lisa is one of the most inspirational people I know in bloggyland and is truly an amazing woman. Go check out her blog - you'll love it!!

Here it is!!

 

The rules:

• Thank the person and link them in your post.
• Tell ten things about yourself.
• Nominate your bloggers.
• Go to their blogs and let them know you've given them an award!

I feel the same way as Lisa about this first part - it's hard to tell ten things about myself because I don't really hold much back (I mean, I talked about peeing in Tuesdays post). But, here it goes:

1.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but my nickname at home is Cryc (sounds like crick). Twig made it up quite a few years ago and at first I hated it. But, eventually it grew on me, and now today I love it! I sign all their cards with this name and I wouldn't know who they were referring to if they called me by anything other than Cryc!
2. I know my mom is going to read this, but speaking of nicknames, my stepdad has a habit of calling me 'Kid' and I hate it. I don't know why, I just hate it. I'd rather them call me Cryc too if they aren't going to say my full name. It's probably because I'm 26 years old and am far from being a kid.
3. I'm terribly jealous of my sister. There, I said it. She is 20 and is doing NOTHING with her life. She works as a waitress at Denny's for, like, 25 hours a week and does absolutely nothing the rest of the time. Me? I've worked 40ish hours a week since I was a senior in high school. I worked all through college and haven't stopped. In the summer, I work at the campground store, though that's much less hours than normal. But, I'm still constantly busy. Don't bother saying that all the work I've done will make me a better person and blah blah blah - I've heard it all before. This is how I've chosen to live, and I wouldn't switch lives with her, but I'm still jealous that she hasn't a care in the world, nor any major responsibilities.
4. I just got done eating about half a box of granola. There goes my bingeless streak. I'm dreading my weigh-in this week!
5. I've cheated on my hubby. It was an awful, huge, ridiculous, crazy, dumb, idiotic, alcohol-induced, major mistake, but I did it. I will NEVER do it again, and it's cause some major trust issues between us, but I sure realize how amazing he really is. I'm so thankful he took me back and am trying my best to build up his trust again. I can't tell you how sorry I am for doing it and it's the one thing in my life that I really regret. I haven't even THOUGHT about another man since. I'm sure your opinion of me has lowered tremendously, but if I'm going to be honest, I might as well be HONEST.
6. I have four tattoos. They are all on my feet. The first one I ever got was a ladybug - it's on my big toe on my right foot. Then, right under my left ankle, I got a moon and four stars. Last summer I got my last two - a frog on my right foot and half a star of my left. The half star is right on the edge, and my sister got the other half. When you put our feet together, they make one big star. I'll have to post pics someday.
7. I pick my nose. Without a tissue. My hubby HATES when I do it, but I've caught him doing it before, too!!
8. This one is inspired by Lisa's award post - I'm pierced. There are two. They are on my chest. You can figure it out from there. Unlike Lisa, though, I'm going to refrain from posting a pic of them ;)
9. I have braces. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this or not, but I do. I HATED my teeth when I was younger and finally got them when I was 23. I've had them taken off, but they were put back on in about 4 months. I'm starting to get the feeling that they'll be on for the rest of my life.
10. I don't mind being a freak, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose followers after admitting to these things!

Ok, so here are my nominees:

• Tricia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical
• I'd Rather Have a Cupcake (by the way, yeah, me too)
• Kelly at Journey to a New Me
• Syl at Live, Smile, Run
• Sarah at Operation Size 8
• Amie at Running on Healthy

 I wrote a post on Sunday featuring these ladies. They are at or really near their goals and blog about maintaining. They definitely deserve an award for that!

Well, I'm taking a nap before I have to get ready for graduation. Have a great Thursday! I'll see you tomorrow!

Quick post!!

You know, it's pretty bad when you drink about a gallon of water and don't practically wet yourself! Yeah that would be me on Sunday during and after softball practice. It was so freaking hot out I'm pretty sure I was getting dehydrated. I drank a Gatorade, then refilled it with water, then drank two huge glasses of water at dinner. I didn't pee even once that evening (and just to give you a clue as to how I am, I drank two bottles at school today and peed five times!). I know it's Tuesday and I'm just bringing it up, but I really felt the urge to share my bodily functions with you this evening.

Anyways the school days are winding down and the kids are getting restless and ready to get out for the summer. I don't blame them really.

I don't have much to add tonight, so I invite you all to join me in the viewing of the finale of Biggest Loser. Have a great evening!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

She's a Real Nail-Biter...

See these?



You know what these are? Pics of my treadmill. You know what they mean? Yeah buddy, that's right, I WORKED OUT THIS MORNING!!! What was that, laziness? You feel defeated?? WELL GOOD!!

Yes, I finally feel myself again. I LOVE getting my morning workout in. It's perfect - 30 minutes each morning and then if I can't make it to the Y or whatnot that night, it's ok. It also sets the mood for eating for the day - if I workout in the morning, it gives me the ambition to eat healthy and in decent portions so I don't ruin it. Starting the day off in the negative feels very nice :)
Also, check this out:

That's a bandaid on my finger. Let me give you a little background information. See, I used to be a constant nail-biter. I know, gross! Then, back a couple years ago my hubby told me that he would never put a ring on a finger that had such terrible looking nails. That was the last day I bit my nails (although, it didn't work - that jerk still didn't get me a ring for a whole year after I quit!). But, I bet you know what's coming: I started again. As a matter of fact, I bit this nail so far down that it started bleeding! I can't believe it, I'm so ashamed and disappointed in myself! I stopped biting my nails for over three years, even though I had been doing it for as long as I could remember! And I quit cold turkey! They are all gone now, bitten down to the nubs. Looks like I'm going to have to add it to my list of goals this Sunday, even though I'm going to try to stop as of right now. I had forgotten how much pain I'd cause myself, because trust me, this isn't the first time I've made myself bleed. I don't know what my problem is - it's like now that I'm eating less, I need something for my mouth to do. I need to buy myself some freaking gum! :( Anyways, the bandaid is a real pain to type with. It's hitting like six different keys on the keyboard than the one I actually want! DAMMIT. I guess once a nail-biter, always a nail-biter. I wonder if they have any 12 step programs. Let me try this out, "Hi, my name is ThunderThighs, and I'm a nail-biter-aholic." Hmmmmm....

So I'm thinking about changing my career. It's so funny, it was career day at school and we had lots of people from different careers come in and talk to the kids in our classes and I was more interested in them than the students! The speakers kept asking if they had any questions, and they'd be pretty stumped when I was the only one with my hand raised. They'd go to call on me and would be like, "Ummm, the teacher in the back(?)." Hey, I'm very inquisitive!

Anyways, yeah, I have my master's in education, I've spent all that money for schooling, and I'm thinking about blowing it all away and becoming a physical therapist assistant. It's amazing how different your life turns out than you think when you are in high school. Back then, I envisioned my life to include a hubby with a 9-5 job and all that white picket fence crap, and look how it turned out - my hubby owns a campground, he's off all winter long and wants to spend weeks away traveling and we have 33 acres that would be impossible to enclose with a white picket fence. This whole life as a teacher thing just doesn't give me the flexibility that I would like. I can't take time away in the winter to travel. My hubby can't take time away in the summer to travel. (And I really really REALLY hate missing the opportunity to TRAVEL!) Plus, it's a whole different ballgame when you are actually the head of the classroom. You get no respect from the students, none from their parents, zero from the community, and a NEGATIVE amount from the freaking government! The only people who truly respect you are the other teachers! It's ridiculous!

Plus, I barely make enough to cover my own bills each month. Starting salaries for physical therapy assistants are 20 grand more than what I make now even WITH a master's!!!!! And that only requires an associate's degree! AND, they offer it at the college that's right in my hometown, which is el cheapo in tuition. The lady that spoke today said there's such a need for PTAs around here that she could quit her job today and have another one tomorrow. Needless to say, I have an appointment at that college on Friday. It'd be nice to take the courses while I'm still working as a teacher so I don't lose pay, but if need be I can always defer my loans until I graduate and pray for a job right out of the program. I'm crazy, I know. My hubby is freaking out. And I'm going to have to end this post pretty soon because I know as soon as I hit 'publish' my mother, who reads this blog more religiously than the Bible, will be on the phone asking me what the hell I'm thinking. It's ok, though, I figure if I'm going to go all insane and change my entire life, right now is the time to do it. I'm only 26, I have no kids, I'm not that far out of college/high school so I shouldn't have too much trouble being a student again, and I have a ton of support. I don't know, I have lots of time to decide.

Well I wish you all a wonderful Monday (well, what's left of it anyways), and I shall see you all tomorrow! Ciao!

Stuff I Stole... umm... Sunday?

Hello folks, it's time for another edition of "Stuff I Stole.... wait a minute, it's SUNDAY! Well apparently ThunderThighs was a little too lazy to get on her computer yesterday and write the episode!

Ok, so I guess I'll have to do "Stuff I Stole Saturday" on Sunday instead. No problem. I was rather busy yesterday and it was SO nice out that I spent the entire time outside rather than in on my computer. Except for between the hours of 4 and 6, in which I took a nice early evening nap. The hubster and I hung out at a friend's campfire last night and didn't make it in until midnight. By that time, I was too tipsy tired to get on and write. I must say, I didn't do too bad yesterday until the drinking came in. Dang it! I'm too weak to peer pressure! Not that anyone is forcing anything on me! HA, the hubby doesn't even drink, so... it's always my own fault.

I taught my regular aerobics class yesterday morning, then I ran home, showered, headed to a couple stores for stuff (kitty litter, laundry detergent, and whatnot...), then I came back to the campground and lo and behold, there was a little surprise waiting for me inside my front door. One of our friends is loaning us his super awesome Nikon practically professional camera for Amby's graduation on Thursday, and he brought it over for me to practice with! I was so pumped! I walked all around the campground taking pics of random things/people/kids. I'll have to figure out how to upload them so I can post a few tomorrow. Anyways, so then I took my nap, headed back out for some food stuff, we all gathered at a camper to eat and then we sat around the fire for the rest of the night. There was some drinking and MUCH smores consumption involved.

ANYWAYS, back to the stuff I stole for the week. There are actually only two things, and really the second isn't anything I STOLE per se, but I'm not always that bad of a klepto. So here goes:

First of all, we have Annalisa from Diary of a Yo-Yo Dieter. She ever so kindly stole the phrase "Livet" from Mrs. Sheila (a girl after my own heart, that one). Now, I've never read Mrs. Sheila's blogs, but according to Annalisa, Livet is from taking the words Diet and Live and smashing them together. I really should use this one, because I use the term Diet very loosely, and I know that word just freaks some people out. I like to be as PC and unoffending (if that's even a word) as possible, so I'll try refer to it as 'livet' from now on. Because, I DO realize that this is a life change and a healthy path and a diet full of wholesome foods and portion control and good choices - I'm just too lazy to type all that every time I'm refering to my DIET.

And, the only other thing I stole for the week, well, it's not actually anything I've really TAKEN. I have browsed plenty of posts over the past weeks, and noticed that a lot of people struggle to find motivation sometimes. They ask us fellow bloggers to help them find inspiration, and to talk about what WE do when we are feeling low. Now, I'm certainly not perfect, and I struggle just as much, if not even more sometimes, as the next gal, but one thing I do when I'm feeling out of sync with my LIVET, I really find it helpful to look at those who are at the end of their journey. Those who have reached their goal and are now focusing on maintaining. The people I really look to are also the 'underdogs' of blogging, too. I mean, we all read Bitch Cakes, she's pretty much a given here in bloggyland. Another favorite is Miz Fit - she even won enough votes to become a Fila Real Woman Model! But I'm talking about those women who are just blogging for their own sanity - not to make any money, not to find any notoriety. Just normal gals with normal jobs who have normal kids/families/husbands/boyfriends, etc. I find my motivation in the people who are, well, most like me I guess. So here are a couple I tend to lean on (who probably have no idea who I even am!):

• Tricia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical - Check out this hot mama!! She went from a size 24/26 to a 4/6... that's 20 sizes!! Talk about an amazing woman!
• I'd Rather Have a Cupcake - Down 35 pounds, this chicka is exactly where I'd like to be!
• Kelly at Journey to a New Me - I actually started following Kelly WAY back over a year ago when I first started blogging. As a matter of fact, if I'd have kept up with her as far as weightloss is concerned, I'd be just about where she is now! It just goes to show the difference a year can make. Stop by her blog and check out her guns!! Wouldn't want to get into a fight with her, that's fo sho!!
• Syl at Live, Smile, Run - Syl... oh Syl... there is so much I could say about this lady. She is one of my biggest inspirations. I love how much she loves pink, I love how encouraging she is to everyone (she's one of the few more popular bloggers who will actually stop by your site and comment on your posts), I love reading her posts, I love learning about her running adventures... I just plain love her. I always look forward to her posts. Ok, perhaps I'm a little bit of a creeper, but I'm proud of it! ;)
• Sarah at Operation Size 8 - According to Sarah, she still has about 10 pounds to lose, but if you go by her blog title, she's already there! She is another blogger I started following when I first began my original blog, and again, if I'd have stuck with it, I'd be where she is today. She tried on those size 8s not too long ago and THEY FIT! Now if that's not motivation, I don't know what is!
• Amie at Running on Healthy - Just another gal in her ultimate goal range. Just look at her after pics - the abs say it all!!

I really like looking at the before and after pics because I want that to be me someday. I'm constantly taking these before pics. When will I get to my afters?!?! So, again, I look to these ladies for the motivation. Anything you can do I can do better, right?

Anyways, on to my goals. Here are last week's:
      No binges - Complete! Even though I didn't eat very well the last couple days, I can at least say I didn't binge.

      Stay within weekly points - Yep, so far as I know at least, I had to do some estimating.
      One outside run - Weather was crappy all week and the days that it was nice, I had to work. Yesterday? No excuse. Fail.
      One bike ride - See 'outside run' above.
      2.6 liters of water a day - Yep!
      Workout every morning - Ummm, shamefully, no.

This week:
- WORK OUT EVERY MORNING! Stop being such a lazy bum, ThunderThighs! Remember? You refuse to go back to Florida if you look this bad in a bathing suit? Remember your goals? COME ON GIRL GET WITH IT!!!
- One outside run.
- Stay within weekly points.
- 2.6 liters of water a day
- Accomplish all goals (I guess this one is kind of redundant, but oh well, it reiterates my goals. A goal that reiterates my goal. Wow, I'm a moron.)

Well everyone, have a wonderful week!!

Weigh-In Friday

Hello!!! It's a LOVELY Friday where I'm at!! I'm sorry for not posting last night, I'll get into reasoning later. First off, let me share my weigh-in:

This is a loss of only .6, but I'll take it!!

So anyways, last night I spent the evening with two of my students whom I am mentoring. My area is very poverty-stricken (whose area isn't though, right?), and so I decided to take the time to hang out with two disadvantaged kids and hopefully be enough of a good influence on them that they begin to change the terrible cycle the youth in my area is stuck in. We decided to go to dinner and a movie.

Ok, I don't know how many of you grew up in underpriviledged homes, but if you are sitting on a computer, reading this, you most likely aren't in that situation any longer. If you never have, consider yourself very blessed. Being with these two helped me realize just how blessed/spoiled I am in life. I've mentioned before that there are no good places to shop in my area and the closest decent mall is 30 minutes away. Neither of these kids ever really make it out to those places. I figured we were going somewhere that they didn't get to go very often, but I didn't realize the extent of it!

First off, the boy - we'll call him T - I don't think he's ever been on the freeway before. We drove through some construction, and at one point we had to share the lane with the oncoming traffic because our side of the freeway had been ripped up and was being prepared to be repaved. T looked over at the dirt where the road had been and asked why they were building another road. He truly didn't get that it WAS the road and we were just on the other side while they fixed it. They opted to eat at the Golden Corral, which if you don't know is a buffet. To me that place is disgusting and the people who are usually there at that particular one are usually slobs - if we're going to go to a buffet, I'd much rather go to the Hometown Buffet (it's much cleaner and nicer) - but I told them they could pick where we ate, and they had never been there before. It had a chocolate fountain at the dessert buffet, and they were thrilled! They took pictures with their phones and sent them to everyone they knew! It wasn't even anything fancy!

We specifically went to this city because I really like the theater there. It's huge and has an old-time theater feel. They were AMAZED to say the least! The theater in our area is run-down and tiny, so they had never been to anything like it. They continued to take more pictures and send them to everyone. I had to laugh - I've been going to that theater for as long as I can remember and so it was nothing to me. Again, oh how much I can appreciate my life after being with kids that have never done those things in fifteen years!

Let me tell you, those kids have no social skills either. And it's not because they are bad kids, they have just never been told how to act in public. After we came out from the movie, there was a stand set up with people dressed as pirates showing off replicas of pirate-y things for the opening of The Pirates of the Caribbean. The kids were asking tons of questions, interrupting the guy before he could even get his explanation out for the first answer. Then, around the corner, another guy dressed as a pirate came out to join the table. He was a rather large man with a limp. The kids took one look at him and yelled 'Oh my gosh' and T asked if he was really walking with a limp or if it was a part of his costume (and not in the politest of ways, either). I was SO embarrassed! I ended up explaining to the pirates, after the kids walked off in another direction of course, what the situation was and that they were disadvantaged kids with a great lack of social skills, and luckily they were very understanding. I felt like I was with a couple two-year-olds the entire time, but that's exactly what their social age would compare to I guess. I felt like I was constantly nagging them - sit down, stop talking, shhhh don't say that, don't touch that, etc. etc. etc., but when I went to school today I talked about the whole experience with a fellow teacher who has been mentoring students for years. She said that's what it'll feel like at first, but after a while they will get into better social habits and it'll be easier. She also told me that those behaviors are not uncommon at all, which made me feel better because I was almost wondering if I had made a mistake taking on the mentoring position.

Here are some pictures of our adventures:

 Just a couple crazy kids! They both are very good kids at heart. T has gotten into trouble in school and with the law a little bit, but he's seemed to have straightened himself up quite a bit since he decided to get involved with track at school. He's an amazing runner - winning just about every race he competed in this season. J (the girl) was also in track. They both come from very rough areas of town, particularly the low-income housing, and have multiple family issues to deal with at home. I love them both a lot, which is why I chose them, and deep down they are really kind-hearted, sweet kids, but boy do they need to learn a thing or two about how to act in public!

So anyways, I really was amazed to lose any kind of weight whatsoever this week because of how bad I was last weekend and how little I've worked out this week. I'm hoping I can stick to the plan this weekend as much as possible. Since camping season started back up, I'm afraid of falling into my old routine of drinking both nights every weekend and eating junk food by the campfire. It's such an easy habit to fall into because that is basically what everyone around here does! And being that my hubby is the owner of the place, everyone invites me to their fire to suck up (which I of course accept :) ). And dinner each night usually consists of something off the grill - hamburgers, hotdogs, etc. This is exactly how I gained all the weight last year! I'm so close to being down 20 pounds (my official first weigh-in was at 175, before I started blogging again), and I really don't want to screw this up! Determination, DETERMINATION, DETERMINATION!!! Oh boy.

It's so nice out I really should be running or riding my bike, but of course I'm stuck in the campground store. I choose what days to work each week, and it never fails that I decide on the nicest days. If I had decided to NOT work today, it would have poured down rain all night. Just. My. Luck.

Well, I've rambled enough for the evening. Believe it or not, I did start this post at 4:00 and it is now 6:00. Not that I've been writing for two hours, just that I've been busy in the store and I'm having a little focusing problems tonight ;) HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Just a Bunch of Stuff

So I'm laying in bed, getting ready to write my blog for the day, and the hubby comes in and says he's brought us a snack. Take a look:


That man never ceases to amaze me with his pervertedness (if that's even a word).

Anyways, does anyone else have a flatulence problem when they work out or is it just me? It's getting ridiculous! The Y called me to cover a class for another instructor tonight. Luckily for me! It forced me back into working out, a nice swift kick in the butt! So there I was, calling out moves and BAM, my belly started to rumble and I could feel it coming on - the dreaded SBVD (my sister coined the term: silent but very deadly). And boy it was. This is not the first time it's happened to me either. One time, I couldn't hold it in any longer in a spinning class, and I just about ran the entire class out of the room. I stick to running on the treadmill at home because at least there I can change my pants easily if necessary! I've heard of runner's squirts (or whatever it's called), but this is happening during all forms of exercise!

Ok, enough of the disgusting stuff, I'm really excited for tomorrow night. I am mentoring two students this summer, and we are going on our first adventure. We are going to see a movie and grab some dinner in a town about 30 minutes away. I've been asking them where they'd like to eat, and they have no idea what is even available. They have rarely, if ever, been outside of our hometown. It's so eye-opening to talk to kids who have never done some of the things that are so common in my life that I take them for granted.

Let me explain. I've mentioned before that my hometown has no decent places to shop. The only thing around here is a Walmart. If you want to go to a good mall to buy clothes, or if you want to eat at a good restaurant, you have to go at least 30 minutes away. These kids come from such poor and underpriviledged families that they barely get out of our hometown, let alone actually eat at a restaurant other than off the dollar menu at McD's.  Even then, they only get to do things at the beginning of the month because that's when the Welfare check comes in and their parents have that all spent well before the next one comes. I'm so excited to 'show them the world' - or at least what parts of it I can without going bankrupt. They are both such great kids if they'd just have some good influence in their lives.

I'm doing the mentorship program through the local Goodwill. Both of the kids are my students, though, and I specifically picked them based on the relationship we've built over the course of the school year. I figure that since I don't have kids of my own (other than my stepdaughters), I might as well take this time to be there for other kids who don't have the kind of home life I was raised in. I know I'm not going to save these kids, but I just want to make at least a little bit of a difference in their lives.

Unfortunately, this means I'm eating dinner out tomorrow. I'm going to have to keep myself focused and not go overboard no matter where they pick to eat. I've been doing so well on my diet this week, I don't want to mess things up! I know I'm one that once I mess myself up, I take on the attitude of - well, I might as well keep making poor choices, I've already blown it for the week. I know I shouldn't think that way, but it's so hard not to. Being that I know I'm like that, I'd rather just keep myself on the straight and narrow in the first place, rather than allowing myself to slip up.

There are only 16 days left of school - we are all getting antsy to get out of there!! So get this, one of our students came up to my co-teacher and I today and requested summer work. The conversation went something like this:
Roger, "I'd like some work to do over the summer. I can send it to you to here at school to grade"
My co-teacher, "We aren't here in the summer, though"
Roger, "Wait, you're not? Where do you go?"
My co-teacher, "We get the summer off, just like you guys"
Roger, "Oh... well then I'll wait and send it to you when the school year starts back up... then we'll all be back!"

Keep in mind, I teach 8th grade. This kid thought we stay at school even in the summer when we have no students. Oh my.

Well, I'm a lame-o today - that's all I have to write about. I'm going to enjoy my snack with my hubby and then hit the hay, even though I'm sure he has other things in mind (if you aren't sure what I'm talking about, see the picture above... if you still don't get it, it's time you have that 'birds and bees' conversation with your parents).

Have a great day everyone!

We have a winner!!!

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!! It's that time, everyone!! I used a random number generator, input numbers 1 through 14, and BAM!!! It came up with number 10!


Looking back at the comments from my giveaway post, the tenth caller commenter was (drum roll please)......

Thin Lizzy

from Forgive & Forget the Fat!!!!!

WOOOHOOOOO!!!! Congrats Lizzy, email me at cmstoneman72@gmail.com with all your lovely information so I can get the book shipped to ya! YAY YOU!!

Anyways, today was very uneventful. We are heading to Amby's last band concert tonight. It was a quiet day at school because there was such a lengthy absence list. I'm in the campground store until the concert. I did not get on that treadmill again this morning, dang lazy bone. I probably won't have time to workout tonight. I've been eating pretty well for the past couple days. Overall, pretty much a lame-o life now that things have slowed down (thank God they did though)!

Speaking of not getting in my morning workout, I think the lack of exercise I've had over the past few days is contributing to how tired I've been. I've heard that working out gives you more energy, even though it seems like the opposite should be true. So I'm stuck in this vicious circle - I'm too tired to workout but I'm not getting the energy from working out to make me feel better. GRR!!

TOMORROW MORNING! I HAVE to get back to my morning workouts! I have to start being DETERMINED again! I've come this far, I just need to push myself to continue and not lose control of myself! I ate an ice cream sandwich today :( What is it with me? Why must I sabotage myself like this?!?! This is not that 'healthy-me' I've been over the past few months!

Ok, enough negativity, this is supposed to be a happy post because I just completed my first ever giveaway, which makes me feel like somewhat of a real blogger. So again, congrats to Thin Lizzy!

I got in my car today to head home from school and I thought to myself, wow, this week's going by pretty fast, it's already Wednesday! Please, let me continue to live in my dreamland for a few more hours before you remind me that it's only Tuesday. Have a great day everyone!!

What A WEEKEND!!!

Ok I just realized that this is the third post I've titled "What a Weekend". Hmmmmm, maybe that should tell me something! (umm, I don't know what, but SOMETHING, right?)

First, before I go into it, I want to remind you all to head over to my post from Friday to enter in my first ever giveaway (everytime I write that I hear a big booming voice saying it like it's something really special... I like stroking my own ego). All you have to do is comment on it, saying something along the lines of ThunderThighs you are amazing/awesome/the-best-blogger-in-the-world, count me in. Also, my amount of followers has jumped tremendously since I posted this last, so if you are new, please mention your blog's address in a comment so I can follow you too!

So, let's start at the top, shall we? I was SO busy this weekend I didn't get to post on Saturday OR Sunday! :( BIG SAD FACE FOR THAT!! Friday night I was in the campground's store all night. It was actually kind of busy and I spent a lot of the time that wasn't busy working on practicing with Amby's hair for her prom, which was Saturday. I have done her hair for every homecoming and prom she's been too, and I'm getting better, but it was still nice to practice since it was her SENIOR prom!! That was a huge weight on my shoulder because I'm definitely not a real hairstylist and I really wanted her to look perfect (which she would have anyways because she's just beautiful).

Saturday morning I taught my usual aerobics class and then headed home to shower. I had to drop Twig off at the place where she was doing volunteer hours, then I ran to do some grocery shopping before picking her back up, along with some pizza for lunch. Upon returning home, I began my 5 hour stint in doing three girls' hair for prom. Yes, I stood in my spare bedroom for 5 hours straight doing updos. I felt like a real hairdresser! I doubt I could actually do that for 8 hour shifts five days a week! In teaching, when you get a little tired you can sit down and relax. You can't do that at a salon! I have a heightened amount of respect for them now!

After the I finished their hair, we went outside and took pictures. Everyone looked very nice! Take a look:

 Those are three girls who's hair I did. First, on the left is Holly, the middle is my stepsister Mo, and the right is my stepdaughter Amby.

 Mo and my stepmom. Too funny on the height difference!!

 No, they didn't coordinate the colors on purpose! It was all by chance!

 Amby and her bf, Peach (that's his nickname... we all have nicknames around here!)

Well, everyone, meet Mr. ThunderThighs. Handsome, huh? Yep, THE best hubby in the whole wide world - hands down!



When they left, we headed down to the first get-together of the season for the campground, which was a chili potluck. I really like this event because I get to taste the different versions of chili that I wouldn't normally make at home. Earlier in the day, my hubby threw a 20 my way and jokingly said get yourself something nice (although he was being sarcastic, I took the 20... I'm not an idiot!). Well, along with my chili, I also had in tote my best friend for the dinner - a bottle of wine. HA! That'll teach my hubby to hand me 20 bucks! I ended up downing the entire thing and passed out around nine that evening!

Sunday morning I woke up around 11 and had to pick Twig up from her friend's (who had a sleepover birthday party the night before). We came back home and snuggled up in my bed and napped until 1:30. LET THE DRAMA BEGIN!

We had to be up around 1:30 because my hubby's niece was having a baby shower in the campground's clubhouse. As I was ready to walk out of the house, Twig informed me that her mother (yes, my hub's ex) was attending the shower with us. The conversation was as follows:
Twig, "My mom's here."
Me, "Why?"
Twig, "She's coming to the shower with us."
Me, "Why?"
Twig, "Grandma (my hubby's mom) wants her to come."
Me, "WHY?"

Oh boy I could feel my adrenaline rushing. Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME?? My husband's MOTHER asked his EX to come to the baby shower!! Ok, I can understand that his ex and niece are close. As a matter of fact, this girl in question informed me several years ago that I'm never going to replace her Aunt Bonnie (my reply was well woopdy-freaking-do). But, this girl already had another shower for her mom's side of the family and the ex went to THAT one TOO!!! Was it really necessary to come to my hubby's side of the family's shower also?!?! This woman knows no boundaries! So of course I was really upset. And it wasn't even so much directed towards the ex (even though she's the ass that accepted the invite) as it was my MIL. My hubby's brother (the prego niece's dad) has been married four times now. My hubby's cousin (who he's really close with and we have all our family get-togethers with) has been married at least twice (I can't remember if his current wife is his second or third because I can't remember if he was married to his third child's mom or not). NONE of their new wives have had parties with any of those guys' exes! My hubby's mother would NEVER even think of inviting one of their exes to ANYTHING! And again, it wouldn't have been so bad because I know that the niece and ex are close, but she already went to the other shower! I was under the assumption that that was the point of having TWO showers!

Not to mention I was already on edge with the ex because on Saturday she spent quite a while in our house because Amby was getting ready for prom. Well, that's fine, I understand, I would have wanted my mom around for that too when I was in high school, but then she decided to come in to the spare bedroom where I was doing my stepsister's hair and join in on our conversation! As if she was a part of the group! When she finally walked out of the room, my stepsister looked at me and was like what the heck was SHE doing?

Don't get me wrong, she's a really nice lady. She's just not apparently all that bright. She doesn't get it! For one thing, she's my HUSBAND'S ex. For another, she's almost my own mother's age (well so is my husband, but that's beside the point). We are NOT FRIENDS. She just doesn't understand that it's time for her to gracefully bow out of my/our business!

Oh well, after my initial overreaction, I decided that I didn't really want to be at the shower anyways. I already can't stand the niece, and I'm not too fond of her stepmom (my hubby's new wife, who threw this shower... my hubby can't stand her either) and I was really ticked off at my MIL. None of those three even said hi to me when I walked in, let alone thanked me for coming or spending the freaking $50 on her gift (BIG mistake), so the fact that the ex was there was a great excuse for me to head out after grabbing a snack and being there for about a half an hour! NICE!

For the hurt feelings and stress of it all, my hubby took me to see the movie Bridesmaids last night (ummm, did I mention my hubby is the best in the entire world!). Let's just say, if you were thinking about going to see it, wait for it to come out on video/Netflix.PPV/Redbox, whatever is cheaper than the freaking highway robbery prices they charge to see a movie nowadays. It was pretty funny, but the acting was terrible and it was kind of overall stupid.

So after reading my rather lengthy but massively summarized version of my weekend, did you happen to notice what wasn't mentioned? Yeah, the whole diet and exercise part! It was really bad for eating and exercising. I binged. I drank that entire bottle of wine. I ate Honey Nut Chex Mix. I remember at one point in my drunken stupor asking my hubby what 130 times 8 was. Yeah, that's how many calories and portions there were in the bag of Chex Mix. I'll let you do the math to figure out just how many I consumed after eating the enitre freaking bag! I ate pizza, wings, cookies, Doritos, Nilla wafers, Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, etc etc etc. Did I get in my water? No. Did I exercise Friday or Sunday? No.

Just as I was getting back on track, I got all haywire and fell off the wagon. I'm dreading the weigh-in this week already. I just know I'm going to have gained, again. This is definitely not where I want to be right now, and this week I really have to get my act back together. I did good last week! Dang it!!

So since I missed my Sunday post, I'm going to do my goal recap today.

Goals from last week:
      Achieve all goals - nope
      No binges - nope
      Stay within points - didn't even keep track over the weekend
      2 outside runs - nope
      26 miles on the bike - nope
      2.6 liters of water a day - nope
      workout every morning/video every day - nope

Wow, I have to wonder why I even bother making weekly goals!

Anyways, here are the ones for this week:
- No binges
- Stay within weekly points
- One outside run
- One bike ride
- 2.6 liters of water a day
- Workout every morning (I have to exclude today in this because after not getting back from the movie until late, I didn't get up this morning, I will get on the treadmill tonight though)

Well, here's to a better week than the weekend was! Happy Monday! By the way, there's only 18 days left of school, but who's counting!

Stupid Blogger, Friday Weigh-in and a GIVEAWAY!!!!

Ok, what the heck was up with blogger the last two days?? Now my Wednesday and Thursday posts are mixed up and I couldn't even get them back on until today. GRR!! Plus, last night, I actually had time to just hang out on the internet and catch up! Now I'm back to being behind!!

I did weigh-in this morning, but I'll have to post the picture later because, well, I just haven't had the chance to take it yet. I am down this week, approximately two pounds - it said 157.something. The thing that bothered me was the fact that my fat % went up .4%. Dang. The loss is actually surprising, though, because I didn't eat perfectly this week and it's close to TOM time. Weight loss/gain is so confusing, I swear your body does what it wants regardless of whether it makes since or not!

So, on to the moment you've all been waiting for!

THUNDERTHIGHS' FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes folks, in celebration and honor of the fact that my blog has reached over 100 followers, I've decided to do my first ever giveaway. I had to really think about what I would want to give away, and I decided on... DRUM ROLL PLEASE:

 Jillian Michaels' Master Your Metabolism!

This book literally changed my life. When I decided to start my final weight-loss journey (for good!), it was the first book I read. I couldn't believe some of the things I read and let me tell you, I eat way healthier now! It's unbelievable what is actually in your food and how eating effects your metabolism (and overall health).

SO, all you have to do is post a comment below saying you want to be entered. I'll give you all until Tuesday, May 17th to do so, and I'll pick a name after 2:00 pm on that Tuesday (by the way, I'm doing this giveaway completely on my own).

Good luck to all!!!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

NSV, baby, NSV...

Well hello, it's the first time in a few days that I've blogged while the sun was still out!

I've been well, thanks for asking :) The sun is out, it's around 70 degrees, I've been on track with eating and exercising. As a matter of fact, I had to find some capris to wear to school today. This is only the fourth day so far since winter that I've been able to do this!

So I look in my closet today, searching for those capris, and realized that even though my closet is overflowing with clothes and I can barely fit anything else in there, I really don't have any clothes to wear. I have a few pants that fit, but a bunch are still too small (I WAS once in a size 8, and I really have no idea why I've held on to them for so long). I don't have very many shorts/capris that are good to wear at school. The ones I do have? Yep, you guessed it, most don't fit. But, way in the back, I caught a glimpse of something khaki.

Exhibit A - The Capris

Exhibit B - The Size

Yes, these little lovelies are a size ten. I hid them in the back of my closet before summer last year because they no longer fit and they used to be my favorite. They are very wide legged, so my thunder thighs always fit into them very nicely. When I lost all that weight back in the day, they became too big. I would still wear them from time to time, simply pulling my belt tight enough for them to not slide right off my hips, but they looked kind of ridiculous. They were one of the few bottoms that I didn't get rid of when I donated all my 'fat' clothes to the Goodwill (I thought if I got rid of my larger clothes, it would guarantee that I'd never need them again... I now regret it terribly). I remember wearing these back when I was still just substitute teaching, which was four years ago.

Well, since I'm so limited in options, I figured what the heck, I'll give them a try.

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Guess what! They FIT!! Now, I'm not getting all delusional and think that I'm actually a size 10 (because I still have a couple skirts in my closet that are a size 12 and don't fit), but it's a step in the right direction!

Exhibit E - My Happy Face

So my day started out pretty well :) What a great Non-Scale Victory!!

Anyways, I did not get up early enough to get on the treadmill this morning. I've been so busy I'm utterly exhausted, and I really needed the extra half an hour of sleep. I'm hoping to get to bed a little extra early tonight so I'm rested enough to get up tomorrow morning. Did you know that lack of sleep causes your metabolism to slow down? Yeah. So though I'm doing well with my eating and exercising, I'm probably negating all that work with how busy I've been and how late I've been getting to sleep at night. My metabolism is slow enough without me sabotaging it even further!

I might as well let you in on what I've been working on over the past few days that has restricted my ability to blog. Take a looksy:

Amby is BEAUTIFUL, isn't she!!! She looks just like my hubby :) I ordered the proofs last night so we can look them over and pick which ones to use. I made 30 different ones. Ok, I went just a little bit LOT overboard, but once I got started I enjoyed it so much I didn't want to quit! I really wish I lived in an area where I could do this as a side job. There's no money in my hometown for things like this. Although, I may still give it a shot. I mean, they certainly aren't professional, but

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Relaxing... On a Thursday?

It's Thursday evening and I'm on our recliner. It's the first time in over a week that I've been able to just sit down and relax. I'm actually watching TV! I even made myself a cup of hot tea! Too bad I'm on a healthful diet or I'd pop a bottle of wine and drink away my stresses (trust me, there is no portion control with wine, when the bottle gets opened it doesn't stop pouring until it's empty!).

So I did binge a little last night. I had four chocolate chip cookies (there were only four left, how could I leave just three, two, or even one?), the rest of the chex mix ( which wasn't a lot) and the rest of the granola (which WAS a lot). It was the first time in quite a while that I had anything sweet. It's that rat bastard TOM creeping up on me this week. Grrrr!!

Anyways, I have to do three girls' hair for prom Saturday now. My stepsister asked if I could do her friend's too. I feel so much pressure because it's their senior prom! I wish they would have just got it done professionally, because I never truly like how it turns out. We'll see I guess. Maybe the hair fairy will visit me Friday night and grant me a day of magical hair-doing.

I went to the National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony tonight. Some of my students were in it and they asked if I was going. I usually try to go to their things when they ask. The few students that I have that are in the NJHS are some of my most favorite students. All the girls looked gorgeous in their dresses and such.

Well I'm going to go check up on some blogs and get around to following some of my new followers. Speaking of which, in celebration and honor of my blog getting over 100 followers, I'm going to do my first ever giveaway tomorrow!! Make sure you come back and enter!

Happy Thursday! I hope you are all relaxing as well!

Changing My Mind...

...and for once I'm not talking about being indecisive.

I've been really busy. I even missed a post yesterday. I've been on my computer working diligently on my stepdaughter's open house invitations. I've been running around to stores and working on crafts. I've been sitting at my dining room table with my hubby's ex-wife getting list upon list upon list written (yeah, talk about awkward). And yesterday, I stopped by my dad's to spend a little time with my stepmom since I didn't get to see her on Mother's Day. That's where my story begins...

It was right after school and I was STARVING. My stepmom always has goodies and yummy foods in the fridge and cupboards ready for the taking. She has a son, my stepbrother Cole, who is 15, and being a typical teenage boy, he eats A LOT (and of course is still a bean pole), so it's a necessary thing to have this food on hand at all times (especially when his friends come over!). So, I opened the fridge and BAM - there's a huge bowl of two different kinds of pasta salad. YUMMMMMMMY!! So of course I had a bowl. And I was still hungry so I had another. Then I found some cookies. Then I had a turkey and swiss sandwich. By the time I got myself together and snapped out of it, I was so stuffed I could barely move. What a huge mistake.

After I left, I ran to the grocery store to get the stuff to cook for dinner. I realized that just because it was dinner time, that didn't necessarily mean I had to eat. Back in the day, eating time would roll around and I would just naturally 'have' to eat. Like it was a necessity, even if I wasn't hungry. And it didn't matter when - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack time, midnight snack time - my mind would simply tell me to eat regardless of if I was actually hungry or not.

BUT, yesterday, for the first time in forever, I consciously decided to skip dinner. I wasn't hungry. I ate my points for the day. I didn't NEED dinner. I changed my mind. I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND!! I have reprogrammed my thinking. I have made it so I don't just eat when it's traditionally time. I know I'll still have days where I struggle, but it's so nice to finally see a sign of things looking up. Signs of my new life. My new MIND!! Woooohoooooooooo!!

So anyways, have you guys been watching The Biggest Loser lately?? Those women are looking GREAT!!! I think all of them have lost around 100 pounds! That's amazing!!

Also, let's talk about diets for a moment - I saw on the news tonight that some research showed that the Jenny Craig program is the best for weight loss. Who in their right mind wants to eat frozen/processed/pre-made foods all the time??? AND THEN, Slim Fast 3-2-1 was second!! YEAH RIGHT! Again, more processed/pre-packaged foods! I mean, don't get me wrong, if you are using one of these diets and it's working for you and it's something you truly feel like you'll be able to keep up for the rest of your life, more power to ya, I'm not one to judge. But for myself, I just couldn't do that. I'd really like to know what this research was based on. I'm really big on whole, organic, nutrient rich foods. I have a really hard time eating things that have ingredients that I can't even pronounce. I fall for some of them at times, such as cookies and chips and marshmallows. But to base my entire diet on them, well, just wouldn't work for me.

By the way, according to my Nike+, I'm at 20 miles of running/jogging/walking so far since I got it! YAY! I was on the treadmill earlier tonight and my legs are feeling significantly better. I'm hoping that I just needed to strengthen the muscles that were hurting. We'll see.

And one more thing, remember when I mentioned how much I rock at softball? Let me give you an example. On Sunday, at practice, the pitcher needed a break so they put me in. I pitched a few to my cousin, and one that he hit went straight up in the air, really really really high in the air. So I positioned myself underneath and opened my mitt and the ball came down and WHACK, instead of catching it with my glove I caught it with my forearm. Now, I have this HUGE bruise and my whole arm is sore. Yep, I feel the player of the year award coming on this year.

Well everyone, tomorrow is Wednesday. That means the week is half over and the weekend is one more day closer. What will you do to make this week better than the last? Make it great! :)

Weekend Wrap-Up and Happy Mother's Day

So I guess if you're dumb crazy enough to have children you deserve to have a day celebrated in your honor, right? I married into my kids. It's the best way to do it really. They were already raised and disciplined by the time I got them. I dont have stretch marks, droopy nipples or a tore up va-j-j. And I still take the credit for them whenever I get the chance *sly grin*.


My Mom's Day flowers because my stepdaughters are awesome!

Anyways we had our first softball practice of the season tonight. Boy, am I rusty!! I do enjoy playing though. Am I any good you ask? Well let's put it this way, I'm usually last in the batting order (the best players are at the top of the batting order and it goes down from there). I'm pretty sure that if the church league didn't have a rule that we have to have at least 3 girls playing at all times, they'd ever so politely ask me to stay in the bleachers. And my DAD is the coach!! So, yeah, yet another thing I totally rock at. I really do believe that one day I'll discover my God-given talent - let's just hope that happens before I die.

I suppose it's time to go over those lovely goals from last week, shall we?
      Accomplish all goals - Well, I tried and that's what counts, right?
      No more than 29 points a day - I doubt it, there were a couple days that I didn't keep track, but I know I was really close.
      Treadmill or workout video every morning - YES!!
      30 Day Shred or Yoga Meltdown every day - I haven't worked out at all today and I seriously doubt I will, does that answer this one?
      Track points everyday - I'm having an issue with this one because of how hard it is to track things that aren't specifically set. For example, on Thursday they had a catered lunch for us at school for Teacher Appreciation Week, and I ate small portions of a beef and a chicken burrito/enchilada/whatever-it-was. Now how am I supposed to tell what the points for those were??
      No binges - The only issue with this was this morning. At the campground, we always provide donuts on Mother's and Father's Days. I ate two donuts. I don't really consider this a binge compared to what a normal binge looks like, but it is technically (well OBVIOUSLY) more than what I should have eaten.
      Log 26 miles on my bike - I just have NOT had the chance to get out there dang it!!!
      Drink 2.6 liters of water a day - I didn't get this in today, but every other I've been great. I just wasn't thirsty today, I don't know why.
      Go for a run outside two days - Nope. I should have been out there today, but I just didn't have time (my nap took up that extra hour I had).
      Log 60 activity points - DONE!! As a matter of fact I hit 62 today after getting in two and a half hours of softball practice. That's the most I've ever gotten!!!

Goals for this week include:
- Achieve all goals
- No binges
- Stay within points for the week (I'm giving up on the 29 points a day thing)
- Two outside runs
- 26 miles on my bike
- 2.6 liters of water a day
- Workout every morning, workout video everyday (except Thursday and Saturday, I teach an aerobics class on Saturday mornings and this Thursday I have to fill in for another instructor; doing a workout video those two days isn't necessary because the classes are already 45 minutes long and I'm just overdoing it too much)

So there you have it. Let's hope the weather holds out and I get outside a couple days. Again, happy mom day to everyone!! Here's to a new and exciting week ahead!

Stuff I Stole Saturday - The Sequel

*Cue corny game show music*

Welcome back to yet another addition of "Stuff I Stole Saturday"!! I'm your host, ThunderThighs, and if you are tuning in for the first time ever, this show is about all the things I've stolen this week from other people's blogs (because, let's face it, I'm just not clever enough to do think of these things on my own).

Today we have five, count it - FIVE - stolen ideas (yes, this is me being excited about STEALING five things that other people worked hard to think of... I told you I'm lazy).

First of all, let's give a warm applause for UpInTheCosmos from The Voices Within Unleashed. This lovely blog introduced me to the word 'balkanize'. Yes folks, this is the new word for this war we are waging on our fat!! Next time I'm at the gym, I'm going to let everyone know I'm there to balkanize baby!! When you check out the post that talks about this new word, make sure you scroll to the bottom - the pic there is H.O.T.!!!!

Our next guest is the lovely Kelty from Biggie to Smalls. She has recently introduced us to her newest set of challenges - being able to do 100 push-ups and 150 dips (each has its own website, which can be reached by simply clicking on it). Simply go to the website and take the initial test. Then, each one has its own six week program to follow by doing the workouts, which are detailed in an outline, three days a week. Supposedly by the end, you should be able to do 100 push-ups and 150 dips. I'm going to start this coming up week (stop back to check out how this one goes, I'm sure you'll get a good laugh).

These are examples of the charts you use for each day's workout. First, though, you have to take the initial test, which just consists of seeing how many of each you can do in a row. I totally rocked and made it to level 2 on each. Ok ok fine, you caught me, I'm lying, I'm a level one (therefore I'd follow the left column when I do the workouts). I can't even do one full real 'man' push-up! But it does say on the website that you shouldn't feel bad about what level you start at, so there!!!

Alrighty then, we are up to our third guest - Skinny Doll. I have already mentioned her to be one of my new favies, and there is one post in particular that caught my eye. She wrote an acrostic poem for the word 'motivation' (which can be found if you click right here); well, I don't know if it's really a poem, but each letter of the word stands for something, so call it what you will. You really should actually go to her site to see the post, because it has a colorful picture for each letter and all, but seeing as how I've stolen it, I'll just go ahead and give you the abbreviated version:

Have you lost your motivation? Well these ideas will help you get it back!
M - Make a list of reasons WHY you want to lose weight
O - Observe others who've already reached their goal, they will inspire you
T - Time - take your time, move slowly, baby steps
I - Important - what does this journey mean to you? What's most important in your life?
V - Visualize yourself at your goal
A - Action plan - have one and use it!
T - Teamwork - enlist supporters
I - Imagine your goal self in different situations and pay particular attention to how it will feel
O - Onwards - when you fall off track, it's ok, pick yourself up and move on
N - New you - you will be a whole different person, and you CAN get there!!

We now go to Sammy over at Happy Family, Healthy Family. On April 24, 2011, and as a part of the Day Zero Project, Sammy began her own 101 things in 1001 days. It's sort of a bucket list, and can include anything you'd like to do or achieve in the next 1001 days (which is 2.75 years just in case you were wondering). I really like this idea and am contemplating starting my own list. I'd really have to sit down and think about what it would include, because as much as I want to, I seriously doubt I'll climb to the top of Mount Everest, earn the world record for fitting the most grapes in my mouth (I'll save you the trip to Google - it's 116) or discover my own uncharted island in the next 1001 days. Let's give Sammy a round of applause because as of right this second she has already crossed off 5 items (overachiever).

To wrap things up tonight, we have Candy from Candy and Kankles. Candy has been using yarn to measure herself because she hasn't gotten around to grabbing measuring tape yet. What a creative idea - if I wanted to measure myself but didn't have the measuring tape, well, I just wouldn't measure myself. But, this girl used her noggin'! Anways, I think it's a way better idea to use yarn than measuring tape because I just don't want to have to deal with more numbers!! Really, I'd rather not know just how huge my hips are. Quite frankly, I like being in my little fantasy land where I'm a skinny little bitch twig. I do see the validity in measuring yourself, though, and so I stole the Candy way and began my own yarn collection (and she thought SHE had enough to knit a scarf - check this out!!!):

From left to right: my hips, waist, thigh and arm. I struggled to get a pic of the entire length of the hips one! 

Well there ya have it folks. Be sure to turn in next week for another 'Stuff I Stole Saturday' - same bat time, same bat channel.

BTW, my stepsister and stepdaughter both graduate from high school this year (yeah, you thought your family was messed up!), and I took the liberty to make their card boxes. I stole (yet another thing) the idea from a display at the local craft shop and made one for my sister a couple years ago. I finished one of them tonight, but ran out of green paint for the other. Here it is (ain't it cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute):



Yeah, I'm the only creep that gets all excited about a freaking card box. Can you say loser??

I should have, once again, been on my bike today, but I had to go to the craft store to get the supplies for these boxes and I needed to get a new curling iron from Target. Yes, my hometown is so lame I have to drive 40 minutes to get to each of these stores. Then I had to work in the campground store tonight, so my Saturday was packed full. It was finally sunny, but still a little chilly. Can someone please explain to my why we are in MAY and still are only hitting the high 50s, low 60s??? It's already the seventh and I was dressed in jeans and a hoodie. This is ridiculous.

You know what else is ridiculous? Gas prices! My poor hubby discovered recently that at the gas pump his debit card has a limit of $85 at a time. Eight-freaking-five dollars at the gas station. That's highway robbery without a gun, I tell ya!
Well, I've run out of questions, comments and concerns for the evening. By the way, happy Mom's Day to all the mothers/mamas/mums/biotches out there tomorrow!! That's one job I don't think I could handle, I'm much too SMART ;)

Friday Weigh-in

So I am not back to where I was, but my weigh-in wasn't too bad.

Viola:



We had our school dance tonight. My friend came over and we decked ourselves out 80s style!! Check these hotties out:



Here is me after the dance. I had to put my hair up halfway through because I was sweating like a whore in church from getting down with my bad self:



It was a blast!! We danced and sang with our students and they all laughed at us, but we were too cool to care!!

We got home and it had been raining, so there was a huge rainbow over our house. It was gorgeous!



The picture doesn't do it any justice.

Anyways today was pretty bad for eating but I definitely did well on the exercise front with all the dancing. As a matter of fact I'm exhausted. I was so proud of myself because my alarm went off this morning and I reset it for a half an hour later. I laid back down for about a minute before I decided to drag my lazy butt out of bed and get on the treadmill. Of course I was happy I did. Sorry to say, I'm not doing 30 Day tonight. Oh well life goes on.

Well, I'm cutting yet another post short. Tune in tomorrow for the things I stole post - I have lots to talk about!! Have a fabulous Friday!!

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