These Girls

Hi Friends,

This is the time of year 

In the desert South-West

When we play outside as much as possible

We don't get much in the way of winter

But summer is so terribly HOT that 

We can't play outside at all

Since I had the two smallest K's on Thursday

We took a field trip to the park

 

These little girlies bring me so much Joy

They bless my heart every time I see them

I can not imagine my life without them

 

I found this heart shaped rock on our way home from the park

I think it went home with K-bel

At least she asked me to wash it for her

Before she held it all day

They Rock My World

On a side note:

My brother may need emergency surgery tonight

I'm waiting for a phone call

Please, if you have time,

Say a little prayer for Ken

Thank you

Blessings to all for a Fabulous Weekend

We are actually supposed to get some rain :)

What about you?

What is your weather like this weekend?

Downsizing Update Week {20}

Hi Friends,

I'm here during American Heart Month

To bring you my {20} week 

Downsizing Update

Here's what the numbers tell me today

Down - 46 pounds with 39 to go

Down - A total of 28 inches - Hard to believe

Also down a couple of dress/pant sizes

But more importantly

And the reason I agreed to add the information below

Is because my health is SO much better

I used to become short of breath often

I had heart palpitations in the evenings/at night

My cholesterol was 254

I was pre-diabetic

And, in general, I didn't feel well

In September at my regular well woman check up

Mr doctor 'gave me the what for'

And told me I needed to make changes

Or I would end up with many health issues

Related to my being obese

 Today, {20} weeks into making daily changes

I feel so much better

My cholesterol is down into the normal range

I'm not longer have any heart related symptoms

No nighttime indigestion or reflux

My BMI when from 36.9 to 30.6

Still in the obese range but certainly a lot 

Closer to overweight than before

And soon to be in the normal range

Although this is Not a paid sponsorship or advertisement

I wanted to add the following Heart Healthy Tips

From the American Recall Center

Do something Healthy for your Heart Today

 

And now,

The final sneak peek at my back yard mural

The base coats are about complete

I won't be adding anymore sneak peeks 

Until I complete the wall

Maybe....

Blessings To All

A Few Fun Finds And...

Hi Friends,

It's always fun for me to scan the aisles of a local thrift store

I had that pleasure the other day

And found a few little treasures

First

These little princess shoes

And a sweet brand new apron

$3

 

K-Bel grabbed them as soon as she got here today

But K-Baby got to use them as well

 

These oval prints will go nicely in my Master bath

As soon as I do a little re-loving of them

Instead of the gold ring in the middle (see on the right)

I've started to add some silver/pewter  (see on the left)

It will match the new colors I'm adding in my bedroom

 

Speaking of my bedroom

I was SO happy to find a brand new pillow sham

Quilted white with small embroidered vines/flowers

The perfect shade of pewter

 

It just happens to match my new sheets perfectly

I can't believe it was only $3 

Brand new with tags :)

For just 74 cents

I found a great white piece of linen

With a nicely embroidered design

Could not pass this up

So, that's it for the finds

And...

Because it's Thursday

Here are a couple shots of my littlest K's

K-Baby thought it would be so fun

To get nice and comfy in my favorite patio chair

Look at that little twinkle in her eyes

 

K-Bel 

Just enjoying the perfect weather

To have a picnic outside

My K Days are truly the Best

What fun things have you found recently?

Thanks for stopping by and brightening my day

With your kind comments

Also,

My great Aunt Mary Jane passed yesterday

I had a pretty tearful night last night

Sure glad I was able to focus on the littles today

Blessings to All

 

Life is Always Full

Hi Friends,

After an entire week of 

Loving and Giving

I woke up this morning with a bit of a migraine

I think I was dehydrated

But, I have so much more on my list

That I just needed to get to work

I have a project I've been wanting to work on for about 2 years

So, I decided today was the day to Start

It's going to take a Loooonggg time

It has to do with paint

Blue paint to start with

 

And these tools

 

I'm not an artist or a painter

I'm just a girl who Loves the beach

And since I have a pool

I had this crazy idea to paint a beachy mural

On the wall behind my pool

 

I wish I knew someone who has a paint sprayer 

That I could borrow

But, Alas, I don't

SO, I am painting the back wall by hand

 

 And yes!

It's a big wall

MUCH more painting to be done

I could only muster 6 hours worth today

My body is tired

And my hands, back and shoulders feel 

Like they are going to fall off

Next weekend I'll finish the base painting

I hope

And then I'll start the mural

In the mean time

Matthew has a friend coming over tomorrow

And will be staying all week

I have to work too

So, I best get my house in order

And try to get a little rest

I've got mural planning to do........

Have a super Blessed Week!

To Be A Blessing

Hi Friends,

I wanted to share a follow-up from my last post

Because Valentine's Day can be tough for a widow

I decided I needed to be pro-active

And Be A Blessing This Week

Here are a few things I did

The only thing my son every wants for V-Day

Is a box of chocolates

So, I bought him a box to start his week

Unfortunately he has been sick most of the week

But, he did eat the chocolate :)

Next, I have a friend who has been facing a really tough week

So, I slipped a gift card in mail this week

I hope she gets to enjoy a little relax time next week

 

I love getting a small gift for my 3 K's

I got them all wrapped up to give them on Thursday

My K Day

 

I had forgotten to hide the Candy Canes

So, I couldn't get them away from these two cuties

 

Even after I gave them their V-Day gifts

No Candy in the baggies

Just a few little fun play things

 

When the oldest got home from school

She got her little gift

It's always a treat to be able to bless these special girlies

 

I mentioned in my last post about taking a small gift

To your co-workers

Well, I proceeded to make a few sweet treats

 

They didn't cost much

But it was fun to put them together

With tags, ribbons, some confetti strings, etc

And chocolate of course

 

It was fun to walk into the office this morning

With a basket full of little gifts

For All of the Staff members

No, I did NOT make one for myself

 

At lunch today

I made a surprise visit to my K-Bugs' school

And had lunch with her

That was a Super Sweet Time for me

I got home from work at 5 and immediately put on my PJ's

Tomorrow morning I'll get up 

And go spend some time with my mom

I'll take her out for lunch and help her around her place

A great Valentine gift, I say!

Then, I'll rush home and get things ready

For My 3 K's to come over for the night

Their parents are going out on a date

So I get the girls for the late afternoon and night

To Be A Blessing

Yep, That is what life is about

Praying you are blessed this weekend

 

My Valentine Day Challenge for All of Us

Some people call 

Valentine's Day

"Single awareness day"

That it is a holiday for Couples and Kids

In some respects

Media and Marketers 

Have created that image

Many people become 

Sad or depressed when facing this holiday

And I think that is a shame

 

But I'm here to say that

Valentine's Day

Is For Everybody

I understand that it's hard to not have that special someone

In your life to share Valentine Day with

I 'get it'

But whether you are

Married

Engaged

In a Relationship

Dating

Courting

Single

Divorced

Widowed

You can made this Valentine Day

Very Special

And I challenge you to do so

This week I have purposefully planned

Many things to help me be a blessing to others

On Valentine Day

I can't share all that I will be doing

Because I don't want to give away any secrets

But here is a list of things that you can do

To be a blessing to someone on this Valentine Day

Don't sit at home and feel sorry for yourself 

Because you don't have that someone special

Go out and make someones day special

• Mail a card to someone you have not communicated with for awhile - you may not realize how exciting it is to receive a personal card in the mail, not email, but real mail
• If you have close co-workers, take in a small bag of goodies to share or get everybody a 'kids' valentine card. How fun to share cards like we did when we were kids
• Do you know a widow/widower, invite them to lunch or coffee, it may be just the thing that person needs to lift their spirit this valentine day
• Do you have school aged kids or grands, go to their school and have lunch with them this week. What a sweet surprise that would be
• Go to a local senior center or nursing care facility, call ahead of time to make sure it's okay, offer to visit with elderly patients who don't get visitors, or read to a group or even play a game with some
• Take flowers or a card to a hospital and ask someone to give them to a patient who hasn't had visitors or hasn't received flowers. You probably won't be able to just walk into a room but the staff should be very accommodating to your generosity
• Pay it Forward at the drive thru, that has never happened to me, but I have certainly paid for others behind me and it feels so good
• Do you live in a warmer climate where there are homeless on the corners asking for money when you drive by, carry some extra bottles of water with you, tape a few dollars to them and give them out if you happen to drive by someone in need / Use caution, stay safe, don't be foolish
• What about the cold climate areas, do you have extra blankets/throws around your house, I know I do, keep a couple in your car, give one away if you run into (not literally) someone who could use one / Use caution, stay safe, don't be foolish
• Offer compliments to people you pass, at the bank, store, gas station, etc 
• These are just a few ideas of ways you can bless somebody's life this week
• It doesn't have to cost lots of money, just something simple and inexpensive or Free to bless someone

If you have other ideas

Please share in the comments

Let's go out

Make someone's day

Please don't sit home and be sad

You will never know how Blessed you will feel

Until you Bless someone Else

Can't wait to hear your stories

 

And The Winner Is .....

Hi Friends

Last week I asked you to 'Caption' this photo

I Loved so many of the captions

And it was a tough job to choose just one winner

Because it was Super Bowl Sunday

I was thinking of something like

"Tail Gatin"

But we got some great captions

And ... This winner is ...

Karren Reed whose Caption read

Why does she "ALWAYS" get to drive??

I actually laughed when I read it 

Because I think I may have heard those words

A time or two :)

Thank you to everybody who added their captions

Here are two runners up

My SIL wrote: 

I need to get a new driver. This isn't where I wanted to go at all.

And my friend Carol wrote: "What, out of gas already?" 

I think I may do one of these every month 

Then you all have more chances to win

Congrats to Karen

I'll send an email to get your address

Blessings to All

The Best Part of Super Bowl Sunday and a Find...

It is true 

That I was quite pleased to see 

New England win the Super Bowl

And there were a few good commercials

Yet, those weren't the best part of Super Bowl Sunday

Nope!

The BEST part was

Watching my 2 boys and 3 granddaughters play

Son #1 bought this Mustang for K-Bug when she was 18 months old

All three K's have loved to play and drive it

As well as numerous cousins

However

I don't think anyone has had as much fun

As those 5 kiddos had on Super Bowl Sunday

Even though they lost a rider 

They all laughed and laughed

Until the 2 boys

ran out of energy

Can you see how happy they were

Caption the above photo

I'll choose the best for a Give-Away

Just leave your caption in the comments

Stopped by the Good Will today

Found these 2 doilies and all of these cute buttons

For only $2.99

With Valentine's day only 10 days away

I definitely have ideas for these great pink, white and red buttons

Thanks for stopping by 

Make sure to leave a your caption

For a chance to win a Give-Away

Blessings

Sharing At Jann's