Because I'm Basically AWESOME...

Corporate came back today. And they decided that because I'm AWESOME I get a raise. Can you say HALLELUJAH?! Ha okay, it's not because I'm that awesome, (well partially) but because minimum wage is going up so does my pay. AWESOME!

I've also been doing fairly well on this whole working out and eating better thing. (the whole no goodies for 2 weeks, definately doesn't last. LOVE ME some yum yums) Mostly because we just don't buy crap anymore and myfitnesspal.com keeps me in shape. (; And since I've been working later, I get to workout first thing in the morning and I get a better amount of sleep each night. I LOVE SLEEPING! It does kind of mess with my head though. (3P-11P Tues, Wed, Thurs, 7A-3P Fri, Sat.) Not fun. School starts soon though, so I'll get back on track!

Lily gained weight after being gone for 4 days and looking like a Holocaust dog victim. After eating somewhat like a human, scrambled eggs, chicken broth, and rice, her body and fur are looking nice! She has an inflamed muscle or something in her leg, so she isn't able to run, wish I was able to take her running, but she is doing well!

Calllllings! (: Keith and I have callings. I've been in nursery for about a month now. Keith just got called into Young Men's. Deacons adviser/Something with Scouts! (: YAY! He's excited. And likes it so far. Just waiting until those campouts when he comes home and hates it!  (: But so far it's grand! Temple Prep classes are all done! Now it's time to set a date, and get some invites out! Super stoked! March can't come soon enough!

We had a ward Christmas party. Keith and I actually went. Sat with people we DIDN'T know, I encourage you all to do this, and mingled! Great way to get to know people, we hardly knew anyone. We got invited to play Vball with them! yay! (:

We are officially AWESOME! (:

Our Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving we were able to drive down to Blaine and spend some time with Dad's side of the family. We saw Alias, who now has 3 kids. (last time we saw him was probably 3 or 4 years ago, when he had one child), Aubrey, who now has 4 kids and one on the way. ( the last time we saw her, she had one. It's been at least 6 years). We also got to visit with Uncle Marty, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Greg, Aunt Connie, Grandpa Gunny, Grandma Vie and Addison. We played A LOT of pool, ate A TON of food, and probably gained A BILLION pounds (: But it was SO worth it.) On Friday we watched football then the siblings, dad, Debbie, Marty, Addison, and Greg and I took a walk around a park near Grandma's house. Super pretty! Then we went down to the pier and walked around. (It was freezing! And we got attacked by seagulls! I hate those things!) The us girls went shopping, because that's what we do (: We had dinner at Marty and Debbie's, Shay and I baked some delicious cookies and Marty and the boys made some pretty bomb hamburgers. It was quite an enjoyable trip!

To Grandma's house we go!

On Thursday, Lily escaped from her babysitter. Uh OH! Crazy dog on the loose! She was spotted 4 or 5 times while we were gone, but no one was able to catch her. Saturday we got home and went out looking. No sign of her. Sunday we looked again before and after church. Still, nothing. So Sunday night we "camped out" in the living room. Left the door a little bit cracked open in hopes that our Lily bugs would soon return. By 2 in the morning.. She still hadn't. At 6 Keith got up for work (I got to sleep in as I didn't have to be to work until 11). By 6:30 he was gone. Around 7:30  get a phone call from Keith telling me, he left his phone at home. At 8 I hear a scratching, sniffing noise at the door. I immediately JUMPED up and LO and BEHOLD.. Lily returned! I was ecstatic! So I gave her a bath, texted everyone who had helped and offered to help. Then I called Keith's work and told him, not that Lily was home, but that a lady had called whose daughter saw Lily running across the Applebee's parking lot (true story) and that his mom and I (she was on  her way over to see Lily) were gonna go out and look for her. He told me no, he wanted to go out and do it. I told him okay (super excited in my head) but you need to come home FIRST and get your phone in case we get anymore leads. Well Renae shows up. And we wait and wait and wait for Keith. Finally he comes home!

Such a sweet greeting (:
And Lily got to open an early Christmas Present! (which is now destroyed, with fuzzy little fluffies all over the apartment)

It was a stuffed bear thing. Super cute but extremely messy! (in the back you can see our campsite)



UPDATE: So this whole working out thing. I actually enjoy.. Most days! Keith and I have been hitting the gym, sometimes together, sometimes I go alone. Although I haven't lost weight, I do notice my body is a bit tighter and toned and I'M LOVIN IT! I did have a little bit of cellulite evidence that is slowing disappearing. And maybe, hopefully one day soon, I will have abs to kill for! I have also been trying (not very hard) to eat healthier. And well, working at a hotel you would think that would be easy. But it's SO not! After banquets we get left overs. Chocolate cake, Cheesecake. Or scraps. Little brownie scraps in a bowl. Um Delish! Sometimes we even have potlucks. Homemade pizza, meatballs, cookies.. You know, the good stuff! Guests bring us boxes of goodies. Mr. Galo brought us a box of Lindour Truffles. How do you turn those down?! Oh that's right, YOU CAN'T!  And when your sweet husband brings you a candy cane chocolate blizzard thing, out of the kindness of his heart, how do you turn him down? Oh yeah, you can't turn that down either! So as you can see, this eating super healthy thing is a challenge. So my goal (starting tomorrow, as I have messed up today.) No more goodies for AT LEAST 2 weeks. DEAL! (:

LET'S GET FIT!

Oh DivineCaroline

Husband's Beware (:

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.
The door of his wife’s car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.
Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.
In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door.
As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap, and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel.
She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked:
“What happened here today?’”
She again smiled and answered, “You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?”
“Yes,” was his incredulous reply.
She answered, ‘”Well, today I didn’t do it.”

Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22324/37661-did-do-day#ixzz1eBSvpFqc

 

While I know it will NEVER come to this.. I'm keeping it in mind just in case!

 

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates, and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.
On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of Chardonnay.
When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half —eaten shrimp dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.
When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning, mopping, and airing the place out.
Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days, and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.
Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit. Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.
A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls. Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.
The ex —wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly, and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back. Knowing his ex —wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day.

She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork. A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home.... ....including the curtain rods.


Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22324/34968-revenge-curtain-rods#ixzz1eBTbwgXL

Christmas

So, I have decided that Keith and I are basically making all our Christmas gifs this year. I am very excited! We have already picked out what we want to do for his mom, the girls (from the Stevens family), and I picked out what I would like to do for my mom, thanks from ideas from Kristin Hunt, and Pinterest. All we have left is dad's, the Michael Redwine family, and Luke and Shanell. Which shouldn't be too hard. I would totally post pitcures of these awesome projects if I didn't think they would sneak a peak. I will have to take pictures and post AFTER Christmas. Also, instead of going crazy and buying each other a billion and a half presents, we are buying one big thing for the both of us, this year MIGHT have to be a space heater and fire wood, bring out that cozy fireplace, and then stuffing each others stockings with things we made, or bought, or whatever we feel like, (coal maybe). I do know, however, Keith won't peak. So here's something I'm thinking about doing for him.

and maybe something like this for mom.. But IDK exactly yet (:

Oh, and it started snowing today. Bring on the Christmas tunes Cherrie Moss! (:

Change in LIFE

So, starting tonight Keith and I are starting temple prep classes. I cannot wait to start our journey through eternity together. We have been attemping some life changing habits, i.e. reading together, FHE, praying together, attending ALL of church, and the list goes on and on. Along with us on this journey, is my good friend Jake. I get to enjoy this class with two of my favorite and best friends. I am excited to see what Brother Halgren has in store for us tonight.

Along with this life changing event, I have decided I am out of shape. Not necessarily fat, but just unable to run away from a bad guy chasing me. I do however weigh more than I ever have, have no abs/muscle whatsoever and before we decide to have kids and I explode from those cute little things, I am making a change. This insane workout I am going to attempt, is the one from Britney Spears in her "prime years".

Abs like that.. Yes please (:

Workout:

90 minutes/4x a week
Warm up: 10 minutes on cardiovascular machine (treadmill, stationary bike, etc) at a medium pace.
Abs: 50 crunches, 50 bicycle twists, 50 hip raises
Strength Circuit: Use weights to work on arms, chest, back, and lower body. Bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, and fly exercises and presses.
Abs: 50 crunches, 50 bicycle twists, 50 hip raises
Strength Circuit: Use weights to work on arms, chest, back, and lower body. Bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, and fly exercises and presses.
Abs: 50 crunches, 50 bicycle twists, 50 hip raises
Strength Circuit: Use weights to work on arms, chest, back, and lower body. Bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, and fly exercises and presses.
Abs: 50 crunches, 50 bicycle twists, 50 hip raises
Back to Cardio & Abs: 30 minutes of jogging on treadmill or elliptical machine
Abs: 150 crunches, 150 bicycle twists, 150 hip raises (Do each 3 times)
Yup that’s a total of 1950 ab exercises…how else do you think Britney looked so hot?!?!?!
Last but not least…STRETCH! And maybe take a yoga or pilates class on one of your off days.

So we will see how this goes.
My goals for this month (end of November/December)

Attend all Temple Prep classes
Attend Church when possible, (work sometimes gets in the way)
Attend Church activites (Relief Society.. Not sure how I'll feel about these)
Love my husband unconditionally. i.e. Be kinder, maybe feed him every now and then, ect (:

Weight Now: 130-135 (depending on the time of day)
Target Weight: 115-120
Target Weight by the end of November: 125
Target Weight for the end of December: 115

HERE WE GO (:

A Laugh for the Day

Kids contemplate marriage.

How would you make your marriage work?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
Ricky, age 10

How can a stranger tell if two people are married?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
Derrick, age 8

What do you think your mom and dad have in common?
Both don’t want any more kids.
Lori, age 8

What do most people do on a date?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.Lynnette, age 8 (isn’t she a treasure?)
On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
Martin, age 10

What would you do on a first date that was turning sour?
I’d run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
Craig, age 9

When is it okay to kiss someone?
When they’re rich.
Pam, age 7
The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn’t want to mess with that.
Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It’s the right thing to do.
Howard, age 8

What is the right age to get married?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
Camille, age 10

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.
Freddie, age 6 (very wise for his age)

Is it better to be single or married?I don’t know which is better, but I’ll tell you one thing. I’m never going to have sex with my wife. I don’t want to be all grossed out.
Theodore, age 8

It’s better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

 How do you decide whom to marry?
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they’re going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you’re stuck with.
Kristen, age 10


Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22077/35341-decide-marry-kids/2#ixzz1abSdcteo

6-month check-up

September 12 marked our 6 month anniversary! Can you believe how time is just FLYING by?! I sure can't! We spent our un-anniversary with a trip to Costco for grocery shopping, followed by a pizza dinner with Keith's BFF Jesse, then basketball (for the boys) at Bethel while Lily and I went running. Romantic huh? We did however get to sunggle up on the couch and watch a movie.

September also marks the fact that I still have NOT met the whole Manis family. Aunt Geri came into town (Dayton) from Las Vegas. So we took a nice LONG, HOT road trip to visit. Upon arrival at Grandpa Manis's, I met Aunt Geri from Las Vegas and some cousins from Kennewick that I still have somehow never met. Then we all mobbed to the park for some good family fun, i.e. Stuff Your Face Time (: At the park we were greeted by more aunts, uncles and cousins I have never seen before.And then it was face stuffing time. We talked with family for a while, then Keith Lily and I went for a walk around the park. We ended up at some stream thing and while Lily tried to swim in the ever so shallow water, Keith was looking under rocks for some weird worm bug nasty things (boys and their entertainment). When we got back up to the park, it was time to go back home. So we made the LONG, HOT road trip back home. I didn't get any pictures of this lovely day, though I wish I had.

All around September really hasn't been too eventful. We celebrated Derick's 26th birthday. We'll be celebrating Mom's (29th, again) birthday Tuesday with the daughters, then next Sunday with everyone. The rest of our free time is made up of working, eating, talking about working out and sleeping. What a life! (: