Voluntary Tagging......

So it was bound to happen sometime.....the inevitable blog tagging! I was reading my friend Amy's blog and she tagged me! Which is pretty cool.....she is the first to do so.

I like her explanation of the voluntary tagging. "It's like a chain letter, without the letter." heh It's a sneaky way to see who is reading your blog and if they will take on the responsibility of posting the tagged questions on their blog.....easy enough, right?!

Here are my answers to the tag:

8 Favorite TV Shows (not necessarily in this order):
- The Office
- ER
- Real Housewives
- John & Kate plus 8
- My Name is Earl
- 30 Rock
- Diners, Drive Ins & Dives ( I heart Guy Fietti!!)
- 17 Kids & Counting

8 Things I look Forward to:
- Christmas
- My mom coming up here on the 18th
- Roman starting school in the fall LOL
- Getting a deck in the spring
- The time of day when all the kids are in bed
- Times alone with my husband
- Reaching my goal weight
- Watching my kids grow

8 Things on my Wish List:
- New cell phone (Blackberry wouldn't be bad heh)
- Breast reduction
- Tummy tuck LOL
- My mom to move up here
- Swimming pool
- Another child
- A Lincoln Navigator
- Our businesses to do better

8 Favorite Restaurants (in no particular order):
- Texas Roadhouse
- De'Nunzzio's
- Patti's in Windber
- Rey Azteca
- Taco Express in Brownfield (I miss this place DAILY)
- Taco Villa
- The White House in Atlantic City
- SONIC!

8 Things I Did Today:
- Made my bad
- Showered
- Grocery shopping
- Fed Rocco
- Went to the Dollar Store
- Started laundry
- Got the boys dressed
- Made hamburgers & french fries (ok I didn't do it yet, but that is what I'm going to do after this!)

Thanks for reading and I can't forget to tag....hmmmm.......ummmmm.....Annie!

Just One of Those Days.....

Have you ever just had one of those days? Of course! We all have! And if you haven't, then please don't talk to me because I'm libel to claw your eyes out LOL

Today was one of those days for me. My patience level was...well is.....running low. I was on the verge of an emotional breakdown all day. I think the fact that I spend most of my days constantly picking up. Picking up clothes upstairs and throwing them downstairs so then I can pick them up from there and take them to the laundry room. Pick up toys......I just know that when I am older and need back surgery because I am no longer able to move I can place the blame squarely on my son. One thing I can NOT stand is a cluttered living room. He insists on bringing his toys into the living room where I spend the majority of my time. So that means by lunch there are 275 cars, trains and train track pieces as well as guns, a baseball bat and golf clubs. IN ADDITION TO the pile of baby toys I have in here for Rocco. I know I should just relax and not be so anal about the mess in my house, but I just can't do it. I am totally unable to relax in clutter. Many of you are laughing at me right now.......I know you are! Yes I knew that this toy business came with the territory of having children. Wait a minute....haven't I ranted about this toy thing before?....LOL

I was also frustrated with the pressure of getting my house ready for holiday guests. Not that my husbands family really *cares* if my house is disheveled, they know I have small children. But it would be nice if they could at least walk in and the house is all picked up. Oh and how lucky they would be to not need to play an impromptu game of hopscotch around cars & trains to make their way to my sofa!

Add to that stuff the fact my husband had the GALL to scoff at the turkey I bought tonight *raises eyebrow* Just because it is the store brand does not mean it will be bad. Heaven forbid you don't get a Butterball.....this is a nice FRESH store brand turkey! As in it hasn't been frozen......good grief. I guess the Butterball turkey people have some magic feed that they give their turkey's so that is why it tastes better? Yeah ok, whatever. I was quick to snap, "You will eat it and you WILL love it." LOL

Just one of those days my friends.......just one of those days :D

Must. Get. Into. It.

OK.....so there is no more putting it off. I must get into the holiday spirit.


There are exactly 42 shopping days until Christmas. Whoa. Just shy of a month and a half.


Are you ready? Have you started shopping? Ugh are you one of those who are already done?! Please don't tell me that! LOL


At this point in time I have NO clue what I'm getting my kids for Christmas. NONE! Ok, so maybe that is a tiny white lie....I do know that Roman wants a diner. Here is the link for the more "boyish" looking kitchen that it is. But yanno, he could very well change his mind in 42 days.....ok he could change his mind by tomorrow, he's 3!


So far on Kailey's list is a book and new bras. She would DIE if she knew I just posted that she wanted bras LOL.....she is 12. That is all she is giving me.....nothing else. No games....no toys...nothing. A book & bras for pete's sake!


And Rocco.....he is happy with anything that will fit into his mouth at this point. He is all over the place putting anything in his mouth and LOVES magazines. He will surely be in his glory with all the wrapping paper at Christmas!


I guess I could be thankful that my kids aren't into toys so much. Roman plays with his toys alot. Most times he plays with them in ways they aren't intended. He uses his imagination, which is so wonderful. One thing my husband and I agree on is the whole "less is more" approach with toys. I wish I could tell you we feel this way for some smart reason, like kids have been bombarded with toys and most wouldn't know what to do if they weren't doing something with a toy, video game or video. But the main reason we don't buy alot of toys for our kids is because we HATE cleaning them up. Yup....that pretty much sums it up.

So sometimes when I hear other moms go on about the toys their kids have and what they are buying next I feel a twinge of guilt.....but then I come home to our office and see what Roman does with the limited amount of toys he DOES have:


Yeah that twinge of guilt goes RIGHT out the window LOL
*sigh*


I know once Bob and I go on our yearly Christmas shopping day without the kids we will buy more than we intend and spend more than we wanted. That's what we do for our kids.


Tis the season......but I think I wait to start stressing AFTER Thanksgiving! LOL

Holy Evil Trainer Batman!

So I've complained for years since moving here that there wasn't a decent gym in town. Where I lived before there was a great 24/7 gym and it had childcare and nightly classes, etc. I used to go with a co-worker on nearly a daily basis and I got into really good shape! I haven't felt that good in forever. And I miss it!

Before having my 2nd child, I joined Curves. It was OK. I really felt out of place. And that was strange considering it is totally geared to women. I think the main problem is that I felt like the youngest member and the workout was monotonous to say the least. For any of you who have never been, you basically workout in a circle on different machines....go around the circle 3 times and your done. It's cool for awhile....but gets old! At least for me it did.....

Last week I saw some pamphlets that were left in our pizza shop up here where we live. Turns out a new gym was opening up in the shopping plaza near by. Cool! So I decided to go check it out the following weekend.

It's a cool gym. Not real big, but it has all the equipment I am familiar with. The membership price wasn't bad and so what the hey, I joined. Turns out they don't have room now for classes, but they are looking to rent the space next door with plans to do something like have classes in the future. Sounds great!

I went in the next day for my consultation with a trainer. This was just a basic get your weight, BMI, blood pressure, etc. Then he walked me through the gym showing me how all the stuff worked. I also decided to get a few sessions with him in hopes he could help whip my rear into a shape other than ROUND! LOL

Yesterday was session one. I arrived and he greeted me holding a clipboard and two sheets of yellow legal paper where he had mapped out our hour together......an hour.....what did I just get myself into LOL. I started with 10 minutes on the elliptical machine AKA Satan incarnate. I guess it's not quite as bad as the dreaded StairMaster, but it's darn close!

I did my 10 minutes, as soon as I stepped off this machine my legs were JELLY. Holy crap! Then I follow my trainer to the back of the gym.....he proceeds to make me do squats, lunges, modified push ups on the shoulder press bar, modified pull ups on that bar (me sitting looking like an arse not being able to pull myself up from the floor...talk about shameful LOL)....I am really dying at this point. And we are BARELY at the 1/2 way point!! Then he whisks me to the free weight section and has me doing some other upper body exercise with *blush* 2lb weights. Next we went to the other side of the gym and he has me do those reverse sit ups....you know where you face downward, wedging your legs on some pads and bend down then come back up? Oy.

At this point my face is bright red LOL I then remind him that I have children at home to care for, including a 20+ pound infant I will need to carry the next day! He has no mercy.....next stop the mats. He has me working my core. Sitting with my knees up, arms out in front of me holding what might as well be a 100 pound medicine ball. Side, middle, side.....over and over. I really just want to die. After that, I'm on the floor laying on my side struggling to lift my fat arse and hip off the floor only using my side muscles.....side muscles, obliques? WTH are you KIDDING me? This my friends was a sad SAD sight.

Oh but it gets better!

3 minutes of "general fitness".....this was the most embarrassing display of physical activity in my ENTIRE life folks. If I wasn't in so much pain at this point I would have probably crawled under a treadmill. I had to do 15 jumping jacks....my legs felt like they were going to buckle at any moment. Not to mention my failure to wear.....or even OWN for that matter.....a sports bra. OH MY GOODNESS. Talk about a sight.....after the jumping jacks I had to SKIP across the gym. You see what I said? SKIP! You HAVE to be joking. Again, a VERY sad sight. Then I had to do these things that I have seen football players do during warm ups at high school games on occasion. You get down like you are going to do push ups, then you jump your feet up under yourself, then jump them back into the push up position. This was ridiculous. There are NO words I can use to accurately describe the way I might have looked at this point. After this there was another series of jogging and more lunges....then I got to "cool down" on the treadmill for 10 minutes. Let me tell you, I was NEVER so happy to see a treadmill in my LIFE.

When I got home and walked in the door, my husbands face was priceless. That is how BAD I looked. All I could do was tell him this trainer was worth every penny and then head up to my beloved jacuzzi tub for a soak. I did nothing the rest of the day or night LOL

Today I am one sore cookie. I barely trust myself to carry my baby up or down the stairs my legs hurt so bad. My arms are pretty sore too. Lord help me because I have 7 more sessions with this guy LOL

So I'm going to stick it out. As bad as I hurt today, I know that it will pay off in the long run. I really need to get fit. Not just for me and my own well being, but for my kids sake.

Now I'm off for another dose of Advil so I can make lunch for my 3 year old LOL