Another one...

Photo Collage of Chase & I

Check this out!!!  New pic I created on Picasa~~

New Car

Man, oh man...

I had to give up my precious 1996 Acura 3.5 RL. That car took me EVERYWHERE!!! When we first got it, trust me. It wasn't my first choice, but when I did get it, I thought that it was a pretty cool car. It was the car I used to make my sales routes for Salon Source and I conquered many fears in there.

Last Wednesday, while driving home from Menchaca's, it started acting very funny and I knew something was really wrong. You know how you just have that intuition. Well, it started shaking on me like it was going to collapse and I was like, "Oh no." So I pulled over the first time on 35 (yes, I know! Not the safest place to pull over), thinking that the tire was going to blowout. Got out of the car and all tires were fine. So, thinking "Okay, that's weird," I get back in the car and take off with caution, putting my hazards on. I turn onto Bailey Rd, and it stopped shaking, but when I started to accelerate more to get over the bridge, it started shaking violently and I had to scream, "Lord, please, Lord, please get over this bridge!" He did and low and behold, as I was coming off of the bridge and pulled into the driveway by the water tower, there was a Pearland cop sitting there, just waiting to pull someone over. He came over and helped, while I called Chase to come and get me. I wasn't ABOUT to drive it home, even though I was 5-10 min away.

The cop had to leave, but made sure that I was taken care of. Nice guy! So, Chase got there and told me that he had someone coming to tow the car to Long's. I didn't care, I just wanted to get home and forget that it happened, but it left me stranded to where I couldn't work last week. Kind of sucks!!

Well, to make a long story short, tranny needed to be fixed and in an Acura, they are VERY expensive. So, after much, MUCH consideration, we sold it after putting on Craigslist.

Now, I have a 98 Toyota 4Runner to get me around town and make new memories with!




My Acura, how I will miss you!! You have new owners who'll take much more care of you and treat you good!!

NEW PICS!!!

BODY BY VI...Are you ready for the Challenge?

Ever since I started working out, doing the Power 90 & P90X systems from Beachbody...I've lost 15 to 20 lbs of weight. BUT, I needed that extra oomph and no, I was not about to order Shakeology. WAY too expensive and let's face it, it's not a cure all. My friend, Noelle, introduced me to a company called ViSalus Sciences and they are the makers of the ViShake. What is ViShake? Funny you asked, lol...

ViShake is a wonderful protein and energy shake you can drink and you can make it with any combo imaginable. It helps you develop lean muscle and help you lose weight. So, for those who aren't able to exercise, this is perfect for you.

Go to www.bodybyvi.com for more details.

So, I'm asking you again...are you ready for the challenge?

Forgot I had a blog...WHO KNEW????

LMAO, I totally forgot about this thing until John Schneider came across FB and announced his. So, it got me to thinking. Is blogging out?

I wouldn't think so, even though we put our daily lives out there for everyone to see. Facebook, Twitter, you name it. Although, if I dare to even mention MySpace, I hope that I don't get killed. It's so 2008. hahaha.

So, what is a blog good for? How about publishing stories? Poetry, pics...putting your feelings out there in a reading format, instead of a status update.

Okay, that's enough. Carry on!

Almost lost 40 lbs. That is so cool! I just now got back into my 11's and hopefully pretty soon, I'll be getting back into my 9's. Yay! John, here I come. :)~

I had a pretty bad weekend. Chase and I had to drive to Oklahoma to his sister's funeral, and I swear that was one of the most grueling trips I've think I've ever been on. Granted, most of the trip was getting through North Texas, but damn, it was long. :) Chase was pretty tired for the most part, and so was I. When we got home yesterday, I just wanted to stay in my bed and never get up. But of course I couldn't.

See y'all later! :)~

I took these over the weekend. Just goes to show you how much I've actually lost.

32 lbs!!!

Yep! 32 lbs, and still going strong... It's amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it! I'm very happy with the progress I've made.

Working more and more on the Rancher story. I can't quite finish it, for some reason. And I love the way it's developing!

Gotta go! :)

Almost to the 30 lb. mark!!! Yay!

Last night's episode of Smallville pissed me off. I know that Jonathan dies in the old comics and the movie, but the way that they did it, oh my God, was I upset! I was so upset, I couldn't get any sleep. If I did, I kept dreaming about him dying, and I'd wake up. I've already read some interviews that John Schneider has done for the episode, and at least he's okay with it. And I respect that. He knew that his time was limited on the show. But the only reason I EVER watched this show was because of John. Hell, he's one of the reasons why I watch Dukes! So, I probably won't ever watch Smallville again.

Okay, now that I got that off of my chest, back to the weight loss! 29 lbs and still going... Ain't that so cool? I'm fitting into clothes that I haven't worn in years, and I swear, at the rate I'm going, I'm gonna get into those 9's. Or, hopefully 7's? Now I know I'm dreaming!

Bye for now!!! :)~

Okay, I've lost 22 lbs now. Hey, I wouldn't have really cared last year, I was still in denial that I need to lose weight. Now that's totally changed. I'm trying so HARD to keep it up and so far, I think I've done a pretty damn good job at it! I'm sticking to a low calorie/protein diet, watching my carbs, cut down on my Coke intake (which was so hard to do!), drinking more water, and working my ass off each night. Like I said before, my goal is to be 120 lbs by June, so I can look for good for Dukesfest! Or 115 lbs, that would be so much better... :)~

I'll be updating this blog often as I keep making progress. See you later!

Well, I have lost almost 20 pounds. I'm so excited about that! I feel a lot better about myself now than I have in the past couple of years.

I can't believe it's already Christmas time. It just seems this year has flown by. I don't really have much to talk about except I've actually lost 11 lbs. I'm so excited about that. For years, I've wondered why I kept gaining, and I finally figured it out. So, once I get my thyroid meds regulated, and keep doing what I'm doing, I will hopefully be down to my old size by June. Just in time for DukesFest '06! Can't wait, either. I want to look GOOD for John Schneider. :)~ Plus, I want to meet the others like James Best (gotta love Rosco!) and Ben "Cooter" Jones. What would be really cool is if Tom Wopat actually came this year, and I got to meet both Bo and Luke... Just a thought. :)~

I love those pictures! Chase had bought me a digital camera for my birthday, and I was playing with it to see what it could do. I also took some scenic pics too, then made them pretty in Photoshop.

Yep, I turned 25 on Labor Day. Doesn't feel any different than 24, but that's normal. Oh well!

Just goofing around!

This is what I look like now. I decided to play with my new digital camera this past weekend and took some pictures. This one was the best, I think.

Chase had an art exhibit the night before, and here I am!

In Galveston 2001...don't I look thrilled?

On our way back from Padre Island in 2000

This is Chase and I in Christmas 2000

Not much to report...Still trying to exercise, blah, blah, blah...

Took my mom out shopping last weekend, ended up having fun with her. The only time I really spend time with my mom is on weekends at her house. We usually go to this vegetable farm in Alvin, and getting fresh produce, so we did that. I had to go get some pictures from Priscilla, so my mom got to meet her, and we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond in Silverlake. It just turned out to be fun. Ever since Dad died, Erin, Elan, and I have been trying to keep her busy, so she wouldn't be so lonely. Also, she's one of the most independent people I've ever met. She likes to do for herself, and not have any help. Anyway, we had fun.

Gotta go for now! :)

I am trying to figure out ways to lose this weight. It's really hard, and I'm having to retrain my brain not to eat all the time. If I get bored, I eat. Which is really, really bad. I'm taking Chromium Picolinate to boost my metabolism, but so far, it hasn't worked. I did take up exercising again, but everyday, it's something different so I don't get bored with it. I've been swimming, doing yoga mixed with Pilates, walking, etc. I'm trying, that's all I can say...

On a more positive note, Chase is getting a lot more business for his art. I'm SO proud of him. I set up a site that you can go to...

http://johncyates.blogspot.com

Check it out...gotta run! :)

I had an interesting weekend. My brother, his family and my sister went to see the NASCAR races this weekend in Ft. Worth, and my mom stayed at my brother's house to take care of my nephews. (2 of Elan's and 1 of Erin's) Anyway, I had to stay down here to take care of my mom's animals for her. I was so tired from all the running around that I had to do just to take care of them. Meanwhile, I went to our family reunion we had this weekend, and spent time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I had fun, but there were too many people to talk to. I only reason I went was to represent someone in our family. Besides, I think my dad would've wanted me to go. A lot of people asked how Mom was doing, and it was the usual answer. Taking it one day at a time, doing good, staying busy, blah, blah, blah. It just felt weird being the only one there, but it turned out okay.

One thing I definitely realized this weekend is that I'm going to have to lose some weight. Ever since I married Chase, (which will be 6 yrs at the end of May) I have steadily gained weight. And it's not like I'm fat, but I am overweight. So, I'm going to start walking again. Hopefully, I won't tire from that. I'm trying to improve myself, and I feel like I'm making a little progress. But, in order for me to feel good about myself, I want to lose 50 lbs. That way, I'll be as skinny as I was when I was in high school, and I'll be healthy. Also, I don't want to end up in the same condition my dad was in. He had diabetes, congestive heart failure, emphysema (what we thought was emphysema, turned out to be COPD), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. I don't want to end up that way. So, I better bite it in the ass now before it's too late. Plus, I have hypothyroidism. I have to keep in shape because of that. I thank God everyday that I'm here, and I'm alive, but I want to improve myself drastically. So, from now on, I'm going to write about my weight loss, so I can deep track of it.

Gotta run! :) :)

Here is a barn that is next door to my parents' house....

Here is one of an old cowboy...

Here is Chase and myself when we were engaged...

This is a picture of my dad that Chase did for my mom for Christmas this year. My dad died a year and a half ago, and I thought that I'd share it with you. I'm really proud of it.

How was everyone's weekend? Was it good? Mine was basically the same, hang around the house on Friday, do errands on Saturday, and clean on Sunday. I watched Tom Selleck's movie Stone Cold, and it was really awesome. I liked it... Wanted to take some of the girls in the movie and knock the **** out of them, but otherwise, it was cool. Anyway, the voting starts on American Idol tonight, and I am so excited to see who goes through Wednesday. I hope that America likes Constantine, because it's time for a hardcore rocker to get in there. The ones I want to go through, I really hope that they make it. I think that this season will be the best.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. Bye!! ;)