bossy dossey

Life Change

2010-06-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys this post is for my mental health and for my journey--I also value authentic people, I need to be authentic. This post involves weight, weight-loss and my plan--and some personal details. Skip today's post if you are not interested in that type stuff. It is a doozie. Sorry.

____________________

So for as long as I can remember I have been unhappy with my body type. In high school I was VERY skinny, 110 in fact. I was flat chested and so skinny I always felt awkward. My youth minister even called me twiggy. It was my natural body type and I didn't do any dieting or exercise to be that size, I just was. My freshman year at ACU I gained 20 lbs. Most people put on a little weight, but I packed it on. The all you can eat yummy on campus food was REALLY good. I had never learned about nutrition from school or home. I had no idea what a carb or how it effected your body until Opr*h a number of years ago. I didn't know it wasn't a good idea to have bowls and bowls of pasta--and even after I realized it was no good, I continued to eat them because I really liked to eat a lot of pasta. When I got married I weighed 135 after a lot of hard work at the gym and was still not happy with my body type.

I gained almost 50 lbs this last pregnancy. I am a firm believer that when you are pregnant you should eat healthy for the baby, but also enjoy some yummy stuff along the way. Obviously I believe that as I gained almost 50 lbs. :)

So here I am today. I weighed 155 before I got pregnant. I am down to 168. Not bad-4 months postpartum considering my HUGE weight gain. Typically when my babies are born I nurse for 18-19 months. I usually don't loose the rest of my weight until after I am done nursing. Currently wearing a size 14--on some days even my 14's are tight. Pre-pregnancy usually my thighs keep me in a size 12. I am 5.5.

This is the problem: For me it is not what the scale says as much as it is feeling good about how I look and feel. I am 31 years old. I am ALWAYS tired and live a mostly sedentary life. People make excuses for me as I have just had a a baby and am a night owl, but on most days I can't survive without a nap during the day--and this was long before I got pregnant. I don't feel happy with how my body looks. More importantly I am concerned about my long term health.

I am blessed with good health. I am hardly sick. I take this health for granted. I have serious heart disease issues on my mom's side of the family. Diabetes on both sides of my family. Weight issues on both sides of my family--the people I love are always struggling with weight. Did you hear me, I am blessed with good health. I don't have cancer, I don't have sickness, I am a young mom and I should treat my body more like a temple. God has blessed me so abundantly. I shouldn't feel like I do on a typical day at 31 years old.

We eat mostly healthful foods. We haven't been eating foods with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) for almost 2 years. I don't drink soda, 90-95% of the time I drink water. I buy whole grain foods. I don't eat after 8. We don't eat white bread and hardly ever white pasta. I try not to eat foods that are processed. No foods with hydrogenated oils for us. I buy as organic foods as we can afford. I don't bake with bleached or enriched products. I cook healthy meals. We have healthy snacks. We do eat out a bunch, so I know that is part of the problem. I also have a love affair going on with Starbucks, which is a problem too. Mostly though we are pretty healthy eaters when we eat at home. I don't know why I am not more healthy and the scale doesn't show me more love. Perhaps portion and most likely most of it has to do with exercise. Grr...i hate that word.

I am ready to start a new and healthy life. Not just scale healthy, but lifestyle healthy. I have never kept up with any exercise regimen for very long. I do tend to eat healthy, but have trouble with binge eating because I wait too long in between meals.

Why the change?

~My friend Amy has really inspired me. She doesn't know it...yet. I have seen her make amazing progress over the short time I have known her. I am proud of her. I am inspired by her. She makes me think perhaps I can look as amazing as she does. She has worked VERY hard for it. She told me the other day: "for the first time in my life I went into the store to buy a bathing suit and looked good in all of them. I could have chosen any of them and have been completely happy". Wow. Then I saw her the other day in her two piece. Surely she had been talking about once piece suits or suits that didn't show her stomach...nope. A-Mazing. I want that. I want to be happy with me. I also want to be able to teach my daughters to be happy with themselves. Can't do that if I don't model it.

~My dad. He smoked as long as I have known him...that is until about 8 months ago. He quit. 2 packs a day and he quit! He joined the gym. He is eating yogurt. If you could understand how enormous this is and how inspiring it is to me. If he can do it, I can do it too.

~My brother. He has been busting it at the gym. He looks great and has been really encouraging to me.

~Health. It is such a gift. Why should I squander it? An acquaintance of mine from ACU passed away 4 months ago very unexpectedly. She was 31 years old. I didn't know her well, but her sickness and death changed me. I am blessed with health, blessed in so many ways. I went to a nutrition seminar 2 weeks ago. You know what they said "you can't change your genetics, but you can change your diet". It is the only thing you have control over. You may be predisposed to some health issues, but the way you eat can make it worse or better. I have 3 little lives counting on me to live a long life if God chooses it for me. Even now as an adult I count on my own mom so much in my life for emotional support, to bounce ideas off her and to call her when I think I am going to loose my mind. Her love helps me to be a different person. I don't know what I would do without her. I want to be there for my own children when they need me, not just now, but as they age too.

What am I going to do about it?

~I signed up with a trainer. It makes me cringe to even say that. I am doing her online training. I HATE exercising, but you can't have good heart health or tone up parts that look like jello without it. I think it is going to be good for me to have some accountability and a plan for workouts. I hate the thought of it already. The cost is about 2 or 3 eat out dinners for our family. I'd rather have this for the month. As I always say if you know me well, finances are about priorities. This is my priority for this month. I am taking it one month at a time.

~Said trainer has me on the zone diet. So far so good. I have been doing it, kind of for about 5 or 6 days and I have lost 2 or 3 lbs. Today was my first official day weighing my food and eating on schedule. I have to say I like it so far. The idea is that it is suppose to keep your sugar/insulin levels, well, level throughout the day. I haven't been hungry and probably eat more regularly now then before. I hate diets too so we'll see how it goes. I am also keeping a food journal.

~More sleep. I don't think a body can heal properly without sleep. I need to go to bed earlier. I am going to try my best.

~Prayer. I am not going to be able to do it without God. I have NEVER been consistent with a work out plan. It will take a miracle for me to keep this up for even a month.

Sorry for such a long post. Don't worry I am not going to be posting what I eat everyday here--I know some of you are so sad. ;) I'll update every once in awhile for those of you struggling with the same issues. I just wanted to be authentic and real--with you and with myself. Thanks for reading--at least the ones that made it...I know it was long.

Desert Animals

2010-06-24T20:24:00.001-07:00

For the last week we have been praying for the desert animals. Evidently Olivia doesn't think they have enough water and we should pray God would bless them with water :)

if biscuit survives...

2010-06-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

If you have been following my facebook updates then you will know our pug Biscuit has had some crazy adventures out on our "land". I am going to start posting our adventures here too.

Anyhow back to Biscuit. The other day we found FLEAS on him! Yes, I said FLEAS. Okay, to be 100% honest I saw 1 flea...but still. Those of you that know me, I don't like insects much never-mind any that would bite my children then require me to spray terrible chemicals in the entire house to get rid of them...I digress.

Anyhow, within 5 minutes I had called the groomer and had an appointment. Biscuit was outside until the appointment. They were going to give him a pill to kill the fleas, then let him spend the night, and then get groomed. I had heard also that some vets offer a rattlesnake vaccine. Fantastic idea! After seeing how he chased a toad the other night I knew he needed this vaccine. (I will mention we have not seen a rattlesnake out here nor did the previous owner that lived out here for 7 years, but I like to think of every possibility.) So anyhow, he got the whole deal, including the rattlesnake vaccine. We could tell he didn't feel well when he came home so he was just hanging out with us. We let him outside of him penned area out front to be with us as he has been listening so well (plus he was sick) . Big Mistake. He managed to loose us when we weren't paying close attention. For the next 4 hours he was missing yet again.

Since he was so sick we were really worried. We looked in all his normal places, mostly he thinks he is a sheep, so he is usually out with them or foraging for grass (did I mention he thinks he is a sheep). He was nowhere. Alex was even concerned (which made me REALLY concerned as Alex doesn't get worried about anything) so he went out on the mule (our utility vehicle not our animal) and looked for a long time. Usually Alex comes back with Biscuit on his lap, not this time. He has looked everywhere. I went out, and looked everywhere. We were about to host a cookout so I thought it might be a fun game to find Biscuit for our guests. I was pretty worried. I don't know how safe animal vaccines are and was worried he was dead for sure this time. Biscuit's friend Fred showed up and found him after about 30 minutes. Nice. We had looked for about an hour between the two of us. Thanks Biscuit.

The kids were glad, we were glad. Biscuit sure is annoying most of the time, but we would really miss that guy if he were gone. Needless to say we are not letting him out of our sight for awhile.

My Sweet Kids

2010-06-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

I love my kids so much. They make my heart sing and I never thought one could love someone so much---I mean my heart aches sometimes when I think of how much I love them. That said, I also feel like I want to pull my hair out some days. The fighting with each other, pitching fits and talking fresh is enough to drive me to drink some days. I know this is normal of parents with young children, but it is frustrating none-the-less. It was one of those days today. Then God give me a little glimmer into their hearts.

We have been praying for my brother to be able to get the money to go to ACU. We have been praying for a scholarship to come through...and even a specific amount of scholarship money ($1200 or more if you want to pray too). Today Olivia says to me "mommy, i have a great idea. how about Autumn and I can earn some money for uncle josh to go to ACU. We can do some chores and save the money to give to him." Autumn chimed in and said "that is a great idea Olivia" Isn't that the sweetest thing you have ever heard?! Needless to say it was one of the more prouder moments of parenting. I love to see how God is working on their hearts.

PS. Pray with us for my brother. He needs to go to ACU. He has worked so hard and is so close. I am really proud of him. If you know a rich donor or have some jobs in Boston or Austin for him to do to earn the money let me know :)

Our New Adventure

2010-04-25T14:42:00.001-07:00

Really long blog post about our new move..

The Dossey family is starting a new adventure. We have left the city life (well moved about 15 mintues outside of the suburbs, 30 minutes from downtown) to the country and are starting a new adventure. Years ago when we worked for Logos I loved all my friends so much that I thought it would be great to all live on the same street. Communal living where people can all feel safe and watch out for each others kids, perhaps share a community garden, know your neighbors and let your kids ride their bikes without worry on the street really appeals to me. I should have been born in the 50's. We started this journey thinking we needed to find a one story house with a bigger yard for our kids, and ended up with 30 acres, 32 sheep and 2 donkeys.

We recently purchased 30 acres. "The Land" as my kids have taken to calling it, has a double-wide or as the locals call it a "mobile" (with your best Texas accent) on it. The previous owners had done a ton of work to the land: huge garden, fencing around the entire property, outbuildings where Alex will office out of, even a rigged up climate-ized storage unit.

The moblie was in rough shape and needed some serious TLC. I had zero vision and was a little nervous about moving in. Alex and his dad have been working for about 3 weeks to fix it up for us. New paint, new carpet and a ton of projects later we moved in yesterday. Dennis (Alex's Dad) has been sleeping here on a air mattress with nothing but a cooler, computer, TV and antenna for the last 2 weeks. He didn't even come in to town he was so diligent. It looks A-MAZING now. It feels so homey and I really love it. Living in a manufactured home/mobile home has such negative connotations in our society, but I have to say, I feel more at home at this place then in our 3200 square foot house we had in town. It just has a more inviting, more homey feel. The ceilings are lofted some and it seems very large, even compared to our rent house we just left. The living room seems much bigger then the one at both our rent house and the house we sold. The master closet is enormous--at least double or triple what we had in the house we sold. We are planning to start building our house in June or July, although if we were sure the interest rates weren't going to probably rise (and we had a decent tornado shelter) we'd be happy to stay here for a couple years to save money. Anyhow, we are going to rock the "mobile". We are planning on hosting some rockin' parties here too, so stay tuned for your invite :)

Alex's parents are going to be purchasing 12.5 acres and building a home on the land in a couple years. Our close friends are also seriously considering buying 3-4 acres and build as well. Another one of our good friends live 5 minutes away and my poor friend Amber is once again our neighbor (she moved away from us about 9 months ago--we are like a bad penny) at 8 minutes away. Our other friends are also looking for land somewhat close, so that is good too. We are super excited. I am a little nervous too if I am being honest. It is a huge change of life for us, but the benefits FAR outweigh anything I could be nervous about. The girls love it out here, plus we promised them new playscape. :)

I am sure I will have some funny stories and adventures to record. I already have a couple...

Pictures to come soon...

I'm back and random thoughts...

2010-04-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start posting again. Not really sure why I stopped. I'd like to blog for myself and to have memories for my kids.

Random Thoughts

This is serious people. Friends don't let friends...have snots in their noses, food on their face or stuck in their teeth, toilet paper hanging off their shoes or rogue goat hairs. Friends don't let friends walk around with lipstick on their teeth, zipper/fly open, or random food spilled on their clothes.

If you are my friend (or even a complete stranger) I pledge to tell you if you have a potential embarrassing situation. I beg you to tell me if you are my friend. I am a mess most of the time, I need some help. :) Throw me a bone here. Yes, this is random. I found a random hair on my shoulder today, it made me think about how many of my friends or even family members may have noticed it and said nothing. Please don't admit to me you saw it and didn't tell me--I might get cranky with you. I am also feeling a little guilty as the other day in the airport I saw a lady in the Dunkin Donuts line (please don't judge, they are so good) with her fly down. I should have said something, I usually do, but this time I didn't want to embarrass her. Stupid because now I am feeling guilty and probably will for awhile.

Okay friends? Love me enough to embarrass me for a second so you can save me from a day of embarrassment. Thanks!

funny joke

2009-03-02T05:32:00.000-08:00

Wrong email address

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to
thaw out during a particularly icy winter.
They planned to stay at the same hotel where
they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.
Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to
coordinate their travel schedules.
So, the husband left Minnesota and flew
to Florida on Thursday,
with his wife flying down the
following day.
The husband checked into the hotel.
There was a computer in his
room, so he decided
to send an email to his wife.
However, he accidentally left out one letter in her
email address, and without
realizing his error, sent the email.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just
returned home from her husband's funeral.
He was a minister who was
called home to glory
following a heart attack.
The widow decided to check her email expecting
messages from relatives and friends.
After reading the first message, she
screamed and fainted.
The widow's son rushed into the room,
found his mother on the floor,
and
saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Subject : I've Arrived
Date: October 16, 2007

I know you're surprised to hear from me.
They have computers here now
and you are allowed to send emails
to your loved ones.
I've just arrived and have been checked in. I've
seen that everything has been prepared
for your arrival tomorrow.
Looking forward to
seeing you then!
Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.
P.S. Sure is hot down here!

Love My Scale

2009-02-17T23:15:00.000-08:00

I step on my scale the other day and it reads "Lo". LO are you kidding me?! Wow, LO...

For a split second I think, YES I AM FINALLY LOOSING...then I realize it was talking about the low battery. :(

I don't want to exercise, but I guess that is the only way I am going to loose weight. I certainly don't want to alter my diet or intake :) Good luck to me...

Exciting News...

2009-01-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

No, family I am not pregnant...but it is a boy!!!

Meet our new addition. We got him last night. He is adorable, simply adorable. We went to meet him at Hill Country Pugs. Kristy is amazing. We spent 3 hours with her (she was so patient with us) and with Ritz. We met his mommy and his daddy. We wanted to make sure he was going to fit in with our family before we took him home. Kristy and Kevin show pugs, and the pups they don't keep go to pet homes. I was very impressed by her and the way they care for their little cuties. I am also thankful she allowed us to have one of her precious dogs, she is picky about the owners she selects.

We told the kids we were going to have an adventure and go meet some cute little puppies. I had bought a crate the day before just in case we took him home. We hid it under the blanket so there was so pressure from the kids to take little Ritz home if his disposition was not a good fit for our family or we weren't a good fit for him. Olivia and Autumn adored him from the very start of our visit. He is a perfect mix of energy and normal pug cuddling. Alex and I fell asleep with him on the couch with him last night. Those of you that know me I am not an animal lover per say, but I am in love with this little guy. Alex adores him too. He even took Ritz upstairs with him while we were gone and Ritz took a nap on Alex's lap while he worked. We have been trying to think of a new name for him and we are in between keeping the name Ritz, and Olivia's name "Biscuit".

We have been thinking about a dog for some time. Our girls really are amazing with animals. Horses, cats, rabbits, donkeys and of course dogs. Any animals. Neither one of them have any fear of animals and really love them. We see something amazing in their spirits when they are with animals. I don't know how to describe it. We noticed it at my mom's farm and with my Dad and Michelle's dog Mac. We thought about small pets, had some fish that didn't work out (thanks Uncle Ryan), and ruled out a cat because you can't really choose a temperament, most are grouchy and independent. Anyhow, our kids are over the moon about little Ritz. I'll post some pictures with the kids and him later.

The pictures speak for themselves about how adorable he is:

The Mommy Test

2009-01-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

Normally I am not a huge fan of forwards, but this one is great:

The Mommy test...

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off

the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from
her and I asked her not to do that. Why?" my daughter asked.
"Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's
dirty and probably has germs" I replied.
At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and
asked,"Mommy, how do you know all this stuff?"
"Uh," I was thinking quickly. "All moms know this stuff. It's on the
Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently
pondering this new information.
"OH...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have to be
the daddy."
>>"Exactly" I replied back with a big smile on my face and joy in my
>>heart.

Exciting News...

2008-12-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

No, I am not pregnant. I know you were thinking that, don't try to pretend.

My business partner Chinell and I are offering a photography giveaway. We are so excited. I can't even begin to tell you. Even if you are not in our area there are photographers from all over the world participating. You do know someone, someplace to nominate, even if they aren't in the Austin area.

Check it out here: http://www.cutiepie-photography.blogspot.com/

Your help please...

2008-12-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

Most of you know I am a HUGE fan of Etsy and love handmade products of all sorts. I am also a small business owner and love supporting other home-based businesses. In 1 month many of our smaller business USA made toy makers will be out of business due to some legislation that has been passed down. I am entirely for safe toys for our kids, but most of the problems with unsafe toys is from developing countries like China. I do want oversight to protect our children, but compromises the Handmade Toy Alliance has offered seem to cover many of the issues.

Read up for yourself: http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/Home

Hard times...

2008-12-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

We are of course still mourning. It is not an easy thing. I have never lost anyone close to me before and it is just so difficult. I've learned so much about how to minister to people, and how God just pours down the blessings.

Olivia prays for her GG almost every night. She prays "Dear God, please be with GG who is with you in heaven". Autumn prays "Dear God, thank you GG in hospital" (really she is trying to pray for him to feel better and get out of the hospital--she says thank you before everything she prays for). I've explained it to her many times that GG died and is with God in heaven. Today in the middle of the Target checkout line she shouts over to me "GG died mommy?" It is really hard for me, nevermind 5 year old and 2 year old to deal with and understand. I love their hearts though, I love that they pray. It warms my heart. I love that they ask questions, and I love that their questions give me the opportunity to explain to them the love of our great God.

Generous Autumn

2008-12-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

My Autumn is so funny. She is becoming so sweet and kind. She is even starting to obey a little better and get along with Olivia a bit better. I am finding some wood to knock on right now :)

Today we went to Olivia's ballet class. Autumn likes to look under the door (there is a 3 inch space between the door and the floor) when Olivia goes to her tap/ballet class. There is a flat screen TV at the studio you can watch them on, but Autumn likes to look under the door. So today I was watching the screen while Autumn was looking under the door. Then I noticed Olivia was looking under the door at Autumn while she was changing from her tap shoes into her ballet shoes. I was worried she was going to get in trouble so I ran over and quickly told her to get back to her class. Then Autumn turns to me and says "momma, I give livea scone". Autumn was trying to feed Olivia some scone under the door. Sweet. Priceless. I was hysterical. I asked Olivia about it later and she said giggling "mommy, Autumn was trying to feed me scones under the door, I pushed them all back under the door and she kept pushing them through to my side." I also must mention she was eating the scone off the floor. Crazy kids. Love those girls.

fake or real

2008-12-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

We just put up our fake tree today. I have mixed feelings. It is easy to put up, prelit and nice looking. It also smells like chemicals, not pine. Gotta love the smell of gross chemical pine tree.

I made a deal with Alex that we could get a fake tree (he like easy) then when we start spending Christmas morning in our home then we could get a real tree. Right now we are never home for Christmas morning, we are either with Alex's family or in Boston with my family. Until then our house will smell like chemicals and fake Christmas tree. :(

I'll post a picture of our chemical tree and our kids in the next couple of days.

Really Cool

2008-12-04T20:52:00.001-08:00

I have been trying to be more "green" lately. I even bought some green bags for grocery shopping (yes Anna, Chinell, Kelly and Cat--you can cheer now). I bought my kids sigg bottles. I was too cheap to buy myself one after plunking down the cash for theirs, so I am still drinking out of BPA leaching plastic bottles :) . I am recycling them though. I'll get around to buying a sigg for myself soon enough (don't hate me because I am cheap). I saw these on a great blog I follow and thought they were so cool. These are made by Brandimage. Paper water bottles! Much better then their plastic counterparts.

It has been a long year...

2008-11-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

Many of you have noticed I have been MIA in the blogworld outside of my photography blog for some time now. Some of you may have known my stepfather, Peter, has had a long a difficult struggle with cancer since April. He passed away on October 22nd. He was 48 years old. From the time they told us to call hospice to when he passed was 2 days. It has been sad, very sad. It has been a difficult time for my family, especially my mom. They had dreams of trail riding on their horses, relaxing on their farm, and growing old together. I have never had anyone that I was close to die before. The feelings are crazy really. It feels like a dream, almost unbelievable. I feel so sad for my mom, sad for myself, sad for my siblings, sad for Peter's friends, sad for our extended family, sad for my Grandma Judy. I feel tremendous sadness that my children will not know their GG (grumpy grampy). They will miss out on his sense of humor, his kindness, tractor rides, his vast knowledge, fishing trips and his servant heart. It fills me with so much sorrow to think they will never know him on this earth. It breaks my heart.

Even through our sorrow though, I am happy. I am happy because Peter was a Christian. I know he is in heaven now. He is not in pain, not suffering, and with God. At the end of his life he lost over 100 lbs, was so weak and so fragile. At one point he had a tumor the size of a small watermelon removed. It makes me just cry to think about how weak he was at the end and for most of his battle with cancer. Such a strong, hardworking, and capable man was so weak my mom had to do everything for him. It kills me. If I don't try to block it out of my mind, I could cry and cry forever.

I have learned so many things through this. I have learned that life is too short to not do the things you want to do. I have learned life is too short to not enjoy each and every day. I have learned to tell the people you love by words and actions that they are loved. I don't have any regrets with Peter. I know he knew how I felt about him. That he was loved and cared about. If you have someone you need to tell, don't wait, tomorrow is NOT guaranteed. Enjoy and be blessed by the people around you. Bless others, love others, don't hold grudges. Life is too short not to get along with your husband or wife. Let me say it again: Tomorrow is NOT guaranteed. Life is just too short. Enjoy every day, don't have regrets.

I also learned what love is. Love is taking care of your husband's every physical need, sitting by his bedside, hurting with him, encouraging him when you are dead tired, crying with him, laughing with him, sacrificing your needs to provide for all of his needs. This is love. Love is not just when life is great and things are going well, it is choosing to love during the hurt and heartache. In sickness AND in health has taken on new meaning for me. My mom showed me what love is. She has shown me what sickness AND in health means. I pray I can be half the woman she is someday. She is an amazing woman of God.

I feel so blessed to have had Peter in my life for the past 27 years. I may say he was my stepfather, but he was so much more then just that, so much more. He never treated me like his stepdaughter, nor referred to me as such. He treated me just as he treated my brother and sister...for better or for worse :) He will be very missed on earth, but as I tell Olivia (my 4 year old) we WILL see him in Heaven. He is waiting for us and is excited to see us again. We already have 2 friends in Heaven (GG and Jesus).

Please continue to pray for us. We really need the prayers. Love you guys.

we are the world

2008-05-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Really funny Japanese version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36w-CyqCO1A

Tornados

2008-05-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

I am from Boston (and very proud to be a yankee, yes I am a nice yankee). I lived in beautiful Washington state for 5 years after I graduated from ACU. I don't do tornadoes very well. I don't even do tornado watches or warnings well either. Tonight we had some severe weather in good ol Austin. I didn't like it at all. Alex usually loves the very harsh weather, but there was a point where even he got nervous when we peeked outside and it was very calm and the only sound was a noise that sounded like constant low thunder. The tornado producing winds and hail went over our house. I was hunkered down in my laundry room with my family with a mattress over our heads in a tent like fashion. I was also busy threatening my husband's life if he so much as even thought he needed to check on the size of the hail or to look for a funnel cloud. My geek husband had his HAM radio out and was listening to the chasers (boy was I glad he had that thing tonight).

The kids did great. They were sleeping pretty hard when we brought them down to our make-shift shelter. It took 15 minutes until Olivia finally asked why we were there. I told her in the most gentle way possible and she said "oh mom, I know what a tomado is, I saw it on the WonderPets". Wow. She continued "it is a twister, and it grabs things and throws them around". I never knew she was even aware of a tornado, but I guess WonderPets was very educational that day. She also said "we don't have to worry mom, God is always with us"...love that girl. Autumn just laid on my lap and hung out until I brought her to bed.

I have to say, sorry Texans, this place is nuts. Tornadoes, fire ants, scorpions, huge spiders, poisonous snakes, chiggers, the list just goes on and on... Sometimes I am not even sure why I agreed to come back to this place. I am sure I will be glad to be in Texas again tomorrow, but tonight was quite scary for someone not used to tornadoes. Sometimes I don't blame my family for not wanting to move down here....hopefully they don't read my blog...they'll never move. Be safe.

My Amazing Race Life

2008-05-14T00:25:00.000-07:00

I have said it before and I'll say it again, I am a TV junkie. The Amazing Race is a great reality tv show. Teams of people race around the world, look for clues, and do tasks in a race to the finish line. If you watch this exciting show you will notice when a team or person makes a mistake or misses a turn the camera pans in slow motion to show you they messed up. When the camera is in slow motion, you think to yourself "how could they have possibly missed that, it was so obvious". Usually you are left wondering if that little mistake will cost them the race.

Often times I feel like that is my life. I am a little scatterbrained at times and do silly things. The other day, for example, I went to the doctor. I somehow managed to leave my keys in the waiting room. As I was standing by my car I thought to myself "if I were on amazing race they would have done that silly slow motion thing as I got up and walked away without my keys". Yes, I am silly. I think about that often, like someone is doing the slow motion pan when I do something silly, foolish or scatterbrained. Go ahead laugh, I think it is funny too.

I am sure there is a more deeper, psychological, and spiritual message to be gained from this, but I just think it is funny that I think about amazing race and the pan of the camera in my everyday life. Oh, and if you see someone do something or leave something behind, please tell them, even if you live in Texas and it isn't considered polite. It will save them from the emotional, slowmotion pan of the amazing race camera.

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

A 5 year old girl from our church just died of brain cancer on Saturday. From what I understand they just found out in December she had it. Even though I didn't know her, my heart is just torn up over her death. It has made me do some reflecting on my family and my life. Life is just so fleeting. We must appreciate every day we have and appreciate those we love.

_____________________

I am blessed beyond measure to have my two girls. Blessed. Just blessed. I love them more then I could have ever imagined was possible to love another person. My heart aches when I think of how much I love them.

O called me upstairs a little while ago because she was having growing pains. She said "mommy could you massage my legs, they hurt so much". I couldn't have been happier doing anything else but taking care of her. Two days ago was the last time I think I will nurse A. She loves nursing still, and I love nursing her but since I was gone the last couple nights she went to bed without her "nunu". It is probably the best time to cut her off, she is 19 months, and it is probably time. It makes me sad. I love that special time we have together once a day, the one time she is actually still and quiet. :)

God has given me two glorious girls. They make me smile, they make me laugh, they make me frustrated sometimes---they are wonderful. I can't imagine doing anything else with my life right now. I can't imagine a better job then being a mom. It baffles me why some people don't have kids. They sure are missing out on life's best joy. I don't even know what we did before kids. Did we ever laugh so much? Were our hearts warmed like they are today? Did we do as silly things as we did before? I think not. This is a great life and I am thankful.

Tip #4 Get Up Earlier

2008-05-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

People who know me well, or even my acquaintances, okay and maybe even the stranger down the street, knows I HATE MORNINGS. Well, hate is a harsh word, but I very much dislike mornings and much prefer evenings (note the time stamp on blogger). I can't even remember seeing a sunrise until I went to college...and I wasn't that impressed (just joking God it is beautiful). Even when I worked I didn't have to be in until 9:00 or 9:30. Olivia is like Alex and I, she much prefers to sleep in and stay up later. Autumn is an early riser. She gets up like clockwork at 7:15 every day.

I have always tried to work hard to put a smile on my face and greet my kids with a happy tone when they wake up so they know they are loved. In my heart though I didn't like mornings. Lately I have decided to embrace the mornings and I have even offered to get up in the morning everyday (with an occasional sleep till 8:00 day). Each day is a blessing from the Lord and I should be excited to greet my healthy, wonderful, sweet kids with a heartfelt hug and a happy heart. Pretending is okay, but doing it from the heart is what counts and it feels SO much better. Changing my attitude...so simple. Who would have thought? It feels nice to have a happy and content heart (okay I am not perfect here people-I am talking about getting up in the mornings-I do struggle with contentment in other areas, but am working on that too).

I have found I even get some good things done in the morning. I have been getting the breakfast dishes cleaned up right away, other rooms in my house picked up and sometimes even a load of laundry (a miracle in itself). I know some of you will even be shocked to see emails from me with an earlier AM stamp. Now if Autumn starts getting up earlier then 7 am I might be blogging about how I need an attitude adjustment again and I will probably need a support group. :)

Tip #3 Batch cooking and cooking with Kelly

2008-04-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

My husband doesn't ask for very much. He doesn't require or even request that I keep the house perfect, but he sure likes his food. He likes to have a homemade dinner most evenings. He is flexible if we need to go out, but much prefers to eat a warm meal at home. I like to cook, mostly. Okay well some. I definitely don't like to cook everyday. I cook to honor him because I know he likes it.

It seems as though there is something we need to do a couple times a week (ballet, crazy kids, a difficult day) that makes it difficult for me to cook the type of meal I would like for my family.

I learned batch cooking while I lived in Bellingham, WA. I was working then and didn't have the time or energy to cook everyday. Not much has changed evidently. Batch cooking can be done a couple different ways. Basically you prepare your food as much as you can and then label and freeze it. When you are need a meal, you take it out in the morning or afternoon, and finish the cooking process with little to no effort. You can cook for a month in one day, you can cook 12 meals in advance, or you can just double the meal you are making for your family and put it in the freezer. It is very helpful and a huge time saver. When cooking I always try to at least make a second batch of what I am cooking and freeze it for a day when I am desperate.

One thing I have been doing lately is cooking once a week with my good friend Kelly. She is an amazing and healthful cook. Everything she has made from baking to cooking is amazing. Before we started the cooking with Kelly weeks, she and I would get the kids together at least once a week to play and we would just sit on the couch, wrangle kids and talk. She had this great idea one day to make Tuesdays our cooking day. We choose 3 meals to make and make them all on Tuesday. This saved tons of time, helped us use the time we would spend together more wisely, and have fun. We have also tried many new dishes and experimented a little. We also try to cook for a 3rd person that may have just had a baby or is overwhelmed. Alex REALLY likes our cooking days because he knows he'll have yummy food guaranteed at least 3 days that week.

Batch cooking is a time saver. It is fun for me because when I normally batch cook I do it with friends, so I get to visit while I cook and our kids have someone to play with. It can save money (if you buy Costco style) and is very convenient. It is a cool ministry as well. I usually have some frozen meals in the freezer. If someone is in need of a warm meal, I can easily pull something out and make it up for them and not feel pressure or stress.

If anyone is interested, I have some tips for batch cooking.

Funny and sweet

2008-04-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Both my girls were just sitting on the fireplace nursing their stuffed animals. Autumn was nursing her lemur and Olivia was nursing her baby. Olivia said "come on Autumn, lets nurse our babies". It was SO sweet.

Tip #2

2008-04-27T23:44:00.000-07:00

#2 - Find what makes you sane and stick with a routine.

For me it took me a long time to figure out what made me feel overwhelmed when I started my day. After I had Autumn I had a bit of postpartum. I didn't feel the I want to hurt myself or the kids postpartum, but just felt completely and utterly overwhelmed many days.

I was still feeling very overwhelmed a number of months later and I finally figured out why some days just seemed like a mountain to climb right after I got out of bed. It was like I was already defeated, why should I begin. Toys were strewn everywhere, dirty dishes next to the sink, crumbs on the counter (that really drives me nuts). I would then shut down and not want to clean anything or do anything. I couldn't even get myself to unload the dishwasher or clean up after myself after lunch. On most occassions, Alex had to jump start me by starting the cleanup process then I would join in (he is a great husband and I think he realized he might have to check me in the the nut house if something didn't change--so great husband mixed in with a bit of self-preservation=very helpful husband). It also finally dawned on me that when I woke up with a crazy messy house with toys everywhere I felt like things were already out of control and the rest of the day seemed too much to handle. We started cleaning up the kitchen and living room every night before we sat down on the couch. This has helped me tremendously. I am able to start every day fresh and new. While we are cleaning we are able to talk about our day and have some time to visit with each other before we turn on the TV (we are junkies---but yes lets save that for anther post). It doesn't take very long at all, but it helps me with the next day tremendously, it also has really been a way Alex can bless me too.

Maybe your husband won't help you clean up, but you can choose a couple things to do in the evening to help you stay sane and not as overwhelmed first thing in the morning. Maybe it is laying out your clothes, checking your calendar, cleaning your bedroom, doing a load of laundry, who knows. Find what it is that makes you feel overwhelmed when you wake up, and take baby steps to alter those things the night before.

Who wants to start their day feeling overwhelmed? Not me. It is worth the extra 15-30 minutes at night to start fresh in the morning. Trust me. You CAN do it.

If I am being honest...

2008-04-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

So if I am being honest I love being at stay at home mom. I love being with my kids all day, teaching them, loving them, playing with them, reading them. It makes my heart happy (most days). If I am still being honest, I have a confession HATE housework. I know you are thinking well I don't really like it either. I like and "need" a clean house for my mental well being, but don't like emptying in the dishwasher (I don't mind loading it), folding laundry (I don't mind the sorting or washing), washing the floor (don't mind vacuuming or sweeping) and scads of other things. Did I mention I need a clean house for my mental well being?

I have found a couple things to help me and maybe they can help you. I am going to break them up into small pieces so it won't be one huge blog post.

1. Flylady- www.flylady.com This is a great site that has helped me a lot. She helps get you organized and you can receive emails to help you focus your energy and not get burnt out. She usually has a cleaning area of the week to help you get organized and do spring cleaning in little time chunks. Having a shiny sink has never made me happier. One thing I will suggest is to get the daily updates, not the e-mails that come more then once a day. I am weird about my inbox too, I don't like it to be junked up.

Tip #2 tomorrow.

WARNING...theft.

2008-04-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hope you are not offended. I thought this was very funny.

Theft Problem-Important Message

You've heard about people who have been abducted and had their kidneys removed by black-market organ thieves.

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago. I went to sleep and woke up with someone else's thighs. It was just that quick. The replacements had the texture of cooked oatmeal. Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine? I spent the entire summer looking for my thighs. Finally, hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans.

And then the thieves struck again.

My butt was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear-end to the thighs they had stuck me with earlier. But my new butt was attached at least 3 inches lower then my original! I realized I'd have to give up my jeans in favor of long skirts.

Two years ago I realized my arms had been switched. One morning I was fixing my hair and was horrified to see the flesh of my upper arm swing to and from with the motion of the hairbrush. This was really getting scary - my body was being replaced one section at a time. What could they do to me next?

When my poor neck suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a turkey neck, I decided to tell my story. Women of the world, wake up and smell the coffee! Those "plastic" surgeons are using REAL replacement body parts stolen from you and me!!!

THIS IS NOT A HOAX. This is happening to women everywhere every night.

WARN YOUR FRIENDS!

PS. Last year I thought someone had stolen my boobs. I was lying in bed and they were gone! But when I jumped out of my bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept. Now I keep them hidden in my waistband.

Source unknown, but really funny.

Disapproval from a 5 year old

2008-04-21T17:00:00.001-07:00

My computer recently crashed and my hard drive failed. The good thing is that I am crazy about backing things up so I didn't loose anything, thank the Lord. I would have cried for months, years and even decades if I had lost my precious pictures. I got a new Macbook out of the deal, not so shabby. My sweet husband told me I "needed" it for my new photography business. He is great....mostly. :)

I have told my husband I needed a cool colored case for my white Macbook or a skin to put on it to dress it up a little. He mocked me and told me that blinging it up was a foolish idea and made the computer look silly. So I didn't get anything for it wanting to fit in and be cool. I was over at my friend's house today keeping an eye on her kids. Her 5 year old Lou came over to me and stared at my computer for about 30 seconds then asked me with a crinkled nose "why is it white"? Ha, out of the mouth of babes. You see her mom has a very cute pink Macbook and her Dad a blue, of course she thinks white is strange...so do I Lou, so do I. It was really cute and funny. Needless to say I'll be blinging it up in the near future.

Title of the blog

2008-04-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Many of you are probably wondering why I would entitle my blog "bossy dossey". If you know me you know very well why this name fits me so well :) I know I will hear an astounding cheer of agreement from my husband and kids that is for sure.

Dossey is quite an interesting name so I have found. Evidently people can't understand it when I tell them over the phone, most times I have to spell it out for them. They say "possy", no DOssey, "bossy", nope not bossy... yes, I am bossy, but the last name is dossey. It is a little annoying. My maiden name was just so easy and quite nice. Even after almost 8 years of marriage I sometimes think it would have been just easier if A took my name. At least I wouldn't have to fess up to being bossy to complete strangers just to get them to understand my last name (and of course to give them a little laugh).

Introducing the Dossey Family Blog

2007-11-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

I've been blogging for a little while, but have not done a personal blog yet. www.mommysfavoritethings.blogspot.com and cutiepie-photography.blogspot.com have occupied my blogging mind. I have taken a break from mommysfavoritethings to start a photography business. I figure I should blog some of my own personal journey too.

I have never been good at keeping a journal or the like so we'll see how long this lasts. I can hardly find time to clean my house these days never mind posting regularly to a personal blog. I am going to give it an effort though.

I am Christian, wife, and a mother of 2 wonderful daughters (18 months and 4 years). I am starting a photography business with my friend and trying to have balance in my life.