Get in my way and I WILL throw an elbow.... but Merry Christmas anyway!

It's time to brave the crowds and get some Christmas shopping done. Ugh! I'm not a big fan of shopping, mostly because I don't have any money to spend and I want just about everything I see! I DO enjoy buying gifts for people, but it's the shopping part I have an issue with. I simply cannot stand people who think "it's all about them". [Examples: those that take their time walking down the CENTER of the aisle or those that allow their children to run lose throughout the store, etc.] I'm NOT a scrooge, I just don't have patience for inconsiderate people. I have four children, so I feel I can confidently give my opinion----Parent, control your kids or get a babysitter! I have done that plenty of times. In fact, it's quite relaxing to just be able to "stroll" around and shop (never minding those that I've knocked over...).

Anyway, this weekend we are going to try and get most of our shopping done. I've written and re-written the "list" numerous times. Actually, the list isn't as long as most people's (from what I hear), but when you ain't got money....well, you know how it goes!

Hubby and I are not going to exchange gifts (as usual), but that's no big deal. The older kids will be at their dad's over Christmas, so we don't give them their gifts until we pick them up on the 26th at noon. I'm off work the WHOLE WEEK between Christmas and New Year's and I'm very excited. We've got so much traveling to do, that I'm sure the time will whizz by.....

Well, I'd better sign off. So much to do, so little time!

fondly,

fit

Can I go back to sleep?

Ever have one
of these days?!?!?

Random Numbers:

100 - percent sure I'm tired today!

3 - Times I had to go back home to get things I forgot on the way to work.

4 - times I've had to fix my make-up because my eyes won't stop watering!

50 - dollars we are giving each of the kids to buy Christmas presents for family. Last year, we gave the kids money and a list of each person they were buying for and set them loose in Target. It was very interesting seeing them budget their money and their creativity in their choices of gifts! It was FUN for all! They are already looking forward to doing it again this year.

13.5 - ounces of Olay Body Quench lotion my husband bought me to keep at my desk at work. My skin gets SO dry during winter!! ouch.

The heat will kill you...

Funny!!

Random Numbers for the Week

Here are my random numbers for the week (so far!):

41 - Number of minutes I was late to work! Left the house late and had a parking lot on George Bush Freeway.

2 - Weeks until Christmas!

3 - number of gifts bought...

1 - paycheck left until Christmas.

99 - dollars spent on new Christmas tree. HAD to buy one this year. Fortunately, we found a great deal at Lowes for a pre-lit tree.

10 - number of loads of laundry I have to do tonight!

0 - number of my niece/nephews' basketball games I've been to this year. Gonna try to make one very soon.

2 - helpings of dinner I had at our ABF Christmas party last night. The food was catered and was DELICIOUS!

41 - percentage of space used on TIVO; I must catch up on all my shows!

670 - miles to travel at Christmas to see family!

Weirdness galore...

In another blog, I noticed an interesting topic:
List six (6) things about yourself that might be considered weird or unique. This prompted me to contemplate what I would consider those 6 things to be and quite frankly, I don't know! Regardless, here is my attempt:

1) I love sushi; however, I can ONLY eat it in the evenings. Why? I don't know. How do I know this? My husband took me to have sushi for lunch one day and it just didn't taste good. I eve felt a little naseau. Had it the next day at dinner---loved it. In fact, that's happened a couple of times. Weird?

2) I CAN'T STAND to unload the dishwasher----but I can load it all day!

3) I am a "coffee snob". There--I said it. I prefer only high quality, artsy-fartsy coffee. Basically, you'll never see me drinking coffee out of the office coffee pot. Yuck. No can do. Maybe I'm this way because I didn't start drinking coffee until I was 34 years old!

4) I could travel around basically every weekend! I love making little road trips and staying in quaint little hotels. I love finding neat little out-of-the-way places to tell others about.

5) I want to go back to school, but I'm too chicken. I've been considering it for several years, but I'm so out of practice as far as studying and retaining (key word), I'm afraid of failure.

6) I'm scared to death about forgetting people's names in public! For instance, I'm introducing my husband to someone I work with and, BAM!, their name is totally lost! I would almost say I am somewhat compulsive in my fear of it. Not sure where it stems from...

****************

Well, that was my stab at it. Who knows, I might add more as I contemplate longer.
Fondly,
Fit

Whew...it's FINALLY Friday!

It's almost party time!

AND----------

Arrived to a CLEAN HOME last night....pure bliss! I was actually able to just "sit" on the couch and relax with no visions of the list of house chores to be done. I could REALLY get used to that feeling..........

I realized that I forgot to upload pictures from our Thanksgiving "Turkey Bowl". It's our family tradition to have a football game every year. We always have a lot of fun.

The gang!

One of my favs...my son and nephew gettin' some height!

Me and my neice! (I'm the older one)

Here's another picture of my neice (and nephew), all dressed up for her Christmas choir concert.

Seems like they were just toddlers running around the house!

I see pictures like this and I feel OLD! But, completely blessed.....

I have a great family. A family that knows how to love each other and have fun, too. I'm so thankful that my kids have such a great relationship with their cousins. They LOVE spending time with them and look forward to holidays, especially, because we have extended time to get together.

Well, better get to work! I'll post more later!

Fondly, Fit

Is it Friday yet?!?!?!

Why does this week seem to be dragging on and on?

Maybe because I have an AWESOME weekend planned! It starts with TONIGHT... I have the housecleaner coming today--so I will be going home to a CLEAN HOUSE! Yippee! Tomorrow night is somewhat uneventful (see previous statement re: clean house!).

Saturday afternoon, hubby and I check into a really nice hotel and get ready for my work Christmas party (at the hotel). Party starts at 7:30pm and ends at 2:00am! Lots of food, fun, dancing, casino games, etc! Getting all dolled up (I'll post a pic later) and going to party!! Whew hoo! Our favorite babysitter is coming over and have a slumber party with the kids. I think they may be more excited about the evening than me!?!

Check out time is noon on Sunday. Then, that evening is the Christmas party for our ABF (adult Bible fellowship). It will be fun! So..................you can see how much I'm looking forward to the weekend and WHY this work week seems to be dragging on and on! *sighs*

I've gotta get back to work......post more later!

Fondly, Fit

Remember me?

Sorry it's been so long! Not sure where all the time has gone...........

But - as my kids keep reminding me, it's 20 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! Ugh! I have no clue and no money; not a good combination. Such is my life! In looking for some great gift ideas for the kiddos, I came across some hilarious websites, one of them being www.choiceshirts.com. My oldest son is into funny t-shirts, so this seemed very appropriate. Here are few captions:

There are many more...and they're hilarious! In fact, there are a few I'd like to have!

This day has passed way too quickly! I will have to write more tomorrow.

Fondly,

Fit

10.31.06

Happy Halloween!!

I enjoy this holiday so much.....
I love seeing all the creative ideas that people come up with. In fact, I usually find myself laughing and saying to myself, "I need to do that next year!" If I were smart, I would write all the great ideas down and file them away somewhere. Ya know, I think that's what I'll do. Here are a few ideas:
1) Bubble gum - Pink sweatsuite with balloons stuffed inside with a shoe on top of your head;
2) Grapes - purple balloons taped all over with a green stem hat;
3) Grandma Hooter's Girl - need I say more?
4) Marge Simpson - Put an object on the top of your head and pull your hair up around. Spray paint your hair blue and your face yellow.
5) Energizer Bunny - Pink sweatsuit with drum in front that says "Energizer";
That's all I can think of for now. I'll post more later.

I haven't been able to post the last couple weeks---been really busy. Busy with work; busy at home; busy with kids; busy with church; etc...

Tomorrow I'll post pictures from our eventful Halloween night!
Fondly,
Fit

Let's pretend it's yesterday - 10.16.06

Since I missed my posting yesterday, I am going to pretend I didn't and it's actually Monday, October 16th. That's permissable, right?
***********************************************************************************

Happy Birthday to me!!!! Okay, so it's not MY birthday, but I DID give birth on this very day 14 years ago! I can't believe it...seems like it was just yesterday! [I know that sounds very clique, but it's true] Here's the birthday boy:
Handsome, huh? He's awesome. It's amazing how much I've seen him grow, physically AND emotionally! I enjoy his company immensely........

Happy Birthday, Baby!!

It's Friday----and Monday's coming....

Doing the happy friday dance! I can't wait until quittin' time. The weather is going to be great and I hope to have some fun family time outdoors; maybe a walk to the park. My oldest has a birthday on Monday, so he will be doing "birthday stuff" this weekend.

On a more serious note, I just heard from my parents that my little brother is in the emergency with heart issues. He was born with several congenitive heart defects and is, actually, a walking miracle. He was born with two (2) major holes in his heart as well as tychardia/disrythmia and something else (I'm not a dr.). I just know that his condition went unknown until right before he went to college. He was told that it was unheard of someone with his multitude of problems to still be alive! He ended up having several heart surgeries, with one of them being open heart. The last year he has been having problems with tychardia (sp?) and has been under Dr.'s care. He was rushed to the ER this morning and that's all I really know. I'm very concerned, but trust the Lord to take care of him. My brother is a minister and has lived to tell his story and witness to others. He's very young to be having severe heart issues (age 30) and has a beautiful wife, three young children and one on the way!

Great buttons!

10.13.06

This is my precious little man.

New Me

vs.

Old me

Which is better???? Duh!

This is my sweetie. He's incredible. God gave me an extra special gift in him. He is incredibly supportive of me. He married me with lots of "baggage" and took on my three older kids as well as an ex with issues.

I have seen him grow leaps and bounds within himself as well as his relationship with God. I find strength in him when I can't find it within myself. I am truly blessed to have found such a wonderful man.

I love you, BooBoo.

Here is my stepson. This is a very interesting situation. We didn't know if his existence until he was almost 4. It's been a very difficult scenario, as his mother doesn't want us to be in the picture. It's my opinion that she only wants the child support. We tried very hard to get to know him, but it was a DAILY struggle. She wouldn't tell him we called; she was completely unresponsive when we would try to come visit (4 hours away); she expected us to drop everything and come see him on HER timeframe; etc.

It's unfortunate that we haven't seen him since Easter. My husband was so tired of the whole deal that he decided he would try again later. Whether or not I agree, it's his son and I have to respect my husband. I can't say that I blame him, though. She has made it extremely challenging to have any type of relationship with him. Bless his heart----HE'S the one that suffers as a result.

Here are my three older children.........Ages 14, 12, and 9. They are truly amazing kids. I can't imagine my life without them.

The oldest is so much fun to be around. It's been really neat watching him grow into a young man! He's has "discovered" girls---------not sure how I feel about that. I knew it would happen some day, but...... He's a real athlete. He's currently playing football and can't wait for basketball season to arrive.

My middle son is the creative type. He's musically inclined (french horn) and loves to put things together. He's extremely compassionate and is a good friend to people. Aside from all that---he's really funny. He can be real quick with the one-liners!

My one and only daughter is a real Princess. She loves "fru-fru" stuff and is a girl through and through! She loves "snuggling" and demands lots of attention (of course, she's a Princess, remember?). She's precious!

My youngest son. What a cutie, huh?

He's such a joy...

FitAfter4 Family

Here we are!!

10.04.06

I'm hoping that by posting today, I can reap some of the declared theraputic benefits you hear about so often regarding blogging.

I find myself in a "funk" today. Not sure why, really... Part of it my be my hubby's unforseen "breadwinner" career. [I still find myself being in the breadwinner position--and I don't like it. He doesn't either. I'm not sure WHY a man with all his education and experience can't find a job making more than $10 to $12 an hour!! He's got a masters degree and a pending MBA...what gives?!?] Part of it may be my weight loss plateau. Part of it might be that I'm missing my older kids who have been at their dad's house. Etc...

I'm just BLAH today. Guess it could be worse, huh? You have to have "blah" days to have a basis of comparison for the "good" days. Sounds good---yeah, I'll go with that.

Tomorrow will be better.................
Fit

10.03.06

Happy October!! Can't believe we are talking about Trick or Treat and it's 97 degrees outside.........

Had a good weekend; volleyball tournament. We did much better than I expected actually. We lost the first match, but played VERY well and only lost by a few points. In fact, I think that the team that beat us may have actually won the tournament. We won our 2nd match (barely) and lost our 3rd (we stunk it up!). Overall, it was fun and I feel I was able to get to know some people that otherwise I wouldn't have met!

I think I may have injured my foot, however. It's sore at the joint of the big toe on my left foot. May need to have it looked at........

My oldest celebrates his birthday this month! I can't believe he's going to be 14. He's a great kid.

Well, I know it's short, but I've gotta run.

Fondly,
Fit