lazy sunday

I still don't really have anything of import to say, but I'm a bit bored, so thought I'd blog just for the heck of it.

How is everyone's weekend? Did you remember to fall back? I love falling back. It's so nice to realize, at the end of the evening, that you have a whole extra hour!

Yesterday, I went out solo for some shopping. I started at the Hallmark open house, where I enjoyed some punch and a cookie, and even won a drawing - I NEVER win stuff, so that was pretty amazing. My prize wasn't something I particularly adore (an ornament), but the winning itself was nice. I got some greeting cards, thank you notes, and a couple of other things.

Then, I moved on to Dollar General and Dollar Tree. I got a couple of Christmas gifts for Nick at the former, and nothing at the latter. After some chicken nuggets and a baked potato at Wendy's, I finished up at WalMart. Didn't get anything overly exciting there - just some stuff I needed. Oh, I did get a cute hoodie (in a junior size L, no less!).

So, there you have it. That is pretty much the pinnacle of excitement that can be achieved here in my small town. Rather sad, isn't it? It WAS nice to be out and about by myself, though, and to be able to take all the time I wanted. Brian is so sweet that way - he never begrudges me these things. The same could not be said for all husbands, to be sure.

To round out the day, I did laundry, sang, exercised, cut Brian's and Nick's hair, bathed Nick, and changed all the clocks. A fairly accomplished day, I guess. Today, there's not much to do, really. Or I guess I should say that there are things I COULD do, but I don't particularly feel like it. I'm doing some more laundry (when am I NOT doing laundry?), and we checked all of our smoke alarms. I need to put all of my Halloween decor away in the basement, but am avoiding it like a champ. :) At some point, I will definitely sing and exercise, because those are non-negotiable (the singing is a must because I have a gig in a week). And later, we're going to put the sumptuous flannel sheets on our bed - mmmm! So, that's my day!

the sound of silence

Dear Readers,

I have been unusually silent this week. I'm not sure why - I just haven't felt like blogging, and like many things (cleaning, trying on clothes, doing taxes), you really have to be in the mood, ya know? Sorry for my absence. I'm still not feeling really talkative, but maybe next week!

I am happy about my continued weight loss this week, even though my exercise record has been abysmal. I'm back in the saddle tomorrow - no excuses!

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.

sigh

I didn't lose any weight this week. I had rather been expecting it, given my freakish loss last week, but it's still disappointing, especially as I had done pretty well with exercising and eating right. Back to the grind! I really hope I lose at least a pound this coming week. Wish me luck...

3 1/2-year-old boy for sale. comes with supplies. make offer. financing available.

My child is really testing me lately, and sometimes, I'm flat-out failing. Ya know what I mean? Potty-training has totally gone by the wayside. He doesn't even go on the potty at all anymore - he just doesn't care. Having a pantload of poop or pee doesn't even phase him. I know that he knows what to do and how it all works, but what do you do if your child just can't be bothered? Grrr. And now he has this new lovely thing where he'll poop in his pants and not bother to let anyone know. At home, this is not a problem, because I'm quite attuned to the telltale odor. At preschool, however, it's proving to be much more of a problem, and it's making me rather unhappy with both him and his teachers. I don't know if his preschool has some weird "can't look at a kid's private parts" policy or what, but there seems to be this pattern forming where he'll poop in his pants, the teacher will think she smells something, will ask him, and he'll say "No." Then, rather than actually checking for herself, she will just send him into the bathroom all alone to try to go on the potty. Nick goes into the bathroom and attempts to pull down his poop-filled pants, resulting in a huge mess everywhere and the immediate need for new pants. Now, wouldn't you think that the teacher herself would want to avoid this scenario? Apparently not. I'm going to have to have a talk with them, I guess. I just never wanted to be the "bitchy mom" - the squeaky wheel, the one who seems to think her child should get special attention. It's bad enough that he's the only one in his class that isn't potty-trained. I hate to make him even more of a special case - I mean, I know that they have like 14 other kids to worry about, too. But, I know that I need to get over that. I'm not thrilled with this preschool, but because he's not potty-trained, it's my only option.

OK - enough about pee and poop! Sorry about that. Yes, I have turned into one of those people who sits around talking to anyone who'll listen about her kid's urine and feces. I hate to admit it, but it's true. :)

Let's just move on to his other frustrating behavior, such as constantly being defiant and telling us "no." Or acting like a lunatic if I so much as make a phone call. Or being generally destructive, spastic, and irrational. (Yes, I know that he's 3 and that irrationality is not abnormal at this age. However, that doesn't mean that I can't vent about it!) Or dragging his toes on the asphalt when he's on the trike at preschool, the result of which is that now 2 new pairs of shoes are just about worn through at the toes. Or the fact that no matter how many times I prep him before preschool, going over the ideas of peeing in the potty, telling when he poops, and not dragging his toes, he never actually does any of those things!! :( Sorry - I'm just incredibly frustrated today. Can you tell that this has been a bad day with him? Thanks for "listening"...

P.S. Did have a good MOPS meeting today, so it's not all bad. :)

always be careful at whom you flap your gums!

So, today, a friend and I took our kids to Cracker Barrel for lunch. It's very family-friendly and the food is always good. Our waiter was totally amazing! Such a nice man, and so attentive and great with the boys. My friend's son is 2, by the way. Anywho, when we get our sons together, the particular chemistry between them sometimes causes them to be very rambunctious, loud, and generally crazy. Both boys were being pretty disruptive, and we were horrified and doing our best to control them. My friend's son just so happens to have this incredibly high, piercing shriek, which he let rip a few times, much to his mom's utter mortification. (As an aside, I am so thankful that Nick never developed such a shriek. I really feel for anyone whose child can do that.) We figured that the people around us weren't thrilled with us, but we were doing the best we could, and we have a right to eat out, too, dammit!

After we paid, we looked around the gift shop a bit, and then my friend left a little before me. After his little friend left, my son calmed down a bit and was actually being pretty decent in the gift shop. We were standing there, and this older lady came up to me and said "He's such a well-behaved boy!" I said "Well, sometimes." (I was thinking "If only she had seen him a few minutes ago!") She then said "A little while ago, there was a child in the restaurant who had the most piercing shriek - he did it 3 or 4 times! It was awful." I looked her in the eye and said (go, me!) "Yes, that was my friend's son. She was doing her best to keep him quiet, but he's 2, so it doesn't always work." She just looked mortified and walked away. Just goes to show that you should always be careful what you say and to whom.

Now, don't get me wrong - I am the first to admit that when I was younger, I was easily annoyed by kids in public places. That was before I understood. :) Surely, given this woman's generation, though, she has her own kids, or at least nieces and nephews. Shame on her! It really bothers me that when people hear a kid being loud or disruptive in a restaurant, the first thought that enters their minds is "What an awful child, and why can't his parents control him?" Obviously, sometimes the problem IS negligent or overly permissive parents. But more often than not, it's a case of good parents who are horrified at the child's behavior and are doing their best to control it. The child is probably a pretty good child who is just acting out because he's in public. Anyone who has a small child knows that control is not always possible. I just wonder why people can't instead think "Those poor parents. They're probably embarrassed that their child is being so disruptive, and probably aren't enjoying their meal at all." I mean, come on, people - give us a break!

OK - I'll just hop down from my soapbox now. :) That was my rant for the day.

meet my little spider!

Our mini-pumpkin spiders turned out really cute! Here's mine:

I'm definitely starting to get into the fall/Halloween spirit. Boo! :)

what???!!!

I had the weirdest weigh-in this morning. Hopefully I'm not the only one who does this, but I normally weigh myself several times in a row, just to make sure that I keep getting the same reading. Paranoia, I guess. Well, this morning, I stepped on the scale, and it said 191.5 (which would be a 5-lb. loss). My response was to say "What???!!!" (Hence the title of this post.) You have to realize that this was a week where I only exercised 3 days, and mostly didn't keep track of my calories, though I did try to eat sensibly. Still, though, I was shocked. I figured that there was no way that could be right. So, I kept getting off the scale, moving it over a few inches (you know - in case an irregularity in the floor was affecting the reading), and stepping back on. The first 4 times or so, it said 191.5. Then, it said 194! The next 5 or 6 times (by this point, I was totally flummoxed!), it said 192, so I finally gave up and decided that 192 it is. I can't believe that I would have lost so much weight this week, and this makes me wonder if next week's weigh-in is going to "make up" for this week by being very disappointing. We shall see. Has anyone else had an experience like that, where your scale messes with your mind? It said 192 so many times finally that I guess I'll have to believe it. So, I have now (apparently) lost 14 pounds in 9 weeks - whoo hoo! I can't believe that I could be in the 180s soon! This definitely gives me renewed vigor to keep going...

I'm also excited because my Timmy-friend shall be here in a couple of hours, so this day is pretty faboo! He's spending the night and going home tomorrow evening. I have baked an apple pie in his honor, and am planning a craft for us tomorrow - we shall make spiders out of mini-pumpkins. If you're interested, all you do is paint the pumpkin and stem black, poke holes and insert 8 black pipe cleaners (I'm sorry - I just cannot get on board with this whole "chenille stem" crap!) and bend them to make legs, and stick on a pair of googly eyes. That's it! What could be simpler? I don't know what's up with me, but I'm feeling rather crafty this fall. I found another really easy idea for ghosts to line one's walkway, and I might do that in October. They involve wooden dowels, styrofoam balls, cheesecloth, etc. If I do make them, I'll take a pic and let you know how it goes. I'll be sure to take and share a pic of our spiders, too.

You may recall that I mentioned buying a computer desk last weekend in Springfield. Tim is bringing it with him today, and soon, we'll have our computer in our living room instead of the guest bedroom. I have mixed feelings about this. I don't exactly love the look of a computer monitor and printer in the living room, but I have finally gotten so sick of being sequestered every time I'm on the computer that I think I'm ready to compromise. I hate the fact that if I want/need to get online, I have to abandon Brian and Nick and go be alone in the "office", away from my peeps. This way, I can be on the computer and still be in the thick of things, and after Nick goes to bed, Brian can watch TV while I get online, but we'll still be together. So, I think we're really going to like it, once we get used to having the computer in the LR. To do so, we have to sacrifice our futon, which we'll really miss. We actually have it in its open, flat form, and we all love to sprawl upon it. But, something had to give! We'll just store it in the basement - we hope to buy a house when Brian retires that has a huge living room, so that we can fit in both the computer AND the futon! The only other little problem with this new arrangement will be training Nick not to destroy the computer. :) Hopefully, after a few days and some tough love, he'll get the message.

I can't believe that I just went on for so long about moving our computer. Could I BE more boring? I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. :)

We have decided on the darling dragon costume for Nick. I'm so excited! He's very cute in it. I think I'm going to have his portrait taken in it. I know - I'm absurd. :)

We're going to have a cable run into our basement soon, so that I can watch my new fall shows while walking on the treadmill. Yay! Right now, I can only watch DVDs, and that's OK, but it would be nice to get to kill two birds with one stone by exercising and watching my shows at the same time. These shows include Til Death, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and Desperate Housewives. I'm also going to check out the new Back to You, Private Practice, and Pushing Daisies. Yes, I know I watch too much TV. And you know what? I'm OK with it! :)

Apparently, I would ramble on all day if I allowed myself. So, I'm going to put an end to this right now! Over and out...

as you can see on the sidebar,....

...not only didn't I exercise in Springfield, but my little vacation seems to have been extended. I have such a huge problem with motivation! But, I'm bound and determined to end the vacation this evening. I'm going to do my fave workout video, this dance one with Denise Austin. It's so fun! Wish me luck as I attempt to get back on track...

back home, safe and sound

Well, it appears that I spoke too soon about the delights of fall. :( The high temps are back up around 90 now. Grrrrrrrrr! Why can't fall just come and stay awhile?

We had a very full weekend in Springfield. We arrived Saturday evening in time for Tim and his mom to come over and join us for pizza. Nick is like a nephew to Tim and like a grandson to Kathie, so they always love getting to bask in his utter cuteness. (Nick quote: "Old McDonald had a problem, E-I-E-I-O!") After dinner, Tim and I went out for a spot of shopping in his faboo new vehicle (a 2004 Buick Rendezvous). We found a Halloween costume possibility for Nick (a dragon), and also got a new computer desk for our living room.

Nick had been sickly and coughing, and we ended up taking him to the ER at 11:30 Saturday night. After waiting for 2 hours, he was finally seen and diagnosed with croup (the hallmarks of which are gasping for breath and a cough that sounds like a seal barking). It was very scary when he had an "attack," so we finally decided to take him in. He got a breathing treatment and a steroid shot, and he is now doing much better. Still not quite himself and a bit sedate, but no more barking or gasping. And of course, he charmed everyone in the ER. Every nurse we saw commented on his cuteness and loquaciousness. He loved getting to play with everyone's "stefoscope." We didn't get home until 3 a.m., so needless to say, we were all quite tired on Sunday.

We decided to go to Cider Days nonetheless, and had a nice time walking around and looking at the vendors' booths, etc. Nick was quiet and wanted to be carried a lot (lovely, except for the fact that he weighs 40 lbs.!), but he enjoyed seeing and petting all the dogs there. I actually ran into a college professor of mine, which was quite a surprise! I hadn't seen him in over 10 years. We had a really nice chat, and he enjoyed meeting Nick.

After Cider Days, Brian and I went out and did some shopping. Among other things, we found another Halloween costume possibility for Nick (a monkey), a new pair of walking shoes for me, and some fall clothes for Nick. After the shopping, we returned back to my Dad's house and Tim came by again for another visit.

After a deliciously long sleep on Sunday night, I got up this morning refreshed and went to get my hair cut by my longtime hairdresser and friend, Tracy. We had a great time chatting, and my hair is all freshened up!

Now, we're home again, and I've been getting some stuff done around the house. Tonight, I have choir rehearsal - yay!

So, that was our weekend. It's always fun to go to Springfield, but it's always quite busy and tiring, too. That's why I always love getting back to my own home and returning to my routine. Starting tomorrow, I can resume exercising and eating better, and just generally get back into the swing of things. (contented sigh)

Hope all of you reading this had a great weekend!

bravo!

Rebecca and I went to see the local community theater's production of the comic farce "Moon Over Buffalo" last night, and boy, were we impressed! This was the third production of theirs that I've seen, and the first comedy. It was so good, and so uproariously funny! The comic timing and delivery, not to mention the physical comedy, of all of the actors was just top-notch, and much better than I expected. It just goes to show what amazing things can be accomplished (even in a small town!) when like-minded people get together and pour their hearts into an endeavor. I would even consider going to see it again next weekend, which is a very rare compliment from me - I'm not a repeat-performance kind of person. So, I just want to say "Bravo!" to the Pulaski Fine Arts Association.

my busy week is almost over

First of all, I'm going to use my blog to give a shout-out to two of my favorite peeps in the whole world.

Patty, I love you! You are so steadfast in your reading of and commenting on my blog, and you have no idea how much I appreciate it. And it means so much to me that I have a kindred spirit who appreciates my vocabulary. A lot of people just seem puzzled by it. :) It's a small thing, but it really puts a smile on my face to know that you enjoy reading my blog. I miss you!

Amber, I want to thank you for your comments, too. I feel guilty, because I know that I haven't been very good at keeping in touch with you lately. Please know that it's not for a lack of affection. I really missed you at the meeting yesterday, and felt quite a twinge as I looked at last year's roster and saw your name. You have no idea how much it means to me when I see that you have commented on my blog, and how happy I am that we're still in touch. I do look at your dropshots page often, but I'm just lazy about commenting on it. Mea culpa!

I just love you two, and I wanted to make sure that you know how much you're appreciated and how highly you're regarded by me. I'm so lucky to have friends like you!

OK, on to more mundane things. We went to see my niece play volleyball against the local high school last night. She didn't get much floor-time, which was disappointing, but it was a rousing match, and her high school (my alma mater) thoroughly spanked the local school. Go, team! The annoying part was that we had to pay $4 each to get in to a freshman high school volleyball match! That seems rather extreme, and it got me thinking (and opining to Brian) about the fact that when I was in high school, people never had to pay to get into our choral concerts. What's up with that? The music department needs (and should demand) money, too. It just seems like a rather egregious double standard.

Tonight, I'm going with Rebecca to see the local community theater's production of the comic play "Moon Over Buffalo." I don't know anything about it, but productions I've seen them do in the past have been pretty good for community theater! I'm sure it'll be a fun evening. We're stopping by a cafe beforehand for some libation.

As you can see, my weight-loss has screeched to an almost complete halt. I'm rather discouraged. I started off like gangbusters, but I just can't seem to keep the momentum going, and it's starting to really get me down. :( To make matters worse, I'll be in Springfield over the weekend, so it'll be really hard for me to stick to my diet and exercising. I'll just do the best I can, and then try to get right back in the saddle next week. While in Springfield, I'll be attending a local fall festival, doing some shopping, and getting a haircut. Due to the trip, I probably won't be posting again until next week, so ciao for now!

tgif (thank goodness it's fall!!!)

The extent of my love for fall simply cannot be overstated. And this week, I'm beside myself, because for me, this week is truly the first week of fall.

You have to understand something about me. I hate to overuse a phrase, but the extent of my dislike for summer simply cannot be overstated. :) I hate heat, I hate humidity, I hate sweating, I hate bugs, I sunburn like nobody's business, and I won't wear a bathing suit or shorts that go above my knees. In addition, summer means no MOPS, no choir, and not seeing some of my favorite people. So, what's to like? Summer, for me, is like a terrible, hot, muggy exile. It's something that I struggle through, counting the days until glorious fall returns, with its crisp air, tolerable temperatures, lack of humidity and bugs, more flattering fashions, and most importantly - MOPS and choir!! Both of those things started this week, so I'm happy as a clam (Are clams unusually happy? What's up with this simile?).

The first choir rehearsal was nice, and we're doing some pretty Christmas music. I think that a couple of my peeps are going to join me in the choir this fall, so I'm pumped about that. And, I get to sing! Yes, it's only a community choir, but I'll take that over nothing any day.

And the first MOPS meeting was today. What a great time! We have a really fun group of people, and there were 3 zesty new people today (Two of them were there thanks to yours truly.). We played some fun games, which led to a surplus of laughter and jollity. And I was so happy to be back in my element, chatting with my peeps and being the social butterfly that I am. And there were some truly yummalicious snacks today! Of course, I totally blew my diet, but if I only do that two days a month, it's no big whoop. I got the best compliment out of the blue today. One of the other women in MOPS told me that she had read my blog, and she said that I'm a really good writer. That made my day! Listen, people - if you ever think something nice or complimentary about someone, open your mouth and tell them! It's amazing what a great ripple effect that can have. I always try to compliment people whenever I can - it just makes everyone involved feel warm and fuzzy.

So, to sum up, I'm just in a really good mood today. The temps are in the high 70s, I'm back in the swing of things, and life is good. Hope you're feeling the same way!

patriots' day

I don't think it's right to say "Happy Patriots' Day!", because it's not exactly a day to celebrate, given what it commemorates. Rather, it's a day for us to be mindful and aware, and above all else, a day to be thankful for our freedom, which is hard-won and never to be taken for granted. We our so lucky to live in this country and to take for granted things that other people can only dream about (or maybe can't even imagine). The dark side of this freedom that we have is the fact that it had to be fought for and that it continues, ALWAYS, to have to be fought for. I know I don't come off as an overly patriotic person, but I love my country and I realize what it means to be an American. When we were at the parade in St. James the other day, every time a group of veterans rode by, tears actually came to my eyes. It was very powerful to hear everyone applaud as they went by. When I think of all of the men and women in the history of our country who have fought for our freedom and the freedom of others, it fills me with awe and humility. I'm married to a soldier, and though he has never been in a war, the fact remains that he signed up to go to war if so called. That makes me very proud of him. Someone has to do it, and my husband is (potentially) one of those someones.

I'll stop rambling now. Today, please stop and think just for a minute about the freedoms that we have here, the freedoms that others in the world want to destroy. Think about how lucky we are, and how brave and selfless are the people who have fought and who continue to fight for America. And if you see a member of our military, please thank him or her for serving.

We are all so incredibly blessed!

a lovely saturday/the calm before the storm

My Dad came up yesterday, and we decided to make the 30-min. drive to nearby St. James to check out their annual Grape and Fall Festival, which has apparently been going on since 1934. (The "Grape" refers to the existence of the award-winning St. James Winery, for whose delicious wines I can personally vouch.) They were having a street market, which was nice enough to wander through, although there was nothing there that was really "me." Mostly country stuff. Nick had a great time running around and petting all the dogs, though. We bought some kettle corn, but it was decidedly underwhelming. I was tempted by the funnel cakes, but decided to take the high road. :) They had free face-painting, and Nick got the cutest turquoise snake with red stripes painted on his cheek. He was very proud of it, and was careful not to rub his cheek all day!

The highlight of our morning was the parade, which lasted nearly an hour! We kept thinking that surely it was over, but we'd look down the street and see that it was still coming. I'll admit that I had a preconception that it would be a "dinky, small-town parade", and while it was somewhat dinky, it was also a lot of fun!! There were all manner of classic cars and tractors, horses, clowns, cheerleaders, several middle- and high-school marching bands, floats, etc. An old Army plane even flew over a couple of times. The best part, as far as Nick was concerned, was all the candy that was thrown to him. He thought it was great fun to get to collect the candy off of the street, and he ended up with quite a haul. It was a good ole small-town parade, in the best sense of the phrase. We declared that it shall have to become an annual tradition.

After the parade, we headed back towards home, stopping in nearby Rolla to have lunch and do a bit of shopping. I got Nick some jeans and cords at KMart for $3.50 each, and a faboo plaid flannel shirt for $4.80. Can't beat that! It was amazing - the rain that had been threatening all day held off for us during the street market, the parade, and all of our shopping, and didn't start until we were heading home from Rolla. How serendipitous is that? Poor Nick didn't get a nap, and he simply couldn't keep his eyelids up on the drive home. As soon as we arrived home, though, he was rarin' to go again. :)

When we got home, I made homemade chili (yum! - thanks, Angela!), and we ate it with green salads. A great dinner for a rainy, gloomy day. All-in-all, it was a really nice day, and we all had a good time.

Today has been very lazy, which is good, because you can see on the sidebar that I have a very busy week coming at me. The busiest week I've had in recent memory, really! I'm sort of looking forward to it, but I know it'll be crazy. I'm worried that it'll be harder for me to (make the effort to) fit in exercising, so I'll have to try really hard to be good. I always do pretty well when life is going along at a normal, manageable pace, but as soon as a busy, "out-of-the-ordinary" time comes up, exercising is the first thing to go. I hate that I'm not more disciplined! :(

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a good upcoming week...

i need my mojo back!

Well, as you can see, I didn't lose anything this week. Drat! I admit that I cheated earlier in the week and weighed myself, and at one point I weighed 196, but today the scale said 197, so that's all she wrote. I'm not really surprised, since I didn't exercise for most of the week due to my illness. I'm really worried, though, because the double-whammy of the two colds has really knocked me for a loop, and I feel like this time, I've totally misplaced my motivation to get back in the saddle and exercise. I did exercise the past couple of days, but it was half-hearted at best. I just don't feel that zest for it anymore, and I need to get it back, fast! Otherwise, I'm afraid that this will end just like all of my other failed attempts at weight-loss: in failure! After so many weeks, I'm disappointed that I haven't even broken the 10-pound barrier. It's just so slow and agonizing, and I'm getting so sick of having to constantly think about what I should and shouldn't eat, counting calories, denying myself, forcing myself to exercise when I don't want to. It's sucking all the joy out of my life! I don't know - maybe I'm hormonal today or something. I'm in a really foul, defeatist mood. If anyone can say anything to snap me out of it, I'd be much obliged. I really feel like throwing in the towel.

In other news, this morning turned into a bit of an adventure. I was mere moments from arriving at playgroup when my cell phone rang. It was my friend Jutta, and she had locked herself out of her house! She couldn't get into her car, either, and she and her son were stuck outside in the pouring rain. So, I diverted from playgroup and went to get her. She finally got someone from the housing office to let her in to her house, and we went inside for our own private playdate. The boys were both total handfuls - pushing, grabbing, yelling, etc. It was exhausting! We had a nice enough visit, but it could have been much nicer if not for the children. :) Nonetheless, she plied me with her wonderful homemade baked goods and some tea. Going to her house is always dangerous, although not as bad as it could be, as Germans bake with much less sugar and oil than Americans. Everything she makes is absolutely delectable, and I always feel pampered when I'm there. Today was no different.

This afternoon, I got to chat with both Rebecca and Tim, so I've had a rather social day. I still just can't seem to shake this funk I'm in! Help!

back from the dead

I've literally been in bed for the vast majority of the past two days, feeling absolutely miserable, but today, I've turned the corner! I woke up this morning and felt so much better! I'm out of bed, and have even been somewhat productive, cutting the boys' hair, processing photos, and doing other little putzy things around the house. One nice thing that I did whilst in bed was to watch The Sound of Music on ABC Family. What a classic. I love Julie Andrews, and Christopher Plummer cut such a dashing figure in that film! :)

Not much to say, really. Just wanted to shout from the rooftops that I'm getting over my blasted cold!!!

Hopefully by tomorrow, I'll be back in the swing of exercising again.

you take the good, you take the bad

As you can see, I have amended yesterday's weigh-in. Last night, I went back and looked at Thursday's food journal (the day before the weigh-in), and realized that my sodium intake was sky-high. Usually, it's within the proper limits, but for whatever reason, I just happened to choose foods on Thursday that added up to a whole lotta sodium. So, I wondered if my .5-lb. loss was just a function of water retention. I decided to break my weigh-in rule (Thou shalt not weigh more than once a week!) and weigh myself again this morning. I was right! I weighed 197 rather than yesterday's 198. I decided that I would take the liberty of changing yesterday's weight to 197. :) So, a 1.5-lb. loss is way more palatable. Go, me!

Yesterday, we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, but I was really proud of myself. I chose a salad with fried chicken in it. Yes, the chicken was fried, but I very mindfully chose to "sin" in that fashion. To counteract that, I got my shredded cheese on the side and only sprinkled a small amount on the salad. Also, I gave several pieces of the chicken to Nick and Brian, along with half of the hard-boiled egg. I eschewed croutons. And I mixed full-fat and non-fat ranch dressing to make my own lite dressing, and used my best calorie-control trick of all: Don't put the dressing on your salad. Rather, dip your fork in it before spearing each bite of salad. You'll get a taste of dressing with each bite, but you'd be absolutely amazed at how little dressing you end up using! You should try it if you haven't already. The salad was really good, and when I was done, I felt satisfied, but not overly full.

Here are a couple more pictures for your viewing pleasure -

That was the good. The bad is that I am now afflicted by yet another full-blown, miserable cold. Gah! It's just unfair. I guess this is what's going to happen to me now that Nick's in preschool. I'm going to go back to bed...

i'm feeling disappointed

Well, I only lost 1/2 of a pound this week. I know that I should just be happy that I'm still moving in the right direction, but after losses of 3 and 2.5 lbs., .5 just seems pretty lame. I really thought/hoped I'd lose more! I've been working out quite faithfully, and am in fact very sore today. I had really hoped that in 6 weeks' time, my loss would be at more like 10 or 12 lbs. rather than 8. Oh, well. I just have to keep my resolve up and hope for a better week this time. Patty, please come to my aid with some commiseration and words of wisdom and encouragement!

Not much else to say today. I sort of feel like I'm getting a cold yet again, which is just utterly crappy. I mean, I never get sick! And here I am, getting sick again on the heels of the Great Voice Loss of 2007. :) It's weird. What's up with my immune system?

I'm really not in as bad a mood as this post would suggest. Sorry if it was a downer! It's a pretty slow day for news...

doin' a little mental happy dance

The reason for the aforementioned cha-cha-cha is that I just found out that Angela knows how to play backgammon!! It's rather eerie the things we have in common: we both sing, we both share all 3 initials, we both have one or more tattoos :), etc.

Anywho, I LOVE backgammon. When I was a young kid (less than 10, probably), we got a backgammon set. My brother and I learned how to play and would sit in our rec-room and play constantly - we were rather obsessed with it. I remember that my Mom always put the potato chips in this big, tall, orange Tupperware container, and we'd tip that puppy on its side on the game table so that we could chow down whilst playing backgammon. :) We had all these weird superstitious things we'd do, like if we wanted to roll a certain number with the dice, we'd say a strange incantation and tap the dice cup on the other person's head. We were rather freakish. That is actually one of the few really fond memories I have involving my brother - I'll cherish it always. After my brother moved out when I was 14, we'd still play from time to time, but it eventually dwindled to nothing as he got busy being an adult.

When I was a freshman in college, I taught my best friend, Thea, how to play, and we ended up playing it obsessively, too, along with rummy and Canasta. We'd take the backgammon set to Taco Bell late at night and play while we ate our Mexican pizzas. That summer, Thea tragically died in a car accident, and I really haven't played backgammon since then. I tried to teach Brian how to play, but it's just not his thing. So, I was overjoyed to find out that I FINALLY know someone who can play and enjoys it! We played 3 games today, and I have a feeling that it could become a bit of an obsession with us, as well. Backgammon rocks! I'm such a dork. :)

On a side note, if you've never tried No Pudge Fat-Free Brownies, I HIGHLY recommend that you do. They couldn't be easier to make - you literally just stir the mix together with some non-fat yogurt and pop it in the oven. Each brownie has 110 calories and no fat (they're kind of high in sugar, but you can't have everything!), and more importantly, they actually taste good! I know - it sounds impossible, but they're pretty amazing for being fat-free. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Those are my random thoughts for the day.

say hello.....

...to my little friend!


Yup - I went and did it, and I love it! It's on the inside of my left ankle. I've always wanted one, but was too chicken to actually go through with it. Enter my new neighbor, Angela, a fun-lovin' gal who has two tattoos already and wants another one. And, of course, she wants me to go with her. And one things leads to another, and....there you have it! It definitely hurt, but wasn't unbearable. I might even get one more someday. One never knows! Now, for the advertising portion of my post: My tattoo was done by Will Spencer at Show Me Skin Art on Missouri Ave. He's awesome! The shop is bright, clean, and inviting, and very safe. So, if you want a tattoo, go there. :)

Here is a picture of Nick on his first day of preschool, clutching his Cars case:

Not much else to report today. My delightful friend Rebecca is coming over this evening with her husband, Andy, and her 2.5-year-old, Cooper. The boys (and the moms) know each other from playgroup. So, I'm looking forward to that.

I already knocked out my exercise for the day, so the rest of the day is smooth sailing...

i'm out of the twos!!! i'm into the ones!!!

I'm simply beside myself, because I have lost 2.5 pounds this week, and I now weigh 198.5, the first time I've been in the "ones" in 4 years. It feels so incredible. And it was totally unexpected, because I didn't feel like I'd been very "good" this week, especially considering my pig-out at Applebee's on Sunday. Maybe there IS something to the theory that if you pig out one or two days a week, it "revs up" your metabolism so that you burn even more calories, even when your eating goes back to normal. Maybe I should pig out every Sunday! :)

Brian says that he can see the weight-loss, but I'm a bit dubious about that. I don't really feel like I look any thinner, and my clothes still feel the same. I think that when you're starting at 206, you have to lose considerably more than 7.5 lbs. for it to start showing. But, it's very sweet of him to say that, nonetheless. He's been so supportive of me, just like always.

In other news, I think that Nick has given up his paci, just like that, totally out of the blue! He still uses (used) it only when sleeping, and it really didn't bother me that much, as it stayed in his crib. I had started thinking, though, that it was really time to let it go, so I hadn't bought any more new ones. Well, he was using his last one, and it was looking pretty gross. When he woke up yesterday morning, I said "You know, your paci is getting pretty gross, and we don't have any more. I think it might be time to think about letting it go soon, because you're a big boy, and you don't really need it anymore." I had no intention of making him give it up right away - I was just trying to plant a seed. Well, he said "OK - I'll throw it away!" and proceeded to plop it in the trash, just like that! I said "Are you sure?" and he said "Yes." When he took his nap yesterday and went to bed last night, he asked about it, but he wasn't upset at all, and I just said "Remember? You threw it away because you're a big boy." He was just like "Oh, OK!" and was totally fine. He slept just fine without it. It's so funny - I was expecting the giving up of the paci to be this big, drawn-out affair, fraught with consternation, and instead, it happened almost as an afterthought. Kids can be so astounding sometimes!

I have to go and clean my kitchen. I've been giving my whole house a really good cleaning this week, and I just have the kitchen left. Then, the whole place will be fabulously clean, if only for a fleeting moment. I'm looking forward to next week, when I can just relax while Nick is at preschool, instead of rushing home and feverishly cleaning my house the whole time!

Over and out...

nick is officially a preschooler!

The first day of preschool was a success! I got Nick this cute little Cars soft-side lunchbox - not to hold lunch, but to hold Pull Ups, wipes, and a change of clothes. It's just the right size. He's very fond of it, and clutched it proudly this morning as we made our way to preschool. I paused to take some pics of him before we left. One of these days, when I get around to it, I will share said pics with you.

He was momentarily concerned when he realized that I was going to leave him there, but he quickly got over that and jumped into the fray. His teachers are Miss "Ula" (Ursula, a German lady), Miss Meranda, and Miss Trinesha. They seem nice, and the classroom is really neat and full of fun stuff.

While Nick was busy being a preschoolian, I went home and actually cleaned part of my house! It felt so good. I don't know that I've ever let my home get quite this dusty before. But, by the end of the week, it'll be all clean again, God willin' and the crick don't rise. :)

When I went back to get him, he did NOT want to go! That's always a good sign. While he didn't use the potty during preschool, he did ask to use it as we were leaving, so I took him into the restroom, where he went pee-pee on the potty! Whoo hoo! Baby steps. I will be absolutely thrilled if he ever actually tells his teachers he needs to go potty.

On the ride home, Nick regaled me with tales of preschool life, including playing with trains and trucks, singing "Three Little Monkeys," and having apple juice and animal crackers. During snack time, he revealed to me, "the pink kid spilled." He has a habit of referring to people by the color of their clothes, something that has caused some embarrassing moments when he has called attention to someone wearing black. Out of the mouths of babes!

When we got home, Nick decided that a screening of Cars would be the perfect way to unwind after a hard morning's work. And now, he's napping, so I'm blogging...

back home

Well, I'm back from Springfield, after a nice weekend. I got a fresh haircut, spent lots of time with Tim and my Dad, and even ran into a couple of old college friends whom I hadn't seen in years! I got a new pair of jeans at JCPenney and some neat stuff at the 1 Spot in Target. And my solos went well on Sunday. Not what I would consider my absolute best, but fine by everyone else's standards. And, I got my money, so that's what really matters. :) And the capper to the weekend was a rip-roarin' dinner with Tim, Dad, my sister, and my two teen nieces. We were so ridiculous and loud and immature that I'm sure the whole restaurant hated us. :) God, it was fun. Good times. What life is all about, really.

I didn't eat very angelically while I was there, which I had realized would happen. Actually, it was really only yesterday that I totally blew it, when we had dinner at Applebee's. But, I'm back home with no plans to return to Springfield for several weeks, so I'm ready to buckle down and be "good" again.

Nick had his preschool developmental RE-screening today, which thankfully went way better than the first one. It would seem that the environment made all the difference. Whereas the first screening had millions of kids everywhere and lots of distractions, this one was a private appointment, one-on-one with the screeners, in a closed office. And apparently, he did great. (I wasn't in the room.) The main screener emerged afterwards and said "He's such a hoot!" I just love it that other people think my son is a hoot. That's the best endorsement I could think of!

to quote one of nick's potty books,....

"I'm so proud of me!" Not because I went pee-pee on the potty, but because I have now lost 5 pounds, and I'm almost out of the 200s. The day I weigh 199 will be such a great day. I know that losing 7 pounds isn't really a huge thing, but you have to understand that it's been 4 years since my weight started with a "1". So, it's more of a psychological thing. I can't wait to ditch the "2"s! I'm feeling so accomplished and empowered today, and I'm just going to ride the wave...

wish me luck....

...because tomorrow is weigh-in day. I'm a bit trepidatious, because I haven't been quite as angelic as I should this past week. We shall see what happens. This is so hard! Wah! Why can't losing weight be easy??? Okay, I'm done being a baby now. :) Not much else to say right now. I'll be out of town this weekend, so I won't be posting. I'll try to get on tomorrow morning and at least post my weight before I leave for Springfield. If any of you are "So You Think You Can Dance" fans, who do you think will win tonight? I'm not sure - I think it will probably be a girl. I sort of hope it's Sabra.

well, the day just took a turn for the worse...

We took our Chevy Malibu in to the dealership because the horns won't honk when you press the steering wheel. We know the horns work, because they honk when we use our keyless entry. We figured it was just a loose wire to the steering wheel or something. Well, they just called and told us that we need a new airbag module, and it's going to cost $850. OMG. >:( I hate having to own two cars - it's just one frickin' thing after another!!!

random ramblings

My Dad was here for the past couple of days, which was nice. Brian had to go out of town overnight, so my Dad stepped in to keep me company. :) We took Nick bowling, which was really fun. I did quite well - a 159! I had 2 strikes and about 5 spares, which is nothing to sneeze at. I'm a pretty good bowler, but I'm just not consistent. Nick even did pretty decently with the bumpers, and got a few spares by sheer luck.

I also took my Dad to the commissary so he could stock up on some stuff. I like taking him places, but he moves so slowly, and sometimes I find myself getting very frustrated at the pace. :) But, I just need to remind myself that there's no fire and no bear chasing me! :)

We ate out while he was here, but I did quite well. At Wendy's, I had a 5-piece chicken nugget and a baked potato, and at Cracker Barrel, I had a grilled chicken breast, corn, green beans, and just 1 biscuit with jam. What a departure! I'm really proud of myself. It's pretty much impossible to keep my online food journal when I eat out like that, but I'm hoping that I didn't go over too much on my calories. For the next few days, I'll just be hanging out around the house, so I should be able to get back on track. But this weekend, I'm going to Springfield, so I don't know how that's going to go. My Dad just doesn't have appropriate food, and I don't love the idea of taking a bunch of stuff with me. And, we tend to eat out when I'm there. I'll just have to make the best choices I can.

Two days ago, Angela and I tried this new Denise Austin dance aerobics video, and it was pretty fun, though very difficult at times to keep up with all the new moves. We had enough hubris to do the whole 55 minutes, and now I'm very sorry. I'm so incredibly sore!! For the time being, when I do that video, I'm only going to do 30 minutes of it. I need to work up to the whole thing. That's typical for me, though - getting all gung ho and biting off way more than I can chew. When will I learn? Tonight, we're going to go walking.

I'm getting really concerned about my singing gig on Sunday, because I'm STILL hoarse, and my singing voice is nowhere near back to snuff. At this point, I'm afraid I'll have to cancel, which really bums me out. I love the song I'm supposed to do (Mozart's "Laudate Dominum"), and I just really want to be able to do it. Sometimes it's so frustrating being a singer and having my "instrument" be susceptible to stuff I have no control over. :(

My poor child is having a bad day. I think he's just full of way too much energy, since he hasn't been outside in ages due to the extreme heat. He's just very contrary, disobedient, and quick to cry today. This heat wave has got to break!

Tomorrow is preschool orientation....

the amazing shrinking stomach

So, for 6 days, I only ate at home, and I carefully tracked my calories and kept them in check. Then, last night, I was faced with the first BBQ invitation during my weight-loss campaign. We went to the BBQ, and I was bound and determined to control myself. I thought I was being so good! I ate just one hamburger with some ketchup and mustard, about 8 oven-baked fries, a helping of this tomato and sour cream salad, and a small amount of broccoli salad. Probably too many calories by my new standards, but way less food than I would have eaten in the past. Well, when I got done, I felt totally AWFUL! I mean, I felt bloated and disgusting and sluggish and my stomach actually hurt. And even worse, this feeling persisted for a couple of hours afterward. It totally blew my mind. Obviously, even in just 6 days of dieting, my stomach must have shrunk a little or at least gotten "used" to less food. I was just miserable. I guess that's actually a good thing. I really don't want to feel that way ever again, so I'm going to do my best not to! The body's ability to adapt and change really amazes me. And I'm proud of myself, because even though I felt so gross, I made myself do my 30-min. aerobics video and I got through it. Not a huge amount of exercise, but better than nothing.

I bought a new workout DVD today (I need some variety!) and also ordered the Gazelle Edge elliptical machine (that one marketed by Tony Little). I just need to surround myself with different ways to exercise, I think. I get bored very easily, like a 5-year-old! :) But, with my newfound determination and a little help from my friends (you know who you are!), I think I'm finally on my way....

whoo-hoo!

I may still be sickly and voice-impaired today, but I'm also thrilled, because I lost 3 pounds this week! Yay! Technically, with last week's 1-lb. gain, I guess I've really only lost 2, but I'll still take that.

I don't really feel well enough, but I'm going to go ahead and force myself to exercise tonight - I really hate to go more than 3 days without it. Angela and I are going to check out the indoor walking track at Davidson Fitness Center and see how we like it. Any time this stifling, miserable heat-wave wants to abate is fine by me!

My latest cheap-o personalized note cards came yesterday from vistaprint.com. They're so zesty - something small like that can really make my whole day. I actually got 2 sets - stylized floral ones with my name and cute train ones with Nick's name. I admit that I'm a bit obsessed with ordering note cards from vistaprint! :)

could my son BE any cuter?!

I'm still feeling pretty bad today, so Brian went to the commissary after work to get us some groceries. I told Nick that he was doing this, and Nick said "He's a sweet man." :) This is reminiscent of what he said the other day while we were watching Ellen DeGeneres: "I like that Ellen - she's a wonderful person." I swear I don't make these things up!

i've had a bad day

I hate to be Negativa, queen of Pessimismos, but that's just who I am right now. For one thing, I have totally lost my voice - my mild cold seems to have led to laryngitis. It sucks! For another thing, I took Nick to a preschool developmental assessment today, and it was horrible. He was totally spazzy and unable to sit still, focus, and do what they wanted him to. That, coupled with my lack of voice, was just too much for me. And all day since then, he's been really disobedient and contrary, and I can't even take a firm tone with him! :) So, I'm bummed. I had to schedule a re-screening, but I really don't believe it will be any better. This is always how he's been. Sometimes, I really wonder if he has ADD. I know that sounds extremist, but as time goes by and I see his behavior and I read stuff about it, he rather fits the profile. We've enrolled him in preschool - just 2 days a week, 3 hours a day. It starts in two weeks. I'm really concerned about how he'll do in that environment. I can just see him being the kid who is spazzy and unfocused and won't sit in his chair and actually cooperate with anything. I hope he proves me wrong; or at least, if he starts that way, I hope that after a while he settles in and improves. Today, I'm just really worried about it and concerned for him. I know I just need to take a deep breath and not freak out or get all maudlin about it, but that's easier said than done. Oh, and did I mention that I'm hungry? :)

well, blow me down!

Today, I did something I should have done a long time ago - I picked up a brochure at McDonald's with the nutritional info for all of its foods. OMG! I mean, it's not like I didn't know the stuff was high in calories, fat, sodium, etc., but to see it all in print is pretty sobering. While I was there, I had a relatively healthful lunch of a hamburger and a fruit & walnut salad. Go, me! Anywho, it's funny, because in a previous blog, I wrote about how I was proud of myself for choosing a cone instead of an M&M McFlurry. Boy, I did not realize just how stupendous of a choice that was. Here's the scoop (pun intended): a cone has 150 cals., 3.5 grams fat, 15 grams chol., 60 mgs sodium, 24 grams carb., 18 grams sugar. By comparison, an M&M McFlurry has (are you ready?) 620 cals.(!), 20 grams fat, 55 grams chol., 190 grams sodium, 96 grams carb., and 85 grams sugar. I can tell you one thing: seeing that info in black and white pretty much ensured that I will never again have a McFlurry! There really is power in knowledge. There are a few things at McD's that are decent choices, like the hamburger, 4-piece chicken nuggets, anything with grilled chicken, apple dippers, parfait, and cone. So, take heart! You can still eat pretty decently there, as long as you know what to get and what to avoid.

I'm doing well sticking to my 1800 calories a day (Yesterday, with exercise, I netted under 1500!), but I'm constantly hungry! I keep telling myself that my stomach will shrink and the hunger will abate eventually, but it's hard to soldier through. Even as I type, my stomach is growling and I feel slightly nauseated. But, I still have 630 calories to go today, and it's already almost 7 p.m. So, I guess I should go eat something!....

very useful website

I recently discovered a really cool website: My Calorie Counter (see link on sidebar). On it, you can enter the foods you eat and track not only your calories for each day, but also other things like fat, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, protein, etc. You can set it up with your target totals for all these things, and it will keep a running total and tell you what your remaining balance is for each. You can also enter your exercise each day, and it will subtract those calories for you. It has a large database of foods, so once you look up a food and enter it in your journal, it will save that food so you don't have to look it up again. If you can't find a food, you can do a custom entry and enter the info yourself - again, it will save it so you only have to enter it once. Be careful - I did find that on some of the foods its database has, the info differed somewhat from what it said on my food packaging. If there was much of a difference, I just created a custom entry for that food using the info on the packaging. If, like me, you tend to eat a lot of the same foods from one day to another, it will initially be somewhat time-consuming to enter everything for the first time, but once you've got most of your foods entered, subsequent entries will be very quick. It's really user-friendly and pretty efficient. There are other tools as well, including a measurements tracker, a blog, etc.

It's pretty neat to see everything laid out in front of you in black and white, so I'd definitely recommend giving it a try! To have access to all of the features, you do have to pay a membership fee - you can pay $20 for 6 months or $35 for a year, so it's pretty cheap. I'm going to try it for 6 months and see what I think.

well, color me discouraged

I'm pretty darn downtrodden right now, because I GAINED a pound this week! I've been working my butt off exercising, feeling really good about it, and I was positive that I would see the fruit of my labor when I stepped on the scale. Gah! Why is it so hard? I mean, if I was maintaining my weight for the past 3 years while doing no exercise whatsoever, doesn't it make sense that if I went from doing no exercise to doing about 45 mins. a day, I would lose weight? It just makes me feel like it's all for naught, and I might as well give up. I'm not going to give up, but right now, I sure feel like it. In the past, this has always been the point where things have gone downhill - when I've worked so hard and been sure that I had lost weight, but then hadn't. I'm the kind of person that really needs a concrete reward for my efforts, ya know? I need tangible evidence that what I'm doing is actually accomplishing something. Now, I know all the arguments - even if I haven't lost weight, I'm certainly more healthy and fit; I might have gained muscle; maybe I've lost inches but no weight....but the fact remains that I have a lot of weight to lose, and so far, nothing has really happened! I'm not asking for some huge weight loss - just 1-2 lbs. a week would thrill me to no end. But to gain a pound during a week when I've been working my butt off is just so insulting. Harrumph. Grrrr. Sigh.

Sorry for the ranting and venting, but then, I guess that's what my blog is for. I could really use some encouragement right now to help me keep going. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Please, someone, say something positive and hopeful, and tell me that my efforts WILL pay off! Thanks...