Happy Birthday, Husband!

Happy Birthday to my love, my husband, my best friend - Eric! And on this day, I give you the many faces of Mr. Padgett. ;) Tonight, mom is taking us out to our favorite Hibachi grill, Sakura, for dinner! Yum! His gift from me was his ring finger tattoo and all of us (me, mom & the girls) gave him a new Leatherman since he caused some damage to his making the bullet earrings.

Happy 39th Birthday! 

So Close To A Goal

As you all know...my little family has been surviving on our Scentsy Family Business income. It's not been easy and hopefully today things will change (Eric has an interview for a job he'd be perfect for and has experience in - prayers PLEASE!); HOWEVER, until that time comes...we're still relying on Scentsy.

We are $40 away from our sales goal this month. I know that doesn't sound like much, but when you pay the bills and buy your food solely on something so simple, it makes a huge difference. With that being said, if anyone is in need of a birthday gift, Valentine's Day gift or a new gorgeous piece of home decor...I would ask that you consider Scentsy! We have so many beautiful pieces!

With the purchase of just 1 of these gorgeous Lampshade warmers, we'd meet our goal for January!

You can also snag one of your "old" favorites that have gone away, but are back for the month of January only!

Also, I am booking catalog parties for February! Grace Adele has a new catalog debuting February 1st (I love so many of the new items!!) and Scentsy always has great items! You don't have to live nearby to host a party! Fellow blogger, Jenn, held a party in NY once! I will send you catalogs and some scent testers, with a pre-paid envelope to mail it all back to me and all you have to do is share it with your friends/family. They can even order online if they don't live close to you! Cool, huh? A mere $150 order will earn you FREE and HALF-PRICE items! Good deal, don't ya think? Anyone interested? Email me at erinmpadgett@gmail.com!

And if you're looking for a home business venture - Scentsy and Grace Adele are offering FREE shipping on your starter kit thru January 31st, plus a special offer to earn a Special Kit for FREE! (I had to pay for that special kit when I earned it!)

The Pain Starts

Well, you are hearing it for what I'm sure will not be the last time...I HURT. Like can't raise my arms above my head (or chest - sad but true) and can feel all the muscles I used for squats and lunges. OW.

It's a good hurt though. I had my first session with my personal trainer today. All I gotta say is - Abby rocks! Seriously. I have never loved working out more than I did for the 60 minutes I spent with Abby tonight. She definitely pushed me and it felt awesome to find out that I do my squats correctly (only coaching I've ever had was the dvd workouts I do)! I don't know all the names for the exercises that I did during my session, but it felt good to push through it. We definitely have some work to do in order to strengthen my bad leg (the one I broke this past summer), but I have faith that it will happen in time.

I am surprisingly looking forward to my workout tomorrow, even though I know it's gonna be tough.

All I can say is that if you've ever considered going to a personal trainer...DO IT. I'll admit I couldn't afford it without it having been given to me as a Christmas gift. Good news - tax time is approaching, so instead of spending the money on something frivolous, why not spend it on something to further your health?!? Find someone who's fairly new to the Personal Training business, but that has a strong background in it. Abby's college experience paired with the fact that I trusted her after discussing my needs with her (and the fact that I have known her family almost my entire life) and seeing everyone rave about her fitness classes that started a few months back...it really is a win-win!

And on another note...I am down 4.2 pounds from my starting point! Woohoo! I know I have a long way to go, but feel like I'm on my way to creating some good habits.

Photo a Day: Week 4

Another week has come and gone...and it has felt like an eternity! This winter weather has got to go!!

found these gems in Eric's boxes - they were promptly sold on our local FB Sales page

day 1 of my fitness journey

serving up a healthy breakfast of eggs

printing out Abby's class schedule so I can try out a few

pulled out a different dvd for my workout

kettlebell - working on that since I know I will be doing it with my trainer soon

FRIGID blustery day - Toby & I curled up in front of the heater :)

Weekly Workouts: Link Up

I'm joining 2 of my blogger buddies (Jenn & Nikki) and joining their fairly new weekly link up - This Week in Workouts!



This past week I got serious and started buckling down on my eating and exercise habits...here's how the workouts went:

Sunday, Jan. 19 - rest
Monday, Jan. 20 - walked 2 miles with Leslie Sansone dvd
Tuesday, Jan. 21 - kettlebell workout with dvd
Wednesday, Jan. 22 - walked 2 miles with Leslie Sansone dvd
Thursday, Jan. 23 - completed Slim in 6 Start it Up dvd workout
Friday, Jan. 24 - kettlebell workout with dvd
Saturday, Jan. 25 - walked 3.1 miles on the treadmill

Hope you'll log your workouts and link up next week!

My 1st Official 5K

I did it! I completed my first official 5k (at home) and didn't die! hahaha When you haven't "walked" for exercise in 3 months...jumping right on the treadmill and knocking out 3.1 miles isn't as easy as you would think. :p

At the beginning of the month, I saw that Katie was hosting her 2nd Annual Virtual 5K. I told myself I would sign up for it, but if I didn't complete it...no big deal. The day loomed closer and as I started my #onedayatatime journey, I just couldn't let myself not do it! So, I suited up and dusted off the treadmill (like you wouldn't believe how much dust was on that thing!) and plugged away at the 3.1 miles. I didn't finish it nearly as fast as I used to be able to do, but I call it at a win since my ankle never felt sturdy on the treadmill until now, since I broke my leg.

If you're looking for fitness inspiration - Katie's blog is a great one to read! I've followed her pretty much the entire time I've blogged.

Getting Fit

Today I did something that I NEVER imagined I would have the opportunity to do. I hoped for an opportunity to do it about a year and a half ago when I was on a hard core track of healthy eating and strict exercise routine...but never thought I'd be able to afford it.

So what did I do? I met with a personal trainer! 

For real.

It was just our initial meeting to sign paperwork (waivers and what not) and set goals. My awesome mom bought me a 6 session package with Abby (a girl I've known most of her life thanks to being a classmate to her sister) of Be YOU Fitness, plus I was at an event back in November and Abby had one of the booths and gave me a pass for a Free Personal Session AND a Free Class Session. YAY!

I am going to meet with her once a week for the next 7 weeks (I wanted to help keep myself accountable for a longer period of time rather than doubling up sessions) and try to fit a few of her classes in as well. I will also be keeping up with my at-home workouts (with the good ol' dvds - I have quite the collection). I am journaling my food/drink intake so that she can review it and give me some pointers on better fuel for my body. She is also having my text her each day to let her know what exercise routine I've done. Her word of the day - ACCOUNTABILITY. Love it! :)

As I type this, I am finishing up Day 3 of my #onedayatatime journey! I've been on this weight roller coaster my entire life. No joke. By third grade I was the "fat girl" of my class and it continued all the way through college into my adult life. When I met Eric, I was at my lowest point that I can remember - around 250 pounds. By the time we got married, I had let the pounds creep back on and was squishing into my wedding gown at 275-280 pounds. And now, after a summer of recovering from a broken leg and blood clots, as well as continuing my downward trend of activity and bad food choices (ugh - I need a job so I can get out of the house!)...I am 2 pounds shy of my highest weight ever...307 pounds. 

So, I am back at it. Eric is working at eating better, which in turn is helping me stay on track. The true challenge will be this weekend when we have the girls for the first time during my healthy living journey. I struggle to eat properly when they are here because a) we normally keep junk food around for them to snack on (not this time!) and b) they are picky and won't eat a veggie to save their lives! They do like to be active and I wish we weren't having this snowy/icy weather because they would go walk outside with me, but since we can't do that and we don't have much space in the house, activity levels stay pretty low key. All in all, it's a learning curve...for all of us.

That is actually one of the first things I found from being part of the blogger world - support. So many of you are my "real life" friends that have counted calories along with me and logged workouts via text messaging! And then there are others of you (that I would love to one day meet) that inspire me with your own weight loss journeys and have reached out to offer support. I appreciate ALL of you!

Pinterest Recipe WIN

I have to admit that most of the recipes I've tried from Pinterest have turned out really well. Tonight, we tried another new recipe and it will definitely remain a staple in our home!

I've been slacking far too long on my healthy lifestyle choices - both diet and exercise. After stepping on the scales this morning and seeing that I am almost 2 pounds shy of my highest weight ever...drastic measures have to be taken! I know it's a struggle to eat right and maintain an active lifestyle, but I'm going to focus on it one day at a time. Day 1 went very well. And I've got measures in place to make Day 2 go well tomorrow! #babysteps

Healthy Peach Frozen Yogurt

This recipe comes out to approximately 125 calories per serving depending on the brands of ingredients that you use. I plugged it into MFP (My Fitness Pal) to figure out the servings. To be honest, the recipe says it makes 4 servings, but it is 4 HUGE servings, so if you made plans for it to be more servings, you could lower the calorie amount. I think next time I make it, I will go ahead and scoop it into separate little bowls to put in the freezer (I already have small tupperware like containers) and then I won't have to think about portion size when I am ready to eat!

This recipe tastes like apricot yogurt (which was the first yogurt I ever tried and liked while on vacation in Australia/New Zealand - and which you cannot find in my little part of the world)....yummmmmm!

Photo a Day: Week 3

Week 3 was slightly easier on the photo opportunities...we didn't quarantine ourselves at home as much!

sorry for the blurry pic - didn't look that bad on my phone! Emma's Frozen dolls all lined up in front of the tv

an apple pie for my love

yummy blackened shrimp alfredo

the start of more snow...ugh

one of my all time favorite foods - steamed broccoli!

hubby and I organized/purged stuff in our storage room

in the process of cleaning up, mom found these dishes they got as wedding presents almost 33 years ago! ha we have been selling lots of stuff on FB groups

The Lion Roars

Some of you may not know this about me....but I really love tattoos! ha ;)

I have one tattoo...been thinking about a second and third one for awhile now. When we got married, Eric talked about getting a "ring" tattoo or something to symbolize the ring for times when he couldn't wear his wedding ring. He has had jobs in the past where he has not been allowed to wear any type of jewelry, including a wedding ring or watch. I too love this idea and hope to get one in the near future, but since Eric's birthday is at the end of the month, he got his today!

His cousin knew someone who did tattoos locally (someone we could trust and had seen their work), so we booked an appointment and as of today...Eric is now a member of the tattoo club!

He finally decided on a lion's head (I'm a Leo) on his ring finger so it would be seen instead of something hidden by his actual ring. I think it turned out really cool!

Now maybe I'll get my ring finger tattoo later this year for my birthday! ha

Photo A Day: Week 2

I try so hard...and yet, I am still behind. ha I guess not too much, but trying to get back into the blogging groove is hard! I feel like life is kind of at a stand still recently (we still don't have resolution to the big "thing" I promised to share about) and still looking for a job!

So here's a peek at the second week of 2014:

snow designs by my husband

satin finish Julep nail polish

fighting the sickies

Jordan was excited about the chillow for her birthday! ha

working on business & personal taxes

Toby doing what he does best - snuggling in for a nap!

took the girls shopping to spend some of the money they earned working over holiday break

Photo A Day: Week 1

Howdy folks!

I've been a bit under the weather...nothing like a cold to start off the new year!? So much for starting 2014 off better (medically). Ugh.

As I mentioned last week, one of my goals this year is to take a picture each day this year to document life as it happens.

bye bye Christmas decorations...so sad!

we didn't get much snow, but it was COLD (-30 windchill)

we started our 52 Week Savings jar

Saturday night we stayed in and had a few drinks - love using my mom's Ninja for daiquiris!

Christmas

Okay, here is the awaited Christmas post! ha (I know, I know...probably not all that awaited, but I don't want to leave it out in the scheme of major events going on.)

We had a wonderful Christmas with lots of family time! Santa was BEYOND good to us! I won't show everything, but we are blessed to have gotten some new goodies.

On Christmas Eve, we spent time with Eric's family. It is extremely rare that the whole crew is together at one time (due to Eric's sister's boyfriend's kids not always being on the same schedule as everyone else), so I used my fancy DSLR to capture a picture of the group. Wow, wasn't that a mouthful!?! lmao And you can also tell how much the guys "love" to smile!?

The Padgett Family

Then we spent Christmas morning taking it easy at home while the girls spent the morning at their mom's house. We picked them up mid-afternoon and came back for food and presents with mom and my sister.

Jordan was pretty excited about EVERY gift

one of my favorite gifts (came from my sis) - 2 of our wedding pics matted with the burlap and lace we used to decorate the ceremony arbor - now we're just waiting on frames!

this is her "fake" surprise look - she knew what she was getting, we're just shocked she waited until Christmas to open it! ha

I had to include this pic of Emma because it matched her dad's shirt AND she is wearing those crazy panda onesie pajamas

and last, but not least - momma got a gift cert to one of our families fave spots - yummy fried chicken!

52 Week Money Challenge

I had seen this ingenious challenge quite a few times over the past year and although I know it may become a struggle to complete it (since my husband & I are both still looking for work), we can all use help saving money!

I just went online, found this pretty chart all ready to go, printed it, cleaned the change out of my wallet and ended up being able to put $3 in our jar ($1 for this week and $2 for next week). I can't be the only one who hates change in my wallet?? ha

Here's to saving money and being able to help our family! ;)

Are YOU saving money this year??

Happy 2014!

Hello friends!

I can't believe it's January 1, 2014. December flew by at lightning speed...and here we are in a new year. I hope to get some "catch up" posts done this week and then...and then...actually keep up with posts! ha I feel like I've done a poor job at that this past year.

The other year I did a challenge of a photo a day for a year, so I thought I might try my hand at that again. Somedays it will feel like a task to come up with something "interesting" to capture the memory of the day, but there are so many times that I get lazy and don't snap a picture, later wishing I had. Now I have a challenge to force me to do that again! ;)

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday. We celebrated the New Year by staying home and having a few drinks while watching the NYE Dick Clark special. I am dealing with a somewhat obscure medical thing (and in order not to gross anyone out, I will NOT be sharing - hahaha - trust me on this!), so I've been trying to take it easy and will hopefully be back to regularly scheduled life soon! 2013 was sooooo not my year, medically speaking.

Hoping for good things this year...for us AND for you! :)