Merry Christmas!

I was so not on my game this year with sending out the Christmas Cards. On a side note: I did finish all my Christmas shopping really, really, really early! I guess one of those had to be sacrificed. Thank you so much for all of you who sent us cards! They are proudly hanging up in our home. :)
Please accept this as your Christmas and Holiday Greetings from us! I promise I will get right on this next year!

A very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of Holidays from our family to yours! May the New Year bring you much JOY!

Lloyd - Day 2

I went to go upload a Lloyd picture from this morning and found this GEM. FLASHBACK! Good lord he is so adorable. I know I'm partial but seriously, what a precious little face! Makes me miss this baby age so much. *Tear*.

Okay, on to Lloyd......

It must have been a pretty chilly flight from the North Pole to our house this morning - Lloyd was at the stove warming up some Kirkland/Campbells Tomato Bisque soup! He has impeccable taste though - this soup is seriously the best. soup. ever!!! How do you like that for advertising?! Your'e welcome, Campbells.

Christmas Traditions

It's time to breath in all that is Christmas. By far my favorite time of the year. I just LOVE the FEELING that Christmas brings. Warm toasty fires, the smell of a fresh pine tree, all the yummy holiday candle scents, the twinkling lights, Christmas movies and music....and seeing the JOY that it brings to my little boy's eyes. I hope to teach him that THIS is the true meaning of Christmas - the feeling of giving and of happiness -  that it is the time of year to be thankful for all that is around you. To hold those around us who are special to us extra tight and spend some much needed, relaxing down time with our loved ones.

I know the reason why Christmas is so special to my heart is because I grew up knowing it's true meaning. My Mom and Dad never failed to make the Holidays extra, extra, extra special for my siblings and I. We held tight to tradition and counted on looking forward to those little happenings that made the Holidays what we knew them as. Whether it was opening up a present on Christmas eve (pajamas), looking for the green pickle in the tree (unbeatable record over here), listening to Trans Siberian Orchestra until our minds were ingrained with the music until the following June (someone please hide it) or stuffing ourselves full with crab for Christmas Eve dinner, I knew what the Holidays would be like every year - a perfect mix of chaos, laughter, happy emotions and a complete sense of fullness in our souls.

This is why I can't wait to share the Holidays with my little family now. I want to make the Holidays special for them for years to come. Even though Jake says he hates putting up Christmas lights (I think he really secretly loves it), this is completely necessary to fulfill the Christmas spirit. There are traditions to create, memories to form and lots and lots of family time to be spent.

Conner helping Daddy put the star on the tree

Conner's last two Christmas' were a blast. Last year, he really had the concept of opening presents down. But THIS year, he comprehends the stories, the magic, the CONCEPT of all that is Christmas.

This year, we started out with an incredibly amazing ride on the Polar Express. For those who haven't read the book or watched the movie - you just need to....right now...GO! It has such a wonderful message. The Ghost Train in Ely, NV recreates this story - leading kids onto the train (ALL ABOARD!) to head to the North Pole, where Santa awaits to greet them.

On-board the train is hot chocolate and cookies, Christmas carols and a reading of the story. They are all handed a little bell from Santa. You will only be able to hear the sweet sound of the bell if you still BELIEVE. I heard every single bell that was handed out so, I'll tell you what, I certainly still believe. All four bells that made it back to our house when we got back from the North Pole, I still really hear them as well.

If you haven't heard about Elf on the Shelf, you've been living in a cave. One day, I am going to invent a simple yet ingenious product like this.

Here's the short story: Elf lives with Santa at the North Pole (duh) and he is your very own personal Elf. He will arrive every morning before you wake up in some creative, mischievous scenario. Elf is here to watch you to see if you're being good or bad. He then flies back to the North Pole for the night to report his observations to Santa. Genius.

Yesterday, there was a knock at the door. When we opened up the door, a present was just sitting outside. I guess that Santa came through town in order to drop Conner's elf off. (....Are you serious, Clark?!). :)

Conner wanted to name him Elf and also Christmas...very original. I thought Lloyd Christmas was cute but we are still deciding on a name. Maybe when Conner gets older he will want to name him something else. :)

Day 1: Elf/Christmas/Lloyd showed up with a little bit of morning fishing in the sink in Conner's bathroom. I'm not sure how the bite was this morning......

I can't wait to post what situation our Elf is in every day until Christmas Eve when he will go back to the North Pole until December 1st of next year. I am very excited about starting this adorable Christmas tradition with my baby boy!

No, I'm not a Republican. But I'm thinking about becoming one....

I find this just appalling:

On March 20, 2006 the National Debt stood at $8.3 TRILLION

Direct Quote from Senator Obama on March 20, 2006:

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies…

Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that “the buck stops here.” Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.

I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit."

Today, the National Debit stands at around $17 TRILLION

Hung by his very own rope. Please save us now - I am truly concerned for our future.

Memories

I am a blogging MACHINE today! While looking through old videos and photos, I found this gem and wanted to post it. I can't believe how fast time flies by. Count your blessings each and every day and enjoy each to the MAX. Life is so dang beautiful.

When You Believe, You WILL Achieve

I wanted to share the story I wrote on my friend's Advocare blog which can be viewed here:

Spark Into a New You

Here is the story about my journey to my weight loss goals!

Hello! My name is Addie (Munson) Rosevear and this is my story of both my struggle with losing weight and my success at accomplishing my weight loss goals.

Growing up, I was always thin. I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and never had to worry about those pesky pounds. My metabolism loved me and I loved my metabolism. The sad part is, we can’t always be young and skinny and stay in High School.

Between the ages of 19-22, I was in the best shape of my life, weighing in at around 145-150. Working as a wild land firefighter during the summer kept me in prime physical shape. I could still eat whatever I wanted to because I was burning so many calories. In 2009, at age 23, many life changes began to occur. I graduated from UNR in December, moved away from Reno to a small town, and was engaged to an extremely sweet and sexy man on Christmas Eve.

I had a lot of down time while, freshly graduated, trying to find a decent job that this small town had to offer me. There were many months that I was unemployed, hanging out on my fiancé’s (at the time) and his family’s beautiful ranch. I was living a simple, easy and free life with the refrigerator so close in arms reach. Keep in mind that by this time, the honeymoon stage was over and I had no problem showing my babe how fantastic I was at pounding a double quarter pounder straight into my mouth. At this point in my life, I weighed around 155-160. Little did I know what was to come!

A slow fire season in 2010 also brought a lot of down time and in August of 2010, we found out we had created a fierce mix of the two of us.  A little guy was headed our way. Fast forward a month to September 18^th, 2010 – we tied the knot.

At the beginning of my pregnancy, I weighed around 160 pounds. Now, I wasn't one of those tiny, all belly, fresh and glowing looking pregnant ladies. If it could happen during pregnancy, you can be sure I got it. During my pregnancy, I gained an enormously large 58 pounds. The day I delivered, I was 218 pounds!!! This weight out of a 5 foot 7 inch woman who, according to BMI scales, should weigh in around 150-155 was so taxing on my body. Needless to say I was about 70 pounds overweight. I have to give myself a little credit due to the fact that I was pregnant, I realize that, but after growing up with weight never an issue for me, this devastated me greatly. Don’t feel too bad for me though – I got an incredible, beautiful, perfect little gift out of the whole experience. It was worth every pound that I gained.

I also wasn’t one of those women (who I nearly wanted to punch with every bragging Facebook post) who rapidly lost all the baby weight in the first few months. In fact, it took me over TWO YEARS to get back to where I was before my baby boy – this recently being in the last couple of weeks! Many factors played into this but it took an epiphany one day to realize that if I kept waiting to truly put 100% into getting back to a healthy weight, each day would go by and my weight would remain the same or get worse. I had had “the moment” – the moment that told me, okay chubby, it’s now or never and never will be too late.

To tell you a little bit about my personality, I am a complete realist - as real as they get. I don’t fall for these “too good to be true” infomercials (a blow dryer that perfectly curls your hair in a couple seconds – get real), get rich quick schemes and “all you have to do is put this wrap on your belly and you’ll lose weight”.  I am here to tell you that there is no magic pill or wrap that with help you lose weight. If it were that easy, we wouldn't have nearly 70% of our U.S. population who is overweight or obese. This is staggering statistics. We are a consumer driven society in which companies and entrepreneurs bank off of marketing techniques to lure in the average public with “easy ways” to shed the pounds. Minus any serious medical condition, losing weight doesn't cost hundreds of dollars and sure as hell isn't achieved by taking a pill. That being said let me tell you a side story….

Enter Katie Brunson and her vivacious enthusiasm for this company called Advocare. This is where I break down and admit that the tools for successful weight loss were encompassed within this company and its passion for health and fitness. This is where I also admit that I am a bit of a tight-wad, especially when it involves spending money on me. As a wife and mother, my first thoughts are with my hubs and son. To me, their needs come first. But it was time I was a little “selfish” and did something for me! It is not a secret that quality products cost quality money and at around $220 for the 24-Day Challenge, I was extremely hesitant to buy into it. I had my realistic, just-another-diet-gimmick blinders on. So, when Katie told me she had become a distributor, my honest first thought was, “I wish you the best but good luck with that”. I figured it was another company to get it’s grabbers on precious income without giving a crap about whether or not its customers achieved the desired and promised results.

One of the many amazing things about Katie is that she is headstrong and driven. She is a challenge extended, challenge accepted type of person. I knew if anyone, SHE would have the willpower and determination to do anything she put her mind to….and I really believe that a few of her skeptics (such as myself) made her even more motivated to do so. “Listen...”, she told me, “I will do the 24-Day Challenge first. If you like my results, then decide if you want to do it or not”. I told her that was a great idea. While still being honest here, even with what I know about my babe of a friend and I believe in her with all my heart, I honestly did not think she would get any crazy results.  But the next thing that I know, I’m watching her amazing transformation right before my very own eyes.  In hindsight, I believe it was such a brilliant idea to complete the challenge yourself first before trying to sell the product. This is hands down the exact reason why I purchased it. I saw other distributors trying to sell it without even trying the challenge themselves yet and even “half-assing” the challenge which showed their customers a poor example and lack of superior coaching skills.

During Katie’s first 24-Day Challenge, I was getting daily texts and pictures of her progress and weight loss. I didn’t realize how much of a crutch this would be for me when I did my 24-Day Challenge shortly after and would text her daily for advice, praise and encouragement. I made comments of support and praise but also comments such as “I’m sure it’s largely your diet though”. My skepticism was still raging in full force. I knew deep down that even I had tried healthy diets for months at a time with no results but, remember, I still had my blinders on.

The 24^th day arrived and Katie sent me her “Day 1” and “Day 24” pictures. I stared at it in awe. I could not believe at the incredible difference that had occurred in just 24 days. Needless to say, I ordered that very day. Expensive or not, if my friend could get these results, it was worth every penny. I wanted the same results and I was determined to get this crappy extra weight off of my body! To see someone else close to me that was struggling with the same exact thing that I was and to experience her real-life, photo-shop free results was largely the reason for the blinders coming off and committing to the 24-Day Challenge.

I couldn’t open up the box fast enough. Twenty-four zip lock bags and a cart load of fresh, natural groceries later, I was ready to start the very next day. I will just come right out and say that the herbal cleanse portion of the challenge is by far my FAVORITE, favorite part. Next in line is the Spark and then the meal replacements shakes. All three of these products are what I continued to purchase after my 24-Day Challenge.

Within the first ten days, I lost six pounds. One of the things you realize when embarking on this journey is how much you learn about your body and the things you put into your body. Sure, I had a basic idea of what was good food versus bad food. What you learn is why processed food is bad, what it does to your metabolism, where it collects on your body and how it affects our digestive system. You have a new appreciation and understanding of early ancestral l times and how we are adapted to eat very basic, minimally processed foods that are in their most natural state. Think of it like a caveman. They didn’t have ding dongs and cheese! They ate fruits and vegetables they had to grow and animal meat that they had to kill. There is a reason why over half of our society is so overweight – all these processed, packaged foods are not meant to be a daily staple in our lives.

This is where the ten day cleanse comes in. By subjecting our bodies to all these foreign foods overtime, our digestive systems, for lack of a better term, are majorly out of whack. Most of these foods our body doesn’t even know how to digest; therefore, it ends up right on our behinds. Through fiber cleansing, probiotics and herbal cleanse supplements, the cleanse phase essentially retrains our digestive system to reset and work correctly by cleaning out the layers of crap that has accumulated. It also allows our bodies, through digestion, to be able to actually absorb the nutrients we need. This may be a little TMI but did you know that we are naturally supposed to release a number two at least once if not twice a day? I had a family member tell me that the herbal cleanse made her poop a lot. She told me that she would go number two every two days. I told her that wasn’t good and that it is essential to get rid of waste on a daily basis and that that wasn’t “a lot” but normal! See, these are the things you learn. Important things like pooping. J

The remaining 14 days was the max phase and to tell you the truth, I only lost 2 more pounds during this phase of the challenge. I was a little devastated that by the end I had only lost 8 pounds, but little did I know, this was only the beginning of much more to come. The 24-Day Challenge gave me the change to reset more than my body – it reset my MIND. It gave me the tools to know what and how much I should eat. Was I perfect through the 24-Day Challenge? No. Did I maybe have a few things that I shouldn’t have had? Yes. We make mistakes and then we get right back on the wagon. The challenge taught me a lot about myself that I amazingly wasn't aware of – my mind does not control itself. It taught me the power of self-preservation, persistence, education, willpower, determination and dedication. Looking back now, I consider myself (in the world of my diet) an extremely weak person. I hated that I didn’t take control of my own body sooner. I didn’t want to be a weak person who couldn’t lose a few pounds because I wasn’t willing to give up my bad eating habits. How ridiculous is it to think that WE are the people who choose what we put in our own mouths and yet we know exactly how it is harming us. It is self-destruction. I was pissed that I was showing that much disrespect to my own body. My mind was my enemy but by the end of the challenge, we were pretty good friends again.

The $25 scale that I purchased was probably another tool that “saved my life”. Before this, I had never owned a scale – I didn’t really need to. I knew I was thin and I was comfortable with my weight. When I knew I was overweight I didn’t step on the scale simply because I didn’t want to see the numbers it spit back out at me. If I didn’t see it, it didn’t exist. The 155 pounds that I had on my driver’s license was a bold faced lie. But it still made me feel better. Now, the scale is my friend. My best friend actually – it is completely honest with me. It tells me the results of what I don’t want to see about my cheats the day before and it tells me that my past week of hard work has totally paid off. Sometimes I step on it with glee and other times I want to throw it out the window and tell it that it’s a LIAR! Point is, don’t hide behind your scale. Get on it and with enough willpower and determination, you will see the numbers fall.

One thing that I knew for certain was that I didn’t want to rely on and take 15 vitamins/supplements every day. In my research, I have found that vitamins are basically left as pee in the toilet if you have a well-balanced diet. That being said, I know we are not perfect and we don’t eat perfect. There are essential periods in our diet phases in which vitamins and supplements are detrimental to reaching our weight loss goals. After the challenge, I continued to eat clean. In fact, I found that that was what my body craved. I felt like total crap when I would eat processed, sugary foods. One of the HUGE lessons during my 24-Day Challenge was coming to the realization that I was eating roughly twice the amount of food that I really needed. When I would sit down with my meal, I would look at the plate. My mind would tell me “there is no way that is going to make you full”. I fought with my mind “just eat it and see how you feel”. Miraculously, I felt completely satisfied. I am here to tell you that at no point (except maybe in the first few days of readjusting) did I ever feel that I was remotely hungry or starving myself. Quite the opposite in fact – there were times when I had to force myself to eat that small snack in order to keep my metabolism going. Lessons were learned when one night I got so excited it was my free two hours that I had a huge meal with a few selections such as macaroni and cheese and steak. About a half hour later, I was bent over the toilet puking up my meal through no choice of my own because my body was telling me “um, hello? This is way too much food” and “I’ve been getting amazing nutrients and now you’re trying to put this crap in me”. Our bodies know, they are smart but our minds are kind of stupid sometimes.

Two months after the day I started my challenge, I am here to tell you that I have lost a total of 14 pounds. That’s an additional 6 pounds after the completion of my challenge! Two months ago, I weighed in at around 172 pounds. Today I weigh in at around 158 pounds. I told myself (and Katie) that I would bawl with happiness if I ever got back into the 150’s. My scale and I had a moment of tears when I broke below 160. Hey, that’s what friends are for!

This is only the beginning of my journey. I still want to get to my desired weight of 145-150 and then work on my body composition – gain muscle, lose fat and basically look like a MILF. I have all the tools to do it and I KNOW I can accomplish that.

A word of advice – find someone (or several) supportive people in your life, a friend, husband, mom, aunt, dog, whatever, who is willing to be there for you through the ups and downs. Yes, we would be kidding ourselves if we said there weren’t downs. Someone who will be there to help support you in throwing that piece of chocolate cake in the garbage can and squirting dish soap all over it. I know for me, having a friend who was going through a mirror image experience was an essential crutch in my achievement. Whether it be texting a picture of your healthy meal or jeans that are getting bigger or a text of your weight loss or sweet tooth challenge for the week, it makes the journey much more accountable……and enjoyable.

I took on this challenge first and foremost for myself. This is something we as individuals can be selfish about. This is our LIFE! Our bodies are literally a temple! This is the only body we’re ever going to get. Take care of it for yourself AND for your family. Being healthy and fit is a choice and it is the right choice for longevity in your life. I challenge you to find yourself, learn things about the basic necessities for living simple and pure through eating clean and to discover willpower in you that most people don’t know that they have. If I can do it, anyone can do it and wherever you need to start your journey, don’t wait until tomorrow, do it today. For me, my start was Advocare and it will continue to be a staple in my life. Here’s to clean eating and a bright future!

This picture was from the day I had my little boy. I was around 70 pounds overweight. Yes, I know I had just had a baby, but looking at these pictures gives me major insight into how big I actually got. I was at about 210 here. I knew my husband had taken these pictures and I am glad that he did to record the beautiful day but before now I couldn't even look at these because I was so shocked at the foreign body I was looking at. Although it is a little embarrassing for me to show these pictures, I can compare me then to me now and see the amazing transformation that I am proud to have had the willpower to achieve.

The picture on the left was my before picture prior to the 24 Day Challenge. The picture on the right is exactly two months later. -14 pounds and 10+ inches lost. I finally feel like my body is my own again. There is no feeling greater than the feeling of accomplishment.

I would love to be there for those who need advice, a shoulder to cry on or a swift kick in the butt of tough love.

addierosevear@gmail.com

Thank you for letting me share my story and journey!

xoxo

-Addie

90 & in LOVE

Football season is upon us. Every year, I slowly learn the rules and regulations of the game. I can get an A in Organic Chemistry but for the life of me I can't understand football. Explain that one to me!

I am a sucker for good commercials. Some of my favorites that leave me bursting with laughter are the Doritos and AT&T Fast is Better commercials. Not to mention the SPCA Rescue and Animal Cruelty commercials that leave me wiping at my tears due to the fact that I had something stuck in both of my eyes.

Let's face it, the REAL reason I watch the Superbowl is not to wow Jake with my incredible knowledge of football (it's really all about yelling out random "damnit!" and "what a play!" phrases). I watch the Superbowl for the commercials. Yes, I am the person who fast forwards through the game and pushes play to the good stuff.

About a month ago, I saw this commercial for "The Everyday Effect" Swiffer. It stars this super cute old couple (one of my most favorite things ever). I just figured they were actors until I stumbled across an article in Yahoo!.....

Lee & Morty Swiffer Video

The video is the best part. They are in fact a married couple of 44 years! In this day in age where marriage isn't seen as a necessary act, this was so refreshing to me. Call me old-fashioned but if I am 90 and in love, still holding hands while slowly keeping pace with my partner of many years, I will be one happy old lady. I also related to Lee because she is a neat freak and I guess you never grow out of that - sorry, Jakey! ;) I'm just saying, I would be elated if someone dropped off a box of cleaning supplies to my front door. That is exciting stuff.

"Morty, are you listening?!". Dahhh! So stinkin' adorable.