A look back on 2011

I made some resolutions this year and thought I'd post what they were again and match them up and see how I did.

• Go at least one month without any junk food. (I'm working on being healthier and I hope that this will help curb my appetite for those things)
• Run a triathlon  (I'm also working on being more fit.  I wanted to do this last year but didn't get to)
• Run a 5k in under 38 minutes (my 5k last year was run in 44 minutes... I was out of shape and had shin splints)
• Read the Book of Mormon in its entirety.  (I suck at reading my scriptures but KNOW that I need to in order to become the better person I want to be) 
• Keep up with the house work for one month (It seriously makes me sick to have a dirty house)*Edited:  I will actively clean the house for an hour per day.  Thanks for the idea Roxanne!
• Learn a new skill (Maybe knitting, or something else, I don't know yet what exactly I will learn)
• Drop 2 pant sizes (Who doesn't want to do that??)
• And finally again thanks to Roxanne I will also work on having a date night every week. 

Here's how I did:

• The one month without junk food goal... yeah didn't happen.  I did go a week without junk food though.  I've decided that it's one of those things that is okay to indulge in.  Just not every day. 
• Run and Triathlon:  Did that one!  It was amazing!
• Run a 5k in under 38 minutes:  Didn't officially do this one.  I worked on my base mile and shaved 2 minutes off and then started feeling those dang shin splints coming back so I stopped.
• Read the BOM in it's entirety:  yeah... I probably should have re-read what my resolutions were from time to time to remember this one. Didn't happen.  I did however, read my scriptures more frequently than I have.
• Actively clean the house for an hour per day.  Check that one off the list!  DONE!
• Learn a new skill:  I learned how to make those cute flower clippies.  Not sure that counts as a skill but it's something I didn't know how to do before.
• Drop 2 pants sizes:  I dropped one!  
• And finally go on a date with Jacob every week:  Done!

So this next year 2012 my new goals will be:

• Compete in at least one 5k and work toward a 10k.
• Read from the scriptures daily
• Reach my goal weight
• Spend more time serving others
• Work on not being so quick to get angry with my children.

Here's to a GREAT 2012!

Personal Training starts... tomorrow!!!

I decided to get serious and get a personal trainer.  I start training tomorrow and I'm super nervous.  I am going to start a blog that focuses sloely on my training progress and the tricks I learn.  I met with my new trainer last week and he explained a few things to me about weight loss.  50-70% of weight loss is diet.  And there is something called a "target heart rate".  When your heart is beating within your target rate you are burning fat.  If you go above that rate you are just burning off sugar and other simple nutrients.  He said that it's good to get your heart rate up above the target rate but if you want to burn fat you need to stay within your target heart rate range.  How you figure it out is you subtract your age from 220 which is the maximum beats per minute your heart could beat when you were a newborn.  The number you get give you your current maximum heart beat.  Then you multiply that number by 60%  and that is the low end of your target heart rate.  My range is from 116-136 BPM.  I'm not sure how he calculated the high range of my target heart rate... probably just added 20 to the low number.  But I thought that was interesting information. Stay tuned for before and after pictures!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Today we celebrate the birth of my sweet husband. What I love about Jacob:

• He is kind to everyone
• He is willing to help those in need.
• He makes me laugh
• He is a wonderful father
• He puts up with my sense of humor
• His smile
• His eyes
• The way he looks at me still after almost 7 years of marriage.  
• The great support he is to me and our daughters
• That he is a great provider

I love how no matter who I talk to they only have good things to say about Jacob.  He is my best friend and I love him dearly.

Dear Emma

Today we celebrated your 5th birthday.  I can hardly believe it's been 5 years already!  You continue to amaze me with the capacity you have to love others.  You are beautiful on the inside and out.  Your love and concern for others far exceeds your years.  Your testimony of the gospel is so strong!  You are the one who always remembers we need to pray before eating and when Monday night rolls around you make sure we have Family Home Evening.  You love order and organization.  You volunteered to scrub the toilet and wipe down the table for your chores.  I love how you can keep track of things I've done better than I can.  Today I couldn't remember if I had worn a jacket to the church and you assured me that I hadn't.  You're so cute when you remind me of things.  Everyone always comments on how well behaved you are and how sweet you are.  You are very soft spoken and I'm consistently having to tell you to speak up.  I hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the butt!  Lately you have become concerned with others actions when they don't act in an appropriate way towards you or someone else.  We've had many long and in depth discussions about how to treat other people and I love that you listen and take the things we discuss and put them to action.  The world needs more people like you in it.  I hope that you will always be kind to everyone around you and befriend those who need a friend.  Always remember that everyone has a story and we need to not judge them.  I'm grateful every day that Heavenly Father sent you to our family. Your smile makes me smile.  I love that you still want to sit and snuggle with me.  I hope that will continue into your teenage years.  You are a wonderful, beautiful and intelligent little lady.  Always remember that you are of Divine heritage and therefore a princess of your Heavenly Father.  Daddy and I love you so much!

Some things you are interested in this year:

• Barbies
• Coloring (you have started trying to stay in the lines and use different colors to show greater detail in your pictures)
• T-ball (we had you try T-ball this year and you are so excited to play again next year)
• Reading!  You are sounding out words and with a lot of encouragement are reading simple books.  We have you read a sentence and go back and ask you questions about what you just read.  You are for the most part able to read and comprehend what you just read.  It may take you a couple times of re-reading to understand it but that's the hardest part of reading.
• Dancing.  You love dancing to music.

Thoughts

I can not tell you the number of people that have been asking me "when's the next one coming"?  It really frustrates me when this question comes up.  I don't know why people feel the need to ask it.  What if the person you are asking is struggling to get pregnant?  Or what if their marriage is falling apart?  You never know a person's personal circumstances and so I'm always troubled when people ask me this question.

Now I am not struggling to get pregnant nor is my marriage falling apart but I do have a fear of being pregnant again.  Let me re-phrase that.  I have a fear of delivering a baby again. I have a text book pregnancy.  I LOVE being pregnant.  I would be 9 months pregnant the rest of my life if it meant I didn't have to deliver.  Now I have friends (many of them) who have way worse deliveries than I do and who have health problems during their pregnancy.  I was in labor with Emma for 22 or 23 hours (the details are kind of fuzzy now).  During that time I had to be put on antibiotics because I developed a high fever.  After all that time going through labor my wort nightmare happened.  I had to have a c-section.  Emma was stuck in my pelvis.  I absolutely did not want a c-section.  I would've rather died than had one (which would've happened if I hadn't given in).  When the doctor came in to prep me for the c-section and gave me the epidural increase I SWEAR he had taken off with my feet.  I was screaming and trying to get out of the bed to go after him (and apparently according to Jacob I almost succeeded in getting out of the bed).  I could not feel anything from my chest down and I hated it.  I kept having Jacob touch my feet and show me my feet and even though I could see that my feet were still intact I did not believe it.  I continued to hyperventilate all the way down the hall and into the operating room.  I was out of control.  I couldn't tell if I was breathing or not.  I could see my chest rise and fall but since I couldn't feel from my chest down I was freaking out that I wasn't breathing.  It's find of funny to look back now when I think about this because of course I was breathing but at the time I was afraid I was going to die.  Finally one of the nurses made eye contact with me after they had strapped me down to the operating table and said "Jennifer, you need to calm down".  After that I snapped out of it and lay still for the rest of the operation.  Scariest moment of my life to that point.

Fast forward to my second pregnancy.  I was determined to have a VBAC.  I did not want to go through that hell again.  I hated the recovery time for the c-section.  And I was afraid that even though this time around they would schedule the c-section I would still think the doctor stole my feet when the epidural hit me.  I went in to be induced with Linnea and had the doctors coming in every half hour and reading me the risks of the VBAC and asking me if I wanted to continue.  I'm a very stubborn person and despite the risks (which to me weren't good enough) decided to continue on.  I had a text book labor.  The delivery went smoothly.  I only pushed for half an hour and my baby was in my arms.  A couple hours later I called the nurse because I thought I needed to pee.  The nurse came in and told me I shouldn't need to but I insisted that I had pressure in that area so she helped me out of bed.  On the way to the bathroom I passed 5 clots the size of a large grapefruit. I passed 2 more in the toilet.  I was hemorrhaging and I was fading fast.  I still remember the feeling of knowing I was going to pass out and trying to prevent it.  Thank goodness the nurse that was holding me up kept talking to me and making me look her in the eye.  I ended up not passing out after all.  There were at least 10 nurses in my room when I went back to my bed.  The doctor came in and told me he needed to check my c-section scar to make sure it hadn't ruptured.  I thought he meant from the outside of my body.  Oh no.  He meant from the inside.  He proceeded to shove his hand up there and feel around to make sure everything was alright. I tried so hard not to cry or make a big fuss.  The doctor kept apologizing to me and I kept repeating over and over out loud "It's okay.  It's going to be okay".  Thank goodness nothing was wrong up there. 

Which brings me to this point in my life.  No I am not pregnant but I would love to have another baby.  I'm sure that in the near future we will be trying for another one because it's time.  But that doesn't take away the fear I have of delivering a baby.  Do I try again for a VBAC or have a scheduled c-section?  If I go with the VBAC option then I risk having an Emma incident over again.  I also risk hemorrhaging again. 

Need to get it off my chest

I have felt frustrated all day long today.  I'm probably being overly sensitive (it is almost that time of the month) but I'm just tired of people feeling sorry for me and then not offering to have me come over.  Now I know that most people probably don't know what to do to help someone out whose husband is not at home so I can't get too upset, but I hope that by writing this it will help someone else down the road help someone else.  When your husband is gone it gets lonely.  The next time you come across someone who has a spouse gone don't just give them an apologetic smile.  Invite them over to hang out, for dinner, for something.  Just because you see them out and about during the day doesn't mean they aren't lonely. If you are thinking about them during the day call them up and tell them and invite them over.  If you're thinking about them chances are they need someone. 

Life without my better half

Jacob has been gone for 2 weeks now on our second round of him working in Canada.  I can not tell you how amazing this experience is.  The first time he was gone it was horrible.  The girls and I all cried multiple times a week and I felt so alone and helpless.  This time around on the other hand is night and day from the last.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude for pretty much everything in my life.  My family and friends are amazing.  When we moved here I knew we had moved for a reason.  We bought the house we did in the ward we did for a reason.  I knew as soon as we pulled up to our home while we were house hunting that it was the house we needed to buy.  It was plain as day and an amazing feeling.  As the years go by (going on 4 in March) I am seeing more and more why we were placed here.  The people that I am surrounded by are some of the most giving and spiritual people I've ever met.  Our ward is one who would do ANYTHING for one another and they do do anything.  There is something to be said about having regular family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, weekly date nights, personal prayer and scripture study and couples prayer and scripture study.  Jacob and I are horrible at reading our scriptures together and on our own.  As a family, we are spot on.  We do everything the prophet has asked us to do as a family and we do it on a daily or weekly basis depending on what it is.  Personal and couple things however... yeah, not so much(except date nights.  We've got that one down). But this time around Jacob and I both sat down and promised to read scriptures and says our prayers every day and when he calls every night, even though we only get to talk for 10 minutes we each take a few seconds to talk about what we read the night before and what we thought about it. I know without a doubt that this alone has helped things not suck this time around.  I know the Lord blesses those who do all they can do follow His commandments.  In no way are we perfect.  Our marriage has more than it's fair share of hiccups but I know that as we have built up our spirituality things have gotten better.  All the things we are good at now were a huge struggle for us to do regularly.  And as we kept trying and failing in those things the Lord knew our hearts and as we have become stronger the blessings have been poured on us.  I can't wait to see the people and family we become and pray that we can keep up this momentum. 

Grateful

We have been flooded with blessings lately and my heart is so full!  This whole year Jacob's work has been super slow.  Money has been tight but we are making it through.  The blessings that come from paying tithing truly are there.  Not once have we had to dip into savings and to me that is a huge miracle.  Jacob and I have become so much closer through this.  We have continued to go on dates but with the lack of money we have swapped babysitting with some friends and then gone on bike rides together or hikes.  It has done wonders for our relationship.  Before we were going to dinner and a movie which is good to do too but for us I've learned that we connect more when we do active things together.  We both love being outside so it works out perfectly. 

I have been going through a big transformation since the beginning of the year too.  With every pound I lose I feel like I'm gaining my life back.  I told Jacob tonight on our date that it feels like I've been asleep for the last 4-5 years and I am starting to wake up.  A lot has happened in my life up until this point.  A lot of it I'm not comfortable talking about but it has all shaped me into a new and improved person.  The trials that have come my way have been very challenging and I'm not out of the woods yet with some of them but I am seeing the Lord's hand in them more and more and am so thankful for this learning experience I have been given.

My brother and best friend has just asked his amazing girlfriend to marry him and I am so excited for them!  I love my brother dearly and am so grateful to see him so happy.  I look up to him and love the relationship that we have with each other.  We fought like cats and dogs as kids but now we are the best of friends.  I just really love him. :)

Jacob is going to be leaving for Canada in a couple weeks for a couple weeks.  Then he will be back for about a week and then gone for 6 more weeks.  During this time we've learned that we will have almost zero contact.  It's going to be hard but I believe that is why we have grown so close together lately is to help us both through this time. It is going to be a great experience for him and I am so thankful for that.

Life right now is so unpredictible and crazy but somehow I am at complete peace. I am grateful for the area we live in and for the people we have met and have welcomed us into their lives. I'm grateful for such a wonderful and amazing husband.  He is my best friend and my biggest fan.  And I really love my mom and dad and am so thankful for their love and support too.  They all help me get through the rough patches in life. 

Recipes

I came across these recipes and needed to put them somewhere where I will remember them.

Almond Joy Cake 

Magic in the Middle Cookies

Key Lime Bars

Linnea Turned 2!

I can't believe I'm a mom to a 4 1/2 year old and a 2 year old.  I don't know where the time went.  Linnea's birthday party was Cookie Monster themed.  She loves Cookie Monster (and cookies).  The cake was really fun to decorate and only took me half an hour.  Emma's Sesame Street cake that I did for her second birthday took me 7 hours!  The kids had a lot of fun running around the backyard, coloring with sidewalk chalk and eating cake and ice cream.  I made English Muffin pizzas for lunch and they had blue milk to drink with it.  The blue milk was a big hit.  For the decorations I bought some balloons off of Ebay (A big Cookie Monster, 2 chocolate chip cookie balloons and some blue and brown balloons) and had the local party store fill them, put up blue and white streamers and blew up 50 blue and white balloons and had them all over the floor.  Then since Linnea was only turning 2 her friends came over and they just played in the backyard.  Super low key and easy.  Happy Birthday Linnea!

In other news, work has slowed WAY down for Jacob and it's not looking very good for the rest of the year.  Lucky for us though there is work up in Northern British Columbia on a copper mine and so he will be heading up there to work.  We aren't quite sure how long he will be up there (he thinks between 2 and 4 weeks) and how long he will be home in between his off days but we are just thankful that he will be working.  We've done this before so I kind of know what to expect and I am having a hard time complaining because it's work and we need it.  The only thing that really sucks is we were going to run a sprint triathlon together on the 2nd of July and now he won't be here to race with me.  He is my major support through this whole thing so I've taken a bi emotional hit with that.  But in the end I think it will be good for me to race it without him.  It will prove to me that I can do it.  I just really wish he was going to be there.  We were going to stick together during the race and that was a big comfort to me.  I will just have to get over my fear now.

Random funny memories from when I was a kid

For those of you who don't know, I grew up on a small family farm.  A lot happens on a farm some sad, some funny and some gross.  I was just thinking about being a kid the other day as I was digging in the yard and my neighbor called over the fence "Wow!  You've used a shovel before!  I haven't seen anyone attack the ground with a shovel like that in a long time." It's true, I have used a shovel before.  My parents bought an old 1920s farm house when I was going into 3rd grade and fixed it up.  I remember one VERY rainy day being outside with my dad digging out a foundation so we could add on to the house.  We were drenched and we were digging.  I was in 4th grade.  The cement truck was coming in the morning and we needed to dig down x amount of feet and across x amount of feet.  We had started the day before but the cows had gotten out so we had to round them up and mend the fence.
Another time I remember using a shovel was when we were digging out the porch.  The porch that was on the origional house was crap.  So dad was going to build a covered porch that went the length of the house.  So there we were again.  Mom, dad Tyler and myself digging out another foundation for a porch.  I was in 7th grade.  Tyler was really pissing me off and it just so happened that he walked behind me as I was throwing a shovel full of dirt behind me.  The blade of the shovel hit his eye and cut it open.  Work stopped while a trip to the Urgent Care was taken.
That wasn't the only time Tyler walked by me while I was shoveling and regretted it.  He and I were cleaning out the hog barn one Saturday morning when I was in 7th or 8th grade (he was in 4th or 5th).  I reached back and got a heaping pile of pig poop and swung back around to hurl it out of the barn and down the hill.  At that very moment Tyler walked in front of me and saw that I was in the process of hurling the shovel.  He opened his mouth to yell at me to wait and a big pile of pig poop went right in his mouth.  While he ran to the house crying like a little girl I continued to shovel the poop all while laughing my head off.
There was another time when I was a sophomore in high school that I went with my dad to get a couple cows.  One of the cows was PISSED and did not want to go in the trailer.  How we corralled him in there is a mystery to me but we got him in and he thrashed around in that trailer the whole way home (about 40 minutes from the place we got him to the pasture).  As soon as we opened the trailer door that cow barreled out and went right through the high voltage electric fence and down the road.  Un. Believable.  So dad yells at me "Don't lose sight of that blankity blank cow!" So I take off running after the cow who is by now making his way into the woods.  Dad unhitched the trailer, grabbed his gun and drove after me.  I stopped at the edge of the tree line and waited for dad.  He got out of the truck with his gun and we went looking for the cow.  We found him and dad held his hand up for me to back off a bit.  So I took a couple steps back while dad took aim and shot that stupid cow dead.  Now we had a dilemma.  How to get that cow out of the woods.  The truck had 4 wheel drive luckily so dad blazed a trail through the woods and got as close to the cow as possible.  Great.  Now what?  We tied a rope around the cow and tried to pull it up.  We got it about 10 feet to a tree and stopped.  Then dad called his buddy who came with a come along and pulley system.  They set up the pulley on the tree branch and lifted the cow up into the air. Dad backed the truck up under the cow and the cow was lowered into the truck.  The thing was so long that we couldn't shut the tailgate.  So then dad and I were off to the butchers (in downtown) so he could skin and cut up the meat.  The cows tongue was hanging out of his mouth and blood was dripping from the bed of the truck as we pulled up to the butchers store.  I was mortified! I'm pretty sure I hid my head the whole way there.  Never mind that the truck we were driving there was the truck I drove around and to school with and if anyone I knew saw it they would've known it was me.
Some other funny memories I have are of my dad sticking his shot gun out the kitchen window and blasting the crows that were eating the corn out of the garden.  Every once in a while I would come down the stairs to dad, shot gun in hand  trying ever so carefully to open the kitchen window without making a sound.  (The screen on that window was just left off for such an occasion).    Then he would whip his gun out the window and BAM!  A couple crows would fall while about 20 others would scatter and fly away.  He would do the same thing off the dining room window with the barn rats.  If you've never seen a barn rat you are missing out.  These things are the size of a cat.  I remember being out back playing with my brothers and coming across a dead barn rat that was missing a head.  Tyler and I would look at each other and shake our heads and laugh looking towards the dining room window.
I always joke around about how much my life sucked as a kid because I could never go out and do what I wanted to but you know what?  It's okay because if I had done whatever I wanted I wouldn't have these stories to share with you.  Theses are only a few of the stories that come to mind but I have many many more and as they surface I will be sure to write them down and share them.  I look back on these stories and it makes me laugh.  I had a great childhood.  It may not have been ideal to me at the time but now looking back I wouldn't have it any other way.

Stuff

Linnea has started talking a lot more lately.  I love it!  I am not the type of mom who really enjoys the baby phase.  I love how silly they are and how snuggly they are but I can't stand the not knowing what they want thing.  And this phase that Linnea is in is exciting and frustrating because I can understand most of what she is saying but when I don't understand her she can get pretty ticked.  She is usually very patient with me but sometimes that Swedish blood runs strong through her veins. Linnea's sense of humor cracks me up!  She is so goofy.  We went to the circus about a month ago and she laughed her head off during the clown act.  I was relieved that one of my kids gets that kind of humor.  (Emma didn't find it funny at all).  Linnea is for the most part a very happy little girl.  She stands up for herself and has been known to make Emma cry from pushing her off of the piano bench.  How my little Linnea does that to her big sister is beyond me.  She's a feisty one.  It's been hard trying to figure out the right way to discipline her because what works for Emma doesn't work for Linnea. 

Emma is getting to be such a big girl!  She has lost 2 teeth already and looks so cute with her toothless smile.  She is getting really good at cutting things.  The other morning when I was teaching preschool we did a review on shapes.  I had them cut out a bunch of different shapes and glue them on a paper and then I put clear contact paper over them to make place mats.  One of the shapes was a star and most of the kids butchered it but Emma cut it out perfectly!  I was way impressed/shocked that she did it.  Jacob has also been going outside with her when he gets home and throwing pitches to her and she's been hitting them with her baseball bat.  She is a very loving big sister and friend and a great helper to her mommy.  Emma is my rule follower.  If anything happens that isn't supposed to she freaks out. (Not really a good thing if you ask me).  Before I close the door at night to the girl's room she asks me what we are going to do when we wake up.  So I tell her and then she asks what we are going to do after that and after that and after that. The girl wants to know exactly what is going to happen in her life.  I've tried to break her of that cycle because I know down the road it's going to cause some serious problems. 

A new outlook

Since I started back up on Weight Watchers (my second time) I have had such an attitude adjustment.  Before joining again I had been going to the gym 5-6 days a week consistently for a year.  In that year I lost 12 pounds.  And I gained 5 of those back over Christmas.  I didn't adjust my eating habits at all in that year of going to the gym.  Now that I have joined Weight Watchers and have continued going to the gym 5-6 days a week consistently my results have been amazing.  I have lost almost 19 pounds in 14 weeks.  The last time I was on weight watchers I lost 21 pounds in 16 weeks and I was 7 pounds lighter than when I started this second time.  My attitude when joining the first time was that I was going to do this program until I got down to my goal weight and then I'd be done and wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. 

The more I do the program now and the more I exercise the more I realize that weight has become a serious problem for me.  One that I will never be able to take a break from.  I will always need to watch what I eat and I will always have to exercise.  There are classes at the gym that I go to strictly because of the health benefits.  If I had my way I would just do Cardio classes but a complete workout program isn't complete without resistance training and flexibility training.  So I go and do my weight lifting class and I need to start doing a yoga class and while I do sometimes enjoy these classes, I get tired of them very easily.  But I have decided that it's just one of those things in life that you have to do because it's good for you.  Luckily there is always good music to listen to that goes with these classes so if anything I'm getting to listen to good music.

I was telling Jacob the other night that my new outlook on life is you HAVE to watch what you eat and you HAVE to exercise.  Even if you don't want to, you just have to do it.  And it doesn't have to be anything major.  Going for a walk with the kids (or by yourself) is better than doing nothing.  The point is to be moving more than you normally would during the day and eventually it will become fun and it will become something that you will look forward to.  I absolutely love exercising now but it has taken a year of me making myself go even when I didn't want to to get to the point that I'm at.  When I wake up in the morning I feed the kids breakfast and then I am getting in the car and heading to the gym.  It's gotten to the point that if I miss a workout in the morning (which happens a lot but that's okay) I make time either in the afternoon or evening after the kids are down to go and get a workout in.  Sometimes it's only 20 minutes and sometimes I get my hour in but if I don't make the time during the day for a workout I am crabby and I physically feel like crap.

I really wish I had people who would go to the gym with me consistently but I have made friends with the instructors of the classes that I go to and they make sure to give me a hard time when I miss (per my request).  I've learned that I have to be held accountable to someone beside myself for my exercise and for my weight loss.  I know that every week I am going to walk up to a scale with someone else looking at my number and that is enough motivation to keep up with it.  Now I'm not saying everyone needs to go out and join weight watchers in order to have someone accountable to but if we ever get to the point where we don't have the money to do Weight Watchers I am going to have a friend come or go to their house once a week and have them watch me weigh in. 

This whole journey that I'm on has been such an eye opener to how I work and how I think.  I feel better physically, mentally and spiritually.  I am beginning to feel like I have my life back in control.  And I've also learned that it's okay to have a couple REALLY bad days in the week.  You just workout a little harder and eat better the rest of the week.  I am trying to not beat myself up anymore over a candy bar or a couple cookies (or a couple dozen... yeah that was a couple weeks ago).  Anyway, I did not intend for this post to be such a long one. 

More and more recipes

I have been SO hungry lately!  And hungry for new dishes.  This week I'm making all new recipes for dinners.  But let's start with dessert first.  There is a recipe for key lime bars.  They look and sound fantastic!  Next on the list is enchilada casserole, honey lime enchiladas, peanut sesame chicken, avocado chicken salad, and southwestern sandwiches.


I am in the mood for peanut buttery things and Mexican food.  Maybe I'm missing something from my diet.  I've also been eating salads and apples for lunch.  Apparently my diet is not as balanced as it should be since I'm craving all of these things.  Maybe it's the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that I made yesterday and ate like 7 of.  

World's Best Dinner Rolls

So I haven't made these before but judging from the picture I am certain these very well could be the world's best.  I may have to make them for Easter and see if they are!

Stuff

I haven't posted in a few days so I thought maybe I should.  Last night I threw together some ingredients for dinner and it tasted so good!  I had some hamburger that needed to be used so I browned it up, added some spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese, some cottage cheese that needed to be used up, garlic, salt and pepper.  Then I cooked up some bow tie pasta and added it in, put it in a 9x13, topped it with some mozzarella cheese and baked it at 350 until it looked good.  Then I broiled it to get the cheese crispy and it was so yummy! 

Jacob got the garden tilled up and we went to Home Depot to get some manure to mix in.  So now the plot is all fixed up and ready for some seeds.  We are planting this weekend! 

Linnea has an ear infection and has been super cranky.  I'm hoping that it goes away soon. We took her to the doctor and they weighed her and she's only 20 pounds!  She turns two the end of May.  Linnea may be tiny but she is such a handful! 

Here are the girls playing Just Dance 2.  They love playing it together!

Emma went in for her 4 yr check and is 37 pounds and 37 inches.  She's doing awesome with everything and I can't wait for her to be in kindergarten.  Too bad her birthday makes it so she can't go until the following school year.

I've lost 13.2 pounds so far! I'm getting pretty excited.  My smaller clothes are starting to fit and I'm feeling better about myself.  Hopefully I can start really training for this triathlon in July.  It feels good to be working towards such a hard goal.

Weekly Weigh In

I lost .6 pounds this week.  10.6 total.  It was a super crazy week food wise.  I worked out like crazy, stayed within my points range for everything and was still starving.  I was actually surprised that I lost any weight at all.  I was craving peanut butter bars and lemon bars all week and when I went to my Weight Watchers meeting I found these peanut butter bars and these lemon pie bars.  They are AMAZING!  Totally filled the void of my craving.  My tummy is very happy right now.  Hopefully this week will be better than the last two.  I've lost 1 pound total the last week and that's kind of frustrating. 

Here come some recipes!

Since it's been forever since I've posted a new recipe I'm going to over compensate with a few.  Here you go!
 Raspberry Truffle Brownies (Taste of Home):
I haven't made this before but doesn't it sound amazing!?

Ingredients

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 
  FROSTING:
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 fresh raspberries

Directions

• In a microwave, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Stir in chocolate mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to chocolate mixture just until combined. Gently fold in raspberries.
• Spread into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not over bake). Cool on a wire rack.
• For frosting, in a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate, cream and jam. Microwave at 50% power for 2-3 minutes or until smooth, stirring twice. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in vanilla. Place in a bowl of ice water; stir for 3-5 minutes. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form.
• Cut a small hole in a corner of a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; insert #825 star tip. Fill with 1/2 cup frosting. Spread remaining frosting over brownies. Cut into 12 bars. Pipe a chocolate rosette in the center of each brownie; top with a raspberry. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until frosting is set. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 1 dozen.

Editor's Note: This recipe was tested in a 1,100-watt microwave.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 273 calories, 16 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 76 mg cholesterol, 169 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Crock Pot Lasagna (Taste of Home)
I'm making this for dinner tonight so I'll let you know how it tastes later.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (29 ounces) Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 package (8 ounces) no-cook lasagna noodles
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well.
• Spread a fourth of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5-qt. slow cooker. Arrange a third of the noodles over sauce (break the noodles if necessary). Combine the cheeses; spoon a third of the mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce.
• Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 slice) equals 482 calories, 20 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 84 mg cholesterol, 1,317 mg sodium, 36 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 38 g protein.

Pork Loin Chops with Cinnamon Apples (Cooking Light Weeknight)

I made this for dinner about a week ago and used pork tenderloin because it was what I had in the fridge.  Everyone loved it.  I served it with some rice on the side as well and some green beans.

1 tsp dried rubbed sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 (4oz) boneless center cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 in. thick)
1/2 tsp canola oil
Cooking Spray
1 tsp butter
4 cups sliced granny smith apples
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 tp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
dash of salt

Combine the first 3 ingredients and sprinkle over pork.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.  Add pork, cook 3 minutes on each side or until done.  Romove pork from pan.  Cover and keep warm.  Melt butter in pan over med. heat.  Add apple and next 4 ingredients and cook 5 minutes or until apple is tender, stirring frequently. Serve with pork.  Yield: 4 servings (serving size is 1 pork chop and 3/4 cup apple mixture)

Smoked Paprika Pork Chops with Bell Pepper and Corn Relish (Cooking Light Weeknight)

 I made this for dinner last night and it was a HUGE hit.  The flavors are amazing and it smells so good cooking.  And is SUPER quick and easy to make.  No picture for this one.  Sorry!  It got eaten too fast!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 teaspoons bottled minced fresh ginger
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 (15.5 oz) can no salt added whole kernel corn, drained
1 tsp cider vinegar
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper, divided
1 1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
4 (4oz) center cut boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
Cooking Spray

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add onion and ginger and saute 2 minutes or until tender.  Add bell pepper and the next 3 ingredients and cook 3 minutes or until bell pepper is tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in vinegar, 1/4 tsp sale, and 1/8 tsp pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Spoon relish into a bowl.

Combine remaining 1/2 tsp sale, remaining pepper and paprika, sprinkle evenly over pork.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Ad pork to pan and cook 4 minutes each side or until done.  Serve with relish.  Yield 4 servings (Serving size is 1 pork chop and about 1/3 cup relish)

This is 7 weight watchers points for those of you who are on weight watchers.

Ramen Stir-Fry (Betty Crocker's Healthy New Choices)
Jacob made this for dinner the other night and it was amazing!

1 pounds beef tenderloin boneless (we used a sirloin steak)
2 cups water
1 package (3oz) Oriental flavor ramen soup mix
1 bag (16oz) refrigerated stir fry vegetables (Jacob used fresh broccoli, red pepper and carrots)
1/4 c stir-fry sauce (did anyone know this existed??  Well it does)

Remove fat from beef.  Cut into thin strips.  Spray 12in nonstick skillet with cooking spray; over medium high heat.  Cook beef in skillet 3-5 minutes until brown.  Remove from pan.  Heat water to boiling in skillet.  Break up noodles from soup mix into water, stir until slightly softened.  Stir in vegetables.  Heat to boiling.  Boil 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender.  Stir in contents of seasoning packet from soup mix, stir fry sauce and beef stirring frequently until hot.  Yield: 4 servings

Weekly Weigh in

I lost .4 pounds this week!  So that makes it an even 10 pounds of weight gone.  I was sick this week and didn't get to exercise nearly as much as I normally do so I was really nervous that I didn't lose any weight.  So I was glad to see a negative number.  5 more pounds until I start running again!  Can't wait!

Feeling inspired

This last week I have had a few women come up to me and tell me that I've inspired them to exercise and/or to try and keep up with me.  I was shocked when I heard this because all of the women who have come up to me are women that I'm trying to "keep up with".  After my spin class this morning one of my gym buddies came up and said "Wow!  You are doing AWESOME!  I kept watching you today and telling myself that I had to keep up with you."  It's humbling to know that there are women out there who are feeling inspired to get up and go.  My life is so much better now that I've decided to take control and get my body and mind back to where they once were.  I am so tired of being the fat chick.  I'm tired of being the has been or the wanna be.  I'm tired of looking back on my teenage years with fondness and not being able to just enjoy what is right in front of me. 

My teenage years are no longer my best years.  My best years are still to come.  I am at a much higher fitness level than I was at 16 and I am 70 pounds heavier than I was at 16.  This July when I kill my triathlon I am doing it for a lot of reasons. I am doing it for those who don't think they can get back into shape, for those who have told me that I can't do it either by their words or their body language, and I am doing it for my Grandma who I lost 3 years ago.  She had a heart condition and it ended up killing her.  She always made it to all my sporting events and band activities.  Even most of my swim lessons.  She taught me to play baseball and to hold my head high.  She taught me to never let anyone make me feel stupid or incapable.  She taught me what family was and is all about and to cling to them for dear life.  When I'm in the gym doing my spin classes or my weights classes sometimes I can hear her on the side lines yelling at the top of her lungs "Let's go Jennifer!  Pick up the pace!" 

I am working on improving myself so that I can feel better and maybe a part of me wants to be able to rub it in the faces of those who have made me feel like less of a person.  I am stronger than all my adversaries and instead of letting them in my head they are now my fuel that keeps me going.  I take them one at a time and beat the crud out of them for an hour a day 6 days a week.  Another great thing that has come from this is I have grown to appreciate the Sabbath day.  I truly enjoy my day of rest and being able to relax with my family.  They are my everything.  We have such a loving Father in Heaven how in His all knowing has given us people in our lives to help us through our times of sorrow and happiness.  I am beginning to understand His love for me and why He gives us the commandments that he does.  As I improve my body, my mind and spirit are improving and my eyes are being opened to what is around me.  I am so grateful for this journey that I am on and for those around me who help lift me up and keep me going. 

New favorite recipe website.blog thingy

I just discovered a new blog with from what I have seen has the most amazing recipes EVER.  And they look pretty dang easy to make.  So head here for that website!  I'm so hungry now looking at all these recipes. 

Weekly weigh in

I lost 3.8 pounds this week!  I was afraid I wasn't going to lose any because I wasn't totally sure if I had tracked my points right.  So that's 9.6 pounds total.  Needless to say I am stoked!

This last week...

This week has been a messy/sleepy week.  We've gotten a lot done around the house and as you can see the girls have been worn out.  (And we have a thing with elephants in our house. Linnea loves them and Emma has decided that they are pretty cool too).

Weekly Weigh in

I lost 1 pound this week!  I'm 5.8 pounds lighter!  But I'm just going to say it's an even 6.  I can't wait to look better.  There are some people who have only known me being overweight and I hate that.  I was a pretty skinny kid growing up until I left for college.  9 more pounds until I start running again!  I can see changes in my attitude and my physical abilities. I am exercising 5-6 times a week for 1 sometimes 2 hours each.  It makes me super hungry but I am learning how much and what is okay to eat.  Fat free sugar free pudding is my favorite sweet snack of choice.  Apples are on top of the list as well and I usually eat one for breakfast before I workout. Then as a snack after the kids go down I have a slice of bread with peanut butter topped with sliced bananas.  It's so good and I only get to eat it if I have the points at the end of the day. (It's worth 7 points which is the same as most candy bars).  I'm still working on getting all of my fluids in during the day.  I got 5 of 7 days with all my fluids so this week I'm shooting for 6 days.

Weekly Weigh in

I lost 2 pounds this week!  I'm so excited.  4.8 pounds total gone.  10.2 pounds to go until I attempt running again, and hopefully 25 pounds to lose total before my Triathlon in July.  60 pounds more to lose for my goal weight.  I can't wait til I drop a pant size.  It should be coming soon since when I started I was in between sizes.   I didn't do very well with my goal last week of drinking the amount of liquid I need per day so this week we will work on that again.

New Year's Resolution update

So by now most people have dropped their resolutions so I thought I'd check in with mine.  I feel that I've done a good job.  Except for the 1 month of no junk food.  I lasted 5 days.  And I think I'm going to throw that one out the window.  I've decided to allow myself junk food but in moderation.  I have discovered fat free sugar free instant pudding and I am in heaven! Jacob and I have not missed a date night yet.  This weekend we are going to a hockey game.  Our first!  I'm doing much better at keeping up with the housework.  My fitness goals of running the triathlon and improving my 5k time are going well.  I can register on the 1st for the triathlon.  I'm going to the gym 4-6 times per week and have started switching up my routine.  I love how I feel when I workout.  I was a very active child/teenager and it feels so good to be getting back into that.  So here's to more success in this coming year!

Top 10 Newbie Tips for a Personal Best | Page 2 | Active.com

Top 10 Newbie Tips for a Personal Best | Page 2 | Active.com

Weekly weigh in

This week I thought I did awesome.  I did one more class at the gym than I did the week before, I cut back on eating junk... I still ate it but I really watched what I was eating.  I didn't use up all my weekly points either.  So why in the heck did I gain 1.4 pounds??  Seriously!!??  Oh man I was/am pissed! But apparently being on your period makes you gain weight.  Who'da thunk it?  So yes I am discouraged but I am going to continue to do what I've been doing and someday the scale will show it.  This week I am focusing on getting enough water in during the day.  I think this may have been part of the problem this week as well.  I suck at drinking.  So here's to a new week!

2 posts in one day!? What!?

So I've been thinking about my wonderful husband  a lot lately.  It could be that our anniversary is coming up in April, or the anniversary of the day he proposed to me is also coming up (Feb 15th.  Smart man).  But I have realized more and more just what an amazing husband I have.  We have been through some sticky mud together and our relationship continues to need mending but I love him with all my heart.

I was reading his patriarchal blessing today (which he had lost and just ordered another copy after a few years of searching) and was brought to tears reading about what the Lord had to say about him.  He got his blessing after we got married and before we went to the temple.  What an amazing man!  I knew from the moment I saw him that something was very special about him and now I know there is more than one something that's special. We in no way have the perfect marriage, but we have our love of the Lord and each other and it keeps us going.  He helps keep me in line when I start to get mad at the kids and I keep him in line when he gets mad too.  We are so open and honest about everything and I love that I can tell him when he's pissing me off and he listens and works it out with me.  And he tells me when I piss him off and we talk through it as well.  If you haven't met Jacob you are missing out!  Okay, bragging is now over. :)

Silly Sisters

Linnea is really into shoes right now.  She needed a little help walking from her big sister.

Both girls sat on Emma's bed and read stories together for over an hour the other day.  I got so much laundry done!

Who loves flour??

Linnea does!

My weekly weight check in

I went to weigh in today and I had lost 4.2 pounds!  Not the 5 pounds I wanted but pretty close. This week I focused on breaking my habit of going into the kitchen when I wasn't hungry.  Every time I went in I asked myself if I was really hungry or if I was doing it out of habit.  I would say 90% of the time I answered the question as "habit".  This week I'm going to work on going to the gym one more day than I did last week.  Last week I went 3 times.  Hopefully the weight will continue to fall off!

Day 6 picture challenge

A picture of someone you'd like to trade places with for the day.

I totally want to be a kid again for one more day... in the summer time. :)

I joined!

Weight Watchers that is.  I woke up at 6:30 this morning and went to my first meeting in over 2 years. I'm pretty excited about it.  I have 63 pounds I want to lose and I'm pretty sure I can lose most of that by the end of the year. Jacob is going to do it with me although he only has 20 pounds he wants to lose, which I suppose is a lot but he's so tall.  So anyway, the journey has begun!  Let the pounds melt!

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 5

A picture of your favorite memory.  When I was a kid we would go on road trips every summer with our bestest friends. They had a station wagon with the rear facing seats and my friend Leslie and I would sit back there and wave and make faces at people as we were driving down the road.  I have so many fun memories with Leslie and her family and when I think back on the days of my childhood they are some of my favorite.

Picture Challenge Day 4

A picture of your favorite night:

My favorite night is sitting around a camp fire in the summer time playing games with Jacob. 

Picture Day Challenge Day 3

A picture of my favorite TV Show:

I love this show!

Picture Challenge Day 2

A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.

This is my friend Serena.  We've been friends since 3rd grade!  Even though we don't get to see each other very often we still have fun together when we do!  Love you Serena!

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 1

A couple people I know have done this and I think it's pretty cool.  We'll see how good I am at keeping up with it.  Day one is a picture of you with 10 facts:

1. I love to spend time with my family.
2. I think camping is awesome.
3. I think I may be obsessive compulsive.  Ex.  I had someone over helping me bake and they took the eggs out of the center of the egg carton and it bent me out of shape.
4. I can bend down and touch the ground with my palms.  (Jacob rolls his eyes when I do it... I think deep down he's jealous)
5. I'm ultra competitive
6. I suck at math
7. I love working hard
8. I can't stand lazy people
9. I don't take crap from anyone
10. I really am a sweet person!

Weight...

I was thinking the other day about my weight. (I think a lot about it).  I'm so frustrated!  I used to not be overweight.  In fact I was a thin kid growing up and through high school.  I was athletic and active.  Then I went away to college, gained weight and became less active.  Now 8 years later I'm struggling to get back into shape.  I don't care so much about how much I weigh, I care more about what pant size I wear.  I would LOVE to be a size 8 again.  I used to be a 6 but I will take an 8.  I made it a goal this year to run a triathlon.  I fully intend on doing this and I can register on the first of March for it.  But before I run this race I feel that in order to be more competitive I need to shed some weight.  So I will be joining Weight Watchers at least up to the triathlon and I'm going to set the goal of losing at least 25 pounds before the race (July 3rd I believe).  I lost 20 pounds the last time I was on Weight Watchers and then we moved and I got pregnant with Linnea.  So hopefully in the next week I will be marching myself to Weight Watchers, signing up and dropping some pounds.  I want to look better for this summer.  There are so many things I want to do this summer like going backpacking and going on long hikes and if I can lose some weight then I will be able to carry a backpack full of supplies.  If I get brave I may post my starting weight and post my weight loss every week as I weigh in at the meetings.  I think I might because it will help keep me motivated knowing that a ton of my friends know who much I weigh.  I'll keep you posted!

11 Step Program for those thinking about having kids

 One of my friends posted this on facebook today and I can't stop laughing about it.  It was written by a woman named Amy Lawrence.

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.
Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

Thoughts for 2011

I never make New Years Resolutions.  Ever.  Because I don't like to set a goal and then not do it.  The thought of falling through on something I said I'd do is just too much for me.  But this year will be different.  This year I have a few goals that I want to accomplish and I believe they are within reason and not too far fetched for me.  So here you have it, my goals for the year 2011:

• Go at least one month without any junk food. (I'm working on being healthier and I hope that this will help curb my appetite for those things)
• Run a triathlon  (I'm also working on being more fit.  I wanted to do this last year but didn't get to)
• Run a 5k in under 38 minutes (my 5k last year was run in 44 minutes... I was out of shape and had shin splints)
• Read the Book of Mormon in its entirety.  (I suck at reading my scriptures but KNOW that I need to in order to become the better person I want to be) 
• Keep up with the house work for one month (It seriously makes me sick to have a dirty house)*Edited:  I will actively clean the house for an hour per day.  Thanks for the idea Roxanne!
• Learn a new skill (Maybe knitting, or something else, I don't know yet what exactly I will learn)
• Drop 2 pant sizes (Who doesn't want to do that??)
• And finally again thanks to Roxanne I will also work on having a date night every week.

 Today I start my no junk food month.  Well... I'm going for a week and then going further.  What are your goals for this year?