Catching Up

What's been going on here, you ask?  Well, let me tell you (in no particular order).

1.  I/we are empty nesters!  Yes, it really is a good thing, so far.  My two kiddos (can I really call them that anymore?) are off to college.  My son is 5 hours away and my daughter is 9 - by car.  I am very excited for them and where they chose to go to school.  They are both at the right place for them.

2.  I think a daughter going to prom from the mother's perspective is practice, in a very small way, for her wedding.  We had to alter her dress.  Her dress was long and gorgeous!  She was able to get her hair and make-up done for less than half what is normally the charge at a salon.  And she looked gorgeous!

3.  Obviously from #1 and #2, my daughter graduated high school.

4.  We just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.  We celebrated by taking a trip to Maui!  Of course we left kids behind, duh.  What a great time we had.  I highly recommend snuba.  Snuba is a combination of snorkeling and scuba diving without certification.  We went on a snorkeling trip and with snuba you wear a weight belt and have a breathing regulator while your oxygen tank is floating above you with a 25 foot breathing tube.  The instructor took us around the bottom of the ocean and we were able to experience scuba diving in a very benign way.  Loved it!  Our condo was right up against the ocean and at times we could feel the mist from the waves.  Here's the best sunset view from our balcony. 

 

5.  Wind storm X 3.  We experienced three wind storms within 20 days of each other and they were all 10 days apart.  Our damage happened on the first one.  As we were watching the backyard we saw our very stable wood fence bow then break away from the fence and an 8 foot section was swept up and somersaulted in the air.  I now have a better understanding of the Wizard of Oz.  It was amazing to watch such force. 

Bye-bye fence.  Yes, it landed inches from the 14,000 gallon pool.  The two wooden posts you see in the picture are not from the fence but the neighbor's garden.  Our fence posts were snapped at the base.  After watching this damage we decided to look out front.  Oh no!  We lost four trees.  Two small ones broke and two very large ones came down - these were healthy trees.  The one in front of our yard snapped about a foot in the ground.  Not a single root was lifted as is normally the case.  Our pine tree dropped and clipped the neighbors rain gutters and fell across their driveway completely blocking off the garage. 

 

We also lost many roof shingles and many more were damaged.  The end result, we have a partial new fence.  We now own a chain saw.  Eight trips to the dump to discard of the tree limbs.  Our new roof is rated for 130 mile winds.  Let's hope we don't need to test that. 

 





6.  I missed my 30th high school reunion because we were dropping my daughter off at college but my three sisters and I did get to my step-sister's wedding.  We all came in from out-of-town (2 from out of state) and it was a great time with the girls.  Even took in a Mariner's game and saw Felix Hernandez pitch! 

7.  I tried eyelash extensions.  Love them!  But way, way too expensive for me to maintain.  Back to puny eyelashes.

8.  Even though football has started I still am watching every Mariner's game and rooting for a playoff spot.  Hey, when you name your dogs Spikes and Cleats you have to watch baseball to the end. 

I think I've caught you up on the happenings here.  Hope you all are well and would love to hear from you and what you have been doing. 



Now you see it...

Doesn't that look like a nice pine tree? (It's a White Pine, I'm told.)  It's a perfect size to block the view into the neighbors yard.  And to block their view into ours.  It doesn't drop too many needles either.  Look closely.  I have a worker in the picture.  Because......

The tree leans.  It's always leaned at the base and then grew straight at the top.  We didn't worry about it until two weeks ago.  We live in an area of town that is like a wind tunnel.  It can be windy everywhere, but when you get to our area, the winds increase and blows so much harder.  And this poor tree grew valiantly against the wind for about 20 years.  But as I said, about 2 weeks ago we had some huge gusts, 60 mph'ers.  The poor girl withstood the pounding.  Then a week ago we had close to 50 mph winds and I went to check on it.  The trunk near the ground was swaying.  I don't know much about trees, but I'm thinking if you can see the base of the trunk sway, that's probably not a good thing.  If she was going to drop it was going to be in the neighbor's yard, possibly clipping their roof and most definitely taking out that fence.  We decided we didn't want to risk it.  So after a few phone calls, we decided on a local tree cutting company and today they showed up.  It was like watching a dance; so precise.

The climber clipped on his spikes and had a rope around his waste and climbed a bit, cut the limbs he could reach, moved the rope up, climbed/spiked up, cinched the rope, cut more limbs, repeat.

Such precision in cutting the back branches.  He would make a partial cut, bend the limb back into our yard, then cut off completely.  There were two other guys on the ground pulling the limbs to the front of the house and running them through the shredder.

Off came the top.  I will tell you, I was saying a few prayers as I watched the guy climb up.  Prayed for his safety and that the tree wouldn't topple over.  They estimated it was a good 40 feet tall. As he descended, he cut through that trunk in 3 foot sections.

They came, cut and cleaned in about an hour.  It was actually quite impressive.  Now we no longer have privacy and plan to plant another tree(s) next spring.  Until then, we are exposed.

Now you see it.....

Now you don't.

I was talking with the owner of the company as this was happening and he said they shred the limbs and keep the trunk.  (We don't burn wood, so we didn't need it.)  All his guys have wood burning fireplaces so they take what they need.  The owner also gives some of the wood away to charity and also sells to low income families for less than half the cost of what is normally charged for wood.  That made me feel even better about choosing this company.


Have any of you had any drastic changes to your homes recently or plan any modifications before winter?

BUSY

How have you all been?  It seems like we have been going non-stop but don't have much to show for it.  Ever have one of those days....or weeks?

The last couple of weeks have kept us going.  My hubby is working hours a day on painting the house.  He's painting by hand and we have boards that have grooves in them, so he has to use the paint brush for the grooves and can roll the flat; which means double the time to paint.  But it sure is looking great!  It took over 20 samples of paint to find the color we settled on.  Actually, it was one of the first we liked but needed to work through all the other colors to be sure.  Even when we decided on the color it felt more like we were settling on it and that it was the best of the bunch.  There was never a moment of, 'This is THE one!" feeling.  Now that it's on, we are loving it!  I am so happy with the color (it's a green with a bit of blue tint).  The more the house gets painted the happier I am that we chose this one.

There has also been a lot of tending to household items and getting ready for our son to head off to college.  We've been making many lists, one of the things I do which you can read more about here.  Trying to be frugal, we are using as much from home as possible (like towels, pillow, blankets, etc.).  We thought we were doing a great job by buying some sheet sets last fall for super cheap.  Come to find out, beds in colleges are twin XL, who knew?  I'm keeping those sheet sets for when my son moves into an apartment.  Plus it's been so long since we purchased them I am sure the store won't take them back. 

The gal that hit my husband and daughter finally had her day in court.  That had been pushed back multiple times.  We did not take her to court, the state did.  She was under the influence of Meth and had other drugs in the car and was an unlicensed driver when she hit them.  Plus she had been charged with a crime prior to our crash.  She is in jail for a bit longer and I do hope she can stay out of trouble when released.

We finished our softball season - didn't end well, but that's OK.  Just indicative of the way this year went.  Had a very enjoyable barbecue party after though.  That really is the highlight of the season.  The one takeaway we had for this year is we discovered a great new pizza place.  Hubby and I have gone back a few times and found a "keeper" for a go-to place for dinner. 

No big plans for the weekend.  My daughter is away at her friend's cabin and of course hubby is outside painting as I type.  My only plan is to tackle the laundry, dishes and clean up this filthy home since it's been neglected for the last couple of weeks. 

How about you?  What are your plans for the weekend?

Just Stuff

It's been a while since I've blogged so here is a bit of what has been going on in my life:

1.  We took a few days off and went to Palm Desert, CA.  Yes, we are a bit crazy to do this near July, but the rates were too good to pass up.  Check out the view from our hotel room.  Left just before it got to 117 degrees.  Good timing :)

2.  We've harvested some lettuce.

 Doesn't it look like we purchased these beautiful greens?  Yup, we grew them in our backyard.  I have to admit, I took a great deal of time of washing each and every leaf.  I am a city girl and proud of it.  Seeing a bug or two on my food does NOT appeal to me.  A few slugs were washed away (and garbage disposaled, for good measure).

3.  I am nearing the age of 50.  That just does not seem possible.  I don't think I look or feel 50, but I may be biased.  I'm not there yet, but very close.

4.  Saw my best friend today.  I am lucky to see her once a year.  She lives out of state but she has family near by.  We are only 5 days apart in age.  My youngest child will be a senior in high school; her youngest will be a second grader.

5.  Speaking of my best friend.  Her son is very creative.  It's been hot so check out his way of cooling off.
 

In case you can't tell - he put a liner in the back of a pick up truck and filled it with water.  He's lounging in an inner tube.  He also didn't like the school lunches so one day he cooked hot dogs on a Hibachi in the back of said truck.  I love that guy!

6.  One more best friend moment - we picked cherries.  They are sweet and yummy.  I plan to pit them and freeze most to put in smoothies.

7.  My "baby" heads off to college in just over a month.  I can't believe he's old enough to leave, yet I am so excited for him and all that growing up has to offer.

8.  Painting the house takes a really, really long time.  My dear hubby is meticulously working on the first level.  Slow as it may be, it looks so great.  After 20+ color swatches we painted on the back of the house we settled on one of the first ones we liked and we are very happy with the results so far.

9.  My toenail is broken too close to the bottom.  I stubbed it and now hope it can grow out before it comes off.  I keep polishing it hoping that will keep it on a bit longer.  Sorry, probably too much info, but hey, you never know what you'll get here.

10.  I am in a rut in regards to dinners.  Does anyone have any recipe ideas?

There you have it.  Anything interesting, or not, happening in your life?

1. Make a List 2. Review List 3. Complete List

The school year is winding down and it's a hectic time but somehow I always think, "this year will be different."  You would think after 12 years I'd have the end of the year figured out.  Oh, no.  I've been looking over the calendar and see all that needs to be done and accounted for. 

Side note:  I better enjoy this hectic time because I'm thinking in two years I'm going to be wishing for all this hectic too-much-to-do time.  It just dawned on me that once the kids are gone the end of the school year won't mean as much.  Tear drop.

Back to this year.  There is a lot going on.  Thankfully I'm a list maker.

Many people make lists.  I make lists.  Actually, I've been making lists for years!   I know some people like to make lists because they enjoy the cross-off.  You know, when they've finished that one task the line is drawn through the item.  I'm sure there is much joy to see the tasks being accomplished.  But that is not why I make lists.

My list making is out of pure need.  I need organization and this is my one way of keeping track of all I need to do.  I have a white board on the fridge and list out all activities for the week.  If I have a busy day, a list is made.  My list includes what needs to be done and then some.  Sometimes I have a rough draft list for the really busy days.  Then the final version includes all the tasks along with times I should be doing it.  Yes, I put in the time I want to begin the next item.  Here is what my list would look like:

1:00-1:40 Wal-Mart
        - Shampoo, milk, socks, light bulbs
1:45  Bank - deposit check, get $25 cash
2:00  Post Office
        - Mail bills, buy book of stamps
2:25  Home
        - Calls: Doctor, Newspaper subscription, order gift
        - Clean:  Dust my room; dust Living Room; Sweep kitchen; Dishes
4:00  Start dinner
 
Yes, I'm a bit of a nut.  But this is what works for me and I am so glad God made me this way to try to keep me a bit organized. 

Are you a list maker?  What does your list look like? 

Some random things I've been enjoying lately:

1.  Dave Ramsey.  He is on the radio when I leave work and I enjoy listening to his wise financial advise.  What impresses me most is his kind and merciful heart toward the callers. 

2.  Sunshine.  We have had some incredible days these last few days.  We hit 70 today and yesterday was one of the nicest Easter Sunday's we've had in years.

3.  Seattle Mariners.  Opening day for baseball today!  OK, yesterday a game was played, but today is the real opening day for the other 28 teams. 

4.  My Ninja blender.  That baby blends my smoothies like there is no tomorrow.  I love it.  Throw in some ice, yogurt, protein, fruit, spinach and juice and away I go for breakfast.

5.  The Bible series on the History channel.  If you missed this program I highly recommend renting the five-part, ten hour series.  There were some artistic liberties taken, obviously, but I don't think the integrity of the message was altered. 

6.  My small group.  We just finished studying why we believe.... the Bible, Jesus, Resurrection and other topics.  It was very interesting and affirming.

7.  The Amazing Race.  My daughter and I enjoy watching this show together.  I could never go on that show.  I'd lose any cool I had (which really is none) and show my ugly competitive side.  Plus, I over-think things all the time, which is not good if you want to do well on that show.

8.  My Starbucks app.  I recently discovered this app.  It keeps track of my gift card, my purchases and free items.  When I purchase I just show the home screen and the barista scans my phone and the charges are automatically deducted.  It was fun to go through the drive through and flash my phone and off I go. 

9.  The last few months of my son home.  I am enjoying the time with my kids while they are still home.  Soon enough they will be going off to college and moving on with their adult lives. 

10.  Bar-B-Q's.  With the nice weather we've been having, we had our first bar-b-q tonight.  Cheese burgers-yum.  I add all kinds of toppings: Gorgonzola cheese, peppercini peppers, red peppers and mix the hamburger with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper.  Love them!

What has been catching your eye lately?

Not on Friday

I am not playing hooky; but I am home from work today.
My boss knows.
I have the NCAA basketball first round games on the TV in the background.  I LOVE this tournament.

I'm not home because I want to watch the games; well, I do, but that is not why I'm home.  My son has a bad tooth and we are waiting to leave for the dentist.  That - getting an appointment to the dentist - on a Friday was eight calls in the making (actually it was far more than that, I'm not counting the numerous calls I made and received the answering machine AFTER the time it told me they would be open).

Oh my.  Do not have to see a dentist on a Friday!  My son's tooth started hurting pretty bad last night so he would have to be seen today because we didn't want to wait through the weekend.  And really, why should we?  So I called his dentist and the recording told me they opened at 7:00 am.  Great.  Called a few minutes after 7 and called a few more times and every time received the answering machine.  The office is a block away, so we decided to drive over.  Maybe they forgot to turn off the machine.  Nope.  Nobody in.  As we left, I saw a girl walking into the building and thought maybe that was an employee.  Got back home and called again.  Yes, she was the worker, but didn't know how to reach the dentist and she was going to be the only one in.  After a few minutes she saw a note that had the on-call dentist's number.  OK, now we are getting somewhere.  I call him.  Nope.  He is closed and I can call his home number.  I call and leave a message.  (He did call me back about 2 hours later.)

I decided to call my dentist.  Guess what?  They were closed.  The recording said if I had an emergency I could call the dentist's cell phone.  I did.  He answered his phone.  He gave me a few names to contact.  He actually would have come in to see my son, but had previous plans and was leaving town.

I tried the first two names.
And - they - were - closed.

I called the final option he gave me.  It's the office next to his.  A live person answers the phone.  Yes, they can see him.  We set the time.  Oh, by the way, the office near you is closed.  We are located across town.  Do you still want to come in?  Are you kidding?!  You are the only ones open.  Of course I'm coming in!

So you now get to read about my frustrating morning trying to get into a dentist while I wait for our appointment.  I get so see a bit of basketball, my boss said to take care of my baby and he'll see me Monday (I have the best boss) and my son should be feeling better soon.

I hope you have a great weekend.

I Splurged

When you see that title do you think dessert?  Or maybe a new outfit?  Or shoes?  Maybe something for the house?  The last option is close.  I did splurge but I don't think you will ever guess on what.  Get ready.....I splurged on.....hangers.  Yup.  I bought new hangers. 

My bedroom closet is a double size closet, with one end at an angle so we lose some valuable hang-able space.  It could be much smaller and I am truly grateful for what we have, but our clothes are crammed in that closet.  I like to hang most of my clothes (partly because we have only one dresser for the both of us).  Yes, I probably have other issues when I have so many clothes.  Let's ignore that for the time being.

Back to my cramped closet.  I can barely move the clothes to take out an item or put one back.  Take a look yourself.

Trust me - trying to push the clothes to the side to make room was nearly impossible.

I've seen TV promos for space saving hangers but was skeptical.  Really, just changing out hangers is going to give that much more space?  Ha, I scoffed.

I saw some of those hangers on sale at a local store so I decided to try a few, just to test it out.  There were only two packs of hangers left and I bought them.  I switched out the old hangers for the new and it did seem to give a bit of room.  Hmm.  Maybe there really is something to this.  I counted how many items we have (I'm only going to say it hit three digits) and went to the store's website.  There I found a good deal on the hangers and even qualified for free shipping.

They arrived last week and I switched out my hubby's clothes first.  Wow!  There really is more room.  I have more clothes than him, so my side will really be the test.  I switched out my side tonight and I can say I am impressed.  I can actually push clothes to one side and there is more than a fingers width of space. 

This was NOT possible with the old hanger!

I now want to get the pant/skirt hangers for the final items (those were sold out).  Not only do I have more room, but the clothes look so nice hanging on all the same type of hanger.  I think I had every type of hanger imaginable: wire, tube, clear plastic, nicer store quality with the sticky edges.  Now I have all the same style and my hanging items look so nice and neat.

Out with the old and in with the new.

 Now if I can only get the shoes looking so organized I'd be set.

Likes and Dislikes

Some random likes and dislikes of mine.....
 
Likes:

1.  Flavored salts.  Have you tried these?  They are great!  I keep a bunch on my table in a cute wooden carrier.

2.  My job.  I am completing five years there and really like what I am doing.  I'm so thankful I can go work at a place I enjoy.

3.  Volleyball.  Specifically when my daughter makes her first choice team for the club volleyball season.

4.  Brussels Sprouts.  This is my new favorite vegetable.  I like to cut the ends off and remove any bad outer leaves.  Then cut in half length wise, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt then bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until brown.  Hmm hmm good.

5.  The political season has ended!  Enough said.

6.  Words with Friends. 

7.  My son receiving his acceptance letter to the college of his choice.  And by the way, the only one he applied to.


Dislikes:

1.  Volleyball tryouts.  The whole process is nerve wracking and stressful.  So many girls vying for so few spots.
 

2.  Anything with Christmas before Thanksgiving.  I'm sick of seeing Christmas trees, ornaments and hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving.  Let's celebrate one holiday before the other shows up.

3.  House cleaning.  And my house reflects this dislike, unfortunately.

4.  Scooping the backyard (we have dogs).  Sorry about that one.  Just did it since it is not currently raining

5.  The political season. 

Hopefully these were not the typical answers you were expecting.  So what are some things you like, or dislike, that not too many others would know about you?

What's Happenin, Hot Stuff?

"What's happenin hot stuff?"

If you loved watching movies in the 80's (yes, some of us are that old) then you probably remember that line.  It's from Sixteen Candles.  A movie I can quote a few lines from - I don't know if that is a good thing or not.

OK, on to the real post which consists up mundane stuff that has been going on in my life.  Ran into a friend at Costco.  Great to see her and catch up for a few minutes.  Actually, I think I was the one catching her up more than her.  I have a way of doing that - me talking too much.  I love the random runnings into of others.  This one was a planned-from-above running into. 

The back story:  My son is looking at what he wants to do after high school and has gone through a number of career ideas.  Each one seems to be built upon the previous and he's now into engineering and thinks he's narrowed down a specialty.  He started scouting out schools for a previous career path and we were led to look at a specific school.  As he explored this new school's different majors, he kept going back to one in particular.  He may have found the major to pursue.

Now I'm in Costco and run into my friend.  I was telling her about my son's pursuit and she mentioned the same college.  I love those divine interventions.  The more we look into this school and the options available, the more it feels right and that this is the place for my son.  We are going to visit it later this month.  I'm very excited to see it all in person. 

Here's the good news - This school is out of state for us but they have a program with surrounding states that allow out of state students to pay a reduced rate.  When all tolled, to attend the out of state university is cheaper than attending either of our two largest in state universities.  So it's cheaper to leave than to stay.  How sad is that!

My daughter came home sick today.  She's been fighting a cold (actually, we all are) and finally needed an afternoon of rest.  She plays volleyball so she hasn't had any down time.  As soon as she gets home she eats, showers and does homework.  Hours of homework.  She is an honor student and this year has some very hard classes.  She's actually working on some homework while hanging out on the couch right now.  Poor thing.

This is my busy week at work.  All our bills have to go out and we are putting on a training class, which I have helped organize.  I love the organizing part.  Had some great BBQ delivered for lunch!  Tomorrow is oriental - yum!

I've been missing my dad lately.  I think it's because my hubby and I are in a small group and the topics lately have been on heaven and hell and it makes me think of Dad.  I know he's in heaven.  Plus, I found out yesterday an elderly relative who dad loved passed away over the weekend. 

I've lost my motivation to work out.  Anyone have any tricks to jump start a desire to exercise again? 

It's starting to cool down.  Fall is coming.  Now I can break out the sweaters and sweatshirts.  I like to bundle up.  The electric blanket has already been turned on the last few nights.  I'm trying not to crank up the heat, but I think I'm going cave soon because it's getting cold inside.  I just checked...our temperature says 65 degrees.  That's inside the house.  Brr.

So I ask you, "What's been happenin, hot stuff?"

I've been tagged

My friend, not just in the blogging world but in real life, Jenn of Four For France, tagged me for a Q & A blog.  I think these are fun because you get a chance to learn a little bit more about your friends.  Some answers you may be able to guess, but many are surprises. 

So here are my answers to the following questions:

1. What color are your socks right now?
No socks.  I am sitting on the couch.  No I'm reclining on the couch with a blanket over my lap with laptop warming my thighs.  Athletic socks are white or black.  Dress socks usually black and a couple brown.  I'm pretty bland in that area.

2. What are you listening to right now?
The Olympics on TV which is currently showing Race Walking.  I guess I really do love the Olympics, no matter what is being shown.  And my dogs deep breathing as they lie next to me.  Now my daughter showed up and I'm hearing her ask why race walking is even a sport.

3. What was the last thing you ate?
Yum, Noodle Express leftovers from yesterday's lunch.  My favorite part is the vinegar slaw.

4. Can you drive a stick shift?
Oh yes.  My car is an automatic, which I prefer.

5. Last person you spoke to on the phone?Texting doesn't count.  I spoke with my hubby on my way home from running errands - hands free of course.

6. How old are you today?
That is a funny question.  46.  I'll be 46 for about 335 more days.

7. What is your favorite sport to watch?
I love to watch baseball, the Mariners.  I know.  Most people don't find baseball too exciting, but I do.  I missed out on being at the perfect game pitched against the Mariners earlier this season.  I drove right past the stadium and walked around downtown Seattle and was tempted to take in the game, but hung out with my sisters instead   I also love to watch volleyball.  Both indoor and beach.  I prefer the women, but the men are exciting too.

8. What is your favorite drink?
Hmm.  That one is a loaded question.  Depends on the time of day.  Morning - coffee with french vanilla creamer; during the day - water, evening - Sauvignon Blanc wine.

9. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Highlight it every 6 - 8 weeks.  Tried going a bit red once, but that didn't work out.

10. What is your favorite food?
Rice.  The rice pot never leaves the counter.  We go through 50 pounds of rice every 1 1/2 months or so.  No kidding.

11. Do you sing in the shower?
Usually not. 

12. Favorite day of the year?
I have to agree with Jenn with Thanksgiving, but I am also partial to the 4th of July.  I love putting out the flag and bar b q'ing.  And there is usually a baseball game on TV too.

13. What is one place you want to visit?I'm going to cheat on my answer:  Europe.  I've never been out of North America and would love to tour all over Europe.

14. What was your favorite toy as a child?
I had a doll, about 18 inches tall.  I think her name was Ruth, but I don't remember.  She had chestnut brown hair that I could pull out from the top of her head to give her long hair, or turn the nob in her back and shorten it to a bob.

15. What is your favorite season?
I think Fall has to win out.  It is still warm, but getting cool.  I love to pull out sweaters and college football is on every Saturday which my hubby and I love to watch.  OK, add college football to question #7.


So now you know a bit more about me.  Feel free to answer any or all questions and we all can get to know you more too.

One Year Ago Today

This exact day last year was when I made a conscious decision to stop being out of shape.  I had been gaining weight and becoming such a sloth and having basically no activity.  The scale kept climbing and I kept sitting.  Then, on August 3, 2011 something clicked, or snapped, and I decided to be proactive against where my body was heading. 

I'm not where I wanted to be, weight wise, but pretty close.  I am using the excuse that the first six months of 2012 have been pretty darn hard on me and my family.  An excuse, yes, but I do think I do have a reason to use that excuse....the death of my father-in-law, the stress of my dad's inevitable death, my daughter receiving two concussions in 2 1/2 months; traveling to bury my f-i-l, the death and burial of my dad, and to top it off my hubby and daughter being in a head on crash (by a gal on meth) and all that goes with dealing with a crash (doctors and car hunting).  I think that pretty much sums up those months. 

I was hoping to be 25 pounds lighter and much, much stronger.  I'm actually 19 pounds lighter (I did drop to 23 pounds during the stress of my dad's illness but have since gained a bit back due to the above).  I am much, much stronger.  I know that I made the right decision to get healthier.  I saw the difference this summer.  I play softball and hit far better than I ever have.  In my first game I hit a triple.  I don't know if I've ever hit a triple in my life.  To call me quick on the bases is a HUGE lie.  I am more of a turtle.  But this season I felt faster and even a teammate commented that I was running faster on the bases.  So I know that even though I have a bit more to go, I can see results, and that helps to motivate me to get back in the swing of exercise. 

Some things I've learned in the past year:
1.  I Do Not do work out videos.  I've tried but it just doesn't do it for me.

2.  I do like to crank the tunes on my MP3 and tune everything else out when I work out.

3.  You don't need a gym to lose weight.

4.  I have to decide to work out every time.  It's still so easy to not do it.

5.  Gaining weight is so much faster and easier than losing it.

6.  My family is the best and I cherish them!

I hope your weekend is spent cherishing those you love.

Tid-Bits of Nothingness

I woke up to a skiff of snow this morning. 

Don't you just love that word - skiff.  I don't get a chance to use it often, but today was the day.  Skiff.  It's just a fun word to say.  Come on, say it with me, Skiff.  Ok, I'm moving on.

I've been fighting a head cold all week.  I hate it because my nose is red from blowing it so much and I'm in a bit of a fog.  Yeah, I know, what's the difference, right?  Ha ha.  The other day I took a Day-Quil (sp??) because I forgot to take a sinus med before work.  Oh my gosh!  I felt like I was on drugs and felt sick to my stomach.  Remind me to NEVER take that again.  I even turned down a free lunch because I felt so bad.  If I turn down food, you know I'm not feeling good.

Not only have I been fighting a cold, I've been fighting my computer at work.  Darn thing caught a virus too.  Hm, maybe that's were I got my cold from?  It's been quite frustrating because I'm no where near as productive as I'd like to be.  Love and hate this technology sometimes.  Speaking of work, I'm finishing my fourth year.  I am so blessed I work at a place where I enjoy the people, the work and my boss.  Just to have my job is a huge blessing in these economic times.  I don't take that lightly. 

Future post warnings:
1.  I have a busy day on Sunday, so I'm trying a new crockpot recipe, Shredded Korean Beef.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  If it's a winner, I'll post the recipe.  If not, I'll let you know it's not worth trying.  For family harmony it better turn out yummy. 

2.  I ordered a $20 DVD workout set that I'll get today.  It comes with 10 DVDs.  I figure for 20 bucks it's worth trying.  I'll try it out and see how it works.  Just like any workout video, I'm sure as long as you actually DO it, it has to help.  I'll let you know what I think of it and pass it along.

Well, there's my this and that's for the day.  Just a bunch of ramblings about nothingness.  This is what you'd get if you were sitting at my table today.  I've finished my coffee and paper, and now this post.  Off to turn on the college football games - one of my favorite Saturday activities. 

I hope your weekend is productive and family filled and relaxing all in one.