It has been awhile since I have blogged.. so since I was on the site today I decided it was time to catch up a little. Things have been going good here at home.. I am loving my life and the great people I have in it. Extended family has done nothing but try to bring drama into my life but I am just ignoring it because if they want to spread lies to make themselves feel better then that is their prerogative. I won't be a part of it. I have been staying super busy this summer with dance class for Alora and Taekwondo for Tristan.. along with lots of playdates every week. We made some new friends here and it has been great connecting with someone. I was planning a trip to Vegas to see one of my best friends but unfortunately that got changed due to her schedule. Hopefully I will be able to make a trip sometime in the fall but who knows. I am now planning to make a trip to see my two best WA friends and my beautiful Goddaughter in August. I am so looking forward to seeing all my girls again. Guess that means I need to pack my tripod and my camera even though I really don't want to lug it through the airport..lol.. Kris went on a little vacation down to Florida last week for his cousins graduation and will be flying back today. I wish I would have been able to go with him but unfortunately vacations together cannot really happen when you have 4 children to take care of so I stayed behind. Maybe one day we will actually fly somewhere together..lol.. Tristan & Mcleod got into the charter school and we are thrilled! That means they will be getting a much better education than they could at all of the other schools here which makes us very happy. The school system here is very broken and since teachers have tenure no one is willing to do what his necessary to fix it. I say just fire everyone and restaff the entire roster of schools. That should make a serious change for the problem. Your job should be based on performance.. not tenure! Mystry is doing well.. although a bit sad since her boyfriend went off to bootcamp.. I know how hard that is.. communicating only through letters. However, she is keeping fairly busy with school work that she was assigned for the summer from all of her AP classes. She is a wiz at school and is looking at colleges for 2014.. Today I am taking her down to do her test for her driving permit. So I need to get off of here now and do that.. I will try to update again soon.. for now though I am off! Pamela

On Thursday I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot for Sexual Assault Prevention. I feel very honored to have been able to participate in creating awareness for such a great cause. Here are some of the photos from the shoot.

I am currently working on a PTSD awareness project as well and am looking forward to getting those pictures done as well.

I reached my goal!

I said that I wouldn't blog about my weight again until I reached my goal. Well I have! I am finally here! After 3 years of saying that I am trying and not I finally decided to do it! I got serious and started eating right and exercising.. I am stronger than I have ever been.. I have biceps and triceps and calf muscles that you can see! Thanks to my surgery I am also thinner than I have ever been! I started this journey on March 15th 2012 at 145 pounds. I stuck to it and it got easier as time went on.. Here is what I looked like before my surgery and weight loss at 145 pounds. My stomach always held a lot of my weight, which is why I decided to have the laser lipo last year but that wasn't a fix all. I did not lose any weight from the surgery but I did lose size in my stomach and love handles. :) You can see those results in a previous post that i made called surgeries. It took me 3 months and a lot of hard work to get here but I am here! Finally! I am happy and it is so easy to stick to my lifestyle change now that I am back here again. I have even had my wedding dress cleaned and taken in and very soon I will be having new bridal pictures taken in my gorgeous dress but this time with me being beautiful in it! :) If you are on the edge and ready to do it .. let me tell you that you can.. all you need is the motivation. I got mine from a friend.. I hope I help to inspire some of you to do the same. So without further ado.. My after pictures!!! 125 pounds!! 20 pounds lost in 3 months!! :D

Coming Soon to Florida!

We are finally making a trip back home.. Last time I was there was the beginning of 2010 so it has been almost 2 years for me. Even longer for Kris who left in Sept 2009. I will be happy to see everyone and be WARM!!

We have been living in cold weather places for the last 4 years so I am ready for a little vacation from it! Right now we are stationed in Illinois and we will be here for 3 years before the option to go somewhere else even arises. Hopefully we can get back to Florida but who knows. It would be nice to be somewhere warm for awhile.. I sure do miss my tank tops and shorts.


I will be wearing those tanks and shorts for the entire week we are in Florida!! No doubt I will be coming back up north with a tan! haha.. I have been making plans to see everyone that I can.. a week isn't much time but I am going to do my best to see everyone. If you want us to try to schedule something with you please let me know! :)

I got my motivation!

A few days ago I was cruising around on facebook and as usual feeling bad about my weight and how much I eat when I happened across a friend of mines progress pictures from her weight loss. Her picture spoke to me.. motivated me.. moved me to do what I had done so long ago. Take control of myself, my eating, and my life!

Before I got pregnant with Alora I stayed comfortably at 125 and it was easy. I didn't overeat. I rarely had "cheat" days. I didn't need them. I was always satisfied by the amount of food I ate. I had taught myself how to eat right and how to eat the right amount of calories for my lifestyle. When I got pregnant though I lost my mind. I forgot how to take care of myself. I forgot what it was like to eat right and feel good about doing it. Instead I felt bloated and uncomfortable most of the time and never let myself feel hungry.

Do you know what it is like to feel hungry? I mean actually hungry. I used to.. and now I do again. I have to tell you.. it feels GOOD! Yes! GOOD! I started REALLY counting calories again! I counted them before, but I didn't actually restrict myself to the amount of calories necessary to lose weight. I have been working out a few times a week. Just making sure I get some kind of activity in for at least 30 minutes is the main thing.

Regardless.. The whole point of this post is to hold myself accountable. It has only been 5 days now since I started this new education period of relearning how to eat and finding out how my body feels when I am really hungry and when I am REALLY FULL!
That is another thing that you have to really pay attention to.. eat slowly so that you know when you are full! Don't eat until you are gorged and over full only till satisfied. You won't feel full for a few weeks, it takes time for your body to adapt to the right eating habits and to shrink back down to its correct size.

So far I have lost 1 pound.. in 5 days! I think that is pretty good. They say 1-2 pounds a week is a good goal.. My goal is to top out and make it to 2 pounds a week. We shall see what happens. I probably won't post here again until I make my goal because I keep track of my progress in a personal written journal. :)

Here is a little virtual image of where my weight is now and where I am trying to get to.

A HUGE thank you to my motivators!! You know who you are! :)

Happy Eating!

The Art Of Marriage App

Hello again.. As you may have read in a previous blog of mine I like to support marriage and help my fellow military wives out cause it can be rough being away from your spouse so very much.

I have been contacted about a new app that is called "The Art of Marriage" and I wanted to share it with you all. So here is the app.. Please feel free to leave me a comment below and tell me what you think about it. I may even have a giveaway soon if I get enough interest!

Basking in the Silence....

I am sitting here in silence while my daughter takes her nap and it feels good.. The quiet is comforting.. My life is comforting. As I look around at all the pictures on my walls I know how lucky I am. How much love I have.

Some people dread the moment that their lives become comfortable... or as they would describe it.. mundane.. repetitive.. I however bask in these times. I like the feeling of knowing tomorrow isn't going to explode in my face. At least in the sense that my husband & kids will not stop loving me. I know that not everything is a guarantee.. I know that bad things can happen.. I do worry about those things from time to time... but in the moments like this.. when I feel safe.. I feel love and comfort... I am truly happy.

I love having friends and family around me. I love meeting new people and doing new things.. But I also love being alone.. standing on a beach just breathing the warm, windy air.. Walking down a road taking in the world around me.. Driving down the street and looking at the scenery.. beautiful trees and flowers. Alone time is when I get to reflect on myself.. to learn more about me and the things I like. To be me as a person and not be anything else for anyone else around me.

When I am alone I am not a mother, wife, daughter, friend, or anything....I am just Pamela.. I don't have to be any of those other things.. I have a moment to breath where no one depends on me to say the right thing or read them a story.. fix a problem or take a picture, give a present or help with homework, it is just me.. no expectations.. no rules, no work.. just me. ..

I find many people have trouble with alone time.. maybe they are not comfortable with themselves.. or the silence.. I have found that these moments can be the most beneficial.. They make you want to be a better, wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, lover... everything..

Give yourself these moments.. Bask in the silence for a day.. enjoy time to yourself to just have you and your thoughts. Love yourself.. then you will be better able to love others.

School days & growing up fast.

As I sit here listening to my daughter play I think back to the time when she was too small to talk or play.... To a time when laying on my chest and looking up at me was all she wanted to do. I think back to the time when my middle son did the same things. Time has flown by and my middle son is now 6 and my daughter is 3.. those years have flown by too fast. I have tried my best to capture all of those sweet moments in my mind. Reading books, playing games, giving hugs and kisses...

Sadly I did not have all of those moments with my oldest son. .as a working mom then I did not have the time to watch him grow as I have had the privilege to do with my youngest two. I wish I could get those moments back.. but they are forever gone.. and now he is 12 years old.. taller than me.. and growing fast in height and attitude.. I do my best to keep him a grounded person .. but sometimes those preteen hormones get in the way. Time stands still for no one so hug them while you can and take many many pictures.. for when your memory fails you.. those pictures will not.

Now my little Tristan is in school.. spending much of his time away from home. I worry about him in this new school.. In this place that cares more about money than his education. I pray that I am doing enough for him. I ask him everyday how school is and if he learned anything.. most days I get the same "no" answer.. I pray that I can somehow keep him up to date on his learning in the 3 years we are here before we are able to find another duty station an hopefully better schools.

I have seriously been contemplating home schooling him because of how bad the schools are here. I know that I will be home schooling Alora when the time comes.. if for no other reason than to keep her from moving mid school year the way that Tristan has had to. He mentions frequently how much he misses his old school and how much he wants to go back. He had friends in his old school.. He loved his teacher.. I loved his teacher.. and now.. nothing.. the kids are mean.. the teacher is seriously lacking in ability.. and the school system doesn't care. sigh..

I know I won't be able to teach Mcleod.. he doesn't like to learn and I am not a very patient person so he will stay in school.. and I will do my best to help when he is home.. but that will mostly be his dads job.. since I don't do so well in math and that is usually where he needs the most help. Reading on the other hand.. I can help with that. :)

I know that I can help Tristan & Alora because they are still young and the things that they need to know I can do easily. I hope that I am able to give Alora the head start that she needs and have her reading and doing some math by the time she starts school.

So for everyone that teaches their kids.. I commend you.. For everyone that knows their limitations I commend you.. and for everyone who knows how quickly time can get away from us.. Hug your little one just one more time before bed.. they might not remember it.. but you will.

Good Deeds, Great Needs

There is a new movie coming out on Feb. 24th called "Good Deeds" it is by Tyler Perry.. and although I have not watched any of his previous movies I have heard that they tend to be humorous. The real reason why I find this particular movie so worthy of a blog is that it has joined up with Covenant House in efforts to help homeless youth. This program will also be partnering with a gift card company that collects unused gift cards and donating them to covenant house. How wonderful that people can give great things to the at risk youth of our country and give them a chance at a better life.

Covenant house does its best to provide hearty meals, warm beds, and safe shelter to homeless youth and in my opinion that is always a good cause. So I would like to share with you this video because lionsgate has offered to make donations each time this video is shared.

Good Deeds. Great Needs. | #GoodDeedsMovie

I hope you will take the time to just click on the movie, it will only take a few minutes of your time and it will help out a great cause.

Communication is the key...

In the past.. what seems like the very distant past now.. I knew some people.. people I no longer know.. people that I apparently never really knew. People that could walk away from me without so much as a word to say why.. People claiming I had done something horrible to them so they did not want me in their life but never mentioning what this horrible thing was.

I have taught my children an important trait and that is this.. If you have a problem with someone.. an issue with something they have done, said, or are doing, then tell them. Things cannot be fixed if they are ignored. Do not ignore the small things that bother you for one day they will become big things in your mind. Give others a chance to know what is bothering you. If you don't tell them then how would they know?

We always tend to assume that everyone else in the world knows what we are thinking and that they do things purposely against us. 98% of the time, that isn't true. Most people go about their daily lives just minding their own business.. living their own lives, not realizing that something they did or said upset someone else.

No one is perfect. It isn't possible. Not everyone is meant to be friends or even like each other. There are people that fit with our personalities and those that don't.. and that is ok.

I have met many many people in my short 32 years on this earth.. I am proud to have met them. I cannot say that I have enjoyed the company of all of them or that they have all enjoyed my company, but I can tell you that I enjoyed meeting them and having them in my life for whatever amount of time they were there.

Be the happiness that you want to see in the world. Treat your friends and acquaintances with respect by giving them a chance and letting them know when you are having issues. Break the silence. Be strong and be happy. Remember that if you come to someone with a problem in a mature manner without accusing you may find that what happened was a miscommunication.

Give people the chance that you would want to be given to explain themselves.

I pray that everyone in my life knows that I care about them and I try to tell them when I can. I hope that if any problems do arise that my friends would be good enough to come to me with the problem. Let us fix these things together rather than letting a world of confusion tear us apart.

Love to all..