I know that my posts have taken on a negative vibe the last few weeks, but honesty is honesty. If my posts were full of unicorns and butterflies, It would be lies. 

Sunday went from bad (Gigi being sick) to worse really fast. After running errands and hitting the laundromat, I came home to take Gigi's temp and it was 106.8. I believe she had gotten a little warm as our air conditioner had broken, but it scared me!  So with the help of Des, we grabbed everything we needed and went to the ER. 

4 hours and a throat swab, nose swag, two blood sticks as she blew out the first vein from fighting, chest x-rays, and urine test...everything came back negative. Best they could guess was that she had strep but it wasn't showing up on the rapid test just yet. In they came with two shots of Rosephin...one for each butt cheek. They also came with three other people to help me hold Gigi down. She still jumped, resulting in a scrape all the way across her bum from the needle. It's still bruised and scabbed today. 

It was a horrible, no good, very bad day. Having my daughter look at me with tears covering her face and screaming "Why are you letting them do this to me Mommy?" Ugh.. 

So Needless to say there was a lot of emotional eating going on. I have eaten so much this week, I don't even want to step on a scale. 

Monday marked open house. Mike took Gigi to TBall practice*yes she had made a complete turn around of the day before and asked to go* She was and has continued to improve and Sunday is just a distant memory for her. Still scares the crap outta me to even think about it. It was a late night at work..but the last late night for the year.

Our A/C is still broken. The person we had coming to look at it for a cheaper cost flaked on us and never even called to reschedule. Thank goodness it's been cooler than the previous week. 

Work held a lot of goodbyes this week. My seniors are gone..they graduated Saturday. I know a few will keep in touch. It really makes me feel good knowing that I have impacted the future of some. :) 

I am still struggling with my heel spur. I can stand on my foot pretty OK but when it comes to walking...if it's longer than about a block. I can't do it anymore. It HURTS. So I pretty much haven't exercised at all. (Unless you count squatting a zillion times to pick up washers at the washer tournament at my mom's today?)   I did receive confirmation I am going to be sent a free product to review on my blog. It's a first, and hopefully it will help my heel spur...so we will see. 

I feel pretty DOWN and ALONE at the moment with my whole battle WAR with weight. I am out of the loop and am not sure how/if to get back in. 

Don't get me wrong, things are great with my husband and family..but beyond that...not really. I am ready for next Tuesday---I'm free from work until August 13th......Who knows what the summer will hold..but if anything..I hope it holds positivity.  There is more I want to rant on, but I am going to save it for another post. 

This week, has, yet again, been CRAZY!!! The last post I created was before the Mamavation Moms were announced. 

As it is really apparent, I did not get voted in. I know that anything is accepted as far as votes go, and people need incentives to vote, rather than just voting for you because. I did not do a giveaway, I did not win. Simple as that. I know if I decide to apply again, that I will have to do a giveaway if I have any hope of being selected. I do have a giveaway readily available thanks to a generous donation from a wonderful friend, but I am still not 100% sure how I feel about it. I want to be selected because people think I deserve it, not because they have the chance to win something.   I do think that the Mamavation Moms deserve their position, they have worked hard for it and continue to work hard for it, but for me, I need the support of family, friends, and those around me. Without that support I will not succeed in a lifestyle change, so therefore I am not sure a giveaway would have been or will be appropriate for me. The jury in my mind is still out on this one. 

I want to thank a very special friend who sat and spoke with me all night until the announcement of Mamavation Moms. You know who you are, and I appreciate you so much. 

Tuesday Night was one of the longest days of the school year for me. Tiger Paws Graduation. One of my classes(which runs half of the school day) is a Preschool Learning Lab. I train my high schoolers to be the teachers for the preschoolers. This year we had 18 preschoolers. The final project at the end of the year is always a large Graduation/Promotion Ceremony and Reception. I keep all of my HS Students with me ALL DAY as we prepare. They create all of the food trays/sandwiches/etc to be served at the reception. Plan and set up all the decorations and backdrop for Graduation and decorate the entire cafeteria of the school for the reception. IT is a LONG process and can be a bit trying when you have 23 teenage girls trying to get along and make unified decisions. This year went much more smooth than I had originally thought it may go. You are always going to have a few hiccups, but all in all I would not change ANYTHING about how the day/evening went. Graduation started at 7pm and I finally got out of the school around 10pm. So essentially I was at work from 7:30am until 10pm. I was on my feet nearly 100% of the time. Which leads into the rest of the stressful week...

I have a heel spur. I have no idea if it is related to Plantar Fasciitis.  When I stand on my right foot, you can see it sticking out the bottom/right side of my heel. It is really painful and I can't currently walk flat footed. It feels like you are sticking a needle in my foot each step. I know that being on my feet for so long on Tuesday was the culprit. It is pretty embarrassing to be limping at every step when I am only 27 years old. I know it is related to my weight, but at this point I can't do any cardio or anything that involves walking/running/jumping. WTF...I can't stand this. Every time I get into a groove...something knocks me down and out of my habit. Pretty frustrated.... I also don't have health insurance so getting it checked out by a specialist is out of the picture.

Frustration continues into the weekend. Don't get me wrong. Thursday and Friday were okay. It was the Seniors last days at work so that is always crazy. I was very humbled and honored by some of the nice things that my Seniors said about and to me both at the Tiger Paws Graduation as well as the last couple days of school. Some students literally never left my room the entire day(at the permission of their other teachers.) Really makes me feel validated and that I am on the right track as an educator.   Saturday was supposed to be a fantastic day, and it was, for the most part. It just had a pretty rotten ending. I won Tickets to the Barnum and Bailey Circus at the SIU Arena. My husband had to work so I took my Dad, Destiny, and Gigi. We had awesome seats and the circus was awesome. Aside from the clowns, I have always liked the circus.   Half way through I get a text from my husband about his dumb workplace cutting his hours for the summertime. He always switches his schedule from Wed-Sunday to Monday-Friday during the summer so he can spend all weekends with my step-daughter, Destiny during the summer. We can't financially do that during the school year bc we can't afford full-time daycare for Gigi. 

So they said that the other employees complained he would have every weekend off, so they are going to work him M-F one week and ONLY W-F the next week. So we lose two pay-days every other week. My husband has been there nearly 13 years, makes slightly over min wage and gets no vacation/sick days. The other employees do not have families or any specific commitments unless you count playing video games or hitting the bars....but my husband gets penalized for wanting to spend time with family. They treat him like a dog (it's a pet store by the way) and have NO APPRECIATION for him whatsoever. I wish I had another job opportunity waiting in the wings for him, but it's hard enough to get a job around here. I am sad to say I have just lost all respect for his co-workers and most importantly his momma's boy of a boss/owner who still gets dinner cooked from mommy every night and gets paid whether he works or not (he's in his 50s and is gonna have a sad life when his mom dies...I feel sorry for him...maybe)   #bitter

Anyways, so we were planning on getting ahead this summer because we won't have as much gas or daycare costs, but that just knocked it right in the ass. So It's not the end of the world, but not what we had planned. 


Then we decided to go see the Avengers in 3D because we haven't taken the kids to do anything like that as a family in a long time. It was an AMAZING show! I love love loved it! We all did. About 3/4 of the way through, Gigi announced she was tired and fell asleep..but she made it most of the way.

Then as soon as we get home, we realize our A/C is making a large squealing noise. As we walk inside, it's nearly 90 degrees in our home. Our A/C is broken. YAY! and then Gigi wakes up crying and has a 102deg fever.....so you can see how our Saturday ended! 

I got absolutely no sleep last night as Gigi was too hot and uncomfortable to sleep. No doctors are open until tomorrow....thank goodness we qualify for her to get the state medical card that we only have to pay $40 a month for. Poor thing has been laying about sick as a dog all night/morning. 

I am about to take off to the laundry mat to get into the A/C and do laundry with the kids, and then we are going to eat out...well...because it will be a lot cooler than eating in our 90deg. home. 

I pray this week is better than last....and I hope you all have a good week...and sorry for the post being so sullen..but It's honest and it's just how my week went. 

<3 Amber

What a week! I thought LAST week was crazy...this one is another one for the record books. 

As a high school teacher, this month is always the craziest. My FCCLA commitments keep me super busy because of the State Conference. The end of April is also always crazy because we have Tiger Paws Graduation(which is the preschool graduation that myself and my students put on) and PROM. Students become pretty crazy during Prom season. Their sights are set on one thing,(or a zillion meshed into one)...having the best night EVAH!

I read online that the average prom-goer will spend over 1,000 on prom this year. It blew me away to read that. Spray tanning, regular tanning, jewelry, make up, hair, DRESS, LIMO, FOOD, Ticket to Prom, After-Prom, and everything else in between. It sure adds up. 

I had a "Prom" of sorts on Friday Night! I had won tickets on the radio to a ladies only event in Marion. It was called Sundresses and Sandals. The Brat Pack was playing. The Brat Pack is an 80s Pop Cover Band. Talk about ahhhmazing! I ate really well at the event. Stuck to the healthier food options available. I danced for like 4 hours straight. I should probably say that I have not had a night out in FIVE YEARS....since before I was pregnant with my daughter. We had arranged for her to stay with my brother while my hubby went out with Ray and I took Ray's wife, Dawn--who's an awesome friend :P, to the event with me. It was nice, refreshing, and a much needed stress reliever. I am not going to lie, I drank alcohol. *wait's for my BookieBoo beating...* I do not drink alcohol on a regular basis whatsoever. In fact, the last drink of Alcohol I remember having was at a wine trail day-trip that I won LAST SUMMER. The event had free wine tastings and also free drink tickets. So I did have a couple Margaritas and some wine. I know that I am paying for it because the scale didn't move...so again..lesson learned. However, I really had a great time, Ran into some former co-workers from a different school distracted, and we just had a blast.  Back to the regular grind and better decisions, but it did really feel great to break loose and have an Adult night for the first time in 5 years. 

Prom was last night. I am EXHAUSTED. Seeing all my beautiful students having a great time was worth it, but after my long week and then weekend...good lord I'm beat today. I am still having problems with my right ankle, and a bone spur that seems to have popped up. The swelling and pressure is no fun..but I know losing weight is really the only remedy for it. 

Monday was my daughter's first T-Ball Practice! She had a blast and I hope that she keeps the same attitude and decides to stick with it. I think she has really great potential. 

I took her for her Martial Arts try out on Tuesday..she acted completely out of character and wouldn't even acknowledge that the two teachers were talking to her. She wouldn't' even tell them her name, sit down, or do ANYTHING but throw a fit if anyone tried to touch her. I had never been so mortified/embarassed. She spent a good portion of the night grounded for being disrespectful. 

Wednesday, my Gigi officially turned 4. She had a great birthday and now believes she is a BIG GIRL and can ride in the front seat of the car and walk in the stores...oh child...she does NOT ride in the front seat in the car but we have been working on letting her walk in the store. She gets a bit sidetracked sometime. 

As far as my week with Mamavation goes....

My week did not start off as planned. I really was not prepared...at all...for Mamavation Voting. Last time I did not make it into finalist status and I guess, deep down, I felt I wouldn't be successful this round either. I know i need to work on my confidence level. So when I was chosen finalist, It felt fantastic, but I had NO PLAN to get votes. I am not saying I have given up hope on being selected, but I feel that there is no way possible because I did not get my name around enough, host a giveaway, or do what was remotely necessary to get selected. I have no one to blame but myself if I don't get selected. SO I already have a game plan, if I don't see my name mentioned tomorrow night at the Twitter party, I start preparing for my 3rd(and hopefully final) application later in the Summer. I already have a better understanding of what is necessary to garner votes as well. I need to get better at pre-planning, and this was a good lesson learned. 

So while I HOPE and PRAY that I do see my name read tomorrow night, I am very realistic about the situation. I know it is not very likely. Just gotta keep moving on, learn from my mistakes, and be better the next time around. I will not give up, and I will win this War with myself. Mind over matter. 

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Twitter Party tomorrow night from 7-9 CST as they announce the new Mamavation Moms! There is still time to vote.  So if you feel I am worthy, please go Vote here! :) 

Thank you again to everyone for your support and encouragement...you know who you are! I have been so humbled in knowing that so many people support me..it really means more than I can put into worlds. :)

That' right! I am a Mamavation Mom Finalist! This means I am in the final 5! The top two vote getters will be selected as a Mamavation Mom! PLEASE VOTE FOR ME! :)  I need all the help I can get! 


This week was absolutely a whirlwind! I feel like I have been on Haiatus since Thursday, and for the most part, that is true!

A trip to Springfield IL on Thursday-Saturday Am -- Daughter's Birthday on Saturday -- Catch up house and chores and unpacking on Sunday -- Work and T-Ball Practice on Monday---Mamavation TV Monday Night and Trying to work my butt off to get votes! W..T...HELL! I love being busy but I don't know which way is up at this point :)

I guess staying busy has its perks! Less time to focus on eating and more time up and moving around and staying busy! I lost 1 lb this week and I'll take it!  I walked and walked and walked on our trip in Springfield! They have a cute little zoo and my students and I had a blast at it! 

My students are soo flippin' awesome that we walked away from the Illinois State FCCLA Conference with a 2nd Place in the State for our Peer Education Projects on Distracted Driving(and won $500 for our club). I had six students compete and I had one take a 3rd in Preschool Storytelling, 3 take 2nd places in Child Care Provider Portfolio. One take a gold in Child Care Provider, and One take another Gold in Preschool Lesson. The BEST part? Both girls who got gold, also got the HIGHEST SCORE in the STATE and walked away with MOST OUTSTANDING! Whoa!!! I couldn't be more proud!!!!! 

My daughter's 4th birthday party was on Saturday. The coldest flippin' day of the year! She still had a blast despite the cold! It was bitter sweet that she's already getting so big on me! I had been up 24 straight hours and feel like I barely remember the party because I was so busy and trying not to crash. No more planning parties the day of returning from a trip! Lesson Learned. 

Today was Gigi's first T-Ball practice! She did soooo great! I am excited to see how well she does all summer! I have a feeling my lil' one is going to be quite athletic.  Tomorrow she has an introductory tryout for a local Martial Arts Academy. I don't think we are going to be able to afford it, but at least she can see if it's something she may like for in the future! :)

Excited to get on Mamavation TV and see all the other finalists! I think we are all winners being as we all want to make a lifestyle change! I think any of the lovely ladies would be a great choice and would represent Mamavation well! If you feel I would be a great candidate, please VOTE FOR ME! :) 

“This post is sponsored by New Balance Shoes and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway”

Hello Everyone!

This past week was pretty good! Started off with Mamavation Hazing and my body has sure been feeling it. Ouchie... but I enjoy the burn after a while and I see the inches come off quickly when I am dedicated. 

I am not sure why I tend to sabotage myself after a while and quit exercising. Having the structure from the Mamavation Community and work-out circuits assigned by Stephanie @FitMomTraining helps beyond belief!

I have been doing better with food. Less Snacking, and when I do snack, eating healthier snacks. Less night eating. Smaller portions and well rounded meals. This has to be a LIFESTYLE change and it can't be just some fad diet that makes weight come off quickly and go back on when I quit the restrictive diet.  I have successfully gone with no soda at all and sugar drinks for that matter. The only sugar I allow myself is I get an unsweet tea and top it off with a tad bid of sweet tea. It kicks the bitterness of straight unsweet tea and gives me my caffeine so I don't spaz out with terrible headaches all day.

The scale did not move for me this week, but the inches did! I have already lost inches around my waist and hips. Yay! Also lost a smidge around my calves! :D

I will definitely take it!

Our Saturday assignment from Stephanie  @FitMomTraining was to look around our homes and communities for places we can exercise to aid in our fitness! When I thought about it, you can find a way to exercise no matter where you are at!

Around my home I found several places: My daughters bed has a wooden base where storage is, it works perfect for tricep dips, the step out front of the porch is perfect for step-ups and aerobics, I use the floor in the front room or bed room for all of my crunches, push-ups, and so on. I have 5lb weights and a 10lb kettelbell for weight lifting while in the house. I use the walls for killer wall squats which I just *love* HAHA :)

Around my town, we have a huge bike/walk trail that was put in. It actually jets off around the back of my house and joins with the main path. It is rather long and it has even been extended over to the next town which is a 7 mile trek. I would love to ride my back down it at some point, but it will have to be in the Summer when I can go on the ride by myself before dark. It is not lit at night and the hubby definitely won't have that..I'd probably ride faster because I'd be scared LOL

Around the town I work in, I have access to the school track. It stays unlocked most days and the community can use it to walk or run. 

SO...there are many places to exercises...therefore NO EXCUSES NOT to exercise. 

This week is a crazy week as I have my annual trip to the FCCLA State Conference. I will be leaving early Thursday Morning and returning Late Friday Night/Early Sat. Morning around 3-4am. I am taking 10 students so pray for me :) I think it will be fun as always but tiring. THEN on Saturday around 1pm we have my daughter's 4th Birthday Spiderman Party! So Tuesday and Wednesday evenings of this week will be spent baking and decorating her cakes/cupcakes. Its a tradition I do every year. I will do my best to keep up with the Mamavation Hazing, even whilst at the State Conference. I saw that there is a fitness room available at the hotel, I plan on taking all my girls down there on Thursday night to get an evening workout in before bed. Friday we are on the go starting at 7:30am until we leave and head home, my hazing will have to be pushed to Saturday or Sunday for that. 

As you know, I have applied to be the next Mamavation Mom! Please tweet the following: Hey @BookieBoo ! I want @AmberLou24 to be the next Mamavation Mom. She has my Support!

or go to the Mamavation Facebook page and post the same! 

I appreciate you for all of your help throughout my journey to a healthy lifestyle change! Goodnight! <3

“This post is sponsored by Motion Medica and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway” at the bottom of your post. Link up your post here.