Weekend at Leslie's.........

Last weekend Leslie and Paul were celebrating their anniversary by going to Park City, so after work on Friday I headed out to Tremonton to stay with Cambria, Braxton and Gunner.  

We started out the weekend by having dinner at Subway.  After that we played Dance on the Wii.  It was great fun, especially watching Gunner try to keep up with the dance.  At one point Cambria and I were doing a duet and Braxton all of a sudden shouted, "Grandma can dance?!"  Well of course I can dance, I haven't lost it yet.  Then we played Guitar hero.  

Cambria decided to put on a show for me.  She and Braxton and Gunner danced and sang songs with her ipod, very entertaining. Then we put on a movie and popped some popcorn on which I broke a tooth!  Lucky for me that it didn't hurt, but it took off the front of one of my molars.

I tried to get up early enough on Saturday to workout before the kids woke up but just as I started my video both Gunner and Braxton woke up.  Gunner then tried to do my workout with me :).

Then we just hung around the house.  Braxton was trying to teach Gunner how to ride his bicycle with out training wheels.  When I came out to watch, Gunner would only let him push him on the grass, he was too afraid of falling on the sidewalk, but he did ride it for a minute and Braxton was so proud of himself for teaching his little brother something.  

For dinner Saturday night we went to Taco Time.  I got my favorite, the chicken casita burrito.....boy do I miss our Taco Time.  Gunner polished off a large cheddar mexi-fry all by himself, and then wanted more.  Here are the kiddos waiting for our food....

When we got home we made strawberry shortcake and watched movies until we all fell asleep.

Sunday Cambria decided she wanted to make her parents a surprise for when they got home so I helped her make some brownies.  Then she made a cute picture and taught the boys a cheer to do when their parents walked in the house.  It turned out very cute.

Well I went to the dentist Wednesday and he was able to fix my broken tooth without having to put on a crown, but it was close enough to the nerve that he said I have a 50/50 chance of it turning into a root canal.  We'll just have to hope for the best.  The bad news...I do need a root canal on a tooth that had started bothering me on the other side, I'll get that done this Tuesday.

American Attic.......

It's no secret that I LOVE music, all kinds, if I like it I listen to it but my heart is in rock. I always have music playing, even at work.  A few years ago I became friends with Jeremy H.  He was our produce department manager in the Perry store and then he became an APC (Asset Protection Coordinator).  He is now also in he new Ogden store, and I now 'get' to go on shrink reviews with him.

He is a musician and MANY of our talks always end up about music, what we listen to, or are playing.  When he hears something he thinks I would like he is always telling me. Jeremy has a band, in the beginning they were called The Flocked Cows, now they are called American Attic.  Here is a picture of them on their latest CD....... Jeremy is in the rebel tshirt......

So I've never heard his band play, I have the Flocked Cow CD so I've heard what they sound like, but they have had some member changes since that CD and of course changed their name.  They have played a couple time promoting their new CD but I have missed seeing them. They have had their songs played on on the radio but it's not the same as hearing them live. Well last Friday night I found out that they were going to be playing at the Brigham Relay For Life.  I was so excited.  It was right here in Brigham, no reason I couldn't go down and see them play.

So when I got to the park I met up with my friend Sarah C. We found Jeremy and he was a little stressed.  All his band members weren't going to make it.  Doug was there (the guy at the end in the picture), but the rest were too far away and stuck in traffic, they also had the rest of their equipment.  But Jeremy is a professional and he played solo.

Here he is getting set up..... 

He sang several of our favorites and then had fun with some cover songs... 

He even played the song he wrote about his Grandmother who had lost her battle with cancer a few years ago. It was soo good and there wasn't a dry eye to be had among us when he was finished.... 

Doug even got on stage a couple of times and danced for us, the picture I took didn't turn out good though.  It was very entertaining.  

After he was finished I bought his new CD and he gave me a bumper sticker and a tshirt.  Then Sarah and I got to be roadies and help him and his wife Laura carry his guitars and stuff to his car. I am so glad that we have become friends, he is a good person and very talented.  Now I can't wait to hear the whole band!  I'll be able to say "I knew him when" when he becomes famous.....;)

Memorial Weekend.......

I had the best Memorial day weekend.  It started out with Trevon's birthday party at the Layton Family fun Center. 

My dad was there and he hadn't seen me in over a year.  I now refer to it as my "Biggest Loser" moment.  You know when the contestants have their makeover and then their families get to see them....Well I didn't have a make over but it was just as special.  The look on my dad's face when I walked in was priceless.  It was very emotional for the both of us. 

He has been a huge support during this lifestyle change.  He reads my WW blog and sends me emails and calls me.  Here we are...I'm not sure whose smile is bigger.....

 Trevon's birthday is actually this weekend but Jamie was gong out of town and so she decided to throw his party early.  Here is the birthday boy and his Star Wars cake....isn't he the cutest?!?!?!?

The kids love to have parties at the fun center.  They can ride their scooters, roller skate, and there are a ton of games for them to play.   But the kids are not the only ones that have fun.......

Here is Paul (in the grey) and Charles (in the black) busy playing some of the video games......

Here is my sister Angel going around the rink on a scooter....

and here is my daughter Jamie on roller skates....

After the party I went home with Angel because I was spending the night at her house.  We stopped at Charles and Debbie's to drop off dad and Charles.  We stayed until Mom and Debbie got home from my cousin David's wedding luncheon.  We visited for a while, then Angel and I left for her house.

Angel took me to dinner at Zupa's.  We had their Cream of Asparagus soup and their Chicken Summer Salad.  It was sooooo good. 

Sunday morning we met mom, dad Charles and Joe at IHOP for breakfast before mom and dad headed back home to St. George. 

Angel insisted on taking a picture from the other direction because she said

 I'm always taking the pictures and I'm never in them. 

Angel brought several of her photo albums for us to look through.  It was a lot of fun seeing all those old pictures of us.  Good idea Angel!

That afternoon Angel took me to see Les Miserables at the Capital Theatre.  It is the first time I have seen it and yes, I cried at the end.  It was so good.  Oh, by the way,the Capital Theatre has the BEST oatmeal cookies at their refreshment table.  Just sayin' if you ever go there.  After the show we went to Olive Garden for dinner.  I had their Venetian Apricot Chicken...very good...a must try if you get the chance.

It was the best weekend even if I had to cut it short to go back to work on Monday. There are more pictures here and here on my FB page if you want to see more of my weekend.

It's never too late for change......

A year ago on Mother's Day I had what I lovingly refer to as "The Intervention".  I had reached an all time low.  The events over the past 17 years had taken their toll on me and between that and recent happenings at my job I was on antidepressants and addicted to food.  I had reached an all time high in my weight and and all time low in my depression. 

My health was a mess, I was on two different pills to try and keep my blood pressure under control and even then it was still high. I was feeling like if I never showed up anywhere again I wouldn't even be missed, not suicidal, I just become reclusive when I'm depressed.  I figured I was just going to always be fat and alone.

My family was worried about me, especially my girls.  So on Mother's day they sat me down and we talked.  It started out kinda shaky at first but it ended up okay.  They said things I needed to hear and I left it with a promise to them to look into some programs.

My friend at work, Connie had joined Weight Watchers that last February and was having great success in losing weight and she really liked the program so I went and checked it out.  The result...On May 26, 2010 I joined Weight Watchers to help me change my life. 

I was (embarrassed to say) 303.4 pounds (and I had lost 14 before I started).  Here is a VERY rare picture of me that was actually taken a year before "the intervention".  The smile is fake because I was anything but happy.  I was drowning and didn't know how to make it stop.

I keep this picture on my phone and look at it to remind me of where I have come from. 

So a year later I have had great success in changing my lifestyle. I am no longer on antidepressants or high blood pressure medications. I have lost 116.8 pounds with Weight Watchers plus the 14 I had lost the month before for a grand total of 130 pounds.  My doctor is thrilled.

Weight Watchers is a lifestyle not a diet.  It has taught me to eat correctly and take better care of myself through proper diet and exercise.  It has helped me to learn how to handle my emotions without food.  Do I still slip once in a while?  Yes, but I just get back up and get myself back on track.  I am genuinely happy now and I feel great!

Every spring Weight Watchers has a Walk It Challenge with a 5k.  Last year at this time it took me over 10 minutes just to walk around my block and I was winded.  This year I walked/jogged the 5k!

Here is a picture of myself and my dear friend Fran before the walk.  She is also a WW member and works for them.

This is Lorrie and LeAnn.....

The 5k was around the Mantua Reservoir.  It was the first sunny day we had had in weeks.  The reservoir is nestled in the mountain and it is a beautiful walk.  My time for my first 5k......48.10.  Not going to break any speed records with that but I was proud of it non the less.  That time was actually 5 minutes faster than the Saturday before when LeAnn and I had come up to give the route a trial run. 

We could order Walk It shirts from WW and you could have one of their sayings on the back or put one of your own.  On the back of mine I put "Because I Can!".  One thing I have learned through this journey to get my life back is that I can do anything I put my mind to!  It is never to late to change your life around,  just look at me.  I have a blog on the WW site here if you want to read about my journey more.

I still have a ways to go to get to my goal, but I will get there.  I have made a lot of changes in how I eat and live and deal with life in general, but like all projects it is a work in progress and it is something that I will always have to be aware of.  I'm not proud of where I've been but I'm proud of where I am and where I'm going.  I don't ever want to be that person I was a year ago again.

What can make a long day at work even longer........

THIS!

This is my friend and fellow carpooler (word?) Conly, changing the flat tire that we got just as we turned the corner by the store to head out to the freeway, at least it blew before we got on. 

We were right off Wall, and this is not the better part of town.  While Conly was changing the tire this guy kept riding by on his bicycle, nothing happened but he made me nervous.

Then to make it an even longer day....you can only go 50-55 mph on a donut so we had to take the back roads home with the emergency flashers on.   Fun times! 

While we were enjoying the scenery the Steppenwolf song "Born To Be Wild" kept running through my head.  I think it was torture for poor Conly to have to drive Jean Claude (his car) that slow. I did my best to entertain him while we coasted along.  I won't go into what was going along faster than we were.....it will just make Conly and Jean Claude feel bad ;).

When we got to Brigham, we went straight to the Walmart so that he could get a new tire before the TLE closed.  We just barely made it.  So while I waited, I ran (by ran I mean I walked to the other side of the store) to the Subway and got a salad for dinner.  I tried to buy Conly something but he wouldn't let me.

By the time I finally got to my car (we meet at the Flying J off the 1100 S. Exit) and got home it was 7:00.  It's never a dull ride when you're with Conly.  It's also good to know that he can change a tire, of course he said that if I get a flat tire he will just sit in the car and make me do it.  That's what he says, but he really is a nice guy, I might have to pay him, but he would change the tire for me.

Ducks, Hot Air Balloons and Dance Competitions.........

Friday morning when Conly and I got out of the car right there walking in front of us was a male Mallard and it's mate.  They were just walking across the parking lot.  We came up behind them and they didn't even fly away, just kept walking around.  I tried to get a picture with my phone but it wasn't good enough to really show them.  Who would have thought I would be seeing wildlife in the parking lot on Wall Avenue in Ogden. Conly just wanted to shoot them but unfortunately they were not in season and he didn't have a gun.

We have a week and a half before our grand opening so things are really starting to pick up.  We had a week long bake sale to raise money for CMN (Children's Miracle Network) more specifically Primary Children's Hospital.  There were all kinds of goodies all week long.  We also had luncheons everyday.  Monday-Pizza, Tuesday-sloppy joes, Wednesday-pot luck, Thursday-breakfast burritos, and Friday we had hamburgers and hot dogs and invited the local police and fire departments to join us.  Sure beat bringing a sandwich everyday.

Saturday I went with Leslie and Miss Cambria (no boys this time) to Roy High to watch her compete with her dance studio.  On the way down we saw a hot air balloon just floating along by itself.  I caught a picture of it as we drove by.

Here is a picture of Cambria right before they came out to do their Cheer routine.  She was showing a little stress because she had to do a back hand spring right as they came out on the floor and she has just gotten them down this last year and it still makes her scared that she will fall on her head or just mess them up. 

But she did them just fine (was there any doubt?) Here she is at the top of the pyramid (on the left) at the end of the routine....

All smiles and confidence...... 

They did their big show number, which is all of the classes coming out and dancing.  It is pretty impressive, especially since they have a lot of girls. 

 Here is Cambria doing her scorpion..not to brag but look at hers compared to the other girls...perfection! 

Then she danced her lyrical.....once a gain another perfect scorpion..... 

To end it all was her hip-hop....... 

In case you hadn't noticed I just love to watch Cambria dance and there are more pictures on my FB if you want to look.  She just lights up when she hits the dance floor and she is REALLY good.  She reminds me of her Mom and her Aunt Jamie, they were the same way.  They danced their hearts out and loved it. 

Today is Mother's day and I just wanted to mention the Mother's in my life. 

My mom.....is the smartest person I know and very artistic. She has been a great example to me and because of that I feel like I have been a better mother.

Jamie and Leslie....their lives haven't always been easy and I haven't always been the best mother but they turned out to be great mom's and I couldn't be prouder of them.

So Happy Mother's Day to all my friends and family, I hope this day turns out to be a happy one for you all.

May 1st, or....where is Spring?

Well here I am in a quest to journal more often.  I thought about it during the week but just didn't get around to doing it.  I did, however, have time to watch the new Bleach episode and try out a couple of other new anime's (I'm sorry my geeky side wins sometimes).

April to a lot of people means springtime, but if you live in northern Utah it usually means an extension of winter.  The last day we had in the 60's was back in February, what's up with that?  It has rained and snowed most of the month.  We are used to that but one of our store planners is from Arizona and he is always coming into my office and complaining about the cold.  I keep telling him that it is not really that cold but I don't think he's buying it.

Today is the first of May and it is a LITTLE warmer than yesterday (in which I was driving over to Logan where it was snowing).  All this rain and snow is causing my grass to green up nicely and it has reached a height of about 6 to 8 inches. This made it really easy to hide the Easter eggs last weekend.  It won't be so easy to cut when it dries out.

The other thing that is happening with all this rain and snow is that the rivers and stream are reaching the tops of their banks and the snow pack hasn't even started to melt yet. 

The Ogden river runs right behind the store and my office is on the back corner of the building.  My boss keeps coming in and tells me to watch the outside corner of my office for water.  He laughs but this is not something I want to see.  We actually went out the fire door right by my office door and looked at the river with a guy from the city.....when the snow starts to melt it could get a little damp I'm not gonna lie

The city is actually building a nice little park behind our store in front of the river.  In the summer it should be a nice place to go back and eat lunch, if it's not under water :).

One of the guys setting traps by the doors informed Jeanell and I that because of the river and the fact that there is space at the bottom of the doors we could possibly get snakes in from the river.  We just looked at each other and cringed.

Carpooling with Conly has been very entertaining. I just love him. When he drives I get to listen to Bulgarian rock music and when I drive he keeps changing my radio stations.

We've started packing our lunches in an effort to save money that we now need for gas.  Because we are in store set up there are a lot of employees working at the same hours.  This means everyone goes to lunch at the same time.  If you don't get to the break room fast enough you don't get a place to sit.  Also if you bring something that needs to be heated up you will be standing in line at one of the two microwaves for the first half of your lunch.

In order to combat this, I punch out for lunch 15 minutes before the others (I can since I'm in the office) and I go to get a table and if Conly, Sara or I have anything that needs to be heated up I hurry and use the microwaves before the rush comes.  This has been working out nicely.  Conly really likes this because he just has to come in and sit down, his lunch is all ready for him.  I'm such a nice person sometimes.........

I got to spend two days getting MTR's (merchandise transfers) ready to go out to three different stores.  Our store was traded incorrectly in apparel and we had to get rid of the excess.  Vanessa (asst. manager) asked me to help her (I told you I was a nice person).  I asked our Claims associate....Mr. Benjamin...to help me. He is crazy and we are going to get along just fine.  He asked me how he got stuck helping and I told him if I had to suffer so did he.  I think that's fair, don't you?

Then there's Fernando.  He is one BIG man. Last week he came and sat at the table with Conly, Sara and I.  To be honest I was a little scared but that has now changed.  I asked him if he was a transfer from another store or a newbie.  He is a newbie.  He also told us he works another job...I asked doing what.....he replied...a bouncer at a bar.  I'm sure he is very good at that.  I told him that he probably had some very interesting stories to tell and that I would love to hear them.  Sara asked him if he had any kids and he said no and then she asked him if he was married and he told us "I am NEVER getting married!"  I told him that was the kiss of death to actually say those words. 

We now call him Nando and he really is a nice guy, a gentle giant.  He always is smiling and is nice to everyone.  When I see him I think of the children's story "Fernande the Bull".  Everyone thought he was a big mean bull and all he wanted to do was sit under a tree and smell the flowers.

I really love my new store. The managers are great and it is so much fun.  I am on the promotional and safety committees now (I had quit being on them at my old store).  This really has been a good move for me so far.  Josh, the store manager, keeps giving me more and more responsibilities.  It's nice to have people think that you know what you are doing and they trust you to do it.  It has given my self confidence a much needed boost.