Last month I set some goals for myself to do 100 pushups, 100 ab crunches and 100 calories burned on the exercise bike.  I did pretty good at being consistent.  The pushups and crunches were skipped a few times but for the most part, I stuck to it.  The bike, not so much.  I’ve developed some tremors in my limbs and when I ride the bike for a long duration, I am too shaky to walk afterwards.  We’re only talking 20 to 30 minutes.  And then I shake.  So I was a little bad and skipped the bike a lot of times, haha. 

This month, I am staying with 100 pushups.  I can do 20 before my arms start to shake.  So I rest a minute and do another 20.  I am finding that what works best for me is 50 at the beginning of the day and 50 later in the evening. 

Ab crunches – I can do the full 100 with no problems so I am planning on doing those in the mornings.

Bike – I’ve decided to try 10 minutes after breakfast, 10 minutes after lunch and 10 minutes after dinner.  That way, I get in a full 30 minutes but hopefully avoid the tremors in my legs.  I’ve read that accumulated exercise is as beneficial as exercise completed all at the same time so I’m going to try this out for November.

Finally, I have decided to chart my workouts this month.  It will give me more accurate feedback on how well I am doing and will encourage me to better stick with it, I think. 

So, that’s my plan for this month.  Wishing you all a healthy November <3

Sometimes you just have to take the photo ops when they come along… 

Okay, I’m not really giving away my kiddos, lol.  Hubby IS trying to give away that sad, ugly, beaten up couch though.  I keep telling him nobody wants that ugly old thing.  Hopefully I can convince him to give up and haul it away

Have a great night!

It’s become tradition for us to travel to the Grandparents, Great Grandparents and a close family friend for Halloween.  The kiddos get the fun of dressing up, showing their costumes to the Grands and I know the candy is all certifiably safe   We usually have to do this sans Hubby/Dad.  He has worked Halloween night at least 4 years in a row.  This year, thanks to him being off on short term disability, we got to have him along for all the tricks and treats!  We had a great time visiting loved ones and watching the kids trick or treat.  I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween too!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Have a great night!

Haha, not that kind of running away   Although I can’t say I don’t think about it once in awhile.  Not forever, or anything.  Just for a little while.  And I’ll even admit to making an extra stop once while on an errand just to delay going back to the stress that was waiting.  Yeah, a little escape and some retail therapy at the dollar store never hurt anyone, lol. 

I’m talking about getting out and doing the closest thing I can to a sprint.  I’ve been to the doctor today to follow up on the fatigue (it’s back with a vengence) and a few other minor things.  While I was there, I asked him about running.  I have a herniated disc in my back, as well as a ruptured disc.  So, I have to be careful.  The doctor said as long as I’m up to it, to give it a try. 

I have a recumbent bike.  It’s exercise and while it leaves me a little more tired than when I started, it’s not something I can’t successfully engage in.  So, why go running?  I think exercise is a lot like food.  Just like our bodies need a varied diet to gain all the important nutrients, I think we need to participate in a variety of exercises too.  I mean, would you want to only eat mashed potatoes for the rest of your days?  Sometimes, sitting in the corner racking up digital miles is just what you were craving.  But sometimes, a little sprint in the crisp, fall air sounds like a delightful treat.

So, if you happen to see a gal out sprinting at turtle speed, no laughing!    Wishing you all a great day!

I gave my sister an awesome bracelet for her birthday in April.  It was constructed from a Simply Beads kit.  Since then, it seems she’s been looking for a necklace to wear with it.  She finally asked me a little over a month ago if I would see if I could make a necklace to match her bracelet.  Since the bracelet was from a kit, that made it a little tricky.  The kit was pretty pricey and she wanted to keep the expense down.  She was paying for the materials.  Happily, I was able to get some very similar materials from Rings & Things and set to work. 

     It’s not an exact match but I think they go together pretty well   Don’t you just love that agate Trillion?  Super cool!  I even had enough gemstone chips left over to make her this fun little bracelet too!

How cute is that?  She had commented on these particular colors in the gemstone chips so I decided to only use a few of them in the necklace so I could surprise her with an extra jewelry piece.  (Shhh, don’t tell my sis, but I really wanted to keep this one )

 It was fun taking on the challenge of creating something that would look like a set when the materials were not quite the same. 

I’ve recently had the opportunity to play a little matchy-matchy in a yarnie sense too.  If I can get the all-clear, I’ll tell you all about it

Have a great day!

I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile now.  Time just hasn’t been on my (crafty) side recently.  I’ve had a few loomers run into trouble creating the ruffles with a crochet hook for the Cream Cones pattern.  Well, put down those hooks and get ready for a treat!  I’ve thought on it and thought on it and have finally devised a new way to make those ruffles that will have you scooping up a sweet treat in no time   So, without further to-do, I’m dishing up Mini Cream Cones <3

I hope they make you fall in love at first bite sight.  Have a great day!

My Guppygirl banner got a make-over, thanks to my fabulous friend from Purling Sprite. 

 Super cuteness, right?  Thanks, Isela!  I love it!

Goals – I’ve started setting a few monthly goals for myself.  This month, I am focusing on fitness.  I’m challenging myself x 100.  Each day, I am striving to fit in 100 push-ups, 100 ab crunches, and to burn at least 100 calories on my recumbent bike.  I’ve missed one day so far (blush) but I’m determined to make it the only missed day

Gifties!  I was one of 10 lucky winners for the cutie-patootie Mini-Kimmy Doll and quilt patterns over at the You Can Make This! blog.  Yay!  I’m thinking my little girlie will love a Mini-Kimmy of her very own.  If you haven’t checked out www.youcanmakethis.com, you should run right over and browse all the crafty goodies

It just so happens that I have a giftie to share with all of you <3  A fun little bookmark pattern!

Just click on the pic and grab your copy of the pattern.  I hope you like it   Have a great day!

At least, that is what kiddo’s doctor told me at our last visit.  He thinks the behaviors we are encountering are less impulse driven and more a result of poor judgement. 

I’m hoping he’s wrong.  He is switching kiddo to a newer ADHD medication despite his opinion but he is urging us to start up behavior therapy again too.  The conundrum:  Behavior therapy is usually a weekly endeavor.  And at $25.00 each co-pay, that’s tough to manage, especially on hubby’s disability pay.  Add in kiddo’s med cost ($45.00/monthly just for the ADHD med) and we get poor pretty quick.  Hubby’s work actually has a free family therapy benefit but our needs are apparently beyond their ‘level of training’.    I made kiddo an appointment with his behavior therapist but I’m going to have to tell him we need to limit visits to monthly, rather than weekly.

Here is what I think – Kiddo’s medication stopped effectively helping him some time ago.  He’s been on the same one since mid-year of the second grade.  When his med stopped helping him in the second grade, we went through much of the same things we are experiencing now.  He began having a ton of trouble at school, mostly behavior related.  He was getting in trouble in primary at church.  And he became impossible to take anywhere, even dental appointments.  We actually had 2 dentists tell us they couldn’t treat him that year.  It was a super rough time.  Fast forward – this time around, I think kiddo’s OCD symptoms were so severe that even though his ADHD med wasn’t effective enough anymore, his concerns about germs, grease and sticky things kept his impulsive behavior in check.  Now his OCD is very much in check (we still have a bit of it trickle through now and then but not like it was) so his ADHD is taking over.  He is back to getting in trouble at home (a lot of the time), a bit of trouble in public, and some trouble at school.  Just general chaos.  And he’s an ornery bear much of the time too :p

My hope – that switching his ADHD medication will help him control the impulses and reign himself back into a more socially acceptable level.  It worked in the 2nd grade and back in Kindergarten, so I’m hoping luck will be with us this time around too.  Otherwise, I’m going to see if the doc can sedate both of us, hahaha.  Okay, I’m kidding… I think. 

Wishing you all a great day!

Jenny <3

15 years ago, I did exactly that!

I met hubby in high school.  He was a junior and I was a sophomore.  He was a zanny, outgoing guy and I was a quiet, introverted girl.  He was my opposite in many ways and still is.  And I think I was smitten from the start   I would look forward to the class we had together all day long, haha.  We slowly grew a bit of a friendship over that year.  Then, toward the end of my junior year we dated for a few months. 

Fast forward to the present day and he is my friend, my other half, my champion, my everything <3  Last night I was thinking about what a hard worker he is and yet still that bundle of fun I met way back when and I feel so very lucky to have him in my life.

Happy Anniversary Babe!

First, I want to thank everyone for their great ideas!  You gals are super   We had 8 great comments full of fabulous ideas to stretch those dollars, maintain a sense of security for our little ones, and still have a bit of fun!  To pick our winner, I did a random number generator.  And the winning number was…

4

(Renae)

Yay, Renae!  Send me an email with your addy and I’ll send the earrings your way.  Thank you again to everyone for sharing your great ideas.  Have a great night!

Jenny <3