Friday, July 11, 2014

Ugh.

Dieting is so hard.

Every morning I wake up and tell myself it's a new day just to be sitting with a gallon of ice cream that afternoon.

But food is so good. I mean onion rings, grilled cheese, french fries, sweets, soda. I mean yum!

But I have to start somewhere so today is the day. Today is the day to start taking my life back by putting the ice cream down.

I am such a sweet eater that I will allow myself some sweets throughout the day. Okay. One sweet a day. Seriously. One sweet a day. But what I like about that is that I will really cherish that one moment when I am eating that sweet whatever it might be that day. It will give me something to look forward to and I won't feel guilty because I'm on my diet and sticking to my plan.

This is what I did to lose my first thirty pounds and it will be what I do to lose another thirty. And then I will be at my goal weight.

I keep telling myself that another thirty won't be that hard to do as long as I stay focused and just realize why I need to do this.

For my health and for Ryan. I already see my eating habits in him. He doesn't eat sweets but he is such a picky eater. He tells me he doesn't like everything before he has even tried it. The child could live on hot dogs and cheetos.

I also really need to start exercising again. I stay pretty busy between Ryan and the dogs but I could do more. So I am charging my fitbit again as we speak and am going to make my goal of 10,000 steps every singe day. It's really not hard especially if you just march in place while watching your favorite show which is what I do a lot of.

And I think it helps because instead of eating because I am bored I am walking and doing something for my health.

And yes. This is my millionth time to restart my diet. But I think most dieters go through this. They have their ups and downs but the focus is trying to have more ups than downs.

So with my chin up (thankfully I still only have one) I am going to the park with Ryan and starting on my 10,000 steps for the day.

Monday, March 24, 2014

New Wreaths

Some new wreaths just went up on ETSY. Let me know if you are looking for a certain theme or colors. I love making custom wreaths : )



A new week...

Oh, how I am glad that this weekend is over.

To say it was a rough one is an understatement.

I would go into more detail but frankly I don't want to think anymore about it.

Nothing too dramatic. Just one ounce of bad luck after the other.

Like losing my wallet and finding it after I looked for two hours and cancelled all my cards.

What I do want to think about though is my new FitBit which I am so excited about.

I've already had two. One lost at a water park and the other stopped working. This time I just will make sure to keep my receipt.

And this thing is one of the best motivators.

It makes me want to reach my step goal and also beat my steps from the day before.

Yesterday was crazy busy though so I ended up with 11,734 steps. I doubt I will beat that today. I am hoping for kinda a relaxing day today after the weekend.

The new puppy helps too. I chase her around the house more than I do anything. And in about two weeks we are getting another one so it will be twice as much work.

But anyways.

I am happy that I seem to be back in the groove. I mean after doing such a great job exercising I don't want to come home to pig out.

But I do have ice cream in my freezer today that I plan to eat while watching the new RHONY. But it is a smaller version of what I usually eat so I call that a win.

And I am going to start a FitBit post and maybe linkup just to keep y'all updated and to keep track of my results.

I am hoping with the FitBit and going to the Y that the last thirty pounds I have to lose will just melt off.

Yeah, I laughed at that too….

Anyways.

I wanted to post a cute picture of a FitBit but then I found this and I just couldn't pass up posting it here.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

I know. I know.

It seems like forever since I last posted.

But to be honest life sometimes just gets in the way.

A couple post ago I wrote about my poor Molly girl having cancer. Well, it grew it seemed overnight and so last Tuesday we lost her.

It was heartbreaking. But I know that it was the right decision to make.

Of course Ryan took it hard.

He cried harder than I've ever seen him cry before.

Telling him that she was gone was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I knew it was going to break his heart and cause him pain that he has never felt in his seven years of life.

We had a very sad couple days and we still miss her everyday.

Knowing how much Ryan loves dogs we knew that we needed to get another one. And last week my husband came home with this surprise….


She's twelve weeks old, a full lab, and we named her Daisy.

And we adore her.

But man does she keep me busy.

I've had to walk away five times just while writing this post. First because she was biting my niece. Then she ran off with my flip flop. Then she needed to go potty. And the list just goes on and on.

It's good for me though. I think just by chasing her around all day I've lost five pounds. Crazy right!

And in a couple weeks we are getting one more. We are going to name her Allie and she is also a full lab.

We can't wait.

So anyways sorry for the break but I am back now.

And off to the Y….


Saturday, March 8, 2014

The Y

Last year I was doing so great with my diet and workout. I was going to the Y everyday, running in the afternoon, eating right, and just was in the groove.

I lost thirty pounds which was really exciting. It was nice to be able to just pull jeans on instead of trying to squeeze into them.

But then so many things started happening around us. When I get stressed I become a hermit. So I stopped going to the Y and eventually stopped working out. Losing weight was put on the back burner and I just wasn't as passionate about it with all the stress I was dealing with.

We decided to put a hold on our membership. Because why pay for it when we aren't using it. I vowed to start working out again at the house but that just didn't happen. To be honest it's just easier to sit on the couch with the promise to "start tomorrow" than it is to get up and workout.

So now that things are settled down we decided that it's time to get back to the Y. I just love it and it helps keep me motivated to be doing the things I should be doing.

After working out for forty five minutes on the running machine I don't want to come home and ruin it with a bowl of ice cream. It makes me want to do better especially on the days that I don't want to even be there. It's a good feeling when you go to bed at night knowing that you went to work out and you ate right that day when your mind is telling you just to take that day off.

Plus, Ryan loves it. He loves going to the kid's area and just playing for a couple hours. And during weeks like this when it's Spring Break it gives me a little bit of a break for the day. There are some days when I would just take my bible study up there and did that while he was playing.

So now that I am back at it it is time to start focusing again. Time to lose the last thirty pounds that I have been wanting to lose for months now. I am excited to be going back to the Y but not really excited about the workout part of it. I just hope that once I am there and back at it I will gain my passion back for a healthier life. To be determined to lose this thirty pounds and just be a good example to Ryan. I want him to see his mom taking care of herself and caring what she looks like.

I need to figure out my schedule again. When I lost the first thirty pounds I had a working out and eating schedule. I would have a cheat day once every two weeks and other than that I would stick to MyFitnessPal.

Today I am going to go work out but hubby and I are having a date night do diet doesn't start till tomorrow.

But I will start tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A Captain's Duty Book Review

I just finished the book  A Captain's Duty by Richard Phillips  and it was a book that I couldn't put down.

So many mornings I would wake up tired because I had been up too late the previous night reading.

Richard Phillips was the Captain of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship. While in the seas off the Somalia coastline his ship was attacked by four pirates who were looking for money. Eventually Captain Phillips ends up in the lifeboat with the pirates where he spends five days fighting for his life.

This story was all over the news when it was happening. I remember following along and praying for Captain Phillips to be rescued and unharmed.

I am absolutely fascinated with the life of Somali's and Pirates. I have read about four books about them before reading this book. I am not sure why but I just can't read or learn enough about it. I guess because their lives are just so extremely different than the life that I live in Texas.

Even though I highly recommend this book I want to let you know that there is a lot of controversy surround this story. I kept this in mind while reading the book but I still found it a fascinating read. I feel like I learned more about the pirates and they way that they work while looking for money that doesn't belong to them.


I am not sure what I am going to read next. I am reading through a couple samples on my Kindle right now and really like the The Wolf of Wall Street and am sure I won't be able to just stop once the sample is done.

What are you reading right now? Anything I should add to my reading list?


Saturday, March 1, 2014

Devestated

There are no words.

She has cancer.

We haven't made that hard decision yet but have been told between one to two months.

But she is still playing, barking at every passing leaf in front of her window, and not yet in pain.

I can't believe I'm posting this.

I really thought it was just an infection that would be cured with some meds.

I hate cancer.

It took my Grandpa last year.

And her this year.




Thursday, February 27, 2014

Magnificent Obsession

The last couple of weeks I have been really thinking about my relationship with God.

Of course I always feel him around me and turn to him when life is hard. Especially last year when I had so much going on with my grandpa who passed away and other health issues in my own life.

But what do I do when life is good or just busy?

I go to church every Sunday. I also go to a bible study on Thursday mornings.

But I don't pray as often as I should. I want it to be a daily thing in my life but honestly it's not. Most night I read and then fall asleep before I even think about it.

And I read my bible about once to twice a week. But I also want to be doing that daily.

How do I expect to have a close relationship with God when I don't spend any time with him?

I spend enough time to get my bible study done but I could and should be spending so much more time with him.

As with a lot of people I tend to spend the most time with him when I have trouble in my life. Any kind of trouble I run to him and pray constantly.

But when things are good I tend to drift away.

I don't want that.

I want God to be the most important part of my life and my top priority.

Before the dishes get done, the kids (I have my niece and nephew most days) get on the bus, before I plan dinner I should be spending time with him in his word.

I want him to be my obsession. Not a weird rolling around in the aisle with a seizure obsession.

But an obsession in the sense that he is always on my mind, in my thought, prayers, actions, and attitude.

I don't want to be one of those Christians who never spend time with God. I mean can you be a real Christian when you don't give him much thought?

I don't think so.

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called Magnificent Obsession. It is one of my favorite songs that I have listened to over and over again.

My favorite part of the song goes like this

So capture my heart again
Take me to depths I've never been
To the riches of your grace and your mercy
Return me to the cross
Let me be completely lost
in the wonder of the love that you've shown me

This is what I want in my life and in my prayers.

I want God to show me depths I've never seen.

I want to thirst and huger for his word everyday in my life.

I want ever action, thought, word to be a reflection of who he is.

And I know that most importantly I need to get back into the word on a daily basis.

To really study it and know what it means.

And I want him to be my magnificent obsession...





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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Button Swaps! : )

I would love to swap buttons with you! You can add your button through Passionfruit or just email me at withthelanes@gmail.com

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Book Worm

One of my favorite things to do is read.

Every night when Ryan and the hubby go to sleep I spend about an hour reading.

It's my me time. I look forward to it. You could almost say that I crave it. Especially when I have a new book that I am starting and am excited to get into.

Usually I read memoirs. The last year and a half I have really gotten into these types of books where you go through a tragic event with the author. Like Captain Phillips being captured by Somali Pirates, or Amanda Lindhoust being kidnapped and held for ransom, or Amanda Knox when she was going through her trail.

Or I go through a phase that I just want to read about one particular subject.

I really love reading about different cultures or just how different people live. When I was reading about the people living in Saudi Arabia I was just fascinated with what they did in their everyday lives that is so much different than how we live in America.

Other subjects I have read on are the Somali Pirates, JFK, and Bernie Madoff. And when I am going through a phase like that I will read about anything I can get my hands on.

And sometimes I read chick lit. Sometimes I just need something light to read where you don't have to use your mind too much. Something that's not so heavy. That might sound dumb but it really is what it is.

So one of the things I want to do on this blog is review and share the books that I am reading.

At the beginning of the year I wanted to read a book a week. But I am just too busy to keep up with that goal. And because I read on my Kindle a book a week gets expensive.

So instead I have made a list of the books I want to read in 2014. I might not get to all of them but I want to try. The ones that I have crossed off are ones that I have read. And I am going to start linking the book to the review that I do for it.

And I might even add more as I go along because there are always new books coming out that I get interested in.


Biographies/Memoirs 

No One Would Listen (reading) Harry Markopolos


The Madoff Chronicles - Brian Ross

The Witness Wore Red - Rebecca Musser

Killing Jesus - Bill O'reilly

A House in the Sky - Amanda Lindhout

The Aquariums of Pyongyang  (Ten years in the North Korean Gulag) - Kang Chol-Hwan

From Lance to Landis - David Walsh

Favorite Wife - Susan Schmidt

A Captain's Duty - Richard Phillips (Reading)

The Reason for God - Timothy Keller

A Long Way Gone - Ishmael Beah

Drinking and Tweeting - Brandi Glanville

Exposed The secret life of Jodi Arias - Jane Velez-Mitchell

Chick Lit

Confessions of a Hater - Caprice Crane

Big Drink - Kim Gruenenfelder

There's cake in my future - Kim Gruenenfelder  One of my favorite books

Last Night at Chateau Marmont - Lauren Weisberger

Family Affair - Caprice Crane


Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched - Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble in the Big City - Meg Cabot

Do you have any suggestions for books that I should add to this list? I would love to hear them! 

Friday, February 21, 2014

Rants and Raves Friday

This is something new that I am doing that I am really excited about. Every Friday I am going to post five Rants and five Raves for the week. They could be about anything. Eventually I want to make this a link up but I need to grow my blog a bit more before doing that.

Rants

- My MIL. My  husband hasn't spoken to her since Christmas because of the drama that she creates. We have just been talking about her more this week and that is why she is a rant. She lives about two hours away and has only seen Ryan once in the last year and a half-ish.

- Stubbing my toe really hard yesterday and it still hurts.

- Cutting down on soda. I know it's better for me to drink water but I hate it. I'd much rather just drink coke all day.

- Texting and driving. I hate when I see people doing this. And the other day I saw a woman driving with her elbows and texting on her phone. It infuriated me.

- The cold weather.

Raves

- Twitter. Oh, how I love Twitter. You can follow me at @withthelanes. I have made some friendships on Twitter that I feel are stronger than some of the friendships I have in real life.

- Fridays. I love Fridays because Ryan can stay up later and we can watch movies and pig out on popcorn.

- Being healthy. Last year was such a difficult year for me health wise. Everything ended up being okay but it has made me realize how blessed a healthy life is.

- My husband. He really is the best man in the world. I told him yesterday that I felt he wasn't giving me enough attention. I know it's because he is so busy and stressed with work. But when we went to bed he practically laid on top of me. And stayed that way the whole night.

- Hobby Lobby. I am going there Monday to stock up on wreath supplies. And the ones that I make will be added to my ETSY store.

This is the wreath I made yesterday for one of my girlfriends. It's way too cute!



Thursday, February 20, 2014

Getting to know you….

You might be wondering why I haven't put any pictures of myself or family on my blog. Well, simply because people on the internet can be crazy.

Seriously.

I had a blog and twitter that I had used for years. My profile picture was of me and my son. One day I just decided to search my name in the twitter app and found that someone was posing as me.

And that's when I decided no more pictures.

I might (something I've been debating) post pictures of myself eventually. But I haven't decided yet and won't post them till I am one hundred percent sure I should be doing so.

It's one thing to take my picture but a whole other thing when you mess with my son.

The person was tweeting about being a mom, what they were supposedly doing with my son, and random stuff like talking about sweet tea.

It's just weird and creepy.

So I decided I wanted to keep blogging and twitter-ing but not at the expense of my family.

And that is why you will never see a picture of my family on my blog.  It's just not worth having them on the internet for people to do whatever they want with.

Another thing that I love about having a blog where no one knows who I am is the freedom that comes along with it.

I mean I can blog about my crazy mother in law (and I mean CRA-ZY), about my weight issues, and whatever I want to blog about with no one knowing who I am. You might be passing me on the street and you would walk right past me without a clue.

But of course I will tell you some things. I mean why stick around this blog if you don't have any idea of who I am.

So…..

- My son is seven years old. Will be eight in July. It is totally true that you don't know how fast time goes by until you have kids.

- I have been married since 2005. We have been together since 2001 and met in high school. We were best friends for a couple years before we started dating.

- We just moved into a new house in Feb 2012. It's a David Weekly house that we built. Thank God for having an upstairs where I can store all the toys.

- Oh, we live in Texas. Which is like the best place on earth. Houston-ish.

- We have a Great Dane named Molly. She is adorable and also trained as a guard dog because my husband travels for work. He is in the oil field.

- I am so proud of my husband. He has climbed the pyramids in Egypt, stood on the Kjeragbolten, and driven a Lambo in Singapore.

- Growing up my dad was in the Army. Yes, I was an Army brat. He retired after being in for twenty one years. I spent a couple years living in Germany and started kindergarten there.

- Other being in Germany when I was younger I have never been overseas. I am terrified of flying.

- My whole family is Army. One of my brothers was in for six years. The other has been in twelve years and counting. He is fixing to be deported to Guam. My grandpas and some cousins have also been in the Army. It's just part of my family's blood I guess.

- I am also terrified of the dentist. Seriously. I'd rather deal with a toothache then go have it checked out.

- My son has a speech delay. We noticed in when he was about three and he has been in therapy ever since. We have seen his speech improve greatly over the years but it is still behind for someone his age.

- I am a Christian. I have been since the third grade. My dad was in the Gulf War at the time. We were at church when the first bombs went off. I remember going and listening to the radio with my mom and brother who were both crying. That night I knew that Jesus was looking over my dad. Thankfully he came back about a year later. And my relationship with God has been there ever since.

- I love reading. I am going to put my reading list on here eventually. My favorite books to read are memoirs and chick lit which is funny because memoirs can be such heavy books while chick lits are usually a light read.

- I always spell Wednesday and Tomorrow wrong unless I have spell check. I hate those two words.

- I love sports and my husband hates it. I will watch pretty much any sport besides tennis and golf. My favorites to watch are football (obviously), swimming, and gymnastics. And I am such a happy camper when the Olympics are on and it's sports like 24/7 (like now).

- Orange kool-aid is always in my fridge. I love it and don't drink much else. It is like my coffee or soda for some people.

Well, I think that is enough for now. If I think of anything else I will add later….

With the Lanes….

Can I tell y'all how happy I am with this new blog?

I love the name, the design, and what it means for me.

Lately I have been thinking about "making" things happen instead of just waiting for things to happen. I remember reading (probably on Pinterest) that if you want something bad enough you will find a way.

And this year I want some things. Enough of the excuses or waiting for the right time to start something. Because in reality life is always crazy and it's never the right time to start anything.

So here are some of those things….

I want to have a blog that is fun. A blog where I can be myself and talk about whatever I want. It might be anxiety about my son's speech delay, a craft I am working on, or something about my crazy mother in law (that subject is endless).

And I have some plans for this blog that I am excited about. Like a Rants and Raves linkup, craft tutorials, and other fun things.

I also want to sell some wreaths. They are not only fun to make but could be a business for me. It blows my mind to think about having a wreath making business. So I am going to work on "making" that happen instead of just thinking about it. I only have four wreaths in the shop so far but will be adding more as I make them.

Check me out on ETSY here.

Weight. Oh, how I hate this subject. Last year I lost thirty pounds but I still want to get rid of another thirty but I can't seem to stay away from the ice cream. And while I haven't gained any weight I haven't lost anymore either.

I am happy to say that yesterday I started running and getting my butt off the couch again. And today I am going to try to start eating better. I love using MyFitnessPal and know that once I get started I will be focused. It's just always hard to take that first step again. Sitting on the couch watching reality tv with some type of junk food is just so much easier.

But I know it is something I need to do for my health and my son.

So it begins today.
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