July 26, 2011

soccer...

i've been neglecting again...my oldest has been playing soccer for almost 6 years now, and you would think i would have tons of pictures of him playing. this is not the case. i'm the kind of mom that gets way too excited and runs up and down the field screaming like a banshee. it's kind of hard to carry around a camera while bouncing up and down. not to mention the amount of sweat produced while sitting outside for hours on end in 105 degree heat. this past weekend we traveled down to Round Rock, TX for a 3v3 tournament and those boys played their little hearts out. yes, the first day was a complete beating. we lost 3 of the 4 games on Saturday, which put us in the bottom of the rankings when it came to seeding for the next day of games. we were pretty much in last place starting Sunday morning, but the boys pulled it out and won the first game! winning that first game put us in the wildcard position which allowed us to keep playing. we then went on to win the next 2 games putting us in the finals. we ended up playing the top seeded team at the tournament, so, it was us, the underdogs, and the best team in south Texas...aaaand....we lost. but really, we were very happy with our 2nd place trophy. 2nd place! in the entire state of Texas? not too shabby boys, not too shabby...
(one of the only pictures i managed to get from 1 of the 8 games we played!)

July 19, 2011

under construction...

the title pretty much says it all. this week marks the half way point for the year. up until now it's been a pretty crappy year. from some of the worst weather we've seen in years to illness and loss, we've seen enough yuck to last for the rest of the year. i already started making amends with myself by starting my own body challenge, but that is not going as wonderful as i had pictured in my head. okay, so what if it's only been 2 weeks, but i should totally look like a supermodel by now, right?! who am i kidding? when did dieting and exercise grant you the wish of growing 5 inches taller? anyway, like i said before...life is under construction...

July 14, 2011

Happy Birthday Little Sister...

today is the celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the year my little sister jumped out of mom's lady parts. i'm so excited to say that i have a sister (although those years between 1989-1992 were a little sketchy). i feel a little guilty that for years everyone thought she was the older one (even though i have her by 3 1/2 years). but now, she is definitely holding up better as the "younger" one. i'm so proud that i have such a loving and courageous person to call my family. last year this is how we celebrated her birthday:
it was a crazy sweaty night of sushi (her very first), drinks, and dancing. we had a blast, and figured out how to get free drinks...wear a birthday hat! but this year, things are a little different, because this is how my sister is spending her 32nd birthday:

my nephew has been in and out of the hospital all summer. after having reconstructive surgery last month, he was rushed back to the hospital last weekend due to some unexplained infection*. my poor sister and her family have been dealing with incompetent hospital staff, lack of sleep, lack of decent food, and definitely a lack of strong alcoholic drinks. i'm really hoping that someone in that hospital serves an acceptable birthday cake for my sister, because she more than deserves it.

i wish more than anything i could just give my sister a hug for her birthday (don't worry i actually did get her a gift, and it was the bomb diggity if i say so myself). i miss being able to hang with her and laugh and joke about the silly things in life. i wish that she didn't have to struggle with inserting tubes and dealing with bodily functions that would make most people faint. but for whatever reason, she was chosen to have the most wonderful little boy anyone could ask for. i'm so proud of her and i love her even more because of it. she's my sister damn it and i'll punch you in the stomach if you hurt her! it's too bad i can't just punch someone right now so that she could just go home on her birthday and enjoy her day without medical staff around. 

so, cheers little sister. i raise my spiked morning coffee to you in hopes that you'll be joining me very soon in a well deserved birthday cocktail...

July 10, 2011

summer is full of challenges...

*Update: just finished the first 3 days, which consisted of pretty much drinking shakes all day and eating fruit and vegetables. i'm pretty much starving at this point, but guess what? i lost 4.5 pounds!!

it's almost the middle of July now and i haven't been doing much. and by doing much i mean exercising and eating right. i'm lucky that my skin has become a very nice shade of golden honey, because that's the only thing hiding the bumps and bulges of my laziness. after taking pretty much the entire summer off of taking care of myself (and the fact that we're heading to the beach in a month) i decided it was time to do something. my best friend has been involved with this stuff that is suppose to give you a little boost in the department of healthy bodies. last week i finally ordered it....
you can read all about it on the BeachBody web site. i decided to do it because i eat like crap. i'm a food junkie. i'll eat anything and everything. so, now i'm about to do something that is against my being, and that is to post before and after photos. i'll admit, i'm not a big person, but i'm tired of being asked how pregnant i am. really people?! after 3 kids my body is DESTROYED! i'm putting these pictures up for accountability. if i see myself on the interwebs maybe i'll be more inclined to stick with this for the next 30 days. i think if i can get past the first 3 days (a Shakeology Cleanse), then i'll be okay. i even started back to the running, yes, even in this heat the devil brought. 

here goes nothing...

(i'm sucking in, so imagine how much bigger that thing can really get...)

*if you're interested in the whole Shakeology thing, get in touch with my friend JHD

July 3, 2011

the Challenge, Days 26-30...

almost done!!!
as you can imagine this one was way too much fun to shoot. after spending all afternoon washing the car, C asked for a little refresher. thanks to The Husband for being the little prankster that he is, i just happened to get this close-up shot...

yes yes, this picture is very much out of order. i saved this one from our trip to Boston...

yep, that's me, the crazy lady pulled over on the side of the road stomping around in a field taking pictures of giant weeds....

not what you thought for a "black & white" challenge? me either, but when we drove by this place, it screamed "take a picture of me", so i did...

Ta-Da!! the last picture of the month. i think it was very appropriate that the first and last picture were the same "challenge". i think it's obvious that my comfortability in front of the camera changed quite a bit during the month. my first self-portrait took almost a hour to take and edit, but this last one...5 minutes. i've really enjoyed taking shots of things other than the kids for a change, and i think i even got a few "framers" along the way. the month flew by and it most certainly kept me occupied and my mind off other things, but now that the month is over, it's got me thinking, now what.....

July 2, 2011

the Challenge, Days 21-25...

i'm more than happy to pose for a faceless portrait, but then again, is my butt that much better to look at? at least it's not in a bathing suit...anyway, when we left Boston we didn't think we had enough lobster to eat while we were there, so, we picked up a couple live ones in the airport. yes, live lobsters are in that box boarding the plane with me...

probably one of my most absolute favorite pictures of all time...

yes, this one is a little out of order, but i took it by accident and it was perfect for day 23. we were riding those spaceships in the world of tomorrow at Magic Kingdom, and they actually go slow enough you can take pretty decent shots...

i laugh every time i see this. we live in a small town, and no, these aren't exactly in my back yard, but they're close enough that i can take a picture without getting run over. funny enough, when i took the picture that crazy buffalo charged me and i ran back to the truck real quick like...

to be perfectly honest, this one was a bit of a personal challenge. i didn't think anything of it until i sat back and had to think about something pink in my house. the last few months were a bit of a blur and i'm still a little bitter about the whole thing, so, this silly flamingo in the yard will have to do...