Still a Lesson to be Learned

OK, so today was my last day of work at the Comfort Inn and I still do not know when I am supposed to start at the Hampton Inn. I keep trying to have conversations with my boss but he keeps telling me to wait until tomorrow....I am way too stressed out and worried and I KNOW that the Bible tells us not to worry that God will take care of us, but it is SO hard not to. My world is completely upside down and I cannot stand not knowing what is going to happen....I am wondering if I accidently prayed for patience at some point because it seems that the Lord is wanting me to wait! I am so not good at waiting. And I am an emotional wreck and it's not even PMS week!!!

Work Changes

It has been very stressful at work the last two weeks....the owners of the Comfort Inn entered a contract with a new management company because they (the new company)are interested in buying the hotel. That puts us down to only two hotels and one new build project in the works. What that means for me is that I will now have to drive to Gatlinburg to work and take a $15,000 salary cut. I am very stressed about that but at least I still have a job.....maybe the Lord is trying to teach me how to REALLY live on a budget.

Yummy Low Calorie Snacks!

I have discovered a few very yummy snacks on my calorie counting diet....thought I would share them....Healthy Choice caramel ice cream sandwiches....1.5g fat and 150 calories, Orville Redenbacher Natural Light Butter Popcorn...1g of fat per cup popped and only 20 calories and Blue Bunny 100 calorie butter pecan ice cream bars...7g fat (a little high) but only 100 calories. Also, Chick-fil-A has a new Chargrilled CHicken and Fruit salad...it is only 220 calories and 8g fat and the Low Fat Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing is only 2g fat and 70 calories. Extra tip, you really do eat less dressing if you put it on the side and dip your salad...:o)
Happy eating!!

Vacation

We were very fortunate to be able to go on a second vacation to Cocoa Beach, Fl last week. We had a great time at Sea World, Universal Studios and of course, the beach! I have a couple of tips for those who may want to venture to these places:

1- Buy the meal deal at Universal. For $19.99 per adult and $9.99 per child you can eat all day long at 4 select restaurants in Universal Studios. For about what you would spend on one meal there, you can eat all day, unlimited.

2- At Sea World and Universal, spend the $8-$10 to buy the refillable drink cups. Refills are $1.70 at SeaWorld and only .69 cents at Universal. You can also buy a refill mug with the meal deal at Universal ($8.99) and the refills at the select restaurants are free (unlimited, all day).

3- Buy the fast pass option at Universal Studios. It costs $36 per person but it cuts your wait time in line to 5-15 minutes instead of 30-60 minutes. We did this and were able to do everything in the park in one day. The boys' favorite was the Woody Woodpecker rollercoaster....I rode it 5 times with them!

4- Stand in line early for the shows at Sea World and sit up front (maybe 3/4 rows up...just level with the tank). You get a great view of the show and there is a 95% chance that you will get soaked! If you sit on the first 2/3 rows you can't see what goes on on top of the water. The shows are AWESOME.

5- Of course, SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN. The spray kind works great and is really easy to use. All you have to do is spray the kids down every couple of hours. The stick kind is great for the face!

The pictures are of Joseph being a surfer dude, Zach asleep with his dolphin that we got at Sea World, the boys with Woody Woodpecker in their "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" t-shirts and Zach digging in the sand.

Dieting

I have been trying to loose a few pounds (ok, more than a few, but...) and a friend of mine showed me this web site called the Calorie King (www.calorieking.com). Like most other dieting web sites you put in your info and goals and it gives you a plan, but what I like about this is that it gives you the amount of calories, fat, carbs, etc...in just about anything that you can imagine. For $7 per month you can join and there are lots of tools to help you keep track of what you are eating. So far I have lost 5 pounds (in about 3 1/2 weeks) and that's not being "good" all of the time. It is tedious to keep up with what you are eating all of the time but I have become more aware of just what it is that I am eating. Of course, you have to add exercise, too. I have been walking/running everyday and I can tell a big difference in how I feel....now if I could just see the difference in my clothing size! I am proud to say that I can run about a mile and a half now without feeling like I am going to die now (my treadmill is definitely paying for itself now...it took me a few months after I got it to really get into using it). I'm trying to figure out why I even stopped working out to start with. I rather enjoy it since I have started back (alot of years later).