i'm feeling somewhat better...

...about my cholesterol situation after talking with my faboo Patty-friend on Saturday morning. I'm so glad she called! LOVE her. I'm just not going to worry about it too much until I talk to the doctor on Wednesday.

Had a nice visit with my aunt and uncle on Saturday as well. They were only here for about an hour and a half, but it was nice to see them nonetheless. I wish we could get together with them more often. He's my mom's brother.

Got to Springfield Saturday evening in time to meet my Dad for dinner at this out-of-the-way restaurant we'd never tried before. It was good! Best of all, the waitstaff were all dressed up for Halloween, much to Nick's delight. Our waitress was dressed as a pirate, and Nick just called her "the pirate." He fell in love with her, and had to tell her everything of import that entered his mind. :) He also caught a glimpse of someone dressed as Spongebob, which just about sent him over the edge.

On Sunday, I had a wonderful, 3-hour reverie at the mall (all by myself!), and scored some amazing deals. I got a really nice pair of suede boots at JCPenney. They were originally $60, but due to a sale and two coupons used in tandem, I got them for $28 - shut UP! Then, with another coupon, I got two shirts for Nick absolutely FREE. Got myself a cute shirt at Faux Baby (that's Old Navy to normal people) for $9, did a spot of Christmas shopping for a friend, and got $28.50-worth of stuff for $6 at Bath & Body Works. I am quite the bargain-shopping, coupon-using fiend, if I do say so myself! After the mall, I went to Target, where I got Nick this faboo sweater that's argyle on the front and striped on the back (on sale, of course). I also stumbled upon an awesome Christmas gift for another friend that was half-off! A stupendous bargain. So, as you can see, I had quite a bit of retail therapy over the weekend, which never fails to boost my mood. :)

Sunday evening was my older nieces' birthday party. Maddy just turned 15 and Caitlin will be 20 in a few days. My, how time flies. The party was nice, and it was good to see all of my familial peeps. After the party, Tim came over to my Dad's house and hung out with me for a few hours. He told me all about this guy he met online - sounds like it could be love! He certainly deserves it. And, of course, I would never knock an online pairing - it worked for me!

Now, I'm back home, and I finally got everything unpacked and put away. Whew! Nick is napping, and I'm catching up on online stuff now, since I'll be gone tonight to choir rehearsal. I'll be beat when I get back home tonight - can't wait to fall into my own delicious bed...

still chuggin' along

Lost another pound this week. Not huge, but I'll take it. I have been getting a lot of compliments lately, which is nice. If people think I look smaller, then I really must be losing weight!

Ironically, I just found out that my lipids have gone downhill in the last year. My total cholesterol number is within normal limits, but my good cholesterol is too low, my bad is too high, and my triglycerides are pretty alarming. :( It doesn't make sense! I have an appointment with the doctor next week to discuss this. I'm pretty upset and anxious about it.

I've been pretty quiet (as far as my blog) the past few days, and I'm not feeling really talkative today, either. I have a lot of stuff turning over in my brain, but I just don't feel like typing about it. Sorry to disappoint!

Have a great weekend, everybody...

i've lost a foot!

I don't put too much stock in taking my measurements, because it's so subjective and prone to error - I mean, it all depends on where you put the tape and exactly how tight you pull it, and the only way to put it around you in the exact same place every time would be to draw lines with permanent marker. :) That being said, though, I did take my measurements back when I started all of this, and since 3 months and 20 pounds have gone by, I thought I'd take them again today. Allowing for error, I seem to have lost 12" combined (around my arms, bust, waist, hips, thighs, and calves). Most notably, I've lost 2.5 inches in my waist and 2 inches in my hips. Whoo hoo! Not too bad.

Tim will FINALLY be here in about 20 minutes, so I'm off....

a lovely day

We did end up going back to the pumpkin patch this morning, and Nick had a great time! We were there for about an hour, and the weather was just great. He picked a couple of little gourds (his "maracas") to take home, and now it remains to be seen how long they'll last under his constant abuse. :) Today, a package arrived from Grandma and Grandpa in VA, containing a cool pair of pajamas, a couple of race cars, and a black cat flashlight that meows. Cool! Nick was very pleased about that. What a lucky kid, to get random packages full of love.

The rest of our day was pretty lazy. I checked the tires and fluids in the cars and exercised (after lots of procrastination and a fierce internal struggle, but what's new?). Brian put together the computer desk chair that we recently purchased at Target, and I sat in it and immediately realized that it was uncomfortable, so he has to disassemble it and we'll return it. It makes me so mad - in the store, the "floor" model was bolted up onto a shelf, so there was no way to sit in it and see if we liked it. I was loathe to buy it without trying it out, but we liked the look of it and decided to take a chance. Won't do that again. How lame is that - to sell things like desk chairs and not even give people the chance to sit in them? Grrrrrrrrr. Logic apparently has no place in this world anymore.

Our big fun this evening consisted of a pajama party: we all put on our PJs and ate popcorn together whilst watching Lawrence Welk. Mock us if you must, but that's our idea of a good time! :)

I'm pretty pumped, because Tim is finally coming tomorrow! Yay! He'll stay until Tuesday or possibly Wednesday, so we'll still have a pretty substantial visit. We don't have any big plans besides the choral concert in Rolla - we might cook/bake something yummy, and I'm thinking of making these neat ghosts to line the sidewalk. I'm sure we'll make at least one trip to WalMart, as that's the main form of entertainment here. :) I'm also going to enlist his help in crafting a Christmas present for a friend of mine who shall remain unnamed.

That's about all I have to say tonight. Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

still goin' strong!

I have officially hit the 20-lb. mark! And it DOES feel more real to me now. I still don't think I look like I've lost that much weight, and it makes me dubious that my pants still fit OK (I mean, they're a bit loose, and I need a belt, but I would have thought that I'd totally need new ones by now.), but I'm definitely on my way. Almost halfway there - wow. According to my calculations, if I continue at the same pace, I could be finished by sometime in March, which would be amazing. Next summer, I could take my son to the pool, which would be such a huge thing for me. And I could wear shorts! Shut up. It almost boggles the mind.

Tim did not come today, due to the fact that his grandma died earlier this week. Her funeral was Thursday, and he has been spending time with family and dealing with the aftermath of her death. He's doing OK. Her death was not unexpected, and she had lived a long, full life - she was 95! So, he's sad, but dealing. And the silver lining for him was that he got to see and talk to a lot of family that he hasn't seen in a while, which was nice. He has strengthened familial bonds and gotten to know some of his cousins better. He is still hoping to come up here either tomorrow or Sunday, so we can still have part of our weekend together. If he comes, he will join me at the choral concert in Rolla.

This morning, I joined my friend Jutta and our new friend Tim (a different Tim), and the three of us took our 3 little boys to Happy Hollow, a recreational/outdoors/nature area on post. We went on a long, lovely walk and really enjoyed the sunshine, beautiful sky and trees, and crisp fall weather. It was wonderful! The boys had a great time, and we were all tuckered out when we got back. Nick and I went to McDonald's for lunch on the way home, and when we got home at 1:30, we found that Brian had gotten the afternoon off and was waiting at home for us! What a happy surprise. We all ended up taking a nap this afternoon - delicious. Brian and I both feel like we're coming down with something, and my speaking voice is rather compromised. We went out for Mexican for dinner, and tonight, I'm looking forward to chillin' on the couch and watching the Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy that I recorded last night (while perhaps getting my feet rubbed). Bliss! It really doesn't take much to make me happy. :)

This weekend, we might go back to the pumpkin patch, and of course, there's always domestic chores to be done, but there's not too much on the agenda, so I'm looking forward to a low-key weekend.

And that's all she wrote.

my little wizard wanna-be

Nick was watching the first Harry Potter movie (for the 1000th time), and he said "Can I go in the TV?" Brian asked him why, and he said "I want to go to Hogwarts." Brian again asked why, and Nick said "because I want to be a wizard!" Brian told him that he couldn't really be a wizard, and Nick said "Well....OK." About 20 minutes later, Nick was in the kitchen having his snack, and his lower lip started to quiver and he looked like he was about to cry. Brian asked him what was wrong, and he sobbed "I really wanted to be a wizard - I'm so sad!" Does that melt your heart or what?

this is, quite possibly, the funniest thing nick has EVER said!

Cars is one of Nick's favorite movies. He was attempting to sing a song from it entitled "Life Would Be a Dream", but apparently, he wasn't quite clear on the lyrics, because this is what he sang: "White boobie dreams...."!!!! I'm not kidding you. Shut up! Brian and I laughed till we cried over that one. Maybe he misses breastfeeding!

punkins

Here are a couple of pictures from the pumpkin patch trip:

Nick and his little buddy, Bryan

Nick and me!

another one bites the dust!

Dude. I totally cannot believe that I lost a pound this week, given the obscene way I ate (and didn't exercise) over the weekend. I'll take it, though! Normally, "only" losing a pound would probably be a negative to me, but it's all about perspective. This week, it's a miracle! :)

I'm getting really excited as I approach the 20-lb. mark. For some reason, I think that that's when this weight-loss will really seem "real" to me. It's hard to explain. I mean, I can tell I'm a bit slimmer, and people tell me that they can tell. But somehow, I still feel like a weight-loss fraud, or like it's all too good to be true, or like I'll gain it all back. I think that when I can say that I've lost 20 pounds, it will seem like a real, legitimate weight-loss, and like I'm really on my way. I know that my feelings don't make sense, but there's no accounting for the weird ways we see things, I guess. I just can't wait to lose 2.5 more pounds! And then when I get to 180, I'll be halfway done, which will be a major cause for celebration.

Went to the pumpkin patch this morning. The weather was beautiful, though overcast much of the time. Nick had a blast with his friends Bryan, Matt, and Kyan - running around, going through the corn maze, riding the tractor out to the pumpkin field, etc. They had this set-up where kids could jump off a high stack of straw bales into loose straw, and I even took a leap! It was pretty fun. Nick had a blast doing that, and got all covered in straw. Then, he managed to get his hands on a bucket of water and dumped it over himself, so that he was soaked from head to toe, on top of the straw and dirt. He was a disgusting, yucky mess! I had to strip him down and put on a new diaper (This may be TMI, but the kid had straw in his buttcrack!) for the ride home. Then, it was straight into the bath. I didn't really mind, because he had such a great time!

The rest of my day should be much more tame...

what a weekend!

Ahhh....I finally have a chance to relax in front of the computer and blog about my weekend. (Brian is off today, and he has taken Nick to preschool and stayed on post to get some stuff done. It's just me, my coffee, my computer, and Regis & Kelly.) :)

We arrived in Springfield Friday in time to meet my Dad for dinner. We went to Red Robin, where I had a big, obscene burger with chipotle BBQ sauce, bleu cheese, and onion straws on the burger. This was just the beginning of my disgusting eating endeavors, which have happily ended today. Friday night, we drove to Branson and attended Bodies The Exhibition. It blew my mind. I kept exclaiming "Shut up!" much to the amusement of others nearby. It wasn't as extensive as I had thought it would be, but what there was of it was pretty amazing. In a nutshell which doesn't begin to do it justice, this is an exhibit of real, preserved human bodies and body parts, in various stages of dissection.

Saturday, I went out on a shopping quest all by my lonesome, while Brian stayed at Dad's house with Nick. I got several fall shirts for Nick, along with some Hallmark ornaments and bath and body stuff. Partway through my shopping, Tim met up with me, and we had a lovely time at Target and Pier 1. Target is such a wonderland! Oh, how I wish we had one here...

Saturday evening, Brian and I had our anniversary dinner at Nakato, a fabulous Japanese hibachi restaurant. We ate so much food that we needed to be rolled out to the car. :) It was yummy! I love that place, but it's rather pricey, so we only go once or twice a year. After that, we stopped by Barnes & Noble for a sweet treat to go, and went back to Dad's to spend some time with Nick.

Sunday morning, we took Nick to JCPenney to have a portrait taken in his Halloween dinosaur costume. He wasn't overly cooperative, so the shot we ended up with isn't great, but it will do. I'll share it when I get it back from the studio. We did some other random errands, including the car wash of horror (Nick was very terrified this time - it comes and goes.), and we bought a new desk chair at Target.

Sunday afternoon after putting Nick down for his nap, we packed up our stuff and left to stay at the Walnut St. Inn, "our" B&B in Springfield. We have stayed there many times, starting with our wedding night. It's wonderful! We stayed in the Jewell Room, which has a king-sized bed, a chaise longue, gas fireplace, jetted tub in the room, and bathroom with shower. We enjoyed our complimentary cookies and a bottle of champagne that we picked up on the way. It was a lovely, relaxing, fun evening! We actually just stayed in the room and ordered pizza for dinner - we figured that we'd stay in the room every minute, to really get our money's worth! :) In the morning, we enjoyed our in-room breakfast of French toast, fresh fruit, bacon, OJ, and coffee. Yummy! The best part is that we've racked up so many stays there that after one more stay, we get a free night!

We went back to Dad's Monday morning and spent a lazy, rainy day hanging out until after Nick's nap, when we finally left to come back home. We got home last night around 7 (after stopping for dinner at Cracker Barrel, just to cap off the weekend with one more disgustingly caloric meal!), and it's nice to be back in the swing of things again.

So, that was my weekend. How was yours?

i'm back, better than ever!

We're back from our big anniversary weekend in Springfield! It was great - I'll tell you all about it in the next day or two, but right now, I need to catch up on email. You'll just have to wait...

the big weekend

As my eagle-eyed Patty-friend already noticed, I lost another 2.5 pounds! Yay! (Patty - thanks for all the comments and the yummy wrap recipe. I'll have to try that!) I'm thrilled to be in the 180s now. I just hope the trend continues. It feels pretty great. I know I'll get off-track this weekend when we're in Springfield, but that's OK. I know I'll pick it up again next week. BTW, this will be my last post until probably Tuesday.

We're going to have a pretty full weekend. We're leaving today after Nick's nap, and we'll probably just have pizza for dinner at my Dad's. We might drive down to Branson tonight (just 35 mins. from my Dad's house) to see Bodies, the Exhibition (www.bodiestheexhibition.com). I'm pretty pumped about that - it's right up my alley! Tomorrow, I'm going to gad about Springfield doing various shopping - I'm looking for fall clothes for Nick, Hallmark ornaments, a small bench or ottoman, a new computer desk chair, etc. Tomorrow evening, Brian is taking me out to dinner. I don't know where, but I have a pretty good idea! I'm really looking forward to it. On Sunday morning, we have an appointment to have Nick's portrait taken in his Halloween costume, and then Sunday afternoon, Brian and I will be checking in to "our" B&B (www.walnutstreetinn.com) to spend the night in the lap of luxury. :) I'm really going to feel guilty about leaving Nick so much, but hopefully it won't weigh too heavily on my mind. Monday, after Nick has his nap and I have my hair trimmed, we'll head back home. Whew! It will be quite a whirlwind.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back on next week to tell you all about mine!

to my sweetie

Happy 10th Anniversary, Mack Daddy! I love you. Here's to the next ten...

who needs spooky halloween decorations...

...when you've got this in your backyard?:

By the way, this is my 50th post, which I think is pretty cool. I must really love blogging! Not much else to say today, really. I've got all my fall decor up, and my home is very cozy and rife with the color orange. It makes me happy. I'm really enjoying having the computer in the living room - we definitely made the right choice.

Oh, if you can find it in your local store, Edy's (Dreyer's) Slow-Churned light pumpkin ice cream (limited edition) is incredibly yummy! Only 100 calories per half cup.

Yoo-hoo, pumpkin lovers!

If, like me, you look forward to autumn's abundance of pumpkin-y foods (pie, ice cream, butter, etc.), then this is a tip for you! I got this from www.hungry-girl.com, which is an awesome website full of tips and tricks for eating well without sacrificing taste. It's full of wit, humour, and great ideas, so check it out! Anywho, here is the "recipe": take a Jello-O sugar-free (made with Splenda), 60-calorie vanilla pudding cup, and stir in 1/4 cup of pure canned pumpkin. Top with a bit of Reddi-Wip if desired. The whole thing (minus the Reddi-Wip) only has 80 calories, and is really yummy! And pumpkin is such a "power food" - really good for you. Try it and let me know what you think....

I'm off to pay bills and exercise.