3rd Grade Spelling Bee

Jayden competed in the 3rd grade Spelling Bee today.  They chose the top 3 spellers in each class, so there were 12 spellers.  He worked really hard all week practicing spelling words!  All the kids did really well, so it lasted over an hour!  Jayden ended up getting 2nd place!  He was very excited! 

Before the Spelling Bee started.  He's nervous

 

Waiting his turn

 

Down to the final three!

 

 Two left...

They gave him a cool trophy and some candy.  Just in case you wanted to know, the word he got out on was 'waste'.  The judges had to start giving trickier words that have multiple spellings and Jayden forgot to ask for a sentence so he spelled the other 'waist'. 

We are so proud of him!  Good job Jayden!

Success!!

My main New Year's Resolution this year was to get in shape & lose weight.  I am now ready to share my success this far.  I have lost 14 pounds!  I have lost 1 pound every week I have been actively trying!  It has been super hard and slower than I thought it would be.  But, I am still working at it!  I haven't quit!  My goal is to run in a 5k this year.  This is a HUGE goal for me.  I have never been a runner.  Ever.  I have always hated running.  I am now, this month, to the point that I don't dread my workouts.  That feels great!  I don't enjoy it at all, but I just do it!  I was surprised how long it has taken me to increase my running.  I am finally to the point that I am running more than I am walking.  I can't imagine moving up again.  Johnathan keeps telling me we are all different and it just takes longer for some people.

I also didn't expect so many ups and downs!  For the first 4 months I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride.  I was super motivated one minute, feeling like I could run a 5k right then, and 5 minutes later I was ready to quit (and I'm not exaggerating AT ALL!).  I think I'm finally over the worst of it.  It definitely helps that I've lost a good chunk of weight and can feel the success!

I have learned a lot this year about what to do and what not to do.  I know I should not buy Gusher's, Swedish fish, or Butterfingers when they are on sale because I have no self control when they are in my house.  I do need to have healthy snacks around.  I know I cannot make an excuse for why I shouldn't exercise on my exercise day because I will just keep finding excuses. 

I do need to thank Johnathan for his help.  He really sacrifices by taking all the extra treats in our house to work so they wont tempt me.  I know it's hard to be a supportive spouse, but someone's got to do it!  Seriously though, does anyone else have a spouse that doesn't have to worry about what they eat?  Johnathan can eat WHATEVER he wants and he stays the same weight, which is super skinny.  He doesn't have to run every week and can pick up right where he left off 3 months ago, running super fast for what seems like forever.  It sort of makes me mad.  He knows this too.  But, I still love him :)

I mostly wrote this post so I could be accountable to someone.  I know this summer is going to be hard on me.  We have a lot of fun activities planned, like camping and traveling.  I need to keep going!  I still want to lose 15-20 more pounds.  I am almost halfway there!  I would also appreciate some positive feedback or tips :)

Pinterest

About a month ago I jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon.  I had been avoiding it because everyone said it is so addictive.  I didn't need something else to distract me!  I finally gave in and I love it!  And, it hasn't been a huge time waste for me either!  In the last couple weeks I have actually been using/making those things I've found on Pinterest.  I'm super excited about them, so I'll share them on here!

I've been doing A LOT of spring cleaning!  I found a lot of helpful cleaning tips that I love!  One of which was for cleaning your stove/oven.  I've never cleaned an oven until a week ago.  The inside looked so bad, that I couldn't avoid it any longer.   I found a link on Pinterest and sprinkled baking soda in the bottom of my oven and then some vinegar and let it sit for 20ish minutes.  AMAZING!  It seriously wiped off with NO scrubbing at all!  I also used it on the burners area where there was some dried on stuff that has never come off.  It came off!  I'm sold! 

The next thing I found has solved our bathroom counter mess!  Ashlyn has a lot of flower clips & headbands that were taking over our small bathroom counter.  It was always a mess!  I found a cute, very easy to make organizer and I LOVE it!  It's just a wood picture frame with hooks on the bottom and some ribbon glued to the back.  I love that people think of these cool ideas and I benefit from it! 

My last Pinterest project is probably my favorite! I've been wanting something to organize my cans for a LONG time!  I found a tutorial online and enlisted my hubby's help.  (He was glad to have an excuse to use power tools) 

It holds 81-ish cans (9 slots, 9 cans per slot).  It is super solid too!  This barely made a dent in my cans though, so Johnathan kindly offered agreed to make me a double one.  Then I can get all my case-lot cans organized!!  For a single size, it cost $30 for 1 sheet of plywood & some nails.  That's basically it!  I did take a lot of time to cut it out, because we didn't have a table saw (it's on the 'someday' list!)  We'll wait to do the other one until we have access to one.

THANK YOU PINTEREST (and the wonderful people who came up with these ideas)!!!