Simply June

Granite Flats - Episode 8 - Season 1 Finale

2013-05-22T03:13:00.000-07:00

Something Dangerous

Episode 8: In the season finale, John races to free Hershel from prison, and the kids uncover real danger after the science fair.

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What's better than Cupcakes?!

2013-05-21T14:21:00.001-07:00

What is the worst thing a friend has said to or about you regarding your appearance? It doesn't have to be your best friend, it can be just someone you are friendly with.
An acquaintance perhaps, or an old school mate? Basically, has someone who is not a complete stranger ever said something to you that offended you or hurt your feelings? Who cares what strangers think! It's the people we know that can really get to us.
There are a few comments I will never forget. Two big ones that stand out in my mind and they have been my go-to phrases during the last few months as I work hard to get my butt in shape.

I am motivated by lots of nice warm fuzzy things - family, feeling healthier...that sort of thing. But... when I absolutely have no desire what-so-ever to move my ample size bottom off the sofa to go exercise...when I tell my husband I no longer care and would pay 100 dollars for a cupcake (oh man, how I have craved glorious cupcakes) ...and when I feel to tired or discouraged - like there is just to much to do to realistically get to the size I want to be....when THAT happens, it is those two comments made to me by someone who should have known better, that pop into my mind.

Comment #1 - At the mall I was pushing my not quite one year old son and my two year old son in the stroller and a former high school classmate saw me and asked me if I was pregnant. I panicked and said yes to spare myself the embarrassment to which she replied, "Oh good, I just thought you had let yourself go." I cried the whole way home.

Comment #2 - After going two years since seeing each other, a lady I used to go to church with moved into our area and we were once again attending the same church meetings on Sunday. We hugged, said hello and then a bit later I overheard her telling another lady, "June has gained so much weight...she used to be pretty." I couldn't ignore it any longer. It was time to face the fact that my cute days were long gone. I spent the next half hour crying in the ladies room.

Those are the memories that get me off the sofa and stop the cupcake madness. It's not pretty and it still really pisses me off sometimes to think about how awful I felt at the time. I wish I didn't let what others thought get to me but it sure did. I dont ever want to feel that way again. Both comments have stuck with me and I dont like to think about it. But, that's the ugly truth about what it takes sometimes to push me to get motivated when I need it most.

Until today, that is. I am starting to have an even stronger motivation than that! Yep, it's true.

I am in the middle of my third month on the Shaklee 180 diet and.....As of this morning, I have lost 25 pounds since March 1st. I know, I didn't believe it either.
I looked down at the scale in shock.

I walked out of the bathroom, stopped. Turned back around and weighed myself again. Yep, still 25 pounds. I checked once more and then, I smiled a big huge smile.
NOTHING is as motivating as knowing you are capable of being more than you had given yourself credit for. Nothing feels quite as good as being proud of yourself. No matter what I actually look like, if I feel this good, I will feel pretty and confidence is ALWAYS sexy. In my mind I imagine I'm walking by that lady at church agian and this time she says, "can you believe she used to think she wasn't pretty?"

Now, This is the feeling I will remember next time the cupcakes come a calling. And when I feel to tired or have almost convinced myself to not put in as much effort as possible, I will imagine --- just imagine! -- what must it feel like to finally hit that goal?! To feel healthy and - dare I say it - cute again! OH. MY. GOSH. It will be amazing. I just know it.
I bet it's even better than cupcakes.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating in the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. All opinions are my own. I am also a Shaklee distributor.

Downton Abbey Extras - news, games & stuff

2013-05-19T11:23:00.001-07:00

So what's up with Downton lately?

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Dan Stevens is almost unrecognisable in his new role in a Hollywood Blockbuster

‘I guess I’ve been eating better since I moved here,’ he said ‘And I stopped drinking. At the same time I started filming here, for which I needed to slim down a little.’

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine Dan revealed the secret behind his dramatic transformation.
The new role comes less than a year after Dan made his Broadway stage debut opposite Zero Dark Thirty star Jessica Chastain in The Heiress.

Dan relishes his new life in New York with his wife, South African-born singer Susie Hariet and their children Aubrey, one, and Willow, three.

He said: ‘I was walking round with my dad the other day. They live in a little village in Sussex and this couldn’t be further from it. 'He was fascinated by this way of living and I am too.’

But he admits leaving Downton Abbey was ‘one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to face’.
The star, who had appeared in all three series of the award-winning show, said: ‘On paper it looked mad to walk away, but it felt like the right time.
'I’ve got an appetite to learn new things. It’s nothing more than that.’

Dan in his new movie 'A Walk Among Tombstones'

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Who’s getting ‘Lost’ with Mrs. Hughes?

When it comes to worlds colliding, we really cannot think of two worlds that are any more different from each other then “Downton Abbey” and the mind of J.J. Abrams. After all, period pieces are not the man’s forte. He is known instead as being the driving force behind hit television series such as “Lost” and “Alias,” and the director of the upcoming “Star Trek Into Darkness” as well as the upcoming “Star Wars” feature film over at Disney.
So what in the world is the man doing in the photo here? Apparently he’s just having a little bit of fun. This photo was posted to the Twitter of Abrams’ Bad Robot production company, and it clearly shows the director spending a little bit of time with Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) inside of where the servants prepare some of their meals for the likes of Robert, Cora, and their daughters.

In case you are wondering whether or not this means that Abrams had an opportunity to visit Highclere Castle, the downstairs portions of the show are shot at a studio rather than on location, as the kitchens at the castle are much more modern than they would be at the time of Edwardian England.
Abrams was in the UK in order to help support the launch of “Star Trek Into Darkness” which came out this week.

information from www.cartermatt.com

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Producer talks Mary’s expectations, changes ahead

Executive producer Gareth Neame recently shared his thoughts on new and recurring characters in Downton Abbey season 4, as well as the approach of the creative team to important changes in the Crawley’s lives.

E! Online has shared a recent interview with Gareth Neame, executive producer of ITV’s popular drama Downton Abbey, discussing Mary Crawley, Gary Carr, and what viewers can expect in the upcoming season 4. The future of Lady Mary is a particularly sensitive topic of speculation (and some anxiety) among fans, especially since the show cast actor Tom Cullen in the role of an appealing suitor, Lord Anthony Gillingham. Neame allayed fears that Matthew’s widow would be moving on too quickly for comfort, however.

But Lady Mary will not be seeking suitors in Downton Abbey season 4, Neame promises. “Mary is a woman in a state of deep bereavement and there’s no way she’s looking for anyone else,” Neame assured fans. Unfortunately, Mary’s status might force her into scenarios she is not yet ready for. “She is, nonetheless, a very beautiful and eligible young woman,” Neame said, “So I have no doubt there’s going to be male interest in her.” Mary herself, however, is “definitely not on the look for love.”

Neame also adressed what remains the massive elephant in the drawing room: how the departure of Dan Stevens (and thus the death of Mary’s husband Matthew) will affectDownton Abbey season 4 in general. “It clearly will make a huge difference,” he admitted. “But I can assure you that it’s given the show a whole new impetus. We’ve gone off in a whole new direction and it’s very exciting to see the whole new season come together.” Though Matthew will undoubtedly leave a large ~~car shaped~~ hole, Neame promises that the creative team has “Some great new ideas. The show’s in really good health.”

In addition to Mary’s suitors, another source of buzz for Downton Abbey season 4 is the addition of the character of jazz musician Jack Ross, played by Gary Carr. Carr will be the first black character on the show, though Neame doesn’t consider the choice particularly groundbreaking. “I don’t think it’s a huge story to us,” he said, “But obviously, we’re set in 1920… in rural Yorkshire – it wasn’t a diverse time.” In order to craft a story line that remains “authentic” to the period, Carr’s character will be an American singer who travels to London. “That would have happened at that time,” Neame said, “But of course, it allows some interesting plays on attitudes to race and people who are different.”

“The show will feel the same as it’s always felt,” Neame concluded, “But hopefully with great new stories, and a new energy.”

Filming for Downton Abbey season 4 is currently ongoing, and the show will return to ITV in the fall. The new seasons will air on PBS in early 2014.

from www.hypable.com

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and now some fun stuff....

There are 20 words that describe Lady Mary...Which ones can you find?

Fill in the missing words to complete this phrase from Lady Edith.

Can you spot the differences between the two photos?

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Quotes I Loved this Week

2013-05-18T01:40:00.000-07:00

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The Floating Building in my Town

2013-05-17T16:10:00.000-07:00

Trick photography? Nope, just a little restoration project going on in Provo where the Tabernacle used to stand, which was badly damaged in a fire in 2010. Thankfully, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is salvaging the 112-year-old building with a little levitation. When finished, this will be the second LDS temple in Provo Utah. (There is even a secret tunnel being built to connect to the government buildings across the street!)

Engineers gutted the ruined interior, and lifted the structure onto scaffolding about 40 feet in the air in order to save the facade and add a two-story basement below. The old church didn't have to be moved at all. It appears to be floating, but there's no religious trickery going on—just a pretty amazing feat of engineering.

Is this cool or what??? I drove by just the other day and it really is quite amazing to see. Thought it would be cool to share it.

This is what the finished temple will look like:

Photo & information from Gizmodo.com

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Downton Abbey Season 4 - what is in store?

2013-05-17T10:27:00.002-07:00

Watch Downton Abbey: The Cast on Hopes for Season 4 on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

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Lucifer was at Target - Seriously

2013-05-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

It was almost 11:00pm when my sister and I walked into Target together. All we needed to get at the store was milk, but this is target so we ended up finding a few more cute things to buy than we had planned. It didn't take long before we were getting in line to pay for our items.

While I was looking through my purse for my wallet, I noticed my sister Lisa was making friends with the ladies behind us. They were whispering and laughing. Those women had seen something I hadn't. They had noticed who else was in the checkout line. I had not.

I was next in line to pay so I was hurrying to find my debit card before the cashier finished helping the gentleman in front of me.

Michael Ballam, aka Lucifer. "Well, Hello there June..."

The man in front of me handed his money to the cashier, then turned around and looked right at me. And then I screamed.

When HE and I were face to face I let out a HUGE scream and freaked out - also scaring the other women in line. Why?

Because this guy has played the role of Satan in a movie I've seen. That's all I saw when he turned around and we came face to face - Lucifer was at Target. This is what I get for shopping late at night.

I don't know what everyone else was thinking, but I was thinking that this was it for me....either Target is Satans new hangout or I've done something naughty and Satan now makes house calls.

To his credit, while I was about to hyperventilate, Michael Ballam didn't flinch. I told my friend Diane about this and found out she is a long time friend of his. I told her I felt bad for screaming in his face that night at Target. She said he gets this sort of reaction all the time. Not to worry. He deals with this often?! To him, it was just another trip to the store. To me it was a the time I had a mini heart attack when all I wanted to do was buy milk.

Why is Satan shopping at Target anyway?!
Wow, I guess it's true...EVERYONE loves Target.

The scariest 2 seconds of my life.

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Granite Flats - Episode 7

2013-05-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

The Wrong Man

Episode 7: Frank asks for Beth's help to prove his sanity. Hershel receives visitors while incarcerated.

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Granite Flats - Episode 6

2013-05-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Reassembly

Episode 6: Arthur and his friends look for more mysteries to solve. John, the police chief, works with the FBI.

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Granite Flats - Episode 5

2013-05-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Bonds

Episode 5: Friendships are tested after a failed class project, Beth investigates Frank's strange behavior, and John struggles to balance his family and his duties as police chief.

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When God Created Mothers

2013-05-12T10:56:00.003-07:00

When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of "overtime" when the angel appeared and said. "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And God said, "Have you read the specs on this order?" She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 moveable parts...all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said. "Six pairs of hands.... no way."

It's not the hands that are causing me problems," God remarked, "it's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have."

That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. God nodded.

One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, 'What are you kids doing in there?' when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say. 'I understand and I love you' without so much as uttering a word."

God," said the angel touching his sleeve gently, "Get some rest tomorrow...."

I can't," said God, "I'm so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick...can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger...and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower."

The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed.

But tough!" said God excitedly. "You can imagine what this mother can do or endure."

Can it think?"

Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise," said the Creator.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.

There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model."

It's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear."

What's it for?"

It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride."

You are a genius, " said the angel.

Somberly, God said, "I didn't put it there.”

― Erma Bombeck, When God Created Mothers

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Granite Flats - Episode 4

2013-05-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Talking

Episode 4: Beth tries to connect with her son, Arthur, who has built a metal detector with his friends to help them investigate the mysteries in Granite Flats. A big city reporter begins asking questions around town.

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LTYM - A Timeline

2013-05-11T17:08:00.002-07:00

Everyone says it was an awesome night.

Here's a glimpse of how things went on my end.

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5:10 – Arrive at Thanksgiving Point – the room isn’t set up.

5:20 – Help carry in lots of yummy snacks.

5:30 – 6:00 Eat, laugh, hug and encourage each other.

6:00 – see Megan’s mom helping to put the finishing touches and adjustments on Megan’s attire. Met Meg’s mom.

6:01 – wished she was MY mom too.

6:03 – give a yank and adjust my pantyhose….all by myself.

6:15 - Show my sister Jenny's tattoo.

6:25 – See Aleisha and Amy standing next to each other. Wonder why I didn’t get the “lets dress in coordinating colors” memo.

6:30 – Have a conversation with Jenny while sitting in a bathroom stall.

6:35 – stand backstage in the dark as everyone goes Instagram crazy.

6:40 – pose for a photo with Carly, Lindsey & Courtney. Phone having photo difficulties – stand there posing for a good couple of minutes. Feel a bit stupid hugging Courtney for that long since this is the first time we met. Fight the urge to say, “So….. how are things with you? Come here often? What’s your sign?” Fought the urge but it backfires because what came out of my mouth in that semi-awkward moment was, “Sorry I’m totally smashing my boobs on you.”

6:41 – My brain processes what I had just said – wonder why on earth I am allowed to speak in public.

6:50 – Julie and Polly turn around and tell Holly and I not to poke them in the back all night.

6:51 – We start poking.

6:52 -Noticed our back row gals were about 2 inches from the edge of the stage.

-Warn Holly that if she goes falls back over the edge – she’s going to take Carly, Megan and I with her. Which would actually be quite fitting considering my reading.

7:00 – June’s cell phone starts ringing. Hurry to silence it – extremely grateful we didn’t start on time.

7:05 – find out Holly’s reading in the binder is not the right reading.

7:15 – Show starts. All the lights are off except for the ones at the podium and the dim glowing light coming from the laptop on Holly’s lap she tries to find the correct version.

7:16 – 8:30

– think to myself that Abby is about as far from being Miss Hanigan as a gal can get.

- New what everyone was going to say, still cried through each talk about infertility, adoption & the loss of a child.

- Laugh at Shannon’s first poem. Wished my daughter was in the audience during her second.

- See Carly’s mother beaming with pride as Carly spoke. Wondered what that must feel like.

- As Judy quotes her “hands out of pants” motto, we see half the audience nodding their heads in agreement.

- Notice my sister getting super emotional during Melody’s reading. We make eye contact, give each other a little smile and realize we are not alone.

9:00-ish - join hands and take a bow. Totally love these women. Ramble on about Heather while Julie presents her with flowers. What a night! Sad the whole thing is over.

May 9, 2013 – present day -- Already looking forward to next year.

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Mothering Tip #57 - Gambling with Oranges

2013-05-11T15:24:00.001-07:00

my reading from Utah's first "Listen To Your Mother" show on 5/9/13

If you want to reinforce a message, when teaching your children use visual aids. It’s called an Object Lesson, and if you pick the right "object" you are sure to leave a lasting impression.

I still vividly remember the way my siblings and I were taught, at a very young age, about not running out into the road. My oh-so-wise parents had decided this topic would be a wonderful opportunity for an Object Lesson. So, one Monday evening my siblings and I were told to come outside to the front yard. While my father lined us up on the sidewalk facing the street, my mother went to the garage and got in the car. She backed out of the driveway and then slowly pulled out in the road directly in front of us. She rolled the window down and she said, in an eerily quiet “evil villain", menacing sort of a voice:

"If you run out into the road you will be smashed."

Tension filled the air.

Right on cue, my father walked out into the road and placed a large orange on the ground, right in front of our car's tire. Then he walked back and stood on the sidewalk next to us. Again in the evil villain voice, but louder this time: "Now….. I want you all to pretend YOU are the orange!"

And with that, she hit the gas - Driving over her hypothetical round orange children.

If you are wondering if this sort of thing could scar a kid – let me assure you,

the answer is – YES.

We definitely got the message loud and clear that day. But we had also witnessed a "fruit murder". Even at the tender age of 9 I wondered, was that really necessary? As a mother now myself, I know that what works for one kid, doesn’t necessarily work for another. I have a few nieces and nephews that would freak out if they saw pretend orange children exploding. I myself have a son who would absolutely love the whole display, completely understand the object lesson…..and still ran out into the road every chance he got.

Sometimes object lessons backfire. Like the time my 16 year old son decided he wanted to gamble. He had earned a bit of money and he wanted to buy a lottery ticket. You know, the ones where you scratch off the silver stuff to see if you have won? Well, He thought those sounded awesome and as hard as I tried to impart my motherly wisdom upon my teenage son, he was determined. Since it was his own money, I felt it was time to let him learn the hard way.

I pulled our car into the parking space right in front of a little shop where he could by a "scratchy". He had 5 dollars and he wanted to buy 5 one dollar "scratchies".

Because I am good mother, I warned him one last time. I said to him; "Okay, fine...you go spend your money, and then, when the money is gone and you have nothing to show for it except some silver crap stuck under your nails, you will know and always remember how it feels to gamble and lose." And with that he smiled, got out of the car and went inside the shop.

While I waited in the car I was going over in my mind all the important points I wanted to make in my "See, I told you so" speech. Sure, he would be upset but life is hard and sometimes we have to learn the hard way. To top the day off, I was going to tape the losing ticket to the fridge as a reminder. It would be the perfect visual aid.

Moments later he came bouncing out of the store and sat in the car next to me with a huge grin on his face. It was then that I realized there was only one card in his hand. One card with five different silver places to scratch. My poor boy didn't even have the sense to not put all his money into one scratchie.

Oh well, It would be over quickly and I would have the whole ride home to deliver my inspirational speech. He was sure going to remember this lesson.

I watched as he rubbed the quarter over the silver circle. The silver came off and he yelled.
My son had just won 10 dollars.

My speech would have to have to be edited a bit.

My gambling son cheered. The second one was scratched and then the third and the fourth, until all five circles were clearly - ten dollar winners.

I didn't get to give my speech at all. I didn't get to tape anything to the fridge. And my son? He ran back in the shop and when he came back out and got in the car he was proudly smiling and holding 50 very memorable visual aids. Not exactly what I had imagined. It was a complete, Object Lesson FAIL.

It was almost as big of a fail as the time I fell off a building while trying to show my kids how unsafe it was. This happened about 6 months after the "gambling object lesson fiasco".

It was on a Saturday and we were on our way home from seeing a movie. All of us except for my oldest son Josh. He had slept over with friends the night before and had decided to come home earlier than planned. So, when he got home the house was all locked up… except for a window on the third floor. Since he had forgotten his house keys, he began to climb.

When we pulled into the driveway the front door was open and out walked Josh. He explained what had happened and pointed to the railing and then a window ledge and proudly proceeded to tell us all how he scaled the building to get to the window.

I couldn't believe it. He knew better than to scale a 3 story building! The route my spider man had decided to take was directly above a long drop onto big rocks and a few little shrubs. The other kids were listening to him intently and thought he was brave, so skilled. So I interrupted his story.

After 4 kids, I had the typical "that's not safe" speech memorized and I let them have it! Then for some unknown reason, I decided to show my children how stupid it was to do something that gambles with ones safety.

I explained what could have happened. I and had them look down at the sharp rocks below. They all stepped back, and then, for dramatic effect, I added a visual aid. I stood on the wooden railing and leaned over the edge. That's when I heard the wood break and someone screamed. I later found out it was me that screamed.

I should have used an orange.

The next thing I knew I was laying on the rocks I had just pointed out to the kids. I couldn't move and my arm hurt. I remember my daughter's face. She was kneeling by me holding my arm and crying. My husband was running down the hill to get to me and my son Josh was on the phone with the police dispatcher. I kept going in and out of consciousness and each time I came back around I would ask "Did I fall?” They replied each time, “Yes, you fell”

I had become my the ultimate object lesson.

The ambulance arrived and soon I was at the hospital prepping for surgery on my wrist. I now have a seven inch scar on my right arm where they put a few pins and fixed me up. I spent a week in the hospital but I don't remember much of it because I had a pretty bad hit to the head.

I definitely taught my kids about safety that day. Message received loud and clear but I would not recommend my method.

My question is this: When it comes to parenting, what are the lessons we need to teach by example and which lessons do our children need to learn on their own? What are the things we should tell our children not to do and just leave it at that? We don't teach our kids to stay away from drugs by introducing them to the druggie down the street and we don't teach them that they shouldn't hurt others by showing them how it feels to be hurt. This parenting thing is really tough sometimes.

At the end of the day, I guess all we can do is go with our gut. Sometimes Motherhood is simply trial and error. Being a mother is just like when my son bought that lottery ticket. As Mothers, you hope for the best, sometimes while expecting the worst, and in the end maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised. If one object doesn’t work, try something else. We ended up talking to our Vegas bound son about how unlikely it would be for him to ever get 10 times his investment when gambling again and that logic was good enough for him. He didn’t need any visual aids after all. Just a bit of logic worked.

Hopefully, one day my children will grow up and become parents themselves. They will teach their kids all sorts of important lessons. They will take all they have learned in their life and use it with a bit of trial and error in raising their own children. It will be hard, fun, scary, heart-breaking, and frustrating raising children. It will take every bit of patience and determination to do right by our children…But it will be worth it.

My hope is that, my kids will raise their own children without any traumatic, over-the-top, fruit-murdering, "sure-to-require-therapy-later-in-life" object lessons...

Because, let’s be honest….they can always go to grandma's house for that.

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Great Quotes for Mother's Day

2013-05-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Granite Flats - Episode 3

2013-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

A Secret to the Heart Nearest

Episode 3: Arthur and his friends Tim and Madeline look into the town's mysteries, and the police chief investigates one man's part in the base explosion.

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A Pretty Awesome Mother's Day Message

2013-05-10T18:01:00.003-07:00

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Granite Flats - Episode 2

2013-05-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Empty Box

Episode 2: The base explosion causes a Red Scare, and Arthur and his new friends begin investigating those who may have been involved with the explosion.

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Granite Flats - I highly recommend it!

2013-05-09T01:27:00.002-07:00

I've been looking for a new show to watch ever since Downton Abbey ended it's season. I had heard about the new series produced by BYU, Granite Flats but had put off watching it because I was sure I wouldn't like it that much.

Then, it happened. Late one evening last week, there was nothing good on TV.

As a last resort, I pulled out the two baskets of clean laundry sitting in the hall and recalled an ad I had seen for a show filmed here in Utah. We watched the preview and decided we'd give it a go while we folded laundry. (yes, my husband helps with the laundry!)

We were both pleasantly surprised.

I was not expecting to enjoy this show as much as I did.

In my mind, Granite Flats was going to be a bit fluff...

I thought it would be over the top sugary sweet or possibly annoyingly happy.

Isn't that what you'd expect from a place known as Happy Valley?

But, I must admit that about 15 minutes in, I had stopped folding.

I was recognizing faces from popular television shows I have seen in the past. Something about the show felt familiar. Like coming home to that comfortable part of your past where you had good memories. At least that's how it felt for us.

After 40 minutes, as the pilot episode was coming to an end, my husband and I were already resigned to getting one hour less in our nightly sleep because

we wanted to see episode two.

Granite Flats is a beautifully shot, well acted show with an intriguing plot that both young and old will enjoy. It's easy viewing that makes you smile while looking forward to watch Granite Flats will have in store next.
I am so happy to share it with the Simply June followers!
It is a nice change to have a great show that you can watch with your family and have everyone be entertained while not having to cover ears, push mute or fast forward through the inappropriate stuff.
How many shows on television today can we say that about?
It's the type of show that kind of reminds me of when I was young and we would
watch "Little house on the Prairie" as a family.

Except Laura, Ma & Pa never worried about Alien invasion....

Grab some laundry and get comfortable:

Presenting:

Episode 1: Arthur Milligan and his mother move to Granite Flats, Colorado, where they hope to find peace and quiet in the midst of the Cold War--but then an explosion rocks the local army base.

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---- next episode to be posted soon!

Quotes! Quotes! Quotes!

2013-05-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

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The Art of Mothering

2013-05-06T21:39:00.001-07:00

mothering present participle of moth·er

Verb

Bring up (a child) with care and affection: "the art of mothering".
Look after kindly and protectively, sometimes excessively so.

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Teach Your Children to Live with Wonder

2013-05-06T12:41:00.001-07:00

Check out my friend Meg! Teach Your Children to Live with Wonder

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Listen To The Words: Just Let Me Cry

2013-05-06T12:31:00.001-07:00

Listen To The Words: Just Let Me Cry: I'm tired today...Some days it feels like the world is on my shoulders. I am powerless to be everything I want to be and to do everythi...

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Quotes

2013-05-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

My Shaklee Diet - Month 2 Report

2013-05-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

Month TWO has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. I started out feeling good about losing 11 pounds during the first month but after that initial loss, I didn't really see the scale move for about two weeks.

Then, one morning I hop on to see if the scale will kindly tell me I've lost a few pounds and instead, it tells me I had gained 23 pounds!!
I about had a heart attack.

Obviously my scale was having a serious malfunction but it freaked me out - wondering just how long it had been broken. Maybe I had not been doing as well as I had thought! I panicked a bit and took off to buy new batteries for an old scale we had lying around. That one gave me a still different weight altogether. It was super frustrating. So frustrating in fact, that I decided I must have another faulty scale. Which resulted in us now owning THREE scales.

I was still having my Shaklee smoothies and the meal bars, and I was being great about eating healthy meals for dinner. I'm not nearly as hungry as I used to be and I've come to really love the meal bars as well. It's much easier to stick to a the Shaklee plan when I'm not hungry all the time.

I was and AM totally LOVING my FitBit and have upped the number of steps I take each day from a starting goal of 3,000, to a goal of 7,000 and then two weeks ago I changed to taking 10,000 steps daily! Yesterday I logged almost 18,000 steps! Between logging in my steps each night and using My Fittness Pal to account for what I eat, I have found myself feeling accountable and also feeling a sense of pride when I can see exactly what I have accomplished at the end of each day.

One of my biggest motivators has been my family & friends. Just the other day I passed a bakery on my way back from the gym and the smell was almost more than I could stand! When I arrived home I grabbed a drink of water, plopped down on the sofa and said, "I would kill for a cupcake right now." Followed by one of my kids yelling, "Dad! We have a code blue! Mom walked by the cupcake place again!" gotta love when your family stages a cupcake intervention!

I think it is next to impossible to stick to a diet plan without the support of others. That's just one of the things I have loved about being a Shaklee Blogger - there is a ton of support. From online tips, information and videos, to actual real live people who want me to succeed. So far, it is making a huge difference.

So anyway, I am now able to officially report that as of yesterday, I have lost....

Seventeen pounds in 8 weeks!! Woooo Hoooo!!

When I feel like I need a bit of motivation, all I have to do is look at how far I have come, how much better I already feel and how much I want to be a good example to my kids.

Which means my walk to the gym now has a new route with a slight detour past the Happy Sumo instead.

Click HERE to see my month 2 video!

Ready for month three!!

This is a sponsored post as part of the ShakleeCorporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating. My opinions are my own.

People following the weight-loss portion of theShaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

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My Shaklee Diet - Month 2 Report

Everyone says it was an awesome night.

Here's a glimpse of how things went on my end.

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