Tag

I had to share this picture...

This is my niece Allie and my newphew Cru.

Makes you think... All you need is a hug

1,2,3...

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch-hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviair

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chicken pox

89. Saved someone's life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

If you would like to do this TAG then just copy and paste the list, bold the things you have done and unbold the ones you haven't! Anyone can do it...

Jen had asked me to help her plan a Princess party for Allie's 3rd Birthday (I think she was still in Hawaii when she asked). Well me being the disney fan I pretty much took over. There were so many Princess' in attendance you would think that we were at the parks. There was pink and purple everywhere. We snacked on Subway sandwhiches, chips, potato salad, fruit salad and of course birthday cake and ice cream it was declicious. From what I could get from Allie with all of her running around she had a good time. It was so much fun to plan... so party planner for hire :)

I can finally reveal

I went to my 20 year reunion and had a great time. My best friend Lori and her husband Ken flew in and we were able to spend time with them. We had a great time and saw a ton of friends that we probably wouldn't have seen without the reunion. The sad thing is I had a 20 year reunion which makes me OLD.

Happily my sister is home and she has seen me so I can reveal my weight loss. I have lost 90 pounds as of last week. I have lost 10 sizes, in pants. It is silly but I applaud the little things

• I can now cross my legs (I couldn't do that before),





• I am a tucker-iner (I tuck as much as I can into my jeans, etc.)





• that too, I am wearing jeans... I am not wearing elastic waisted pants anymore





• My health is much better: My diabetes is gone, My high cholesterol is gone, My high blood pressure is gone, my sleep apnea is gone, I walk the dog without being in pain our being winded

(The pictures are when I have lost 65)

What a good boy!

We weighed Jakie the other day and he has lost 13 pounds. He weighs 98 pounds.

What I am understanding that is pretty good. It is hard for a dog to loose weight.

Way to go, you're a good boy!

Can you believe it?

As of today I am down 60 pounds. It is amazing. The first 6 weeks I was asking Dennis to look up the number for Dr. Kevorkian. I was miserable. Then one day I went over the, so called "hump". Once I went to "regular" foods and was doing my regular exercises, instead of pacing around the house I was feeling like a million dollars. The doctor did say I would be cursing his name and then thanking him. It was true. With the 60 pounds off, I feel better. I am off a ton of medication, my hips feel better, my back is doing better, I no longer am a Diabetic and I no longer have a few other medical problems. It is amazing. Woo Hoo! I will keep you posted of the weight loss. I haven't posted a picture because my sister said that she wanted to be "surprised" and the next time I see her won't she be. Hurry home sister!

I am a new Auntie, again!

Beautiful Cambrie Grace Evans was born July 13 th (Dennis was hoping for his birthday 7/10... and so was Jen to be honest) at 8 pounds 13.9 ounces and 21.75 inches. Good Grief! Poor Poor Jen. But she said this was the easiest birth ever. She must be a real pro, look at the beautiful picture of my sister above. We only have a picture of Ian with Cambrie because Allie doesn't get that whole baby sister thing yet, and she doesn't like that whole "crying" thing.

Here we go....

Well, I had my surgery on June the 4th. I went through the procedure like a pro, but then the nausea set in the next day. My potassium levels were really low so they had to pump me 6 bags of the medicine. They wouldn't let me go until I at least kept Jello down which I finally did on Saturday in the morning, so I was able to go home and re-coop in my bed. Much better!

As of today I have lost 20 pounds in 11 days. What a motivating beginning.

Also we took Jake on Thursday to get groomed and he weighed 10 pounds lighter. **Note: The weight was pre-groom so that included all the hair.

As soon as I get a little better Jake and I will be going on longer walks. He is a little confused when I walk around in circles around the house, but he follows me.

I guess the whole family is in weight loss mode.

Dennis got a job. He started on Friday. He is working at Ascent Home Loans, as their Senior Underwriter. The company is owned and operated by 4 brothers. They really respect him there so he is super excited about the new challenge. I really think that he is excited because the dress code is jeans everyday. Also I think that he is excited because he ran out of things to do around the house. We painted the whole house, he was doing the laundry, organizing all the cabinets, cleaning the refrigerator, etc. He was a busy body. But I am going to miss having him around.

It's Official....

My surgery date is set for June 4th at 9:00 a.m. with a check in time at 7:30 a.m. I am so excited. We have been waiting for this for so long and I can't wait for my health to get better. I can't wait to take a walk with my husband, go for a hike in the summer, walk around Disney World without getting winded. Alot of people will say they change their birthdays because this is a beginning of a whole new life for them and I can see how that can happen! Keep your thoughts and prayers with me because I will need them during surgery but most of all I am so excited about my whole new world out there for me.

We are a pround new Aunt and Uncle again....

My brother and Sister in Law (Jeff and Melissa) had their second baby on Saturday May 17th at 7:54 a.m. He is a beautiful baby boy that they named Cole Michael Underwood. He has been added to their handsome brood along with his big brother Cru Riley. My Sister in law is a thoughtful one, she went into labour around midnight but didn't want to have to have the family wait around until the contractions were closer together and she was dilated further, (sorry for the pregnancy talk). They called us at 5:00 a.m. and we headed to the hospital. We arrived around 7:00 a.m. (we live a long way from the hospital o.k.) and only had to wait for a little while. When he was born he looked almost like his big brother but with a little less hair and Cole's hair was brown instead of black. They weighed almost the same except for a couple of ounces apart. The Underwood's are consistent.

Cole Michael Underwood

weighed in at 7.3 ounces

19 and 3/4 inches long

Born at 7:54 a.m. on May 17th 2008

Welcome to the world little one ... you will be spoiled to death by your Aunt Kim and Uncle DeDe

Congratulations Jeff, Melissa and Crubins.

We love you very much!

"Look out the window and what do you see..."

The other day while I was on the phone talking to Mom (this is a frequent occurance) Dennis looked out the window and said, "look the neighbor got a new dog". (Now remind you, my husband does not have the best eyesight.) So being a dog lover I got up to take a look. And above is the picture of the the most beautiful fox sunning herself. We have seen her frequently in our backyard and around the neighborhood but we haven't had the photo-op. She let us take about 4 pictures before she had enough of us.

The Greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated

Mahatma Gahdhi

That is one big dog

Today we went to the vet for "Jakie's" annual exam. To get his shots, check-up, etc. Like all other exams, he had to do the "dreaded weigh-in". Thank goodness he didn't need to de-robe :) And believe it or not he weighed 111 pounds. I think that is the weight of my sister and sister in law "pre baby weight". Holy toledo. Well I guess the "fat family" will start to have to loose weight or we all will be in trouble. Speaking of which my gastric bypass surgery is tentavely currently scheduled for May 19th. The reason I say tentavely is we are waiting for the funds to come through if not then it will be the following week. I am really looking forward to it. I am not scared at all. I am ready to start feeling better and get back to work. I haven't been working since I was laid off at Aurora Loan Services and Dennis and I decided together since I wanted to have this surgery, why not now! So we wait...

As you can probably figure out I love food so I wanted to share an easy, fast and delicious recipe from Paula herself: I read this out of her magazine and my family loves it:

Vegi Soup

A.K.A. Cold Night Soup

1 lb. ground chuck (hamburger)

1 small onion, chopped

2 (19 ounce) cans hearty vegtable soup (I like Campbell's)

2 (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes

1 (11 ounce) can whole kernal corn

1 small can diced green chiles

In a large skillet combine ground chuck and onion; cook over medium heat until beek is browned and crumbles. Drain well.

In a 6 quart electric slow cooker, combine beef mixture, coup, diced tomatoes, corn and green chilies. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

** Note if you would like you can add 1 (15 ounce) can lima beans, I am not a fan of lima beans so I omitted them :)