It's official...It's a boy!!

That title is going to raise some eyebrows and pulse rates. No I'm not spawning the next lil' Ricky. However, The Brown Family has decided to bypass the adult gift exchange and adopt another family. Hence, our little boy. His name is Patrick and he is nine years old.

This economy has impacted a lot of families, many who will not have the pleasure to celebrate Christmas. I have been a lucky girl all my life. My family, no matter the position we have been in, always remembers celebrating Christmas. I know my mom can stretch a buck. Thankfully, she has also been very creative in this field also. I remember her putting Christmas gifts on layaway months in advance and hiding gifts throughout the house sometimes buying the day after Christmas for the upcoming year. There have been gifts she has wrapped months ago that are surprises to even her when we opened Christmas morning. We may not have always had the latest and greatest or the most techie of the toys but we always had something to open and I will always remember that feeling. My favorite: The glittery baton!! My second favorite: My Little Pony castle. I still remember to this day a few of the stickers that were upside down because "Santa" assembled very late at night and under pressure. My recent favorites: Homemade Birdhouses from my daddy!!

Well, this year it just didn't seem right to ask for more. Especially when we already realize how grateful we truly are. God has blessed The Brown Family in many ways this year. Little Nick is healthy and such a stitch. No cancer for him and even his recent vaccinations seem to be taking so maybe he will officially beat the selective antibody immune disorder before adulthood. He is the smartest little 3 year old I know and I'm not just saying that. You only need to talk to him for a few seconds to see it. Really!! Little Mykayla has had quite the challenge health-wise this year but at least we now know - NO peanuts along with a very detailed list of other items that her body doesn't like. Tj, Kyle and Karson are all becoming young gentlemen growing into their own characters. It's been a blessing to see them mature and become young adults. Gabby, last but no means least, is becoming more and more talented each day. My heart soared to see her master some challenging gymnastic moves. They are all so different from each other but in our hearts we love them all for who they are and what they are becoming.

So, what more do we need? Really?? I may have a wish list as long as my arm but those things are exciting for now, but like my other "exciting" gifts from years past, will begin to lose their luster in several months and by next Christmas be old news and I'll be "wanting" something else. Each Thanksgiving reminds me to think of what's important. This year it's simple....I'm happy to have a roof over my head, even happier that it's in the home that I love. I'm happy that Rick and I both have jobs making incomes that support us. I'm even happier that they both challenge us everyday (some days more than we would care for :) This year, I am happiest for the wonderful friends and family that I have and how close we have become. This year has been a challenge for The Sadler Family but as a family, we really have become closer and stronger. My mom and I's relationship has grown and grown this year and that has been something I always longed for. It's nice to see her grown in her self-esteem and confidence and I can only hope to see that continue. My brother and I are back to our "old" selfs before the enstrangement between his (ex)wife and I. My dad. Well, I think it's to safe to say, I have always been a "daddy's girl". I'm his biggest supporter. This year I have seem his confidence grow in his abilities. Yes, he lost his job, yes money is very tight but you know, they are taking it in stride and I love their tenacity. I just hope that they will be blessed with a solution soon. All these things make me thankful that I can overlook the lack of gift on my end and help someone out.

Now, for Patrick. I can't go into detail but I can give some information. Patrick is one of three children that are "in hiding". Their mom has had a huge challenge this year and made one of the most difficult decisions I think a mother could make. To make this decision also meant the possible sacrifice of Christmas. Their challenge takes them from their comfort zone and challenges her strength. To make the challenge easier, we have decided to "adopt" them. I can't wait!! Patrick is a big fan of Star Wars, Hot Wheels and Nerf and boy is there a selection out there that we plan on stocking up on. I am a big fan of personalized items so Patrick can expect a few things there too even though it's not on their list. It will be nice to know that we can touch a family that is in the local community struggling to get by that you would never have known otherwise. Take the time this year to be thankful for what you have. Then, while you have that great feeling, touch someone else through a random act of kindness.

For Easter, The Brown Family has already decided to volunteer as a family for a worthy cause. Rach - This is sort of playing off your birthday wish. Please know that you have touched others and continue to do so. Love to my Lads and Ladies!!

Whatta Weekend!!

Can you say busy? This time of year it seems like the days tick back as fast as the hours do during the non-holilday time of year. Friday I can't even remember....it's too long ago. Saturday, Rick went hunting, I worked out then we met up to get our Christmas tree. SweetPea looked adorable is her pink ski jacket. It has a pocket that is the perfect size to carry her leash and a poop bag.

We got a nice Canaan tree and huge wreath for the front of our house...all for less than $100. Yes, I know it's absurd to throw money down the drain each year for a real tree. I mean, what are we doing to the environment? How does this impact our carbon footprint? But it's tradition!! Rick and I searched for a new tree place since the place we have gone to for 5 years had slim pickins the last year we were there. I miss him though, he looked like Christmas. Big burly guy with rose cheeks in his Carhart overalls and a wonderful Scottish accent. He would always give us a tree ornament that was made for the tree stumps and designs burned into it. Sadly, last year we tried a new place and it just wasn't the same. This year, we were referred to Arend's Tree Farm in Brooklyn. We like them!! Very friendly staff with a well thought out lot. The concern I had is on one hill our truck started to slide backwards in 4 wheel drive because of the ice. Scary!! However, they knocked down the already ridiculous price on the biggest wreath I had seen from $60. (already reasonable) to the change we had ($41.) from getting our tree. We got a very full tree for $50. +plus. We've paid worse for sure. Next year we already committed to going there since they gave us such a good deal on the wreath. My only regret...no one plays Christmas music anymore. Come on...it's Christmas!! If there is some atheist out there that doesn't like it, they should stick it, it's not their birthday or the best time of year. I could go on and on, but that is for another blog.

Anyways, on our way back from the lot Rick had to drop me off at Hidden Lake Gardens for my volunteer function....The Winter Fest. I spent all day manning the reception center. Not once did I sample the goods but it' simply because Mel, my fun loving Master Gardener friend and her husband, Terry were accompany Rick and I to El Chapulin Grasshopper Mexican restaurant afterwards for a way-to-go-gang celebration, which since it's the 2nd year in a row, we can call this a growing tradition of ours. The men met up with Mel and I to light the candles outside for the illuminary drive. Even though the temps were 32 or below, there was no wind, a very light snow sprinkling and it was fun, fun, fun. Although, less volunteers to help meant we walked around hunched over more. The cocktails and company made it worthwhile.

Sunday, Rick and I were up again to get groceries to snack on in preparation for getting our home decked out Christmas style. My parents joined us and we decorated from top to bottom, outside in and now our home feels like it's fit to celebrate this wonderous time of year. Ya'all will have to do a drive by and see my huge wreath which fits perfect in the spot alloted for it. I love this time of year.

Those little lights, look how they twinkle.

I just have to share my favorite decorated trees I see every year... Eden Foods knows how to decorate a tree perfectly. Check it out!!

Each Day = New Beginning.

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habits are what keeps you going."

Jim Ryun

Changing habits are a challenge. One that becomes easier with time. Here are a few pointers I found on line to help make the habit changing process less of a challenge AND with greater successful. Here's to all my peeps that have offered support - you know who you are - and those that are making the commitment with me. Smooches!!

1. Taking on two or more habits at once. We’ve all done this. I want to learn to wake early, and to start running, and to eat healthier, and to be more organized, and to write every day … all at once! Devote all of your energy to that habit change, and once it’s on autopilot, move on to the next one. Knock ‘em down one at a time.

2. Not committing a plan to paper. You have to write down your goal. Write a start date. Write an end date (30 days is a good time frame). Write down exactly what you’re going to do. Write down how you’re going to be accountable, what your rewards are, what the obstacles are, what your triggers are. More on these below. Main thing: put it on paper and stick to the plan (don’t file the plan in your inbox, you piler you!).

3. Being half-committed. I’ve done this a few times myself: I will say, “I think I’ll quit smoking today.” Then I’ll throw away my pack of cigarettes (this should be in past-tense as I don’t smoke anymore, but I’m too lazy to go back and change the tense). Then I’ll go for as long as I can (often half a day!) and then cave in and go buy another pack. Then I feel guilty for a little while until I half commit to quit again. That doesn’t work. You have to commit Big Time. That means tell the world about it. Seriously — put it on your blog, tell your family, friends, co-workers, your butcher, the guy from your high school who you say hi to when you run into him at the grocery store and who you call “buddy” because you forgot his name.

4. Not having support. There will be times when you falter, almost invariably. Who will you turn to when you need encouragement? Make the commitment to them, and ask them to help you when you hit rough spots. Make a promise to call them if you do. Put this in your written plan.

5. Not thinking through your motivation. In my experience, what people call discipline, I call motivation. Why are you disciplined enough to do something? Because you have the right motivation. When you lose the motivation, you lose the discipline. Before you start your habit change, think through your motivations. Why are you doing this? What will keep you going when you forget your reasons? Public commitment is a big motivator, of course, but you should have internal ones too. Write these down in your plan.

6. Not realizing the obstacles. Every habit change is a path littered with obstacles. Unfortunately, when we hit some of these, we often quit. Or we’ll try again, but hit the same obstacles again and again with the same result. Instead, think it through, and anticipate your obstacles. If you’ve failed before, think about what obstacle stopped you. If you’ve never done this habit change before, do some research and read about others who’ve succeeded and failed at it, and find out what obstacles you should expect. Then make a plan for what you’ll do when you face the obstacles. For example, I have a hard time eating in moderation when I go out. What will I do when I go out to eat? What are my strategies? I have to think these through before actually going out, because when the urge hits and you don’t have a plan, you’re too late.

7. Not logging your progress. You can change habits without keeping a log, but a log just increases your chances of success — and why wouldn’t you want to do that? Things are hard enough without using all the tools at your disposal. A log helps you succeed because it reminds you to be consistent. It keeps you aware of what you’re actually doing. It motivates you, because you want to write good things in that log. It helps keep you accountable before the people you’ve made a commitment to.

8. Having no accountability. Speaking of accountability, it’s the second half of the all-important public commitment. It’s not enough to make a big announcement on your blog and not follow through. Even if you don’t have a blog, you have to set up a system where you remain accountable — maybe post your log up at your workplace, or email your progress to people, or just report to them daily in person.

9. Not knowing your triggers. This is an important key to changing habits. Every habit has at least one trigger — an event that immediately precedes the habit. Some habits have more than one trigger. Each time these events happened, almost without fail, I would smoke — either that, or I’d get the urge to do so. The more consistent the link to the trigger, the stronger the habit. So when you try to break a habit, you have to know all of your triggers (log it for a few days) and then create a positive habit to replace the negative habit for each of the triggers. For exercise, you could exercise right after your morning coffee (if you have coffee at the same time every day already) or right after work, if you get off work at the same time every day. Put your triggers in your written plan, and be very very consistent with them — when the triggers happen, do the habit immediately, every single time. The less consistent you are with your triggers, the weaker the habit will be.

10. Not doing your reading. With every habit change, I find it important to read as much as possible about it, before and during. I will do my research, to find out strategies for success, potential obstacles, good tools that will help me be successful. Instead, stick to this habit for at least 30 days, and be consistent as possible.

11. Not being consistent. I’ve mentioned this a couple times now, but it should be addressed because it’s important. If you attach a habit to a trigger, you have to do the habit every single time, immediately following the trigger. If you do it sometimes and not others, you will not have a habit. Try not to miss a single time if possible, because once you miss once, you’ll be tempted to miss another time, and then a third, and then you’ve got nothing.

12. Quitting after failure. However, if you do miss once, or twice or three times, don’t give up. Just figure out why you missed, and plan to beat that obstacle next time. Then be as consistent as possible from then on out, until the habit is ingrained. If you quit, you’ve let the failure beat you. But if you reset your resolve, and learn from your failure, the failure then becomes a positive thing that helps you to succeed.

Failure is just a stepping stone to success. It's not a failure if you learn from your mistakes. Ask yourself, what did I learn from this and turn that supposed "failure" into a learning experience.

Go Team Go!!

That's it...No More!

Have you ever just gotten to the point that you're finished. You keep putting it off, finding a reason or really more like excuses on why you shouldn't do it or why it's not the right time or you're too busy. Well, enough is enough.


I have made the comittment. This is it!!


I want to lose my extra weight. Not just 5 lbs., or 10 lbs. but a huge amount - like 40 lbs!! (Really 39.4 lbs. to be exact)(AND this is to start with but since it's already a Hefty Goal (pun intended) I didn't want to bite off more than I can chew (pun not intended but all the more funny).


I haven't always been the "bigger" girl. I graduated high school at 132 lbs. I'm 5'6 so that's not bad, not worthy enough to get me a modeling contract but a size I would be thrilled to have now. The true hourglass shape. I actually tied for "Best Bum" in school. Not joking, I bet if I dig hard enough I could find some pics of my butt that would float around in school. I'd steal them mortified that someone had ever taken them. This is were the-flannel-shirts-down-to-my-knee style trend kicked in for awhile. I got to that weight only after my first husband, then boyfriend, fattened me up from my consistent 115 lbs. (needless to say, I could have gotten a modeling contract at this weight because most of that weight was still in my bra).

In high school, my weight still nagged me so much that I would starve myself during the week eating cold cereal or small portions at dinner and binge with my best friend on the weekend on whatever I was craving until it the illicit craving was gone. You would have thought we were pregnant based on what we ate - chocolate cake with a side of green olives or peanut butter alone and in mass quantitites.

Now, I still treat each meal like it's going to be my last. I think this may stem from the fact that when I was growing up my mom could stretch a buck farther than anyone I know, this some sacrificed the taste (and fresh vegetables) in dinner. I'm embarassed to say I have secretly eaten Wendy's frosty AT LUNCH hidden in my car. I know, can you say "closet binger". Well, enough is enough. My neighbor Jackie has kicked the habit, I see it on tv and through clients every day and even my already thin and gorgeous sister-in-law has lost 7 inches (amazing if you saw her, she is already a size 0-2 anyways and in shape) so why can't I? I can't come up with a valid excuse so here are a few of my reasons to lose it. Mel0dy - I stole the first from you gorgeous.

1) To become a trophy wife
2) To feel better about myself
3) To enjoy clothes shopping for once
4) To be able to shop of the rack
5) To not freak out when I get clothes as a gift

Today is thebeginning of a new ME. I'm sure I'll still have slip-ups. It's to be expected, I am human afterall. The goal is to make little habit everyday and change my focus from not just losing weight but becoming healthier. Please help me achieve that goal. When I discover areas I need help in I'll ask for it or better yet, if you see the areas I need help, tell me (politely - I am giving up food so it's possible I may be more sensitive).