week 1 in the books

3 weeks left of summer, three weeks left for me to reach a goal weight of 170, this was a great week. I ate healthy(except for Sunday--holy emotional eating) and worked out almost every day--finally nailing the bump up in biceps in Body Pump I have been chasing for months. And weighed in at 173.2!!

the 4 week challenge

My summer is winding down, summer is over in 4 short weeks. My summer has been filled with workouts and mostly healthy eating--a time where I have focused on myself and a time where I have already whittled off 6 pounds. And ideally I have 4 more that I would like to get rid of, 4 pounds that would put me at 170...a weight I haven't seen in a year

I have been thinking, oh I won't go out to eat, I will cut out my weekend Starbucks, I will add some intense workouts; but the reality is, I haven't gotten rid of 6 pounds by doing that so why would I change. I want to be healthy and I don't want these pounds coming back. So I will stick with my WW tracking, my Body Pump and cardio workouts, my taking care of me. My wonderful online friend Amanda (who is a creator and contributor to a great blog called Cut the Crap) has proposed a little challenge. She wants to be down below 170 before her trip to some beachy vacation and I want to be there before my reality of work returns. So a little challenge. What should the prize be? Game on Amanda--thanks for inspiring me!

Elle is 2!!

Dear Elle,

You are 2 today! Your doctor asked us words that describe your personality and here is what mommy and daddy said..."busy, energetic, curious, independent, fun, verbal." You have 2 speeds--100% and sleeping.  You wake up and are raring to go, after drinking your milk you immediately start something--a stack of books, playing blocks, coloring, playing with your train, puzzles, anything.  You love to read, we probably read 10-20 books a day. You have started loving to color with your color wonder markers, you want us to color "Y" or "dubby"(which is a W), letters you are learning on Sesame Street.  You love Elmo and could watch videos for hours if we let you.  You and mommy started gymnastics this summer, and you love it.  You love to swim, dunking yourself, jumping off the wall, riding the gator, and just splashing in general.  You constantly ask "What's That?" and "whatcha doing?" and don't stop til we answer you. We can't wait to see what this year brings for you!  

We love you!

Mommy and Daddy

 

Building Our Nest {House Progress}

Some friends pointed out to me that I hadn't really updated with the house in a long time. Which is true, it was a foundation and walls for a long time but here is some of the pictures... This is looking from our backyard, there will be french type doors from the master and the eat in kitchen onto the patio.  One of the things that took so long in framing out our house was the amount of windows we had.  The blocks had to be fitted around and then framed out before they could fill in with cement. 

Our house is being built with a product called Fox Blocks, this is what they look like in a cross section--they are then filled with cement, making the house very energy efficient!
  one of our major splurges was putting in in floor heat throughout the whole house.  But after a winter of below 0 temps for a month or so, it is worth it.  This is the view from the front door of the tubing being laid in--then cement over the whole thing and then they can start the roof and interior!
  This is a view looking at our master, a french door, a large window, and then windows flanking and above the bed. And Elle proudly carrying a fox block around.
  This shows most of the back patio(and Kevin's shadow), the retaining wall we plan to make into some sort of seating bench type thing for when we entertain.  We put it close to the house instead of further back to define that space, then we have a ton of area for grass and possibly a gazebo type set up.

We have also chosen and ordered windows--again emphasis on the energy efficiency! They have a Sun Smart coating and in some we got a prairie style grid installed.  The bathrooms will have frosted obscure windows. 14 windows in all. And we want to get some solar tubes in the laundry room and guest 1/2 bath where there is no windows.

 I am still pinning like crazy and collecting paint chip after paint chip...

Elle's Book 2

Nothing like a coupon to get your butt in gear to finish Elle's book. I had a coupon to save 50% on a photo book plus free shipping--Elle's book was going to cost 80 bucks and I got it for 35! In 3 days, I scrapped these final pages.

And here is the final result:
 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.

As we race into year 3 with some party planning, can't wait to scrap some more of my girl's many adventures!

scrapping {gymnastics}

This summer, I signed Elle and I up for mommy and me gymnastics classes--they were a hit!

scrapping the spring festival

 

Our hometown has a Mike the Headless Chicken Festival in celebration of a real headless chicken who lived here way back when--google it!  We took Elle on the 5K run and then hit the booths.  She loved the jump house after getting a hang of it and then we had her ride a pony.  We weren't sure how she would react, but she loved it.  She rode Tucker a very gentle horse, she kept petting him and saying, "Good Tucker".  She was all smiles and giggles.  A great afternoon in Western Colorado!