Losing the LBs

The Mission:
Lose solid 8 or more lbs by June 10th. Have to pick a date or
there won’t be any accountability and Mike’s birthday is as
good as any.

I’m not talking water weight I’m talking a good solid 8 pounds
so I feel better in my clothes and I don’t feel like I should
wear a moo moo in the heat of summer in South Carolina
which is, as my friend Rudy pointed out, Africa hot.

I am going to start a regime like I had in Florida before my
routine got all out of wack. I have 2 gyms to choose from
PLUS an in home elliptical so really I have zero excuses and
now I have this blog to update to keep my accountable and
for the most part honest.

I want to go from

TO

 I am going to keep a food journal like I used to and I am
going to share it here for the whole blogosphere to gawk at,
judge and point out my Whoopsies. I am going to loosely
follow the Flat Belly Diet plan. I promise to be honest and if
you want to share yours too I will listen and only moderately
scoff at you. (I kid, I kid). On top of the health benefits
this will also help me achieve my New Years Resolutions’

to have shake weight arms and drink cheaper coffee as
Starbucks double tall mochas aren’t on the diet.

So here it goes day one: April 18, 2011

What	Calories	Gym
cornflakes with Lactaid	220	weights in am
raisins	42	45 min cardio
dbl tall mocha	270
banana	70
scoop of jelly beans	140
baby carrots	35
cheese stick	80
turkey slices	90
piece of cheddar
soup
If you’re not into counting your calories while eating you can always use http://www.calorieking.com/ to calculate your intake. Find out your BMI and the amount of calories you should consume there too.		

Undies Drive

Underwear Drive

Please donate a new package of toddler size underwear to the children in a small village in Haiti.

The kids are living in mud huts.  Many children are naked and very dirty, they sit on the dirt and get worms in their bottoms, it’s estimated that 90% of Haitians have worms. Being naked also sets them up for sexual abuse. This is a very grass roots idea sparked by the heavy heart of one woman who saw a need and decided to do something about it. The mission offices of Love a Child in Riverview, Florida will truck new underwear to Miami and then put them on a boat to their port in Haiti where the village will receive the undies directly. It will go from our hands to their bottoms!

Contact me to find out more

Monica

Boothbabyfarm@gmail.com

Craving Peace

Craving Peace and Being Present. For those of my friends who listen to the Philips Phile you most likely know of Eddie the Shaman. A few weeks back he was talking about following your path and creating your own destiny. Lately I have felt like I am running around in circle, craving more things, waiting for more in my life but if I sit back and look at what  I have, I have all I need. I have a wonderful family. My mom is like nothing I could do justice with words. She is 100% behind me and my family in all that we do and is so over the moon in love with Matthew that it just melts my heart and actually brings tears to my eyes when I think about them together. I have a loving brother who, although lives far away and I only see a few times a year, is also there for me when I need him, no matter what time of day. And even though the two of them, mom and brother, are superior procrastinators they always seem to come through and provide me with magical memories and beautiful things to fill my house and heart with. Then there is my husband who I recently gushed about on here but I can say a few more good things about him I suppose. My head fits perfect in his neck. He makes me feel safe and I know that he is worrying enough for the both of us but rarely shows it. Matthew is the light of my life and makes me smile on the cruddiest of days. He gives the most spectacular hugs and lets me get his brown sugar (a family term) any time I need it. I love seeing him grow up and get his sillys out and just be a happy boy. I love knowing that he is so loved and in a secure place that it gives me bliss.  A family hug gives me more I than any paycheck  could buy. 

On top of this warm tender family of mine, I am blessed to live in a beautiful town, own a lovely home, and have a job. As much as I might complain about the little things, its the bigger picture that I love . “If you seek some special life outside of daily activities, that is like brushing aside waves to look for water.” 

This is the combo of two posts, I started the above post on my birthday and lost track of time a long the way. I can NOT believe that it is the middle of April already. Today, April 15, is my aunt’s birthday who passed away many years ago from aggressive cancer, she battled and beat brain and breast but liver cancer took her. My mom gets very quiet this time of year as she misses her sister dearly. I know she feels all sorts of emotions, pain, regret, sorrow and sometimes even hate that she was left here to take on the life's struggles alone.  I just wanted to share a few photos of the aunt that I barely got to know and to request that you hold your loved ones dear as you never know what is lurking around the corner in life.  “Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” Abraham Lincoln   

Aunt Mary, Great Grandparents, My mom, and Thats my Grandma on the far right, Woo HOO!

loves

Today  I am a fan of  mercury mirror and
milk glass and always am a fan of peacocks .
I am also a fan of my husband and all his handy work and how in 8 short months our house has gone from needing a cosmetic facelift to almost complete on top of the fact that he does everything himself and to Mike Holmes standards, he does it without complaining. And he bought me a weeping willow for the yard and made me flower beds in the back yard to keep with my theme of keeping plants alive as my new years resolution. He disregards my many mood swings over the past year due to all the hormones I have been on trying to conceive child number two. And he is the most wonderful father a wife could ever imagine for her family. He can't wait for Matthew to get a little bigger to play catch with and to help him turn a wrench and he savors the little moments now as Matthew is learning about life and rapidly growing into a man. And to top it off he ain't to bad looking either. So again, keeping with my Be more Thankful for What I have theme this New Year,  I am more than grateful for the husband that has stood by me for nearly 14 years and just thought I would gush a little today.

Making my mom pull her hair out since 1986

Somewhere my mom is shuddering because I would love to have this woman's hair cut. She is still upset for the pixie cut I begged for 25 years ago which cut my last curl off, a la my profile picture. Just thought I would share.

Ch ch ch changes

Mr friend who shall remain nameless but is my best guy friend  and has three letters in his name starts with an L ends in an E, asked me to write about how life changes and evolves and creates the person you are to become. He recently went through a major life change and decided to call off a wedding. Now from the outside some of you who know this person might think "well duh that sounds just like him"  but alternately this was a wise choice that took a lot of deep thought on his part. Perhaps at the time it didn't seem that way on the outside but it really changed him as a person. He was asking introspective questions like how do you stay faithful to someone for you whole life? He was scared because there is the notion out there that marriage is hard and takes a lot of work and he didn't think it should be and did not want to go into a union with not doubts per say but questions about what a marriage should be. He, as a lot of our generation has, has divorced parents. Which makes it hard to see marriage as a real lifelong partnership. I mean when you grow up seeing fighting and tears and spending summers with one parent and school days with another, its difficult to understand how to make a marriage last. Is This the fight that is going to end the relationship or am I acting as someone that she/he wants me to be so that we stay together? These are all valid concerns that shape us and who we will become. Anyhow this realization that he wasn't being true to himself and ultimately her lead him to the decision to call of the wedding before there was time for more hurt to occur. I applaud him. He is making life changes, better decisions and concerned about the future instead of just pushing all thise issues to a dark place.

Now on the flip side, Yes marriage is hard. I have spoke to this before- That if you want the fancy dress and the big party then just have one, I'll come and dance the night away with you but if you want a marriage, make sure you are in for the long haul. I think I am about to quote Will Smith, don't hold it against me, but he says that Divorce is not an option, and I believe that if you go into marriage with that idea, that the petty light quarrels that are bound to come up are not going to end the relationship, you will feel safe and secure in you marriage and be able to be yourself and even if you don't have the same views on big ticket items like politics, religion or even  smaller things like music its not going to be the end all because you are grown up enough to see that you still love that person for who they are inside, not their ever changing opinions on the world. We all change as we get older and have more life experiences,  I met Mike at 16 and believe me, we have both grown and changed as people but its the soul that doesn't change. We are both smarter, wiser, parents, gone through deaths of close friends and family and seen other marriages dissolve but that doesn't break us, it molds us and makes us want to work harder and understand each other to continue on as good role models for our son and even perhaps other relationships. His soul is what keeps me having those warm fuzzies. When I hear him talking to Matthew as he tucks him in at night or when he discusses our financial future and I feel safe not that fact that he is now a hard core conservative with no problem  voicing his opinion to anyone that's within earshot and hacks a minimum of three times while brushing his teeth. :)

I have changed so much in my thought of an ideal lifestyle. When I was a teenager I was certain that I was Manhattan bound. Took a trip to look at apartments, loved everything NYC inspired, right down to the urban minimal decor design and was going to be the next real life Carrie Bradshaw for lack of a better example. That was 15 years ago. I have now moved from a fairly normal city feel in Clearwater, to the lowest point Titusville where time has stood still since the Apollo era, to a new mixture of city and country here in South Carolina and I have twinge of desire to go further into the rural. I'm not talking outhouse and candle light, I'm talking larger piece of property with animals, livestock, not house pets. Chickens, cows perhaps a goat?  With a fence that only keeps large animals in, and wildflowers and cowpies so my mom can relive her youth and squish her feet in them. I want to spend my time with Matthew and build a strong belief system within our home. I want to wear aprons and know what tarragon would taste good in. My style has changed from sleek modern decor to traditional and antiques out of nowhere.  I no longer long for partying at the Tunnel and keeping up with the Kardashians and taking shots like there is no tomorrow. (although if money were not an issue I would own a loft space because they are just so unique and would be a blast to decorate) It has been 6 months without cable and I have survived!

So what I am saying is change is good. You have to go with the flow. Let go of grudges and open up to the reason behind the change. Who knows what is in store for us but if you smile and accept it only good things can happen.

Just to show how much can change in 6 years.  My sweet niece, flower girl, Carly passed last year and our groomsman, Mikes best friend and all around sweet guy Matt passed nearly 5 years ago. We were lucky to have them both there to celebrate our new life together and miss them both every day.

 

Inspiring Ideas



Hello is this not the most gorgeous table setting- setting?




Yes please, I require cute cupcakes in cute wrappers on a cute cake plate



Okay, I want to have this photo, it is blissful.

This is just a happy centerpiece and beautifully photographed

Can you imagine having this as your wedding ceremony backdrop--- just in awe

This seems like such an intimate way to start a life together, just adore the surroundings

This is for my mom, to see my vision, the chevron stripes not necessarily but the idea of it yes



So many great wedding, or any kind of function, sweets table with a unique color scheme that pops!



And this is my dream kitchen I must have that backsplash and all the surface space, and maybe a piece of that bread too.