Momma Bear and her Cubs

For the past couple of days we have visitors across the street near the tree line playing. I finally got some pictures of them tonight.

I zoomed in on the above picture so you can see them closer

It was a momma bear and her cubs. They were so cute running around playing. Jeff had to go over to our neighbor's house and tell them about the bears too. Unfortunately, only the oldest girl and Davin were home so the boys didn't get to see them. They were out there till dark watching them play.

Bookcase for Cookbooks

I have my cookbooks in a bottom kitchen cabinet on a top shelf. Every time I needed to get a bookcase out it was a pain. I have so many of them so they are in there pretty tight.

On Pinterest I saw a pin for a bookcase at a end of a kitchen counter and decided to make one for our kitchen.

When I was in the planning stage I was thinking that Jeff could build me the bookcase since we could get the dimensions right; however, that didn't happen. We decided it probably would be cheaper or about the same price if we just bought an unfinished kitchen cabinet and I would stain it to match the other cabinets.

So we bought an unfinished cabinet, two side pieces, a piece for the top and feet at Lowe's. We had a hard time finding feet, either we didn't like them or they weren't the right size.

Then Jeff took the door off and we glued on the sides and top pieces then we installed the feet. Before Jeff could install the feet he had to cut them down, they were too tall. Then a few weeks later I caulked the sides because there was a gap between the pieces we had glued and the front. I also caulked the holes left by the screws for the door. Then it was another couple weeks before I stained the cabinet. We kept getting samples of stains and couldn't find one that really matched. At one time I was thinking about just painting it instead of staining it since I couldn't find an exact match but decided not to go that route.

Here is the finished product. I really liked how it turned out. We had three places to put the bookcase and decided here would be best. The other options was on the other end of the counter so it's facing the diningroom but I didn't want it facing the diningroom and basically in the hallway. Then the other place was at the end of the counter by the stove but I figured it would be in the way of people coming in and out of the kitchen.

What do you think of our DIY bookcase for my cookbooks?

Busch Gardens First Trip of the Season

Kylie has been playing soccer for a couple weeks now and she seems to really like it. She gets right in there and plays, much better than she did a couple years ago. Jeff has only been able to go to one game so far with his work schedule so he is pretty bummed about that.

We have been wanting to go to Busch Gardens for a couple weeks now. Nicole is anxious on riding some rides since she couldn't last year since she was pregnant. We were finally able to go today. Nicole had Easter pictures for the kids at 1:15 so we left after the pictures. Kimberly and Brayden also came but they drove separate. Unfortunately, Jeff was on nights so he was sleeping and couldn't go and Kylie had a birthday party to go to so she chose to go to the birthday party instead of Busch Gardens. Crazy kid!

Haylee is holding a flower she picked

Haylee was so proud to be in the purple, it means more rides by herself.

Brayden is covering his face because he thought he was going to get wet

Elmo hug

Brayden is still too scared to get a picture with the characters

watching the show

fresh air wore Jackson and Noah out

The park was pretty crowded today, it seemed more like an August day than a day in April. It was Sesame Street Forest of Fun's 5th birthday this weekend so that was one reason why that area was crowded. Haylee and Brayden couldn't ride the roller coaster because the line went all the way to where you come in at. We also noticed there were a lot of teenagers wearing different shirts. Some had senior trip and some had band shirts on so that was another reason why it was crowded. Kimberly and Nicole weren't able to ride any rides since it was so crowded and the lines were so long, luckily we have season passes.

Looking forward to many more trips to Busch Gardens!

Jeff Has a Clavicle Fracture

On the 14th Jeff fell down the back stairs that goes outside and landed on his right shoulder. Evidently, Tristan was beating up Tippie and he was running outside to break it up and tripped on the door seal and down he went.

For the first day or so he put ice on it but that didn't seem to help too much. He has also been taking ibuprofen and last week he went and bought an arm sling which has been helping some.

Friday he was still complaining about how much it hurt and he still couldn't lift his arm up or use it that much so finally I made him call the doctor. He had an appointment this morning.

Come to find out he has clavicle fracture (broken collarbone). It's were it attaches to the scapula (shoulder blade). The doctor prescribed an arm sling and ibuprofen and it will take about a month to heal. Jeff said it was a simple fracture, just a hairline one. The doctor said for him to do as much as he feels comfortable so it doesn't stiffen up.

Jeff was worried about going to the doctor because he was afraid of what they may say, he thought he might need surgery. Thankfully, he doesn't.

Jeff is right handed so this has been tough on him so please keep him in your prayers that he has a speedy recovery.

Carnival Splendor

Tonight I heard some awesome news regarding Carnival that was announced on the news.

The Carnival Splendor will be operating out of Norfolk in 2015! 

The itineraries are:

• Two-day cruise to no where departing on May 16
• Two, five-day cruises to the Bahamas in May and one in October
• Six-day cruise to the Bahamas on October 17
• and a seven-day cruise to Bermuda departing on October 23

We are so excited because we have been wanting to go to Bermuda for a couple years now with our friends, Bruce and Dare. As soon as I heard I had to tell Dare but right before I told her Bruce had already told her on Facebook. Great minds think alike.

It will be so nice to finally be able to catch a cruise locally and not have to pay for airfare. Airfare it's getting crazy especially after we just paid around $1700 to fly to Alaska for the cruise in September. I just think that is ridiculous. When we went to Alaska in 2006 we flew to Seattle round-trip and only paid $300/person. This time; however, we are flying to Fairbanks and coming back via Vancouver, Canada so that makes the tickets a little bit more since it isn't round-trip but still.

I'm not sure when we will book the cruise since it's still over a year away but Jeff and I are thinking it might go fast since it will be the only cruise to Bermuda. Dare contacted BJ's last night since that is who she goes through for cruises, she is a member and gets a better deal. Since Carnival just announced it yesterday, BJ's didn't have any pricing yet. So I'm not sure when she will contact them back. I also told my parents as they have been wanting to go on a cruise too. This cruise is three days at sea and three days in port at King's Wharf so it's right up their alley. They can just sit back and relax on the ship. Sounds like a great idea to me!

Bermuda here we come!

Hate Being Sick

It has been a rough couple of weeks of being sick. I have been fighting sinus issues since mid February so it just kept getting worse.

It started out on Sunday, the 9th, when I started getting an ear ache. Through out the night I was up several times taking medicine for the pain. My ear was crackling, which I couldn't stand, so it was hard to sleep. I woke up on Monday morning with fluid draining from my ear and it was clogged, I couldn't hear out of it. Along with the ear ache I have had a cough and hoarseness too. So I decided it was time to go to the doctor since my ear was killing me and it was draining fluid. My allergist wasn't available till Tuesday so I just went into walk in at family practice. Come to find out I had an ear infection and bronchitis. My doctor prescribed an antibiotic, two cough medicines (one for daytime and one for night) and pain medicine for my ear. After, the appointment I went back to work for the rest of the day.

When I woke up on Tuesday I was so out of it from the night time cough medicine that I was dizzy and just feeling weak and tired so I decided to stay home in bed. Jeff had been working on nights so when he got home he started to take care of me. He called Paul for me and told him I would be out and then he came to bed with me. He got up a few hours later to fix me something to eat. Poor guy didn't get much sleep that day but luckily Monday was his last day on nights. I ended up staying in bed all day.

Wednesday, I ended up staying home again. I still was feeling dizzy and sick to my stomach. I think it was from all the drainage I was having. I hated calling out sick two days in a row especially since it was a payroll week. I usually use my four sick days as personal days or vacation days. Now I only have one left for the whole year. I slowly started to feel better by week end.

Haylee was complaining about her ear so Nicole took her to the doctor on Thursday and come to find out she had an ear infection too. Then this past Tuesday Nicole had to take Jackson to the doctor and he also has an ear infection. Hopefully, we are done with ear infections since things run in threes.

Yesterday, I had a 6-month allergy follow-up appointment with my allergist. Since I had completed my antibiotic on Wednesday my ear was still clogged so I told him about my illness. So he checked my ears and I still have fluid in my left ear. So he gave me a prescription for another antibiotic and steroids. He said if I don't feel better in a week to come back. I am so ready to be done with all this sickness.

Curves

Last week I decided to check Curves out. I need to get rid of this flab someway and I don't really want to join a gym like Kimberly goes to. If you aren't familiar with Curves, it's a women's only gym. The program is designed around circuit training, which utilizes hydraulic resistance equipment to achieve results. The strength training regimen is combined with cardiovascular training for a full body workout.

When I went in I was asked a lot of questions like what size am I wearing now, what size do I want to be. How much weight do I want to lose? Why do I want to lose weight? She also took my measurements, weight, BMI and told me where I should be for my height. It wasn't a pretty picture. As I was sitting there, while she was asking me these questions, I was watching the other women. It seems like the majority of the women are my age or older. Some were over weight and some weren't. It was nice to see women my age and not young women who are skinny minnies. That's one reason why I wanted to check them out instead of a gym like Kimberly goes to.

After the questions and measurements we walked around the circle to try out a couple pieces of equipment and she explained the program. You are on a piece of equipment for 30 seconds then you move to the floor mat to walk or jog in place for 30 seconds to keep your heart rate up then move to the next equipment and make your way around the circle. You end up going around the circle twice for a total of 30 minutes. 

Jillian Michaels has partnered with Curves and several times a week her video will play and when you are on the floor mat you will do the video instead of walking or jogging. Also, several times a week they will play a Zumba video and you will do the same thing, follow the video when you are on the mat. 

I figured since the program was only 30 minutes I would have a better chance of going there instead of joining a gym like Planet Fitness. Also, I figured I would be able to do it during lunch. They offer two programs Curves Complete or Curves Fitness. Since I am losing weight on my own I decided just to do the Curves Fitness. The program is expensive and you do have to sign a years contract.

So my first workout was on Monday with a coach. I have decided to go three times a week. For the first three workouts a coach will go around with me. While I was on the mat she would show me how to use the next equipment then when I was on it she would make sure I was doing it correctly. On Wednesday, she walked around with me again just to make sure I was doing it correctly. I have noticed the second time around is a lot harder than the first time around. When I left yesterday, my legs were like jello. 

Starting next week I will be on my own for a couple weeks. After that I will have another appointment with a coach who will introduce me to Curves Smart. Curves Smart is a personalized platform that tracks and manages my workouts. I was given a little card on Monday that I use to sign in when I come in for my workouts. Each piece of equipment has a slot that I will put the card in. Well that card will be able to track my workouts and let me know how many calories I burn during that workout. So that will be neat.

I hope I can continue going three times a week and not get burnt out like I normally do when I exercise. Wish me luck!