Weekend Wrap-up

Another weekend gone....amazing how quickly it goes when Saturday is devoted to a wedding that you and your eldest daughter are in....

See? I can look like a girl. I merely chose not to on most occassions.

This is my friend, Nicole (and her dad), whom I've known for 30 years. She was married 15 years ago and that didn't last a year. Guy was a real jerk, messed with her head, very controlling blah blah blah. Last year she met Bill, and here we are.

Jenna was her flower girl.

We tried to get a good photo of the girls together, but Mallory was more interested in running around and not really paying attention.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding. Just a long one for everyone involved.

Weekend Wrap-up

Once again, I have been AWOL from here for no particular reason.

Quiet weekend to report. The weather has finally started to come around and be a bit more stable instead of 80s one day then 50s the next. I've been replacing a lot of winter kill in my flowerbeds. I have lettuce and snow peas up. Carrots are coming along and tomatoes went in yesterday. Soon I'll plant corn and in June/July the pumpkins will go in.

Quiet Mother's Day to report as well. After church yesterday my mom had us over for brunch. Got home and put the kids down for a nap, so there was some nice time off from being a parent for both of us!

Jenna made me a card at childcare. The teacher asked why she loves then wrote it down. Jenna loves me because I'm nice.

"So why am I nice?"

"Because whenever Mallory does something bad you yell at her."

"That makes me nice??"

"Uh-huh."

"Because I'm not yelling at you?"

"Uh-huh."

Weekend Wrap-up!

Caption Contest Winner! This week goes to Ace with his, "Borat visits the North Pole during the summer!"
~~
Friday night I went to Open Fencing. There was James (soon-to-be fencing coach), Chris (intermediate fencer) and Paris (first-time beginner in my class). James smoked me as usual. In fact he scored a couple of times and I didn't feel it. Ninja!

Chris is a southpaw which is always interesting to fence. He beat me 5-4 the first time. The second time I beat him 5-4. After our second match, James says to Chris, "She got you with her height."

"Yeah, and she IMPALED me!"

James looked at me, "And YOU are an atomic BOMB! You put everything you have into your attacks." I don't think he meant this as a compliment, however. He went on to say I need to work on backing off.

"James, there is nothing subtle about me. This is what I do. I'll try to learn to back off."

In pretty much everything I've ever done in my life I do so with great force and energy. This, inevitably, results in me fizzling out due to frustration. I think age has tempered this, but I'm still very gung-ho about things.

I told James that he would have the honor of my presence next session, to which he replied, "Well, that should be interesting."

"That wasn't quite the vote of confidence I was hoping for."

I've been considering getting my own dry gear, but I'm going to wait until one or two sessions with James to see if I stick with it. I'd like to join the USFA to compete in sanctioned events with a team from Nebraska. I don't really know how far I'll go with this. I do enjoy this sport immensely.

Saturday was a gray, cool, drizzly day after it was 90 on Friday. Never got above 45. I did three loads of laundry Friday so that really cleared up the weekend. I think I only went to the store.

Sunday was church and it was rainy. Lots of storms that moved through that gave us nearly 1.5" of some much-needed rain. Still cool, however. Steve was downstairs watching TV, the girls were in bed, so I stretched out on the couch and napped for an hour.

I never nap.

I need to be incredibly tired in order to nap as there's always so much to do during the weekend. But it was rainy outside and most of the domestic crap was done. It felt really nice!

Weekend Wrap-up!

Not a whole lot to report this weekend, outside of the usual domestic crap. Steve and I had a date night Friday and could only make it until 2030 as we didn't really know what else to do. How pathetic is that?!?!

Saturday Jen and I ran some errands that finished off with buying her flower girl shows for an up-coming wedding in a mere four weeks. Whaddaya think???Sunday? Went to church, then out to IHOP with some friends. Put the girls down for a nap, I dug up and moved a plum tree - not as impressive as it sounds. The tree is only about 3-4' tall. I moved it from it's over-winter spot of the last 1.5 years, which is the South side of the shed, to the front side yard. After I dug the hole and stuck the tree in the hole I started to loosen the dirt from the new sod we seeded last fall. I'm happy to report that the roots are about 3" long already, so hopefully, this seed blend will work nicely!

I tilled up the veggie garden Friday and planted carrots, mesclin, snowpeas, and red onion. Soon I will plant tomatoes and corn, then in July the pumpkins will be planted.

The weather looks GREAT this week - sunny and 70s. Helloooooooooooooo, Spring!

Weekend Wrap-up!!

Caption Contest! This week we have a NEW winner in our midst. This week goes to to Kim with her, "This is the only way to spare you from my bad breath!"
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Lessee if I can get back into the swing of things this week. I've beena round, just haven't wanted to post anything. And I visit, but I lurk, so I'm not ignoring your spaces, either!

We were in DSM over the weekend. Steve took a half-day Friday while I was off completely with the girls - the joys of working at a Jesuit institution. Steve, however, get a floating holiday for Arbor Day! WTF?!?! Anywho....

I got nuthin......see? I need to get my mojo workin' again.....

Weekend Wrap-up!!

Caption Contest Winner! This week goes to Becca with her, "Medusa meets Barbie?"
~~
Yesterday was Steve's 44th birthday. A couple of weeks ago he and Jenna were discussing cakes and what kind he wanted. As she's all things pink, she was truly shocked and appalled when he stated he wanted a grey cake (as a joke).

"NO!!! It has to have pink!"
"It's my cake and I want grey."

Never jokinly tell your spouse you want a grey cake, as you just may get it! So I began thinking about his cake and what I needed to do. I figured I'd get a white cake mix and add black food coloring to it. The frosting would be darker grey and I was going to try and leave the frosting streaky so it would look like a slab of marble.

I was discussing this with my mom a few days ago and the marble slab cake morphed to the mouse cake as they're grey, as well. And instead of grey cake mix I opted for red velvet a la "Steel Magnolias."

Now came the task of engineering this cake. I've never done a 3D cake before. I had two mixes; one in a 9" round, a loaf pan, and the rest in cupcakes if I needed any extra pieces. The round cake I cut in half and frosted together to make the back. The loaf cake I cut in half for the head and shaped it:Using the rest of the loaf cake I fashioned legs:

Now the mouse is mostly frosted.

And it's done! The whiskers are toothpicks that I colored black with a sharpie. I had a corner piece of cake that made an excellent hunk of cheese. I piped frosting for the tail.

Notice the little detail....

It's not perfect and is most definitely an amateur cake. I don't think Duff has anything to worry about......

Here, Steve is posing, getting ready to hack into his very own ROUS.

Lining up for the first cut......

Beheading the ROUS.

I made red frosting to glue the pieces together. However, I wasn't able to get the red dark enough. We weren't expecting this visual, but it was an added bonus!

Steve's first sucessful mouse lobotomy!

Way too much food this weekend, but all-in-all, I think it was a sucessful birthday! Happy birthday, Stevie!!!

Spring Steel Wrap-up!!

Caption Contest Winner!! This week goes to Tom with his, "The sliced up remains of Kristi's prepube classmates."

Unless you've been sleeping under a rock for the last few weeks you'll remember that I had my beginner's tournament at Spring Steel this past Saturday. There were only 11 people that showed so it was a very small turn-out.

We were divided into two groups and those were the ones we would fence against for the tournament. My group had 6 and the other group had 5. In the first round I was 3-2, and I was pleased with that.

There was one kid, Josiah (in the red), that was doing all this fancy schmancy crap with me that got me to wonder if he was beginner. I asked Patrick if he was and he tole me that Josiah was in an intermediate that's practiced a lot. I was a bit miffed that I, a one-time beginner, was up against a decent intermediate. He'd stomp his foot or quickly wave his foil in an effort of draw me in. I wasn't having any of it, and frankly, was getting really annoyed with his anticks. Maybe it's my age.

As you can see in the picture he's in a lunge but he's really low with his foil pointed up. With this move the attcker anticipated the opponent will come at him so he ducks while the opponent is up high, thus leaving the opponenet wide open to attack.

In between rounds I was talking with Steve and mom when Patrick comes up and somewhere in the conversation he mentions that I was in the intermediate group.

"What?!?! Since when?"
"Since this morning."
"I thought the groups were younger beginners and older beginners."

Apparently not. Now I didn't feel so bad about being shown up!

The other match I lost was a good match against Ben. We were tied 4-4 when I came at him and saw the tip of my foil indent his lame' but it didn't make solid contact so it didn't count. He got me right after that.

After break was Round two where we fought each other again. My first match was Josiah and I was bound and determined to not let this punk show me up 5-1 like the first round. It didn't help that he is a Southpaw, thus adding to the challenge. He tried the same stuff to no avail, though he was pretty jumpy whenever I approached him in the same manner. Then at one point he was very far away from me and appeared to lose interest in the match; his foil was down, he was looking around. I think it was another tactic to draw me in. By this time the three-minute mark was reached so the match was called. I lost 2-1. Punk ass kid....

At the end of the Tournament was the medal ceremony. As you can see here I medalled, much to my surprise. Not only did I medal, but I came in second!! How I did this still remains a mystery.

So all-in-all, this was my first tournament in a group of intermediates and I came out second to Punk Ass Kid. I was very pleased with the day, not to mention very tired and stiff.....So here you are, Tom, video of one of my matches. This is agaisnt Noelle who tied for third. She had some wicked parrys and fought close to me which made if difficult to score against her. I'm in the blue work-out pants on the right; Steve is shooting video.

The second round wasn't near as rewarding as the first, mainly because I was getting pretty tired. I had a great time. It was interesting and challenging to fence strangers and to figure out their style, strengths, and weaknesses.

I start class up again Tuesday night!

Weekend Wrap-up!

Caption Contest Winner! This week goes back to Aynde with her, "The truth behind "Greenhouse Gases."

~~

<-- In the glass bubble, as explained below.

Saturday we decided to trek to the zoo as this is something the four of us haven't done yet. All was well and good and Jenna wanted to see the penguins. We walked into the aquarium and she freaked. out. when she say the fiberglass Great White shark hanging from the ceiling. This was more than her usual whining. She froze, hands TIGHTLY over her eyes, and sobbing hysterically. No amount of talking her down was going to do the trick. This went on for about 15". Mal and I moved on a bit to the penguins. In this enclosure is a 4' glass bubble that juts into the water so you can sit in the bubble "underwater" and watch the penguins up close and personal. I still marvel at ther fluidity under water.

Oh yes, as Mal and I were finishing up in the aqaurium we came across the ray tank and there we found a diver scrubbing the rocks.

I stuck my head around the corner as it had gotten quieter and Steve and Jenna were gone. I assumed they were at the entrance waiting. So Mal and I went through the rest of the aquarium to no avail. So I thought they went to the new butterfly pavilion. No luck, either.

<-- I took that!!

This was my first time through the pavilion - very cool! Tropical setting with butterflies and hummingbirds just flying around doing their thing. A Giant Morpho almost landed on Mallory a couple of times. She now knows what a butterfly is and would point and say "fly!"

I decided to head back up to the jungle and wait to see if I could find them. Keep in mind that I left my cell at home as did Steve but her had his on-call pager and on-call phone. Do you think I know those numbers???

An hour later and no sign of either of them I flag down a zoo employee to either put out an APB on them or use a phone to call the hospital and get his pager number. I was finally able to track it down through Security and I paged him. About 20 seconds he calls back and they're in the cat house - a ZOO cat house with tigers, lions, pumas, and leopards. Not the red light cat house, Tom.

Came home, sent everyone to bed after lunch. The rest of the weekend was the usual domestic crap, so I'll spare you the details.. Saturday night we watched "Charlie Wilson's War." Woo. Such is our date nights.....

Weekend Wrap-up!

Caption Contest Winner! This week is by default and it goes to Becca with her, "Spring is like Old Faithful; always erupts again!"
~~
Ok, Friday. Mom took Jenna Thursday night for a sleep-over and was to take her into school on Friday. Steve and I were out the door at 0515. Mallory pretty much stayed in our laps. At 0600 she got a cocktail of sedatuves. By 0620 she was snoring in my lap. At 0700 anesthesia came to get her. She opened an eye and laid her head on his shoulder.

Steve and I had a couple of breakfast sandwiches and juice and turned on the TV. Anesthesia came back at 0720 and said she was done! Dang, that was fast! Mallory came back to us at 0735 and slept on either myself or Steve until about 0915. Spoke with the doctor after her procedure and he said that a fair amount of thick fluid came out of her left ear and that it was too thick to drain on its own, so we feel better about having the tubes placed.

Got home about 0930 and Mal be-bopped with Steve for about an hour. I put her down for a nap around 1030 and she slept until 1345 - three hours!!During that time Steve helped me paint our bedroom. We got three walls done as the fourth wall was going to be an accent wall. It's painted a dark oatmeal and the accent wall I woolied two different shades of the wall color. We like it, but it's not the bold accent wall we were hoping for. So I'll stop at Lowe's today and get a quart of paint that is two shades darker and try again. I will get pictures when it's all done, but at least it's much close than it was 2 months ago!

I bought some fabric and made valances for the bedroom and I have the bathroom valance ready to go even though I haven't even started in the bathroom!

Since Mallory's surgery we've noticed that she isn't as loud, more than likely because she can hear herself now!

Weekend Wrap-up!!

Caption Contest Winner: This week it goes to Nadine with her, "Oh Lord!! She's got roadkill on her head!!! What are they thinking is stylish about that????"

Oh, you are so right.....

~~

Weight Watchers Update: Pleased to report a 2.2# drop from last week! This being me down to 214.2. I wonder if my Synthroid is kicking in?

~~

Saturday Mal and I went to the mall for some walking and to give her a chance to play at the playground and burn off some steam. Met up with mom a short while later and walked another 1.5 miles on top of the previous 1.5 miles I did earlier. Noodled around the mall but didn't see any thing I just had to have. Later that night we went toa neighbor's house for a Mardi Gras party. Way too much food, but boy did it taste good. Steve and jenna have been suffering some mild effects of the sudden increase in rich and junk foods. Me? I've got a gut of steel and I'm doing just fine.

Jenna was part of the Angel Choir yesterday at church. They sang "Rock of Ages (Not the Def Leppard version)" and "Open The Eyes To My Heart." This was her first time singing before the congregation and she did GREAT (not that I'm biased, or anything)!!

In church yesterday it was Transformation Day; As the closing sermon in our latest series of "Wired For Worship" our Pastor discussed how one moment can completely transform someone and the moment after the moment. He told us a parable of a man who had been hurt emotionally and physically when he was younger. Because of past events he withdrew and became angry, lashing out at those around him, becoming lonely for fear of being hurt again. He turned to anger and other sinful distractions in an effort to escape. Finally he just got tired of it and he turned back to God and devoted his life to service for Him.

What he said next caught most everyone off-guard. The man he had just described was standing before us all. He got choked up, revealing this incredibly intimate and private part of his life in front of his congregation. I was floored. The stories I had heard of his life seemed idyllic; growing up on a farm in NW Iowa with a close-knit Christian family. This was the last thing I expected to hear.

After the service I waited in line to talk with him, but mainly just to give him a hug for being so brave.

PRB, if you're reading this, I love you and respect you even more for doing what you do.

Weekend Wrap-up!

Caption Contest Winner: This week it goes to Aynde with, "Republican senators, in a last ditch effort to block the stimulus package, have started threatening the current administration with their deadly laser vision."
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Weight Watchers Update: Only up half-a-pound despite eating chocolate since Thursday. Dare I say I'm sick of chocolate (for the moment). It's almost obligatory to eat it, ya know? So Steve and I are taking some in to our respective offices. Yesterday I did buy two new pairs of jeans! I'm down to a 16W. My previous pairs I could take off without undoing them. Good times!
~~
Long weekend. Let's start with Friday. Big storm coming so all the school bailed and I had to stay home. Started some errands around 0900 when the visibility was probably at its worst. After going to the store I went to my chiro's office while the girls played in the waiting area. Wanted to get Mal's hair cut but they were closed. The roads were really pretty crappy and everyone forgot how to drive. Mal had a F/U appointment for her pink eye/ear infection originally scheduled for 2 but I switched it to 11. Come to find out that her right ear is still infected and it's not going anywhere. Made an ENT appointment for tomorrow to discuss tubes. While she was at the doctors she got two shots of Rocephin and we had to wait 20" to make sure she didn't have a reaction.

GUESS WHAT?!?!?!

She had a reaction! She went on benadryl for 24h. Once her ears are taken care of Dr. Hudson wants me to make an appointment with the pedi allergist (I know him) and get her tested for antibiotics. Swell.

By the time we got home I was mentally exhausted. Mallory slept for three hours. Jenna napped for two. Here are a few photos of the snow from Friday:This one shows about 6" of snow on our deck table. This happened in about 4 hours.
Looking out our front door across the street. Visibility wasn't great and this was 4 hours into the snow storm.
After the snow. There was no wind and, therefore, didn't blow off on where it collected. I love my whirly-gig-thingy.
This lump, believe it or not, is Jenna's sand box.
Jenna's rocekt swing.
A gazing ball on the deck.
My gargoyle, Mikhail, on the front porch.

Mallory's first ride in the sled on Saturday. She wasn't too thrilled with it.

The snowman Jen and I made on Sunday. I love these "warm" snows. Sunday was sunny and 30 with no wind. Very pleasant.

Valentine's Day rolled around without a whole lot of fanfare. Personally, I despise the holiday and all its crass commercialism. But I did something this year that my dad did a couple of time for me when I was older.

One of Nebraska's cities in the sandhills is called Valentine. And every year people from around the world participate in Cupid's Mailbox. You amil cards to Cupid and they will, in turn, apply a special postmark. I was afraid I mailed mine too late but everyone got their cards either Friday or Saturday. Give a try next year.

Saturday afternoon mom came home from her bike trip to Costa Rica. Yeah, she's really enjoying her retirement! By the sounds of it she had a great time and her emails reflected that. She mentioned quite a few animals she'd seen in the jungle like howler monkeys, cuatamundis, sloths, iguanas, azure butterflies. She kept expecting to see King Kong come out of the cloud forest. I knew she was tired but I invited her to join us at Mama's Pizza for Valentine's dinner of beer and pizza. She gladly accepted. The place wasn't too busy and the food/beer was wonderful.

Mallory got her hair cut Saturday. I originally had jus the sides and top trimmed up thinking I was going to let it grow out like Jenna's. But it's so cute as a modified "Dorothy Hamil" that I think I'll keep it short. Surprisingly at this age with the short hair she doesn't look like a boy. We all know how androgenous toddlers are, but she's got enough feminine facial features that you still know, ya know? Did that even make sense??

Sunday....gawd the house is a disaster. Still haven't gotten around to painting our bedroom. Dishes piled up in the kitchen, toys scattered throughout the house. I can only put up with that for just so long before I snap and it's gotta get straightened up. I know it'll only last for an hour or two, but it helps redirect the energy (mine) and the stress level goes down.

So I'll know more tomorrow about when Mal goes infor tubes. I'd rather have the surgery than rounds and rounds of antibiotics. I know it's a simple procedure and I've had ti done four times, but this will be the first-ever surgery for either of my kids and I'm wary.

Weekend Wrap-up!!

Caption Contest Winner!! This week goes to Nadine with her, "Damn, I need to clean this more often!!"
~~
Weight Watchers Update: Without even trying to eat within my points as I was still feeling like crap until Thursday, I did manage to drop 0.8#, bringing me down to 215.8.
~~
Thursday the weather was fabulous; 62! Mom and I went for a walk as she was leaving Friday to go to Costa Rica for a bike trip. Went for a walk Friday again, and Saturday I grilled again; bison burgers, chicken thighs, and chicken boobies. Made potato salad, grilled some veggies (yes, Tom, more Brussel sprouts and included some cauliflower and snow peas in to the mix). After my second walk Saturday I cleaned up the back yard; two grocery bags of Thursday poop. Now she gets to start all over again!

Steve caught a mild version of whatever I had, just a sore throat and a bit of a cough. I took my last Levaquin this morning for my sinus infection, so hopefully that will take care of things. Now that my nose isn't so stuffy I"m able to get my ears open again, but there's still fluid there and loud noises make my ears sound like a subwoofer on the fritz. How often I've contemplated getting permanent tubes placed......I've had four sets, the last set was just two years ago!

Hopefully I'll be back up to full steam for fencing class tomorrow. I was hoping togo last week if I had a nap, but after sitting at my desk for three hours and realizing that just the mental prowness needed to sit at my desk was kicking the crap outta me, what business did I have to attempt fairly rigorous physical activity??

Weekend Wrap-Up

Caption Contest Winner! Going for the trifectoa is Gina with her, "If Kristi can work from home in her jammies, I can pick my nose in public!"

And for that jealous statement, I, therefore, send another round of really shitty winter weather your way! Is it there yet??? ;-)
~~
Weight Watchers Update: This week I post neutral, which is ok since I've felt like shit since Wednesday. I work in a hospital, fercryinoutloud, surrounded by the scourge of society, and yet it's my two darling little cess pools know as my children that bring me to my knees.
~~
I started really coming down with something after getting Mallory over pink eye Monday night. I shold have stayed home Wednesday and Thursday, but as I am such the dedicated employee I hacked and snarfed my way into the office.

Friday I opted to work from home as I had a three-hour teleconference and had a bunch of spread sheet tuff to work on. I was feeling pretty good that day. Steve and Jenna went to DSM Friday night as it's been a year since his dad passed away. And, for that matter, a year since I had to put Lexi down. What a year it's been. I went walking with Mallory and mom on Saturday at the mall and whatever "feeling good" I had Friday vaporized in the middle of the night. I finally resorted to calling one of our Pulmonary fellows so he could call something in for me whcih consisted of a burst of prednisone 60mg x 5 days along with five days of levoquin 750 mg.

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day, probably around 55. I loaded up the grill with two sirloins, two bacon-wrapped turkey London Broils, two boneless pork chops, and about two racks of ribs. Smoked it all. Isn't that grill a thing of beauty??

I'm not cooking the rest of the week.

Unfortunately I was feeling too ill and tired in the end to enjoy any of it. Steve and Jen got home just fine.

So I'm staying home again today. I feel almost human after 11 hours of sleep. Still tired but not so foggy in the head. It's not very often that I get taken down like this.

Ugh.....

Weekend Wrap-up

Caption Contest Winner! This week it, once again, goes to Gine with her, "Argh, where are me prunes..."
~~
Weight Watchers Update: This week I post a 2# gain. And I'm ok with it. Large meals towards the end of the week and a fundraiser loaded with free wine, cheese, and chocolate. How could I not?
~~
Quiet weekend to report. I was hoping Steve and I could start painting our bedroom, but it didn't work out. I still need to finish the wall prep in the BR and BA. It'll happen and it will look so much better!

We got 2-3" of fluffy snow Saturday night and it was the perfect glinting snow made from perfect snowflakes which I delighted in showing Jenna what a snow flake looks like. After church and lunch she and I dressed in our winter woolies while Steve put Mallory down for a nap. Jen and I went sledding. Yes it was cold, about 10 degrees. But we dressed in layers and She ran around the hills while I pulled her around. In fact, I was sweating pulling her up the hill. We had a great time, and then we read some books and snuggled before her nap. I haven't had fun in the snow like that for quite some time. And because of this I'm anxious for when Mallory is old and big enough to join us outside.

Weekend Wrap-up!!

Caption Contest Winner! This week's winner is Gina with her, "Who says tinsel is just for Christmas Trees?"
~~
Weight Watchers Update! Decent loss to report; down 1.6# bringing me down to 214.6 for a total loss of 43.4#.

I've often wondered and reflected on why is this go-around so much more successful than my previous attempts? I'm approaching my all-time (recent) low of 205 a mere three years ago. Granted I was running at the time, of which ain't happenin' now. I am at the weight when Steve and I got married 11 years ago. However, after two children, things just aren't quite put back where they should be. Kind of like the state of our house with two kids.

The reason I'm doing this at home and not attending meetings is simple. This is my third or fourth trip on the WW merry-go-round so I know the schpeel, I know the routine, I know the tricks, and I know my pitfalls. So why should I spend $40/month just to hear it all over again?

After my reflection I think I've come to the conclusion that, while it never should have been a competition, I made the meetings into a competition. You want the attention and accolades of standing up in the group, receiving your ribbon or star. And though the leaders never said anything negative if you gained in a week, I felt that they were in some silent, non-verbal way. And if I didn't get stars as quickly as some other members I got discouraged.

This time around at home I'm not proving anything to anyone. I'm doing this for me. As I always have before. But I don't have an audience to prove anything to. Does that even make sense?? It never should have been about them and proving myself to them. But I made it that way and that's why I think I failed.

Which is where I think Steve is struggling. He sees me dropping over 40# and he'd only been able to do 10#. Granted, he doesn't eat fruits of veggies, doesn't drink enough water, doesn't get additional exercise outside of work. But those are his choices. I think I've given him the tools he needs to be sucessful, but just like quitting everything else, if you're not ready to make the changes then no one can make you. I want him to succeed. Not only for his health but for the furture of his family.

Weekend Wrap-up

Weight Watchers Update: After my first official week back on the wagon after the holidays, I'm pleased to report a 5.6# drop. I started the week at 221.8 and ended it at 216.2. WIth this new weigh-in, I weigh less than I did at the start of the holidays.
~~
Not a bad weekend to report. Just the usual domestic crap. Steve and I are taking today off as we're hoping to re-fi the house. Jenna's Christmas Program has also been rescheduled for this afternoon. As we both have floating holidays hours we decided to make a day of it and get stuff done.

I did manage to clean out the bottom of my closet. I've been saving onesies and shirts that the grils' have worn that are my favorites. I had been keeping thm in a tote but the tote was so big my shoes wouldn't fit and kept spilling out onto the floor. Now, despite common myths of the female gender, I am not a shoe maven. Regardless I was getitng mildly annoyed.

The next step was to find my rotary cutter and cutting board. Why you ask? It is my plan that when I'm done collecting clothes I'm going to make a quilt out of my favorite swatches. Granted, it's still going to be a few years down the road before I'm ready to tackle this project. But that's my plan.

I was never this sentimental before I had kids.

Two-week Wrap-up!

After being away for 10 days it's going to be a bit difficult to get back into the swing of things....
~~
Weight Watcher's Update: The holidays are finally over and it's time to get back on the wagon. I didn't do as badly as I had feared with 5w off. I started Thanksgiving at 220 and ended Christmas at 228. New Year's week I unofficially started up again, meaning I wasn't counting points yet but drinking more water and eating more fruit and throwing out yummy treats like chocolates and cookies. That really hurts, to throw away yummies like that. But it's the long-term goal that I'm shooting for. Saturday Steve and I officially started counting points and my weigh-in was a pleasant 221.8 (down from 228 the previous week) so not near the hole to crawl out of as I had anticipated. It's going to be a bit more difficult with exercise and the weather as I really just don't like going to a gym. However, next week I start beginners fencing. I'm looking forward to that!
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Boy, am I glad the holidays are over! As much as we say that we're going to cut back and scale down the food, gifts, and celebrations, we never do. Why is that? The holidays went well, all things considered. Steve and I finished our kitchen face-lift about three days before Christmas Eve. I'm sure not having that stress right before the holidays would have made things a lot easier, but where's the fun in that??? I didn't take any formal "before-and-after" shots but I think I have enough here to give you a general idea.
In this picture you can sort of see the white-ish cabinets and the slightly darker wall color. Too milk-toast for me. Th countertops are a light terra cotta-esque with splotches of brown, cream, and teal in it. I never liked the countertops because they just didn't look good against the walls. Steve bought two unpainted base cabinets and ordered a custom countertop. Thankfully the formica we have is still being produced! I decided to paint the kitchen at the same time. Trying to find a paint color proved more challenging that I had anticipated. With mom's help we settled on a butterscotch.

Here's the new addition. Whenever we get around to actually redoing the kitchen this is what I had envisioned; a full horse shoe (the side withe DW has the sink, and there's another back of cabinets behind me). It's the most logical use of space.In this picture you can see that I sponged one wall a metallic copper. THis entry way leads into the dining room. I found the plate at Pier 1 and it's in brown, copper, and gold. The counter chairs we got at Nebraska Furniture Mart on close-out for $70/each. There's an inset of verdigris and copper-colored stone and I re-upholstered the chairs in a copper micro suede. The valance I whipped up in one afternoon and it's a shiney striped fabric with maroon, copper, gold, bronze and I put a maroon woven ribbon on the bottom edge for physical and visual weight.

We figured that for less than $800 we have a new kitchen with more drawers and counter space and this will hold us for a few more years. We'd like to do a complete tear-out with stained wood cabinets and new appliances, but for now, this works just fine.

Time to get back to work in earnest. It's nice working for a university that's closed during the holidays so I don't necessarily have to work. There were a couple of days where the kids went to daycare and I stayed home. But, I guess all good things must come to an end.

I know there is more to report but right now it's not coming out. I hope all of you had a peaceful and successful holiday season.

It's good to be back.

Weekend Wrap up

Caption Contest Winner! This week it's Nadine with her, "Go!! Fight!! Win!! Dude Spot me!!!"
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It's been another one of those weekend where I need to go back to work just so I can relax. It all started Friday night with a subject I enrolled in one of my studies; didn't leave the hospital until 1845 (after being there since 0715) and knowing I would be back at 0600-ish Saturday.. After I finishe dup with my subject Saturday morning I went to the mall to walk with mom and her friends, then had coffee. Went to Lowe's to look at paint samples for our mini-kitchen remodel.

Our countertop are in an L shape with a decent space for a table. We eat in the dining room so the eat-in area is basically wasted. So for our anniversary present Steve bought two unfinished base cabinets and a new counterop to make a horse shoe with a bar of sorts into the eat-in area and getting rid of the kitchen table all together. I figured that if we're doing this mini-remodel might as well repaint. The cabinets are a shade off of white with the walls about a shade or two dark. Milk toast. Hate it. Always have. Sure, it got painted neutral when the house was for sale but I need more color in my life. And it probably wouldn't have been such an ordeal but I really dislike our countertops, and therefore, couldn't find a wall color I liked or that went with the countertops. Aske mom for help and we settled on a butterscotch for the walls.

Love. IT!!!

Then again, anything is better than white walls.

I decided that the wall that goes into the dining room needed something to make it the accent wall so I started ragging copper glaze to break it up and add some red as my dining room is an intense dark maroon. While the outcome is great, I really hate painting. I don't see how people can make a living doing this. I'm fine with the gross painting, it's the touch-up that drives me batty(er).

So Saturday I painted for about 4 hours and I was one still and sore unit when I finally poured myself into bed.

Went to church and did the touch-up along the ceiling. We still need to move the fridge out and paint but it's about 95% done and we can't get over just how much better it looks that before.

Saturday it was around 60* so I fired up the ol' charcoal grill and threw on some burgers, chicken, and venison so we'd have something throughout the week. I know there are people who grill all year round, but I think it loses it's lustre. There's something about being able to grill in the "off-season" that makes the food taste better.

Saturday also marked the fourth anniversary of my dad's suicide.

Sunday? Well, a huge front came through that by 1030 it was 8*. Yes, you read that right; a 50* drop from the day before. The wind has been whipping around 30+ mph which makes it all the colder. Just a dusting of snow.

Last night was our holiday party for the Pulmonary Division. Pot luck and if you went home hungry it was your own fault! Great food, great company, and enough kids to occupy themselves and stay our their parents' hair.

My shopping and baking is all done so I can (try to) enjoy the holidays. I'll feel better once we get the countertop in and the cabinets set and the kitchen back in order.

FA LA LA LA LAAAAAAA......Bah hum bug!

Weekend Wrap-up!

So the Christmas season is officially upon us?

Thursday mom took Jenna and they cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Mom warned us that it was going to be very non-traditional and something a soon-to-be-five-year-old could muster. How about a mostaccioli bake? And a pudding pie? Very non-traditional, but very good.

Wednesday night into Friday morning I was busy getting Christmas set up in the house. Here are some examples:

I found this lovely specimen of a reindeer at my favorite place for Christmas; Pier 1. Buying this prompted a return trip to Target across the street so I could buy a plain wreath and two boxes of multi-colored glass ornaments to make a centerpiece.In the corner of the dining room is Santa and Tammy Faye Reindeer. Though it's hard to see she has REALLY LONG eyelashes, hence her name. She's been in the family for about 20 years and the joke is still good.In the dining room looking towards the kitchen are two wreaths I made last year; same plain wreaths with 28 glass ornaments each from Target. Each cost me about $10 to make. I hot-glued the balls into the wreath and used door bell thingies that had the bow and bells already made.

You'll see in the next couple of photos that I have a real problem with glass ornaments....See? And this doesn't even show the ones on the tree or the ones on the table next to the tree, though if you look at the metal reindeer picture you'll see a little display tree with more balls on it. I'm very picky about my glass ornaments; they have to come from Eastern Bloc countries. Period. None of this "Made in China" crap. Part of my family comes from Bohemia. Some remind me of family and things I grew up with. One dates back to 1967; right before my parents were married and is part of their original set.I also have a problem with snowmen though I haven't added to either collection in a couple of years. The second grouping of snowmen is from Sandy Gore Evans, an artist out of Kansas and these are her Frosty Follies. She died of breast cancer, I believe, and therefore, there are no more Frosty Follies. I found a good chunk on eBay but they go quickly.And here's the tree all decked out. It's a 7' tree that Kmart had two years ago; the Retro. Pre-lit in C7 bulbs. Growing up I remember taking walks around the neighborhood looking at lights and remembering all the big bulbed trees in the windows. That, and the mini lights with the plastic star bursts around them. Remember those? The Village is up under the tree, complete with the joke from 1986 when mom started painting the village; one of the houses is lit with a red bulb and there is a Madame standing out front. Of course, this house of ill refute is in close proximetry of the church!

Saturday we drove down to Overland Park to hang with my sister and gorge on deep-fried turkey again. Prior to the turkey we experimented with other deep-fried delights like Twinkies, Snickers, marshmallows, and Oreos. It was non-stop eating from when we stepped thorugh the door.

Driving back I gassed up in St. Joe, MO for $1.39!!! I also had only a half-gallon left or roughly 10 miles before I was completely empty! However, I filled up for $18!!!

Welcome, Christmas!!

Weekend Wrap-up!!

Caption Contest Winner! This week goes back to Nadine with, "He shots! He Scores!! Goooooaaalll!!" Gina, was yours a euphamism??
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Weight Watchers Update: At the close of Week 24 I am happy to announce dropping another pound and getting me to 40# down and am at 218. I am approaching my wedding weight, however, after two kids, I'm pretty sure my wedding dress won't fit like it used to! I averaged 1.6#/week.

With the holidays coming up I have decided I'm not going to berate myself should I gain. I will still try to keep it in check but if I waffle, I'm ok with that. I don't plan on completely letting myself go in the next five weeks but I do plan on enjoying the holidays. ;-)
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Busy weekend to report, though a good one. Steve, Mal, and Mom went out Saturday morning to get the Angel Food I orderd last month. Some good food in the boxes and some that will probably get donated to the food bank. If it can help supplement our grocery bill and help us spend less then I'm all for it!

So while they were off doing that, Jenna and I took part in the Open Door Mission's "Drumstick on Wheels." Over 3,000 families signed up for food assistance for Thanksgiving. In fact the ODM had to close registration early because so many families had signed up.

The ODM visited several churches to talk of this mission and was looking for volunteers. About a mile or so from the Mission our lane of traffic was at a complete standstill. I drove off and took a different street with a shorter line to get through the intersection. In three directions there was nothing but cars; hundreds of cars all coming to help the ODM deliver these 3,000+ boxes of turkey-n-fixins to needy families.

I was planning on taking three boxes worth but instead took seven boxes. It took the better part of an hour just to get to the loading area. I moved the car seats around so I could fold down the back seat and get the boxes in. And off we went!

I was able to deliver five of seven boxes; one wasn't home and one I flat-out couldn't find! The part of town I was in was right around Creighton University where I work and reminded me of my days working home care. It was interesting listening to Jenna's take on the whole experience. One house we stopped at had plastic stapled over the windows; either the glass wasn't there or it was for drafts. I saw a run-down house, of which it was.

Jenna? "Oooo, Mommy! Look at the pretty windows!" Oblivious to what was right in front of her. Oh, to have that child-like innocence and acceptance again.

"People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Luke 18:15-17

Yesterday the weather was great for the end of November. Fair and in the 50s so I got some last-minute yard work done. I raked a couple of cans and dumped some on the garden and tilled that in to help "feed" it for next year's season. Jenna is already planning what she wants to grow next year and carrots are high on her list! I told her she can have her own little spot on the garden to grow what ever she wants.

Jenna helped me clean up from raking and I have all the outdoor Christmas lights plugged in and ready to go. All I have to do now is plug in the timer and we're set!

Mal and I walked down to the mall to get a few more little Christmas presents from Bath & Body Works then went to Target that's in the mall. I was planning on walking to Lowe's to look at counter top samples but got sidetracked by Pier 1 and had to go back to Target to finish a Christmas project that Pier 1 started. We were gone for over an hour. It was getting a bit dark on our way home so I kicked it in high-gear.

All-in-all a good weekend. Looking forward to the short week/long weekend this week. I'll probably start digging out all the Christmas stuff this week.