I fell off the wagon, but it's not my fault!!

A couple weeks ago, BEFORE I gave up Diet Pepsi, we came home from a particularly stressful day to find this sitting on our doorstep.

If you can't read the words it says "The Bad Day Box" There was a note on the top that said not to open the box until we had a bad day. Like I said, that day was a particularly bad day, but knowing that someone was thoughtful enough to do this was good enough to make my day better. So we set it next to the fireplace and just looking at it over the last few weeks has been nice.

Now to the Diet Pepsi part of the story. I woke up this morning with a headache, which is a great way to start your day, right? It's been a REALLY busy couple weeks and I think the constant running was finally catching up with me. It wasn't really a bad day, but I was just feeling crappy. Then I thought about the bad day box. I bet there was diet pepsi in there...

I was right. How could I NOT drink it when it was such a nice thing for this person to do? My name is Gretchen and I'm a diet pepsiaholic! One day at a time, right? Admitting you have a problem is the first step, RIGHT??

Needless to say, we totally appreciated getting this box. It really meant a lot to me and my kids. Especially because it came from someone that we don't even know very well. To think that someone we barely know would be kind and thoughtful enough to do this for us. It just really meant a lot.

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!