Summer is ALMOST here!

Well, tomorrow is the last day of school for the kiddos. Hard to believe another year has gone by so fast. But I am excited about working summer school to earn some extra money. Plus we have Fridays off so every weekend is a 3 day weekend. I will probably get spoiled by that.

November will be here all too soon. Yet not soon enough. I am so excited about our upcoming wedding. It is all planned, I just need the cash to make the dream come true.

We've been doing well on our new healthy meal plan! He lost 46 pounds in 9 weeks. We have also incorporated some new vitamin supplements from our new home-business AdvoCare. They are amazing. I am having energy galore and he has been able to eat more sensibly without all the cravings. You can check it out on www.workwithchampions.com. Hopefully our own site will be up and running soon. If you find something you like, email me at authorcarmelita@yahoo.com, put AdvoCare in the subject line and I will help you place an order.

Come on SUMMER!!! I will be ready for that bathing suit any time now!

Story : The Red Rose

Story : The Red Rose
Click on the line above.

This is a beautiful story I found on a great website. It's about a rose, so I had to share!!

Diet versus Healthy Eating

When I hear the word "DIET" I cringe. Oh no. NOT THAT! I've tried different types of diets in the past with some successes. Short term weight loss. But anytime I did not continue to follow the plan, part of the weight came back in the long term.

So my new year resolution was to eat healthy and exercise to lose weight AND keep it off. It should be doable because my husband is my partner in this philosophy.

We started our healthy eating last Monday, January 24, 2011. We are following a modified meal plan from the 50 million pound challenge that my husband did a few years ago. He had the menu and shopping list printed out. Which is a good thing because the website doesn't have it anymore.

Anyhow you eat three small meals with three snacks never more than 3 hours without eating. We love protein shakes for breakfast and an afternoon snack. Fruits, vegetables, meat, beans and whole grains make up the meals. The snacks can be a protein bar, or 4 animal crackers and an orange, or 6 whole wheat crackers with 2 tsp of sugar free jelly, or a handful of pretzels, etc.

The best part of this meal plan is that I LOVE all this food. It is mostly what I was eating after I broke my addiction to sugar using the HCG diet. But as with any human, I had slipped into old habits of too much sugary, processed and high calorie food, especiallly from restaurants. As a result I had gained some weight back and my clothes were getting tighter.

But with this new way of eating, I am not as sleepy, I have more energy, my clothes fit better, and I've lost 6 pounds in 1 week. (Probably all that water I've been drinking too...lol.)

As a matter of fact, I had so much energy Saturday morning I got up and did a whole Tae Bo DVD workout before 9am. I haven't done that in quite a few years.

My husband is keeping a journal of our new lifestyle also. He writes stories about our adventures. I think I will make him a blog. I will let you know when we do.

So far so good! No more DIETING for us. Only Healthy and Happy Eating now.

New Year Goals

It is another new year. Seems like just yesterday it was New Year 2009 and I vowed that I would have another chance to be a wife. This New Year 2011 is the year we celebrate our marriage! Our ceremony will be on 11-11-11 before our family and friends. We've already vowed to be with each other for the rest of our lives after we moved in together. But we want our family and friends to celebrate with us in a more formal style.

We have a common goal, we want to live a long and healthy life together. We will work together to eat healthier and exercise more often and enjoy each other more and more.

We have individual goals regarding our careers and our education and spiritual growth. But we are here to support each other.

Life is so much better when you have someone by your side helping you to reach your goals.

Thank You Lord for my best friend and confidante. Help me to be the wife he needs.

Amen.

I DID IT!!!

I finished my rough draft today! 50,154 words and the story ended. Well, I did have to add a prologue to help boost me past the finish line. But don't worry, that is one of the tips they give you to help you out.

So now I let it marinate for awhile without reading it so that when I edit I see it with a fresh eye.

But I feel sad. My creativity has been stifled. I don't get to spend the first hour after work writing my novel. I have all my scenes and my characters already. I need to just relax and chill and let the story set. It will still be there when I go back in a few weeks.

But I admit my inner editor is itching to get to work. I want to turn the spellcheck back on and get rid of all the red and green lines. But actually that is the last step in the editing process. Interesting. I never made it to the editing step before this year. I just sent on my little part of the story to my family. This time will be different I will edit and it will be an amazing story.

YAY ME!! I did it! Nothing feels better than accomplishing a goal.

Heading Down the Home Stretch

I am at 39,201 words out of 50,000. I am so excited! The story is amazing. It is so much fun to write about these characters who have become my friends. They are telling bits and pieces of many different stories from my own experience and those from people around me. It is awesome to share the story of romance when I get to go home to my romantic husband every night. He is my biggest supporter and inspiration. He speaks my love language. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I remember in the not so distant past that I thought I would never be found by my prince. But this past year has been amazing. In 13 days we will have the one year anniversary of our first date. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was smitten from the beginning to say the least. I've probably written about this already so I won't repeat myself right now. But if I discover I haven't written our first date story here in this blog, you will be seeing it in another post.

NaNoWriMo Update

So it is halfway through November and I have half my word count done. I am so excited. I discovered the secret for me was to do what the organizers of NaNoWriMo suggested and write a small amount of words per day. I did get ahead a day or two, especially on the weekends. So that was helpful on the few days I just couldn't get the words to flow. And having a community of fellow NaNoWriMos that are experiencing the same craziness and can relate make it so much easier to not quit when I really felt like giving up. I went to two write-ins. They were perfect for me. Just the right amount of people to actually accomplish a word count goal.

If you have ever had a dream and never tried to acheive it..you are missing out on so much. Just go do it. You will be so glad you did!

I see my book in print...I can see it. I can't wait to read it...lol.

Yay Me!!!

I just hit 8019 words. Last year I quit at 7668. So I've exceeded my last attempt. Hurray!!! I am so going to finish this time. Interesting concept of writing though that I find so exciting is when the characters come to life and make their own way on to the page. I just had two more people show up that I didn't even know were invited to the story.

It is an amazing feeling to be in control of your own little story. To tell the world what you want them to hear without being at the mercy of someone else writing all the rules and putting boundaries in place. I love letting my creative thoughts flow and watch them come to life on the paper.

Of course it is a very rough rough draft so I won't be posting anything. My husband is sad. Our friend is also doing NaNoWriMo for the first time ever and she has let him read some of hers. So he doesn't really understand why I won't share mine. I learned from previous times that I have to have my story perfect before I share it with anyone or I will discourage myself. It's not so much what they may or may not say about my story, it is just that I want the story to be set how I want it before I share. And this one is even a little more sensitive because I am drawing on some of the experiences we have had on our journey as a couple. Not a biography, but I have taken creative liberties with our reality.

My heart soars at the thought that  I can now write something I lived. I want to inspire others. I want to put a little more romance in the world with my own unique signature. I want to finish my story. Off I go...

I am now "Committed" to "Eat Pray Love" everyday

Elizabeth Gilbert came into this world only1 year before I did. Her first marriage failed as mine did. She took a spiritual journey to find healing after her divorce, like I did. And she found love again, just like me. She loves to write as I do.

But she is published and I am not yet. Her latest books, Eat Pray Love and Committed, have touched my heart and brought a soothing balm to my spirit that I desperately needed through the written word.

The latest book, Committed, which is subtitled "A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage", intrigued me from the first moment I read an excerpt. After getting a fortune from a fortune cookie that read "You will soon receive some good advice through the written word", I just KNEW I had to buy the second book.

Of course it helped immensely that my sweetheart was sick in bed all weekend and I had plenty of time to read.

She starts off with the notion that marriage is a society type of control and thus rebels against its very nature until circumstances force her and her beloved to "marry" or forever be separated. Through her diligent and sometimes all consuming research, she discovers that humans created "marriage" and society had to adapt to it. Therefore when the choice must be made, she chooses matrimony because now she is part of the history of marriage and sees it as a subversive ideal that she totally supports.

I came to the conclusion that the wedding ceremony is for the benefit of your friends and family. Committing to each other privately carries the same consequences as doing it openly. Though some argue it isn't real if it isn't witnessed, I believe it is just as real with or without the legal document. Should I fail this time, I will still have the same heart ache as I had last time when there was a piece of paper signed. I just know I was better able to make a more conscious informed decision than when I was 19. I didn't have a clue back then.

Someday I will get married again. This I know. When, that I don't know.

NaNoWriMo

Yay! My novel has begun. I am up to 4269 words in just 2 1/2 days. Yay me! But of course since I am writing this blog you can probably guess that I am stuck. No, not really stuck. I know what else needs to be in my story. I just have that "this isn't working out like I planned" problem. But then again that is the beauty of being a writer: you can change the character or the plot or the scenes as you write. You are in control of the words that flow. so you can choose the path your characters will take.

This time I think I will go ahead and write my scenes out of order then rearrange them when the book is complete. NaNoWriMo is all about quantity, not quality. The muse can only give creative thought right now. No more blocks. I will push through and I will finish!

See you at the end of November, or my next writer's block, whichever comes first...lol.

Fall leaves me breathless

Oh my, it's fall. My most favorite time of year.

I love the cool crisp mornings, the brown, orange, yellow, rust colored leaves that cover the ground. The smell of apple cider and pumpkin spice make my heart beat just a little faster.

Fall means that Christmas, my most favorite holiday, is right around the corner.

Next fall will be even better. I am getting married to the love of my life on 11-11-11. He chose the date, he wanted to do something different. I have always wanted a fall wedding.

My colors will be burnt orange, forest green with splashes of cream and gold. Fall roses, pumpkins and leaves will adorn the tables. Pumpkin roll dessert and apple cider will be served. It will be beautiful and fall will ALWAYS be my favorite time of year.

Summer Vacation

Summer vacation started a little over a month ago and has only a little under a month for me. But I love my job and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Especially since my husband works for the school district and has the same vacation as me. Well, actually he has a bit longer vacation, but that is alright.

So my summer has had its highs and lows. We moved to our new house on June 10. Very nice. I worked a week of summer school June 14-18. Sort of fun. At least I made some money to go on our vacation to Iowa. We got all packed up and left the morning of July 2 headed to Iowa. But we only made it as far as Waco. It poured down rain. The roads were slick. He saw the car in front of him hit their brakes. He pumped the brakes like he knew to do, but Little Rice didn't stop until she ran into the truck in front of us. We weren't going too fast, but the hood crumpled and we both were scared. My heart kept pounding. He got out to look at the damage. I was too scared to move. Then I started getting dizzy and my neck, shoulder and hip hurt. So I let them take me to the hospital while he stayed with Little Rice til the wrecker got there. There were lots of accidents that day.

He finally made it to the hospital. They took x-rays and gave me pain medicine. Then the doctor cleared me to go home. But Little Rice was at the wrecking yard. So insurance was going to put us in a rental car. But it was the 4th of July weekend and all of them were already gone. So a wonderful lady from the insurance office came all the way to Waco to pick us up and took us home.

Our plans were interrupted and we are now on standby until we learn Little Rice's fate. Thank goodness we were both okay. Now we have a rental car, but can't leave the state of Texas due to their policy to keep the rates down low.

So now our days are filled with sleeping, eating, being lazy, watching DVDs, playing on the computer and enjoying each other's company. I sure do wish we were in Iowa, but we will make it there when it's the right time. At least we are alive and uninjured, aside from some muscle aches, and able to enjoy just being together.

Are the taquitos fresh?

I never thought I would ever watch pro wrestling, let alone like it. But it is amazing what you will do when you hang out with someone you love. Jeffy took me to NSF Wrestling at the Cove Civic Center. I had to laugh when one of the wrestlers came flying through the air and landed in the seat right next to me. Porkchop, the GM, had convinced us to move into the front row saying we would be "safe". Not too sure what his definition of safe is...lol.

Anyhow, Jeffy explained that all wrestlers choose a character to portray. Good guys, bad guys, or maybe a little of each. They use a script much like actors in a play. They perform their own stunts, so to speak. They whisper in each other's ear what they are going to do next so their wrestling moves entertain. They mouth off to each other and to the audience. Even the women wrestlers were entertaining though they talked a lot more than the guys. Typical. I'm glad my first experience was a family friendly event. We are going again in June, but this time it is at a bar and I'm not too happy about that. It might be even scarier and more wild. At least this show they weren't cussing because little kids were there. Sometimes I wish I was a little kid and people were more careful about cussing in front of me...but alas I am not. And people around me don't care. Oh well. Although I do find it amusing that for those who cuss there are "levels" of bad words. For example they think nothing of saying sh*t and da**, but oh my, don't say the "f-word" around women or children. As one who doesn't like cussing at all...the first two annoy me just as much as the last one! But if I hear it all the time, it slips out from my lips too! I prefer to only use it in one special place...

I surprised Jeffy by dancing on Saturday night with our "friend-girl" at a mexican birthday party. I know most guys enjoy watching two girls dance...I'm just glad he watched me at least part of the time. I even danced with Jeffy once. But I really like our "sitting down" dancing...I don't get so breathless, lol.

We went to the carnival at Rabbit Fest on Sunday. It was a tad humid, but we had fun. We rode the ferris wheel and the merry go round. The ticket taker at the merry go round acted stupid. When Jeffy gave him our tokens, he said "You guys have to ride in the seat"...I thought "Duh, those horses are way too small, I wouldn't even want to." Why can't grownups have fun without little kids?!

Even though there weren't so many cool vendors as Jeffy says there has been in the past...we found some treasures. We bought Egyptian Cotton sheet set 1200 thread count for only $25. Amazing smelling candles, 6 for $20. And he found a wooden frog that "sings". The ridges on the frog's back make a sound like croaking when you run the the little wooden mallet from tail to head. It is neat.

Perhaps one of the best parts of the carnival...the food! We ate roasted corn on the cob, foot long corn dogs, funnel cake, a chicken gyro, kettle corn and carmel corn (both made in a big black kettle!) He bought a huge turkey leg to take home. It was yummy for our tummy!!

I had a fun weekend because the taquitos were fresh all weekend long!!

My fabulous Easter weekend

I had an amazing weekend. My boyfriend and I can pack so much fun into three days. We were supposed to go to Austin to see Phantom of the Opera, but we didn't. "It just doesn't feel right," he told me. I'm not too good at that; I just got frustrated that the timing and price didn't work out to my satisfaction.

We bought lots of goodies to put in our nieces' and nephews' Easter baskets. We even made baskets for each other. He told me not to bother getting him a basket, he would just take his yummy treats in a wal-mart bag. I said "No way!" So I found a red cloth box-shaped basket with a baseball on it and talked him into letting me get him that one. So as I gloated, he kept picking out protein bars and candy. I bought him his "mexican lamb" and some other toys and eventually ended up with too much for his basket. So what did I end up doing with all his stuff?! I put them all in a recyclable UT grocery bag we found at HEB. Bummer...he got what he wanted in the first place. From now on, I will just be thankful he knows what he likes and wants and then listen to him how to do it instead of trying to be creative and sneaky.

It all works though, I LOVE surprises and he loves to give me the best surprises! He bought me a Precious Moments Easter basket with a stuffed Precious Moments doll and a journal. I had to close my eyes before he would give me that basket. I did pick out a few things for my Disney Princess basket. Can't remember the last time I got an Easter basket.

Saturday we colored Easter eggs. Well, my first batch didn't turn out so good. The eggs didn't have a nice even coat of dye. They looked more like a pre-k project! But the subsequent batches looked much better. Then when I tried putting on the wrappers in boiling water, the first one didn't come out so well either. I guess the kitchen and I will never get along . But at least I didn't fry, waffle, poach or bake the eggs like Marcie did on Charlie Brown's Easter Beagle. His mom boiled the eggs because he took too long and she said he was making her nervous (that he would never get them done).

We also made yummy sugar free jello jiggler eggs and jelly beans. We ate lime, lemon, orange, black cherry and peach. I mentioned it to Britty and she remembered we used to have them at Grandma's when she was little. So she wants some next time she comes home. Guess we will make her some.

Sunday morning, dark and misty, we went to the park for a community sunrise service at 7am. Then his mom bought us breakfast at Ryan's. Then on to Wal-Mart followed by Sunday Service at his sister's church. Afterwards we ate a yummy dinner at his grandparent's house. We had brisket, ham, sausage, hot dogs, fruit salad, macaroni salad, baked beans, jiggler eggs/jelly beans, and cake for dessert. The kiddos hunted for eggs, and when only one was left the adults joined in the search. But still, a child found the last egg. It was colored green and the hider thought it wouldn't totally blend into the grass, but it sure did fool everyone for awhile...even all the adults...lol!

Aren't we blessed to celebrate Jesus' resurrection day?! Why doesn't everyone believe in and rely on Him? I sure do.

My first two assignments in my new writing class

Dear Friend,

I turn off the highway on to the paved side road that leads to my house. I notice the blinking yellow light that warns drivers of an intersection. I use caution as I pass by the line of cars waiting to turn left. On my left stands a huge storage area that boasts “temperature controlled climates;” a necessity for our stifling hot summer days and houses without garages or storage of their own.

My neighborhood is filled with slightly rundown double wide mobile homes interspersed with older brick homes. Almost every little plot of land has multiple vehicles in the driveways. Some of the vehicles no longer run, like the rusted 1975 Ford truck with the hood missing and the old green Dodge minivan from the early 80s with four flat tires. I can tell the residents all wanted to live on a piece of land. It is not your typical “trailer park”. It is a country neighborhood. Houses are close enough to walk to, but the area looks, smells, and feels like the country.

Netleaf hackberry and spruce trees decorate most of the yards. The Bermuda and melicgrass lawns are dry in spots and faint green in others; typical in fluctuating March weather. One of my favorite modest brick home has a huge Aloe Vera plant in their front yard. Other places have Texas yucca plants or dwarf palmettos. Some places only have the trees, no plants.
I can hear the wind blow as the limbs of the trees sway back and forth. It’s peaceful out here. A few crickets sing their song at twilight. Next door I hear a rooster crowing. About the only man made sound would be the cars that drive back and forth.

As I near my driveway, I see the crystal blue lake to my right. The hackberry trees obscure some of the view, but when the sun is shining just right, the lake sparkles between the trees.

I love living in the country. I hope you will enjoy it too when you come to visit.


Hallmark Restaurant

You can read the sign from the highway. The brown background with white letters announces “Restaurant”. In smaller type, about four feet down on the sign, you can see its official name “Hallmark” once you get closer to the crowded parking lot. It makes no difference what time of day you visit; you will always have a hard time finding a parking space. It is open 24 hours.

Customers at this cozy café crave the delectable food. They come back for all their favorites. Perfect for the penny pincher, this restaurant gives you good old home cooking and a comfortable homey atmosphere at reasonable prices. From their signature smiley chef face on the menus and signs to the seasoned waitresses and cooks, this Mom and Pop restaurant makes you feel welcome.

You walk in, seat yourself and within minutes a friendly face comes to get your drink order. She will give you silverware and a full menu. Only the daily specials are on a plain sheet of paper when you first sit down. Many people have come to sit in those weathered booths and tables. The table tops advertise different businesses from around town. No two table tops are the same.

Up until about a year ago, the Hallmark was one of the few eating establishments you could still smoke inside. However, decades of smoking have left a hazy film inside. You would almost think people still smoked there even though the ashtrays no longer adorn the tables.

One of the icons of the restaurant is a man named Shorty. He sports gray hair under his worn out plain blue cotton baseball cap and a scruffy looking face. Normally he wears his faded overalls, a tattered t-shirt that used to be white once upon a time and a huge heavy lumber jack plaid jacket no matter what the temperature outside. He is over 70 years old now, but he still drives his towing truck with peeling paint that has faded over the years. You can barely read “Shorty’s” on the driver’s side door anymore. Garbage litters the dashboard. Many times you will find him sleeping in his truck. But everyone knows he belongs there at the Hallmark like a light fixture in your bathroom.

So if you would like to visit a cozy café with delectable food, a homey atmosphere, and penny pinching prices, come on out and visit Shorty at the Hallmark Restaurant in my neighborhood.