Once Upon a Time....

....I was really good at blogging.  Ok maybe not great, but much better then I am now it seems.  I keep telling myself I am going to get better at it...to be more regular with my posts.  Yet that has yet to happen.  So I am no longer making that promise, and I am simply saying that when I get a chance to I will.  Life has continued moving quickly as it always seems to.

Work has been hectic as we have been preparing for our upcoming rating.  Many preschools have a sort of "quality assurance" program that comes and grades them on a million things.  You can't even begin to imagine all the little details they look at!  And I am also mentally preparing for the coming months in which several of my older kids will be moving on to public schools.  The one thing I can never get used to as a preschool teacher is when I have to say "good-bye" to my kids and families.  Spending so much time with them, and having them in my lives for one or more years I became attached.  I can say I am known to cry on their last days.  So I am sure I will have some teary eyed days coming my way.

Speaking of teary eyed and good-byes...Chris finally got his orders.  I say finally because this deployment has been changed so many times I can hardly keep track.  So it is just nice to finally have orders in hand, and hopefully they won't get changed yet again.  Thus the countdown to deployment #3 begins.

Nothing too exciting has been going on, just the typical day to day for the most part.  Last weekend we went to a wedding for some close friend's of Chris from his childhood.  It was a nice ceremony and reception.  It's funny because as I (in my typical Angela manner) was freaking out and thinking of what to wear, I realized I haven't really been to many weddings.  I was in a few as a child, and went to one a few years ago.  But beyond that, my own was really the only wedding I have been to since I was younger.  Chris wore a suit so I searched my closet for something that would pair well with it.  Lucky for me, I had a few never worn before dresses in my closet, and one fit the bill!  And thanks to my recent challenge the dress fit like a glove!

My New Car

So Saturday afternoon Chris and I got ready to head to what was supposed to be the mall and then dinner at Buca di Beppo.  I have been wanting dreaming of having a Volvo S60.  I love my little Scion tc but reality is that I am going to need to get a four door.  Something that will be practical and safe for when we have children.  And Chris wants the tc to have as a daily driver because the gas cost of driving his truck has been adding up.  So I have been looking (online) at the Volvo for awhile.  I found some at a dealership near where we were going for dinner so before hand we decided to drop by so I could have a chance to drive one (because up until this point as much as I loved the car I hadn't driven one).  Well needless to say after driving it I loved it even more (if that was possible).  And I was excited for the day when I would eventually get one.  I thought we were going to head to the mall at that point, when to my surprise Chris was like "Well why don't we just get it today?"  Suddenly "Worry Wart Angela" set in...I was suddenly so apprehensive about getting my dream car.  The finances began swirling around in my head and the "omg there is no way we can afford this definitely not right now" thoughts started flying.  After much chat, and a lot of breaking down of our income and expenses, Chris reassured me can afford it and that it was too good of a deal to pass up.  Which was true.  It is a 2012 with only about 5000 miles on it...it was one of the dealerships loaner cars that they gave to customers who brought their cars in for service.  So essentially brand new, and for a lot less then a new one.  A few hours later, lots of nerves and a tension headache (ha)  I drove away with my car.  Thanks to my love.  Then off we went and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Buca di Beppo.

Just us

 

 

Officially mine

 

The car

Winter in Spring

Ok so growing up in Colorado I am used to this...and Spring time snow storms aren't unheard of.  That is just Spring time in the Rockies for ya.  But I feel like this Spring has been worse then usual.  Not that it has necessarily snowed massive amounts...but it has defiitely snowed frequently.  In the last 2 weeks there have been 3 separate snow storms come through, and yet another one is supposed to be here Monday!  Like seriously can we just get to the real Spring already?  This past Monday, this was what I had to look at...

 

By the time I got off work a few more inches had fallen and it was coming down thick, heavy, and wer.  I had several inches to get off my car and literally could not keep my windows clean for a minute, it was falling so fast.  By the time I got in my car I was soaked!  So it was no surprise when I woke up Tuesday, feeling like I was coming down with a cold.  And sure enough by Thursday I was sick.  Super congested in my chest, tons of coughing, and by Thursday night my voice was gone :/  I hate losing my voice.  Needless to say a voiceless, and feeling yucky preschool teacher is not a good combo.  So I ended up going home from work in the morning Friday to rest.  With all my congestion I began craving pork green chile.  So I got out the crock pot and put it on.  So glad I did too!

 

 

By this morning my lack of speaking on yesterday proved helpful, as I had a little bit of a voice today.  Which is a good thing because I had an event to go to which I had purchased a ticket for awhile ago, and did not want to miss.  It was the Denver AdvoCare Spring Breakthrough training event.  And boy was it worth while.  I got to connect with some of my team members and hear from some amazing leaders within our organization.  Also, VP of research and development Dr. Mark Miller did some great training on products and the research and information behind them.  I loved it and am feeling motivated.  Not only do I have hope to reach my goals, but I have a purpose to push me there.  I absolutely can not wait for what is to come in 2013, and the opportunities and freedoms that are at my fingertips! 

 

My mom, me, and Melissa :)





Feeling Renewed

So I completed my 24 day challenge and am thrilled with my results!  I am looking and feeling better then I have in years, and it was the best decision to do the challenge. The challenge got me in the habit of making healthier choices, which has made such a big difference.  As of day 24 I was down 5 lbs. and a pant size.  I also have so much more energy!  It is amazing to not feel sluggish or half awake day in and  day out.  I am literally getting more out of my days because I have the energy to do so, and not just want to go home and lay down after work.

 

 

When I moved to Texas when Chris was injured, I admit I kind of let go of my health and fitness.  I gained more weight in those months then I have before...and I am sure all the food and sitting in a hospital was a big contributor along with stress.  Then after moving back to CO I just got into the routine of working and never really got to getting the body I wanted back.  Finally it just hit me.  I was tired of the little love handles, tired of not liking what I saw in the mirror, and tired of being...tired!  I hoped the challenge would fix these things...and I am beyond thrilled to say they did and much more.  I not only look better and feel better, but I know I am healthier and that is worth so much!  And it feels so good to have regained some of the confidence I had lost :)

 

Over the last few weeks I have truly enjoyed watching others around me experiencing similar results and feeling renewed.  It is such a great feeling!  So if you are in a spot where you are ready to look and feel better, to drop those annoying punds, or to just have energy to live life...please don't hesitate to email me or leave a comment with any questions or for more info! amwest89@hotmail.com

 

 

 

Watch and Learn

Goodness I feel like my blogging has (once again) taken such a back seat lately. It makes me sad for some reason when I fall behind on blogging. Sometimes I wonder why it even matters since I feel like more times then not, my blog is hardy read by others. When Chris was injured I felt like there was constant traffic on the page and thus I kept constant updates....but now that life is not such a complete roller coaster I feel as though less follow my blog. But then I remember the main reason I blog is for me.  The get my thoughts out, to share my ideas and opinions, and to have something to be able to one day look back on.  So as much as I love sharing these things with others, even if I feel like not many people are reading I still need to write.  For myself.  So that is what I plan to do...now here's to hoping I make sure I set aside time for it :)

In my quest to get better and more in touch with my blogging world, I have also attempted to do a much better job at reading the blogs I follow.  Sometimes I would sign on browse through my feed, but not really invest the time to read them through..well no more!  I want to read them, that is why I began following them in the first place right?  And just like I hope others gain from my blog, I hope to gain something from theirs.  And I am happy to say that is just what I did today!

While getting caught up on my sister in law's blog (which is naturally one of my faves to follow, because it keeps me up to date on my nieces and nephews) a certain link caught my eye.  It was an article entitled Marriage: Watch and Learn. I am glad I took the time to read it (and definitely recommend you do as well)...regardless of what your personal beliefs may be in regard to religion the values and ideals laid out in this article I agree are important to a happy successful marriage.

1. Regard your marriage as a treasure, of infinite worth
2. Faith
3. Repentance and Humility
4. Respect,Transparency, and Loyalty
5. Love

So here's to getting more involved in my blog world and all the knowledge and experiences that I can come to gain from it :)

Spring 2013 Photos

I was so excited to get these...and as always am absolutely in love with them.  Now over the next few months will be the hard part....going through and organizing photos from all our shoots and deciding which ones to order, what size, which will be canvases, how to oragnize photo collages, what frames to get. lol my head is spinning thinking about it. Acasha King Photography thank you so much for capturing my life over the last 3 years :)

Picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

TGIF

For some reason I just felt like the week went by slowly.  The hours went by slow, the days went by slow, everything.  I think I have a serious case of spring fever which gets prolonged in Colorado since winter likes to keep poking its head back in.  I am just ready for hot summer days, a warm summer nights!  Even with the slowness of the week, work was nothing but dull as usual.  I managed to dress up as Super Angela..."Saving the world one child at a time" as my co-worker put it...

 

And the children were filled with fabulous imaginations as ususal.  One particular story definitely left its mark this week.  One of my kiddos has a make believe international office he works at.  One morning he informed us " I have a new friend, his name is Ju-mai-kum-ba. He is from Thailand. He sho does work at my office now...he makes sodas" lol love it!  I wonder where in the world they come up with some of these things.

 

 

My 24 day challenge has been going great!  I am already on day 15, which is hard to believe.  I am feeling great,  definitely getting to where I want my body to be!  I have been experimenting with different recipes with my meal replacement shakes (MRS) and my Spark!  Some things I have made....

• Vanilla MRS + Cinammon + Sugar Free Carmel Syrup = Cinammon Roll Shake
• Choc. Mocha MRS + Mint Extract = Andes Mint Shake
• Vanilla MRS + straiught black coffee = Vanilla Latte Shake
• Orange French Toast using Mandarin Orange Spark!
• Using Vanilla MRS to make Choc. Chip cookies
• I also bought lemon extract and am going to come up with a lemony goodness shake as well!