RazNoggle

. I like to drink water at room temp, or at the coldest how it comes out of the tap. If it’s got ice or has been refrigerated, I need a straw because it hurts my teeth.

. I hate to wear make up. Hate it!!!

. I think that the “flat” side of the Ritz is where the cream cheese should go.

. Social interaction requires a LOT of mental energy on my part, and I can be completely exhausted after meeting new people. I’m an introvert… I’ve tried, it cannot be overcome.

. Math is not my friend.

. I have a serious coffee addiction. I’m trying to limit my intake to 2 cups a day…. it’s a struggle.

. Crochet is one of my favorite ways to relax. Though sometimes I forget about it for periods of time. Typically after I’ve tried a project that was too long or complex.

. I read Pride and Prejudice multiple times a year.

. I laugh at my children at the most inopportune times… like when I’m in the middle of discipline. I can’t help it, they are too hilarious sometimes!

. I dream of living in Colorado or Montana someday. *sigh*

. I don’t drink enough water during the day (probably because I’m too busy drinking coffee!) until right before bed when I’m scathingly thirsty, and of course that means I’m up at night.

. Handling raw meat makes me less inclined to eat the final dish… though I’ve gotten much better about it. Really!

. I’d rather read than watch a movie.

. Apparently I speak too quietly for most people to hear well.

. I absolutely LOVE photography!

. Sometimes I wish I had a Pomeranian so I could rub my face in it’s fur.

. Starting things is easy for me. Finishing things is not. I’m working on this…. later.

. I still sometimes find myself surprised that I’m married and have kids. I’m so very happy that Stuart picked me!! It was easy to pick him too!

. I forgot to eat breakfast today. I meant to… but I forgot.

. I miss “snail” mail.

. Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday. And Christmas is second. Fun times coming up!!

My eyelashes have gone through some trials since having kids. Who knew that so much can change about you when you become a mom?? Weird!

Anyway, I randomly stumbled across a news article about this lash enhancer stuff. I was intrigued because recently my dad has had some amazing eyelash growth due to some prescription drops that he has to use for an eye condition. I hadn’t realized before that there really are products that can do that!! WOW! I wanted to snitch the drops and try them for myself, but didn’t think that would really be a wise plan since I don’t have an actual “need” for them.

So when I saw the article I clicked on some of the products. BTW, I can’t find the link to the article I read, or I’d put it up for ya. Sorry about that. Anyway, this product got rave reviews in the article, and said that 100% of it’s users had seen some improvement in their lashes in 30 days or something. Whatever, I can’t remember all of it. But the link it originally took me to said that it’s regularly priced at $129. Believe it or not! HOWEVER, right now (for a limited time of course) you can get it with free shipping for $29.95.

So I did. Hee hee. I want to have lashes as pretty as Qades… seriously, that lad has the most amazing eye lashes, and it’s simply not fair. Ha!

So I will let you know if I see any remarkable progress once it arrives and I start to use it. I hope to see some thickening and lengthening, but we’ll see. Anyway, here is the link to the stuff if any of you might be interested. It’s called… uh… well, I can’t remember, but if you click the link you can see it for yourself.

Toodles!

I can from time to time be recklessly impulsive. Most of the time it has to do with my hair. Don’t know why it just exhibits itself that way. I suppose because it’s one of the least permanent impulsive things I can do. I mean, it’s JUST hair, it does grow back. I’ve been less impetuous with my hair since I met the man beyond my dreams and he has declared a very decided preference for how he likes my hair. Long. That doesn’t leave much room for impulses. When we moved to Greenville after getting married and I went for a ‘trim’ the guy who cut my hair was surprised that it hadn’t always been that long. I guess if a gal has really long hair, people assume she’s never had it short. Well, I’m here to tell ya, it’s been Tinkerbell pixie short before.

It’s not now… no worries. But I do have a confession to make. I have messed up my hair on more than one occasion because I thought I could just do it. I’ve watched you-tube videos and online tutorials on how to cut/trim/whatever your own hair. And whether it’s because I just don’t possess the talent for dealing with hair, or it’s because my hair is THICK, and has a mind of it’s own, it nearly never comes out like the pictures online. And then I’m left with the mess and I get all depressed and just hate my hair more than I did before I was SURE that I needed to try this “thing” and well… while it does grow back, the process takes awhile.

Why I never learn from this process is what boggles my mind. Seriously, it’s been repeated enough times that you’d think I could learn. Still, I sit and fume over my own hair, and lack of style and then I browse websites like this one. And then I just chop 8 inches off of my hair without batting an eyelash. And this is what I’m left with.

I used to ALWAYS have bangs no matter the hair style. I have a rather prominent (to me anyway) forehead, and so I tried to minimize it with hair. But somehow (I still can’t remember how or when exactly it happened) I grew them out, and from that day to now I have had a strong aversion to hair in my face. BUT recently I’ve also been growing an aversion to NEVER looking put together. And I figure that if I have bangs, I can at least “do” them and I’ll look somewhat put together, even if the rest of my hair is still a hot mess. The last couple of times I’ve “tried” bangs have been a disaster, so I’m hoping this will be different.

Guess I’m stuck with it for now. It’s on trial for a couple of days. It’s a little on the long side for my liking, though you can’t really have sideswept bangs short. Oh well. One day I’ll have the perfect hair….. I think.

I just have to take a minute to tell you that my hubby is an amazing organizer. I’ve mentioned before that he’s been trying to reform my less-than-organized ways, and it’s uphill work for him for sure, but he hasn’t given up on me yet. Here is a shot of the “spare” closet that was an abyss of clutter until he took in in hand. It had been kind of a ‘catch all’ for stuff that really had no place. Well…. now it all does have a place!

Let’s take a little closer look. Yes, each container is labeled and organized. Uh… I don’t think it’s alphabetical though. But seriously, considering that all my photography “stuff” is in here along with various and sundry beading supplies (ha ha ha, hobbies, sheesh) this is an amazing feat!

On the bottom of that shot you might notice some wire baskets. THESE are the infamous and dreaded inboxes…. well, mine has been anyway. Stuart’s inbox is actually a very functional tool. He has had infinite patience with me trying to “learn” and implement this inbox system. It really is pretty simple…. but my mind just balks at it for some reason. My poor inbox stays in it’s space neglected and alone till it’s overflowing with stuff that I was supposed to deal with in a timely manner, until Stuart can’t take it any longer then he helps me deal with it. I do feel bad that I haven’t put more effort into the whole thing. But I have to say that a light was slowly dawning in my brain the last time that Stuart helped me empty/organize my inbox. The puzzling pieces started to fall into place and it’s making sense!! Uh-oh!! I don’t want to join the dark side, I want to stay in my own scatter-brained disorganization…. Ha ha, no, not really! I’d actually like to have more brain power to devote to the other things in life than trying to remember that next thing I need to do for whatever it was.

I’m very glad that my Hurb has the gift of organization, and I really do believe it’s a gift, and that he’s been patient and gentle with me. I know I still have a ways to go with this whole process, but I think that I really made a huge step in the right direction thanks to the help of my man! So stay tuned to see the new and improved Rachel who will be more organized and with it…. maybe.

The other day while I was waisting time on pinterest, I came across a pin for “the world’s fastest workout.” Actually I’d seen it a few times before, but it captured my curiosity this time. Maybe it was because I was in a “need to get in shape” mood or something. Who knows. But I started following the links on the pin, and that led me to more info, and other stuff, and finally I figured out that it is something called Tabata Interval Training. Once I started looking up info on THAT it was somewhat familiar in that it really reminded me of INSANITY only much much shorter!! I like short! That, to me, is the biggest drawback for INSANITY. It’s too stinkin’ long!! And I really just can’t go “full blast” for 45 minutes 6 days a week. Honestly, I don’t think many can.

So I decided to give it a whirl. I found a Tabata MP3 that will tell you when to “go” with some music, and when to “rest.” This is important because the intervals are only 20 seconds long, and your “rest” is 10. You do 8 sets, and really have to go “all out” for those 20 second intervals. Now there’s a TON of stuff out there that says do it with weights, don’t even think about doing it with weights, do the same exercise for all 8 sets, do different exercises for all 8 sets, do any exercise you want, only do sprints… yadda yadda. So I finally came up with what looked good to me, since it’s obviously SO subjective.

I chose to do different exercises for the sets because I want to work different muscle groups, and not use weights because I’m interested in cardio and fat burning. I added some stuff to my whole workout that I want to keep, and the entire thing (which takes closer to 10 min with warm up and cool down) looks like this.
Warm up 2 min: Kettle bell swing
Tabata Training: 4 min
4 exercises repeated 2x’s
Cool down: slow jogging in place till I can breath w/o heaving! 2 min (or so)
Then I did mitotic crunches on the ball, and the “cat vomit” exercise (I know, I know) for abs.

And I was done! It really gets your heart pumping and your lungs (in my case) burning like crazy! I have exercised induced asthma, or something, but for 4 minutes, I can manage it! Still, I was breathing hard for awhile after the workout. But then it was over, and I felt fine. I certainly felt like I had worked out, but I wasn’t all gross and nasty after a 45 min work out, and I felt good, not like a truck had hit me.

Fast forward to the next day. I woke up not even the teeeeeniest bit sore, and began to think it was all a bunch of malarky! Phoh, what’s the point of a workout that you can’t FEEL working, right? Well fast forward to a little bit farther along in the day. I suddenly “notice” that my abs are a little sore. That “little soreness” gradually increased through the rest of the day till by evening I was REALLY sore! Ah, there it is… the “work” from my workout! WOW! Every bit of my abs were sore all the way to my ribs and then around my sides to my back. My legs were also sore, as well as my shoulders. Hmmmm…..

Today is 2 days after my initial work out, my abs are STILL really sore, but today is another workout day so we’ll see how that goes. Ha! At any rate I’ve decided to give this workout program a shot now, through the end of Sept at least. Can’t hurt, and it’s not like it takes up much time.

Now to the abs diet. Another thing I came across while I was looking up Tabata stuff was something called Abs Diet. I’m going to try it out. The thorn in my flesh (lol) is my flabby abs from having babies. I don’t know if this diet combined with the above workout will “fix it” but I think it’s worth a try. I’m going to be eating 6 meals/snacks through the day of the foods on the abs diet, which is every 2 hours through the day. I’m thinking that I won’t have a chance to feel hungry at that rate, ha! Anyway, I’ll keep y’all posted on how that works out. I have not, unfortunately, lost that 10 lbs that I wanted to this summer. *sigh* No, no, no. So I have to do SOMETHING drastic here before cold weather comes and all I want to eat are warm, yummy comfort foods. Ha!

So stay tuned for progress reports as I go. My stick-2-itaveness is not so keen with these kinds of things, but right now I’m highly motivated. Wish me luck!

I like the idea of the city. The uptown areas, shopping, specialty stores. I have these semi-fuzzy day dreams of strolling hand in hand with my love down city sidewalks, sipping on lattes at a sidewalk cafe’ and eating gelato. Ha ha! I probably have hollywood to blame for all of that, because my experiences in the city are a little less… uh… picturesque.

For example, my last city experience was last week when I went to visit my fam while Stu was at a conference and work was being done on our kitchen. The family part was fun, of course, but other than that I have to say that the city did not thrill me. I had these horror visions of being smashed to bits in the crazy traffic, and I even drive one of the bigger vehicles! The night sounds with the booming traffic and subsequent sirens, not to mention the cannon that was going off somewhere down the street (seriously, I still don’t know what that sound was, but it was loud enough to make my heart skip a beat) were enough to make me want to invest in earplugs. I might have, but I wanted to be able to hear the thugs and ruffians that might try to break in and kidnap me!! Plus it was HOT! That may not be the city’s fault, but all the paving and roads certainly don’t cool things off.

Now, I know that I’ve painted a rather dramatic picture there, but I’ve long known that cities and I don’t really get along. Probably being there without my Love made a big difference. Being a mommy while driving in crazy traffic can give me gray hair! And I know that the noises become common after you’ve heard them for a time. Still, I enjoy the stillness of a little more country life. Of course, finding paying clients, decent shopping options, and any kind of human interaction becomes more complicated. Perhaps someday I can find a happy medium somewhere. Close, but not TOO close, to the amenities that a city (or large town even) can provide, without the racket and chaos of the busy city streets. Maybe…. For the time though, I’m happy where I am.

I’m happy to be home with our family all together again. I’m happy that our kitchen looks SO amazing! I’m happy that our kids are getting back to a “normal” routine. I’m happy that I get to see my Love every day!

I do wish I had more clients… but I’m telling myself to be patient because I know that building a business, especially one like this, takes time. And I’m really glad that I discovered that the city has a Melting Pot!! Someday when we’re back there, I’m taking Stuart on a date!

There is a small herd of antelope that trot across the ranch from time to time.  There is one very big buck, the biggest antelope I’ve ever seen! and some does.   Occasionally I get a good up close glimpse of them when I’m walking or driving on the dirt road.  More often I see them from a little distance.  Either way I always LOVE the site of animals that are wild and free.  I got into the habit of looking for wild creatures during the times I lived in Colorado at TWR.  Anytime I drove anywhere I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of an Elk, deer, bear or the elusive Moose!  Mind you keeping my eyes open didn’t stop me from crashing my car into a deer on a very dark night!  Yikes!

Anyway, I still look for wild things, though what I’m most likely to see out here are coyotes and snakes, (ugh) and the occasional antelope.  Something I’ve noticed though is that while I get all excited when I see one, the lads aren’t all that impressed.  In fact, they seem to get a bigger kick out of seeing the plodding, fat cows and calves that graze on this property than in seeing a fleeting flash of antelope hide.  Hmmmmm….. I was thinking about this recently and started to realize that to them seeing cows and horses penned up behind feces is just as exciting as it is to me to see some wild, free animal.

The whole world is still such a wonder to them at this age.  They don’t discriminate between wild and domestic animals.  In fact, when we went to a Zoo recently they were more enamored with the spiders and snakes in a box than they were with a HUGE black bear scratching his back on a fence just feet from where we stood.  I have to slow down now and then and learn to see the world through my children’s eyes.  It’s all amazing!!  Though I like spiders quite a bit less than anything, it’s good for me to see the wonder that they see because a spider is something they know.  To be able to stand at a glass and stare at it for some time is something that thrills them.  A bear may be more awe inspiring to me, but they have a way of looking at the mundane that makes me wish I could still be as thrilled over a silly spider. (not likely, ha!)

So that’s what I’m working on doing lately.  See the amazing in the ordinary.  My kids inspire me to notice that yes, a cow is an amazing creature.  Really!  And even though I know I’ll always get a thrill from spotting the wild ones, I can still be excited about the ordinary.

I crave peace. I do. I crave a lifestyle that promotes peace and calm. I cringe at the harried, constantly moving, constantly doing, constant chaos that so frequently defines life. Some people plan so that they can be peaceful, some people drive peace away with constant frenzied planning, and some people don’t plan at all and are peaceful. Why is that? I think I’ve found myself in all of those moments. Moments of unplanned peace, peace that comes from planning, and planning myself out of peace. Weird!

I’ve been thinking about it a bit lately. I’m tired of busy stress. I really Really REALLY want to simplify my life so that I can enjoy what I do instead of be stressed out by it all.

Of course, peace and tranquility are difficult to create with a house full of small children, a home business, and the inevitable unexpected events in life. But I’ve made up my mind, and I am going to do it.

There are a few steps I’ll be taking along the journey, but I’m not going to sit and “plan” it all out to the point. I know that I will be limiting screen time for everyone. Kids get fewer “shows” and that’s been happening already with the warm summer weather, but Mom needs to be disciplined as well and just NOT turn on the computer. I will be weeding out, disposing of, and swapping out toys in the next week or two. Who needs all the clutter? Not us! I will become pro-active and think up creative things for the lads to engage in instead of just chucking them out the door to get them out of the way or keep them quiet while Ella naps. Ha! What mom would do that now, really? I will be getting my keester out of bed early enough to have a cup of coffee and a Psalm to start my day. If I can begin peaceful it’s more likely to continue longer. I will set “work hours” for myself when I get my editing and planning done and then just leave it. It’s far too easy to get sucked into the vortex of photo-playing when it’s so much fun!!! But then I find myself scrambling to keep up with other responsibilities and the stress mounts and the peace is gone. I’m going to start teaching the lads how to fold their own laundry so that I will have a couple helpers with some chores. Stick to my menu plans. Set tasks for certain days (bread baking) and just always do it on that day.

There are a lot of little steps that I can take to get it done. I know what I need to do, now I just need to do it. I think I’m ready. I’m certainly tired of life living me. I want to enjoy it, and live it, not just hang on for the ride. So here I go, off to find peace in the middle of my little, blessed, mess.

So since the secession from the slow-carb diet, I have been reworking my workouts and such. I am still determined to lose more weight, though honestly I could deal with the numbers where I am. I just want a little more wiggle room in my “skinny” clothes. The jelly-belly really gets me, but I don’t know if it will EVER go away. I need to be patient. That poor thing has been pulled all out of shape over the last 4 years with 3 babies. Ha ha! I can feel my abs under the goo though so I know that they are strong and they are working… just wish it was visible on top. *sigh*

Anyway, that was free, and I’m sure now that you’re all thoroughly disgusted you don’t even care about what I’m going to do for workouts this summer, but I’ll tell ya anyway.

I have been walking more as I had planned before. Yesterday I even jogged a little. Not much, but some. I have some songs on my iPod shuffle that just NEED to be jogged to. So that has been going well. I am still doing the kettle bell and crunches on the exercise ball. Those have been going well too! I’m working up to 75 reps on the kettle bell, but right now can usually only do 45 before taking a short break. Since we are adding in Insanity. I will be doing the kettle bell and crunches on off days. So basically I will be doing SOMETHING 6 days a week. It’ll be good, and even if the numbers on my stinkin’ scale (as if it’s the scale’s fault!) don’t change the way I want them to, I can tell by the way my clothes fit that I’m still getting into better shape.

Well, that’s the plan. I’m pretty sore after my first INSANITY day, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m glad that I don’t have to do it again today! Ha ha!

I had some of my little walnut butter cookies with a cup of decaf last night and didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it. Eating reasonably and exercising are really the way to go. Starving and binging aren’t so fun, nope!

It’s Wednesday. (last week)

So far most of my plans for this summer have failed me. Or maybe I’ve failed them… guess that’s more likely.

Tomorrow is a new day and I’m turning over a new “weaf.” Isn’t it nice that we get so many chances to “do over” in life? I’m glad God made it work out that way, cause we’d all be in such a pickle if we couldn’t try again. And the little motto that has stuck in my head ever since I read the book from the “Library on Wheels” when I was in Kindergarden or maybe 1st grade, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!” That book has always stuck in my brain. I distinctly remember the poor little mouse trying to push an Elephant up a very steep hill. Ha! I should see if I can find it. It might be a good book to read to my own rather impatient Monkeys.

So tomorrow’s good intentions are going to start with rising earlier than my kids. The boys have become SO bad about trying to beat down their door in the mornings, and let me tell you, it does not make for a happy momma first thing. I’ve been meaning to get up earlier anyway, but for whatever reason we haven’t been sleeping well in our house. Not one of us. Ella is dealing with teeth and the lads are just possessed with a spirit of sleep denial. THEY won’t go to bed till 9 sometimes 10pm and that makes for a harried evening for this Ma. THEN recently one or both of them have been waking one or more times a night with some crisis or another. From having to go poop at midnight, really??? to being “stirsty” or needing their blankets “spread out” it’s been quite the production. Whew! But regardless. I need to get up, I have no excuse, and I’m completely ashamed of myself for being so lazy.

Something else that I have been working on, but need to think up some new strategies in is curbing our lads’ behavior. *sigh* It has been nice to have Stuart home since summer break started because he has assumed a lot of the discipline responsibility with the boys, but they have surely been outdoing themselves lately. I have to admit, though some may think I’m a horrible person for saying it, but I am not enjoying our lads much right now. Yes, they say cute things and are funny every day, but the seeming constant battles seem to overshadow all. Ella is so sweet even though she is teething, although she has discovered a little “fit” of her own. But mostly it’s the boys behavior that gets me down. They just about refuse to get along for more than 5 minutes these days unless they are doing something naughty, then they’re the best of pals. Qade has developed the deplorable habit of talking back, and that’s complicating matters. Myles is showing his 2 yr old colors brightly by balking at any and all instructions the majority of the time.

I know that this is a “season” and it will pass. Qade is so much more communicative and makes the most interesting connections to current conversations and past ones or things that he’s heard and seen. I know that the wheels in his head are turning, and when I told him this morning that disobeying mommy was sin, he looked very surprised, but he knows that it’s true. Myles is only 2 and doesn’t make all of those connections, and I know the best way to get through to him is consistent discipline, but between his outright disobedience, and near constant whining, I feel like the entire day is just one huge discipline problem. Add the frequent issues with Qade in, and you have the recipe for some really wiped out parents. So pray for us and our kiddos if you think of it. There are a lot of fun things we want to do together, and so far it’s difficult for ANYONE to have fun when such bad behavior and subsequent corrections are going on the whole time.

Anyway, I just needed to vent about that a bit. I get really tired and run down by the constant battles. Need a break and a recharge!

I’ll be getting both when I go to the Chicks who Click conference later this month! I’m super excited about that! It’s fun to learn more about photography and how to become better on many levels! I’ve been browsing the pages of my camera manual, which I do from time to time because my brain doesn’t absorb much at a once. And I’m discovering new stuff all the time. It’s nice to be able to grow in what you love to do because it keeps it from becoming boring.

Oh, some good news! Our oven is back and it’s working like it never worked before! I baked some cookies yesterday and they turned out fabulous!! I purposely heated the oven to the temp on the recipe (I’ve always had to turn it lower before because it would get too hot) and I purposely left them in the oven for the exact time instead of taking them out early like I had to do before. I was SO pleased to see it working the right way, and was pleasantly shocked that I didn’t see any flames coming up from the bottom of the oven. Maybe this was a no brainer that the fames shouldn’t be coming through there, but like I said, my experience with gas stoves has been nil up till now, and that’s always what happened with this stove so I assumed it was normal. Now I’m actually looking forward to baking in that oven!! I need to give it a good cleaning first though. The blackened bread incident doesn’t make the insides look or smell good, that’s for sure!

Okay, I’m off to comfort a poor teething little lass of mine. Hope they come through soon. Poor girl!