Lion King

In April my mother treated the family to see the production of "Lion King". Casey and I found a sitter for Rocky and we brought Monica along. It was an amazing experience and seeing Monica's face made it even better. The costumes were unbelievable and so intricate. Monica sat on the edge of her seat the whole time and asked me at the end of each scene if was over and when I told her "no" she would squeal in pleasure. Its all she talked about for months and every once in a while will ask to go there again sometime. I was worried that my 3 year old would have a tough time understanding the plot and concept of costumes but she picked up on everything and never lost attention. It's a must for every family if you get the chance!!

If you are still there, Im back!

I don't expect anyone to still visit my blog after I've taken such a long hiatus from updating it but if you're still here, Id thought Id let you know IM BACK. Now lets all shout for joy.... YAY....!

Hmmmmmm.....

I'll start with 10 things that have happened in our world since I last blogged.

1. We Moved
2. Rocky is 1 year 8 months
3. Monica started preschool
4. Casey started a new job (which I wont post of but most of you know what he is doing)
5. I gained 10 lbs
6. I started to recycle
7. Casey's car broke down twice and his car crashed into my car and took the bumper off
8. I repainted my dinning room table
9. I participated in my second "Susan G. Komen 3 day walk for the Cure"
10. I'm trying out step classes and find them very difficult despite the cheesy appearance

Also, Our desktop computer recently crashed due to my downloading a picture of Jessica Biel. Come to find out, 1 in 5 people who search for Jessica Biel on the web get a Trojan virus. I lost most pictures and many files. I suppose I deserve it for not backing them up but non-the-less, I'm very upset over my loss. Thankfully, not only am I lazy at blogging but also at deleting photos from my camera so I still have a few. Watch for them and more posts to come.

Seven Days Down

So far so good. Its been a full week now without refined sugar or bread and I feel good! Its been a lot easy then I thought it would be. In a weeks time I have lost 8 lbs so I'm down to 122 lbs and my skin has seen positive effects as well. I have a lot more energy but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss things. Today has been the first day I had real cravings for something sweet. I almost broke down for a nutrigrain bar but then saw the first ingredients are high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, strawberry puree, glycerine, and sugar. Uhhhh no thanks! then I craved one of those cheap little blackberry filled pies until I saw that they are 470 calories! The denver egg bowl at Jack-in-the-Box sounded healthy and REALLY GOOD until I saw the caloric count was 720 and 477 from fat! ewwwww way to ruin eggs! Although I haven't given up all unhealthy foods I just couldn't do this one! But right now I'd REALLY love a root beer float and cant stop thinking about it! HA! Hopefully the craving will go away! Id like to look really good in a dress for Mother's Day Tea tomorrow.
I had the desire to weigh 111 lbs by June 1st but I don't think its very realistic. This would put me at Jennifer Aniston's height and weight but I'm not sure its a reasonable goal. I'll shoot for 115 and see how it goes although weight isn't as important to me as how i feel. Wish me luck as I have 23 more days!

Give-it-up for 30 days: Refined Sugar

A recent episode of Oprah featuring guest host Jenny McCarthy has sparked my interest to give something up for thirty days. Miss McCarthy is creating her own give-it-up blog and so I have decided to adopt the idea. Like her I will be giving up refined sugar for 30 days. Starting tomorrow, May 2nd, and ending June 1st. I have many worries and doubts as to how this will go. At first thought I cant even think of any without sugar however it has got to be possible.... right? I will keep a constant blog throughout the month keeping you all updated on my struggles and progress. I am not only eager to see physical changes but mental and emotional ones as well. My prediction is it will be hard for the first few weeks, almost like detoxing from an addiction, however I hope to feel rejuvenated by the end of the month. My current mood: apprehensive.

Tag

Tag, Im it! Here is the latestest tag I was given. I suppose if I dont do it now, it will never happen.

Post the fourth picture in your fourth picture folder and blog about it. Then tag four friends.

Here it is folks:




This was taken last sunday. I've never worn a hat before so I took a picture of me in it. I still dont think I have a very hat-friendly face... This photo was taken just before I attempted to jog in the snow. Long story short, it was too cold so I went to Casey's parents and had tacos instead.

I tag: The Marsons, Shannon, Chelsea and Heather

Decorating the Christmas tree

I love Christmas time and the tree and decorations with lights are a big part of that. I haven't been big in decoration my own apartment because I am limited with what I can do but the tree is something fun I can do now with Monica.

We rearranged our living room, put on some Christmas music and got to work.



Monica's eyes lit up with every ornament she pulled from the box and went from decoration to decoration.




Her favorite was our little snowmen that spell out N-O-E-L. She picked out the "N" as her favorite.

Carter was asleep during the transformation and woke up to his first Christmas experience and of course wanted it all! The look on his face when he first saw everything was priceless!

Monica is very protective over all the decorations and Carter is NOT to have any of them.

She has moved all of the decorations on the tables into a safe pile so he cant get at them. The organization didn't last long but it is so fun to have a little family to get excited with.



This will probably be one of the most fun Christmas' at the Allred home and I look forward to it with childlike anticipation :)

Most exciting post ever!!!

When most people get together to play cards, it is usually assumed that Poker or blackjack would be the game played. Not at the Allred House- they play canasta. Okay, I'm not going to deny I love the game and jumped at the invite.

Grandpa thought it would be fun to squirt whip cream in the kids mouths and that entertained us for a while.


I think the card game lasted four hours and we still didn't finish.


I am way competitive and so I enjoy anything that gives me the chance to taunt other people.

I ended up winning, but not by much and like I said we didn't finish so who knows how the game would have gone.


I'm feeling lucky though and maybe next time I'll dominate in rummy!

Thanksgiving 2008

I'm one of the worst bloggers. A few weeks will go by without any new posts and then I'll post about a few different things all at once and the cycle continues. I thought I would impress you all by blogging about the events that took place TODAY! I know- crazy huh!?

Thanksgiving 2008:


I grew up on Whidbey Island an rarely go back. Both parents still live over there but for the most part they come over to the "main land" for most family activities. I think the last time I went over was the beginning of summer so I was excited to go back today for Thanksgiving. Monica was thrilled as well and was so excited to see grandpa and her Nina (grandma Rosie). She loves the ferry ride and had to go up to the observation deck to, well.. observe.

The girls

The boys

Our Family


We made our way to grandpa's and of course the first thing I did was head for the kitchen! I found the rolls (which has always been my favorite part of any feast) but wasn't sure if it was taboo to dive in with out being invited to do so, so I was left with only one option- closet eat. I was 2 bites in when Rosie caught me. I was pleased to see she had a sense of humor about the incident.


Dinner was soon after our arrival and we all marveled like little children at the delicious spread that laid before us! Dad and Rosie did a fantastic job at preparing a wonderful thanksgiving dinner

the table was pretty with fall decorations. I have always loved the warmth and joy that comes with the winter holidays. It much appreciated because I hate the winter and would go insane if it wasn't for times like these.

It was Carter's first thanksgiving so we gave him a little bit of everything and he scarfed it down.

It even got in his hair.

The only thing he didn't care for was the ambrosia salad and spit it out.

After dinner we packed up leftovers (what kind of child would I be if I didn't bum food off my folks)and stashed it away for later. It looked really good though and I was tempted to do a second round of feasting.

The turkey kicked in fast and Monica fell asleep immediately after dinner.

I passed out on the couch with my rolls and bloated stomach.


We were reminded of how much Carter is like his Dad

and then Carter zonked out close behind and the rest of us enjoyed a little competitive game of Taboo.

When the kids woke up, my Dad took Monica and Carter and played a little guitar for them. Carter LOVED it and danced and tried to play a little himself. It had to be the sweetest thing ever.

We had the most wonderful thanksgiving and enjoyed being with family. We have so much to be thankful for and although we have faced many trials this year, we have been blessed with so much. Thank you for your support friendship and love!

Twilight

The much anticipated movie "Twilight" came out this weekend! I read the books a few months ago during some down time while sick and got hooked! Although I found the fight sequences lacking, I loved the story and characters that Stephanie has created. Like most mother/daughter duos around the country, my mother and sister have read the books as well and she treated us to see the first movie last night. My opinion: Awesome! I am always nervous about a movie that is based on a book but I felt the actors were good choices and the stuck very close to the story. Edward and Joseph were heart-pounding and I felt childish cheering with the numerous preteen age girls when they came onto the screen! Ha! I had a fabulous time getting back into the story and although I am sad the book series has finished, I look forward to the three remaining stories to make their way onto the silver screen!

Jumping Jellybeans part 2

So we had another fun day at "Jump Planet" in Bothell. Casey has had a few extra days at home lately and so he watched Carter while Monica and I had a play date. As you know already... I love it! I am sure the other mothers there find me very annoying while I jump, slide and giggle like I'm any other kid but I don't care - its fun!! Monica and I always have a blast and were happy the Ross' could make it as well. Brysen and Monica are good friends and always have fun together.