The old clunker get’s a tune-up!

So every now and then your old jalopy needs a wee bit of a tune – up.  Trouble is when you take a vehicle in for a little work they generally find a lot more than needs to be done.  We took the beast in for new front tires and lo and behold it needed brakes, bearings and what-not as well.  So $1,800 later we drove it home and it’s been parked ever since.  Blasted money pit.

So my dear friends decided I needed a tune-up as well.  They said it wasn’t a make-over (because miracles are rare) but a little spa pampering.  So Monday they took me to the Tune-up shop.

The Ladybug Lady  (as Hope calls her), gave me a much needed trim and layer.

I wasn’t brave enough to have her whack it off.  I’m waiting to hit goal weight for that.  Then I’ll have her give me an Alice Haircut.

 

But only if I’m a skinny little thing.  Meanwhile Prince Erik is relieved that a trim and layers is all I had Ladybug Lady do.  Too bad she could get rid of my double chin as well.

Then Mommiverse  helped me put on a little paint.  I’m not a make-up girl.  Prince Erik wishes I was.  What you see is what you get.  But hey, I don’t mind applying some stuff every now and then (church and dates).

O.K. I’m sick of posting pictures of me, it’s not that fun.

After my war paint was applied Fancy took me shopping.  TJ Maxx and $100.  She wouldn’t tell me who donated the money.  So whoever you are Thanks from me, thanks from my family as well.  And my wardrobe thanks you greatly.  I guess my friends were tired of seeing me in workout clothes, and tee shirts all the time.

 

This picture is not the best but I love this coral colored top.  It even hides my muffin top – Kind of.  I ended up getting a couple of darling skirts, shirts and a yoga mat.  I’ve promised DARling that I’d take  a Hot Yoga class with her soon.  Maybe I can sweat off the weight.

Sunshine stopped by with her daughter to chat while I was undergoing my tune-up and take evidence of my overhaul.

 

Fancy and DARling treated me to a healthy lunch and even took turns watching Hope.  How cool are my friends?  It was one of the sweetest birthday presents I’ve ever received. Thank you ladies.

Now I’m off to help the Herd as we Tune-up the Garden.

And for Earth day don’t forget to check out my Mommy Blessings Blog for a free Green Giveaway.  Enter there for your chance to win this book.

Toodles!

Helga Here

So my DARLing trainer has been putting me through the torture ringer for the past few weeks and I’ve been putting myself through the Gladiator's Extreme Workout the rest of the time.  The weapons I use (just my body), no maces, or swords allowed.  The amount logged in three weeks of sweat soaked clothes, gallons of water sucked down and burning muscles from Hades is:

77 miles on the bike, 19 miles run on treadmill, 26 miles on the elliptical,  1000 Floors (Not steps but Floors) on the Stairmaster, and over 550 set (10 reps is 1 set) of Free Weights, Circuit Machines, or Core Exercise.  Currently averaging 1 1/2 hours a day – 6 days a week.  I know I’m insane so you don’t need to bother pointing that out.

I’m going for the biggest exercise challenge with hopes of qualifying, among the handfuls of other people weird enough to kill themselves, for 1 free years membership at the Health Club.  I could really use that free membership.

Results:  The muffin top is shrinking and my clothes are not feeling like the seams are going to burst anymore.  I now fit 3 pairs of pants instead of 2.  And I can run a 5K in 33 minutes (improved over 7 minutes off my time of a month ago, and 1 measly pound.

Just 1 lb.  (How discouraging is that?)

My young and gorgeous counselor told me to throw out the scale and not weigh in again for another 3 weeks (duration of workout challenge at the local gym).  I’ll take new measurements then too.

No I haven’t over compensated in eating more.  In fact I’m sticking to my WW points like they were gold.  I’m just waging war with my fat and it’s trying to see if I’m woman enough to keep going.  Stupid fat.

My goal – Hope that I can get back on track for my Marathon goal.  I feel borderline now as to if I will try the 10K in June.  If I manage it then I’ll feel like I’m back in the groove.  We’ll see.

Meanwhile, I think if I keep this insane workout schedule up I may be able to give Helga from American Gladiator’s a run for her money in muscle size.

Sorry I haven’t been around that much.  Spring Break was last week and the kids kept me hopping,  This week I relaxed a bit(recovering from what the kids did to me over Spring Break).

Well I’m off to find my garden among the weeds.  Pray I don’t get lost in that jungle.

Easter, Simply Easter.

This year Easter was the simplest we’ve ever had. Partly because of finances, partly because we’re really trying to teach our children the true meaning of Easter.

No Easter Bunny, no new clothes, no baskets. What? Nothing?

I did want to repurpose my girls some dresses but ran out of time, I wouldn’t have minded giving them little gifts like I did last year, but I waited until there was no money in the checkbook to think about getting anything. The girls got stuffed lambs that I got on clearance last year. The boys chocolate Easter bunnies that we got at a community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. So were they deprived?

We spent the entire week celebrating Easter! Had a special Birthday Dinner & Passover Feast. Read scriptures daily about the last week of Christ’s life. And had a special dinner today.

It was simple but lovely. It’s simplicity reminded me of a trip my husband and I went on to Denmark around 7-8 years ago. (Wow, has it been that long?) My husbands Wonderful Uncle and Aunt live there and were kind enough to host us and take us to many of the different tourist sites there.

My favorite experience happened to be when we visited Frederiksborg Castle.

It was amazing. Here in America you go to museums, or tourist places and everything is roped off and guarded. There although I’m sure it’s heavily secured you feel as if your going back in time because you don’t see the guards, glass walls, or any of the security devices. You're there walking through history. You can read more about the castle HERE!

The most fascinating part for me was the Palace Chapel, and one small ajoining room.

Opulent, ornate, Baroque through and through. Truly a marvel to look at. But really spiritually empty compared to a little dark room off to the side of it. The little dark room is the Kings Prayer room and it contains 23 of the most beautiful pictures of Christ’s life you have ever laid eyes on. It’s like walking on sacred ground – these pictures are so touching. And the joy and peace you feel is wonderful. You forget the worldly materialism of the chapel as you focus on the Savior’s life.

The paintings were commissioned when the castle was restored after a fire. It took Carl Bloch 14 years to paint the 23 paintings and they transformed his life in so many ways. He is one of the greatest artist’s to ever interpret the life and death of Christ. To see more of his paintings go HERE.

My favorite painting, which I had never seen until that trip to Denmark, is called ‘Agony in the Garden’.

It’s humbling to know how much the Savior suffered in my behalf. Some day, after I’m out of debt, I love to purchase a large copy for my home.

I guess what I’m saying is that Easter can sometimes, like Christmas, get too ornate for it’s own good. You can focus on the ribbons, baskets, fancy dresses, colorful trappings much like the Chapel in the Frederiksborg Castle. But to get the true feelings of this marvelous holiday you have to simply go to the Scriptures, feast upon the words of Christ, feel his love, and remember with gratitude the greatest sacrifice ever made in your behalf.

I hope my kids got it, and if they didn’t I hope that they will at least remember all that we’ve done. They might not get it until they are grown and parents themselves. I didn’t get it as a child. Why does the Easter Bunny visit everyone else’s house but ours? I didn’t get it until years later. So I’ve really tried to do activities with my kids to help them remember what Easter is really about. Hopefully that will help.

I hope you all had a wonderful and peaceful Easter Sunday!

Snow and Show

So it’s tried to snow during the early morning hours of many days this week.  Thankfully it didn’t stick.  Snow be thou GONE!!!

On second thought, maybe I should pray that it hangs around. 

Why?

After two straight days of near freezing constant downpour the sun peaked itself out from behind our ever present clouds…

and…

a conversation like this ensued when my husband called me from work.

“Hi Hon, how’s your afternoon going?”  Prince Erik

‘O.K.  I’m a little tired.  Hope decided to take off on me again today.’

‘The weather must be getting warmer.’

‘Wearing only her underwear.’

‘It must really be getting warmer.’

Fortunately when I discovered the little vanishing sprite gone it was about the same time I ran into the neighbor bringing her home.  The little vexing vixen.

I guess Hope considers 49 degree’s warm enough to strip down and prance around outside. 

So the couch is now blocking the back door. 

Heaven help us when the temperatures rise above 50 degree’s Fahrenheit, or when she discovers that the couch is easy enough to push out of the way.

And Heaven help the neighbor’s view because she might turn into a streaker.

Maybe I should purchase her this little tutu from Sugar Plum Fairy Princess.

Although I may have to replace those tiny jingle bells with Cow bells in order to hear the little sneak.

Consistently Inconsistent

I aspire to do great things, have a clean home, well-behaved young-uns, craft to my hearts content, read a gazillion books, oh and run a marathon.

Aspire.

Trouble is – to aspire to anything you have to have something called consistency.  Sadly the only thing I’m consistent at is inconsistency.

I’m really good with new chore charts, exercise or eating programs for about 1-2 weeks and then inconsistency rears it’s ugly head.  I fall off the bandwagon.  (where did that term even come from?)

But hey – I aspire to defeat inconsistency.  So I tackled another Clutter-monster war zone.  The dining room, or the room in which no one eats because it’s always covered with mom’s stuff room. 

I know you won’t believe it until you see it.

I dare you to find room to fit a plate of food for one, let alone eight, in this room.

And the china hutch and surrounding space?

 

So it took me the better part of the afternoon but finally I uncovered all the brown glory of the hutch.  Man, I sure do need to find some color.

 

Notice the lower left corner of the picture.  So the only negative with de-cluttering is it brings to sudden sight the imperfections of the home.  For example:  body-banging damage, of teenage boys, to corners and Picasso art of 2 year olds to walls.

 

But Hey, we can have dinner at the table now, and not on the floor like a bunch of farm animals.

And see I even pulled out some Easter Eggs Cause everything is screaming for colors other than brown.

Oh and the clutter you see in the background is Thrift Store Give-Away pile and school stuff.

So now the Dining room is added to my list of rooms that can be tidied in 5 minutes or less, along with the Master Bedroom, Front Room, Front Hallway and T.V.Room.  Wahoo.

Now to let you in on a little secret to my whole spring cleaning tactics.  In fact I’ll even let the skeletons out of the closet, or back room to be precise.  Sure I’ve purged the before mentioned rooms of all the extra clutter but it’s still around.  If I can’t find a home for something I’ve put it in the room of Probation DOOM!  The Last Chance Hole of all things clutter.  Once I hit every room in my home I intend to visit this room for a final time and deal out Judgment in the form of permanent home or banishment.  I expect I’ll shed some tears, say a few choice words like freaking, and crap. But I will deal with it.  I will be consistent this once!!!

Why?

Because I want my Craft Fantasy Studio and the only way to get there is to deal with the Pain of separation of stuff.

Behold my growing Mountain of Clutter.

And so your eye’s weren’t playing tricks on you.  Here’s a slightly different angle.

Notice it is so bad there isn’t even a path to the door.  You have to risk climbing over it’s treacherous peaks.

AHHHHHHHHH!  Don’t tell the fire marshal or I’ll be fined for blocking an access.

But hey, the rest of my home is beginning to look decent, and that should count for something. 

Anyone seen my brain?

It’s been missing for a couple of weeks.  Not sure where I put it.  Perhaps if I’d known where I placed it I wouldn’t have misplaced my 3 year old today.

Hope decided to visit Jewel my neighbor and it took me 15 minutes to figure out that she was gone, scour the house, yard and trailer park, before I got a clue.  I had finally decided to call 911 when I saw that my sweet neighbor had left a message for me letting me know that Hope was with her.  UGH!!!  I can’t believe I did that again.  And now that Hope knows there’s an awesome flat screen that plays Blue’s Clues just up the road, she may have extra incentive to ditch mom again. 

Maybe I should just put Jewels # on speed dial.  Last year Hope was fascinated by her little pond.  This year she’s gone and invited herself into the neighbor’s house.

Do ya think they make reverse Electronic Shock collars?  One that I could put on myself so that when Hope ventures further than 30 feet away it zaps me back to reality?

My dear sweet husband decided that maybe some torture sessions would clear my brain so he signed me up for some shock and awe therapy with my personal torture trainer friend Mrs. DAR-ling.  So starting next week she is going to try and jump start my muffin top into some serious action and pain (no doubt).  I’ve worked out with her before, she’s awesome, but I’ve always had trouble walking stairs or even sitting down, afterwards. 

Funny thing is, Prince Erik was too chicken to tell me that he had signed me up.  He had my trainer tell me. 

So with a personal trainer, WW, and my Young and Gorgeous Counselor on board I’m hoping that I’ll finally be able to turn this whole weight mess around. 

Still waiting for spring to arrive.  Maybe that’s why my mind is foul.  I walked outside to snow on the car this morning.  I need to do some therapeutic weed pulling but it’s nothing but liquid sunshine and puddles of mud outside.

Thank you for listening to my little old vent.  I’m all better know.  Ready to start tackling my Super Long Spring To-Do list!  It’s a fun list too – Lots of crafts, de-cluttering and sewing, and more sewing, another favorite holiday or two.  Should be fun, if I can locate my brain that is.

I plead insanity.

Maybe my good mood left when I packed up the wee folks. 

Maybe it’s because my stupid tremors are back, courtesy of the stupid weight gain of the past couple of months.

Maybe it flew out the door as Abner raced to earn his eagle. 

With only two days until his 18th birthday they finally approved his efforts.  He made it, in typical Fawndear procrastination style.  My son is flying.

 

His project was to clear a trail, remove fallen tree’s and make and replace 23 plant identification signs.

That alone kept my mind whirling that I totally spaced his birthday.  So what do you get a son turning 18 that has more in his checking account than you do?     Who on a daily basis proves his is more mature than his mom.

That’s it?  Yeah, he likes pirate stuff and all but this is one exceptional boy.  And that’s all he gets?  He has never in all his years once sassed me,  raised his voice to me, threw a temper tantrum in any form what-so-ever since he was maybe 3 or 4. 

This is the one in a million kid that when he see’s that I need help, he volunteers to help without being asked. 

Of all the kids in the state we live in he qualified for Nationals in two events at TSA.  He taught himself how to play chess at the age of four by just watching his Pompa and Dad play.  He is exceptional.

So how does his mother mark his passage into adulthood - with a lousy water bottle.  You’ve got to be kidding me.

I truly was sick to my stomach that this special day snuck up on me and I’d planned nothing, no party, no special commemorative gifts.  Maybe my sub-conscience was trying to trick me into thinking if I didn’t celebrate his birthday he wouldn’t get any older.  He wouldn’t soon be taking his amazing example and leaving the nest.  Regardless of my pathetic excuses, I was a mental mess on his birthday.  Still am, but that’s nothing new.

He even offered to help decorate his own birthday cake.

I was able to get a couple of his friends to come over at the last minute and play rock band with him.   It wasn’t a total loss.  And dad brought him home a computer gadget.  So he didn’t walk away with only one thing.

 

But, I’m feeling like a stinking, horrible mom right now, and deserve to be taken to the woodshed.  Well that’s where I’ve taken myself.  He hasn’t complained a lick about the lack of attention.  He never has.  He always steps back and let’s the kids who bellow and whine take all my focus. 

So help me – how can I make this up to him?  Other than making him an Eagle quilt or something.  Material things aren’t going to cut it.  How do I let him know just how much he means to me?  I can’t believe my baby is 18!!!!!