Kittens!!!

We have two new kittens at our house! Meet Fred (orange and white) and Ethyl (Tri Color)

We are so excited to add these babies to our family!!!

An Amazing Box of Red White and Blue Goodness!!

A few weeks back I signed up to participate in Mamarazzi's "Red, White and Blue Swap" I was lucky enough to be paired up with a super cool lady...Trina at "The Life and Times of the Perry Family" On Monday I received this wonderful package...stuffed to overflowing with Red, White, and Blue goodies! I was so excited to unpack this box and discover all the treasures inside!


I loved how the box was lined with bridal netting and sprinkled with Red, White, and Blue confetti stars! How fun is that!? Just look at how cute the box looked, even after I emptied it!

Everything was wrapped in festive red and blue paper and had the added touch of little personalized notes on each one. I Loved this touch!


There was this darling frame with a suggestion of using it for a photo of Cloe or Vern. Honest to goodness I've been meaning to put out a photo of Cloe ever since we lost her and I kept putting off finding a frame! Now I have one and I will be adding a photo of Cloe soon.
I love this patriotic heart light for sticking up in my car window!


Red White and Blue yummy treats!
I am so, so touched that Trina included these "Treasures for Autumn!" She will be so excited to get these when she comes here on Saurday.

Red, White, and Blue scented candles....I love these!

Another sweet gift with Autumn in mind. Autumn will love baking these with Grandma Honey for a tea party!

Then there was this wonderful basket just filled with tons of Red, White, and blue stuff! This was a treasure chest! There are socks, and scrunchies, and nail polish, and chapstick, and magnetic bag clips, and window clingies, and a note pad, and even red, white, and blue tumblers!

Wait! I'm not done yet! I was amazed at how much loot Trina was able to squeeze into that box! A bottle of car air freshener

and a sneaky brush for the cats...sneaky in that it fits in the palm of the hand so they think you're just petting them....nice!
And a blue wind twirler thingie...I love watching these!

And last...but not least...my favorite things in the box...these darling little, country style, nick knacks! These are absolutely adorable!


Trina did a wonderful job putting together a box of Red, White, and Blue blessings! I love all of it!

Ok...so I didn't get the photos..

I started the day with every intention of doing my photo journaling of my meals....and then I completely forgot to take a photo of my lunch! (I didn't eat breakfast.) Then, there was some family drama that happened which culminated in my younger sister coming to stay with us for a while....so I was distracted for the evening and didn't get the photos. Sheesh!

The good news is that I did make healthy food choices. I just didn't get the photographic evidence...LOL.

Breakfast:
Coffee....3 cups with cream :)

Lunch:
Bocca burger patty on a Western Alternative bagel and Pringles Light Chips.
Diet Coke

Dinner:
Turkey wrap from the Costco food court
Diet Coke

Snacks:
Fat Free frozen yogurt from "Golden Spoon"
Bowl of puffed millet with Almond Breeze
3 blueberry newtons


So...this was a MUCH healthier menu than I have been eating recently! Today I will photo journal my day...I really will.

Today is the day...

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I have been out of control and convincing myself that "it's not so bad" over the past few weeks. Today is the day that it stops. I have scarfed down the last of the ice cream cleaned out my fridge and I am ready to return to self control, discipline and accountability. So today I will begin to photo-journal my food choices again and get myself back on track.

Facing the results...

This morning I am finally ready to face the results of my out of control behavior with food over the past few weeks. It's not pretty. 8.2 pounds gained. Surprisingly, I am not terribly disappointed or upset over it. It is what it is.

My sister reminded me this week that self control is a fruit of the Spirit. So I will be looking to find my misplaced self control this week....and trusting the Holy Spirit to lead me in doing so.

That's all I have to say about the subject of my long overdue encounter with my scale this morning...oh except to say....I wore my peace sign socks on purpose....I am going to come to a place of peace with the scale one day...really, I am....

Our Day Trip To The Zoo...

Yesterday we went on an adventure! We, (Vern, myself, Chris, and Autumn) took a trip to the San Diego Zoo. We rode the trolley....two trolleys and a bus, actually! We went to the zoo and then to the train, carousel and butterfly ride in Balboa park. We had a ball and we were sooo tired when we arrived home! I think these photos speak for themselves!

So...I woke up with this thought...

...I have been eating...no that's not quite right...I have been OVER EATING...and I am finally....truly...(maybe).....realizing that maybe there really is something to the idea that I am eating to stuff down feelings and emotions that I don't want to deal with.

Can this possibly be true? I think maybe it is. I realize that it looks pretty simple when I type the words here and read them back to myself. The phrase that goes through my head is, "Gee, really? Ya THINK maybe?" (sarcastic tone here)

You see...I have read for years that there is likely an emotional issue involved with overeating. On some level I know that that is true. But on another level, somewhere inside me, I feel like that's not really true. It's just that I like to eat and I like the taste of food and I have crappy self control. But maybe there's more to it than that. Maybe I really am eating to numb my feelings or at the very least to distract myself. (Oh my goodness, I just flashed on the visual image of a baby being comforted with a pacifier)

So anyway...My eating has been pretty much out of control for the past several weeks. Last time I checked (a few days ago) the scale had crept back up to 200 pounds.

There have been some things going on that have rocked me recently. I have struggled to come to terms with some personal, family issues in recent weeks. Coincidentally, these things surfaced at the same time I seem to have lost control of my healthy eating.

Hmmm...interesting...interesting indeed!


That's all I have to say about that right now :)