My name is Gretchen and I'm a...

Diet Pepsi-aholic. Hello, Gretchen. It's been 8 days since my last Diet Pepsi and for those of you who know how much of that junk I drink, that is quite a feat. I have an all-or-nothing mentality. I either drink that and only that or I can't have any. At all. So it's time to let it go. It's been a good friend for a very long time, but I swear I feel so much better after not having it in my system for a whole week. So here's to all of you that need to give it up too. You can do it. If I can do it, you definitely can too!

High school

This week we took Sidney to 9th grade registration and open house. 9th grade. She's going to be starting high school. Holy cow! It kinda freaks me out. What am I saying? It TOTALLY freaks me out! When I think about high school it went by in a blink. Now for her it's going to go by in a blink and then she'll be gone, with her sister right behind her. How did this happen? When did my kids get to be so old? And if they're old, what does that make me??

The biggest, most important thing I've learned

with Chris being in Ohio for school...


is that I don't like Chris being in Ohio for school.


The end.

New Year's Resolution

While Chris was home we discussed New Year's Resolutions and me, being the grinchy person that I am said... "Why bother?"

So now that he is back in Ohio for this semester I have decided to put on my big girl panties and make a few goals for myself.

First: I am going to write in my journal more often. It's something that I used to be REALLY good at, but now I am still writing in the same journal that I had when I was PREGNANT with SIDNEY! Yep folks, she's 14! I'm actually hoping to use it as a form of stress relief. Between work, kids, Dr. appointments from my stupid car accident, and being a "single" parent, stress relief is just what I need. Not only that, I LOVE being able to look back at old journals to see what was going on in my life and how I felt about things. Yep, I'm definitely going to work on that one.

Second: I need to spend more quality time with my kids. I feel like when I get home from work that I am tired and stressed, they get the brunt of all that stress and fatigue. And on the weekend we spend so much time just trying to get laundry done and clean the house and get church stuff done. So I need to knock that off and be happy to get to come home and be with my amazing kids.

Third: Well, I'm going to work on the first two and then I'll think about adding a third. :) I don't want to get too crazy here!

Wish me luck...

Balloon Classic

We dragged ourselves out of bed on this beautiful Saturday morning to go to the Balloon Classic. We've been several times, and it is always amazing to see these hot air balloons taking off.





Tonight we were finally able to see the Balloon Glow. We have gone the last few years to see it, but the weather never cooperated. Imagine, the weather NOT cooperating in Colorado. Anyway, tonight it finally did. We went to the park with the Walker family and pretty much the rest of Colorado Springs. IT WAS PACKED!! People everywhere... But it was well worth it. The weather was perfect, and the balloons were so amazing to see all lit up. Beautiful....

Why don't I do yoga more often???

I took my first yoga class at UNLV when I was pregnant with Megan, and that's when I fell in love. I love doing it and I feel SO good when I'm done. I did it tonight after a long time of not doing it, and I have decided that it's time to do it again. It's a good stress reliever and that is definitely something I need right now. Stress relief! Namaste!

Photo of the day...

Tonight, Megan and I decided to break out the spa kit she got for her birthday last week. (I can't believe she's 12 by the way) We invited Sidney to join, but she reluctantly declined. We decided to do the oatmeal honey face mask. Here's what you do...
Start with a clean face. Take a small, warm, damp towel and lay it on your face for 10 seconds to open your pores. Then combine 3 tbsp. oats and 2 tbsp. honey in a bowl and spread it all over your face. (beautiful, I know!) Then lay back and relax for 15 minutes. Laying back is key, because if you don't all of the oats will start falling off your face! :) Then rinse (I definitely recommend using the kitchen sink) Then you have beautiful, moisturized, glowing skin. Congratulations!

Next time, I'm going to the REAL spa for a facial!! ;)