{last summer hoorah}

I know that I’ve said it multiple times before, but my baby starts second grade tomorrow! To offset the fact that this was the last week of summer vacation, Ayden and I had a picnic at the beach on Monday afternoon. I had everything packed and ready to go when I picked him up from the sitters house and we spent the next three hours relaxing at the beach. It was a great afternoon, especially since we hadn’t gone a whole lot this summer… The weather was nice, but the water was pretty cold! Once you were in the water for a while it didn’t feel so bad. Ayden had a blast in the water and that is all that matters!We brought a lot to the beach… it’s the only way to go, ha! Or not, the last time that we went, we biked and brought a pail and a net. That’s all you really need. This time, though, we drove, so I could bring a lot more. It was nice to have a chair this time. And I brought a lot more sand toys, although we didn’t use about half of them. My little fish with his goggles on upside down. He didn’t care, just so long as they worked!I think I have a picture (or multiple pictures) very similar to this from years past with the same yellow bucket. I should really look for them and compare how Ayden has grown over the years. We really do love the beach because it is so shallow and the water is clean and usually pretty warm. It never hurts to stop for some lunch either! I ended up eating pretty much as soon as we had gotten set up at the beach which was around 12:30pm… Ayden on the other hand decided that he wasn’t hungry until about 2:00pm. He worked up quite an appetite though from all of the running around he did in the water and ate really good!I feel like I should have more to blog… but I don’t really have anything that I feel is super important to say, so I’m going to go for now…

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{somewhere someday}

My type A personality is starting to win out on me. I am a planner, a planner at heart and with the unknown of the coming year comes a lot of apprehension for me. I absolutely hate not knowning were we will be 9 month from now. A baby in my arms?! Ha! Got you there, didn't I?!?! No, no baby in my arms, although I do wish. But I won't get started on the whole baby thing right now. I hate not knowing where we will be living, where Ayden will be going to school, where Jay will be working, where my 4th year placement will be, who we will have for childcare... all of the unknown is driving me nuts and it is still 9 MONTHS away! Ugh! I know that I just need to chill out and that everything will work out as it should, but like I said at the beginning of this post, my type A personality is getting the best of me! Instead of worrying about this fall semester starting, I'm fast forwarding to the end of Spring already and i all honesty, I do not want to wish the next 9 months away. They will go fast enough with me doing that.

Speaking of this fall semester, I got a letter in the mail today saying that I got another scholarship. I was sort of expecting it because I got all 'A's last spring, but despite that, I am still grateful for it. Any little money will help and it comes at the end of the semester, just in time for Christmas shopping... even better! I was also able to get most (if not all) of my paperwork finished for my clinic placement this fall. I emailed it out today and I will hopefully hear from the facility sometime Monday if I need to send anything else in. Then it is just a matter of going in for an orientation and starting my placement. I am kind of excited at the possibility of seeing some surgeries this semester since it will be at a hospital.

I've been keeping up with my working out despite not really wanting to. I have to say though, the promise of getting Ripped in 30 is a little misleading. I am about halfway through the third week (one week left) and although I can definitely see a bit of a change in my arms and I probably have a bit more thigh strength, my abs are definitely not as flat as I would like them. I have to say that the second time around with this DVD, I haven't had to stop through any of the workouts while I am doing them. So I know that my stamina has definitely increased and I can workout longer. That is not to say that the workouts aren't hard and that I am not sweaty and gross afterwards. I have debated about what I want to do after I am done with this DVD. I don't think I want to do it again. My cousin recently became a coach for the Turbo Fire program and so I thought about that. After looking into it and reading some reviews and seeing some videos, I am totally convinced that it works and works well, but I don't think that it is the right program for me at this point in time.

Around the time we moved into our current place (just over two years ago), I bought two The Firm dvds and thought that I was going to do those. Um, I am not coordinated enough to do those dvds... they go way too fast for me and do not have enough instruction. After watching some Turbo Fire videos on youtube, I have come to the conclusion, that although not like The Firm, this program is probably too intensive for me at this point. I would get it and be so confused and get frustrated that I would not bother with the program. That is not to say that I have written it off completely though and maybe in a month or so, I might revisit the idea of it. At this point in time, I am going to rotate through another Jillian Michaels dvd I have, a new Jacki Warner dvd, and two of the P90X dvds that Jay has. Jacki Warner is another well noted fitness guru and from what I've seen of her workout dvds, they are in a similar teaching format as Jillians (ie: a format that is slow enough for me to follow). I am going to do the Cardio and Kenpo dvds of the P90X program as well. I have seen both of those and even semi worked out to both of them while Jay was previewing them. I can't say that I will be able to do all 60 minutes of those dvds, but my goal is 40 minutes each day... 10 minutes more than what I currently do because including the warm-up with Ripped in 30, it is about 30 minutes long. If I can keep up that schedule for a month, then we will see what comes next. I'd really like to continue to workout on a regular basis because although I am almost cursing my way through it sometimes, I definitely feel good afterwards! And that is an accomplishment!

I am writing this blog post on my new Asus tablet! My original goal was to get an iPad. I was going to use the money that I made this summer doing photos and my birthday money to purchase one. Jay was totally against the idea at first because he didn't think I needed one. Well, of course I didn't need one, but I wanted one and its not as if I was using just any money, it was money that was mine. (And he didn't even get me anything for my birthday.) We ventured to Best Buy at the beginning of the week to look at the different tablets that were out there. You know, wanting to make an educated decision and all. We talked with some of the techie people at Best Buy about the different tablets. Jay's friend JT thought I should go with an Android tablet since he like that operating system better. I suppose it is all fine and dandy, I mean we have Android phones and I like it well enough. Maybe with the Android system, I could sync apps from my phone to the new tablet. So... we were looking at two different tablets when the tech told us about a different one all together and how he thought this new one was probably the best Android tablet on the market.

The iPad didn't come with any docking station, no SD card slot, nothing. You had to buy all of that seperate. The Asus tablet didn't come with a docking station or SD card slot either, but it was $100 cheaper than the iPad and the same amount of storage. Plus, you could buy the docking station, which came with USB ports and an SD card slot for an extra $150. That put the total $50 more than I had wanted to spend, but I really couldn't pass it up. Unfortunately, the store didn't have any in stock and they had to order one for me to come in later this week. In the mean time, I found the tablet on Walmart's website for $50 cheaper and when my tablet came in at Best Buy they price matched it for me and I got the tablet and docking station/keyboard/SD card slot all for the price I would have paid for the iPad! Score! And I can sync apps from my phone to the tablet and vice versa. For example, there is an app on the tablet that I can use to take notes with in class and the notes will sync with my phone and my computer. So, no matter where I am, I can have access to the notes I've taken in class and study anywhere. You know, because I am such a study-aholic! Haha! Plus, this will beat bringing my computer to school everyday... it starts up so much more quickly and is a lot smaller and lighter and yet I still have the functionality of a keyboard! I think I'm in love, hehe!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{something new}

Trying something new here... hoping that this posts. Sorry if you were looking for an actual blog post, will update the blog with something actually worth reading a little later...

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{an update of sorts}

I am sitting at my kitchen table with my laptop right now listening to some Eve 6… I have been listening to their music, one cd in particular, since my sophomore year in high school and boy does it bring back some memories!

I have done two photo shoots in the last week and I thought that I would share some of the pictures with you. If you are my friend on Facebook and ‘like’ my photography page, you’ve probably already seen these.. but if not, I hope that you enjoy them here!

The first shoot was for a classmate’s niece. I have previously does a shoot for another niece of her’s, as well as her niece and parents. Apparently the family likes the pictures because they keep coming back. That makes me smile! This little girl was so cute and so much fun to photograph! I could just eat up those little cheeks!The second photo shoot I had was for some senior pictures. I have done two previous senior sessions; however, both of the clients (for lack of a better word) were guys and they just don’t get into pictures the way girls do. I was SO excited for this shoot because first… the girl was gorgeous, secondly, she was willing to try pretty much ANYTHING, and thirdly, I just love any good excuse to get my camera out!

We (myself, the girl, her mom and sister) ventured all around downtown Stevens Point and found lots of cool locations! It was literally SO much fun! Everyone clicked really well and everyone was chiming in with ideas and such. I really had a great afternoon with everyone and I think this has been my favorite shoot to date! I have been going through the pictures and editing some and I am literally in LOVE with what I am seeing. I can’t wait to send the cds out and hear what the client has to say as well!

Here is just a taste of what I took!So, she had brought her prom dress from last year and after we got some good ones with it on, we got a little crazy with it and by the time we were done, she was soaked in her prom dress!There even was this rope swing by the river and her mom wanted her to try and swing on it with her dress on! Crazy awesome ideas… I tell ya! And she so would have, but the water was a little deeper than we wanted it to be and she probably wouldn’t have made it back to shore and we still had one more outfit we wanted to do and didn’t want to mess her hair and make-up up with the water.Next day… since I got distracted and then didn’t finish this post…

I am ready to go pick up my little man tonight. He has been spending the last couple of days with my mom. I feel like he hasn't been home at all this month and in all reality, he hasn't been home all that much. It is the 24th of August and Ayden has only been at home 7 of those 24 days. That is not to say that Jay or myself have only been with him 7 of those 24 days because that isn't true. One or both of us has been with him 13 of those 24 days... so yeah, he has been gone 11 days so far this month. August is always the month where he is gone quite a bit spending time with all of his grandparents. They save us on childcare that way! SO grateful!

But I get to pick him up tonight and it will be just me and him for the next couple of days. Lots of mommy and me time and I am looking forward to it because he only has one more week off and then school starts for him again. Second grade, AH!

About two weeks ago I left a list of stuff that Jay needed to finish before he left for his weekend away. He leaves Thursday morning and only one thing is crossed off on that list. His friend is coming tonight and I doubt that he will do anything more on the list. There are also two other regular chores that he needs to do before he leaves as well. The list isn't really anything extra... it is just stuff that he started but never finished. Like putting away sprinkler stuff he was working on, organizing the side of the house that he was working on, putting a few things away that he got out and never put back. And honestly, I will be IRATE when he leaves tomorrow morning and EVERYTHING on that list is not done. He has had TWO weeks to finish it. The total time he would actually have to spend on everything on the list is probably less than two hours. He has had WAY more than two hours of free time in the last two weeks. He had ALL of yesterday morning off because of the weather where he could have been doing some of that stuff... but NO he didn't. It just pisses me off. And my only reason for having him do it before he leaves is because once he gets back, I know he won't do it afterwards and it will stay that way until Spring when all of the snow has melted. Argh! Okay... I needed to get that vent out.

I have been super productive today. I got a lot of cleaning done, a little bit of shopping, and even some filing. I even stopped at Kohl’s to look at dresses for my cousin’s wedding coming up in November (yes, I know that is still a ways away, I just couldn’t help myself), and I found this cute little number!The best part is that I had to buy it in a SIZE 5! I haven’t gotten anything in a size 5 in almost like FOREVER! I don’t even remember, not even in high school! Okay, so it is just a dress, it’s not like it’s a super cute pair of jeans in a size 5, but still! I’m pretty happy (despite the fact that when I stepped on the scale this morning I weighed 3.6 pounds more than I did Monday morning). I know, I pigged out yesterday. Chicken fried rice for lunch and supper and lots of it… an ice cream bar and a piece of ice cream cake. Um yeah, I’m allowed a cheat day, right?!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{don't blink}

I had every intention of writing a sappy post on Ayden's birthday yesterday, but twice while I was on my computer, it shut off on me and waiting for my computer to turn back on and reload just wasn't what I wanted to do... so I kept the post in my head for today.
I wish I had some wonderful insightful post about the day Ayden was born, but to be honest, most of it is a blur. I remember the big things, but part of me wishes I would have been blogging at that point so I have a clearer vision on how it actually was.

I know I was scared crapless... I had just turned 18 four days prior and here I was about to become a mommy! And let me tell you, labor was nothing like I had prepared for. I totally wimped out (I'd like to think the next go around I might have my head on a little straighter, but lets be honest here... that probably won't happen) and got an epidural as soon as they would let me! I know that Jay was happy once I finally got it, he says I was pretty mean to him. I probably was, hehe! That epidural made things so much more tolerable for me. I give mega props to those who go through labor without one... I just couldn't do it.

My water broke early in the morning, I think around 8am(ish) and Ayden was born almost 12 hours later at (I believe) 8:31pm. After almost 2 1/2 hours of pushing the doctor needed to intervene and they had to use suction to help him come out. Thankfully he didn't end up super cone headed because of it and just had a little spot on the top of his head from it. Because they had to use medical intervention to help deliver him there were a lot more doctors and nurses in the delivery room than normal. But he came out perfectly healthy with ten toes and ten fingers.

I think my only regret about getting the epidural was afterwards and not feeling my legs for awhile. There came a point when I had to get up to use the bathroom and I almost fell over because I couldn't quite feel my legs as much as I should have been able to. But alas, all was fine!

We had a stream of visitors in the hospital and I look back on the pictures and think I looked like crap and wonder why anyone would want to see me in that condition, haha! I know, I know, they were there to see the baby, not me! And now here it is seven years later and my baby isn't a baby anymore. He has opininos of his own. He has likes and dislikes. He is more verbal that he needs to be! Just kidding! He has feelings. But he's also not all that different from the baby I first held seven years (and one day ago). He still looks at his mama with those same loving eyes. He still has those same ten fingers and ten toes. He still needs me. Aw man, this is turning into a sappy post!

But, he wouldn't be the not so little boy that he is today without the wonderful people around him everyday. And by wonderful people I'm not refering to Jay and myself. I'm talking about his grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, teachers, and friends. Jay and I have been blessed beyond our wildest imaginations with this little boy and we wouldn't trade the world for him. But we've also been blessed with the most wonderful family God has to offer. We may have started out young as parents, but our families were there (and still are there) for us every step of the way! Everyone has been so supportive and that makes life all the easier. We don't need pity, handouts, or snide comments. We just need someone to say good job, keep it up, look at all you've accomplished. And we have those type of people surrounding us each and everyday.

So although Jay and I do the majority of the parenting and raising of Ayden, we wouldn't be where we are without the people we have around us. Life isn't all peaches and cream, well actually I should say ice cream and chocolate because I like those better, but we perservere through each and every day and despite the fact that the people who really need to hear this probably don't read my blog... I really just want to say thank you to each and every one of you (you know who you are) for being there for us these last seven years (and one day, hehe) and for continiung to be here for us all the years in the future. It means more than you will ever know! Argh, more sappiness, lol!

With that... I say... don't blink... because when you do, seven years will fly by and your baby will turn into a little man!

 CIAO! LOVE ME!

{feelings}

I've been doing pretty good lately. Not that I shouldn't be, but I thought you all should know. It's my birthday today... 25 years old... halfway to 50 (as my mom so kindly reminded me this morning) and a quarter of a century old (as my dad's wife so kindly reminded me on Tuesday), but that's okay. I haven't yet reached the point of life where I associate birthdays as getting old. Maybe by the time I hit 30 I will, but even so... 30 isn't old either. Heck, I'll probably still be having kids when I am 30.

I don't have any super exciting plans for my birthday. Last year my friends and I got together and had a great afternoon. It really was a lot of fun and a great way to spend a birthday. This year, I'll most likely be at home all afternoon working on editing photos that I took this past week and relaxing and watching some TV. Jay mentioned something about going out to eat tonight, but I don't know if I want to do that. We went out to eat on our way home from camping last weekend and my dad took us out to eat on Tuesday afternoon when he picked up Ayden for the rest of the week. So three meals out at a restaurant in one week for someone who is trying to watch her weight... probably not the smartest thing.

Speaking of weight, I'm still holding pretty steady in the 118-119 pound range. I'd really love to get to 115, but at this point I don't know that that will happen. As I've stated before, I've started working out to Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 DVD again and I know that I am getting into better shape and with that I am building more muscle mass and I know that muscle weighs more than fat so that is probably a good indication of why the scale is not decreasing. I've tried not to get too hung up on the numbers on the scale, but some days are worse than others. For the first time since probably May, I went to bed last night weighing less than what I did when I got up in the morning... only by .2 lbs though. In any event, my clothes are fitting loose so I know that I am losing inches which is good. Yesterday I slept in and had every intention of not really working out. I just wasn't feeling it. Instead, I biked to work and then biked around afterwards looking for locations to do the senior shoot I have this weekend and biked home. That was just over 5 miles. Then I went for an almost five mile walk with my friend before supper which was great. Afterwards Jay and I went and got Ayden's birthday present and some groceries and it was almost 9pm by the time we got home. Working out was not on the top of my priority list, but I went ahead and sweated it out with Jillian... at 9pm! I was proud of myself for not giving up and that I pushed through not wanting to do it.

I can't remember if I wrote about running with my sister during camping. My sister has taken up running this summer and I thought that I would give it a try with her while we were camping since I wasn't going to be working out with Jillian. That was a mistake, ha! I am SO not a runner... even if I am sort of somewhat in better shape now than at the beginning of the summer. She totally kicked my butt running! And to top it off, I didn't believe Jay when he said I was going to end up with shin splints even after just a short run. Wrong! My shins hurt on Sunday! Oopsies! I think I will stick with my 20 minute workout with Jillian! I said it before, I’ll say it again… I am not a runner!

Last night I got to hang out with my friend and classmate, Katie. We hadn’t seen each other since the beginning of the summer, although we have emailed back and forth throughout the summer. The sucky thing is that she lives just across town! We had been meaning to get together for a while and go for a walk, but time was never on our side and finally this week it was. We went for about a five mile walk and got caught up on pretty much everything! Clinic, school, friends, wedding stuff. She is getting married about three months before me and so we get to plan our weddings together, I’m super excited! And we even planned a day to go try on dresses in a couple of weeks. I am even more super excited! We both know that our weddings are about two years away (give or take a couple of weeks for both of us), but it’s never too early to go look, right?! She said a friend of hers knows of a good place in our area. And I introduced her to the love of pinterest!

Happy Birthday to ME! Although, I have to admit it’s been mediocre at best…boo…

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{toes in the water}

We ventured to the Sturgeon Bay/Door County area this past weekend to go camping with my dad’s side of the family and it was a lot of fun. The forecast was supposed to be rain, cold, and icky, but it turned out pretty nice. It did rain for a little while on Friday night, but that was about it (other than some sprinkles Saturday afternoon). Saturday was pretty cloudy and overcast and it looked like it was going to rain for the majority of the day and it wasn’t too warm, but that didn’t stop the fun. We didn’t go swimming at all because it was too cold out, but that was okay with me because I really wasn’t in the mood for swimming.

On our way home from camping we stopped at Cave Point County Park and Whitefish Dunes State Park in Door County and I got some great pictures. The weather was super great and the water wasn’t too cold and I could have stayed there all day long, but alas we had a long drive home so we only stayed for about two hours or so. I wish that it wasn’t so far away because I would love to go back again before the summer is up and I don’t think that we will have that opportunity.

Here is more than a handful of the pictures that I took. Like I said, I could have stayed and taken pictures all day! The sky was a gorgeous blue and the pictures were turning out so pretty.My boys walking off to explore some more… we could have walked and walked and walked down the cliffs and explored all day, but we didn’t. Thankfully both parks were only about five minutes from each other and we got into both of them for free and they were only minutes down the road from the campgrounds so we really didn’t have to go out of our way for either of them.Ayden and I were quick to get our feet wet! The water was so nice and clear (such a change from Lake Winnebago which we often frequent with the boat, but not swim in). At Cave Point the beach was less sandy and more full of little broken shells so we had to be careful when we got our feet wet that they washed off and we weren’t walking around with our sandals full of little shells cutting our feet… but that didn’t really stop us from having fun!This was a close entrance to one of the cave parts of Cave Point. There were a lot of people visiting the area so the amount of pictures taken here were slim because I really didn’t want people in the background of them. There was one other spot that I really wanted to get to and take some pictures (I saw a kid get down to the spot), but Jay didn’t want me to because it was a little challenging to get there and I had wet flip flops on and the kid I saw had tennis shoes on. Oh well… maybe the next time I get there (whenever that may be).Whitefish Dunes State Park was great too! The sandy beach was gorgeous and the water was clear and just walking along the shore line with the waves crashing in… it really let me feel like I was on my own piece of paradise even though I wasn’t in some warm tropical place. The beach went along for a long ways and I really could have kept on walking, but we stopped a nice sandy place and sat down for a while and Ayden and Jay built sandcastles and I took pictures and got into the water and got wet.

I really wish that we would have came with our swimsuits on because then we all SO would have gotten into the water and had a blast! But alas, we didn’t have our suits on so we were only limited to getting kind of wet. I even got Jay to take his sandals off and walk in the water with us. It really was a great way to end our weekend of camping… just our little family! I told Jay that we needed to take a weekend vacation up there next summer so we could spend a lot more time at the parks and just relax and have fun.

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{another day come and gone}

Written Wednesday…

It was an all out lazy day for us yesterday at the house after I got home from work and Ayden was back from the sitters. We had lunch and then lounged around and watched TV pretty much all afternoon. I took a bit of a nap and Ayden played with his toys. I felt guilty. I should have been up and doing something productive or outside because the weather was so nice, but I wasn't. I was lazy. I watched too much TV, I let Ayden watch too much TV, and we were lazy together. But, I'm over it. That's not going to happen today. Today is a new day. Today we are going to be more active.

I mean, I've been semi active the last three days. I've worked out each day and I've biked to work (which is 1 1/2 miles each way) so that counts for something. (P.S. I've even see the number 117.8 lbs on my scale two days in a row now. Let's pretend that .8 doesn't really count, haha!) But today... today Ayden and are going to bike to the park and play and then bike to a nearby Walgreens so I can look at some color for my hair. My hair needs a change. I don't really want to cut it because I am liking it longer right now and I don't really want to pay up the wazoo to get it colored professionally (not with my car needing to get fixed), so we are going to check out the store. I'm thinking something with a reddish tint in it... who knows?! Both the park and the store are probably within a mile of the house and the store happens to be just down a block from our ride back from the park so they are both doable. We just need to get out of the house and be a little more active today so I don't feel so guilty.

I'm still pretty sore today from working out. I know that by this weekend it won't be as bad. I definitely feel more energized after I've worked out so that's good. This morning I started a load of laundry, swept the kitchen, and took care of the garbage and recyclables before we had to leave the house. Quite a productive morning if I don't say so myself and I only had to get up at 6:45am (we didn't leave until 9am, so plenty of time really). I dread having to get up earlier than 6:45am once the semester starts though because 6:45am seems to be like the perfect time. With class at 8:00am on Mondays and Wednesdays, I'll have to get up by probably by 6:00am. And then I found out that I may be driving to Oshkosh on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Getting to wherever I need to be by 7:30 or 8:00am means leaving Point by 6:30am and that means getting up by about 5:00am if I were to workout those mornings. Those might have to be workout nights... if I intend to keep working out past by 30 days and I hope this time I can stick to it. After the Ripped in 30 is over, I should probably use the other Jillian DVD that I bought. We'll see...

Written Thursday…

Yesterday wasn’t such a lazy day for us which was good. We ventured out to the park as planned and then to the store and then by the end of the night my hair was a new color. It was an all around good day. Today has been good too.

My final ‘batch’ of lilies bloomed at our house this week and I was SO excited. If you don’t know already, I’m a tiny bit obsessed with lilies. They are gorgeous and I’m in love. And of course I had to break out the camera to take some pictures of them!The lovely McDill Pond that is supposed to be filled. This log that Ayden is sitting on is usually completely under water… not this summer. It made a great perch for Ayden, although he didn’t want to oblige his mommy and sit on it for a picture. I could have gotten some really cute ones. I don’t know what it is about the little guy lately, but he’s become afraid of anything bug related outside. It’s really rather annoying!CIAO! LOVE ME!

{colorado}

My trip to Colorado was lots of fun, but if I would have to do it over again, I doubt that I would... alone that is. It took a lot out of me and by the time the week was just over half done I was ready to go home.

My mom and her husband drove me to the airport on Saturday morning and waited with me until I got through security. I have to say, out of the whole trip, that was my most nervous part because FFA regulations state that your boarding pass must match your ID 100%. Well, my driver's license has my first and last time and my middle initial. When I printed off my boarding pass at home, it just had my first and last name and no middle initial. I won't deny that this freaked me out just a little bit. Worst case scenario, they would turn me down. Thankfully, apparently they don't pay much attention to that middle initial thing because I had no problems with security at all!

The flight to Denver went fine. It only took about two hours and I slept for some of that. I got there in time to make the bus that the hearing aid company provided to the resort and so I didn't need my shuttle. I was then of course out the money it cost for the shuttle that I reserved because it was less than 24 hour notice, but at that point I didn't care because I had needed a back up plan incase I didn't get there in time and I didn't think I was going to make it. Once on the bus, it was another two hour drive to the resort before we were able to get settled in.

There was a schedule for each day of our classes and free time. The hearing aid company did not push their agenda at all. The classes focused on supplementing what we were learning in our classes at our respective classes and I felt like I really learned a lot. They also paid for pretty much all of our food and boy was it some good food! I tried not to gorge myself on the food too much so that I didn't gain a lot of weight while I was away.

I was originally supposed to go on this trip with a fellow classmate from the Madison campus, but a few weeks before the trip she backed out. I don't know the reason why she backed out, other than something had come up and she could no longer make it and/or no longer wanted to go. Either way, I was still going because I had already paid the money. So, I headed out to Colorado by my lonesome. That was an adventure in and of itself because I am such an introvert. I won't deny that it was difficult for me at times. I don't just open up to people and become buddy buddy right away, but I did come away from the trip with some new friends. The majority of the reason why I would probably not go again (alone) is the effort that it took on my part to go outside of my comfort zone and be more extroverted. It really got tiresome and by the end of the trip I was just ready to be at home with my family alone and without 80 people around me all of the time. It didn't help any that a lot of the students were coming with classmates from their schools and the ones that didn't were roomed with someone and they almost always buddied up. Me... I got my own room because my roomie backed out. I loved having my own room, that part was nice, but I think it would also have been nice to have someone to room with. Who knows?!

I think my favorite part of the trip was the rafting experience. I wouldn't really call it white river rafting because the rapids that we went through were very limited and they were at most class 2 rapids and that might even be pushing it. But... it was still A LOT of fun and I would do it again in a heart beat! Although, we did get soaked on the boat and it was cold and one of my feet fell asleep so bad that I couldn't even wiggle my toes to get the blood moving! It took me a good five minutes of bouncing my foot up and down to be able to move my toes again. Guess I listened to the guide a little too well when he said that we were supposed to keep one of our feet jammed under the seat in front of us for stability... I shoved it in there pretty hard, haha!

Here are just a few pictures of the gorgeous mountains. I could probably write a lot more about my time in Colorado, but I’d rather let the pictures speak for themselves… that and I don’t really feel like writing a lot more about it at this point in time.I've decided to start working out again. My cousin, Amanda, inspired me to get my workout on! She's been faithfully working out with Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred for the last three weeks and seeing her post each day on Facebook about it has kicked me into gear. I made it most of the way through Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 DVD the last time I did it, so I know that I can do it again this time. I was rereading some of my old posts about when I did it the first time and can’t believe that I also worked out on the elliptical most days as well. This time I am going to just stick with the DVD and continue to eat better like I have been. I picked the right day to start because I will finish up my four weeks the day before classes start. I worked in about three days ‘off’ where I will be gone for the entire day and not have access to a DVD player to work out. Jillian’s 30 day programs are really nice because they are so short. I know that I can make it through the 20 minutes even if I am about to die. It is only 20 minutes, anyone can do 20 minutes! This morning was day 2 for me and even though I didn’t want to continue about halfway through I just kept telling myself that it was only 20 minutes. I know that I haven’t lost all of my stamina from the last time that I did the program though because the first time I did the program I had to stop multiple times throughout the workout. This time I’ve made it through day one and day two without having to stop (although I’ve wanted to). I am a little sore today, but I was expecting it and know that by the end of the week that it won’t be so bad.

I am excited about my family camping this weekend. I can only hope that we have some good weather and don’t get rained out like we sort of did at Hoerth camping.

Off to watch the season finales of White Collar and Covert Affairs tonight!

CIAO! LOVE ME!