October fun

It's crazy to think October '14 has come and gone already. Just like the poor summer we had, fall seems to be moving along at the same fast paced speed. In and out in no time at all. Despite October being gone in a blink of an eye, it really was a very eventful and fun month!

We did have a nice day in the very beginning of the month. Almost 80* if you can believe it. I was lucky enough to have that sunny Monday off. I took our fur kids for a very fun filled afternoon at the park. We spent the afternoon running up and down the hill chasing the ball (and each other), walking around the playground and watching the young children and their parents enjoying what would probably be the last warm day of the year. We went for little walks in the woods for a little shade and a quick break for pictures. Of course an 80* day in October calls for what else?? ICE CREAM! Yes my dogs are a little spoiled and I am ok with that. When we were done at the park it was off to McDonald's for a little treat. It was a wonderful way to spend such a beautiful afternoon. I enjoyed it and I am sure the kids did as well. Especially the ice cream part.

Then comes a beautiful wedding. Good friends of ours finally tied the knot and became husband and wife. The couple was both beautiful and handsome. They were full of love for each other and it could be seen in their eyes and actions. The wedding and reception took place in the same space. It was decorated beautifully for fall and the bridal party colors, which were a sky like blue and a light orange. There was a very delish buffet style dinner with beef and turkey. The cake was adorable with fall leaves and branches on the main cake as well as cupcakes for all. They were very good. Cu-dos to the baker. The brides dress was absolutely beautiful and fit her like a glove. No tugging on the top to keep it up at all.. Thing fit her perfect. They had wooden signs guests could sign in replace of a guest book. I thought this was a very unique was for guests to give well wishes and advice. The couple will hang them up and be able to look at them for advice, insight and wonderful memories without having to look them up in a book. One of my very favorite parts of the whole wedding and reception was when the groom stood up and informed his bride where he had been planning their honeymoon. Family issues had arose before the wedding, so all planning of the honeymoon was being put off. So the bride thought. The groom actually took it upon himself to continue the honeymoon planning on his own and revealed that to his bride right before dinner. He informed her he had been working with a travel agent and they would be honeymooning to Australia for two weeks in the next year. This was so touching to me. Despite the issues going on, he took it upon himself, once things were clearing up, to surprise his bride with the trip of their lives. I am so happy for them both. They are a sweet and happy couple. I could not be more happy for them both! Congratulations on your new chapter in life together.

The happy couple.

The honeymoon reveal.

The "guest book"

Cutting the cake!

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of us from that night.

 Then, of course, there's Halloween. I have never really been into Halloween all that much. I have not dressed up since I was younger. This year we decided it would be fun to dress up again. So one day I got home from work and we decided to go pick out some costumes. We decided while we were at the store it would be fun to do couples costumes. There was so much to chose from! In the end we decided to go as the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood. I was the wolf. LOL just kidding. I will say however, do not send a color blind man to the store to find you red lipstick. This results in a phone call with a very confused guy in the make up isle. "There's all these tubes..." I eventually got him to find the lipstick. Picking out the color was all up to him. Luckily the lipstick racks had labels on them that stated what color they were. I doubt I would have gotten red if they had not been there.This little tripped proved to be more overwhelming for him than I thought it would be. The wolf costume did come with a mask, but with us going out to dinner and a party, we thought it might be best just to "make" a wolf face.  I got to glue fake hair onto Josh's face as well as cover the rest with makeup. That was fun! My costume wasn't nearly as labor intensive. I just had to do my hair, put on some makeup, and some "cuts" on my neck and chest. The wolf got a little angry with me. It was a very fun filled night with good food, lots of drinks, and great friends.

 I hope everybody had a fun and safe Halloween. I'm ready for whatever November has in store.

A few favorites.

Hey Y'all!
 Sorry about the absence lately. Life has just seemed to have gotten in the way of more enjoyable things.
Now that it is officially fall, I just thought I would share a few things that I am loving lately. Some have to do with fall, and some don't....

1. Pumpkin everything!!
    Well, Pumpkin, cinnamon, and apple! A few weekends ago I was able to come home for the Applumpkin Festival! Love this little fest! Its like a craft fair, regular fair, and a place for GREAT food!!! I love to eat, so no surprise there! Love the Apple cider, hot apple cider, and pumpkin drinks from all sorts of coffee shops (Local and big chains!) I actually am normally a Tim Hortons fan, Shout out to the BEST coffee and bake shop ever!!, However, lately I have really been enjoying some Dunkin Doughnuts Pumpkin Mocha Late.

2. Home made treats!
   Lately Pinterest has been a good friend of mine! Always is for EASY dinner ideas. But, I have been actually making some of the desserts on there! ATo my surprise, they actually are working out!!!! I have discovered chocolate peanut butter croissants. So yummy and so easy!!! All you need is the Pillsbury Croissants, I use Nutella, and peanut butter. Just spread a little Nutella and peanut butter on the croissant before rolling it. Roll it up and bake according to the directions on the croissant package. Sometimes for a little extra filling I will add a few chocolate chips. My new obsession as of last night, is EASY home made doughnuts. Now, when I say easy I mean it! Again, Pillsbury pulls through with the hard part. Get the flaky biscuits and put a hole in the center. The hole actually is needed to ensure the dough fries entirely. I know what you're thinking, I don't have a deep fryer. No worries, I don't either! All you need to do is heat up 4-6 cups in a deep enough pot or pan. You can use plain old vegetable or canola oil. Let it set on the stove for about 10 minutes on medium. To test to see if it is ready you can drop a few drops of water in it. If the oil boils a little where you dropped the water its ready. If all the oil starts to boil and sputter out then remove it from the heat, turn it down a notch or two and replace. Drop the dough into the oil and let them set for about 1-2 minutes on each side until a golden brown color. Remove from the oil onto paper towel to absorb excess. Then cover in cinnamon sugar and eat warm! So delish!

3. Fall colors and smells.
    I'm not crazy. Fall smells different. Its a woodsy smell. The trees are all in beautiful color right now. Loving the deep reds and the oranges. I love that I get to drive so much in the country to take in mother natures beauties.

Hopefully, with fall in full spring I will be able to get back to my little blog a little more. What are some of your favorite things right now?

Things have a way of moving along

My goodness! Where has the time gone? Seems like just yesterday I was SO EXCITED about my 21 Day Fix arriving in the mail! Well, those 21 days have come and gone and I am so happy with the program. I will go more into detail on all that in another post in the VERY near future.

So what has been going on? How are things? Not a whole lot new really. Here are just a few note worthy things...

1. Becoming established. It seems that since we have taken the step and moved to Sackets Harbor, life has been a whirl wind. It seems like the past few weeks we have officially settled into life here and become very comfortable. Living in the little tourist town has been so fun for summer. Now that summer is slowly (I wish it was slower! Not ready for the cold to slowly creep in.) turning into fall, it seems as though things in this town are starting to slow down as well. We have settled into a nice little routine and I think it suites us :)

2. While we're on the topic.. Bring on the pumpkin and spice and everything nice! I love pumpkin, cinnamon, spices and all the things that come with fall. I love getting all comfy warm in my soft sweat shirts and comfy pants with a book. Luckily, the weather is still nice enough I can take my little blanket outside with my furkids, curl up under a tree for some shade, and read. I'm so grateful that the days are still warm enough for shorts (Not gonna lie, I do love me some comfy, soft, warm sweat pants for the ever chillier evenings.)

3. Family weekends! Went back home last weekend for the fairs! Wyoming County fair in Pike is the best little fair ever! Yes I may be a little bias but it just is! The fair itself is mostly centered around agriculture. I love that from the day the fair opens to the day it closes there are animals at the fair. Open show horse show to start everything off the first weekend, then the week really kicks off Monday with the 4-Hers. Cows, pigs, horses, rabbits, even chickens, and home grown veggies. Yes, there are rides of course, there's the fair food, of course, but that's not what this fair is all about. It's a family friendly place. A place where agriculture is key and children are the future. I got my fried dough and my milk shake. It's not the fair without it!

At the fair tractor pull! First two tractors put it in the sand before they decided to add weight to the boat.

Then we had the church family picnic! We had a blast! My cousin was in charge again this year. She is so creative and thoughtful. I really have no idea how she thinks of everything! Anyways, we had food, we played games and we had so much fun! We played giant Jenga which was the hit of the picnic, a sawdust pit for the little kids (I got to play too! Helped my Goddaughter find coins for her piggy bank!), water balloon toss and great company!

Miss Sophia and I out enjoying the sun before the games.

Sawdust pile was a hit for this little one!

Giant Jenga was a HUGE hit! Very fun!

4. This week has been busy. We were lucky to have today off even though it was raining most of the day. We went to see "If I Stay" I highly highly recommend this movie. Really makes you think about life, love, family, and the choices we make. I have not read the book yet, but it is downloading to my Kindle as I type. I have not cried during a movie in a pretty long time. I was not the only one who was emotional in the theater. Very good movie.

But that's about it for now! I hope your summer is closing the way you like it! Enjoy the last few weeks as much as possible! I know I will be!

Exciting stuff right here!

Hey y'all!
I haven't posted in a while! It's been busy around here with trips to fairs and family visits!

I have some really exciting news! I decided with this whole health thing, I wasn't getting far on my own. I need help. (Like it would take an army to get me to really do what I want to do.) Well, I finally took the plunge and did something about it. My last post was about some new goals I had made. Well, surprise surprise, I didn't stick with them. I decided, since I can't seem to keep my motivation in sight, that maybe if I joined a group I could be held accountable.

Well, that's just what I did. A family member is hosting a challenge group for the 21 Day Fix. It is a program through Beachbody that promotes healthy eating, portion size, and exercise. (How perfect, everything I need in one program) I had seen my family members results from doing the program before and was very impressed. Then I went on Youtube and Google and saw what others had accomplished on the program. The results to me were amazing! And, to top it off, you can really eat WHATEVER you want. You can even have cookies and wine! Really, it's a TON of food! I am not worried at all that I am going to be hungry with this.  (Which is good cause nobody wants to be hungry.) I ordered a challenge pack, which comes with a 30 day supply of Shakeology, portion control containers, work out dvd's, a guide that explains everything, a 3 day quick fix, and online support for the month! I ripped my package open ASAP when it arrived just like it was Christmas. By this point I was so excited to get going! I've made a meal plan, gone shopping, and did my meal prep for the first week. Tonight we will be taking "before" pictures and measuring.

With all my excitement, it was brought to my attention that I might make a good coach. (Really? Me? a coach?) So without further delay, I have decided to become a Beachbody Coach. If I can make somebody as excited about getting healthy and being fit as I have been about this then that's even better! I still can't believe the change in my whole mentality about getting healthy.

I will be showing my progress and feelings about the program through out, and as of right now I am sooooo excited to get the show on the road and start seeing my own results. Let's do this!

The simple things....

Happy weekend!
I hope this summer weekend is filled with fun activities for everybody!
Despite the fact that I am working all weekend, we have managed to find some time to just enjoy the little things. Dinner last night at Denny's. We both decide to get breakfast food since we could! (Nothing wrong with a little breakfast for dinner right??) Then we went fishing! Love Love Love fishing on the lake in a quiet little spot. We didn't fish for too long but we did manage to catch a few little ones.. I mean really little ones.  The dogs were a little confused with the whole bobber looking like a ball but them not being allowed to go get it from the water. That was a little comical to watch them try to figure out what was going on.

We went back at it tonight but somebody got the bobber and the hook stuck. (Here's a hint, it was NOT me.) So we decided to take a walk into town together and look at some of the cute shops we haven't had the time to go in. We had salmon and sauteed peppers and onions for dinner. I am really loving the the peppers prepared that way! Throw in some garlic and onions, a little tomato, so good! All around just enjoyed each others company.

Really it's just the little things that can make and ordinary day a great day!

Man's best friend

Hi everybody,

I hope you all had a nice 4th! We sure did. My brother and his fiance came to visit. It was a wonderful surprise and although we didn't really have time to plan anything too exciting it was still very nice to have them stay with us!


 To end June we had some BEAUTIFUL weather! I was finally able to spend some time with Chance and Maggie for more than a few hours here and there. They loved it and so did I. I can't imagine not having them to be there when I get home from work, happy to see me, with their tails wagging and a toy in their mouth. I am so lucky to have two well behaved and happy dogs to come home to and to show off to the world! They really are like my best friends, always there when I need them and always there to listen. With the nice weather we went swimming (a given for these two if the weather is warm enough!) we played catch, we went for walks, and we spent lots of time outside soaking up the vitamin D every day! I am thankful for these two everyday! I cannot imagine my life without them.

I love when she looks like this, looks like she is smiling :)

If you look carefully, you will see that he has a stick and a ball in his mouth. Took him about 20 minutes to get it but he was so determined. Now he can get it in only a few tries. So Silly!

Waiting patiently

Loving the water

Happy boy!

A little OCD???

Ok, if you ask Josh I have a little OCD. (Me??? No way!) Every once in a while instead of cleaning room by room every day of the week, I go a little crazy and clean or reorganize everything! I can't stand it when things are out of place or messy for too long. I also think its a great way to figure out if we really need that extra spice rack, or that tissue box cover? I think not... Well today, my OCD has kicked into high gear. Even though we don't have a ton of "stuff" there certainly is plenty to clean. It's time to deep clean EVERYTHING!!!! Starting with the floors. You can imagine with two dogs we have some hair around. Pair it with the fact that my hair falls out on a daily basis as well..... lets just say there's some hair floating around. I am loving our Swiffer! It works awesome on our floors! it picks up all the hair that sweeping leaves behind. Floors: check.

Dishes: Check
Windows: Check
The big windows that lead to our patio happens to Maggie's favorite place to sit and "people watch" or wait for mommy and daddy to come home. As a result there is a lot of little nose marks. Though, I love her right to death I do not love the lower half of my windows slobbered and grimy. This is a daily cleaning chore for me if we want to look out our windows..
Sinks: Check
Sheets and bedding: Check
Floor mats: Check!! (This was a must do project as well!!)
Bath tub and toilet: Check
Kitchen counters and cupboards: Check


Whats left? Well, I would really like to organize the closets. (we have three so that will be fun) Then I am thinking a little shopping trip??  There are a few tiny things that would drastically help our little living space! Loving the clean smell in here and knowing that everything has been scrubbed and all shiny! After today I will continue to do my daily cleaning check list but it sure is nice, every once in a while, have a touch of OCD and really deep clean everything. Whether it needs it or not.

Health train derails.....and other snippets

Welp,
It's official. My health train has fallen off the tracks.. I've been in denial about a week and half or so about the fact that I haven't exercised lately. (Since I got kicked.) My choices in meals have not been the best either. (Does pizza and Chinese food count if I made it at home?) As a result I feel like I have really taken a step backwards. Unfortunately, I can really notice that I haven't been as active. I've been more tired and my motivation has officially stepped off the train and decided to hop on with someone else. I feel like this is my problem. My motivation is just not there.

Not for long. Starting tomorrow, I am kicking this butt into high gear!  Jillian Micheals DVD and Dance Fitness with Jessica here I come! At least I have recognized my missing motivation and my complete lack of exercise before I completely undo what I have started. (Which is a big improvement from when I normally take note and actually try to do something about it.) The original water goal is actually still going well. However, just about everything else has seemed to have wandered off with my motivation. So new goals: PORTION SIZE!!! Just because I can eat a lot in one sitting, does not mean I should. LESS CARBS. This one is going to be hard for me. Which is why I have not set a specific amount or type or whatever.. I just know that I love carbs. I know I eat a lot of them and I know that I need to cut back if I want to get that lean fit body that I am looking for. So hopefully my self control will stick with me. EXERCISE. Before I didn't have a specific number of days I worked out. Just tried to do it a few times a week. This time I'm cracking down and exercising 5 days a week. I think I am going to keep the days I have off as relax days that way when I work, I also work out and keeping track of everything. Hopefully, will be much easier. So it's time to get this train back on the tracks and moving in the right direction. Wish me luck! (And if you see my motivation running around, could you please send it back my way??)


In other news, not a whole lot going on over here. We have been trying to make this little apartment more like home. (Which takes a while when you don't have ANYTHING.) We got a beautiful new (to us) kitchen table today! I love it! Marble top with dark wood legs and black chairs. We also officially have curtains in the bedroom! Slowly moving forward! My favorite room is still the bathroom which is mostly finished. followed by the bedroom which is the next closest room to being done.


The other day I made a few of my old t-shirts into work out tanks. (One of my attempts to find my motivation again.) Actually they turned out pretty cute! (Thank you Pinterest!) I also made a beach type bag from an old t-shirt. I don't know what has come over me with being crafty lately but I kind of like it! It's fun and helps me find uses for things that I am no longer using! This little t-shirt transformation session I had has given me the courage to maybe try a bigger project?? Not sure what yet though.

 

A few of the designs I used.

Now I just need to get myself in gear to actually use the cute tanks I made!!

Tidbits of the weekend.

Happy Wednesday everybody!

I love weddings! They are so fun and I would love to be a wedding planner some day. (Maybe when I grow up.z ;) It seems like at least once a year there is a wedding in the family. This comes with having such a large and close family. This year we celebrate the marriage of my cousin and his new beautiful wife Jeffery and Kayla! Congrats to you both! The whole weekend was so much fun! (and much needed for us!) To recap:

The weekend started on Friday when Josh (I haven't really properly introduced my man to y'all. Josh is my boyfriend.) and I drove down to spend the evening with my brother and his fiance. Let me tell you! We had a blast. The night included wine, a little whiskey, pizza, and a lip synching game. SO FUN!!! I have videos but unfortunately would be in BIG HUGE trouble if I shared. If anybody has friends over and are looking for something to do, I highly recommend this "game." Basically you put music on and lip synch the words like you are singing it and dance/sing like the original artist would do. So fun. There may or may not have been some Brittney Spears, Miley Cyrus, ACDC, Keisha, and a little Broadway thrown in....

Saturday we woke up a little earlier than intended. Thank you Chance and Maggie. My brother and I decided to go get breakfast for the bf and fiance while they went back to sleep. We then ate and went to the park! Josh and my brother threw the football around occasionally tossing it to me. (I'm not horrible at it but I am afraid of the long passes since I got hit in the face a few years ago and short passes just are not as fun as long hauling ones.) Back to the apartment we went then onto the hotel where we got ready for the evening's festivities!! We only had one problem while getting ready.......... My flat iron would not curl my hair the way I wanted it to. Luckily I found and alternative hair style on Pinterest (LOVE that site!) and my brother's fiance came to the rescue and brought me a curling iron a few minutes early for picking us up so I could finish my hair. :)

On the way to the wedding! (Doesn't he look handsome?)

On to the wedding! Such a perfect day for a wedding! It was sunny and about 80. It was held at Hidden Valley Animal Adventure. It is a beautiful little place in Varysburg NY. The ceremony was very sweet. The couple exchanged their own vows and the groom's best friend was the officiant. After the ceremony, there was a wild game safari ride. They gave us cups of grain to feed all the animals and took us around on a trolly to see zebras, a camel, different types of cattle, bison, yacks, all sorts of critters. They were not afraid at all. Came right up to the trolly and opened their mouths waiting for their snack! My nieces absolutely loved it! It was a cute, unique aspect of the wedding. The decorations and decor were absolutely beautiful! (Great job to the groom's sister and mother for putting in a ton of effort! Everything looked awesome!) The food was very good, the cupcakes the groom's sister made were to die for, the dancing was great, and love was in the air! Over all a beautiful wedding and such a fun night!

My niece and I before the ceremony

Josh, myself, my brother and his fiance

Groom and mother dance

Brother, sister-in-law and niece

Brother and fiance

Us

 

 

 

 

 

Brother and date (and sister-in-law)

  

The weekend ended with a cookout on Sunday and a horse ride in the rain. It was a beautiful and very fun filled weekend. When the time came to say goodbye and head back home I was ready for a nap! I love weekends like this that are so fun you need a day to catch up from all the festivities.

Congratulations Jeff and Kayla! You both looked amazing and everybody had a blast! I

Can't wait for the next family wedding. Apparently it's my turn next? At least according to all the uncles and cousins. We'll leave that up to Josh. He knows my feelings on this :)

Bye for now!

The health train

Hey y'all!

So I've had to take a little leave of absence on my workouts this week. I work with cows on a daily basis and unfortunately was kicked pretty darn good by a heifer (female cow that has not had a calf yet for those of you not in the agriculture world). Twice, in fact. Once on the hip and then again on the thigh. I am fine, getting kicked is a part of the job. However, she got me pretty good this time.  It's the one on the thigh that has me out of commission. I have a lovely black and blue bruise as a trophy however. I am happy to report that I did go for a run on the elliptical last week for the first time in a long long time. I am definitely not where I was, nor where I hope to be, but it's a start on the right track again. 

Goal 1- Water Intake- I haven't quite reached my goal yet. The date I was hoping to reach this goal is approaching super fast. Like, this weekend fast. I know I probably wont reach it all the way but I am still proud of how far I have come. I can say without a doubt I am drinking WAY more water than I used to! Plus for me  :)  

Goal 2-Maintain Weight- I have no idea. We don't have a scale and I'm ok with that. I want to remember that my journey is not about the weight or numbers but about getting fit and a healthier life. This is hard for me to remember sometimes.

 I thought I would share with you all my favorite "workout" helper. http://www.dancefitnesswithjessica.com/              I absolutely love this girl! She's amazing!!! She shares inspirational and motivational stories and her videos range in intensity and style. I can't say enough good about her. Her style is dance fitness (hence the title) and she integrates dance moves with workout moves. They are uploaded individually so you can chose the type of song/style of dance/intensity. I try to do 7-8 songs every other day. I started out at doing only 2-3. She also has a DVD out which I haven't had the chance to order yet sadly. That's going on the to do list right meow. 

Well that's it for now. I will report updated results soon!

Some gave all

Through out the past few years the military has become a part of my
life, thanks to my boyfriend. Things I never thought of before,
recognized, or paid much attention to I now look for. It is not that I
did not have respect for those who put everything on the line for us, or
that I didn't appreciate what they have done and continue to do.
However, in a relatively short amount of time, my entire view has
changed into something more. Something I don't even know how to
describe.



For most people today is a day for fun. To be
with family and friends. For cookouts, fishing, playing baseball or
whatever sport. And that is okay. But I hope at the picnics, barbeques,
and camp outs going on today, that a moment is taken to recognize what
this holiday is really about. Today is about the people who gave all.
Today is about the soldiers who left to defend you and I, and did not
return home. Today is about their families. The loved ones they have
left behind. It is about the soldiers who came home but did not mentally
come home. For those who took their lives after returning to home soil
because of what they had seen, done, and those they had lost. To those people who gave the ultimate sacrifice, thank you. You live on in the hearts of the people you left behind.
In the combat buddies that were by your side and continue to carry your
memory with them. In the families that have lost. In the service
members who are now veterans. In those who are serving now. Your memory
lives on in the heart of America. The United States Of America is a free
country still because of your sacrifice. The words do not do what we
owe to you justice. Thank you.

A healthier tomorrow

Today is one of the 7 days (normally only get 6) off this month. And..... it's raining. Of course! I had some errands I had to do which made it ok that it is extremely soupy outside.

Ok, just one errand, which was to go grocery shopping. I am not one of those people who hates shopping. Actually, I kind of enjoy it. While shopping I am thinking of dinners that I can prepare in the coming nights ahead. I am not the best cook. I will admit it. But, I am LEARNING!! With the help of Pinterest and the Internet, I am getting there. Luckily, my wonderful boyfriend (who did I mention went to culinary school? No pressure!) doesn't ever complain and actually most nights has something wonderful to say about what I prepare. As I'm in the grocery store I am looking for things that (I think) would go together to make meals (or things I want to try from Pinterest) but are also healthy. I know many people who are on health kicks right now, myself included. I've decided that I want to be healthier, not just lose weight. (Really my goal is more toning than losing weight as well as being healthy) I am happy to report that I bought mostly very wholesome foods! While at the grocery store I notice all types of people. All I can say is even though I'm not Betty Crocker, I at least try for healthy meals and not just go for the easy to put in the microwave processed stuff. That's all I'm going to say about that.

In the past I have tried to be healthier, lose weight, look good, blah blah blah. Same old stuff that I tried doing in the past but never really stuck with it. So, I have decided to put my goals on paper, well, in writing. They say that is one of the things that can help you reach your goals. I am hoping that if I make it a regular habit of writing about my fitness journey it will help me keep on track with what my goals actually are. My sister-in-law also has set goals for herself. Around the time she did I also did. My first goal was to lose 4 pounds. I know that might not sound like much but I only weighed 108 at the time. (I am very short so keep that in mind with the numbers and goals I throw out there.) Let me just put in a disclaimer here, I do not think I am overweight. With that being said, I set the date for this goal to be reached by June 7th. (We have a wedding in the family and it was an easy date for both my sister-in-law and myself to have an event in mind.) Well by Easter of this year I had lost 6 lbs! Actually, most of that was due to getting the flu for a week and a half. It was horrible. I weighed myself two weeks after the 6 lb change and had actually lost 4 lbs for real. YAY! I reached my first goal! I called up my sister-in-law to let her know! I did it! Now all I have to do is maintain it! With her help, I decided setting a new goal for myself is the next step on my journey! My new goal is to maintain my new weight, as well as DRINK MORE WATER! I am not a water drinker. I usually only drink (milk) when I eat dinner. That's mostly where my liquid intake for the day is. Not good. I've been taking a fairly large water bottle with me to work and have a mini goal of finishing the bottle before I am done with work. To my surprise I am almost there! I'm not a huge fan of water so I have those packets that you mix into the water so it has some sort of flavor. Mini goal number 2 is to wean myself off those oh so delicious flavored drinks to just plain water. Hopefully, by June 7th I can say I am drinking 2 large bottles of water a day and still at my targeted weight for myself.   
I am looking forward to making new goals for myself as I progress on my journey to a healthier me! If anybody has any tips on helping me with my goals, any healthy (and maybe not so complicated) dinner recipes as well as cooking tips for a newbie chef I'd love to hear them!

Mother knows best..

Today is mothers day! Happy Mother's day to all moms/moms to be! We as children owe so much to you.

I know I do to my mom. She has taught me so much over the years and I am sure the learning is not over on my part. I look forward to the things I still have to learn from her. Somehow, you got all four of us kids grown up without killing each other while being a part time stay at home mom and working part time. You got us to all of our activities (maybe not always on time, but hey, at least we were there) and always supported us in the things we wanted to do (even if it meant more running and work for you.) Thank you mom, for taking care of me when I was an infant and could not fend for myself. Thank you for playing with me, braiding my hair, and teaching me all the wonderful things of the world when I was young. Most of all thank you for putting up with me in the difficult times (I know there have been many), and for not ever giving up on me. Thank you for showing me what tough love is when I need it. Most of all thank you for just being my mom. Love you!

I know I'm not an actual "mom" yet, but I still like to think of myself as a mom in some ways to my dogs and horses. They are my children in a way and I love them. I look forward to the day when it is my time to be "mom". But, for now, I am content with my fur kids.











Thank you to all moms!!! Today is your day and you deserve it!!

My little corner of the internet

Hello there!

This is totally new for me. I was reading some posts in a few blogs and loved reading them! I love reading how people's lives differ from mine, new ideas/takes on things, as well as getting to know people in different places of the world, stages in life ect. So here we go, bear with me...

My name is Elizabeth. I am a 20 something year old who grew up in a small town in Western NY. I have a fairly large family with 3 brothers, 1 sister-in-law, 2 beautiful nieces, and 3 soon to be sister-in-laws. My extended family is very large, mostly on my mother's side (go grandma! 11 kids later still kicking and looking fantastic! I hope I look as good as her at her age!) Anyways, I moved to Northern NY this past December and embarked on my new life adventure! (You will come to know that this is huge for me!) I am dating a wonderful man, who I am sure you will learn very well through the posts. Our two dogs are like our children, napping on the floor beside the bed as I am typing this.

I can't wait to share my hectic and ever changing life with you!

Bye for now.