Never too far.....

Here lately with mommy-ing, wife-ing, school, and volunteer events, I just haven't had the time to write. So you guys are really behind on my whole weight-loss journey. Well for about a 1 1/2 weeks it was more of a weigh-more journey. I kinda hit a bump in the road where I refused to eat the things that I know are good for me and indulged, and over-indulged in the those foods that stick to my mid-section, back, and hips. Nevertheless, I regrouped and I am once again back on track. Well on my journey, I picked up a new exercise activity to add to my very short list of enjoyable activities where ACTIVE actually takes place. For example I consider scrapbooking, reading, writing, and listening to music to be enjoyable activities but they really aren't that active. So anyway, I picked up bike riding. A couple of weeks ago I went to the local Goodwill and purchased a great bike for $20 that I later saw in the store for $195. My son and I did a little repair work and I was ready to hit the road. On my first bike ride in about 15 years I was feeling great. I hit the bike trail armed with ipod, water bottle, helmet, and cell phone (for emergencies). I was just a ridin' and humming along, enjoying the beautiful scene. The bike trail meanders through the woods and across a lake. About 17 min. and 32 sec. into the ride something in my head said, "Don't ride too far. You still have to get back home." So I turned around and began home, and you guessed it, 3 min. later I was so tired from pedaling that I felt like I would fall out! I ended up sitting down on the grass and calling my teenage son to come get me. He told my daughter, who then called my father. Now everyone had something to laugh at. The thought of me sitting on the side of the street, bike thrown in the grass, and helmet tossed away was more than my father could contain. I think he's still laughing. He even hopped in his truck trying to make it to the park before my son could get there just so he could get a real visual image. Well I haven't given up on bike riding yet, but I also haven't hit that trail again. For right now I think I will just build up my endurance riding in the cul-de-sac down the street, that way I'm never too far from home.

And I have dropped another 3lbs. Thats a total of 10lbs over the past 5 weeks.

Lil Ike turns 5!!!

Lil Ike turns 5!! Lil Ike is my bundle of energy wrapped up in a huge layer of care and concern for others. He's never met a stranger and carries on long, extensive conversations with children and adults alike.

He's friendly and charming and has a serious addiction to anything on tv that remotely resembles martial arts. Quite early my hubby and I noticed that he has a gift to flip, turn, twist, and roll off of anything or nothing. He watches tv while flipping in the air. Lil Ike is the spunk in our family. He keeps things poppin' in the Artis House.

Happy Birthday Lil Ike!

Such a beautiful morning

It was a beautiful sunny morning. I was able to sleep in past 6:30 without little ones asking for cereal at 6am. With a smile on my face I reach for my toothbrush only to realize, its wet! Why would my toothbrush be wet when I hadn't used it?

We seem to have this issue with toothbrushes in our house. There are little ones who view toothbrushes the same way they view say, family toys, or silverware. Yes, there are enough for everyone in the house to have their own, but its not personal property. I have made several attempts to change the way my little ones view toothbrushes. I've purchased several. I have proof, there are enough toothbrushes for everyone to have more than one.

All to no avail. And when I asked why someone used my toothbrush, the reply I got with a smile was "I couldn't find mine so, I borrowed yours, but I put it back where I got it from."

I guess I can't argue with that, it was returned. And for those of you wondering, I keep new toothbrushes handy for situations just like this. I'm just not willing to take the chance and put it back in my mouth. It was only yesterday that I had to remind everyone younger than 10 to brush their teeth. Now that I'm thinking about it, chances are they didn't even use my toothbrush for teeth. It may have been for the cat, or the dolls hair, or to draw pictures in the tub with soap.

I have been tagged!

All during this busy week I have been trying to make time to tell everyone that Robbie over at A Spiritual Connection thinks I have "An Honest Scrap." Look right over there to the right This is awesome! Caramel Diva tagged her. Before I pass on the rules I will go ahead and tell you that I have altered the rules just a little. I had more than ten things to share so some numbers have parts A and B. I just couldn't resist. I'm in a sharing mood today. So here are the rules

You have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true. Then you have to tag ten people with the award. Finally, let all the people you've given the award know they've gotten it (comment on their blogs or something). Don't forget to link back to the person who awarded you.

1. I love to travel. Well, I don't enjoy the traveling or the getting there, but I do really LOVE going to new places. Once all the kids leave the nest, I plan to burn the road up!

2. When alone in the house or car, I keep everything quiet. No radio, no TV, no iPod, no whining ceiling fan, no nothing. Just beautiful....silence.

3. a) I am extremely shy in person. I have to make an effort to make sure face to face conversation aren't weird or strained. I can write 10 page emails (ask my hubby), chat online all day (Am I lying Kim?), but have only have 3 whole sentences to put together in person.

b) My mother tells me, from infancy, I did not like to be touched or bothered. I was the only baby who preferred to sit in my infant seat unbothered to being held. I think this was a sign of my independence from the beginning.

4. a) Until this year I didn't talk on the phone. (My middle sister is a talker who refused to stop calling me!) So phone conversation has kinda grown on me now, I actually went way over my cell minutes last month.

b) Don't test this. There are still those days that I don't answer the phone. I can go over my personal "talk limit" very easily.

5. For me sound and sight are very closely related. Sometimes clutter and the filling up of every available piece of space can get to be what I refer to as "visually noisy." Other times too much noise feels cluttered. Everything and sound needs an appointed time or place. I'm a simple type of girl. (Jeneen, don't say a word! This is not a disorder than can be given an abbreviated title. No GTM, OCD, or ADHD!)

6. I have become addicted to looking at people's photos on facebook, and blogs. There is something so fascinating about being able to read and see other people's lives without having to talk much, and its at MY convenience! It's great!

7. I have a great little circle of friends with my hubby and sisters being some of my favs. It takes quite a bit for me to let people in but once they are in, we're friends through thick or thin. I forgive and get over things as easily as I get worked up into a fuss.

8. I want to publish many books.....fun stories for children, a collection of nuggets for sons and daughters from a mom's perspective, a devotional for wives, and the list goes own. One day I will be an award winning author. You'll see my name on books everywhere!

9. My favorite foods are plain cheesecake, french fries, pastas, rice, and spinach.

10. Seafood hasn't crossed my lips in more than 25 years. I hate the way most seafood looks like the animal. I could absolutely live without all meats. For years if I had to clean it, I wouldn't eat it.

So now to those wonderful bloggers I tagged. I hope you will visit, and leave them a comment. I'm sure they love comments just as much as I do!

1. FranticMommy

2. Dry As Toast

3. Future Mama

4. TanishaRenee

5. Little Bites of Heaven

6. Pink Nothings

7. Scrapperlicious

8. Shamelessly Southern

9. The Brown Mommy

10. Divas Can Cook

Thursday's Thoughts

How many bars of soap does it take to get to a clean set of twins?

If you guessed 8 then you are right!!! So how many got people got that right? Don't worry I wouldn't have guessed 8 either, and the twins belong to me. Apparently it takes 8 bars of soap to properly bathe and clean the twins........ according to them. I allowed the twins two minutes in the tub while I went to grab towels and in those two minutes they successfully unwrapped 8 brand new bars of soap and filled the tub with several sets of dirty clothing. Yes, dirty clothing. Not only did they think it was a great idea to fill the tub with soap and clothing items, but dirty clothing. During the interrogation it was revealed that dirty clothing appeared to be the best thing to put in the tub because (1) they were in the hamper close to the tub and (2) "Mommy puts dirty clothing in water too."

As of yet the investigation is ongoing. I have yet to discover just who put the items in the tub because according to the twins neither of them participating or witnessed anything happening.

I've been missing my blog buddies!

For those of you who don't know, I'm in summer school. I've been in school for what seems like forever now. A couple of years ago I decided it was important for me to return to school and complete my degree. As I watched my oldest son get closer and closer to high school I realized that it was going to be very important to me that I was able to say to him, "whatever you decide to do, do it well. Don't give up because it seems difficult, or boring, or even when it seems like its something you don't really think you'll want to do in the future." It never hurts to have additional skills or knowledge, so........I re-enrolled in college.

Just to give you a little background info., I attended NC Central Univ. straight out of high school on a full academic scholarship. I almost went kicking and screaming. I wanted to be out of the house but I didn't want to go to college. I wanted to go to cosmetology school. Well to make a long story short, I did nothing in school, made some decisions that made school more difficult and dropped out. I eventually went to cosmetology and loved it. I enjoyed a successful career in cosmetology for about 10 years and then it happened. In one phone call, the plans I had for my career and life changed completely. After having months of back pain, chiropractor visits, and physical therapy, I visited a neurosurgeon. After one visit and a few test he called me back the next day to inform me that I needed surgery immediately to fix the worst disc herniation that he has ever seen. I was at risk for having permanent nerve damage. I can still remember that day. Now that I think back I realize that everything was set up perfectly. It just so happened that on this busy day in my salon, my mom was catching a nap under the dryer. I imagine I would have lost it emotionally had she not been there to keep me grounded. Its not everyday you get a call from the Dr. saying, "You need surgery now. I'm going to postpone my vacation to perform the surgery tomorrow, and if you happen to lose function of your bladder or bowels before tomorrow, come immediately to the ER. You are at risk for having permanent nerve damage of your legs." He promised that I would return to work 4-6 weeks after surgery. Here I am 1 1/2 years later. I was never able to return and now I wish I had finished school when it was so much easier. In the mist of all of that I am thankful that God has given me the opportunities to stay home with my little ones. There was so much about them that I was missing. Yes, there are days when I feel that they are sharing more than I really want to know, but at the end of most days, I'm lovin' be a stay at home mom. Its amazing how a devastating situation that seems to be one that you will never recover from can actually be an unbelievable opportunity waiting in the wings. For example, writing is something that I've always loved but would have never taken to the time to do, but here I am sitting up at the crack of dawn happily tapping away at my computer. I now find myself dreaming about what I'll write about, not only in my blog, but I've found the time and inspiration to actually write a few children's stories. My little ones are enjoying the characters in my stories that I have developed based on their personlity quirks. I say all of this to simply say, I've been busy with school and homework and mothering, and I haven't had the time I would usually have to blog, and I'm finding that I miss it dearly. But I guess its one of the many sacrifices I'm willing to make in order to set an example for my children and family. The great thing is the summer session will be over in another 3 weeks and I don't plan to take two writing intensive classes at the same time during the fall session.

Oh, I can't end this post without saying I have an awesome hubby. He has been wonderful at supporting and encouraging me. By the time I finish school, I think he will know enough about criminal justice to earn a degree also. He has been great at helping with cooking and laundry and all the other little things I've had to put on the back burner to focus on school. Thanks baby!

Scrapbook Pages

For months now I have been promising some of my scrapbooking friends that I would post pics of some of my pages. Because I have a zillion things to do, I am just getting around to it, so here they are!

Partners in Crime features my "irish twins". They always find a way to create a mess of trouble. Neither of them ever did it, nor do they ever have a clue of who the culprit could be. From the time Ike could talk, they have conspired to always stick to their story.....They didn't do it!

10 Things I love about me was very hard, and it took a while to come up with these 10 things. I didn't want all of the things to be physical or based on the titles I've acquired, such as mommy and wife. While I love the fact that I feel pretty good about my mothering and wife-ing skills, I wanted to dig deeper for things like my creativity, and my strength. This was a hard one!

What I Love About You was an easy one, because there aren't many things not to love about my wonderful husband ;-)

This layout features my precious Leah, Peah, Deah. She is a quiet middle baby with the most precious smile. Her personality makes me think of spring. She's so bright and refreshing.

This layout is a testament to the love I share with my hubby.The little tags around our picture are love songs that remind me of our love, Anita Baker's "Sweet Love"; Stevie Wonder "Ribbon in the Sky", and Sade "By Your Side."
This is just a layout of some pictures of my little ones while they were enjoying the beach. This is one of my favorite pictures.