Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Spring Break
We had a marvelous time during spring break this year. We didn't go anywhere like we did last year, but we still had fun. I took lots of pictures, but I am going to have to upload those onto the blog later. For some reason, my computer isn't showing me any pictures. I've tried to upload 2 on here and they just aren't showing up. I don't know what is wrong. It could be Mozilla, or Blogger. I don't know. I'll tell you about spring break and you can see the pictures later.
The first day was kinda boring. We had some errands to run, so we did that. Andrew mowed the lawn and I worked with Rachael on learning to drive a standard. It wasn't very successful. She stalled a lot and was kinda freaked out.
On Tuesday, it rained all day. We stayed inside and watched movies and just hung out. The rain slowed down in the afternoon so I took Rachael to drive more. She did a lot better this second day. Unfortunately, we didn't get any more practice in that week, so she still needs to work on it more. Part of why we didn't get to practice is because we discovered her license was expired. It had expired back in October. I thought they were good for a year from the time you get it, but it was only 6 months. OOPS!!! She has been driving with an expired license for 5 months. Stan was able to take her in and get it renewed on Thursday, so that is taken care of now. It is good until her 18th birthday, then it will be good for a few years.
By Wednesday, the rain was gone and the sun was shining. It was beautiful. We went to Zilker Botanical Gardens. We spent about 3 hours just walking around. I look just over 100 pictures. Some of them turned out sooooo good. I can't wait to post them on here once my computer lets me. The Hess's went with us. It was a lot of fun and everything was so pretty. It will be even better in a few weeks when all the flowers are actually blooming. Everything was green, but there wasn't very many flowers out.
On Thursday, we went to the Nature Center. They have a bunch of animals there, like a mini zoo. Most of the animals were wild animals that had been kept as pets, or injured animals. They can no longer live in the wild either because of their injuries or their lack of ability to take care of themselves because of living with people. We got some good hiking in. There is a little stream that connects 2 small ponds at the nature center. The kids all took their shoes off and went wading through the water. Andrew and Jeremy ended up being soaking wet. Rachael also managed to lock her keys in the car there. It's a good thing we got a copy of her key for me or her dad would have had to come down to open the car. Andy and Rachael then went to help Ammon with his Eagle project. They had to work really hard cleaning up a bunch of tires that were buried under a play area. They fixed some benches too. They came home exhausted.
On Friday, we went roller skating. There is a new roller rink open in Manchaca. I hadn't been roller skating in years. I was surprised how much my legs hurt while I was skating. We skated for about a hour. It was good exercise. I didn't take any photos of skating because the rink was pretty dark. I didn't think they would turn out between the lack of light and the movement of the subjects. Jeremy didn't quite get the hang of skating though. He couldn't seem to move his feet properly. Andrew didn't want to go at first, but he was the one that didn't want to leave. He is also the one that has asked many times when we are going back. Jeremy has to skate for 3 hours before he can get his roller skating belt loop anyway. This means we will probably go at least 2 more times over the next few months. After we got done skating, we went to this little frozen custard place called Licketty's. It was yummy. The Davis's were suppose to meet us at the rink, but they got held up at the allergist office, so we went over there to hang out for a little while.
Saturday turned out to be very cold and wet. We had planned to go out shooting at Cannaday's ranch Saturday morning. We decided not to wimp out, but I wish we would have. It was really windy and the temperature was only 36 degrees. The low for the day was suppose to be 45. Boy were they wrong. It was so hard to believe it was so nice the entire week then it was like the middle of winter again. I shot Stan's new .22 hand gun about 8 times then I went back to the car to warm up. Jeremy came with us, but he never shot any of the guns. It was just too cold for his skinny little body. He stayed in the car the entire time. Now, we need to go out again when the weather is nice so we can do some real shooting and not be rushed to avoid freezing.
I'll try to post pictures tomorrow and hope it works. I also need to download my camera and post about the mini vacation Stan and I took in Wimberly at a bed and breakfast. Stay tuned!
The first day was kinda boring. We had some errands to run, so we did that. Andrew mowed the lawn and I worked with Rachael on learning to drive a standard. It wasn't very successful. She stalled a lot and was kinda freaked out.
On Tuesday, it rained all day. We stayed inside and watched movies and just hung out. The rain slowed down in the afternoon so I took Rachael to drive more. She did a lot better this second day. Unfortunately, we didn't get any more practice in that week, so she still needs to work on it more. Part of why we didn't get to practice is because we discovered her license was expired. It had expired back in October. I thought they were good for a year from the time you get it, but it was only 6 months. OOPS!!! She has been driving with an expired license for 5 months. Stan was able to take her in and get it renewed on Thursday, so that is taken care of now. It is good until her 18th birthday, then it will be good for a few years.
By Wednesday, the rain was gone and the sun was shining. It was beautiful. We went to Zilker Botanical Gardens. We spent about 3 hours just walking around. I look just over 100 pictures. Some of them turned out sooooo good. I can't wait to post them on here once my computer lets me. The Hess's went with us. It was a lot of fun and everything was so pretty. It will be even better in a few weeks when all the flowers are actually blooming. Everything was green, but there wasn't very many flowers out.
On Thursday, we went to the Nature Center. They have a bunch of animals there, like a mini zoo. Most of the animals were wild animals that had been kept as pets, or injured animals. They can no longer live in the wild either because of their injuries or their lack of ability to take care of themselves because of living with people. We got some good hiking in. There is a little stream that connects 2 small ponds at the nature center. The kids all took their shoes off and went wading through the water. Andrew and Jeremy ended up being soaking wet. Rachael also managed to lock her keys in the car there. It's a good thing we got a copy of her key for me or her dad would have had to come down to open the car. Andy and Rachael then went to help Ammon with his Eagle project. They had to work really hard cleaning up a bunch of tires that were buried under a play area. They fixed some benches too. They came home exhausted.
On Friday, we went roller skating. There is a new roller rink open in Manchaca. I hadn't been roller skating in years. I was surprised how much my legs hurt while I was skating. We skated for about a hour. It was good exercise. I didn't take any photos of skating because the rink was pretty dark. I didn't think they would turn out between the lack of light and the movement of the subjects. Jeremy didn't quite get the hang of skating though. He couldn't seem to move his feet properly. Andrew didn't want to go at first, but he was the one that didn't want to leave. He is also the one that has asked many times when we are going back. Jeremy has to skate for 3 hours before he can get his roller skating belt loop anyway. This means we will probably go at least 2 more times over the next few months. After we got done skating, we went to this little frozen custard place called Licketty's. It was yummy. The Davis's were suppose to meet us at the rink, but they got held up at the allergist office, so we went over there to hang out for a little while.
Saturday turned out to be very cold and wet. We had planned to go out shooting at Cannaday's ranch Saturday morning. We decided not to wimp out, but I wish we would have. It was really windy and the temperature was only 36 degrees. The low for the day was suppose to be 45. Boy were they wrong. It was so hard to believe it was so nice the entire week then it was like the middle of winter again. I shot Stan's new .22 hand gun about 8 times then I went back to the car to warm up. Jeremy came with us, but he never shot any of the guns. It was just too cold for his skinny little body. He stayed in the car the entire time. Now, we need to go out again when the weather is nice so we can do some real shooting and not be rushed to avoid freezing.
I'll try to post pictures tomorrow and hope it works. I also need to download my camera and post about the mini vacation Stan and I took in Wimberly at a bed and breakfast. Stay tuned!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentines day
Stan and I aren't really big on celebrating Valentines day, but it is a good excuse for us to go out on a date. We really don't go on dates as often as we should. Life gets busy with 3 kids and just life in general. Yesterday, we went out to Joe's Crab Shack. It was super yummy. We had lots of crab, including some yummy crab nachos. Tomorrow, Stan doesn't have to work, so we are going to take the kids to see Percy Jackson-The Lightning Thief. I'm really looking forward to it. Stan, Andrew and I have read the book. Andrew loved the book. I'm sad that there are only 5 books in the series. It is the first series that he will actually read just for fun. He is on the 4th book, so I need to find a new series that he loves just as much.
I got a new calling today. I was called as ward historian for our ward. I'm really looking forward to it. It's right up my alley. I've been helping out the former ward historian for the past 2 years and she keeps telling me that I am going to take her place every time I create a layout for her. I guess she was right. I was asked about the calling 2 weeks ago, but not officially called until today. I already have 4 events I need to create layout for. I finished up the last of the layouts for 2009, and I'll start the 2010 layouts this week in between doing my ADSR layouts. For those of you not familiar with ADSR, it stands for Amazing Digiscrapping Race. Think of The Amazing Race TV show with scrapbooking. It is a 6 week race, with 2 scrapbooking challenges each week. The challenges really take my scrapbooking to the next level most of the time. They get me out of my comfort zone and help to make me a better scrapper. Plus, you get a different prize for each challenge you complete and are entered in the drawing for the big grand prize at the end of the race. I don't ever count on winning the big grand prize (which is usually a huge pot of scrapbooking kits) but the weekly prizes are so worth it. A lot of the sites create huge collaborative kits for the prizes, or let racers chose from a selection of monthly collaborative kits. It's a great way to restock my scrapbooking supplies.
My diet is going pretty good right now. I'm still doing the Primal Blueprint. I've lost a little over 6 pounds in 6 weeks, which is more weight than I have lost in the previous year, so I'm glad for that. I'm hoping this week will bring me to the 60 pound mark since starting Weight Watchers. Even though I am following the PB plan, I am still doing WW also. I count points each day but I just don't eat any grains. Since my highest weight, I have lost a total of 67 pounds, but 59 pounds since starting WW. I feel pretty good right now. I just can't wait for my hip to heal so I can do exercises besides working out in the pool. I have bursitis in my hip, which constantly aggravates my chronic low back pain, so either my hip or my back seems to hurt all the time. As a result, I'm only allowed to work out in the pool. Oh well, this too shall pass.
I got a new calling today. I was called as ward historian for our ward. I'm really looking forward to it. It's right up my alley. I've been helping out the former ward historian for the past 2 years and she keeps telling me that I am going to take her place every time I create a layout for her. I guess she was right. I was asked about the calling 2 weeks ago, but not officially called until today. I already have 4 events I need to create layout for. I finished up the last of the layouts for 2009, and I'll start the 2010 layouts this week in between doing my ADSR layouts. For those of you not familiar with ADSR, it stands for Amazing Digiscrapping Race. Think of The Amazing Race TV show with scrapbooking. It is a 6 week race, with 2 scrapbooking challenges each week. The challenges really take my scrapbooking to the next level most of the time. They get me out of my comfort zone and help to make me a better scrapper. Plus, you get a different prize for each challenge you complete and are entered in the drawing for the big grand prize at the end of the race. I don't ever count on winning the big grand prize (which is usually a huge pot of scrapbooking kits) but the weekly prizes are so worth it. A lot of the sites create huge collaborative kits for the prizes, or let racers chose from a selection of monthly collaborative kits. It's a great way to restock my scrapbooking supplies.
My diet is going pretty good right now. I'm still doing the Primal Blueprint. I've lost a little over 6 pounds in 6 weeks, which is more weight than I have lost in the previous year, so I'm glad for that. I'm hoping this week will bring me to the 60 pound mark since starting Weight Watchers. Even though I am following the PB plan, I am still doing WW also. I count points each day but I just don't eat any grains. Since my highest weight, I have lost a total of 67 pounds, but 59 pounds since starting WW. I feel pretty good right now. I just can't wait for my hip to heal so I can do exercises besides working out in the pool. I have bursitis in my hip, which constantly aggravates my chronic low back pain, so either my hip or my back seems to hurt all the time. As a result, I'm only allowed to work out in the pool. Oh well, this too shall pass.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Birthday and baptism
January has been a busy month for Jeremy. On the 7th, my "baby" turned 8 years old. He woke me up at 8am so he could open his presents before dad went to work. He got a Lego set and a Bumble Bee cannon blaster. He was super excited about both of them. I think I am crazy for getting the cannon blaster. That thing makes a lot of noise, and loud noise too.
We celebrated his birthday on Saturday, the 9th, by going to Wazoos with his cousins. Wazoos is a big inflatable fun park that is close by our house. It's all indoors, so I don't ever have to worry about the weather. It's fairly new, so it usually isn't super crowded. It's co-owned by someone in our ward, so the youth are going to go there for a mutual activity this week.
On the 16th, Jeremy got baptized. Stan baptized and confirmed him. My dad and uncle Herb were here from Idaho for a visit, so they got to be at the baptism. My uncle Herb was able to stand in the confirmation circle. We had a good visit with them while they were here. It was pretty laid back, but that is the way I like it.
Here is our family after the baptism. I didn't realize we were standing where the powerline created a shadow right across our heads. I'm going to have to see if I can get rid of that in photoshop.
These are the men who stood in the confirmation circle to confirm Jeremy. From left to right, Brother Yu (he is the ward mission leader), Bryon Hess, Stan Hodge, Richard Hodge, Andrew Tarver, Herb Hess, Matt Thompson, then Jeremy right there in front. Again, stupid powerlines.
We celebrated his birthday on Saturday, the 9th, by going to Wazoos with his cousins. Wazoos is a big inflatable fun park that is close by our house. It's all indoors, so I don't ever have to worry about the weather. It's fairly new, so it usually isn't super crowded. It's co-owned by someone in our ward, so the youth are going to go there for a mutual activity this week.
On the 16th, Jeremy got baptized. Stan baptized and confirmed him. My dad and uncle Herb were here from Idaho for a visit, so they got to be at the baptism. My uncle Herb was able to stand in the confirmation circle. We had a good visit with them while they were here. It was pretty laid back, but that is the way I like it.
Here is our family after the baptism. I didn't realize we were standing where the powerline created a shadow right across our heads. I'm going to have to see if I can get rid of that in photoshop.
These are the men who stood in the confirmation circle to confirm Jeremy. From left to right, Brother Yu (he is the ward mission leader), Bryon Hess, Stan Hodge, Richard Hodge, Andrew Tarver, Herb Hess, Matt Thompson, then Jeremy right there in front. Again, stupid powerlines.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas Pictures
Here are the Christmas pictures I promised.
Here are the kids at Emily's house on Christmas afternoon
Jeremy got a UB Funkey's set he has been wanting for a long time.
Here is Andrew's favorite gift, a gaming chair.
The boys pitched in and bought Rachael Corpse Bride.
Here I am with the game I got for family game day.
Stan plays MC and hands out all the Christmas gifts.
Jeremy with his Wii game
Andrew's DS game he got in his stocking
Rachael got unlimited text messaging. She had to decipher a puzzle that said "unlimited text messaging" from her stocking. It was in a little pail with some chocolate "coal" on top of it. She didn't think it was funny, but I did.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Wow, this has been a busy month. I'm not surprised though as December always is busy. That is one reason we frequently don't do school during December. Last week, Rachael had the opportunity to dance with the Tapestry Dance Company in their production of "Mice and Music: A Jazz Nutcracker". The nutcracker music was jazzed up and the dancing was tap and jazz rather than ballet. It was really cool. They did a fabulous job. She was busy with that Monday thru Thursday, then danced at the Trail of Lights on Friday. To her, spending an entire week dancing is just like heaven.
Unfortunately, there were a few bad things that happened last week. Rachael was in her first car accident. She wasn't hurt at all and there is very little damage to the car thank goodness. Someone rear-ended her then took off. That same night, I found out that my Grandma Hess had passed away. I wasn't really surprised at all considering she was 95 and had been telling me for a few years that she was ready to go. I'm grateful I was able to see her in September when I was up there for my other grandmother's funeral. She will be missed though. Lastly, our heater went out on Thursday. It was a bit chilly that night, but not terribly so. It was fixed on Friday at the cost of $567. OUCH!!!!
Christmas was really good at the Hodge house. Stan and I both got our main gifts 6 weeks ago. We both got iPhones for Christmas. We love our iPhones and wonder what we ever did without them. We each got a few other items-I got some clothes and the boys got me some jewelry and Rachael got me a book. Stan got some new speakers for his computer and a desk calendar and the kids got him a book, a card shuffler and a shirt. The kids got lots of things, pretty much every thing they wanted. Rachael got lots of music, some clothes, 5 pairs of earrings and a game. Jeremy got some toys, Transformers, Imaginext, books, a model and some games. Andrew got some computer and Wii games, a DS game, a board game and a gaming chair. We bought each one of us a new game for our family game day. We play a game every Sunday afternoon. We have some unusual games that came from a comic store. We now have Martian Fluxx, Munchkin Bites, Bridge Troll, The Adventures and Boy Scout Monopoly. We have so much fun playing games as a family and these new games will make it more interesting.
I'll post some pictures of Christmas in just a little bit. It's game time now.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
There isn't really much happening, but it has been a while since I posted, so I thought I would babble on here for just a bit.
Stan and I recently got our Christmas presents for each other. They were about a month early, but we got such a good deal we decided not to wait. We both got iPhones for Christmas. I love my iPhone. It combines my iPod, my phone and my palm pilot all together in one handy gadget. It hasn't totally replaced my iPod. I still use that a lot since it holds way more music plus videos. I use it at the gym all the time (the iPod not the iPhone). The boys think it's their own personal gaming system. They are constantly asking to play games on it. I have had to charge it almost every day because somebody seems to always be using it. I have to say that I love my iPhone. I don't know how I got along without it.
Thanksgiving was really good, but also hard. It was the first Thanksgiving since my mother-in-law passed away and it was sad to have Thanksgiving without her. We went to Richard and Michelle's this year. Emily went out of town for Thanksgiving. I think it made it a little easier being that we didn't have it in the same place as normal. I did well on my Weight Watchers program that day but didn't feel deprived or anything. It was a good day.
Speaking of Weight Watchers, the scale still isn't budging much. I have lost 1.5 pounds in the last 6 weeks. It's better than gaining, but it is frustrating. I talked with one of the personal trainers a few weeks ago and he wanted me to change my work out around a bit. I have been doing that for about 3 weeks and still not much change. I talked to him again today and he wants me to eat even more. I think I am going to start counting calories rather than counting points. I need to be more mindful of how much protein I am getting. He wants me to have 50% carbs, 25% fat and 25% protein. I can't really track that kind of thing with tracking points. I can easily get a free calorie tracker for the iPhone. That will make it easy to track. I know tracking is a vital for my success. I have also recently weaned off the beta-blocker I take for migraines. It causes my heart rate to stay really low, like it only gets to 95 when I am working out really hard. My doctor hopes that will make a difference in my weight loss.
Rachael's dance schedule this month has just been crazy. She has a big show next week with the professional company. They are doing a Texas Nutcracker. I am bummed I can't go see it. The show is already sold out. Then she is dancing at the Trail of Lights on Friday. I hope the trail is still really good this year. They have cut it way back. It's just going to be on the side of Zilker where the Christmas tree is every year. I am worried because we always love going to the Trail of lights. It's a big Austin tradition. I am going to try to have an open mind though. I am excited to see Rachael dance though. I got to go to her ballet class today. She has grown so much as a ballet dancer just in the past 6 months. She is looking so strong on her pointe shoes.
I'll try to post again before Christmas. I am so ready to have a break from school. So is Rachael. She has her last final tomorrow. It's been pretty busy lately, so the boys have just been doing a minimum of school work the past 2 weeks. Usually they get the entire month of December off, but we took too much time on during the summer, so I am making them go longer before the holidays.
I hope everyone is ready for a great Christmas.
Stan and I recently got our Christmas presents for each other. They were about a month early, but we got such a good deal we decided not to wait. We both got iPhones for Christmas. I love my iPhone. It combines my iPod, my phone and my palm pilot all together in one handy gadget. It hasn't totally replaced my iPod. I still use that a lot since it holds way more music plus videos. I use it at the gym all the time (the iPod not the iPhone). The boys think it's their own personal gaming system. They are constantly asking to play games on it. I have had to charge it almost every day because somebody seems to always be using it. I have to say that I love my iPhone. I don't know how I got along without it.
Thanksgiving was really good, but also hard. It was the first Thanksgiving since my mother-in-law passed away and it was sad to have Thanksgiving without her. We went to Richard and Michelle's this year. Emily went out of town for Thanksgiving. I think it made it a little easier being that we didn't have it in the same place as normal. I did well on my Weight Watchers program that day but didn't feel deprived or anything. It was a good day.
Speaking of Weight Watchers, the scale still isn't budging much. I have lost 1.5 pounds in the last 6 weeks. It's better than gaining, but it is frustrating. I talked with one of the personal trainers a few weeks ago and he wanted me to change my work out around a bit. I have been doing that for about 3 weeks and still not much change. I talked to him again today and he wants me to eat even more. I think I am going to start counting calories rather than counting points. I need to be more mindful of how much protein I am getting. He wants me to have 50% carbs, 25% fat and 25% protein. I can't really track that kind of thing with tracking points. I can easily get a free calorie tracker for the iPhone. That will make it easy to track. I know tracking is a vital for my success. I have also recently weaned off the beta-blocker I take for migraines. It causes my heart rate to stay really low, like it only gets to 95 when I am working out really hard. My doctor hopes that will make a difference in my weight loss.
Rachael's dance schedule this month has just been crazy. She has a big show next week with the professional company. They are doing a Texas Nutcracker. I am bummed I can't go see it. The show is already sold out. Then she is dancing at the Trail of Lights on Friday. I hope the trail is still really good this year. They have cut it way back. It's just going to be on the side of Zilker where the Christmas tree is every year. I am worried because we always love going to the Trail of lights. It's a big Austin tradition. I am going to try to have an open mind though. I am excited to see Rachael dance though. I got to go to her ballet class today. She has grown so much as a ballet dancer just in the past 6 months. She is looking so strong on her pointe shoes.
I'll try to post again before Christmas. I am so ready to have a break from school. So is Rachael. She has her last final tomorrow. It's been pretty busy lately, so the boys have just been doing a minimum of school work the past 2 weeks. Usually they get the entire month of December off, but we took too much time on during the summer, so I am making them go longer before the holidays.
I hope everyone is ready for a great Christmas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
