Support our youth!

Tonight is the first of which is hoped to be an annual event featuring talented high school students from the Great Falls area.

Cascade of Talent will be held in the auditorium of West Elementary School. Tickets are $10 each and the proceeds go to scholarships for the youth of Cascade County.

There are a variety of acts, including the Great Falls High Bisonnettes, which my daughter is a member of. The CMR Wranglers also are performing...they are a very talented and professional bunch of ladies, too! In addition to dance acts, there are singers--soloists and groups, and a couple of bands as well. So, if you don't have plans for this evening, get down to the Teacher's Federal Credit Union and buy some tickets for an evening of entertainment.

By the way...I am not affiliated with the management of this or anything...just a pround Mom!

http://www.cascadeoftalent.com/pages/1/index.htm

The monster also known as Jaxson

This is a picture of the 'monster'. Today he spent time at Grandma & Grandpa's and went and picked up younger daughter at school. I'm sure he enjoyed seeing all the kids coming out of the middle school. He is just over a year now, and if he is settling down any, I'm not seeing it much. But he has those 'puppy dog eyes' and you can't stay mad at him!

Did good yesterday...

This is my "before" picture!

Yesterday I had fruit for breakfast.

Lean Cuisine Shrimp & Pasta for lunch.

Dinner was bbq ribs in the crock pot...very small portion...was satisfied, not stuffed, so I think that was good.

Snack was Reduced Fat Lemon Cooler Girl Scout cookies!

and made sure to have milk so got my calcium in!

I also walked my mile route at our office complex, so exercised also!

Daughter's Junior prom dress

http://www.christinagowns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.prodInfo&productID=1795&categoryID=156

This isn't the exact dress. Her's is a deep red, but it is the same style, same company. This will be her first prom...can't wait to see her all decked out heading out the door!

Weigh in Day...some improvement!

I lost 1 pound this week! Yippee! I don't know how it happened, but I'll take it! Just imagine if I had gone full force with the plan instead of adhering half the time. I did gain it one pound at a time, so even if it takes me as long to take it off as it did to put it on, I'm going to get where I want. So, now to improve on my habits and maybe next week it will be 2 pounds down!

What I'm currently reading....

This is from the co-author of the 'Left Behind' series. My Mom recommended I read this, so I am. So far it is pretty good!

5 a day....

Nutritionists say that you should eat 5 servings of fruits and vegies a day. I try to do this, but sometimes it's not easy. I wonder how many servings a salad is considered? Do you count that as one vegie, or do you count each separate thing in the salad as one serving? Like lettuce would be at least one serving for a small salad, and then you have like a quarter to a half of a tomato in there? and carrots? Do eggs count as dairy? And how many ounces of cheese are considered a serving of dairy?

So far today I have had:

Breakfast: 1 Quaker Oats oatmeal breakfast cookie
3 cups of coffee

Snack: 10 baby carrots

Lunch: 1 small chef salad with 2 tablespoons (or so) of Ranch dressing
2 cups of melon
1 20 0z. hot chocolate

I plan to have an apple this afternoon, too. So, so far I have had 2 to 3 vegies and 1 to 2 fruits. Do you count tomato in the fruit column or the vegi column? I think sometimes I make this too hard....

Hello, Mattel...they're NOT REAL!

Well, I saw this yesterday on MSN's homepage, and had to comment....http://www.shareholder.com/mattel/news/20060209-187095.cfm

It seems Ken has gotten a makeover. Now I'm all for the Ken doll being revamped for kids. He was always dorky looking when I was little, but come on! A PRESS RELEASE. And then the news picks it up and presents it like it is some important information that the whole country needs to be aware of. Sounds like someone really has a lot of time on their hands. I wish I could get that job! I could make up all kinds of stories for Mattels products to release to the press. I bet my 7 year old niece could come up with some great ones!

Okay, okay....enough of my rant. Back to the real purpose of my blog...the weight thing. Well, I weighed in on Wednesday. Still the same. No loss, no gain! I'm going to stick with my plan. It worked for me and I didn't feel like I was starving myself. Pretty much because I would give myself chances to cheat if I felt like it, then get back on. So I feel pretty confident that I can get the weight off at least as a jump start. Then when I hit a plateau, I will look for changes to get over the hump.

Me, hubby and daughter #2 are going out of town for weekend for church. Oldest daughter is staying home, because she has to leave for a choir trip and needs to get ready for it. So, it will be quiet again around this blog.

That's okay...I'm sure Mattel will have plenty of newsworthy press releases while I'm gone to keep everyone occupied! D-bb

Two sure things...death & taxes

So luckily, we are only dealing with taxes, but what a pain! I am having a 'national tax preparation service' do mine...I have done my own in the past, but to me, the money to have them prepared is way worth not having the hassel myself. It is a pain to have to dig out all the little forms and statements and pieces of paper from the last year. I always forget something and then I have to go home and get it and go back. So, I think for next year, I will start a file folder now and just try and remember to put the tax stuff in it as I get it.

On to the diet thing....weigh in Wednesday showed no change. Guess that's good, because I haven't been good. Then my jeans started feeling tight again, so figured I'd better knock it off and get back to it. So, back we go. Water every day. No pop. Fresh fruits and vegies. Will try and get some fish going this weekend. I have cod, which is about the only type of fish I really like, so will have some of that. No one else in the family will eat it, but will try and guilt hubby into having some. He is going to have to start watching what he eats. I have let him go since he is still recovering, but he's got a week and a half until starting chemo. Funny they haven't said anything to him about his diet. Guess they figure he is overwelmed enough right now.

In other news, GFHS lost a teacher to cancer this week. Kind of had my daughter saddened. This was after a CMR student commit suicide in the high school bathroom on Monday. It's tough to know how to talk to your child about these things. You want them to put it in perspective. There is a lot of confusion, and fear and anger when these things happen. Then you have a respected teacher die of the same type of cancer your loved one has, and it just adds to the emotions. We talked it out, and I hope it was the right thing. She seems to be okay, and I keep a pretty close eye on my girls emotionally. So, it's been quite a week.

So, now for the weekend. We are having a Super Bowl party--correction...the GIRLS are having a Super Bowl party, and hubby and I are chaperoning. Wish us luck!

GO SEAHAWKS! (I love an underdog!)

Bestbuddie