I am SO THERE!!!!

I cannot WAIT!!!! Think they sell advance tickets?!?!?!

A long, long time ago....

6 years, to be exact....Michael and I said "I do" on May 26, 2001.....and here we are, 6 years and 2 kids later and we're still going strong. Sure, we've had our ups and downs but what married couple hasn't? I think when a person touches another person in their hearts it's difficult to relinguish that hold, no matter what trials come your way. I see us as individually stronger today than we've ever been before, and together that strength combines to make us an even stronger couple. I look forward to having more and more and more time together with him and our children. I'm so grateful to have all the things God has Blessed me with, and it's difficult to understand sometimes how we can take it all for granted sometimes. But I have what many people only dream about, and so today I take a moment to say Thank You to God for giving me all my heart ever desired. Thank You.

Some More Pics....

CHEESE!!
My newest toy. I LOVE IT!! Thank you Michael for this present!!



Holy Father,
I want to thank you on my knees for the Grace and Love you show me every day through my experiences at home and work. I realize that I am Blessed beyond measure to have the family I have, and to be able to go to work and make a difference in the lives of people who depend on me. What an awesome responsibility -- to be needed in everything I do. Thank you for wonderful people You have placed in my life, and even though I may not know their specific purpose at this current juncture, I thank You that YOU do know. In Jesus' name. Amen.

all pictures all the time....and a bloggy-style updated picture of my diet progress :)

OK so there you go...I guess I should update too that I'm officially down 1 full size, and a little bit more depending on who makes the clothes. It's a great feeling, really. I like actually seeing progress....

Update

Monday was a horrible day...couldn't get my stuff together at work, felt like I was chasing my tail, then had a huge chunk of sadness dropped right on top of me...everyone at work banded together, and my supervisor took care of my patients at work so I could attend Kent Brown's funeral. The service was very nice. It was absolutely standing room only, which is a brilliant testimony to his life. Funerals for us Christians is a really mixed bag, you know? I mean, on the one hand you're rejoicing because you know they've gone onto a better place and you'll see them again...on the other hand, it's your LOVED ONE who passed away, and while Eternity is awesome and all, you're only human and you want them to still be HERE, so you're sad. I really think it's incredible just how many lives one person can touch in such a positive way. My family and I will continue to be in prayer for the Brown family, and I ask that you are too.

Tuesday...better day? No, not really. Daniel went to the Dr again...double ear infection, persistent sinus infection, and he's on Round Four of Antibiotics...since Easter. Yeah. Just peachy. He's got a really nasty chesty cough too, which makes his little life miserable. Oh and did I mention he was running a fever? Well, he was.

Wednesday...I had to call into work to stay home with Daniel because he'd been running the fever the night before, and nobody was able to be here with him. He wakes up feeling better and I think, "oh great I could have gone to work today." But the strange thing is, Zoe's still asleep. It's 8:30. Memaw offered to take her to school for me so I could focus on Daniel, which would be really great. When she finally wakes up and I go into her room at 9:00 she's burning up! 101.2 fever. And a hoarse sounding cry. And a really nasty cough. And her eyes are goopy. Again. Oh, and she has diarrhea. So I can't help myself I start crying! What did I do by putting them in that school?!?!?! I, of course, feel as though I should be nominated for worst mom EVER at this point. So I call the DR...off we go, again. Her diagnoses? Well, the Dr took one look in her ears and exclaimed "oh my goodness!! Has she been extra fussy lately?" To which I reply, "no, she's an amazingly easygoing baby." And he looks puzzled and states, "that's weird because with the way her ears look she should be screaming her little head off right now!" You're kidding me, right? Nope. Double ear infection...only hers actually stumped the DR with their nastiness! Strike 2 in the Mommy department. Antibiotics for her, too. Oh and the goopy eyes? Pink eye again...you heard right, AGAIN. She just barely got over pink eye 2 weeks ago. So, more eye drops for her. Tylenol brought her fever down to 99.1 in the DR's office, which was nice...but not enough. Baby Motrin brought it down sort of to normal during her nap, but it spiked right back up around 6. So, Baby Motrin last night before bedtime and she seemed to sleep better.

Today....I go to the Dr. No, not because I'm sick, but because I had 2 moles removed from my back. They were suspicious looking, so he took those bad boys off and sent them for biopsy. Nice. At least I got Lidocaine injected into the area before he punched them out. Then, the air conditioning man shows up. Turns out our dog, who's never bitten anyone in her life, decided she didn't like the looks of that tall old man...and she tried to bite him. Yeah. The crazy one who's torn off our window screens and she gunked up our outside a/c unit by digging in the mud and trying to do whatever it is that she does out there.

Tomorrow....we go to the Zoo. It should be a very nice day. Hopefully everyone is feeling better.....


I've lost officially 10.6 pounds, and I feel amazing. According to the scale at the gym I've lost a little more, but I'm going by the DR scale because I was there the very morning I started (which technically, I weighed a little heavy that morning so maybe I AM down 12.4 pounds!!) and I was there the week prior on Thursday. I highly recommend my personal combination, it seems to be working for me!! :)

Promised Pictures....an update to follow so keep your eyes peeled :)

Little Miss Sunshine :)

No, we did not drug him ;) This is his "I don't want to go to bed yet, but I'm so darn sleepy!" face

Little Miss Raincloud! :(

Law School, Masters Degrees, Med School....Oh My!

We here at the N-Berry household are making life changes left and right! Yeah, you heard right...Michael is going to take the LSAT so he can go to Law School next Fall.....and I'm going to finish my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (most likely I'll be a Maverick rather than a horned frog again, but we'll see!).....and then it's onto, well.......Masters of Nursing with emphasis on obtaining my NeoNatal Nurse Practitioner (hereafter referred to as NNP) license or do I go to Med School and pursue that lifelong dream of becoming a world renowned Cardiothoracic Surgeon? Or at the very least a Neonatologist? Gee, I don't know! But I do know this : the world is currently my oyster, and though I despise oysters...I'm going to toss those slimy critters back and chase them with some lemon juice. Because if I've learned anything with the deaths of my friends' fathers, it's that life is waaaaay too short not to be doing something that you truly want to be doing! After all, it's only money right? :)


Stay tuned....I'll post some pics of the chiddrens later :)

Terrible

So many people in my class have lost so much in 10 years. Two wonderful men I hold dear to my heart have lost their fathers in the last month.

Yesterday another wonderful man who meant so much to so many people passed away. My heart breaks for their family and I have to wonder "Why?"

Please pray for the Brown family.

Spiderman 3

Well, I know this may come as a shock to ALL of you who read this blog, but I don’t read comic books. I never have, and I probably never will. (I take that back, I think I once read some comic book they handed out in line at X-Men…does that count? Anyway…) But I am a huge fan of the comic book inspired movies (X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, Batman, etc…) and last night was no exception. For Cinco de Mayo we went to eat at El Fenix (yeah I blew my diet last night but it’s all GOOD because I’m on the “Right Track” and I strayed on purpose so it was much easier to get back on track….it’s all a matter of will power, of which I used to have little…but I digress…) which ended up being an excellent choice, considering the wait at Uncle Julio’s was an HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTES!!! Can you believe that?!!!?? People were actually sitting around WAITING to eat there!! I was shocked. Anyway, we went down the street to El Fenix and got sat immediately. The frozen swirl margarita was just as good as Uncle J’s and the chips and salsa were amazing! I had fajitas, and they ruled. I actually didn’t eat that much, but it felt like I did!

Onto the movie…..we went to see it at Rave Ridgmar. Never been there before, but it was a pretty cool theatre I guess. For not having been open very long it was looking a little dingy….maybe it was the lighting, who knows…but I’m looking forward to the new Movie Tavern opening.

First : The Previews – Simpsons Movie (should be cool), Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix (VERY cool trailer), The Fantastic 4 sequel (didn’t see the first one, not sure if we’ll see the 2nd one or not), Surf’s Up (I laughed my butt off at that trailer!! I can’t wait for that one to come out), and Pirates of The Caribbean End of The Earth (whatever it’s called, the 3rd movie…looks really awesome as well and opens the day before our 6th Anniversary…maybe we’ll have to check it out for that special day). Were there more? I am not sure, but anyway…

Second : The Movie itself. I thought it was spectacular. I thought the computer generated stuff was amazing and looked really real. I liked the moral lessons, the sentimentality, and the sub-plots. I loved the fact that it could go either way as far as another sequel is concerned. I hope for a 4th, but hey that’s just me.

I thought Tobey Maguire was great in this installment…I don’t see them replacing him if they want to make a 4th without him. I thought Topher Grace was creepy as all get out. And forget about Venom, please. OH MY GOSH that was the creepiest thing EVER….and what the heck was UP with Topher Grace’s teeth when he became Venom? Yikes.

My problems : there was a kid behind us who was all of, oh I don’t know, FOUR?? Yeah. Seriously. A little kid at a 9 pm showing of a 3 hour movie, let alone a movie with some REALLY crrreeepppy effects?!?! I was super scared at parts, and I can only imagine what the little kid felt. Although he continuously asked “what happened” and “what’d he say” it was like sitting in front of elderly people who forgot their hearing aids! There were INFANTS there as well. I mean, COME ON people…that’s why God invented babysitters. And if you can’t get one (which I TOTALLY understand) then go see an earlier showing. Don’t get your little baby out past his or her bedtime and disturb all the movie goers. Gee whiz…is it really THAT hard to do??! Have some consideration for those people around you. Oh wait. Like that’d ever happen with those people…if they were going to they already would have.

I thought the volume in the theatre was too loud sometimes…does that make me old??

There comes a time.....

In every person's life (I'm convinced this is true) when they look in a mirror and think "Man, I really can't stand what I see looking back at me!" And I know it's not always about weight, but for me....it is. As a person who struggled with eating disorders when I was younger it's incredibly difficult for me to get across just what kind of cloud I've been living under since Daniel was born. When you gain 100 pounds in less than a year, and your skin is stretched to the limits and left hanging, when your boobs sag, when your belly looks like the Amazon River Basin (despite your best Vitamin E, stretch mark cream, and cocoa butter efforts) it's hard to raise your spirits. I guess that might sound terribly materialistic to some of you, but it's not. If you're one of the very genetically Blessed on this earth and you don't have stretch marks from pregnancies then you don't know what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, for me stretch marks were more about genetics than anything I did (or didn't do). But I digress....

I've been living a lie for several years now. I guess I thought "what's the point" since I'd gained so much weight with Daniel why would I work hard to get the weight off? Only to gain more when I was pregnant with Zoe. I guess I came to the early realization when I started school last year. I did manage to lose quite a bit of weight last year, with minimal effort. But it's been a sliding and bumpy roller coaster of weight gain/weight loss/weight gain/weight loss...etc..etc...

Fast Forward to a few weeks ago.....I honestly haven't ever *really* been one to judge myself by some other person, but I saw myself in a mirror AS another person, and I hated what I saw. I saw a fat, lazy, unhealthy person. I saw every flaw. I saw every fold. I saw every stretch mark as though it were outlined in permanent ink. And I realized something.....that person in the mirror is NOT who I am! I am a vibrant, loving, kind (I hope!), healthy MOM. And it's time the exterior got a facelift (and a tummy tuck??)....so I stepped up to my own secret challenge, and thus far I'm doing really well.

I started NutriSystem on Monday, I've worked out nearly every day since last Friday. Today at our gym I stepped onto a scale, exactly one week after I stepped on that same scale....and ta-da! Through my hard work I've melted off 6 pounds. My clothes fit better. I FEEL better. I feel like I'm *not-so-slowly* transforming my exterior into one I'm proud to show the world. I'm making the "outside match the inside," so to speak. And I'm loving every minute of it!

I also realized today, while eating a VERY healthy lunch with my family at Freebird's World Burrito (ask me how later) that in the process of doing this, I'm learning a very valuable lesson. As much of a control freak as I am, and as much control over my life as I've given to God....THIS is the one thing He has given me control over. He has put it in my hands and it's up to me to decide where I go from here. I think I'm doing really well putting one foot in front of the other, taking baby steps, and praising myself when I accomplish feats....and patting myself on the back when I get "off track" and running to get back on track. I CAN do it, and I AM doing it!!

By the way, I actually adore my stretch marks (well, that's a "stretch" - haha!) I see them as battle scars, and I'm ok with having them.....for now. At least until there's a laser powerful enough to scrub them off permanently!! :)

A Bird Salad with chicken, no cheese, very little rice, black beans, loads of lettuce and fresh plus roasted veggies, TONS of lime juice, and the yummy green mild sauce makes a VERY TASTY VERY HEALTHY LUNCH!!!

Temptations

I can list the things that have tempted me since my Great Diet Quest....and I can tell you exactly what I've done about them...

Here goes :

Day One : The Temptation : Nachos....yeah....nachos. Seriously I was at Target waiting for my prescription!! What I did about it : I bought fat free Lay's potato chips and ate one serving.

Day Two : The Temptation : nothing really...well, except for Michael's rice.... What I did about it : I ate 3 bites of it, and used it as my "fat" serving for my dinner meal. Daniel told on me ;)

Day Three : The Temptation : Chinese Food, but really that was my fault, I went up to Michael's school... What I did about it : I ate his bell peppers from his garlic chicken. A nice compromise, I think.

Today is Day Four, and we're taking the kids to MayFest this afternoon. I'm certain there will be lots of good food temptations there. We'll see how I hold up! :)

I've worked out every day except Monday, because I did follow Dr's orders for that one day ;)

Why do you tempt me with your chocolatey goodness??

And your ooey gooey centers? What are THESE doing in Walgreens right now?!?! Doesn't Queen Anne care about my diet?!?!?!?! ARGH!! SONS OF YOU KNOW WHAT....but I'm really proud of myself, the thought of eating them after just having worked out for an hour and a half made me sort of want to puke....

Day Two

So, today is a good day so far. Took the kids to school. Zoe waved bye bye, no tears, and ran over to play. Daniel, on the other hand?? Well, let's just leave it at : he wasn't happy to be at school. He pooped right when we got there (ON THE POTTY, after telling me he had to!) and he wanted to stay with me. I actually felt pretty horrible about taking them to school when I wasn't going to work, but I feel alot worse about that money going to waste when we have to pay it anyway! Besides, they're learning and that is what counts right? And it gives me a chance to get caught up on some much needed cleaning (even though I'm SUPPOSED to be taking it easy) and laundry. Maybe one of these days I'll even manage to get our new bedroom furniture into our bedroom! And that'll be a small miracle in and of itself.

As for my diet : I feel smaller already! Is that possible? I worked out this morning (yeah, yeah, yeah....I know I'm supposed to be RESTING but it's so hard when I get cabin fever) and then came home and ate my NutriSystem breakfast. I'm about to eat my lunch and then head off to run a few errands. I've faced NO temptations as of yet today, which is fabulous. Maybe I'm starting to get a handle on this whole "diet" and "redefining portions" thing.

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