self-control, will power, restraint

these are all words that are not usually *fine, not EVER* associated with me. or my personality.

and today, i'm headed to the grocery store...which happens to be one of my favorite places. but, like Mindi & Zane, we are adhering to the Dave Ramsey FPU classes and i know that this trip to the store will be less than fun.

we've had a budget for a while. now we are actually sticking to it. and today, i only need milk, tissues and some fresh veggies. easy, right?

NO - because all of those glorious food options out there will be trying to seduce me. cheese, meat, bread, potatoes...probably a shiny apple. call me snow white, but my will power is not stronger than a fresh gala apple. with caramel sauce.

wish me luck.

now it's on...

my husband, drew, he's feeling frisky today.

he's not a fan of the time i spend on the computer. and then today i got the itch to change my blog background.

i've changed it a few times now and since he's currently doing the dishes, i know he's steamed.

but he loves me. so i'm gonna make the bed and we'll call it fair.

Hoopty Hoop

cyd started gymnastics this week. and although she's pretty positive she's meant to be a glorious, graceful ballerina, we talked her into the bouncing around.

SHE LOVED IT!

the teachers were great at making the skills the little ones needed to learn seem like games...they did tons of jumping and following the leader and working different aspects of their extremities.

we are loving that the consistent exposure to the balance beam and trampoline will help with cyd's balance and coordination.

she loved the hoola hoop.

friday, we were driving and she said: "momma, i didn't know how to do the hoola hoop. did you see me?"

yes, baby. you did great! did you like it?

"yep. but i didn't know how to do it. so i practiced last night in my sleep and now, i want to go back to gymnastics and do it better and better and better."

this week, i'll try to get some pictures of these 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds as they prepare for the Olympics. one dream at a time.

background

what's up with all the cool backgrounds?

i was using "cutestblogontheblock" but now there are errors on the page and i can't get another nifty background.

what do you guys use?

i need suggestions...

Awww, CRAP!!!

have you ever been excited, but a bit um...shall we say, worried about first impressions? like, maybe you forgot to put away the folded underwear on the couch and the preacher's wife just dropped by to deliver some fresh brownies...do you let her in the house & invite her to sit - or stand like a bodyguard in the door to keep her from seeing your human-ish-ness?

that's where I am right now.

my sweetheart neighbor, Mindi, has just introduced me to her friends in the blogging world & while I'm loving reading her blog, my mind panics! could it be that i still have some lame (although at the time I thought it was pretty) Christmas background still up??? awww, CRAP! i have to get over there and change it before any of Mindi's hip friends see it and learn about the real Laren!

so, hopefully, the onslaught of readers won't be offended if there are a few reindeer lingering on the site. i plan to update more frequently. i vow to blog at least weekly. maybe weakly.

and go see Mindi - she's amazing. i'm green with the envy of 'how does she do it?" and you will be too!