Why 2014 will be MY year

You never really think about how out of place you could feel being away from your own home. The home you've lived in for 6 years, in a city you've lived in for 12 and in the only state you EVER lived it all together. You justify it as "I'm an adult and this is what adults do". Right?

 

You think life will just continue on the same way it has. No real big changes.

Right?

 

Wrong.

 

Moving from a big city in Utah to a small town in Idaho was a HUGE change for me.

Gone are my neighbors whom I would speak to almost every day. Just standing out in the front yard chatting about cars (Subaru's and Jeeps), recipes, money strategies, clothes, activities. You name it, the ladies and I discussed it.

 

Gone are the dozens of neighbor friends who would use that revolving door on the front of your house to make their way in and out all summer long.

 

Gone are being invited to house parties the women threw, church gatherings with the ward, waving hello to the other moms out pushing strollers, getting in their nightly walks around the block.

 

Gone are the quick trips to Target, the mall, dozens of cheap restaurants or crafty stores (man I REALLY miss Hobby Lobby!)

 

Gone. All gone.

 

This town I live in is great. The beauty alone is enough for someone people. I'm more a people person than a tree person. I need that interaction. For the most part, all of the women I've met are quite nice. With such a small town I'll usually see the same women at the grocery store as I do dropping Anna off at school. One of Autumn's friends moms, I saw ALL THE TIME at the store and never realized who she was until we were finally introduced in church.

 

Small town.

 

Well over December I fell into a slump. Being sad about all the things you're missing can really make it hard to enjoy what you do have. A big chocolate covered, lazy day in sweats slump. It probably started in October and November but really became prominent in December. I went lazy. I was completely unmotivated to do anything. A little sad at times missing how Christmas "would have been" back in Layton. And I let the ugly emotional eating Cindy come out. I don't deal with EE.Cindy much, but this time she came and she was strong. She brought with her about 7 extra pounds too.

 

So feeling fat, lazy, unmotivated is one thing. Feeling that and having your husband totally call you out on it, is another. Now let me clear something up...NEVER did Perk call me fat. A). he's not that type of man to EVER knock my weight and B). he knows better. But when the husband comes home from working all day and there is no dinner ready and no idea of what dinner should be...he's a little bothered. I was lazy. I didn't make any. I'm a SAHM and I didn't even think to make any. What? You people need to be fed?

 

He excused it the first time, but by the forth lazy excuse...he spoke up. I've known how I was feeling for a while. I saw the roles on my stomach become more noticeable and harder to suck in and the jeans harder to fit into.  I felt my energy levels keep getting lower and lower until the mention of how often I nap was actually interfering with my night time sleeping.

 

So I stopped and I started paying attention to fit blogs and fit instagram accounts. I had also read quick review about a diet with cheating allowed!! I had just started following Dolvett Quince on Instagram and was reading all about his new book coming out. I immediately

went to Amazon/Google/B&N to read the inserts. FEEL IN LOVE THE FIRST FEW WORDS!!!

First off, Dolvett is H.O.T. so looking at that face isn't hard, and being a huge fan of the Biggest Looser I figured this is the book for me. I trust the guy, I love the guy and he practices what he preaches. Let's do it.

 

So we bought the book and on Christmas morning and opened it up, said "LET'S DO IT" and started reading.

 

By far the best diet plan out there. Clean eating used to scare me. It scared me that I wouldn't be allowed many of the foods I really enjoy. And what's the point in living if you can't enjoy the things you really love?  I've tried diets where the first 3 days are called "detox" and you eat nothing buy green raw veggies and lean meat. That's it. NO OTHER FOODS OR INGREDIENTS. We actually tried it again months ago and I about died the 3rd day. Could not wait to get real food in my body.

 

Well this book is not like that.

The 3-1-2-1 stand for clean eating days and cheat days

Eat clean for 3, cheat for 1, eat clean for 2, cheat for 1.

Keeps your body guessing by mixing up the cheat days and keeps your metabolism in gear.

PLUS the clean eating days are pretty simple to follow. Like REALLY simple.

And when cheat days do come, you still need to be somewhat smart about them. Don't eat the WHOLE pizza, but enjoy a slice with a green salad on the side.

 

It's an easy to read book. He offers great suggestions and has a detailed weekly meal plan for you to follow. And the stuff on his menu won't cost an arm and a leg at the store. Yogurts, string cheese, lean meats, almonds,....pretty easy.

 

And the great thing is, as you eat clean, you feel so much better. I have way more energy that before and I think I'm loosing the cravings for the junk food. I used to buy the big bags of M&M's and I could eat them (by myself mind you) in 2 days. It's an addiction and I'm breaking that. I refuse to buy them anymore so I'm not tempted to eat them. But even now, when I pass them in the stores, if I've been eating clean they don't even sound good to me anymore. I don't really notice them when I'm in the aisle. That's progress!!

 

So this is the book that so far has helped me drop 6lbs. That was in  the first 1.5 weeks. (My cold derailed my plan last week but we'll jump right back on).

 

I've marked my meal and recipe pages with post-it notes for quick reference. I've highlighted and underlined and made notes on the things that have stood out the best to help me.

 

 

The book also has a complete exercise program set up by Dolvett to follow. Very doable without expensive gym equip or a membership anywhere.
 

So there you have it. This is the book that will help me, become the strong, fit Cindy I know I have in me. I've seen her before and I'll see her again!!

 

It doesn't mean that in September you'll see me jump out of an airplane, or hike the tallest mountain or complete in an Iron Man competition.

 

What it means is that I'll be healthy. And comfortable in my skin. Even wearing a bathing suit and not one that will cover things or smash them in, or conceal...  Get ride of the fatty thighs and wiggly arms. Get rid of having to cover up because "I" think it looks bad. Get rid of the self doubt, the low self esteem and become the mom and wife not only do I know I can me, but the mom and wife my family deserves!

 

For me this book is a miracle in that it came at the exact right time I needed it to. It's helping me, which in turn is helping Perk on his weight loss journey as well.

 

I hope anyone looking for a little help will pick up Dolvett's book and get as inspired by it as I have! Best of luck!

HOLY CRAP! I'M REALLY 39!

This means this is my last year in my 30's. After this year it will be all "oh back in my thirties..." Gawd that sounds so old. I'm an old ninny.

 

BUT I'm not out of the 30's quite yet...so I plan on making this last year AWESOME!!

But first let's see how an old lady of 39 celebrates her birthday!

The prior weekend Perk took me to the exciting town of IDAHO FALLS! Yes magical. We went to dinner at Sand Piper (which was not as good as I remembered it from the Pocatello Sand Piper) and decided that since we had plenty of time before our Hunger Games movie began, we'd run over to the Bed, Bath & Bullshit and walk the store. 10 minutes before they closed.

Oh yes. We did!

We sat in the massage chairs and got free workups. Perk put his feet in this contraption that had him moaning and rolling his eyes back. Okay maybe not to THAT degree, but he was "relaxed".

See Perk and I both worked at Bed, Bath & Bitches years ago so we know how this sort of stuff goes down. Customers drag their feet in the store at 8:55pm, pacing around, not really looking for anything special. Then you have that young couple who comes in to scope out the bridal register, before they are even engaged, and they sit and play in the chairs, or lay in the staged beds.

We've worked it, we know how it goes. You can't really kick the customer out. You can give little hints like "attention shoppers...we're closing in 5 minutes" warnings. Or when you walk past them you say "are you finding everything, we're just about to lock up". But you can't kick them out. You can however cut the power to where the massage chairs are...and once that's done its a pretty quick exit from there.

Bastards cut our power mid massage. Oh well. It was still nice! And free!

 

So on the day of my actual birthday (January 6), Perk brought home some pretty flowers and snowmen cupcakes. We had plans to go out to dinner as a family but one by one they dropped like flies. First Perk's head cold suddenly because something you'd see McDreamy operate on while watching Grey's Anatomy. Then both kids realized they simply didn't want to go to dinner where they wouldn't be surrounded by kids and toys and monster high dolls.

 

NO WAY IN HELL AM I COOKING THE FAMILY MEAL ON MY BIRTHDAY!!

 

Finally my last chance was Autumn.

She'd never pass up a chance to eat out so she became my date.

We hit the Royal Wolf (delicious!) and then stopped at Brolim's for cheesecake (even more awesome). All in all it was a good birthday.

And yes, we did eat the cheesecake while parked in the grocery store lot. My birthday. My way.

 

39 will be a good year for me. Maybe my best...but that will be another post!!

December went by in a flash!

I cannot believe how fast 2013 went.

The whole month of December is a blur! and an expensive one at that!

This was our first Christmas in our tiny little town, so Chris and I made sure to make the most of all the free events the city puts on.

We saw a live manger, had free potatoes & chili at the Dutch oven place, had movie night at the elementary, spent time at Teton Springs to see Santa and enjoyed a local craft fair (who doesn't LOVE a craft fair?) and horse drawn carriage rides on Main Street.

 

This sure beats standing in line at a crowded mall to see "Santa"! 

We decided we wanted to spend Christmas morning in our own home so we traveled to Salt Lake the weekend prior to visit with family and friends. Even the dogs were excited to go! We loaded the car FULL and headed to visit with family and friends. It was a packed trip with little downtime.

 

 

Christmas morning came and the girls were super excited.

Finally all those threats of "We'll call Santa!" had come to an end and the girls sure reaped the benefits of being good this year!

Even Petunia got into the Christmas spirit...or just gave up fighting and let Anna dress her in a festive outfit!

 

It was a busy holiday season and I'm kind of glad it's over. I baked. A LOT. Which also means I ate. A LOT...which will bring me to my 2014 Goals posting .... soon!!

Senior Pictures

 

Autumn had her senior pictures taken in the fall. I think they turned out AMAZING!

 

I cannot believe she is 18 and on her way to graduating high school.

I feel both proud and quite old at the same time. 

 

Welcome to Winter

 

One of the first things Chris did when we moved to the Teton Valley was to buy a family season pass to Grand Targhee Ski resort.

 

Winters are long here, so we might as well enjoy the snow right?!

 

Luckily Abby is still free to ski. With our pass we were actually able to add my niece Autumn to it, so hopefully she'll discover a fondness for snow/cold and get out on the mountain with us.

 

We hit up opening day at Targhee with such excitement! The weather was AWESOME! Blue skies and nice temps!

 

 

 

This is me with the utmost excitement that I finally made it to the bottom of one of the hills.

Not sure why but it kicked my butt.

Epic falls, poles in the air, classy Cindy right there!

I swore.

A lot.

I was so frustrated that I couldn't just get down the friggin mountain in one run.

 

The first run went great. Then Chris said "let's go down here, the run has been groomed already"

Sure! Let's do it.

I got cocky. Too early in the season for that!

 

Sure glad I provided some entertainment to those watching above on the chairlifts.

 First run of the season 

We decided to mortgage our first home and put Abby in the "1/2 daycare with 1 lesson" program for the day so Chris and I could get a few runs in before having the girls with us for the rest of the day.

 

She really enjoyed it AND she got an hour long one-on-one ski lesson with a PROFESSIONAL.

*I'm kidding on the mortgage comment although at times living up here it feels that way!

She is my little snow bunny



At lunch time Chris went to pick Anna up from school and bring her up, so Abby and I hit the kiddie hill.

She likes SPEED and wants to GO FAST

 

And when she's tired she just wants to eat snow

 

When Anna arrived we took turns taking the girls down the training hill

 

 

The thing with Anna is that she wants to do it right the first time.

No falling.

No practicing.

No "here sit and watch me first".

 

But as we know with MOST things in life...that doesn't always work out the way WE want it to.

I love Anna and her determination.

She had fun when she was doing well, but got frustrated when she wasn't.

This kid wants to do it once and then go down the big hill.

 

I have no doubt in my mind that after a few more days on the small hill, she'll be hitting up the bigger (okay bigger for kids that is) hills in no time!

 

I'm pretty sure this will be our norm from now until April.

Hitting the slopes.

Pink noses.

Cocoa in the lodge.

Huge memories!





Fabulous 4

I wrote FABULOUS 4 because the two's were terrible, 3's were threatening, so I'm hoping by calling 4 "FABULOUS"...they will be!

It's official. My baby is FOUR
How did that happen so fast!!
It's like overnight she just grew up!

 

 

One thing didn't change.

Her love for horses. Still loves them and I don't even think I could count how many she has!

I think it's more of an obsession now. I can see early hoarding tendencies in this one!

She has branched out from collecting horses and actually loves to play with ALL animals.

Especially zebras, CHEETAHS, tigers and elephants.

"CHEETAHS ARE THE BEST MOM!"

So what's a homemade cake with out plastic animals on top?

I never said I was Martha Stewart!

 Since she really doesn't have a "group" of friends to celebrate a birthday party with, I took her to her first gymnastics lesson on her big day. She's the ONLY girl in the group and she totally rocked it!

After class I took her to her favorite lunch place. PIZZA from Tony's. Delicious!
Notice the horses on her shirt?
75% of the shirts she owns has horses or unicorns on them.
Like I said...obsessed!

We had to head down to SLC this past weekend for a baby blessing, so we celebrated her birthday again with my mom and sisters family.

 

Again, plastic animals around the cake. This time they were TOO big to put ON the cake!

And again, she LOVED it! Thanks Grandma for putting it all together!

I'm pretty sure Ab's had a great day turning 4. She's a fun kid and I'm super blessed to be her mom!



Halloween in Teton Valley



I'm not going to lie. I was very scared at how Halloween was going to work this year.

When you live in a country community like the Teton Valley, most of the houses are spread out so it's not ideal for trick-or-treating. There are a few actual subdivisions where you can go door to door and the kids aren't clocking 10 miles in a single night. :)

 

Okay so I may be exaggerating a bit, but for the past 5 years we lived in a Layton neighborhood where you had 1-5 kids occupying every house. That made for a VERY busy night of trick-or-treating. How on earth were my kids going to get all that delicious healthily candy if they couldn't hit up at least 45 houses in a single night?

 

I know it's popular...but who wants to get candy out of the truck of a car?  Where's the fun in that? And don't we teach our kids NOT to take candy from strangers out of a car??

 

When I was a kid you RAN up to each house, yelling 'TRICK OR TREAT' at the top of your lungs before your foot even hit the first doorstep. You knocked and knocked and waited impatiently for the old man to get up from his recliner to grab that bowl of candy and walk down that hall (which when you're 10 felt like an eternity!)

 

Trick or treating was the best! Free candy? And all I have to do is sucker my mom into buying a $30 costume that I'll wear once, for about 1.5 hours and then never again? All to get FREE candy that will no doubt cost (my mom) later when she's paying that deductible for cavity fillings.

 

Halloween is the best!!

 



 

 

This is our ghoul picture.

PUMPKIN BRAINS!!

 

So Halloween night came and first we were obligated (by none other than Miss. Vampire herself) to hit up the school trick or treating. That took about 5 minutes and more anxiety that it was worth!

Kitty cat. She's 4 and has alternated between a cowboy, cat, horse, cat now. I think we have a pattern.

 

Next we, along with 3/4 of the residence of Victor, hit up the one of the few actual neighborhoods in the area that was ideal for free candy.

I classify "neighborhood" to mean that the houses are so close to one another that you don't need a car or horse to get to your neighbors front door!

 

It was snowing, of course, so coats over the costumes was mandatory once we got out walking around. Luckily the girls are too young to realize that having to wear a coat over that costume that YOU JUST HAD TO HAVE MOM!!!! really kinda sucks. I'm sure I'll deal with that the older the girls get.

 

Seriously, I remember having to wear a coat over my punk rocker costume when I was younger...what's the fun in that? Puck rockers don't wear ski parkas and moon boots?

And I'm talking authentic 1980's moonboots!!)

 

 

We ran into the Headless Horseman

Seriously, how freaking COOL is this?

You don't get horses walking around Layton neighborhoods on Halloween, so score 1 for us!

 

So after walking around in the snow and cold we finally called it a night. The girls had cold, wet feet (deduct 1 from me for not having my girls wear SNOW boots) and full candy bags. Anna's hair was 1990's crunchy from the black spray and Abby's whiskers were one whip away from disappearing. Perfect time for a picture!!

The girls actually had a good time. We only got 1 group of trick-or-treaters at our house. WE are one of those houses that people say "ya know, it's too far in between the others, let's go the other way". However when that 1 group did come, Perk made sure Anna made it worth their while by giving a big handful of candy.

Candy leftover from Autumn's birthday party that is. I knew better than to buy Halloween candy. Score 1 for me!