A few more pics from this weekend....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Weekend drama,hormonal mood swings,baseball,park fun, and weight update in that order...

Friday night we were supposed to go out to dinner with Trent's coworkers, but that all changed after Trent gave me word as I was about to get ready about his discussion with the detailer. The word is " ......deployment up to one year which consist of combat training and 7 months boots on the ground in Afghanistan." I immediately lost my appetite and no longer was in the mood to do anything. Truthfully I cried and to make matters worse it was not a good day for that kind of news because of the onset of my PMDD symptoms. I could handle 6,7,even 8 months of separation, but a whole damn year...that's just asking a frickin' little too much from me!!! LOL Hopefully my mood will improve in two weeks....because I can guarantee life with me during the next two weeks will be a BiATCH! =) I'll try my very best to push all that worrying to the side and maintain my focus on my health, fitness, and exercise routine.

Frankly I think Trent got himself in this situation because of a discussion he had with his specialty leader last summer and because he doesn't tell people that are trying to groom him to be this asset to the Navy that he has never planned on staying in longer than his obligated 21 years.
Ahhh....I can taste the BITTERNESS in my mouth! LOL I guess the one good thing to come out of this deployment is that I get to go home finally after 15 yrs.

Anyways, Noah's baseball season started on Saturday. His team lost their first game =( , but they played well. Noah is a really good first baseman....he did get upset about a call the umpire made while he was at bat. Gabriel got to hang out and play with a few of his pals while we were at the park. Lesley and her friends found a hedgehog while they were taking snapshots by the woods. He looks a little sickly, but it could just be that he was afraid of us. He curled up into a tight little ball and stuck out his little quills.



On the topic of fitness. Here is my current weigh in pic below.

My goal was to weigh in at 121 lbs. this week, but I just missed it. Below are pics of Gabe expressing excitement over eating brisket, rice, and beans. My old middle school friend Larry (who is stationed here) and his wife cooked it.....

YUMMY......

Wordless Wednesday....Girl's night out

I'm bored....

After eight weeks I'm beginning to get bored with my gym routine plus it's time to change it up anyway. Some boredom busters I've tried are updating my ipod playlists, downloading 30 Rock shows and Bill Maher podcasts to my ipod, and lifting heavier weights so that my muscles continue to be challenged. They've helped, but basically I'm getting bored with my cardio routine. I do no less than 50 mins. to 90 mins. of cardio depending on the time and energy I have. I may start cross training and incorporating some of the boxing combination routines I used to do. I'm also taking my workouts outside now that the weather is better.

That's just what I did last night after being kicked out of the gym after 40 mins. of cardio. Turns out the gym closed early at 8 pm last night due to Easter Monday. Who knew??? So feeling like I hadn't worked out enough I ran 3.5 miles around the base. I am so happy that I was able to run the entire distance without my right knee acting up. You would think that my torn calf muscle injury from 2004 would give me problems still, but nope it never does. It's always my right knee that kills me. I'm hoping I can get back to running 4 to 5 miles like I use to when we lived on Randolph AFB. We'll see.....if I've learned anything it's not to rush and do too much. It's all about incorporating healthy lifestyle changes that become a natural way of life. It's also about balance and not beating yourself up when you get off track either.

Mi Familia....

These are pics I hacked off my BIL myspace page.;P I have to say how dare they take a family pic without me!!! LOL Looks like they had fun this weekend in Texas.Introducing my crazy family....
L to R: Russell, Belinda, Rik, Jennifer and my parents sitting.

Stephanie-ology

I shamelessly swiped this off of Marsha's blog. :D This will just give ya a little glimpse of moi.

Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name followed by "ology"

FOOD-OLOGY

What is your favorite salad dressing?
Honey mustard

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Buca di Beppo or Carrabbas or Mi Tierra...I can't pick just one! lol

What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it?
Healthy Mexican food ...lots of grilled meats with colorful veggies...YUM

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Little cheese, fresh basil, onions, bellpeppers, broccoli, and grilled chicken

What do you like to put on your toast?
I eat it dry or slab some peanut butter drizzled with honey sprinked with cinnamon.

TECHNOLOGY

How many televisions are in your house?
We have four, but only use one to watch shows on. The others are used for video games or DVD movies.

What color cell phone do you have?
Silver

What does the first text message in your in box say and who sent it?
It says " I love u mommy" it's from Lesley. BTW I hardly receive text messages unless it's from her.:P

Who was the last person to call you?
My mom.

BIOLOGY

Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right. Trent and I both are, but Lesley and Noah are leftys. Gabe seems to be a righty thus far.

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Yes, my tonsils, adenoids, and a full length sewing needle they found in my right foot two years ago. I do not know how or when the needle got there...... just the pain it caused while boxing.

What is the last heavy item you lifted?
The weights I lifted at the gym on Friday.

RANDOM-OLOGY

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
No.....but I try my very best to live each day as if it were my last.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I wouldn't change a thing...I like my name. Thanks mom ;D

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Nope because it would jack up my intestines and I'd probably shit FIRE! LOL $1000 isn't worth it.

DUMB-OLOGY

How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
I think three.

When is the last time you had a run in with the cops?
Probably back in 2004 when we lived on Miramar MCAS in base housing and our alcoholic racist neighbor called my husband a racial slur and said lots of hateful things to a group of kids in our cul-de-sac

Last person you talked to in person:
Noah.....

Favorite Month(s)?
September thru December.......I totally heart the fall.

CURRENT-OLOGY

Missing someone?
My family back home

Mood?
Tired and exhausted. I think I'm coming down with something.

What are you listening to?
The wind howling outside my living room windows

Watching?
Nothing, but this computer screen.

Worrying about?
My hubby having to deploy to Afghanistan......everytime I think about it I feel this need to gasp for air :( On a funnier note though......okay I'll just say it ....I also feel this big need to go out and buy a vibrator.LOL I think I've said a little too much there!!!!

RANDOM-OLOGY

Last movie you saw
Madea Goes To Jail with Trent on Friday.

Do you smile often?
YES!!! What annoys me most is that I also have a nervous smile. Which means sometimes I'm smilin' when it's not the most appropriate thing to do.

Do you always answer your phone?
No. sometimes I'm too busy with school or truthfully I'm feelin' anti-social !! I'm not that good about calling people either...unless you're my mom.

It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
If I'm getting a text message at four in the morning over here...it would probably be from some friend who's had way too much to drink.

If you could change your eye color what would it be?
I've always wanted my daddy's green eyes......but I like my brown eyes too.

Do you own a digital camera?
Yes

Have you ever had a pet fish?
Growing up I don't recall having a pet fish. My kids have had several...which have all died.

Favorite Christmas song
Let It Snow- sung by Michael Buble and O' Holy Night

What’s on your wish list for your birthday
I'll be wishing that Trent doesn't deploy and for fun a trip to England or Ireland

Can you do pushups?
Yes.

Can you do a chin up?
A couple.

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
It make me nervously excited. LOL

Ever been in a car wreck?
Yes, back in 1992 with my friends Carlos Isarras & Alfred Gonzales.

What is the last song to make you cry?
It wasn't a song, but the music at the end of the movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Plans tonight?
I'm about to walk upstairs carry Gabe out of my bed (since he fell asleep there while listening to me read 5 books) Then I'm going to wake Trent up so we can talk and snuggle and......;D fall asleep. LOL

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
Yes more than once.

Name three things you bought yesterday.
Just bottled water

Have you ever been given roses?
Yes

Do you have an accent?
No.

Current hate right now?
My husbands specialty leader

Met someone who changed your life?
Yes....my husband.

What were you doing at 12 AM last night?
In bed lying in Trent's arms drifting off to sleep. Feeling Safe and Secure!:D

Cascarones....

Growing up making cascarones was an Easter tradition in my family. I can still vividly remember making them with my siblings. Over the course of many weeks my mom would crack just the top part off of the shell when cooking with eggs. She'd rinse and save these eggshells until we had dozens of them. About a week before Easter she'd round us all up and we'd paint and decorate the eggshells. After they dried we'd fill them up with confetti then seal the tops with squared tissue paper. The cascarones were cracked on our heads at Easter. It was all about sneaking up on someone and cracking that confetti filled egg on their head. LOL What wasn't too fun is when my cousins would fill theirs up with gitter or sand. The glitter sometimes took weeks to wash off...it was a big pain in the ass.


Every Easter was spent at my late uncle Tony's ranch just outside San Antonio. We had a major Easter egg hunt, sack races, egg toss competions, wheel barrow races, volleyball games, and my dad's lemon roll game. There was always lots of food and fun to be had by everyone. AHHH those were some good times. As of today I still try to keep the tradition going with my kids even if others are unaccustomed to the whole cascarone idea.

The boys dyeing their eggs:

Just two of the four dozen we made....ignore the messy table! : D
Let the fun begin...Easter 2009

Gabe running from Dad

Smashing daddy's head....

Happy Easter

Happy Easter family and friends. We started our day off with Mass, ate lunch a la Applebees, then came home to crack our cascarones. Which are confetti filled eggs we made earlier this week. Each of the kids got an Easter basket or small gift. Gabriel was so excited to get his basket. As a matter of fact, he just informed me that the Easter Bunny bought his The Tale of Despereaux movie at the Disney Store. {Secretly.... I can't wait for him to get older and read the book}

Well before I post pics I wanted to include a hymn that we sang at Mass today. It really struck me as I sang it. You see the thought of Trent having to deploy to Afghanistan in January has started to weigh heavily on my mind and heart. As I begin to frequently question myself with "How am I going to make it through?" or the unimaginable "What if something happens to him...how could I go on...?" You know the normal worrying every military wife has only that as the reality of it all begins to set in for me at the possibility of this deployment happening I feel as if my gut has been punched . Lately I have the feeling of panic...like oh no this is really going to happen. Well the point of all this is that as I sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives today I had an overwhelming feeling of calmness come over me. In singing that hymn I knew that if I left it all in God's hands everything would be okay.

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

(Text: Samuel Medley, Tune: Duke Street)

1. I know that my Redeemer lives;

What joy the blest assurance gives!

He lives, he lives, who once was dead;

He lives my everlasting Head!

2. He lives, to bless me with his love;

He lives, to plead for me above;

He lives, my hungry soul to feed;

He lives, to help in time of need.

3. He lives, and grants me daily breath;

He lives, and I shall conquer death;

He lives, my mansion to prepare;

He lives, to bring me safely there.

4. He lives, all glory to his name;

He lives, my Savior, still the same;

What joy the blest assurance gives;

I know that my Redeemer lives!

Time just flies by....

Yep, it's been a while since I last posted. In focusing on my health and fitness I've come to neglect this blog of mine. Now to recap the past month....I've got quite a bit to share. First of all I will show the progress I've made so far with my weight.

Feb. 11th

Now- March 26th I have to say I have consistently weighed between 125-124 lbs. this week until Sunday when I weighed in at 127 lbs. I'm hoping that the increase in weight is due to the fact that I will start my period in a few days and is just water weight. Healthwise I feel better and I am doing a good job at using my PMDD symptom tracker. I say in a month or two I should be able to effectively use the tracker to see any patterns I have. I have already begun to see a pattern in the lack of energy and increase in appetite during the two weeks of the month that my PMDD kicks in. I was also able to prepare myself for the mood swings. I have made the decision to try alternative methods to control my PMDD. This entails using natural remedies, excercise, extra rest, and a better diet. I take Estroven (Soy & Black Cohosh), Evening Primrose, calcium, multivitamins (that include zinc, magnesium, B-12, & B-6), and I include flax seed & eat foods rich in omega 3's. During the two weeks that my PMDD is in effect I stay away from caffeine. Excercise is effective in increasing serotonin levels and relieving daily stress so I work out 5 times a week. One hour or more is dedicated to cardio and the rest of the time I lift weights.

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Homeschooling has been coming along okay. We had to get back into the swing of it after Noah was pulled out. We have our schedule and after tweaking it a couple times it seems to be working for us. This semester we are learning about the human body, The Middle Ages, the basics math, reading, language arts. He is also taking online Spanish, Music, and Art courses which he loves. For socialization he is active in Boy scouts and he starts playing baseball this week through the MWR. He also plays with friends from school.

Working on some math:

Art/Drawing:

Learning about construction:

Gabriel is also learning new things. He has his own preschool program, but I haven't yet pushed him to do any "schoolish" learning. Right now it's all about making learning fun for him and if he feels like using his workbooks...YAY..if not it's no big deal. He's just three anyways.

Here he made pumpkins using playdoh and his cookie cutters. I might teach him about making patterns using these tools. He won't even know he's doing something schoolish, but it'll teach him to recognize patterns. Like red pumpkin, yellow pumpkin, blue pumpkin, red pumpkin, yellow pumpkin, blue pumpkin, etc...Letter and number recognition using cheerios during breakfast.
He wanted to use his workbook here. He is coloring different shapes.
He called me over to show me he found a letter Y in his Cheetos bag. LOL
More coloring
Using his fine motor skills and trying to learn how to tie shoes. He's still too young....but he's trying.
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The weather is getting warm so we have been enjoying the parks here. These are pics from Family Fitness Day at Carney Park.

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We got to see AC Milan play against Napoli last weekend. It was an awesome game and the fans were CRAZY. We actually got to see David Beckham and Ronaldino play in this game. Our seats were great and it was one of the most exciting games I've ever been to. When I say that the fans are crazy I mean like they are fanatics......just look at the fire they started in the stands. Believe me that didn't cause anyone in that section to leave. They just stayed put and continue cheering like nothing....it didn't even phase them one bit.

David Beckham is pictured below:

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Lastly, Noah crossed over and earned his Arrow of Light award. He and Trent spent the weekend at Carney Park, Lesley was away on a retreat in Capua, and my littlest guy and I had the whole house to ourselves for two days. We rented DVD's and enjoyed ourselves.

You Are An ESFJ

The Caregiver You are sympathetic and caring, putting friends and family first. A creature of habit, you prefer routines and have trouble with change. You love being in groups - whether you're helping people or working on a project. You are good at listening, laughing, and bringing out the best in people. In love, you value harmony and mutual understanding. You will apologize or give someone the benefit of the doubt, if it means getting over a fight sooner. At work, you are good at building relationships and connecting with people. You would make a great nurse, social worker, or teacher. How you see yourself: Organized, dependable, co-operative When other people don't get you, they see you as: Opinionated, critical, and know-it-all

What's Your Personality Type?