Nelson Nuggets

Busy

2009-01-06T00:33:00.003-05:00

Today I picked up the registration packets for 3 of the 4 kids, went and filled out paper work to start working at EP Fitness as a trainer, scrambled to find khakis which is the required pants for training(I have never seen trainers wear khakis any where else?!?!), did orientation at the gym, which is very unorganized and found out that I have to not only train but sell training(which anyone who knows me knows I am not a good seller), then ran to get the uniforms for Matthew for school, came home and tried to clean up the kitchen before I had to go back to the gym to do a new member orientation and fitness eval for a potential client, took the kids to McDonalds for one last hurrah before school starts on Wed, went to the gym to do the thing previously mentioned(they no showed, not a good start), came home, wrote a workout program for our friend Tim, made Paul dinner and started filling out the novels for each kid to get them registered. I have never had to fill out so much paper work as I do here. It was the same as the last time we lived here. It was a ridiculously long busy day in which I didn't see the kids much(which I felt guilty about) and ended up doing a very short family night. Ah well, I can't do it all. I did cook a yummy easy chicken recipe on Sunday so here it is:

Dijon-Crusted Chicken Breast
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 TBS grated parmesan cheese
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tsp dried Thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless chicken breast halves(4 ounces each)
2 TBS Dijon mustard

Place first 6 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Brush Chicken with mustard then roll in bread crumb mixture. In large skillet, cook chicken in oil over med heat for 5-6 minutes each side or until juice runs clear.

1 chicken breast half =169 cal
5 g fat
63mg cholesterol
380 mg sodium
6 g carbs
trace fiber
24 g protein

It turned out VERY good.

I also finally succumbed and joined facebook. Paul has been bugging me to do it forever but I always said blogging was about all I could handle but I finally gave in. So you can check me out on facebook under Ginny Nelson el paso tx.

2008-12-28T22:18:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas to all. We have arrived here safe. Our stuff came on Monday instead of Saturday the 20th like we were hoping. We quickly put up our Christmas tree and got busy unloading boxes. The house looks great. There is still work to be done in it but the main stuff is done. It looks about a thousand times better. I will post pictures when things settle down. In true El Paso tradition, nothing is being done on time. They came to hook up internet and cable but our modem doesn't work so they are coming back up. I still don't have a phone. The company had it listed as the job being done, which it never was. But it is all ok. We are adjusting as best we can. The kids are doing remarkably well. It has been good for them to see some old friends and everyone from church has been so kind and thoughtful and that has really helped. Paul is sick. Possibly strep. Luckily he has this week off which is great.

The kids had a very nice Christmas. We are so happy to be back together as a family.

When I get my regular computer up and going I will post more.

2008-12-15T09:37:00.001-05:00

The movers are here today so there there will be no post for a while! Have a great week.

This week in rewind

2008-12-11T20:12:00.002-05:00

In 6 days we move

We took the company buy-out

The movers come on Monday

I am officially done with work

My birthday was a very non-stressful quiet day. I worked from 5am to 1:30(minus the 1 1/2 hours I went home to get the kids ready for school) then took Ethan to gymnastics, picked up Carabbas for dinner(thank you Nanette!), hung with the kids and went to bed. I did spend a $30 gift card I got from one of my clients as a good-bye present, at Barnes and Noble so that was fun. I picked up the new JK Rowling book The Tales of Beetle the Bard, and Hunger Games which was a book recommended by my friend Marci. Tomorrow is my last day at church and I have officially said good-bye to all my clients. It was bitter sweet. I have had some clients for a long time and some have lost considerable weight. My client that has lost the most has lost 55 pounds and looks fantastic. It is hard to turn some of these clients over to the other trainers. They are my friends as well and I want the best for them. Ah well. I should be used to the leaving part since I seem to do it about every 2 years.

In more cheerful news...Ethan got 3rd overall for the floor exercise for his age group at his gymnastics meet today! He did better this time than the first meet so that is super exciting!!

My Apologies

2008-12-10T13:51:00.009-05:00

I have to apologize really quick for those of you who don't receive a Christmas card. I mailed about 130 cards this year and realize that there are some people(weirdly enough my in-laws) who for some reason disappeared out of the address book I used to generate my list. So if you haven't received a card this year, hopefully next year I will catch these missing people before I get them all out. I don't know how these people have disappeared off my address book... so here is our Christmas letter that is in the card:

Merry Christmas To All

We are back in Texas, just in time for Christmas. Although the lights, tree, and stockings will be packed in boxes by the movers, it will still be a great holiday. Paul has been in Texas for 2 months while the rest are in S. Carolina. Itwilll be our first Nelson Reunion.

Here is our Christmas wishlist:

Paul- a gun to tote around while working in Juarez, Mexico (5 murders/day, carjackings, etc). Once attacked, he would throw the gun at them, scream, and run away.

Ginny- Twilight on DVD. Although it would be pirated it would mean so much to be able to watch it more times than she read the books (29 times each).

Matthew- Capri’s. They will match the rest of his pants that he keeps outgrowing. At 12 he is as tall as Ginny. He will never catch up to his old man though. He is better looking and that is as far as it goes.

Ethan- from his own mouth: “Lego’s, erector sets, a robot, Wii, a telescope, iPod, ninja gear, and Heroscape set”. Translation: “get a second mortgage 'cause this Christmas is going to rock!!”

Connor- his own room again. He has to share a room with Ethan now. He is about to lose more than his room though- his freedom, identity, and sanity. Ethan can talk anyone to death. He also wants a motorcycle.

Paige- an extra pinky. She has everyone but Ethan wrapped around her pinky. She ran out of room on her hands. She also needs every Barbie ever made…and a puppy…and more dresses…and makeup(which she got banned from when she painted her Barbie head, her sheets, her clothes, herself and her friend Parker with nail polish).

Outside of these material things we are mostly looking forward to being together again. We hope to make El Paso home for an extended period of time. A first for us.

We hope you are doing well. May Heavenly Father’s choicest blessings be with you during this wonderful time of the year. May the spirit of Christ abide with you.

Love,
The Nelson’s

6060 Los Siglos
El Paso, TX 79912

Visit our family blog at: www.nelsonnuggets.com
Ginny’s email: ginnyspersonaltraining@yahoo.com

My apologies also to my El Paso friends, for my previous post. I definitely was not criticizing you. I am just worried about Paul and how stressed he is trying to get the house ready for us to arrive and how difficult it is to get things done in a timely manner there. I know this is not a surprise to you all who live there but maybe nobody talks about it out loud...unless it concerns the building of pools(haha)... I hope I didn't offend any of you...but it is the truth!

"Right now"

2008-12-09T18:11:00.003-05:00

Paul is hard working on our house in El Paso. I am working hard on keeping this house show home ready for the flocks of people that are coming to see it(insert sarcasm here) and being a single mom of 4. Paul has had some interesting things happen at our new house. We are replacing the pink cabinets so Paul was removing them and behind the sink he noticed that the dry wall was water damaged and molding.(El Paso is ultra dry so there must have been several leaks). He took the drywall out to replace and discovered an empire(several colonies) of ants living in the wall. I guess that would explain why the electric outlet by the sink was covered over with clear packing tape with ants stuck on the inside. I guess they have, or I should way "we", have an ant problem. He is taking care of that. He is also having to deal with the El Pasoans. We have been reminded that when people say, "I will do that 'right now'" it really means in a couple of hours. When people say that they will be there at 2:00 on Monday they mean 5:30pm on Tuesday. Nobody does anything on time, or shows up when they are supposed to and we actually have had people not show up at all. It is like a whole other world there. I determined today that I will not get sucked into those mannerisms. I am not going to say I will do something right now and then do it several hours later, I am going to show up on time(most of the time) and I refuse to decorate in the southwestern style or put Texas stars up all over my house(do I sound a little miffed????) Its mostly that I feel sorry for Paul trying to do his new job that seems to consists of mostly meetings that doesn't allow him to get his real work done and have to deal with the "El Pasoans". I hoping that this is just a rocky beginning and that things will smooth out real soon. He is trying to get all things coordinated which is no small feat. You can't get the tile in until the cabinets are in. You can't paint the walls until the ceilings are done. You can't get the carpet in until the walls are painted...and everything has to be done by next Friday. Phew!

I did get all the Christmas cards sent. All the gifts mailed. I am working on getting the kids birth certs., immunizations and such so that I can get them registered without having to hunt through 300 boxes to find that info. I am getting the mail forwarded(oh by the way, the post office in El Paso was supposed to be holding our mail for the past couple of weeks and when paul went to go pick it up, they had lost it and couldn't find it) canceling satellite, phone etc...

In 9 days and 19 hours and 55 minutes it will all be over...at least from this side of the states.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T14:46:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I went up to my sister Amber's house for Thanksgiving. She is looking fabulous! She has lost 40 pounds and reached her goal!!! I am so proud of her. She feels great and looks great and has a ton more energy.

Paul spent Thanksgiving in El Paso with our good friends the Taylor's. It was very odd not being together but I used the plane ticket for him to come back to go out to sign the papers for closing and get some stuff rolling for the house. We have ordered new appliances, new cabinets for the kitchen, new tile flooring and carpet. We are going to get the house painted and do a little bit of minor remodeling in the house. Actually, I shouldn't say we, I mean Paul and our friend Tom!

Life has been busy as usual. We leave in 3 weeks. I will finish up with my clients in the next two weeks and then be home for the packing of our house.

I actually somehow, I am not sure how, talked my sister in to going out today for black Friday sales. I haven't done this for quite sometime. I went 2 years ago to just see what it was like but didn't buy anything but just went to one store to see if the rumors of chaos were true. We went to 3 stores. We went to Kohls and I got a great deal on a collage of picture frames, then to JCPenney to get me a new set of pots and pans. I have my originals from 14 1/2 years ago when we got married. I got a really nice set that I am super excited about. I got a new set of knives(I get some new ones every couple of years when our cheap knives get dull and are too cheap to sharpen). I actually got some that we can sharpen and keep for many many years. I also got a new toaster(it isn't plastic!) and a few 'other' things that I can't mention at the moment! We went out at 4 and we were back at 7 before the kids got up. I didn't want to be shopping when they were awake, I always feel guilty leaving them. It was fun. My nephew Michael came with us(17 yrs) to be our pack horse and it was a good thing. The box for the cookware was super heavy and believe it or not, so were the knives!

We are back from my sisters now and the kids are out jumping on the trampoline. I am supposed to be putting stuff away but sat down to blog since I haven't for some time.

The weather is a pleasant 65 degrees, the house is clean(except for the current stuff that I just unpacked), and life is good. I have much to be grateful for. A wonderful family and that includes my own little family, my siblings and parents and Paul's siblings and parents. Paul's dad has thankfully completed his last chemo treatment last week and things are looking really good. We are all healthy, we have roof over our heads, foods in our mouths, and clothes to wear. I have fabulous friends and wonderful grandparents. The list could go on for the things I am grateful but at the top of the list goes my husband. I am the most grateful for him and his hard work and goodness. He is a super dad and a wonderful husband.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

2008-11-18T18:52:00.002-05:00

Sorry there has been a delay in posts. Much is going on.

Ethan had his first gymnastics meet. He did pretty good. He was pretty excited about the whole experience. I videotaped it but don't know how to put it in the computer, nor do I have the time right now but maybe after things get settled in the next house.

I have been trying to pick out stuff for the new house. We are pricing everything out and figuring out what we want to do. Everyone keeps asking if I am having so much fun picking it all out and I want to say yes but more than anything it is stressful. I can't figure out if it all goes together and some things are more permanent than others and I don't want to pick out something I end up not liking. And honestly, I don't have much talent in the home decorating department. I have some ideas but don't know how to get them to all come together.

I will be going to close on the house and have made arrangements for the kids while I am gone. It will be another quick trip which is all the time allows.

We have already had issues with the movers that were assigned to us and have had to fire them. We just assigned some new ones so hopefully that works out. The old ones wanted to charge us $400 to dis-assemble the trampoline and put it back together. However, that is how much is cost to buy...

Paul is super busy at work. Meetings, meetings and more meetings. Loads of phone calls plus all the stuff to get set up at the end for the house. Poor guy.

I guess I will not be sending out home-made Christmas cards again this year. Sorry. I just can't get it in. I haven't even thought of what to get the kids for Christmas and we usually have all our shopping done by Thanksgiving to avoid the masses but guess I will have to brave it all. Any ideas???? I have no idea what to get for Matthew. What do you get a 12 year old?? And don't suggest a phone, he isn't getting one!

I guess that is it for now.

Ummm....

2008-11-10T19:04:00.002-05:00

Ok...um...so...I had no idea that replacing the pink kitchen cabinets in our El Paso home would be so expensive...and who would ever want pink cabinets?!?!?!?!?! The house is only 7 years old so I can't even blame it on the 70's. We are talking BIG money!!! I guess I live in a shelter world where cabinets should be no more than $1,000 tops total. Sigh, what happened to the good ol' days?

A little Reminder

2008-11-10T19:03:00.000-05:00

The Twilight Movie comes out a week from Friday! I can't wait!

Is it over yet???

2008-11-10T19:02:00.002-05:00

Paul's only been gone for 1 1/2 weeks and I feel like its been a year...I can't even remeber what he looks like(jk). I don't know how single parents do it...

Headline News!!!!!

2008-11-06T21:05:00.001-05:00

Those of you who are regular readers of the blog know that we have had some difficulties with Connor be able to stay focused enough to do his school work. I am so excited to post that for the first time ever he made the 'A/B' Honor Roll!!! I couldn't be more excited for him!!

Once Again...

2008-11-02T15:46:00.003-05:00

I have some news...Paul and I are separated...again. He left yesterday for El Paso and I am remaining here in South Carolina till Christmas. We will join him in December before the Holidays. All I can say is that it is great having the kids not be so young. They are helpful, reasonable, and less needy. It will be challenging as it always is, trying to sell the house, keep it spotless and being a single parent. I truly feel for single parents out there.

We also got the house we made an offer on. It is a total blessing. It was a steal of deal being that it is a total buyers market. There is a little work we are going to do on it but most interesting thing about it is that it is the exact floor plan of our last house in El Paso minus the 3rd car garage, the in-ground pool, the island in the kitchen and a lot of upgrades. Since we got it so cheap, we are going to do a few things to it and make it our own. It should be fun!!

Halloween

2008-11-02T15:41:00.002-05:00

We had a fun Halloween. Paul was home for it this year which was very exciting! He has missed the last 3. We had some friends come over for pizza, cidar and donuts and trick or treating. Of course I was so busy running around, I didn't get any pictures. Their costumes were the same as last year, as agreed upon last year when I bought their costumes and they promised to wear them for 2 years.

Ethan brought in a record amount of candy for our family. He carefully sorted and counted it. He had 315 pieces of candy.

I am sick of candy all ready. I have eaten so much. I told myself that today is the last day I can gorge like I am and then from now on, I can eat 2-3 pieces a day...at the end of the day. I hate feeling nasty like this but I am in Chocolate Heaven!!!!!!!

Ethan the Gymnast

2008-11-02T13:17:00.003-05:00

Ethan had a state gymnastics clinic this past Saturday. It was fun to see the variety of boys. They were all level 4 gymnasts and the clinic was to help them meet boys from other gyms and to prepare them for their first meet in two weeks. He is loving it and improving. He hates to condition, as does everyone, and is usually sore the next day from it. He is working hard. Hopefully we can find him a team in El Paso! Enjoy the pictures of him on the different apparatus!

And our next Olympic gold medalist is ETHAN NELSON!!!

2008-10-27T17:45:00.002-04:00

This weekend we went to El Paso to house hunt. Lucky for us that it is a buyers market. Not so lucky for us that the interest rates are so horrible. We surprised our friends from our old neighborhood at their Halloween party. It was fun to see everyone again. Paul drove out so his car is there and we flew back on Sunday together for his last week of work. He flies out bright and early on Saturday morning to go back. He will at least be here for Halloween which is great since he has missed the last 3!!!

We have had only 2 bites on the house but no takers yet but I am not discouraged.

The kids are all good. They were happy to have us back and I have to admit, I really missed them. It is fun to get away but fun to come back to open arms and lots of warm hugs and kisses.

Ethan Turns 11

2008-10-20T20:27:00.003-04:00

Ethan turns 11 today. He is quite the character. He has earned his Webelos, arrow of light and religious knots all just in the nick of time. He has quite the imagination. He loves to build, fold and create anything he possibly can. He does super good at school and always does his homework right away so he can play as soon as he gets home. He is a rule follower, the gestapo of the family. He always makes sure we are doing what we supposed to. He loves to pose the question what if to everything and loves to talk, talk and talk! It is hard to believe he is already this old. The picture of him blowing out the candles on his birthday cake which happens to be pumpkin pie, is at his favorite restaurant, Carrabbas. He doesn't like cake or chocolate but loves pumpkin pie. I made him pumpkin pancakes for breakfast.

He got a mountain bike, an erector set and a laser chess game and some clothes. He is such a joy to have in our family. He brings much love and life and our family would not be complete without him.

Happy Birthday Ethan!!!

Just Another Weekend...

2008-10-12T19:07:00.004-04:00

The house is officially on the market. I am in maintanence mode which is still stressful but okay as long as my kids don't come in the house except to eat and go to bed, hahahaha! We aren't expecting much since the housing market is in a slump and this is the worst time to sell a house but we may just get lucky! Paul is working tons to get everything done. We have been cramming in the last of Ethan's stuff to get his Webelos scout badge and Arrow of Light badge before his birthday next week. We went on a family hike today to finish off one of the last things(it was 3 miles) and the kids came home and sat quietly doing nothing it was great! I will have to do that more often(snicker snicker). We walked across the Lake Murray Dam and it was a beautiful day and of course I didn't bring my camera.

Yesterday I went through the spare room and straightened up all my scrapbook stuff and stamp stuff. I still have high hopes that I will get back to scrapbooking. I am only 8 years behind now...

I also mowed, edged and planted flowers outside. Paul powerwashed the driveway, camped and made a fire with the boys to pass off some of Ethans stuff. I took the kids to the toy store yesterday just to get them out of the house and made them promise me, before we went in, that they would not ask for anything but just show me what they wanted. I seriously think the kids think they should get something from every store we go into and I am putting an end to that.

That pretty much sums up the weekend!

Did you know....?????

2008-10-07T14:55:00.002-04:00

Did you know that desserts spelled backwards is stressed?? (which is maybe why I am craving all kinds)

Can you say stressed???

Did I mention that I am STRESSED!!!

The house is finally ready after we have worked tons on it, the realtors have been interviewed and one chosen...and the economy and housing market has been analyzed, fretted over, and stressed over. In order to buy a house you have to sell a house. Let's hope that our house sells.

Where the North Wind Blows...

2008-10-01T15:05:00.003-04:00

The last few weeks have been quite crazy. I have left a lot of detail out of my blog until all facts were known and so now we find ourselves going where the wind(which happens to be Eaton) blows us once again and that happens to be back to El Paso Texas. We now find ourselves in the tumult of moving. It is planned that we will move around Christmas time. It is a convenient time for the kids and school. We are hoping, even though the housing market is in a slump that we will get our house sold in quick order. I am DEFINITELY not looking forward to dealing with my crazy psycho personality that emerges when we sell. I pretty much become OCD(obsessive compulsive) and it is hard on the kids. Most of the toys get put away, the clutter gets put away and everything is wiped down, vacuumed and put away on a daily basis. Its exhausting and stressful, especially when no one comes to see it... We are hoping to get everything done by this weekend, touch up paint, fingerprints wiped off, baseboards dusted and wood floors polished, so we can get it on the market next week.

We never know where the wind will blow us and it pretty much came as a shock since we didn't think we would be moving till next spring AND didn't think we would ever go back to good ol' El Paso. We have wonderful friends there but of course will miss being on this side of the US near our family members.

A Late Night

2008-09-30T21:42:00.002-04:00

I was up till midnight last night with Ethan in the Urgent Care. He was doing handstands in his room and hit his knee on Matthews nightstand and needless to say, he ripped right through all the layers that make the skin, down to the knee cap. All the fatty tissue was popping out and it was gaping wide. It looked like something off of the discovery chanel about people who come into the ER and it warns of graphic footage. Seriously, it was quite the sight. Ethan was a trooper and Matthew was, as always, a great helper and put the kids to bed while I took Ethan to Urgent Care(paul being out of town luckily missed the drama). He stayed home from school today and can't bend his knee too much or risk pulling the sutures out. Unfortunately, it is right over the knee cap where his leg bends and the doctor said we would need to be real careful not pull the sutures out. This should be fun!

Paige's Good News

2008-09-24T21:28:00.002-04:00

Paige came home from school today and announced to me:
"Mom, I have good news!"
"What?" I responded thinking something really cool happened at school...
"My friends birthday is tomorrow and I am going to get a cupcake!"

I love that getting a cupcake constitutes as "Good News". I wish the news was as cheery and simple as that.

Mud Treatment...

2008-09-22T21:17:00.002-04:00

Saturday I ran in a Marine Corp Ultimate Challenge Obstacle course. It was 4.2 miles and had 30 obstacles that you had to maneuver through and let me tell you, I have NEVER been so muddy and dirty in all of my life. It was super hard and very challenging. You ran it in teams of 4 and I ran with 4 ladies from church. I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I was done! I will post pictures when I get to it.

I painted the built-in shoe shelves that Paul made and put up in our closet and have a long list of things I need to get done around the house. It seems like it just keeps piling up and I just can't stand it anymore! I need to do spring cleaning even though it is fall!

The kids are all good. Paul is good. Life is good!

Stolen My Idea...

2008-09-16T17:01:00.002-04:00

So I am not going to do the Biggest Loser. The General Manager of the my gym was super excited to do it but said he needed to clear it through special events. The next day he said that they were thinking it would be cool to do it with all the Gold's Gyms in the area at one time but he agreed with me that it would be better to do it with just our gym so they could see the competition and it would be more personal and motivating. The day AFTER that he told me that they are going to start it in January and do it city wide because they thought it was such a good idea. I have no doubt that he failed to mention that it was my idea or that doing it within just one gym would be more personal and I feel bring about better results. It is going to be just too big now for people to think they have a chance at winning. Ah well...I don't know why they didn't come up with doing it sooner on their own. That is how life is but the thing is, I stole it from the TV show which starts up again TONIGHT!!! I can't wait to watch it(after the kids' open house. Super excited!

No more soup...

2008-09-15T21:05:00.003-04:00

We took the kids fishing for family night at a friends house tonight. We didn't really catch anything but the kids had fun running around tossing out their lines. I spent a good many hours cleaning the house on Saturday, especially working on the kids' rooms. Paul took them swimming so that I could actually get something done. Paul's back was not broken, thank goodness. He has a bulging disk and so he goes to the chiropractor twice a week. The kids are doing good at school. I do have to say that although Paige's teacher seems nice, I have decided that I need to send her a note about Paige's lunch. She is very picky. There are only a few things I can send in her lunch that are healthy that she will eat. One of them is soup. Apparently her teacher doesn't like to open it because it takes away from her eating time. Paige has told me several times what her teacher says and one day last week said she would open it in a minute and never did so Paige didn't eat! I was so mad! She told me she was too afraid to ask her teacher again because she gets mad. I decided on Friday to give it one more shot and Paige came home and informed me that her teacher said it was the last day she was opening it. I guess I am going to send her a note tomorrow. If she doesn't eat soup all that leaves is chips, cookies, beef jerky, dry cereal and meal replacement bars...

Well, I have to get up bright and early as usual so I am off to bed. I do have pictures of fishing and will hopefully get them posted this week.