Why am I such an Ostrich?

Don't know why I do this to myself... I tend to pull an "ostrich" and then the sand still ends up flying... You'd think I'd learn by now but no... guess I am just a slow learner. Well, one thing is for sure, I will be seeing fireworks and it isn't even the 4th of July.

And it couldn't be happening at a better time... tomorrow is double job duty but at least it will give me something else to think about. The only bad thing is that I wasn't able to sleep well today and with shortened sleep tomorrow... I may not be exactly impressive at the new place. But I am determined to fake it with the best of them and pull it off.

I really need to get out and exercise... at least I haven't turned to food with all this going on but the exercise has slacked off. Now when I really need it the most... I will have to make sure that I get in some time tomorrow.

Off to work one job now... on a more positive note... only 5 more nights left there.

I Have a New Job!!!

Last Friday I spent two hours at my new place of employment... Yes, it is official! I did the meet and greet with the two people that I will be working the most with.... and was introduced to the rest of the office. Apparently they liked me because I did the paperwork that would make me an official employee.

Going into this meeting, I was still having doubts on whether or not I had made the right decision. Should I have waited to see if the library offered something? The hours would've taken me away from my kids for longer than I wanted during the summer but the money and the benefits were hard to turn down. But I have to tell you that after going into the office and spending a couple of hours, I really feel like this is the RIGHT decision. It just felt good. Cheryl, who I will be working the most with was nothing but sweet (I'm told she is always like that). And Jerry, the boss, seems like a nice guy too. He even joked (I think) about me "blowing off" my other job (I wish!) and starting there on Monday (today)...but as much as I would've loved to do it, I told him I just couldn't ... there are SOME people at the store that I do like and that would've been mean to them. However, I did tell him that I could start coming in for the afternoons beginning on Tuesday (yes, tomorrow!). I only need to sleep half a day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so it shouldn't be a problem (yeah, right!). So for the next two weeks I am the keeper of two jobs. I have finally escaped the store (my limit was 5 years and it's been 4.5) and the dreaded nights, weekends and holidays!

This job has so many good things about it besides the people that I will be working with. The hours... 10-2, M-F. I will be at home for my kids. Also, if work is backlogged which it sounds like it is right now... that gives me time on either side of it to help out and also get some extra hours in. I have a desk once more! And soon my own phone number and work email... I know this seems ordinary to most of you reading this but after 4.5 years of retail and 9 years of being a SAHM... it's pretty cool! Also, the ladies showed me the fitness room down in the basement. Very cool! Treadmills, elipitical machine, stair-stepper, weight circuit, exercise mat and DVD player (bodyrev anyone?). The ladies spend their lunch down there working out for 15 minutes first. Because my hours are only 10-2 I obviously don't get a lunch however, I was told if I wanted to extend my day to 10-2:30 then I could join them for their workouts. Maybe... maybe... I also have the option of going down after my shift, too. I really want to take advantage of this, especially on bad weather days and winter!

I haven't heard from the library yet... but honestly, I am hoping that they don't offer me a job. I would turn it down, of course, but I fear that I would always wonder, "Did I make the right decision?" I have a problem with the whole... what if scenarios... too much doubting myself. But I really like this new place and am so happy to have the opportunity to work there. And the weird thing... it all came about from the BB and a group of ladies who met through the internet. How cool is that!

And one more... Check out the SE Wisconsin Barbies!

These are too freakin' funny... but I guess you would actually have to live around here to understand the humor in them... I have lived in two of these areas... but I won't admit to which ones! :)

Wisconsin Barbies...

Another one that just struck me as funny...

Because I am too tired to do a regular post...

Here's a little funny...

This is so true! They always ask at the doctor's office why you
are there, and you have to answer in front of others what's wrong and
sometimes it is embarrassing. There's nothing worse than a Doctor's Receptionist
who insists you tell her what is wrong with you in a room full of
other patients. I know most of us have experienced this, and I love the
way this old guy handled it.

An 86 year old man walked into a crowded waiting room and
approached the desk..... The Receptionist said, "Yes sir, what are you seeing
the Doctor for today?"

"There's something wrong with my dick", he replied. The
Receptionist became irritated and said, "You shouldn't come into a crowded
waiting room and say things like that."

"Why not? You asked me what was wrong and I told you," he said.
The receptionist replied; "Now you've caused some embarrassment in
this room full of people. You should have said there is something wrong
with your ear or something and discussed the problem further with the Doctor in
private.

The man replied, "You shouldn't ask people questions in a room
full strangers, if the answer could embarrass anyone. The man walked
out, waited several minutes and then re-entered.

The receptionist smiled smugly and asked, "?Yes??"

"There's something wrong with my ear", he stated.

The receptionist nodded approvingly and smiled, knowing he had
taken her advice. "And what is wrong with your ear, Sir??"

"I can't piss out of it," he replied.

The waiting room erupted in laughter.

Mess with seniors and you're gonna lose!

Yet Another Downside to Exercising...

Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping.
-- Bo Derek

OMIGAWD! Can I just say I now LOVE going shopping.

I have always loved going to stores... looking around, seeing what was new and unusual, it didn't matter which department. However, when it came to clothes shopping... forget it! All the great clothes were in the Misses department and forget looking there. I needed to head directly to the Women's department, which is always, always so much smaller in size than any other department in the store. Then you can discount half of what is there as K2 said to me today... "old lady clothes" (now, so not to offend anyone...let's say old lady as in 90+... is that okay?) But seriously you know what I mean... polyester... big floral prints. Then if I was lucky enough to find anything, I hated having to try it on on... was it going to fit? If it fit who would it look? Would it show all the rolls in my legs, abs (what abs?) and waist (again... what waist?)? Then invaribly I would find something I love and they wouldn't have any left in my size. Then how many times would I try something on doing the little jumping dance trying to get up and over my hips... then came the delicate part of pulling up the zipper... suck in the gut and wiggle, wriggle trying to get the zipper to slide up... leaving the side of your finger raw and red.

HA! This was so not the case today! I have a meeting with my potential new employer tomorrow morning. I am to go into the office to meet the rest of the staff and most importantly the two people that I will be working the closest with. Well, this means that I need to dress appropriately. I already wore the only halfway decent thing I own (and to tell the truth the pants were too big) to my interview/lunch. Plus, truth be told from what I gather it really was not "professional" enough for this office. At the very least, I needed new dress pants, preferably black. So the girls and I headed off to some stores after they got home from school.

Now I don't really want to spend a fortune on clothes. So I decided to go cheap first, which meant Dress Barn... not great quality stuff but I knew I would be able to find some deals there. Plus, they have always had a fairly decent section dedicated to the plus size woman. Now as what seems to be the norm with cheaper items... they tend to run smaller. So when I first went into the dressing room I took a size 16 in with me. And guess what... they were HUGE! So on went the 14... and there was no dancing, jiggling, wiggling, wriggling or bruised fingers. They went up and over the hips... the zipper glided easily into place and they looked fabulous! So I went thru the entire selection that I had taken in with me. It was so much fun to actually put things aside... not because they didn't fit but because I actually didn't like them. What a novel experience!

I ended up leaving that store with 4 pairs of pants (3 on clearance for 12.99), one skirt and jacket combo (pink and black though... but K2 said it looked great... but for $30, it was worth a shot) and one brown with ivory piping blazer (that again, K2 insisted that I needed to have... on clearance for $27). The only thing not on sale/clearance were the black dress pants ($30!!).

I still wasn't sure what I would wear tomorrow... I had some great pieces but nothing that necessarily went together well. So after dinner at Noodles & Co and an appearance at Family Night at school, K2 and I headed to Kohl's Department Store. Talk about a sale!! Most items were 50% to 65% off. I must have taken 20 items into the dressing room (I didn't see that sign that said limit 5 items at a time!). The only thing I took in to try on that didn't fit was a blazer which I had already suspected wouldn't fit.... while I have lost weight and inches from the top... I am still on the larger side up there. But that was okay... blouses and tanks that I took in at XL (instead of 2XL or even 3XL) fit... and in fact, one tank I took in I discovered was a L (a larger?!?! I haven't worn a L without an X or two in front of it for so long that I can't even remember the last time). I had so much fun trying things on... going out to the 3 way mirror (YES! My gawd...even the 3 way mirror was used!) and even better was not afraid to face Ms. Honesty herself, K2. I bought so many things(3 pants, 2 skirts, 6 tanks, a dressy shirt), then added a new purse, some boy short style panties (do they really not show panty lines??? Because they sure are ugly on a fat person! I hope they are worth it.), and some nylons, a denim skirt for K2 and so as to not piss off the drill sargent, a guinea pig t-shirt for K3. All in all... just over $200! Then to top it off... Kohl's was running one of their promotions... for every $50 spent, you received a $10 voucher on a future purchase ($40 for me!) And there was one pair of ivory pants that I really wanted but they were $80 on sale for $35 but I thought still too expensive so I passed on them. Now I can go get them if I so choose.

I almost can't wait to go dress shopping but as for that other seasonal purchase... the dreaded swimsuit... not sure if I am ready for that! But because I have always loved the water and having 3 kids who do as well, I will have to purchase a new suit (because my old ones are bound to be too big! hee hee!). But I think I will wait til I am a little more ready... not quite there yet.

Oh and the $30 black dress pants from DB are being returned tomorrow... because I got 2 pairs of black pants at Kohl's for the same price.

Hopefully, tomorrow I will look okay in my new duds or at least appropriate for this office, but gawd knows that I certainly will be feeling great! Exercising tonight was so easy with the incentive that I had today!

But wait... the what about the title of this post, you ask?? What's the downside??? Well, duh... not enough money to shop like I would now like to. It was easier to go to a store and not spend money when stuff didn't fit or I looked like crap in it... now it's a whole 'nother story. I will want to try stuff on and will want to buy, but won't be able to. Oh well, it will be fun just trying things on anyway!

The Downside to Exercising...

LESS TIME FOR READING!!!

Wahhh... I have barely read in the last week! I finished my last book on April 17 and just started a new one today. Well, I tried starting it on Saturday but read about 2 pages and passed out asleep on top of the book. I was going to start The Sunday List of Dreams... one of the community boards that I joined on SparkPeople is a bookclub and that was their choice for April. As I already had the book sitting here at home, I thought now would be a good time to read it. HA! Fates are playing a trick on me. The damn book sat in one spot for months!!! Then I pull it out to read it and the freakin' thing disappears!!! I kid you not! Gone... vanished!

So I decided to go with a series that has been a favorite of mine recently... Sookie Stackhouse. I am reading Dead as a Doornail. The only problem is that after my dismal attempt to start it on Saturday night, I have had no time to read at all!!! So today I was determined to MAKE time. I went to the mall for a haircut and afterwards went to B&N for lunch and some much needed reading time. It felt so good just to sit there with a book in my hands and lose myself in someone else's world. Gawd, I have missed that.

Then after coming home... I was almost feeling down that I hadn't gotten a bike ride in today. It was 70 degrees when I left for the mall and by the time I came home it was in the 50's, gray and drizzly. What I wanted to make for dinner was missing one ingredient... I was going to drive to the grocery store and then after a quick check outside decided to bike there. The girls even came with me. On the way there it was fine... but on the way home it started to drizzle. But the funny thing was... it felt great! Even the girls had fun... we were riding our bikes in the rain. People probably thought we were nuts! But, you know what... I still managed to get in a 30 minute bike ride today! Woo Hoo!

So now I am off to bed... with my book... and lets hope this time, I make it past two pages.

Good things:
1. A fresh new haircut (that I actually like!)
2. Quiet reading time at B&N
3. Riding in the rain

Making life changes... one step at a time...

"It's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference."~ Jenny Craig

Someone posted this quote on the message board recently... and isn't that the truth. I honestly believe that one of the reasons I have always failed at diet and exercise in the past has been the dream of instant gratification. If it didn't happen immediately, then I gave up.

Also, I have never committed 100% to becoming fit. It wasn't a lifestyle change... it was "I want to lose weight... I want to lose it NOW... oh, and by the way, I don't really want to exercise regularly and eat better."

I am not sure what it was this time that spoke to me...I have a feeling that it was a variety of things. BUT this time, it HAS become a lifestyle change... or should I say... it is becoming a lifestyle change. Because I am not there yet. I have to work hard at it everyday. The exercising the last couple of weeks has been really good. I do my strength training 3 days a week as scheduled. I do BodyRev about 3X a week. And I either walk or bike, 5-6 X a week. For some reason, it has been easy doing this.

The food is going pretty well. I am making sure to add lots of fruits and veggies to my diet. It's not that hard to do. J is good with buying lots of fresh produce on his way home from work. When I make a Slimfast shake for breakfast (which is usually 4-5 times/week), I used to add only one kind of fruit. Now I am adding 2 and even 3 different kinds. We keep cut up carrots in the fridge at all times for crunchy snacking and I have to have my favs on hand at all times... sugar snap peas! They are sweet and crunchy... I just love them. I am making small changes in my diet. I completely switched to skim milk in October and just recently switched to Whole Wheat bread (told J though that he has to read the ingredients... first item must be whole wheat flour... not enriched flour). I try to take smaller portions and make substitutions where I can. No soda unless we are out to dinner or a movie (which turns out to be only about 3X/month). There is still room for improvement but considering how I used to eat... this is still a huge difference for me. I will make other substitutions as I go along.

In the past, I would DIET... completely limit myself on what I could and could not eat. YEah, that would always last about 4 days. Then I gave up because I was either hungry all the time... or craving my favs. Or there was the time, that I dieted during the week and on weekends allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted. Stilll no life style change there.

This time around (and alot of the credit goes to Alden and my buddies on the BB) I am doing this every day.... I have to... I have to think about it everyday in order to make it work. It's really not that hard... aww, hell, who am I kidding? It is hard... it is work.... but I am not giving up yet. I almost did a couple of months ago. I hit that plateau and nothing seemed to motivate me. I really needed to determine what it was that I wanted and what exactly I was willing to do to acheive it.

Yes, I want to lose weight. But it is really so much more than that. I want to have energy. I don't want to LOOK fat. I want to be able to do activities with my kids and not be winded or tell them to go on without me. I want to look in the mirror and not see a FAT person anymore. I want to live to see my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I want to LIVE this life I have... not just sit on the sidelines watching it go by.

So when it all comes down to it... it is what I do, day in and day out that will make the changes happen... there is no instant gratification here. It will really take a lifestyle change to make it happen.

Haven't really posted much lately...

Between work and enjoying the beautiful weather that decided to grace us, I have not been on the computer much. Things are good. The girls have not killed each other. K1 has decided to take up running. So far he is running 1 mile each night. I give part credit to the fact that he has to run the Mile in PE this week and I believe that I will take some credit for that as well. It is interesting to see the kids pick up on my new habits, whether it is reading nutrition labels or exercising.

I am off to work tonight. I still haven't turned in my two week notice. I need to talk to S. first about the job. I won't hear from the library til next week the earliest. Decisions need to be made. Just the thought that I won't be working there much longer makes going in so much easier!

The new bike is working out great! I really love it! It's not like I have to make myself go for a ride... I really enjoy doing it. And last week I bought a new "computer" odometer/tripometer/etc... for it. So now I can see exactly how fast I am pedaling... how far I am riding... and calories burned. So far I am keeping it to 5 miles which I do in about 25 minutes and then do a 5 minute cool down ride... very easy, gentle pedaling around our driveway or a parking lot. I would really like to increase the mileage but I need to pace myself - no burnout.

I have been watching the scale lately but more for curiosity sake.... AND I have gained 2 lbs!! I am LOL at that because normally I would be discouraged and upset. BUT I have been exercising so much...both CARDIO and strength training exercises that I can feel the muscles developing. My stomach is slowly flattening and clothes from last summer are TOO big! So no worries! I will just keep doing what I have been doing and eventually the scale will start to go in the direction that I want it to.

Off to the hellhole... ooops, I mean work. :) I need to find some time to post more and to do my good things posts. I miss them.

I had to do it...

On the BB, our resident fitness guru... our Admiral of the Fleet has been MIA and no one... I mean, NO ONE! has posted at all these last two weeks. I don't know about everyone else but I love the support and encouragement that is offered on the BB. I am sure that it is how I was so successful in the early days of my new fitness self. So I decided to take the plunge and post a Gator Patrol report. I hope the others out there report in and I sincerely hope Alden isn't offended that I reported him as MIA. I am sure the man is extremely busy.

So here's my report request...


Gator Patrol Report in... I miss Alden but we can still do this while he is MIA...

Posted by Carrie on 4/23/2007, 20:47:53

Hey, all! I miss us all getting together to talk about our struggles and successes. I hope no one has given up while Alden is MIA. We can do this! We are still a team and have always provided support and encouragement to each other while under Alden's fantastic leadership. So how is everyone doing???

I finally have my ship headed in the right direction!!! All I see is blue water ahead and I am so excited!!!! I have changed my focus and not letting it be about weight... which is good considering that I have added 2 lbs in the last two weeks... but I have been working out harder than I have in a long time and I can feel muscles forming once again, so I am not worried!

I am revving, biking, walking and doing strength training exercises. I have joined SparkPeople and am using it to help log my daily food intake and my daily exercise. It is fun to watch how many calories go in and how many calories are burned up. The part I am struggling with most is my water intake. I am aiming for 80 ounces and making it about 4 days... its those other 3 that I am really missing on it. But I am trying to find different solutions to help me acheive that goal and things seem to be improving!

ALDEN... if you are out there (or anyone else who might know)... I should know this but do any of the BR exercises qualify as cardio (except for cardio, of course). It seems to me that you mention in the dvd that legs is a cardio workout. Also, have you ever determined how many calories are burned using the BodyRev? Curious minds want to know...

Okay here's last week...

Bking - 5 miles... 6X
Walking - 40 minutes... 3X
BR - legs 3X
BR - abs 3X
BR - arms 3X

Plus a routine of 10 strength exercises (2 sets, 12 reps each) on S, T, Th.

Goal for next week... BR Cardio (I have been avoiding it for too long! Face thy fears, Carrie!)

Hope everyone else is having a good week!!!

I love all my kids but today K3 gets special KUDOS!

Today it was a beautiful day! After my interview, I pulled out a pair of capris from last year to wear. Imagine my extreme delight at discovering that they were BIG!! Time for some new ones, so K3 and I headed off to Kohl's. As I was browsing the capris and picking some out to try on... K3 says to me...

"Mom, are you in the Misses department???? REally? You are wearing Misses? When's the last time you shopped over here? Was it like before K1 was born? Way to go... woo hoo! "

Now don't get me wrong... it was great to hear this support from my youngest child however, she wasn't exactly quiet about it and other people start turning around to see what the commotion is about.

But it felt good to have her notice and say something... Gawd, I love my kids!

Just shaking my head...

Well, I had my interview today for the library position... I thought it was just a position of recieving the books and shelving them... Ahhh, no. It is circulation desk, assisting at the reference desk, aiding the Technical support staff with searching the internet for interlibrary loans, handling new items to the library... also, taking care of Holds and transfers within the county library system. When I walked into the room, I felt like I was facing the Inquisition... I was interviewing before 3 people... the heads of Circulation, Technical Support and Reference. It didn't help that they put me at the head of the conference table.

I should've had more sleep last night... I don't think I did really well... although the elder gentleman from Tech seemed to like me and my answers... the other two ladies were harder to read. I don't feel like I interview well.... for me it is more conversational. I tend to talk and talk and then wonder if I even answered the frickin' question. I explained and re-told most of my answers to J tonight... he said it sounded like I did great but then again, he's just a tad biased (although the man is generally brutally honest... I learned a long time ago not to ask how I look in something if I don't want to hear the absolute truth).

So here's my dilemma... I have two possible job choices on the table. One sounds like a done deal, I just need to let her know by mid-week if I want the job or not. The other is not even done interviewing until next Friday, and then will either be making phone calls or mailing letters out the following week. So I really need to come to a decision about which of these I want, even though the library postion hasn't been offered.

The Office Administrator:
Pros... part-time, great flexibility, room for upward mobility, I like the boss.
Cons... have to buy a new wardrobe (definitely a very professional setting), the pay (same as what I am making currently).

Library:
Pros... the PAY, the benefits (full health and dental), vacation after probationary time, I LOVE books and the library and would love to be there...
Cons... the hours... 40 hours, set schedule ( I would have to leave the kids alone this summer from 8:30 to 5:00 2, 3, and 4 days a week on a 3 week rotating basis)... no vacation this year... no girl scouts next year (wait, maybe that should be in the pro area)...

IF the library job wasn't on the table, I would have already turned in my 2 weeks notice. I sat and talked with J and the girls tonight (K1 was at a dance and sleepover)... I think the general consensus is that although the pay and benefits would be great with the library, that it might be a shock to everyone involved. I am worried about my girls getting along when I am here... my gawd! they would be alone with their instigator, big brother, anywhere from 16 hours to 32 hours a week! I think there would be bloodshed. Plus, not only the canceled vacation but there is also the matter of completely altered summer for the kids. K1 would not be allowed to go to his friend's house when I am not home... he would be needed with his sisters. None of the kids would be allowed to go for bike rides like they are used to... they would basically be on lockdown. Can I really do this to my kids?

When I met to discuss the office assistant job, one of the things that I stressed to her was that I LOVE being a mom... and even if I wait til Kendra is 18 to go back to work full time (which I seriously doubt that I would), that would put me at 47... still plenty of time to put 20+ years in of full time. I have my kids for such a short time... do I really want to give up what I have with them for money??? And J asked why I couldn't reapply for the position at some other time down the road... with them or with another library... there are quite a few in our area.

So I guess I know where my heart is on this... I guess the hardest thing is that I have choices... well, kinda, sorta since the library job hasn't been offered yet. I am not used to having choices and I almost wanted to curl up and have someone tell me what to do. J tried to play it safe... and not tell me what to do but in talking it out is how I came to alot of the realizations. It is so nice not to be alone.

So I will give it some more thought but I have a feeling that I will be making a phone call on Monday or Tuesday. Then I am going to need some fashion advice... I may have to take this to the BB and Quiche... I think she is the resident expert when it comes to fashion.

How Do You Approach the Day??

Gawd, how true! This hits home for me in so many ways... there are so many days when I start the day worrying about something, or tired, or just in a general bad mood. And doesn't that just set the tone for the rest of the day??? I was once told by a former boss of mine, that my mood tends to set the tone for the night at work... now, I find it hard to believe that I am responsible for 2o+ people on any given night but what she was trying to say that on the nights that I was up and high energy, that it was contagious and others picked up on that. She may have had a point but I still think she gave me too much credit for the mood of the crew. But I can see where her point does affect my daily life because if I am feeling bad, sad, mad, frustrated... I know my kids pick up on that and I have now started them off on a bad day as well.

I was thinking about this quote though and how it affects my fitness self. Lately, I am just enjoying life. I do have some back burner problems that are simmering... I don't mean to imply that all is perfect but I am not dwelling on those. I know they are there and I am taking steps to work on them. But anywho, back to my point... I did have one, right?... These last two weeks I have just had a completely different renewed sense of exhilaration! I look forward to exercising... whether it is the BodyRev or biking/walking or my strength exercises that I am doing. I love the feeling of euphoria that I seem to have right now. I look at my day and try to decide ahead of time where I am going to fit in some exercise and if it works, GREAT... if it doesn't, I try to adjust. And if I absolutely can't fit what I intended in, then I try to modify... my new motto is... Something... Anything is better than nothing!

Today K2 babysat her little charge at our house... K1 needed new gym shoes (he tried telling me he needed size 14!!! He got a size 12.)... there was dinner to worry about... I only had 2.5 hours of sleep this morning because of the interview... and I wanted to exercise... Normally, I would've stressed about wanting to do it all... I would've gotten myself worked up to a point where I was frustrated, upset and frazzled. But today I didn't let it get to me... K2 did her babysitting job... when the "little princess" left at 4:30, we hit some sports stores and the mall for new shoes for K1 (he is running the mile at school tomorrow and his old shoes wouldn't have made it). We spent longer than I had intended on the shoes but we left the mall with a pair he was happy with and that fit... I wasn't all that crazy about the price ($65) but it was cheaper than alot of the others that we saw... so half full type of thing. I decided to take it easy on myself and treat the kids to dinner at the mall (plus, I got to get my sandwich at B&N). We made it home by 7:00 and after seeing that the kids were settled in with their homework, I and my bike hit the road for the last remnants of sunshine. I had a great 40 minute ride thru neighborhood roads... I pushed myself on some and enjoyed the downhill breeze on others. When I came home, it was time to get everyone to bed. And I still managed to get in 35 minutes of my strength training program in.

The day went really well... and all of this on only 2.5 hours of sleep! But this was a perfect example for me of how a positive attitude can help get so much accomplished. Did I do everything? No... I have dirty dishes in the sink... not many though and they will be done in the a.m. while the kids are getting ready for school. No problem.

I really have to try to remember this... because I know this isn't a life change for me yet...but if I could just get to the point where this could be the norm, how great that could be. Oh, and as for influence... the girls had a much better day... I complimented them how nice it was not to have any fighting going on today.... small skirmishes but no major battles. AND K1 at 8:00 asked if it was okay if he went out and ran a mile... which he did. So maybe my positive attitude had something to do with that.

Think about it... how will you face your busy, hectic day tomorrow?

I am having an AWESOME week!!!

What's the phrase... "when it rains, it pours"??? Although that tends to remind me of bad things... and this week has not been that (well, except for my frustrations with the girls!) But get this... I already told ya'll (I hope I spelt that right, Miz Ginga) how on Tuesday quite out of the blue I get a phone call from the library regarding an application I turned in about 6 months ago. It was quite a surprise! So I am still flying high from that phone call when on Wednesday morning I get a call from a lady I met in February regarding a job as an office assistant. She wants to meet with me as soon as possible to see if we suit each other's needs.

So I went from being completely miserable at my current job... trying to decide if I should make the move to dayside there and now I have two possible other prospects! Well, I met with this woman today... she took me to lunch... get this at the restaurant that is directly below my husband's office... her office is 1/2 mile from his. Anyway, we discussed what I do at my current job... am I happy there...what do I like/dislike... then we talk about what she is looking for. Basically, she already has 1 assistant but is in desperate need of a second one part-time to start. The hours are 10-2, M-F (just 2-4 hours less than my current job) and very flexible. She said I should have no problem getting off for kids events at school, etc. She understands all too well the joys of having been a stay at home mom. I also mentioned a possible 2 week vacation in August and she said that would not be a problem. And as I said, it's only 1/2 mile from J's office. The only down-side (and it's not that big of a down-side is that the pay is the nearly the same as what I make now... a few cents less, in fact). But she did mention that they hope this position will eventually evolve into a full-time postition with more responsibilities.

I was straight forward with her and told her about the library interview. She said I definitely need to go thru with that... play out all my options. But if I want the job, it sounds like it is mine and all I need to do is let her know by mid-week. I love the great benefits... more time to spend with the kids (I hate the thought of being gone from them for 8 hours a day during the summer) and the flexibility. But the thought of working in a library with all those BOOKS!! and I have to admit that the pay at the library is great! Now I haven't even interviewed with the library yet... that's tomorrow a.m. (thank you all for your words of encouragement and luck!). I just don't know how long they will make me wait to hear yay or nay. I have to be honest with ya'll... if I didn't have the library job sitting on the interview table right now, I would've walked into T tonight and gladly handed in my two week notice!

I will post tomorrow on my thoughts about the interview... maybe I will really blow it and I will know right away that I don't have a hope in hell of getting it! :)

My 3 Good Things:
1. A great job offer!
2. A great workout of strength exercises
3. My turkey/cheese/chipotle sandwich at B&N cafe!

Today was better...

With respect to the girls... at least bedtime was smoother. However, we were shopping at Target and I swear the two of them just have to nitpick at each other... K2 has to hang onto the cart that K3 is pushing... then will walk faster or slower. Then if K2 said anything to her sister, K3 would respond and respond and respond. My mantra became "Just let it go. Just let it go." Ahh well, I need to appreciate the good times more and not take them for granted.

Good news... the library called me. I had filled out an application back in November for a library technician job. I never even made it to interview stage... talk about depressing!! Anyway, today I got a call from the library... nothing new there as they call me just about every other day letting me know that I book I have on hold came in. However, this time as I was listening to the machine, the woman says "hi, this is Sue from the *** library..." And I am thinking, "Huh, that's new... they never introduce themselves when they call about a hold." The woman then goes on to say that they are currently interviewing this week and next for a job posting and they had my application on file... was I still interested. Well, yeah... I really don't want to start a full time job right before summer but if I am offered it I will have to think about making it work. The library pays pretty well... Well, better than what I get now, that's for sure! However, it sounds like they are interviewing lots of people for this job so I am not getting my hopes up... if it works out great... if not, that might not be such a bad thing. Anyway, I am interviewing on Friday morning and I hate interviews... I never feel like I interview well. We'll see...

I did well on the exercise front today... another 30 minute bike ride with the girls (that makes 4 bike rides in a row!), then I did BR legs and abs today (did BR abs and arms yesterday.) I also took my measurements AGAIN today... although I have no idea how I compare to January. I lost the paper I wrote them down on and I thought I entered them on the computer but if I did I can't find where... so today I start fresh with the measurements. Still it would've been nice to see how I did... then again... maybe not... considering how lackluster my exercise performance was this winter. :)

I finished The Raven Prince today... awesome book!!! It was so unlike what I grew to hate about historicals... this one actually deserved a scorching rating... it was HOT! My biggest problem reading too many historicals is how everyone is so prim and proper and there is not a lot of nautiness... yes, I know I LOVE P&P but I still don't want a steady diet of it. Give me something HOT and I usually found that historicals didn't cut it. Also, I love that this one, neither the hero nor the heroine is perfect. He has pox scars and she is plain. Gawd save me from the "perfect people". This was a great read! I may have to run to B&N tomorrow to find the next in the series... although from what I read it may not be quite as good but that's okay... just so it's not a dud.

I should go to bed... 5 a.m. comes way too soon... but before I go... my 3 good things:
1. Reading a GOOD book.
2. News about the job interview.
3. My boss telling me I did an awesome job last night (I did, and deserved her noticing.)

Arrrghhhh....

Someone...please anyone!!! Please tell me that someday my girls will be friends and actually like each other. They have days...well, maybe not days but definitely periods of time when they actually get along and can play well together. But then there are times like right now... K2 is down in the basement pissed off angry because her sister always gets things her way...

They were playing outside together after school very nicely... they had their bikes out and were zipping around the driveway. In the past we didn't always remember to close the garage door and there were times that I would come home from work at 5 a.m. and see it sitting wide open. Well, now that I have a nice bike in there, I have stressed the importance of closing the door when we are done with it. We live in a nice area but still... crime happens everywhere these days. So while I am doing BR arms, it dawns on me to ask the girls if they closed the garage door when they came in. OMIGAWD! It was as if I had accused someone of some atrocious act! Right away, K2 says that she wanted to but K3 wouldn't let her. K3, of course, has to deny this. Meanwhile, I am trying to finish arms...trying to relax before going into work (which if I don't wrap this up soon, I will be late!)... and listening to the two of them bicker about why the door didn't get closed. I finally lost it and told them to go check and see if it was closed. J gets involved at this point and tells the two of them to go outside, "Yes, in your pajamas."... to check the door. It doesn't matter who was last in... they both are supposed to go and check. Well, K2 is outraged at the injustice of it all... she didn't do anything... it was all her sister's fault... K3 is ruining her life!

She is now back upstairs in her room, telling her sister that she hates her because she ruins her life...

Do you think there is hope for these two? Will they ever be friends and appreciate what they have in each other? I am 11 years younger than my sister. By the time, I was old enough to appreciate having a sister, she was moved out and gone. I never felt close to my sister mainly because of the age difference. I would've loved to have a sister to confide in.. to teach me things. But I didn't... I look at these two and think how lucky they are and they don't even know it.

Ugh... I just want them to like each other... is there hope?

Okay... strange to do it here... and it is rather difficult tonight but here are my 3 Good things... I think I need to remind myself of them now more than ever...
1. A nice big hug from J
2. Fairly easy night at work last night
3. Lily, the guinea pig, greeting me when I sit at the computer.

My 3 Good Things (from Sunday)... just a little late...

1. Biking to the grocery store.
2. Running into a teacher's aide from school.
3. Watching Extreme Home Make-Over and being thankful for the family that I have.

Commitment...

There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either IN or you're OUT. There's no such thing as life in-between.
- Pat Riley, basketball coach

So when it comes to getting more fit... am I in or out? I thought I was in... I really did. Even when I got sidetracked and lost my focus, I still thought I was in but looking back I know that I wasn't. At the time I really believed that I wanted to be in the game but just couldn't find the motivation, but then how could I really be in the game then? I think deep down, I just got tired... I was upset that I wasn't seeing results... although I know I wasn't putting my all into it. How could I expect to see results?

Right now, I feel like I am more in the game than ever before. I am not going gang busters on the BR... But I now have a plan in mind... M, W, F are my BR days... these are the days that I need to do 3 - 15 min workouts. On Sun, Tues, Thurs, I need to do some sort of strength exercises and try to fit in some cardio workout, like walking, biking or BR cardio, plus these are the days to add an extra abs if I feel like it. Before I was trying to BR 5X/week. And while some weeks I did it, others I fell short... and when that happened then I was down on myself and felt like a failure. I think this plan will work out much better for me. I love doing my BR but I started to get bored with it. I think by doing this plan I should be able to avoid the boredome since I have a little more choice in what I do plus, it allows me Saturdays off. But so far I have put a bike ride or a walk on those days anyway.

So it's only been two weeks but I feel great! I am back to logging my food intake... becoming more aware of calorie count (my SP plan says I should be eating between 1400-1800 calories/day... for the most part it has been pretty close to the 1400 mark). I am getting some sort of exercise every day. I am reading nutrition articles to make myself more aware and more informed. This time I think that I am really committed.

Finally Spring has Arrived!

The temps finally hit the 50's today! Although we didn't take advantage of it right away. The kids had popped in a movie and I curled up with Vengeance in Death and finished it!! Good book!

I finally got to pull out that new bike and give it a try. K2 and I went for a 40 minute ride thru the neighborhood. Hmm... I need to be sure to continue to do BR legs... my legs were burning for a bit... can't have that now. I know I can do better.

For dinner, we threw a couple of cheap steaks onto the grill and added a salad, baked potatoes (sweet potato for me), some green beans and French bread. A most fantastic meal! I even surprised the kids with strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Nothing much going on tonight... I think I am going to crash with a new book... I have two historicals sent from the Book Pimp via Sinful that I have yet to read... The Raven Prince and A Lady's Pleasure. I think I will start with RP, I believe I heard good things on the BB about it.

So goodnight, all! Hope you are having a good weekend.

My 3 good things:
1. Bike ride
2. All the kids getting their bikes ready for spring
3. Strawberry shortcake

Just another day...

We had a nice, quiet day today... no late night rush to the ER. :) I woke K1 up this morning to see how his hand was doing. He had taken the wrap off sometime during the night and seemed to be doing much better... he could now bend his fingers and the swelling was almost completely gone. We decided not to visit his pediatrician today since it looked like everything was back to normal. It is strange what happened.... J mentioned to me this a.m. that the one thing no one mentioned (although Sin did here on my blog) was a bug bite. I suppose that's what it could've been but it has been so cold here for the last week and a half... I haven't seem many spiders or such around. But whatever it was seems to have cleared up.

Many of you probably thought I was psycho to run away with the idea of the blood clot but once you know someone who died that way... the image is hard to reject from your mind. My former sister-in-law lost her nephew this way. He had been in a slight accident where his leg was injured... they took care of him at the hospital, wrapped his leg and sent him home. That night he started to feel weak and lethargic and before the ambulance could arrive, he died in his dad's arms. He was 15. Whenever I hear of a child dying, the image stays with me... whether I knew them or not. I don't want it happening to me. So that is why when K1's hand went ice cold last night and the pain moved from his fingers to his hand to his mid-forearm, I knew I wanted to be at the hospital in case anything went further wrong. It was me being a worrisome mom.

But all is well today... thank gawd... and now we just wait for the ER bill. J and I were playing guessing games at how much it would be... he is guessing $2K... I don't think it will be quite that much but we haven't had an ER visit in 8 years so what do I know?

The rest of today was very uneventful... The girls cleared some books off their bookshelves and we took those in to Half Price Books today ($14 for a bag of children books... not bad!) Then we went to Barnes and Noble for lunch... I have missed my Turkey Chipotle sandwich this week! When we came home, K2 and I checked the internet for the nutrition info on what we ate... not bad and some not good. My iced tea is safe and the sandwich isn't bad... about 320 calories... but it is the dessert that got us... The girls split a Molten Chocolate Bundt cake (47o calories...but they shared it) and I thought I was getting a healthier choice with the Lemon Raspberry Square... HA! It was 420 calories!!!! And I didn't share mine... ouch!

When we came home, the temps were only in the 40's but the sun was shining... so I wanted to go for a walk and the girls joined me. We had a lovely hour walk down to a local pond... still too cold for the frogs though.

Then tonight after J came home and ate we went to Target... I needed a new bike helmet because I know it is going to warm up soon and I plan to be on my bike! Plus, we checked out bikes for K2... she claims she needs a new one and her birthday is coming up in June so maybe...

A nice quiet day...very, very enjoyable!

My 3 good things:
1. Turkey Chipotle Panini sandwich
2. K3 discovering a "waterfall" in the neighbor's drainage ditch
3. Sleeping in this a.m. after J left for work

I am a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.
- JD Salinger

What do you think??? True? For me, yes in so many ways... I am surrounded by family (husband and kids) and dear, dear internet friends who seem to support me in so many ways, especially when it comes to my support system on this fitness road I seem to have found my way to. J and the kids are so extremely supportive yet without being "mean" about it... "are you sure you should be eating that?" And friends from the BB who are there constantly with words of encouragement, especially when I was in my fitness depression and couldn't seem to find my way out. Or if I have had a great week, they are there with cheers for a job well done.

But the funny thing is... I don't find this everywhere. Why is it when some people start to lose weight others have to find ways to bring them down? Remember when Oprah lost a ton of weight... her popularity actually went down. Why is that? I ran into a similiar situation from other family members last Christmas. I only had one sister-in-law who actually asked if I had lost weight. And then after that another sister-in-law snidely asked "Just how was I losing the weight?" No mentions of "gee, you look good." Or "way to go" or "good job". And my mom... my mom who spent my entire teen years trying to get me to lose weight... from bribing me with new wardrobes to commenting that I needed skinny friends... never said one word... not one. Now you have to understand that my mom has battled weight issues her entire life and she is a person who can never be happy for someone who has something or has acheived something that she herself desires. But its sad really... This is my family... people who are supposed to be supportive and yet I get more support from friends I met thru the internet... and some of them are people that I haven't even met physically yet. Something is wrong with that picture!

However, the people who mean the most to me in the world... J and the kids are by far the most supportive. Sometimes reminding me to exercise or joining me on walks.... And J has never made cracks about my weight or made me feel bad about it. He has always accepted me for who I am... not that he wouldn't want to see me weigh less... but then it is more of a health issue for him and not an appearance one.

So I am truly blessed... to have the support system that I do. And yes, I really do believe that they are very pleased to see me happy and doing so well.

Thank you all!

An ER Visit...

We have been very lucky... we have three kids and before tonight have only visited the ER once...back when K3 was 17 months old and had croup (scary!). Tonight's visit was a toss-up on whether we should go to ER or Urgent Care but the unknown led us to the ER.

Earlier today around 1:00 p.m. K1 complained that his middle finger hurt (NO! Not from overuse!!). I disregarded it as nothing. About an hour later, he came to me and said now it hurt across all of his fingers. I took a closer look and it seemed as if his hand was swelling. I watched it over the next hour and it was extremely warm to the touch and the swelling had definitely increased. I called J at work and his diagnosis was tendonitis either from shoveling yesterday or increased video game playing... nothing to worry about.

A short time later I was on the phone with a college friend and told her about K1's hand... she said to go in to the doctor. That's why we have insurance to help alleviate those fears of the unknown. By 5:00 I was going to take him into Urgent Care but by then his hand though still swollen was no longer warm... it had cooled down considerably. However, he could not bend or move his hand in any way. K1 said it didn't hurt as long as no one touched it (which K3 made the mistake of bumping into it and he almost broke down and cried). We had just finished eating dinner around 7:15 and I brought it up to J again. He started touching it (K1 said it hurt!) and J said that K's hand was ice cold. Something was definitely wrong... swelling, poor circulation, touch sensitive. J called his parents who both work in medical professions but they couldn't offer any advice other than to take him in.

Because of the severity of his condition at the time, J and I both decided to go which meant the girls had to come along as well. We debated whether Urgent Care or ER... but I was worried about worse case scenario of a blood clot and thought I would feel better being at the hospital. We have a wonderful Children's Hospital accessible to us and decided to trust them with our son. We didn't have to wait long... maybe 20 minutes at most before we were seen in Triage and then led to an exam room.

Our doctor was extremely stumped... she ordered x-rays, motrin and a warm soak. All which showed or did nothing. His x-ray showed no breaks. The motrin so far has not brought down the swelling and the warm soak evened out his skin tone a bit (it was really mottled when we went in). Our doc conferred with a veteran doctor and they also consulted with a rheumatologist. They could not come to any conclusion on what was happening. They did rule out a clot based on a strong blood pressure reading and reactive crit (pressure to the cuticle). Our orders are to continue ibuprofen every 6-8 hours for 48 hours and see his pediatrician tomorrow. For now I am resting a bit easier and hope that tomorrow brings some sort of answers or at least a return to normal of his hand.

So based on our excitement and anxiety today and tonight... my 3 good things for today all relate to K1's medical emergency...

1. The ability to have a choice on where to get good medical care for ourselves and our children.
2. Girls being concerned over the pain their brother was feeling.
3. Being reassured that our son did not have a blood clot.

Snowy Day in April...

Remember back on February 2...when the groundhog (take your pick) came out of his hole and if he saw his shadow we would have 6 more weeks of winter (which is what our local groundhog did) or if he didn't see his shadow, we would have an early spring (which is what happened to Punxatawney Phil). Well, either way early spring or 6 more weeks of winter... both have passed! February 2 was 9 weeks ago!! We should definitely be into spring by now... enjoying the tulips and daffodils poking their heads thru the sun warmed dirt.

But not this year... oh no... we had to get a freak snowstorm that dumped at least 8 inches on us. I didn't hear any totals yesterday but I did have to drive in it. After getting stuck in my driveway (which this winter was almost unheard of... we bought great tires for the van), I then had to traverse the roads and only go 1.5 miles away. But the road was horrible!! And the more well traveled 4 lane road wasn't any better... all I had were two little tire tracks to the pavement to follow. I am not normally a "fraidy cat" when it comes to winter travel... hell, you should've seen me take the road when I was trying to get to the airport during our first snowstorm of the year on Dec 1st. I was trekking down the interstate then. Of course, I was trying to leave town then and nothing was going to stop me whereas, yesterday I was just trying to take K2 to a friend's house for the afternoon.... yeah, nothing in it for me. Although when I picked her up a few hours later, the roads weren't much better and I said "to hell with it"... if I had to be out driving in that crap than I was going to get something out of it for myself so we did a trip to the library to pick up some holds and then stopped at Starbucks. Funny how I hated driving in the slop for 2 miles but then extended my trip to 10 miles to get a little enjoyment out of it.


But I will admit that it was very pretty outside... the snowfall was one of those big wet heavy snows that just covers everything. Yeah, it was purdy... but I also knew looking at it that I wouldn't have to look at it for very long. Barely any time for it to turn to that grey sludge that most snow on the road turns into. Today the temps hit 40 degrees and the snow is already well on its way to melting.

Keeping Things in Perspective...

The present is what slips by us while we're pondering the past and worrying about the future.
- Ziggy, cartoon foible


Ain't that the truth... how much time do we spend thinking about something we did yesterday or last week... did we do the right thing... would we do it differently if given the chance? Or what about worrying about tomorrow? I have a work review coming up... I wonder how I'll do... or how am I going to pay for braces? IS this you?? I know it's me... I spend so much time criticizing myself over things I did or didn't do yesterday and worrying about what I have coming up. What happened to living in the present?

Ziggy is absolutely right on this one... poor Ziggy... he gets placed in one sucky scenario after another and always manages to come out okay... If anyone knows that tomorrow will probably suck, it is definitely Ziggy yet he manages to face each day with a smile. Well, okay, he's a cartoon character, I mean really what does he really have to worry about... his creator's pen running dry? But seriously, I know I could use more humor in my life... more smiles... maybe that would help with facing each day even knowing that it was going to be a bad one.

Back when I first started doing my food/mood logging as suggested by Alden at the end of each log I would list my 3 good things. Part of this idea was stolen from someone else on the BB, but I don't think she'd mind. Somedays I was hard pressed to come up with 3 things but I usually did after some thought... it didn't have to be life changing good things... anything simple that simply made me smile that day would qualify. The funny thing is some of those things I took for granted until I actually sat back and reflected on the day itself. How many of those things would have gone forgotten if I hadn't made myself think about them? So yeah, worrying about yesterday and tomorrow while sometimes necessary shouldn't take up all our time... we need to live in the here and now and appreciate the good, no matter how small. Don't let your today slip away...

My 3 good things from today:
1. Appreciating a pretty snowy day (knowing full well it won't last long!)
2. A trip to Starbucks with K2
3. Hearing Philadelphia Freedom on the radio and remembering

MARCH READING UPDATE…

March was a great reading month... I found my way thru 12 books this month easily closing in on my goal of 50 for the year! I stayed with a lot of old stand-bys and even through some new works into the mix. Here's my reading list...

1. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris – This is the third in the Sookie Stackhouse series and I loved it. You would think that as a series goes on, especially one that focuses primarily on one couple, that we would tire of the characters… they tend to get that same old, same old thinking going on. I know that this is the thinking on the Stephanie Plum series (which I tend to agree with but damn they are funny!) But so far I have not even begun to tire of Sookie. In Club Dead, Bill is taken captive by another vampire faction and Eric sends Sookie in to help rescue him with the assistance of a werewolf, Alcide. In this one I became disillusioned with Bill, as does Sookie, and she learns that Bill is not the only suitor trying for her attentions… of course, there is Eric but we are also introduced to Alcide, a were. Depending how these relationships play out, it could fall into the Stephanie/Ranger/Morelli scenario (just pick one dammit!) but I don’t think so. It seems like Sookie really loves Bill even after his betrayal in this book. He doesn’t really deserve her love and especially her efforts at saving him. But despite her unwillingness to let him burn, Sookie is still a strong (even moral) heroine and is not willing to turn a blind eye right away to Bill’s actions. When this book ends, she has rescinded Bill and Eric’s invitation to her home (a vampire can only enter a private domicile when invited) and she is hurt and considering her options. I can’t wait to read the next to see where this couple’s relationship goes… will they get the quick fix or will Ms. Harris make Bill work for her attentions and love…. OR will their relationship come to an end?… A-

2. Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black- This is a young adult book that I read because K2 was interested in it but she was concerned about the age rating on it. I had told her that I would read it first and then decide if she could read it. This is the story of Valerie who after being betrayed by her mom, her friend and her boyfriend runs away from home to NYC. There she meets up with some tunnel kids who live in abandoned subway tunnels. Life is rough but then Val notices that not is all as it appears. Her friends are doing deliveries for someone who turns out to be from the faerie world banished to ours. After intruding upon the trolls home and being caught trying to steal from him, Val is bound into service to him for a month. It is while she is serving her sentence that she comes to know the troll better and see him in a better light… all is not as it seems. But someone is murdering those from the faerie world and making it look like Ravus, the troll, is doing it. Val and her friends need to solve the mystery and save Ravus’ life… B

3. Dead Sexy by Amanda Ashley – In this story, humans know that vampires exist however they are contained within certain areas of the city. Someone is murdering mortals and the undead so former vampire hunter, Regan Delaney, must team up with vampire Master of the City, Joaquin Santiago. In trying to solve the murders, Regan comes up against Joaquin’s old nemesis, a werewolf. In an attack, Regan is bitten and will become a werewolf at the next full moon. In an attempt to reverse the curse, Regan and Joaquin travel to the Black Hills to find an old medicine man rumored to have a cure to a werewolf bite. However, the werewolf gets to the old man first and kills him. Now the only way for Regan to rid herself of the werewolf curse is to kill the werewolf who brought her over. In the final showdown, Regan does kill him but is so gravely injured that Joaquin brings her over to the vampire world. While its true I like my paranormal romances, this one fell flat… C

4. Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward – Finally we get Butch’s story… I honestly didn’t think I would like Butch’s story all that much… I have not been a fan of Marissa’s and I didn’t know if there would be enough to fill a whole book. But not only does JR Ward do it, but she gives us the largest one yet. The best thing about these books besides the action and the HOT factor, that is… is that there is usually so much more to the story. We get to see more of what is going on NOT just what is happening in Butch and Marissa’s lives… we get to see the struggle that John is going thru, we get to see V and his relationship with Butch. I loved this book but then I have loved all of the Brotherhood books so far…A

5. Atlantis Rising by Alyssa Day – Let me start by saying that I am a fan of Alesia Holliday but not necessarily her writing. I think she is a very funny woman in person but the books of hers that I have read have been “take ‘em or leave ‘em” for me. But this one… this one I loved! I loved the whole idea of using Atlantis as a backdrop. I usually find that the first book in the series tends to be the weakest…too much of the story is taken up giving us the necessary background for the storyline. And I believe this will be true in this case as well. I did really like this book and I am looking forward to the rest of the Warriors of Posiedon…. A

6. Murder on the Rocks: A Gray Whale Inn Mystery by Karen MacInerney – I have read so many paranormals lately that I decided to give a mystery a try and one with no sex in it, too! This one was one I found on the library shelf. It involves Natalie Barnes leaving Texas behind to start up a bed and breakfast on the coast of Maine. But before she can barely get her business off the ground, a resort owner is looking at putting his new resort right next to her Inn. Natalie is trying to get the sale of land to him stalled by having the land declared a safe haven for birds that are nesting there. However, when the resort owner dies and Natalie finds the body, she has to solve the mystery or face being arrested for the murder. It was intriguing enough to make me look up others in this series…. B+

7. Ceremony in Death by J.D. Robb – This book has Eve and Roarke delving into the supernatural. Friendships are placed in jeopardy when Eve has to look into the dealings of a former mentor and his subsequent death. When his granddaughter then dies, it all becomes personal for Eve. She will stop at nothing to stop whoever is doing this. Although in her pursuit, Eve wears blinders for a bit which almost hurts her in the end. I loved this book… I love watching Eve as a kick ass heroine but watching her lower her defenses for Roarke just makes her that much more human… A

8. Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – SEP is not an automatic buy for me… although I have read most of her Chicago Stars series. I usually find myself laughing out loud while reading one of her books and this one was no different. I loved the banter between Blue and Dean. I liked watching his mismatched family come together and it didn’t happen in this nice pat little way. There were times when I wanted to reach thru the pages and smack the hell outta Dean but he did have his redeeming moments. Makes me want to go back to see if there are any SEP’s that I missed out there…. A-

9. Firegirl by Tony Abbott- Another YA book… This story is told thru the POV of Tom, a self described, “sweaty fat kid” who seems to be invisible most of the time and is quite happy with that. His mom is pushing him to get out there and make an effort to get involved at school. His friend, Jeff, is angry most of the time since his dad moved out and is far too concerned with showing how cool he is… he does not want to be invisible or different from the other kids in school. Then one day a new girl joins their class… but the teacher warns them that she is different. Jessica was in a fire and was burned over most of her body. She just moved to town to have treatments done at a local hospital. Because of her appearance, the kids don’t know how to treat her… so they make up stories about her. When Tom’s teacher asks him to drop homework off for Jessica after she misses school, a tentative friendship develops between them. This was a very good book for kids to read about friendship and dealing with those who are “different”… A-

10. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas – This was my first historical in a very long time (well, other than my P&P mysteries). I had given up on historicals awhile back because I wanted to throw the books at the wall so many times. I just couldn’t relate to most of the heroines and the time period of women being completely controlled by men… to me, it made them seem weak. But that is definitely not the case with this book. Our hero is Derek Craven, one of the richest men in England but a self-made man who rose up from the ashes of being raised by prostitutes after his mother abandoned him. He runs a gaming house. Our heroine is Sarah Fielding, a famous author of the time who is researching her next book and needs inside info on the gambling world. Derek at first tries to deny his attraction to Sarah, knowing that her reputation will be ruined if associated with him and he sends her back to her almost fiancée. Sarah is a strong heroine who stands up for herself… she is not willing to give up her writing nor be forced to live with her interfering future mother-in-law. She ends up calling off her engagement. After Sarah is attacked in an act of revenge against Derek by his former lover, Lady Ashby, Derek is made to realize that Sarah must marry. After first trying to marry her off to members of the ton, he marries her himself (when she refuses to even consider the others.) I liked this one because of the strength of the characters. Sarah is not a shrinking violet agreeing with everything her husband says. And Derek is strong enough not to be threatened by her intelligence (his spelling and grasp of vocabulary is not even close to hers) and her passion and success for writing. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters in this, Lily and Alex, Worthy, Tabitha and the house wenches and the others. I now have to go and find the first in this series which tells the story of Lily and Alex.

11. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris – Sookie is at a crossroads in her life… she has broken up with Bill and unsure of where she is going from here. When Bill leaves the country on a mission for the Queen of Lousiana, Sookie finds vampire, Eric, wandering the highway. He has amnesia and is wanted by a coven of witches. All involved decide that Eric is safest hiding out with Sookie. However, Eric is different with amnesia… more sweet, more tender. Sookie finds herself falling for this new Eric knowing full well that nothing can ever come of it because once Eric gets his memory back he will resort to his usual cocky self. I loved this installment … I am not used to reading books where it looks like the heroine has her HEA only to find that maybe he wasn’t the one. I love Bill but there are things that he does that makes me wonder if he could ever be Sookie’s HEA. And while Ms. Harris is figuring it out, I have no problem with Sookie testing the waters with others… A

12. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh – After not having read a historical in so long, I went and read two this month. I picked this one because this author is very popular among members of the BB and I wanted to see if she was worth the hype. Well, if this book is anything to go by, she is. I LOVED this book… it wasn’t like anything that I had come to hate about historicals. Lauren Edgeworth is no shrinking violet afraid to be her own person. She is a very strong independent character who can dish out insults while still remaining a lady. Our hero, Kit, is being pressured to marry by his family who have gone so far as to enter into a marriage contract for him. He however wants at the very least to pick his own bride. Lauren after being left at the altar wants nothing more than to retire to Bath and live her own life. She would not normally be attracted to such a scoundrel as Kit however her family who is throwing men in her path at every opportunity don’t like Kit and warn her away from him. This alone makes her curious. The two concoct a plan where Kit and Lauren will be engaged for the summer… long enough for Kit to be rescued from marrying neighbor, Freya. At the end of summer, Lauren will “break” the engagement and be free to retire to Bath. Although all does not go as planned as Kit finds himself truly falling for Lauren and he must convince her to give their engagement a shot for real.

Rev Report...

Alden posted his Rev Report today on the BB... I finally had something to say. For too long, I have been struggling trying to figure out what it is going to take for me to get moving in the right direction. I started off so good... lost 30 lbs in 3 months. Then I had a bad spell for parts of December and most of January... finally got my butt back into gear towards the end of January and worked at it... but the weight wasn't coming off like it was earlier. I worked and worked and still nothing... I got frustrated... lost focus and quit working so hard. Then I really hit a downer period in March where I was trying to work out and my brain wasn't co-operating. I got some good advice from some and tried to work at what I liked, namely Abs and walks. That was doing just enough to keep me from falling any further behind. But I certainly wasn't going to see results doing that. But I told myself that was okay...

When I started this yes, I wanted to lose weight and I wanted to become healthier and extend my life... I wanted to be able to play with my kids without getting winded... I wanted to live to see my grandchildren. But when I started exercising along with the weight loss, I also noticed that I had more energy, I felt strong and I was walking taller, straighter... When I stopped exercising, I lost all that. At one time I even had muscles in my butt!!! Who'd a thunk it??? But I lost that.

Getting sick last week reminded me of all that I lost when I stopped exercising... I kept telling myself before that I wasn't in it just to lose weight but I think I was lying to myself. If that wasn't the case, then why was it so easy to just stop and give up? I lost sight of everything else that I was gaining by exercising. I lost that feeling of muscles... I lost that energy... I lost that posture I was acquiring... and I was losing ground in the weight loss by putting some of it back on. When I got so sick, I found myself wondering if I would've been that bad had I been exercising throughout... maybe... maybe not... By getting sick, I was given a reprieve... my weight dropped back to my lowest point. I could start again... pick it all back up... wipe the slate clean and begin again. But first I had to answer some questions...

What was I fighting for this time? Was it just to lose weight? Because what was going to happen if I hit a plateau again or worse yet.. if I failed to go any lower than where I currently was... Was I going to give up again? In order to succeed this time, I need to make sure that it is about more than just watching the numbers lower. What about the 30 lbs that I already lost? Aren't those pounds worth fighting for? What if I never lose another pound? Thirty pounds is still something to celebrate... that is three 10 lb bags of potatoes that I am no longer carrying around... do I really want to add that to my load again? NO!

What about that energy level I had when I was exercising? Wasn't it nice to walk up and down the stairs and not be winded? I could actually come home from work and still manage to stay awake until after K3 left for school... now it is all I can do to make it til she wakes up. I am tired all the time... whether I worked the night before or not... I want that energy level again.

What about the muscle tone I was getting? I could actually see results in my arms... my legs and yes, even my butt... I, who can't remember the last time she could actually feel muscles on her body... had some muscle definition going on. I want that again!

So what's it going to take on my part... I need to commit to exercising... no excuses this time... No depressions/plateaus/brick walls can stop my progress. Now that doesn't mean that I need to become an exercise fiend... but I do have to put out an honest effort if I expect to see results. I need to do the BodyRev on a regular basis... Ideally, legs and arms 3-4 times a week, abs 5 times a week and hopefully cardio 2 times a week. All this needs to be supplemented with walking... bike riding (if it ever gets warm here!) and other strength exercises as suggested by my sparkpeople plan.

I also need to continue to log my food intake ( I am not posting it regularly here anymore... too hard trying to capture the image... but it is being done on my sparks page). I am not going to worry about tying in my mood to the food but I do NEED to continue to log the food... everyday!

So let's see where this goes this time... I WANT to succeed... I think that I am worth fighting for... and if I don't fight for myself... no one will do it for me.

The Bike...

For a few weeks now, I have been telling J that I plan on buying a new bike this year. My current one is a Raleigh 10 speed that my parents gave to me for my high school graduation present. It was a good bike but I am just a bit older (HA!) now and require something a little more comfortable. My plan was to just buy one from Target.

This weekend a local bike chain had their annual Bike Expo at the fairgrounds. J and I decided to go to see what else was out there. After I saw the prices on good, name brand, quality bikes, I started to balk. I didn't have that much to spend on one. J said that we still needed to go and see what else was there plus that I could get a bike to fit my body... not just pulling one off the rack at Target.

It was easy to rule out the road bikes (think Lance Armstrong) and the mountain bikes. Most of my bike riding would be on paved roads and graveled bike trails. I was deciding between the hybrid variety and the comfort variety however the comfort ones had larger angled handlebars... kind of felt like I was riding a customized Harley. So I pretty much looked among the Hybrids. I tried out quite a few but kept coming back to one in particular, a Gary Fisher. The fit of it from handlebar to body just seemed better plus the gear shifts were a thumb switch instead of a rotational turn of the handle.

The bike was definitely more than what I had planned to spend so I needed to sit and have a talk with my husband who seemed like maybe he was in a buying mood. J agreed that I need a new bike however he wanted to see me get a better one... one that would last, one that would fit my body. If I really liked this bike AND I was really going to use it, he had no problem with spending the money on a better bike. I honestly think that I will do a lot of bike riding this summer... I am in an area that riding on the roads around here is safe...plus I have access (with some car travel) to a variety of bike trails. I am more physically active and fit than any of the past few previous years. I really think that bike riding will add another dimension to my fitness activity.

So the decision was made and a bike was bought... now if only the weather would co-operate... 35 degrees is not ideal biking weather!

Introducing.... Mr. Jack O'Bunny!!!

I put off finding the baskets... yes, you heard me correctly... FINDING.... until last night. They never got put away properly after last year. I wasn't too worried because I thought they were "buried" in the corner of my room that used to be my sewing corner. Well, I found K1's and K3's easily enough but couldn't find K2's. The baskets for K1 and K2 are identical except in color...blue and yellow. They are actually baskets that my dad macramed for my little brother, Jim, and I back when we were kids. The yellow one was no where to be found... well, not easily anyway and it was 9:00p.m. and we still had eggs to color. So I jokingly asked K2, "Here do you want to use your Halloween pumpkin?" I was joking but despite saying no at first, she then grabbed it from my hands and told K3 and I to stay out of her room for a few minutes. She then bounded into my room and announced... "Introducing... MR. JACK O'BUNNY!!!" He got a pretty huge laugh from me and her dad, whom she then went to show that it was decided that she now had her Easter Basket.

Whew! Thank gawd for that... I still don't know where that other Easter basket is... but I know it will show up sooner or later... Probably right around the time we are looking for her Halloween pumpkin for trick 'n treating. :)

Happy Easter!!

Normally our holidays are spent with one of the in-law families. However, this year J's parents had to work so we didn't get together with them and my family wasn't doing anything together (well, at least not that I had heard anyway). We were able to spend a nice quiet holiday at home for a change.

I wasn't sure what time the kids would wake us up however I did hear the girls during the 7 o'clock hour. Finally at 8:00 a.m. nature's call had to be answered and downstairs I went. There I was accosted by K3 who told me, "GO BACK TO BED! We are having fun!" As I looked around... the baskets were still sitting on chairs where (I assume) the Easter Bunny had still left them, untouched. I asked K3, "What are you doing?" Her reply, "I don't know, but it's fun." I didn't need to be told twice... back to bed I went.

By 9:00 we were all awake, the kids were digging into their baskets (not much candy this year and a video game each)... and getting ready to find the eggs that they colored the night before. I basically slept on the couch through the whole event (still battling this cold). Breakfast consisted of hard boiled eggs after they were found.

The rest of the day has been spent completely at leisure. I got a nap in and some reading. The kids played video games and K3 did some drawing. J has been in the basement sorting thru some boxes. All in all a quiet and completely relaxing holiday.

Right now the ham and scalloped potatoes are on the table just waiting for the bread to finish baking and then we will eat dinner. The only down side the day... our dishwasher decided to break on us today. The kids discovered the joy of having to wash ALL the dishes... *snickers*

I hope everyone else had a great day and that you were able to spend it as you liked.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Fitness & Food Log 4/6

Yesterday wasn't a great day... the only thing that saved me since I ate a LOT of crap is that I seemed to have no appetite. Even in the morning when I made my Slimfast shake (which I actually love) I could only get half of it down. I ate no lunch because the kids and I went to the movies so while I put popcorn and soda (yes, I had soda) down for a snack it really was my lunch. For dinner we went for a fish fry but again I wasn't that hungry and only ate 1 piece and took most of the batter off because it was so greasy.

My intention was to get at least 15 minutes of BR in when we got home but J ate so much he wanted to walk it off so we went to Kohl's and Walmart and walked around. I really can't include that for exercise since it was more of a ramble thru the stores.

My water intake was also down yesterday. I think I only got about 40 oz in... with being sick lately, that should've been higher.

Today's another day and will try to do better... Here's the food log for yesterday...

So Many Thank You's to Send Out...

This is a post that I meant to do last Friday... Thursday was one of the best mail days that I ever had! That day in the mail, I recieved 2 manilla envelopes, 1 priority mail envelope and a small box... and not one bill in the bunch!! In the two manilla envelopes were books, one an old Suzanne Brockman, Kiss and Tell, I bought on-line and from Janet, I received another great JD Robb. She knows that I love this series and am far behind in it... I seriously think the woman is doing all that she can to see that I get to read the entire series. :) The box came all the way from merry old England from a wonderful lady that I am exchanging books with... I find some old American ones on her wish list... and she sends me some for K2 (who apparently has a great fondness for British authors). The box from Annie contained the Doomspell trilogy in one bound book, the World Book Day, Vampirates, and another she sent as an extra, The Code of Romulus. This exchange has been such a gift!! K2 gets copies of books that aren't published here in the States (as is the case with the 2nd and 3rd books of the Doomspell Trilogy) or aren't scheduled to be published here for months yet. Also... her friends think it's pretty cool that she has this connection to getting these books from England. How fun for her!

Then there was the last envelope. A week earlier, I had an email from Andrea asking me for my address, she had something to send me. I gladly gave it to her thinking that it was a Lisa Kleypas book... she is a big fan and I just discovered her. Well, the envelope definitely had a book in it but not exactly what I was thinking... this is what I found...






Andrea is a fellow scrapper and had made journals. She knew that I am a scrapper and decided to send one to me. While it is true that I am a scrapper, I haven't strayed far from the traditional scrapbooking path...meaning pages for scrapbooks. I had yet to try creating a journal so I was so ecstatic to receive this one! It is so beautiful and so extremely well done (J's comment... she EVEN covered the pen?!?!) I had been wanting to do this with my Brownies and was actually going to do it last week but in the end chickened out... now Andrea has inspired me to actually give it a try with the girls.

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So my good fortune had me out shopping on Friday... trying to decide how to send the Easter spirit... I picked up partial trinkets for friends (but haven't been able to complete due to being sick) and decided to do something for the little kids that I know in my life... nieces, nephews, kids of friends.... but alas, they are all here bundled up just waiting to be mailed! And I promise!!! it wasn't my post office phobia that held me back this time!!! I was honestly and truly sick... so off they go in tomorrow's mail... at least the kids presents... not in time for Easter but I hope they truly don't mind.

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Then my good fortune continued this week. I received cards from Cindy (220/221/whatever), Emily (sorry Em, my chocolate bar came smooshed and opened... it had to be tossed... :( ... a card, pez candy and GOAT!! from Mary (love ya, Mare... I know you believe me!), and from Brenda, a cool camo basket filled with goodies! (Not sure how you think we spend our Easter if we need Camo baskets...but leave it to you to have us prepared for any event that we need to be camoflaged! Now that the snow is gone... wear white and lay down no longer works, right?)

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So thanks again one and all... love ya!!!