Soda Sobriety

I have decided to give up soda for one month. I added a Soda Sobriety counter. If you care to see how long its been since my last Mountain Dew, you can click on the link and a popup will let you know.

I am especially excited about this because I read that if you give up one soda per day you will lose 15 pounds in one year. Since I am up to about three cans a day, I figure that if I give up soda altogether for 3 years I will end up weighing only 15 pounds. This seems a little extreme, so I have decided to take it just one month at a time.

I also want to add that I have lots of support from my family in this endeavor. Sadie (our adorable jack russell mix) has agreed not to have a single soda for the next month. And, the children are willing to polish off the last three cans of Mountain Dew left in the fridge so there will be no temptations.

I will let you know how I do.

Urgh! No Baby to Blame the Weight On

Today I had a rude awakening in a Walmart fitting room. I looked in the mirror and almost didn't recognize myself. Well, that's not entirely true. My face I am quite familiar with. It's the rest of me that has transformed into a 31-year-old, 5 pounds here, 10 pounds there, Mountain Dew drinking blob! YUCK!

I remember when I was 16 and saw old people (31-year-olds) and thought that my perfectly trim body would never become like that. I was wrong. To be fair, I know lots of people who are 31 (and older) who look fabulous and run marathons and drink carrot juice for dinner. I am just not one of them.

And, please don't get the wrong impression from the title of this post. I re-read it and it almost sounds like I am sad not to have a baby. If I had a baby, believe me, the situation would be far more grim. I am perfectly happy to have a 6-year-old baby. No more babies for me. It just seems like many other women my age have a baby (or two) to blame the weight on. That's all. (And, a valid, wonderful excuse a baby is!)

Anyhow, for fun, I was thinking of listing all of the excuses (in leiu of a baby) I could come up with for allowing myself to look like a 31-year-old blob. On the top of the list would be my jealousy of cola drinkers who have a potable alternative to their addiction. (Mountain Dew drinkers do not! Diet Mountain Dew tastes like lake water.) But, I suppose a whole long list would not be very productive. I really just need to give up on the soda all together and move my butt. So that is what I will do. Starting tomorrow. Maybe.

A Crazy Christmas

Here are some pictures from Christmas. We moved into our house on Saturday and Christmas came 3 short days later. We didn't have a Christmas tree, so the girls drew one for us.

Hoover Dam

Just a few hours past the Grand Canyon we crossed Hoover Dam. Since 9/11 they don't allow large trucks so Beau had to go a different route. But, we wanted the kids to see the dam before they close it to everyone. As many of you may know, they are building a bypass bridge that you can see in this last picture. It is really a sight to see. Apparently, it is about 900 feet high. It will be sad when you can't actually go on the dam anymore.

And, thank goodness for all the snow we are getting!! Look how low that water is! Yikes!

The Grand Canyon

Our next stop was in Flagstaff, AZ. Flagstaff is beautiful! It was cold but at last we were in mountains with pine trees and snow.

The south rim of the grand canyon is about 40 miles from Flagstaff. The canyon is just overwhelming! The kids were in awe. They didn't understand what the big fuss was before we got there. Beau tried to explain that a canyon is like the opposite of a mountain...but I don't think they were prepared for the grandiosity of it all.

And, for me, the horriblizer in the family, I was riddled with anxiety about the mile long fall waiting if one of the children decided to go over the edge. (OK, I have to leave Beau in that equation. He is the daredevil 12-year-old-at-heart in our family.) At the gift shop we learned that between 10 and 12 people each year die at the canyon. Thankfully, not one Carlson took the plunge. Although, I think there was a moment where Beau was tempted to send Sadie (the dog) over the edge :(

VEGA

So, this is it...The famed Rory Schepisi's restaurant. We didn't get a chance to eat there. This was at about 7 am on our second day of travelling. We stayed the night before in Amarillo, TX, which is about 40 miles from Vega.

Yes, We Moved...

I thought you'd all like to see my view for about 1900 miles. We saw Oklahoma for the first time. Beau tried to get me to drive this mammoth truck...but, I'm not crazy!!!

SNOW!

The kids are so happy to be in the snow again!!

We have a lot of catching up to do. I will be working on several posts from the past month that has brought a lot of change and adventure for us! We have been without Internet for the past month and I for one, feel like an amputated limb has been reattached with it on in our new house...finally!