Final Weekend before Take off....Check!

So, seventy-two hours from now, I will have been in the air for just over three hours on my way to England.

Holy Moses, I still have a lot to get done!

Today was church, then went to see friends in the production of "Grease" that I changed my mind about auditioning for.  They did a fabulous job, but "Grease" for me will never be the same since seeing my BFFF's high school do it his senior year.  Something about teenagers playing the parts of teenagers was very appealing and very real for me.

Got home with little time to spare before the youth group was coming over for one final meeting regarding the mission trip, before I leave for vaca.  These kids are so much fun and we always enjoy having them around.  There is not one amongst them I don't like or enjoy, and it is always a pleasure to be in their company.

So now that the social things I needed to do are done, it just leaves work (list is made), a few things from the store (I need to make a list!), and some cleaning odds and ends around here, so I can at least leave knowing my house is tidy.

You know, I've come to realize  that in the last year, I have really started taking care of me.  Oh, I think I still take care of others I need to take care of, like the husband and the kids especially, but I have finally, since my surgery, placed myself a little higher up on the priority list.  I make time to work out.  I make sure I average 7-8 hours of sleep a night.  I let a lot of things just roll off my back because I either can't change them or can now tell if it is something really worth my worrying about.  I've come to accept the fact that life is always going to throw you punches, but I can't spend my time worrying about what the punches will be.  Worrying about them won't make them not happen.  When they do happen, I do my best to get done what needs to happen to get through the situation and I try to do it with a little bit of grace and a lot of humor.

Taking care of ourselves is so important, especially as women, I think.  We are too quick to put our spouses and children in front of ourselves,but if we don't take care of ourselves, we are not going to be around to take care of our families.  The concept is really rather easy, yet we feel selfish when we take this route, but it only makes sense.  We can place everyone else's needs in front of our own and let our own health deteriorate, or we can keep ourselves healthy so we can keep taking care of those important to us.

Why does it take us so long to learn this lesson?

Too Busy to Blog

So much to do and suddenly so little time, plus I booked myself a rather full weekend of shows, and youth gatherings combined with the things I need to do to get ready to essentially go away for a month.  Then I had the audacity to actually read a bit today acting like I had time and all!

Anyway, short tonight as I have a few other things to work on at the moment!  More later...and thank you to everyone who stepped up to guest blog for me the last week in June!  Ya'll rock!

The New Rage: Adam Lambert

So I have to blog about my boy at least once since Idol is over.

I was immediately intrigued by Adam when we were informed he was a theater guy.  Coming from lots of community theater myself, my ears perked up right away.  Then I heard him sing and I'm not always sure there are words to describe it.

No, not every genre he sings appeals to me; I have never been a heavy metal girl, but there is no denying this kid has pipes like I have not heard...well, for almost as long as I can remember.  Even with the singing put aside, he appears to be down to earth, articulate, kind and humble.  Personally, I'm glad he didn't win Idol, though he should have.  He doesn't have the Idol ball and chain around his ankle for a year and is free to do his own thing.  Sure, I like Kris Allen and kept remarking to The Brit about how the "dark horse" in the competition was growing on me.  Liked him?  Yeah.  Loved him?  Nah, that goes strictly to Adam.

The public seems to love him as well.  I've been watching interviews online and reading the comments from fans.  He has shaken up the industry.  Queen wants him to perform with them.  Clay Aiken bashed him the first chance he got, and for me, having always been a Clay fan, that lack of class knocked him down a few dozen pegs in my book. 

I'm rather annoyed by all the speculation on Adam's sexuality, however.  I mean, who cares? The kid can sing, he is easy on the eyes and appears to have a great personality.  Why should his personal life matter?  I know that with fame, comes all sorts of comments and speculations about every aspect of a celebrities life, but what gripes me are those who prefer to judge him or anyone on sexuality.  I had someone say to me "I really love to hear Adam sing, but I don't like what I've been seeing on the internet about him. You know, about him probably being gay."

Get over yourself.  The guy has more vocal talent in his little finger than so many do in their whole family.  I just don't get nor will ever get that kind of negativity surrounding sexual orientation.

For me, I totally plan on seeing this guy on Broadway or in concert one day.  I have not been to a music concert in YEARS, but I will be on the phone to order tickets for Adam's show as soon as he is performing near me.

Totally amazing.

The One Where Kim Gives Her Neighbor's Cat to the SPCA

The title will be meaningless to anyone who never was aware of the titles of "Friends" episodes.

ANYWHO....today, I got home from running some errands, not too long before Aaron arrived home from school.  He came home and went out back to get his bike and a moment later he comes flying in the house.

"Mom!  There's a cat out here!"

"You can't have it.  We have six."

"No, it looks really bad."

So I went out to the deck and there was a shabby looking white cat.  She was incredibly thin and rather dirty, and had a lot of gunk around one eye, so I immediately went inside to get her food and water.  She took a nibble or two of food and then walked over to the other side of the deck and laid down, looking a bit spaced out.

"Aaron, this doesn't look real good.  I think she is either sick or old or both, and we are leaving for England next week, so we can't exactly nurse a sickly cat."

I called my friend Kelly to see if there was any option other than the SPCA.  No, not so much.  Cat rescue maybe but if the cat wasn't healthy, they probably would not take it.  So I called the SPCA and arranged to drop the kitty off there, explaining to Aaron that this was the best thing.  The SPCA would have a vet look at the kitty and if it was sick or suffering and needed to put down, at least she would not be dying a slow and miserable death outside in the rain.

The cat was so lethargic, it gave us no trouble getting her into the carrier and then we headed to the SPCA.  Kitty did not utter a sound the whole way there, where any of my six felines would be yelling their lungs out.  We signed her over and the tech at the desk agreed with me that the cat looked pretty sick and that a vet would look at her tonight.  Aaron and I then took a stroll through the SPCA as he had never been there before (honey, they had an adorable lab/rottie pup!) and then headed back home.

A few hours passed and then Aaron came back in the house.

"Mom, you know our new neighbor?"

"Yeah?"

"Her white cat is missing."

Damn.

So I sent him down to explain what happened and then I spoke to the neighbor on the phone, who was very nice about the whole situation.  She said the cat was actually a little sick and pretty old (around 17) and she had just picked it up from her former home in PA today.  She had put kitty on her back porch while she went out to run errands, assuming the cat would not go anywhere (????) and she did.  To our deck.  Of course, me being me, I do not let my kitties outside, though we do have a few neighbors with outside cats.  I explained to the neighbor that as I had never seen this cat before and because of how bad she looked, I was afraid for her anyway, plus there were other outside cats who could easily kick the kitty's butt in a fight.

But she called the SPCA and they hadn't even processed kitty yet, so it should not even cost her to get kitty back.  I guess a lot of people would have just left the cat alone on the deck, but I couldn't do it because she looked so bad and I can't bear to see anything suffer.

Guess next time we need to knock on some doors.

Achieving

I have just had a fantabulous day.

I have been waffling about trying to run sprints on the treadmill at the YMCA for MONTHS.  Not so much that I was afraid of running; more like I was afraid of falling off the treadmill!  The thought of it just seemed awkward.  But Jillian keeps saying it is one of the best cardio to lose weight, so today, I bit the bullet and gave it a whirl.  I ran three 30 second sprints and three 45 second sprints.  Not exactly a 5k, but man, was I excited!  I didn't fall off the treadmill and it didn't kill me!  I walked, then sprinted for a mile and this was after 30 minutes of cross training on the elliptical and 100 crunches on the stability ball. 

I don't know why I ever let myself get away from workouts because I feel crazy good after I do them!  Not to mention that with each new thing I attempt, not only does it keep my body guessing, but it builds my own confidence.  Would still love to attempt a 5k one day, and today was a small start towards that.  Small, but still a start!

Then my early birthday gift arrived, which was my little Acer Netbook, all pretty in pink.  The Brit got it for me early so I could have a computer for the three weeks we are in England.  When I was in England last month, I kept having these crazy urges to write.  It may be the different way of life or the different sights and sounds, but several times I was just itching for a computer to peck away at, but either it was not an appropriate time or The Brit was using his laptop.  Writing is still a very fragile thing for me; thoughts can go quickly, which is why I generally carry notebook and paper in my bag, but I failed at that on this last trip too.  So anyway, very exciting.

Then I have finished the Windows Movie Maker presentation for our two grads at church.  Found a song I liked and all, so all I need to do is to have The Brit do a fade out on the music as I can't remember how to do it, and then burn it onto three disks; one for the church and one for each graduate.

I adore productive days!  And now I am finished blogging so I can chill the rest of the night and play with my new toy. 

Did anyone else have a productive hump day?

Ending the Day the Same Way I Started it....

.....exhausted!

Maybe it was the long weekend, but this morning I just woke up tired and continued on that way.  I got lots done at work....

Finish graduates 2009 powerpoint
Do four weeks worth of PP announcements
Finish the newsletter
Go over information with volunteer who will be helping out in the office while I am away.
Call Wolfe's about June 20th car wash
Call Trivent rep about June 20th car wash
Get all copies of kid's paperwork for mission trip

...so I'm getting there.

Got very little done at home other than dinner, making something for The Brit's potluck tomorrow and using up our bananas before they went off in a sugar free jello pudding.  Then it was off to kickbutt class.  I have changed the name of the class as of tonight as Jack kicked all our butts this evening!  Man!  He is so nice in every other aspect!  I get there early just to chat with him as me and the Jack McFarlands of the world get on well together.  He's funny, engaging, concerned on how my knees are doing and has a good ear for listening.  But put him in front of a class, and man-o-day!  He can be brutal and reduce me to a puddle of sweat on the floor.

I will totally miss him in the month of June, but also do not look forward to my first class in July after being gone for so long!

I was sitting in the living room tonight and had an interesting text message conversation that went something like this:

An incoming message that said, "Um, I'm pregnant."

There was no name attached to the number, so my mind was racing.  Holy cow, is this one of my youth girls?  No, can't be...I have their cell numbers and their names would totally show up!  So I reply with:

"Who is this?"

"Ain't this Henry?"  (I've been called a lot of things before, but never Henry!)

no sorry

"OMG, I'm so sorry.

thats ok good luck

"please don't tell no one or give my number out i will get killed jk but still and thx for the luck

your secret is safe tho i dont know who you are anyway

"ok thx bye"

Then another incoming message from her:

do i kno u r u in Hagerstown and go to school here

i live in hagerstown but am an adult. are you a student

yeah

high school?  Are you pregnant for sure?

yes and yes I took three tests my mom wants me to get an abortion but i dnt believe in that r u a woman

yes, I am a woman. do you know there is a pregnancy crisis center downtown?  they would be happy to talk to you.  i don't know them personally but I work at a church and get mailings from them.

thx alot and goodbye please pray for me and i thnk u a lot

I will pray for you and hope you find the right solution.

*******************************************************************

Blog fodder from a wrong number.  But my heart goes out to her.  We all make choices that sometimes lead us to trouble.  I hope she stands her ground with her mother.  Though I don't think a high school student should raise a child, there are other alternatives to abortion in this situation. Yes, there are always other alternatives to abortion, but you all know I am pro-choice simply because we never know someone else's circumstances or what they have gone through, ie rape, incest, etc.  But this kid is already against abortion and if she can give birth to a healthy baby, there are families out there who would love to adopt it. 

So I'll keep this girl in my prayers.  I don't know who she is, but God does.

Coming down to the wire

So in nine days, we will be boarding a plane for England.

Wow, I have a lot to do.

Work:

Finish graduates 2009 powerpoint
Do four weeks worth of PP announcements
Finish the newsletter
Go over information with volunteer who will be helping out in the office while I am away.
Call Wolfe's about June 20th car wash
Call Trivent rep about June 20th car wash
Get all copies of kid's paperwork for mission trip

Home:

Clean fish tank
Give litter boxes a good clean out
Make sure the house in general is tidy
Make packing lists for the kids
Make packing list for me
Call the vet to make sure they have Robyn's name as she is house sitting for us
Wash sheets

Misc

Cancel dentist appointment
Purchase more Crystal Lite for Catheryn (England) and Ben Gay for my FIL
Purchase guinea pig supplies, cat food and extra litter
Make sure fridge is cleaned out of any stuff that might go bad in our absence

I know there is more but I can't think of it at the moment.  Once I hit "Save" it will all come flooding back.  I also have to work out things like "exercise" amongst the To Do list as I don't want that to go by the wayside!

Today was at least relaxing.  I didn't wake up till 9:00, which is a miracle for me!  Usually sleeping in for me is now 7:00, but as the kids were away with grandma, the house was nice and quiet.  Did a little shopping as The Brit needed some clothes and then I hit Goodwill for while tee shirts for me.  Mom came over later for crabs that we got at the fish market yesterday and then we made another trip to Goodwill so she could shop as she insists I know where the bargains are.  Tonight, I chilled and finished one of my two library books.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and that we all remembered what it is we are remembering today!

Today's Adventure

We headed to Washington DC to check out the fish market.  These are not stores; they are actually barges that are docked there all the time to sell seafood out of.  You look down at them from the pavement.  Totally cool.



Any kind of seafood you fancy, you can purchase here.  Shellfish, fish, scallops, lump crabmeat, hardshell or softshell crabs, anything! 



The place is hoppin' too.  Very busy, scads of people.  You can purchase your lunch there, carry it over to the waterfront and stand and eat it if you so chose.  We, however, went to Phillips to sit and eat. 



You can purchase your crabs live and they will steam them right there for you if you chose3.  I can't sentence things to death, so my love of crabmeat dictates me to take the ones that are already deceased.

Needless to say, Memorial Day will find us picking crabs and sipping Miller Lite Ponies!

Tired and on fire

Today was our youth car wash from 11-2 and dang, it was a bit warm!  My arms now resemble a lobster-type color as does my nose and I have some heat rash on my legs.  Hoping things will be a bit faded by tomorrow!

We did not make as much money as I would have liked us to, but I suppose the economy is affecting even car washes.  The funds go to the mission trip at the end of June, but the kids still have one more car wash next month, so hopefully that one will do better.  We made around $200 today, which while not awful, compared to last year where we made $500....you see where I'm coming from.

As we are kidless this weekend (they are with their great-grandparents) The Brit and I went out for sushi tonight and then to see "Angels and Demons" which I very much enjoyed.  I had not read the book, so don't know how the movie compared, but from my standpoint, I really liked it.

Tomorrow after church we are going to the DC Fish Market, just for something to do.  We've never been before and as we like to explore, well there you have it.  So excited that I still have two whole days off work and then only 7 days to work before we are off to England!

Hope you all are having a great holiday weekend!

Healthy Dose was Wednesday this week, Ya'll

And simply because I got nothing healthy to talk about tonight.

I had gone to Walmart today to beat the Memorial Day rush in grocery shopping and on my way home, we have two lanes on a one way road.  Up ahead of me, I could see a police car was blocking the right lane, so I got into the left lane and then slowed down to a near stop to allow the poor unfortunate guy in the right lane who had been in front of me, over into the left lane as there was a steady stream of cars behind me.  I figured someone needed to be nice and let this dude over.  As I slowed to let him over, the OLD MAN behind me HONKED his horn at me!  This was not a highway...this is a 30 MPH road through town.  I'll tell ya, common courtesy isn't dead in Hagerstown, but it sure is struggling!

I had to run out to the mall today to have my mother-in-law's necklace fixed; well, the necklace I inherited from her last month.  It's a Maltese Cross and I dearly love it, and the little gold ring that holds the cross to the chain broke the other night.  There is a little jeweler dude at the mall who does repairs, so I left it with him for half an hour and then had a mall stroll.  Wandered into one of my favorite stores to find huge sale!  Their clothing usually runs anywhere from 39.50-49.50 per item, so needless to say, I don't buy anything until it is way reduced, but today I got two zip up vests thingies; one for 6.99 and one for 9.99!  Holy crap!  Had never walked out of that store with two items and a total of $18 spent before.  It was magical.

Tonight is Friday Night Lights, so I'm excited to see who shows.  It's been lots of fun the last few weeks and I'll be sad to end it for a month in June! 

To you bloggers who don't frequent the internets on weekends and/or holidays, hope you have a happy and more importantly SAFE, LONG weekend!

Love ya'll!

Confessions and a Plug

The biggest news of the day is that my scale hath finally moved!  Now with that, I have to confess that I had not been holding steady at 208 the last few weeks.  My weight had actually crept up a bit as far as 213, which freaked me out, thus calorie counting, etc.  Of course, then I realized, with Celia's help, that my carbs were out of control, so I have been working tirelessly to reduce that number.  I have stayed away from the scale for almost two weeks now, afraid to look at it, but instead focused on what I was eating and getting a form of exercise five days a week as I had also been somewhat been lax in that area as well.  Today, the stricter regiment paid off as from 213, I am down to 206, which is that much closer to my next goal of 199.9.

Here is what I am learning:  I can never be an out of control snacker.  I cannot graze, wandering to the kitchen for something to nibble on all day and evening long.  When the urge hits, I try to do something else now and have actually started picking up fiction reading again in the evenings or in the afternoons, I've been taking a book out to the deck with my water.  It helps more than you can imagine. 

I have not cut out all carbs, but instead am choosing fruit (no more bananas for the most part) and veggies as my snacks when I need to have something.  I have stopped my cereal in the mornings other than in an emergency, instead reaching for scrambled eggs with some cheese for the protein.  What I am also discovering with this is that eating the eggs in the AM instead of the cereal, I am full for MUCH longer through the morning, which automatically is cutting back on my snacking.

I can't ever give up with this and I can't let myself fall back into old habits, which is so easy to do.  Doing so, results in gains on the scale and after losing over 100 pounds, I don't want it back again.  EVER.  England is going to be a challenge, but I am trying to mentally get things into place.  If we were only going for a week, I would not have to be as careful, but three weeks?  I could do serious damage.

Next, if you remember, I pitched "The Amish Project" to you awhile back.  Check out Jessie's video and if you are going to be near the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York, June 4-June 28th, check out this show!  It is amazing!  I wish I was going to be here if for no other reason than to see it again!

The Amish Project Video from Rehana Mirza on Vimeo.

Hump Day

My situation seems to be better, thank God!  Tension is gone, some conversation was had, life feels better.  It always does me so much good to write out my feelings here and to reread them, take them in again, try to sort them out.  It helps me to understand me better as often when I write "in the moment" about something that has happened, I am writing off the top of my head, writing what comes to mind out the situation.  Way cheaper than therapy.

Tod went to kickboxing with us last night and he was convinced I was trying to kill him.  When we got there and were talking to Jack McFarland, Jack questioned me as to why I had not been staying for floor work. I told him I hated floor work and besides, I had not brought my mat.  He pointed me to the front desk to get a towel.  Damnit!

The routine was especially grueling last night; one I had only done one other time before and had trouble picking up.  Last night with this routine was moderately better and that is not saying much.  Then the big bully Jack made us do the floor work.  Push ups. Can we discuss my knees?  Really needed my mat as towel was not cutting it!  Push up again and again and then HOLD.  Ouch.  Then crunches and then some crap about sitting down, putting our arms and elbows against the floor, hooking legs at the ankles and lift.  Are you kidding me?  I had a bit of difficulty at first because I was facing away from him and couldn't see what he was doing, so he came around to help me.  I told him I didn't like him anymore.  He told me I loved him and I knew I did.  Brat.

My mat is now in my car.

Tonight I am doing park laps with Tod at seven as it is too nice not to walk.  Then the finale of American Idol.  Dial Idol says that with measuring last night's busy signal, the winner is too close to call, which means a small margin between Adam and Kris. Adam simply has to win, though he doesn't need the AI contract; I'm sure he will be in popular demand once the show is over.

I'm hoping to work from home on Friday to work on the graduate powerpoint for church as it is easier to work with photos and music with my own programs.  However, I forgot to run it by the pastor today so will have to wait till tomorrow to get clearance though I doubt it will be a problem.  Then of course, it is a three day weekend and....

Eeek...two weeks from today we leave for England!

Conflict

So I am sitting here with hair color on my new haircut, which I love (I will try to get The Brit to take some flattering photos tomorrow if that is possible for me) while trying to get through to vote for Adam in the Idol finale. 

My situation from Sunday is still up in the air.  I have not spoken to the party and have not seen the party, because I don't know where things stand.  I have been in horrible situations in the past that have caused me to be quite the avoider when it comes to tense or conflicted situations. 

Right out of high school, I moved to Long Island, NY with a girl I graduated with.  We moved in with her older sister, who owned a house.  Joanne (the home owner) was a bit brash and a bit of a stereotypical loud mouth New Yorker, who tended to go out the mailbox in her underwear (so not kidding).  She was also not the tidiest person in the world and as I am a bit of neat freak, I often cleaned up the house.

One morning, Robin (the girl I graduated with and not to be confused with the other Robyn who I have been friends with forever) and I were late getting out of the house for our jobs because her car was in the shop and I had to take her to work, so we left the place a bit messy.  When we got home that night, Joanne freaked out on us...yelling and carrying on about the way we had left the house.  The fact that I was the one who generally cleaned it seemed to make not one bit of difference.  We exchanged words and I stormed out and went to a friend's house that I had met while doing a musical in a community theater.  I spoke with her mom until late into the night about the situation and she told me I should mend fences.  So I begrudgingly went back to Joanne's and worked it out with her.

The next morning, after Joanne and Robin had left for work, I packed my car and left.

I lived with a roomie once in Middletown that I worked with.  We got along great, though Juanita tended to be a bit on the moody side from time to time.  She was seeing a man so she was gone from the trailer several nights a week.  My aunt and uncle came up to visit so I went to see them at my parent's place and wound up staying the night.  When I arrived at the trailer the next day, the whole place looked as if a tornado had been through.  Pictures had been torn off the walls, tables upturned, broken dishes, etc.  It seemed that Juanita had a fight with her boyfriend and came home and just had a major tantrum.

I moved out the next day.

I lived with a gay male couple that I did theater with and though their relationship was good for awhile, it started to turn violent.

I would sleep in my car.

I just don't do conflict and that kind of stress.  I work great under pressure, but placed in a bad situation with someone, even once, and I am on guard.  I shut down and find an escape. 

I also realize this goes back way further.

When I remembered I was molested, which was while I was almost being raped, what I remember from when I was five or six was watching what was happening to me from the ceiling.  My mind, at a young age, had learned to escape.  During the almost rape, I didn't fight as I shut down completely, and that was when the memory of the early childhood trauma was remembered.

Though I am past both of those things, my reaction to conflict is probably never going to change.  If I cannot escape physically, I will shut down emotionally.  On Sunday, the upset individual was sitting right next to me, and I never even looked in that direction.  My attention was solely focused on my cell phone all of a sudden.  I can only remember snippets of what was said.

This person, if not upset with me for Sunday, may be upset that I have not called to check up.  But not knowing if anger was directed at me keeps me from calling and possibly facing more conflict.  I can't do it.  I can't set myself up for it.

I hope things are okay and I guess I'll know by Thursday, but there will be other people around.  I'll feel safer from the conflict that causes me to retreat.  If it happens, I know myself well enough to know that I will shut down in some way.  Escape.  My mind will react before I know what hit me.  I will escape either physically or emotionally.  Whatever option presents itself first.  I'm not offering excuses.  I am simply stating facts and it is only at 42 years old that I can so clearly see my past history of reaction to these types of situations.  I've been doing it since I was five.  Chances are the behavior is not going to change.  It's self-preservation; a way to protect myself from any harm even if emotionally.

This is also why I am a bottler.  When things upset me, I tend to bottle it up instead of addressing it with the person who upset me.  Addressing it could lead to conflict and I won't set myself up for it.  It simply is not an option for me.

Still can't get through on Adam's line.  That rocks.

I Like to Share

Today was a so-so day.  Nothing major happened.  Did get in to see the doctor and she told me my throat was a little red and a little swollen (yeah, I figured that since it has been hurting).  So she gave me some Allegra D samples and a sample of a nasal spray and I have felt a bit better.  So what do I have exactly?  Allergies?  Sinus issues?  Never really got a diagnosis.

Walked my two miles around the park despite not feeling exactly great, which is why I didn't go to the YMCA.  It has been chilly here the last two days!  Hello?  It's MAY!

I found a blog today I really liked dealing with RNY.  Her name is Pam and her blog is here.  In reading through some of her posts today, I was reminded of a few things...like why not only should I not eat and drink at the same time but why NOW I should actually wait 60-90 minutes after eating to drink.  Also was reminded of a few logistics of my pouch.

Though I have not had time to look at it yet, Pam also has a Protein Recipe Book on her site from things she has learned and/or accumulated from others.  I plan on checking this out in the next day or so.  There is also plenty of other information and perspective on her blog, so check her out!

This is why I love the blogging world.  Not only is this my journal where I vent or cry or rejoice, it where I can share with others who also blog and who also share with me their stories and lessons learned.  It is, in my opinion, one of the truest ways of getting to know someone.  On a blog, real life, such as phone calls, kids, doorbells, or homework, do not suddenly interrupt a story.  You get the whole thing.  I have cried with people, prayed for people (can we discuss how many blogger friends I have placed on our church prayer list?) laughed with them and celebrated with them.  We are a community and though we don't always agree with each other, I believe that most bloggers (not to be mistaken as just blog readers) have the ability to disagree with another blogger with dignity and respect.  Don't misunderstand, I love my blog readers, but though this has not affected my blog, I have seen other bloggers come under attack for their personal beliefs by blog readers and I don't understand that at all.  Bloggers are giving the public permission to read their diaries, for heaven's sake.  At least be considerate and mature if you don't agree with something.  We never care if you don't agree; we care about how you chose to voice that disagreement.

Anyway, check out Pam and please keep Liza and her husband in your prayers.  Her hubby is having some health problems that are hopefully not serious but we don't know yet.  They have the potential to be serious, but they simply don't have answers yet at least as far as her last post shows.

Mostly a lovely day

Today started out pretty good, got a little weird in the late morning, then returned to good.



Sometimes I just have to accept that I can not be responsible for how someone else feels.� The thing they have to accept is that if they are going to freak out, I am going to shut down.� That's what I do.� I hate conflict and prefer to avoid it at all costs, as I have mentioned before.� Not sure if the bit of crazy from this morning was partially directed at me or not, but I have decided not to deal with it and I certainly didn't deal�with it when it happened.� I just can't.�I don't look.� It's like if I don't see it, it isn't really happening. It's my way of detaching�myself from it. I do it every time there is conflict.� I either shut down, cry or avoid. Today was a combination of shut down and avoid. �If it was in any way directed at me, I am certainly not going to approach the person with it and possibly set myself up for more.� ThanksbutI'llpass and all that. Avoidance works for me!



See, I am pretty much happy-go-lucky.� I don't believe that age means you have to always be no frills or always have to follow rules.� When it comes to the youth group, I am mostly thrilled to bits that most of them come to Sunday school every Sunday.� The teens would prefer to chat for the hour; to catch up on their�week and to share problems.� I don't necessarily see anything wrong with this.� We have done some different lessons and tried some different things, but if they want to talk, I am not going to shut them down.� They are teenagers�and in many ways I think they need a safe place to chat.� I'm not going to be strict with rules.� That's not me.� Actually, I never asked to be a SS teacher...it was kind of dumped by someone else giving it up.� I am not a teacher, but I think we have a good relationship with the teens in the class and I think by far, that is most important thing.



I also kind of get the other side too.� Someone prepared a lesson and the kids wanted to talk and joke a bit as they tend to do.� So it was about 50-50.� Some lesson, some teens being teens.� It did not bother me.� Maybe that makes me wrong.� I don't know.� I tried to help keep them on topic, but I also participated in their side chat.� Maybe this makes me wrong.� I don't know.�



But I do know I'm not dwelling on it.� I am who I am and am not really interested in changing it.� I have enough time in my life that I have to be 100% serious most of the time..when I'm not parenting and not getting paid, that is my time to be me.�Like I said I don't know if anyone is mad at me.� I love all these people dearly, and we are all entitled to a bad day.� I understand, I have them too.� The crazy impacts all of us from time to time.�



Hopefully by next Sunday it will all be blown over.� If not, I only have one more week, then I'll be in England for three weeks.� I'm ready for a break.� Some weeks, six�out of seven days�in the church can make me find my own�crazy.



We took the kids to see Earth this afternoon.� Great film!� Love all the nature stuff.� Amazing filming.� I give it two thumbs up!

Blissfully lovely day

First off, Friday Night Lights has been a blast so far.  Last night we had not only Tod and Robyn from the 1st week but Lisa and Phil as well.  There were veggie munchies and S'mores and lots of conversation and laughs.  If you are bored one of the remaining nights in May, stop over anytime after 7:30!

Today was a girl's day out with Robyn, Lisa and Kelly, so we went into Shepherdstown and had lunch at Kazu Thai and Japanese Cuisine.  I, of course, had sushi and some edamane, which I also adore.  Then we did a little window and not window shopping.  I picked up some crytal deodorant that Lisa had been using for two years, as well as a few sticks of Burt's Bees lip stuff.  Kelly had recently discovered that chap stick and the like had alcohol and all other sorts of crap that dries out your lips which is why I am unable to be without it, ever and have been that way for years!  So the natural stuff will hopefully remedy the problem.  Also grabbed some scone mix, which does not comply with my no-carbs thing. 

We then went to a nursery so Lisa and Kelly could purchase some flowers for their gardens.  I can't plant yet with leaving for England in just over two weeks and I don't want to leave poor Robyn to try to grow a garden on her own, so we'll be doing some late planting in July. 

Then back to Kelly's just for some chat time (not that we hadn't talked all day, but you girls know how it is).  Very pleasant day with excellent company!

I am looking forward to my hair and nail appointment on Tuesday!  I'm anxious to hack off the hair and my nails are looking a little crappy. 

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

New Goals on Healthy Dose Friday

So after a brief though still ongoing email conversation with my WLS extraordinaire friend, Celia (I think all my WLS friends are awesome but Celia is like 10+ years out of surgery and doing great, so she is my long-term hero), I know what I have really known all along.

I can stop counting calories.  I need to reduce the carbs.  They are my weakness and I know I am eating too many of them.  They may be not be cookies, cakes and pies, but bread, cereal and pretzels can do close to the same about of damage in hindering my scale to MOVE! 

I have been researching low carb foods this morning and ran across a myth list on about.com.  Sure enough I had always bought into some of these myths about low carbing, such as:

2. Low-Carb Diets Discourage Eating Vegetables and Fruits

Because vegetables and fruits are mainly carbohydrate, people believe that they are not allowed on low-carb diets.

Fact: The opposite is true �- non-starchy vegetables are usually at the bottom of the low carb pyramids meaning they are the �staff of life� of the diet (replacing grains in that role) and people who follow a low-carb way of eating almost always eat more vegetables than the general population. For the most part, vegetables and fruits ARE the carbs eaten when following a low-carb way of eating.

This was the one that had worried me the most because especially in the summer months, I adore fruit.  I need to be careful of the tropical stuff though, like my daily banana, as it is higher in carbs.  That's okay though as I love berries and melon the most.

I'm not a huge fan of veggies, though I do prefer many of them raw with some kind of dip or dressing.  So I'm searching for low carb veggie dip and did find this suggestion:

The dry ranch mix has no carbs or less than one? Mix that with sour cream and cream cheese. Yumm!!!

I would use the low fat cream cheese and I always use Breakstones Fat Free sour cream as well.  Salad Spritzer may also be an option but I have to check the carb count on it.  Also read about mixing balsamic vinegar with italian herbs.

This would solve my need to crunch that tends to happen about mid afternoon.  I also need to replace my morning cereal with something else as 1) I'm getting tired of it and 2) because though it contains 10 grams of protein, it is still high in carbs and 3) I dumped off it this morning for some reason.  So, I'm finding recipes for low carb, high fiber muffins and the like, so I can work on changing things up. 

See, here's the thing.  What I'm doing isn't working anymore.  I can tolerate more foods now and I can tolerate slightly larger amounts now.  So, I need to make what I'm eating count.  High proteins, high nutrients.  This isn't really rocket science when I think about it.  It's just going back to the good food groups.  I may find that this doesn't work either (though I think it will.  Celia has preached the carbs to me since before my surgery), and if that is case I'll need to change things up again.  The biggest mistake would be to keep on doing what I am doing knowing I am only maintaining my weight and I'm not happy with that.  My scale number is not yet what I want it to be (I swear when that scale goes to 199, you will hear me yell no matter where you live!) but I am intent on getting there.  I didn't go through surgery to not be satisified where I am.  I'm happy here.  I feel healthy and can do all sorts of stuff I couldn't do before.  But I have a number in my head I want to see and I am hell-bent on doing what I need to do to get there.

You can do it too.

Just for Fun

So with a little help from yours truly, The Brit's former boss and all the time friend, Arnie, needed some photos of The Brit to decorate with for his birthday.  So, as he was off work yesterday, today when he went into work, he was assaulted with rather large photographs and could be a wee bit incriminating.

Something along the likes of this:



I tried to crop this stupid photo to make it right but anything done in Photoshop annoys me to death because I can't use it and I don't feel like yelling back and forth to the living room.  Anyway, The Brit's mum had entered him in some kind of drag beauty contest and he came in second...and now everyone in his company knows it.

Tomorrow is finally Friday and Friday Night Lights (YAY!) though my day starts out with taking the suspended child back to school FINALLY but we have to meet with the school psychologist to make sure he isn't crazy.  He's not, but I may be well on my way. 

Saturday is a day out with the girls and I am very much looking forward to this as I won't really see anyone in June!

Hope I gave you your chuckle for the morning!

Guess Who....

is 45 today???



And no, it isn't me.

To the love of my life, my soul mate, my best friend, happy birthday.  You're not getting older; you're getting better!

I love you!

English Vocab

So Jil had commented on my use of the word "sussed" in yesterday's post.  She uses it as she had lived in the UK and I use it because I married into a British family.  I thought I'd bring back a few other memories for Jil.  Some of these words are considered curse words in England but beings they aren't considered that here so much, I prefer to use them.

We have the name calling such as wanker, sod and pillock (not sure if the later is spelled right), but my favorite of all the British saying is "fafing about".  Jil, do you know that one?  I have also adopted "car park" as opposed to our American parking lots.  There are the "boots" and the "bonnets" of cars.  "All right?" is the same as saying "Hello, how are you?", there is "blast" and "bugger it" as well as the more commonly used over here "bloody".  "Bob's your uncle, Fannies your aunt" is sort of like saying it is "done and dusted."  Flippent British kids are more referred to as "Cheeky" and "dodgy" items or people cannot be trusted.  If you are tired you are "knackered" and may need to have a "kip" or a nap and if you lose your job, you have been made "redundant".  If you have successfully solved a problem you have "sorted it."  If you tease you are "taking a mickey."

So there is your fun little British vocab info for today!  There are many more, but those are my favorites and the ones I use from time to time.

I still can't figure out how to import my food journal here, so if you sign up at Livestrong, you can friend me looking under "Kimbre" and then you view my diary.

Oh and JJ asked me Sunday morning: "How long do you have to be in England to get an accent?"

Calorie Counting: the new pain in my *%ss

I've messed around with several calorie tracking sites, but I have finally found my favorite at Livestrong.com.  I like it because it is minimal work for me because their food search has everything!  I even typed in "Biggest Loser Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-fry" and Taaa Daaa!  There is was!  No need to put in ingredients! 

So I'm charting and sharing it.  I would like to figure out how to really share it with a link but I have not yet sussed that out, so I'll have to give you the lowdown here for the moment.

Today:


Kellogg's Special K Protein Plus Cereal   100 calories and 10 grams of protein
1% milk  111 calories and 9 grams of protein
Banana 121 calories and 1 gram of protein
Coffee Mate Creamer 35 calories                                                 
Crum Creek Soy Bites 105 calories and 6 grams of protein
Tomato 6 slices 24 calories and 2g protein
Wheat bread 120 calories and 5g protein
Kraft Lite Mayo (2 servings) 100 calories                                             
BL S&S chicken stir fry 112 calories and 14g protein
Wasa Whole Wheat Crispbread 100 calories and 4g protein
Digestive biscuits with chocolate 285 calories and 15g protein
(don't ask)

My exercise has me burning approx 392 calories, so that nets me for the day at 823 calories and 66 grams of protein.

My protein is low for sure today and my calories should maybe be a little higher but dinner didn't go down well so I didn't even have a whole portion.  As I have discovered the Wasa Crispbread again, I am going to cut out my whole wheat bread and save those calories.  The digestives chocolate covered biscuits, we won't even discuss.

Now, if anyone knows how to share off this site, please tell me and save my fingers from typing all this!

Edited to clean up the mess!  Godaddy apparently doesn't like columns!  Sheesh!

Mother's Day

This was my Mother's Day gift:



Pretty, huh?  Funny thing is that I have a bag full of sea glass I collected and have no idea what to do with as I don't make jewelry.  I either need to learn or find someone in the know.

Today was nice.  Church, groceries, home to get things ready for dinner.  The Brit wanted to golf as the weather was great and I told him he was more than welcome to if he took the kids with him!  So he did, and I got a few more things done and then even grabbed a little catnap out on the deck on the swing that lies down into a bed.  It was wonderful; the sun, the birds, the QUIET!

But all good things must come to an end, so they all came home and my mother came over and we did steak and corn on the cob and sliced tomatoes for dinner.  A few of my favorite things. So all in all a good day.

A couple from church are taking the suspended child tomorrow for a few hours to help them with some garage cleaning or something, which is good as Mondays are my busiest day and I can get things done.  The Brit, I think, is taking him to work with him on Tuesday, so I do have a reprieve from constant kid.  I am just a mother who needs that.  Having one with me all day long, especially a 13 year old, wears on me.  I need time to think and to adjust to the work week.

Okay, I'm outta here as I'm dumping on sugar.  Damn jellybeans!  When will I learn?

Where for Art Thou?

Today was blissfully busy with errands and things to do.  My favorite kind of Saturday really. Breakfast, Mother's Day shopping, a car show (for the guys.  Mom and I sat on a bench and talked) then The Christmas Tree Shop, Lowes, lunch, hanging out on the deck, snack stuff for dinner.  Just a pretty perfect day.

Last night was our first Friday Night Lights deck gathering and Robyn and Tod both came!  It was very cool.  We just around the fire and chatted and drank wine for a few hours, then Tod needed to go to Walmart at like 11:00, so I went with him so we could view all the scary people.  Yes, we are simple down here in Hagerspatch.  I bought myself a straw cowboy type hat which I freaking LOVE and I wore it all day today.  Plan on wearing it tomorrow too.  It's awesome or at least I think so.

I'll show you my Mama's Day gift tomorrow on the official day.  Though I love to be surprised, often when it comes to earrings, I'd rather pick them myself.  I love dangly ones with stones of some sort especially.  So when going to my favorite store for jewelry in general, I found a pair of earrings with a matching necklace in PINK SEA GLASS.  Like two of my favorite things!  Pink and the ocean!  It was kismet!  There are way more earrings in the store than on the site and as the clerk said, they try to get in different things from other stores and I think they generally succeed!  Love their jewelry and it is reasonably priced and of good quality.

So, happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there and all the moms yet to be!  Hope you have a great day tomorrow!  And don't forget Friday nights in May here! 

Oh, The Fun I Have

So today, I have a teenager off school on a five day suspension.  Why is he suspended, you may ask?  Oh, nothing really.  He just made a "Hit List" and passed it around the bus so other kids could add the names of people they don't like to the one's my kid already had on there.

Nice.

He is lucky to have only been suspended for five days.  It could have been much worse; police called, expelled, suspended for the rest of the year.  The reason it wasn't worse is that his principal knows what I know: that this kid would not hurt anyone, but like most immature 13 year olds, he likes to act tough.  Yes, the principal has to figure out who the other kids were who added names and deal with them too. 

Of course, back in my day (here is where I sound old), it was nothing for kids to make a list and title it "Kids I don't like" and add names.  Which is essentially what this kid did.  But when you call it a "Hit List" in the wake of an era of school shootings, it becomes a whole 'nother ball game.  The school has to act.  They have no choice.  Even though I believe that 9 times of out 10 something along these lines means nothing more than a kid shooting off their mouth on a piece of paper.  But for the possibility of that 10th time, every time has to be taken seriously.  The world is so different from when I grew up.  When I grew up, the teachers still had power to discipline, but now we have taken all that away but still expect the schools to maintain control.

No, not everyone will agree with that statement, but I do.  Healthy fear of authority is not a bad thing and look at the stunts kids are pulling today.  School shootings were unheard of when I was a kid, though we still had kids and we still had guns.  We also had discipline.  In school.  And at home.  Now parents are working twice as much and kids are expected to raise themselves because we don't want the teachers doing it.  Fine mess we've gotten ourselves into.

Anyway, the teenager is here at work with me, reading 1st Corinthians 13 (Thanks, Margaret!  Great idea!) writing what it means to him and how a "Hit List" does not comply with those teachings.  He will also be writing his principle a thank you note and then if he still has time, he'll be writing about the kids he put on his list, what they do to make him angry and how he can better handle it in the future.  This afternoon we pick up homework, so he will have that to do next week.  At home, he'll be picking up several extra chores to keep him busy for the remainder of the day. 

I want him to wish he was at school. 

He knows he did a stupid thing.  He gets it.  I just don't want him to ever forget it.

This and That

So I have to give a shout out "THANK YOU!" to Christine over at She's a Rebel, She's a Saint for recommending these little gems:



They so satisfy my carb-need-to-crunch cravings!  Ready for this?  105 calories a pack and unlike the mini bags of Sun Chips, this little bag is chuck full o pretzel-ey goodness.  Total fat 1.5 grams, carbs 16 grams, zero sugar and 6 grams of protein!  Downside is you can only order them on-line from Crum Creek Mills but with my carb issues, this is a solution and I like it!

I am getting ready to finally take the hair plunge fully and completely.  I have been working my way to short-short for months now, doing it in stages to make sure I am ready.  At 315 pounds, my hair always had to be perfectly curled and sprayed into place.  These days, I wash, towel dry, mousse, ruffle and go and I love it!  No more drying or even bang curling! 

So in less than two weeks, I am thinking something along these lines as far as a cut goes:



Short, sassy and easy.  Kinda like me. HA!

My sore muscles are improving.  100 crunches is way too many after none for weeks!  My abdomen has been insanely sore!  But when I was doing them, they felt like nothing!  I mean, when I am doing the arm stuff, I can feel the ouchiness, but not with the crunches!  Thus I get into trouble.

I have added more WLS blogs to my sidebar as I love finding new ones and I find them via other blogs I read.  I will add any WLS blogs to my link box as long as the blog is updated fairly regularly.  So if you aren't there, shoot me a comment and a link! I learn so much from all of you!

Hold Liza up in prayer right now as her surgery has been post phoned due to thyroid levels.  Though frustrating and disappointing, there is a reason for the delay and she is handling it like the optimistic trooper she is!

Well, the church lady has just arrived (Ugh!) so I'd better split!  Hey, it's almost Friday!

TV Wednesday

Cannot believe that next week is The Biggest Loser finale.  I love this show and find the transformations so amazing.  Though I have not been a Ron fan, he finished a 26 mile marathon in last night's ep!  He walked it and it took him like 11 hours, but the with terrible knees finished the marathon when he has always been the first to give up on every challenge!  I was tearful right along with his son, Mike when Ron crossed that finish line! 

I find the whole show so incredibly inspirational and it actually helps me in my workouts too.  Helen has lost over 100 pounds, came in second in the marathon and she is 48 years old!  Though she is not my favorite, what an inspiration to people in their forties, like yours truly!  It's just so amazing what we can do if we put our minds to it.  We can do what has always seemed impossible if we just believe we can!

Then there is Idol and I only have two words for that.  Adam Lambert. 








Amazing.  Though I will say I am so sick of hearing that he's gay, because honestly...who cares?  The kid can sing his face off and leaves all the others in the dust.  Why does sexuality always have to become an issue in everything?  Granted, I'm very liberal minded, but still, c'mon.  It's a singing competition and he can sing.  End of story.

Tonight I fear Allison will go home, though based on last night's performances, it should be Danny.  He was not good last night and I am a fan of all four of the finalists.  We'll know in a couple of hours!

I was maybe a little too inspired at the gym on Monday as OUCH.  Between my arms and my abdomen (100 crunches, after no crunches since before gall bladder surgery in February) I have been rather uncomfortable the last 24 hours!  I did go in today and did 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Just couldn't bring myself to lift when I was still so sore.  Tomorrow night, kickboxing!

YAY for Awards!

I love fun nominations!

Laurie, a fellow C&P girl who blogs at Gastric Girl, gave me an Attitude of Gratitude award.  Thank you, Laurie!  I like you too!

Here are her instructions:

 

* Put the logo on your blog or post

* Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an an attitude of gratitude

* Link to your nominees within your post

* Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award

* Share the love & link to this post & the person who nominated you for the award

* Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude

I am going to attempt to nominate ten bloggers who have not already been nominated, but Gah!

In no particular order:

Heather over at Heather's Roller Coaster
Laura over at Strat's Garden
Amber over at Weight Loss BattleLisa at Lisa, Lost and Found
Crystal at Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper
Kim at Big City Girl
Jaime at Bren go Daaka Marel Yelana Go Nava (phew!)
Amber at Working on Freedom

My attittude of gratitude comes from a surgery that gave me my life, family that is always supportive, friends who are unwavering and God who makes it all possible.





 

Tell me why, I don't like Mondays

So it was back to the gym today.  I worked primarily upper body due to the knee injury, threw in some treadmill and 100 crunches on the exercise ball.  So not too shabby.  I'm hoping to be able to kickbox tomorrow night.  I iced my knee tonight and it is a bit better, but still far from 100%.  Of course, I can kickbox and just keep things on a lower level to prevent further injury.

I discovered tonight at dinner that Hagerspatch has a 5k race, so this compelled me to look and see if there were others....and there are.  This is another one of my goals...to do a 5K.  Now there is no way I'd be ready for this year, but next year, I could be if I worked it and figured out how to train.  Definitely food for thought.

Most of you know that I am still having extensive burping that gall bladder removal did not solve.  My surgeon seems to think I am an air swallower, which I don't buy into because it had such a sudden onset.  My PCP doesn't want to touch me due to my gastric bypass as she feels it is a side effect of that.  So what do I do?  I could be lactose intolerant perhaps?  Should I go see a gastroenterologist?  I feel as if I've hit a wall and still don't have an answer and the "live with it" option does not make me happy as I burp all freaking day long.  Interestingly enough, The Brit seemed to think it was better after my gall bladder came out, but the last few days, I have noticed an increase again.  This is insanity and I have no clue what to do about it.  I am certain there is an answer and a solution out there if I could just go in the right direction.

Sunday Shorts

I got a headstart on my week tonight by getting the downstairs vacuumed and laundry started because tomorrow, I go back to hitting the gym to lift weights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday and then kickbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I need to get my weight loss kick started again, especially this month with being away most of next month. 

I'm still having right knee issues, which have actually been a bit worse today as it really stiffens up when I'm sitting down.  The pain seems to be more behind the knee and down the back of my calf, so maybe it is a strained muscle.  So annoying and it needs to go away!

I'm trying something different in the month of May.  As we now have a deck and a firepit and plenty of places for seating, we have extended an open invitation for anyone to drop by on Friday nights starting at about 7:30, weather permitting.  It may be fruitless, or it may go over well and if the latter is true, we will pick it up again in July.  I think it could be fun as we would never know who would turn up nor would anyone else.  We'll see how it goes.

I need to start making lists; the things I need to get at home before vacation, the things I need to get done at work before vacation, the things I need to pack and do before vacation. 

Tomorrow is another day, Scarlet.

What to blog about?

Some days, I honestly just have nothing to say and today is one of those days.

I love to shop.  Not only do I love to shop, I love to shop for deals.  I also love to travel, ergo, the following story....

Tonight, I was cruising around on eBay, trying to find a Jansport bag for the airplane.  And incidentally, what is up with Jansport?  Have they been around for kabillions of years?  So much so that they have "vintage" bags that go for eighty plus dollars?  Anyway, in trying to make a  decision on what I was really looking for, I went to Jansports website to get a good look at all they offered and in looking under carry-ons, I found this:



I do have a thing for pink.  And I have a thing for bags.  Like vacuuming, it is a bit of a sickness, but like stationary products, I think it is a need to be organized thing.  Hey, we all have our vices, and I have given up several of mine in the last year or so!

ANYWAY...after seeing this, I started shopping around for it.  Ebay didn't have any and the websites that sold them, either A) didn't have the pink one or it was anywhere from $39-$45 and I am a cheap shopper.  I want a deal or forget it.  So I kept looking and I finally found a site that carried all the colors and they ran about $34.90....BUT...the pink one was on sale!  For $19.  Does that not rock?  It's like it was meant to be.

So last night, we were out on the deck with the fire pit going and the kids were toasting marshmallows for S'mores.  JJ pulled back a flaming marshmallow to blow it out, at the same time Aaron ducked his head for some reason and ON FIRE marshmallow was suddenly stuck to Aaron's head.  It was like all time stopped.  He froze.  JJ froze.  The flame did not freeze.  The Brit took action and got his head extinguished with his hand.  Small second degree burn.  We put ice on it last night and today it wasn't bothering him at all.  We have decided his code name is The Flaming Marshmallow.  I'm not sure if JJ has it out for his brother or if Aaron is just really accident prone.  When JJ was three, he drew back a golf club and clipped Aaron in the forehead, resulting in three stitches. Then of course, there was this incident from 2005.  JJ has only been in the ER once...for a severe case of poison ivy between his toes.

The joys of having boys.  This is why I need a shopping vice.

 

Healthy Dose Friday

I'm not sure how healthy this is going to be, but it has been a dose and I really need to say it here where only my readers can see it.

I don't think I'm in any immediate danger, but I am in a scary place.  My eating has been bad the last two weeks.  My exercise has not been what it should be.  Yes, I'm getting some, but not enough and not the intensity it needs to be.  I've been snacking more and not on things which I should be snacking.  I've been too sedentary the last week especially; afternoons watching television instead of doing something physical.  I need to improve and I need to do it now.

This is scarier now.  Scarier than it ever was before surgery when I'd diet and lose a handful of pounds.  Now I have made the physical changes drastically and I don't want to go backwards.  Ever.  EVER.  I have not been back on the scale since the gain to see what is what.  I know at least part of it was from my period, whichI just finished up, so I am giving my body a few days to readjust again before getting back on the scale. 

I don't like this.  It feels frightening and out of control.  I keep telling myself it is only a bump in the road and I will work it out and get over it.  But it needs to be soon.  It needs to be now.

Okay, with that confession out of the way, I am putting out a call for blog help.  Here's the deal.  England...three weeks in June.  I'm hoping Laura may help me cover in the event I miss any days.  Other than that, I have a mission trip at the end of the month (June) where I will have NO computer access from June 26 to July 2nd.  I would have to have some guest bloggers type up an entry this month and then I can get it in here and dated to post on one of those dates.  It's a chance to give your own blog a shout out and for my readers to meet you.  It is also a huge help to me!  So leave me a comment if you can help out.  I don't need you to post it yourself; in advance I can take care of that.

Speaking of blogging, does anyone have one of these:



Saw one in England and fell in love.  It's little, it's pink, it would fit in my purse thus not making me have a carry a big ole laptop bag, and it's on my Christmas list.  I'm not generally a lover of gadgets, aside from my ipod (which is also pink, btw), but this is too cute and handy and would make vacation blogging easy.  If you have one, what do you think of it? 

Hope you all have a great weekend!