A few cute pictures from this weekend

John and our nephew Max


Future dad in training!

My brother in law Mann and my nephew Quinn



Happy Birthday Samantha


Shoffner Family


Cute boys!



Quinn fixing my hair


Quinn helping mommy blow out her birthday candles!


I just LOVE those little guys! They're so much fun! We're so glad they were able to come visit from Boston this weekend for my step sister Samantha's 40th birthday! Have a safe trip home guys!

A barrel of laughs and a bucket of tears

This movie was a real heart warmer! It'll make you laugh, cry, and apreciate your sources of joy in this life. Two enthusiastic thumbs up! Rent it tonight!

What the heck is this?

I'm just learning so much these days. This morning, I went to the gym for one of my daily classes that I take at the Y. I was a few minutes late for the class and I walked in to find everyone warming up on these contraptions! I found my friend Amber in the back row who kindly set up my contraption for me right next to hers.

We proceeded to do our whole aerobics class on top of these workout props call BOSU balls. Has anyone used these in their workouts before? They really work different muscles in your legs because you're constantly trying to keep your balance and not fall off as demonstrated below.



This must be the 2008 version of step aerobics!

I feel like I'm 23 again!

I just joined the gym this week and I had to take the dreaded fitness assessment to determine how OUT OF SHAPE I am before I start any type of work out routine. I haven't done any kind of formal exercise in a gym for like three years so I've been trying to prepare myself for the TERRIBLE results I would receive! This assessment measures your weight, body fat percentage, strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. Then after all that, you receive your "body age". After taking my assessment, I realized I'm not quite as out of shape as I thought. I LOVE it when that happens! I'm 26 but my body age is only 23! There are a few things that I'd like to work on and the trainer said that I can be 18 again if I do! I'm so motivated!!!

Want to find out your body age? Sign up at your local YMCA.



After you sign up, here's a few classes I'd recommend that I've done this week.

Zumba

Latin dance inspired workout for all ages and sizes


Body Pump

Weight training classes


Body Attack

Heart attack in a class! 1 hour of non stop cardio aerobics

Thanks goes out to Amber and Ashley, my work out buddies who go with me to the gym every day and help me stay motivated. We're going to look SO HOT in our bathing suits this summer!

Boycott list

I endorse a lot of products, movies, etc on my blog but today I feel the need to add a couple of companies to my boycott list for everyone to see. Here goes...

Wal-Mart Super Center

I RARELY ever go to Wal-Mart anymore but I found an old gift card that we had received for Christmas so I decided to go get some odds and ends that we needed. When I got to the check out line, the cashier couldn't get my gift card to work so she sends me over to the service desk line which was A MILE LONG. When I finally got to the desk, the lady behind the desk couldn't figure out how to make it work, she calls her manager to come. The manager couldn't figure it out. 42 EXCRUCIATING minutes later, they finally found a loop hole and I was on my way. I think I'd rather take a beating than endure that total waste of time again!

Tinseltown Theaters


A few weeks back, I went to see a movie that I had bought my tickets for online. When I went to redeem my tickets at the kiosk, I received an error message saying that I was unable to be located in the system. I proceeded to go to the back of the ticket line (What I was trying to avoid by buying my tickets online in the first place!). When I got to the counter, I gave the lady my confirmation number for the tickets. She couldn't find it so she calls her manager. Five minutes later, her manager comes down and couldn't figure it out either. So he tells me he's going to go upstairs to call Fandango. MEANWHILE, my movie has already started! They acted like losing the 10 dollars it cost for my ticket was going to COMPLETELY break them! So I just told them to charge my card AGAIN! They jumped at the chance to do that! I won't be going to that theater EVER AGAIN! It's all AMC for me!

So here's two new entries on my boycott list. Have anything else to add? Have you experienced POOR customer service anywhere that we should all know about?

A day in the life of the unemployed

Since beginning what I like to call my "two month vacation", It's taken me a little time to get adjusted to all this new free time I have. Being home during the middle of the day on a week day has totally thrown me off! The first four to five hours of my day are spent on the computer or on the phone searching for my new career. After I've had all I can take of that process, the fun begins! Besides going to the beach with some of my other unemployed friends and their kids, I meet my old work friends for lunch. When they go back to work, I do other things like watch my friends children when they have to go places and I run John's errands for him! There's so much you can accomplish in a day when you don't have to go to work! My house has never been cleaner! My next item on the agenda is to go join the gym. Since I have more time on my hands now, I might as well get into better shape! Here's some pictures to help illustrate a day in the life of this unemployed person.

Lunch with the girls from work


Afternoon babysitting G-Man. What a fun little man!






I feel like a stay-at-home mom with no baby! I need to find a job!

"Pregnant man gives birth... that's a fact."

John and I were in the store the other day and as we were waiting in the checkout line, I looked over, and much to my surprise and dismay, John was TOTALLY engrossed in the National Enquirer! I couldn't let this one go. As the lines from the CLASSIC movie So I Married An Axe Murderer (with Mike Myers) ran through my mind, I said to John
" That's not a real paper you know. A real paper contains facts."

To that he replied

"This paper contains facts! Look here... Pregnant man gives birth... that's a fact!"

CLASSIC!

Does it get any better than this?

Beautiful Beach Days!


This week, I went to the beach with Amber and Ashley and their adorable babies...


Grayson


Amber and Grayson


And Blaine (Who was a little tuckered out from all those Arby's curly fries we gave him right before we came to the beach!)



Me and Ashley- A little wind blown!



I also had ANOTHER birthday party with some of our friends at one of my favorite places in the world... Cheesecake Factory! It was so much fun and DELICIOUS as always. I had the chocolate tuxedo cheesecake this time. It was a real winner! Two thumbs up!




April and Dave


Jessica and Scott


Kristin and Jeff


Chocolate tuxedo cheesecake... it DEFINITELY doesn't get any better than this!

A few remedies for a hard week...

Girls Night Out


It's amazing how a night out with the girls will rejuvenate you!
(L-R: Jessica, me, Daisy, Kristin)

Chocolate Birthday Cake


There's nothing better than a yellow birthday cake with chocolate frosting (and 26 candles on it)

A Birthday Party


Especially the early ones! My birthday isn't actually til June 7.

Getting cute stuff for your kitchen



Spending time with the ones you love

Me and my hubby


My cousin Kristin and Granny


Mom



My cousin Rob looking very "Abercrombie & Fitch"


Rob and his mom (my Aunt Sandra)


An Island Getaway (Hopefully coming soon!)


This is Aruba in case you were wondering. A place I definitely wouldn't mind going back to!