Results ~ The Old-Fashioned Way

Back in the day, like I mean the 80's, we were Calorie Counters. That's how we watched our weight and lost weight. I don't remember ever hearing anything about fat, carbs, fiber, sugar, etc.

In recent years, however, those topics are all the rage! Do you want to lose weight? Don't eat ANY carbs! Or, cut ALL sugar out of your diet! Or, make sure everything you eat says 'Low Fat' on the label!

We have The Adkins Diet, The South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, and the list goes on and on. A few years ago I lost 13 pounds doing Weight Watchers. And then this past year when I was just trying to lose 5 pounds, Weight Watchers didn't work. And then I noticed that they have changed up their whole system to where it's now Weight Watchers Points Plus (or something like that) and it calculates your points using different factors than it used to. Why? Because all of these diets are fad diets and after a while they stop producing results!

We all know what we need to do to lose weight: Burn more calories than we consume. This involves watching our calories and exercising! Ooooohhhhh .... but that takes effort! It would be so much easier to just only eat meat for a month. And we need to have a balance of carbs, fat, sugar, protein, fiber, etc. Our bodies actually need all of those things! They just need them in the proper moderation. Cutting out those things shocks our body and causes us to lose weight for a time. But, eventually our bodies catch back up and realize we are missing an important element. That's when the weight loss stalls!

So I am back to praising My Fitness Pal. As of today I have lost 6 pounds. I am only 2 pounds away from my goal. I have 26 days to lose those 2 pounds. Those are 6 pounds I could not lose doing Weight Watchers, or any other system.

My Fitness Pal helps you lose weight the old-fashioned way. You journal your calorie intake. And then the system automatically keeps track of your carbs, fat, fiber, protein, sugar, etc.

There's still some time to lose a few pounds before Christmas. What a great time to start! Think how much better you will feel on Christmas if you have a head start on gaining control of your weight and body. That's the best Christmas gift you could give yourself!

Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... The sun is shining brightly, and it's chilly.

I am thinking... about the realities of life.

I am thankful ... that my children are not some of the millions who are without food or a home. We have been watching lots of news stories about children living in their cars, working families not making enough to pay for food, etc. And we live in abundance.

I am wearing... OSU t-shirt layered over a black burnout shirt, black yoga pants, Nike's.

I am planning...  our Homeschool Co-op parents' Christmas party that is this Saturday.
 

I am creating... Rick's Ugly Christmas sweater for the party, and snowflake placemat pillows.

I am going... to take Crusoe for a walk at lunchtime instead of going this morning when it was about 30 degrees (that's what we did yesterday ... brrrrr).

I am reading...  Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Dawson's read-a-loud), The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright.

I am hoping... for a joyful Christmas season.

From the learning rooms... We went and toured the replicas of the Nina and Pinta yesterday, and it was very cool! This week we are back into the books. But Brynne is starting her Christmas units.

Noticing that ... I am so much leaner as a result of my eating and exercising habits and logging them on My Fitness Pal. The pones are GONE!

From the kitchen... Tonight we are having Skinny Spinach Pasta. Tomorrow is Fend For Yourself and Wine Wednesday. Thursday we are having Turkey Pot Pie (leftovers). Friday it's Burgers. On Saturday we are having a Christmas party, so we'll be eating appetizers and desserts and ordering pizza for our kids. On Sunday we'll have Calzones. And on Monday I am planning Meatball Subs.

Around the house... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

One of my favorite things... is the results of Christmas decorating. The decorating itself stinks!

A few plans for the rest of the week... Mostly this week we will be just doing the norms: school, Kyndal working, Rick back to work. Then this weekend we are having a Christmas party for our Homeschool Co-op parents. And we'll be watching the OSU/OU Bedlam game.

From my picture journal.

Our field trip yesterday to the Nina and Pinta.

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Decorating for Christmas

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you probably know what a scrooge I am and how I detest decorating for Christmas! In fact, last year, we only put up our stockings, and put up our tree on December 23rd.

Now, lest you feel the need to leave me a nasty comment, I had a reason why we didn't put up our tree until right before Christmas.

Brynne and I read the book An Early American Christmas by Tomie DePaola last year. Feeling a little world-weary, reading this book and about the simplicity of the colonial traditional Christmas spoke to me. It actually made me smile and feel immense peace. So, we had an old-fashioned Christmas last year. All of our decorations were homemade (except for the stockings.)

You can read most of my posts on this by going to this link. (And I recommend you do it. It was amazing!)

Part of the old-fashioned Christmas included buying a ball and burlap tree so that after Christmas we could plant it in our backyard. We honestly thought it would die, but it made it through the record snows this past winter and the record heat this summer. We want to do this same thing again this year. But with a ball and burlap tree, you can't keep it up very long.

Eli's birthday is on December 22nd, so this actually worked out great! We could concentrate on his birthday and then on the 23rd we put up the tree and started getting ourselves ready for Christmas.

And that is what we are planning to do this year, too.

But instead of an old-fashioned Christmas, we decided to do our traditional decorations, including house lights (we didn't even do that last year.)

Since most of my family was gone this Thanksgiving break, I had time to put up our decorations. I will admit, I still didn't enjoy it. But, I think the glass of wine helped somewhat. I got everything up in record time (except for the tree and outside decorations that will be done a bit later.)

The house looks great. The kids are happy. And I am relieved that we are ready to start the Christmas season.

Happy

Although our main intention was to spend as much time this weekend relaxing in our jammies, today was the one day we planned to be out of the house.

We started our day by going to see Happy Feet Two. I really enjoyed it, although it wasn't as good as the first one, in my humble opinion. As a family, we loooove Happy Feet. So, it had a lot to live up to. It didn't quite make it, but having Pink replace Brittany Murphy as Gloria was a wonderful addition. Her singing was amazing!

After the movie, we went to our local McDonald's for lunch. Let me tell you briefly about our McDonald's. It is owned by the Rich family. They are outstanding people! This summer they tore down the McDonald's and rebuilt it from the ground up. During that time of construction, they paid their employees their normal hourly wages for every hour they volunteered at local non-profit organizations. I happily support their McDonald's franchise.

Then it was time to grocery shop. Eli hates to do anything outside of our house, so I was so happy that our shopping went off without a hitch. Eli and Brynne really are two of the most well-behaved children I have ever been around. I am always so proud to take them places. And the stores were busy because it was Black Friday afternoon. But I didn't have to worry about them misbehaving. I really never do. We completed our shopping and picked up a pizza for dinner.

The kids got to bed at a decent time, and I have sat on the couch, happy as a clam, watching a Storage Wars marathon. You're jealous, I know.

Tomorrow we ARE going to stay in our jammies all day. I am planning an interval housecleaning/relaxing day. That means I'll do one housecleaning duty then relax for a bit watching a show I have DVR'd. Then I'll do another housecleaning duty and then relax. And so on. This is my favorite kind of day. I get a lot done but also get a lot of relaxing done, too. I end up feeling productive and re-energized!

And on Sunday? It's time to get out the Christmas decorations. The tree waits until December 23rd, the day after Eli's birthday, but the rest will get put up on Sunday (hopefully). This year I have more pressure because we are having a Christmas party here next weekend.

Have a great weekend!

I Like Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day

I hope that your family had as nice a Thanksgiving as me and my little turkeys.

We had a low-key day, with Brynne not feeling well this morning. We just watched the parade and the dog show on t.v., played, did some cleaning, and fixed Thanksgiving dinner.

Brynne sang us a Thanksgiving song before we ate, and I videoed it. But I haven't been able to get it to download anywhere. Frustrating. It is so funny because as I scan over to Eli, he is wincing and making the most hilarious disgusted face. Wish you could see it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We missed you daddy, Kyndal, and Dawson.

Truly Thankful

I have much to be thankful for today, and I sit and reflect ...

I am thankful ... my husband is taking the time to reconnect with his family this week. They have not been close over the past several years, and was so nice to see him looking forward to spending time with them.

I am thankful ... that Kyndal and Dawson have such rich Thanksgiving traditions with their dad's family. I know they look forward to it every year. Their grandma is the best cook around.

I am thankful ... to be surrounded today by my two little sweet babies and all my doggies. I feel very loved and cherished.

I am thankful ... for the opportunity to see the true joy and excitement in my children while watching the iconic Macy's Day Parade and to hear Brynne proclaim, "That is the greatest thing I have ever watched!"

I am thankful ... for healthy children. As I watch the St. Jude's commercials, and nurse a sweet baby girl who is in bed with a rotten cold, I am thankful she is home with me being nursed instead of in a hospital somewhere with a terminal illness.

I am thankful ... for a beautiful and comfortable home.

I am thankful ... that my parents have their dream homes and are enjoying their pre-retirement this week at their home in Pensacola.

I am thankful ... for that home for us all to gather after Christmas, and am looking forward to seeing my brother and sister-in-law and having our whole family together for the first time in years!

I am thankful ... I actually was able to get ahold of my brother and wish him a Happy Thanksgiving. It was nice to talk to him!

I am thankful ... for the miracle of a new baby, and that my sister gets another opportunity with motherhood.

I am thankful ... for the opportunity to be able to stay home and teach my children, while at the same time pursuing a dream part-time career that I have always longed for.

I am thankful ... for a homeschooling community that is loving and encouraging and active.

I am thankful ... that my Aunt Rhonda's breast cancer scares are over and that she is now healthy again.

I am thankful ... that my grandmother is in a home where she is well taken care of and safe, and that her Medicaid went through this week and there is no threat of her being evicted.

I am thankful ... for my little church home and all it does for our community.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, my friends.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

~ "Count Your Blessings" by Johnson Oatman, Jr., and  Edwin Excell

Still Celebratin' Fall Around Here

I have started to see the Christmas lights going up on the houses (some are even on). Goodness knows the products have been in the stores since June. Christmas music, books, articles, and movies are permeating the senses at every turn. But, I am not ready to jump into it all quite yet.

It's still Fall around here. We still have some beautiful leaves on the trees (although not a lot). The temps are still fall-like. My pumpkins are still out, and my other fall decorations. I am still burning my pumpkin spice candles and reading about all there is to be thankful for. I am still teaching Thanksgiving to my kids.

And last weekend I made these cute leaf pillows that I stole from an idea at Or So She Says ... They were super easy and cheap. They are made from placemats at Walmart. And if you hurry, you might still be able to pick some up! They were on clearance.

If you can't find the leaves, and want to do the same thing with Christmas placemats, Walmart has the same type of placemats in the shapes of snowflakes for $2.98 each. I am going to buy them on Friday and make snowflake pillows. So pretty!

Nicole' Daybook

Outside my window... Cold and overcast, getting dark. Definitely fall.

I am thinking... about how I have been looking forward to having several days of quiet at home during this break, but now I am feeling a little sad that the majority of my family will not be here onThanksgiving. We'll make the most of it, though!!!!

I am thankful ... that my sister's baby she is expecting is healthy and strong.

I am wearing... Nike hoodie, jeans and tennis shoes.

I am planning...  a loving and meaningful Thanksgiving for Eli and Brynne.
 

I am creating... organized rooms in anticipation of the busy holidays.

I am going... to get out of my p.j.'s as infrequently as possible over the next five days.

I am reading...  Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Dawson's read-a-loud), The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright, Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne (Eli and Brynne's break read-a-long).

I am hoping... that all of the members of my family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

From the learning rooms... We focused on Thanksgiving this week, and also the discoveries of Christopher Columbus in anticipation of a field trip next Monday.

Noticing that ... before I started using MyFitnessPal, I was eating WAAAAYYYY more calories than I was supposed to in a day, even though the majority of it was healthy food. It's amazing to me to see the proper serving sizes of food.

From the kitchen... will be a roasting turkey in a couple of days, and some pumpkin pie.

Around the house... are thousands of black birds that are so loud they sound like a horror movie.

One of my favorite things... is getting my house completely organized and clean.

A few plans for the rest of the week... My family is dispersing for Thanksgiving this year. Eli, Brynne, and I will spend the holiday together at home. We are going to hear Brynne sing with her homeschool choir at the Community Center tomorrow morning, and we'll go see Happy Feet 2 at some point this weekend. But, mostly, we will be relaxing and enjoying some time off from school, and eating lots of turkey.

From my picture journal.

The Turkey plates Eli, Brynne and I made for all of the residents of my grandma's nursing home. They sayd, "I am thankful for your Legacy."

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Menu Plan Monday

This week will be a short week of real cooking, because the older kids leave on Tuesday afternoon to spend Thanksgiving with their dad and his family, and Rick is leaving Wednesday morning to spend an extended Thanksgiving with his family in Nevada. It will just be me and the littles for several days. Therefore, I won't be doing any heavy cooking.

Monday ~ Grilled pork chops, linguine and asparagus

Tuesday ~ Pork fajitas

Wednesday ~ Fend for Yourself

Thursday ~ Mini Thanksgiving Dinner: Turkey, noodles, biscuits, macaroni and cheese, and pumpkin pie (all requests of the kids)

Friday ~ Frozen lasagna

Saturday ~ Book-it pizzas from Pizza Hut

Sunday ~ Soup and sandwiches

I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, however you choose to spend it.

17

Seventeen years ago today, Kyndal reluctantly entered this world. She was 10 days late, and I forced her out by an induction. I hadn't dilated at all, my cervix had not thinned at all. She wasn't going anywhere! She was comfortable and planning to stay a while longer.

Yet, from the moment she was born, she has been charging forward, never happy being where she is. She is always moving toward the next step, with me holding on tight trying to keep her where she's supposed to be for a bit longer.

Last night Kyndal and I took a rare opportunity to spend some time alone together. We went out to eat and had a really great talk about her future plans. She is currently in Cosmotolegy school through Vo-Tech in high school. She plans to get her cosmo license, get some experience, and then open her own salon in the town where her dad is from. It's four hours away from here, but I have complete peace with it. I will miss her, but it really is her destiny. She'll marry some little country guy and live a little country life. At her age I couldn't wait to get out of the small town and hit the big world. She is the complete opposite. She's ready to settle into that country, small town life.

After dinner, we grabbed a Starbucks and went to buy her a birthday outfit. Eli and Brynne gave her a giraffe Pillow Pet that she named Wollie. It is the only thing she wanted for her birthday. Dawson posted a sweet message on her Facebook Wall that made her cry and gave her $20 of his own money for her "to spend how she wants".

This morning, she opened her other gifts: Two tickets to the Lady Antebellum concert in January and a David Freese St. Louis Cardinals t-shirt. Like I said, she's her own kind of girl!

This weekend she is going to Missouri to spend some time with her dad and his family. Well, actually, she's going to see some country boy she is smitten with. He seems to be a really nice guy and she is excited to hang out with him. They are going to watch him play football in the state playoffs, and then somehow he has convinced her to get up at o'dark:thirty to go hunting. Oh, young love.

It's an exciting time for Kyndal.

We have such a short time left with her, and I really want to slow down time. But, some birds were not meant to be caged. Sometimes you just have to let them fly.

Happy Birthday, Kyndal! I love you!

Jesse Tree

Have you ever done a Jesse Tree for Advent? I have heard about it, but never done it. Honestly, I wasn't really sure what all was involved.

The Jesse Tree represents the family tree, or genealogy of Jesus Christ. It tells the story of God's salvation plan, beginning with creation and continuing through the Old Testament, to the coming of the Messiah. The name comes from Isaiah 11:1, "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit." (NASB) Each day of Advent a homemade ornament is added to the Jesse Tree, a small tree made of evergreen branches. These symbolic ornaments can each represent a prophecy foretelling of Christ. Other variations include creating ornaments that represent the ancestors in the lineage of Christ, or using the various monogram symbols of Christianity as handmade ornaments.

~ from About.com

Nicole at Tired, Need Sleep has spent tireless hours putting together a free download for everything you need for a Jesse Tree.

I am planning on starting with my kids on December 1st. We are going to put a tree branch in an anchored vase in the middle of our kitchen table and add the ornaments to it each day. (It will look something like this.)

Image from Just Another Day in Paradise

This will be a great way to help us stay focused on the real meaning of Christmas ... the birth of our Lord and Savior.

"You don't need to lose weight!" and the Reasons Why I Am

A few weeks ago I signed up for MyFitnessPal to try to lose 8 pounds. I am going to be completely transparent. I am 40 years old, 5 foot 6 inches tall, and weighed 130.5 pounds when I started. When those who know me hear that I am trying to lose weight, I always hear, "You don't need to lose 8 pounds!"

That may be true, and really, it's an arbitrary number based on what I weighed a couple of summers ago when I was at my most fit. I just liked myself then. My realistic goal, however, is 125. I have always said I want to be a fit 125 pounds.

Here are the reasons why I am on this journey:

1. Hi, my name is Nicole and I am a carb addict. Although I eat fairly healthy most times, don't eat a lot of junk food, and don't really overeat that often, I can't stay away from carbs! I can (and most times do) eat them at every meal and lots of them! I dream about carbs. Carbs contribute greatly to No. 2.

2. The women in my family have a serious case of "pones". What are pones, you ask? My dad has funny names for things. He calls the 'fat back', muffin top, overhanging midsection, "pones". My mom and sister and daughter and I are all reasonably thin, but because of our carb addiction, our pones get the best of us. We always get thick in the middle first. Which leads me to No. 3.

3. As people get older, their mid-sections get bigger. Even my skinny little 80 year old grandma has gotten thick in the middle. And I don't want to be thick in the middle. That's where bad health seems to reside.

4. I don't want to gain an extra 2-3 pounds a winter and not lose it. Last winter I gained about 5-8 pounds. I usually lose it once spring hits, and definitely by summer. This year I didn't. I don't want to get in the habit of doing that every year because, before I know it, I'll be 10-15 (or more) pounds heavier than I want to be and not able to lose it.

5. Now that I am 40, my metabolism isn't as fast. I am blessed with a fast metabolism. But I have seen a definite slowing of it over the past three years. Losing even a couple of pounds is extremely difficult for me! I used to be able to just watch what I ate for a couple of weeks and lose that. Not anymore.

6. I want to look good and feel good for my own self-esteem. But, primarily, I want to feel good. Nobody feels good when they are even a little overweight. I call myself "fleshy" when I get like that. And I don't want to be fleshy.

7. I want my husband to be proud to be seen with me. I want, when we are out together, for others to think that his wife is not a lazy woman who sits around and eats all day while he works his butt off for her.

So, what am I saying? Right now I am just getting a jump on the tubby winter months of comfort foods. I want to be able to lose some weight before Christmas so that at Christmas time I can eat and afford to gain a few pounds. Then after Christmas I want to lose that weight again. Then I just want to spend the rest of the winter and spring maintaining a healthy weight.

This will require constant watching of calories, carbs, sugar intake, and exercise. MyFitnessPal is my tool for accomplishing all of that.

If you would like to join me on my journey, and maybe start a journey of your own, sign up for MyFitnessPal and add me as a friend. My username is NicoleTaulman (all one word.)

Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... A calm, clear, fall morning, after a night full of rain.

I am thinking... about how much I am looking forward to spending five quiet days at home next week without anything to do except what I want to do.

I am thankful ... for my husband's new employer. We were invited to an annual party at his house this past weekend, and you could really feel his heart toward his people. He is someone I am thrilled to have my husband working for.

I am wearing... short-sleeved brown and cream plaid flannel shirt, jeans, Sperry's.

I am planning...  an Ugly Christmas Sweater party for our homeschooling parents.
 

I am creating... some fall pillows from placemats I bought on clearance at Wal-Mart. Post coming soon. (I totally copied this idea and it's genius.)

I am going... to take Dawson to Gamestop this afternoon to get the new release of one of the games he has been dying to get.

I am reading...  Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Dawson's read-a-loud), Night Road by Kristin Hannah.

I am hoping... for a healthy winter.

From the learning rooms... Working this week through the Dream book for an exhibit we are attending on Wednesday, "The Andromeda Strain" for Biology, and starting our studies on slavery and the abolition of slavery.

Noticing that ... that, again, my body is at a weight that it likes. Although I am not losing any weight, I feel so much better with what I am eating and the amount of exercising I am doing.

From the kitchen... is a roast in the crockpot for beef strog tonight.

Around the house... are fallen leaves everywhere and some tracked into the house by the dogs.

One of my favorite things... is sleeping. Seriously, I should have been a bear. Some would say I am.

A few plans for the rest of the week... I have a conference call this afternoon in regard to the Business Law curriculum I am writing, Thanksgiving lunch with Eli tomorrow, the Dream exhibit tomorrow afternoon, a surprise reading to Eli's class on Friday afternoon, and possibly the Philbrook Garden Glow on Saturday evening.

From my picture journal.

I haven't uploaded any new pics in a couple of weeks, so I went searching for something from this time last year. Here is Eli and Brynne at the airport on Veteran's Day waiting for their daddy to get back from a three week business trip to Aruba.

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

HP TouchSmart 320 Giveaway

Do you want the possibility to win an HP TouchSmart 320? Big Mama is having a giveaway on her blog for one! I would love this to use in homeschooling! It reminds me of the SmartBoards in the schools that are invaluable for education. Go there and read all about it and enter if you get the chance! Wouldn't that be a great Christmas gift for the family?

Menu Plan Monday

I haven't posted our weekly menu for a while. Here is what we are having this week:

Monday ~ Grilled BBQ pepperjack chicken, long-grain and wild rice, linguine, steamed broccoli

Tuesday ~ Crock pot beef stroganoff, steamed corn

Wednesday ~ FFY (Fend for Yourself)

Thursday ~ Skinny spinach pasta, salad

Friday ~ BBQ beef and cheddar wraps, cottage cheese

Saturday ~ Hot dogs, chips, cottage cheese

Sunday ~ Sub sandwiches

My Fitness Pal ~ Update

I've been logging my food and exercise on My Fitness Pal  for a couple of weeks now. Initially, I lost 3 pounds, then gained them back on my splurge to Canton, and now have gradually been losing them again this week.

I love My Fitness Pal. And you should, too.

Why do I love it?

First, I love how EVERY SINGLE FOOD YOU CAN THINK OF is already in the database. All you have to do is figure out how much of it you are eating and click the "Add" button.

You can customize what your Food Diary tracks. Mine tracks calories, carbs (a very important one for me), fat, fiber, protein, and sugar. As you eat foods, it counts down for you how much you have left in each category. Let's say you get to the end of your day and have 300 calories left to eat. But, you see that you are about maxed out on your carbs. This allows you to make a food choice that gives you the calories but not the carbs. It's great!

"Earn not Burn" ... calories, that is. That phrase is something that I made up and is a great motivator to me to exercise. When you put in your initial information, it gives you your daily calorie goal WITHOUT ANY EXERCISE factored in. So, my calorie goal each day is 1220 calories if I do NO exercise. But, if I exercise, I can earn more calories. Then I can eat more. If I don't want to eat more than my 1220 calories, then I don't have to exercise. (However, my exercise goal is 30 minutes a day, 4 days per week, so I have that goal out there anyway.) But if I am half-way through my day and see that I don't have as many calories left as I want, I can jump out on the elliptical for 10 minutes or go on a walk or jog for 30 minutes and earn more calories to finish out my day.


I am eating so much healthier and a more balanced diet. In all honesty, I am not eating diet foods. I am just eating a controlled amount of calories (portion control!!), and varying my food choices across the board.

In my opinion, you cannot follow My Fitness Pal and not lose weight and get more fit. It's not possible. All you have to do is be a willing participant.

And, it's set up like Facebook, so you can add friends and make comments, encourage, give advice, etc. I am not on Facebook and hate it, actually, but this is a worthwhile way to socialize, in my opinion. We can all use encouragers. If you want to add me as a friend, my Username is NicoleTaulman (no spaces).

Hope to see you getting more fit at My Fitness Pal!

Canton Finds

If you have never been to First Monday Trade Days in Canton, Texas, and you have the opportunity .... Goooooo!!!!!  My mom, aunt and I went down there this past weekend. We shopped from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. After we struggled through dinner each night, we collapsed into our hotel beds. It was exhausting, exhilarating and oh. so. fun.

I came home with a hodge-podge of items. I bought some Christmas gifts, some trendy boutique items for myself, a Canton t-shirt, and some other fun things as follows ..

I didn't have a good window to hang this stained-glass in, so I hung it on the wall in my kitchen. It's quite large. I am praying we don't have another earthquake that shakes it to a shattered mess on the floor.

The cutest tin painted by the cutest little old lady.

I have been wanting a cream and sugar set. I bought this one for $2.00.

I loved these floral picks that I got for $1.00 apiece.

I just loved this little iron wheelbarrow.

This might seem like a silly thing to buy, but it was a book of high-end upholstery fabric swatches for $2.00. I used it for several things.

I put some inside the glass doors of my curio cabinet in the kitchen.

I lined some shelves.

I decorated the dog treat jar and put one under it as a rug.

I have some other ideas for the other swatches I have left. I'm probably going to add some design to some pillows and make a piece of artwork.

This was a great weekend and we have decided to go every year. The weather was perfect, and it was a great way to recharge.

Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... Rainy, dreary fall day. But I LOVE IT!!!

I am thinking... how nice it is to have Rick just 10 minutes away during the day. He can come home for lunch if he wants and he's nearby to pop in for events with the kids.

I am thankful ... for a great weekend in Canton with my mom and aunt. We can't wait to do it again next year!

I am wearing... long-sleeved burnout layered t-shirt, skinny jeans, rain boots, gray jacket.

I am planning...  to get caught up on inputting grades this weekend. I am so far behind. I say every quarter that I'm not going to get behind but I do.

I am creating... a course description for the business law class I signed on to write (only have to do the course description now, and write the class starting in January.)

I am going... to take Brynne to the library this morning to pick up "Pup" from his sleepover. Last night she went for a sleepover storytime and left her beloved Pup there. Today she gets to pick him up and see pictures of all the fun stuff he did while spending the night at the library. She'll be glad to get him back. There were extreme tears several times last night because she missed him.

I am reading...  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Dawson's read-a-loud).

I am hoping... for a fun holiday season.

From the learning rooms... Continued fall studies for Brynne. We will also be doing some studies on Earthquakes. She was really scared when we had one the other day and knowledge helps conquer fear. Dawson is moving on to the invention of the steamboat and Abe Lincoln's early life. We will finally be wrapping up the Patterns of Life (aka "the introduction") in our Biology text. We have been taking it really slow but are getting ready to launch into Energy. Eli's "Fly Guy" character pumpkin won the contest. He was SOOOOO excited! And Kyndal is going to her first hair show this week. The girls are all dressing up fancy and getting ready together at Tech, then going to dinner before the show.

Noticing that ... this has been the craziest year for weather here in Oklahoma! First we had three feet of snow (unheard of). Then we had deadly tornadoes (unfortunately very heard of). Then we had the hottest summer (by a long shot) since the 1930's. Now we have experienced three earthquakes in the past few days. We felt another one last night. Crazy!!!

From the kitchen... hang some new rooster goodies I got at Canton First Monday Trade Days.

Around the house... are upholstery fabric swatches everywhere. Stay tuned for a post tomorrow about what I mean.

One of my favorite things... is a productive day.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Everything we are doing this week has already been stated above. I am looking forward to a pretty quiet week and nothing to do this weekend!

From my picture journal.

This is my grandma's recipe box. It has all of her secret recipes. I would weigh 500 pounds if I fixed these desserts for my family every night. There are some great recipes in there.

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Good and Bad

There's lots going on here, as usual, which has wrecked havoc on my blog writing. I simply have not had the time! Many things happening have their good aspects and bad aspects. Here are some:

I went to Canton this weekend.

The Good: I spent some quality time with my mom and aunt. We shopped until we literally dropped. The weather was beautiful. I was rejuvenated.

The Bad: While I was gone we had an earthquake (actually two) in Oklahoma and our house had a bad case of the tremors which scared my kids to death. I am ex.haust.ed. today! I ate way too many carbs and gained back the three pounds I worked so hard to lose last week.


Rick started his new job today.

The Good: He is happy with the change and looks forward to what it will mean for him personally and professionally.

The Bad: He will likely be traveling a lot which will take some major getting-used-to.


I have made it to the half-way point in our busy season.

The Good: We have completed two birthdays and Halloween. We only have two more birthdays and Christmas. Then we are off to Florida for a week with my whole family.

The Bad: The rest of the busy season is going to be really busy and I am feeling overwhelmed.


I really, really, really hope to get back into regular blogging. I just need to settle down a bit. (Enter husband saying, "Yeah, right!" here.)

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changin'

Yesterday I sent Rick off to quit his job. Yep. But never fear ... he has the next one lined up.

In fact, he is going back to the company he left a few months ago, just with a different division.

He is very excited about his new position. I am very excited for him because my wish for him is that he be fulfilled in his professional life, which has not been the case for him for several years. Rick has an incredible work ethic and is a leader in his industry. You do no run across very many men like him these days. He would do anything for his company, especially if they take good care of him.

The only downfall to this position is that it will require Rick to travel a lot more than we are used to. Some families would not be able to handle the travel schedule. But we are a pretty tough family when it comes to things like that. We will definitely miss him when he is gone. But with him receiving fulfillment in his job when he is there, we will receive a happier and more satisfied husband and daddy when he is HERE.  And that is worth a lot.

Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... Beautiful, sunny, fall day!

I am thinking... that today can be a successful and productive day, even though some of us feel under the weather and we started our day off late because we overslept. Attitudes are good, so that's a good way to start.

I am thankful ... that my husband loves me enough to send me away for a weekend.

I am wearing... gray knit pants, a gray and white striped long-sleeve t-shirt, my "New York" hat, and tennis shoes

I am planning... the next birthday, which is Kyndal's.

I am creating... a course description for the business law class I signed on to write (only have to do the course description now, and write the class starting in January.)

I am going... to arrange all of Eli's clothes today.

I am reading...  The Hunger Games, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Dawson's read-a-loud), listening to Pride and Prejudice while I work out.

I am hoping... that Rick has a positive meeting this evening.

From the learning rooms... Fall studies for Brynne, Trail of Tears for Dawson. All of the other studies are moving along nicely.

Noticing that ... I cook more tasty food when I am on a diet. Or maybe I am just so hungry that anything tastes good.

From the kitchen... Burritos tonight!

Around the house... The pansies are so big and pretty now that the weather has gotten cooler! I need to buy a few more to replace the ones that got scorched from planting too early.

One of my favorite things... Watching my kids interact with one another.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Tomorrow Dawson, Brynne and I are traveling to Tahlequah to visit the Cherokee Heritage Center and learn first-hand about the Trail of Tears. Then we are laying pretty low the rest of the week UNTIL I LEAVE ON FRIDAY FOR CANTON!! I don't know what the rest of the family is doing, and I don't rightly care. Just keep 'em alive, honey.

From my picture journal.

 I love catching moments like this.

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.