Fairytales and Margaritas

I fell off the wagon

Pretty much any wagon I could fall of, I did. Except the one that Lindsay Lohan fell off. I'm good on that.

I've fallen off of the blogging wagon. I took my time off and now I'm having a hard time getting back on. Part of it is my blogging guilt. I feel bad posting something new when I haven't read all the entries that my friends have posted over the last few weeks. I have to admit that I'm trying to get caught up, but it's overwhelming. I subscribe to 85 blogs. That's a lot of reading! For some reason I feel guilty pressing "mark all as read" or writing a new post that I know will solicit comments when I haven't commented in weeks. But, I'm just going to push on. I'm sorry that I missed your recent posts. If you have one that I should definitely read, like say, you named a child after me or you declared a special day just for me, then let me know. I'll definitely look it up. I have scanned some posts from previous days, but didn't take time to leave a comment. For that I'm sorry. If I try to start from scratch, I think I'll do better.

I've fallen off the weight loss/control wagon. Although, I jumped back on on Monday. I started a new 12 week Body for Life challenge. I worked out on Monday, and I'm still feeling it! I am so sore. I've been doing well on my eating too. No sweets and limiting carbs. I'm not following the eating part as much this time as I went four months without watching my eating or exercising and only gained back two pounds. My goal is to lose eight more pounds, but really, I just need to tone up and feel better. I really noticed a difference when I ate crap all the time. I just didn't feel very good.

I've fallen off of the savings wagon big time. I really went overboard this Christmas. I got a lot of good deals, but I still bought way too much. And I went out the day after Christmas and bought a TON of new stuff for next year. Including my white tree. I'm so excited. It will now mean that we have three full size trees and numerous smaller trees. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. But, I'm getting back on that wagon too. Starting with not eating out and not buying anything online. I know I can do it. I'm thinking about putting a deposit down on a cruise for next year. That way I'll be forced to curb my spending and have something to look forward to.

But, there is good that's come from my break too.

I've become addicted to the Wii. Seriously. We have such a good time as a family playing it. It's just so fun. We play a lot of board games as a family, but this is so much more interactive. It's tons of fun. We just got two more remotes for a total of four so that we can all play at the same time.

I spent a lot of quality time with my kiddos. I was off for almost their whole break. We had fun playing with their toys and reading their new books. We went to Chuck E Cheese and had a "fancy" dinner on New Year's Eve. We visited a lot of family and had a lot of fun.

I started a new family website. I don't give my family the link to my blog because sometimes I need a place to vent about them. And I don't want to feel the need to censor myself. So I started a family page for pictures and videos and journal entries. My family is all on the East coast, besides my parents, so I think it'll be fun for them to be able to check in.

So, I'm getting back on my wagons. And going to go better than ever. Thanks for sticking around!

I have not dropped dead

maybe from exhaustion, but I'm still here. But, I haven't been on the computer in ages. When I'm home I try to stay off as much as possible. And I actually have already had 12 days off, and I'm working today, then 6 more days off. So, not much computer time

We had a wondeful Christmas. I have found places for most of the toys! Yay me! My parents came down yesterday for dinner and some Wii competition. Let me tell you, that thing is addictive! And so fun for the whole family. Even Xander gets in on the action. We love Mario Party 8, Rayman Raving Rabbids (thanks Bubblewench!) and Wii Sports. The first night my arm was SO sore from playing tennis. And Carissa and Daddy like to box. But, they get all sweaty and out of breath!

We had some portraits taken the day after Christmas. I haven't seen all of them, but you can get a sneak peek here. If you live in the Tucson area, I highly recommend Leah. She is just wonderful. And a lot of fun too!

On the 6th, I'll be back in action. Look for lots of meaningless posts!

So. Far. Behind.

Ugh! I'm so far behind on posting. I have awards piling up (thanks friends) and memes to do (um, yeah, thanks). But, I have been doing my Christmas baking. I made 30 loaves of bread and tomorrow will make fudge and truffles and holiday bark and rum balls. Then, next weekend, I'll make a ton of cookies. And we're going on The Polar Express on Thursday and Friday and we're having a Holiday Open House on Sunday. So, yeah, I'll see you when I see you.

But, I am currently watching the Saturday Night Light Best of Will Ferrell (who is my favorite), so I'll leave you with my favorite bit of all time. Enjoy!

Here I am

Um yeah. That's me. Notice my mad self photo taking skills? Maybe someone can give me a tutorial?

Let's start with the wedding. Good times had by all. I didn't get any of the ceremony because Jocelyn decided to walk all over the place and I needed to chase her.

Rehearsal dinner, J was a table dancer

My brother all dressed up next to the pastor.My kids and my cousins from DC. Hoarding all the bubbles.My nephew was crying when he walked down the aisle and all he wanted to do was hold Robert's hand. It was so sweet.Yikes! My 12 year old daughter next to my 22 year old cousin!Before everyone even came in she wanted to party like a rockstar!

My mom and my baby brother
Jocelyn and Popa

Jocelyn and Mima

DISNEYLAND

Xander LOVES sitting next to his brother.

Jocelyn's first ears

Dancing to her own beatHe really loves his sister!Robert got picked to be in the Jedi Training Academy. They give them a Jedi robe and a light saber and teach them some moves. Then they fight Darth Vader or Darth Maul. It was great! I'll try to get the video up soon.Trick or treating at Disneyland. TONS of fun!

We got our picture with the real Evil Queen and Jafar.
We went to The Aquarium of the Pacific one day. Here's a whole tank full of Nemo's and Dori's Petting the sharks and rays. I couldn't get Xander out of here. He loved it.And one day we went to Santa Monica Pier.

SOOOOO, if a picture's worth a thousand words then I'm all caught up after being away for two weeks, right?

Sorry

Sorry for the silence. This was me and Windows Vista the last few days.

Luckily we've worked it out and now we're like this.

Off again!

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog again! We all had this week off to recoup before the kids start school. We went to the waterpark and school open houses and shopping for clothes and supplies. Plus we watched some movies and did some all around family stuff.

Here are my Saturday pics (a few days late):

Before After

In her new birthday dress. Daddy wanted to see what she's look like with dark eyebrows!

In other news, my good friend Megan at Sorta Crunchy has nominated me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. I am honored! I don't think I give my blog enough time or attention to be deemed rockin'. Maybe it's because I have that awesome picture of my kids. Yes, I am a rocker. Yes, I did dress my four children (the youngest was just 3 months old at the time) as KISS for Halloween (my husband and I were the groupies). Yes, I've been to more rock concerts in the last 10 years than I can count. We just went to Chris Cornell a month ago! In that sense, I am rockin', so thank you Megan!

I believe I am supposed to nominate 5 people to also be deemed Rockin' Girl Bloggers. I nominate Elizabeth at The Whole Family. I have enjoyed getting to know her through her blog. I enjoy reading about her family and how similar they are to ours. Next, I choose CamiKaos
I stumbled upon her blog when we participated in a group writing project, and I've been hooked since. She has such humor in her writing. And she writes about the everyday things in her life and makes them funny and interesting. I love her style. I must also nominate Susan who I actually know "in real life". She is super rockin'. She is smart and funny and practices AP parenting. I just love her! Next, I nominate Nichole at Ornery Musings . She IS rockin'. She is a super wonderful teacher, mother and wife. And her husband plays music, so she must be rockin'!

Last, but not least, I nominate my good friend, Devon . She is damn funny. I WISH SHE WOULD BLOG MORE OFTEN (hint, hint)!

Thank you so much to Megan for nominating me. It validates my random incoherent musings!

Labels: pictures

Sorry!

I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long! My faithful readers have probably thought that I've disappeared from the face of the Earth! It actuality, we went camping for four days and then I had two days of training for work, then one sick baby and four kids home for the summer, so my ME time has been sparse. But, never fear, I will update today!

Labels: life