Pinterest

I absolutely love Pinterest. You can find just about anything on there. I am going to try a green monster smoothie soon and share it with the boys. I'm interested to see how they like smoothies. If they like it I will be searching for more so I can get fruits and veggies in them. :) I need to try some of the recipes I have pinned on there as well. Maybe I need to make a special week of just Pinterest recipes. :) Share your favorite thing you've found on Pinterest! Maybe someone will share something you don't have pinned.

While you're at it... Follow Me. :)

Running

I am using the Couch25K program on my phone to train for my first 5K. I have picked the date for my race (April 14th). Now I just need to register. I am 5 weeks into the C25K program. Week 4 got increasingly hard for me. Today's run was a bit challenging. I ended up doing it inside on the treadmill since my husband was out with friends. I pushed right through it. I am trying to find a different location than my neighborhood for my next run to see if it changes anything. Maybe I'll try a track.

I recently joined a group of others in a Biggest Loser challenge at church. Each week before we weigh in, we will have the option to do a 5K or a boot camp workout. I won't always be able to make the weigh ins at the usual time so I will be doing several of mine on Sunday mornings instead of Saturdays. However this Saturday I plan to give the 5K a shot. I'd love to see where I am in my training and run most of it if I can. I will update how I do as well as how each week's weigh in is. It is an 11 week program and will end the week after my 5K.

I am also doing a program through our state as well called Scale Back Alabama. There are challenges to win cash prizes. Our group is the Skinny Girls in Fat Suits. hehe We need to lose at least 10 lbs to be eligible for grand prizes. It is a 10 week program...ending the week of my 5K. I will update on Mondays how I do with this.

So I obviously have enough to keep me busy to get this weight off! :) I am keeping track of water intake (at least 8 glasses a day!), calories, and exercise. It's already paying off. People are noticing that I'm looking slimmer. I believe I am down 8.2 lbs in the last 3 weeks. Not a bad start! So keep me on my toes and keep me accountable. I want this so bad I can taste it! Skinny is coming!!! :)

30 by 30

I am hoping to get back into blogging again. Mainly because I have made a 30 by 30 list (30 things to do/complete before I turn 30 which is on May 20th). I've been posting stuff on Facebook but I want to write more about it so I will be blogging about it. Plus I've adding blogging to my 30 by 30 list. :)

Here's the list so far. I still need to add to it cause I'm not up to 30 yet. These can be found at Pinterest.

1. Read Bible all the way through

2. Book 5 new weddings

3. Go to the batting cages

4. Start Disney fund

5. Go to drive-in movie

6. View each day as a gift

7. Use 10 ways to love

8. Get rid of clutter

9. Make magnetic goal/dream board and put it up

10. Go on a hike

11. Go to a restaurant that has been on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives - DONE! (1/7/12)

12. Get a tattoo

13. Clean entire house

14. Win a free cruise for first kidless vacation

15. Date night every month

16. Have a family photo shoot

17. Buy a mini-van (this is a maybe on the list because it's not financially possible right now)

18. Become bone marrow donor

19. Catch a fish - DONE! (1/20/12)

20. Have boudoir shoot done - DONE! (1/19/12)

21. Read "The Five Love Languages: The Secret To Love That Lasts" - DONE! (1/11/12)

22. Eat more fruits and veggies; try new ones

23. Take a "Spirited Art" class - scheduled for 2/3/12

24. Learn to crochet

25. Photo scavenger hunt

26. Lose 30 lbs

27. Run first 5K

28. Blog more

I need to add 3 more because the mini-van one is a filler. I will blog more about each one. I just wanted a post with just the list. :)

Busyness

I wish I could say that I haven't blogged because there hasn't been anything to write about but that is so far from the truth. It's simply because I've been SOOOOOO busy!! Between photo sessions, editing said photo sessions, working out, and everything with my kids, I am just so busy. So this will be a hodgepodge blog post of everything. So bare with me. :)

Business is still extremely busy from my Groupon deal. With only 4 months left to use the deal I'm sure it's only going to get even busier. I have plenty of pictures from the shoots to finally update my website though...so I'm excited! (http://www.daniellesmithphotography.com) I've met some of the sweetest people doing this. I hope they're loving their images as much as I am taking them.

I have been working out for the last two months at a local fitness studio. I've been taking Zumba classes along with Bodysculpt classes. I've loved how I feel after working out even if sometimes I feel like I'm going to die during. haha I've had lots of comments about my body slimming down....which I LOVE! I've met friends who have encouraged me to push myself even more. The instructors are awesome too! Now I just need to do better at eating better and drinking more water. I know I'll see even more results once we do that.

The boys are getting so big. They're just about wearing the same size. They're only a few pounds and inches apart. They're both getting good with their letters and counting. I can't believe Corgan will start school next year. I'm excited for him though. This will be a good experience for him. He does great listening to someone other than Mommy and Daddy....so I'm sure he'll do great! Keelan sure will miss him. He loves his big brother and tries to do everything that he does. Keelan is a bright little guy. He's been counting almost to 10 since before he even turned 2 in August.

The house isn't really coming along any more as far as decorating. We didn't finish painting. Need to get that done. We haven't bought a rug or table for the foyer just yet. That's on our to do list for sure. We got our new furniture and we love it! It looks so good with the paint color we chose. Need to get some electrical work done and we can put the TV on top of the mantle and free up the TV stand/dresser we're using now. That will probably go in the boys' playroom so they can play games in there. I have so many ideas but not sure when or if they'll ever happen. It'll probably happen just slowly. That's ok with me. :)

Marshall and I are trying to have date nights more often as we can with the budget. We've been using gift cards and coupons to help take out the high costs. I'm hoping we can do it consistently. We really need the time alone. Seems like we don't get to get out just the two of us nearly enough. I would love to have a weekend getaway with just my husband. Hope one day we can do that.

Well, if you've survived my hodgepodge post, thank you! Hope I can get better at this. I know I say it all the time, but I mean it. :)

We're in!

After almost a month of moving around we finally closed on our house and moved in. We've been in a week now and things are livable now. Not perfect, but livable. :) It's been crazy not only for us personally but for my business as well. I didn't have access to pictures to edit for almost 3 weeks or more! It was horrible!!! Trying to get things back to normal now.

Making a house a home...

We are almost to moving day. It was supposed to be the past Friday but due to circumstances it was pushed back to this week. We are waiting on last bits of stuff being put together and hope to get a closing date soon! I am so ready to be moved in. We packed up probably at least 85% of our stuff before we found out we wouldn't be closing Friday last week. We've still been able to have fun as a family. My favorite has been the snuggling up on our bed (which is just our mattress and boxspring on the floor - frame is packed on the truck!) and snacking while watching Netflix on my laptop. We've enjoy our share of kids movies with the kids as well as our own movies at night (scary flicks for him and chick flicks for me...hehe). Soon we'll go from small cramped spaces to having plenty of room for everyone. So my next few blogs will be about turning house into a home. Right now the house is very neutral. Carpet is beige as are the walls and ceilings. I can't wait to add color to it. To give it our special family touch. To make it ours. Forever. Or until we move. Not sure I'll ever want to do this again. haha

Progress and backtracking

I've made minimal progress on packing. Gotten a few more totes (Rubbermaid containers) of stuff packed. Using what we have of those from storing the clothes the boys have outgrown. I'm donating everything they have outgrown or that we don't need. Trying to minimize what we have to move. Even though we're moving to a bigger space, I want it to feel big and not as cluttered. I know that's what Marshall wants too cause he has said it. :)

We've had backtracking on our weight loss efforts. We haven't done so good with eating lately. The biggest problem is my grocery shopping. We haven't had enough in the house so we've been eating out way more than we've needed. That's not good not only on our bodies but also our budget. We're trying to watch the budget good so that we'll be ready to close on the 24th for our new house. We're going to be buying new furniture so we need to have money for that. I'm trying to be budget friendly with that. Luckily with our Team National discounts we'll be able to get very good, well made furniture for major discounts. (For example, the dining table I blogged about before with 6 chairs is less than $500!)

We have also had some problems with the bank that is doing our mortgage....mainly due to not reading Marshall's emails. He's trying to give them everything that they need. It's stressing him out that they're not getting things right. Latest thing is they just found out that every paper has the address spelled wrong...ugh. Please pray for Marshall to get everything straightened out and that we don't have any more problems so that we can get closed on time.

First boxes

I guess you can say I've packed my first boxes. I have packed away all bathroom toiletries that I have stockpiled that we won't use in the next 3 weeks. I have also packed my stockpile of air fresheners and candles. I have over 7 toothpastes, 13 deodorants, 4 razors, and a womanly stash to last me probably over a year. :) That's not everything...just a show of the bulk of what I have. I plan to add to the stash as I can since we'll have more cabinet space at the house. I have at least 22 rolls of paper towels and 16 rolls of toilet paper (not much but again will add to this!). My next stockpile to pack will probably be the medicine cabinet stuff. I have lots of bottles of vitamin D that I got for less than a dollar or free. Since both Marshall and I take it I stocked up while I could. We've gone through our Ester C stockpile so I need to find good coupons for those. I still have a raincheck for them for BOGO free at Walgreens. Well, back to packing/cleaning/getting ready for Corgan's t-ball game tonight. Need to figure out what's for supper.

It's June!

Normally June only means a birthday for Corgan and Father's Day but this year it means moving into our first home. Both Marshall and I almost couldn't sleep last night because we are so excited about the house. I'm sure the next 3 weeks will go so slow. haha Hopefully slow enough to get everything done but not too slow. :)

Corgan has been playing his first season of t-ball this year. He has a makeup game tonight and the last one is on Saturday. He missed out on 3 games due to weather this year. He has really enjoyed playing. He has a fit about it until he sees his coach. Once he sees his coach he's constantly asking him, "Where do you want me to play coach?". I think that is the sweetest thing ever. Makes Marshall and I very proud of him. Corgan has also been taking gymnastics the last 3 weeks. I used a coupon we got in the mail for a month of free classes...so he only has 1 class left. He has really liked it. I think we want to try to get him a few more classes later if we can afford it. :) Corgan will be 4 on June 18th. I think we will go to Chuck E Cheese to play and then CiCis (or the other way around) to eat. We'll have a party for him once we move into the new house so we'll have lots of room to invite friends and family over.

Keelan is my little mockingbird. He is such a jabberjaws and will repeat (or at least try to repeat) everything you say. It's so wild to see how different he is from his brother. He has a big vocabulary and most of his words are very clear to understand. He loves to play in the dirt and get dirty. The boys' bathtub stays covered in dirt and grime from my dirty boys. :) It means they're having fun though so I don't mind. Keelan will be 2 on August 11th. He will definitely be having a Sesame Street party cause he LOVES all of the characters....especially Elmo! (affectionately known as Mo-Mo). We'll probably do a pool party of sorts for him since we'll have a backyard to do it in.

Marshall and I are getting back to exercising and losing weight. When we realized he wouldn't be going overseas we let it go a little. Time to get back on track! We took a walk as a family on Tuesday night regardless of the hot humid temps and it felt so good. I want to get back into doing my Slim in 6....maybe with Zumba classes mixed in either at home or when I can afford to go to classes at Corgan's gym where he takes gymnastics. We will also be getting our treadmill from Marshall's grandma's house since we'll have space for it now.

I think that's the biggest updates about June. I'm hoping to lose almost another 10 lbs this month (or shortly after the month ends).

Guess what?!

We're moving!! Shortly after my last post we were told we had 6 months to move. While it was a little scary at first and made us want to scream and cry at the same time, it's become a good thing for us. We just recently had our offer accepted for our first home together. We found a foreclosure for $70,000 less than the appraised value. We jumped on the deal quickly. It's in great condition with minor things that need to be fixed. Great location with a cul-de-sac on one side of it and a dead end on the other side...so it'll be safe for the kids to play. There is a good backyard that we plan on fencing in. Every time we've gone to the house the boys just run wild in there. They love the extra space. Course going from less than 800 to just over 2000 sq ft could be the difference. :) They will both get their own room plus we will have a room for storage and as an office/hobby room. We'll have both an eat-in kitchen area and a dining room so we'll have at least buy 1 table. (Our mobile home now isn't big enough for a table) I can't wait to have 24 cabinets instead of 5 in the kitchen. I could go on and on about what I love about the house. Closing can't get here soon enough! Here are a few ideas that I have for the great room and kitchen area.

* The picture above is what I am looking at as the table in the foyer area - will put a mirror on the wall above with probably a floral arrangement or something on the table/chest. We have a special sign that has our family name and est. date that I will probably put on the opposite wall

with a key holder.

This is the rug I really like for the great room. I love the colors and style. We had originally thought about a light gray color for the walls. Then I found this rug last night and I fell in love with the colors and how they pop off the rug. It reminds me of Fall...and that is my favorite season.

This is the lamps that I like for the great room as well. It's a 3 piece set.

Here is some art work I think would look good in the great room. I love the black and cherry pop of these tables. I think they have good function but can still be kid-friendly. I like the look of glass on tables but I don't want my kids to ruin them.

This is the table I like for the kitchen area. I love the curio as well. Not sure if we'll buy it as well though. I thought with the black pop in the furniture it would go well with the granite countertops in our kitchen. This set matches the table set I picked for the great room.

Course none of these are for sure ideas. Just doing a little brainstorming/window shopping. I can't and won't do anything until we close on the house cause we don't have any extra space here to store anything. So what do you think of the ideas? Would love some input as I'm not the greatest decorator. :)