Fun Weekend, Lent, and Life in General

We had a pretty fun and busy weekend this past Valentine's Day weekend......we got to spend sometime with my large and spread out family over dinner Saturday night, its rare to get all of us together since we are spread all over the state and in North Carolina, but we managed to almost do that, with the exception of Chris and his family. My grandmother always treats us so well on holidays, even ones like Valentine's Day. We started out heading to the Cheesecake Factory but with two small kids its hard to make that 2 hour wait, so we ended up at Sweetdaddy's, to the dismay of my little sis! It was a good time and I enjoyed visiting with my sister, brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and of course my favorite boyfriend-in-law! I cannot get enough of the two little boys I am so blessed to call my nephews, Jacob and Colyn, I might be biased but they are just precious and so special to me! Jacob does not like for me to take his picture but I did snap a few of Colyn and I am adding one of Jacob from about a month ago when he came to spend the night with Aunt Kayla and Uncle Wade.

After dinner with the fam, we headed back home for a good friend's birthday party. I never thought moving to Sylacauga that I would make such wonderful friends, who have become pretty much like family. Most of these people Wade has know his whole life and has always been close to, so it is hard to be the "outsider" of the group, but they have all made me feel so welcome and like I have been around for years. I thought I would share some pics of the people I have come to love so much.......

Sunday was a pretty lazy day for me and Wade, although he did pretend to run out to the store real quick and came back with a Valentine's Day present for me. I was not aware that we were exchanging any kind of gift since we do not usually do anything for Valentine's Day because he is always at work. He bought me a "funny" card and one of my favorite DVDs to add to my collection! We cooked dinner together and he did the dishes for me too! All in all it was a pretty good day!

Wednesday as most people know was Lent, and although my visits to the catholic church have been few and far between since my Paw Paw died, I decided this year to give something up for Lent. It was hard for me to find something this year since I have given up most of my vices like fast food, soft drink, and tea. After much thought and lots of suggestions to give up facebook and texting (yeah right!) I decided to give up smoking. I have tried several times to quit, even here recently, and it is something that I really want to do, so I am hoping that Lent will be my starting point, wish me luck!

I have been going to the gym at least 4 days a week for a little over a month now and I am so excited that I have worked myself up to burning 1400 calories a workout! I can workout on the elliptical machine for an hour now, which is AMAZING, since a month ago I could barely stay on it for 5 minutes. I am slowly but surely making my way to where I want to be!

My Sister, My Friend

I am probably behind everyone else in the world on my movies for the most part, but tonight I watched My Sister's Keeper. Let me first say it is probably one of the best movies I have ever seen, and next to Steel Magnolis, one of the saddest ones. I could not imagine living the life either one of the girls in the movie did, but I do know what its like to have an amazing little sister that I do not always appreciate like I should.

I was almost 8 years old and the only girl when Christina was born, and I was not excited about her at all. It was not the idea of having another sibling because I loved having my little brother, he was my most favorite person in the whole world, and my older brother and I got along pretty well; but something about her coming really upset me. Over the years as she grew up and I became a teenager, she annoyed me more than ever, always wanting to get in my way (so I thought) and being such a tattle tale. I never fully appreciated what a blessing she truly was to me, until we were to the point that we fought all the time and never really spent anytime together.

She has gotten older and has her own life, and now she is the one who has no time for me! It's funny how the roles have reversed and I am the one doing my best to be a part of her life. I always loved her because she was my baby sister, but it was not until a few years ago that I realized how much I liked her because she is my friend. I could never imagine losing my sister in my life and I am so proud that she has grown into such a wonderfully kind young woman. I never tell her enough how great I think she is, but I always hope in the back of her mind and heart she knows that.

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to ring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child." - Linda Sunshine

So Proud of Myself.......

I never stick to resolutions I make each new year, but this year I have and I am so proud of myself! I set out on this diet roller coaster again with determination and a goal, per usual, but this time I actually am doing! In almost 4 weeks I have already lost 12lbs and quit smoking, I feel great! I have started going to they gym 3-5 days a week and have come such a long way, even in my workout routine. This time two months ago I could not walk on the treadmill for more than 10 minutes without getting severely winded and have to stop, but for the past week I have been walking at a higher speed and incline for an hour!!!!!! That is a huge step for me and I am so glad I finally got to that point.

My first realistic goal I have set is to lose 20lbs and I am almost there. My long term goal is over 100lbs and I know that will take awhile, but I am setting myself up to meet this goal and to hopefully be 50-60lbs thinner by the time my sister in law Ali gets married in December.

On a sad note, a longtime friend of our family lost his battle with cancer on 1/31/10. Brian coached my older brother Jarred in soccer for the majority of Jarred's soccer career. We were there when his kids were born and he watched all 4 of us grow up. I ask that everyone say a prayer for his wife Tina, his daughter Mychal, and his son Chad. He will be missed and he touched alot of people over the years! We will miss you Skippy!!!!

And Happy Birthday to one of my favorite friends Kelly J. She needs a good birthday this year, things have been hard on her and her mother's cancer has come back.