Weekend Family Fun.

It was a beautiful day on Saturday and we had to take advantage of it!  We went to Eisenhower Park and had a great time.   We also took a walk at the Veterans Memorial area where they also had the World Trade Center Memorial and we finally took a walk around the lake and the Rose garden.  It turned out to be a gorgeous day. 

Halloween!!!!

So Halloween is by far my favorite holiday.   I know there's no presents like Christmas but I love love LOVE this month.   Decorating the house and yard, scary movies,  ghots and paranormal shows, costumes for the kids and have I mentioned the FOOD!!! lol.

Ok...so I know my last post was about weight loss and I still have to update you on that at the end of 30 days....but for now lets just push that aside.   The food is fabulous!!  Funnel cakes, corn on the cob, pumpkin anything!!  CANDY!! Need I say more??? lol

Basically fall is my favorite season. I love the weather....not too cold but you can throw on your favorite boots and dress in layers! So many more outfit options than summer in my opinion.  The leaves turn beautiful colors. I get to snuggle with my kids under blankets on the couch and watch out favorite shows like The Walking Dead, Ghost Adventures, Halloween Wars on the Food Network, etc.  (don't judge me) :P 

Had a great time taking the kids to Eisenhower Park in Westbury for a fall fair.  It was very reasonably priced  compared to other well known places.  And it had everything we wanted.  Food, bouncy ride, haunted house, a little maze, pumpkin decorating and face painting.  They even showed a movie while we sat on bales of hay.  It wasn't packed and very close to home.  Definitely worth a look.

My husband and I decided to check out a more grown up version of a haunted house in Wading River called the  Darkside Haunted House.  It was definitely a trip to get there and the drive alone added to the excitement and atmosphere of the evening.  It was literally in the middle of NO WHERE!! No street lights, winding roads and at night it was pitch black!  The line wasn't too bad and the coast was 20 dollars for both attractions,  the haunted grave walk and haunted house.  It was DEFINITELY worth it!!  We had a fantastic time!! 

Looking ahead the rest of this month there is still much more fun to be had! Halloween parties and costume shopping. :) Also hoping to check out the Jack-O-Lantern display at Westbury Gardens.  From the online pictures it looks amazing! Hope everyone enjoys getting into the spirit of things this month and stays safe!

A new me!

So it's about that time of year when my clothes are getting tighter, my skin is breaking out from eczema, my asthma is at its worst.  I'm just unhappy with my weight all around.  Yes,  I've tried it all....master cleanse, eating healthy with exercise, weight loss pills, no carb all protein,  you name it I've probably tried it.  Now I will be completely honest...I've gotten great results...but as all the critics will be sure to say the "fad diets" don't work...at least not permanently.  What I will say is that they can be a great starting off point.  My problem is that I never continue eating healthy.  I am either at one extreme or the other.  I'm either super healthy and wont indulge in any treats at all and I'm MISERABLE or I'm binging out on bags of chips, packs of cookies, slices of cakes, a multitude of donuts...you catch my drift right?  (nom nom nom)   Oh yea...and STILL MISERABLE.

Now that I'm blogging I feel that its the perfect time to re-start with my weight loss.  I'm going to document this venture and hopefully this will keep me accountable and motivate me to stick to the program.  I'll check in after a week and list what I've done and any progress.  I'm going to try just eating healthy(healthier) not over doing it with the junk but not being a total scrooge either. Just portion control and being smarter about my choices.  No starving. No skipping meals.  I'll combine this with the 30 day ab/arm/squat challenges.  Wish me Luck!!

Starting Stats

Height 5'6"
Weight 179.2 lbs - OMG :/
Goal Weight  155 lbs

Time to get started

So its been a long week.  Running around with the kids, working,  home, etc.  But the real reason its been such a LONG week for me is the fact that this week I've been confronted by death and what it means in many different ways.  You know the saying that death comes in threes? Well for me this week it has.  Sadly a neighbor and close friend of my husband just lost his brother to a car accident this past Saturday.  Then on Monday I get the news that a classmate of my youngest daughter in pre-k, also died in a separate car accident.   Finally on Tuesday, the day I randomly decided to call my sons high school guidance counselor and leave a message,  I come home to get the news that she was not in the office because her husband passed away that morning. I feel horrible for all these different families and what they are going through.

All this week I've been hearing different views on life and death and how important it is to go after what you want while you have the chance.   Also about how important it is to tell people how much you love them when you can because there is never any guarantee that  you will live to see another day.  These are all things I know I have heard in the past and I try my best to at least make sure I tell my husband and children that I love them so much every day.

It does however make me realize that although sometimes I feel as if I have alot on my plate,  I can still do so much more. At least I think I have the potential to achieve much more and to be a better version of myself.   I joke often about "super moms". These are the women who seem to do everything so well and organized and stylish.  Whose children look like they are ready for a fashion shoot and appear to be headed to any ivy league college on a full scholarship.   I look at myself and try to console myself by saying how much more "realistic" I am and how I'm doing a damn good job especially considering my background and circumstances.

What I've come to realize after this week however is that I am capable of doing much more.  Ive been making excuses for not doing all the things I want and should be doing.  I have done a good job but I want to look back at my life and say to myself that I did a GREAT job.  I still have goals and dreams and I want to make myself proud.  I know my husband and kids are already proud of me but I have something to prove to myself. I really have to appreciate everything I have but make a real effort to improve on myself and my surroundings and what I have to offer.  Most of all I need to stop taking time for granted.  I cant put things off for later.  I have to get started now.  So off I go.  Talk to you soon!

Very first post!!

So today is the day I have decided to put the pen to paper (so to speak) and start "blogging"!  I will be honest....I haven't done much research other than reading a few blogs, so I'm not quite sure what  I should be doing or what to expect from this but I had to give it a try.

So I've read a few blogs here and there and I've noticed a trend.  Most of them seem to have something to offer.   They promote themselves as "frugal this" or "beauty guru" that or my favorite is the "stylish but on a budget" type.  Now dont get me wrong. ..I LOVE those sites...they inspire me. ..but I am in no way shape or form here to claim to be any one of the above....well...not yet anyway...who knows...maybe someday in the distant future I too will have the super mom powers of being flawless with my wardrobe, queen of d.i.y. party decorating, holding down my full time job and making it home with enough time to prepare an organic gourmet meal from scratch. ...but for now I'm happy making it through the day without landing in jail from my road rage and not emotionally scaring my children for life.

Now why did I want to start a blog you ask? Answer is...I dont know.  I guess the easiest way for me to rationalize it is to say that I have alot on my mind.  I may not be the super mom like I mentioned above but my plate still seems pretty full.

As I mentioned earlier I was a mom at a very early age. I had my son right after graduating high school.  While I had almost a full scholarship to college,  my dad died earlier that year and although I knew my sons father would always be there, I decided that I needed to find a job asap so I could support my son. As a minority, unwed, teen mother I could hear the words "STATISTIC"  screaming in my head,  so I had to get a job and prove to myself more than anyone else that I could be a great mother.

While all my friends were off to college,  I was off to work. I had no time to party or really even socialize. I wanted my family to work.   Truth is that between work , kids and working on our marriage,  friends were definitely the last thing on my list. They all moved on with their lives and I only keep in touch with a all handful of them.   Fast forward 15 years,  a marriage and two more kids later. I'm still working ,running errands,  with my kids and the spare time we have my husband and I try to spend together.  Be that as it may, my husband works so hard and for so many hours that our quality time is few and far in between.

Finally I have found myself going through life and all its curveballs and other wonderful and at times frustrating experiences and I needed an outlet.   I needed a way to convey everything I feel and all my questions without being interrupted and my poor husband can only handle so much of me so here I am. I look forward to seeing how this turns out.

Now if you made it to the end of this that means you've given me a few minutes of your time and I thank you.  I know this first post was long winded but I wanted to give you a sense of where I was coming from.   I promise to make future posts more concise and light hearted.  I hope you stay tuned.  :)