30 Day Shred. Check!

Well, I really need to work on this blogging thing! Not doing very well so far!

We have been pretty busy lately preparing for our Lake of the Ozarks weekend - which is this weekend! We are so excited! Part of my prep work was to complete the "30 Day Shred" workout by Jillian Michaels. It's been tough, sweaty, difficult, and exhausting... but I have to say... it was completely worth it.

I have never watched The Biggest Loser, but from what I've heard Jillian is a tough broad. I think she is motivating and has a "no excuses" attitude during 30 Day Shred. Shred is broken down into 3 levels - 10 days per level for 30 days straight. My legs, arms, and core have been transformed. I was able to do "real" push ups for the first time in my life within 7 days of starting the program. If you are looking for a great 22 minute strength/cardio workout at home - this is for you. I will warn you though - this workout is NOT easy. Also, go easy on the jumping jacks. Modify the move... do 1 leg at a time. I thought I needed knee replacements by the end of level 1!!

I hope to soon blog about the Cook Family Reunion over Memorial Day Weekend. That has been and still is one of my favorite weekends of the year!

the pups

We all went back to Oklahoma last weekend. Bella and Ryley love "Grandma's".

Bella found a bone the size of her!

Ryley helped Mom landscape.

April - month in review!

April, like every month, came and went about as fast as the speed of light. The highlights of the month include...

• I spent Easter weekend with some of my family in Iowa! I love being so close now. During my extended weekend, Jayme and her family and I went to Omaha to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo.
• K-Mart's fabulous super double coupon week. After 3 visits, I ended up spending $51 on $224 worth of merchandise. I probably have a 2 year supply of toothpaste, deodorant, razors, V-8 Fusion, and Glade products. Gotta love coupons!!!
• Michael and I went to our first MLB game! After the Chief's game last fall - it's official - I am bad luck. The Royals didn't win... but our seats were great and the bad storms and tornadoes missed Kauffman Stadium! Yay!

Enjoy the photos!!

Tieara, Jayme, Me, and Jayme's son Christian in the rain forest at Henry Doorly Zoo.






The shark tunnel was my favorite exhibit! There were tons of sharks, fish, sea turtles, and sting rays!

Who doesn't love penguins?!

Easter at Grandma's

Jayme and I

Day Dates - Exploring KC and surroundings.

Today Michael and I went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and then went to lunch in Parkville. The museum was incredible and well worth the visit. I'd like to go again on a day that I won't be sore from working out and after a decent meal!! We felt like we rushed through it... sorry Rembrant!! After the museum we headed out to Parkville for lunch. It looked and felt similar to Westin, MO (our last "day date")... full of cute shops and restaurants!! We had a late lunch at Stone Canyon Pizza... Michael had his first ever mexican pizza. Yum!! After lunch we checked out all the antique shops and boutiques. Lucky for my wallet, I didn't find anything I couldn't live without.

loosing my blogging v-card.

Welcome to our BLOG! There are SO many fun and interesting blogs out there... I wanted to give one a try! (well, I was thinking about a creating a blog or Twitter account... I obviously chose blog!!) Keeping in touch with friends and family is very important to us but it is hard to do sometimes because we all lead busy lives. My goal in this blog is to share with you our moments, memories, recipes, stories, fantastic deals, and pictures - dogs, my cakes, family, vacation, whatever.