As if I didn't have enough going on in my life . . . .

I really do enjoy working with youth, it inspires me to be better. And that is probably the main reason why I will be adding "Certified SUA Umpire" to my repertoire. Our good friend Steve Lawson has umpired for YEARS!!!! He started officiating in high school and has even officiated college softball games. He is VERY GOOD at what he does.

Steve convinced me to become certified as an umpire in order to help out the community and help some youth. It does "pay" but not enough to be considered "an income". There is training that we undergo at least 2 times/week with no pay, so, yeah, you don't do this for the money.

Needless to say, I will probably get some of this

And yes, I'll admit, I might do a little of this

Nevertheless, I am excited for this opportunity. I don't plan on changing professions (even though MLB umpires make around $300,000/year), but this will be a good opportunity for me to learn (I have to read and understand the 50 page rule book. I even have to memorize about half of it and take tests for the certification) and grow and work with youth.

Wish me luck!!!!!

New Belt

Well this Carter Family Challenge has been, how do you say, challenging. And the competition seems to be heating up!!! Regardless of who the winner is (I, Russ, am currently in the lead, woohoo!!!!!!), I am so happy about the progress and energy I now have. It's been a while since I've felt this good!!! I started the competition at 245 and I weighed in this morning at 228!!!!! I'm gonna need a new belt when this is done and over with. My end goal is 200 lbs.

In addition to the challenge of eating healthy and exercising, there have been other challenges that are included. Things like reading a book. I have to read everyday. If you know me, you know I can't sit still long enough to read a book. I've been able to listen to books on cd or the iPod. I've "read" more books this year (3) than I have ever read in any one year of my entire life. I just simply don't read. People talk to me about getting addicted to it and loving to read. I can't say that I love it that much, but I've been entertained. I find myself wanting to continue on with the rest of the book and being interested in "what's next". The book I am reading now is so so, which is kind of frustrating, but I told myself I'd finish it regardless.

Another piece of the challenge is that you have to get 8 hours of sleep every night. Now sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night, but that doesn't matter. As long as you go to bed (not lay in bed and watch a movie, literally go to bed) and wake up 8 hours later, you get points. This has probably been my hardest challenge. I have so many things going on that I have to simply not accomplish things as fast as I would like. But I do find myself having more energy, so that keeps me driven to keep going.

The last thing that I've had to pay attention to on this challenge is eating breakfast. I typically didn't eat breakfast as I felt I was already overweight and adding to my eating would only make it worse. In addition, I typically am in a rush to get to work in the morning, so I run out of time. When the competition started, I began eating breakfast EVERY morning. Most of the time, I eat two packets of Quaker Oatmeal. I sell product to them, so I may as well buy from them right???? I feel good and I know that Oatmeal is also good for maintaining lower cholesterol. High cholesterol runs in my genes, so this is definitely an added bonus. I also don't get hungry mid-morning like I used to.

All in all, I feel SOOO good about my progress. My energy level is good, I'm starting to get some abs and calves, and I have improved my life in ways I never figured I would. Thank you Mom and Dad Carter for this opportunity to challenge myself and better take care of my family.

Thanksgiving and Sewing Camp 101

So, Russ gave me an early Christmas present this year. He is letting me stay in California until December 6. We came to California for Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful time. We had lots of family around, we had two fabulous Thanksgiving dinners, we dressed up in costumes and went to see the new Harry Potter movie, and we have been playing massive amounts of games. On Black Friday, my sis-in-laws and I went to JoAnn's sale at 5:00am and we bought tons of fabric. So, after Russ left to go back home, Kristal and I have been sewing up a storm. I have never really done much sewing before, and I never knew how to follow a pattern, so Kristal has been my teacher and we have been having a blast. I am making a few things for Mirian as Christmas presents, and then a dress for me. I just finished making her a cute rag quilt, and now I am on to toddler dresses. I will post more as I finish. It has been a blast and I am learning a lot. Thanks Russ! I love you and miss you!

Learning to make Homemade Noodles with Nancy Miles (Author).

My cute little Indian in our family pageant

She looks so grown up with the other kids

Hardcore game playing

Kristal, Emily, and Olivia at JoAnn's

McDonald's was the only place open with hot chocolate

Kristal put rags in Mirian's hair

After a little work, the results of the rag curls

Starting my rag quilt

Finished rag quilt

New Blog

Well Russ has enjoyed the benefit of having a blog. It's a great journal opportunity and it shares family experiences and pictures with everyone who wants to enjoy it.

That being said, Russ has decided to start yet ANOTHER blog. However, Russ has also delegated Emily to keep it updated. It is just barely in the beginning stages so it is definitely rough around the edges . . . . . and in the middle.

The new blog will be a journal of Home Remodels. It will also serve as a help to those looking to do work on their own homes (maybe we do something that gives an idea) and vice-a-versa. If people have ideas, they can throw them out and maybe help us create our home. It will also stand as a way to monitor our goals and timing on the remodels that we do. Finally, it will act as a sales tool (I said tool) when selling this home as potential buyers can take a look at what we've done and see the befores and afters.

Have a look at the new blog and fill free to pitch in on thoughts and ideas of how to set up the blog and possible polls that we could run. We are VERY open to suggestions. Feel free to share the blog with friends as the more that look at the blog, the more thoughts and ideas we can get for our home remodel. Check it out!!!!!

Matt and Kristal are Coming Home!!!

Some of you may know Matt and Kristal, some don't. Matt is Emily's brother and Kristal is his wife. They have been teaching English in China for about a year. They had some great experiences and visited some amazing places. However, we missed them and are excited to have them home. They are such fun people to be around and are so creative. Check out their blog!!! It's so entertaining!!!!

We love you guys and we are glad that you'll be home tomorrow!!!!

Visit to the Seattle Aquarium/Family Mariners Game

Mirian had her first visit to the Seattle Aquarium. What an experience!!!! It is a neat place to go, but we have to drive 2 1/2 hours to Seattle to get there. She didn't enjoy putting her face in the hole for the octopus picture, but all in all, it was a fun time. Mirian just cuddled most of the time.

Oh yeah, we also hit a Seattle Mariners game . . . . . again. Seattle played the Baltimore Orioles and we won 5-0. The pitcher Jarrod Washburn was 1 hit away from a "perfect game" (it's a baseball term). Here are some photos.