My diet and more ...

In 19 days I've lost 14lbs ... most of my weight has come off my chest and my face, some off my belly ...

My workouts consist of weights (bands) and cardio. Each day is a different workout. P90X is what I follow, although, I can only do 20 to 30 minutes of each dvd. I'm still very happy with that, better than nothing! My favorite is the weights, I use resistant bands mostly. We work out our legs, back, shoulders, arms, and abs ...

Here are a list of the foods that I may eat during the day (several options are listed):

Breakfast:
Egg Beaters w/slice of wheat/grain toast
Egg Whites w/slice of wheat/grain toast
Wheat/Grain Toast w/hummus
Special K or other healthy cereal

Snack:
Banana
Yogurt (w/bit of granola)
Apple
Carrots/Celery (be careful on the carrot intake, they are loaded w/sugar!)
5 to 7 nacho chips w/salsa
Turkey Pepperoni

Lunch:
Turkey Sandwich (1 slice of cheese) w/mustard
Salad - lite dressing, but very little
Soup - very lite soup, no cream base soups

Snack: -- see above

Dinner:
93% hamburger patties on thin bun w/ketchup ... rice and veggie on side
Soup - minestrone is a great one! Use chicken for the meat
93% hamburger meat w/rice and canned tomatoes mixed together
Steak - trim fat! w/veggie and rice (or 1/2 a baked potato)
Grilled Chicken - w/veggie and rice (or 1/2 baked potato)

Snack: see above

We use the George Foreman Grill a lot!

The more protein the better!! Your body loves protein and burns it fast! Boneless chicken breast is one of the best sources of protein!

Good carbs include: Beans, corn, rice, sweet potato ...

Water, water and water!! I do have my pot of coffee in the A.M. but make up for my water intake throughout the day. I try to have 6 to 8 glasses each day.

Oh, Sunday is what we consider a 'free' day ... this doesn't mean to pig out, but it means to go ahead and eat something, like pizza, that you may not eat during the week!

Exercising and dieting ...

It's about time I do this...My goal 50lbs! Day 20 is tomorrow ... lost 14lbs so far. Mostly in my chest and face. 36 more pounds to go! I can do this !! I will do this !!

Hot Damn ... it's about time!

Why, hi there blog ... how you been?

The in(s) and the out(s) of shopping online ...

As I’ve said before, I do 90% of my shopping online. The deals you get are just as good, if not better, than the deals in the stores on Black Friday or other Holidays. The best part is; you can sit on your loverly arse and shop!

Shopping for deals online requires patience. It’s kind of like coupon shopping … you save that coupon for a sale to get the best deal. You might have that coupon for a couple days or a couple weeks, but you are holding out for the best deal possible. I’m asked all the time to find certain deals and they are usually needed that same day. The thing is, it could take a month to get just that right deal. It’s not magic, its patience and days (or weeks) of watching for that deal to pop-up.

Did you know that two of the biggest, deal finding, online shopping, days are coming? Gear up for Black Friday, November 26, and CyberMonday, November 29, and shop online with no crowds!

Safety First
Many of the sites will have a security logo or a Secure Sockets Layer (AKA: SSL/Verisign) usually located at the bottom of their site, or at least at the bottom during their check-out process. If you don’t see such a ‘logo’ then you are not on a secured site and your information will not be protected.

Get a credit card just for shopping online. Use that one card only for shopping online, not others, this way, if there is a problem you will know immediately what card it was.

Get a Paypal account. Paypal is a FREE site that offers you a secure way of paying for your purchases online. The money is taken directly from your Paypal balance, your bank account, or your credit card. Not only is it secure, but it’s much quicker to check out AND your purchases are always protected. Here is what they offer you:

~$0 Liability for Eligible Unauthorized Purchases when you meet our requirements
~Refunds for incorrect orders or items that never arrive
~A convenient process for resolving problems

Shipping and Returns
Shipping on an order will make or break your deal. Around the Holidays, not just the big ones, you will see all kinds of free shipping and shipping discounts. These are the times you need to buy. Never pay too much for shipping, it is a huge rip-off. I tend to stay away from those sites when they want to charge me an arm and a leg.

Big Chain stores, such as Walmart or JCPenneys, will ship to the store for FREE! When checking out all you have to do is click ‘ship to store’ and they will send you an email to let you know when your purchases are ready for pick up.

Be sure to read the fine print. If you are purchasing an item that may need to be returned, make sure the return time period is sufficient (some online stores are only 2 weeks or no returns at all), also, be sure the site offers free return shipping or return to a local store (if one is near). Many stores have you pay the return shipping, which you can send the cheapest way, but you will still need to factor that into your ‘deal’ price which could turn your deal into a dud.

Is that price for real?
Drop dead prices (meaning, you will drop dead with how cheap it is!) do happen. If you keep in mind the 2 items above, you will be safe in trying for that ‘drop dead price’ … I’ve scored numerous free items by using a simple discount code a store has provided. If it’s too good to be true, the website will send you an email letting you know you failed, or in most cases, they failed.

Coupon Codes (Aka discount codes)
Always, always, aLwAyS search for a coupon code before checking out. How do you search for them? www.google.com is my best friend. An example of what I might search for: Old Navy Coupon Codes

Best Deal
It’s hard to say if you got the best deal or not, but there is something you can do to see if that is the best deal of the day. I like to look on Amazon, they have just about anything you can imagine, and price check that way. Or, again, www.google.com is willing to be your best friend, so why not search. Seriously, most of us savvy shoppers know what a good deal is, so I have confidence in saying, you know what the best deal is.

Sign up for cash back sites
There are a few sites out there that give you cash back to shop the stores online. The one that I use and am faithful to is www.ebates.com. On certain days they have double cash back opportunities or they have their own online store deals. Check them out, it doesn't hurt to earn back a few dollars.

The deals I post on Our Coupon Home are not all found by me. I sign up for everything just to get an email from them telling me when they have deals. I’m also signed up for a few deal finder sites that help me in my searches.

Happy 9th birthday, Kristopher William!

Unbelievable how time flies.

Kris then (click here)

Kris now:

A blog post of random nothingness ...

I have all kinds of thoughts running through my mind, so this very well could be a jumbled mess of nothingness.

It's been 15 months, that's 1 year and 3 months (sounds like I'm telling a kid's age,) since we've moved to Colorado and I have a few things to say about it.

Man, do I ever miss my mom and dad and extended family and friends. I miss them like I'd miss my right arm (you see, I'm right handed) and would give anything to have them out here with me. Yes, you heard me, out here, in Florence, Colorado, because I'm afraid to say, I'm never moving back to PA unless something drastic happens and I'm forced to. Wow, I said it. I'm not moving back. It think I realized this once we hit the 1 year point. I'm determined to raise my kids here in bum-fuck no where. But I'll be damned if they stay here, after school, it's too small of a town. They need to get out there in the big wide world.

So, on my mind is a bunch of places and things I miss from my PA life. Might as well get them out. It's a given that I miss my family and friends, I miss their hugs, their support. My mom/dad and extended family would always have a Happy Hour to go to or a party to go to ... at these parties I'd get to let my hair down and I'd see people that I'd only see 1 x a year and we'd catch up, we'd have a blast, I'd drink and knowing my mom/dad/extended family were there it was ok ... I miss it. I miss the talks, the music, the food, the beer bong, the smoking, the drinks.

OMG, NYC, I miss NYC and I've only been 3 x's ... love going into the basements to buy knock off name brand purses, watching a car being broken into (while hearing the dude say "Oh man, it smells so new"), the hustle and bustle of people, the closeness on Canal Street ... LOL That city gives you such a rush!

BB's -- this is too funny. I miss BB's, you know the bent and dent grocery store. Man could I ever get deals there! I miss following the Amish in their horse drawn carts and thinking about their 'simple' but 'hard' life.

STORES! The closeness of Target, Kohl's, Giant, Weis, CVS, Rite Aid ... oh how I wish I could get those stores, here, in bum-fuck no where!!!

Hi's. Yep, the Hi's from people I knew. I can go an entire day here and not see anyone I know.

Hopping in the car with someplace to go or someone to visit. To be there when family or a friend needs me.

RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I miss RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Work. I miss my clients. They were/are great people. I miss their adventures and miss setting up their vacations.

So, enough of that ... I have way more, but I can't dwell on it. Well, might as well tell you what I love about here.

Without my neighbor, Roxie, and her 2 beautiful girls, I don't think I could have made it. This past summer Roxie and I would BS and talk every day (still do!) ... Now, there are 2 neighbors that keep me going ... and about every other week we go out just to dinner ... Ok, fine the $1.99 Margaritas are involved too.

The beauty is unbelievable out here. The mountains that surround us are breathtaking. How God created such a beautiful state, I don't know ... How I deserve to see it every day, I don't know.

Schools. They may be small, but that just makes it so much easier for me to get to know all the teachers ... and principals ... and assistant principals ... and counselor ... (Big 'ole THANKS to my 11 year old, he can try to run, but he isn't going to get far).

People. The people here in general are just nice and laid back ... I still remember the first time I met our landlord, he told me to slow down (talking) or I wasn't going to make it here. Ha!

Ok, so this is getting boring ... I love way many other things here, but I don't need to bore myself.

A few more randomness-es:

You know how you meet someone in your life that you are forever grateful for? They could have sold you a car, given you a big mac, or delivered your UPS package. Well, I've met 2 Stephanie's that I feel that way for. How did I meet them? Online, of course.......

Without my animals, I'd be no more. Or, I'd have none and it would look rather funny seeing all the food dishes laying around the house. I'd be bored...I wouldn't have to vacuum 20 x's a day.

Corn snakes. What amazing creatures.

Ugly curtains are a must. They provide hours of nausea.

Music lifts my mood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Blog Post of Random Nothingness~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been a long time ...

since I've blogged ... no time now, but I'll leave you with a picture showing you what I've been up to ....

House Party ~ Febreze Fresh Summer Entertaining

First I have to say that this is only my 2nd House Party ~ My first was the Digiorno Pizza one and lets just say it was a flop. It was hard enough cooking all those pizza's in a normal sized oven, while trying to get all the others to remain hot. But enough about the flop...

House Party has outdone themselves on this party!!

Here is what was said was going to be inside the 'party' box.
•1 - Febreze Set & Refresh Branded apron
•2 - Home Collection Room Spray (Pomegranate Mango)
•5 - Home Collection Flameless Luminaire Starter Kit (Pomegranate Mango)
•8 - Febreze Set & Refresh Starter Kits (Hawaiian Aloha)
•8 - Febreze Set & Refresh Starter Kits (Linen & Sky)
•10 - Home Collection Scented Reed Diffusers (Pomegranate Mango)
•18 - Home Collection Flameless Luminaire Refills (Pomegranate Mango)
•20 - Sandra Lee and Entertaining Tip Cards
•20 - Febreze Set & Refresh Branded Cocktail Napkins
•180 – Febreze Set & Refresh Coupons

Here is what I found:


Ok, Ok, in all seriousness I found all of what they said they would send. I didn't unpack all of the boxes, but you'll get the gist of it by looking:


Let's get this party started!

1, 2 and 3

I wrote this about 3 years ago ... I remember writing it and sharing it, but never blogged it. My mom found it in an email, so blogging it now, that way I won't ever lose it again!

My 3 kids......

Jakob, my oldest. My child that I can't wait to see what is next. What is that next step. I couldn't wait for him to roll over, then sit up, crawl (he never did, I'm still waiting for this), talk, walk, eat with a spoon, kick a ball, say I love you, go to pre-school etc.................and here, 8 years later I am still anxious to see what is next. I can't wait for that first home run, that first goal, that first kiss on the playground. I am constantly thinking, what is next, when will this happen?! I wrote all his firsts down, I remember a lot, but so much has happened, I've had to write them down....when will the time come to pass this on to his kids? I'm waiting for that daughter-in-law.

Kristopher, my BooBoo. This is my child I want to freeze. The first 2 years he was mine, I did it all for him. I wanted another child, and DH reminded me this, by me doing the majority of the work for the first 2 years. It really is a blurr. With BooBoo my memory starts (of him) at age 2. I was too busy to remember to remember things...you know, you say to yourself, hey I got to remember this, well, I forgot to. My little boy. This is the one I wanted to stay age 2, binky and all... But then age 3 came, and the binky went bye-bye and the diaper went bye-bye and, well, his talking started. What a funny, little, lovable, shy boy. At age 4 shy little Kristopher wasn't so shy anymore...the funny things he would say, I wish I would have written them down...and he actually loved pre-school, age 3 he cried everyday he went! Last year, 2006, in November, he turned 5. That was it, that was all I could take, so I froze him. My BooBoo is frozen in my memory at age 5, not age 5 and 1 day, just age 5. I want him to stay that age, I don't want to know what is next. I want to know what was first.

Juliana - MY GIRL! She'll be 2 in less than a month and I remember just about every milestone she has accomplished! I learned with Jakob, not to rush it and learned with Kristopher, not to forget it. I have taken so many pictures of Juliana I would have a whole room of albums if they were all printed. Regret? Yes. Remorse? Yes. Forgetting? No. I don't want her to grow up, but I don't want her to slow down. I'm not rushing her or freezing her. I'm remembering.

Each of them have taught me something...If I only knew then, what I know now.