I know that I am the WORST blogger EVER lately!! I am really sorry about that....things are just crazy right now (then again...aren't they always?!).

Anyhoo, one tip: Publix has starkist frozen fish BOGO this week ($5.99 each)-use 2 $3.00 off MQs and they are free!

Tomorrow I am getting my echo cardiogram tests results back. I am a little nervous about that, mostly because I am depending on a good report so I can proceed with some other plans! My heart seems to be doing better today...so I am praying it continues to keep getting better! I have "mitral valve prolapse" (MVP), which is fairly common and not at all threatening......unless.... . My symptoms started getting really bad about 3 or 4 months ago, when I was going through some MAJOR stress. It got a little better as my stress level went down, but it never really recovered all the way to back where it was. Then, the last couple of weeks it got bad again for some reason.....probably a little stress and a LOT of excitement! Anyhoo-I get those results tomorrow and I am gonna let out a sigh of relief when the doc gives me the "all clear"!

Spencer is going to Tanya's house to play with her son , Ryan, in the morning. The Brooke and I are gonna run some errands, have a Mom/daughter lunch, go to the doc and then grocery shopping (if I can fit that in before I have to have Spencer at APD therapy!). Gonna be a busy but fun and exciting day! Maddie is at my "in laws" tonight, she is spending the night there and her grandpa is taking her on a boat ride down the river tomorrow! She is very excited about that...but we miss her here at home!! Her dog, scruffy, was CRYING tonight when I asked him where Maddie was!! It was so sweet...and sad! She loves that dog and he loves her just as much!

I will be sure to post the good news that I plan on hearing from the doc tomorrow!! Hope you are all having an awesome summer!!

Today has been a hectic day...too much to do....not enough time to do it in.....and too worn out! Anyhoo...tomorrow I am shooting a wedding on a yacht......that should be interesting! I have not done a wedding since my back surgery. Weddings are a LOT of work, but I enjoy being a part of such a special day and giving a couple a way to remember their day forever! Thankfully this wedding will only be about 7 hours of shooting, and I can edit from my Dormia next week! I wish I had an assistant to come along and help carry all the equipment!


I can hardly believe that on August 5th I will be ONE YEAR post op!!! Time flys when you are havin' fun....huh? I go for my post op appt on August 3rd. I am feeling a bit nervous about that. I am PRAYING that I am 100% fused so there is NO reason to re-do the surgery!! Last year the surgeon told me that he may remove the screws when I was one year post op.....but unless he feels that it HAS to be done then I am gonna just leave them all alone!! God knows that I do not want to go through that again!!


There has been a WHOOOOOLE lot going on in my life these past few months. My life has been crazy! I am excited about some of the changes, mourning the loss of some things, but confident that I am doing what is best for me and my family at this time. I have learned so much about myself and who I am deep inside. You know what I realize is that I take the blame (or put blame on myself) when I SHOULD be standing up for myself. I always thought I was the type of person who would not let anyone "push me around"....but in reality I have allowed myself to be pushed around most of my life....without even knowing it! I know that there is a time to be respectful, quiet, and gentle....but I have allowed "stuff" to be turned around on me and taken the blame for things that I had every reason to be mad, upset, hurt over. I am REALLY working hard on getting over the "guilt complex" that have carried around my whole life. It is both liberating and devastating. Not everyone wants to hear what I have to say, and NO one wants to take the blame for ANYthing! So, if I give up the guilt.....that means someone else has to face their own "issues" and take responsibility. That is a hard pill to swallow. Does that make sense? Brett has been a huge help with trying to support me through this "journey", he has encouraged me to "let go" of the guilt and he has validated my feelings about many things. I am also grateful for my Pastor's wife, Sister Susan. She has embraced me, she has listened to me and she has been an awesome "sounding board". She has also made me feel validated in MANY things! One day I hope to get to the point where I just trust myself and let go of the guilt and validate myself!
Anyhoo....I really need to take a shower already! I worked out this morning and it is now 3:30 pm and I have still not had time to shower...yuck! I still have lots to get ready for the wedding tomorrow. If you think of it, say a prayer for me!! I will need God's strength and creativity to get through the day!

This past week Krystal, my 15 yr old cousin, came and stayed with us. It was really nice to spend time with her and to see the kids getting to know and love her! We played a lot of Wii fit and hung out at home a lot. One thing that we did was visit our grandpa's, grandma's and uncle's graves. Two of the graves are not marked so the kids made a little marker to put at their grave sites.

Yesterday was Brooke's b-day! I can hardly believe that she is 13 years old!! WHERE did the time go?? I am so proud of the young lady that she has become though. She really is a special young woman! Anyhoo..I wanted to check in and share some pics!

Maddie let the girls mark on her face with PERMANENT marker!

Today I am cleaning....from top to bottom. Noah is here to play with his "big brother" so I am taking the day to stay at home and get some stuff done! I have dusted, vacuumed, cleaned out behind the fridge........ (FYI-unplug the fridge first if you plan on using water to clean! Esp....when you have a back full of metal!....got just a little jolt in my back :).

Yesterday we went to the beach and we stayed to watch the sunset....that is one of my most favorite things to do! There is just something magical about watching the sun sink into the water to signal the end of another day....... with the promise of a new one to come. It is the most calming, centering experience for me. Anyhoo....sometimes I wish I could move to the beach....not to a house near the beach...but actually ON the beach....just give me a tent, the sand and the waves (and maybe my Dormia!) and I will be set! Brett said " uh....Honey....I don't think they let people live in tents on the beach" to bring me back to reality when I told him my "plan"! Oh well....it was a thought!

I finally got a new cell phone....since my old one got dropped into a cooler of water! I LOVE my new phone...I got a Samsung "Behold"...it is a touch screen, but the thing I love the most is it has a built in 5 mega pixel camera...WITH a flash! My other cameras are a bit bulky....at least too big to carry around everywhere, so this one is nice because it has decent quality (for a cell phone!) and I can carry it everywhere. I took the sunset pics (posted on this blog) with it. I also love that it has a SD card....so I can easily transfer my music files from my computer AND easily transfer my pics from the cell phone to the computer! The downside is that the camera has a delay.....like most non pro digital cameras. I am used to having the ability to shoot 8 frames per second...so that is a bit frustrating.

Well...I need to get back to work...I am almost finished with the housework...except the laundry.

Oh...just so you know...I have been taking a break from reporting on the sales and coupon deals....for good reasons..that I just do not want to share right now. I am still using coupons....just not reporting on them right now.

Summer.....we're off and running!

I just love lazy summer days!! No need to rush through my coffee in the morning, no need to get in bed by 10:30 pm.....just love it! Today I took a long nap......and I did not have to cut it short because of school letting out! I enjoy having the kids home with me all day too (....most days :).

I wanted to catch everyone up since we were off the computer for so long! Where to start? As a PROUD Mother I have to start with the awards that our kids got this year! Brooke made honor roll (all As and Bs)...(for the whole year!) and she was one of 2 kids, in the whole school, who got an award for being so "respectful". She got a beautiful plaque with her name engraved on it!! Maddie got Principal's list (all As)...(all year long!)! She also got an award for academic excellence in EVERY subject! She was also given the HIGHEST award ever given at their school..."The Eagle Award", which is only given to one child per class (and only one child in the entire middle school and one child in high school). Anyhoo, she got it for her grades and her Christian character!! She got a beautiful glass trophy with her name etched in it! One of the Dads at the award ceremony joked that Maddie was gonna need a whole room just for all her awards! Spencer got awards for improvement, conduct and Science. I am so proud of all three of my "babies"!!





I am STILL playing the "waiting game" for my surgery!! My insurance company now has 30 business days to give me a response! I am trying really hard to trust God with the whole thing...but I must admit I have become impatient! If my Insurance co denies me then I have to question my decision on going through with the "tummy tuck" anyway. I know I have said that for once in my life I am gonna do the "irresponsible" and "selfish" thing......but I do not know if I can bring myself to do that! I have always walked that "straight line".....my whole life. IF I can come up with the rest of the money for the hospital/anesthesia then I will go forward....I am doing really well, I have about 1/2 of the money needed for those things. I am praying in the rest! At first I struggled with guilt....even asking God for that, when there are so many other needs in this world........but, I realized that God cares about EVERY aspect of my life and HE knows my heart and how much I desire this! He cares about the major issues AND the "minor" issues in our lives...nothing too big or too small! Although.....I'd have to classify this need as a major one...in my life at least. I know that most people do not understand.....but I remind myself that GOD knows my heart. I spoke with an older, wiser woman about this issue....and once I showed her my part of stomach, she said "honey...you have got to do whatever you have to do to get that taken care of"! Even I was shocked by that answer...perhaps if you knew who she was, you would be too ;) Anyhoo...not sure how I got here from where I started in this post.....ramblin' on I guess! Well, I made crab cakes for supper.....they are just about ready and I need to get the table set!! Hope you are all having a blessed summer!!

Just bein' real.....

Sometimes I ask myself "WHY am I SO real on this blog?". Most of the people who read this blog are complete strangers and yet I offer up my deepest thoughts! Anyhoo, it is what it is and I suppose it will always be that way. I can NOT believe that I am about to share this on my blog! What in "tarnation" is wrong with me!? Well, yesterday I got a second opinion, from a plastic surgeon, about getting a breast reduction. The few people, I told that I was considering it, all told me that I did not "need" one...as their eyes diverted to my DD chest! (All but Tanya...she was very supportive...NO pun intended!). I asked my doctor about it last month, and she seemed to think it could relieve some of my headaches, neck pain and upper back pain-so she referred me out to a plastic surgeon. The first one that I saw seemed "nice enough" but he was primarily a "hand surgeon". When I asked him how many breast reductions he had done he said between 12-24! I could not help but wonder if that meant 12, and since he did the surgery on both breast he doubled it to 24! I did not feel comfortable with that number, so I kept searching. Yesterday I ended up at the same USF office that my neurosurgeon is at. I have a MUCH better feeling about the surgeons that I met there! So, now it is a waiting game.....the insurance will have to approve it, if they do then it will be 100% covered! Now...here is the problem that I have...I have been wanting a "tummy tuck" for years! Ever since I lost 92 lbs I have been left with lots of saggy skin in my belly and it REALLY bothers me. I am ashamed of it and I feel like I have this "dark secret" that I am hiding! Most people can not imagine what I am talking about.....they see me and think that it must be about being "skinny". It is NOT a skinny issue. I honestly feel like I have a deformity that I have been hiding for years! The few people who HAVE seen my "secret" all agree and can understand my desperation! Anyhoo, I thought that while I was at the plastic surgery office, I'd get an estimate on getting a "tummy tuck" too. I get REALLY ill from anesthesia, so if I could get them both done at the same time then it would save me from having to go back "under" again. A few years ago I got estimates (from 2 docs) and to get both a breast lift and tummy tuck it was going to be $17,000! Well, now, since my insurance will be paying for the breast reduction and the breast lift, it would "only" cost me about $6,000 to get the tummy tuck. Well, I do not HAVE $6,000......YET! I am racking my brain trying to come up with a way that I can make that kind of money! Tanya says "where there is a WILL...there is a WAY!". The WILL is there...I just have to find a WAY. I know that I run the risk of sounding "vain"...which is one reason that I hesitated on being so REAL on this issue, I even considered taking a picture of my belly and posting it-just so you'd know that it is not a vanity issue. ( but, knowing some of the people who read this blog would be seeing my bare belly was just unbareable for me!) It truly effects how I view myself, it is like a "foreign" body part that I live with and can feel 24 hours a day! Anyhoo-Brett has told me that I should post a video of one of my coupon classes and charge people to view it (he's been telling me that for months!). Does anyone "out there" know how that can be done? OR...does anyone have any creative ideas that can help me come up with this money? PLEASE let me know if you have any ideas that will help me. Please try to understand my "heart" on the matter. And, if you have gotten any help through this blog, and you have learned how to save your family money and you have the "extra" to give.....there is a pay pal "donate" button...feel free to use it :) . I figured that even if every person gave just $2.00-within one month I could have most of it paid for! Honestly, I really do not expect my readers to donate..I KNOW that times are tough...I know what it is like to have even have $2.00 to give, I also know the "anger" that people may have towards me for me even wanting a "TT", but unless you know me and have seen my body-please do not judge me too harshly..I just thought that I would "put it out there".

Well...I FINALLY did it!

I quit my complaining and I finally went and got my hair chopped off! I was working out this morning and I just thought..." I am just gonna go for it!" Plus...I had a little encouragement from Tammy and Kina. I taught a class last night, so I used the money that I earned on it, to get a hair cut. I went in having NO idea of what I really wanted to do, so I consulted with the hair dresser and we went through some books together. I ended up getting 7 inches cut off! It is now just above my shoulders, with some light layers. I haven't taken the time to really "play" with it, but I think that I will like it. It is still long enough to pull up, but it is short enough to have a little "style".

FYI..it is REALLY hard to take a picture of yourself! I need to have one of the girls take one for me!

I leave for ONE night......

Last night I went to Tanya's house to keep an eye on the kids, while she and Chris went to a meeting at the school. BTW-they are working REALLY hard to save First Christian School from going under...they are leading a group of people who are trying get donations from people and businesses, so they can save the school. If you know of anyone who can help out-please send me an email so I can connect you up with them! They have ad space, in a awesome newspaper/ magazine -available in the Trinity area, to sell to businesses. Anyhoo, while i was gone last night, Brett decided it was time to "groom" the dogs. They REALLY did need a trim....but, THIS is what I came home to! Poor Lady bug :(



I got home kinda late so Lady was already asleep in Spencer's room-Brett said "go take a look at Lady bug, I have a feeling this one is gonna make it onto your blog!". Maddie said that none of her friends are allowed to come over until Lady's hair grows out! She begged me not to post these pics.."cause all her friends read my blog"....."WHY?".
Anyhoo, it is like that old country song "It'll grow back, 'honey' don't be mad...God and the rain will bring it back" (The song is referring to a boy talking to his Daddy about a tree he cut down...but it this case, I think the song fits!)

BTW-to really appreciate these pics, you must click on them to enlarge them...so you can see the "detail" of his grooming job! I just have to laugh every time I think about it! In fact, last night, while I was trying to be "serious" I busted out laughing! Brett wanted to know what I was laughing about...when I was trying to be "serious".....when I told him we both had laugh!

a new addition to the McCann family......

.....and NO! I am not pregnant! :) (thankfully!)

It all happened while I was shopping for a swim suit (got lucky and bought the 3rd one I tried on....btw!). Brett and the kids walked down to Petsmart while I was at Ross-that was all it took! The pet rescue people were there, trying to get the dogs and cats adopted out. The kids spotted a playful kitten and once Brett held it....it was all over! They drug (literally DRUG) me to the pet store for me to see this kitten that we just HAD to adopt. I, being the "level headed one", said "NO!". They begged and pleaded and I reminded them of Spencer's asthma (and the 3 dogs, hamster and fish that we already have!). The adoption "expert" stepped in and told us that because the kitten has short hair, he should not upset Spencer's asthma....BUT.....if it did then we could return the kitten back to the shelter. Brett and I told the kids we'd "think about it" while we were running other errands. I was hoping that once they could not see the cat, we'd be able to talk some sense into them! We stopped at Starbucks (thanks for the gift card Tanya!) and the kids all sat up at the bar and Brett and I sat at a nearby table. I was pleading with Brett-telling him all the reasons why we'd be NUTS to even consider bringing a cat into our house! He told me that we would need to switch seats-since he was facing the kids. I turned around to see what he meant and there they were, all three of them lined up at the bar, staring at us with anticipation. I knew THEN that we'd be bringing home a cat! I told them that IF their maw Maw said it was a good idea THEN they could get the cat-thinking that my Mother would NEVER say that...we'll she gave them the "go ahead"! They handed me the phone and she said "why did you do that to me?!" and responded..."why did YOU do that to ME!?". I even tried to get out of getting the cat while I was in line at Walmart (...did I ever tell you how much I HATE Walmart?)...the kids were thinking of a name for the cat and they saw the movie "pinnocio" for sale. They asked the lady behind us if she could remember the cat's name in the movie. She said "no". I told them that IF the lady would have know the name, then they could have had the cat...just kiddin' around with them. Anyhoo-needless to say, we got the cat! He really is a sweet kitten, he's 3 months old and he is playful and loving....and fascinated by the slow drip we have in our bath tub (when the kids do not shut the water off all the way). He gets in the tub and just watches it. He sleeps at the top of the bed with Madeline. Once I get home from taking the kids to school, he roams from room to room crying....I am convinced that he is looking for the kids! It is the only time he does that. His name was Einstein-according the shelter worker. The kids have not agreed on any one name just yet though...they mostly call him "Frisky" or "Kitty". Well, I just wanted to share the news with you! Hope you are all having a awesome Tuesday! FIND something to celebrate today...don't just let this day go by "just another" Tuesday!

OH! And FYI....the dogs are getting along just fine with the kitten.

Haircut

It has been a whole year since I have even had my hair TRIMMED! Y'all who know me best KNOW that's CRAZY for me! I love trying new haircuts and colors! That is...until the JC Penny FRIED my hair and I had to grow it out and kept cutting the ends until the blond was gone! Anyhoo, I have been wanting to get my haircut for months but I just do not know what I want to do with it! I want to get a cut that I do not have to go to the salon every month to keep up with it....that gets expensive! Well, today I was playing around on the computer and I decided to try on some different haircuts....some of them are just for laughs...that first one just cracks me up!! I thought I'd share the results with you! Eventually I WILL get my haircut.....IF I ever decide what to do with it! It has not been this long in YEARS! It is almost to the middle of my back and I am just so sick of it! Anyhoo, you go! Click here to get your own makeover! You can try on makeup, haircuts,haircolors, highlights and lowlights...for FREE!

Yesterday Michael Vinson (Vinson Heating and Air) worked 12+ hours replacing our air ducts and I believe that it is going to make a HUGE difference in Spencer's asthma flair ups! I am also excited about not having DUST blown out all over the house! I am going to get started dusting every crevice of this house (even though I just did it last week!) ! After I get my dusting done, I am off to Tanya's to go for a walk! I have really enjoyed our walks together, it has been a great way for us to get to know each other better and to release the stresses of motherhood! She is my WW accountability partner-it has helped me tremendously to know that I have to answer to her! I am not sure how much weight I will lose this week, the only exercise that I have gotten has been on my walks with Tanya, and my body is used to being worked out a bit more in the gym on the days I do not walk with her. There are no excuses...y'all KNOW that I hate excuses! I just did not MAKE the time to go this week. I could have gotten my bum out of bed early to go (which is all I can do when I have a busy day)-but I chose to sleep until 7:00 am. Anyhoo-I think that not working out may effect my weigh in this week (I weigh in on Saturday).
This afternoon I am picking up my little Noah! I am excited about that! Things have been so crazy around here that I have not even seen him in WEEKS! Lisa (his Mommy) told me today that when she told him that I was picking him up-he started to "fake cry" and said "I miss my mama Sherri". Can't wait to squeeze him :) This evening we are going over to my Aunt Ruby's house for supper, my Aunt Aggie is down from Georgia and I am looking forward to spending time with her! She (along with Ruby and Maggie) came to my class on Monday night, but I did not get to really sit down and talk to her much, so I am looking forward to eating supper over there tonight! I wish that my Mom was here too...., I know that she misses everyone! Well, that is about all that is going on today (unless I am forgetting something-like I did Tuesday! I forgot that Maddie and Bubba had soccer practice, and I showed up at school to pick them up anyway and then I ALSO forgot that Brooke had piano lessons starting up again and I was surprised to see her teacher pull into the driveway!.....too much "stuff" going on, for one small brain!)

Pics from my shoot yesterday

Yesterday I took Liz's pregnancy pics as part of her baby shower gift. Here are some of my favs. (I asked her if I could post them and she said "yes").

Maddie and her frog....yuck!

Maddie has captured a frog, his name is "Tommy"........only Maddie!

2 seconds after I posted these pics-I look out our large picture window and see Maddie and Spencer running around playing under the sprinkler!! It is what...? 40 degrees outside?! They decided that they wanted to play under the sprinkler...Maddie sent Bubba in to "ask" but when he came in all he said was that he got wet (I THOUGHT from the water in frog bucket) and he was gonna change his clothes-what he MEANT was that he wanted to get wet and he was gonna change his clothes! Youngin's!..... did I mention that I MISS BRETT!?

Missin' Brett :(

It has been REALLY hard, not having Brett around the last two days!! I miss him soooooooo much! We have kept in touch on the phone, he comes to bed after I am asleep (3:00 am!) and leaves before I wake up (or like today-I left before HE woke up!)!! I am so glad that I have him to "do life" with me (that is HIS phrase...he always says "thank you for doing life with me"-sweet!). Anyhoo-I am SO excited about leaving for Disney tomorrow!! We planned on leaving early-but since Brett will not get home until 3:00 am again, we will leave later in the morning. We are going to Downtown Disney and checking out all the different Disney resorts tomorrow. Then, we are going to Disney Tuesday and either Disney again on Wednesday or MGM (depending on if we get to do everything we want to do at Disney the first day). This is our very first vacation together,as a family!! Spencer asked me if the hotel had a BATH TUB! He wanted to know how many clothes to pack...in his thinking, if they had no bath tub then he would only need the clothes that he was wearing (I mean....why would you change your clothes unless you took a bath....right?)but since they HAVE a bath tub, he will need to pack enough clothes for 4 days! Sometimes I am amazed at the way his brain works-baffled and amazed!
Well, I have to thank Kathy for coming to take care of our house and dogs!! She is such a blessing to our family!! Thank you!!

Today

Today has been a long day for me! I worked on last week's coupons, got the oil changed (getting ready for our vacation!), talked to my Mom-online for a long time, ordered a portrait for a former client ( a 16x20-on board-turned out flawless!! I LOVE my camera!), delivered the portrait for the client, took Brooke to the doctor (she had a 103 degree fever when she got home from school.....my poor baby! Y'all pray she gets better soon! She is on antibiotics now), picked up Brooke's meds, finished supper and dishes, did some laundry and now I am beat! Brett thought he had no work tonight...since the last time he asked they said "no"-then, while I was picking up Brooke's meds they called him-demanding to know where he was at! Uh.....HOME! Since they never told him he had a job! I HATE that limo company!! There is NOTHING fair about it-NOTHING! They claim he is "self employed" but expect him to do WHAT they say, WHEN they say and for what PAY they say! Crazy! Anyhoo-at least it is a job...when he gets work!
I am just so tired from running all day and I miss him so much.....:(
I can not wait to spend our vacation together-he has a whole week off!

Brooke's hair

Brooke has been begging me for WEEKS to color her hair darker-so I finally did it (since I got the hair color for FREE-lol!). Here's what we came up with-she is happy, I think it is a bit too dark, but I think it will lighten up some after a few washes.

Brrrrrr......

It is freezing here in Florida!! All you "Yankees"-quit laughing at us...lol! This morning the yard was iced over and the cars were covered in ice! Brett took Bubba to school early, for tutoring, and he said that the windshield washer fluid ran out while he was driving and the window iced over and he could not see! He has to pull over to scrape off the ice! I told the girls how I used to love to slide across the grass while it was iced over, so we went into our neighbor's yard (since our yard barely HAS grass right now!) and they slid across the lawn! Such fun...it is the little things in life that really excite me!!

Civil war

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip with Maddie's 4th grade class. I am the "class mom" and "class photographer" so I "get" to go on all the field trips and be at all the class events. I was kinda looking forward to this trip, actually! UNTIL I found out that it is NOT the Civil war reenactment. I guess that happens on Saturday. I have always wanted to see that and photograph it, of course! I guess we are going to be walking though make shift camps of the yankees and confederates....it will still be kinda cool. I will post some pics when we get back home. It is supposed to be freezing cold tomorrow...and Brookesville, where we are going, will be even colder! AND....the entire field trip will be outdoors! I will be sure to bundle us up!

I took the Zumba class again tonight! This time Maddie joined Brooke and me-but she said she will NEVER do that again! I think it was a little too challenging for her....she kept asking "how many more songs?!". I warned her that it was gonna be tough-NOW, she believes me! I really have fun in that class! It is just a great way to "let loose" and have fun while working out! I have to modify a little on the last song (there is some bending) and I try to to "jar" my back too much while I am dancing! I think that it is ok, because I did not feel any additional pain after last week's class. I am just trying to learn what I can and can not do-since my back surgery. I really feel great....most of the time, but bending still bothers me pretty badly.
Well, Brett is typing out his sermon notes on the other computer-he's preaching on Sunday morning. I think I am going to turn in early tonight-I want to make it to the gym before we have to be at the school tomorrow...so that means waking up at 5:55 am! :( I really have enjoyed being back at a gym. I know most people say they hate to exercise but I truly have learned to love it! BTW-my "no diet" diet has been working well! I have only lost 3 lbs but I have managed to keep my sanity-lol!!! I seriously have not counted a single calorie, carb, fat gram or point and it has been liberating! How are all my other "no diet" diet buddies doing?

I plan on trying to get the deals for Publix this week posted tomorrow afternoon. I realized that my shopping day is the last day for Publix ad (wed) so I want to get it to you all early-so you can take advantage of the great deals too! I will also try to post CVS and Walgreen's ads on Saturday night-so you guys get a "head start" on the rest of the world!!

Our New Year's Day

Brett had the day off yesterday, so we were able to spend the day together as a family! My favorite "peeps" to be with! We went to the mall to take advantage of the semi annual sales. We stocked up the children's church "Bible buck store"! A little bit of money can go a loooong way with the sales that we found! Kaybee (is that how you spell that store? I am too lazy to get up and look at my receipt!) toy store is going out of business, they have 50%-70% off the lowest price on everything! We got lots of little stuff (color books, candy, ....) and a few bigger items too!

Last night we all watched the movie "Pilgrim's Progress" together. Spencer has informed me that it is now his favorite movie........next to Prince Caspian (from the chronicles of Narnia)! He is actually watching it again this morning! I fell asleep at the very end....our DVD player is broken in the living room, so we have to watch DVDs in our bedroom-it is hard to stay awake while laying in a dormia! (Seriously y'all , I love my bed!) Anyhoo, I know that the movie sparked LOTS of questions with the kids......they finally moved the conversation out to the living room-once I asked them too (I was half asleep!)! Mom guilt ..........again! They were having seriously deep spiritual conversations and I could not wake up enough to participate! Anyhoo, it is a good movie and I encourage you to watch it! The Christian bookstore, in Palm Harbor, has it for only $5.00 right now-they'll be out of business by the end of the month though, so you may want to go soon!

So, today, we are going to straighten up the house a bit and then go to the YMCA. We qualified for a partial scholarship so we took advantage of it! We paid $10 to join and then $35 a month for the whole family (reg price is $100 to join and $70 a month!). When we get our tax return back, we are going to set aside the $35 a month for the 6 months (which is how long our scholarship is good for-then we'll reapply and either raise or lower it, based on our income)-so it will not come out of our budget. The YMCA in Trinity has pools (one has a large slide for the kids), indoor basketball courts, along with the workout equipment and exercise classes! It will be a nice place to go with the kids over the summer! The YMCA closer to our house is much smaller, but I plan on going to that one to work out. It is a really nice facility-very new and clean, I like that it is smaller! With the membership we have, we can go to any of them-so it is nice to have options.

Well, I need to get up, clean up, take some Tylenol for this headache!, and go to the gym....I really missed not having a gym anymore-I feels so good to say that!
Happy Friday everyone!

Resolutions

I am always interested in other people's ideas and thoughts....I guess that is how I became a Pshyc major...huh? Anyhoo, I would love to hear what resolutions or changes you plan on making this new year! Either email me or leave a comment...I would really like to hear from each of you! My resolutions? Hmm......as I stated already....sticking to my "no diet-diet" would be at the top of my list! There are also several other personal growth goals that I have too! I am reading a book by Jentezen Franklin titled "Fasting". I enjoy listening to him preach, I subscribe to his podcasts ( I LOVE MY ipod!!-FREE preaching!)! Anyhoo, each year his church goes on a 21 day fast beginning Jan 1. I think that is an awesome way to start the new year! In his book, he describes several different types of fasts, and the meaning for each of them. I would encourage you to read the book and see if God leads you to go on a fast! I really think that great things would start to happen within our churches (and outside of our church walls!) if we all gave some type of sacrifice to God-asking Him to reveal Himself to us as a result! I have been praying the last 2 days about what God would want ME to give up.....today, I got my answers! I know that if it means something to ME.....then it will mean something to God! I am believing that God is going to move in my life as a result of my obedience. I pray that you will seek Him too so we see an outpouring ( a TRUE outpouring) of His power! http://www.jentezenfranklin.org/fasting/

Ok....how did I get off on all of that? So, as far as my resoltions go.....I also want to get more organized. Some people would argue that my house IS organized....I guess it is, but I am always scatter brained, looking for this or that......I want to try to fix that! Every year, I resolve to be a better wife and mother....I try, GOD knows that I TRY! I guess that is one of those things that can not be accurately measured-but it is still something I want to work on. I reckon that is about it really. Can't wait to hear from ya'll!! Happy new year!