All My Friends Are Doing It!

Yes, all of my friends are doing it! Not me though, because I am not a follower. I walk down my own path.

But not because I want too. I want to be a follower. All of my friends are taking steps to enrich their lives. Most of them are finding exciting and fun ways to add exercise to their lives. They are losing pounds beyond anyone's expectations! 

I can't follow them. I am gaining the pounds they are losing! I changed my Zumba schedule to accommodate the school time that I need. Now, instead of leading four or five classes a week, I am only enjoying two a week. I have noticed things that are different since I changed my schedule. 

Sore! Yes, that is right...less class time means more soreness! When I had a full schedule I very rarely experienced any muscle soreness. I can certainly feel every squat, arm raise, or crunch now! Good grief!

Weight gain. Since I backed myself down to two classes I have packed on almost ten pounds! I can feel it for sure! My cargo's are tighter, my neck feels all bulgy and gross. I won't go into any further detail about that.


I get far more excited about each class than I used too. I've always looked forward to class. Spending time with amazing people, sharing successes in our journey, encouraging each other when we notice one needs it, like a family does! I guess it's true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder. 


I still get mounds and mounds of encouragement! Just the other day, like she knew I needed to hear it, a friend sent me a message to let me know that her group of four friends have lost a total of 119.8 pounds since starting Zumba! That is PHENOMENAL!!!


I'm ready to get on board. I want to join the crowd. I have close to twenty pounds to lose. A little secret though? It's just about all I can do to manage the workouts I get right now. I am taking pain medicine that gives me the whoozies, makes me feel slow and unintelligible, but makes the pain go away, even if only for a few hours. 


I'm getting it fixed. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I'm getting another injection February 2nd. I am more than overjoyed at the thought that by the middle of February I will be pain free again. All I can say for that time period is "Look out world, here I come!"


Until then, hope y'all have fun in your exercise adventures! I'll see ya in about a week and a half!

Green Hair!

You read that title right! I am going green. I have put green (aquamarine) peek-a-boo highlights in my hair before. That is not what I am referring to this time though. Maybe another time!

I usually use Garnier Fruictis Sleek & Shine in my hair after every shower. I don't know that it really does much. I just feel better about myself after I use it. 

In my recent journey to becoming more of a granola mom and frugal, I decided I would see what I could do to minimize the $3.99 bottle and make it a healthier version (chemical free) for my hair. 

I found this website and decided I would give it a try. I went to Whole Foods to get the supplies because I didn't want to mess with ordering it all online and didn't know where else to get them. I think next time (if there is one) I will get the supplies online. I am not sure how many uses I will get out of this attempt, or how effective it is going to be, but dropping $42 on the counter just so I could say I made it myself is CRAZY!!!


I am also going to add my own mix to this recipe and see what happens. I am a natural brunette. I have some red in my hair as well. I have a lengthy list of things that I want to use my money for and if I can manage to not have to pay to have my hair professionally done then I am one up on my goal. Instead of using plain purified water, I steeped some black cohosh tea in the water. Maybe it will help keep my hair a pretty color? I don't know, maybe my hair will wind up being green after all!

My Cup Over-runneth!

Week One of Insanity!

That's right, I am on the path to insanity again. That path that causes me to become overstressed, overtired, and my brain to be overly full. Welcome to Spring semester of 2012! I have four very challenging classes this semester: Principles of Finance, Legal Environment of Business, Entrepreneurship (I always struggle with correctly spelling and pronouncing that word!), and Human Resources Management. 

In the past I have had a very negative attitude toward college. I am not one that is willing to put my family life on the back burner for anything. That being said, there have been many occasions where my school work has suffered. 

I was truly concerned about my ability to be successful this semester. Since my family just got out on our own again, I was afraid that I would be over run with family responsibilities and never make time for school. I am positive that even though my mom never voiced a concern, she has been stressed about it as well. 

After week one mom, you can rest easy and relax. My rock, my strength, my husband was perfect this weekend. He may not have gotten much done on his 'Honey-do' list, on the other hand, I got all of my school work complete on a comprehensive level. 

He made me breakfast. 

He made me coffee.

He did the dishes.

He washed some laundry.

He put away the babies toys before going to bed. 

He got the kids to help with a happy heart as well.

If every week winds up as successful as this week did, I will be beyond blessed! I am so incredibly thankful for a wonderful family! I have experienced the detached, uninvolved husband that could give a rats ass about my needs. I am also thankful that I no longer have that problem!

Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually looking forward to this week and seeing what all I can accomplish! 

Sabrina and Scentsy!

Okay, I am not usually one to be pushy about buying Scentsy products. I believe if you try the product, you will love it and just naturally want more. I am going to step out of my normal ways for now. January's warmer is SO STINKIN CUTE!!! How can you NOT want it???? SERIOUSLY!!!!

 This warmer is a perfect gift!!! AND VALENTINES DAY is just around the corner! It would be perfect for most any female. Even if you just wanted to treat a friend to something cute and special...this warmer would work!

So send me an email telling me how many you want. I seriously have a feeling this warmer is going to sell out quickly!!! My email address is joyfullemons@hotmail.com

Warmer is not available for purchase until January 1st! Get on the list to order now!

Christmas with a capital 'C'

Much to my dismay, I wasn't able to stick with the Embrace Reasons To Win challenge that I gave myself. Life just got so crazy! I was flying high!!! Then hurt my back and fell down hard to the bottom. I was bad to myself! I ate whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. I was grumpy. That took up about 12 days of the month. For those that may have been looking for my posts...I apologize for not keeping up with it!

The countdown is now on my friends! Do you realize...we have just under 5 weeks left this year! Wow! It's time to start breaking out all of the traditions...and decorations...and music for the Christmas season! 

As a child, I always looked forward to December. It's my birthday month...and of course, what kid doesn't look forward to Christmas! When my kids were little, I still had great excitement involved for the month. 

As my children have started to grow up, I have seen the err of my own ways. I didn't spend much time with them when they were little teaching them about Christmas. I was always concerned about them feeling loved enough. I like to show my affections with gifts and food! It is always a tradition to spend the holiday meals at my parents house, so I didn't really have much to add for food. I way overdid it with gifts.

Now that is the only thing my older kids focus on...and it makes this season less than fun. At the end of the day on Christmas day, there is usually an evening filled with disappointment because the gift list still had some wants left on it. I plan to change that. It's not at all about gifts. Most people that would read this already know that. 

As we embark on the stress filled month of December, I am going to relax. I will be finished with this semester in ELEVEN DAYS!!! I will be able to spend the time doing only things I want to do! I am overly excited about that! There is a movie out there waiting for me to watch it from the beginning to the end without interruption! Not sure which movie yet, but it's there. I will also spend my time making crafty things and cooking =) 

This December marks the 'Late 30's' for me. I'm proud of it! I'm in the best shape all around now than I have ever been! Emotionally, spiritually, physically, you name it...I've never been better at it! 

I have also been learning some new choreography for Zumba! I will have at least four (4) Christmas songs on each playlist! I think that is going to be fun!!! 

For now though, it's time for my head to hit my pillow...so I will continue my excitement later!!!

It's called Christmas...what more can I say!

People of Youth

I was reading a blog yesterday by Sarah Markley. She is an amazing blogger. She was discussing what is true. After reading her words, I felt what she was referring too. I went to pick my kids up from school. Usually, I will sit on my phone and play games until my kids come out. I took a different approach to my time waiting. I decided to people watch. I watched all of the children as they walked on unaware of my presence. 

They say that children are a good mirror image into what their parents are like. I believe that I fall outside of that fact, as do my children. I often find fault in my children, complain about their mistakes, express my disappointment in their decisions, and worry about what their futures could possibly hold. I have so much more than what I think about that I should be thankful for with my kids. (I don't know if that sentence actually makes any sense or not, but I couldn't figure out how else to word it) A lot of parents have to deal with issues in their children's lives that far surpass anything I have experienced. They have life threatening illnesses to handle daily. Some of them have disabilities that require so much that it is mindblowing. I am not one of those parents. 

I was never, nor have I ever bee, skinny. I am healthier now than I have ever been. I am far more conscience about the need for a healthy lifestyle than some parents. I struggle constantly with my children over food. They are skinny. It doesn't seem to matter what goes into their bodies, they remain skinny. Both of them take medicine daily. There are weight requirements for them to take the medicine. My children are always walking the line of being underweight. If it weren't for their height, both of them would be able to wear the same clothes that a 10 year old would wear. It is challenging, to say the least, to try to get them to understand the importance of nutrition. They know they won't get fat if they eat nothing but junk. They know they don't require exercise to remain skinny. What I can't get them to understand is that even though they are skinny, I whip their tails as far as being fit is concerned. 

I am thankful that I have never experienced the feelings associated with being a parent with an overweight child. I am fortunate enough to not have to deal with allergies, ailments, or disease. I hope that my children will never experience the emotion involved with being overweight. There is a lot to be said about ignorance being bliss. I watched all of the children walking to their rides. I was saddened to see that more than half of them were seriously overweight. I felt anger toward the parents that allow their children to be so excessively unhealthy. How can a parent do that to their child? Why in the world would a  parent just sit back and allow their teenage child to be 50lbs or more overweight? Don't the parents know that they need to be a positive influence in their childrens lives? They should encourage their children to be active! They need someone like Jillian Michaels to come whip their bo-hiney's into shape! Gah it irritates me.


Then I sit and take a look inside. I go within my life. The saying 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' if fitting. here. I need to change. I need to get my children off the couch. I try to encourage them to exercise. It falls on def ears. I need to change the situation so that exercise is no longer an option. It's difficult. We live pretty far from any type of athletic facility. I would take them to the track at the high school since I pick them up from there every weekday, except the elements are of concern for my toddler. I am totally willing to take my kids to the rec center. They love to swim. My husband (the one with the irrational fears about children) refuses to allow Logan into a public pool without his strong arms there to save the day in case of an emergency. There are a multitude of reasons that I have come up with to not force my children to be active.

I will gladly listen to any suggestions that my friends may offer to get these kids active! I think Jillian should change her words just a bit. I think it should read more like..."You want be healthy? Then shut up and do your mountain climbers!"

Pork & Ravioli Stoup

I was lacking motivation yesterday. It seems to be my daily routine lately. I had a craving for some ham. And creamy soup. Here is what I came up with.

Pork Stew Meat ( Whatever portion is appropriate for your guest list)
1 medium white onion
1 orange bell pepper
1 package (From WalMart) Portabella Mushrooms
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 small container heavy whipping cream
1 box chicken stock
1 stick butter
flour
water
1 package premade ravioli (I used four cheese)
Olive Oil

Not actual stoup because I didn't think to take a picture

I don't measure. Everything above is approximate. Cover the bottom of a pot with olive oil. I used a dutch oven. Chop onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Add to hot oil and saute with garlic. Remove veggies and add meat. After the meat is browned, add the entire stick of butter. I never said this was a healthy recipe! Then add whipping cream and flour to create a slight rue. Add chicken stock and water to make into a soup. About 30 minutes before ready to serve, add ravioli and let cook until they are soft. Voila! dinner is ready!