the birds, the bees, and the lions

This is the conversation I had with Nick this morning regarding our recent visit to the zoo:

Nick: I wanted to see lions at the zoo!
Me: We did, remember? There was a boy lion and a girl lion.
Nick: But no baby lion?
Me: No, they didn't have a baby.
Nick: Because they're not married?
Me: Right!

vpl vs. perpetual wedgie

Let's talk about thong underwear for just a moment, shall we? I have always been anti-thong, professing that they're hideously uncomfortable and that I am just not interested in having a scrap of fabric wedged in my butt crack for any length of time. I think I might have tried a thong once, in college, and didn't like it. In the intervening years, it would seem that visible panty lines have truly become public enemy number one, and everyone who's anyone is wearing thongs. I personally know people who would never dream of wearing anything else. Also, lately, as I look around me in fitness class (where the women tend to have on tight-fitting workout shorts), I have noticed that I'm the only one with VPL. (Side note: No, I'm not a lesbian. It's just that there are some really nice asses in fitness class, and I can't help looking at them because I wish mine looked like that!) Now, here's what I'm confused about: What's the big deal with VPL? Everyone wears underwear (Well, sure, there are some who go commando, but they're a small percentage of the populace.), and everyone knows that everyone wears underwear. So, why is it such a big deal if people can see the outline of your panties through your pants? I mean, women always have visible bra lines, and that's no big deal, so why are panties so different?

The upshot of all of this is that I recently decided that since it had been so long since I'd actually tried wearing a thong, maybe I should see what all the fuss is about and give it another try. I mean, the people I know who wear them profess that they're just SO comfortable, and they would never go back to (gasp!) regular undies. So, yesterday at WalMart, I picked up a cheapo 3-pack of thongs. And today, I wore one when I took Nick to playgroup and ran a couple of errands. And here's my verdict: thongs ARE hideously uncomfortable, and I'm just NOT interested in having a scrap of fabric wedged in my butt crack for any length of time! It was horrid. The whole time I was wearing it, I was aware of it and was really uncomfortable. I kept feeling like I needed to pull my underwear out of my crack. I would momentarily forget that I was wearing a thong and would attempt to grab my underwear through my shorts and adjust them, but all I would grab was skin, and I would realize that Oh! I can't pull my underwear out of my crack, because they're permanently lodged there! Who wants to go around feeling like they have a consta-wedgie? People claim that you get used to it, and you eventually can't even feel it, but personally, I'm not interested in making it through the adjustment period. I don't believe that there's any need for me to suffer through even one day of wearing a thong, when there is so much comfy underwear out there for me to choose from. I just don't get it! The minute I got home, I shimmied out of those things as fast as I could and breathed a delicious sigh of relief as I unwedged myself. I promptly threw all 3 thongs into the nearest waste basket, and now, I'm comfortably ensconced in my plain ol' panties, and lovin' every minute of it!

So how about you? Thongs: yea or nay? See my poll on the sidebar, and weigh in...

could my son BE any cuter?

Just thought I'd share this photo with everyone. Happy Sunday!

i've been kinda quiet this week...

...mainly because I just don't have much to say! Alles ist gut - it's just a normal, fairly boring week, so I guess I haven't felt compelled to blog. I've worked out, taken Nick to story time, done laundry, done a bit of clothes-shopping, watched TV, etc. Tonight, we're taking Nick to a local fair so that he can ride carnival rides - should be fun! Tomorrow, we have Nick's sports class in Rolla, and then I'm going over to Leigh Ann's house to help design our new MOPS brochure. Tomorrow night, I'm going to see the play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with a couple of friends. Sunday should be pretty low-key, which I'm kind of looking forward to. I hope you've all been having a good week, and have a great weekend!

today is my daddy's birthday

He's 72, and not terribly infused with the birthday spirit. :) I guess when you've had that many, you don't care much anymore. Heck, the past few years, even I haven't cared much, and I'm only 34! :)

We just got back from a long weekend in Springfield. On Saturday, I went to JCPenney (where fashion comes to life) and scored my usual coup by combining sales and coupons. I got a pair of jean shorts, two pairs of PJ shorts, and 2 nice bras for just over $40. Wow! In the end, it was worth it, though shortly after arriving at the mall, I wondered why I was crazy enough to be there. It was so crowded and stuffy, and there were just people everywhere, with the racks all messy and picked over. When it's like that, it's just a total turn-off for me, and it usually completely kills my mood to shop. My mood was certainly dampened, but since I had those coupons which were about to expire, I soldiered on.

I got back to Dad's in time for the big familial celebration - we were celebrating not only Fathers' Day, but also my Dad's and brother's birthdays. We had pizza and cake, and much hilarity and loudness ensued. :) Tim even stopped by, which only added to the fabulosity. I got to see all of my nieces, which I always love; it doesn't happen nearly often enough. We gave my Dad a charcoal grill and grilling tools, which we made use of yesterday evening. After the party, I went to Target with my older nieces and my sister-in-law, and we combed through the clearance clothing racks and then went into a family dressing room together to try everything on. We laughed so much that the people in the other dressing rooms must have hated us! I ended up buying a cute t-shirt for $5 and a knit polo shirt-dress for $10! Tim met us there, and after we were kicked out at closing time :), Tim, the nieces, and I went to Applebee's for some chips and salsa. I didn't get to bed until 12:30, which is insanely late for me!

Sunday morning, we went to the zoo with my Dad, and it was fun, but so hot and humid. We spent about 2.5 hours there, and by the time we were done, we were hot, hungry, and completely exhausted. I got some great pics, which I'll share at some point. We had lunch at a nearby restaurant, and I gave in to temptation and had a peanut butter hot fudge sundae - it was SO good! That afternoon, Dad and I went to WalMart to get stuff for dinner, and we grilled chicken breasts and corn on the cob. For dessert, I made double-berry shortcakes. It was a really good dinner! Later in the evening, I finally got my much-anticipated haircut, and I'm thrilled! It feels so good to have all of that scraggly hair gone from my neck, and it looks really cute. Last night after Army Wives, it was early to bed, but I'm still exhausted today, because Brian and I were awakened at 4 a.m. by a weird sound that we never did identify. Go figure.

I know that I should work out today, but I might not. I'm just beat. I don't want to do anything but sit around and maybe read a magazine. I'd really love to sleep, but if I took a nap now, I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Tomorrow, it's back to the usual, with fitness class and various domestic chores!

this is so funny!

People, you must read this blog post. I laughed out loud!

http://www.dooce.com/2008/06/13/rite-passage

birthday wishes

Happy Birthday to you;
Happy Birthday to you;
Happy Birthday, dear Greg,
Happy Birthday to you!

Today is my brother Greg's birthday. He's 8 years older than me, so we haven't always been in each other's orbits, but I sure love him. I hope you have a good birthday, Greg, and I'll see you this weekend!

today's ramblings

Hey, everyone! First of all, be sure to take note of my new sidebar list - "foods i'm currently loving!" I figured that maybe it can give some of you ideas for new foods to try. Let me know if you are loving any of these foods, too!

On this humid, 80-degree+ day here in central MO, I decided to go to the indoor track in the fitness center on post for some nice, climate-controlled jogging. I got there, and it felt really warm - almost like a sauna. I thought that was odd and wondered if the AC wasn't working. But, I was there, so I figured I'd go ahead and stick to my plan. And I did! I jogged and walked for an hour, jogging more than half of the distance I covered. In fact, I ended up jogging almost 2.5 miles (not consecutively)! That makes me very proud, as I'm pretty new to this jogging thing, and it's really not that easy for me yet. I'm so pumped that I managed to do that much. I just alternated jogging and walking, and even mixed in a few sprints. Anywho, when I was finished, I was literally sweating more than I've ever sweated in my entire life. I was like a human waterfall. It was completely disgusting! I looked like I had just been in the pool. Imagine the sweatiest person you can, and then imagine that person twice as sweaty. :) I went to the front desk and asked what was up with the AC, and the guy told me that it was malfunctioning, and that the heat had actually been running! OMG. Imagine. I actually sat in the lobby and read the paper for awhile, because I didn't want to go out to my hot car without cooling off at least a little first.

You know, I've been getting a lot of compliments about my weight-loss recently, which is great. And it's gotten me thinking about what I'm really the most proud of, and I realized that it's not just losing the weight - it's actually that I've gotten so in shape. I mean, here I am, at 34, in the best shape I've ever been in at any age. There are plenty of women who are "thin" or "normal-sized," but they're not really fit, and they don't have much endurance or strength. You can be skinny but not able to jog or lift weights, or kickbox for an hour. It's sort of a revelation to me that my new smaller size is really secondary on the list of what I'm proud of. I just can't believe how buff I am! I know this sounds braggy, but I don't care. I'm just proud that I've really put in the work to tone my body and develop my muscles, and to become so much stronger. I've realized that my goal was never to just be skinny or small, but to be in great shape, and I can't believe that I've made that come true. I mean, don't get me wrong - I'm not in the greatest shape compared to some people, but for me, I am, and that's what counts. I'm just feeling very triumphant today. Maybe jogging in such heat took a toll on my brain and rendered me loopy! :)

thanks for sharing!

Today, I took Nick to story time at the library on post. It's a really nice story time, but I've just about decided to stop going, because Nick just won't sit still, be quiet, and actually pay attention to the stories. Today, he gave me even more justification to never show my face there again. In honor of Fathers' Day, the librarian was reading stories about Daddies, and was in the middle of a sweet book about all of the nice, loving things Daddies do for their children. During a quiet moment, Nick piped up completely out of the blue and said "When I'm a bad boy, my Daddy yells at me."

that's my boy!

So, today, we drove the hour to Osage Beach to take Nick to Miner Mike's, the faboo indoor funplex. They have an arcade where you buy tokens to play games; you get tickets from playing the games, which you can then redeem for prizes. "Prizes," in this case, is defined as "cheap, crappy, worthless trinkets." Out of all the choices, guess what my son chose for his prize: the sparkly, heart-shaped fairy wand complete with flashing jewels and marabou feather accents. Seriously. Furthermore, 4 hours later, said wand is now in about 5 pieces. Boys will be girls will be boys! :)

back online!

I have actually been offline against my will for the past couple of days. On Thursday afternoon, I discovered that I had no dial tone (we have dial-up Internet). With some over-the-phone guidance from the phone company, I determined that the problem was definitely not inside our house, so they put in a request to have a repair-peep come out. That peep did not come until 10:00 this morning (He couldn't possibly have come yesterday, due to the weather - more on that later.)! Mind you, with the dial-up Internet and the fact that I have a prepaid cell phone that costs 10 cents/minute, losing my land line for a couple of days was rather catastrophic for me. :) So, now that it's back, I have been making phone calls and catching up with emails, etc. I burned through way too many expensive cell phone minutes yesterday, but whatareyagonnado?

Yesterday turned out to be rather odd for other reasons, as well. First of all, I woke up and did my weekly weigh-in, and was shocked to see that I was down 4 lbs., taking my loss to an even 50! In the past, I have had times when I plateaued for a bit and then had a freakishly big loss, and I sometimes came back up a pound or two the next week. I mean, I can't really, truly have lost 4 lbs. in one week, surely. But, even if I'm back up a bit next Friday, I have high hopes that I've kissed the 160s goodbye for good. I also took my measurements and determined that I have now lost a combined total of over 3 feet! Wow. Most notably, I've lost 6-7" each off my bust, waist, and hips (I'm now a 39-32-39), and 5" off each thigh.

So, my day was off to a great start, and I got all ready and dressed to go to the gym. I was planning on calling my Rebecca-friend to see if we could go over and visit her after the gym, so I was looking forward to a lovely morning. I had my breakfast and went into Nick's room to get him up. When I walked in and turned on the light, I was greeted by the worst throw-up mess I've ever seen. Why did he not summon me when this happened, you ask? I wish I knew. He never does, even though we've told him time and again that he should. It's almost like he doesn't want to burden us. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that the clean-up was grueling. The sheet, I simply threw away. Nick was very upset and very gross, and I had to get him right into the tub. Needless to day, fitness class (or leaving the house at all) was not going to happen. He claimed that he wanted breakfast, but only ate about half of it. As the day progressed, he was stricken with a high fever and became very lethargic, just flopping on the couch and wanting to be held. Since he's normally rather hands-off, I secretly enjoyed getting to cuddle with him all day, but I felt terrible for the poor kid. The day was just so strange - I had no phone or Internet and was effectively cut off from the outside, and had a very sick kid on my hands, which is unusual in itself, as Nick virtually never gets sick. So, there we were, he and I, just flopping on the couch and watching Mary Poppins (As an aside, I just have to point out that this movie is pure genius, and nothing like it has been made since. I don't care how many times I watch it - I still marvel at its fabulosity every time.) Well, this was boring, but Nick was resting comfortably in my arms, at least, and I was enjoying our togetherness. Then, things got a bit more interesting, because some very dicey weather came our way, with tornado warnings and very scary rain and straight-line winds. So, I had to carry my poor child (who was just radiating heat at this point) down to the inhospitable unfinished basement and lay him on the cold, hard floor, while we waited out the worst of it. I felt so bad, because he had just nodded off on the couch, and then I had to disrupt him. But, within a minute or two of lying down on the basement floor, he was asleep again! That's how sick he was. I was finally able to carry him back upstairs, and I got his bed all made up and tucked him in for a long summer's nap. After his nap, his fever had gone down some, and he had a bit more pep. He still hardly ate anything all day, but at least he didn't throw up again.

Today, in his usual fashion, he's right as rain! This kid has an absolutely stellar immune system - I've never seen him sick for more than a day. He even said to me "I feel like I'm me again!" At another point, he also came up to me and said "So, how ya doin', m'pretty girl?" :) Yup - he's definitely back to his old self.

So, the upshot of this incredibly long post is that yesterday was just plain weird, and I'm thrilled to be back online and back in touch with the world! Tonight, we're going out to dinner, and I'm beside myself at the prospect of getting out of the house. (In case you haven't picked up on this, being at home all day is like torture for me - I have to get out of the house every day or I go crazy.)

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

well, color me crestfallen :(

I'm so disappointed! I signed up to take a Latin dance class which was to start this coming Sunday, and I was really excited about it. But today, I got a call to let me know that it's cancelled, because not enough people signed up for it. Gaahhh! I'm really bummed. They're supposed to be offering it again in the fall, though, so hopefully it will be a go then. I guess I'll just have to wait a bit longer to get my cha-cha-cha on. :)

sex and the city movie

Loved it! It had emotional moments, it had sexy moments, it had laugh-out-loud hilarious moments, and it had amazing fashions. It was very satisfying, in my opinion. An important note: even if you didn't watch the series on TV, you could still totally go to this movie and enjoy it. You don't need to have watched the show. So, go see it!