Calling ALL Disneyland Fans....

It's time to start collecting cans, saving change, and working over-time so we can all go to Disneyland AKA "The Happiest Place on Earth"

No pressure, but I hope all the Lewis kids, their spouses and my favorite little guys will be joining me in May for our annual Disneyland vacation!!!!!

January Happenings

January is usually a pretty boring, uneventful month but that doesn't seem to be the case for January 2010 (If you don't believe me ask Megan)

I am still being faithful on my diet. I have now lost 10 pounds and I am feeling so much better. No more indigestion and my rolls seem to be getting a little smaller! Still there but I think I have lost a few inches. The food I eat is getting boring, but I only have 3 more weeks and then I can go on maintenance and add a few more yummy things like broccoli and cauliflower ....

The rain just doesn't want to go away. It has been non-stop, rain, wind and freezing cold. I just can't seem to get warm even though I eat lots of soup, drink lots of herb tea and bundle up like an eskimo! I hear that Folsom Lake is starting to get lots of water in it so that is a good thing. I know we need the rain, but a little break in the action would be welcome.

The Kings are still losing. I was so encouraged about a month ago but they have lost 10 of their last 11 games and it is just plain depressing. I promise (Jordan) I will not give up. I am determined to be a loyal fan. In fact I am watching them play the Miama Heat as I write this.

I am enjoying The Bachelor and Biggest Loser & wait with baited breath for the new episodes each week. (pretty pathetic I know)

Family Matters....

Megan & Justin are having a rough week. As if losing their only car key and being in an accident in their truck was not enough poor little Coleman has been in the hospital since Friday with Pneumonia. He is getting better and hopefully will be in his own bed soon. Megan has been so amazing through all this even though she is stressed to the max and totally exhausted. She is such a great MOM!

Erin & Quinn added to their growing family of pugs. Raven has joined their household just in time for the football playoffs. I guess that is how he got his name since they are avid Baltimore Ravens fans. Sorry the Ravens won't be going to the Super Bowl this year, but with a mascot like Raven they will be sure to make it next year!




Shauna continues to amaze me with her talents. She has been featured in the Real Simple Weddings Magazine for 2010. I hope this will be the exposure she deserves and people will flood her website and request portraits and event planning. If you haven't seen her website go check it out. http://www.littleshopofshavs.blogspot.com/. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Jordan & Kristine are still plugging along staying very busy working full time, studying, having church callings and rooting for BYU. This will be Kristine's last semester at BYU and hopefully Jordan only has a year to go at UVU!

That about wraps things up for January... I know it is not quite over yet, but I can't take much more so lets call it done for now. See you in February!!

D I E T I N G

Oh boy - Oh boy it is that time of year again when I re-dedicate myself and swear that I am going to lose that extra weight I keep carrying around. It seems that I have been on some kind of diet for as long as I can remember. Let's see now.....


In high school I used to wear a tight elastic belt around my waist under my dress (in those days you could only wear a dress to school - no pants), so my waist would look smaller. When I got home from school I would take it off and there would be welts that were caused from the tight belt. Unfortunately, I have never really had a waist because I am built like a boy - straight up and down with no curves! I do have a nice bubble butt though, just what every white girl wants!!


As I became an adult the only time I can remember being thin was when I was depressed and couldn't eat. When I was going through my bout with infertility, I was really thin (107 pounds). Don't ever want to be that depressed again and haven't since. I do remember going to a gym called Eileen Feathers in the 70's that had vibrating belts that jiggled your flab.

I went there religiously with some of my phone company co-workers two nights a week.

There was also a thing called a twister that was a round disc that you stood on and twisted on (thus the name Twister).

We had a mini tramp that I exercised on too but mostly the kids played on it.

Also in the 70's & 80's I tried these diet fads:

Ayds - A chocolate or caramel candy appetite suppressant.

Slender - A pre-SlimFast drink, and also came in bars.

Once I started having babies I was lucky enough not to gain a lot of pregancy weight - 23 pounds with Megan, 26 pounds with Shauna and only 19 pounds with Jordan. I'm not sure why, but it probably had something to do with the fact that when I was pregnant I only craved healthy foods. After I gave birth and was nursing I dropped all the weight very quickly but after about 6 months it all came back again with a little extra.

I used to jog around the neighborhood with a couple of my neighbors, which I really did not enjoy doing at all. I have tried Curves and many, many exercise videos over the years. I have come to the conclusion that the only thing I enjoy is walking so that is what I do now for exercise.

I have been on the following diets over the last 20+ years:

Jenny Craig

Weight Watchers

Slim Fast

The Stewardess Diet

Kaiser Diet

and many many more that I can't think of....

Well I am on another diet that I started on January 4th and so far I have dropped 8 pounds. I am bound and determined to take off 20 pounds and keep them off for a year until my body decides that is what I am supposed to weigh and leaves me alone (yeah right!) As I have gotten older I have come to terms with the fact that I will never be thin and that is okay. Nobody really cares or looks at me anyway so why should I care!! The only reason why is because I have noticed that because of all the crap I eat (candy, cookies, cake, brownies, french fries, pizza, etc. etc.) I have started getting heartburn - something I have never had before and also my clothes do not fit me anymore and I can't afford to buy new ones so here I go again.... Right now I am eating lean meat, fruit and vegetables. I have not had any sweets, bread or dairy for two weeks! Am I craving them? Of course I am but it is getting easier and I feel so much better - no more heartburn and my pants are not so tight anymore. So I am going to stick this out for another four weeks and then go on a maintenance diet for three weeks after that.

This is where you will find me every morning, biting my lower lip and crossing my fingers!!

Wish me luck... I am going to need it!!

WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS??

Last night I was spending a typical evening in my bedroom on the computer, and watching TV. At about 8:20 there was a flicker and all the power went out. About 10 seconds later it came back on again, but within a split second it was off. I could not believe how dark it was. I could not see a thing and immediately thought of the old movie with Audrey Hepburn & George Peppard called "Wait Until Dark". It was a very scary movie in the 70's where the power goes out and Audrey Hepburn is in the house alone....

I felt my way to the kitchen (thank goodness my house is small) and made my way to my trusty emergency drawer where I keep my batteries, candles, lighter, matches, etc. I found the candles but could not find the lighter. I felt around on the counter for my phone and flipped it open so I at least had the light from my phone. I lit the two candles and hurried downstairs to get my flashlight. I opened the front door and was relieved that all the power was out everywhere and it was just not my house.

I talked to a couple of my neighbors and called my friend Pam to see if her power was out (it wasn't) and went back inside where it was warm. I was amazed at the number of candles I have when I started collecting all of them and lighting them. My living room was lit up and I felt secure. I called Megan and talked to her for awhile to kill some time. The power came back on after about an hour.

This morning I found out the cause! CRAZY CRAZY TURKEY!!!

About 17,000 customers of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in Folsom were without power for slightly less than an hour Thursday night.
The outage was reported at 8:17 p.m. for parts of Folsom that include areas near Blue Ravine Road and Oak Avenue Parkway.
SMUD spokesman Clint Swett said a turkey caused a short in a high voltage line near Folsom Prison. Power was restored to customers at 9:10 p.m.

RaNdOm ThOuGhTs

I am a holiday person. I love Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, 4th of July, etc, but.... I have to admit there are two holidays celebrations I could do without: New Years eve and Valentines Day. They depress me.

I am very excited for my favorite shows to start back up:
The Bachelor
Biggest Loser
Greys Anatomy
Desparate Housewives
Glee
Brothers and Sisters
Private Practice
(I know I watch too much TV)

It has been fun to watch the Kings this season. I am back to watching all the games again and it feels good to cheer on the home team!

I used to think the year 2000 sounded so weird and was so far away, but now it is 2010 and I wonder where the time has gone?

I need something to look forward to now that Christmas is over. A new grandchild or an engagement/wedding would be great!

I need to find an old lady exercise program on TV. I want to exercise before work but I can't do the high impact aerobics stuff. My body just can't take it.

Today while we were shopping my friend Pam said: "You know the book Tuesdays With Morey? I need to write a book called Saturdays with Amy" I thought that was pretty funny. Would make for a dull book though.

I started saving my change which I have never done before. I bought a bank that actually counts the change and tells you how much money is in there. I am obsessed with it and can't wait to get change so I can put it in my bank.

Why am I so exhausted every night but the minute I go to bed I am wide awake?

I love the cold weather. I am very content wearing sweats and heavy sox everyday all day.

Peppermint hot chocolate is my new favorite thing.

This year I am going to try very hard to be more positive and optimistic. It won't be easy for me but I am really going to try.....