We just finished up the third round of surgeries since Joshua was born and once again, my little guy surprised me with his strength and resilience. He’s not afraid of anyone or anything. He jumped right up on the scale to get weighed and measured, stuck out his arm of choice for the blood pressure cuff and walked off confidently with the anesthesiologist as mom and Dad wave goodbye at the door.
When he woke up he was smiley and thirsty, but there was no crying or whining whatsoever. It didn’t take long for him to drink a bunch of juice and water and start asking for food. The nurse asked if him mouth hurt and he said no every time. What a trooper. Within a couple of hours, he was playing with a fun drawing book from our friend Angela and asking to watch some TV or a movie. He took a nice long nap and then ate some pudding and drank more juice. He did his typical flirting with the nurse, which got him some ice cream and THEN, even though we were supposed to stay all night, he was doing SO well the doctor said we could go home at 8PM! Yipee! He chatted all the way home telling me where to drive and how fast and what music to play. At home he ate a frosty, ran around with his new fleece blanket as a cape (THANK YOU to the people who make and donate those kinds of things to PCMC) and then slept the whole night through. When he woke up crying I thought maybe he was finally feeling some pain, but nope. He slept so well that he didn’t wake up in time to make it to the bathroom and he wasn’t happy about that. Nothing a trip to the store to pick out jello and ice cream won’t cure.

On the way home from the store, it hit me just how strong this little boy is. He handles pain better than I do and his outlook is so positive and upbeat. He’s outgoing and friendly, smart and strong all in one. He is amazing and I know he’s going to do great things with his courage and strength.

I am now 37 and I don’t know how that happened. If I didn’t have 80’s big hair photos to prove it, I wouldn’t believe I’ve been alive that long. Life is amazing and I love it. I think 37 looks great on me!

I had a very busy birthday and it was a wonderful day! I worked up a sweat at the gym, rearranged Joshua’s room, met up with my awesome ward friends and all their kidlets for lunch (AFTER I showered, of course), had dinner at Tucanos with the whole family, brought James back for Young Men’s and went to Kelsey’s Dance Performance at the Covey Center. SO much fun! Maybe a little too much. By the time I got back to the car after the performance, I was tuckered out. Not usual for me since I started my fitness quest, so I knew I was in trouble. Our whole family had a nasty week long cold and everyone got over it but me. Mine went down into my chest and has been hanging out there for another week. After no sleep last night due to wheezing and coughing, I dropped in at the doctor’s office this morning. I sat in the parking lot breathing deeply for a couple minutes making SURE it was bad enough to pay the $25 co-pay. I went in after a long conversation with myself and was diagnosed with bacterial bronchitis. Lovely. So now I get to do a round of antibiotics and expectorant and I get to use an inhaler which I haven’t needed in 10 years. Bleh. At least I tricked myself into believing I was fine so I could have a fun birthday!

A few quick phone pics at dinner. I didn’t get any of lunch, darn it!

And a few of Kelsey’s dance performance. She did a fun Hip Hop Dance to the 1989 (yep, it’s THAT OLD) classic, BUST A MOVE! She rocked it and I will admit, I kinda like the make-up. I know, she’s only 10 (almost 11) but she’s SO pretty and the make-up brings out her awesome eyes! I know…for performances only for a few more years (or dad will not be happy!).

CONGRATS ON A JOB WELL DONE, KELSEY!!

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Digital Scrapbooking Credits:
Gina Cabrera’s DDE Spring Fling Kit (altered)
Rhonna Farrer: bold borders brushes
Fonts: Emblem, Gapstown, Corky, Clarissa

I drive by this store almost every day and until it closed about a month ago, the signs on the outside of the store touted the hand painted prices of whatever was on sale that day. 1 Dozen Eggs, 99 cents, Western Family Toilet Paper, 1.99, etc. The grocery store itself was pretty dingy and strangely laid out in rooms, so unless I was really in a pinch, I usually drove the extra block to Albertson’s. I ventured in as they were liquidating their inventory and it was a bit creepy, but I got a couple of pantry staples at a decent price. I didn’t mourn the closing of the store, but then again, I’ve only lived in Provo for 6 months so it wasn’t nostalgic to me at all. Until about a week ago when they pulled those hand painted paper signs off of the building and I saw what was underneath it all. Both local and national brand advertisements from the mid 70’s. The slogans on the wall were the ad campaigns *right* before the ones I remember. I was 3 or 4 when these slogans were used and it was so awesome to see actual ads from that time. I don’t know what will become of that building. (I think a funky bright green dance club complete with a Scottish dude in a Kilt on the sign would be a hit in this college town!) Who knows what it will be or how long those signs will be there. I just knew I had to get a few shots of all the 70’s funky goodness before the building’s fate was decided.

And, being the digital thinker that I am, I got a few shots of the blank sign in the middle of them all…you never know when it might come in handy…

Wow…40. My husband is old. OK, not THAT old, but WAY older than he was when I met him. Not to mention way cuter. He’s always been adorable, but I’m quite enjoying his 40 year old face with the laugh lines and the little bit of gray hair that frames it. I love that all our kids got his smile. Happy birthday, old guy! I’ll meet ya on the other side of 40 in a few years. :p

EVENING BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION UPDATE:

Birthday boy’s adorable smile is a little out of focus, but super cute anyway!
After homemade tacos for dinner came the homemade goodies nestled in those pretty second hand bags: yummy salsa AND strawberry jam (low sugar, of course!).

This may look like a sweet little cupcake, but it’s not! It’s a whole wheat roll baked in a cupcake liner topped with creamy butter. Ken’s not big on sugar, so we tried something different and he loved it. He said ‘Who needs cupcakes? Let’s do this more often!”

Joshua had fun helping with the candles. And poking at the ‘fauxcake’ wondering what the heck it was. He enjoyed a couple of them with honey butter and jam.

Super fun day at home cooking good stuff for the people I love. Great, great day.

I’m not a big journal person. I use my journals more like a therapist. I write everything out, re-read it, look at how petty and stupid I sound and then rip the page out. There are exceptions to that, like the little Moleskine notebook I jot down spiritual thoughts in and the couple of fun patterned or leather notebooks I keep available for design inspiration. My life experience journals end up being my digital scrapbook pages. So, instead of keeping a strictly written journal of my journey to better health, I am starting from the beginning with scrapbook pages. I am starting with images of me at my highest known weight which I thought about blacking out, but whatever! It was my weight. Last summer after travelling 12 hours in the car back from vacation in Idaho my weight was 320. These images were taken a couple days earlier and I am using them as my before photos. I lost 15lbs during the process of moving in the Fall but gained a bit back. March 1st 2010 (when I started reducing calories and walking 4-6 times a week) I was at 308. As of April 1st 2010 I am at 298, which is -10lbs in a month. Not too shabby! Goal for May 1st is to be at 288. More importantly, my size is changing. YAY! I already feel better and it’s not as hard as I thought it might be, so I’m sticking with it. And by posting my progress, maybe I’ll feel more motivated. I can’t believe the number of people who actually care and post encouragement and tips on facebook. I’ve lost some weight and gained some friends. Pretty cool.

Here’s my first page. I’ll take another photo today and start on page 2.
(Credits: Page tab by Celeste Rockwood Jones – all other supplies are my own.)

Journaling reads: Sometimes liking yourself can be a bad thing. Not BAD, but not especially motivating. I don’t have a problem with who I am and I don’t associate what my body looks like with my self worth or my value as a human being in this world. So, when it comes to losing weight I generally have no motivation. I like myself and my kids have a nice soft place to rest their heads. You could say I don’t care, but that would be before. Before I started slowing down, before I moved to a neighborhood with great trails and outdoor activities and LOTS of friends who run and bike and rollerblade with their families and talk about it when they get together. Before my husband started improving his health, before my daughter started dance class. Before I realized life was changing with or without me. So, I’m changing. Not just to be like everyone else and not so I can like myself more, but because I like myself enough to be active and healthy and my weight is holding me back. Now I’m making that BEFORE.

Found a fun site that links a ton of Monday Meal Planners. Kind of fun to see what other people are having! This week we’re trying a new soup from Molly’s blog (CHILI MAC SOUP) and I planned this week as a ‘pantry’ week. I pretty much have everything needed for dinners and may just need to pick up milk and make some bread. It’s a busy week! I have an email reminder set for tomorrow so I don’t forget to put the beans on early. Here’s a visual of this week’s dinner menu on my gmail calendar for the Menu Plan Monday group.

Hmmm…I just noticed we have a lot of bean dishes on there this week. We’ll see how that goes.

P.S. If you’re wondering what enchiladasagna is…it’s just a fun way of saying enchiladas layered instead of rolled. I layer the tortillas, cheese, meat or beans and sauce in a baking dish like a lasagna and it takes about 10 minutes to prepare instead of an hour if I roll them (Yeah, I’m slow).

I have never ever been in a ward (LDS congregation – for my non LDS friends) where the majority of the women I know are interested in the same things I am. I am in seriously unfamiliar territory since we moved to Provo. Moms who blog, have home businesses and websites, do photography and digital editing and scrapbooking, READ, enjoy girls’ nights out together. Wow. I spent a couple hours last night chatting about things I’m actually interested in – with WOMEN! I probably talked too much and didn’t listen enough, but I am just so excited to have real ‘girl tech’ conversations, I don’t think I ever want to leave here. I have added all the blogs I can find that weren’t by invitation only to my google home page and LOVE seeing so many in one place. Rachel, Melissa, Amy, Kami, Christy, Sharene, Tara…anyone else I’m missing? This house had better close without a hitch, because I’m staying!