Biggest Loser! Yahoo!!!!

It's a month into this year and I've lost 6 of the 15 pounds needed to meet my goal. They say the first few pounds are the easiest but normally, I have difficulty even losing 2 pounds, so I'm very excited. Best of all, I'm still eating sweets which I know I will need to give up here soon. February will be a BIG challenge for me. First, Superbowl Sunday and all the snacks that go with it. Second, it's Valentines Day and everyone knows that means LOTS of sugar for at least a week leading up to and following it. Third, it will be my Birthday. Of course, that means thick and creamy frosting from Costco! And that also means another year older- tougher to lose weight. Fourth, I'll be going back to work which will upset my exercise routine. So I will need to work extra hard just to keep the same 6 pounds off. So my focus for February will need to be continued exercise (walk/jog 2 miles most days), portion control (veggies should double the size of protein -2:1 ratio) and dessert/sweets only 3x per week. It really helps that I'm making myself report in each month. Thanks for being my sounding board!

What a Difference!

Part II

Last night Rick finished the second coat of paint on the walls and they look beautiful. They ceiling and walls have been transformed from lumpy, cracking, patched dry walls to warm and lusterous painted walls. The final touch will be the new crown mouldings which will be done after a few more rooms are painted. You'll see that we didn't care about the trim on top because it will be covered with crown.

What a cute little Officer!

As we were driving along this morning, you'll never guess what we saw in the back of the police car? A fellow officer for Little Ricky. Check it out!

Happy Birthday Uncle Doug

Tomorrow would have been Uncle Doug's Birthday but he passed away last year. We learned an interesting piece of information from Jason that Uncle Doug was an interpreter to General Eisenhauer back in war times. How cool would that be? He was one of a number of interpreters, but one just the same. I would have asked you to watch a football game today in honor of him but this week the teams are off and preparing for next weekend - Superbowl Sunday. Now that's a game that Uncle Doug would never miss!

It's All in the Preparation - Both Painting and Life

This week Rick started the preparation of the walls and ceiling to get ready for paint. He is such a talented painter and he always stresses the importance of preparing your walls. They look so much better after paint, if we spend the time "before" paint on the not so fun stuff. But it's the foundation that makes for smooth and beautiful walls. I guess that applies with both paint and life.

The old paint is probably about 5-7 years old and you can see the touched up spots in just the right sun. And then there's the ceiling that had cracks and waves in it. Well that's enough to drive any perfectionist crazy!

January 25, 2008

Tomorrow marks a special day. It's Mom's 'official' birthday. It's amazing how many errors are on Birth Certificates!

It also marks the day that my brother Ray left this world just 3 years ago. Not a day goes by where I don't think of him and miss him dearly. So enjoy the pictures, of Ray and his 'girls' and of course Bob who helped Rick while he worked on Ray's home. If you're a drinker, have a cup of coffee or a beer on his behalf :)

I'm ready for Spring!

We came home to about 10 inches of snow. Our neighbor cleared our driveway and back patio - what a nice thing to do! I thought I would change the header picture to Big Bear by the pool last spring - hoping for warmer weather and a break from all the snow! Shirley and family ought to be heading for Hawaii in another week or two. How nice.

Winter Driving

On our way back from Hermiston to Nampa, we hit heavy fog at the foot of the Blue Mountains. You know what its like to find the person in front of you and just follow their tail lights and pray they can see better than you :) The roads were snow packed, but at the top it was beautiful. So when I quit shaking, I pulled out the camera and took a few pics.

Then we got a flat tire. It was in my better judgement to NOT take any pictures of Rick having to change our tire out in the middle of no where.

Precious Children

We had a great time visiting Rick's parents and Michelle and her family this weekend. Here's some pictures of the kids.

How do they know to turn their heads in the same direction?

During our visit, Hannah got a Queen sized bed as a form of recognition. Pictured above, she is embrassing it - literally.

We're so excited!

In the morning, we'll be leaving to visit Rick's parents. We're looking forward to visiting with them as Rose is feeling a bit better. Then on Saturday morning, it's off to see the Jensens! We'll get to spend Saturday and Sunday with them and then back to Nampa. Then back home on Monday.

We've had a busy week and this will be a nice, relaxing time.

Thanks from everyone for the encouragement in losing weight. I don't know how much longer I can get away with serving healthy meals. Rick thinks I'm trying to starve him without his "beef" each night. I'll keep trying to slip in healthy meals every now and then.

My treat lately has been mochi soup! Stomie's relatives in SoCal sent them a bunch of Mochi for New Years. Rick brought a packet home. We toast it, put it in soup with spinach and fish cake. It's Wonderful! I just can't eat too much of it or else I'll be as round as a sumo wrestler! :)

2008 is starting out to be a big flash

Some months just seem to fly by faster than others. I can hardly believe we are only 15 days into the month and Wow - it's been something already.

Mom celebrated her almost big Birthday.
Dan and Cathy celebrated their wedding anniversary.
Rose ended up in the hospital and is now back home recovering from possible e-coli. Ironically, Stomie's brother's wife was in the hospital at the same time with the same problem - at the other end of Idaho.
Rick spent 5 days in the Boise area.
I had a job interview and got offered a job today. Yipee. Start date is 2/18. I shouldn't forget that employment date.
Rick just got called for an interview at the end of the month.
We've been blessed with a lot of work this week.
I lost 3 pounds so far this month! Walk/jog 30 minutes each day (4 mph)
And by the end of this week, Fran will have turned 53 and it's also the day I lost my Dad, now 14 years ago.
Today I slipped on the ice while putting the snow shovel away and hit my head on the BBQ. I have a nice black and blue walnut next to my left eye, with a head ache. Rick reminded me that when we have our awning later this spring, the ice will not puddle there and this shouldn't happen next year. He also said that if I were on the back of the motor cycle that he wants, I probably wouldn't have gotten hurt either. (He's always thinking :)
Wow, and January is only half over!

Rose is on the road to recovery!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers. Rose got to go home yesterday from the hospital. No real diagnosis but she's feeling much better!

Rick Enroute to Nampa

Rick made it safely to Nampa to be with Rose and Stomie. Still no diagnosis for Rose and she's still in the hospital. At least Stomie will have someone to hang out with until the doctor's can figure out what's wrong and develop a course of treatment.

Thank you for your prayers and checking in for updates.

Pray Requests for Rose

Rose went to the emergency room last night with a possible bladder or kidney infection. She was admitted and is still in the hospital. I don't think they know what's wrong yet. Please pray that the doctors will be able to diagnose the problem and for a full recovery.

Please pray for Stomie, that he will weather the stress of the unknown.

Please pray for Debbie who is by her side.

She's Gone

Someone came by today and put a deposit down on the car, so she should be sold within the next few days.

The baby is going up for sale.

Well, its time to part with the workhorse of our cars. The math equation is simple. Two people, three cars and no work.

It's been a good car, but now has 137,000+ miles.

Happy Anniversary Dan and Cathy

January 3 is also Dan and Cathy's Anniversary. Happy Anniversary to you!

Happy Birthday Mom!

January 3rd is my Mom's Birthday. She's been a wonderful inspiration to me and I'm so lucky to have had her raise me. (I guess I'm raised by now!) Mom, may you be blessed with laughter, happiness, good health (she inspires me there too!) and prosperity.

She can be found frequenting Kareoke Bars in Japan! I hope you sing better than me!

Happy New Year !!!!!!!!

Happy New Year to everyone! Being the nerd that I am, I like to reflect back on accomplishments for 2007 and set specific goals for 2008. I set spiritual goals, physical goals, financial goals, relationship goals, business goals, etc.

So like many, I set out to lose weight each year and usually end the year by gaining a few pounds. This cumulative effect is not pretty. I'm tired of not meeting this goal and being such a slacker in the priority of my physical health. So I decided to publish on this blog one of my physical goals - and that is to lose 15 pounds by 6/30/2008. I figure that 2-3 pounds per month is a reasonable weight loss pace. I give everyone permission and actually encourage you to ask me how it is going. I really want to do this. I'm off to a good start. I have been on the treadmill, doing stretching, toning and mild weights. And yes, every bone in my body hurts. But the single digit temperatures make the outdoor hot tub unappealing. So I'm off and running!