the concert is over...

...and it went OK. A couple of the songs had some issues, but we made it through. And my solo (O, Holy Night) went very well. I got lots of kudos, which is always nice! My Dad and my friends Jutta and Rebecca came, which made it even more special. After the concert, we all enjoyed some cookies and punch at the post-concert reception, and then Mike (Army band member who sang in the choir as well) went out to dinner with me, Brian, Nick, and my Dad. It was a lovely, if tiring, day. During the evening, I worked on my Christmas cards and just relaxed and watch Desperate Housewives. I'm really looking forward to slipping 'twixt my delicious flannel sheets...

bye-bye, 180s!/random acts of kindness

First of all, I lost 3 more pounds this week, putting me into the 170s. Whoo hoo! I can't believe how far I've come. I can't remember the last time I weighed 178 pounds. I can't believe I'm in a size 14 jean. Boy, that's a lot of negatives for a girl in such a positive mood! :) Happiness. That's all.

Now for my second topic: random acts of kindness (RAKs). Recently, they discussed RAKs in Nick's preschool class, and the teachers sent home a sheet where they wanted us to record 5 RAKs performed by our child. That was pretty easy, as Nick is a sweet boy. These included such things as offering me a bite of his food, telling me he loved me out of the blue, etc.

This got me to thinking about RAKs. I remember years ago when that phrase became popular, putting a specific label on something that all of humankind should be doing naturally. I do my best to perform little RAKs most every day - things like telling someone I like her earrings, sending an email to a friend just because, etc. If I'm at WalMart and I see something that I know a friend wants or needs, I'll just pick it up for her. Stuff like that. But, I've always wanted to up the ante a little bit - kick it up a notch, if you will. Do something a little more off-the-wall and truly "random." For several years now, I have harbored the idea of paying for the person behind me in the McDonald's drive-through. I've wanted to do this for the longest time, but it seems like I never think of it when I'm actually IN the drive-through - just at other times. Well, today, I finally thought of it when I was actually there; I'm sure that this was caused in part by the warm, fuzzy Christmas spirit that has fully bloomed within me over the past week. Anywho, I got to the window and paid for my food, and then I said "I want to pay for the next person." The employee said "The woman in the van?", and I said "Sure!" It took her a minute to catch on - at first, she thought that I knew this person. I explained to her that I didn't know her from Eve and was just performing a holiday RAK. She acted like that was the coolest thing she'd ever heard of. I told her to just tell the woman that I said "Merry Christmas," and that I hope she'll pay it forward (Jill - you and I are of a similar mind lately!) by doing a RAK for someone else. Here's the best part: I looked in my rear-view mirror as the woman pulled up to the window. She held out her money, listened for a second, and then got a huge grin on her face. She waved at me, and I waved back, and then it was time for me to drive away. She didn't know who I was and will never know, and that is so cool! It wasn't about recognition - it was just about making someone's day. And I'm not going on about this in my blog to get kudos for it - honest! I'm going on about it because it felt even better than I thought it would. I have had my own grin pasted on my face ever since I got home, and I still get a rush just thinking about it.

So here's what I say to everyone reading this post: I challenge you to perform your own truly random act of kindness ASAP, whether it be the drive-through thing or something else. Be creative! Then, comment on this post and tell me about it. Let's start a sensation!

Merry Christmas to all.

last choir rehearsal

Last night was the last rehearsal before the Rolla Chamber Singers concert on Sunday. Let's just say that there will be some good moments and some very tenuous ones. I'm a bit concerned about some of the pieces. But, we've reached the point where there's nothing more to be done, and we'll just have to see what happens at the concert. Sometimes, that "concert adrenaline" can work miracles. :) And this is certainly the perfect time of year for one of those!

I also rehearsed my solo ("O, Holy Night") in front of the choir, and it went OK. Again, it had a couple of places that I wasn't happy with, but hopefully, I'll have it ship-shape by Sunday. I always love singing this song at Christmas, so I'm glad to have the opportunity.

Our director recently announced that this will be his last concert with the RCS, as he is stepping down. It was quite a shocker, and I have mixed feelings about it. My main concern is that the choir will fall by the wayside. The choir president said that we won't do a concert next semester, but that a new director will be found and we will resume next fall, but I have to admit that I'm very dubious of this. The choir has dwindled over the past couple of years, and many of the members are older people. There just doesn't seem to be much passion for it among the members, and I fear that this loss of our director will be the fatal blow. I also think that it will be a tall order for them to find another director. Basically, I'm expecting that we will not resume, so that if we do, I'll just be pleasantly surprised. While this choir is admittedly not fabulous, it's still a choir to sing in, and it's the only one available to me here. So, if it is over, I will be quite sad and bereft of a singing outlet. :( Only time will tell...

Nick is at preschool, so I'm off to make the most of the next 1.5 hours!

whew! the decorating is finished...

Well, I'm finally done festooning the house for the holidays, and it looks lovely. As usual, it's rather overdone, but what can I say? I like it that way. Yesterday, I started at 11 a.m. and worked until 9 p.m., stopping only to eat, pee, and get online briefly. My saint of a husband kept Nick occupied away from the house all day so that I could work uninterrupted. I got the mantel and entertainment center all done, as well as the other interior decor, and got my "secondary" trees up and decorated. During Nick's nap, Brian helped me put up the big tree, and I got it all fluffed and ready to decorate. I chatted with Tim on the phone whilst I fluffed, which made the chore much less onerous. Today, I put all 8,541,236 ornaments on the big tree (it's really very out of control), and we did the outside stuff. And hallelujah - we're done! We can now enjoy the beauty for 5 weeks or so, until it's time to dismantle it and pack it all away again. Sometimes, I wonder if it's worth it, but then when I get it all up, I remember that it most definitely is.

Exercising went by the wayside yesterday, for the 4th day in a row, but tonight, I'm heading down to the basement to walk and ellipse :) while I watch Desperate Housewives.

Here are some pics of my wonderland:
1) my kitschy white kitchen tree, with glittering balls of colorful goodness
2) my real aluminum tree from the 1950s, with various balls in shades of blue
3) the big living room tree - no theme - just ornaments that I love or that mark particular events in our lives
4) my mantel
5) my entertainment center, which has my Santa collection in addition to pictures with Santa, including two from MY childhood!

christmastime is here; happiness and cheer!

This morning when Brian went into Nick's room to get him up, Nick said "This is terrible! My car is under my bed yet again, and yet again, I must go under the bed and get it!"

As you can see, I only gained a pound from Thanksgiving, which I find to be a happy surprise. The way I ate left me believing that the damage would be much worse. :) A pound I can handle! This week, I should be able to exercise and eat well with no problem, so hopefully, I can lose that pound and maybe a bit more.

Thanksgiving was lovely. My Dad and I had a bit of snarkiness with each other as we tried to prepare the turkey (neither of us had ever done one before), but you have to understand that with us, snarkiness is our language. It's how we relate, so really, it was nothing out of the ordinary. It's our way of sharing our love. :) Our friend Mike (from the Army band) drove to Springfield to join us, and my entire family descended upon the paternal home. We had ridiculous amounts of sumptuous food, including all the classics and 3 kinds of pie! My sister made my Mom's sausage stuffing, as she always does, and it was faboo as usual. Everything was great, really. I really enjoyed getting to bond with my nieces, as that doesn't happen nearly enough. And Mike brought some delicious wine, so some of us were really feelin' the love! :) I'll admit that I got pleasantly tipsy. Later in the evening, Tim stopped by to visit, much to Nick's delight. All-in-all, it was a heart-warming, lovely day.

Yesterday, we didn't do much. I went to see the movie "Enchanted" with Tim (after stopping by his house for a lunch of leftovers), and we liked it! It was cute and funny, and quite refreshing. I recommend it. We came home yesterday evening, stopping for dinner at Steak 'n' Shake on the way. Yum!

Now, it's Saturday morning, and as soon as I am all caught up online, the Christmas decorating shall commence...

happy thanksgiving, everyone!

We're leaving for Springfield this evening, so I wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. Though not my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving is something I cherish, because there's no gifts or hoopla - just a day with family, eating good food and reflecting on all of the blessings in our lives. There's certainly something to be said for that! I hope that everyone has a good day tomorrow, and let's all remember to be thankful for what we have. We'll have about 14 or so people at my Dad's house, so it's sure to be a rip-roarin' good time! :) On Friday, I'm going to just relax - maybe go to a movie. I will most certainly NOT be hitting the stores - no bargain is worth it to me to go out shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. Will you be shopping that day? If so, where will you go?

We'll be back on Friday evening or Saturday morning, and then the Christmas decorating shall commence...:)

how bazaar!

Went to this craft bazaar thing today with friends Jutta and Rebecca. It was much less lame than I thought it would be. I'm such a skeptic. :) I only spent a few dollars, but what I got was really zesty and a great value! Can't reveal - it's a Christmas present for a couple of my peeps. I just had a nice time chatting with J and R - they're both quite lovely. Rebecca has sarcasm to rival mine, which makes me very happy. We spent quite a bit of time just walking around, and then we went to Jutta's house, where we were plied with tea and German baked goodness (and great music being played on the computer by Jutta's husband!). I got home much later than I had anticipated, and I'm feeling quite guilty, because I had all of these domestic chores that I was going to do which have gone undone. I did work out this morning, though, thank goodness! I realized that out of the past 10 days, I'd only worked out 3, which will NOT do. So, if I only did one thing today, I'm glad that I did that.

Nick quote for the day: "I'm going to call Handy Manny so he can fix my train. Yeah, he'll fix it - or maybe Oprah will."

:)

i'm halfway there!

I almost can't believe it! In 17 weeks' time, I have come halfway to my weight-loss goal. It's a great feeling. One little caveat, though: I'm thinking of adjusting my goal weight from 155 down to 150, in which case I'll have to lose another 2.5 pounds to be halfway. But, that's just a small detail. The reason for the adjustment would be that 150 would truly put me at a "normal" BMI, whereas 155 would put me more at the cusp of normal and overweight. But, I'm still unsure about this, because BMI doesn't take into account one's frame, and I have a large-ish frame. So, I'm just going to see how it goes and see if I think those last 5 pounds are necessary when the time comes. I've been feeling so good about myself lately that even at 170, I'll probably think I look great. For my health, though, I really want to stick it out all the way to my goal. And I'm still right on track to be done sometime in March (barring a long plateau), which is amazing! I mean, I can't believe that in 4 months' time, I could be all svelte! Just in time for Nick's 4th birthday, and for spring and summer. It's almost more than I can handle. OK - I'll stop gushing now. :)

Went to the Army band family gathering last night. It wasn't very well-attended, and the snacks were kind of lame :), but it was nice to finally meet Brian's new commander - she's very nice, and is quite excited that I sing! She is apparently a big fan of classical music and opera. It didn't quite come together for me to sing with the band this year for Christmas, but I have a feeling that I will be doing so next year. Brian is going to take a CD of me in for her to listen to. I also met a couple of other really nice band-members. I had a great, funny conversation with a guy named Greg. It's so weird, because my brother's name is Greg, and this guy's sister's name is Amy! Spooky.

Today is a pretty low-key day. I might talk Brian into going out for dinner when he gets home. I'm sure I won't have to twist his arm! I absolutely have to exercise this evening, because I have been such a slacker! I feel really guilty about it - I don't know what my deal is; I just seem to have lost some of my motivation in that department. I've still got my eating under control, though, which is good. I'm bound and determined not to let the exercise thing get out of hand. Besides, I've got much more Sex and the City to get through, and I'm totally hooked. :) So, down to the basement I'll go...

We don't have much planned for this weekend, really. We have various domestic stuff to get done, and I need to go to WalMart, but sadly, that's about it. Anyone around here got anything fun going on?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

....and a squirrel on my deck!

While Nick and I were enjoying our breakfast this morning, so was this squirrel on our deck table!



Cheeky little critter, but it was too cute for me to be upset. And, I was sort of happy that it was getting a nice, full belly. I have officially helped a little woodland creature - yay! :)

P.S. By the end of the day, a posse of squirrels had pretty much reduced the pumpkin to nothing. Tomorrow, they'll probably hit the big one next to it!

you take the good, you take the bad

Well, the weekend was not all I expected it to be, but it was fine. We got to Springfield around 1:00 on Saturday, and later in the afternoon, I left to run an errand, after which I went over to Tim's house. Tim and I went to Panera for dinner (yummy French onion soup!) and then on to Drury University (my alma mater) to see my niece, Caitlin, play violin in an orchestra concert. The concert was good, but we ended up leaving at intermission, because it was going to last longer than we thought, and we were both very tired and had early mornings to prepare for. I did get to see my college voice teacher, which was nice. I don't see him nearly enough any more.

I got to bed pretty early Saturday night, but when I woke up on Sunday, I felt quite ill. At one point, I had to sit down as a wave of nausea washed over me, and I was very clammy and sweaty. I thought "Oh, great - that will really please the church if I have to cancel at the 11th hour!" You see, when it comes to my singing, I consider myself an utmost professional, and would never cancel unless I deemed it absolutely imperative. I ate breakfast and didn't throw up, which I took to be a good sign. :) I still felt very weak, sweaty, and strange, but I got ready, warmed my voice up, and headed for the church. This was the first time I had sung there with their new music director, who happens to have been my choral director my senior year in high school. So, I hadn't seen this man in about 16 years, and wanted to make a good impression on him, so that he'll want to keep having me back. I soldiered through, and sounded great at both services. Between services, Tim took me to Panera again (I know - we're boring!), which was nice. During the second service, I was feeling very tired and weak and clammy, and I couldn't wait to get home. I had also developed a splitting headache. Kevin (the music director) was very happy with my singing, and it was great to talk to him and catch up. He's great! He's having me back to sing on December 16 - I'll be doing some recitative from Handel's Messiah, and singing with the choir as well. One bit of disappointing news: I had expected to sing "O Holy Night" and "I Wonder as I Wander" at the 11 p.m. service on Christmas Eve, just as I did last year. Apparently, though, they're not going to have an 11 p.m. service this year - they're just doing the 7 p.m. one. And there's no way I can sing then, as my family does Christmas on Christmas Eve. :(
Alas. I'm a bit sad about it, but at least I've got the 16th.

Anywho, I got home, and my dear Daddy kept watching Nick so that I could crawl into bed. I slept from 1-5! The rest of the evening, I just sat around feeling pathetic. My Daddy (so sweet!) went out and got me some Excedrin and also got us Chinese for dinner. I never seem to totally lose my appetite when I'm sick, and was quite hungry by then, as I hadn't had lunch. I ate my Chinese and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Desperate Housewives, and then took some Nyquil and went to bed. So, the weekend didn't go anything like I'd planned. I had some more errands I wanted to run on Sunday, and had hoped to spend more time with Tim, but it just wasn't in the cards. Also, there was another concert that my Dad and I had wanted to go to on Sunday, and we had wanted to go out for dinner, so my Dad's weekend was rather compromised as well, but he was very sweet about it.

The good news is that I woke up this morning feeling much better! Nick and I came home, and here I am, catching up on my computing. I guess that was a pretty boring story, but it's the story of my weekend nonetheless. Now, on to another week...

stasis

Well, I stayed the same weight again this week. Poop! You know, it really doesn't make sense to me. On weeks when I pig out for a day or two, I lose weight, and then on a week (like this one) when I'm really good every day, I don't lose any. I just don't get it. I'm going to Springfield this weekend, so I guess I'll pork down and see what happens. :) I feel really guilty that I didn't exercise today, since I know I won't be exercising all weekend, and probably not Monday, either. If I go 4 days without, that will probably be the longest hiatus since I started this whole thing. I just hope I can get myself going again come Tuesday. Wish me luck!

On a happy note, I had to go and and buy myself new jeans and cords today. I got a size 14 jean and 12 cords! Wow. That's pretty exciting. I'm not very excited, though, about the fact that I just realized this evening that I have nothing to wear for my singing gig on Sunday. After Nick goes to bed, I'm going to have to run to WalMart and look for black slacks that fit. I won't have a chance tomorrow, so it's tonight or never. I know I shouldn't be complaining about needing smaller clothes, but it is becoming a bit depressing to look in my closet and realize that all my pants and dress clothes are too big, and that before long, I'm going to have to just get rid of everything and start all over. That's such an overwhelming, expensive thought, especially for someone who hates shopping for and trying on clothes. The thought of having to buy new bras is enough to make me want to just hide out in my house forever. :) I've bought several new shirts lately, so I'm pretty good for those, although come spring, I'll have to start from scratch. I'm happy about it, but upset at the same time - does that make sense? Patty - surely you know where I'm coming from on this. How have you dealt with that? The whole thing just seems so wasteful, expensive, and time-consuming.

I'll stop bitching now. :) I have so much to do this evening, and then I'll be gone all weekend, so the earliest I'll probably blog again is Tuesday. Wish me luck at my singing gig. The song is pretty easy, so I'm not too worried. Although, having to sing well at 8 in the morning is never a pleasant prospect. While I'm in Springfield, I'll also be attending a couple of concerts and spending time with Tim, so it should be pretty fun.

Over and out...

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...