fresh shutters and a new school

Here are a few photos for you. The first two show the fresh new paint on our shutters and attic vent, and the third one is from Nick's first day at his new preschool with his teachers, Mrs. Tate and Miss Proctor.

mission accomplished (part I)!

Oh my gosh! As of today's weigh-in, I have officially met my first target weight of 150. I actually overshot it by 2 lbs., at 148!! I simply can't believe that I have lost 58 lbs. now. It boggles the mind. I have now set a new goal of 145 lbs., so wish me luck!

I had a great fitness class today, and I'm now spending the rest of the day at home doing little chores and TCB while I await Tim's arrival this evening, though I might run out later to do an errand or two. Brian has gone to pick Nick up from preschool, and sweetly agreed to get some groceries for me on the way home. So, all is good!

a busy morning

We had our MOPS registration event today. Not quite the turnout I had hoped for, but we got a few new peeps registered, and it was nice to hang out with all the "old" peeps for a couple of hours! Hopefully, more newbies will show up at our first meeting on September 11.

While I was doing that, Nick was enjoying his first day of his new preschool. He got into this program called "PACE" - it's a free preschool offered by the local school district, but they can only accept so many kids each year. It seems like a wonderful program, and his teachers are great. I'm very excited about it, and I think he's going to have a wonderful school year! He goes for three hours a day, Monday through Thursday. And next week, they're doing school pictures! My little boy is really growing up.

Brian picked Nick up from preschool (We were lucky enough to get the on-post location, so it's really convenient for Brian.), and they met me at McDonald's for a quick lunch. It's been a really nice day so far! How about yours?

a productive weekend

This weekend has been quite fruitful! Yesterday, I went to Pilates class, and after I got home, the guy came to clean our carpets. Today, we got everything back in its place, and now we have nice, fresh carpets (Well, I should qualify that by saying that the carpeting is as nice as 15-year-old, loose, dingy carpeting can be.). I guess the important thing is that even if it doesn't look fabulous, at least it's cleaner than it was, as evidenced by the filthy water the guy showed me. I always want to see the gross stuff - Show me the dirty water! Can I see my placenta? Things like that. :)

Of course, no weekend can be complete without a trip to Walmart. In this case, I have gone to Walmart THREE DAYS IN A ROW. I know - it's an illness. But there's always something I need, ya know? Today, on an impulse, I bought a curling iron and a hair straightener. Now that my hair's longer, I have decided that I need to avail myself of my various options. Heck, I only recently bought a blow-dryer, so this is quite a sparkly new world of wonder for me. I'm heady at the thought that I can now have curls or sleekness instead of my usual waviness. As for when I will actually use either of these implements for the first time remains to be seen.

I have recently noticed, much to my horror, the beginnings of some wrinkling on my forehead. So, I ran out and purchased a night cream with retinol - that's supposed to be the magical anti-aging ingredient. It's quite expensive, though, so unless I see a whole new face in a few weeks, I'll have to debate whether I'm going to buy more. I'll keep you posted.

I've noticed I'm rambling. Oh, well. It's MY blog!

Last night, we watched "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day." I recommend it! It's a frothy delight, but also has substance, and some of the dialogue is very sharp and witty. And I just love the way they did the ending. What Joe says to Miss Pettigrew just took my breath away, it was so unabashedly romantic! Contented sigh. Also, Michael (can't think of the actor's name) is very easy on the eyes.

Right now, I'm rather sore, because I've spent quite some time on a ladder painting our front shutters and the medallion vent thingy over the garage. The shutters were once a dark blue, but had become very faded and discolored, so I freshened them up with a nice, dark, periwinkly sort of blue. Then, in a fit of ingenuity, I decided to paint the medallion the same color to tie it in and make it pop against the siding. I like the results! The front of the house looks much nicer now.

The remainder of the evening will consist of a workout on the treadmill and elliptical and watching Army Wives. Then, it's time for bed and a new week! The wheel just keeps spinnin' round and round...

shameless sales pitch

Just in time for fall, I am selling a beautiful Denim & Co. lamb leather one-button, fully lined blazer. You can see this blazer at QVC.com - it's item A103448. Mine is a size 1X, color tan. This blazer is in excellent, brand new condition, and it's amazingly soft and supple. It's well-made and of great quality! It currently retails for $117; I'll take $50. There's not a thing wrong with it - it's just way too big for me now. I'm incredibly sad to see it go! But, my loss is someone else's gain. So, if you're local and are interested, or you know someone who might be, let me know!

frustration

I'm up 1.5 lbs. today. Aaarrrggghhhhh! I'm hovering so close to my goal, but can't quite get there. I mean, last week, I was teased by being just 1/2-lb. away from it, but now I'm back up. I've been in the 150s for almost 3 months now, and that just seems like forever! It seems like the number 150 is right outside my grasp - I just can't reach quite far enough to grab it, ya know what I mean? If it's this difficult to get to 150, then I wonder if 145 is just going to be an impossibility. Maybe I'll have to be happy right where I am. Hmmm. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm going to work my butt off for the next week and see what my next weigh-in brings.

I needed a new umbrella, as the one I had was about 8 years old and was all faded, with a bent shaft. It was a sad, sorry thing! So, today, I picked up a festively striped new one at WalMart for a mere $3.83. Oh, today's purchase was another one for the record books: an umbrella, a belt, and Greek yogurt. :) Only at WalMart!

This evening, I'm going to rent some movies for the weekend (I'm thinking of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Smart People, along with the second disc of Mad Men.), and also go to Hallmark for my quarterly card stock-up. Yes, I'm a bit of a freak about the cards, but anyone who's close to me has hopefully benefited from that and enjoyed the fruits of my obsession. :) I'm also a bit of a freak for their ornaments, though less so as the years go by and the prices creep ever higher.

Tomorrow is carpet cleaning day, and the rest of the weekend should be pretty low-key. What are your weekend plans?

i love my mother-in-law!

How many people feel that way? Apparently, a lot of women do not get along with their mothers-in-law, but I am lucky enough not to have that problem. My MIL is a lovely woman who is nothing but loving and supportive. The only thing wrong with her is that she lives too far away (northern VA). It's very hard for us to get out there, and she has health problems that prevent her from travelling. :(

Anywho, I'm feeling particularly close to her today, because I just got the most wonderful surprise in the mail - a lovely note from her, including a check for $200 to use for the purchase of new, smaller clothes (scream of delight)! If you know me very well, you know how cheap I am, and with that much money, I can probably get around 20 or so new garments. I'm so excited! That lady is a doll.

In other news, I finally worked out today after skipping 4 days - shame on me! But, I'm back in the saddle with plans to work out every day for the rest of the week.

That's all, folks...

another cute nickism

The other evening, Brian was talking about his neck pain, and Nick asked "What's the matter with your neck, Daddy - do you have a cricket in it?"

oh. my. god.

I am LOVING the new high-speed cable Internet! It's funny, because our speed is actually probably pretty slow by some people's standards - it's 250 Kbps. But for us, it's lightning fast, compared to the dial-up we've always had. I feel like a kid at Christmas! Santa Claus has, indeed, come to town. :)

home again, home again, jiggity-jig

We're back from our long weekend in Springfield. It was a good weekend, all-in-all! We had a big, crazy dinner with my whole family on Saturday evening at TGIFriday's. Love their fried green beans with wasabi ranch! I also enjoyed my mojito. :)

Sunday morning, my solo went really well at both services, and the music director and I went to Panera between services and had a nice time chatting and enjoying a pastry. I was feeling really attractive in my new size 8 black slacks and size small clingy, flattering top - it's a beautiful aqua-teal sort of color. I really can't wrap my brain around the fact that I can wear size 8 pants and jeans, but it's true!

Sunday afternoon, Brian and I went to the mall together while my Dad watched Nick, and we had a really nice time just walking around. And as usual, I got some absolutely killer bargains. I got this really thick, heavy, chunky cable-knit cardigan at Steve & Barry's, where everything is $8.98. It'll definitely keep me warm this winter, and it's grey, so it'll go with everything. At JCPenney, through the combination of a sale and two coupons, I got a $36 pair of jeans for a mere $7. At Payless, through sales and BOGO, I got myself a pair of silver ballet flats and Nick a pair of canvas slip-ons for a total of $14 (full retail would have been $38). At Bath & Body Works, I bought three hand-soaps and got two free, and at Godiva, we got some delicious truffles for half-off! I'm still riding the high from all this incredible cheapness. :)

We were going to go out for a fancy dinner last night, but when we were at the mall, we spotted this new restaurant in the food-court there called Cravin' Crepes. We were intrigued, so we decided to radically change our plans and just have dinner at the mall! We shared a savory crepe (they're plenty big for two) that had ham, apple slices, cheddar cheese, and dijon mustard - yummy! Then, we went back for a dessert crepe with Nutella, bananas, and strawberries and shared that one, too! A really yummy, unique dinner for a total of $12. We even decided to get one with caramel sauce, apples, and walnuts to take home for Dad and Nick, and they loved it! It's really cool, too, because you get to watch them make your crepe after you order it. I'm a huge fan, and I just hope that the place makes it in our mall. It's only been open for 3 weeks.

After that, we were so exhausted that we just spent the rest of the evening at Dad's, chilling out, watching TV, and looking through old photo albums. This morning, Brian had an appointment with a neurosurgeon in Springfield about his neck (he may need surgery, but needs more tests first), and then we headed home.

I'm getting caught up on email, etc., and waiting for the cable guy to come and install our high-speed Internet! I really need to work out this evening, as I've skipped three days now, but right now, I'm just so tired that it's the last thing I want to do. Must soldier through!

blah blah blah!

I've been spending so much time on the phone lately that I don't have any time to be online! It's rather strange for me. Even now, I'm only on for like 5 minutes to do this and check my email. Then, I have to fold laundry, eat, and go to yoga. I just don't want my bloggy peeps to think I've abandoned you. Patty, I will get to the meme list sometime, but maybe not until next week - sorry! You see, we're leaving tomorrow evening to go to Springfield and won't be back until Monday afternoon. And Monday afternoon, the guy is coming to install our cable Internet! So, I'll be quite scarce between now and the middle of next week. Hope everyone has a faboo weekend, though!

in light of the title of my blog...

...I have to share with you that in a fit of coincidence, there is, as I type, a lizard in my living room! It's a cute little thing with a bright blue tail, and it shows itself every so often, but then skitters and hides as soon as we come near it. I first saw it a couple of days ago. Isn't that funny?

a triumphant day

It's a long story and I'm too tired to explain, but let's just say that today, I was the squeaky wheel, and against the odds, I got the grease! I love it when I get all persistent and prevail. Also, I made great headway in publicizing my MOPS group, and connected with a woman whom I believe is going to be an invaluable contact to that end. Go, me! I spent way too much time on the phone today, but it was very productive. And now, off to bed I go.

the results are in...

...and they're pretty good! I saw my gyn today (LOVE her!), and found out how my lipids are. My total cholesterol is 162, which is great and is down from last year's 190. My LDL ("bad" cholesterol), VLDL ("very bad" cholesterol) and triglycerides (another undesirable) were all down significantly, which is great! The only disappointing thing is that my HDL ("good" cholesterol) hadn't risen nearly as much as I'd hoped, and is still much lower than desired. She explained to me, though, that while diet and exercise can really help lower the bad stuff, it's much harder for it to raise the HDL. That's more determined by genetics and is harder to improve with lifestyle changes. She's really pleased with the results, and thinks that even though they're not optimal, they're just fine. And she was obviously very pleased with my weight loss. When she was palpating my abdomen to feel my internal organs, she kept commenting on how "skinny" I am ! That made me feel pretty darn good. She told me to keep up the good work, and I plan to do just that.

things that make you go "hmmm?"

So, we were putting Nick to bed the other night, and Brian leaned in to kiss him, whereupon Nick said "Daddy, your face smells like a xylophone."

in the dark

Well, my day started somewhat roughly. For various reasons, I have not gotten enough sleep the past several nights, and I thought I would finally get a good night's sleep last night. I went to bed a little before 10:30 with my alarm set for 6:30. However, at about quarter to 5, I was awakened by my husband's muttering of the word "Great!" This utterance was in response to the realization that the electrical storms we had overnight had caused us to have a power outage. I dozed a little bit after that, but really, the jig was up. Then, I had to get ready in the gloom, and my breakfast was missing its toasted bagel and, most importantly, the coffee! The coffee, man! Boy, was I cranky and tired. And Nick was a bit thrown and clingy, as he often is when something like a power outage occurs. But, I made it to the fitness center for kickboxing and suffered through the class, after which I treated myself to a honkin' coffee from McDonald's (plus a Sausage McGriddles). And now, the power's back on! So, the day is looking up. I might just have to take a nap during Nick's. :)

wish me luck

I've been fasting since 7 p.m., because tomorrow morning I'm going to the lab to have my blood drawn to test for cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. I'm feeling somewhat nervous about it, which I know sounds kind of ridiculous - it's just that I so desperately want good results! You see, last September when I had this blood work done, my total cholesterol was under 200, but my HDL was too low, my LDL was too high, and my triglycerides were rather alarming. Given that I've lost all this weight and become so active, I'm really hoping they've all improved dramatically, and if they haven't, I'm going to be pretty dismayed. I would hate to have to go on medication. So, I guess I just feel like a lot is riding on these tests. My yearly check-up is a week from tomorrow, and I'll find out the results then. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for me!

btw

I'm not very savvy about this stuff - can anyone tell me exactly what to do to create a link within a post without having to just cut and paste a URL? For example, instead of the long URL in the following post, how do I just make it so that one could click on the words "my online album" and be taken to that URL? Or, instead of http://www.citymuseum.org/ , how can I make it so that one could just click on the words "City Museum"? Help! And thank you. :)

july pics + my new goal

Here are just five of the many photos from our recent trip to St. Louis. (Also note the new family pic on the sidebar.) To see the rest of the faboo photos, check out my online album!



Here's Nick in the "construction zone" at the Magic House Children's Museum.

fun with static electricity!

striking a pose at the bottom of a slide in the City Museum

Here's Nick eating his banana ice cream with much gusto at Crown Candy Kitchen.

It was so great to see my friend Jerry again after three years!

And now for my new goal: I'm not sure how or when it will take shape, but I have decided that I want to become a certified fitness instructor, particularly in kickboxing and yoga. Stay tuned!

2 pounds from my goal!

I can't believe that I'm only two pounds from my goal! Of course, that's only my initial goal. Once I reach 150, I'm going to set a new goal of 145, and if I get there, I'll decide if I want to shoot for 140. That's the absolute lowest I'd go - anything less would, I think, be unhealthy and impossible to maintain. Wish me luck!

I guess I need to finish accounting for our St. Louis trip. On Tuesday evening, Jerry took us to this neat old ice cream parlor called Crown Candy Kitchen. It was such fun! It was wonderful to see him again - he's just such a kind, affable teddy bear. I'm so glad he's in my life, even if I do only see him once in a blue moon. And Nick warmed right up to him. The two of them sat together at dinner, and had a high time together! I got some great candid shots of them laughing together. When I get a chance, I'll be sure to share those. Anywho, CCK is such a neat place! It's all old-fashioned and vintage-y, and it has great sandwiches and ice cream treats. They even make their own chocolates. I had probably the best egg salad sandwich I've ever enjoyed, and we all had huge, decadent ice cream treats, because, really, how could we not? :) It was a very enjoyable evening. Later at the hotel, I squeezed in a workout, but I had to cut it short, because my stomach was still too full.

On Wednesday, we headed to the St. Louis Sciencenter (yes, that's how they spell it). It was pretty neat, though it can't hold a candle to the City Museum. Really, nothing can. We had a good time exploring, though. We saw an interesting exhibit called Monsters Alive, which was about creatures and monsters in the movies, and how they're made and the animatronics involved. We also saw an Omnimax film about dinosaurs, which we all really enjoyed. Wednesday turned out to be a rainy day, so we had to nix our plans to go to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Instead, we went to the home of my cousin Jessica's fiance, Brian, and had dinner with the two of them in addition to my cousin John, his wife Sarah, and their two kids, Claire and Evan. It was fun! I enjoyed bonding with my cousins, and Nick and Claire really got along well, since they're the same age. We all shared good food and good times, and we were really tired by the time we got back to the hotel. No workout that day!
John and Sarah invited us to attend Evan's birthday party in about a month, so we're looking forward to that.

Thursday was rather blah and gloomy, and we were tired and didn't really feel like doing the Cathedral Basilica or Trader Joe's, so we just headed home, stopping for lunch at Cracker Barrel and making it home around 1 p.m. So, that was our trip!

Yesterday, I had an errand-running extravaganza and bought, among other things, a yoga mat and a flat-panel computer monitor. I got a great deal on the monitor, and we're really excited about getting rid of our bulky, outdated one. I also got some paint to refresh our faded shutters, and started pricing treadmills. Staying at hotels and using their treadmills has really made me want a new one. Mine works fine, but it's 9 years old, and the technology is so much better now! My treadmill is so incredibly loud, and I'd love a new one for its quietness, more accurate controls, and built-in fan. I'm not in a big hurry, though, and will take my time shopping around.

Today is all about TCB - laundry, online business, etc. Hope you're having a great weekend!